The man’s head bumped against the low ceiling of the vehicle as they made their way towards a tall yet wide white building. Beatrice pulled up to the side of it and got out of the car swiftly, slamming the door shut behind her.
“Come on, we have work to do. There’s no time to waste.” The man exited the car and approached the building behind Beatrice. Beatrice grabbed the handle of a nearby door and swung it open, entering. The man walked after her, taking note of where they were in his head.
“This used to be a huge car wash, but it was abandoned a couple of years ago,” she said, stopping at a covered up door. She took out a pair of keys and shoved one into the doorknob, twisting it to allow her entry.
“But now, we use it for this.”
Beatrice and the man stepped into the massive open area that held hundreds upon hundreds of beings and creatures—big and small—in large containment units filled with substances of many colors, such as red, green, and blue. It almost looked like a light show of some sort. The man walked through a whole row filled with them, staring at the barely recognizable figures that laid inside of them.
“Beatrice, what are…”
“Experiments,” she replied blatantly, approaching a pillar that seemed to support the whole building. A computer slowly made its way out of it, followed by a keyboard and mouse. She began typing while the man’s head swiveled back and forth, his nervousness getting the best of him in this semi-enclosed space. He didn’t know what these… ‘things’ were, making him even more nervous. I walked up to one of these vessels, putting a hand to the glass-like barrier that separated him from the creature inside. His eyes began to widen as he felt words starting to flow into his mind.
H-h-help… m-me….
“A-alright, um, Beatrice? I think it’s time to leave now…” he said, walking back over to her.
“Hmm? Oh no, you’re staying. You’re to watch over these creatures, and let me know if there’s any activity, that sort of thing.”
“W-what?” the man exclaimed, pointing to the vessel that he had just been standing next to. “That thing just said ‘help me’ into my MIND!”
“So? That has nothing to do with you.”
“SO?! Aren’t there other, more trained professionals that do this sort of thing?” Beatrice scratched her head, as now it was her turn to be unsure.
“They… uh…” she started to stammer. The man’s eyebrow perked up with slight curiosity and judgement.
“They… kinda… died…” she trailed off slowly, looking to the side as if she was trying to act innocent after she had done something wrong.
“What? And you expect me to watch after these… things? What do you even plan to do with them, anyway?” The nervous general switched over to her more serious self, turning to face the laptop.
“Why, to torment Dagger and bring him to us, of course. I’m tired of chasing after him, and I know you are too. We’ve been planning this ever since his mother…”
“What happened to his mother?” the man suddenly decided to ask. Beatrice stood at the laptop, remaining focused on the details that she was typing out.
“I said, what happened to his mother?” he repeated again.
“In due time,” Beatrice squinted at the monitor for a couple of seconds, then pressed the enter key. Mechanical noises filled the room as an out-of-sight door started to open.
“Follow me.” The man walked with Beatrice to a room near the back of the building. The door was ajar, meaning that this was what the noises were for. A vessel containing something was hooked up to the ground. Nothing was moving inside of it but tiny bubbles that floated throughout the container, occasionally appearing at the surface and going back down.
“Uh, there’s nothing in here.” The man said cautiously.
“Oh, there is. Trust me.” Beatrice went to the containment unit and slid back a compartment, which held a button. Pushing it led to the containment unit bursting open and someone crawling out of it. A hand was placed on the edge of the white encasing, lifting it up from out of it. Beatrice crossed her arms and smirked again.
“Welcome, experiment 01. You’re going to help us with a very important task of––” The creature quickly shifted towards Beatrice and put its hand on her neck.
“What… what did…” It was trying to mumble, but couldn’t find the words. The man reached to help her, but Beatrice simply held her hand up towards him, signaling him to stop. Her eyes looked back to the creature, who still had a grip on her neck.
“Who do you think you are?” Beatrice whispered softly. The being’s eyes widened and its hand was removed from Beatrice’s neck. It embraced itself instead, realizing that it couldn’t remember a thing.
“I… I… d-don’t…” it stammered again, looking down in shame and confusion. Beatrice took a hard and abrupt swing at the creature’s legs, forcing it fall to the ground in agony. It coughed, droplets of blood appearing near its mouth.
“There’s some things you need to know about me. One, don’t ever. EVER touch me without my permission,” Beatrice said, starting to pace around the room. “Second, I am your master. You do as I say or else you will face severe punishments. Do you understand?” Quiet movements could be heard from the floor. It was nodding quietly.
“Now, get up and shapeshift.” The man’s eyebrow rose again.
“Shapeshift…?” he muttered under his breath. The frail creature rose to its feet and looked at its hands. They remained unchanging, so the creature just stood there.
“Didn’t you hear me? I said SHAPESHIFT!” Beatrice yelled, its echo traveling throughout the building. It made the creature flinch, yet it continued to stand there. Beatrice was about to attack it again before the man interrupted her.
“Beatrice, I don’t think it can. At least not yet,” he said, deciding to speak up on its behalf. Beatrice, getting angrier at this performance, targeted her frustration towards the man.
“Listen here, buddy. I programmed her DNA, her genetics, her wellbeing MYSELF. I know it has the ability to shapeshift into whatever it wants,” the man rolled his eyes and pointed then back the woman.
“You didn’t listen to me, though. I think it doesn’t know how yet. Give it a bit of time, Beatrice.”
“Whatever. I’m going to go get a drink. Watch it, please?” Beatrice stormed out of the room, leaving the man and the creature by themselves. The man looked at the creature, with the creature still standing there, unmoving. It breathed in and out slowly, like a person out in the cold. In fact, it was getting a bit chilly in the room they were in.
“Di… did…” the being started again. The man uttered a small “Hmm?” in response to her actually speaking again.
“Did… did... B-Beatrice… say… h-her?” the creature turned to face the man, who then began to gaze upon the creature’s features. It was loosely clothed, but it had something on, at least. However, it was looking a bit worse for wear. Like it was never finished with what it was supposed to look like. Almost rushed.
“Y-Yea, I guess so… maybe it was the slip of the tongue. Not to offend you, but you don’t look like… anything right now. I’m surprise you’re standing, or even talking for that matter.”
“It c-could be a possibility…” the creature looked at its hands again, which were now more formed. They looked small, and more like a…
“Girl’s…” the creature whispered. Its body started to construe itself together to look more like a teenage girl’s. Long, blonde hair flowed out of its scalp, and shoes started to form on its feet out of thin air. A hoodie and jeans appeared, and it had successfully shapeshifted into a girl.
The man nodded in approval. “Well, it’s good to see that Beatrice made you stylish, I guess,” the man walked over to an open LCD screen on the containment unit. It started to flash green, indicating that the creature was released.
“Oh, I see it’s finally done it,” Beatrice entered back into the room. The creature turned to the sound of Beatrice’s voice, suddenly feeling more alert than ever.
She—if it was originally a she—felt more like a human.
And it felt… wonderful. Kind of. She still had to get used to it.
“Now, try it again.”
The girl’s eyes widened. “B-but… I just…” the man looked just as shocked as the girl was.
“Beatrice, she just learned how to do it in the first place! How are you going to challenge––”
Beatrice simply held her hand up to stop the man from continuing his statement.
“Look into my eyes. Look deep,” the creature stared into the strong woman’s pupils, feeling a strange essence from them. She felt meaner, scarier…
She started to start feeling more like Beatrice. Her hair slowly formed into the blond bun that Beatrice had, the boots and uniform she was wearing molded onto her body, and the facial features that Beatrice adorned were now hers. She then ambled up to the original Beatrice, who had a big smirk on her face.
“Impressive. I think I’ve outdone myself with this one. I didn’t need to code in the extra stuff. It’s just wrapped up in a little bow.” The creature then quickly altered back to the girl that she was before. She didn’t like the feeling of looking identical to someone who was being so cold-blooded to her.
“Alright, Beatrice, it knows how to do… whatever she’s doing. Why is she here?”
“Ohoho, you obviously weren’t listening earlier. She’s here to hunt down our little dog.” Beatrice then pulled out a small picture. It presented Dagger standing on a tree stump, looking out into an open field. His features weren’t clear, yet the tall things around his head stood out the most.
“You see this guy here, little girl?” Beatrice then proceeded to rip up the paper into smaller and smaller pieces, them falling to the ground like snow.
“I want him brought here. I don’t care how. Lure him, befriend him, I don’t care how. Alive. We need him here. Do you understand?”
“W-Why? I didn’t get to see him very clearly, but he didn’t seem to be hurting anybody.” Beatrice immediately bursted out laughing, even to the point where she slapped her hand on her knee. She grabbed her arm harshly and pulled the girl closer to her face.
“You can never tell if this thing has never hurt a human soul. He couldn’t have, sure, but there could also be the possibility where he has. But none of that matters.” Their noses were now touching. The girl began to feel a bit nervous, and drops of sweat were now making an appearance on her face.
“Not so tough now, hmm, darling? Follow these orders—or you will perish. Got it?” Beatrice pushed the girl away, causing her to stumble and fall backwards onto the floor once again.
“Good. Effective immediately.” She then turned to look at the man.
“You. You know what you have to do. Any questions from the both of you?” Without a word, the man left his corner to close the containment unit softly, putting the lock on it.
“I’ll call you if I have any questions,” he replied, sliding past her to go to the many rows of units. The girl remained staring at Beatrice, who then left behind the man. The girl stepped through the doorway of the room and put her hand on the doorknob, closing it gently. The man then grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, making her flinch.
“Hey, it’s OK. Don’t worry. All I wanted to say was good luck.” The girl smiled and nodded at him. The man held up two fingers to his eyes and then pointed them at hers.
“Keep a sharp eye out. Danger is everywhere.”
“I-I will try. What do I call you, by t-the way?” The man grinned.
“My name is Evan. And your name, my child, is Vanessa. Now go. Complete your mission. And you can always come back here if you need a break. I won’t tell Beatrice.” He winked, put something in her hands, and swung her out towards a door that led to the outside.
The outside world where Dagger shuffled about in search of his mother.
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