Hybrid Theory Unreleased

Hybrid Theory Sapphire Version: Lugina's Tale
By shadowlugia249

We live in a strange and wondrous world. New technology is being introduced into the world every day. You'd be surprised what scientists can do with animals and people in technology and medicine today. But I never thought that they'd both mix one day or that I’d be one of the “unfortunate” ones to get tangled up in it like so many others.
Yep, a strange twist of science and medicine along with fate is what made me the woman I am today. Although, when I look back on the whole thing, I like to think that it was destiny that intervened that day.
I guess I should get started...

When I was 16, I was diagnosed with skin cancer. I went through numerous treatments in order to cure it, but nothing could even hide the large patches of blackened skin on my torso, my legs and my shoulders.
I was a wreck! I couldn't go out into the community without getting strange looks, I couldn't go to the beach and show off my body and I couldn't wear any T-shirts without exposing my body to the public.
I had taken to the life of a hermit for the past few months. I didn't go out at all. I had a feeling that the rest of my life was going to be kept in seclusion until I died from this accursed skin cancer!
A few years after I was diagnosed, I ran across an ad in the paper that was advertising something called “MetaboAnthro”. It was a medical company that had been researching miracle cures for several “incurable” diseases such as AIDS, Autism, Hepatitis A, B and C and... I had to rub my eyes just to make sure that I was seeing things right – yes! All forms of cancer!
The ad read thus:

MetaboAnthro is a revolutionary medical clinic that has spent the last 50 years researching breakthrough technology in animal and human medicine to cure supposedly “incurable” diseases. Recent development in MetaboAnthro has yielded tried-and-true cures in the fields of AIDS, Autism, Hepatitis A, B and C and even all known types of cancer.
Our secret lies in the field of animals where, after thorough testing, has produced special strains of medicine that harnesses animals' unique abilities and makes them compatible with humans.
Years of research and testing has allowed people to live life in comfort without fear of disease. In fact, our tests have enhanced human traits in the following fields:

• Longevity
• Regeneration
• Intelligence
• Strength
• And much more!

Now, you can try out this revolutionary technology for free! Ask your doctor if you have an “incurable” disease or mental illness. If you qualify, bring your medical papers down to:

249 Tetra Walkway
St. Cloud, MN  55555

The first 300 volunteers will be admitted into our state-of-the-art facility to receive free treatment for their medical condition. See your doctor and stop by today!

It was as if my birthday, Christmas and Thanksgiving had all come at the same time! This was great! If what they were saying was true, then MetaboAnthro had just come up with the cure to all of life's problems! And what's more, I fit all the requirements! I had an “incurable” disease and I had the necessary paperwork. The only thing that could possibly make this moment disappointing was if all the volunteer positions had been filled.
Running over to the phone, I dialed the number to MetaboAnthro and waited for an answer.
“*click* Hello, MetaboAnthro Medical Clinic. How may I help you?” A female voice answered.
“Hi, my name is Denise Patterson. I'm calling in response to your ad in the West Central Tribune. I'd like to make an appointment.”
“May I ask what illness you have, what doctor you see and where you go?”
“Uh... I have terminal skin cancer and I see Dr. John Phillips in the Willmar ACMC.”
“Just a moment.”
I waited while some typing sounds were heard on the other end. After a while, the woman spoke again.
“Your medical records state that you were diagnosed on March 25th, 2002, correct?”
“Yes, that's correct.”
A few more typing sounds were heard followed by the woman's voice again.
“Well, Ms. Patterson, everything checks out. We have an opening tomorrow afternoon at 3 P.M. Can you make it?”
“3:00... 3:00...” I checked my calendar. “Yeah, I can make it! I'll be by tomorrow at 3:00 then.”
“We look forward to seeing you then. Good-bye! *click*”
Oh boy! I was finally going to be rid of this accursed skin cancer at 3:00 tomorrow! I went to sleep with positive thoughts in my head.

The next day, I left early so that I could be in St. Cloud by 3:00. It was over an hour before I got there, which allowed me to bask in the glory of finally being cured.
I then realized a hitch in the plan. The ad had said something about introducing animal traits into the medical process. I hoped that they knew what they were doing -- I was allergic to dogs and cats.
When I got to the location, I parked my car and looked up at the building. Letting out a low whistle, I stood admiring MetaboAnthro. It was as big as a cathedral and was made mostly out of white marble.
The inside of the building was just as impressive. The polished granite floor ended in an expertly-cut marble staircase. The furniture was made out of the finest oak and a massive glass chandelier hung from the ceiling. This place was obviously furbished with a lot of money.
I approached the front counter and spoke with the secretary.
“Is this where you check in?”
“Yes,” said the woman. “May I help you?”
“Uh... I'm Denise Patterson and I had an appointment for 3:00 today.”
“Ah, yes. You made the appointment yesterday. Did you bring your medical papers?”
“Yes, I did... Hold on.”
Rummaging through my purse, I produced a large blue binder marked “Medical” and gave it to her.
“Great!” She reached under her desk and produced a large, red binder and a clipboard with several sheets of paper attached to it. “If you could just fill these out and pick out your preferred... treatment from this book, I'll be waiting for you to return. Don't worry – everything is completely confidential and will not be seen by a third party.”
“Thanks.”
I took them both and went over to a leather sofa. Taking out a pen, I started on the questions.
They were pretty general to begin with. They asked how old I was, what illness I had, where I went to school and so on. Piece of cake.
But when I flipped to the second page, I noticed the words, “Consult the supplied book for your preferred treatment and write its code number on this line.”
Opening the binder, I flipped through the pages, reading the types of treatment they had for skin cancer. There were no pictures, but the treatment name and the benefits were listed on each page.
For example:

Absol Treatment: Code A3F2
Illnesses treated: AIDS, Hepatitis B, Tourettes Syndrome, ADHD, Skin Cancer, and Lung Cancer
Benefits: Age Expectancy: 150+ years, Increased Agility, Increased Strength
Side Effects: Shadow-based Manipulation, increased body fur

Okay, that was just too weird! I had never heard of something called “Shadow-based Manipulation”, but the thought of living over 150 years and increased agility kind of worked in my favor. Keeping an eye on this treatment, I leafed through the book at the other various treatments for skin cancer.
The other treatments were just as strange. They all included various benefits and side effects that made it seem like life would actually be better after treatment. However, each treatment contained a “Something-based manipulation” as a side-effect. Huh.
I was about to go with the “Zangoose Treatment” when I read something called the “Lugia Treatment”. It read as thus:

Lugia Treatment: Code F249
Illnesses treated: All mental-based and skin-based illnesses
Benefits: Age expectancy 500+ years, Flight, Underwater breathing, Increased intelligence, increased strength, mental enhancement
Side Effects: Psychic-based and Water-based Manipulation, Non-vocal communication, Inability to show deception

I guess this one would work. After all, it worked on all skin-related diseases. And the benefits were just too good to pass up! I wrote down “F249” on the survey sheet and finished the questions. Then I brought the book and the clipboard back up to the front desk.
“Thank you very much,” said the woman, taking my things. “Someone will see you in a few minutes. Please wait patiently.”
I did wait patiently. It was over 30 minutes before a man in a white lab coat and a well-groomed haircut came over to me.
“Denise Patterson?”
“Yes?”
“My name is David. I just read through your survey and I wanted to welcome you to MetaboAnthro. Would you follow me, please?”
David and I went up the marble staircase and entered a security-locked door. However, it was just the first of many doors of the same type. Some required passwords, some required a keycard and some even required voice-recognition.
“Why is there so much security in this hospital?” I wondered.
“Our projects are very top secret,” said David. “We don't want to let anything out that our rival companies could profit from.”
“Oh... Okay.”
When we reached the end of the gauntlet of locked doors, we reached an examination room. David had me strip down and put on a white robe and I sat on a steel examination table. He then left the room for a moment.
The room looked like a basic examination room with sterile equipment and various doctors' paraphernalia. It gave no indication that I had walked into... I won't tell you just yet.
David returned with a steel briefcase. Setting it down on the table, he opened it and revealed...
Whoa!!! That was the biggest syringe that I had ever seen! It had three chambers arranged in a triangle with a huge, thick needle at the end!
“What are you going to do with that?!” I yelped, going pale.
“I am going to inject you with three liquids that will help cure you of your skin cancer. It'll be all at once and it'll be over quickly. You did state in your survey that you are not allergic to any of our medicines, correct?”
“Y-yes.”
“Then you don't have anything to worry about. It'll be over before you know it.”
“I hope you're right.” I held out my arm for him to inject whatever it was he was about to do.
“Don't worry –
none of our previous patients have suffered any serious side effects yet. You'll be fine. Oh, by the way...” He reached into the briefcase and withdrew a flexible leather collar. “You need to put this on. It'll help you withstand the process a little more.” I frowned at the collar but hooked it around my neck anyway.
David took three vials of colored liquid and inserted them into the chambers of the syringe. One of them was blue, one was red and the last one was completely clear. Locking them into their chambers, he took my arm and swabbed a vein with alcohol. He then inserted the needle into my skin.
It didn't burn it did feel like liquid ice was being injected into my system. I held my breath and tried not to look at the massive needle. When it was all over, he withdrew the needle like a large splinter was being removed.
“You're going to feel a slight dizziness now,” said David, replacing the syringe in the briefcase. “I can assure you, though, that it's all part of the process. I would advise you to lie down and wait for it to subside. When it's all done, just press the “Call” button next to the door and I will assist you.”
Holy @#$&!!! He wasn't kidding! It felt as if I had gone on the Merry-go-round from Hell! The whole room was spinning and I couldn't focus on a single point in the room. Lying down, I tried not to vomit as the room spun in no particular direction.
All the while, my skin felt like ice. I couldn't stop shivering and I thought I would end up looking like a human ice block. My skin turned a very pale white, but the patches where my skin cancer had infected seemed to fill out and become just as white.
My neck hurt and ached like something was pulling on it. Not only that, but my tailbone felt a similar but more intense feeling. My feet hurt just as well and I could have sworn that I heard several bones in my body snap.
When the room finally stopped spinning, I sat up and felt my head. What was in that cocktail that they gave me?  My whole body was aching but at least I was warm again. Sliding off the table, I woozily walked over to a mirror by the sink.
“NOOOOOOOOO!!!” I screamed, but all that came out was something like a tortured whale.
What the hell happened to me?! My face had twisted and changed so that my head was pointed at the top and a pointed navy-blue flash extended from each of my similar-colored eyes! Along with that, my neck was about ten inches longer than it was supposed to be.
Ripping of the robe, I saw that my whole body was covered in the same silver-white skin! The only part that was different was my torso and breast areas. That part had an odd sky-blue mark on it that made a V-shape on my bosom.
I craned my neck, which was considerably easier now, and looked at my back. Five odd, navy-blue, rectangular “plates” were growing from each side of my spine and my butt had pretty much disappeared. My feet, I realized, had only three large, round toes each and I was propped up on them like they were digitigrade.
But that's not what concerned me. I nearly cried when I saw that I had a tail! A long, thick, flexible tail had grown from my tailbone and reached down to the floor. Two navy-blue spikes were attached near the tip. I could feel the appendage like it was part of me now!
What the hell was going on?! It was as if I had turned into a mutated bird-woman! I wanted to just scream with agony, but my vocal cords were not working properly. My voice had changed along with the rest of me!
Running over to the door, I hammered on the “Call” button and waited for David to return. After some trial and error, I realized that I could “speak” with my mind instead of my voice. What's more, whenever I was feeling scared, some of the items scattered around the room seemed to vibrate slightly and the lights flickered as well.
When David returned, I let him have it.
What the hell did you do to me?! I'm a freak! What is wrong with this place?!
“If you'll just sit down, I'll explain everything to you.”
Still furious, I did as he said, trying not to sit on my new tail.
“For some time, MetaboAnthro has been experimenting with animal DNA to help create disease-free hybrids. We have been able to create unique creatures with special powers that we can use to help cure people.”
But… what am I?! I nearly screamed. I've never seen a creature that looks like me before!
“That's because we've been taking the best traits from existing hybrids and enhancing them to make people like you super-powerful. With hybrids like you, we plan to recruit more and more people to our cause.”
“That's terrible! People shouldn't be forced to become... “hybrids” against their will! I would never allow it!”
David smiled evilly. “Unfortunately, you don't have a choice in the matter. You've probably noticed by now that we've been gathering people with dangerous diseases or mental illnesses. They're more susceptible to becoming hybrids and adding to our army.”
You're mad! All of you! I got to my feet. I don't know about the rest of you, but I am so out of here!
I made for the door but was suddenly stopped by a powerful shock that hit me hard around the neck and I slumped to the floor.
“You aren't going anywhere. If you really must know, we destroyed all of your personal records. You don't even exist anymore. You belong to us now and if you don't follow our rules...” David pointed to the collar around my neck. “You are in for a painful lesson.”
I slowly got to my feet. When I had been shocked, several items in the room had shook violently and the mirror had cracked. It seemed that my mental capabilities had been enhanced so that I was now telekinetic. Trying to use this to my advantage, I stared at David and tried to project my feelings towards him.
It wasn't very effective. I managed to make it hard for him to breathe, but I was too inexperienced to do anything more. I received another painful shock for this.
“Temper, temper. I see we'll have to show you how to harness your powers more effectively... to our advantage, of course.”
You'll never use me! I got to my feet again and stared a hole through him. Something about my new form was recovering my energy ten times faster than I normally could. I'd rather die than serve you – unh!!!
Something sharp had hit me in the thigh. Turning my head, I saw three tranquilizer darts embedded in my shin. I was fading fast and was on the floor again in seconds.
You...! I'll... get... you... for... this...! I was out like a light.
David addressed the three men behind me armed with tranquilizer guns. “Well done, boys. I see that we'll have to do a little memory wiping to keep this one in check. Take her away.”

I awoke strapped to a steel chair somewhere inside the complex several hours later. I soon realized that my arms, legs and tail were strapped down so that I couldn't move even with my enhanced strength.
“I see that the young hybrid has awoken,” said David from behind a one-way mirror in front of me. “It's time for you to surrender to us.”
I told you that I would never serve you! I mentally shouted.
“If that's how you are going to be, then let's get this over with.”
He pressed a button on a control panel and a helmet with wires attached to it lowered onto my head. Two men stepped in and secured it tightly. If this was an execution, it probably wouldn't be as bad as serving these warped men.
“Any last words before we wipe your memory, Project Lugina?”
Lugina? Is that my name now? Regardless, I gave out what I was sure were going to be my last words of free will.
There will be others that will catch onto your little scheme! They'll shut you down for good! I swear that I will get revenge on what you did to me one day!
I didn't know it yet, but every word that I spoke was the truth -- a side effect of my changed form.
“Touching words,” scoffed David. “But completely irrelevant. Once we go public, nothing will be able to stop us. Ta-ta!”
He threw a switch and my mind was racked with pain. I couldn't think, nor would I ever think again. My last comforting thoughts were that someone out there was planning to put an end to MetaboAnthro's operation. I was going to be used as a weapon and nothing was ever going to change that...
...yet.
To be continued...?