"Subject Codename: Cirno. Experiment H-20, Chryobiological effects on retroVirus Z-O-M when the host is cryogenically frozen." a muffled voice came from the figure wearing a full-body hazmat suit. The reflective faceplate was as a mirror, only enhancing his detached demeanor as he regarded the little figure in front of him. A girl of only nine, dressed in a blue and white hospital gown. Her supervisory scientist had apparently given her a big blue bow to tie her hair up in. An ironic joke, no doubt. "Put her back to bed." came a distinctly female voice from another hazmat suit. Another suit nodded, "As you wish, Dr. Kurodani."
One of the men in the hazmat suits stepped forward, grabbing a syringe from the nearby tray. He advanced on her. With a defiant look that seemed to hide fear behind it, she ducked and scrambled after the hazmat suit that contained the female voice, bearing her own syringe in her small clenched fist. The doctor reacted fast, bringing up a small black object in her hand. With the push of a button, small wires flew forward and attached themselves to the little girl. Thousands of volts of electricity coursed through her small frame, knocking her off her leap and causing her to crash into a nearby medical tray table. The noise caused several of the patients to stir, some awakening to groans and some beginning to scream as they were roused from their peaceful, dreamless, drug-induced sleep back into the nightmare of reality.
The female voice came again, "Get them all back to sleep. I can't stand their screams." Another nod, "Yes, Doctor." With a look at the crumpled heap of the little girl at her feet, Dr. Kurodani knelt down. The girl was alive, as evidenced by her breathing, labored as it was. The little figure stirred, but gave up shortly after. The pain to move was too great. "Eye will kill you..." Dr Kurodani passed a bemused smile behind her faceplate. "No. No you won't." Dr. Kurodani got to her feet and proceeded toward the exit. "Break her legs." Dr. Kurodani exited the room as the screams began.
Dr Kurodani exited the sterile patient ward and took off her hazmat suit. Her black and brown dress flowed freely and comfortably compared to that stuffy suit. Brushing back her blond hair, she grabbed a labcoat from the rack and proceeded into the office. A man in a black suit and a red tie sat behind the maplewood desk. He regarded her sternly, and she took on an air of nonchalance. She took a seat in front of him and leaned back. "What have you interrupted me for? This is a crucial part of the TENGU experiment. The wings have sprouted and we were in the middle of re-aligning the subject's spine when I was so rudely interrupted. Now you have that quack of a surgeon attempting such a delicate procedure, and you've just imposed a serious risk of complications. The subject could end up paralyzed and our research could be set back months!"
The figure behind the desk almost smirked. "One could build a new Eiffel Tower our of the sheer irony of you calling someone else a quack, Dr. Kurodani." He could see this struck a nerve as her nostrils flared. "Watch your tongue, Michaels. You were the one who wanted my help. I am trying to help you, but I cannot guarantee results if you keep interrupting me like this." The man regarded her silently, before seeming to steel himself as he spoke with a new resolve. "Yes, well, I am here to rectify that." Dr. Kurodani was taken aback. Dropping her calm demeanor, she looked at him with a blank stare. "What?"
"I am here to inform you that the company is canceling your contract. We are closing the Bioweapon R&D department. No more viruses, no more genetic tampering. We are shutting you down." Dr. Kurodani, almost speechless, stammered for a moment before regaining her composure. "What? Why! My research has all yielded exponential results! We are ahead of projected schedule with viability for weapons testing to begin next year! Why am I being shut down!"
"Because, Doctor," the man emphasized her title as if it were an insult, "Your research has become too much of a liability. We are working too hard and spending too much to cover up your screwups. We can't avoid more accidents. Project Flandre was a PR disaster, and our cover story of a reactor meltdown doesn't satisfy the feds who are still asking questions." Dr. Kurodani cringed at the mention of the Flandre Incident. More because of the damage to the labs that was a major setback as hundreds of records were lost, her concern over the lives that were lost was minimal.
"That was an isolated incident! We have more precautions now than ever before, and I am so close to weaponizing the retroviruses that I can almost guarantee testing with the next year!" The man took a deep breath. "The answer is no. The liabilities, the facade of the hospital, the unwilling hosts to thousands of strains of your invented viruses. No, the committee has decided your work is too much of a liability to continue funding. No more experiments, no more retroviral mutations. It's simply too unconscionable."
"Conscience!" Kurodani screamed. "You dare speak to me of conscience! You are corporate belligerents who wish to create bioweapons to sell to the government only to undertable sell to the highest bidder! And yet you dare lecture me about conscience! My work is furthering the understanding of the natural world. You would judge me for my work, your limited mind is just the same as the rest of them. Those who call me insane! Those who call my work lunacy. You'll see! You'll all see! One day my contributions to the academic arena will be accepted, and my name will sit right alongside the greatest. It will be Nicholai Tesla, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and then Yamame Kurodani!" Michaels sighed, tired of dealing with a lunatic. "You are a misguided torturer and our company will no longer fund your sadistic games."
Kurodani screamed and leaped at Michaels. "You won't undo all I have wrought! Not now! When I am so close!" Bringing the syringe up, the one she had lifted from the little girl, the one she had been palming the entire conversation, and plunged the syringe into Michaels' eye. She squeezed the plunger and left the body convulsing. She looked on with bloodshot eyes as she took deep breaths, to try and calm herself down, her heart racing at what she had just done as she watched the body die.
She watched the body go limp as she regained her composure. She fixed her hair and wondered exactly what was in that syringe. Resolving to figure out how the little girl came to possess the needle, she walked out of the office. She almost regretted breaking the little girl's legs...
Almost...
Author's Notes: This is a Genre-Shift fanfiction me adapting the Touhou Project into a GRIMDARK setting. We adapted the characters' powers to have a less magical and more modern sci-fi feel to them, as if their powers wouldn't be out of place in a Dark Angel or Metal Gear setting. As such, we made the setting Earth. While these adaptations stretch far from the magical land of frilly little girls, we feel the story remains faithful toward the main premise of Touhou: a plot excuse for petting zoo girls to go around beating the crap out of each other. Enjoy XD.
Credits to Wriggle and Pedro for helping me write this.