"... And then flushed the rest of them down the goddamn toilet."
Dr. Pearl Watkins, lead scientist at Aquagene Pet Shop, hung her head as she slumped in her chair. She wasn't sure what to feel. At the moment, it was a mix of guilt, for the fact that they had caused the EPA such trouble, horror, for the fact that her employee's little stunt had grown into a monster, and most of all, exasperation, for the fact that said employee was an absolute jackass.
"If we find that man again, I swear to God." Dr Marcus Nakamura, head Aquagene scientist, was bristling with indignation his former employee's carelessness. To add insult to injury, it was he and Watkins that were now under fire from the government, and not Perkins, who was probably off at another company doing all sorts of stupid to that new poor business.
The man questioning them arched his eyebrows, disbelief etched in every crease of his face. "I'm sorry?" he said.
"Oh, my, fricking, God," Dr. Watkins' voice squeaked slightly as she ran her hands through her hair, accidentally dislodging her hair clip and causing her vision to be obscured by curtain of pink. She always dyed her hair according to upcoming Aquagene set themes. Pink was the new craze, with the new release of the insanely popular Gumball Guppies. She thought those little guys were absolutely adorable. "Mr. Liu, I— We are so, so sorry, for the trouble we've cause you. You— It looks like you were able to capture it?"
"That is correct…" Foundation Researcher Matthew Liu still trying to process what these two people had just told him.
How in the world is this company able to have a clean record? He thought. If they get into these messes all the time how the hell can they—
"So, um, Mr. Liu, is it possible we can, um, take a look at this fish now?" Watkins asked nervously, biting her lip.
"I'm…sorry?" Liu blinked.
Watkins flushed, realizing how stupid those words sounded. Their company was directly responsible for this mess, and the last thing this man would want was for them to—
"What I mean is," she began. "We, um, well, we're the company with the original techniques for creating—"
"That's right, Mr. Liu," Mr. Nakamura piped in. "If it's possible for us to examine this thing, we might be able to help you find a way to—"
At that moment, Researcher Liu's comm flared to life.
Liu, you still with those two? A male Jamaican voice spoke in a hurried tone on the other end.
Liu picked up his radio to dial back. "Excuse me," he said to the pair of scientists. "Yeah, Morgan, talk to me. What's going on?"
We've got a situation with the bananafish. It ain't pretty. The man's voice sounded slightly confused when he said "bananafish", as if he wasn't sure that was the correct term to use.
"What's going on? Did it grow again?" Liu's brow furrowed in concern.
Uhh, yes, yeah, Matt, it did. But, it, uh, it grew because it… Matt, man, there's no easy way to put this, it ate a D-Class and now it's walking around on its hind legs.
There was a brief moment of silence in the room. Matthew stood still, once again not quite believing what he just heard. Watkins and Nakamura on the other hand, looked confused.
"What?" Liu groaned. His day was about to get a whole lot worse.
"Um," Watkins managed to get out. "What's a D-Class—?"
"Morgan, what's the damage report? Did it get out?" Matthew spoke rapidly, looking back and forth angrily between his comm and the two Aquagene scientists sitting on the couch across from him.
What? Oh, no, no, it's still in containment, Liu, all locked down, but—
"All right, thanks," Liu interrupted. "Morgan, please note, I'm bringing the two persons of interest back to Site-71. Notify the guard stations so they don't try to mind wipe 'em when they cross the door."
"What?!" Watkins squeaked.
"Um, Mr. Liu?" Nakamura asked nervously. "What do you mean by—"
"You two, shut up, you're coming with me," Liu snapped, as he pushed open the door and began walking out. "And you're gonna help us figure out this hot mess of a so-called fish you made. Follow me downstairs please, we're gonna have to speed back to base."
The two Aquagene scientists sat still on their couch, not sure what to do at the sudden turn of events.
Matthew looked back and stared. "Now!" he barked.
The pair jumped, then hurriedly followed the Foundation agent out of the room.
As they rushed down the hall, all three people's heads were filled with confusion. But one thought was felt by all of them as they made their way down to the Van that would take them to Site-71. Everyone's day was about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Liu bristled. This is ridiculous.
Watkins whimpered to herself. This is crazy.
Nakamura bumbled behind. This is bananas.
