Transfer

"She's very obedient, definitely smarter or at least more intuitive than a normal human, and so far, I've found no problems with her physical wellbeing." Marcus diligently reported, hands tucked behind him and his back straight.

The man in front of him let out a gentle hum, his eyes scanning the papers in front of him. Marcus wasn't privy as to the behind-the-scenes workings of the project, but as far as he knew, the man in front of him was 'the big boss'.

"Good, very good. How about her mental wellbeing?" The man asked as he shuffled the papers into a pile and pushed them to the side of his desk. Marcus didn't immediately answer, mulling over the question.

"... She could use a bigger tank, Sir. It seems as though she's somewhat bored, and I personally would like to have a bigger space in which to train her." Marcus informed, secretly clenching his hands behind his back.

"Hmm... Alright. I'll request a designated aquarium for her to live in. However... I do have a small request to make of you in exchange."

Marcus' eyes widened slightly before he calmed down. After seeing his nod, the man continued talking. "You see, some of the honorable men and women backing this project have started to feel some doubt as to our... legitimacy, as of late. While I've been able to silence them with the help of the secret intelligence agency, some of them have been a bit more... stubborn. I want them gone, and I want your little fish to do it."

Marcus was left flabbergasted at the man's words. He bit his lips slightly before voicing his concerns. "S-sir... While I have absolute confidence my charge will be of great use to our cause, she is still very young, and I don't think it'd be a good idea to send her out--"

He was rudely interrupted by the man's chuckles. "Oh, oh no. Don't misunderstand, Mr. Castle. Those men are already in my custody, bound and helpless. I've got enough agents under my belt as of right now to keep order. I really just want a confirmation that you won't suddenly betray us... I hope you can understand what I'm getting at, yes?" The man questioned, a wide grin on his face.

Marcus was silent for a bit. "It will be recorded, yes?" He asked. After receiving his confirmation in the form of a nod, he let out a sigh. "... Alright. However, I would like to wait until she's reached at least a month of age, otherwise, I fear she may learn something I won't be able to beat out of her."

The man leisurely nodded. "Alright. I won't keep you any longer, you may go. Oh, actually, as a last note, the aquarium has already been built. I'll send some of my people later today to help you with the transfer. Bye."

Marcus blinked before a small frown appeared on his face, but he still nodded respectfully and left.

On his way back to his own quarters, he couldn't help but rub his temples. The big boss was just as scarily intelligent as he'd been told, something that both allowed him to heave a sigh of relief as well as feel a shiver of fear.

Despite all his years working on the project, it was only now that he'd met the man. His name was unknown, his past as well. The only available information on the man was that he was appointed by the Freedonian president herself, and practically nothing else.

Marcus allowed himself a few minutes of resting idly, scrolling through his phone. After a while, he decided to go check on the mermaid, partially out of worry that whatever men the big boss sent would mishandle her, and also because it was almost time for her meal anyway.

Entering the room, he was unsurprised to find her asleep. It was an interesting visage, really. Her preferred sleeping position was a fetal one, however, her inhuman traits made it seem more like a sleeping tiger than a sleeping baby.

Just in the last week, the scales on her body had taken a deep blue color, and if Marcus' guess was correct, they had likely hardened quite a bit. They tended to shed after a while, something that made the scientists very happy since it meant they had some samples to study without having to risk extracting them from her.

Other than that, she'd grown at a visible rate. It had only been a week though, so the changes weren't too dramatic.

He waited for her to stirr into consciousness, knowing that his footsteps would have woken her. He watched as her eyes trembled for a bit before her eyelids raised, her light blue irises being a rather striking feature.

She lacked the blood-red pupils the other two mutants possessed, but those would come with age, as they did to practically all mutants. It was one of the few ways to tell them apart from normal humans, after all, and even then they were easy to disguise.

He pushed those useless thoughts out of his head, inwardly laughing at the fact that, had he said these things out loud, he would've likely either been called a pedophile, a mutant-lover, or both. It was hard to distinguish which was the worst insult of the two these days.

It was at this point that the small mermaid finally decided to come back to the land of the living. She blinked a few times, looking around herself in a daze before she shook her head, stretching out and causing a few popping sounds to come from her body.

Marcus tapped the glass to catch her attention, something that worked rather well. The mermaid quickly turned to face him, a smile appearing on her face as she eagerly swam over to his side of the glass, her eyes immediately going over to the bulge in his pockets.

"You know, I'm fairly sure you only like me because of the food." Marcus joked. Unfortunately, while he'd managed to get the mermaid to say his name, and learn a few words like 'food', 'follow', 'go', etc, she wasn't quite at the speaking level of a human... Or even a 4-year old, for that matter.

Still, he made it a point to talk as much as he could when he was around her, just so she could get used to listening to actual words.

"Alright, let's do some exercise. Follow." He ordered, starting off by simply walking around the glass and gradually putting up speed as he kept one hand on the glass.

The mermaid let out a small, happy noise and immediately followed him, her own hands on the glass. She'd gotten good enough at this point that it was starting to become a challenge to make her sweat... Figuratively, of course.

Still, Marcus hadn't been appointed as one of the only three mutant managers for nothing. After the first hour, he was practically running circles around the glass, stopping at random, jumping up or crouching down.

When it was finally over, he rewarded the eager-looking mermaid with half a dozen fish. Her usual meals consisted of cod or mackerel, although he had already put in an order for some more exotic fish and sea creatures, just to try and diversify her diet.

"Good job. Now, circle." He ordered once she was finished eating, something that she liked to take her time with. He watched as she took a moment to understand what he'd said before taking off, swimming around the entire cage once and ending up right in front of him.

He gave her a curt nod and threw a reward into her cage. She immediately caught it and swallowed it, awaiting further instructions, which Marcus immediately began to provide.

By the end of their session three hours later, the child-sized mermaid had eaten well over a hundred fish, something that still baffled Marcus. Still, he had been warned that mutants ate a lot, so he had prepared accordingly, so at least he hadn't run out of 'rewards' mid-session.

"Good job. We're done for the day, you performed splendidly." He complimented. Had there not been a wall of glass between them, he would've even patted her head... Or maybe not. He still didn't trust her with his hands since she would likely bite them off in one clean chomp.

It was at this moment that the mermaid's ears perked up and her eyes focused on the door. Marcus blinked once in confusion before he too turned to face said door, a frown on his face.

Someone knocked, and right afterwards, a voice resounded. "Sir Marcus? Are you in there?"

"Yes. Come in." He responded, his voice louder than usual so they could hear him through the now opening door.

There were four people who entered, three women and one man. They were all dressed up in formal suits, and after a quick scan of the badges proudly displayed on their chests, he was easily able to determine their identity.

Secret service members. Ironically, within the base, their kind was far from secret and it wasn't unusual to see them running around doing their own things. Still, it was hard not to respect their department, especially since those who were too vocal in their opposition had a tendency of 'going on permanent leave'.

"Greetings. Were you sent by the boss?" He asked. They all gave small nods, their eyes trailing over to the mermaid curiously watching their interaction.

"What a cute little thing. She's different from what I imagined, though." One of the women commented, breaking the ice as she walked over to the mermaid's tank.

Marcus said nothing, allowing the four to go and examine her. As long as they respected his sovereignty over the mutant, he could allow for some gawking.

"What's up with those things? Are those gills?" The man asked as he pointed at the fleshy lines covering the sides of the mermaid's neck. For her part, the mermaid seemed to be observing the four as well, her light blue eyes scrutinizing them with surprising intensity.

"Yes. Please, do stop acting like children. Is the aquarium already finished?" He asked sternly, causing the four to quickly back off, looking a bit nervous.

Good. At least they weren't wholly incapable. It was one of the women who answered him, the same one who'd called his mermaid cute. "Y-yes, our apologies. Jen, go grab the cart." She ordered.

Marcus eyes the woman who quickly scurried outside the room, returning with what was essentially a box with water on wheels. It wasn't big and it lacked any sort of filtration or oxidation, but it would do, he supposed.

"Alright. Help me lift the cover off of the tank." Marcus said after examining the box with critical eyes. The four nodded, and after a bit of coordinating, they eventually managed to do just that.

The mermaid had clearly gotten spooked by their strange actions, judging from how she'd huddled on the floor, watching them with wide eyes. Her lips curled back, exposing her sharp teeth while her claws tensed, clear signs to Marcus that someone was about to get hurt.

"Alright, I'll take over from here. Wait outside the room." He ordered. "But... Sir, we were-" The other man tried to say, only to shut his mouth when Marcus glared at him.

"Y-yes. Our apologies." He said, swallowing down some saliva as they quickly scurried out. Marcus watched their retreating backs with hidden scorn, shaking his head as he muttered 'Damn henchmen' under his breath.

"Alright. Come." He said, the order usually meaning for her to come over to his position. The mermaid looked hesitant, but at least her teeth and claws had returned to normal. "Come on." Marcus insisted.

Eventually, after a lot of coaxing, she eventually did come to him, her body posture torn between confrontational and meek.

Marcus figured she was this way due to their earlier mistreatment during her hatching, but it was just a theory. "Alright, wait here..." He muttered, looking around. When he saw his target, he walked over to it and grabbed it, bringing it back to his previous position.

The mermaid eyes the stool inquisitively, watching nervously as he used it to prop himself up. Considering the protective roof of the tank had been removed, there was nothing separating him from the water containing the mermaid, something that clearly unnerved her.

"Come." He repeated, taking out a fish and putting its head into the water. The mermaid waited for a few seconds, then slowly swam up, her hand stretching to grab the fish.

He didn't allow her to take it, instead raising it above the water. The mermaid followed, her hands now stretching above water.

When she reached it again, he allowed her to take it. Taking out yet another fish, he repeated the exercise, but this time, he held the fish away from the tank itself.

The mermaid appeared torn, but eventually, she surfaced with her upper body. She was, unfortunately, still nude, something Marcus seriously needed to correct if he wanted to avoid unpleasant labels, but for now, he had other things to focus on.

"Jump." He ordered. She had dunked back underwater after a few seconds, unfortunately, and just watched him confusedly. He pointed at her, then at the box, holding the fish above it.

The mermaid took a while to understand, but she eventually managed to. After yet another round of coaxing and fish-dangling, Marcus eventually managed to get her to heave herself up and splash down into the box.

It was small and cramped, and it lacked any sort of lid to close it. Still, it would have to do. He gave the mermaid her fish, feeling a bit uncomfortable as those sharp claws came far too close to his own hands for his liking, and then began to push the box, mermaid and all, towards her new home.