An Unnatural Child
#1 of Transformation Stories
Behold, my first general audiences story. This was made at the request of a user from deviantART. There is a minor amount of blood, just so you know, and death, but it's not too explicit for a higher rating, right?
A man in a white lab coat walked down the hall with a clipboard in his left hand and a container in the other. He looked at the paper attached to the clipboard in anxiety. He stopped in front of a door and entered a code on the nearby keypad. The door opened and he walked inside. On the other side was a woman wearing a similar lab coat. She appeared to be operating on something and had her back to him.
"Ah, Reynolds, just in time. I trust the organs came out well?" She waved a bloody scalpel to her left side. "Just put them over there, and I'll take care of the rest." "Dr. Baransu, are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked, reluctant to do as she asked. "The child is a lost cause. Science can't bring back the dead, at least not yet." "Just leave the organs behind. Trust me, things will work out soon enough," she replied confidently. "I don't care what sort of ethics I'm breaking here. Nature doesn't actually care, so why should I? "It is not that." The male doctor placed the container on the table. He sighed as he looked at the surgically mutilated baby on the operating table. "It has been several hours since the boy was declared dead, and our system is not finished yet. There might be several glitches we are not even aware of yet. Who knows what could happen if, not when, he's even revived?" "Listen, I'll be the one in charge of things," she dismissed. Dr. Baransu picked up the container and placed it on the table. "This could be my greatest triumph, and I'm not about to stop now. We've been developing ways to manipulate the human genome for quite some time. It is time we put one of those techniques to the test." "As you wish."
Two men in white lab coats watched from a window as a blue-haired young man attacked what looked to be a replica of himself. He wore a basic black battlesuit that looked to be standard issue and fought in a basic karate style. They observed the fighter through soundproof glass. "So, it's been several years since her 'son' has been 'born'. How do you feel knowing that beast of hers has successfully reached adulthood?" "You've gotta be kidding me, Rosenberg. Are you seriously trying to agitate him into attacking you? You know he just want to be seen as normal as you and I." "Well, he's not, and unlike you and Claydi, I'm here to remind him of that. That werewolf-" He cut himself off as they heard the sound of footsteps. They looked to the right as a third person, dressed in a royal blue business suit, joined them. He held his hands behind his back and smiled at the pair. "Rosenberg and Reynolds, just so you know, your death won't prove anything," he said, sensing a fight between them. "Anyone who willingly provokes someone dangerous to attack them is expendable, as per our contract. Everyone knows what Hokori can do." The man peered into the window. "He fights so ruthlessly. His technique could use a little work. Still... it's a marvel watching him perform, and the simulation seems to be keeping up with him quite well." "I agree, boss. HB-01 has come a long way. No plans are in the works for any further projects like him, but I would be honored to work with Doctor Baransu again." "That reminds me... It's time I spoke to her again. I believe it's time this side project of ours evolved into something bigger. Taking Wolfy here into her family was a brilliant idea on her part." "What... did you have in mind? You plan to make more of that thing?" Rosenberg's question went unanswered as the man continued to stare at the suited fighter. His grin told him all he needed to know, much to his horror.
He wondered what it was his mother wanted to talk to him about. As much as he wanted to finish the tournament, he knew that whatever his mother called him about was critical, especially since she wanted him to avoid the lab. "Hoko, what's going on?" The voice came from a little girl that ran over to him. "Why did you come all the way over here?" "Hinataru, I have a feeling Mother is hiding something," he replied. "She asked me not to come to the lab today. Something is wrong." "Wolf Knight has dropped out of the tournament," the announcer said. "An intermission will be in effect until we reconfigure the standings." "It's too late to go back now. We'd better get back home." He squatted and prompted her to get on his back. Once she was secure, he dashed all the way home, weaving through crowds and dodging whatever was in his way. They arrived five minutes later, only to find the house nearly empty. The sole resident was a man who appeared to be much older than both of them. "Hey, you two. Back from the tournament already? How did you do?" he greeted them. "Sorry, Father. I've gotta get back to the lab. I'm sure it's really important." He put his sister down and rushed upstairs, returning with a slightly more advanced battlesuit than the one he wore in the tournament. "What's going on, Hoko? What's this about you having to go back to the lab?" the older man asked anxiously. "Mother called me." He pulled on his gloves. "I don't know what's going on, but I know she needs help." "In that case, I'm coming too. You might ne-" "No, sis. I'm afraid I'll have to go it alone this time. I should be more than enough to handle any trouble." Hokori walked to the doorway. "I don't want you to get hurt." Without warning, he sprinted towards the lab.
Hokori kept his gloves active as he made his way through the lab, careful to avoid the other scientists. He felt tempted to enter the simulation room, but shook his head, deciding to find his mother first. He heard a crash and ran to investigate the sound, stopping in front of the executive door. "L-let's not be hasty, doctor! Hear me out and put the molotov down!" he heard someone order. "On second thought, don't! You might destroy your research!" "I'm not about to put another life through another lie," the aforementioned doctor replied. He gasped in shock, recognizing the voice as that of his mother. "I was desperate all those years ago, and I realize now just how foolish and impatient I was." "Twenty-one years ago, you didn't even care for ethics and went through with the project without question. It's a little too late to develop a conscience, doctor, especially over something you willingly toiled over." "..." "Claydi, I funded your project. I had our researchers synthesize the organs you requested. That boy of yours was just the beginning, and you know it. You can make trillions with your research if you'd just..." Hokori couldn't take any more and opened the door, startling both of them. "Mother? What... what's he talking about?" "Oh, Hokori... I knew you would arrive here." He looked at his mother in worry. "You mean you don't know?"Dickson!" "Your mother never told you, did she?" he continued. "You're a product of extensive research and her dedication. She is indeed your mother, Wolfy, or should I say 'Wolf-Boy'?" "Huh? I like wolves, so what?" Dickson couldn't help but chuckle at the young man's words. "What's so funny?" The pupils in his eyes briefly narrowed to slits before changing back to normal. "Oh, nothing, except for how ironic you are. You see-" "Dickson!" "So that's how it is... Very well then, madame. It's time to cut my losses. Why don't you tell HB-01 here that he is secretly a beast of your own creation?" Hokori felt something stir inside him as he processed the man's words. It felt foreign, and at the same time, familiar, as if it was a genuine part of his being. He clutched his chest as he fell on his knees and strained to breathe. "M-mother? What is this?" he gasped. The young man shut his eyes as a pain unlike any he felt before gripped him and seized control over his limbs. He howled as he writhed on the floor. His ears retracted, reappearing at the top of his head as slanted triangles. Claydi was so startled that she dropped the molotov, and a fire soon began to burn through the papers and carpet at her feet. "Big brother! What's wrong?" "Hinataru?! What are you doing here?" Claydi asked worriedly. "We have to get out of here! It's not safe!" "I came as backup," she replied, motioning to the jetpack on the floor. "What's happening to Hoko?" Claws erupted from his gloves and shoes as his teeth sharpened. A terrifying growl broke the brief silence that followed. The sprinkler system activated, but it only served to intensify the fire. "This is a chemical fire, Dickson. The flames will burn this lab to the ground. Hinataru, we have to run!" The little girl approached her brother, only to be knocked into the wall by a violent spasm. "Hinataru!" Claydi was slashed by another spasm that knocked her aside. Adrenaline surged through her, compelling her to ignore the pain as she quickly got to her feet. She picked up her dazed daughter and ran out of the room. "Sweetie, just know that I love the both of you very much, and I'm afraid I'm on borrowed time. I need you to listen to me carefully." She dodged past the other scientists, eventually arriving in front of a heavily reinforced door. The doctor struggled to enter the code for it but managed to succeed on her third try. "Everything's getting blurry..." "What's happening to Hoko?" Her mother coughed before speaking again. "...It's time I told you the truth... both of you." They entered the room and stood in front of a large glass container. The door closed. "Your brother's on his way here, but please don't be frightened for how he looks now. It's my fault anyway." "Your fault?" Claydi put Hinataru down as she entered one more passcode. The glass doors parted and she reached inside, pulling out a flashbang. She pulled the cord and threw it at the other door. "I planned for this. Close your eyes tight, dear, and don't open them until I say so." The flashbang exploded just as the door was knocked aside. A large wolf-like creature tumbled into the room, blinded by the light. "Hokori! Can you hear me?" "..." The doctor coughed up blood this time, but cleared her throat and tried again. "Hokori Baransu!!" This time the beast grunted and stood on two legs shakily. "...Mo... ther... Mother?" he strained to say. "Hokori Baransu!" "Hoko! Why are you so furry? Where did you get that tail? What happened to your clothes?" "...Sis? Don't come near me! I'm a monster!" "Listen carefully, I don't have much time left. I've lost too much blood to be saved now," Claydi explained, leaning against the wall. "What? No!" they cried. "Please stay with us!" "Trevor already knows about what will happen to me." She took a deep breath before continuing. "The plan was to break the news to you two at home, but I see that won't work." "What is it?" "First off, Hokori, you're not a monster. You lost control over your body, and I restored it. You're actually a wolf-human hybrid of my own creation." "'Creation'? You mean I was... built?" The flames from the office were beginning to catch up to them. "A protoype engineered with wolf organs, to be specific. Your fighter name, Wolf Knight, was also the name of our manipulation of nature. We were bending the rules, showing that we could be just as stubborn." They gasped in shock as she continued. "Even so, I--no, WE loved you as though you were our own. You had the same rights to life as anyone." "P-protoype? You planned to make more Hokos?" "No," she coughed out, tears in her eyes. "I set fire to the entire lab. You're the first and the last. Before I pass on, I have one more thing to give you, and one last request. You don't have to, my son, but... can you ever find it in your heart to forgive this monster for her betrayal?" "I..." The wolf hybrid leaned in close, allowing her to pet him on the head. Claydi smiled weakly, uncertain if this was a sign that he forgave her. "Both of you, reach inside the glass door. Any second this lab will explode. Go!" Her children quickly did as she said, and in a flash of light they were gone. Tears finally fell as she succumbed to her injuries and the heat. Before she closed her eyes for the last time, she saw a blur of blue.
"It's been two years since I last saw my mother, two years since I learned the truth about my existence, two years of finally knowing why people get nervous around me..." "And some time since you met me. Hoko, I see that you've had a rather... rollercoaster-like life, but it's time to let it go. As your friend, I say it's time you looked to the future and enjoyed what life has to offer, fuzzball." He grumbled from her teasing. "You're only saying that because of my wolf hood. I like wolves, so what?" He shifted into his hybrid form again, only this time his eyes remained normal thanks to his improved skill. "And you're hanging out with a wolf, so that means you like wolves too, right?" She giggled and nodded. "Come on, the day's still young. Let's get out there and kick some butt!" His companion stood up and ran into the forest, himself right behind her.