Hawksnest565

The Two Sides

The taunting voice of Ambrose did nothing to the man. He had seen all walks of life on his travels, all the personality forms that shifters took and how they dealt with pain and fear. The boy was nothing new. He didn't react to his voice. The only emotion he felt towards the boy was relief that they animal was different. His son had shifted into a golden retriever. "I'm going to take some blood now. It might sting a little, but it's nothing like what the scientists do." His tone of voice changed to that one would use when trying to calm a young child. "Those scientists can be nasty... They'll be here soon, but don't worry. I'll protect you from them if you do what I say, hm?" His withered face cracked into a smile. He pulled back from Ambrose to retrieve a syringe.

The Two Sides

Brianna saw the breath return to Misha's body. She pushed her fingers to Misha's neck and felt a fluttering pulse. The subject's life had been maintained. "Subject 9 continues to live. Damage done to the body is unknown for the moment. I will take this lapse in consciousness to extract blood." True to her word, she took a syringe and carefully filled it with Misha's blood.

The Two Sides

The Boss flinched slightly at the boy's weird naming for him.He paused to give Liwei his leave. "Your work was well done. Do not fret. Our goal is soon to be achieved. He turned his attention back to the boy. "Please... call me Mr Perdu." The words of the sentence implied that it was a request but the coldness of The Boss's voice manipulated it into a demand. This title was only used for people outside the family. Now that he was seeing the boy's face again, it was somehow just as haunting as the first time. The soft round face was so reminiscent of Harvey's. He needed something to differentiate the two of them. "Tell me, boy, what animal do you shift into?"

The Two Sides

"Don't you die on me, Subject 9!" Brianna was not prepared to give up yet, but there was no sign of Misha's reaction. "I won't call this yet... There's still so much you can give to us." She waits before pressing the paddles to Misha's chest again.

The Boss whilst waiting had cleaned up his laboratory. There was ample room for live observation of the boy. "Ah, Liwei, such a good child. Thank you for bringing him to me. I understand, you have your duties. Before you go, just ensure that the boy is about to make any move to leave." He gestured towards the bed in the middle of the lab with handcuffs ready to keep Ambrose from escaping. "Did you summon those scientists as I commanded?"

The Two Sides

Brianna cut the machine's power the moment she saw Misha black out. "Are you kidding me..." She huffs, thinking that the subject should have been able to put up a little more fight than that. She rushed over to the body and checked for a heartbeat. "Subject showing signs of cardiac arrest. I am now undertaking emergency procedures." She rushes to a defibrillator on one side of the room and prepares it for use. In mere moments she presses the charged paddles onto Misha's chest.

The Two Sides

Brianna felt a stab of annoyance as she turned off the machine again. Misha's form had remained stubbornly human. Should she push it up to six? The fatality rate would be higher given that she'd already endured a couple of shocks. It had taken less for previous subjects to shift. It had also taken less for prior subjects in other experiments to clock out on her. She bit her lip. Those buffoons of hunters had taken such a long time to capture two of them... And now, she only had one. Of course, the body would be useful even in human form. Plenty of DNA to examine. Didn't The Boss want results now? Her mind made it up, she pushed the dial to six. "Electric shock three, intensity level 6." She paused for a moment. "Do not disappoint me, subject. Your life depends on it." The machine begun its horrible whirr anew when she pushed the switch down.

The Two Sides

Brianna nods slowly and concludes her sentence. "... Aggravation." She stuffs the cloth back in Misha's mouth and returns her focus to the machine. "Current level of electric stimulation too low. We'll push it up to a five." Her words marked her actions. "Subject of this size could handle six at the highest with probability of immediate death at 10%. Probability of immediate death at current ranking of five, 2%. Probability of permanent damage at current ranking, 12%." She listed off the statistics with a professional tone as she considered whether it was worth the risk. "Ah, what is science without the fear of failure?" She starts the machine up again.

The Boss relaxes at Liwei's insistence that the job would be done. When the call was ended, he allowed himself one more fond look at the album. "Soon, my dear family, we will all be free from the curse that begun with me." He sighs and forces himself to refocus on the task, walking over to the lab section of his room. He runs his hands over several clear vials containing the concoctions of the serums created so far. "I am so close..."

The Two Sides

Brianna switched off the machine and observed Misha. "End of test one. No clear shifting achieved. Visible sign of body tremours but more likely due to spasms caused by electricity than any latent signs of shifting likelihood. Patient reports..." She removed the cloth from Misha's mouth for a moment and looks pointedly at her, clearly waiting for some expression of how she was feeling in regards to shifting.

The Boss would normally have been bothered by Liwei's insistance for an explanation rather than direct obeyance but for the moment he was incredibly excited about the potential the boy could bring. "Every subject we've brought in... every piece of DNA we've examined... It's all been adding together like a massive puzzle. I've come so close to cracking the formula to awaken shifting in our family's genes but all this time I've been missing one vital piece of evidence. I just needed that one patient with the right genes present. I can't explain why, I doubt you'd ever understand, but I believe that boy has what we need. With him, the serum will be complete!" He coughed and his voice turned harsh. "Quickly now. Hasn't enough of your life been wasted without the ability to shift?"

The Two Sides

"Hmm..." Brianna's fingers ran over the dials of the electric generating machine. She'd always hated the look of this device. It screamed mad scientist rather than the sophisticated song of scientific justice that it actually implied. She knocked the switch up to the notch of '2'. "Let's start low, hm? If you feel a slight tingling, you'll have to tell me afterwards. The last subject whom that happened to had a stroke five minutes later. It was a waste of resources. I never even knew what animal she was." Sensing she was getting off topic, Brianna flicked some of the switches up. "Electric shock one, intensity level two. Proceeding." She flicked the final switch and the machine started up with a whirr.

"Liwei," The Boss had recovered his composure with the thought of the boy's importance. "I know I asked you to take that subject away but, well, I was mistaken. I think he's more important than I ever realised. I want him back here immediately. Oh, and have someone collect some of the scientists as well. This is an endeavour that we must share."

The Two Sides

The Boss was sitting at his desk, still recovering from his encounter with the subject from before. He absently stared at a picture of his deceased son. Although he'd had many children, he still could be so easily shattered by the reminder of the loss of just one of them. Perhaps he was getting old. Or maybe... this was a sign? For all the people that subject could have resembled, it had been the one child of his who had the ability to shift. Could this child contain the answer to his life's work? He had to retrieve him at once. All of this could not be mere coincidence. He stood up from his chair with renewed vigour, grabbing his cane and walking quickly to the table where the boy had lay. It was empty now. Unsurprising, given his command to Liwei. His switched on his cellphone and called the absent bodyguard.