She awoke slowly, a dull thumping in her head. Was this a hangover? She thought to herself. No, that couldn't be it. Sure the headache might be, but what of the intense piercing pain coursing through her nerves, the slow purposeful heartbeat intensely pulsing pain outwards as each beat pounded. What had happened last night? Was it last night? Who knew? She felt like she had been out for weeks. She was slowly regaining her sight, it was dim, but clear enough to see. She was strapped into some sort of machine, a gurney-like thing. It looked to be some sort of makeshift lab, computers and lab equipment laying around. There had been some orange glow even as she opened her eyes. Now just dim blue monitors, and green flashing lights.
-----
She had been invited to a party by an acquaintance. Not her normal crowd, questionable types it seemed to her; rough worn out clothes, piercings in every odd place, many tattoos. The rank smell of beer, smoke, both cigarette and pot(not that she knew of the smell, but it was an odd smell to her at least). After her first drink not seeing the acquaintance who invited her, she left the party.
It wasn't a part of town she was familiar with, the seedy side. Down a back alley, graffiti littering the walls, and trash along the gutters. There he was, down a ways by a car. It seemed the drink did more than she thought, things seem slower, and she found herself throwing away her normally cautious nature, and headed toward him. She was angry, she thought he had something for her, instead he dragged her down here for what? To be made a fool? She was going to show him. As she approached a gentleman got out of the back of the car. He turned her way, she was too close to back away now.
She was within earshot now, "Alec, I can't belie--"
"Is this her?" The man inquired abruptly.
"Yeah, this is her." Alec responded impassively.
She was about to retort when, quicker than she could see; a pierce, a pain right in the abdomen, and then the blackness.
-----
She was conscious now. Well, more or less. The pain had subsided somewhat, but in it's place emerged a radiating heat. This can't be right. She could see the frost on her breath. Was this frostbite? The tingling sensation was associated with that, right?
"Welcome back to the world of the living." Said a voice, screen blinking on.
She knew that voice. It was Alec, the anger of the night picking up where it left off. It seemed to get hotter in the room as her anger rose. There was that orange hue again, wait, was it coming from her? Looking down at her restraints as the fire did it's work burning what was left of the restraints. Just as quickly as it arose, the odd orange fire from within her quelled back to average human skin. Blinking in her disorientation, and then fell right on her face. She struggled to get up, her blonde hair dirtied by the grime, exhausted and shaking.
"You may have noticed, or at least felt, what appears to be fire coursing within your veins." Alec's voice continued. "This, I've been told, is a normal side effect of this operation. It should subside with time."
-----
"What do you think the chances on her succeeding are?" The gentleman pressed.
"I assure you, she's got the best chance of those we've tested." Alec said calmly. "Her genetics should be much more compatible. She survived the initial conversion, so long as she doesn't overload..."
"She wouldn't be the first. Have you fixed the glitch?"
"If it was as simple as a glitch, this problem would have been fixed months ago. But I believe the precautions we've put in place should keep her from going nova."
-----
"Now the restraints should have just been released. On the table beside the monitor there should be something to eat." Alec's voice stated, as the screen then turned off.
"You could say that again." She muttered, struggling on the table to stand. Finding the packaged food on the table before her. She never cared for the pre-processed food, but anything at this point would suffice. Now that the pain had gone away, the emptiness of her stomach became much more obvious. Using all her remaining strength to tear the package open, she collapsed. The heat, and orange started back up, she started to feel weightless.
-----
"Damn." The gentleman muttered. "Dump her body like the rest." Lit up a cigarette and walked away.
-----
She fainted. Alec could see on the video feed the nova had begun. Dust kicked up, her long hair started to float upwards, soon her whole body was levitating. The orange hue changed towards blue, then white. The heat expanding outwards vaporizing everything in the chamber, turning the walls orange, to black as the heatwave dispersed. Her body crumpling on the floor, in what might have been naked, if it could be recognized as human in the charred exterior. "Send in the clean up crew." He spoke over the radio.
-----
They dumped the body where no one would expect. Out by the docks in the foundry district. In a pile of disposed ash of some long forgotten steel mill that had long been closed.
And then...a gasp. Two spots appeared red hot out of the age-old coal, she awoke.
--First Draft 2013/05/03--
Not genetics. The experiment might possibly work on anyone, but the sudden rush of new information, drives many mad, unstable, explosive. Most don't have the mental capacity to handle such a drastic change, or the mental and physical stress from the procedure.
--studies from phoenixes aid in surgery--
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