Richard gulped and nodded before slowly putting it in his mouth. The scientists closed the door and ordered him to close his eyes as they worked on the computer and control pad. The liquid entered the other chamber as Richard floated in the air. His heart pounded fast, unsure of what the results will be. The two canisters swap fluid from the tubes above as the bubbles inside them grew more apparent and covered the entire area.

After more fine-tuning, the chambers made a bright glow before turning dull-colored. The scientists found a receipt from one of their machines and hurried to read the results. The canisters opened as steam came pouring out. Everyone stopped with what they did and rushed over to check up on the figure stepping out, wobbling all over the place; he nearly fell.

“W—What happened?” Richard questioned.

Everyone stared at him, slack-jawed and speechless. “Huh? Why are you guys looking at me like that? Did it...?” He looked down, only to find blue arms staring at him. They shook as the rest of his body froze in place. Are those...? Once his mind moved one blue arm from his view, his eyes widened as if life flashed before his eyes.

Carlos ushered for him to relax and not panic as he walked him toward a chair to sit. The scientists placed a large metal hat on Richard’s head and attached metal cuffs to his arms. The group continued to analyze and study the natural after-effects as Richard sat there completely silent at all this happening. So many emotions came rushing in. He didn’t know how to react to all this and in what order.

“Now, please don’t fret.” Carlos started. “But the experiment seems to be a success. There appear to be some minor differences, but you’ll be alright.” He handed Richard a mirror as he scrutinized himself.

“Whoa...” Richard couldn’t believe what he witnessed, but there it was, staring right in front of him. He had transformed into the same blue blob he looked at before. It also occurred to him that some of his genes, such as his hair, trim, and eye color, have also been transferred to the blobby body. “So, what do I do now?” He looked up and asked. “How do I contact—?”

“It’ll take some time to get used to your change, not to mention you need to be patient, as we’re trying to get this done and figure things out. Don’t worry, we’ll soon accomplish—”

“Wait, hold on.” Richard interrupted. He glanced over at the other chamber and found nothing inside. Not even a drop of blood was present. “Where’s my original body? What happened to it?”

“Calm down,” Carlos reassured him. “This is probably just a minor side effect you’re having.”

“Is that the only side effect?” One of the other scientists finally spoke up.

The readings went off the chart and got sporadic as the machines went out of control. Everyone glanced over and took notice of Richard fidgeting and screaming in his seat. This was too good to be true. He had to get out of here.

“Richard, what’s the matter?” Carlos questioned.

“How do you know my name?” Richard questioned back. “I never told you who I was. Who are you?”

“Are you ok? Calm down, if you don’t—”

“You told me I would be fine,” Richard muttered under his breath. “That I wouldn’t experience pain in all of this.”

“What? I never said that—”

“Emily, somebody, help me...”

“Huh? Did you say—?”

Richard’s eyes grew wide as he lost control of his body. His arms ripped out from the metal cuffs and tore the metal hat out as he screamed at the top of his lungs. The scientists all hid for cover as he made a rampage on the lab, destroying everything in his sights, and damaging all the surrounding equipment. As he stormed out to the hallways, Carlos peeked his head out of the table.

“He’s gone out of control!” One of the other scientists remarked. “What should we do?”

“He’s getting out of the area, looking like that!” Carlos pointed out. “We need to stop him at all costs!”

Richard ran across the halls as he tried to scream and plead out for help, but the words wouldn’t come out, and he couldn’t take full control of his body. No matter how much his mind screamed for it to stop, the body kept causing mayhem. There had to be someone out there who could help him, or at least, a way to hide from all this.

How would Emily react, knowing that he didn’t heed her warning, and turned into a monster? Would she still help him or forgive him? Who else could he turn to? There’s a possibility he’ll either get hunted down, experimented on further, or get killed. The chances of finding a cure were slim. So much had happened to him already. Would it be better if he...?

Still, anywhere was better than here. Richard couldn’t stay with them any longer. Those that used and abused him like that for some personal gain. How did he let himself be fooled like that? Hot tears streamed down his face as he let out another battle cry.

He stormed out the doors and pulled shelves down to block the scientists’ way, as they chased him down to prevent him from reaching the exit.

Richard left the facility and almost reached the outskirts of the alleyway when a sharp pain hit him in the back. His vision became blurry, body wobbling about; Richard’s eyes drifted as he fell to the floor.

“Whoa, that was a close one.” Carlos sighed as he held out a tranquilizer gun.

“He almost made it to the public eye, though.” Another scientist told him. “What do we do now?”

“I have an idea. It’s not a good one, but given the circumstances, it appears we have no other choice in the matter.” He took off his glasses and stared at the body with a grimace. “I’ll, of course, need your help with this. We can’t let this go out yet. I don’t want it to be another failure."

“Understood, you’re the boss, after all.”

Carlos clicked his tongue and turned away. No, not quite.