Shard was shirtless, a pair of goggles worn up on his forehead. For work purposes, he is wasn't shackled. That was fine by him. It felt good to get out of the prison and into the open, somewhere where there weren't any plain gray stone walls. That was why he'd volunteered for this gig. Any gig like it suited him just fine, really. Whenever the opportunity came up, Shard would sign up. But because he wasn't exactly a model prisoner, and a murderer, attempted murderer, thief and all-around scumbag serving a nine-life sentence at that, he was ordinarily denied. But this time was different.
Today would make Shard only the third inmate to work the mine using the device he currently held in his rough, strong hands. The Gemkat 6000 was proven, or so they said, but because it involved a high-velocity laser of great heat and intensity, potentially dangerous stuff, most of the usual guys who competed with Shard for getting plum outdoor work had emphatically not volunteered. That had left Meece with few options. Even a promise of putting in a good word to the parole board hadn't made them budge. When Shard first approached Meece, the Warden had turned him down per usual, selecting first one inmate with a history of better behavior on the inside and then another. Only when the way his work program was set up meant that he had to rotate the volunteers out was Meece finally forced to accept Shard as a volunteer.
And so he stood outside, stripped to the waist, not minding the heat at all, enjoying it, really. He'd grown up in the desert, after all. He had fond memories of catching lizards and scorpions and running off from his deadbeat parents to explore. But he never wandered too far from home. The Megakat Desert was vast. He knew well enough that if you got lost in it you were as good as dead. It was one reason why escape wasn't on his mind.
The other two reasons stood on either side of him, armed with prison-issue laser rifles. And unlike Shard, they found the heat of the Megakat Desert far less appealing. The two sweating, bored guards assigned to watch him were named Talon and Lem, and Shard didn't like them one bit. Talon especially. He was short and obese, his girth straining the seams of his uniform, and he was one of the meanest guards serving under Slammer. Lem was the more agreeable of the two. He was tall and lanky and peered out at the world through cheap green sunglasses that had solid plastic lenses with narrow rectangular slits in them, giving him an odd, squinty-eyed look.
"It's really easy to use," Talon was saying, pointing at the Gemkat 6000. "Even a pinhead like you can use the Gemkat 6000 without a problem!"
A bully through and through, Talon loved using his authority - and a supposed connection to a high-ranking Enforcer - to bully the prisoners whenever Warden Meece and Captain Slammer weren't looking, which was often, it seemed, and Shard was his favorite victim. He knew that even though the muscular convict was bigger and stronger, Shard didn't dare fight back.
Fortunately, Shard had weapons besides his fists. Talon wasn't particularly bright, and Shard's sharp tongue was usually more than enough to the fat idiot in his place. He fixed the guard with an angry stare. "What kind of a fool do you take me for?"
He didn't need to be reminded how to use Greenbox's invention! The Doc himself had given him the rundown before they set out in the armored prison van parked a few feet away, on loan from the Enforcers like all the vehicles used by the prison. The big gold "M" logo adorned its hood. The prison's close relationship to the Enforcers seemed to be why Talon always claimed to have a relative serving in their ranks. He was supposed to be some sergeant or other, but nobody really believed him, least of all Shard. There probably was an Enforcer sergeant named Talon, but Shard doubted they were related. You didn't serve in the Enforcers if you were an idiot, and anyone related to Talon the guard had to be dumb as a sack of bricks.
Talon wasn't going to let up. "The kinda fool serving a nine-life sentence!" he said smugly, seemingly determined to ruin Shard's day by reminding him that as soon as they were done, it was back to his cell.
Lem, the other guard, interjected. "But the Warden's willing to talk to the parole board about shaving some time for using that stupid thing." He pointed at the Gemkat 6000.
A promise Shard intended to hold Meece to, but mention of his jailer nevertheless stirred extreme distaste in him. "The Warden? Cyrus Meece is the only one gettin' rich off this mine!" Oh, he knew all about Meece's skimming. And Greenbox, too. Information he would've used to his benefit provided anyone would've believed him. The mining machine had a shoulder strap. Shard slung it over one shoulder and then turned and trudged into the mine. He threw a parting barb at Talon over his shoulder. "And don't get any uglier while I'm gone, fatso!"
That did it for Talon. He balled up a fist and stepped forward as if to follow Shard into the mine. "Hey, you hood! Come here and say that to my face!"
Lem held his partner back. "Easy there, Talon. He's not worth it."
Shard proceeded deeper into the mine, lugging the Gemkat 6000 and muttering to himself. "So, this little gizmo mines a day's work's worth of diamonds in seconds? Gimme a break!"
He honestly didn't believe it would work, but hadn't said so when he'd volunteered for fear of being turned away. When you were serving a nine-life sentence and spent most of your days staring at a gray wall, even fooling around with what looked for all the world like a prop in a cheapo sci-fi thriller felt like a vacation to tropical Anakata Island by comparison. Though he had to admit, he was starting to regret having volunteered for this particular assignment... the dark and dank old mine was already reminding him of his cell, and he felt a slight tightness in his chest as something akin to claustrophobia began to well up in him. Still, he had to see this through. Besides, the tunnel was larger than his cell.
He approached the wall of the mine, frowning. Apart from two shallow sort of pits, the wall was bare. Where was he supposed to begin? He should've asked the other two cons who'd worked this detail where they used the machine. Unslinging the device, he pulled his goggles down and turned the machine on. It hummed to life in his hands. Again the doubts about whether it was going to work surfaced, the claims of both Dr. Greenbox and the other men who'd worked with the device before him notwithstanding. Still... all those diamonds in the prison storehouse had to come from somewhere, so maybe...
He held the Gemkat 6000 like a gun, from the hip, picked a spot on the wall at random, shrugged and pulled what amounted to the device's trigger. To his surprise, a bright green beam shoots out of the front, boring into the rock. He was amazed. "Wow..." he whispered in awe, "I take it back. Let's see what this baby can do!"
The immediate area around where the beam penetrated the rock began to heat up and crystallize. As if magnetized, a horde of newly-created diamonds was suddenly sucked up by the beam as if by magic, clunking noisily into the clear fiberglass storage compartment on the Gemkat 6000's side. It then shut off without him doing anything and beeped three times. Shard, puzzled, lifted the drill up to peer into the storage compartment. He figured that it was designed to automatically turn itself off once the compartment was full or to prevent overheating.
"Dang!" he cried. "That Doc wasn't kiddin'! This thing's full already! Wow, a guy could get rich overnight with this beauty."
He glanced at the wall where he'd aimed. There was a sunken pit where the mass of rocks that'd been heated up and converted into diamonds had been. It was identical to the other two he'd seen a minute ago. So that's what those had been. He lifted his goggles up and turned to look back down the tunnel. He saw Talon and Lem standing at the entrance, laughing and talking to one another. He couldn't hear what they were saying. The van was visible further behind them.
A smirk crossed Shard's face. Suddenly, he was thinking of escape. Just not on foot. One of the guards had the keys to the van. The alternative was smuggling the diamonds back into prison in a most uncomfortable way. He preferred taking all the diamonds he'd just mined, swiping the van, finding a decent fence somewhere in either Megakat Springs or Megakat City and then skipping the country to swallowing only a few of the diamonds and coughing them up later back in his cell. Taking off his goggles, he knelt, setting the mining machine down. He started attempting to open the compartment with the diamonds.
"I think I'll take a few off the top before that crud Meece and his crud partner do!" he said, straining as he struggled with the compartment.
Taking the entire Gemkat 6000 with him was out of the question; easier to stuff the diamonds into his pockets. Bulging pants pockets were weird-looking but way less suspicious on the streets than a big technological device. Dang, he thought, Greenbox designed it real good. It sure was hard to open. Grunting as he strained harder, he continued talking aloud to himself quietly.
"Then I'll take care a' dumb and dumber out there and be on my way to freedom before you can say..." he continued and trailed off as the compartment lid refused to budge and his fingers started hurting. "Before you can say... Rrrr! Drat!" No go. The thing wasn't opening.
After taking a moment to scratch his chin in thought, he grabbed a rock. He hesitated, considering the consequences of hitting a device he knew nothing about with a big, hard object, but Rex Shard was nothing if not a risk taker. He'd lived his entire life on chance. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost. You never knew what life was going to hand you until you held out your hand...
"Aw, what the heck."
He brought the rock down onto the device hard. Crack!
And with that, Shard's world became blinding white light and deafening noise. He'd held out his hand and life had promptly smacked it away. He'd taken a chance.. and lost. He screamed.
An explosion rocked the mountainside. Talon and Lem turned and fled. They half ran and were half flung through the air by the force of the concussive blast belching out from the mine opening. Both guards slammed hard into the dusty earth, their laser rifles flying from their hands. Both managed to keep their hats on, although Lem's sunglasses flew off. As the dust settled, the two kats got to their feet, coughing.
Squinting in the bright sunshine, Lem turned and picked up his sunglasses. "That was some explosion!" he said. "Did Shard cause a cave-in?" He put his sunglasses back on.
Talon gave a cry and grabbed his arm. "Look!" he yelled, pointing.
Lem turned and followed his partner's outstretched finger towards the entrance of the mine that they'd just run away from, and his jaw dropped at the startling transforming it'd undergone. The reinforced wooden beams and a good amount of the rock surrounding the hillside in all directions were all gone, replaced by a ring of glittering multi-colored crystal shards jutting outwards. From what the two guards could see, the effect, whatever it was, went all the way down into the tunnel; the sparkling walls, floor and ceiling of the completely transformed mine shaft receded into the darkness.
A figure emerged. It was Rex Shard! Somehow, the convict had survived the explosion, but that wasn't the truly miraculous part. No, what was so stunning it left the guards completely speechless for several moments was the fact that the entire right side of Rex Shard's body had been completely covered in green-colored crystal! There was a perfectly symmetrical line down the center of Shard's body separating the mineral portion from the flesh and blood portion. This included his clothing, such as he wore; the entire right side of his pants and his right shoe were gone, either turned into or covered by the green crystal. Remarkably, the pants didn't appear to be torn, and stayed on.
Shard was aghast at what had happened to him. "What..." he cried, trying to form words, "what's happening to me?" He raised his right arm and held it aloft, examining the hand. He found that the limb, and presumably the entire right side of his body, wasn't merely covered by the crystal... it had been turned into it! The sun shone murkily through the green crystal, which was clouded, as though flawed somehow. What struck him the most is that he wasn't in any real pain. He clenched and unclenched his hand, finding that despite having become solid crystal, that side of his body remained flexible.
Managing to find his voice, Lem said, "Get the van!"
Talon turned and ran as fast as his bulk allow to the parked prison van a few feet away.
Meanwhile, over at the mine entrance, Shard's surprise had given way to anger. He strode forward. Lem backed up a bit, raising his arms defensively.
"T-Take it easy, Shard!" he yelped, trying to sound authoritative and reassuring. "We'll get you to see Doc Greenbox!"
Shard responded by grabbing the front of Lem's shirt and lifting him into the air using his right hand, the one that had been transformed, intending to fling him to the ground. It was difficult to say who was more surprised by the ease with which Shard did this. Shard had always been strong, but not strong enough to lift a fully-grown kat into the air with one hand... but Shard's newfound super strength wasn't what truly surprised them. No, what surprised Shard - and Lem, for all the few seconds he had left to process surprise - was what happened next. Almost as soon as Shard had grabbed him, there'd been a blinding flash. Observing through the windshield of the van, Talon shielded his eyes, but the partially transformed convict did not. Lem grunted and opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Shard watched in mazement s Lem's body, including his clothes, stiffened, becoming hard, brittle and semi-translucent like the right side of Shard's body, but clear instead of milky green, the ends of his fur turning into sharp, pointy protrusions.
Lem's thoroughly crystallized form hung stiffly in Shard's grasps from a handful of shirt now permanently "frozen" mid-grab. Rather than dashing the guard to the ground, Shard set him down carefully standing up. Because of the position of his feet, soles flat down, he didn't fall over, although he was somewhat precariously balanced.
Uncovering his eyes, Talon gawked at what had become of his partner. "Lem!" he cried. He watched as Shard stood studying the effects of his touch.
The convict experimentally poked at Lem's shoulder. The guard wobbled but remained standing upright. He tapped at his chest. It made a "ting ting" noise. Totally solid crystal. So, thought Shard, what happened to the mine entrance and what happened to him was something he could replicate with his touch. He bent and picked up a rock in his right hand, the one now made of green crystal. Fwoosh! There was a flash and the rock became the same translucent crystal as Lem. Both objects were a different, non-living crystal in sharp contrast to the right side of his own body, which, while hard, was flexible to an extent.
He rotated his right arm in the socket, and felt the two halves of his body seeming to pull at one another, as though the mineral side wanted to tear loose from the flesh and blood side, ripping him in half. As before, it wasn't painful. Nevertheless, he winced. Curse that fool Greenbox and his stupid machine! And curse that greedy Meece for hiring him! The prisoner was too enraged to be particularly introspective at the moment, and so he completely ignored the role his own stupidity and carelessness had played in what had befallen him.
Now wasn't the time to sit and think. Now was the time for action. For vengeance. He heard an engine turning over. The prison van. He couldn't let Talon escape and warn everyone. Besides, even if he didn't care about whether Talon warned the prison about his impending return, Shard was in the mood to settle some old scores. Talon had insulted him one time too many. Fortunately, it seemed that the electromagnetic force of the explosion had somehow damaged the vehicle. The guard couldn't start it. Grinning, Shard calmly walked forwards. If Talon got out and ran, he was positive he could effortlessly chase the fatter kat down and capture him without much difficulty. But he didn't need to.
"Goin' somewhere, Talon?" he sneered, peering in through the driver's side window at the terrified guard.
All of Talon's earlier arrogance and confidence was gone. The guard screamed as Shard reared back his right fist and punched through the glass, shattering the window, and grabbed him by the shirt collar...