Forum Thread

A few years ago, scientists were positive that they were on to something. The next big discovery. The perfect combination between man and animal, fully functional, a scientific miracle. Over the course of those years, many tests were performed, attempting to complete this dream of theirs.

Fail, after fail, after fail. All of the subjects were dying. The scientists were losing hope, scared that their dream wouldn't become reality. Until, the serum was discovered. At last, the first, successful human-animal hybrid was born. It was a huge achievement in the history of science. All were shocked, amazed, pleased.

But, they didn't realise that there were effects of this magical serum. Terrible, devastating effects, that caused the hybrid to turn aggressive, and began to attack its creators. The creature was eventually put down, and the plans to create more hybrids were stopped.

Until now. Few have been chosen to become the next hybrid. You have been chosen for unknown reasons. All you know is that the Xyeneca Foundation are attempting to carry out more tests on volunteers, to try and create more hybrids.

Slightly nervous, you volunteer, unawares of what will happen to you. You are placed in a cold cell, surrounded by other cells, in a large white room. Gradually, more and more people fill these cells.

Then the tests begin.

Pain.

Agony.

Anger.

Hatred.

This was the worst choice you've ever made in your life.

---

Or...
After years of blood, sweat and tears, after years of research and dangerous tests, it's complete. The serum, capable of turning soft, sweet baby bunnies into drooling, crazed creatures with one thing on their mind...to kill. The ultimate weapon, perfect in every way, except....they've escaped. And have begun to kill innocents left and right. Now it's your job to stop them before it's too late. Think you can do it? You have to keep them contained, or else humanity is doomed...

Deep in the resident area of the institution lay a young man. He was fast asleep, cups of coffee and crumpled papers scatter the desk around his slumped body. He was awake for most of the night and didn't react right away to the pounding on his door.

"Maverick!" A voice shouts. When there is no response the knocking continues, although louder this time. "Maverick! Open the door now!" The voice orders. Maverick groans, he takes his time sitting up and stretching his sore body. He grabs a hair tie and puts it in his mouth. He begins pulling his hair into a ponytail while moving towards the door. Glaring at the scientist behind the door, he gives the man a slightly muffled "what do you want?"

"You are required to change departments. I'm sure you heard of the escaped experiments-." This grabs Maverick's attention. With his hair finally tied up, he drops his hands and strides to a corner of his room and pulls open a cabinet. "And uh-" the man pauses, looking visibly confused in what Maverick was doing.

"About time! I was starting to get bored!" Maverick says with a chuckle. He lifts vials containing dark colored solutions. He pauses on an unlabeled, pure black one that smelled rancid, despite being properly closed. "You can count on me sir!" Maverick says while opening the vial, making the smell worse. He inspects it, shaking the liquid and even tasting a drop, visibly wincing at the taste. "I shall end their lives quickly" Maverick promises darkly.

"Maverick no..." The man groans, placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose and sighing. "You must capture them alive." Maverick slams the vial down, nearly breaking it. He glares at the man and furiously strides towards him. Despite his great height and age difference the man nervously backs away.

"Why didn't you say so?" Maverick snaps while jabbing a finger into the man's chest. "Be more clear next time! Be more professional!" Maverick commands. "You should have said I was on the Extraction team rather than the Extermination team!"

"Um... sure" the man says in bewilderment. "Move out as soon as you can" he says while shutting Maverick's door. Maverick barley notices his sudden absence. He returns the vials he had taken and instead grabs ones of different, much more friendly looking colors. He also grabs his shotgun, which carries blanks rather than actual ammunition. He grips it and turns towards the door with a crazed grin.

"A rescue mission?" He asks out loud. "This should be entertaining." He was a man without any true alliance to any physical group. While he was kinder to the subjects of the experiments than most- doing more tests on himself rather than them, he still gladly tested on them. But he also wasn't truly loyal to the scientists. In fact, even the people dying under the subjects hands meant nothing to him. Now that he thought about it. He was only loyal to science, and the opportunity to push the perceived physical limits of humans. He no longer would wait for nature to naturally evolve people. No, he would be the one to do it! "This will be the ultimate test~" Maverick purrs while cocking his shotgun.

Masuyo wasn't really one for hands on work. Anyone who had worked in the labs knew that, always needing assistance from simple transportation of comically improbable stacks of paperwork to wheeling whiteboards to and from meeting rooms, Masuyo couldn't hold anything heavier than a binder full of research theoretics. And even that was an arm workout and a half. So why was she getting asked to go out and retrieve lost research material?! He never signed up for fieldwork, why did he have to go?! This is a breach of contract, he'd like to talk with his boss thank you very much. Reclining in her office chair, Masuyo stared at the popcorn ceiling and wondered why she even took this job on in the first place.

Right.

The pay was good

Cursing capitalism, Masuyo took what file he did have on hand about the missing experiments. She had a hand in actually creating some of them. Well, theoretically of course. He was pretty sure they succeeded in making a Black Mamba which had his work written all over it. Ah, Masuyo would have loved to take a look at the creature but alas, work had pulled her away until it was too late and the specimen had escaped. If Masuyo didn't know any better, he would have said that his co-workers had sabotaged him specifically so he wouldn't see the fruits of his hard worked labour. But that would make them enemies and everyone in here was a friend so they wouldn't do that. Still, this gave her the opportunity to see the closest thing to a magnum opus that she has so this would be the perfect opportunity to craft her newest theoretical paper. With that motivation in mind, Masuyo gleefully compiled each and every paper he had ever written for the project. They'd come in handy if they wanted to track these specimens down.

---

Regan had always been a bit skeptical of the project. From the beginning, she questioned the ethics of such an experiment. Alas, she had been overruled by the majority of the company. By objecting she risked her livelyhood, and thus she ended up here. She had always felt a bit sorry for the subjects, not ever fully aware of what pain they must be going through. She knew they were meant to be used as weapons, but she had not anticipated the horrifying transformation that turned ordinary human beings into savage warriors...or at least, that's what they were supposed to be. Now they seemed like feral animals, rampaging with a taste for human blood, as if for vengeance. And, since she had failed to keep them contained, now she had to go out and retrieve them, with no clues as to where they went apart from 'They couldn't have gotten far'. Great.

She was sitting at her desk now, her dexterous fingers unpinning the files containing all the information on the escaped subjects...

002

Species: Mantis
Abilities: Bladed wrists, fast reflexes...

Danger Warning: Aggressive, blades are very sharp
----

006

Species: Black Leopard
Abilities: Blah blah blah

Danger Warning: Strong legs, nothing is out of reach of this hybrid
----

007

Blah blah blah


Regan skimmed through the files, taking note of the abilities to try and get an idea of what dangers she would have to face. Here's hoping a few shots of her tranq would handle most of these before she would have to worry about it. As she finished the files and began to slip them bag into the folder, she slowly reached out to scoop out the keys to the van. There was a van containing capture equipment for a scenario like this, and Regan had hoped she wouldn't need to ever use it, but alas, here she was. Slipping them into her pocket, she got up, grabbed a travel backpack, slipping the folders inside, and headed for the closet they kept all the protection equipment in. Inside were bulletproof vests, long, poofy sleeved jackets for withstanding bite wounds, and a few first aid kits...just in case. Who ever thought it was a good idea to create a venomous snake hybrid??? Suiting up, she took a deep breath. "Time to catch a hybrid...or several, hopefully." She muttered, heading out of her office and into the hall, wondering if she should grab some backup before just hopping into the van and chasing after the subjects by herself. She glanced at the offices in the hall she passed. She assumed others had received the same orders as her...she shrugged. She'd probably see them later.

---

Sophia was panting now, having escaped from the facility. The first thing she had done was run. Run far away from that place. The pain, the horror, the trauma. The coyote hybrid had vivid memories of the pain the serum had caused, warping her body unnaturally and growing fur where fur was never meant to grow. The sharp pain in her gums as all her teeth were forced out of her jaw, being pushed out and replaced by the predatory coyote teeth she presented now. How she had gone blind on that first day, as her eyes slowly and painfully mutated for the canine ones present now, granting her better night vision.

But that wasn't the worse part, oh no. Not the feeling of turning your genetics inside out, or the unnatural rage and bloodlust that overcame her. That was the tamest part of it. The most painful part had been the way the staff 'trained' them. Withholding food upon misbehavior, resorting to starving them for days. Trapping them in dark rooms, depriving them of all sensory stimulation. Electrocution. Physical violence. All heavy, blunt objects would now be a trigger for her. Sophia ran, far, far away from all the pain. But it would never go away. It was partially her fault, but how could she have known what would happen to her when she signed up to be a hybrid? Partially since she hadn't anyone to even tell, or to keep a secret from. No one had questioned it when she had gone away into the labs for testing, leaving her hometown. And now she could never go back. At least, not to the way it had been all that time ago.

Now she found herself in a small resident town. The smell of cheap foods from a nearby grocery store hit her sharp nose. Involuntarily, she felt herself start to drool, following the scent. It was now that the canine side of her started to take her over. The drive to eat...when was the last time she'd had a good meal?

---

Idris Kallikrates| The Ram

Hybrid No.256 #i2k56r
Type: Unpredictable


Idris stared at the tag which clung to grey horns which jutted painfully out of his hair, a mass of messy black curls which spilled over his pale face. His necked ached with the weight of curly horns, a result of the torturous tests which he was put through, not that long ago. He sighed, leaning against a metal signpost.

Idris scanned his surroundings for the umpteenth time. There was no one here. As usual. For the past weeks, the abandoned convenience store he camped out at was quiet. Obviously. Because...it was abandoned. There was really no point in staying cautious, really. If Xyeneca really wanted him back...well, then he would already have been captured. Right?

He sighed, closing his yellow eyes, neck drooping.

There was no chance of Xyeneca finding him, right?

Or so he thought..

Lyn's eyes sparkled, trained on a small bird. Moonlight shone from the trees above. Eating raw meat was easier and tastier than expected, so she hunted every time she saw something edible. Mmm, sparrow. Tiny, but with a nice aftertaste. She crouched and leapt, sinking claws into the warm flesh. Occasionally Lyn wanted cooked meat, but had no idea how to make a fire, so this would suffice. Her teeth sank into the wing and she sighed, feeling energy enter her body. She swore the serum made her stamina decrease.

Xyeneca, right? Well they were rich enough to torture on a mass, scientific scale, so they also had the power to track her.There had to be a reason, but Lyn's thoughts were still cloudy from the serum, pain flashed in her muscles from time to time, and she imagined the darkness of a cell when staying still. So naturally, she remained dynamic, moving from place to place and stealing what she saw fit.

The flutter of a leaf was the only sign of her departure from the clearing, as she made her way stealthily through the forest. I wonder where the others are...

The old lamp flickered with a crackling buzz, lights blinking on and off as the night swallowed up anything that it could wrap its maw around. The neon lights wrapped and bent into letters declaring the name of whatever convenience store was unlucky enough to be posted right outside the faulty streetlight had letters missing, humming weakly against the all encompassing night. Perched above the crumbling roof of the store, a tail that could scarcely be seen against the black canvas flicked leisurely, observing as narrowed eyes took in the surrounding areas. Gathered along the target's head, a few growls and chirps hissed out and their leader gave a warning rumble of his own. Cocking his head, San let his ears take in the sounds of life surrounding them before holding up a hand. Tension built among the gathered, coiled muscles tensed in anticipation as he finally let his pointer and middle finger fall down before the rest of his hand did.

A haunting howl rung out, breaking the darkened night with a bolt of fear and the moon glittered off shattered glass. Twin screams rung out from the convenience store, the smell of blood dripping into the darkness, pooling out of the caved in door. San watched with a fond little smile, cheek cradled within a gloved hand as he kicked his feet almost childishly. A faint noise from the freeway had him glancing at the road, the faint lights of an incoming vehicle shaking the very ground. His torn ears flicked, his tongue tasting the gasoline that permeated the air as he braced his booted feet against the wall of the store. A motorcycle, he determined, leaping off with a rumble in his chest and hands outstretched. Claws wrapped around smooth plastic as San bowled the rider over, slamming the poor bystander's head into the concrete. Plucking the helmet off the biker's dazed head, San hummed as he dragged his prey back into the destroyed convenience store where the rest of his children were feasting. Before morning could come, they would be gone with the wind, leaving behind mangled corpses and stolen goods, but for now they would feast.

---

Sophia slipped into the grocery store, the neon 'Open' sign still brightly shining, and the lights on. The store was quiet, which was to be expected at this time of night, but there were a few customers walking around. None of them seemed to notice her odd features, too wrapped up in their last minute buying. Luckily for them, Sophia was more focused on the smell of the full refrigerated turkey breasts marked as 'on sale'. Unfortunately for the store, Sophia had no intention of buying them as she snatched them up in her greedy paws, darting quickly out of the store. It looked like she'd be able to quickly pilfer the goods without getting into any trouble with the humans.

Or so she thought.

"Hey!" Called an angry voice behind her. "You have to pay for that!" Thump, thump! The sound of footsteps running along and fast approaching.
Normally, Sophia would curse in this situation, but all that she could manage to breath out was a growl, as she picked up her pace and quickly left the store before anyone could stop her. It didn't stop the frustrated manager from following, however, and he met her outside right as she'd started to rip open her prize with a claw.

"Hey!" He repeated, panting. "Give that back, you thief!" The manager was wearing a grocery store uniform. He was a tall, imposing man with an irritated expression. He seemed to think he was just dealing with some rebellious youth stealing from his store for kicks. He didn't seem to notice the ear flattening or the tail wagging of her very not fake coyote features. Sophia didn't respond with words, only another growl, baring her teeth, and tearing open the package more, this time fully exposing the breast. The man seemed confused, muttering "Freak." as he watched her. "Hey, hand it over, kid." He took a step forward, grabbing for the breast, but flinched back as she hissed and snapped her teeth at him. "What the hell, kid?!" He yelled, shaking his hand. "Quit acting like a wild animal and--" He was cut off as a frustrated Sophia tossed the turkey aside and pounced on him, digging her claws into his shoulders and sinking her teeth into his face. she began kicking at his torso with her back claws, which had no shoes on. They had been taken off when the serum was applied, and after that she no longer fit into them. As she mauled his face, his blood spilling into her mouth, little howls escaped the hybrid, sending haunting calls into the night.

The manager screamed in agony, somehow managing to rip himself free. It seemed to finally occur to him that the teenager he was scolding was a little bit more than slightly deranged. "Call the police! Call the police, please!" He cried desperately into the night as Sophia pounced on him again, cutting off any further cries with a howl. "Guuaraaaah!" Were the only sounds that escaped him as he fought for his life.

At this point they had started to gather a small crowd as a couple people came outside to investigate the commotion. Sophia vaguely heard gasps of fright as they saw Sophia tearing a man apart. One had the gall to try and pull the girl off him, only for a well-placed hind kick to cut open their throat and cause them to stumble back, clutching their neck.


By the time the police arrived, it was far too late for the manager. His face was clawed out of shape, and blood spilled over his whole corpse. People in the streets had since darted way out of reach. At this point, the human side of her brain was enough to tell her that the police would probably kill her on sight if they saw the feral creature. Damn, and all she wanted was some food. As soon as she heard sirens, she darted to where she had left her meat and snatched it up, proceeding to book it as far away from the murdered manager as she could. Should be easy at this hour. Just had to find a place they wouldn't see her...

---