Mayor Clara and her family had been enjoying the Halloween Carnival. Though there was a bit of limit to how much they could do considering Clara has four cubs who were too young for anything to scary or naughty. But she still was enjoying spending time with her husband and litter.
As such, it came as a big shock for her to hear that there was an attack right in the middle of the carnival. And not just an attack from some xenophobic human, but by a clan of Animalians. She was relieved that the situation was contained and resolved with little complication. Still, Clara had to know what was the cause of this attack.
She and Robbie went to Horizon Labs to speak with Dr. Stein. Along the way, they had read over the police report over the incident. "Well, it seems to me that Ms. Piper is more of a victim than a criminal," said Clara.
"Yes, being forcibly transformed like that, bearing so many offspring. It is little wonder she became mentally unstable," said Dr. Stein.
"And all this because she thought Jeremy could make her human again," said Robbie. He and Martha had been at the Slaughterhouse party when they heard the news. It took a bit longer for him to get to Horizon Labs, but he was up to date on the situation.
"And she didn't believe him when he said it was impossible," said Dr. Stein, "I know Jeremy has been trying very hard to reverse the transformation of the Animalian virus, but I think he's starting to see it as pointless."
"It is impossible, right?" asked Clara. While she could understand a bit why humans would want to change back, she had no such wish herself. A 'cure' would revert her back to a normal mountain lion. She wasn't even sure which way her children would change.
Dr. Stein shrugged and said, "I would personally say it's impossible, but the virus has surprised us a lot over the last two years. Maybe someday in the future, the option for becoming human again would be possible, but that is unlikely to happen any day now."
"What I don't understand is how any Animalian could do this to someone," said Clara.
"And how could this 'Subject Zero' be the first Animalian? I thought we were the first Animalians," said Robbie.
Clara waved her hand vaguely and said, "More or less." There was no certainty of which animals were first uplifted or when. Clara and Robert assumed they may have been the first as they had came up with the Edicts of Animalia soon after they had double-dosed.
"Subject Zero is not an Animalian, not as you two are," said Dr. Stein, "You must understand that we didn't intentionally set out to create a virus that can change people into animals and vice versa. The virus was originally designed to make livestock healthier and more nutritious. The batch that eventually became the Animalia virus had been contaminated by another experimental treatment for muscular dysthropy by gene therapy."
"Yes, that created this Subject Zero, right?" asked Robbie.
"Rats are the ideal test subject for most experiments," said Dr. Stein, "But we never expected him to...well... Perhaps it would be simpler if I just showed you." He logged onto his computer and looked for a specific file. The file was locked by a password known only to a few, Dr. Stein being one of those. He then showed Clara and Robbie the video on the file.
The video showed a man holding a syringe with a brown rat in a clear cage. "Test #10. This new batch of the virus should have a stronger effect that the previous attempts," said the scientist. He picked up the rat gently and injected the syringe's contents into the rodent. The rat gave a short squeal, but didn't seem to resist. The scientist placed the rat back into the cage and said, "Over the next few days, we shall observe to see if there are any significant development of-"
Just then, the rat let out a louder squeal and the scientist turned to look at it. He gaped as the rat was now much larger in size. The cage would soon become too small for it. The rat was already on its hind legs, pushing against the top. It seemed to become more comfortable on its hind legs as they began to bulk up. The front paws that was scrabbling at the top of the cage developed into hands that soon were able to open it.
Once the cage was open, it was easy for the rat to climb out. Which was a good thing as it was already a foot and half tall. By this point, it was already developing several humanoid traits. Its front legs were developing into muscular arms as its lower body adjusted more for bipedal stance. Its torso was already bulking up, gaining the standard amount of muscles for an Animalian. The lack of breasts developing showed that the rat was definitely male.
The scientist had backed away in surprise at the rat's transformation. But the rat did not become taller than him, capping at about 4 feet. He didn't seem to experiencing the usual confusion or self-awareness an uplifted Animalian typically showed. Instead, it was looking around, sniffing eagerly. Its attention focused on the scientist before it snarled and leaped at him. Thankfully, there was a chair in the room not far from where the scientist was. He grabbed the chair and pointed it at the rat, blocking the vermin's path. The rat snarled and tried to yank the chair out of the way. By the way the scientist was struggling, the rat might have been shorter, but he was very strong. Thankfully, security soon responded and the guards shot the rat with several darts.
Dr. Stein stopped the clip and said, "As you can see, Subject Zero did not become an Animalian like you two. His body and mind are too feral and savage. All attempts to get him to calm down or communicate with him met with failure. So, we euthanized him with a fatal injection." Clara and Robbie looked horrified at that. "It was nothing painful. It should have been quick and painless, much like the dogs and cats that needed to be put down at the vet's."
"Then how is he still alive?" asked Clara.
"That's what we would like to know," said Dr. Stein, "We were transporting his carcass along with the failed batch of the virus to a proper disposal site where the barrels will be stored and the rat's body would be buried. But then there was that accident on the bridge that caused both a barrel of the virus and the rat's body to fall into the river. And you know the rest."
"So that's why you were so worried when the virus first escaped," said Robbie.
"We were worried that it would create more monsters like Subject Zero. However, the virus had developed a lot more after Subject Zero was transformed. Instead of making you all into half-feral monsters, you became fully sentient and anthropomorphic," said Dr. Stein.
"So how did Subject Zero end up in the sewers? And why didn't you look more thoroughly for him?" asked Robbie.
"In all the pandemonium that resulted from the Outbreak, Subject Zero was overlooked. By the time we got around to looking for him, all traces had vanished. We assumed his body might have been eaten by catfish or coyotes or some other scavenger," said Dr. Stein. Clara and Robbie gave him disbelieving looks. "He was dead! Dead things don't just get up and walk away!"
"Apparently, Subject Zero is the exception," said Robbie, "Ms. Piper mentioned she tried to kill him before but he kept coming back to life."
"Yes, apparently the 'proto-virus' might have made him savage and psychopathic, it also gave him a healing factor that outclasses normal Animalians," said Dr. Stein.
"So how did he get into the sewers?" asked Clara.
"His body must have revived itself after it was washed up on shore. His death state must have made the Animalian virus in the water ineffective against him. I presume he eventually found a sewer pipe and climbed through. And he's been living on non-uplifted rats until his 'queen' appeared," said Dr. Stein.
Clara and Robbie shuddered. They were both predators, but even in their wild states, they would have never stooped to eating their own kinds. "Do rats normally partake in cannibalism?" asked Clara.
"No, rats are actually very social creatures. I suppose they might get desperate if there's no food, but I think Subject Zero's problem is more psychosis than instinct."
"And you want to uplift him fully? "asked Robbie.
"There is a lot to learn from his healing factor," said Dr. Stein, "Though his enhanced mind might not be able to handle the memories of what he's done. Still, he deserves at least a chance. His children and grandchildren at least have a better chance.
"I just hope his mind will be fixed," said Clara.