WARNING! This is quite possibly the darkest and most twisted thing I have ever written in my entire life. It contains blood, gore, torture, nudity, surreal imagery, and mild elements of body horror. If any or all of these things offend you in any way, I beg you not to proceed any further. That being said, I just want to clarify that the reason I wrote this fic was to try and expand my horizon as writer. I've never written horror before, so I thought this kind of story would be a nice change of pace for me. Anyway, I've already taken up enough of your time, so I will finish off this author's note by clarifying that this story takes place in the 2012 TMNT Universe (Somewhere between The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman and The Wrath of Tiger Claw) and that TMNT is the property of Mirage Studios and possibly Nickelodeon. Now that we've gotten all that out of the way feel free to read on, if you dare.
The Lazar-Wolf Experiment
Pain…
That was the first thing her mind registered as it slowly inched its way back into the realm of consciousness. First came the throbbing pain in her forehead, followed swiftly by the sharp pain in her right arm and the incredibly uncomfortable sensation in-between her legs.
As the seconds ticked on, her other senses started to come back and she was slowly able to take in her surroundings. Her ears detected an annoying beeping sound coming from her immediate left, her nose picked up the unmistakable odor of floor wax and expired medicine, and although she could tell she was clothed she felt strangely naked. By the time her awareness fully returned her still groggy mind was able to piece together that she must be in some kind of hospital.
The only question was how did she get there?
The last thing she remembered was heading over to Murakami's to meet up with Casey and the guys, then… nothing. There was just a great big blank between then and now. What had happened? Was she jumped by the Kraang or the Foot Clan? And where were her friends? So many questions, she tried to open her eyes to try and get some answers, but instead she was met only with darkness.
By this point she was totally freaking out, by all appearances she had gone blind. The incessant beeps of the invisible heart monitor were growing louder and more frequent by the second. Her breath grew short, her hands grew shaky. She felt like she was having a panic attack. Fortunately a deep voice called out to her from the darkness and distracted her from her distressing disability.
"Calm yourself my dear," said the voice in a thick yet strangely comforting Russian accent. "You're not ready for this much excitement yet. You're still too weak."
"W-who… who are you?" she asked in a horse tone; trying very hard not to sound afraid. "What is this place?"
"You shouldn't talk so much just yet my child; you've lost too much blood. You need your rest." The voice said calmly. "However, since you're feeling so chatty, now is as good a time as any to ask you this. Do you know your name?"
"Yeah… it's April, April O'Neil, but why does…"
"Excellent," the voice interrupted, seeming to scribble something down on some unseen piece of paper. "No apparent signs of brain damage. Very nice. Very nice."
"Excuse me," she spoke up again, trying to sound brave. "But what exactly is going on here? Who are you?"
"You really should be resting," the voice said with a concerned sigh. "But since you're so persistent, to answer your first question my name is Dr. Ivan Lazar-Wolf and what is going on is that you've been in a terrible accident and are now a patient at Bellevue Hospital."
"Accident… what ac…AK!" April began, only to be cutoff by a sudden stabbing pain in her chest. It was like some had soaked a dagger in kerosene then lit it on fire after stabber her in the heart. It was quite possibly the most intense pain she had ever felt in her entire life; she wanted to scream out in agony. Fortunately before she could, she felt something sting her in the side of the neck, and then her entire body went numb.
"There, there Ms. O'Neil, everything's going to be alright." said Dr. Lazar-Wolf as April's mind began to fill with fuzz. "All of your questions will be answered in the morning, but for now you must sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppppppp…."
XXX
After what felt like an eternity of floating through a sea of blackness, April suddenly found herself seated in front of a conveyor belt in what appeared to some kind of Japanese restaurant.
"Um… Hello… is anybody here?" she asked tentatively, hoping for someone to come out and explain what was going on. Unfortunately after about a minute and a half of waiting the only reply she got was dead silence. "Hello… I said is there anybody here?" After a second round of silence, the young redhead decided to give the restaurant a quick onceover and lo and behold the entire place was like a ghost town. "Okay… even by my standards, this is just freaky."
Suddenly the conveyor belt seemed to turn on by itself and a lovely oriental tune filled the air. Before April could even try to vocalize her confusion a small plate of sushi drifted by on the mechanical canal; looking unexplainably appetizing.
"Alright, now this is just too… just too… just…" the young teen tried to articulate, but the aroma of the raw tuna was so intoxicating that she couldn't focus. It was so strange, she didn't think she liked sushi all that much and yet there she was, licking her lips like it was the first piece of food she'd seen in months. Fortunately she was able to snap herself out of her trance before she started to drool. "I… I really shouldn't. It could be rotten or poisoned or… or… or…"
In that moment, the hypnotic scent of the raw fish took hold of her senses and awakened a sort of primal urge she never knew she had. Before April even realized what she was doing, the young redhead snatched the little sushi bits off the plate and shoved them right into her salivating mouth. And the taste, oh the taste, it was absolutely orgasmic! The second she swallowed those heavenly morsels she immediately wanted more.
Fortunately she didn't have to wait very long, for a few seconds later another plate of sushi passed by on the conveyor belt, and then another, and then another and another. Tuna, Salmon, Crab, Shrimp, Squid, Octopus, Trout, Sweet Egg, Cuttlefish, and so many others; so many rich, decadent morsels, and April gobbled them all down with greedy gusto. In less than twenty minutes the young kunoichi ate over three times her body weight in raw seafood and rice; and yet miraculously she never once felt full or gained an ounce.
However, after a little while the sushi stopped coming, much to her dismay.
"Hey! What gives?" April shouted in an uncharacteristically bratty tone. "I'm still hungry!"
At that moment, a large water moccasin appeared on the conveyor belt and slithered on to the counter right in front of her. Before April could even try to react, the horrible serpent reared up its ugly head and bared its hideous fangs; all the while letting out an evil hiss. Normally in a situation such as this she would've screamed bloody murder, but for some odd reason all she could do was stare at the venomous creature and lick her lips.
"Hello… Dessert!" she yelled in a half-crazed tone as she grabbed the sinister serpent by the head with one hand and squeezed until she heard a loud crack! Then, just to make sure it was dead, she tore the vial creature's head clean off and tossed it casually over her shoulder. Her deed done, the young kunoichi brought its lifeless body to her mouth and slurped it down her throat like a giant noodle.
"Oh yeah…" April said, pausing only for a moment wipe off her lips with her hand and let out a loud belch. "That hit the spot."
XXX
A split-second later, April's eyes snapped open and she found herself in the familiar blackness of her hospital bed. Much to her relief, her uncontrollable eating binge had only been a dream; but boy what a dream! All that unrestrained gluttony and the way she killed and ate that snake; it was almost as if someone or something else was controlling her, messing with her mind. Just thinking about it made her sick. Like really sick. Like really, really…
Before she could even finish her thought, April leaned over the side of her bed and vomited; unfortunately there hadn't been a trashcan beneath her, so her stomach contents just splattered all over the floor.
"Oh man…" the young kunoichi gagged as the stench of her own bile started to overtake her senses. "That is just… so gross!"
Just then she heard a door open, followed by the unmistakably deep voice of Dr. Lazar-Wolf.
"Is everything alright Ms. O'Neil?" asked the good doctor with his thick-as-molasses Russian accent. "I thought I heard choking."
"Yeah… cough… I'm fine…" April said as she wiped away the last bit of vomit from her chin. "I just threw up a little on the floor, sorry."
"That's quite alright my dear, this is a hospital after all." replied the Russian doctor sympathetically. "I'll have a nurse come in and clean it up in just a bit, but first things first. How are you feeling today?"
"Better, I guess…" answered the young redhead. "I mean, I feel a lot stronger than I did before and I'm not hurting anymore. So… that's good right?"
"Yes, very good, very good indeed." Replied Lazar-Wolf as he scribbled something down on an unseen piece of paper. "But your body has not fully recovered, so expect the pains to return periodically. You're not out of the woods just yet."
"I see… well, thanks for the warning, but you still haven't told me what's going on here. Why am I in a hospital? And why can't I see anything?"
At first Dr. Lazar-Wolf said nothing; he just sighed and continued to scribble things down on his invisible notepad. But after a few moments of dead silence he finally spoke up.
"Yesterday evening, at approximately 5:23 pm, you were struck by an oncoming taxi while attempting to cross a busy intersection." He explained in a tone that reminded April of an actor reading a script. "You've suffered minor fractures in both your legs, as well as several of your ribs. You don't seem to have suffered any serious internal damage, but you did lose a lot of blood so will need to keep you at least one more night for observations. In the future Ms. O'Neil, I highly recommend that you look both ways before crossing the street."
"Yeah… I'll keep that in mind." She replied, sounding both embarrassed and a little insulted. "But that still doesn't explain why I can't see."
"Now, now Ms. O'Neil, no need to get impatient." said Lazar-Wolf in a fatherly tone. "As I was about to tell you, the accident caused some mild damage to your retinas. They weren't detached thankfully, but we have to keep them bandaged for right now so they can heal properly; otherwise you could go blind."
"Oh Jeez…" muttered April; her voice laced with a mix of horror and relief. "Well… I sure as heck don't want that to happen. I guess I can live in darkness for a little while if it means I won't have to do it forever."
"Well said Ms. O'Neil, well said." Replied the good Doctor pleasantly. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have other patients I must attend to, so do try to get some rest while I'm away."
"Wait!" cried out April, as she heard Lazar-Wolf start to open some unseen door. "What about my dad and my friends? Where are they? Can I talk to them?"
"Oh, I'm afraid that won't be possible at this time." The doctor answered with a twinge if regret in his voice. "We've contacted your father about the accident, but he has yet to arrive. And, I'm sorry to say this, but your mobile device was destroyed in the crash, so we have no means of informing any of your friends."
"Seriously?"
"Afraid so,"
"Oh man…" said the young redhead said crestfallenly. "I hope everything's okay. I mean, I was supposed to meet the guys at Murakami's for pizza gyoza. They're probably worried sick."
"You needn't concern yourself Ms. O'Neil, I'm sure your father has informed them of your condition." said Lazar-Wolf in an attempt to pacify her. "Now, I really must be going now, so do try to get some rest."
"Okay, you're the Doctor." Replied April, deciding that there was no point in arguing. However, as she started to lie back in her bed she felt something strange brush up against her bare back; causing her to shoot back up. "What the heck?!"
"What's the matter Ms. O'Neil? Are you in some kind of pain?"
"My hair… it's… longer!"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I know this is gonna sound crazy, but just listen to me. Before the accident my hair barely went down to the end of my neck! Now it's half way down my back!" she explained hysterically; running her fingers through her elongated locks for emphasis. "My hair grew like… two feet overnight! How is that possible?"
"Why… I… I… I have no idea what you mean Ms. O'Neil…" said Dr. Lazar-Wolf; sounding more than a little nervous. "Your hair is the same length it was when you were admitted. Um… perhaps you're just… imagining things."
"I am not imagining this!" April yelled, throwing up her flowing locks in exasperation. "I know my own head and this is not the length my hair is supposed to be! Now something strange is going on here and I demand to know what! So run a blood test or whatever the heck it is you do and find out what's wrong with me now!"
Throughout this little rant, the young kunoichi heard Dr. Lazar-Wolf slowly inch away from her. Clearly he was taken aback by her rather sudden outburst, and to tell the truth so was she. Why was she acting this way? It was so unlike her. She probably would've given this matter some serious thought, had she not noticed something else completely out of the ordinary.
"Wait a minute... do my breasts look bigger to you?"
"Really Ms. O'Neil, I don't think this is an appropriate area for discussion."
"No seriously, look at them!" she said hysterically; grabbing said breasts to emphasize her point. "They've jumped up like three sizes! What the…"
Before she could finish that sentence, April felt a familiar sting in the side of her neck, followed by an equally familiar sense of mental fluffiness.
"Damn it all, she must be having some kind of reaction to the serum." She heard Lazar-Wolf mutter to himself as her awareness began to fade. "Jack! Jack, get in here right now! And bring some roooooooooooooooooooppppppppppppppppppppppppppeee….."
XXX
"Uuuuuuuuuuuggghhhhhh…." April groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. "Wahza, where the, huh?"
"Articulate as ever, eh Ms. O'Neil." said the cold and cruel voice of her Russian doctor. "Honestly, with a vocabulary like that it's a miracle you ever pasted the First Grade."
"Wha… What's happening? Where am I?"
"Oh yes, how terribly rude of me," he said mockingly before roughly tearing off her blindfold. "There, is that better?"
It took a moment, but her eyes soon adjusted to the light and she was finally able to grasp the full scope of her situation. Contrary to what she had been told, she was not in Bellevue Hospital, but rather in a dark and abandoned looking warehouse. And instead of lying in a semi-comfortable hospital bed she was suspended two feet off the ground; her arms raised over her head with her wrists secured to a large metal hook. And as if all of that weren't horrifying enough, she quickly realized that she was completely naked.
"Wh… Wh… Where are my clothes?"
"Don't worry, you won't be needing them."
It was at this moment that April finally got a good look at her captor and what a sight he was. Bald, thin, pasty skinned; the man was practically a skeleton in a white lab coat. His face, which looked as though it had been sculpted out of latex, consisted of a long snipe nose, a short well-groomed goatee, and a pair of thick lensed glasses that totally obscured his eyes. In short, Dr. Ivan Lazar-Wolf looked exactly like, for lack of a better term, a mad scientist.
"And now, my dear little piggy, let's see if we can make you squeal." With a subtle flick of the wrist, the mad doctor produced a scalpel from his sleeve and began to twirl it about in his fingers. "The only question is where do I start?"
"Wh… What are you… AAAAAHHHHH!" the young kunoichi shrieked as the good doctor answered her question with a swift slash across the stomach; causing her vital fluid to ooze out in a slow crimson sheet.
"Hmm… very nice, very nice." He said smugly as he examined his work. "And yet I can't help but think that something is missing. Oh wait, how about… this!"
Before April could even attempt to resist, the crazed physician proceeded to cut her along her thigh; causing her to howl with pain.
"Yes… yes, my dear, scream! It wets my appetite!" he said with perverse delight, before moving on to her oh so vulnerable buttocks and repeating the process.
For what felt like an eternity, the mad doctor sliced up her alabaster skin like a Thanksgiving Turkey. Once he had decided that her rear had been sufficiently carved he moved on to her legs. And once he grew tired of her legs he moved on to her arms, and then to her breasts, and so on and so on in that fashion. By the time he decided to step back and admire his handiwork, nearly all of April's body was an open wound.
Drop by precious drop, the young redhead was being bled like a stuck pig, and try as she might she was helpless to resist. She wanted to fight back, she wanted so many times to just kick this freak right in his ugly face, but alas her body refused to obey her commands. All she could do was hang there and suffer while her life essence slowly drained away.
"Oh… don't look so depressed my dear," said Lazar-Wolf in mock sympathy; jarring April out of her daze. "I've got just the thing to put a smile on your face."
In that moment time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Inch by inch the mad doctor's scalpel moved toward he vulnerable cheeks; his intentions horrifically clear. But again she could do nothing to stop him. She had lost far too much blood; the poor girl didn't even have the energy to scream in terror. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the scalpel reached her porcelain cheeks and began to slice.
However, as the familiar sting of Lazar-Wolf's blade enveloped her face, she felt something stir from deep within her; something primal. Without so much as a second thought, April forced her head toward the doctor's hand and bit down into his middle and index fingers; causing him to drop the insidious scalpel into crimson pool below.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" howled the mad physician as the blood gushed forth from his hand. "AAAHHHH! LET GO YOU HORRID LITTLE MONSTER! LET GO!" But she did not. The young kunoichi continued to sink her teeth into her captor's flesh, in spite of the blood collecting in her mouth. She just bit harder and harder until at last her ears rang with a sickening SNAP!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Lazar-Wolf screamed at the top of voice as he fell back onto the cold cement floor; leaving behind two of his smaller appendages. As he hit the ground he grabbed for his bloody stumps and wailed like a banshee. "Ohhhh! My hand! My beautiful hand! Witch! Devil! You'll pay for this!"
Seeing this as an opportunity to strike back, the animal formerly known as April spat out her captor's fingers and put all of her remaining strength into breaking her bonds. It took a bit of force, but in a matter of moments she was able to escape from the ropes binding her wrists. Unfortunately she soon found that her legs were still nonresponsive, so when her feet hit the floor she fell forward; landing right on top of her wounded captor.
"Get off of me! You wretch! I'll kill you! I'll kill your whole family!" the mad doctor shouted hysterically, though April didn't seem to hear him. In fact she wasn't interested in him at all. No, what caught her attention was her reflection in his thick glasses. It looked like her, only her deep blue eyes had become much more reptilian. However, instead of questioning her sudden ocular transformation, she just smiled and bit right into her former tormentor's long snipe nose; earning yet another bloodcurdling shriek.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
XXX
When April awoke this time she had to force herself not to scream. No small feat considering the nightmare she had just had. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was ready to burst right out of her chest and her sheets were completely drenched in sweat; at least she hoped it was sweat.
"Okay April… just calm down." She told herself in an attempt to steady her racing heartbeat. "It was just a dream; Just a dream."
Over and over again she told herself this, and little by little she started to believe it.
"Of course it was just a dream," the young kunoichi said with a newfound clarity. "I mean, now that I think about it, that whole thing was just like a scene from that movie Casey made me watch; almost word for word. Yeah, and that Lazar-Wolf; scientists don't really look like that, he looked more like a cartoon character."
The more April rationalized, the more her heart rate began to decrease. However, no amount of rationalization could make her forget about the horrific way her dream had ended. That rage, those eyes, her uncontrollable lust for biting; it was like watching a monster movie, only she was the monster. Whatever kind of drugs they had her on were seriously messing with her head. But with any luck she wouldn't be there too much longer; she hoped.
"This has gone too far Ivan!" said a muffled yet strangely familiar voice from out of the blackness. "You promised me she wasn't going to get hurt."
"And she isn't." replied the voice of the genuine Dr. Lazar-Wolf; sounding equally muffled. "I assure you, I have everything under control. What happened before was just an unexpected hiccup."
"Hiccup? You call this a hiccup?" said the other voice, sounding more than a little frantic. "She's losing her mind in there! We have to stop this now!"
'Losing her mind?' April repeated in her head. 'Are they talking about me?'
"We can't stop now. She's already passed the point of no return." explained the good doctor in an eerily analytical tone. "Besides, while her little outburst was a bit unexpected, it's nothing that can't be explained."
"Alright then, explain it to me."
"Well, when I calculated the possible side effects of the serum, I failed to account for the transition from warm to cold blood. That coupled with the Macrochelys temminckii's carnivorous nature is causing the subject to experience some mild irrational behavior, but don't worry, she should return to normal once the metamorphosis is complete."
"Should?"
"Well its better than won't! And for God's sake keep your voice down! Do you want her to wake up again?"
"That's another thing; you promised me she'd be unconscious for this whole ordeal. Well she's already woken up twice, so try explaining that!"
"I already told you, it's impossible for me to know what her ideal morphine dosage is when her metabolism is in flux. And I can't risk giving her too much, so I have to guess low."
"This too much Ivan, we're going to prison for this you know!"
"Get a hold of yourself man!" said the muffled voice of Dr. Lazar-Wolf, followed swiftly by the sound of a harsh slap across the other man's face. "No one is going to prison! The Turtles can't risk exposing themselves, her father's too overprotective to risk her safety by squealing, no one will ever believe her boyfriend, and obviously she's not going to the police anytime soon. So we have to worry about. Now for God's sake stop sniveling and act like a man!"
While the two men continued to argue, April's mind was working overtime to try and piece together the key points of their conversation. Serum? Metamorphosis? Warm to Cold Blood? What in heaven's name were they talking about? And more importantly, would she be able to stomach the answer?
"I can't take this anymore Ivan!" said the other man, sounding more than a little upset. "I'm just gonna call the Turtles and tell them what's going on. Then maybe Donatello can… URK!"
Shortly after the other man was cutoff, the young redhead heard a loud metallic bang. Almost as if someone were being shoved up against a wall of sheet metal.
"I can't let you do that Jack." said Dr. Lazar-Wolf in a threatening tone. "I've come too far to let you FUBAR my plans." A moment later April heard something hit the floor, so she guessed that he let him go. "Besides, at this stage it wouldn't make any difference. She's already too far gone. In another six hours the transformation will be complete. Then you can contact the Turtles."
'Transformation?' the young kunoichi pondered. 'What the heck are they…?'
It was at this moment that the drugs numbing her senses began to fade; allowing her to finally grasp the full weight of her condition.
'Oh… My… Gosh! I'm… I'm… Huge!'
Perhaps not the most flattering self-description, but an accurate one nonetheless. Her stomach, her rear, her face; April's entire body felt like it had swelled up to at least four times its original size. In a nut shell, she was living pretty much every teenage girl's worst nightmare.
'This is bad, this is bad, this is so soooooo very bad!' she thought frantically as she tried to lift her bloated body off her hospital bed, only to discover that her wrists had been firmly secured to the frame. 'And… now it's worse, soooo much worse!'
She struggled against her bonds for several minutes, but to no avail. It didn't look like she going anywhere anytime soon.
'Alright April, just calm down and think about this rationally.' She told herself as she let out deep cleansing breath. 'Now then, Lazar-Wolf said something about a transformation, so obviously all this fat is somehow a part of that. Question is what is that freak transforming me into? An elephant? A Hippo? Oh man, I really hope it's not a hippo! Okay, forget about what for right now and just focus on how and why. Donnie says I'm immune to mutagen so it can't be that. But then again, what else is there? And what's with this Lazar-Wolf guy anyway? I've never done anything to him. I've never even heard of him before. So why is he doing this to me? Is he working with the Foot? The Kraang? Ugh, so many questions, this is driving me crazy!'
Without even thinking, the young kunoichi threw her arms up in frustration, causing the ropes around her wrists to snap like rubber bands; much to her own astonishment.
'What in the…' she thought as she came to grips with what she had just done. 'Did I do this? Oh man… I've never been this strong before.' As she pondered her newfound strength, she began to notice that her wrists were severely chafed. However when she went to examine the damage she felt something rather unsettling. 'What the… are these… are these… scales?'
In a panic, the bloated beauty ran her now chubby fingers over every patch of skin she could reach, but no matter where she went the story was the same. Her arms, her stomach, ever her now fleshy face; her entire body was covering in thick leather-like scales.
'Oh no! No, no, no, no, no, no! This can't be happening! I cannot be fat and have scales! Please let this just be another dream!' she thought frantically while trying to get her blubbery body to cooperate. 'I gotta get out of here! I gotta find the guys before…'
"Shit! She's awake!" yelled the thick accented voice of Dr. Lazar-Wolf sounding more than a little terrified. "Jack, emergency, get in here and hold her down!"
"I'm on it!" said the owner of the other voice, only now it was much, much clearer.
"That voice… it can't be…" April muttered as the mysterious second man held her down. However, before she could say anything else, she felt a familiar sting in the side of her neck. Then, like before, her awareness began to fade.
"You said she'd sleep for at least six more hours."
"Oh shut up!"
"I'm serious Ivan. What if she doesn't survive the final stage? We need to call the Turtles and tell them what's going on! Maybe they can help us?"
"Don't wimp out on me now Kurtzman! Remember, you're in this up to your neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk….."
XXX
After countless hours of drifting through an endless haze, April's consciousness was suddenly stirred by a loud knocking sound, followed swiftly by a mysterious voice with a snooty French accent.
"Madame!" the voice said with great urgency as its owner continued to knock furiously against some unseen door. "Madame O'Neil, you must hurry! You are needed on stage in two minutes!"
"Huh? Whozza? Wha?" the young kunoichi slurred as her awareness slowly returned. "Where am I?"
As if to answer her question, the world suddenly came into complete focus, allowing her to take in her surroundings. Much to her astonishment, April found herself seated in a large and lavish looking dressing room.
"Whoa… nice place…" she said, clearly enamored with the fancy decor. "I wonder whose room this is."
A quick onceover of the walls answered this question. For upon them hung gorgeous posters depicting herself in all manner of beautiful costumes. Madame April in Carmen, Madame April in Don Giovanni, Madame April in The Pirates of Penzance; these titles and many others adorned the walls, filing the young redhead with a sense of awe and wonder.
"Okay… liking this so far…"
Before she could examine the rest of her room's décor, the voice of the knocking Frenchman once again pieced the air; this time with even greater urgency.
"Madame please, you are needed on stage in less than ninety seconds! Are you at least dressed?"
"Uh… just a sec." she answered, not knowing what else to do. "I'll be right out."
On an impulse, April turned around to look at herself in the full-length mirror; and good lord was she a sight to behold. Gone were her trademark t-shirt and jeans, and in their place was a stunning sequined dress that seemed to glow with a lovely dark greenish hue. Her gorgeous red hair was done up in an elaborate bun and held in place with an emerald incrusted sea turtle hairpin. And last but not least, her typically plain eyes, lips, and nails were all painted the same color as her dress. In short, she looked absolutely…
"Beautiful…"
"One minute, Madame!"
"Oh, right!" she said as she snapped out of her self-induced trace; pausing for only a second to look at herself one last time before rushing to the door. "Coming~"
Upon exiting her dressing room, April discovered that the owner of the snooty French voice was not a snooty Frenchman like she imagined, but rather a large and rather cartoonish looking griffin wearing a black beret.
"Whoa…" the young kunoichi turned opera singer said with utter astonishment. "You're… You're…"
"Yes, yes, I know, I am gorgeous," the French Griffin said with narcissistic pride. "But there's no time to talk about it now, you are on in less than forty-five seconds. You must hurry!"
Before April could ask what exactly was going on, the cartoonish monster gently nudged her with its oversized beak; clearly indicating that he wanted her to move.
"Thirty seconds! On stage! Hurry!" it said frantically as it continued to nudge her. "On stage! On stage! Twenty-five seconds!"
"Alright, alright, I'm going." She said with a huff as she walked off in the direction she was being shoved. "Jeeze!"
As she walked on, April quickly realized she was behind what appeared to be a massive red curtain; obviously she was on the stage the feathered Frenchman was talking about. Seeing no other alternative at the time, she stopped when she reached what looked like the center and turned toward the darkened shroud. However, a few seconds later she had a startling realization.
"Wait, what exactly am I supposed to sing?"
Just then, her ears were bombarded by the thunderous blast of an unseen tuba. This was followed swiftly by the melodious scratching of violins and the harmonious toot of clarinets. More and more instruments followed and soon they blended together to form an overture that seemed to rattle the floorboards.
"Okay… not loving this anymore." The young redhead muttered as she contemplated bolting off the stage to avoid any sort of embarrassment. However before she could even attempt to move her feet the curtains suddenly flew open and a blinding spotlight was flashed upon her. "Definitely not loving this…"
Once her eyes adjusted to the brightness, the young kunoichi was able to make out an enormous auditorium overflowing with spectators. Unfortunately, she soon realized that the people who had apparently come to hear her sing weren't people at all, but rather they were all mutants! Mutants, mutants, and more mutants as far as the eye could see. Several she recognized, like Snakeweed, Rockwell, and the Rat King, but the vast majority of them were completely new to her. There were giant dodo men, psychedelic parrot people, seven headed lobster women, and various other miscellaneous genetic nightmares. However what really freaked her out was the fact that all of these petting zoo rejects were dressed in tuxedos and fancy dresses; heck, Spider Bytes was even sporting a top hat and monocle. The whole scene was just plain bizarre.
"Really, Really not loving this…"
A split-second later the orchestra, which seemed to consist largely of Mushroom-Men and mutant ducks, finished the overture and quickly shifted to a softer, much more lively tune.
"Oh man… this is so weird. What am I supposed to do? I don't even… even… I… whoa…"
As the music began to pick up in tempo, April quickly felt herself become entranced by it. Every note seemed to blur her inhibitions and fill her mind with euphoria. It was so strange, she felt like she had heard this music somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where. Suddenly she felt her mouth begin to move and, against her will, she began to sing.
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail,
"There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail.
See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance!
They are waiting on the shingle – will you come and join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?
The voice singing was her own, but April couldn't feel the words coming from her mouth. It was almost as of someone else was singing trough her and forcing her mouth the match the lyrics; like a ventriloquist dummy. Just then she felt something pulling on her arms and legs, forcing her to perform a dance to go along with her song.
"You can really have no notion how delightful it will be
When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!"
But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance -
Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance.
Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance.
As the intensity of the music increased so did the intensity of April's dance. Back and forth she was pulled across the stage like a marionette and forced to enact all manner of embarrassing displays. She performed twirls and high kicks, and at one point she even blew a bunch of kisses to the audience. It was unbelievably humiliating, and yet strangely… fun.
"What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied.
"There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France -
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?
With one final twirl, the song and dance came to a sudden, but spectacular end. Much to the young redhead's relief, the invisible force controlling her actions finally released her from its insidious grip. Her heart was racing, her muscles ached, she was sweating like a hog in heat, but by god she loved it. Never in all her life had she ever felt so exhilarated. She felt like she was in nirvana; nirvana on a roller-coaster. And this feeling was only intensified by the wave of thunderous applause that suddenly erupted from the audience.
"I… I don't understand…" April muttered to herself as the crowd continued to shower her with adulation. "This feeling… it's so strange… I don't know what's wrong with me…"
More and more the people cheered, and more and more her heart rate increased. Sweat was pouring from her pits like miniature geysers, her muscles felt like they'd been beaten with meat tenderizers, and she smelled like a men's locker-room, but she didn't care; heck, she loved it. She loved this feeling, she didn't understand why but she did and she never wanted it to end.
"This feeling… it's… incredible…" the young kunoichi said as she began to salivate. "This is bliss… bliss and heaven! I want this… I want this forever!"
"April! April! April!" the mutants all cheered; adding further coke to her blazing furnace of ecstasy.
"Yes… Yes! Thank you!" she shouted, half crazed, as she waved to her adoring public. "I love you! I love you all!"
XXX
"I love you… I love you all…" April muttered groggily as the sweet euphoria of dreamland gave way to the headaches and dry mouth of reality. "Uh… I don't feel so good…"
This was a grievous understatement. She felt like she'd just been forcibly dragged out of bed and beaten with tennis rackets; which was entirely possible, considering she was no longer in her bed and seemed to be lying on some cold cement floor on her stomach. However the aches and pains in her muscles were trivial compared to the overwhelming sense of unfamiliarity she felt throughout her entire body. It was very difficult to describe. It wasn't so much that she felt like she was in someone else's body, but more like someone had taken her normal body, placed in a larger second body, and then filled that second body with pudding; at least that was the best analogy she could come up with under the circumstances.
"Uh…" April groaned as she attempted to lift herself off the ground. Unfortunately this proved to be much more difficult than she was used to. It seemed that the combination of her new body mass and the residual morphine in her blood wasn't going to allow her to go anywhere anytime soon. Even with her enhanced strength, the young redhead could barely lift her massive belly an inch off the ground. After another minute or two of fruitless effort, she finally gave up and let her stomach hit the floor with a loud clank. 'Wait a minute… Clank?'
In that moment, the young Kunoichi suddenly remembered Lazar-Wolf's talk of a metamorphosis, and her heart began to race. In a panic, she reached for her underbelly and at first all she felt was the familiar flab of her bloated, scaly flesh. However, as she moved closer to the center, her nails scraped across something hard; it felt sort of like armor, only it was less metallic and more… bone-ish.
'What in the world…' she pondered as she continued to stroke her plated stomach. On an impulse, she reached around to feel her back and woe and behold she found something even more disturbing. 'Are these… spikes?' she asked herself in terror, for as far as she could tell her entire backside was covered in long boney spikes. And while this revelation was particularly distressing, it was quickly overshadowed by an even greater horror. 'What's happened to my face?'
In a panic she reached for her face, accidentally cutting her cheek with her claws. 'Claws! I have claws now too? Good Lord!' she was about to have a total freak-out, but she steeled herself at the last minute; opting to wait until she knew the state of her face, so she could panic with reason. Slowly and carefully she moved her clawed hands across her skin and at first all she discovered was that her face was just as plump as it was the last time she checked; perhaps even more so. However, her heart sank when she finally got to her mouth, for her once soft and kissable lips had become sharp and bone-like; almost like some kind of beak.
"No… NO!" the young kunoichi cried out hysterically as her still bandaged eyes began to well up with tears. Claws, scales, spikes, a beak; this whole situation was just too much for her. It took every ounce of willpower she could muster just to keep herself from balling. Unfortunately, her will was soon crushed by an overwhelming sense of despair and within minutes the floodgates were open. As the tears came running down her cheeks in slow salty streams, wails of sorrow came bubbling through her beak in the form of nearly incomprehensible babble. "NO! Please Lord NO! This can't be happening! Please, someone tell me this isn't real! Tell this is just another bad dream!"
"Oh, I assure you Ms. O'Neil, this is all quite real."
From out of the darkness came the all too familiar voice of Dr. Lazar-Wolf; the twisted mastermind behind this insidious experiment. However, this time there was something off about his voice; he almost sounded sad.
"I understand you must be dealing with a lot of complex emotions right now, but I think I have something that might help."
April heard him drop something right in front of her, she was about to ask why when a familiar scent wafted past whatever was left of her nose. Even in her state of emotional anguish, the young kunoichi could make out the unmistakable smells of three succulent all beef patties, twelve strips of sizzling bacon, caramelized onions, melted cheese, and garlic mayonnaise. She knew these scents could only mean one thing; before her was the crown jewel of Famous Harry's Burger Shack and Sushi Bar, the semi-legendary Glutton's Delight. Under normal circumstances the smell of this particular sandwich would have made her gag, since it contained more grease than a 1950's automobile. However, for some unfathomable reason, she felt compelled to shove the unhealthy morsel into her beak and wolf it down in one bite.
A split-second later she did exactly that.
"Well now, someone was hungry." The good doctor said with mild amusement as the now mutant redhead devoured the greasy sandwich with all the poise and refinement of a starving vulture. "Now then, I imagine you want some answers correct?" April's only response was a noise one usually only associates with a pig eating slop. "I'll take that as a yes. At any rate, it's a very long and complicated story, but I suppose I should begin by telling you my name isn't really Ivan Lazar-Wolf; it's Ivan Weisfelt."
As the last greasy bits of meat and cheese slid down her throat, a little light bulb went off inside the young kunoichi's brain. Dr. Ivan Weisfelt… she had heard that name somewhere before, but where?
'Dr. Ivan Weisfelt… Dr. I. Weisfelt… Dr. I. Weisfelt… Dr. I. Weisfelt… I. Weisfelt… I. Weisfelt… wait a minute, Weisfelt!' Now she remembered where she heard that name before. Donnie had showed it to her once; it was part of a list, a list of… Oh no… "You… you're one of the scientists… the ones who were taken by…"
"The Kraang." Her captor finished, his voice laced with disgust. "Yes well, suffice it to say, I'd probably still be enslaved by those insidious octopi were it not for your friends."
"The Guys? But wait, I don't understaAAAAHHHHHH!" April began, only to be cut off by a sudden stabbing pain that ran all the way from the back of her neck to the base of her spine. "What's… happening… to me…"
"Oh yes, well… I'm afraid that's a long and complicated story as well." Weisfelt answered with an even mix of apprehension and regret. "But the short version is your metamorphosis isn't complete just yet, it will take at least one more hour, but once you've grown your tail it will all be over."
"Tail…" the young mutant said meekly, however a split second later all of her fear was replaced by blood boiling rage. "I'm going to grow a TAIL!"
Without so much as a second thought, April took a swing at her captor. She may not have been able to stand up, but thanks to her enhanced strength she was able to knock him to the floor with a single swipe to his ankles. However, she didn't stop there. After feeling around blindly for a few seconds she grabbed what felt like a shirt and yanked him forward; bringing them face to face.
"Now…GAKK… Ms. O'Neil, there's no need to… AHK!"
"NO!" the mutant kunoichi said threateningly; accidentally nicking his nose with her beak. "No! No more! No more lies! No more stalling! You kidnapped me and turned me into an overweight circus freak! So now you're gonna tell me why and then you're gonna cure me or else I'm gonna bite your face off!"
"Ms. O'Neil, please…"
"I'll do it!"
"Alright, I'll tell you the whole story! I was about to do that anyway. Just please calm down and let me go!"
Not seeing any alternative other than mutilation, April released the good doctor, but not before roughly shoving him several feet across the floor.
"Start! Talking!"
It took a few moments to regain his composure, but eventually Weisfelt was able to calm down and work his way into a seated position.
"Alright… as you know, last year I, along with a number of other scientists, was kidnapped and enslaved by the Kraang." Her captor began, his voice still sounding a little weathered. "I can't say what became of the others, but I was forced to use my expertise in biochemical engineering to help them maintain their Worldwide Genome Project."
As he spoke April noticed that his voice slowly began to take on darker and more acidic tone.
"The things they did to me… the things they made me do… it was inhuman. It reminded me of all those stories my father used to tell me about the Camps." Weisfelt paused for only a second before he continued; possibly to wipe the tears from his eyes. "And every day I told myself that if I could just survive one more day, I could escape and make those squiggling sons of bitches PAY!"
By this point in his story, Weisfelt was screaming like a lunatic; causing April's rage to be replaced by bone-chilling terror. Fortunately for her, the older man caught himself before going any further. After taking a moment to compose himself he continued.
"Anyway… after months of abusive servitude I was beginning to think I'd never get the chance. But then the glorious day finally came, when your friends showed up at the WGP and caused enough of a ruckus to allow me to escape completely unnoticed." The good doctor's voice suddenly took a much brighter, and slightly crazed, tone. "After that I went into hiding and eventually I met up with your friend Kurtzman." As he spoke his voice slowly grew more and more crazed. "Oh, yes… he told me all about you Ms. O'Neil and that's when I began to formulate my plan for revenge."
For reasons she didn't quite understand, the young kunoichi felt a sudden powerful urge to pull her head inside of her body. However, she chose to resist this urge for the time being; at least until Weisfelt finished his explanation.
"But that doesn't make any sense." said April, trying to sound brave. "What does turning me into this have to do with your revenge?"
"Everything…" replied her captor, who in turn was trying to sound less insane. "You're DNA is the key to the Kraang's entire invasion plan. Without it those repugnant little hell-spawn won't be able to terraform the Earth. Once I learned this, my path became clear."
There was a slight shift in his voice; the young kunoichi couldn't tell if it was from excitement or remorse, and quite frankly she didn't want to know.
"You see, after I learned about your unique role in their little scheme, I remembered something my father told me about the Camps when I was young." The good doctor explained. "He told me that towards the end of the War, one of the other prisoners slipped something into the well the soldiers all used. He didn't know what or how, but within a week all the guards were either sick or dead. Just imagine, an entire Death Camp brought to ruin by a poisoned well; so simple and yet so brilliant. So in order enact my vengeance on the Kraang I decided to do the same. I poisoned their well; the well in this case being you of course."
"Wait a minute…" said the young mutant in a horrified tone. "Are you telling me I'm going to die?"
"Oh no, heavens no Ms. O'Neil, I haven't the stomach for unnecessary killing." Her captor explained, trying to sound somewhat comforting. "What I've done is far more interesting. I have fundamentally altered your DNA by splicing it with that of the common Macrochelys temminckii."
"The what?"
"Or, as it's more commonly known, the Alligator Snapping Turtle."
The second these words left his mouth, April's heart sank. A turtle! This sick freak kidnaped her just to turn her into a turtle! And not just any turtle, but a big, fat, freakishly strong turtle with claws and a beak! This was unequivocally the worst moment of her life. Worse than losing her mother. Worse than losing her father. Worse than losing her father the second time. And yet, she couldn't bring herself to feel any sorrow, or anger, or any other emotion for that matter. She felt absolutely hollow. All she could do was lay there and let the tears flow silently from her obscured eyes.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry this had to happen, but look on the bright side." said Weisvelt as he petted her head in reassurance. "Now that your DNA has been permanently altered the Kraang will have no reason to pursue you anymore, and thanks to all the trouble your friends have been causing them it will be at least a few decades before they can even attempt to make another hybrid."
The young kunoichi said nothing; she didn't even flinch.
"I know you think your life is over, and for the most part you're right, but at least you'll finally have something in common with your friends… or perhaps I should say, your brothers."
Again April gave no response.
"Speaking of whom, they should be here very shortly, if they aren't here already. Kurtzman bailed on me hours ago and I have no doubt he told them everything."
Once again she remained silent.
"Oh come now Ms. O'Neil, it's really not all that bad." He said somewhat sympathetically. "All things considered you look quite adorable in your new body. In fact, why don't I show you?"
Still very much in shock, April barely registered the fact that the bandages around her eyes had been removed. It wasn't until Weisvelt shoved a mirror in front of her face that she finally snapped back to a reality.
There, looking back at her in the cracked and tarnished glass was a face that was completely alien to her. It was a plump, chubby-cheeked face with dark green scaly skin and a sharp reptilian beak. It was the face of a hideous mutant monster. And yet, it had her freckles, her hair, and her eyes. This was her face.
"See… what did I tell you? You are beautiful!"
End Notes: Well… that's the end of this One-Shot. Hope you are all properly disturbed. Again, this was my first real attempt at a horror story so if it wasn't up to your usual Nightmare Fuel standards than I apologize. On the other hand, if you read this and were in anyway offended by the subject matter then I have no sympathy for you. I warned you all up top about what was going to be in this story. If you didn't read my warning at the top and were offended by this then it's your own fault. That being said, I hope this was an enjoyable read for you all and I'll see you again in my next project. Whatever it may be. Later.