//------------------------------//
// Chapter 52: Infectious 
// Story: Shy and Aggressive 
// by Johng117 
//------------------------------//

Aiko Riku was currently sitting down at a table as she was typing along a laptop. Her eyes focused on her screen as she filled out her report to the new Director, Hayato Yoshi. It seemed that given that he was Onyx's closest and most trusted subordinate, he was the one to promote to take leadership. Now, she was one to take orders from him. As Aiko typed away on her laptop, Angirasu walked through the living room in silence.

"You're leaving now?" asked Aiko as she noticed her son.

"Yes," answered Angirasu as he made his way out the door.

"Um... Want me to-" Aiko failed to finish her sentence as her son had already left the house. She sighed heavily to herself with a light frown. So far, Angirasu has been rather passive aggressive towards her or just flat out ignored her. It wasn't easy being under the same roof after the incident they had on Christmas. Aiko shook her head as she went back to typing her report. Soon she would have to leave to take her place in watching her son at school. Suddenly, her laptop jingled, where a notification popped up on the corner of her screen. It was a news notification. Normally, Aiko would ignore these notifications but the preview to a headline read, 'GeneCo to utilize...'. The preview teased the woman with questions. Curious, she clicked on the notification and was brought to another window, where she found an article. She read the headline, and her eyes widened. It read, 'GeneCo to utilize new inhibitor collars'. Aiko began to read through the article, where the writer described that newly developed inhibitor collars were to be used for Transmutants that either lived before embryonic implants or had damaged inhibitor chips to allow them to 'fully function in society'. Aiko felt her stomach turn as she read the article, finding that these collars may be passed on in a year or so. If this was true, then that would mean that Angirasu would qualify to have one of these collars. Meaning that if his transformation and animal instincts are kept in check, then that would mean that there was no need for Aiko's presence anymore to watch him. She would be forced to move on to her next mission. Aiko bit her lip as she clenched her fists. The timing couldn't have been worse, with the two having a severely strained relationship.





During the cold, the Dazzlings were making their way towards the school. Adagio bore a solemn look on her face as she walked alongside her sisters. There was an awkward silence among them as they walked. The three entered the school, catching some warmth in the main foyer.

"I got a project I need to finish. Catch you two later. Adagio, no funny business," said Aria in a warning tone.

"Yeah, sure," said Adagio with an annoyed sigh. Aria left the two in the foyer, while Adagio rolled her eyes. She then noticed that Junior was entering the building with Fluttershy at his side. The Transmutant shot the girl a weak smile. Adagio merely narrowed her eyes a bit as she looked at the two. She turned and proceeded to walk off, clenching the strap to her backpack. Junior sighed heavily as she left.

"Did something happen?" asked Sonata in worry. She knew that normally, her sister would be teasing and flirting with Junior.

"Something like that," said Junior. Fluttershy looked at him worriedly. Junior watched as Adagio was greeted by over a dozen of other boys, which she greeted with high spirit. Junior sighed to himself as the girl led her 'fans' through the hall.





Angirasu was sitting in his class in silence as he wrote down some notes. He listened as his teacher lectured the class and wrote key information on the board. As he wrote, Angirasu made a mistake on his spelling. He reached for his eraser to correct the mistake but he accidently knocked it off of his desk and onto the ground. He sighed in annoyance and lowered himself under his desk and picked up the eraser. He got back up to his seat and began to erase the mistake. However, the eraser ended up smearing the spot on the paper. Angirasu exhaled sharply through his nose as he began to erase the smear. However, it kept spreading. Angirasu began to erase harder, but he tore a bit of the paper. Angirasu gritted his teeth as he suppressed a growl in frustration. The Transmutant also noticed that he was missing out on the lecture and some notes. He scratched his desk in aggravation, even able to feel stares on him from some of his neighbors who heard his frustration.

'Mind your damn business people!' thought Angirasu as he began to write on his slightly damaged paper.

Later, the Transmutant was out of class. He was fuming to himself as he moved through the hall. He was feeling aggravated for some reason. He couldn't figure out the source. The boy just felt ticked this morning. Soon, he made his way over to his locker where he switched out his books. However, he accidently slammed his locker on his hand as he closed it. Angirasu yelped and groaned in pain. His muscles in his hand ached and his very hand began to slightly swell.

"Damn it!" growled Angirasu as he felt his hand burning as it ached. He waved it a bit but still could not sooth the pain. Angirasu growled angrily as his irises briefly expanded. He reached into his bag with his free hand and pulled out his medication. He placed a pill into his mouth and took out a water bottle, where he swallowed the pill. He sighed heavily as the swelling subsided and his hand went numb a bit after the pain wore off. He also noticed as his hand bore light traces of scales that began to fade away. He exhaled sharply.

"Control yourself, Aang," said Angirasu with a sigh.





The East Wing of the surface of the Vault was under reconstruction. The process was slow, but it was moving along. Those who have been posted here were still in shock that a meteorite was the cause. The odds of that were surely slim. But as the saying goes, shit happens. There was relief to know that there was not an attack going on. This had put those here at ease.

Meanwhile, a guard was coughing as he roamed through the hall. He cleared his throat, but proceeded to cough again.

"Should've called in sick," said the guard as he made his way through the hall. He then began to cough harder, causing his eyes to bug out. His face turned red and hot from his coughing fit, and his stomach tightened.

"Oh God!" the guard quickly ran through the hallway as he cupped his mouth. He soon breached through the door to the restroom, where he made his way into one of the stalls and hunched over the toilet bowl. A staff member grimaced as he heard the guard vomit. The guard panted as he knelt over the bowl, and proceeded to puke again. He shook violently as his vomit was an orange-red color. His breathing wheezed and his vision blurred. The guard felt painful stings through his body and a painful irritation on his skin under his uniform. He attempted to stand but felt himself losing balance and fell back on the ground wheezing, as his eyes began to bleed. His face was sickly pale, and his skin appeared to have been growing thistles.

Meanwhile below ground, Transmutants in their cells began to groan as they were covered in sweat. Some had vomit into their own cells and were bleeding from their eyes. Some even had unnatural tiny crystal-like protrusions sticking out of their flesh. Other Transmutants in their cells had taken noticed of these moans and groans.

"Hey, shut up!" shouted a Transmutant in annoyance. From the control center, a guard stood by at the controls as he looked to the warden.

"They just started groaning like this a couple minutes of ago," said the guard. The Warden sighed in annoyance.

"Send some men to check on them. They might just be belly aching to be down here like always," said the Warden, dismissively.

As a few guards moved through the prison levels, the groans and moans continued. One guard made his way down on the lower levels, where he came across a cell where a Transmutant was groaning.

"Alright, what seems to be the problem?" asked the guard in annoyance. His eyes widened as he saw that the prisoner was sitting on the floor, covered in vomit and his eyes were bleeding. The Transmutant was wheezing as he shivered violently.

"Help..." wheezed the Transmutant as he coughed up blood. The guard stepped back with a look of shock.

"What the fuck?" asked the guard. From a few other cells, guards were finding prisoners in the same state.

"Sir, something is very wrong. These guys don't look so good," said a guard on the COM. The warden sighed heavily as he took out a tablet and began to look through surveillance footage. It was here that he noticed just what the guards were seeing as he found some of the prisoners in a severely ill state. He was dumbfounded at how this could happen. The prisoners were locked in cells with fields that trapped gas and matter within, just miles underground 24/7. The vents were the only thing that allowed air into their cells, but they were specially filtered to prevent possible infections from the surface to avoid having to interact with any prisoners that were ill. You couldn't be too careful when it came to opening one of these cells down here.

"Shit." The warden rubbed his brows. "Get a medical team down here."

"Got it," said a guard as he was about make a call on his COM.

"Wait." the Warden looked through his tablet. He took the information from the surveillance footage in the cells and found the names of those showing ill effects. He then looked through their records.

"Scratch that. Keep those cells locked down," said the Warden.

"Sir?" asked one of the guards.

"These are very dangerous Transmutants that were locked in here for killing sprees. I think it's in the world's best interest if we let nature take its course. Wouldn't you agree?" asked the Warden. The guard nodded in response.

"Now. We should probably figure out where this infection-"

"Warden, we have a situation here," said a voice on the COM. The Warden reached for his COM.

"What is it?" asked the Warden.

"One of the guards here seems to be pretty sick. There's vomit all over, there's blood. It's a mess up here," said the voice. The Warden's eyes widened.

"I want everyone in the area to steer clear from that area!" said the Warden. He then switched channels on the COM.

"We may have a situation. I need a Quarantine in place," said the Warden.





It was lunch. Eliza was peeking over her shoulder as she walked through the hallway alone. Her eyes scanned the sea of students behind her. The girl quickly made her way through the hallway and rounded different corners. Her eyes searched her surroundings with vigilance. She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, prompting the girl to gasp with a start as she had her hands raised in a defensive stance and turned around. She found Rodan chuckling as he had his arms crossed.

"Settle down, you might hurt someone with those," said Rodan in teasing tone. Eliza relaxed as she gave an embarrassed chuckle.

"Excuse me, Rodan. I thought you were someone else," said Eliza as she adjusted her bag. She then took his hand.

"Come! We should go before my cousins see us," said Eliza as she began to pull Rodan along through the hall, where they disappeared into the sea of students. Soon, they two were making their way further away from students.

"Listen, I feel kinda bad," said Rodan. Eliza looked at him curiously.

"Why is that?" asked Eliza.

"Well, it's just that I feel bad that we have to hang out in secret. I don't won't things to get awkward or tense with your cousins," said Rodan. Eliza shook her head with a reassuring smile.

"Nonsense. As they say, 'all work, no play makes Jack a dull boy'." said Eliza.

"In this case, it would be 'no play makes Eliza a dull girl'," said Rodan with a chuckle. But he mentally groaned at his bad joke. Eliza shared the chuckle, putting Rodan at ease. Soon, the two found themselves sitting on the bleachers in the back of the school where the soccer field was present, where snow covered the ground. The two were enjoying their lunch together as they sat.

"It's nice today, isn't it?" asked Eliza. Rodan nodded.

"Mm hmm. Kinda cold though," said Rodan with a shiver.

"Hmm. I know, it's great," sighed Eliza as she inhaled deeply in took in the cold air.

"You really like it cold huh?" asked Rodan.

"I love it. Don't you?" asked Eliza.

"It's alright. There's a point where it's a bit too much for me. I'm more of a spring kind of guy," said Rodan as he rubbed his cold hands together and blew warm air into them. Eliza watched as the Transmutant tried to warm himself up a bit. Just by looking at him, she could tell that he was having a hard time tolerating the cold. His ears and cheeks had grown red with blood flow, and he slightly began to fidget in his seat. Eliza scooted close to him and wrapped her arms around him. Much to Rodan's surprise, Eliza brought him close to herself.

"You're cold," said Eliza in a caring tone as she held Rodan's head against her chest. The boy flushed furiously as he stiffened. The bit of warmth that the girl was giving off was not enough to distract him from the fact that he was resting on the girl's bosom. Eliza lightly smiled to herself as she held the boy close.

"You seem rather flustered," said Eliza. Rodan immediately pulled away from her with an embarrassed look.

"Me? No way! I'm cool! I'm great!" said Rodan with a forced laugh as his heart pounded in his chest. Eliza smiled at him in amusement.

"It's alright. I find it rather endearing," said Eliza. Rodan rubbed the back of his head shyly.

"Heh." Rodan's irises suddenly grew and pupils dilated. He suddenly got off the bleacher and curled his arms at his side as he stood tall. Eliza looked at him in confusion.

"Rodan?" asked Eliza. Rodan suddenly made a sound that sounded like a squawk, startling the girl. The Transmutant began to take steps forward while bending himself forward as he stretched his arms out and curled them back in before snapping himself back upright. Eliza looked on worriedly as the Transmutant made these squawking sounds as he bent and snapped as he took steps around the bleachers where Eliza sat. The girl got up and made her way over to the Transmutant and proceeded to shake him.

"Rodan!" called Eliza. The Transmutant shook his head as his eyes returned to normal.

"Huh?" Rodan looked at the girl, who bore a worried look.

"Are you alright?" asked Eliza. Rodan merely blinked a few times as he was silent.

"Yeah, I'm good. Why do you ask?" asked Rodan in confusion. Eliza looked at him incredulously.

"You- No, never mind," said Eliza. Rodan hummed in confusion, while the girl smiled in amusement.

'Possibly just a Transmutant thing,' thought Eliza.

It was after lunch. Eliza waved to Rodan as they parted ways in the hall. The girl walked alone in the hallway and made her way over to a locker. As she opened it, she proceeded to switch out items from her bag.

"Hey, Eliza, right?" asked a voice. The girl turned and found Twilight Sparkle to be standing behind her.

"Oh. You're one of Rodan's friends. Um... I apologize, I don't think I ever got your name," said Eliza sheepishly.

"Twilight Sparkle," said Twilight with a friendly smile.

"Twilight. Like the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun's rays from the atmosphere," said Eliza. Twilight bore a look of surprise as the girl said this.

"Yeah, that's right," said Twilight.

"It's a lovely name, if you don't mind me saying," said Eliza. Twilight blushed with a flattered look.

"Aw, thanks. A-Anyway, I've been meaning to speak to you," said Twilight as she recomposed herself. Eliza tilted her head in curiosity.

"Oh?"

"I've noticed how you and Rodan seemed to have hit it off as friends. But I can't help but notice that you spend an awful lot of time to yourself," said Twilight.

"Oh. I'm uh... I guess you can say I'm just shy around other people. But Rodan... I think he's easy for me to be around because..." Eliza paused. Twilight bore a curious look.

"Because?"

"I think he's rather charming," said Eliza. Twilight looked at her in surprise.

"Really?" asked Twilight. Eliza nodded.

"Yes. Don't you?" asked Eliza.

"Well I mean... He's a nice guy. But he's not really my type," said Twilight as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her head. Truthfully, the way the Transmutant would flirt with almost every girl he saw or met was a bit off putting.

"Your type?" asked Eliza in confusion.

"Yeah. I- Wait, maybe we should get back to what I was saying," said Twilight with a forced laugh. Eliza still bore a puzzled look.

"Listen, my friends and I are going to be having a study session after school. We're going to go over some math and Equish assignments. Wanna join?" asked Twilight. Eliza replaced items in her bag with a reluctant look.

"I do not know. I..." Eliza looked away.

"It helps to be around others to study when it comes to learning. We also plan on having a bit of fun afterwards," said Twilight. Eliza looked her way as her interest peaked.

"Well... I suppose that it will be fine," said Eliza with a small smile. Twilight beamed with a joyous look.

"Great! After school, meet me at the Wondercolt statue. And be sure to bring your learning hat!" said Twilight as she began to walk off. Eliza bore a quizzical look.

"Learning hat?" asked Eliza. She then shook her head.





Eliza was walking down the hall among other students. Her expression was filled with worry as she navigated through the hall as she held a hand under her chin. The girl was feeling a bit of anxiety. She mostly spent her time around her cousins and Rodan, so she rarely interacted with the other kids here at school. And suddenly, Twilight comes up to her and invites her to have a study session with her and her friends. This made Eliza uneasy. Truthfully, she was touched that Twilight went out of her way to invite her, but she was worried. She was going to be among people who were mostly strangers and with no one she was most familiar with to be around. Eliza worried that she might do something to annoy the others, or may somehow offend them. As Eliza made her way outside to the front of the school, she found Twilight standing by the Wondercolt statue, along with the rest of the Main Six. Eliza took a breath and quickly picked up her pace and made her way to the group.

"No more using your speed in public, got it?" asked Twilight as she had her eyes narrowed at Rainbow Dash.

"You're not still mad about the prank are you?" asked Rainbow.

"I couldn’t care less about that. We need to blend in. That means, no abusing your- Oh, she's here!" said Twilight as she quickly turned to greet Eliza.

"Eliza! Glad you could make it!" said Twilight as she waved to the girl.

"Thank you for inviting me," said Eliza. Twilight turned to her friends.

"Girls, you remember Eliza right?" asked Twilight. The girls greeted Eliza.

"Pleased to meet you all again," said Eliza.

"Alrighty. Let's get going," said Applejack.

"Oh hold on. Fluttershy, is Gojira coming?" asked Twilight. Fluttershy shook her head.

"He said 'no'," replied Fluttershy. Twilight's expression turned to disappointment.

"Oh. OK then," said Twilight. There was an awkward silence among the group. Eliza looked at all of the girls in confusion at the dead silence.

"Hey, forget him! It's just gonna be us girls, right? Come on!" said Rainbow as she playfully nudged Twilight.

"Hey, I need you in the game if I want to pass this math test, egghead. Come on!" said Rainbow as she pulled Twilight in with her arm around her. The petite girl cracked a small smile.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess it's girls’ night!" said Twilight. The group erupted into cheers, startling Eliza out of her wits.





The Vault was surrounded by armed soldiers and armored vehicles. Choppers flew overhead, circling the facility. The building itself had its windows and doors sealed up by plastic sheets. Plastic tents were set up outside, as humans were covered in hazmat suits. From within the building, there were staff members being examined by GeneCo staff that wore hazmat suits. The Warden himself was being examined, having a doctor shining a light in his eye.

"Hmm. You seem healthy. Any headaches or any form of discomfort?" asked the doctor.

"No. I feel fine," said the Warden. He then looked to the rest of the staff that were separately being examined. Some of the staff members looked anxious as they were examined. It was understandable since they were all being checked for a possible infection.

"Do any of you know what we're dealing with?" asked the Warden.

"At the moment, no. Right now, we have some of our staff examining the body of the infected guard," said the doctor.

"It may take a while to figure out what we're dealing with. But until then, we need to identify as much of the infected as we can. As for you, we're going to be moving you and others to the South Wing. We can't let you go at this time, but if you are all healthy, we can at least keep you somewhere isolated from any possible infection," said the doctor as he took a syringe and needle out.

"Hold still. I need to draw some blood," said the doctor as he rubbed anesthetic on the Warden's arm.

"I just wonder how this happened," said the Warden.

Meanwhile near the East Wing of the facility, plastic had covered the walls and windows. GeneCo staff was moving equipment around, while some examined bile and samples from the guard that lied dead in a bed.

"This is nothing like I've seen before," said a man as he scrapped at thin crystal-like protrusions on the corpse's face.

"Crystals emerging from the host's skin? What the hell are we dealing with?" asked another man as he took the crystal samples.

"The bacteria is also irregular from what we've seen," said a man as he looked through a microscope, analyzing the bile fluid from the host. There were cellular objects that appeared round, but also appeared to have had prickly protrusions.

"We need an extra set of hands down here to help stabilize one of the confirmed hosts," said a voice on the COM. A woman with violet eyes proceeded to move away from her station.

"I'll go," said the woman as she made her way out of the room and through the tent.

"Someone take over for Laura," said a man as he took a scalpel as another cut through the guard's shirt.

Laura was walking through the East wing alone in silence. Her violet eyes coldly looked at her surroundings. She turned and found the men's restroom, which was sealed off with tape. She took out a small orb from her pocket and knelt down. She sat it at the base of the doorway and proceeded to leave the area. She continued on through the building in silence, hiding in corners as a few men in hazmat suits passed by. She made her way over to a door and opened it to find stairs, which she descended until she made her way to a lower floor below the building. As she entered through another door, she found herself in a dark hallway, where she proceeded with her journey. The woman soon came across a door and turned the knob, but it wouldn't open. She drew out an object and held it out to the door knob. The object sprouted metal that assembled in the shape of the keyhole. Laura unlocked the door, allowing herself to enter. She found a large metal crate that bore the MOMARCH insignia. She made her way towards it and placed a hand on the crate as she pulled out a silver object with a blue digital screen.

"I've found it," said Laura.

"Administer the probe and get back to your station. We cannot allow the infection to spread," said a voice from the device. Laura reached into her pocket and pulled out another metal orb, where she placed it on top. The orb began to vibrate as it hovered. It opened up underneath and fired a yellow laser into the crate, burning a hole inside. The orb dropped down into the small hole and found itself among the broken pieces of the meteorite. The orb glowed and emitted waves all around the box, making contact with the meteorite pieces. Suddenly, the pieces broke apart and disintegrated into dust and melted metal.

Meanwhile above in the bathroom, a metal orb had burned its way through the sealed door and was in the process of sending waves to the vomit and blood on the ground. It soon made its way into the toilet, making contact with the vomit filled water.

Back in the East wing, the GeneCo staff was in the process of dissecting the dead host. As they cut through muscle and flesh, they were able to expose the vital organs.

"My God," said a doctor in shock. Before his eyes, there were crystals protruding through the host's organs. They were sharp and jagged, soaked in blood as they dug into other organs.

"Jesus. He died from all of this internal bleeding," said another man.

"This... This is something else," said the doctor, unable to form the right words in his mind due to his shock.





Eliza found herself sitting on a sofa in the home of Pinkie Pie. The Main Six were all sitting in different places in the living room, studying or doing homework. Twilight was helping Rainbow Dash solve some problems with math, while the rainbow haired girl grew frustrated. Fluttershy helped Pinkie Pie study for grammar by using the Equish textbook. Rarity and Applejack were looking through the science book as they had their study guides.

"Shucks. 'What sorts of signals does the brain use to communicate sensations, thoughts and actions?'" read Applejack as scratched her head.

"Oh! I know this one! It's um..." Rarity paused a moment. She then slumped her shoulders.

"I thought I did, but it slipped my mind," said Rarity in a flat tone.

"I think it had something to do with signals. But the exact wording escapes me," said Applejack as she flipped through the pages.

"The single cells in the brain communicate through electrical and chemical signals," said Eliza as she took a seat with the two on the ground.

"Is it?" asked Rarity.

"Sounds about right. Yep, here it is," said Applejack with a nod.

"Oh! How about this." As Rarity and Applejack prodded Eliza for help on their science study guide, Fluttershy was in the process of correcting Pinkie's grammar.

"You see, this is actually an adjective. Remember, 'adj' is a description of something," said Fluttershy.

"And this is a..." Pinkie began to point at her sheet as she scratched her head in thought. With Twilight and Rainbow, the math was driving Rainbow over the edge.

"Look. Just take a step back and look through it all. You gotta make sure that you have the all of the steps right in the method if you want to get the answer," said Twilight.

"Oh wait. Ugh that number is supposed to be a negative but I wrote it as a positive," said Rainbow as she face palmed. She then quickly calculated the correction. She then beamed with a grin.

"Got it!" said Rainbow. Twilight nodded in approval.

"There, see? It's not so hard," said Twilight. Soon, the girls were finished studying. They were sitting down, lazing about as they basked in their accomplishment. Pinkie shot up.

"Who's up for some pizza?" asked Pinkie as she drew out her fun.

"I can go for some," said Rainbow as she stretched with a sigh.

"Can someone get the Netflix? I'll order," said Pinkie as she left the living room. Rainbow Dash got up and grabbed an Xbox controller from the entertainment center and turned on the console.

"Netflix?" asked Eliza.

"Yeah. You know, the movie streaming service? You can even order DVDs online," said Twilight.

"But is this not a video game console?" asked Eliza in confusion. Rainbow snorted.

"Yeah! But consoles these days can use apps like that! Where you been? Living under a rock?" asked Rainbow with a chuckle. She then yelped in pain as Applejack punched her in the shoulder with a glare. Eliza bore a worried look.

"Don't let it bother you, darling. I never had an interest to play video games. I only found out through Rainbow Dash," said Rarity.

"So... You can watch films on here?" asked Eliza in curiosity.

"Yeah. They have a number of them under different genres," said Twilight. As the screen displayed the menu of the Netflix app, Rainbow began to scroll through the different films.

"Wow," said Eliza with wide eyes.

"What should we watch?" asked Applejack.

"How bout some horror?" asked Rainbow. Fluttershy shrunk back.

"No thank you, please?" muttered Fluttershy.

"Maybe a romantic comedy?" suggested Rarity.

"Or just comedy," said Applejack with a shrug.

"Or we can wait and just have a conversation for now," said Twilight. Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"About what?" asked Rainbow.

"Well... I kinda want to get to know Eliza more," said Twilight as she gestured to the girl. Eliza jumped as the attention was on her.

"Um... What would you like to know?" Eliza asked in an awkward tone.

"Do you like animals?" asked Fluttershy in a hopeful tone as she held up a plush alligator.

"I... I don't know," said Eliza. Fluttershy bore a small look of disappointment.

"Really? I thought that'd be a simple one to answer," said Rainbow with a raised brow.

"I don't really spend a whole lot of time around them. So I can't really give an opinion. But, I find some fascinating," said Eliza. Fluttershy's mood lightened up a bit.

"Let's cut to something more interesting. What's the story with you and Rodan?" asked Rarity with a look of interest. Pinkie suddenly popped up from behind the couches as she gasped.

"Ooh! Yeah, what's up with you two?" asked Pinkie. Eliza tilted her head in confusion.

"What do you mean?" asked Eliza. Rainbow chuckled.

"Come on, girl. Don't pretend you haven't noticed," said Rainbow in a teasing tone as she leaned on the couch.

"Noticed what?" asked Eliza, slightly getting annoyed. She couldn't figure out what they were referring to.

"Come on, Sugarcube. We all know that Rodan is sweet on you," said Applejack with a smirk.

"Sweet on me..." Eliza looked down in thought. Her eyes slightly widened.

"Oh no! He and I are not like that! We're just friends!" said Eliza in frantic manner. She didn't want any rumors about Rodan being sprung.

"That's what they all say," said Rainbow as she rolled her eyes. The other girls chuckled and giggled.

"No, honest. Our relationship is platonic. We went to an arcade," said Eliza. Pinkie gasped with a grin.

"He asked you out?!" asked Pinkie in a high pitched tone.

"Well, he asked me to go outside with him to play video games," said Eliza with a shrug.

"Oh! Dear, you're more naive than Twilight when it comes to social interaction," said Rarity. Twilight glared at her in offense.

"Hey!" said Twilight. Eliza found Applejack wrapping an arm around her.

"Listen hun, when a boy asks a pretty gal like yourself to spend time with him, that's usually a date," said Applejack.

"Sometimes it's with two guys or two girls!" chirped Pinkie.

"That's beside the point. The point is, Rodan likes ya. He ain't shy ‘bout letting others know either," said Applejack.

"I know. I don't think he's flirted with Aria ever since you showed up," said Rainbow.

"I don't think he's flirted with any girl since then," said Rarity. Fluttershy smiled.

"Then, that must mean..." Fluttershy and the other girls looked to Eliza, who looked down in thought.

"He sees me as a potential lifelong partner," said Eliza. The girls sat in awkward silence.

"Most girls would say, 'he wants me to be his girlfriend'," said Rainbow.

"So, you haven't noticed?" asked Fluttershy in surprise.

"Well... No, I just thought that he was really kind," said Eliza.

"Really?" asked Rarity.

"Yes. I've never been in this sort of position before. So I never thought that he saw me that way," said Eliza. The girls all looked at each other.

"And... How does that make you feel?" asked Pinkie.

"I don't know. This is all so new to me and it's just been brought to my attention so suddenly," said Eliza.

"Whoo. Lord help you with that," said Applejack. Eliza looked to the other girls.

"What about the rest of you? Are there perhaps ma- boys that you hold these kind of feelings for? Perhaps in your immediate social circle," said Eliza in curiosity. A few of the girls awkwardly looked away.

"That's... That's a little personal," said Twilight in embarrassment. Rainbow scoffed.

"I ain't got time for that! But if I did, he's gotta keep up and not be a stick in the mud!" said Rainbow.

"Well, there is a boy or two that makes my heart skip when I see them. But a friend has her eyes on him already, so I shall go with Fancy Pants!" said Rarity. Rainbow looked at her in confusion.

"Isn't he like thirty?" asked Rainbow.

"27 actually. But he is devilishly handsome!" sighed Rarity. Pinkie looked to Fluttershy.

"What about you, Fluttershy?" asked Pinkie. Fluttershy stiffened as she blushed.

"M-Me? I-I uh..." Fluttershy looked away with a nervous look. Pinkie smirked.

"I think I know who it is~," sang Pinkie with a grin. Fluttershy gulped.

"Y-You do?" asked Fluttershy.

"It's Gojira, isn't it?" asked Eliza.

"Huh?!" asked the other girls in confusion and shock. Fluttershy made an 'eep' sound as she became still as stone.

"Ha! I knew it!" squealed Pinkie.

"Is it true? I never would've guessed," said Applejack in surprise. Fluttershy didn't answer.

"Yeah right! Gojira's mean mug would just scare her off!" chuckled Rainbow.

"But I've seen the two spend a lot of time together. Is it not the same like Rodan?" asked Eliza.

"Well... I've never seen Fluttershy hang around other boys until Gojira came along..." said Twilight as she looked to Fluttershy. The girl bit her lip as she looked down at her lap.

"He's nice once you get to know him..." said Fluttershy.

"Oh! That is so cute! Our Fluttershy has feelings for a rough and tough man!" said Rarity. Fluttershy moaned as she buried her face into her knees.

"So that scarf was more than a gift from a friend," said Twilight with a smirk. Fluttershy hid herself further.

"Ah don't feel embarrassed Fluttershy. I think it's sweet," said Applejack with a smile.

"You know, if Gojira showed himself to be more gentlemanly, maybe even refine his hair and put on some nice clothes, I may take a shine myself," said Rarity.

"No way, really?" asked Rainbow with a snort.

"Nah I think he looks fine. Maybe a bit of an attitude adjustment and cutting back on the language will do," said Applejack with a shrug.

"Careful, I think Flutters is getting jealous," said Rainbow with an amused look as Fluttershy lightly scowled to herself. The pink haired girl stiffened as eyes fell on her, prompting her to immediately wipe the scowl off her face. The rest of the girls laughed in amusement.

"Don't worry, hun. He's all yours," said Applejack with a wink, as Fluttershy lightly flushed.

"Y-You can't tell him! You have to promise! All of you!" said Fluttershy as she looked at everyone with narrowed eyes.

"Not a word," said Twilight as she crossed a finger over her chest.

"I see him more like the grumpy big brother that I always wanted. Are you gonna ask him out?" asked Pinkie with a grin.

"He should be the one doing that!" said Rarity.

"Yeah, but will he? He's pretty dense, you know," said Rainbow.

"We should totally set up a date plan!" said Pinkie.

"We can set up a list of enjoyable places and activities for them!" said Twilight. Fluttershy bore a look of alarm.

"N-No! No, don't do that!" said Fluttershy frantically. Eliza watched as the girls conversed and talked excitedly. Just by being in the same room, she herself was growing excited. She never had experienced being part of something like this. It was pleasant. This is what it must feel like to have friends. Eliza smiled to herself as Fluttershy grew more flustered.

It was later into the evening. The sun was setting and the street lights were coming on. Eliza and the girls were waving to Pinkie Pie as they left her home. The girls were walking together down the side walk as they began to separate down to their own paths to get home. Twilight found herself alone with Eliza.

"So, how was it?" asked Twilight. Eliza smiled.

"I enjoyed it. Thank you for inviting me over, Twilight," said Eliza.

"You're welcome. And hey, feel free to hang out with us anytime," said Twilight. Eliza nodded with a smile.

"I would be glad to," said Eliza. The two soon parted ways. Eliza now found herself alone as she walked through the neighborhood. Her phone began to ring, prompting her to answer it.

"Yes? No, I'm on my way back right now. I was studying. Yes, we do attend school after all," said Eliza in annoyance as she spoke on the phone. She sighed heavily.

"Look, I'm out in public right now. Let's discuss this when I get back. Thank you," said Eliza as she hung up. She rubbed her brow.

"Such a bother," said Eliza as she briskly made her way through the neighborhood. She lightly smiled to herself as she recalled the time of eating and watching a movie with the others. She didn't feel out of place, but welcomed. Not to mention that she experienced being around other girls and learned how they behaved. It was a valuable learning experience on her social skills on a number of levels.





The Alpha base. A medical facility was present, where doctors were setting up medical supplies. A couple of small bottles that bore the MONARCH insignia were present on a table, labeled 'Hercules'.

From outside of the medical wing, soldiers and other staff strolled through the halls. From the mess hall, men and women had gathered and were enjoying their own hot meals at the multiple tabled present. Conversations were going about in the mess hall from the soldiers. However, some tables were focused on the same subject. At one table, a man was scowling as he picked at his food with his fork.

"I don't believe this. They expect us to get ourselves injected with something made up by a bunch of assholes in a lab? That's ridiculous," said the man.

"The Heracles program isn't a mandatory thing. It's completely voluntary, but has high standards for candidates," said another man.

"But I heard that stuff was made from Gojira Takeshi's blood," said a woman.

"Oh wonderful. Just what we need. Like hell I'd volunteer to have anything from that freak put inside of me," said a man as he ate. From another table, a couple of soldiers were sitting together.

"I wouldn't dare be associated with that bastard. He's the reason why we're fighting Revolutionaries," said a male soldier.

"Onyx really approved of this before he died?" asked another soldier.

"Can you blame him? We practically get our asses kicked by them. It makes sense to try and even the odds," said another soldier.

"It's not right. Manipulating someone's DNA. Why mess with something that works?" asked a soldier just from another table in the mess hall.

"If this organization is so set on fighting Transmutant terrorists on equal footing, then why not just take enlistments from law abiding Transmutants in the country?" asked a soldier as she sipped her water.

"Nah, that'd cause more problems. Most of the Transmutants that are younger than the older ones wouldn't stand much of a chance if they were restrained by their inhibitor chips. They couldn't properly fight back if a Revolutionary decided to transform," said another soldier.

"Not to mention that there would be unease among a lot of folks if there were Transmutant soldiers walking around without an inhibitor chip. You also have to consider that surgery for removing the chips is difficult and costly. Plus, younger Transmutants are more prone to act on animal instincts when they lack experience changing. They could just suddenly turn on us," said another soldier.

"And I doubt everyone would get friendly with enlisted Transmutants," said another soldier. One of the soldiers sighed heavily.

"I really don't like this. Lately, GeneCo has been getting their hands on the whole situation. With this program, I'm worried that the higher ups will start making it mandatory to be injected," said a soldier from another table.

"You think they'd do that?" asked another soldier.

"The main military branches are giving it a try as well. If they wanted, they could. I hear that this is to serve as a replacement for traditional wound treatment on the field given Takeshi's DNA. They could reduce the purchase of bio foam and cybernetics. They could actually start making some us take part in this just to save a few bucks," said a soldier.

"Man, I can see that. Governments are always trying to cut corners," said a soldier.

"We didn't have to be in this situation. Onyx may have commissioned for this, but Director Yoshi could have easily cancelled it after learning what this stuff was. But instead, he went along with it. He is paying a kook like Discord to mix us with that freak," said a soldier.

"And didn't consider the fact that he is playing into the hands of a one of those loons that want to fuck up natural biology," said a soldier.

"There's one thing that The Director should know, Discord's cracked" explained a female solder gesturing to her head. "It's like making a deal with a mad dog. While they're feeding him sugar, someone should be hatching up a plan to muzzle em'.”

Hayato sighed heavily as he sat at a desk in his office. He was rubbing his brows as Koizumi's face was displayed on the screen on the wall.

"I'm beginning to wonder if this Heracles program is something that MONARCH needs. I'm merely following in Onyx's footsteps," said Hayato.

“Well considering how two of the guinea pigs handed my ass to me, it seems like an effective idea," said Koizumi.

"But this program has stirred up some controversy among the ranks. Not everyone is thrilled with the idea of using what will be essentially 'proxy' Transmutants for the military," said Hayato. "Now the Vault apparently is under quarantine because of a meteorite brought something with it."

"Permission to be blunt?" asked Koizumi.

"It's why I called you," said Hayato. Koizumi smirked.

"It doesn't matter what they think. Or what the rest of us think. If you think that this will be for our benefit, then you do what you gotta do. When they start acting up, don't put up with shit. Onyx wouldn't have any of it if any units were acting up under his watch. It's either enlisting Transmutants or super soldiers made from Transmutants," said Koizumi. Hayato nodded with a hum.

"He always was good at keeping us in line," said Hayato with a chuckle. Koizumi sighed heavily.

"Man, I miss the good ol' days. You remember?" asked Koizumi.

"How can I forget? We've been shot at and outnumbered a dozen times," said Hayato in a sarcastic manner.

"Yeah, but that's what made it great! We were a couple of badass mercs back then! We took on drug lords, human terrorists, organized crime syndicates, it didn't matter! We were pretty much vigilantes for hire!" said Koizumi with a nostalgic smile. He then lost his smile as he bore a look of disappointment.

"But then Onyx staged that job for us and pretty much kidnapped us and turned us into his soldiers. Now look at us. I'm over here freezing my ass off in a van as a Transmutant's fucking nanny, and you're becoming the government's political bitch," said Koizumi in a bitter tone. Hayato sighed as he propped his head up on his desk.

"You're technically still a mercenary, you know. Only I went legitimate. You don't have to keep doing this," said Hayato.

"No way. You'd be helpless without me! Besides, it's easier to work here so I won't have to worry about losing customers," said Koizumi with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Still, things seemed much easier then," said Hayato. He then sat up.

"Well, thanks for the talk," said Hayato. Koizumi nodded with a smile.

"Take care, old buddy," said Koizumi as his face disappeared from the screen. Only the MONARCH insignia remained. Hayato sighed as he leaned back in his seat and looked to a picture frame, where he found a picture of himself in uniform saluting Onyx as he was promoted.

"We could use you about now," said Hayato with a sigh.





It was just early evening. Fluttershy was cleaning out the rabbit cage. The girl had replaced the litter, food and water and proceeded to take the dirty litter that was in a plastic bag out of her room. She took the garbage out of her home and threw it into the dumpster. She was about to return inside of her home but found Junior sitting outside of his house on the porch as a cat was rubbing itself against him. Fluttershy softly smiled at the sight. She made her way over to the Transmutant and knelt beside him.

"He seems to like you," said Fluttershy.

"Yeah. But I can't take care of him. Too much work to feed and clean him," said Junior as the cat purred as it rubbed against his thigh. Junior raised his left arm, revealing a fully regenerated hand. However, Fluttershy noticed that it was looking unnatural. The hand was covered in dark scales. The cat rubbed itself against the hand as it purred.

"Your hand," said Fluttershy as she worriedly pointed at Junior's hand. The Transmutant raised his arm and looked at it.

"Oh. Yeah," said Junior as he pulled his sleeve back, revealing his arm. Fluttershy bore wide eyes as the flesh up to his forearm was covered in thick, crocodile-like scales. The arm itself appeared to be a bit rounder in muscle mass compared to his normal arm. His hands were thick and instead of five fingers, he bore four clawed fingers.

"It just turned out like this. I don't know why or how," said Junior as he scratched at the scales that were imbedded near his human flesh.

"How do you feel?" asked Fluttershy as she took a seat next to the boy.

"I feel fine. But it's weird to have four fingers. Thank God that I still have my thumb. Hell, I'm glad that I'm right handed," said Junior as he lightly flexed the reptilian hand. But he sighed.

"I've got the worse luck," said Junior as he stared at his hand. He then found Fluttershy's pale hands reaching for his own hand. Her gentle touch surprised the Transmutant, prompting him to find the girl looking down at his hand as she gently ran one of her hands on the scales as she held Junior's. The girl's expression was soft as looked at the Transmutant, her eyes reflecting the moonlight. Junior lightly smiled as his reptilian fingers wrapped around the girl's hand. Suddenly, the front door opened, revealing Miwa.

"Junior! Get inside before you miss this week's..." Miwa's voice trailed off as she found her son and Fluttershy holding hands as they sat together on the porch. Fluttershy stiffened as she quickly tore her hands away with a bright blush.

"M-Mrs. Takeshi!" greeted Fluttershy. Miwa's face was contorting into a smile, which was on the verb of becoming a grin.

"Excuse me," said Miwa as she closed the door.

"Oh geez," said Junior with a look of embarrassment. He and Fluttershy both suddenly stood up.

"Um I-" the two spoke in unison. Fluttershy looked away in a flustered state while Junior scratched his head with an embarrassed chuckle.

"See ya tomorrow," said Junior. Fluttershy looked his way as she lightly nodded.

"Yeah. See you," said Fluttershy in a timid tone as she walked back to her home.