"𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓫𝓵𝓾𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓼, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓵𝔂 𝓲𝓽 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓷 𝓽𝓸𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮, 𝓪𝔀𝓪𝓴𝓮𝓷𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓲𝓷 𝓱𝓲𝓶 𝓪 𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓲𝓻𝓮 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓹𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭, 𝓯𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵𝓵𝔂, 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓾𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓪𝓵."

The building was dimly lit, even against the setting sun, and by a blue light that clawed at the depths of your soul.

Today was the day you were to meet the laboratory's founder and the person funding their research. It seemed that your accidental finding led to more than a man being fired or an article in the news - actually, it seemed that everything opposite to that was coming to light. The man who was supposed to be fired was fine, and you were going to meet a shady company founder in a dark building. Were they going to kill you to keep your silence or something?

"(Y/N) (L/N)." The voice boomed through the glass lined room as soon as the doors opened. You'd met the man before, when he had came to recruit you for the internship. No doubt you were chosen, not only because you were a genius amongst some of the best, but because you were one of the few with decent manners.

Being quickly led forward by a pushy teenage girl the same age as you was not how you expected this to go. Not to mention she had several ninja themed body guards. This... could actually turn out really badly, but for now, you kept your head high, your words humble, and a calm demeanor (to the best of your ability).

The man towered over you, covered in a strange armor and a pointed helmet. "Mr. Oroku Saki." You gave a gentle smile and a polite bow. He was dressed differently than how you first met him, less intimidating no doubt, but the helmet stayed the same. At first you questioned it, but was smart enough not to say anything; another kid in the interview line on the other hand was stupid enough to ask. To which Mr. Oroku replied that it was simply 'a family heirloom'.

If there was anything you learned as an upcoming genius, it was that people are always watching you, and any wrong move you make could be their only impression of you, ever. So you made sure to keep yourself as humbled as possible when dealing with those who could serve as a stepping stool to your dreams.

"I've heard from the laboratory chairman that you've seen our research about Mutagen." He spoke in his baritone voice - one that shook you to your core every time you heard it, but you tried your best to look cool.

You nodded. "I found a notebook amongst my own with the data. It... intrigued me." You chose your words carefully. If you made a slip up, it might just cost you your entire future... In more than one way.

Oroku Saki nodded, standing from his throne at the head of the glass building. "Then you understand what Mutagen can do. It's abilities are limitless." He spoke idealistically. "But what I'd like to know... is what you think of it."

This was a test. You could feel the sharp gazes of everyone in the room, including the teenage girl behind you. Your gaze was critical, but it wandered to each person in the room, all until Oroku Saki stood directly in front of you. You nearly wanted to piss yourself, you were only a teenager, and he was asking for your jumbled thought process in a situation like this?

You finally met his gaze, his eyes piercing your soul, and despite the sweat that dripped from the back of your neck, the determined flare in your eyes never left. "I think that if it's used in a specific way, it could be an asset. If we use it's mutative abilities to improve our society, we could mutate the DNA of humans to be that of something we've never been before. We could transform the human race for the better."

That's right, if you worked to make this world better like you had planned, then it would all be alright. You would do your own private studies using the materials they had and you could do something amazing; you knew you could. Your eyes began to sparkle and flicker with the idealistic flame of youth that Oroku Saki had lost long ago. 

There was a long pause before Oroku Saki laughed, backing away from you and turning back to face his throne. "Very well then, (Y/N). Since you spoke so idealistically about this chemical... Would you like to join our team of researchers to create something life changing?"

You took a shaky breath, "I'd be honored to, sir."

.

.

.

The moment you got home, you rushed to the bathroom to throw up every last bit of nervousness and lingering feeling of death. You left the building with a taste in your mouth that made you so nervous you needed to puke, and to end if off on a high note, the girl from before  threatened your livelihood like some psychotic movie making teen complaining about how you took her boyfriend!

The week had just become too much for you, and even Collie had begun to worry. He was scratching at the bathroom door as you purged your stomach and calmed your nerves. You felt death come too close to you today, and your body wasn't ready for that type of stress.

Still, one thing worried you... What type of experiments were truly going on and what reason would they need Mutagen? If they were a medical or government laboratory that would be a different story. Merging a person's being with an animal, plant, or piece of technology could actually lengthen the lifespan of a fading life, and if it was a military lab then it could be used for chemical war weapons, but a private lab? This spoke all kinds of wrong... But despite all the red flags, your heart tricked you in its own way.

Maybe you could do some good - maybe this was your big break - you could create something incredible and maybe the chairman was right... You just needed to keep an open mind and you would understand in time. They wouldn't use your talents and take advantage of you like before. Not like last time.

You wouldn't let them.