Making Monster Girls 2: For Science!

by Eric Vall

  I had to kill her.

  I glanced at Daisy out of the corner of my eye, cleared my throat, climbed up one of the front stairs, and then gestured toward the door.

  “I think she’s still drunk…” the gorgeous brunette murmured.

  “I think so, too,” I muttered. “We have to get her inside of the manor…”

  Daisy nodded in agreement, angled her body toward the Chief Constable, and then stepped forward with her arms outstretched.

  “Ortensia,” the bear-girl uttered. “Please, let’s be sensible about this.”

  “Why don’t you come inside?” I breathed. “We can calmly and rationally discuss this like adults instead of accusing each other wildly.”

  “E-Everything lines up,” the scarlet-haired woman whispered. “The letter, but not only that, I looked into it, and the Browning’s daughter is named Ophelia, not Daisy. T-Their powers are chlorokinesis, not tactile augmentation… None of the things you’ve told me or anyone else are true, you have to be lying… T-The shoeprint proves it, I know it does.”

  “Ortensia,” Daisy soothed. “Why don’t you come inside? As Charles said, we can talk this over like adults… if you need me to, I can explain my family line and the manifestation of our powers.”

  “I’m sure we can figure all of this out,” I breathed. “We don’t have to resort to violence or arresting anyone yet.”

  Ortensia glared at the two of us out of the corner of her single eye, and it was clear to us that the gears in her head were turning feebly thanks to the alcohol. We’d given her a few good reasons to doubt her proof, but I could tell she was still suspicious of me. The scarlet-haired woman’s hand went to her belt, slid to the back where I couldn’t see her hands, and then she grinned widely.

  “Yes,” the Chief Constable breathed. “Let’s go inside and have a nice, long talk, Charles. I’d love to hear all of your explanations…”

  The redhead gestured toward the door with her free hand, and though she kept her other one relaxed, I knew she was clutching a weapon tightly in her fist.

  We’d have to get it away from her and get her into the compartment.

  “After you,” Ortensia purred.

  I glanced at Daisy out of the corner of my eye, grabbed her, placed her in front of me, and forced the brunette forward. If the Chief Constable had a gun, I needed to protect Daisy, so I would willingly become a shield for her, but if Ortensia had a baton, it wouldn’t really matter, I could fend off blows from that pretty easily. The real danger she presented was her magical abilities, so I gulped, pressed my lips into a hard line, and forced the two of us forward up the stairs toward the door, and once we reached it, I nodded to my monster-girl to open it for us.

  Ortensia climbed the stairs shakily with gasping breaths. She held onto the railing with a single, trembling hand, and I knew for sure that the alcohol she’d drank earlier hadn’t worn off yet. I hoped that her stupor would work in our favor, but… the Chief Constable could be pretending, we wouldn’t know until she made a move.

  “Come inside,” Daisy smiled. “We could sit in the drawing-room, or we could go into the conservatory, that’s by far my favorite place in the house to sit and drink tea.”

  The Chief Constable stepped into the foyer after us, time seemed to slow, the redhead jerked her obscured hand, pulled her hand out from behind her, and I instinctively jumped out in front of Daisy. My eyes slammed shut, my jaw clenched, my teeth ground against each other, but the blast of pain didn’t come as a loud voice raised into the air.

  “Don’t touch them, you bitch!” Valerie screamed.

  My eyes slammed open, focused for a second, and then landed on the feline-woman as she flew through the air. The blonde’s lips were pulled back in a snarl with her teeth bared, her ears laid flat against the sides of her head, and her fingers were curled into claws.

  “What the hell?” the redhead constable shouted.

  Valerie shifted in the air, pushed her legs out in front of her like an arrow, and slammed her heels directly into the middle of Ortensia’s chest. The Chief Constable grunted out all the air in her lungs, flew sideways, and slammed into the drawing room’s door frame a few paces away. The scarlet-haired woman’s head cracked back, connected with the solid wood with a loud bang, and then she slumped forward. A solid, black flintlock pistol fell from her fingers, clattered to the floor, and slid a few feet away. I hastily picked it up, tucked it into my waistband, and then turned toward my two women. Valerie stalked closer with her back hunched, her chest rose and fell with loud, airy pants, and the feline lowered herself closer to the ground as she crawled over to the redhead.

  “Is she dead?” Daisy gasped.

  “No,” I shook my head. “Just unconscious.”

  “If she’s not dead,” Valerie growled. “Then, I’m going to kill her!”

  “Charles, I’m so glad you’re safe,” the bear-girl panted. “I thought… I thought for sure she was going to kill you, or at least… injure you severely.”

  “I’m fine,” I exhaled. “There’s no need to worry about me, I was more worried that she was going to hurt you. Thanks for saving us, Val.”

  “No problem,” the feline-woman murmured. “Now, let me tear her to pieces.”

  “No, absolutely not,” I shook my head.

  “Why not?” the cat-girl protested. “She was going to kill you and then Daisy! We should give her a taste of her own medicine!”

  “I thought you wanted a new sister?” I chuckled.

  “Well, yes,” the ash-blonde woman muttered. “But what does that have to do with this situation?”

  I stepped forward, hooked a finger under Ortensia’s chin, lifted her pale, smooth face to the both of them, and then grinned.

  “Meet your brand new sister,” I snickered.

  “You mean?” Valerie giggled. “It’s happening? We’re going to use the Chief Constable as our new sister?”

  “Well, she’s a direct threat to our family,” I explained. “We have no other choice than to dispose of her.”

  “Well, let’s get her downstairs and into the compartment!” the blonde cried. “Oh, I’m so excited! I’ve been waiting for this moment since… since… we created Daisy! I love getting new sisters, it’s my favorite thing in the whole world. Well, except for you kissing me and loving me, Charles.”

  “Thank you,” I chuckled, came around the Chief Constable’s unconscious body, and gripped her by the legs. “Now, let’s get her downstairs, and then we can get started.”

  “I’ll get her shoulders!” the feline-woman shouted. “Hurry, hurry! Let’s go!”

  Valerie and I lifted together, held the unconscious body between us, and lugged it toward the door. Daisy hurried around us, grabbed the door handle, swung it open, and held the door for us. The feline-woman and I carefully stepped down the stairs to the gravel, maneuvered around the corner of the house, and then slipped down the stairs into my laboratory.

  “Hey, guys,” A.B. chuckled. “Wait, wait, wait, what the hell is that?”

  “This is the Chief Constable, Ortensia Payne,” I forced out through gritted teeth. “I’m sure she’d love to meet you, but she’s indisposed at the moment.”

  “What even happened up there?” the brain cried. “One second, everything seems fine, and the next, you’re bringing an unconscious body down here? I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but here I am, in a state of almost constant shock.”

  “She threatened Charles,” Daisy uttered. “She had a gun, she could’ve killed him.”

  “Oh, then never mind,” A.B. yipped. “Bring as many unconscious bodies into the laboratory as you want.”

  “Thanks for your approval,” I chuckled. “Plus, now that we have a reason, we’re going to change her into a monster-girl.”

  “Really?” A.B. bubbled. “Yes! We’ve been waiting for so long! Valerie and I’ve been so excited to have a new friend to play with, we can’t wait!”

  Valerie giggled, nodded vigorously, and he
lped me cross the room with Ortensia held between us. I rested the redhead against the floor for a moment as I reached for Compartment B’s door, swung it open, and then lifted her from the ground. The feline-woman and I hauled her inside, propped her up against the wall, and then backtracked. I slammed the door shut, peered in through the window, turned on my heel, and moved toward the metal box with the imp still inside.

  “Are we doing it now?” Daisy asked.

  “We have no other choice,” I uttered. “We can’t hold her in the compartment for very long If she regains consciousness, then her magic--”

  “But Charles,” A.B. sighed. “What are you going to do afterwards? She’s the Chief Constable after all, aren’t people going to ask questions? About where she went? Where did she go?”

  “I haven’t come up with a plan yet,” I admitted. “But we’re certainly not going with the murder and suicide route again, that caused more problems than it did to solve them.”

  “We should write a letter!” Valerie offered. “From Ortensia to Edony! It should say something like, ‘the job got too overwhelming, I’m going back to the capital to serve the Queen again.’”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” I agreed. “But would Edony believe it? It seems that she barely believes anything unless she hears it directly from the person’s mouth.”

  “We could do what we did with the Browning family,” Daisy tutted. “Find out Ortensia’s family seal, write a believable letter, and then deliver it to her through a courier?”

  “That could work,” I sighed. “But let’s make the plan later, after we’ve finished with the experiment. I want to get this done as soon as possible, I don’t want to worry about the Chief Constable breaking out while we’re coming up with a plan.”

  I bent down, grabbed the solid, metal box, lifted it into my arms, and then lugged it toward Compartment A. I slid open the door, pressed my lips into a firm line, raised a hand over the lid, and then paused for a second. I knew I had to be careful and fast as I let the imp out, or it’d escape through the space above the box. I pressed my lips into a firm line, sighed, calmed my racing heart, and reached for the locking mechanism.

  In one swift movement, I unlocked the lid, jerked the box upward, and effectively slid the imp out onto the cold, metal floor of the compartment. The tiny red creature squealed to life, whipped around, and raced toward the small sliver of the open door. But I was too quick for it. I hooked my heel around the edge of the door, slammed it shut, and then peered in through the glass window.

  It was the first time I saw the miniature beast out in the open as it hopped from foot to foot, launched itself up toward the window, scratched at the glass, and hissed. Its skin was a grayish red color, its enormous eyes cat-like and yellow, and its tiny pointed teeth reminded me of a small reptile. It's torn and ragged wings beat at the air, but barely managed to lift it a few feet off the ground before they gave up. I couldn’t help but chuckle at its feeble attempts to escape, turned, and walked toward the third, much larger compartment in the middle.

  A sound broke me away from my work, and I leaned out toward the glass window of compartment B. Ortensia seemed to be rousing. The redhead groaned softly, lifted her head, and then clutched it in her leather-gloved hands. The Chief Constable moaned, ran her fingers through her thick hair, blinked her single eye, and then lifted her head toward the glass window.

  “Wha-What?” Ortensia gasped. “What is this? Where am I?”

  The scarlet-haired woman rose to her feet, wobbled forward with her hands outstretched, hit the door, and then searched for a door handle. She hadn’t noticed me yet, or at least, hadn’t raised her head enough to peer through the glass pane, and I watched her intently from the other side.

  “Hello?” the scarlet-haired woman called. “Can anyone hear me? I… I seem to be stuck! Hello? Is anyone out there?”

  Finally, Ortensia raised her head with a single strand of blood-red hair hanging in her face, and her jade eye rested on my face through the small window. The Chief Constable’s mouth dropped open in horror. She took a step backward, and then her mouth clamped shut in a rage filled grimace.

  “Let me out, Charles,” Ortensia demanded. “This instant. I don’t know what type of game this is, but I’m telling you now, I’m not going to play along.”

  “This isn’t a game, Ortensia,” I smiled. “This is your reality.”

  “Open the door right now,” the scarlet-haired woman ordered. “I’m the Chief Constable, goddamnit.”

  “Not anymore,” I chuckled. “Consider this your resignation.”

  “So, you’re just going to leave me in here?” the redhead barked. “You’re going to keep me prisoner for the rest of my life? Do you really think that someone won’t come looking for me? I’m one of the most important people in Edenhart!”

  “No, I won’t keep you in there for long,” I sneered. “What’s going to happen to you is so much worse than you think. You see, you were right, I did kill Delphine and Milton, but I had good reason to.”

  “I knew it,” Ortensia breathed. “I knew you were a murderer! You should accept your punishment like a man no matter what you’ve done!”

  “You’re right, I am a murderer,” I nodded. “I’ve killed… four or five hundred people at this point.”

  “Y-You… you what?” the Chief Constable gasped.

  “My work is far more important than their lives would ever be,” I explained. “I killed Delphine, Milton, a random prisoner, three of the Warden’s men, and hundreds of prisoners sent to me by the Duchess. Well, technically, I didn’t kill the Warden’s men and the prisoners all by myself, I had help.”

  “Daisy?” Ortensia grunted. “Daisy Browning, if that’s really her name.”

  “No, no, no,” I shook my head. “Daisy wasn’t born yet when I killed those men. She was present when I killed the Warden, though.”

  “What do you mean she wasn’t born yet?” the Chief Constable balked. “You killed those people a long time ago?”

  “Oh, no,” I grinned. “Those deaths happened only a few months ago. You see, Daisy has only been alive for a few months… I created her.”

  “I’m sorry, I… I must have heard you wrong,” the scarlet-haired woman gulped. “You… created her?”

  “Oh, yes,” I grunted. “I created her right here in this machine. The same machine you’re trapped inside right now.”

  “You’re mad!” Ortensia shouted. “You’ve gone absolutely insane! There’s… there’s no way that can be true.”

  “Do you want me to prove it to you?” I chuckled. “Valerie, Daisy, come here.”

  My two monster-woman stepped closer, Ortensia’s jade eye rested on both of them for a second, and then she whipped her head toward me.

  “I don’t understand,” the redhead breathed. “What am I supposed to be seeing here?”

  I reached toward the brunette, gripped the edge of her bonnet, and lifted it off of her head to expose her soft, fuzzy-looking ears. The Chief Constable’s eyes narrowed on it, swiveled toward Valerie’s pointed ears and tail, and then slammed back to me.

  “They’re monsters, abominations,” Ortensia growled. “How could you go against the rules of nature to create such horrors?”

  “Well, the direct order came from the Duchess herself,” I explained. “Edony wanted ‘super-soldiers,’ or so she called them. Valerie was the first I ever created with a female prisoner they sent me and Daisy… is none other than Delphine Vallantine.”

  The redhead balked at the bear-girl for a second, squinted her eyes, pressed her lips into a firm line, and then glanced back at me.

  “But she looks nothing like Delphine,” the scarlet-haired woman gasped. “There’s no way… You’re mad, or… or I’m still unconscious from the blow and imagining all of this.”

  “Do you think you’d question if all of this is real if it weren’t reality?” I snorted. “No, this is all very real, you’re trapped within my machine, and very soon, you’ll be a monste
r-girl, too. Don’t worry, you won’t remember anything from your past or anything like that, well, except for a few things here and there, but you’ll practically be a brand-new person.”

  “I hate to admit it,” Ortensia breathed. “But it all almost makes sense… especially after everything the Duchess told me…”

  “The Duchess told you things?” Daisy asked. “What did she tell you?”

  “As if I’d reveal those things to you!” the scarlet-haired woman shouted. “You trapped me! I have no reason to tell you anything.”

  “Why don’t you use your powers against me?” I chuckled. “You seem strong enough, an intimidating woman with high standing in the royal guard, why haven’t you activated your power, Ortensia?”

  “Maybe she’s not strong enough,” Valerie giggled. “Maybe her power isn’t like Edony’s… How very sad for you.”

  “She must not have a combative power,” Daisy smirked. “Is that why you haven’t attacked us, Ortensia?”

  “I-I…” the scarlet-haired woman stammered. “No, even if I activated my power, it wouldn’t do me much good in this goddamn cell! My power paralyzes people with a single touch, it’s not like I could do anything with it now while in here! Let me out! I-I won’t touch you or go to the Duchess, please, just let me go!”

  “I’ll let you out,” I breathed. “If you tell me everything that the Duchess told you.”

  “Y-You will?” the Chief Constable whispered. “Do you promise? You won’t harm or kill me after?”

  “Oh, I promise,” I snickered, but the Chief Constable didn’t seem to notice. “As long as you tell us everything that Edony told you.”

  “Fine,” Ortensia wheezed. “I know all about the super-soldiers, Edony told me all about them and the reason she wanted them created. When you mentioned them, I already knew exactly what they were! Now let me out!”

  “No, you have more to tell,” I commanded. “What else did she tell you? Why did she want them?”