Walks And Talks

The prep work took nearly the whole day. There were many reasons behind this, the main one being that there was just so much work that had to be done. Even with everyone moving as fast as they could there was just barely enough time to finish it all.

Cleaning up the place and organizing the files, properly shutting down the numerous equipment used in the experiments, and getting the subjects out of their tubes and onto their feet. Many things had to be wrapped up and prepared before they could leave. Considering that they had only got this order at the last minute it was quite amazing that they managed to complete the process in one day. It was even more so when one considered how many files had to be organized and stashed away, over a few thousand pieces of paper carefully looked through and neatly stacked.

While everyone was running around trying to get things finished up, five scientists, namely Sam, Michael, and three old men named Bryan, Tax, and Stralen, were getting the children down from their assigned tubes. Each of them had agreed to take one child and raise it, though it was only after numerous arguments and a few rock-paper-scissor games that an agreement was finally met. Now, each of the kids stood, or rather sat, on the hard ground in almost literal rags as the adults tried to figure out who got which one. As each of the five was seen as nothing but objects, thats how they were treated, like pets the scientists were forced to own and take care of.

Even now they fought amongst themselves, four of them almost shouting at each other, acting totally unprofessional and childlike. Perhaps the only one not bickering with the others was Bryan, an old timely man with gray hair smoothed back in a rather odd hairstyle. Even as the arguing got louder and louder, his eyes never shifted from the sight in front of him. "Oi. I got a question for you two youngsters."

These few words caused the others to quiet down despite how loud they had been. It seemed that Bryan's voice had brought them back to their senses and allowed them to see what the old man himself was seeing. Their eyes widened and even some of the other men dashing by would slow down to look. The scene before them was quite amazing but inly if you understood the case involving the specimens.

"What would be the length of time that they spent on their feet?" Bryan asked, grey eyes moving to look at Sam and Michael.

Sam blinked once before answering. "Not even once. In order to ensure that they didnt escape via transport to the lab, each specimen was kept off their feet in order to reduce muscle growth. They should have trouble just standing, forget about walking. In their whole three years, no subject has even stood up on their own two feet."

Michael shook his head as he watched the unit codenamed Mako stand up on two shaky legs, the boy's rather long and wet tail waving back and forth. "Additionally, none of them have practiced how to walk. Regardless of muscle growth, even if they had the strength it would take some time for them to get used to stepping and balancing. Similar to riding a bike, it takes time. Whats happening now is just unprecedented."

Everyone watched as unit #98 eventually stood up straight, his legs shaking even less then before as he began to take steps forward. They were cautious and slow at first, as if each foot forward was just a test of his own balance, bright blue eyes focused on the ground in front of him. By the time a few minutes had rolled around, the young boy had almost mastered walking, even speeding up every now and then. It may not have seemed like a big deal, but considering the rather sizeable tail trailing behind the child, balancing himself became even harder and that much more amazing.

"Da hell did I just witness?" Sam muttered as she watched Mako walk around the room. "This kid is anime level smart. The next Shikamaru Nara!!"

"I don't know what you just said but I agree," Michael responded, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "With hardly any muscles like he has, it should have been nearly impossible for him to achieve that. Though he IS a successful hybrid so its only natural if you think about it."

(("No,")) Sam thought as she watched the young child walk back towards the other children. ((Even the rearrangement of his DNA shouldn't have altered his muscles to such a degree. At most it would only allow him to GAIN muscle much easier rather then to simply aquire it. The question is how FAST is the muscle gain for it to increase in mere minutes. If its that fast then maybe when he's older....he'll be One Punch Man?))

Sam was perplexed by the recent developments and habitually began to reach inside her coat for her pen. However she was beaten to it when Michael pulled out a clipboard and a red ballpoint pen, his hand rapidly scribbling across the sheet of paper attached to the board. No one even bothered to notice that the subject had went back to try and help up the other specimens from off the ground. It wasnt until every unit was up on their feet that people finally began paying attention again.

Tax, another old man around his mid to late seventies, let out a small laugh. "Look at that. Thats adorable. He's like a wolf watching over his pack. Giving them encouragement after showing them how its done."

That was in fact how it looked to Sam as the others began to attempt to stay standing on shaky legs. They weren't as fast as Mako had been, but slowly and surely they were able to stand straight up. Although they had trouble walking and had to have Mako give them a helping hand. Despite all of that, each of the subjects managed to rise to their feet. This was even after it was stated that it was nearly impossible for them.

The room was silent. It was only after someone cleared their throat that everyone snapped out of their trance. One by one, things resumed the previous hustle and bustle as everyone rushed to get things finished. The five scientists themselves once again tried to focus on the task at hand which was dispersing the subjects amongst each other. Though watching the subjects do something that was deemed impossible was indeed distracting, it quickly wore off as they began bickering once again.

"Human thought is so primitive that it's looked upon as an infectious disease in some of the better galaxies. That kinda makes you proud doesn't it?"

A clear voice, one that was sweet to listen to but also carried an air of calm, cut through not only the bickering but everything else as well. It got quiet so fast that it was bit eery. You could a pin drop as everyone's head turned to look at the subjects, wondering who had spoke. It was clear right from the start however as unit #98 stepped forward to look up at Sam who was now glancing down in shock. The child was so close that she could see the rather large wolf ears protruding bear the top of his head and the large, bright blue eyes gazing up at her.

"Thats from one of your cartoons right?" Mako asked. It was rather clear he was just repeating what he had heard, but that wasn't what caught her off guard. It was the fact that he heard the conversation even through layers of metal and the tube he was in.

Conflicting feeling rose up within the redhead as she watched the young boy take a step back, his tail swishing back and forth while his ears twitched every so often. She found him adorable but for some reason she could feel an air of calm intelligence emanating off of him in waves and it sort of scared her a little. From learning to walk in mere minutes and being able to hear from so far away despite the distance and things between them, she could tell his abilities were inhuman and that it was probably just the tip of the iceberg. She was both proud of her accomplishments in making this hybrid and afraid of what she had created.

Still, despite her worries and despite her indecision, she knelt down until she was face to face with the child, bright green meeting bright blue. "Its actually called anime. However the quote that you just said was from a movie called Men In Black."

"An-I-May?" The child sounded it out carefully, his eyes filled with curiosity. "Moo-Vee? What are those?"

A small but gentle laugh escaped Sam's lips, washing away all her earlier fears and worries along with it. She couldn't help but find this child downright cute. "How about I show you what it is? Would you like to come home with me?"

"Home? With you?" Mako's tail began to wag a bit faster, his ears perking up.

"Thats right." Sam nodded as she reached out and touched the top of the child head. "Me and you are friends now. My name is Samantha Carson but you can call me Sam."

"My name is unit #98." Mako smiled at the womans touch. It was easy to guess where he had heard his own number as nearly everyone said it when referring to the subjects. "But you can call me Mako."

"So thats that then?" Michael asked, interrupting the otherwise touching moment. "You'll take him with you? No questions asked? You do realize he's probably the most dangerous of them all, right?"

Sam stood up from her kneeling position and straightened her lab coat. "Thats PRECISELY the reason I'm taking him. I doubt any of you have the ability or know how to handle someone like Mako. As leader of Project Alpha, I'll take charge and raise him myself."

"Just dont come crying to one of us when it turns out you cant handle the responsibility." Michael walked up and put his hand on one of the youths shoulders. "I'll take this one. This specimen seems more then manageable."

The sounds of rapidly tapping feet was quickly followed by a strangled cry from Michael as he jerked his hand away from the subject. Blood could be seen dripping from his hand, his teeth grit in pain as he stared at Mako, the one who had ran over and sunk his teeth into him.