Re: Tell my story

[The Atomic Punk]

Thanks, WMD. I’m kind of stuck on your Firebird / Hothead as a fairy. As info, the freeware Paint.Net is really good at compressing files.

HOTHEAD
Original Character by WMDBASSPLAYER; Story by The Atomic Punk

“What do you think, Professor? Readings are stable. Temperature is constant. We’re no longer talking candlepower. I think we did it.”

Professor Sumner tapped the glass and smiled, “Did you see that? She jumped! She’s responsive. We should transfer her to the nursery.”

Gary, Sumner’s graduate assistant, finished typing the preliminary test results. His final entry: “It’s a girl!”

He turned to the Professor: “Project: Hothead is a success!”

“So far, so good, Gary,” she said with her trademark reservations. Lydia Sumner did not want to celebrate too soon. She had been burned more than once during this experiment – figuratively and literally. “Careful with the containment vessel.”

“She’s so cute!” Gary said as if he were the proud father of a newborn. He cradled the 12-inch tall jar as if it were a baby. “I can’t believe that we were able to customize those wings. They turned out wonderful. Think that she will be able to fly with them?”

“They are purely cosmetic. Something to test the integrity of the naphthenic and aliphatic carboxylic acids. Our little napalm mix is what’s keeping her stable,” the Professor noted as she unlocked the glass habitat situated in the center of the laboratory.

A lone white table stood in the middle of the sterile thirty-by-thirty room. A smooth board leaned against the table. Black hemispheres housing cameras protruded from every corner of the ceiling and floor. Gary set the containment vessel on the table. He attached a special release spring so it would open automatically after Professor Sumner and he were out of the nursery.

The two scientists exited the nursery. Moments later, the vessel opened. The flames rushed from the release of pressure like a backdraft. The eight-inch tall newborn creature stumbled as she made her first steps onto the table. Though she had no pupils, her look of confusion was easy to see. Within minutes, she was walking upright.

“Our baby is growing up so fast!” Gary exclaimed.

Professor Sumner chuckled and continued to jot down observations. Project: Hothead looked down at the floor from different sides of the table until she spotted the ramp. She tilted her head side-to-side a few times almost like a child curious as to how to use it to get to the floor. Finally, she sat and slid down the ramp.

“Wheeeeeee!” she squealed.

Professor Sumner and Gary were flabbergasted. They had merely given her a humanoid shell not the ability to vocalize. Even then, the decision to make her female was determined by a coin flip.

The scientists stared at each and both said: “Unbelievable!”

“Jinx, you owe me a soda,” Sumner said waving her pen at Gary.

The two turned back to the nursery. They could not see Hothead. Thinking that she might be on another side of the table, they ran around the glass enclosure. When they reached the door, it was slightly ajar. Professor Sumner had forgot to lock the door!

Frantically, they searched the rest of the laboratory. Gary’s nose twitched. He could smell something burning. He rushed to the source of the smoke. Wads of discarded paper that missed the trash can were on fire. Gary stomped on them quickly to extinguish the flames. Then he heard Professor Sumner shout from behind.

“There she is! Right in the middle of the floor,” she yelled. “Quick, grab the jar!”

Before Gary could rush to the table, Hothead looked at him then turned to Professor Sumner. Then she scanned the entire room. She looked up and smiled. With a last look at the scientists, Hothead jumped into the air and flew into a ventilation shaft.

“Oh, crap!” Professor Sumner yelled.

“Baby, come back!” Gary cried.