Chapter 460 - PowerRang-Claws?

Afton stands from the grass and rolls his shoulders. He felt like a newer, better man with the ability to do anything he put his mind to... He looks down at his right arm, rolls up the sleeve and takes off his glove to reveal the wood-like flesh beneath.

The new mutation he'd gained didn't exactly come with a set of instructions, so he was stuck trying to figure it out himself like Toby Maguire in the first Spiderman movie... Fortunately, he isn't forced to shot catchphrases at the top of his lungs to achieve an effect.​​

His plant arm feels as if it's bubbling, a tingly feeling springs up underneath his skin as he concentrates on moving it... His figures twitch as his thumb disappears, causing Afton's brows to raise in consternation... Yeah, that was an incredibly strange feeling.

The sensations in his thumb hadn't disappeared, but instead had just shifted to the rest of his arm... Honestly, it was making him slightly nauseous. He takes a couple moments to compose himself and tries again, imagining his arm becoming a spike.

His fingers meld together and become thinner at the end, his wrist locks itself in place and once everything is done, Afton finds himself with a large wooden spike attached to his elbow... He can move it, but everything below the elbow is locked in place.

He tests the point of the spike but finds that it isn't all that sharp... He'd probably need another mutation to be able to form sharp edges, not that it'd be difficult to kill someone with this spike, it'd be like jabbing a pointed piece of wood into someone's throat... Still lethal.

He morphs his arm back to its regular appearance, the flesh easily reverting as if it'd been waiting to return to normal. He's about to test it some more but is interrupted by Dr Borous who floats outside the Think Tank.

"That is an incredibly peculiar ability you've acquired Mr Parker."

Afton nods, "Yeah, it's a recent thing... What're you doing outside the Think Tank? Don't you guys hate the outside?"

Borous shakes his chassis, "Most do, but I only stayed within the Think Tank for fear of the Lobotomites and other creatures roaming this place... Now that it's all cleared I find the sun on my brain quite calming."

Afton smirks, "You taking Gabe on walks?"

Borous chuckles, "Of course! I have a lot to make up for, the least I can do is spend time with my old friend... Ah, anyway, I actually have something to speak to you about." he rediverts the conversation back to the subject at hand, "The Deathclaw samples you brought back are developing quite nicely, in fact, I've managed to hatch a few eggs. I'd love to show you them if you are willing to see?"

Afton raises a brow, "You've started hatching them? Please don't tell me you've made a farm of them..." he asks pointedly.

Borous turns his monitors away slightly, meaning that he certainly had. "I had Glados permission, I'll have you know."

"Glados..." Afton asks, her robotic form expanding over them and looking down with an orange eye, "Yes, creator?"

He shakes his head and sighs, "I know you've been listening, did you really give Borous permission to make a Deathclaw farm?"

"Request 4239 was accepted, it was one of the projects I personally found interesting. The creatures designated: Deathclaws seemed like the perfect killing machines, at least, as much as biology allows." she explains.

"And you didn't see anything wrong with making a large amount in the crater, youknow, where everyone except you is susceptible to getting torn to pieces?" he asks with crossed arms.

"It was a calculated risk. A few dead organisms would be worth an attack force of Deathclaws." she states.

Afton shakes his head, "I'm not arguing with you on that, it's just that I'd like to be informed when something that risks the facility is decided upon. I understand I might have been busy, but I am still the owner of this place." he chides.

"Understood... On this subject, Dala has requested permission to dissect the organism designated: Shani. Its brainwaves were reported to be peculiar, and its recent attempts to escape the facility have become annoying at best." Glados explains.

"Is this her third strike?" he calmly asks.

"No. But I do not see why it matt-"

Afton interrupts and ignores her question, "Then leave Shani alone until she tries to escape again, after that Dala can do what she wants with her."

"Understood." Glados says before leaving, well, only physically. Afton knew she was everpresent around Big Mt, her surveillance encompasses everything.

"That AI you've built is quite unnerving..."

Afton nods, "I designed her that way... Anyway, you wanted to show me the Deathclaws? Well, lead on."

Borous begins leading Afton away from the Think Tank and towards a far off laboratory. It looked recently created and had huge fences around, all of which were electrified to prevent any chance of escape.

Afton didn't say anything about it however, he was quite honestly relieved that so many defensive were set up to prevent a potential Deathclaw escape... One escape could result in an infestation that would be difficult to remove for the robots and cyberdogs... Afton himself would probably have to step in.

He's led through the lab which held many eggs that'd been experimented on and further mutated, and eventually finds himself in an observation room overlooking the fenced-in area... Young Deathclaws could be seen running around, playing and pretend hunting. A few over-eager ones accidentally touch the fence and bounce off of it with electricity visibly licking their skin, after that they know to stay well away from the 'pain wall'.

One thing Afton took particular notice in were the peculiar colours of the Deathclaws... Usually, they only came in brown, black and beige... But there were green ones, red ones, and yellow ones... "Is there a reason for the weird colours?" he asks Borous.

"Indeed there are, I colour coded them to easily identify which mutations I've introduced... The red ones are more aggressive, the green ones had larger claws, and the yellow ones are smarter than average... These are only preliminary tests, of course, I only wish to see how far I can alter them until they start dying."

Afton nods, "Fair enough... Just one warning before I allow this to continue. You will take all precautions physically possible to prevent any altered Deathclaws from escaping... The wasteland does not need smarter, larger, or more aggressive Deathclaws... At least, not without us being able to control them." he states.

Borous nods his chassis, "Of course. I have learned from my past mistakes."

Afton examines the robot for any indication of deceit... Eventually, he just turns away, "Alright, carry on them. Report your progress regularly to Glados."