Lab Rats-Ch. 1:Emery-Pt. 1

“Be careful!” the Professor snapped as Emery almost dropped the still steaming vial of clear liquid.  

“Klutz,” he muttered.  He had a distinct French accent.

“Sorry,” the young man apologized, slowing down so as to not spill the hot liquid.

“Bring that vial here,” the Professor commanded.

Emery walked slowly over to his professor.  He carefully handed the vial over to the old man who grabbed it with a pair of tongs. He placed the vial on a stand over a burner and turned to Emery.

“Do you know what is in this vial?” he asked condescendingly.

“No…not really,” Emery replied hesitantly.

“No of course you don’t,” the Professor quipped.

“So what is it?”

“This is the new element, ‘Isabellium’.  I discovered it.”

“I’ve never heard of it before.”

“Of course you haven’t.  No one knows about it yet.”

“Well why…”

“Just watch!” the Professor snapped.  “Today is the day that I perform what might possibly be one of the world’s greatest experiments.  I, Doctor Olivier LeRoc, am about to combine my new element with a living essence.”

“What is an essence?”

“Well aren’t we ignorant?” the old man asked.  “Essences are the core of all living and elemental beings you imbecile. They do not live unless they are exposed to electromagnetic pulses. Once brought to life, these essences can be stored in extreme cold conditions, cryogenically preserving them until they can be thawed.”

“Anyways, I am going to combine an essence with this Isabellium, the clear liquid here.” The Professor explained as he pointed to the vial.  “Do you know why it sparkles?”

“No.  Why?”

“Because of the electromagnetic pulses emitted by this specific element.  Because pure Isabellium is impossible to find, there are little specks of other elements inside of it.  The electromagnetic pulses emitted are so strong that they superheat the specks of elements contained in them.  They become so charged with energy that they emit light.  That is how I discovered it.  But that is a story for another time.”

“To purify the element, we heat it over a burner and it melts.  Isabellium is denser than most other elements, including the ones it contains and so they float to the top.  When melted, Isabellium emits very few electromagnetic pulses, that is why it is sparkling so few times right now,” the old man explained.

“Would you like to see a sample of impure Isabellium?” he asked.

“Sure,” Emery replied.

“There is a container over there on the counter.  You will know the Isabellium when you see it.”

Emery walked over to the other side of the room.  There was a clear plastic container without a label sitting on the counter.  As the boy got closer, he saw many points of light coming from the container.  

“Open it up and look at it,” the Professor commanded.

Emery opened up the container.  The Isabellium was moving.  About half of it was solid and the other half was moving liquid.  As he watched it, the element changed forms constantly.  

“Pick up a piece or stick your hand in the liquid and see what happens.”

The teenager put his hand tentatively into the tub.  His fingers got halfway into the liquid when it suddenly went solid.  He pulled his hand out of the container along with about half of the Isabellium.

“Careful! Hold the solid Isabellium over the container,” the old man warned.
As Emery held his hand over the tub the element again changed to liquid and dripped back into the tub.  Emery quickly closed the tub and trotted back to his professor.

“That’s amazing!  How does it change forms like that so quickly?” Emery inquired.

“I am not quite sure yet, my experiments are inconclusive but I believe it has to do with changes in it’s environment.”  The professor replied.  “For the first experiment, I will be combining the Isabellium with the essence of dragon.”

“But how could you get the essence of dragon?  Dragons never existed,” Emery questioned.

“I have no time for your ignorance child!  Did you not hear that the Society proved that theory wrong a long time ago?  They found dragon remains in Iceland.  They proved that it wasn’t a dinosaur because it had hydrogen glands found on the sides of its face.”

“They did?  How come they never told the rest of the world about this?”

“How am I supposed to know? Do I work with the Society?”

“I thought you did.”

“I work for them, not exactly with them.  I am not informed about everything that goes on.  They keep a lot hidden.  There are many things that they discover that never get announced.”

“But why?”

“How would I know?” the Professor growled impatiently.  “I got the essence by stealing a sample of DNA from the remains that they found.  Satisfied?  Now go get the container marked ‘Dragon’ from the freezer.”

Emery headed to the back of the lab.

“Oh là là,” the Professor sighed. He took a very fine filter and poured the hot Isabellium through it to clean out the specks of contaminants.  He turned the burner down and set the vial back on the stand.  He set up another stand six inches away from the first burner and hooked up a test tube with a rubber tube and valve a little higher than the vial.  

Emery returned with a clear plastic container marked with a giant label that said “Dragon”.  He set the container down and pulled off the lid.  The material inside was clear and gelatinous.  The Professor took a sample of the gel and placed it gently inside of the higher test tube.  He stuck a burner under the test tube and turned it on.  

“This, of course, is the essence of dragon.  It may look like nothing special but this clear gel is alive.  I was able to cryogenically preserve the essence.  It may or may not react with the Isabellium,” the old man explained.

The essence of dragon melted fairly quickly.  The Professor glanced at Emery as he began to open the valve letting the essence flow slowly through the tube.  He rubbed his hands together excitedly as the clear essence began to drip out of the tube and into the vial.  Suddenly he stopped and glared at the vial waiting for something to happen.  For a while nothing did.  Then, the liquid began to steam.  The tube began to vibrate and then it shook violently, the whole setup skidding across the table.

“Get down!” the Professor shouted.

Both men ducked under a nearby table.  Suddenly the whole table shook violently and the vial cracked.  The bonded solution began to leak slowly through the crack.

“Quick, grab one of the rats and bring it here!” the old man called.

Emery ran through the thick smoke to the rat cage and grabbed the first one he could.  He ran quickly back towards his professor.  Right before he got to the table, he tripped over something.  He flailed his arms to regain his balance but fell forward and crashed into to table, knocking the whole thing over.  There was a loud crash and a shatter as the stands with the vials fell to the floor.

“You idiot!” the Professor yelled as the smoke cleared.  “My whole experiment is ruined!  Clean it up!”

“Sorry! I’m really sorry sir!” Emery apologized.  

“Clean it up now!” the old man shouted.

“Yes sir,” the boy said running to get the cleaning supplies.  

As soon as Emery’s back was turned, the Professor smiled.  Everything was going according to plan.  The boy had paid no attention whatsoever. He walked slowly over and turned off the gas to the burner.  

Emery walked quickly back pushing a cart filled with cleaning materials.  He snatched a sponge to soak up the liquid then bent down next to the puddle and reached down to begin scrubbing.

The Professor chuckled as he walked over to the teenager.  Emery turned his head to look at his professor.  The old man raised one foot and kicked the boy in the back.  Caught off guard, Emery stumbled forward, one of his feet landing with a splash in the puddle.  He regained his balance and stood to his feet.

“What was that for?” Emery asked confusedly.

The Professor frowned.

“What?  Hey, why is my foot tingling?” Emery yelped.

The liquid began to quickly envelop the young man’s foot.  He tried to lift his foot to shake it off but his foot was held down.  

“What’s happening?” Emery asked.

His professor chuckled.

“My experiment is working,” he replied, grinning widely.

The puddle of the solution shrank as more of it was used to cover the boy’s body.  Soon, it reached Emery’s knee and within seconds it had covered his waist.  It began to creep down his other leg and up across his stomach and back.  His whole lower body was tingling.

“The sensation you are feeling is most likely the electromagnetic pulses from the Isabellium beginning to rearrange your body’s molecules,” Professor LeRoc explained.

At this point, the essence had covered Emery’s legs and hips.  It was quickly moving up towards his chest.  Emery yelled, trying to move but finding that it was impossible.  The essence that was covering his legs had solidified due to the Isabellium that it had bonded with.  The solidified solution was still clear and it looked like Emery’s lower body had been frozen in ice.  

Soon, Emery’s shoulders were frozen in place as the essence covered them too.  He waved his arms wildly one last time before they too were immobilized.  The living essence quickly moved down and covered his hands.  Emery threw his head back and screamed as the solution slid up over his neck and over his face.  It slid into his nose and mouth, coating the inside of both.  The essence soaked through his clothes so that it was in direct contact with his skin.

The Professor’s mouth dropped open in both amazement and excitement and the solution again became liquid in places like his spine, face and legs.  Spikes extended from his back, starting at the nape of his neck and grew in a line following his spine.  They pushed through his shirt, ripping it.  They continued to grow down his spine, also pushing through his pants, down to his tailbone, out of which a tail began to form.  His shirt ripped again as the wings began to push through.  The essence around the teen’s face began to reshape itself, forming a dragon’s head, horns and all.  

There was a muffled scream as Emery’s legs bent in two places forming a dragon’s legs.  His feet bent to form the dragon’s feet.  His back was bent forward and he was forced to his hands and knees.  His neck extended and his face cracked as it formed itself to the shape that the essence created.  Emery’s spine crackled as it extended down into the tail, spikes and wings.  The muscles on the teen’s shoulders began to writhe and move to fill in the empty shape left by the essence.  The Professor watched in shock.

The essence covering Emery’s legs began to turn an opaque crimson color.  The color quickly spread up to his waist and up to his neck.  Emery’s body began to expand in certain places to fill in the dragon’s form.  Suddenly, Emery’s shoes, pants and shirt exploded off of him as his body grew larger.  Emery’s whole body was dragon shaped and covered in the dark blood colored liquid.

At his feet, the final stage of the transformation took place.  The essence began to melt into his skin.  Soon it became his only skin.  Scales and claws formed themselves on his feet.  The essence all over his body began to do the same.  Within seconds, Emery’s whole body was covered in tough dragon’s skin and scales.  His wings, completed, unfurled knocking over two nearby tables.  

The transformation was complete.  Emery, the 19-year-old American student was now a blood red dragon.