bakerstreet | Blinded me with science

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Blinded me with science

more than E X P E R I M E N T A L

In this laboratory setting you've found yourself in - be it a shady, fly-by-night hackjob, a secret governmental facility, or a sleek, state-of-the art facility - there's no room for error. What's done is done for science: pure, perfect, uncorrupted by human foibles. Data is the only language spoken, reason the guiding light. And for all this progress to occur smoothly, everyone must know their proper role, from the specialists at work to the lowly crew...and, of course, any experiments involved. Some more bleeding hearts would feel sorry for the latter, but make no mistake, they're little more than lab rats. They are not to be pitied. Emotion shouldn't even be wasted on them.

Especially not an emotion as messy and useless in and of itself as romantic love. Why, you wouldn't want to jeopardize the breakthrough of the ages on account of some fairy tale, would you? Besides, it would be the most unfulfilling of relationships, for you could never be with your beloved test subject.

Unless.

Unless you broke them out. Such an action would be highly illogical and, more importantly, met with severe punishment. Are they worth all that?

How to Play
- Your character is either some sort of test subject/creature/weapon/misunderstood and otherwise tortured prisoner of science OR an outside party (scientist, doctor, janitor, visitor, journalist, sky's the limit). They meet their opposite. They fall in love. Bad Shit happens. Nobody's happy.
- Comment with your character, preferences, role, info, all the good stuff.
- Reply to others.
- Be tragic and miserable together.

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Arthur had seen the job at the center, a facility built on the study of unusual and rare creatures. He needed money and the usual means of acquiring it were turning up zero opportunities, so, he'd taken on being a night security guard. Wasn't until he signed the wavers and was shown about his duties that he found out the place housed a damned merman.

At first he kept his distance, but his curiosity got the better of him and began to spend his lunch breaks in the chamber, watching the creature, sketching him, talking about nonsense. Then feeding him a little too, bringing in roast beef or hard boiled eggs.

Tonight as he came in on his rounds, he found his new friend looking pretty bad. He pat one of the scientists on the shoulder who was finishing up the work in the room. "Hey, what's wrong with him? He's lookin' sick."

Phoenix clearly liked Arthur's company during the night, though he'd never said so. He'd look at him with bright eyes as Arthur spoke, pose when he noticed him sketching, and of course take the snacks. Sometimes Arthur was even favored with a smile.

But not today, because Phoenix was clearly not well. The scientist looked up at Arthur, then at Phoenix, frowning as he adjusted his glasses.

"Yeah, his health's declining. We're not sure what it is, but we think he knows." The scientist gave Arthur a smile. "Maybe it'll force him to finally talk to us again. That's the hope higher up, at least."

If looks could kill, the glare Phoenix gave the scientist would have leveled the building.

"Yea, sure, a sick creature is definitely more likely to talk." Arthur muttered, eyes on the merman, an angered and pitying look in his eyes. Someone had to do something...He left to finish going about his rounds.

The sight of the merman, scales gray and peeling where once bright blue, stuck with him all night as he went through his duties, but this time he looked for flaws in the system, catching himself thinking, was he really considering what he thought he was considering??

This wasn't a zoo where the animals were cared for and even rehabilitated, this was a research facility, and animals...sentient or not...were disposable.

They'd let the merman die if it meant an autopsy.

He'd come to like the creature, said nothing to him but the merman seemed to like him too. Or maybe he just liked the snacks he brought, he weren't sure. But Arthur knew he couldn't let them kill him...

Arthur returned for his lunch break as usual though wasn't feeling particularly hungry. "Hey big guy." he sighed, sitting on the rim of the tank, pulling turkey from his sandwich to give to the merman.

Phoenix was still curled up at the bottom of his tank when Arthur arrived. The tank was about the width of a man head to toe, but the fishtail was longer than a man's legs, so Phoenix needed to pull the tail up close to lie down. There was a locked chain around his neck, heavy and metal that chafed his skin and left an angry red ring around his throat. It made it hard to lie down comfortably, so he had to pillow his head on his arm to keep from lying on the chain and digging it harder into his neck.

Arthur offered turkey, but Phoenix gave a wan smile before shaking his head, waving his hand. He'd never rejected food before. He really wasn't feeling well and didn't think he could stomach anything.

Or maybe he was trying to die. It could be hard to tell with a creature that wasn't human and refused to talk. Maybe he'd just decided that he's sick of being stuck in a tiny tank with people who poke and prod him all day.

"Not hungry either hm? Don't blame yea being stuck in here" he sighed, putting his deconstructed sandwich and bag aside.

Arthur was silent for a bit, taking a seat against the glass. "Ain't sure what to do." he said quietly. "Thought about it all evenin'. You don't belong here any more than I do." he scratched the scruff of his beard then ran a hand through his hair. He turned to look at the merman.

He looked like shit, hurt him to see the creature like this, unable to help.

"You want out, don't you?" he asked quietly.

Edited (grammar) 2021-04-23 17:11 (UTC)

Phoenix's finned ears perked, fanning out. His head rose from the ground, turning to face Arthur and watching him intently. His eyes aren't quite human, with a film over them to protect them from the water, but that doesn't change the fact that it's clear he's paying close attention.

He nods slowly. Yes. Yes, he'd really like to get out. It's cramped and painful and lonely here in this lab, and he's certain he'll die here if he doesn't leave.

He hadn't expected Arthur to help him, but if Arthur is offering...

The intent and understanding has Arthur watching him, seeing the cry for help in his eyes.

"Christ of course you do..." he sighed, then rested his head back against the glass, staring up at the ceiling.

Arthur had to get him out of here. How though?

"How do I transport a merman out of a secured facility...And for that matter where the hell do I take him?" he mused aloud, he got to his feet and paced around, scratching the back of his neck. He was really thinking about this. He'd be fired, jailed if they caught him. Never stopped him before...

Arthur then looked to the fishman. "You from the ocean?"

Good God, he's serious. Phoenix hadn't actually thought he'd be serious.

He nods. Yes, he's from the ocean. That's part of the problem, actually. The water he's stuck in isn't salty enough and lacks essential nutrients that would be in a natural body of water full of life.

How to transport him? Phoenix rises from the ground, swimming to the surface of the tank. He breaks the surface, his ears twitching to flick water off. He reaches one webbed scaled hand from the water, pointing towards the nearest desk and the book left carelessly there.

Inside, it's sketches of Phoenix when he looks human and sketches when he's a merman. The scientists had stopped allowing him to dry off before Arthur came along because even for them, it started feeling wrong to torment something that looked and sounded almost indistinguishable from a human man and they wanted him to look more like an animal. But if he's dried off, he can have two legs, and he can walk out.

Or. Well. Normally he can. No saying how stable his land legs are when his health is declining so precipitously.

Well, ocean made things easier, harder to find a creature again in such a place compared to a river or lake. Just getting him out and there was the problem...

Arthur watched him rise, he noted the little ear flicks were rather cute, then the pointing at the book. He looked and then went over to it, flipping through.

“Shit, you can have legs?” He chuckled a little, then turned back to the info, brow knitted as he skimmed through and looked at the rough sketches. Not as good as his, he mused silently, but the truth was plain, the merman could look like a human if need be.

Arthur set the book down and came back over to the tank. This could work...

He rested a hand on the cool glass. “Need time...and a plan.” His eyes settled on the flaking scales of the merman’s tail. “Ain’t got neither.

Phoenix smirks, and the expression is oddly human as he props his head on his fist and flicks an ear, like he's smugly proud of being able to have legs. Yes, yes, he can have legs. They're a pretty good pair of legs if he says so himself.

But the smirk fades when Arthur points out the lack of time. He looks down at his graying tail, running a thumb along the scales. One peeling scale peels a little too far under his brushing touch and a cloud of red blood plumes out. Phoenix winces, pulling his webbed hand from his tail.

Yeah, he doesn't have much time. And whatever condition his tail is in, his legs will be in. He might be able to survive longer if he tries, but how long will he survive and have conceivably functional legs to escape?

He bites his lip, drumming his fingers on the glass before reaching up to tug gently at the chain around his neck, quirking his brow in a question. First things first, does Arthur know how to get this thing off him? Because he's not going anywhere with it on.

Arthur watched the creature peel off a scale and he hissed in sympathized pain at the puff of red in the water. "Don't pick at it you idiot." he grunted, then sighed, frowning. He was in real bad shape...

He looked at the chain. "I can get that off no problem. Picked plenty of locks before..." he said, then looked around the room for what might be useful. Apart from machinery and the table, there was a locked glass cabinet. Lot of drugs, along with an out of date chart he didn't get at first, then realized.

"Your water." he said, looking at the tank. "It ain't salty, this is a salinity graph, they stopped giving you the type of water you need." That was probably partly why he was so sick. He looked at the graph, trying to figure out how much salt was needed in it but he wasn't very good at math. If he just dumped a bunch of salt into the tank he might do even more harm. He took a photo of it with his phone. He'd figure it out later.

Arthur set the chart aside and had a closer look at what was in the cabinet itself. Sedatives and needles...could come in useful if he came across anyone while trying to get the creature out...

He returned to the tank. "Okay...Need to get you out and back to my place, get you back to decent shape, then...then we head for the ocean..." he chuckled dryly. "And where the hell am I gonna to go..." he took a seat at the table, head hung low as he tried to weight what needed to be done.

Why was he doing this? All for a damned fish...

Phoenix nods as Arthur mentions the salinity, his mouth pursed in a grim line. Yeah, he could tell. He's not sure if it's a deliberate experiment or if someone along the line screwed up and stopped properly maintaining the water, but either way, it's killing him. It's killing him just as surely as if someone trapped a human in a room and slowly started replacing the oxygen with carbon monoxide.

His frown deepens as Arthur sits down. Phoenix isn't oblivious to the sacrifice Arthur is considering making here. The scientists never were able to get him to talk about how much he knew about human society, but he knows enough. He knows how important it is to be in decent standing with other humans. Arthur stands to lose a lot by helping someone who isn't human illegally.

Phoenix flicks his tail in the water, twisting it as he thinks, his brow furrowed. His ears press back, pinned to his skull, betraying some of his tension. He's trying to weigh Arthur's sincerity, and whether it's worth the risk to put himself out there too.

Finally: "I can take you somewhere."

His voice is ragged from disuse, but there is the hint of something richer there. Maybe there's a kernel of truth to the 'hypnotically musical mermaid' myth.

"Somewhere with other humans. Anywhere the ocean touches." Phoenix crosses his arms on the edge of the tank. They look mostly human, but his skin glimmers in a way that is very much not human, like they're covered with an iridescent sheen that keeps them from wrinkling in the water. "It'd only be fair, after all."

If Arthur helps Phoenix, it's only right for Phoenix to help him too, especially if he gets in trouble for helping Phoenix in the first place.

Arthur's head jerked up when the merman spoke, mouth slightly open.

So, he could talk after all.

He slowly got up and came over, processing what he said. His voice was...it was like he could ask anything of him and Arthur would do it.

"I ain't sure where else to go." he finally said with a shrug. His gaze fell on the creature's rotting body.

But that didn't matter. He could survive. Always had. The merman though would not for much longer.

He frowned deeply, turning and glaring at the door, then back up at the merman. "I'll get you out. Whatever it takes."

Arthur looked at his watch. He had to get back to his rounds or his superior would came nosing about. He looked to him, resting a hand on the glass. "Tomorrow night." he promised.

Phoenix smiled. It was a surprisingly human smile, one that crinkled the corners of his eyes and warmed his face. It's honestly the first flicker of hope to get out that he's had since getting here.

It's unclear if this is impulsive or just a natural thing for something like him, but he reaches out, his webbed hand glistening from the water, and he cups Arthur's cheek. His fingers come down to claws good for hooking into sand, and his skin is slick with water, but his hand is warm. Just as warm as any human's hand.

"Thank you," he says, and his voice is warm. He'd say more--Phoenix, when he's not stuck in an experimental facility, is usually bursting with things to say--but his throat hurts and he should conserve his energy. He pulls his hand away and sinks back into the tank, curling up at the floor again but this time with more light in his eyes.

The change was incredible, night and day in his face, and while the creature wasn't human, those human features weren't just mimicry or some bullshit. His words and expressions were genuine.

The touch to his face was unexpected and had Arthur tense at first-those claws could easily take out an eye-but he had to trust him as much as the creature was him.

He nodded, watching him sink down to the tank. Arthur stayed a moment longer before leaving the room.

Throughout the rest of his shift he checked to see who else would be on duty tomorrow. Weekend, light shifts, would be in their favor for sure. There was window of opportunity to get in, get the creature, and then leave. He'd retrieve the sedatives when he came for him, and take out anyone who got between them and them loading dock. There was the matter of cameras, but, being security, he had access to those. Getting them turned off first would be key. Any head starts he could get, he'd take.

Arthur went home and did a bit of research before going out, getting himself a common aquarium salinity meter and salt. He filled his tub with water and added salt until it matched the graph's average percent. Hopefully it'd be enough. Only had to sustain the merman a couple days to get him back up on his feet a little. Well, metaphorically.

The rest of the day he didn't sleep, instead he spent it getting some final affairs in order, his few things gathered in his truck, and prepped a bunch of food for his guest. He also picked out some of his nicer clothes and set them aside with a lab coat he swiped while at work. A naked man walking around the facility would certainly draw attention so a rough disguise to at least keep their presence to a minimum would be helpful.

Arthur then wrote and sketched in his journal, his usual way of helping organized his thoughts. But mostly he sketched his new friend. Smiling this time.

Phoenix, meanwhile, conserves his energy. For most of the day, he sleeps at the bottom of his tank, barely flicking his tail when the scientists tap on the glass. The scientists tut-tut, thinking this is a clear sign that their pet is dying, but there isn't much done to 'save' him beyond loudly talking about how interesting the autopsy will be and how if only he'd tell them what's wrong they could save him.

Phoenix still sleeps, though. He wakes up long enough to eat what flavorless food they provide, and he sleeps.

As dusk approaches, he opens his eyes, but he stays at the bottom of his tank, flicking his tail occasionally to indicate that, yes, he's still alive, and no, no autopsies would be had just yet. Some of the scientists seem downright disappointed. He'd like to say something very snarky about it, but he holds his tongue, because he's known since the beginning that talking won't get him anywhere and could very well make things worse.

Arthur showed up on time as usual, greeted, small talk, nothing out of the ordinary. He went about his first set of rounds, then on his lunch break checked into the security office.

No one else here. Good. He went through the cameras, doing a quick count of how many people were between him, the merman, and the back exit. Not a lot, but still, it'd be rough.

He shut off all cameras, then locked the security room before heading back out to his truck. He retrieved the clothes, along with a couple other items, and then made his way back inside, stepping lightly for such a big guy. Just a heist, nothing new, just this time the purse could walk and talk.

He reached the chamber only to find one of the scientists was taking his lunch in the room, jotting down notes in that book he'd browsed the other night. The guy had his back to the door. Arthur crept up behind him, covered his mouth and choked him until he passed out. He then dragged him to the corner and found his keys, unlocked the cabinet and grabbed what he needed from there before heading to the tank.

"Keep it quiet." he said beckoning him to come up so he could undo the collar and chain.

The only thing that betrays Phoenix's tension as he sees the scientist lingering is his eyes. He lies at the bottom of the tank, his head pillowed on his arm, but his eyes are open and alert. A small smirk makes it to his face as he watches Arthur come into the room and choked the scientist. He is glad, however, that Arthur doesn't kill the scientist. More vindictive people would relish the deaths of their tormentors, but Phoenix has always been a softy at heart.

He swims to the top of his tank, smiling at Arthur before tilting his head back and presenting his collar. The lock should be nice and simple to pick, but as he presents his throat, it's clear that the heavy metal on fragile, unprotected skin has done a certain amount of damage. His neck has a raw red ring around it, the skin blistering from the friction.

He's practically vibrating with excitement, but he keeps it contained. He can celebrate when this is over, and no sooner than that.

He could have killed him, would have been easy to, but might have gotten noisy, and they had to be stealthy about this.

Arthur quietly swore, the damage to the creature's throat was pretty bad, but there wasn't anything to be done about it. He expertly picked the lock, the collar and chain sinking to the bottom of the tank and he helped the merman out and onto the concrete floor before going over to his bag and pulling out the clothes.

"Here, need to get you dressed and lookin' like you're one of them brainiacs." he said

Phoenix lets out an audible sigh of relief as the chain falls away from his neck, rolling his head to work out the kinks. He braces himself on Arthur's shoulders, hooking his claws on his clothes as Arthur helps him out and he settles on the concrete. In the fluorescent light without the filter of water, his tail looks all the more sickly. He flicks it, flicking off water.

Before he accepts the clothes, he points at a pile of towels set aside under a desk for when the scientists are splashed. He needs to dry off a bit before his tail will split.

Already, the gills at his ribs flutter closed, appearing closer to odd scars than actual gills. His fanned ears diminish, forming something closer to a human ear with slightly feathered shapes around the lobe, looking less like a fan and more like a minor, easily missed birth deformity. The film over his eyes recedes, removing any kind of filter between them and the world, and his eyes are the same too-blue color as his tail was before he got ill. Brilliant blue, enough to draw attention, but not enough to convince people he's not human.

Arthur nodded and grabbed the towels, bringing them over and began to pat the creature's fish body down, trying not to rub and irritate the scales into flaking off more.

"Gotta get you on two feet and quick..." he muttered, watching the change in the merman's face.

He was...rather...

Arthur shook himself and kept his attention on his tail and drying him down.

Phoenix knows that look on humans. It's not the first time one has given it to him. Normally he'd have some fun and wink and flirt, but right now they have bigger problems, so he just has a flicker of a smile before grabbing one of the spare towels to pat down his arms and chest. The webbing between his fingers recedes, his claws becoming instead human nails, a little thicker than most humans'. The iridescent sheen on his skin disappears. The scales climbing up from his hips to his abdomen recede. As he becomes more human, the muscles in his chest and back become more recognizable. Atrophied in the tiny cell, but still present, still as developed as any wild animal's would be.

His tail is a more gradual process. A divot develops down the middle of the tail as the fins grow smaller. The divot grows until it creates a full split, leaving Phoenix with what appears to be two tails before the scales recede, replaced by skin, and the fins curl up to form feet.

And there he is. A fully naked man. And his legs are a mess, atrophied and gray with open sores where his scales had peeled or scientists had taken samples. There's no sense of modesty, no shyness about being nude as a human instead of as a merman, but Phoenix pulls the clothes close anyway to start pulling on a button-up shirt and buttoning it as fast as he can, eager to get out of the lab.

"You're a right mess." he said quietly, taking in the man's state. He hoped a bit of salt water would help but, he doubted it, open sores like those needed treatment didn't they? he weren't sure, he weren't no fish.

As the change finished, he helped him into the clothes as best he could then took the scientist's ID tag-just in case-before peering out the door. No one coming yet.

"Okay, here-" he clipped the ID tag to the lab coat and helped the merman to his newly formed feet. "Can you walk?"

Phoenix clears his throat as he gets used to being in clothes again, taking Arthur's hand to stand up on two wobbly legs. He doesn't let Arthur go, bracing himself on the man's shoulder so he can get settled.

"If it means getting out," he says quietly. "I could walk on coals."

His voice has changed a touch too. It's still rough, still has a rich undertone, but there's less of a hypnotic pull now. He runs his hand through his hair, ruffling it so it looks a bit less distinctive, and wraps his arm around Arthur's. He talks a big game, but it'll be a lot easier to walk if Arthur's helping him.

"Where next?" he murmurs.

"Admirable of you." he chuckled, helping him stand "Though I'm afraid that won't help your sores problem none."

He looked him over, making sure he looked okay, or at least passable. H was about to lead him out of the room when he thought of something and had the merman lean on door frame. He quickly went over to the book and tossed it into the tank before slinging his arm around his shoulder and leading on.

"You got a name?" Arthur asked as they made their way down the empty hall.

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