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[Commision] Experimentation
Commission for Axel1
Mako sat back in her chair as the computer did its thing, churning through the vastly complicated sequence she’d given it. It was funny how complex something like a genome could be - just four different base pairs, and yet she was sequencing well over 2 billion of them. The code of life itself, written out in front of her, authored by her in fact. She took off her glasses as it worked, pulling out a little cloth from her lab coat and cleaning the lenses with two fingers. It was something she did often, not out of necessity but rather as a way to avoid conversation, and like most habits formed from decades of repetition it had crept its way into other parts of her life. Nowadays it was something she hid behind, her natural shyness only exaggerating her taciturn nature. Being quiet did have its advantages though - Mako had something of a reputation, a brilliant mind when it came to genetics. Not only was she the head of this department, but she was also regarded as one of the forerunners of the technology being researched here. You wouldn’t think it if you saw her - glasses, mousy black hair, a lab coat ever so slightly too big and a demeanour that looked like she wanted to hide in the corner all added up to a very underwhelming impression. But underneath it all was a brilliant mind, one that came along perhaps once every hundred generations.
“You still calculating that thing?” This came from Lucy, another scientist peeking in at the door. She held up a sandwich, waving it through the air. “You know, for someone who knows everything about the body you forget the importance of a lunch break alarmingly often.”
Mako chuckled quietly - Lucy was often the only other scientist that could get any sort of reaction out of her. They’d known each other since before they came to work here, lab partners through school and beyond, and while they’d split up to follow different disciplines fate had landed them both in the same building. The pair of them made their way down to the canteen, where Lucy found them a table. She’d already grabbed a couple of sandwiches for them both so they didn’t have to wait in the queue, something Mako was very grateful for.
“So.” Lucy sprayed a few crumbs onto the table as she talked through a mouthful of bread and lettuce. “You gonna spill the beans on this secret project of yours? I’ve seen you working through the night on it.”
Mako sighed. “It’s not secret, just…difficult. I’m the only one with access to ELSARS, which means I have to be in the room while it’s calculating. Sometimes it takes a while.”
“Must be a hell of a calculation to keep a supercomputer going for hours at a time.” Lucy chuckled, taking another bite and prompting Mako to do the same. “What, you sequencing an entire genome or something?”
“More or less. I’m modifying a genome, but I have to make sure the changes don’t have any knock-on effects. Hence each time a change is made, I have to sequence and simulate the whole thing.” Mako replied, sitting back in her chair and taking another bite. Lucy looked almost sad upon hearing this.
“When was the last time you went home and got some sleep?”
Mako shrugged. “A week ago?”
Lucy just shook her at that. “Girl it’s no wonder you’re finding it hard. Look, I can supervise the calculation, you need to get some rest and come at it with a clear head.”
“But i’m not struggling, I just - “ Mako was cut off by Lucy putting a finger to her mouth.
“Nuh uh, doctor’s orders.”
“Having a doctorate doesn’t make you that kind of doctor”
“Yesssss it does.” Lucy grinned before putting the rest of her sandwich into her mouth. “Come on, you know I'm right.”
Mako sighed, but she knew that indeed her friend was right, she should be coming at this with a fresh mind. “Alright fine, I’ll run you through the current iteration. Just this once though.” She finished her sandwich and stood up, leading Lucy back to the lab. ELSARS was dormant, the calculation finished, and Mako sighed as she saw the readout.
“Conflicts?”
“It means the sequence is wrong. I’ve been trying to add certain base pairs without compromising the overall genome, but when you’re got 2 billion pairs it’s a little tricky.” Mako pulled her glasses off again, reaching into her pocket for the cloth. “I’ll set up the calculation, all you have to do is wait for it to finish and record what it says.”
“Sounds easy enough.” Lucy watched as Mako typed away, setting the parameters and eventually hitting the enter key. The supercomputer began to whir as it processed the instructions, and Mako nodded in satisfaction.
“That should do it. I’ll see you in the morning.” She went to leave, but stopped at the last second. “Oh, and thank you for this, I owe you one.”
“Don’t mention it.” Lucy gave her the thumbs up as Mako left the room.
*
The night wasn’t an easy one - Mako often brought her work home with her, which meant just leaving it all behind and forgetting everything was very difficult. She found herself constantly thinking about it, running the numbers in her head, and by the time the morning sun was creeping through the blinds in her apartment she had only had a few hours of sleep. With a check of her watch and a sigh she got up - it would have to do.
When she walked back into the lab she found Lucy sprawled across the desk, snoring away.
“Wuh. Wzzuh?” A quick poke to the side woke her up, and when she lifted her head Mako’s eyes widened. The screen showed no conflicts, a successful integration into the genome.
“No way.” Mako muttered under her breath, pushing Lucy to the side to get access to the keyboard. Sure enough, it had run its course and the genome was stable. Months and months of hard work, and she had finally managed to crack the code - it was right there, right at her fingertips.
“Lucy, thank you so much, you were right. All it took was a good night’s sleep.” Mako gave her friend the thumbs up, and while Lucy’s attempt at giving one back looked more like she was trying to wobble her elbow around, Mako appreciated the gesture nonetheless. She quickly shooed Lucy out, closing the door behind her and setting up a video camera that was waiting for this exact moment in the corner of the room. Once the tripod was set up she turned back to the computer and began the process of translating her creation into something she could actually use. It involved using a virus that she had cultivated herself, one that would allow for an accurate alteration if the numerous tests she’d conducted were anything to go by. There would be no issues with the mechanism, but the genome itself was another story. Something this complex couldn’t be tested on animals, there wasn’t anything close enough genetically to her to allow for accurate results. No, the only way was using herself as the test subject, injecting it into her body and hoping that her maths wasn’t wrong. Then again it was never wrong, but there was a first time for everything.
She watched the synthesiser generate a vial of ugly grey liquid, almost jumping around in anticipation of the finished product, and when it was done she pulled it out and held it up to the light. She almost felt like shouting eureka or something, but in the end as always her shyness won out and she refrained from doing so. Instead she tapped her fingers impatiently as she checked the composition of the vial, leaving nothing to chance. After all she wasn’t going to inject herself with it without making absolutely sure it wasn’t going to do anything bad. Finally though she’d exhausted all her checks, which meant it was time.
“Ahem.” Mako coughed as she turned on the camera, somehow still nervous despite there being nobody else in the lab. “My name is Mako, and this is a video diary of the results of Project Ansac. After several months of work I have finally produced a sample that passess all the tests, however the genome is too complex to test on anything less than a human. As such I will be the test subject, and these videos will serve as a way to record results should anything I haven’t planned for happen.” Mako looked at the vial for a second before loading it into a syringe gun that she had nearby. “We’ll start with an even spread, three separate sites in order to maximise the spread as much as possible. With luck that should lead to a quicker effect.” She winced as she injected into the first spot - the serum felt like thick mud languidly flowing through her veins, a thoroughly unpleasant sensation that she did not enjoy one bit. The other two injections weren’t much better, both of them accompanied by similar feelings of thick soup in her blood, but when the sensation faded she felt…strange.
“Initial reaction is minimal, only change is an increase in dizziness and nausea. Something else too, can’t quite describe it but it feels…the world is brighter, everything is more vivid, like I'm taking in more information than I should be.” Her stomach rumbled, and with a start she realised she was absolutely starving - a big contrast to how she had been literally seconds ago. “Increased hunger too, although I can’t say if that is a cause or simply the result of me not eating breakfast. Either way it isn't much of an indicator, we’ll need to wait a while to see any effects, so catch up with you all in a week or so.” With a grin she shut off the camera and pulled out the memory card, sticking it in her pocket to process later. That same grin stayed on her face as she walked out - she was going to enjoy the next week or so.
*
Now Mako was many things, but above all she was careful. This was a fully thought out scientific study, and she was determined to treat it as such. Whilst she was obviously excited to see the results she hoped, she made sure that any changes were documented and recorded right from day 1. There was nothing of note the very first day, although she did write down a feeling of great energy, like she was ready to run a marathon or something similar. It wasn’t a physical change as such, and she really couldn’t tell if it was due to the modified genome or instead just born out of her own excitement, so while it was noted down it wasn’t actioned upon. She went about her day simply feeling better than normal, talking with other scientists and generally being more outspoken. Theoretically there should have been no psychological changes, but Mako didn’t rule them out entirely - when making such sweeping physiological changes there was bound to be some overlap with other systems within the body.
It wasn’t until the second day that she really felt some of the changes. She woke up and could immediately tell that something was different, mostly because her pyjamas felt a little bit too small. Unless she’d put them in the wash recently - and she hadn’t - she was definitely getting larger, and by a significant amount too. Her stomach rumbled as she got up, and when she got to her feet she almost fell over - her feet hit the ground before she was expecting them to, and it threw her off a little. She went over to the mirror and her eyes widened when she saw the changes: her once rake-thin form had a litheness to it, little swells of muscle springing up all around her body. She was at least a couple of inches taller, although she’d need to do some proper measurements to make sure, and slightly…she didn’t really know how to put it. Exaggerated? It looked like all the curves on her body had been accentuated, the gaps between them deepened. It was hard to put an exact name on it, but she was definitely a fan of it. She looked like an athlete, albeit a relatively small one still.
After clearing her entire fridge of food for breakfast she proceeded into the lab. Lucy was there to meet her at the door, and Mako couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the reaction she got from her friend.
“Damn girl, you looking mighty fine!” Lucy grinned as Mako blushed a bright red, although she didn’t brush off the compliment like she normally did. “Emphasis on the mighty.”
“The genome focused on increased strength, I didn’t plan for that much muscle growth but I suppose it's unavoidable.”
“Uh huh, yeah that’s a real shame.” Lucy chuckled sarcastically as she felt Mako’s arms, running her fingers along the biceps and pressing down slightly to test the hardness. “Still, you were normal yesterday. This much growth this fast must have some sort of trade-off.”
“None that i’ve found so far, unless you count eating a metric ton of food this morning.” Mako shrugged as she went inside, walking to her lab and trying her best to ignore the stares coming from the other scientists. “I’ll be able to determine properly after some tests, but I know it’s working as intended. I feel fine, hell I feel great!” Mako smiled, not her typical nervous curling of the lips, but rather a genuine, joyous grin.
“Better safe than sorry.”
“Yes, of course.” Mako pushed open the door to her lab, where the supercomputer was humming away quietly in the background. She pulled up the screen, reaching to the side and grabbing a scalpel. A prick on the end of one finger allowed her to collect some blood, and she deposited it in a little tray before pushing it into a slot underneath the desk. The screen lit up with chemical compositions, showing the basic makeup of the stuff while it churned away sequencing the genome.
“Looks fine.” Mako noted a few of the variables were a little strange, though still within normal levels. The genome had definitely made some changes to her endocrine system, there were large quantities of some strange hormones floating in her blood, but she assumed that was what was inducing the physical changes and doing it so quickly. After a few seconds the genome was identified, and sure enough it was the modified one. “No mutations either. So far so good.”
“What’s the rate of growth?” Lucy looked around the lab for a second before going to the corner and opening some drawers, digging through until she came up with a tape measure. “Won’t be accurate yet but we should start plotting it as soon as possible.”
“Good idea, let me just get a video update first.” Mako went over to her camera, sitting in the chair and straightening herself out before switching it on. “Project Ansac, video diary 1, day 2. Subject has been modified for 24 hours, changes have already begun. Increases in muscle mass and height are noticeable, too early to define how much but significant enough to be noticeable to the naked eye. Blood composition is stable, high levels of somatotropin are likely what’s leading to the rapid growth. Unusually high levels of cortisol are present too, reason is unknown for the time being. Measurements taken at 09:00 will be attached to the file for record keeping.” She reached forwards and switched it off, but something stuck with her, something that caused her to turn to Lucy and ask: “Why the cortisol, do you think?”
“Well, are you stressed?”
“No. I don’t think so anyway.”
“Chances are it's messing with your mood. No offence but you’re usually a lot…quieter. Maybe this is why you’re more outgoing now.”
Mako frowned. “That wasn’t an intended purpose, maybe some production overlapped with something else?”
“Who knows. When you make a change on this scale there’s always going to be a few wrinkles. Now come here.” Lucy gestured with the tape measure and Mako dutifully walked over, holding her arms out to the side. She held still as Lucy went all around her, wielding the tape measure with the finesse of an expert tailor as she took all the relevant measurements, writing them down on her phone using a text to speech app so she could take notes while still holding the tape.
“Well you’re definitely bigger. Main change is height, you’ve gone from 5’6 to 5’8 which is a sizable jump considering you’re thicker rather than thinner. Few inches of circumference on arms, larger jump on thighs. You’ve gone up about half a bust size as well by my guess.”
“I didn’t feel that one.” Mako looked down, trying to bounce a little bit to get a feel for the new size.
“Yeah, probably cause you’ve got back muscles like an ox. A small one.” Lucy chuckled as she watched Mako try to get her hand back there to feel. “I’d wait for a mirror to check those bad boys out, but safe to say you’ve got enough leverage to deal with the extra weight. It’s no wonder you didn’t notice it, you could go up a few sizes more and still feel the same.”
Mako took the phone off Lucy, using it as a reference to type up the measurements and attach them to the video file. It was odd writing them down like that, as if she was writing about someone else - it really brought home the level of change, how she was practically transforming into someone else. It was still her, just…another version of her. A better version.
“The first trial was only a small one, unless we continue the trial these effects will be temporary.” Mako looked down at herself as she talked, just admiring the new shapes. “I don’t see a reason not to keep going.”
Lucy looked a little worried at that - she’d never seen her friend so confident in anything, let alone injecting herself with something potentially dangerous. “I just think we should wait one more day, just in case.” she said at length.
“Fine. One more day, and if it’s all fine then we’re going full steam ahead.”
“Sounds good to me.”
*
The change when she woke up on the second morning was nowhere near the level of the first one, but it was still noticeable. Her clothes were slightly more tight-fitting than before, her body actually a little bit sore here and there, presumably from the rapid changes. When she looked in the mirror again she could see the height difference, the muscularity that hadn’t been there before - it was intoxicating seeing the speed of the changes, and she had to admit she was enjoying it.
Walking into the office she got the same stares as yesterday, but this time she didn’t shy away from them so much. After all, this was her triumph now, her scientific achievement; why shouldn’t she enjoy it and all the benefits that came with it? When she entered the lab Lucy was already waiting for her, looking a lot better than yesterday.
“Well, I guess we don’t need to ask the question then do we?” She grinned as Mako flexed a little bit, letting the muscle in her arms speak for itself.
“I figured we should at least test the strength increase, get a measure of where I’m at now so we can measure out the next dose more accurately.” She walked over to the far corner of the lab, where there was what looked like a single excessively thick dumbbell. She spun a dial on the side of the weight, and a small readout showed a number - 30kg. With a faint grunt she hauled it up, taking the weight and doing a quick rep before putting it back on the floor again.
“Hahhh…oh wow that felt good. Hooh.” Mako flexed again, harder this time, enjoying the feeling of tightness, the feeling of power. She twirled the dial until it said 60kg, and this time while she struggled to lift it off the floor after a few seconds of straining she managed it. It didn’t last long, but when she dropped it she felt elated. She couldn’t believe how good it felt to be like this, and all she could think about was more, more strength, more muscle, more power. She would do anything to have it, anything at all.
“Considering you couldn’t lift a straw at the start of this, I'd consider that a success.” Lucy chuckled as she went over to the supercomputer and typed in a few numbers. The formula was already pre-saved in the system, she just needed to redo the last command and sure enough the synthesiser hummed to life, filling a fresh vial with Mako’s hopes and dreams. Mako almost didn’t wait for the thing to finish filling before snatching it up, going straight over to the video camera.
“Project Ansac, day 2. Initial serum has run its course, I’m showing increases in strength and stamina, increased mental fortitude.” She tilted her head for a second. “Possible changes in emotional stimulus, I’m finding new things enjoyable that I didn’t before. Arguably resulting from alterations to the serotonin receptors, but cannot confirm yet. We’re upping the dose, double the previous injection, and this time ingesting orally to see if the method of delivery is relevant. In theory it shouldn’t matter, and this is easier regardless.” Mako lifted the vial and tipped it down her throat, wincing at the vile taste. “Video will be updated once the changes have taken place.” She shut down the camera and again flexed, just admiring herself for a second before standing up. Her confidence was growing just as fast as her body, but Lucy was worried for Mako. She knew from experience that inducing change of this level didn’t come for free - so far the side effects hadn't shown themselves, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there, hiding underneath. She would have to watch her friend very carefully.
*
The moment Mako opened her eyes the next day she could feel the difference. The growth before had been minimal, more a case of reshaping what was already there and adding extra firmness to it. This time the increased dose had actually added mass onto her frame, slabs of muscle that rippled along her arms and torso as she sat up. It felt…strange, like she was wearing something over her body and it was restricting her movement a little, pulling her limbs in directions they normally had no trouble moving through. What got her most was the feeling of weight, of there being more of her to work with. She expected to feel slower than before but it was the opposite, all that size came with the strength to back it up so paradoxically she felt light at the same time.
“Huh. Weird.” She did a double take at her voice, which was slightly lower and sporting a rather husky, sultry tone to it now. You couldn’t pack on this much size without some other changes she reasoned, but even so she was looking down at herself and wondering what else was different. Or rather, she was trying to - the one thing stopping her from taking notes was the absolutely ravenous hunger curling through her body. She felt like she hadn’t eaten for a week, and she knew from yesterday that her fridge was completely devoid of food after her last binge. She resolved to go grab something from a nearby cafe, but before that there was an even more pressing matter to attend to - her clothing. Her lab coat didn’t fit anymore, partially due to the muscle making her several times thicker than before, and partially due to the increase in cup size making the front of her coat completely useless. She did have a long coat that she could use for the time being, but for now she was forced to squeeze herself into some very ill-fitting clothes. The shirt she chose had once been loose, but now it looked like she was about to rip it to pieces with nothing more than a simple flex - she was tempted to test that theory, but with nothing else decent to wear she figured that was better done when she had alternatives. As for the bottom half she found a skirt that got the job done, but it did look a little strange considering her arms were muscular enough to be noticeable even through the sleeves of her shirt. The long coat helped, but she was still getting plenty of looks as she walked outside and down the street.
There were some stores not too far from her house, including a clothes store that thankfully stocked some larger sizes, and as she walked in she thought about the kind of stuff she actually wanted to wear. She was so used to the lab coat, but someone of her tenure could pretty much wear what they wanted, meaning she had the option to pick out something new, something she wouldn’t normally go for. Her gut told her to show off her body, to get something revealing in all the right places, and after some deliberation she picked out a tank top in an appealing white and green, along with some cargo shorts that looked baggy enough to fit comfortably. She took them all to the changing room, and only when she’d closed the door did she look in the mirror. God the shirt was awful, she never wanted to see it again after today. She looked around - nobody else in the other rooms, the store attendant waiting politely outside of view. She turned to the mirror, and with a grin flexed as hard as she could.
SCHRRRIP
The shirt practically exploded off her, torn to pieces as her arms and shoulders shredded through it like paper, little tatters of fabric floating to the ground.
“Ffffffuuuuck that feels good!” She chuckled as she saw her body again in the mirror, the strength coursing through her limbs, the sheer intimidating presence she now possessed. Exerting that strength was almost orgasmic, like she was becoming a true beast, becoming at one with her own flesh and blood. Having disposed of the shirt she put the new one on, noting how those impressive arms were very noticeable with a satisfied nod. The cargo shorts were also a good fit, and just as she thought complemented the top nicely. Her outfit sorted she walked out of the changing room, and immediately the attendant noticed her and had to hide his nervousness. It was strange, this mixture of beauty and strength, but damn if she didn’t like it. Seeing the reactions of everyone around her, watching their eyes widen as they saw her body and her confidence, striding through the place like she owned it - they all wished they could be her, secretly. She knew because she’d been in their position not too long ago, and the perspective allowed her to see it clearly.
It wasn’t until she checked her phone that she remembered that this was actually supposed to be documented, and that this should really have been done in the lab rather than out here. With a quick glance at the time and a grimace, she hurried over to pay for her clothes, left the checkout girl with wide eyes and a longing stare, and hurried back to the lab.
By the time she arrived she was almost an hour later than normal, although since she wasn’t exactly contracted technically she could choose her starting hours. That being said turning up late was very much out of character for her, and when they saw her walking towards her lab in a tank top looking like she’d been working out for a couple of years straight they had zero idea what was going on. Mako’s research was well known by this point but this sort of thing took decades to effect change, not mere days. Mako meanwhile was just happy to take in all the stares, striding to her lab and throwing open the door.
“Finally, I’ve been waiting for - holy shit.” Lucy’s jaw hit the floor as she saw Mako walk in, the words faltering in her mouth.
“I know right?” Mako chuckled as she gave a quick flex, the tank top letting her show off her guns to their maximum size. “We need to do some strength testing, I’m pretty sure the relative increase isn’t linear. And get me a sandwich or something, I'm starving.” She waved Lucy off, who dutifully went to get something from the canteen, and went over to the weights she had been using just yesterday. The one she struggled with was right there, the dial set to 50kg, and when she went to pick it up she was shocked at how easy it was. It didn’t feel real, like she was lifting a foam replica or something. She changed the dial on the thing, cranking it up to 60kg, then 70, then 80. Each felt a little harder but still doable, and it wasn’t until she got to 100 that she began to struggle again. 100 was a ridiculous amount to lift, especially with the one hand like she was doing right now, and just holding it in the air made her arms swell outwards. She dropped it with a loud clang, going over to the video camera and switching it on.
“Project Ansac, day 3. Dosage has been upped to double the previous amount, corresponding changes are not linear but instead exponential based on the data available.” She paused and gave a quick flex, holding her arm in front of the camera and tensing. “Observe increased muscle mass, high density by the feel and level of strength exhibited. Mental state is really fucking good. Ahem. Mental state is good, personality shift is larger than anticipated, from introverted to confident. Still unknown cause of that.”
“Got you a bacon and egg triple, figured you’d want quantity over quality.” This came from Lucy, who had returned holding a thick sandwich in her hands, and Mako quickly grabbed it from her and began devouring it on the spot. She shoved it into her mouth so fast that it barely lasted a few seconds, absolutely demolishing the thing.
“Note, side effects are more severe. Increased hunger remains the primary one, secondary effects have yet to be identified. Mmmph.” Mako finished swallowing the sandwich, wiping her mouth with one arm. “Doesn’t abate with food either. Feels like I'm swallowing nothing at all.”
Lucy didn’t even need to hear the words, she was already leaving to go to the canteen again. Mako heard the door close and sighed in relief - the hunger really was getting unbearable.
“Hopefully we can find a way to - — manage the….” Mako blinked. She could have sworn she was sitting at the desk in front of the camera, but right now she was facing the ceiling, her back on the floor. She didn’t remember lying down - hell, the last thing in her memory was the camera, and then….nothing. It was like there was a jump cut, as if someone had removed a section from her memory. She looked around and her eyes widened as she saw the state of her lab – it was destroyed, equipment strewn everywhere and some of it broken beyond repair. Thankfully the computer was alright, although the camera had been destroyed completely, little more than a sparking pulp of wires sitting on the desk.
“Hey, they didn’t have any bacon ones so I picked up a couple of…ham….” Lucy trailed off as she entered the lab and saw the state of it, along with Mako sitting in the epicentre of it all. “Uhhhh, are you okay?”
“I think so.” Mako got to her feet, noticing immediately that she felt…good. The little muscle aches that she’d gotten used to were all gone, the pains in her joints cured completely. She could move around a bit better too, and while she initially put that down to the changes it was actually because her clothes were completely torn apart. It looked like they had been ripped apart from the inside, as if something had slowly built up in between the seams before inexorably shearing them completely. Luckily she had a couple spare outfits in the lab in case of emergencies, and while they were a little tight they would do for the time being.
“You still want this?” Lucy held up the sandwich, which Mako took gratefully. Even as she took a bite though she realised that gnawing hunger she’d grown accustomed too was greatly diminished. She felt sated, and yet she had barely eaten enough today. Instead of completely demolishing the sandwich she ate it normally, savouring it. It was strange to think of that as a symptom of something, but Mako was a scientist at heart. Blackout followed by destroyed lab, followed by certain symptoms decreasing - something was up, and she had to know what.
“Look, I’ve got an idea on what to do, but the last thing I need is for someone to walk in here and shut it down cause of all of…this.” She gestured to the mess, and Lucy nodded.
“Fine, but you owe me janitor work next time I blow up the lab.”
“Deal.” Mako went over to the camera, just in case she could salvage the memory, but as she feared it was torn to pieces - when she finally got the memory chip out it was just a pile of shrapnel being poured onto the table. “Oh, and see if you can’t get hold of a new camera. I think I know what we’re doing tomorrow and we’re gonna need it.” With that she strode out the room.
*
That evening Mako was careful with what she ate. She’d since been shopping so her fridge was jam packed with food, but she made sure not to eat too much. The aim was to keep herself hungry overnight, as a sort of experiment more than anything else. She had a feeling hunger was one of the triggers, and tonight would confirm it. Doing it was much easier said than done though - as she laid in bed she felt like her stomach was going to cave in, like there was a chasm inside her eating from the inside. It was almost impossible to get to sleep, but somehow despite everything she managed it.
When she woke up though she immediately knew things were serious. Her room wasn’t just destroyed, it was absolutely obliterated. There were huge claw marks everywhere, including (worryingly) several hacked into the ceiling. Her furniture was all messed up, her bed had been snapped through, and when she sat up she realised the loose fitting pyjamas she’d gone to bed in had been torn to ribbons, and she was buck naked lying in a pile of destroyed clothing. Admittedly she looked damn good naked - hell, she looked better than yesterday. Looking in the mirror she could have sworn there was more definition around her shoulders and upper body, like she was maturing into…what exactly?? She wasn’t sure, only that whatever it was it was big and destructive. She had to know the truth, and that meant today was going to be a very long day. She wandered down to the kitchen, and once again realised when she opened the fridge that the hunger had abated. No, not quite - it had gone completely. She felt sated, normal - as if whatever had happened last night had fixed the imbalance in her body, if only temporarily. Regardless she knew this wouldn’t last long, so she still ate as much as she could, just to stave off the inevitable return of that hunger. With new clothes and feeling better than ever, she set off for the lab.
*
Considering the past few days Lucy had thought she couldn’t be surprised anymore, but seeing Mako somehow impossibly even bigger than before proved that to be a false assumption. The once miniscule scientist was now 6’8 and built like an absolute tank, muscle swelling across every visible limb and lending her a formidable appearance. The difference between before and now was inconceivable, it was hard to believe they were the same person.
Mako on the other hand had little interest in admiring herself - she’d done plenty of that in the last few days, and now the first issue was finally rearing its head. She’d expected some sort of hiccup - it was a new technology after all - but the scale of the results had thus far taken her mind off it. Now she was going to do a proper test, and her method of doing so was…extreme. Several floors underneath the laboratory was the blast cube, a small room made of glass thick enough to withstand nothing short of a sizeable bomb. It was built as a testing chamber for some of the more volatile experiments, and Mako had decided it would be the perfect place to test her theory. She led Lucy down there, waving away the security guards that took a few seconds to recognise her before letting her through.
“Welcome to the monster lab.” Mako chuckled as she walked into the room. For an underground room it was airy and well lit, and in the middle of it was that glass cube. The inside of the glass was scratched and worn, but even Lucy could see it was several feet thick and reinforced all around. Cameras pointed from every corner of the room, something Mako had planned on. “As of yesterday I’ve been experiencing blackouts, sections of my memory are going missing. I think it’s got something to do with the hunger, I believe that it’s triggering the episodes.”
“You’re not sure though, are you?” Lucy was realising why they were here, remembering the destroyed lab from yesterday and putting 2 and 2 together.
“Nope, that’s why we’re gonna find out together. I’m gonna sit in this glass box without food until I have a blackout, and you’re gonna record what happens.” Mako chuckled as she pulled out a book from her lab coat pocket. “Don’t worry about me, I’ve cleared my schedule for today and I’ve brought some entertainment. The only condition is you cannot open the cube until a blackout occurs, and you cannot allow me any food on the buildup to one, no matter how much I beg. Understood?”
“This is crazy, are you sure there isn’t a better way to figure this out?” Lucy looked hesitant as Mako walked over the box, pulling the glass door shut behind her. It sealed with a hermetic hiss, the air pipes feeding into the box engaging as they began to circulate the air. Lucy grabbed the headset by the box, Mako putting a similar one on so they could communicate. “Those blackouts could be anything, they could be tachycardia for all you know, and you’re going to willingly induce one?”
“Quickest way to find out. Besides, we’ve got some defibrillators somewhere upstairs.” Mako chuckled, her voice a little crackly but still audible.
For the next few hours, Mako willingly put herself through what felt like torture. Despite what she had previously thought her willpower was a lot stronger than before, and not once did she crack and beg for food. It became increasingly difficult to concentrate on the book though due to the hunger, which felt like a rabid animal clawing out her insides. It was as if it were some sort of living thing, growing more powerful by the second, consuming her from the inside out. It wasn’t until she thought she was going to implode that something began to happen.
“Unghh, I feel weird.” Mako put a hand to her head and winced as something pierced her skin. She pulled it away and her eyes widened as she saw claws where her nails had once been. Her hand looked…bigger, thicker all around, and as she watched that thickness seemed to spread down her arm, the flesh swelling into something else. “Swelling in the hand, skin looks like it’s hardening. Effect is spreading down the arm.” That was the last lucid thought she had before a wave of euphoric growth hit her like a truck, and the last thing she remembered was moaning in ecstasy before collapsing to the floor. What followed sounded anything but pleasurable - Lucy listened in horror at the discordant symphony of cracks as her bones reshaped, many of them simply snapping as a new form was born, one that was three times as large as Mako’s normal size. It was mixed with the sound of her clothes ripping apart, the fabric holding out for all of half a second before muscle and sinew parted it with ease, fabric flying everywhere as the cloth was replaced with what looked like rock instead of skin. The hardening skin was easier to see once it had spread, and Lucy realised it was actually something closer to scales, almost like that of a lizard but not as rough, flowing over more easily. And the size - Mako’s body exploded with solid muscle, hundreds of pounds of strength packing itself into her frame and expanding it outwards over and over again, growing beyond the realms of mortal power and into the domain of the supernatural.
By the time the transformation had finished Mako was gone, and in her place was…Lucy didn’t know what it was. It looked like a cross between a shark and godzilla, a massive beast of insane proportions and equally insane strength, so large it almost broke out the box entirely.
“Mako? You still in there?” Judging by the snarls it wasn’t likely, but something told Lucy to persevere, and so she slowly approached the glass. The creature looked at her like she was a snack rather than a colleague, and Lucy had to suppress the instinctive, almost primal fear that bubbled through her body as she walked forward. Slowly, shakily, she placed a hand against the glass.
“I know you’re in there somewhere. You said these are your blackout moments but I think that’s just to mask the trauma. You have to try to open your eyes, open your mind.” Lucy kept her hand there, watching as the beast’s eyes stared into her soul, watching as clarity slowly began to light up those pupils. The creature’s eyes were slitted, a vibrant green and yellow mix that was utterly alien, but somehow they seemed to twinkle with understanding. It lifted a clawed hand and placed it against Lucy’s, slowly and deliberately, and when Lucy looked up and saw it attempting to smile at her she knew her colleague was back.
“Oh thank god.” She breathed a sigh of relief, sinking back into her chair. “Well this is going to take some explaining.”
“Grarghfgrrrrghf….ghrrrrrghf…rghhhhh…heghrrrr…..helllllooooo……hello.” It might have been Mako’s mind in there but she was having trouble speaking - not surprising considering she was sporting teeth that looked like they were meant to bite through concrete. “Frrrghh….frrrgghhhh…” She paused, and Lucy almost laughed at the confused look. “Fghhhhoooooooo…”
“Food?” Upon hearing this Mako nodded, not wanting to speak more than necessary. “Alright I’ll get you something. A sandwich I guess.”
“Rgh.”
“Two sandwiches.”
“Rrrrrgh.”
“Five?” Lucy chuckled as Mako gave her a thumbs up.
Five sandwiches later Mako was back to normal, still munching on the last of the fifth one and picking through the memories in her head. “I had it the wrong way round, I thought the hunger was a symptom of the growth, but it’s not. It’s the driving factor, the reason I’m growing in the first place.”
“How?”
“Mph.” Mako stuffed the last of her sandwich into her mouth. “The genome modification used several sources, one of which was Kaiju DNA. Essentially old me is the start, and what you just saw was the end. I’m balancing in the middle somewhere, my DNA is teetering right on the precipice. Too much to one side, and…well, you saw that.” Mako gestured to the remains of her clothes, which were strewn all across the floor. Lucy was so used to seeing her naked by this point that it didn’t even faze her. “The hunger is the measuring stick so to speak, when it’s too much then I tip over to the kaiju side, but as long as I manage it then I stay in this form.”
“So what, you just have a lot of snacks throughout the day?” Lucy chuckled. “Oh the horror of eating all the time and keeping the body of a world class athlete.”
“Yeah yeah. Still, I don’t think food covers every angle. I’m willing to bet there’s a mutation factor that’s reset by the change, but I’ll need to do some bloodwork to make sure.”
Lucy grinned. “Well you picked the right place for it.” She went over to the table and grabbed a syringe, flicking it a few times to make sure there were no air bubbles. “Let’s get to work.”
*
The next few weeks felt like something out of a dream. At first Mako was locked into the cycle of human and monster, uncontrollably switching between the two at seemingly random times and going through brief periods of respite from the symptoms whenever she did, but with understanding came a realisation of where those symptoms came from. Her initial assumption was still correct, the hunger was the indicator of the change, but what she didn’t realise until later was that human was no longer her natural form. The reason she felt so bad was because she was compressing her monstrous form into a small, comparatively weak human one, and that kind of compression had side effects. It was a bit like squashing oneself into a suitcase for hours on end - at some point things are going to cramp, and to relieve it you’ll have to stretch everything for a bit. Mako’s monster form was a lot like that - letting it out relieved the hunger for a while, and the longer she stayed transformed the longer the hunger was relieved for, up to a limit.
She had done some testing in said monster form as well, and the results were…interesting, to say the least. In terms of strength she didn’t even know where her limit was - she’d stopped trying after hurling a dump truck across an entire city block with ease, launching it like it was a baseball rather than a hundred tons of metal. Initially she struggled to remember those periods, almost as if it were someone else rather than an alternate version of herself, but with practice she grew more and more lucid during the transformations. Perhaps most interestingly she found out almost by accident that her diet had an effect on the transformation too: depending on what she ate her monster form changed, sometimes slightly and sometimes drastically. In particular eating any kind of fish made her significantly larger, with an increase in strength to boot. She’d experimented with it by eating as much fish as she could stomach in a day, and when she let the transformation out it was on another level entirely. She was basically the size of a building, each step shaking the ground and leaving huge claw-shaped craters in the concrete, and while it was really REALLY cool to be this large it wasn’t exactly practical. That didn’t stop her from modifying her diet to include more fish in general though - the extra strength just felt too good to pass up. She didn’t think of it as a curse anymore, as something to manage. No, this was her blessing, this was what she was meant to be. The woman and the monster, hand in claw.
She’d never been happier.
Mako sat back in her chair as the computer did its thing, churning through the vastly complicated sequence she’d given it. It was funny how complex something like a genome could be - just four different base pairs, and yet she was sequencing well over 2 billion of them. The code of life itself, written out in front of her, authored by her in fact. She took off her glasses as it worked, pulling out a little cloth from her lab coat and cleaning the lenses with two fingers. It was something she did often, not out of necessity but rather as a way to avoid conversation, and like most habits formed from decades of repetition it had crept its way into other parts of her life. Nowadays it was something she hid behind, her natural shyness only exaggerating her taciturn nature. Being quiet did have its advantages though - Mako had something of a reputation, a brilliant mind when it came to genetics. Not only was she the head of this department, but she was also regarded as one of the forerunners of the technology being researched here. You wouldn’t think it if you saw her - glasses, mousy black hair, a lab coat ever so slightly too big and a demeanour that looked like she wanted to hide in the corner all added up to a very underwhelming impression. But underneath it all was a brilliant mind, one that came along perhaps once every hundred generations.
“You still calculating that thing?” This came from Lucy, another scientist peeking in at the door. She held up a sandwich, waving it through the air. “You know, for someone who knows everything about the body you forget the importance of a lunch break alarmingly often.”
Mako chuckled quietly - Lucy was often the only other scientist that could get any sort of reaction out of her. They’d known each other since before they came to work here, lab partners through school and beyond, and while they’d split up to follow different disciplines fate had landed them both in the same building. The pair of them made their way down to the canteen, where Lucy found them a table. She’d already grabbed a couple of sandwiches for them both so they didn’t have to wait in the queue, something Mako was very grateful for.
“So.” Lucy sprayed a few crumbs onto the table as she talked through a mouthful of bread and lettuce. “You gonna spill the beans on this secret project of yours? I’ve seen you working through the night on it.”
Mako sighed. “It’s not secret, just…difficult. I’m the only one with access to ELSARS, which means I have to be in the room while it’s calculating. Sometimes it takes a while.”
“Must be a hell of a calculation to keep a supercomputer going for hours at a time.” Lucy chuckled, taking another bite and prompting Mako to do the same. “What, you sequencing an entire genome or something?”
“More or less. I’m modifying a genome, but I have to make sure the changes don’t have any knock-on effects. Hence each time a change is made, I have to sequence and simulate the whole thing.” Mako replied, sitting back in her chair and taking another bite. Lucy looked almost sad upon hearing this.
“When was the last time you went home and got some sleep?”
Mako shrugged. “A week ago?”
Lucy just shook her at that. “Girl it’s no wonder you’re finding it hard. Look, I can supervise the calculation, you need to get some rest and come at it with a clear head.”
“But i’m not struggling, I just - “ Mako was cut off by Lucy putting a finger to her mouth.
“Nuh uh, doctor’s orders.”
“Having a doctorate doesn’t make you that kind of doctor”
“Yesssss it does.” Lucy grinned before putting the rest of her sandwich into her mouth. “Come on, you know I'm right.”
Mako sighed, but she knew that indeed her friend was right, she should be coming at this with a fresh mind. “Alright fine, I’ll run you through the current iteration. Just this once though.” She finished her sandwich and stood up, leading Lucy back to the lab. ELSARS was dormant, the calculation finished, and Mako sighed as she saw the readout.
“Conflicts?”
“It means the sequence is wrong. I’ve been trying to add certain base pairs without compromising the overall genome, but when you’re got 2 billion pairs it’s a little tricky.” Mako pulled her glasses off again, reaching into her pocket for the cloth. “I’ll set up the calculation, all you have to do is wait for it to finish and record what it says.”
“Sounds easy enough.” Lucy watched as Mako typed away, setting the parameters and eventually hitting the enter key. The supercomputer began to whir as it processed the instructions, and Mako nodded in satisfaction.
“That should do it. I’ll see you in the morning.” She went to leave, but stopped at the last second. “Oh, and thank you for this, I owe you one.”
“Don’t mention it.” Lucy gave her the thumbs up as Mako left the room.
*
The night wasn’t an easy one - Mako often brought her work home with her, which meant just leaving it all behind and forgetting everything was very difficult. She found herself constantly thinking about it, running the numbers in her head, and by the time the morning sun was creeping through the blinds in her apartment she had only had a few hours of sleep. With a check of her watch and a sigh she got up - it would have to do.
When she walked back into the lab she found Lucy sprawled across the desk, snoring away.
“Wuh. Wzzuh?” A quick poke to the side woke her up, and when she lifted her head Mako’s eyes widened. The screen showed no conflicts, a successful integration into the genome.
“No way.” Mako muttered under her breath, pushing Lucy to the side to get access to the keyboard. Sure enough, it had run its course and the genome was stable. Months and months of hard work, and she had finally managed to crack the code - it was right there, right at her fingertips.
“Lucy, thank you so much, you were right. All it took was a good night’s sleep.” Mako gave her friend the thumbs up, and while Lucy’s attempt at giving one back looked more like she was trying to wobble her elbow around, Mako appreciated the gesture nonetheless. She quickly shooed Lucy out, closing the door behind her and setting up a video camera that was waiting for this exact moment in the corner of the room. Once the tripod was set up she turned back to the computer and began the process of translating her creation into something she could actually use. It involved using a virus that she had cultivated herself, one that would allow for an accurate alteration if the numerous tests she’d conducted were anything to go by. There would be no issues with the mechanism, but the genome itself was another story. Something this complex couldn’t be tested on animals, there wasn’t anything close enough genetically to her to allow for accurate results. No, the only way was using herself as the test subject, injecting it into her body and hoping that her maths wasn’t wrong. Then again it was never wrong, but there was a first time for everything.
She watched the synthesiser generate a vial of ugly grey liquid, almost jumping around in anticipation of the finished product, and when it was done she pulled it out and held it up to the light. She almost felt like shouting eureka or something, but in the end as always her shyness won out and she refrained from doing so. Instead she tapped her fingers impatiently as she checked the composition of the vial, leaving nothing to chance. After all she wasn’t going to inject herself with it without making absolutely sure it wasn’t going to do anything bad. Finally though she’d exhausted all her checks, which meant it was time.
“Ahem.” Mako coughed as she turned on the camera, somehow still nervous despite there being nobody else in the lab. “My name is Mako, and this is a video diary of the results of Project Ansac. After several months of work I have finally produced a sample that passess all the tests, however the genome is too complex to test on anything less than a human. As such I will be the test subject, and these videos will serve as a way to record results should anything I haven’t planned for happen.” Mako looked at the vial for a second before loading it into a syringe gun that she had nearby. “We’ll start with an even spread, three separate sites in order to maximise the spread as much as possible. With luck that should lead to a quicker effect.” She winced as she injected into the first spot - the serum felt like thick mud languidly flowing through her veins, a thoroughly unpleasant sensation that she did not enjoy one bit. The other two injections weren’t much better, both of them accompanied by similar feelings of thick soup in her blood, but when the sensation faded she felt…strange.
“Initial reaction is minimal, only change is an increase in dizziness and nausea. Something else too, can’t quite describe it but it feels…the world is brighter, everything is more vivid, like I'm taking in more information than I should be.” Her stomach rumbled, and with a start she realised she was absolutely starving - a big contrast to how she had been literally seconds ago. “Increased hunger too, although I can’t say if that is a cause or simply the result of me not eating breakfast. Either way it isn't much of an indicator, we’ll need to wait a while to see any effects, so catch up with you all in a week or so.” With a grin she shut off the camera and pulled out the memory card, sticking it in her pocket to process later. That same grin stayed on her face as she walked out - she was going to enjoy the next week or so.
*
Now Mako was many things, but above all she was careful. This was a fully thought out scientific study, and she was determined to treat it as such. Whilst she was obviously excited to see the results she hoped, she made sure that any changes were documented and recorded right from day 1. There was nothing of note the very first day, although she did write down a feeling of great energy, like she was ready to run a marathon or something similar. It wasn’t a physical change as such, and she really couldn’t tell if it was due to the modified genome or instead just born out of her own excitement, so while it was noted down it wasn’t actioned upon. She went about her day simply feeling better than normal, talking with other scientists and generally being more outspoken. Theoretically there should have been no psychological changes, but Mako didn’t rule them out entirely - when making such sweeping physiological changes there was bound to be some overlap with other systems within the body.
It wasn’t until the second day that she really felt some of the changes. She woke up and could immediately tell that something was different, mostly because her pyjamas felt a little bit too small. Unless she’d put them in the wash recently - and she hadn’t - she was definitely getting larger, and by a significant amount too. Her stomach rumbled as she got up, and when she got to her feet she almost fell over - her feet hit the ground before she was expecting them to, and it threw her off a little. She went over to the mirror and her eyes widened when she saw the changes: her once rake-thin form had a litheness to it, little swells of muscle springing up all around her body. She was at least a couple of inches taller, although she’d need to do some proper measurements to make sure, and slightly…she didn’t really know how to put it. Exaggerated? It looked like all the curves on her body had been accentuated, the gaps between them deepened. It was hard to put an exact name on it, but she was definitely a fan of it. She looked like an athlete, albeit a relatively small one still.
After clearing her entire fridge of food for breakfast she proceeded into the lab. Lucy was there to meet her at the door, and Mako couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the reaction she got from her friend.
“Damn girl, you looking mighty fine!” Lucy grinned as Mako blushed a bright red, although she didn’t brush off the compliment like she normally did. “Emphasis on the mighty.”
“The genome focused on increased strength, I didn’t plan for that much muscle growth but I suppose it's unavoidable.”
“Uh huh, yeah that’s a real shame.” Lucy chuckled sarcastically as she felt Mako’s arms, running her fingers along the biceps and pressing down slightly to test the hardness. “Still, you were normal yesterday. This much growth this fast must have some sort of trade-off.”
“None that i’ve found so far, unless you count eating a metric ton of food this morning.” Mako shrugged as she went inside, walking to her lab and trying her best to ignore the stares coming from the other scientists. “I’ll be able to determine properly after some tests, but I know it’s working as intended. I feel fine, hell I feel great!” Mako smiled, not her typical nervous curling of the lips, but rather a genuine, joyous grin.
“Better safe than sorry.”
“Yes, of course.” Mako pushed open the door to her lab, where the supercomputer was humming away quietly in the background. She pulled up the screen, reaching to the side and grabbing a scalpel. A prick on the end of one finger allowed her to collect some blood, and she deposited it in a little tray before pushing it into a slot underneath the desk. The screen lit up with chemical compositions, showing the basic makeup of the stuff while it churned away sequencing the genome.
“Looks fine.” Mako noted a few of the variables were a little strange, though still within normal levels. The genome had definitely made some changes to her endocrine system, there were large quantities of some strange hormones floating in her blood, but she assumed that was what was inducing the physical changes and doing it so quickly. After a few seconds the genome was identified, and sure enough it was the modified one. “No mutations either. So far so good.”
“What’s the rate of growth?” Lucy looked around the lab for a second before going to the corner and opening some drawers, digging through until she came up with a tape measure. “Won’t be accurate yet but we should start plotting it as soon as possible.”
“Good idea, let me just get a video update first.” Mako went over to her camera, sitting in the chair and straightening herself out before switching it on. “Project Ansac, video diary 1, day 2. Subject has been modified for 24 hours, changes have already begun. Increases in muscle mass and height are noticeable, too early to define how much but significant enough to be noticeable to the naked eye. Blood composition is stable, high levels of somatotropin are likely what’s leading to the rapid growth. Unusually high levels of cortisol are present too, reason is unknown for the time being. Measurements taken at 09:00 will be attached to the file for record keeping.” She reached forwards and switched it off, but something stuck with her, something that caused her to turn to Lucy and ask: “Why the cortisol, do you think?”
“Well, are you stressed?”
“No. I don’t think so anyway.”
“Chances are it's messing with your mood. No offence but you’re usually a lot…quieter. Maybe this is why you’re more outgoing now.”
Mako frowned. “That wasn’t an intended purpose, maybe some production overlapped with something else?”
“Who knows. When you make a change on this scale there’s always going to be a few wrinkles. Now come here.” Lucy gestured with the tape measure and Mako dutifully walked over, holding her arms out to the side. She held still as Lucy went all around her, wielding the tape measure with the finesse of an expert tailor as she took all the relevant measurements, writing them down on her phone using a text to speech app so she could take notes while still holding the tape.
“Well you’re definitely bigger. Main change is height, you’ve gone from 5’6 to 5’8 which is a sizable jump considering you’re thicker rather than thinner. Few inches of circumference on arms, larger jump on thighs. You’ve gone up about half a bust size as well by my guess.”
“I didn’t feel that one.” Mako looked down, trying to bounce a little bit to get a feel for the new size.
“Yeah, probably cause you’ve got back muscles like an ox. A small one.” Lucy chuckled as she watched Mako try to get her hand back there to feel. “I’d wait for a mirror to check those bad boys out, but safe to say you’ve got enough leverage to deal with the extra weight. It’s no wonder you didn’t notice it, you could go up a few sizes more and still feel the same.”
Mako took the phone off Lucy, using it as a reference to type up the measurements and attach them to the video file. It was odd writing them down like that, as if she was writing about someone else - it really brought home the level of change, how she was practically transforming into someone else. It was still her, just…another version of her. A better version.
“The first trial was only a small one, unless we continue the trial these effects will be temporary.” Mako looked down at herself as she talked, just admiring the new shapes. “I don’t see a reason not to keep going.”
Lucy looked a little worried at that - she’d never seen her friend so confident in anything, let alone injecting herself with something potentially dangerous. “I just think we should wait one more day, just in case.” she said at length.
“Fine. One more day, and if it’s all fine then we’re going full steam ahead.”
“Sounds good to me.”
*
The change when she woke up on the second morning was nowhere near the level of the first one, but it was still noticeable. Her clothes were slightly more tight-fitting than before, her body actually a little bit sore here and there, presumably from the rapid changes. When she looked in the mirror again she could see the height difference, the muscularity that hadn’t been there before - it was intoxicating seeing the speed of the changes, and she had to admit she was enjoying it.
Walking into the office she got the same stares as yesterday, but this time she didn’t shy away from them so much. After all, this was her triumph now, her scientific achievement; why shouldn’t she enjoy it and all the benefits that came with it? When she entered the lab Lucy was already waiting for her, looking a lot better than yesterday.
“Well, I guess we don’t need to ask the question then do we?” She grinned as Mako flexed a little bit, letting the muscle in her arms speak for itself.
“I figured we should at least test the strength increase, get a measure of where I’m at now so we can measure out the next dose more accurately.” She walked over to the far corner of the lab, where there was what looked like a single excessively thick dumbbell. She spun a dial on the side of the weight, and a small readout showed a number - 30kg. With a faint grunt she hauled it up, taking the weight and doing a quick rep before putting it back on the floor again.
“Hahhh…oh wow that felt good. Hooh.” Mako flexed again, harder this time, enjoying the feeling of tightness, the feeling of power. She twirled the dial until it said 60kg, and this time while she struggled to lift it off the floor after a few seconds of straining she managed it. It didn’t last long, but when she dropped it she felt elated. She couldn’t believe how good it felt to be like this, and all she could think about was more, more strength, more muscle, more power. She would do anything to have it, anything at all.
“Considering you couldn’t lift a straw at the start of this, I'd consider that a success.” Lucy chuckled as she went over to the supercomputer and typed in a few numbers. The formula was already pre-saved in the system, she just needed to redo the last command and sure enough the synthesiser hummed to life, filling a fresh vial with Mako’s hopes and dreams. Mako almost didn’t wait for the thing to finish filling before snatching it up, going straight over to the video camera.
“Project Ansac, day 2. Initial serum has run its course, I’m showing increases in strength and stamina, increased mental fortitude.” She tilted her head for a second. “Possible changes in emotional stimulus, I’m finding new things enjoyable that I didn’t before. Arguably resulting from alterations to the serotonin receptors, but cannot confirm yet. We’re upping the dose, double the previous injection, and this time ingesting orally to see if the method of delivery is relevant. In theory it shouldn’t matter, and this is easier regardless.” Mako lifted the vial and tipped it down her throat, wincing at the vile taste. “Video will be updated once the changes have taken place.” She shut down the camera and again flexed, just admiring herself for a second before standing up. Her confidence was growing just as fast as her body, but Lucy was worried for Mako. She knew from experience that inducing change of this level didn’t come for free - so far the side effects hadn't shown themselves, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there, hiding underneath. She would have to watch her friend very carefully.
*
The moment Mako opened her eyes the next day she could feel the difference. The growth before had been minimal, more a case of reshaping what was already there and adding extra firmness to it. This time the increased dose had actually added mass onto her frame, slabs of muscle that rippled along her arms and torso as she sat up. It felt…strange, like she was wearing something over her body and it was restricting her movement a little, pulling her limbs in directions they normally had no trouble moving through. What got her most was the feeling of weight, of there being more of her to work with. She expected to feel slower than before but it was the opposite, all that size came with the strength to back it up so paradoxically she felt light at the same time.
“Huh. Weird.” She did a double take at her voice, which was slightly lower and sporting a rather husky, sultry tone to it now. You couldn’t pack on this much size without some other changes she reasoned, but even so she was looking down at herself and wondering what else was different. Or rather, she was trying to - the one thing stopping her from taking notes was the absolutely ravenous hunger curling through her body. She felt like she hadn’t eaten for a week, and she knew from yesterday that her fridge was completely devoid of food after her last binge. She resolved to go grab something from a nearby cafe, but before that there was an even more pressing matter to attend to - her clothing. Her lab coat didn’t fit anymore, partially due to the muscle making her several times thicker than before, and partially due to the increase in cup size making the front of her coat completely useless. She did have a long coat that she could use for the time being, but for now she was forced to squeeze herself into some very ill-fitting clothes. The shirt she chose had once been loose, but now it looked like she was about to rip it to pieces with nothing more than a simple flex - she was tempted to test that theory, but with nothing else decent to wear she figured that was better done when she had alternatives. As for the bottom half she found a skirt that got the job done, but it did look a little strange considering her arms were muscular enough to be noticeable even through the sleeves of her shirt. The long coat helped, but she was still getting plenty of looks as she walked outside and down the street.
There were some stores not too far from her house, including a clothes store that thankfully stocked some larger sizes, and as she walked in she thought about the kind of stuff she actually wanted to wear. She was so used to the lab coat, but someone of her tenure could pretty much wear what they wanted, meaning she had the option to pick out something new, something she wouldn’t normally go for. Her gut told her to show off her body, to get something revealing in all the right places, and after some deliberation she picked out a tank top in an appealing white and green, along with some cargo shorts that looked baggy enough to fit comfortably. She took them all to the changing room, and only when she’d closed the door did she look in the mirror. God the shirt was awful, she never wanted to see it again after today. She looked around - nobody else in the other rooms, the store attendant waiting politely outside of view. She turned to the mirror, and with a grin flexed as hard as she could.
SCHRRRIP
The shirt practically exploded off her, torn to pieces as her arms and shoulders shredded through it like paper, little tatters of fabric floating to the ground.
“Ffffffuuuuck that feels good!” She chuckled as she saw her body again in the mirror, the strength coursing through her limbs, the sheer intimidating presence she now possessed. Exerting that strength was almost orgasmic, like she was becoming a true beast, becoming at one with her own flesh and blood. Having disposed of the shirt she put the new one on, noting how those impressive arms were very noticeable with a satisfied nod. The cargo shorts were also a good fit, and just as she thought complemented the top nicely. Her outfit sorted she walked out of the changing room, and immediately the attendant noticed her and had to hide his nervousness. It was strange, this mixture of beauty and strength, but damn if she didn’t like it. Seeing the reactions of everyone around her, watching their eyes widen as they saw her body and her confidence, striding through the place like she owned it - they all wished they could be her, secretly. She knew because she’d been in their position not too long ago, and the perspective allowed her to see it clearly.
It wasn’t until she checked her phone that she remembered that this was actually supposed to be documented, and that this should really have been done in the lab rather than out here. With a quick glance at the time and a grimace, she hurried over to pay for her clothes, left the checkout girl with wide eyes and a longing stare, and hurried back to the lab.
By the time she arrived she was almost an hour later than normal, although since she wasn’t exactly contracted technically she could choose her starting hours. That being said turning up late was very much out of character for her, and when they saw her walking towards her lab in a tank top looking like she’d been working out for a couple of years straight they had zero idea what was going on. Mako’s research was well known by this point but this sort of thing took decades to effect change, not mere days. Mako meanwhile was just happy to take in all the stares, striding to her lab and throwing open the door.
“Finally, I’ve been waiting for - holy shit.” Lucy’s jaw hit the floor as she saw Mako walk in, the words faltering in her mouth.
“I know right?” Mako chuckled as she gave a quick flex, the tank top letting her show off her guns to their maximum size. “We need to do some strength testing, I’m pretty sure the relative increase isn’t linear. And get me a sandwich or something, I'm starving.” She waved Lucy off, who dutifully went to get something from the canteen, and went over to the weights she had been using just yesterday. The one she struggled with was right there, the dial set to 50kg, and when she went to pick it up she was shocked at how easy it was. It didn’t feel real, like she was lifting a foam replica or something. She changed the dial on the thing, cranking it up to 60kg, then 70, then 80. Each felt a little harder but still doable, and it wasn’t until she got to 100 that she began to struggle again. 100 was a ridiculous amount to lift, especially with the one hand like she was doing right now, and just holding it in the air made her arms swell outwards. She dropped it with a loud clang, going over to the video camera and switching it on.
“Project Ansac, day 3. Dosage has been upped to double the previous amount, corresponding changes are not linear but instead exponential based on the data available.” She paused and gave a quick flex, holding her arm in front of the camera and tensing. “Observe increased muscle mass, high density by the feel and level of strength exhibited. Mental state is really fucking good. Ahem. Mental state is good, personality shift is larger than anticipated, from introverted to confident. Still unknown cause of that.”
“Got you a bacon and egg triple, figured you’d want quantity over quality.” This came from Lucy, who had returned holding a thick sandwich in her hands, and Mako quickly grabbed it from her and began devouring it on the spot. She shoved it into her mouth so fast that it barely lasted a few seconds, absolutely demolishing the thing.
“Note, side effects are more severe. Increased hunger remains the primary one, secondary effects have yet to be identified. Mmmph.” Mako finished swallowing the sandwich, wiping her mouth with one arm. “Doesn’t abate with food either. Feels like I'm swallowing nothing at all.”
Lucy didn’t even need to hear the words, she was already leaving to go to the canteen again. Mako heard the door close and sighed in relief - the hunger really was getting unbearable.
“Hopefully we can find a way to - — manage the….” Mako blinked. She could have sworn she was sitting at the desk in front of the camera, but right now she was facing the ceiling, her back on the floor. She didn’t remember lying down - hell, the last thing in her memory was the camera, and then….nothing. It was like there was a jump cut, as if someone had removed a section from her memory. She looked around and her eyes widened as she saw the state of her lab – it was destroyed, equipment strewn everywhere and some of it broken beyond repair. Thankfully the computer was alright, although the camera had been destroyed completely, little more than a sparking pulp of wires sitting on the desk.
“Hey, they didn’t have any bacon ones so I picked up a couple of…ham….” Lucy trailed off as she entered the lab and saw the state of it, along with Mako sitting in the epicentre of it all. “Uhhhh, are you okay?”
“I think so.” Mako got to her feet, noticing immediately that she felt…good. The little muscle aches that she’d gotten used to were all gone, the pains in her joints cured completely. She could move around a bit better too, and while she initially put that down to the changes it was actually because her clothes were completely torn apart. It looked like they had been ripped apart from the inside, as if something had slowly built up in between the seams before inexorably shearing them completely. Luckily she had a couple spare outfits in the lab in case of emergencies, and while they were a little tight they would do for the time being.
“You still want this?” Lucy held up the sandwich, which Mako took gratefully. Even as she took a bite though she realised that gnawing hunger she’d grown accustomed too was greatly diminished. She felt sated, and yet she had barely eaten enough today. Instead of completely demolishing the sandwich she ate it normally, savouring it. It was strange to think of that as a symptom of something, but Mako was a scientist at heart. Blackout followed by destroyed lab, followed by certain symptoms decreasing - something was up, and she had to know what.
“Look, I’ve got an idea on what to do, but the last thing I need is for someone to walk in here and shut it down cause of all of…this.” She gestured to the mess, and Lucy nodded.
“Fine, but you owe me janitor work next time I blow up the lab.”
“Deal.” Mako went over to the camera, just in case she could salvage the memory, but as she feared it was torn to pieces - when she finally got the memory chip out it was just a pile of shrapnel being poured onto the table. “Oh, and see if you can’t get hold of a new camera. I think I know what we’re doing tomorrow and we’re gonna need it.” With that she strode out the room.
*
That evening Mako was careful with what she ate. She’d since been shopping so her fridge was jam packed with food, but she made sure not to eat too much. The aim was to keep herself hungry overnight, as a sort of experiment more than anything else. She had a feeling hunger was one of the triggers, and tonight would confirm it. Doing it was much easier said than done though - as she laid in bed she felt like her stomach was going to cave in, like there was a chasm inside her eating from the inside. It was almost impossible to get to sleep, but somehow despite everything she managed it.
When she woke up though she immediately knew things were serious. Her room wasn’t just destroyed, it was absolutely obliterated. There were huge claw marks everywhere, including (worryingly) several hacked into the ceiling. Her furniture was all messed up, her bed had been snapped through, and when she sat up she realised the loose fitting pyjamas she’d gone to bed in had been torn to ribbons, and she was buck naked lying in a pile of destroyed clothing. Admittedly she looked damn good naked - hell, she looked better than yesterday. Looking in the mirror she could have sworn there was more definition around her shoulders and upper body, like she was maturing into…what exactly?? She wasn’t sure, only that whatever it was it was big and destructive. She had to know the truth, and that meant today was going to be a very long day. She wandered down to the kitchen, and once again realised when she opened the fridge that the hunger had abated. No, not quite - it had gone completely. She felt sated, normal - as if whatever had happened last night had fixed the imbalance in her body, if only temporarily. Regardless she knew this wouldn’t last long, so she still ate as much as she could, just to stave off the inevitable return of that hunger. With new clothes and feeling better than ever, she set off for the lab.
*
Considering the past few days Lucy had thought she couldn’t be surprised anymore, but seeing Mako somehow impossibly even bigger than before proved that to be a false assumption. The once miniscule scientist was now 6’8 and built like an absolute tank, muscle swelling across every visible limb and lending her a formidable appearance. The difference between before and now was inconceivable, it was hard to believe they were the same person.
Mako on the other hand had little interest in admiring herself - she’d done plenty of that in the last few days, and now the first issue was finally rearing its head. She’d expected some sort of hiccup - it was a new technology after all - but the scale of the results had thus far taken her mind off it. Now she was going to do a proper test, and her method of doing so was…extreme. Several floors underneath the laboratory was the blast cube, a small room made of glass thick enough to withstand nothing short of a sizeable bomb. It was built as a testing chamber for some of the more volatile experiments, and Mako had decided it would be the perfect place to test her theory. She led Lucy down there, waving away the security guards that took a few seconds to recognise her before letting her through.
“Welcome to the monster lab.” Mako chuckled as she walked into the room. For an underground room it was airy and well lit, and in the middle of it was that glass cube. The inside of the glass was scratched and worn, but even Lucy could see it was several feet thick and reinforced all around. Cameras pointed from every corner of the room, something Mako had planned on. “As of yesterday I’ve been experiencing blackouts, sections of my memory are going missing. I think it’s got something to do with the hunger, I believe that it’s triggering the episodes.”
“You’re not sure though, are you?” Lucy was realising why they were here, remembering the destroyed lab from yesterday and putting 2 and 2 together.
“Nope, that’s why we’re gonna find out together. I’m gonna sit in this glass box without food until I have a blackout, and you’re gonna record what happens.” Mako chuckled as she pulled out a book from her lab coat pocket. “Don’t worry about me, I’ve cleared my schedule for today and I’ve brought some entertainment. The only condition is you cannot open the cube until a blackout occurs, and you cannot allow me any food on the buildup to one, no matter how much I beg. Understood?”
“This is crazy, are you sure there isn’t a better way to figure this out?” Lucy looked hesitant as Mako walked over the box, pulling the glass door shut behind her. It sealed with a hermetic hiss, the air pipes feeding into the box engaging as they began to circulate the air. Lucy grabbed the headset by the box, Mako putting a similar one on so they could communicate. “Those blackouts could be anything, they could be tachycardia for all you know, and you’re going to willingly induce one?”
“Quickest way to find out. Besides, we’ve got some defibrillators somewhere upstairs.” Mako chuckled, her voice a little crackly but still audible.
For the next few hours, Mako willingly put herself through what felt like torture. Despite what she had previously thought her willpower was a lot stronger than before, and not once did she crack and beg for food. It became increasingly difficult to concentrate on the book though due to the hunger, which felt like a rabid animal clawing out her insides. It was as if it were some sort of living thing, growing more powerful by the second, consuming her from the inside out. It wasn’t until she thought she was going to implode that something began to happen.
“Unghh, I feel weird.” Mako put a hand to her head and winced as something pierced her skin. She pulled it away and her eyes widened as she saw claws where her nails had once been. Her hand looked…bigger, thicker all around, and as she watched that thickness seemed to spread down her arm, the flesh swelling into something else. “Swelling in the hand, skin looks like it’s hardening. Effect is spreading down the arm.” That was the last lucid thought she had before a wave of euphoric growth hit her like a truck, and the last thing she remembered was moaning in ecstasy before collapsing to the floor. What followed sounded anything but pleasurable - Lucy listened in horror at the discordant symphony of cracks as her bones reshaped, many of them simply snapping as a new form was born, one that was three times as large as Mako’s normal size. It was mixed with the sound of her clothes ripping apart, the fabric holding out for all of half a second before muscle and sinew parted it with ease, fabric flying everywhere as the cloth was replaced with what looked like rock instead of skin. The hardening skin was easier to see once it had spread, and Lucy realised it was actually something closer to scales, almost like that of a lizard but not as rough, flowing over more easily. And the size - Mako’s body exploded with solid muscle, hundreds of pounds of strength packing itself into her frame and expanding it outwards over and over again, growing beyond the realms of mortal power and into the domain of the supernatural.
By the time the transformation had finished Mako was gone, and in her place was…Lucy didn’t know what it was. It looked like a cross between a shark and godzilla, a massive beast of insane proportions and equally insane strength, so large it almost broke out the box entirely.
“Mako? You still in there?” Judging by the snarls it wasn’t likely, but something told Lucy to persevere, and so she slowly approached the glass. The creature looked at her like she was a snack rather than a colleague, and Lucy had to suppress the instinctive, almost primal fear that bubbled through her body as she walked forward. Slowly, shakily, she placed a hand against the glass.
“I know you’re in there somewhere. You said these are your blackout moments but I think that’s just to mask the trauma. You have to try to open your eyes, open your mind.” Lucy kept her hand there, watching as the beast’s eyes stared into her soul, watching as clarity slowly began to light up those pupils. The creature’s eyes were slitted, a vibrant green and yellow mix that was utterly alien, but somehow they seemed to twinkle with understanding. It lifted a clawed hand and placed it against Lucy’s, slowly and deliberately, and when Lucy looked up and saw it attempting to smile at her she knew her colleague was back.
“Oh thank god.” She breathed a sigh of relief, sinking back into her chair. “Well this is going to take some explaining.”
“Grarghfgrrrrghf….ghrrrrrghf…rghhhhh…heghrrrr…..helllllooooo……hello.” It might have been Mako’s mind in there but she was having trouble speaking - not surprising considering she was sporting teeth that looked like they were meant to bite through concrete. “Frrrghh….frrrgghhhh…” She paused, and Lucy almost laughed at the confused look. “Fghhhhoooooooo…”
“Food?” Upon hearing this Mako nodded, not wanting to speak more than necessary. “Alright I’ll get you something. A sandwich I guess.”
“Rgh.”
“Two sandwiches.”
“Rrrrrgh.”
“Five?” Lucy chuckled as Mako gave her a thumbs up.
Five sandwiches later Mako was back to normal, still munching on the last of the fifth one and picking through the memories in her head. “I had it the wrong way round, I thought the hunger was a symptom of the growth, but it’s not. It’s the driving factor, the reason I’m growing in the first place.”
“How?”
“Mph.” Mako stuffed the last of her sandwich into her mouth. “The genome modification used several sources, one of which was Kaiju DNA. Essentially old me is the start, and what you just saw was the end. I’m balancing in the middle somewhere, my DNA is teetering right on the precipice. Too much to one side, and…well, you saw that.” Mako gestured to the remains of her clothes, which were strewn all across the floor. Lucy was so used to seeing her naked by this point that it didn’t even faze her. “The hunger is the measuring stick so to speak, when it’s too much then I tip over to the kaiju side, but as long as I manage it then I stay in this form.”
“So what, you just have a lot of snacks throughout the day?” Lucy chuckled. “Oh the horror of eating all the time and keeping the body of a world class athlete.”
“Yeah yeah. Still, I don’t think food covers every angle. I’m willing to bet there’s a mutation factor that’s reset by the change, but I’ll need to do some bloodwork to make sure.”
Lucy grinned. “Well you picked the right place for it.” She went over to the table and grabbed a syringe, flicking it a few times to make sure there were no air bubbles. “Let’s get to work.”
*
The next few weeks felt like something out of a dream. At first Mako was locked into the cycle of human and monster, uncontrollably switching between the two at seemingly random times and going through brief periods of respite from the symptoms whenever she did, but with understanding came a realisation of where those symptoms came from. Her initial assumption was still correct, the hunger was the indicator of the change, but what she didn’t realise until later was that human was no longer her natural form. The reason she felt so bad was because she was compressing her monstrous form into a small, comparatively weak human one, and that kind of compression had side effects. It was a bit like squashing oneself into a suitcase for hours on end - at some point things are going to cramp, and to relieve it you’ll have to stretch everything for a bit. Mako’s monster form was a lot like that - letting it out relieved the hunger for a while, and the longer she stayed transformed the longer the hunger was relieved for, up to a limit.
She had done some testing in said monster form as well, and the results were…interesting, to say the least. In terms of strength she didn’t even know where her limit was - she’d stopped trying after hurling a dump truck across an entire city block with ease, launching it like it was a baseball rather than a hundred tons of metal. Initially she struggled to remember those periods, almost as if it were someone else rather than an alternate version of herself, but with practice she grew more and more lucid during the transformations. Perhaps most interestingly she found out almost by accident that her diet had an effect on the transformation too: depending on what she ate her monster form changed, sometimes slightly and sometimes drastically. In particular eating any kind of fish made her significantly larger, with an increase in strength to boot. She’d experimented with it by eating as much fish as she could stomach in a day, and when she let the transformation out it was on another level entirely. She was basically the size of a building, each step shaking the ground and leaving huge claw-shaped craters in the concrete, and while it was really REALLY cool to be this large it wasn’t exactly practical. That didn’t stop her from modifying her diet to include more fish in general though - the extra strength just felt too good to pass up. She didn’t think of it as a curse anymore, as something to manage. No, this was her blessing, this was what she was meant to be. The woman and the monster, hand in claw.
She’d never been happier.
Category Story / Muscle
Species Shark
Gender Female
Size 120 x 68px
Listed in Folders
Quite the great read! I love how she struggles with the implications of the change she does not understand completely, analyzing it until she does :D
Awww man, just when it was getting really good too. It ended far too soon. >w< I'd love to see Mako grow and mutate more. And how her research gets spread to others.
Really feels like the origin story for a superhero, makes me happy to see her managing to control her "situation"
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