Andrew sat at his workstation watching the data running across the screen. He adjusted his enormous, wide-framed glasses as he took a swig of his Pepsi. The past few months the forensic labs of Zenith Central Command had been busy. Normally Adrew made it home around midnight. Just in time to see the Midnight Anime Marathon on channel seventy six. Due to the recent deaths and disappearances around some parts of the city, Commander Winters had the labs working over time. Andrew himself had been getting home at four AM the latest if he even made it home. The wave of death meant longer hours for the entire force.
Not that Andrew didn't like his job. Just the opposite. He loved his job. The pay was great and there were plenty of benefits including medical and mental health insurance. Plus two vacations per year. Not to mention the awesome lab equipment. He loved looking at things under the microscope or testing chemicals and figuring out how each system works.
Whenever the APF worked a case that even remotely suggested there was a bioweapon involved or some other kind of biological agent, his department was called in. If they needed some kind of new ammo to take down the latest bioenhanced psycho running amok, they brought the problem to his department. All of the anti-HeLa chemicals used by Squad Six were developed by him and the lab. Everything became a puzzle for him to solve.
The latest situation had him stumped though. Men were going missing. The stories from people close to the victims were all the same. They go out partying with friends and they never come back. Any bodies that do turn up are mutilated to the point of almost being useless. Either they had their genitals ripped off and their bodies emptied of all insides and fluid or their entire chest cavities were opened as if something pushed itself outward from the inside.
The data cascading down the screen came from Ellis's biosuit before they lost contact. The readings indicated it was no ordinary biological agent. It was biologically human but there was something different with it. Something he couldn't figure out. If only he could get a sample of the slime in the hospital or something similar.
"Hmm," Andrew said, thinking aloud to himself.
He heard a female voice from behind.
"Anything?"
Andrew was so focused on his work he didn't notice the clicking of high heels on the linoleum floor coming up from behind him. When he turned around she was already closing the door behind her.
"Kira. Hey."
Kira was the reason he had this job in the first place. They were schoolmates in college. They met in Biology 305 and became fast friends. She studied Forensics. Wanted to become a lab technician and work for the command center at one of the big eight.
After school they'd go to a local cafe and drink latte's together helping each other on homework. If they had a Bio lab together, they'd always partner up. When they graduated she was immediately recruited by Zenith Central Command. As soon as she was accepted she made sure to get Andrew on board as well. Within the next couple years they worked their way up the ranks to the leadership of their respective departments.
"Nah," Andrew replied. "I've been looking at the data from one of the members of Squad Six before their biosuits went silent. The interior pocket scans from their samples aren't telling me much and the analysis of the stuff covering the walls give the same puzzling readings."
Kira stepped closer to the console. A slight scent wafted in the air from her body. Andrew inhaled. She always had the best perfumes. Even though Andrew would never admit it, he had a crush on Kira since they met in college. Who could blame him? The two of them spent so much time together. He got to know her quite well. Of course her petite frame, shapely legs and perky, medium sized breasts helped a lot.
Everything about her got his hormones and the chemicals in his body working overtime. She kept herself fit by running the track at Central Command's police training facility on one of the lower floors and she always wore a cute little bun in her hair. Somehow it worked well with the white lab coat she had on over a blue, button-down shirt and dress pants. Her wide framed glasses made the outfit complete.
Kira was blessed with some amazing genes. Her father, Tetsuo Shima, was a handsome man who emigrated from Tokyo in the early 2030s. He made his fortune after starting the biotech company that produced the first biodroids. Her mother, Angelina, had a mixed ancestry of Cherokee and Italian. Because of this, Kira's skin was a beautiful golden bronze which just gave off a healthy glow especially after her morning runs. Her mother gave her elegant, high cheekbones and dark, exotic eyes with a sensuous, full face. All of that overlayed by slight Caucasian highlights that softened everything else. To Andrew, pKira was a perfect genetic specimen. Some of the more jealous girls at college started a rumor that her father must have created her in a lab as a designer baby. Even if it were true, Andrew didn't care. He would rather the world be full of Kira clones so everyone could experience how amazing she was.
Kira leaned over her colleague's chair and looked at some of the data cascading down the screen. The video of the slime encrusted hospital halls looped through in the bottom right corner of the monitor. Tentacles throbbed and slithered from the ceiling as the walls pulsated and twisted in the biosuit light. She read some of the data.
"What is that stuff anyway?" Kira asked
"From the data Ellis sent to us, it's genetically human," Andrew said, "but the cellular configuration puts it at something more like a slime. Basically it seems to be a constantly growing mass of living tissue."
"Is it another HeLa infestation?"
"I don't think so. The readings show no signs of cancerous mutations. Usually HeLa would create a film around whatever area it is infesting anyway. Very little movement. Just growth. It would not exhibit any of the things we're seeing in the video."
Kira examined the accompanying data scrolling across the screen.
"From the look of things, whatever it is, created its own environment."
"That's the strange thing about it. A number of pheromones and other chemicals have been detected by Squad Six and the temperature has been raised to that of a healthy human body. If only I had some cell samples to work with, I'd probably be able to get a more detailed analysis of this stuff."
At that moment there was a knock on the door. When Andrew stood up and answered it, two officers came in. Their hair was a mess and their uniforms were soaked with sweat, One of the officers held a plastic cup half filled with some kind of white goo. Inside the cup there was a strange slimy, pink worm. Kira and Andrew looked at the thing as it squirmed and moved writhing the sticky goop. It rose its pointed head out of the slime. The thing had to have been five inches thick. The tip folded open into three pieces presenting razor-sharp teeth. More white glop poured out of the creature as it fell back into its own thick soup.
"What is this and where did you get it?"
