Disgust, that was the word that festered in Doctor Genus's mind as he looked at his creations who were currently floating within massive cylindrical gene therapy baths.
"How could I let this happen?" He wondered as he cursed himself beneath his breath "I made them to be the pinnacle of evolution, and yet nature had produced something that was far superior to them..." He admitted as he looked towards Chikara "You were my biggest failure Chikara, I sought to instill within you power unlike anything the world had seen, and yet still I let you down, by giving you strength that when tapped into drove you mad..." He continued to berate himself as he looked down at the clipboard in his hands "But no more, I will not allow any of you to be returned to this state, I will make you even better than you were before, but to ensure that there are no flaws...I'm going to need test subjects first..." He realized as a wicked grin came to his face "Luckily there just so happens to BE a place filled with all the guinea pigs I could ever need~" He mused as he walked out of the room to get started on arrangements.
"Got any sixes?" Marugori of The Brain and Brawn Brothers asked as he looked at his actually well proportioned cards.
"No, go fish." Vaccine Man replied forcing the other to draw a card.
Miraculously enough once Doctor Bofoi AKA Metal Knight gained full reign over the prison things ACTUALLY became really nice. For example, when the association was running the place the facility operated like a standard prison, which meant that certain things like fights, under the table dealings, and so on also occurred. But once Doctor Bofoi gained control he actually established a system he believed would keep the inmates in line, a sort of rewards ladder if you will. In short all a prisoner would have to do in order to get rewards was behave and do as they were told, as well as oblige to any and all tests Doctor Bofoi had for them.
Speaking of his tests they actually weren't any sort of mad scientist shtick, in truth all he had them do was either test out a new gadget, technology, or even fight against a new type of defensive robot, and besides a few scratches and bruises no inmates so far had been seriously injured or killed. And as you can imagine some inmates such as The Brain and Brawn Brothers, as well as Vaccine man were often requested for these tests more so than other due to their unique nature. So obviously because of this they and other inmates like them were able to climb the rewards ladder faster and receive better things, such as their own private TVs, a deck of cards, food items other than the slop served to newcomers, and etc with each reward of course being made with their unique size in mind. So even though they were still very much so prisoners and if they did try anything they would just straight out be killed by the guard drones as long as they complied everything would actually be pretty pleasant all things considered.
"Hey." Vaccine Man spoke as to gain the other's attention "Where's Fukegao?, haven't seen him for a bit. " He asked.
"He's working on a robot, since he's a scientist and all." Marugori answered.
"He's allowed to do that kinda thing?" Vaccine Man asked.
"Well it's not like he could try anything without Metal Knight finding out." Marugori replied to which the other had to agree.
However before they could continue on with their card game a drone suddenly flew in between them.
"Attention! prisoners Marugori and Vaccine Man, your presence is requested in the main hall." It told them.
Confused as to what could be needed of them so suddenly they knew better than to object and simply put their cards down before following the drone out of the room. Walking through the prison they noticed that there seemed to be a lack of foot traffic, meaning that whatever was going must be serious.
"We didn't break any rules right?" Marugori asked.
"Not that I can think of, unless your brother was ACTUALLY crazy enough to try something." Vaccine Man replied.
Continuing to follow the drone until they reached the main hall they saw on the ground three individuals waiting for them. One of course was Marugori's brother Fukegao and another was one of Metal Knight's more beefier guard units, but the third one was a face they hadn't seen before.
"Ah there you both are." The voice of Doctor Bofoi said as his robot locked onto them "Please come over here and meet your new boss." He beckoned causing both of their eyes to widen.
"New boss?" They asked in unison as they approached.
"Yes, my name is Doctor Genus, I run an organization affiliated with the hero's association known as the House of Evolution." Dr. Genus explained as he introduced himself "As for how I am your new boss, well, I think it'd be best if Metal Knight were to explain that part." He admitted.
"Thank you Doctor Genus." Metal Knight said to his colleague before he focused back onto the trio "I'll keep this short as to not waste any time, you three are some of the most powerful inmates within this prison, from Fukegao's impressive intellect, to Marugori's immeasurable strength, and of course Vaccine Man's apparent ties to both nature itself as well as a still unknown form of energy that I have yet to determine the true nature of." He praised before gesturing to Doctor Genus "However, while you three are not to be taken lightly, compared to this man here you are all but peasants in the presence of a god, he has been able to accomplish what most scientists have often believed to be pure science fiction, he has perfected both the art of cloning as well as the ability to create life, something up until only nature could do." He explained as he lowered his hand "And while you three are meant to stay within this facility for the rest of your days he has come to me with a proposition that all of you should consider carefully." He revealed.
"Just as Metal Knight said I too shall be brief, you see after a recent...inciddent...that has occurred with my creations I wish to make them even better than they were before, a sort of stage two if you will, but to do this I need to have willing test subjects who won't mind undergoing experimental treatments and procedures before I apply them to my creations." Dr. Genus explained.
"So you just want to use as guinea pigs to further your own devices?" Fukegao asked.
"To be blunt, yes." Dr. Genus answered "But do not think for a moment that I will be torturing you, yes there might be some instances where pain is inevitable, but I will not let you suffer nor allow you to die, all I need is highly resilient subjects who can withstand things that most others cannot." He explained.
Taking a moment to consider this each of them of course had their own concerns and worries but it was Fukegao once again who replied.
"I have a question." He admitted as he gestured to his brother "I know why you want to have my brother take part in this, as well as Vaccine Man, but what could you possibly want with me?" He asked.
"You would serve as my research assistant." Dr. Genus answered "I've looked at your file, both the one regarding your time at this prison as well as your ACTUAL file kept by the association, and while your feats aren't plentiful you by no means are to be overlooked, after all you DID turn your brother into a towering giant." He praised.
"There's still something that doesn't make sense." Vaccine Man said.
"Which would be?" Metal Knight asked.
"What do we get for this?, because it doesn't seem like you're forcing us to do this, so why should we allow ourselves to be test subjects when we could just stay here and continue to do what we've been doing?" He asked.
"Ah right, the allure of the offer, in return for your contribution to both Doctor Genus's research as well as that of the association's, once we feel you have done enough or Doctor Genus has done all that he needs with you, you shall be granted your freedom." He explained causing all of their eyes to widen.
"SERIOUSLY?!" They asked in unison finding it near impossible that they had a chance to leave the life of a prisoner.
"Yes, but keep in mind this isn't a free pass to go back to your old ways." Metal Knight warned them "If at any point you show signs of reverting back to how you used to be, you will not be detained and brought back here for a new sentence, you will simply be killed by One Punch Man." He explained.
Feeling their hearts skip a beat at that warning, all three of them knew that there was no point in considering if the threat was real or not as most certainly if they were try anything they would find themselves on the receiving end of One Punch Man's fist, which was by far the most terrifying place to be in the whole world.
"Okay we accept." Fukegao spoke for the three of them as he knew his brother and Vaccine Man would agree "But there is still one major issue here, what are we going to do about my brother and Vaccine Man's sizes?" He asked.
"That I've already accounted for." Dr. Genus answered as he took out a device which looked as though someone had combined a pistol with a syringe "You see three of my creations, Genjiro, Fujio, and Suguru, were before now a bit underdeveloped in comparison to the rest, so to correct this immediately I simply sought out to create a size enhancing drug which would not only make them bigger but also refine their muscle mass which would increase their strength as well." He explained "As for how this solves your size issue, I simply created a better version of the drug which will not only shrink you somewhat, but will allow you to control your size." He added.
"So we'll be able to grow and shrink at will?" Marugori asked receiving a nod for confirmation.
"That's right, but like the other experiments you will be subjected to this one is still not fully tested, at most what you will be able to do once I inject the drug into you will be to go between three sizes, the likes of which include your current size, a slightly smaller size, and of course normal size which will leave you a little over six feet tall." Dr. Genus explained.
Still a tad bit shocked that they were getting a chance at freedom nevertheless Marugori and Vaccine Man steeped a small bit closer before kneeling down and presenting their wrists, to make the injection a bit easier.
"Glad to see you're on board." He said with a smile as he walked over to them "Now the drug's innate function is to make you normal, so the experience will be a little disorienting but you shouldn't pass out or get sick." He assured as he proceeded to stick the device into their arms.
Once both of them were injected it took only a matter of seconds before they began to shrink down to a more normal size, and as they did a drone carrying two normal sized prison suits flew over.
"Whooooa..." Marugori sounded as he put a hand to his head "I...feel...so weird..." He said as the drone handed him his suit.
"Ugh, is this what it's going to feel like from now on?" Vaccine Man asked as he too took his new suit from the drone.
"Be assured that in future experiments you will be receiving the best medical care one could ever hope for, so should you start to feel any kind of ailments they will be taken care of immediately." Dr. Genus stated "Now then, shall we depart?" He asked as he gestured to the door.
Taking a few moments to not only redress but collect themselves, once that was all said and done the trio proceeded to follow both Doctor Genus and Metal Knight towards the door and soon out of the facility. And while none of them knew what to expect going ahead, the moment they were outside of the prison and could feel the warmth of the volcano's heat below, only one thing came to their minds. It felt good to be free again.