---

Cindy watched her son slouch off to his room after dinner and sighed. "I'm worried about Larry." she said.

Stefan glanced in the direction his wife was looking and said, "So am I. But there's not a whole lot we can do, is there?"

Cindy sighed again, "No, I suppose not. But that's what worries me. The doctor said he might become suicidal if he feels trapped as he is."

Stefan leaned over and wrapped his arm around Cindy's waist. "He's bound to feel trapped now, isn't he? The hormones made him sick, and he doesn't really look like a girl even dressed up with makeup and everything." he said sadly.

Snuggling into her husband's arm Cindy nodded, "No, he doesn't. We've got to find some way to help him!"

Stefan held his wife and tried to sound confident as he said, "We will, honey. Somehow, we will."

---

Admiral Clay glanced around at the holding cells as Dr. Milner took him on his monthly tour. "We have a few promising specimens here, as you can see. But the really exciting work hasn't quite gotten that far yet." Dr. Milner was saying.

"And why is that?" Admiral Clay asked.

"Well, as you know, there are some...logistical issues in obtaining specimens for my research. We've opened some new clinics to obtain more, but it takes a little time as we are unable to advertise openly." Dr. Milner replied.

Admiral Clay grunted his understanding. "And what is so exciting?" he asked.

Dr. Milner smiled, "As you know, Kittyhawk has exhibited traits from several donor animals. Now that we've made such progress in identifying and controlling different kinds of mutation, we're working on combining mutations in a single subject. If Kittyhawk is any indication, we could end up with much stronger mutations!"

Admiral Clay nodded, "And what kind of combinations are you trying for?"

"There are several combinations we'll test. A panther/hawk mix is one, for obvious reasons. I'm also experimenting with insects, particularly ants. None of the single-donor mutations have developed an exoskeleton, but I'm hopeful a mix might. In that case we'd have a subject with enhanced strength and natural armor all in one!" Dr. Milner explained.

"That does sound promising. Let me know when you have something to show me." Admiral Clay said.

---

Larry sat down at his computer and logged onto a transgender chat room as Laura. For the first time all day he was able to relax and be himself; something that was impossible for him in real life. He tried to keep the conversation light, but some of his worries must have shown.

Is something wrong? one of his online friends, Megan, asked him.

He hesitated before typing, Estrogen made me sick. I can't take it. He felt the tears flowing down his face and let them.

OMG!! What are you going to do? she typed.

Larry shrugged, then typed, What can I do? I look like a Neanderthal! Unless my parents can get the money for surgery somehow, that's it.

Don't talk like that!! There's got to be something that can be done! Megan typed.

No. was all Larry could type out before he started sobbing uncontrollably. A few minutes later he was able to get control of himself and wiped his face off. Looking at the screen there were several frantic messages from Megan, as well as a couple of others who had just joined in. He didn't feel up to talking to them and was about to exit the chat room when he noticed a new message from someone he didn't recognize.

There's always a way. Call this number; they'll help you. was the message, followed by an eight hundred number. The user name was SC4U. He went to see if there was any information in their profile, but it was blank and they'd already logged off. He sat there and stared at the number for a while before writing it down and logging off.

After shutting down his computer he stared at the number for a long time before taking it with him into the kitchen where his parents were still sitting snuggled together. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips seeing them together like that, but it faded quickly. He hesitantly reached for the phone and let his arm drop when his father asked, "Are you okay, honey?" He managed to hold back the grimace at what his Dad called him. He always tried to treat him like a daughter when they were at home, but it just made things worse now.

Larry nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just going to call Jessie." he lied. Jessie was the only one other than his parents that knew about him. He figured they wouldn't be suspicious if he said he was calling her. His Dad nodded, so Larry grabbed the phone and took it into his room. Once he was safely locked in he sat on his bed and stared at the number again. Can they really do anything for me? he thought. Finally, he got up the courage and dialed the number.

The phone only rang twice before a woman answered, "Hello, how can I help you?"

"Um, someone gave me this number in a chat room..." he trailed off, unsure what else he should say. He didn't want to identify which chat room it was, just in case it was some kind of prank.

"Would this be Laura by any chance?" she asked.

"Wha...how...um, yeah." he finally mumbled, shocked at how casually she called him by his girl name.

"I'm glad you called! I run a little clinic where we help people like you. We've got an exciting new treatment that I think will solve all your problems. It's experimental, so there's no charge. You'll be doing us a favor, in fact. What do you say?" she said.

"Uh, is it safe?" he asked worriedly.

"Well, I can't guarantee that it will work, but otherwise it is safe. And I really do think it will work. What have you got to lose?" she replied.

Yeah, what do I have to lose? he thought bitterly. If it doesn't work, I can always slit my wrists and end it. "Okay, what do I have to do?" he asked. She gave him the address of her clinic, which was about eighty miles away.

"Oh, and one more thing. Many of our patients won't come unless they're sure of their privacy. So you can't tell anyone where you're going, okay?" she said. She made it sound like it was no big deal, but it started ringing alarm bells in Larry's head.

"Uh, sure, I can do that." he lied. There was no way he could get there on his own; he didn't have his license yet. And his parents wouldn't allow him to go anywhere on his own right now, anyway. They were too afraid he would hurt himself.

"Excellent! Just come down whenever you can, you don't need an appointment. And good luck!" the woman said before hanging up. Larry sat there thinking about the conversation for a while before taking the phone back into the kitchen and hanging it up.

"You have a nice talk dear?" his mother asked him worriedly. Both of his parents looked worried and hadn't moved since he got the phone.

"Uh, kind of. Do you think you could drive me somewhere tomorrow?" he asked hesitantly.

"Where?" his Dad asked.

"I, uh, wasn't talking to Jessie. I was talking to someone at this clinic." Larry said, showing them the piece of paper he'd written the phone number and address on. It wasn't until he was showing them the paper that he realized the woman had never given a name to the clinic, or herself.

"Clinic? What kind of clinic is it?" Larry's mother asked.

Larry shrugged, "I don't know exactly, but the woman I talked to said they have a new treatment that could help me."

"Maybe I should talk to this woman." his Dad said.

"No! They said I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about it. If you do that they won't help me!" Larry exclaimed.

"That sounds fishy. Now I really want to talk to her!" he said.

"Dad! This could be my only chance! Please don't call her!" Larry begged.

"Honey, you have to admit this doesn't sound legitimate." his mother said.

"So? Do you have any better ideas?!" Larry asked angrily.

"No, but it's too dangerous. We have no idea what kind of people they are!" she replied.

Larry took a deep breath and let it out slowly to try and calm himself. Once he had a handle on his temper he calmly said, "You know I'll go on my own if you don't take me."

Nobody spoke or moved for a long time. Finally, his mother sank back into her husband's arms and sighed. "Isn't there some way we could talk you out of this?" she asked forlornly.

He shook his head, "No. I have to try this."

His father looked concerned, but finally nodded. "All right, we'll drive you over tomorrow. On one condition." he said, holding up a finger and looking sternly at Larry.

"What condition?" he asked suspiciously.

"That you take your cell phone and call us within an hour of going into the building. If we don't hear from you we're going to call the police and go in after you." he said.

Larry nodded, “Okay, that's fine." His father nodded back, so he decided to go to bed. After saying goodnight to his parents he went back to his room to try and get some sleep.

“Is that all we're going to do?" Cindy asked her husband.

“No." he replied, shaking his head. “But that's all we're going to say to Laura. I'm going to call the police now and tell them what we intend to do. Hopefully, if there are any problems, they'll be right there to help us."

---

“Why hasn't she called?" Cindy said worriedly.

“I don't know, but it looks like the police have gotten tired of waiting." Stefan replied. They were parked almost a block away from the building Larry had gone into and could just see the entrance. Police cars had moved stealthily in as soon as Larry was inside. Now they were out of their cars and getting ready to storm the building.

Someone broke down the door and the police streamed in with guns drawn. Ten minutes later they got a call on their cell phone. “Mr. Paulson? I'm afraid we're too late." the officer on the line said. “The building is empty."

---

Valerie waited until the last team arrived with impatience. Finally, the last van drove through the doors and unloaded its unconscious cargo. One of the men who unloaded the subject came over to report to her. “Is that all you got?" she asked.

He winced, “Yes Ms. Kreuge, and we're lucky to have that much. The police were waiting for us."

“What?! Were you followed?" she asked angrily.

“No, we weren't followed. Our lookout arranged a distraction so we could get out undetected. But our subject must have talked to someone." he replied.

“Figures!" she spat, “The freak's parents were trying to help it. They probably arranged it. That freak was too desperate to call the police himself. Are you sure you weren't followed?"

He nodded, “Yes, I'm sure. We're going to ditch the van anyway, just in case, after we clean it out."

Valerie nodded thoughtfully, “I suppose this means it's time to move our operations again."

He shrugged, “Where are we sending this one?"

Valerie smiled, “The doctor wants the really desperate ones, so we'll send this one directly to him."

The man nodded and walked off to deal with the disposal of his team's van. Better him than me. he thought with a shudder.

---

“So, doctor, do you have anything to show me about that new method of yours?" Admiral Clay asked as they waited for the elevator that would take them down to the holding cells.

Dr. Milner nodded eagerly, “Yes! We've got three subjects who have survived multiple donor mutations. One is a panther/hawk mutant who is showing very promising increases in strength and agility. And we have a scorpion/ant mutant, as well."

“But you said you had three survivors. What about the third?" Admiral Clay asked suspiciously.

Dr. Milner cleared his throat nervously. “Well," he began, “that one is a bit...unusual. We've kept them sedated through the mutation process. This one took longer than the others and has just finished mutating. Or maybe not." he mumbled the last.

“What do you mean?" Admiral Clay asked, having caught the last part.

Dr. Milner fidgeted and said, “I'm not sure it's done mutating yet. You see, it appears to be a caterpillar mutant right now."

“Appears to be? Didn't you decide what kind of mutant these subjects would be?" Admiral Clay asked.

“Yes. This one was supposed to be a butterfly/ant mix." Dr. Milner admitted. At Admiral Clay's incredulous look he said, “Butterflies are more useful than you might think. Their wings are actually quite tough, and their senses are very good. Combined with the senses and strength of an ant I thought it would make a formidable mutant. But for some reason this one seems to be stuck in the caterpillar stage. I don't know if it will transform into a butterfly or if it will remain as it is."

“What kind of abilities does it have now?" the admiral asked.

“Until it wakes up, we won't know for sure. But we do know that it has an exoskeleton, in addition to a regular human skeleton. It also has three pairs of arms and two pairs of legs. Not to mention antennae and mandibles. I suspect it will be very strong and tough." Dr. Milner replied.

“Let's see it, then." Admiral Clay said as they boarded the elevator. Dr. Milner nodded and followed him onto the elevator. The elevator was a fast one and they were soon among the holding cells again. Dr. Milner pointed out the other multi-donor mutants as they passed them, but Admiral Clay didn't look too impressed. The panther/hawk hybrid looked similar to Kittyhawk, other than being male. The scorpion lacked an exoskeleton except on her tail. The tail seemed to cause her some balancing trouble. Then they came to the butterfly mutant and his interest picked up. Here was a mutant that looked like it could take some damage!

“Ah, it looks like it's finally waking up." Dr. Milner said as they came to a stop outside the cell. The cell was largely made up of very thick, very strong clear plastic. Inside looked more like a hotel room than a cell. The mutant inside looked like a caterpillar with it's many arms and legs and it's antennae. It seemed to have some trouble with its many limbs as it staggered to its feet. It looked around itself blearily, not seeing the admiral or doctor through the one way glass lining the inside of the cell. Once its eyes focused on its reflection it stared in silence for a time before throwing its head back and screaming, “Noooooo!!!!"

---

Larry groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. He couldn't remember how he'd gotten here. He'd entered the building and then...what? He couldn't recall. He decided to get a look around and try to find out where he was. Struggling to his feet, which seemed far more difficult than it should be, he staggered around until he'd regained his balance. Everything felt strange; really strange! But before he could focus on that he saw a horrible monster! He recoiled, looking for a way out, but he saw the monster every way he looked. Then he realized something, the monster moved as he did. He stopped and held up his hand, and the monster held up it's hand, too. Frozen in shock, he stared at what could only be his reflection. It was worse than anything he could have imagined. Not only was he still male, but he was a hideous insectoid male! He threw his head back and screamed, “Noooooo!!!" Distantly, he heard a hissing sound, and then everything went black.

When he woke he halfway expected to find himself back in his own bedroom. That must have been a dream, right? No mutant, if that's what I was supposed to be, looks that horrible! he thought. But when he sat up and looked around he found himself looking at that monster again! He threw himself back down on the bed and howled in agony. What have they done to me?! They were supposed to help me, not turn me into a monster! he thought in anguish. Several minutes later he ran out of tears and took stock of his new body. He was covered in some hard material, like armor. He had six arms and four legs, too. Perhaps the worst thing, though, were the mandibles. I'm not even remotely human anymore! he thought over and over again.

Finally he couldn't take the thoughts and feelings running through his head and he ran at the wall. He crashed into it and shattered the one way glass, but the wall behind it shuddered but held. He pounded on it and, when that didn't seem to do any good, he clawed at it with the hooked claws on each of his hands. He raked deep gouges in the wall for several minutes, but finally gave up in exhaustion. He slumped down against the wall, gasping for breath. I can't live like this! he thought, despair driving all thoughts from his mind. Dimly he was aware that someone was watching him, but he paid no attention as he stood and rammed the wall again. He barely felt it through the thick material covering his body, so he tried again. And again, and again. It was while resting after his fourth round of smashing himself against the wall that he heard that hissing sound again and blacked out.

---

“Dr. Milner, subject 2D34 is smashing itself against the walls again. It's managed to crack its exoskeleton and we had to sedate it." a young technician said with a worried look on his face.

“Don't worry about it, it's under control." Dr. Milner replied with a mysterious smile.

“But sir, shouldn't we terminate it? It's extremely strong and it has clearly gone insane!" the technician exclaimed.

Shaking his head, Dr. Milner explained, “No, not insane. This is one of the TG subjects. They're extremely sensitive to their body shape. But I have an idea that should fix that. Once that problem is out of the way, I think we'll find that it's a very cooperative subject!" He seemed very excited by the prospect.

“ Sir? How could you possibly fix that?! Once a subject has mutated they never mutate again!" the technician exclaimed.

“ You mean they never have before! Have you ever heard of the Walbachia bacteria?" Dr. Milner replied with an enigmatic smile.

“Sir?" the young technician asked, confused.

“Walbachia is a very common bacteria which has a peculiar affect on many insects. Look it up." Dr. Milner said and walked away with the smile still on his face. During his break the technician did just that, and had to wonder if the doctor wasn't as insane as the patient! The effect Dr. Milner had referred to seemed to only occur in the egg. And although it could turn the males into females or pseudo-females, it could also kill them!

---

Larry alternated between rage and despair. He tried everything he could think of to get out, and everything he could think of to kill himself. Nothing worked, not even starvation. When he refused to eat they strapped him down and fed him intravenously. He didn't know how long he was strapped down like that, but after a time he noticed his anger and despair dulling. He felt lethargic and slept more and more. Then he slipped into a deep sleep where he dreamed of soaring through the air without a care in the world. They were beautiful dreams that he dreaded waking up from, but wake he eventually did. When he woke he found that he couldn't move, but didn't react at first because he was used to being tied down. But then he realized that he couldn't see, either, and he seemed to be in some kind of container that he barely fit in.

Panic set in and he began pounding on the inside of his prison. The sides were too strong, but he found the end above his head to be weaker. He pounded frantically and clawed at it with his fingernails. Fingernails? Didn't I have big claws, before? he thought. But his fear of suffocating soon drowned out all other thoughts as he bashed away until a small opening appeared above him. He reached his arms through (Didn't I have more than two arms before?) and hauled himself out. Something caught on his back, but he squirmed around until he freed whatever it was. Finally he pulled his legs out and collapsed on the ground beside the object he'd been entombed within. He stood awkwardly and stretched, and felt those other arms that he remembered having. Only, these were in the wrong place and felt strange somehow. But they stretched out alright and felt much better, so he ignored that for the moment as he looked around.

Huh, that's funny. I don't remember the pink and purple lights in here before. It was always white light they illuminated this place with. Whoa! And where did the beautiful butterfly girl come from?! he thought. Once again he saw a strange apparition staring back at him no matter where he looked and stopped in shock. He held up his hand, and saw the girl with the iridescent pink and purple wings raise her hand at the same time. He wiggled his fingers, and she wiggled hers. A smile slowly spread across his face, and he watched it grow on the girl's face. I'm a girl! I'm really a girl! They did it! she thought. She marveled at her glittery violet eyes and her hair that seemed to change color with every movement. It was light, usually pinkish, at the roots and darkened into a dark purple at the tips. Her wings were shaded similarly, and refracted the light the same way. So that's where the change in light comes from, my hair and wings! This is so amazing!

She was a little disconcerted by the antennae sticking out of her head, but she dismissed that as she took in the other changes to her body. She was leery of taking her clothes off, what was left of them, without knowing if someone was looking in on her or not, but she was able to see enough to know that there was nothing of Larry left. With the wall to wall mirrors she was also able to get a better look at the 'arms' that her wings were attached to. They had the same hard covering her previous form had had, but it, like her antennae she noticed, had the same glittery purple color as her eyes. Somehow, it didn't seem as disturbing as she thought it should.

It was while looking at her wings through the mirrored walls that she saw the thing she'd crawled out of. Turning to look at it directly she realized what it must be. So, I made a cocoon somehow! I guess I must have been a caterpillar before. But now I'm a beautiful butterfly! she thought.

She wasn't so caught up in her admiration of her new form that she didn't hear, and perhaps more importantly smell, the hissing gas as it entered the room. She could sense the gas in some strange way she'd never experienced before, and noticed that it wasn't affecting her the same way it had. When I was a big strong caterpillar I couldn't break out of this place. Maybe I'd better play possum and see if an opportunity presents itself. she thought and pretended to faint.

---

"Isn't it amazing!" Dr. Milner breathed as he watched the butterfly emerge from it's cocoon for the second time. He'd recorded it and was playing it back for the admiral. "The Walbachia worked! Now we should be able to get somewhere with this subject."

Admiral Clay had to admit that he was impressed with the beauty of the mutant that emerged from the cocoon, but he couldn't understand why the doctor was so excited about it. "And how is this a good thing?! It was more useful to us in its previous form!" he said.

Dr. Milner shook his head, "Don't let appearances fool you. True, it doesn't appear to have an exoskeleton anymore, except on the wings. But it could still be very strong and tough. And once its wings dry it should be able to fly. I'll have to run some tests, but I suspect it will be at least as strong as it was before. That's why I'm moving it."

"Moving it? Isn't that dangerous?" the admiral asked.

"Not while sedated. It reacts quite well to the gas, so we'll have plenty of time to move it to a more secure cell. That one was heavily damaged, anyway. I don't think it could break out, but with its senses returned it's best to be cautious. Besides, I want to study its cocoon." Dr. Milner replied.

"You just said that it may be stronger than before. What makes you think it might not be more resistant to the gas than it was before?" Admiral Clay asked.

Dr. Milner blanched and picked up his phone, "Give subject 2d34 another dose of the sedative immediately!" he yelled into the phone. As he was saying this he turned off the recording and turned on the monitors. Scenes of the cell and the surrounding area came up. He cursed as he saw that the gurney the mutant was being moved on was overturned and the technicians that had been pushing it were unconscious on the floor. He slapped an alarm button and picked up the phone again. "Subject 2d34 is loose! Get security down here immediately!" he yelled.

"It would seem your subject has regained its senses indeed." Admiral Clay said. "You'd better get that mutant under control immediately. If it is seen by anyone above the third deck you are going to have a very big problem on your hands."

Dr. Milner gasped as another image came up on his monitor and turned to the general. "I don't think we need to worry about it being seen above the third deck. It just smashed its way through the hull of the ship on the fifth deck!" he exclaimed.

---

"Is there any news?" Stefan asked the officer on the other end of the line. It had been six months since his son...no, daughter, had disappeared. The police had been very interested when he went to them with their story, as they'd had several disappearances that seemed very similar. But when they'd entered the warehouse Larry went into, it was clear there had never been any clinic there. They found tire tracks, but didn't find the van they belonged to for three days. By then it had been wiped clean and there was no sign of where they'd taken Larry. Since then there had been nothing.

"I'm sorry Mr. Paulson. We haven't found any sign of your son. I'm afraid we may never find him, or the others." the officer replied sadly.

"You're not giving up, are you?!" Stefan exclaimed incredulously.

"No sir, but we don't have much to go on. I'm just trying to be realistic here." he explained.

Cindy rubbed Stefan's back and he sighed. "Okay, please keep trying." he said.

"We will sir. I'm sorry I don't have better news for you." the officer said before hanging up.

"We never should have taken her there." Stefan said.

Cindy hugged him and said, "We couldn't have kept her away, you heard her. She was determined to go, no matter how dangerous it might be." Stefan felt his shoulder getting wet and returned his wife's hug. They cried on each others' shoulders for a while, until they ran out of tears.

They were still holding each other when the doorbell rang. Neither moved until it had rang for the fourth time and someone started pounding on the door. The door shook with each blow and Cindy looked fearfully at her husband. "Who could that be?" she asked.

Stefan shook his head wearily, "I don't know." He stood and walked over to the door with Cindy glued to his side. He reached out hesitantly and grasped the doorknob. The door vibrated with another impact. He was startled, but slowly turned the knob. He cautiously swung the door open and gasped, "Chrysalis!" He and his wife exchanged incredulous looks. What's a super hero doing practically bashing down our door?! they thought.

---

To Be Continued...