Pokemon: Transcendence [IC]

[Tesability Black]

"I'm not the one parading around the place, like I'm the only Arceus-damned thing that mattered," she muttered under her breath when the braggart girl left her face, her brownish-silver eyes narrowed towards her before glancing back towards the young boy.

I also wouldn't be surprised if she was lying about that, either, Tayla thought to herself, a solemn look on her face before looking down towards the device on her wrist. While they were too small to see normally, tiny little drones were released from it, machinations that were too small for a human to effectively make.

Almost-impossible to see, they went in random directions, landing on various living beings...

...it was when one landed on Hallbjorn and an unknown figure in the room, however, that she got some...odd...results...

Pokemon DNA mixed with human DNA?

While admitted that her goal to clone and/or control the gods to make them more willing to keep the earth safe from harm in general may seem screwed up, but this took the cake compared to that!

Then the Eevee came out from under the bed, making the mixed-in DNA make a slight bit more sense. Comparing the pair of strands, however, there was something that prompted an eyebrow raise.

There was shared DNA between the pair. Hitting a button on the rectangular device, the mini-devices recalled themselves to it before she lowered her arm, recovering the piece of equipment with her sleeve.

They were soon escorted into a particular viewing room next to apparently a 'training room', each of them being asked to sit in the various chairs. Taking one closest to the glass, she momentarily took off her glasses for a moment, cleaning them as best as she could with the hem of her shirt, slightly revealing the nasty-looking burn in the process as she did.

She back on her glasses just in time to see the two become one.

"WHAT?!"

Her own vocal outburst matched the first part of the redheaded hothead, creating a momentary echo effect as she got back immediately onto her feet before turning towards Genevieve...whom had Brianna already in her face. Probably a good thing, because she would have found a way to lift the so-called lady clear off her feet if that was herself in the redhead's place.

"What the f*** did you do to them, turn the pair into a Pokemorph or something," Tayla practically bellowed about the transformation, the only one to have come up with a word for that so far...

[Mr. Hyde]

Another outburst had occurred within the group.  Lance thought this might have spooked Hal, but he seemed pretty unphased by all of it...as a matter of fact, the kid's face had remained unchanged as if he'd seen this kind of scene before.  His eyes looked lonely, like his own.  

 

It wasn't long that Lance could hear faint whirring sounds within the area.  It almost sounded mechanical.  He payed it no mind as it might be coming from the other electronic sources that surrounded him.  

 

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you."  Genevieve did some more talking, but Lance didn't really pay attention.  "Come, Galahad."  An Eevee poked itself out from under Hal's bed, and onto his head.  Lance was glad that the boy had a pokemon companion, but what could be so special about the two?  

 

Next the group was led into a room, opposite that of a training room.  A window was provided to see into the "Training Room".  Hal could be seen standing smack dab in the middle of it, it almost looked like an arena.  Why was this training room necessary?  

 

"Begin."  Was the first thing Lance had noticed Genevieve say in quite some time.  

 

"Merge."  With those words, Eevee had disappeared from Hal's arm into the ether.  But Lance could sense its presence coming from within...Hal?!  The kid's white hair had now turn a dirty brown.  Lance didn't want to believe his eyes, but his spirit had never misguided him before.  He could sense the presence of both Galahad and Hal in the same body.  It was further confirmed when the boy touched a necklace, and turned his hair green.  His eyes fluctuated to an emerald hue as well.  

 

"Impossible...."  Lance managed to utter some words.  He was more shocked than anything, two partners merging into one being, it was a very moving thought for Lance.  He stared in awe at the new Hal on the other side of the glass.  Just then, a swarm of Beedrill was released into the room.  What was this, were they going to hurt these pokemon just for the means of demonstrating?  There was no need!  Whatever was going to happen didn't have to be tested on living pokemon to impress the group.  He walked up to Genevieve with a fire in his eyes.  

 

"Please...don't hurt those pokemon...I-I don't believe they've done anything wrong....w-why not use r-robots or something instead!"  Lance's voice took a more concerned tone.  Everyone else was coming to terms with what they'd just seen, but Lance was more concerned for the Beedrill's safety, he had a soft spot for Bug pokemon anyways.  

[Ren✧]

Stephen looked up at Brianna. He had kind of zoned out there for a minute. Although, that wasn't really unusual. Panic attacks took a lot out of him, so spacing out after one really wasn't that obscure. Stephen nodded, trying to find his voice. "Yeah...uh...I'm okay now." He said, standing on his own. "Thanks...uh...thanks for all your help." He said sheepishly. He really hadn't expected Brianna to be as nice as she was. But, she was, quite honestly, the most sincere person there, as far as Stephen could tell. Most everyone else had been quite distant, and even Alaric seemed to be just a tad bit fake in all of his dramatic enthusiasm. He liked Brianna, Stephen decided. She was loud and arrogant, a bit of a bitch, really, but it was all just an act.

 

Adopting his usual smile, Stephen sat down in one of the chairs that Genevieve had indicated. He watched through the glass, eagerly waiting for whatever was going to happen next. This Hallbjorn guy seemed pretty cool, albeit a bit strange. Still, he was obviously very important if he was supposed to be what all this had been leading up to.

 

Genevieve gave the instruction to begin and that's when things started to truly get interesting. Stephen's jaw practically hit the floor upon seeing Hallbjorn's transformation. "Arceus above..." he muttered, awestruck. 

 

Different members of the group assaulted Genevieve with their questions and concerns. She expected this. The others had been much the same way. "Just sit and watch." She instructed Brianna and Tayla. A smug smirk appeared on her face. She had no doubt that the vagueness of her response would irritate the two beyond belief. She got quite a bit of satisfaction out of that. 

 

"Please...don't hurt those pokemon...I-I don't believe they've done anything wrong....w-why not use r-robots or something instead!" Lance protested, causing Genevieve to roll her eyes. They were missing the point of the demonstration. 

 

"Calm down. They were bred for this. It is really no consequence to them. They are designed to always be incredibly hostile and they are not able to feel pain. Now, watch." 

 

 

As the Beedrill advanced, Hallbjorn mentally berated himself for choosing Leafeon as his first transformation. It put him at a distinct type disadvantage with his opponent. Truthfully though, it was of no real consequence. He was confident that he would be able to best them regardless of type. 

 

The swarm of bug type Pokemon began to split apart as they neared Hallbjorn intending to encircle their prey. He expected this. They always tried this. Reaching his arms out to either side, the small leaves that had sprouted on his body began to rustle, disturbed by some unseen force. The greenery grew, spiraling up his forearm and completely encasing his exposed flesh with their sinewy leaves. Coming to a point, the plant-life had transformed Hallbjorn's arms into long, blade-like appendages. 

 

One of the Beedrill darted forward, making the first attack against their adversary. Its stinger grew bright, as it moved in for the attack, but Hallbjorn was ready for it. His newly acquired blade-arm struck outward, glowing with a greenish hue, as it intercepted the Poison Bee Pokemon, hurling it back into one of its comrades. The swarm buzzed louder, angrier. The fight was just beginning. 

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

Terra had said before that the next unraveling had better be good... and Genevieve had certainly delivered. At first, the former was expecting Hallbjorn to just have a plain old battle with his plain old Eevee, but this was something else entirely. All of a sudden, Terra started imagining these cute long bunny ears and whiskers as she merged with Diggersby, as well as this nice, fluffy yellow waistband. She was pumped up at first, but then all of a sudden...

 

'Wait, how would any of that work?' Terra was about to ask this to Genevieve, but considering how she dismissed both Brianna and the woman that had argued with her just a few moments ago, she doubted that she was in the mood to answer anything. However, as Lance expressed concerns of his own, Terra was transfixed with the battle between the swarm of Beedrills and the Pokemorphed Hallbjorn. However, as one of the Beedrills had made its first attack, Terra was beginning to realize something; Hallbjorn could die this way. Sure, it'd take the wrong amount of luck, but even the slightest chance wasn't something Terra could accept.

 

"Woooooooaaaaaaaaaaah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, woah, WOAH!!" Terra sprang to her feet, as now it was her turn to protest, "We only just met this guy! And what? After unveiling this brand new... thing, you think you've the right to just kill him off?! What did he do, to you, that could possibly warrant such a thing?!"

 

Terra gripped the lone PokeBall on her belt tightly. She hadn't detached it just yet, but the minute she got an answer that she didn't like, she was gonna throw that PokeBall into the arena, and Diggersby was gonna put a stop to this chaos... whether Genevieve liked it or not.

 

"What in Yveltal's name is wrong with you?" Terra asked one last time through gritted teeth, giving Genevieve a look of pure venom.

[Sethera]

My my...this is certainly a...surprise, Alaric thought. First prehistoric Pokémon and now this...not that prehistorics are anything new, but the technology required is still phenomenal...and expensive. But this. This was certainly something to tell his superiors about. However... Alaric's mind started ticking through the scenarios with a grim persistence. While everybody else shouted in outrage over the shock of this new reveal or the ethics involved...the blond worried about what it meant for them personally.

 

Better save your concern for yourselves, he thought, eyes narrowed. If I'm correct about this Genevieve woman, and I'm fairly certain I am, then she would only reveal something like this if she thought we wouldn't be telling anybody. At the thought, panic flitted over his face before the blond stifled it, forcing himself to think instead of feel. Alaric had always had an easier time entering this state of clear-thinking than the other Interpol agents, something to do with his mental/emotional makeup. He didn't remember the details, nor did he care to. What was important was the situation they were in now.

 

The woman was no fool. Merging human beings and Pokémon, in this day and age, wouldn't have made it through the ethics screening. So of course, revealing it to others would be idiotic, a foolish thing to do. And yet she did it anyway. Despite all the background checks New Genesis most certainly must have done, it wasn't impossible for them to have missed a mole, a spy from another business, here to either blackmail them, reveal their findings to the proper authorities, or steal the plans for themselves. Hell, Alaric himself was a mole of sorts, granted for Interpol, and not for a rival company.

 

Clever, intelligent people like Genevieve left nothing up to chance. No, if she has her way...we're not getting out of here alive. And, powerful though some of them might be, with only one Pokémon each, the blond was fairly certain they wouldn't be able to fight their way out. They might not even get a chance. Images of sleeping gas or being killed by Hallbjorn before they could move flitted through the blond's mind.

 

They were skating on thin ice here, and the more the others protested, the more likely Genevieve would decide to just kill them and be done with it. Unless she thinks she can manipulate us that way, he thought briefly. She's kept us alive for a reason, invited us here for a reason. Until I figure out why I cannot move against her with full confidence. Until I figure out why...the cowardly prince stays.

 

He knew that it was dangerous going in. Interpol had labeled it with four and a half stars for a reason (no mission was labeled with five stars unless the likelihood of no return was over ninety percent, and this mission's percentage had been seventy-five--an underestimation). But he was an agent for a reason. Looker believed in justice, in doing what was "right." While Alaric had no such blind loyalty to a mere ideal, he believed in Looker. Therefore, the idea had to have some merit. And that was why he would try his hardest to shut down New Genesis, especially this "Project: Transcendence." To do that, he would likely need the cooperation of everybody in the group, and for that reason, he would try his hardest to keep them all alive. It was what Looker would do.

 

No more messing around, no more snickering at people behind their backs, he thought. Even thoughts have a tendency to bleed into actions, and people can be remarkably perceptive. I have to be at the top of my game here. The mission depends on it.

 

"Truly shocking..." he muttered, eyes wide, acting the overwhelmed, out-of-his-depth, prince. When the chips are down, the fop is useless. A liability. You must do more than act it. You must be it. Useless. His mind whirred away at lightning speed. Most likely they already suspect you because you let your guard down. Now's the time to convince them. If you can do that...then you can convince Genevieve. And that's what we need. For her to believe you know nothing beyond acting. That you truly are what you portray yourself as off-screen. If he failed this, then he may as well have failed Looker. And that just wasn't the done thing.

 

He blinked.

 

What was going on? That man had merged with a Pokémon! What was this? This was like one of the sci-fi movies he had been in (a lesser role, unfortunately). Where was the camera? Were people filming them? He started laughing, wild, nervous laughter. "Ha. Hahahaaha! Ha! This is all a joke, right?" he flashed a camera-worthy smile, looking in the corners for the familiar black scope. "Haha, very well done, well played, you almost got me there," he bowed in Genevieve's direction. "Very realistic. Tell me, how much did the special effects cost?" he complimented.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Brianna realized she f***ed up as soon as Genevieve responded. The way she so casually brushed her off made her realize the women expected this response. Brianna was caught; she exposed her suspicions far too soon. She glanced at the scientist who had previously fought with her. Then the girl with the bunny. At very least she wasn't alone; though truth to tell she kinda was frustrated showing any kind of agreement with them of all people.

 

This was bad. This was so bad. She had taken efforts to come off as oblivious and now she ruined that in the worst moment. This was the time that who lives and who dies would be decided. A company this immoral and powerful was even worse than her old gang. And she plopped herself right on the "Potential problem" list.

 

Luckily the actor gave her the perfect way out.

"Ha. Hahahaaha! Ha! This is all a joke, right?"

 

Perfect. Forcing herself to relax; Brianna said. "You think this is made up? God just when I thought you couldn't be any dumber." She turned to Genevive with a "can you believe this?" look. "Didn't mean to get all up in your face boss lady but that was a shock and a half. And I know quite a lot about shocks." She glanced towards Arc's Pokeball with a grin.

 

She didn't sit down but instead placed her arms on the back of her seat and looked back at the fight in progress. "Gotta say that's pretty badass. Looks like coming here was totally worth it. Hurry up and show me what all this kid can do why dontcha?"

 

Hopefully the shift in moods would get the danger off her and onto some of the other group members who weren't so used to dealing with dangerous people. Sure, many of these guys could handle themselves decently in a Pokemon fight but she doubted any of them had to face off against some of the more frightening humans out there.

 

Her eyes drifted to the foppy blonde boy for a moment. "I wonder..." Something about him reminded her of a man she met while working to bring down her old gang from the inside...but nah, that was ridiculous...

Right now she had to focus on the Eevee boy in the other room.

[a bad post]

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Hal said with one final greeting before Genevieve escorted them from the dorm room to what appeared to be an observation room. What would they be "observing" exactly? Evangela soon found out as Hal, and his Eevee walked into the room.

 

"Begin." Evangela heard Genevieve say the words ringing in her ears.

 

"Merge." The next thing Evangela saw made her sick to her stomach. Eevee and Trainer merged, and Hallbjorn's haired turned the deep brown of his Eevee's coat.  

 

Evangela seethed. What had Genevieve done here? Of course the sight laid before them was a marvel of science, a magnificent example of the wonders of genetics. But at what cost. What sacrifices had to have been made to create this miracle. What pain would Hallbjorn have had to go through to obtain his ability. 

 

Evangela nearly lost it as she saw the other side of the training facility open to reveal the angry swarm of Beedrill. Her childhood flashed before her eyes as she remembered all the horrible tests that she'd had to experience. She couldn't even hear the sound of the others bickering. No, Evangela was in her own world now.

 

As the swarm of Beedrill converged on the now green haired boy a single tear rolled down her cheek. Evangela slowly reached up to brush it away, but her movements were sluggish, as though she was moving through water. As she wiped it away the blood from where Evangela's nailed had punctured the skin and the single tear mixed and dropped to the floor. 

 

Evangela's face though it remained neutral, her teeth ground to the point where if one paid attention they could the small movements her jaw made. Evangela dug her nails in the skin on her palms, and despite breaking the skin, she did not even flinch. Evangela's gaze was completely focused on Hal.

[Ren✧]

The Beedrill were behaving just as Hallbjorn had expected them to. When the first had been repelled with little effort on his part, they immediately gave him some distance. Instead of trying to skewer him with their stingers, instead they began to fire Pin Missile attacks in his direction. Moving lithely, Hallbjorn avoided the majority of the assault, blocking the rest with the Leaf Blades he sported. Knowing that Genevieve would have him finish this demonstration quickly, he retracted one of the Leaf Blades and brought his hand up to the orange jewel that hung around neck.

 

Instantaneously, orange flames burnt through the small foliage that had blanketed him a second ago. His hair and eyes too changed to match the color of the hungry flames that now ran across his arms, seeming to neither harm him or his clothing. Going on the offensive, Hallbjorn vaulted over the swarm of insect-like Pokemon that had encircled him, shooting a jet of flames towards one unlikely Beedrill that immediately crumpled to the ground, its body now covered in horrible looking burns.

 

Without giving the others time to react, Hallbjorn now peppered them with small bursts of fire, taking down at least one Beedrill with each attack. In a matter of seconds the once intimidating swarm was reduced to a group of smoking, barely breathing Pokemon. 

 

'That was a bit showy, don't you think?' Galahad said, his usual brand of sarcasm quite evident in the telepathic message he sent Hallbjorn. His trainer merely responded with a sharp intake of breath to signal amusement. Finished with the demonstration, he touched the 'tattoo' on his arm and was engulfed in a bright light again. When it faded, his appearance was back to normal and Galahad was sitting patiently at his side. He then looked at where he knew Genevieve and the latest group of test subjects watched him from behind a pane of glass. He would wait until Genevieve gave him further instructions.

 

Genevieve watched as Hallbjorn quickly dismantled the group of attack units that had been deployed against him. Truly, she wasn't impressed. His impulse to choose a transformation before even seeing his enemy led to his overall efficiency to be quite lacking. Of course, the others didn't know that and to them the display was undoubtedly quite stunning, and it would be better if she too acted like what they had just seen was a big deal.

 

Pressing a button on her handheld, the window that displayed the training room went dark, blocking their view of Hallbjorn and the slightly burn battlefield. A host of questions, complaints, and exclamations were thrown at her. She allowed each to simply wash over her as she drunk in their predictable responses. The blonde kids reaction was truly priceless. He thought this was all a sham? They had been wrong to worry about this one. He obviously wasn't anything more than an idiot that could read a script. 

 

The only thing that worried her was the girl that still looked at the one way mirror, even though she could no longer see through it. The Pokemon psychologist, if she recalled correctly. She had a look about her that made Genevieve uneasy, a look that made it seem almost as if she had just seen a ghost from her past. She would definitely have to be watched.

 

"Let me assure you all that everything you just saw was both safe and very real." She began in a placating manner, totally indifferent to the different levels of panic that were present among the tour group. "Here at New Genesis we have indeed figured out how to temporarily bond the DNA of humans and Pokemon to give a person superhuman abilities. Moreover, we've discovered how to then split the two again at will. So, just let me get to brass tax. We would like to extend an invitation to each of you to partake in Project: Transcendence."

[Tesability Black]

"So, let me get this straight about the performance you just had the pair give." Having never stood down when requested, the woman dressed in black was watching everything with scrutiny, trying to match up what she saw beyond the glass with the sequences she had seen earlier in her head.

 

And she had a good idea as to what just happened.

 

"First, you managed to interweave the pair's DNA with one another. In the case of the Eevee, when combined like that, you've altered its gene code so that its evolutions are treated not as such, but as form changes that can be swapped when needed." Only at this point did she finally turn her head towards Genevieve, narrowed eyes filled with logic as she was putting this together. "How warm am I getting?"

 

Finally did she fully turn towards the lady, placing a hand to her chin. "Either way, two things. First one, since you've shown us this now, we're not getting out alive if we say 'no', are we? And two, if you intended to merge us with the Pokemon on us right this instant, I need to swap Pokemon. I already know full well that Cysero's incompatible with anything else, considering I created the Porygon-Z from the very-first string of code."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

The idiot. The raving lunatic idiot. Brianna was steamed. They had watched the ending of the fight. And seen how the boy could transform to multiple evolutions of Eevee to battle. Obviously this was even more advanced than it already appeared. And it had appeared crazy advance.

Then Genevieve dropped the bomb. They wanted them to become part of their little freak show? She glanced down at Arc's Pokeball. Merging with Arc...well it would make them stronger. And she'd be able to protect herself all the better. But it just didn't seem right. They already had a close enough bond without this. They had mastered Mega-Evolution hadn't they?

But the biggest issue was simple. They do this, they'd be stuck here wouldn't they? These people would own her. Nobody owned her. Least of all a bunch of freaky scientists.

Her only question was, would no be an option? She didn't want to let on that she was suspicious about that.

 

But that science girl. The one who's supposed to be in here cause of her smarts. She just up and says it. Gah sometimes people can be dense....Maybe this can work to her advantage. She can gauge Genevieve's reaction and not risk herself. If something happened to the scientist it was on her head.

 

Brianna stayed silent, for once. She leaned against the wall and watched Genevieve. This was a tricky situation and she figured the best chance was to pretend to be thinking about it. "This sounds pretty epic. How do I know nothing will go wrong?" That should be fine. A question someone who was thinking of accepting would ask that right?
Dammit she hadn't wanted this kind of trouble so soon after her last "adventure." Her fingers twitched. She wanted nothing more to let Arc loose. But that wouldn't do her any good....yet.

[Mr. Hyde]

Grass had proven to be an ineffective tool against the Beedrill, maybe he would use not very effective moves to lessen the blows used against the target Beedrill.  The opposite managed to happen, as fire surrounded Hal, turning into what Lance had assumed to be the Flareon form.  Without mercy, each Beedrill was blasted with attacks that were obviously too hot to handle.  Lance looked away in disgust, as the twitching remains of the Beedrill lay on the floor, holding onto dear life.  Sure they were bred for this...but this was brutality at its finest.  It made him sick to his stomach.  

 

Genevieve had finally said something, in that this was obviously real.  This was indeed a hard pill to swallow, especially for the thick-skulled Lance.  He wasn't such a science wiz, but even he could figure out that this was no illusion.  A trainer and his pokemon had surely managed to fuse together, allowing trainer to access special powers, becoming an enhanced being.

 

"Here at New Genesis we have indeed figured out how to temporarily bond the DNA of humans and Pokemon to give a person superhuman abilities. Moreover, we've discovered how to then split the two again at will. So, just let me get to brass tax. We would like to extend an invitation to each of you to partake in Project: Transcendence."

 

Lance's knew deep down in his heart that this was the question that was dwelling at the end of this demonstration.  A slideshow flashed through his head, all the great times he had shared with his partner Herc, and how they had overcome obstacles as a team.  Would merging...elevate their relationship?  Lance didn't need to accomplish a task on his own accord, he was fine with Herc taking most credit for their tougher encounters, there was no competition between the two.  Bond between trainer and pokemon was age old, and had long been sacred.  But science wasn't always interested in what was sacred, crossing boundaries they weren't meant to cross.  

 

"You scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, that you didn't stop to think if you should."  The line had escaped Lance's mouth as a faint whisper.  Then another bomb was dropped, this time by Tayla.  She stated another thing Lance was dreading.  The fact that if they didn't comply they would surely be killed.  He looked at the others in the room, hoping to find some resistance to the idea, Tayla obviously being the total opposite of what he was looking for.  He looked for the first person he thought that would oppose this absurd idea.  Brianna hadn't rejected it though, only asking if the process was safe or not.  His heart sank, so everyone was in agreement here, besides him?  He started trembling, his stomach had become unsettled once more.

 

With regret, he nodded.  "J-Just make it so i don't have a giant horn sticking out of my head...even though it may be unavoidable."  Disgust coursed through his entire body, agreeing with people who obviously didn't care for the lives of the pokemon within the facility.  Hopefully someone more confident than him would speak out against this idea.  

[Sethera]

"You think this is made up? God just when I thought you couldn't be any dumber."

 

Alaric sniffed, "I am perfectly within my rights to believe that. After all, when you live in the spotlight as much as I have, you must learn to look for the cameras." It was easier for him, an actor, to believe that somebody was trying to pull the wool over his eyes, rather than believe that something like this was true. Not that he'd be able to tell, anyway. He was horrible at picking out the liars from the truth-sayers. Thankfully, my sheer talent makes up for it.

 

"Let me assure you all that everything you just saw was both safe and very real." Genevieve stated. "Here at New Genesis we have indeed figured out how to temporarily bond the DNA of humans and Pokemon to give a person superhuman abilities. Moreover, we've discovered how to then split the two again at will. So, just let me get to brass tax. We would like to extend an invitation to each of you to partake in Project: Transcendence."

 

Alaric couldn't help the doubtful look he shot the scientist. With my level of fame, I wouldn't be surprised if this was all some big hoax just to make a fool out of me. I have made a few enemies in the acting world. "If this were real," he drawled, "But, well it isn't. So I don't even have to bother thinking on it."

 

The others seemed to go along with what the woman was saying fairly easily, except for the geneticist. Which just proves my point! They are all in on this. Despicable! I will not be laid low by such a transparent plan as this. Alas, the pains of popularity. Everybody wanted to tear you down.

[Ren✧]

Genevieve eyed the scientist girl. She was becoming insufferable. She was intelligent, there was no denying that, but that didn't mean she wasn't a complete idiot. If Genevieve were truly the person that Tayla thought her to be, then proclaiming that she knew she wouldn't get out of this alive would only doubly ensure that she died. She further revealed her idiocy, or perhaps just her recklessness, to heedlessly proclaim she knew exactly how Project: Transcendence operated. This was becoming exhausting.

 

"First, let me assure that no one here desires to hurt you. Second, this is most definitely up to you, whether or not you choose to partake in this project. As I said, I merely wished to extend an invitation. I assure you all, that this process is completely safe."

 

Genevieve tried to address the blanket concerns that had overcome the majority of the group first. There would be no way of convincing them all to wholly cooperate if they didn't believe that the process was safe. Now to address some of the more precise questions raised by the group.

 

"The process of choosing the Pokemon you will bond with is quite extensive. We have to consider exactly what you wish to get out of this experience, any medical concerns there may be, and then we will look at the different Pokemon that meet the criteria. Ideally, the Pokemon you will merge with will be one that you are already close with, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. And you don't have to worry, you won't end up with a giant horn sticking out of the center of your forehead."

[a bad post]

"Let me assure you all that everything you just saw was both safe and very real. Here at New Genesis we have indeed figured out how to temporarily bond the DNA of humans and Pokemon to give a person superhuman abilities. Moreover, we've discovered how to then split the two again at will. So, just let me get to brass tax. We would like to extend an invitation to each of you to partake in Project: Transcendence."

 

Evangela's disgust was almost palpable as she heard Genevieve opened her filthy mouth and dared to extend an invitation to her. This ignorant woman had no idea that power she was playing with, and Evangela had the mind to bring this building to the ground.

 

"So, let me get this straight about the performance you just had the pair give." Evangela rolled her eyes as she heard the black clad woman open her mouth. She thought she knew everything didn't she?

 

"First, you managed to interweave the pair's DNA with one another. In the case of the Eevee, when combined like that, you've altered its gene code so that its evolutions are treated not as such, but as form changes that can be swapped when needed." God, this woman was unbelievably ignorant. It was incredible how someone could possibly be this stupid. "How warm am I getting?"

 

The scientist woman placed a hand on her chin presumably in an attempt to look far more intelligent than she actually was. "Either way, two things. First one, since you've shown us this now, we're not getting out alive if we say 'no', are we? And two, if you intended to merge us with the Pokemon on us right this instant, I need to swap Pokemon. I already know full well that Cysero's incompatible with anything else, considering I created the Porygon-Z from the very-first string of code."

 

"This sounds pretty epic. How do I know nothing will go wrong?"

 

"You scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, that you didn't stop to think if you should. J-Just make it so i don't have a giant horn sticking out of my head...even though it may be unavoidable."

 

Evangela's mouth hung open in disbelief. These idiots were actually considering accepting this woman's offer!?

 

"First, let me assure that no one here desires to hurt you. Second, this is most definitely up to you, whether or not you choose to partake in this project. As I said, I merely wished to extend an invitation. I assure you all, that this process is completely safe. The process of choosing the Pokemon you will bond with is quite extensive. We have to consider exactly what you wish to get out of this experience, any medical concerns there may be, and then we will look at the different Pokemon that meet the criteria. Ideally, the Pokemon you will merge with will be one that you are already close with, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. And you don't have to worry, you won't end up with a giant horn sticking out of the center of your forehead."

 

Evangela stood as Genevieve finished her little speech of reassurance. 

 

"Wow..." Evangela stood saying something for the first time since she had entered the room, "did your mouth just get jealous of your ass, or do you normally spew that much shit? Whether what Ms. Lider says is true about you killing those who attempt to leave is irrelevant to me, I intend on leaving, and there is absolutely nothing that you can say that will stop me." Evangela walked towards the door of the demostration room, but paused next to Genevieve. "If you intend on stopping me as Ms. Lider suspects I will show the full magnitude of the power you are tampering with." 

[Ren✧]

Genevieve was caught off guard. This girl. The psychologist. There was something about her speech that made Genevieve extremely anxious. She had expected apprehension and distrust, those were things she had dealt with before and were prepared for. What she wasn't expecting, was the solid resolve that Evangela was demonstrating. However, it didn't really matter what their reactions were. One way or another, she would get what she needed from them. Right now though, she needed to remove as much tension as possible from the situation. 

 

"Ahem," Genevieve cleared her throat, "well you are quite entitled to your right to say no, Ms. Elias." Genevieve remarked, using her most professional of tones. "As are all of you." She said, now addressing the group as a whole. "So, let's just get this bit of business out of the way. If you are interested in learning more about this project then please say so and we will continue the briefing. If not, I can have some escort you out of the building. We already have transportation lined up to take you home. And of course, if you choose to stay you are welcome to leave at any time." She said, smiling politely at them all. Any hint that she had ever been irritated, unsettled, or generally upset with the group was no long apparent on the scientist's face. All of the frustration that had accompanied much of their interactions up until this point was now gone. The plan was now back on track, and Genevieve loved it when everything was going according to plan.

 

Stephen hadn't said much during the presentation or the conversation that had followed. Quite honestly, it was all pretty above his head. He came from a pretty simple world. The racing world. The objective there was pretty simple. Get to the finish line before everyone else. This, this was everything but simple. He listened to the others' qualms about the demonstration with the Beedrill, and he could see where they were coming from, but he couldn't get passed the fact that it was so damn cool! They had literally figured out a way to give people the powers of Pokemon. They had created superheroes! Quite honestly, he didn't understand why the others weren't totally psyched about it.

 

"I'm in." Stephen stated, drawing the attention of most of the room by being the first to officially accept the invitation. "What could it hurt?" He figured. If things started to get truly unsettling he could always back out.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Alright, hopefully this gives you all some more direction. Basically make your decision. Are you staying or are you leaving? Each decision leads you down a different path. Albeit, both paths lead to the same destination.

[/spoiler]

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Brianna looked on at Evangela with obvious contempt on her face. Her arrogance was starting to piss Brianna off. All she'd done so far was run her mouth. And so Brianna couldn't prevent herself from speaking up. "Yes I'm sure we're all very impressed. You're clearly some kind of big shot right?" She laid the sarcasm on thick and rolled her eyes dramatically before turning away; making sure it was obvious she was now ignoring the woman. Genevieve was the important one here.

 

She claimed they could just go if they wanted. Doubtful but at least things were all out in the open now. Stay or go. The choice was painfully easy. She couldn't afford to not continue at this point. She didn't particularly feel like becoming some experiment but she refused to put a target on her back until absolutely necessary.

The boy was the first to answer. It made Brianna laugh. "Way to go kiddo, I forgot you could talk." She paused, making it look like she was considering her options. In reality she was figuring out the best way to word this in order to keep up the pretense of ignorance. "Well obviously she's leaving and I don't fancy being stuck on a plane with her again. Plus I just gotta see what this is all about."

Doubt flashed in her mind. Would she be able to find a chance to get out of here? She would have to rely on herself only and she didn't know what Genevieve had planned.

Well. Nothing she hadn't had to do before. Same story; different characters is all. "Sure. I'm in too."

[Mr. Hyde]

Lance still hadn't made up his mind about this whole thing.  It all seemed unnatural, and Lance didn't like things that were of an unnatural nature.  It was then that Evangela finally spoke out against the project.  He nodded, maybe she had the right idea, although she was being a bit rude about it.  All of these characters in the facility, and half of them were a bunch of ill-mannered children.  That wasn't the issue now.  The issue was what he was going to do about the proposition offered to him.  With her exiting the room, Professor Genevieve spoke some more words.

 

"So, let's just get this bit of business out of the way. If you are interested in learning more about this project then please say so and we will continue the briefing. If not, I can have some escort you out of the building. We already have transportation lined up to take you home. And of course, if you choose to stay you are welcome to leave at any time." 

 

"What a relief...." Lance thought to himself, a wave a peace washed over him.  He knew this wasn't the mad scientist lab that everyone had suspected it to be!  That Tayla chick was full of it, or just paranoid.  However, others had finally made their decisions.  Both Brianna and Steven had opted in favor of undergoing the experiment.  It wasn't Lance's place to judge their decision, or their reasons for accepting, but he had his own convictions for his decision.  He raised his hand.

 

"Uhm...I-I'm sorry...but i'm going to have to decline this offer as well.  You see....My strength is my own, and my Heracross' strength is it's own.  We're a team, not a single u-unit.  We got strong together, and I would l-like to keep it that way...So if you don't mind, i'll excuse myself."  He turned to Brianna.  "I w-wish you luck with whatever happens....just be careful alright?"  Brianna might've been annoying and arrogant, but she grew on Lance, who was the exact opposite.  Next he turned to Al.  "Whatever decision you make will be the right one..."  With that he took off after Evangela.  When he finally caught up to her he hesitated to speak.  She was a bit odd...and way different from the rest of the group.  She was the one he talked to the least...and that was saying something.  With that he breathed deep through his nose and spoke up.  "H-hey um...I decided not to do the thingy either...it seems too unnatural for a guy like me...so hopefully i won't bother you by taking the flight back with you..."  He didn't want to bother anyone.  He just wanted to get back outside.  Being locked up in such a weird facility was giving Lance the willies.  

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

"Let me assure you all that everything you just saw was both safe and very real."

 

This... seemed like a cop-out answer if Terra was honest but, figuring it was as good an answer as she was gonna get, she returned the Poke Ball that contained Diggersby back on her belt. Then, she immediately began contemplating Genevieve's offer, trying her best to ignore all the others.

 

But they couldn't be ignored. One of them, the blue-haired scientist, quite literally stormed out of the building, but not before giving Genevieve an ultimatum of sorts. Lance had declined the offer, obviously unwilling to go through the experience either, and went after said scientist. Terra waved goodbye to Lance with a smile, but it vanished the second he was gone. Genevieve did say that the party was free to decline, but... Terra couldn't help but wonder if she had an out; just in case one were to refuse the very offer that she didn't think could be refused. What that out could possibly be though, Terra would have to find out from Lance or that scientist, if she were to see them again. With that in mind, her attention now turned to Alaric. What would he do in this situation, she wondered?

 

...

 

Of course, this was the guy that dismissed the entire spectacle as an act for a movie that Terra was thinking about, which... wasn't the smartest thing to say out loud, to put it kindly. Brianna already harped on that, surprise surprise, and Terra wasn't about to follow in her footsteps. But she was concerned that Alaric would still be under the impression this was all for the big screen, and not even realize the real-life consequences. This was something that Terra took into consideration for herself, too. She knew damn well that Hallbjorn was in trouble during the start of his battle with the wild Beedrill, and she dreaded what could've happened if he were to falter then and there. And Genevieve considered that safe? Yeah, right! But Terra wasn't going down without getting what she came here for.

 

"Fine, I'll play your game... on one condition," with that, Terra took out her Trainer Card, showing the back of it to Genevieve, "My Trainer Card. It clearly states everything most people would need to know about the heart condition that I have. But what it doesn't tell anyone is how I got it; that I had to learn the hard way. When I was about 3 or 4, I stumbled across a file that the hospital had on said condition. Turns out my mom had it as well, and then my grandfather on mom's side, then his father. Now that I think about it, it probably went down further, but it was at that time that the doctors started recognizing symptoms..."

 

Terra paused, not only to put her Trainer Card back in its right position, but she also seemed to be reminiscing about her horrible discovery. Once could see it in her eyes. But she pressed on anyway; she had a point to get to, and she wasn't gonna get to it by allowing herself to be disturbed by that discovery.

 

"I also read, somewhere on that file, that a virus was the cause of all this," Terra continued on, "Your corporation would know more than the hospital did, so... I want all your records on that virus; origin, symptoms, long-term effects, everything. I want you to compile that right now, and I want to be able to read it by the time I'm done with this first exercise... at the very latest. That's my request before I sign up for this whole charade."

 

All she could do now is wait for Genevieve to accept or deny said request. However, Terra kept a close eye on Brianna whilst she was waiting for a reply; if anyone was gonna rub salt into the proverbial wound that Terra had opened up for herself, it would be her...

[Sethera]

While Genevieve had been talking, a trickle of panic had seeped into Alaric's thoughts. Why am I panicking? There's no reason to panic, this is obviously all a trick. And even if the others aren't in on it...then the joke's probably on them too. What is this, some reality television special centered around stars?

 

The blond watched as one after another, people either accepted or turned it down. Wasn't there a psychology experiment like this? Perhaps they are in on it. So three are in, and two out...that leaves me and that scientist girl... He turned to her thoughtfully. She'll probably say no, so then three in, three out? Then would I be the tiebreaker?

 

Which to go, which to go... If it were real...well he would be saying "No" faster than one could blink. However...this wasn't real. At all. Therefore, what was important was the cameras on him. If he said "No," wouldn't that look like he was chickening out? Then again, this was highly unethical. Perhaps it'd be better to take the moral high ground in this case?

 

But...this was obviously fake, and he'd shown the audience that he knew it was. So in the end, the audience already knew that he knew, which meant he could make either choice without much consequence. Even if he said "Yes," it wouldn't mean much, because now that he knew, it wouldn't be a very brave decision at all. And saying "No" also lacked the moral quality it would've had otherwise.

 

Then which choice would have the most impact? Which choice would lead to the most interesting outcome? Well, on first glance, it seemed that the "Yes" road would do so. However, perhaps that wasn't the case? Maybe the "Yes" road would lead to them becoming the villains of the film? No, Alaric didn't get his Oscars from playing villains.

 

When in doubt, rely on Marie. Except he couldn't this time. Frustration seeped through his being. Maybe he was overthinking this. If only he had a script in front of him, he would know which way to go then. Scripts made everything easier. Ad libbing was so annoying.

 

And yet...didn't he already have a script? Hadn't everything been leading up to this? The plane ride, the tour, the demonstration? He might as well have neon arrows on the floor pointing to the direction he should take. To come this far, and then say no? Anticlimactic to the extreme. No, he would push on. If there were dangers of painting himself as a villain, he would back out. After all, the scientist (he still hadn't decided if she was the villain of this film or not) had given him that option. Then again, villains usually lied. Regardless, he would press on, and follow the path laid out for him.

 

Chuckling, he gave another bow to Genevieve. "My life is in your hands, milady. Please do be careful with it." He shot her a dazzling smile. There, that sounded dramatic and lead-character enough.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

After her decision, several others made theirs as well. The only one who hadn't was the scientist. Brianna figured she'd leave as well, with how riled up she had gotten, which was fine by her. She didn't need to deal with that woman with all this going on.

 

Lance opted out, of course. "Can't stand that heat after all, have a nice flight." She tilted her head towards Alaric, "500 Pokedollars says he throws up this time." It was unfortunate. She wouldn't get a chance to see what the kid could do. Suppose that was his limit. Oh well. She had more issues.

 

Specifically the people who decided to stick around. Besides the little boy there was Alaric. Probably the only one she had any kind of idea they could be useful. He seemed like an idiot but that could help in the long run.

And, unfortunately, her. Terra. She wasn't nearly as fun to get riled up as the others; so Brianna could tell she was going to have a headache during this.

 

Her words were...quite interesting to say the least. Seems the girl had some serious issues. Beyond the stick up her ass of course. Brianna couldn't help but hope Genevieve would turn down her request and toss her out. In part, though she'd never admit it, because she figured someone with a bad heart would get seriously hurt when the inevitable fight happened. In the meantime...

"How about this, sweetheart. Why don't you go and work on your research paper and leave the rest of this to us big kids. That way you can get out of my hair and I can actually have some fun."

She knew she was including Stephen in "big kids" and Brianna hoped that'd rub the salt in Terra's wounds a bit more. She smiled with an almost sadistic glee at the thought of making the girl angry. Even in this possibly life or death situation, Brianna just had to make the best of it and have a little fun while she could.

Nothing stops Brianna's snark, nothing.

[Tesability Black]

She didn't believe that any of them were getting out of here, not alive, at least. Taking another sideways glance beyond the glass, the lady in black rested her hand on her hip, near the one Pokeball on her belt. Lightly tapping it twice, she lowered her hand once more, before shaking her head...

Yeah, she knew opening her mouth the way she did was a gambit in an of itself. Plenty of intelligence, but she would never claim herself as having the best gauge of common sense at times. A gambit against the gods is how she's lived a decent portion of her life thus far however, so what's another added to that list?

"In position, Tay," she suddenly heard though the translator in her ear along with a single faint tremor from the DNA-scanner upon her arm, though there was no associated Pokemon visible that was talking, nor was there any audible speech heard. Good.

"Welp," she started to say as she lowered her head in further thought. "Like I said, I'm gonna need to swap Pokemon, specifically to my Ditto, RNA, before I go 'yay' or 'nay' on this. If I have to do this with my Porygon-Z, then I will have to decline, if only so you don't have to waste your funds on a doomed project. I know most science places don't like it when their bottom line gets nailed for no reason."

She was just hoping this new gambit wouldn't bite her in the ass...well, any harder than it's already been bit, anyway.

[Ren✧]

Genevieve patiently waited for the group in its entirety to make their decisions before responding. Her eyes scanned the group without a hint of impatience or frustration as they deliberated whether or not they would continue the tour. At this point, it was impossible for them to do anything but play exactly into her hands. At this point, any hesitation was prolonging the inevitable. 

 

"Your corporation would know more than the hospital did, so... I want all your records on that virus; origin, symptoms, long-term effects, everything. I want you to compile that right now, and I want to be able to read it by the time I'm done with this first exercise... at the very latest. That's my request before I sign up for this whole charade."

 

A mirthless smile creased Genevieve's face as the professional trainer made her ludicrous demand. Genevieve met the girl's gaze, matching Terra's vibrant intensity with her own brand of cold callousness. "No. What I think you aren't understanding, Miss Montana, is that this is a completely voluntary experiment. If we were truly only about getting test subjects at this point, do you really think that we would hand pick a person that suffers from a condition that could very easily result in their death if something were to go awry, like yourself?" Genevieve let the question hang in the air momentarily before continuing. 

 

"So no. I will not be bending to your ultimatum. If you want to learn more and possibly partake in this experiment, then stay. If not, leave. I don't have the time or the patience to deal with petty, delinquent demands." Genevieve's words were sharp and to the point, making it clearly evident that she would not be manipulated so easily. 

 

"Like I said, I'm gonna need to swap Pokemon, specifically to my Ditto, RNA, before I go 'yay' or 'nay' on this. If I have to do this with my Porygon-Z, then I will have to decline, if only so you don't have to waste your funds on a doomed project. I know most science places don't like it when their bottom line gets nailed for no reason."

 

Genevieve turned her attention to Tayla as she too placed a condition on her participation. "Ms. Lider, I know you are a respected name in the field of science, but if you could refrain from speaking about subjects you know little about, it would save us both a lot of trouble. As I have previously stated, the Pokemon that you merge with is determined after some intensive testing. Ideally, it is a Pokemon you already have a bond with. However, there are a number of factors that can make this difficult to achieve. So, as I told Ms. Montana, you can either stay or leave, but I will not entertain these caveats of yours."

 

The personable tour guide persona that Genevieve had adopted at the beginning of the day had obviously melted away to reveal the cold, hard interior that defined who Genevieve really was. After waiting for Tayla and Terra to make their decisions after having their requests shot down, Genevieve paused to send a brief message through her handheld and then addressed all those that remained. 

 

"Wonderful, now we can really get down to brass tax. The first matter of business is to do some simple testing like blood work and X-rays to make sure that all the safety precautions that need to be taken are in place when the procedure goes underway." She informed them, her voice not as cold as it had been when addressing Tayla and Terra. "So, please follow me and we can get all that started."

 

Walking out of the observation room, Genevieve led them back across the training room, which was now again empty and back into the hallways of the New Geneisis facility. They caught no sign of those that had chosen to leave the group, presumably an escort had come to show them the way out. They didn't have to walk far before they came to a door that was labeled [MEDICAL LAB]. Stepping inside, Genevieve ushered the group in.

 

The lab was what you would expect. It was garbed in sleek white tiling and smelled highly of disinfectant. Various pieces of medical equipment, both large and small, lay scattered through the room. Nearly a dozen men and women in white coats similar to the one that Genevieve wore bustled about the room, going from one place to the next without any indication that they noticed they had visitors. 

 

Knowing that if they waited to be notice that they'd be there all day, Genevieve loudly cleared her throat to gain the doctors' attention. Doing so caused them to momentarily pause, now noticing the facility head and the soon-to-be test subjects. "Aw, Ms. Genevieve. I see you've brought us some new friends." One of the women said, stepping forward to address the group. Her red hair was tied back into a ponytail and freckles decorated her face and the exposed portions of her arms. "I'm Dr. Nissen." She introduced herself. "I'm the head doctor here. And we'll be ones doing the medical background check and conducting the search for certain indicators in your physiology that may help us narrow down exactly what Pokemon will be your best choice to merge with." 

 

Dr. Nissen continued to explain several of the tests that they would do and some of what the doctors would be looking for. After a few questions were answered, she got the participants to sit in some chairs so they could begin with the blood work. While they did this, Genevieve looked to her handheld, checking on the status of the participants who had left. 

 

 

Security Chief Gile Aburame, the man that had flown the group of test subjects to the facility, walked through the halls of the building heading to the more restricted areas to pick up those that had declined Genevieve's offer. He didn't go far before he ran into the woman with blue hair. She looked exceptionally pissed off, meaning that Gile could assume that they had finished their little presentation. "Glad I caught you ma'am." He said, stopping the Pokemon psychologist. "I'm here to take you home." He said cheerily. "Were there any others that are gonna be join-" Gile stopped his question half way through as Lance turned the corner. "I see that there is." Once everyone that had opted to leave had joined them, Gile led them back through the twisting halls of the New Genesis facility. As he did so, he attempted to make small talk. "So, I'm guessing it wasn't your cup of tea then?"

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

"No. What I think you aren't understanding, Miss Montana, is that this is a completely voluntary experiment. If we were truly only about getting test subjects at this point, do you really think that we would hand pick a person that suffers from a condition that could very easily result in their death if something were to go awry, like yourself?" 

"Hmm... I don't actually know..." Terra answered in a wishy-washy tone, although it may have come across as sarcastic, "You did invite someone with such a condition as my own over to the facility in the first place, without mentioning anything like this in the invitations you gave to everyone. And you did, intentionally or otherwise, put said someone in a situation where he or she would be trapped in a giant prehistoric garden where a wild Tyrantrum ran amok. Kinda hard to tell..."

 

Still, even they both knew that her request wasn't going to cut it, Terra only made it in order to gauge Genevieve's reaction, and internally had to thank the latter for giving a straight answer. Genevieve could've easily pretended not to know what Terra was talking about just to infuriate her even more, but that flat out 'no' actually told her something. Those answers were there; they just weren't about to be given away to an unauthorized person so easily. No matter. As long as she remained direct, Terra would have the answers she was looking for in no time. As such, she opted to stay. As much as she missed her Pokemon, the satisfaction of receiving those answers would mean so much to Terra, even more so than the relief of not having to deal with...

"How about this, sweetheart. Why don't you go and work on your research paper and leave the rest of this to us big kids. That way you can get out of my hair and I can actually have some fun."

 

...that. Whether she was willing to admit it or not, Terra kind of needed Brianna's constant attempts to purposefully rile her up, as although she would never approve of such methods, they were definitely helping her heart truck along at a safe pace. Still...

 

"Nice try," Terra said flatly, completely unphased by that last remark, "But I've been playing with big kids all my life, and I've gone too far to turn back now. Besides, turns out I can't get to my research paper yet, so in the meantime I don't have a choice but to be all over your hair. K?"

 

Terra smiled as she finished up what she had to say to Brianna; no smirk, no mirthless one and certainly not that psychotic one that she ended up making like last time, but the very same bubbly smile that she usually wore. Maybe that would unsettle Brianna without sacrificing any dignity.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Brianna couldn’t, and didn’t bother trying to, suppress a small smile from gracing her lips as both Terra and the scientist were denied utterly. Genevieve might be a cold annoying a****** but she had her moments.
She wasn’t surprised in the slightest when the woman revealed her “dark side” as it were. She thought she had them. Hell, Brianna wasn’t sure she didn’t have them. For now she just had to play along and look for the best way out.
 
"Nice try, But I've been playing with big kids all my life, and I've gone too far to turn back now. Besides, turns out I can't get to my research paper yet, so in the meantime I don't have a choice but to be all over your hair. K?"
Brianna cocked her head to the side and examined Terra, staring at her for several moments without saying anything. ”How cute. Can’t get enough of me I see.” She said patronizingly and then about-faced and followed Genevieve out.
The girl was a confusing one. She couldn’t tell if she genuinely was feeling more cheerful or if it was just a new way of fighting back but right now it was all the same to Brianna.

“Medical lab. Always a soothing sight.” Brianna said sarcastically. “This better not take long.” Even as she said this she was examining the room. “You know this is ridiculously boring for a mad scientists lab.” Brianna said. “What you couldn’t splurge a little to spice things up for us?”
It really was quite plain. Probably for good reason but that wouldn’t stop Brianna from complaining.
 
 "I'm Dr. Nissen. I'm the head doctor here. And we'll be ones doing the medical background check and conducting the search for certain indicators in your physiology that may help us narrow down exactly what Pokemon will be your best choice to merge with."
“Oh hey there Ginger.” Brianna knew she too had red hair, but the very obvious freckles the girl sported just begged for the nickname. “Make sure I, er, merge with something cool kay?” She gave the doctor a semi-flirtatious wink. No harm in having a little fun with the good doctor now that she was here.
She continued a somewhat flirtatious tactic with the doctor as they continued; in between asking her typical thousands of inane questions to bug everyone around her. Brianna realized her tactics so far weren’t doing squat. She had to switch it up a bit, and this was one way to do it. She didn’t particularly care for this style but if it worked she didn’t care. Even if it didn’t work maybe it’d cause the doctor to let something slip that could help.

It’s better than just sitting here doing nothing. And Brianna had been getting bored again anyway.

[Tesability Black]

Sh*t!

Though her face remained straight, in her head she was in a panic. Crossing her arms in front of herself, the hand that rested upon the rectangular DNA-Scanner lightly tapped it twice while appearing to be in thought...and in all honestly, she actually was...

"I'd like to see how you compare my DNA with something whose code is in binary," she couldn't help but give an under-breath quip at the thought.

...should I go back to the 'ball?

Tayla?

Tay?

...sheet.

The professional actor of the group would probably realize that, like him, what she did next was a facade, the sudden sigh in defeat. "Fine, fine. I've been practically gambling with my life when dealing with the gods for several years now, so what's one more gamble?"

The best way to lie is to wrap it around with several layers of truth. No, she really didn't want to do this, but that wouldn't stop the apparent atrocity that this program was from happening...

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"And we'll be ones doing the medical background check and conducting the search for certain indicators in your physiology that may help us narrow down exactly what Pokemon will be your best choice to merge with."

 

Ms. Lider resisted the urge to click her tongue in thought on this, already knocking off her Magnezone and Castform from the list of Pokemon she brought with her in her head as the Pokemon she'd most-likely wind up 'partnered' with. Now, she didn't have anything against Battery and Predict respectively, but the latter was mute for reasons she's never managed to figure out and the former...

 

...there was no way on Arceus' green Earth would she be able to think with that level of precision 24/7. F*ck that level of noise.

 

Though, if they take into account one's mental attributes...she'd almost hate to see her Asperger's Disorder combined with Cysero's barely-contained insanity. Even the b*tch leading this project may not like the end result to that.