Alexis's eyes opened slowly, his vision cloudy at first. The bright lights above him were blinding to his adjusting eyes, though as the pain of bright lighting faded and his vision became clear, Alexis noticed something very strange. He was startled to discover a change to his sight, new ultraviolet colors having been added from the photoreceptors which had grown, old colors now more vivid and distinct from the addition of polarised light.

A more dramatic realisation then occurred as he looked down towards his hands, which had been strapped to his bed rails. On the back of his hands and extending up his arm was a red shell, which as far as he could tell covered his back as well. Alexis struggled slightly with his restraints, though to his surprise he was able to free himself without much effort, the straps having broken quickly from his enhanced strength.

"I need a fucking mirror to find out what the hell else is different..." Alexis mumbled as he stood. His eyes scanned the hospital-like room, locating two doors. He tried one, finding it locked, then moved to the other. As the door swung open Alexis found himself in a lavatory, staring himself in the mirror. The shell hadn't been the only physical change in his appearance, as he soon noticed. Upon his head, sticking out from his hair were two antennae. His eyes also looked different, as he now had three pupils in each of them and some kind of line going through the middle. On the sides of his neck had grown gills, four sits on each side. In a momentary fit of rage Alexis threw a punch at the mirror, not only breaking the glass though cracking the wall behind it as well.

It wasn't long before the sound attracted unwanted attention, men and women in lab coats rushing into the room. Alexis made no attempt to harm them after seeing this new increase to his strength as he felt physically secure, and decided to hear them out as they explained everything. Alexis took a seat and thought about the changes as he listened.

"So basically, you screwed with a bunch of kids, and now we'll probably never be fully human again. Thanks a lot doc. Now am I free to go, or do I need to fill out some bullshit survey?" The sarcasm was heavy in his voice, and the nervous looking doctors let him through without a word. As he walked through the halls a laugh escaped his lips. He was finally strong like he had wanted to be, he could finally protect himself. Alexis opened the front door of the building and stepped out, looking over the ocean in front of him.

"I want crab..."

Myra's eyes snapped open from what felt like an eternity of being asleep but just as suddenly shut them again to shield them from the blinding light overhead. "Ugh... why is the light so hi-def?" she asked and opened her eyes again, though this time things were a bit more normal for a second before the her third eyelid slid back and her vision sharpened again. Myra attempted to move her arms but as soon as she realized she was restrained she gave a small smirk before she began to wiggle in the straps. The restraints popped open almost immediately and Myra hoped up from the bed she was strapped to though stumbled a bit at a strange lightness as well as a relatively large weight hanging from her back.

Myra carefully strolled towards the bathroom that was marked by a pink "BR" on the top right of the door. She looked into the mirror and gasped at the sight of the mass of black feathers that were sprouting from her back as well as from her head. Myra started flexing different combinations of muscles until finally her wings exploded outward where they hit the the lights and broke the covers to them. "This.... is.... Awesome!" she yelled as her wings naturally folded back up neatly on her back.

Myra walked back out of the bathroom and banged on the door, "Hey, Where's my music!" she screamed as she realized that she didn't have her headphones anywhere in the room, The door opened up and her music player and headphones were handed to her in a cardboard box then the door was pulled wide open and she was allowed to exit after she had put her headphones on and had visibly calmed down. "Can I get an explanation please?" she asked and waited as the doctor explained what they did to her. "So I'm half bird of prey now, cool can I go look around now?" she asked before walking out of the room without waiting for an answer. None of the hired help attempted to grab her because they felt that she was too fragile, though actually even though she was a lot lighter she was also very tough though Myra was still attempting to get the hang of being very light. Myra walked out the building but stopped in her tracks when she saw what looked like a giant red shrimp though it had human legs "What the F- never mind" she said with her headphones on her head on full volume.

Something was wrong with him.

He could hear electricity buzzing in his ears, practically yelling at him to announce their presence. It was annoying. His eyes opened and the bright light made him shut it once more. Groaning, he opened them slowly this time and got used to the lighting pretty quickly. He moved his head to the left and was shocked to see that... he couldn't exactly see what was in front of him. It was so blurry. He could make out a window, a glass window, and white figures... no, that isn't right. That was probably humans in lab coats or something. No, they definitely were. He wasn't sure why he was so sure about that though.

He tried to stand up only to find that he was bound to the table. He began to struggle and he managed to free one hand and used that to free his other hand and then took off the binds to his feet. He scrambled off of the metal bed he was on. He took a deep breath to alleviate his panic but the buzzing of electricity is making it really hard not to get ticked off. He began to cough and when he opened his eyes, he saw something really weird.

His hand was colored light grey. He began to inspect every inch of his front body and surely, it was all colored the same. He scrambled for the door and opened it, to reveal that it was a bathroom. He saw the mirror and saw that he looked like himself but with light grey coloring and something like gills on the sides of his neck but it was closed. Then another thing caught his eye. It was a tail. Only then was he able to feel it. It responded to his will.

"The hell..." He muttered to himself. His mind began to process everything. The tail looked like that of an electric eel, one of his favorite animals in the world. And the skin color matches theirs. What the hell happened to him? He exited the bathroom and stormed to the other door and then tried to open it, only to find it locked. He then began banging on the door, demanding them to get in there or else he'll wreck everything inside.

The scientists rushed inside and tried to subdue the angry male. One scientist made the mistake of grabbing Vladimir's hand which caused Vladimir to involuntarily shock the scientist, to the point of knocking him out. He was alive but unconscious. Everyone took a step back. Vladimir himself was quite shocked to see this. Of course, he looked like an electric eel and so he should be able to generate electricity too. That explains the other sources of electricity being known to him, he was picking it up, just like how he picked up the presence of these scientists. "I need answers. Now." It wasn't a request, it was a demand. They quickly retold the story about the experiment.

Vladimir didn't say a thing. He stood up and headed for the door. None of the scientists attempted to stop him. And so he strode out of the building and then began to look around. Now what the heck was he supposed to do? Eh, whatever. It wasn't soon after he got out when this sort of bird-like human, probably one of the experiments, appeared from the door. It didn't seem to spot him and he didn't want it to. But he still continued on, now not really caring anymore. To hell with it.

---

"Too bright, too bright!" Was the first thing everyone heard when it came to the troublemaker's room. She clicked her tongue in annoyance before looking around. She saw her hands were bound to the table and so were her feet. Much more alarming is that she had hair on her forearms! Dude, that wasn't right. And it was so thick, like a monkey's. Ah, she'll worry about that later. She needed to get out. She hated being restrained. Absolutely hates it.

But the bounds weren't that complicated. She managed to free herself and then she sat up, cross-legged and began examining herself. She had hair on her forearms and she could feel that the same could be said on her back as well. And then there was this monkey tail attached to her coccyx. "So this was what they meant. This is so cool!" She exclaimed before jumping off of the table and then onto the door. She could hear shuffling on the other side. She turned the knob only to find it locked. "Oh what am I going to do now?" She asked to no one in particular and it was obvious that she was acting as if she had no chance in the world to get out.

Fishing a hair clip, or rather her own personal lockpick, out of her pocket, she inserted it inside of the keyhole and then began to play around with it. It wasn't soon until she heard the familiar click of success. She swung the door open and then grinned at the bewildered scientists. "Hello~" She greeted and then bounded for the scientists and her eyes was filled with curiosity and they knew what this meant. They explained to her the situation and she simply hummed as they did.

The explanation bored her. Basically, they signed up for an experiment that would get them animal DNA but something went horribly wrong and they got half-animal appearances. Cool! "Well if there's nothing else you want to say. I'm off!" The only main reason she was here was to escape juvie and jail soon after. She headed outside and then looked around. She seemed to be the first one out. Sweet! She headed towards the forest, climbed up on one of the trees and laid on the branches. It felt so relaxing. She could stay like this for quite a while. Her hand reached for the banana and began eating.

It was hot. It was way, way too hot.
His eyes blearily fluttering open, Nat's chest heaved with effort, sweat droplets breaking out on his skin. God, why was it so hot? Was this one of the side effects of the hormone treatment? Hot flashes? He was supposed to be testing a treatment for depression, not how to turn a human into a water heater. If he got any hotter we worried his brains would boil. Had there been something about life-threatening consequences in the contract he had signed? He couldn't remember now, his mind seemed so sluggish in the heat. All he knew was that it was too damn hot and he wanted it to stop!

Throwing his blankets off of him, he slumped onto the cool, hard floor, relishing the icy sensation of the clean tiles. That felt better, so much better. Like an ice pack, chilling his feverish skin. Could he be having an allergic reaction? He forced his eyes open again, looking down at his bare arms. Well, he wasn't puffy or red, like how he became when he ate peanuts. No welts had broken out on his body, nor any signs of rashes or hives. He felt his throat, not feeling any swelling. But he did feel pinpricks as soon as his fingers touched his neck, startling him. He looked down at his hands, seeing that his fingernails had transformed into... claws? Curved and sharp to the touch, like angry dark talons. His eyes widened in his horror, and he jumped up. And up. And hit his head hard against the ceiling. Before falling back to the floor with a sudden crash.

It stung. No longer were the tiles cool and inviting, now they bit against his skin, sending jolts of pain throughout his body as he hit the ground. He let out a slow groan, rolling onto his back and looking at the dent in the ceiling he had made. Well, while the floors, walls, and doors were made of reinforced steel, obviously the roof over his head wasn't. Recovering from the fall, still sore, he sat up, looking about the sparsely furnished room. There was his bed, messily made and with the blanket in a disorganized lump (he only now noticed the strange, shredded leather restraints), a small table and chair, for when food was brought in, a small TV that showed family friendly programming (he particularly disliked the show about dinosaurs on trains), and finally the small corner that served as the bathroom. Toilet, sink, showerhead, and mirror. Just like the mental hospital he had been in before, he wasn't allowed to even go to the bathroom in private. Probably incase he started having an allergy-induced fever, as he was so clearly having now.

He shakily got to his feet, noticing they too had claws. He felt unbalanced, like his back was slightly heavier than before, and he had to lean forwards on his toes as he walked to counterbalance it. Carefully staggering on the pads of his feet, he made his way to the mirror, looking into it. And he stared. And he stared. Then he turned on the faucet, splashing cold water onto his face, and he stared again. And then he screamed.

Ears. Two ears. Tall and white, they sprouted out of his head like twin triangles, now flattened to his scalp in his panic. His brown hair was white as snow, and his normally olive green eyes were now a pale and icy blue. When he opened his mouth to scream, he caught sigh of two white, sharp implements in his mouth. Fangs. He scrambled away from the mirror as if it were the source of his woes, tripping and falling, landing on something soft. And fluffy. He looked down, as if he was expecting a strange kind of poodle-snake (poodle-noodle, now there was a thought) to have made its way into the room. Instead, he was met with a tail. A long, fluffy fox tail. His tail.

Nat screamed again, his throat becoming hoarse. Now it was a strange, hybridized yowl, something only partly human that sprung from his tortured mouth. The cacophony prompted two orderlies to come dashing down the hall, hurriedly entering his room. Nathanaël stared up at them in almost accusatory terror, his lips trembling.
"What- What did you do to me?! What did you do?! Wh-Why is there- Where are my ears?! Claws, tail, hot! It's hot! I-I'm burning! I'll die!" he shouted, another hot flash coming back on. One of the orderlies ran to get him an ice pack, one that Nat hugged and cuddled close to his body, as if it were life itself.

While this was going on, the other orderly was giving him a check up, checking his heart, his breathing, his temperature, pulse. He pulled out all sorts of strange handheld instruments Nat couldn't even begin to name. Once this was done, he assured Nat that he was not having an allergic reaction. That the hot flashes were a way of adjusting and that they should soon pass.
"But the ears! Why are my ears gone? Why is there a tail? I-I thought I was signing up for a hormone treatment, something to cure depression or something! N-Not ears! Th-There has to be a mistake! Please, change me back! I-I've been good, I haven't hurt myself or broken any rules, please! Ch-Change me back!" he begged. He pleaded with the doctor to change him back, to tell him it was a mistake, one that was easily fixed. But the older man, the man whose nametag read Dr. Quincy, he shook his head gravely. And he explained that there was no cure. That Nat had been duped.

The boy was stunned. At first, he thought the doctor was pulling his leg. A secret genetic experiment? Come on, those things only happened in comic books! Or bad tv shows! There was no way something like this was real, was there? But the look on Quincy's face told him this wasn't a joke. So his next thought was that it was a dream, a bad dream, and that any moment he would wake up to another mundane day of pill swallowing and testing. Or maybe, this was a drug-induced dream? Maybe he was hallucinating everything right now, and simply misunderstanding the doctor? But... People didn't feel pain in dreams, did they? And that shock from hitting the ceiling had been real and painful enough to drive any amount of sleep out of him. Finally, Nat came to accept the reality. He had been tricked into a genetic experiment. He was a half-human, half-animal freak now. There was not way to turn back. At least, not yet.

Quincy looked at him with sympathy, sighing and arranging his notes.
"... I'm very sorry. It was... unexpected, to my level of clearance at least, that the effects would be this... Severe. If it's any consolation to you, the other subjects have... Also begun to experience similar physical and physiological changes. While you are free to leave, get some fresh air, I would like to continue testing on you. To, well, see how your body may adapt to your new environment."
Nat looked up at him, translating the words from English into French in his head, before carefully putting forth a response.
"Is... Is there a chance that if there's more testing, that... That I can be cured?"
Quincy hesitated, pursing his lips and remaining silent. It wasn't a yes. But it wasn't a no either. Nat stood up, nodding with a renewed fire in his eyes.
"Alright, I'll do it. Just tell me what you want me to do." If there was any chance he could turn back, he would take it. The thought of the other test subjects was pushed as far from his mind as humanly- well, half-humanly possible. He didn't care about them. He hadn't met them, they didn't exist. He could care less about any attempt at freedom right now. He just wanted to be fixed. And he'd do anything he could to chase that chance.

Tilly's eyes fluttered open. She was boiling hot and she had a cot next to her. She pulled her restraints off pretty quickly because of her strength. She cuddled Cathrine to her chest after getting her out of the cot. She usually never felt boiling hot. She went to the bathroom and saw herself and screamed. She was scared. She also screamed from the heat and the doctors helped her before she breastfed Cathrine. She cradled her while she had ice packs around her. She wasn't cold at all and she was hoping that the ice packs didn't melt in the heat that she felt earlier. She was allowed to leave but wouldn't go out in that infernal heat.

Tilly just cradled Cathrine to her chest. She was very over protective of her. She cared deeply for her daughter, even though she was a mistake and she came from a father that didn't care for her, she still loved her and took care of her, even if she hated her father because he left her when she needed him the most. Looking at Cathrine made her think of what she used to look like instead of having her ears and puffy tail as well as her white hair and her icy blue eyes. She cradled her daughter and started to sing her a lullaby. She rocked her daughter in her arms and she had worked hard to be a good mother to her like her mother was.

Tilly was shocked, to say the least, about the changes to her body. She had wanted to become strong to fight and to give justice to other people and do it for others, just in case they can't do it themselves. Her white hair fell into her icy blue eyes as the tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of her sister. She had done this in memory of him and she was happy that she managed to escape the disease even though she had caught it after she had given birth but they managed to cure it in the early stages. This made her happy because she didn't die like her sister but she was really upset that her sister couldn't be treated.

The ears and the tail would take a while to get used to but the infernal heat was the worst pat. She had the DNA of an Arctic animal so obviously she would be better with the cold than the heat and they put her in a hot room. That is ironic but I guess they wouldn't have known that that would happen or they wouldn't have done the experiment on them because of the results that would occur in the children which could change their lives forever. She hated that her looks had changed and her body structure which was totally annoying as she had to recenter her center of gravity and get used to how her body has changed.

Cathrine woke up and cried loudly so Tilly tried to calm her down but it was really hard but she sang to her gently and calmly and kept rocking her gently. Cathrine was a tough baby but Tilly loved her anyway and took care of her with all of her heart, no matter what challenges that she might face along the way but she would do everything for Cathrine because she is her baby and babies need to be taken care of by their mothers because that is what they need and although it may sound like a duty, she loves Cathrine with all her heart so will do anything for her, even though she is only 6 months now, she would protect her with her life and will do that forever as she is her daughter and she cares for her deeply.

---

Zia woke up and pulled her restraints off and tried to get up but she couldn't walk and she was totally shocked. She screamed out for help and the doctors put her in a wheelchair and she could see what happened. Her legs had turned into a tail and she had a fin on her back and her hair was now silver. This was a big problem as she couldn't walk now and she hated the water and she vowed to never go in it again after her sister drowned but now she would have to and that was her own stupid fault. She shouldn't have signed up for this stupid experiment. She should have never done the experiment and she knows that now but she just wanted to get rid of her fear of water.

Zia screamed in frustration as she hated the water. Every time she looked at the sea, she had a flashback of her sister drowning and it made her upset so she couldn't go in the water. She lifted her hand to her neck and she felt the gills on them as she used the blanket to cover her tail and it made her think of what her sister would think and that her sister would be screaming with joy if she was in this position because she had always wanted to be what she would call a mermaid and she would be so happy and this brought a tear to her eye which she quickly brushed away.

The doctors slowly taught her how to use the wheelchair to get around by showing her how the wheels work. She was the youngest on the experiment and she couldn't walk, she had her whole life ahead of her and she was only 12 but this could ruin her dreams or even her life which upset me even more. Zia smoothed her blanket over her tail so it looked like she was just trying to keep her legs warm while in reality, she was trying to hide her tail which had recently come onto her body because of the experiment which was totally stupid and that is what she had always thought of it.

Zia's parents always told her to get over her sister's death but she was really close to her sister so it was really hard for her to do but she tried but her sister's death always haunted her and she always blamed herself for it because of the fact that she was the only other person in the sea and the only other person who could swim there in time but she couldn't and this made her feel really really guilty and she constantly blamed herself and that is the reason why the past haunted her and why she hated the ocean so much, just because of her sister drowning. She kept her eyes focused down as she tried not to think about it so she bumped into a wall.

Zia was then let out and wheeled out and saw some of the others and looked around to see what happened to them. She saw a wide range of changes in them and she saw a wide range of animals in all of them which made her sad as they all had to deal with this struggle along with her and she wouldn't wish it on anyone and she was quite insightful for a 12 year old girl and she knew how to help people and she always tried to calm people down and never wished any of the bad things that happened to her on anyone, no matter what they done because it is in the past. She looked up at everyone and smiled slightly.

A swift breeze off the ocean chilled Alexis to the bone. It was only now he noticed what he was wearing, having been too preoccupied with the changes to his body while looking in the mirror. The wind caused the the hospital gown to flutter around his legs wildly, something he was not happy about. A quick check revealed the gown was still unfastened in the back, exposing the segmented shell that had covered his skin, shaped perfectly over his back like a skin tight shirt, for all to see. Alexis couldn't notice from his perspective, though the light from the sun was reflecting off his shell, casting shines of green at his shoulders and transitioning through all the shades between emerald green and royal blue as it went down his back, ending just above his bare ass. Alexis tied the back of the gown closed as fast as he could, though as he turned to check behind himself, he noticed a few others had already exited the building after him.

Let's see. We've got a bird, a monkey, a dolphin, Alexis rattled the list off in his mind, And they all probably just saw my ass. Amazing. Just how I wanted to start my day. He turned on his heel to face the others and gave his best (albeit awkward) smile.

"Terribly sorry to expose the lot of you to that," his voice was on the deeper side of the female range, husky one might say, smokey sometimes as well. It didn't bother him much, as things could have been much worse if his voice was high pitched. "I guess I should introduce myself. You can all call me Alex. I heard there were others that had similar results to my own. Mantis shrimp, if you couldn't tell. But hey, kickass shell, right?"

Alexis looked over the ocean again as he touched the first two fingers on his right hand to his gills. He wanted to put his new mutations to the test in the water, where his animal hailed from. "So, uhhhm, who else wants to test their new abilities? I almost punched a wall down back in that building, and I wasn't even trying. Or should we maybe wait to see if there were any others in there?"

Felix couldn't tell which was worse: the insane pounding in his head, or the fact that he was practically naked in a strange room.

A pained groan tumbled from his mouth as the young man sat up, his head spinning like his drunk aunt at a birthday party. The brilliant, white lights bore into his eyes, worsening his growing migraine. He couldn't remember anything from the operation. Only shifting blurs of muted tones, and the clinical stench of blood and antiseptic.

Soon, his surroundings began to clear. He was in a stark white room, void of any life but his. The lights bathed the area in a harsh, white light, and a smell not unlike a hospital's clogged his nose. Tiny details, from the tiny crack on the wall from across the room to the crumpled spider tucked in the crevice of a high up cobweb, seemed so clear to his eyes. Much clearer than before. Felix felt himself grinning despite the nausea. Looks like the experiment worked after all.

Felix moved to sat up, only for cool metal around his wrists and ankles to resist his movements. He hissed in annoyance. Of course they would tie him down. After a considerable amount of twisting, he managed to slip out and shakily stood on the cool floor. His movements were like a baby deer's, his steps slow and clumsy. The brightness of the lights, the sharpness of his ears, the chemical scent stabbing his nose--all of it battered against his newly enhanced senses. Everything seemed so different. So...new.

Felix tensed as something furry brushed against his arm. A flash of black twitched at the corner of his eye, darting in and out of his view. A creeping sense of unease crawled into the pits of his stomach as a striking suspicion crossed his mind. Ever so slowly, he turned around. As he did so, a shocking new sight caught his eye.

There, stuck to Felix's bottom, was a long, bristling, black tail.

"You've got to be kidding," he groaned, gingerly touching the new appendage. Another thought struck his mind, and he nervously reached for his ears. Or rather, where they once were. The area was uneasily smooth and unscarred, as if he'd never had any in the first place. His hand traveled up, raking through his dark hair until triangular forms twitched against his hand. Cat ears and tail. Of all things, he had new ears and a tail. Felix grimaced as something sharp pierced his new ears and he quickly drew his hands away. In his panic, a new feature had made itself clear to him. Razor sharp nails--no, claws--stuck out from his fingers. With each flex, they sheathed and unsheathed with remarkable smoothness. Felix sheathed his claws, hands trembling with the new change. The experiment had worked, alright. A little too well.

He took in a deep and closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm. Why was he so freaked out? This was what he wanted. Sort of. The animalistic features he definitely didn't take into account. But the abilities, the change. That was what he was going for. He just needed to adapt. Even if it was going to take a lifetime to do so...

Straightening up, Felix began to walk-stumble towards the only door in the room. His next goals were clear: Get out. Get home. Get rest. After maneuvering through a maze of hallways, Felix soon found himself outside the facility. There, an odd gathering of people had formed. Ones, Felix noted as he saw their...unusual...appearances, that shared the same fate as him.

"They got you too, huh?" He laughed, though it sounded forced and half-hearted. "Talk about an interesting look."

---

Dae had learned long ago to never trust bright lights.

Camera flashes. Spot lights. The blaring, lifeless beam of a hospital bulb.

All spoke of ill tidings.

Dae sat huddled on the bed, a kindly looking doctor sitting right across from him. His eyes, once a startling green but now an inhuman violet, stared at the stark ground. No reversal. Those were the words they had told him upon awakening. Those were the same words he was hearing again. Permanent results.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Hesper." The doctor stared at Dae nervously. No...not at him. At his wings. At his antennae. At the dark scales creeping up the side of his face and chest. At those abnormalties. He wanted to say that weren't his, that they were just another costume in the performance of life. But they weren't. They were real. As real and as painful as the reality of the situation before him.
The doctor's sympathize stare deepened. "We'll contact your parents and inform them that you--"

"No."

The word was soft, and the voice was quiet. Yet the command carried through the small room. "No," Dae said again, this time quieter. "I...I'd rather they not...that I'd tell them myself." Please, he added silently.

The doctor slowly nodded. "I understand." He stood and offered Dae a hand. "I'll show you out then."

Dae accepted the help and shakily stood. He followed the doctor close behind, large wings tucked close to avoid the narrow walls of the hallway. It wasn't enough to hide from the curious stares of passing scientists. The doctor left as soon as they neared the door, leaving Dae to head towards the bright light at the end of the hall.

His breath caught in his throat as he exited. There before him was a group of people. Great. Just what he needed. An audience to stare at him. Except...
Dae's apprehension lessened ever so slightly as he caught sight of their animal features. They were subjects. They had to be, seeing as how most of them bore the similar side effects as he. He gave them a small smile and a nod in greeting.

"It seems that there were quite a few subjects," he remarked quietly.

Vladimir kept his distance from the others. What he really just saw were mere blurry figures and only a few key features like Dae's wings were the things he could see. He could feel them there, just like how an electric eel could feel their prey around them. The blurriness of everything would take some getting used to especially if he wanted to go back. And he had to get this electricity under control too.

The black haired male eyed them cautiously. They were all victims of the experiment so he could trust them to an extend correct? He slowly walked towards them, making sure that the hospital gown that he wore actually covered him unlike the other person earlier. He felt odd in this get up and he wanted out of it but there were no clothes for them.

Before he could think of a way to maybe shock one of the scientists into giving him their clothing, one of them spoke. He, or perhaps she maybe? introduced himself. He could not see the awkward smile he gave off but he listened to every word, at least that didn't get impaired. "My name is Vladimir, call me what you want." He supposed he might as well interact with them. A name is but a name, that's all after all. "I practically shocked someone there unconscious without knowing. I'd like to explore more about this. He said, looking at his light gray hands. "But of course, we can still wait if there are others."

He wanted to know how exactly he could use this electrical pulses to his advantage. He could feel them around him. There was... six of them? More inside the laboratory. Too many. There were probably tons of scientists and doctors in there. He would like to go back in there later on, to ask how to get out of this place without having to swim who knows how many miles back to civilization. As an eel, he could do that but maybe he should see if he could go back to normal because having a tail and gray skin isn't the most normal thing in the world.

He then turned to Felix, returning the half-hearted chuckle. "Well, it is definitely interesting. If... I can ask, uh, what do you guys look like? I really can't see three feet in front of me." He told them.

---

As for Julia, she looked back to the entrance to see the others there. She scampered down the tree and then nimbly headed towards them. Her eyes scanned over them quickly, analyzing them, just like how she would do that to her clients. If there were any signs of aggression and such, so far there isn't. One thing caught her eye, the beautiful wings that sprout from Dae's back.

She cautiously approached the male. She then tapped his back to get his attention before grinning at him, "Nice wings." She complimented before jumping back again, as if to maintain a certain distance from the male. She then turned her attention to Vladimir who had asked what they looked like and she immediately assumed what animal was infused with them.

"I'm Julia, or Jules, you guys might know the name as the daughter of this drug dealer and pickpocket. Well it's true. Anyway, I'm a monkey! See? Long tail, extra hair. Although I still look mostly human considering primates are our closest relative and stuff." She said everything without hesitating. Even revealing her past just like that as if it was the most normal thing to say. Weird kid but that's her.

The first thing that happened was that he took a shower. His thin hospital gown was slicked with sweat from his hot flashes, and it was taken away to be disposed of. Nat didn't mind that Dr. Quincy remained in the room with him, explaining the procedure that had occurred. Nat only half listened, his ears flattened to his head to keep out water. Out of habit he had turned the faucet to warm, and reacted like the water was boiling hot. Now, he cranked it to as cold as it could be, feeling the cool relief of water on his skin. It didn't feel cold at all, though he knew it was. It felt refreshing, cleansing, revitalizing. Like it was giving him life again. He stayed in the shower perhaps a little longer than he should have, just enjoying the freezing droplets on his skin. Finally, the second orderly returned, bringing with him a big, fluffy towel, and real clothes.

Real clothes. The picture surprised him, and he was overjoyed. How many days and nights had he spent in an exposing hospital gown, thin and scratchy against his sensitive skin? He hadn't even had underwear beneath it, and he had to be constantly mindful of how he sat, lest some scientist in an observing room get an undeserved peek at his family jewels.

He happily pulled on the clothes, not caring that they were all a bleached, sterile white. White underwear, white pants, a white high-collared shirt with long sleeves. The sleeves he was grateful for, covering up the long, angry scars that reached from his wrists to the middle of his forearm. Other scars were, unfortunately, visible, the slices and slashes on his fingers and palms, the sideways cuts on his wrist that peeked out from his cuffs from his first attempts at suicide. He hadn't known at first that to be effective, you had to cut the artery along your arm, not across it. Teen dramas and trashy TV had lied to him.

But he put his scars out of sight, and out of mind. No one needed to see them, or ask about them. He pulled on the sterile slippers for his feet, and stuck his hands in his pockets, signaling to Quincy that he was ready. And just like that, no tasers, no handcuffs, no tranquilizers or armed guards, he was led out of the room. The perks of being a cooperative subject, he thought to himself, as they passed by a window that allowed him to see to the outside, ever so briefly. There was a beach out there, white and sandy, with palm trees and tropical shrubs, like something out of a tourist pamphlet. There were more forboding grey buildings, and a helipad on one of the roofs, likely for supplies. And out in front of the building, on the ground below him, he saw a group of strange characters, half-human, half-.... Other things. A boy with a shrimp-like shell, a girl with a monkey's tail, a young man with butterfly wings, another who looked quite a bit like himself, but whose tail was thinner, like a cat's. There was a slick, almost eel like man among them as well, a girl with long dark wings sprouting from her shoulders, and possibly the youngest, a girl in a wheelchair, though she was oriented away from him, so he couldn't see what was wrong with her. He stopped and stared out the window for a brief moment, his cold eyes observing the other subjects below. So, Quincy hadn't been lying when he said there were others. For a second he considered turning around and going out to greet them, to find comfort and solace in the fact that he wasn't alone. And then that second was gone, and he turned away, following Quincy down the hall. None of the others were wearing proper clothes, all still in their hospital gowns. That meant they hadn't volunteered for testing.

He felt rage boil up in his stomach, making him grit his teeth. Of course, this experiment had probably collected other troubled teens, like himself. And if they were anything like the others in the mental ward, they probably wouldn't volunteer. He clenched his fists, his animalistic anger bubbling up again. How selfish! How stupid! This whole experiment was a mistake, an accident! He couldn't be the only subject volunteering, right? He couldn't be the only one who still trusted the scientists, right? He couldn't be the only one who wanted to turn back! Swallowing the bile welling up from his throat, Nat banished the thoughts of the other subjects from his mind, bottling up his resentment. Who cared about them, if they wanted to stay animals, they could. He was going to find a way to turn back, then return to Paris and never set foot in a hospital ever again!

He followed Quincy deeper into the facility, finally being led into a wide, white room. It was completely empty, with one wall have a wide window that he couldn't look into. Probably an observation room. There was a speaker and mic on the wall as well, and high above were air vents, too small to be crawled through. He wasn't worried about escape. Freedom was the last thing on his mind. He was used to living in cages. He looked behind him as the door closed, leaving him alone, and then a few minutes later the speaker crackled.
"Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. Nathanaël, can you hear me? Please wave to the camera to your left if you can." came Quincy's voice, and Nat was relieved. He quickly found the camera, waving to it as he was told to.
"Excellent, excellent. Alright, Nathanaël, we are going to lower the temperature in the room by intervals of ten degrees. Right now, it's at 20˚ celsius, or 68˚ fahrenheit. I want you to tell me when you start to shiver and when you start to feel numb. We have equipment here that will be monitoring your core temperature, so don't worry about dying, we will stop when we feel your core temperature has lowered too much. Alright?"
Nat gave the camera a thumbs up.
"Alright, we will begin. Lowering room temperature to 10˚ celsius."

He could feel a small change in the room, though it was barely noticeable. If anything, the sweltering heat he had been enduring now became more livable. He still felt warm, but it was a little better now. The second temperature drop he noticed more. He could feel the air become slower around him, water molecules in the air begin to freeze. 0˚ celsius was when water became ice, and he knew it. Still, he felt no discomfort, and continued not to, even as the air became colder and colder. -10˚, -20˚, -40˚, -60˚. It was only when he knew the temperature had hit -70˚ celsius that he felt a sudden shiver run up his spine, the thin shirt and slippers now feeling like inadequate protection.
"D-Doctor Quincy? I-I'm shivering!" he called, looking up at the video camera and tucking his hands into his armpits for warmth. There was a pause, and then the metallic sound of Quincy's voice came through the speaker.
"Excellent, that's very good news, Nathanaël. This keeps in line with our predictions. Worry not, you core temperature is still stable. We're going to decrease the temperature again, alright? You can do anything you can to keep warm, just tell us when you feel numb."

Giving the camera a shaky nod, Nat began to pace around the room. He could feel his pores close off, his capillaries shrinking. He kept his feet moving and his hands stuffed firmly in his armpits. He could feel any remaining moisture crystallize on his eyelashes, making him narrow his eyes to keep them from freezing. His eyes definitely stung in this cold, but he pressed on. He could endure this. He had endured so much already. He had endured to cold eyes of his father, gazing at him in disappointment. He had endured the frigid atmosphere of their house, after his mother left and he was pulled from school. He had endured the icy glares his parents had sent each other across the dinner table for years before their divorce. He was made in the cold, he had long lived in the cold before this test. The cold was his element, it was his home. He had coldness inside him as well.

He felt his fingers, toes, and the tip of his tail start to go numb, and he looked up at the camera, a silent signal that he was numb. He knew hat if he opened his mouth now, the spittle inside would freeze solid. The speakers were silent, and the temperature dropped again. Now, Nat began to feel his very skin begin to go numb, turning cold and blue and freezing...
"That's enough! Good job Nat, we're bringing the temperature back up!" came Quincy's voice, and the room did as he said. Nat could feel the temperature slowly increase back up to above freezing temperature, and he collapsed against the wall, shivering uncontrollably. The door opened and two additional orderlies rushed in, carrying a thick blanket, a hot water bottle, and instruments. They engulfed him in the blanket, and he pressed the hot water bottle to his hands, feet, face. They checked his vitals and some other stuff he probably didn't know about, all he could care about was that it was no longer cold. He looked up as he saw Dr. Quincy approaching, giving him a weak smile.
"H-H-How l-l-long did I l-last?" he stammered, still not over his shivering. Quincy's expression seemed strangely proud, an unreadable twinkle in his eyes.
"-100˚ celsius. Or, -148˚ fahrenheit. You endured -100˚ of frost before your body began to freeze. And that is without any thermal or protective gear. With proper equipment, you could easily make it to -120˚ celsius. You fought off hypothermia at -90˚, the average human being is susceptible at 0˚. The lowest recorded temperature on earth is 89.2˚ celsius, and you survived more than -10˚ more without protection. You, my boy, are a human marvel."
Nat looked down at his clawed fingers, the color starting to return to them.
"... No. Not human anymore."

David awoke with a groan, easily popping the restraints as he stretched. "That was a-" he cut himself off, hearing his voice sounded different. "...nice nap..." he finished, listening to his voice. Yep, definitely deeper. Looking around, he took notice of the 2 doors. He waved off the doctors that were coming in, disappearing into the restroom to take care of business. While washing his hands, he looked in the mirror, yelling loud. He burst through the small door, glaring at the doctors. "What did you do to me?!" he asked, though gave them no chance to respond. With his 2 great arms, he shoved them all aside, beginning to search every room for his brother.

-----

Eric awoke to a loud banging coming from the hallway. Looking around, he recognized what he thought to be a hospital room. Except he was strapped down. Shrugging, he laid back down, before his eyes popped open. Looking at his feet... were they his feet? He wiggled his toes to make sure. Yep, his feet. Looking at his feet, he noticed they looked bird-like with long talons. Looking at his arms, which were halfway to wings. he saw a small "finger" with a tiny claw. He couldn't get it to turn far enough to cut through the strap. Then his door burst open.

"Eric?" the lion-man asked, fear in his eyes.

He tried to think who this stranger could be. He didn't recognize anything about him, though the half-lion said his name. He began thinking... Just as the half-beast was beginning to turn, he took a shot. "David?" the eagle-man asked, looking over his... twin...

David smiled wide as he rested his hands on his knees, "I found you." David said, slowly moving to his brother. Seeing his brother still strapped up, he nodded, sliding one of his claws out to cut through the leather. With both brothers now free, they sat on the bed to begin talking.

"Eagle, huh? Lucky." David began. "I got stuck with a lion."

"At least now you can use your middle name." Eric joked.

David glared at him for a few seconds before turning away and smiling wide. "You know what? I could. I can go by Leo now."

David opened his mouth to say something else but, knowing his brother, he shut it and shook his head.

"Eric Marks?" A doctor asked, walking in. He hadn't noticed David... Leo yet.

"Yes." Eric nodded.

The doctor looked up, seeing them both. "And you are?"

"Leo, formerly David, Marks." he answered. "We're twins. Or, at least, we were."

"Still are." Eric corrected him.

"Anyways." the doctor cut in. "You're lucky I have your file too... Leo. I'm just here to give Eric a check up before we release you. Might as well do you too, since you're here."

It didn't take too long but, once both of them were done, Leo stood and stretched again. "Gonna need some clothes, doc."

The doctor sighed and nodded, leaving the room. While waiting, Leo began exercising.

Eric, on the other hand, began looking over his body. His wings were connected to his arms, his feet had changed, he had a beak, feathers were sticking out with his hair, his whole body was messed up. His brother seemed to get the better deal, seeming to be equal parts human and lion all blended together evenly. Like chunky and creamy peanut butter. he thought, frowning. He opened his wings as far as they would go. Somewhere between 2 times and 3 times his height.

When the doctor returned, he handed each of them a pair of boxers, a pair of cargo shorts, and a shirt.

Leo slid on the boxers and shorts easily, opting out of the shirt. Looking to his brother, he saw him having trouble. Wordlessly, he helped Eric get dressed, without his brother's talons messing up the clothes.

With them both ready, they headed outside, both using their arms to block the light of the bright sun. Leo heard voices and was the first to look. "Hey, we're not the only ones." he laughed. "But, apparently, the only ones smart enough to ask for real clothes."

Eric took in the appearance of each one, including a falcon-girl, a monkey-girl, a boy with a shell like a crab or lobster, and more.

"Felix Aluris," he greeted. "Cat ears and tail aside, I'm lean, handsome, and quite single, if anyone was wondering." Felix cast everyone a coy smile, a suave look quickly overriding his nervous expression

Felix stared down at his hands, the confidence breaking ever so slightly. It was so odd seeing skin were nails once existed. Then, with a simple flex of his fingers, razor sharp claws would pop out. Looking down, he notes that his feet weren't that different.

"I'd like to see how deep this rabbit hole goes too." Felix looked up the side of the building, a dangerous thought sparking in his mind. He was part cat now, wasn't he? Therefore, if he jumped from the top of a building...

His idea was cut short as several others--a lion man and a feathery fellow--exited from the buildings. clothed others, he noted with envy. Felix scowled, glancing back at his behind. To his embarrassment, he saw that his tail wasn't the only thing on display. "Seriously?" he groaned. At least there weren't any cameras he was accidentally mooning...right? Felix gave his surroundings a quickly. To his dismay, his sharp eyes spotted a security camera nestled in shadows of the building. Perfect. Just perfect.

---

Dae turned in surprise as one of the other subjects, a young hairy girl with a tail, complimented his wings. He flushed with embarrassment as he glanced at his brilliantly colored appendages. "Thank you," he spoke gently, barely brushing his fingers across their sparkly surface. He shivered at the touch, unused to his new wings, and looked down at the fine powder covering his fingers. "I would be lying if I said I didn't envy you," he admitted. "But I suppose it is what it is."

He turned to the others, carefully keeping his exposed back facing away from their eyes. "My name is Dae He--" he hesitated at his last name. Often times people would change once they knew who he truly was. That he was a Hesper, a child of stars, and therefore must be as stuck up as his parents. He had gotten used to suc quick judgement. Never would he feel at all happy about it. "...Just Dae." He lifted his head and managed a small smile.

Dae gave his wings an experimental flutter. "I suppose it's best if we make the most of our new abilities. Er, after we find clothes," he added quickly as he saw two others walk out.

Myra glanced over at the group and read their lips to discover that they were introducing themselves to eachother. She took off her headphones and set them to rest on her shoulders before clearing her throat and speaking up, "Its nice to meet you... nice people" she said with a pause as her third eyelids flipped open and she took in the details of everyone. "I'm Myra the... falcon girl I guess, I've got big black and white wings and feathers in random places on my body." she said with with a bit of a flourish by spreading her wings behind her.

It was actually a bit fun to be able to bounce around with about half or a quarter of her old weight though with the large wings on her back it threw off her balance a bit. Myra glanced up at the sky a few times and was tempted once or twice to just try and take off into the air but then thought better of it, "If I fall then what will happen to me if I hit the ground?" she asked herself anytime it came up but when she looked out over the cliff and saw the water below it gave her a little courage. "I wonder if I actually have to flap or if I can just glide".

Vladimir wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be once he heard two new voices. The new power's really helping him out. And he appreciated how the others answered his question without a single trace of doubt. The black haired male turned his head to the others and bowed as a sign of gratitude. When he heard something about clothes being spoken, he merely smiled. He forgot that all of them were practically naked under the hospital gown and it had an open backside too.

"I suppose we do need some clothes. After all, the new things that were added to us overshadowed the fact that we didn't have clothes... or at least, that's how it worked for me." He admitted before making his way towards the entrance from where they came from. His hands folded behind his back to hold together the clothing that shielded it.

Julia smiled at Dae. "Why would you be jealous of me? I'd say those wings look good on you." She said with a goofy grin on her face. She may not have grown in the nicest neighbourhood but that didn't mean she lied all the time. Her eyes stared at the glimmering beauty of his wings before saying words she never thought she would hear herself say ever again, "Las mariposas son hermosas..." She actually seemed out of it before shaking her head and averting her eyes. "Er, forget I said that. Nice to meet 'ya Dae!" She quickly added before seeing Vladimir entering the building prompting her to do the same.

"Time for some clothes~" She said in a singsong voice as she made her way inside. It didn't seem like she cared much about the outfit she was currently wearing. Well, she honestly didn't. For all she could care about, she could just be wearing her undergarments and she still wouldn't be embarrassed.

The two would soon see another scientist and Julia took it from there. She kindly asked for a change of clothing, preferably the one they came in with. She still remembered that she wore something to this laboratory and she just changed out of it. The scientist nodded and led them to different rooms and gave them their clothing. Vladimir changed into a button up shirt, cargo pants and combat boots. Julia wore a hoodie over a white shirt, pants and rubber shoes. They walked out of their rooms and then gave each other a nod.

They then went outside once more to wait for the others to change. Vladimir decided that when night time comes, he would go back inside to talk with the scientists should they not do that before his schedule. He needed to talk to them about his eyesight. Sure, detecting others were good and all but he wanted to actually see their faces instead of just sensing that they were there. Perhaps they would give him glasses or something.

Julia, on the other hand, didn't know what she would do. Monkeys didn't have any super special powers besides their great balance, strength in terms of arms and legs, and enhanced grip. She then looked around, maybe she could practice climbing in much more higher places. That would be pretty cool. But she decided to wait for the others.

Nat recovered quickly from his hypothermia, much more quickly than the doctors had expected. Within a few minutes of the room warming, the boy was back on his feet again, beginning to feel the creeping sensation of being overheated again. After giving them his consent that he was willing to continue testing, they led him into another room, this one filled with equipment. In fact, it looked like a lab and a gym had been stuck in a blender, and this room was the product. He first was asked to strip down to his underwear so he could be weighed, and he obliged, keeping his arms close to his body. Thankfully, none of the doctors seemed to pay any attention to the scars on his arms, which stuck out very noticeably on his pale skin. They didn't even seem phased by his ears and tail, and that fact comforted him. Even if it was an act, he appreciated being treated like he was normal.

He was weighed, his height measured, his blood drawn and strange sticky pads were place on his body, to monitor his brain waves and stuff, he assumed. He really didn't understand any of this medical nonsense, but he'd do what he was told. He was good at following orders, at least. His father had long since crushed any natural teenage desire to rebel, and he knew he had to depend on the doctors. Following those tests, he continued on to more bizarre exploits, such as seeing how high he could jump, how well he could keep his balance, how hard could he punch, how much could he lift, how fast could he run, and for how long. How well could he hear, or see, or smell? How sharp were his claws, or how hard was his bite?

The results, though he knew would be different, surprised him. His strength hadn't increased very much at all, it was a barely noticeable difference in power. That part disappointed him somewhat, knowing he wouldn't be a super strong kind of super hero, like Captain America or the Hulk. However, his speed was incredible, clocking at 35 mph. Even Usain Bolt could only reach 28 mph, and what was more, Nat could keep his speed up longer. He was able to maintain his 35 mph for over 5 minutes before he started to tire, 5 minutes which seemed like an eternity to him. By the end of it his muscles were burning and screaming for relief, and he was glad to be able to rest. As for the results of other tests, he didn't understand most of it, but from what he gathered, his sight was better, his hearing had greatly improved, he was incredibly nimble, and he could jump 10 ft into the air. Which explained why he had left an indentation on the ceiling of his room.

Once he was done with his tests, he was allowed to shower again, to clean himself of sweat and cool himself off, before changing back into his sterile white clothes. This time, however, instead of slippers, he was provided socks and balanced boots. He was grateful to be able to cover his clawed feet. If only he had some gloves now, to erase any evidence of clawed hands. He followed Quincy out of the lab room, wondering if there were any more tests for him to do. He wanted to be of use, to help find a cure for his condition. And so, he was quite surprised when Quincy instead led him into a cafeteria with a buffet table of food laid out, gesturing him to sit at any one of the empty seats.
"It's best that you have some breakfast. We need time to analyze the results from our testing, and to develop further tests. We have provided a wide array of nutritious foods, for you and the other subjects, and I hope that you will remain on the premises, should we need you. Here, take this. It's a pager, and it has a tracking device in it. If you need help or feel ill, press the button on it, and a doctor will be there as soon as possible." he told him, handing the boy a small pager. Nat nodded obediently, before walking over to the buffet table and picking up a plate.

Despite the growling in his stomach, he was very careful about what he chose, letting his newly developed sense of smell guide him. He knew he should have taken fruits or vegetables, but when he smelled them, they made his stomach turn and twist. Meat, on the other hand, savory, salty, juicy. He craved it, and stacked his plate high with it. Bacon, ham, sausage, eggs, all kinds of meats. Starches he felt were good as well, and he put two pancakes on his plate, coated with butter. The sweet scent of syrup or honey made him feel nauseous, and he picked a glass of water over juice or coffee, before finding a table in the corner of the empty cafeteria, and starting to eat.