Chromatic Deep: Green

He awoke in a tank filled with jade colored gel. 

His blank mind pooled in the new body, his brain testing the limits of the body. Claustrophobia set in, his heart quickening. He flexed his arms, disturbing the gel. From beyond the murky haze, figures moved, emerald shadows against the light. Something below his feet clicked into place, and he fought his head downwards, trying to see what it was. Something tugged at the back of his skull, and his panic set in, thrashing in the gel. The mechanism below him clicked a final time, and the gel began pouring out through holes in the floor of the large tube he was in. His head cleared the descending gel, and he gasped out a breath in his new lungs. Then, his shoulders were free, and he struggled to lift his arms out. His stumbling fingers found the thick tube connected to the base of his skull. He shifted, and his shoulders strained against more tubes on his back. His eyes grew wild and his new throat croaked out a sound of terror. The figures beyond the glass came into focus, faces behind glass. Their mouths moved, strange words pouring out, but he couldn't understand. They tried again and he couldn't understand. His panic reached a fever pitch.

Can't understand.

Can't understand.

Then, the gel was gone, and he was hanging from the ceiling of the tube by hundreds of tubes attached to his body. His consciousness flickered out like a candle.

He awoke in a blank room, dark and empty. He moved slightly and pain rocketed through his body. Tears came to his eyes as his fingers found the spot where the tube had been on his skull. A metal plug was embedded into the flesh and bone there. His fingers trailed across his shoulders, finding more metal plugs, with trails of cool metal connecting some in lines of cold. He shivered, a curled body at the bottom of a black room. His mind tested the boundaries of his body, testing the thick cords of muscle. He raised his head and his eyes focused upon a wall. He slowly stood in the black room. He reached out a hand, testing the air in front of him, instincts wary.

His fingers brushed against an invisible wall, jade ripples of light spreading from where he touched. Green light splashed across his face, against the confines of the black room. His eyes moved heavenwards, up to the ceiling, where great mechanical arms, tubes, and syringes awaited him, glinting in the pale green light. A knocking sound, and the ripple cleared the invisible wall in front of him, turning clear and showing him the hidden room beyond. People watched him from beyond tables. He pressed his hand against the invisible wall, green light rippling from his hand. They watched silently. He pushed harder against the barrier, the pleasant strain getting stronger. His hand went deeper into the barrier, green light flashing faster. Harder, and the light was almost steady. The burn in his arms was deep, a comfort. Then his arm went through the barrier with a snap. The frail people on the other side were scared now, he could see it in their eyes. He realized how much taller he was than them, broader and stronger. He could –– a prick at the base of his skull and his mind went out.

The same room, but his mind was different. He blinked, and looked down at the dark black suit he was in. He glanced upwards to the scientists beyond the jade barrier. A crackle from above, the intercom turning on.

"Can you hear me," the voice asked. He could understand, new knowledge having been poured into his mind. He nodded, and the man beyond the barrier grinned.

"What is my name," he said to the man. The man paused.

"Your name is D-4," the man said said, the numbers and letters in his mind. He thought about it for a while, unsure. Then his face tried out the smile that the man had done.

"I am not," he responded. "I want to have a different name."

I am not D-4. I will be Damien.