"So? How's she adjusting so far?" General Jeremy asked, staring at the monitor that the man at his side was pointing at. On it, it showed what might have once been a woman, but now looked like nothing more than a monster. Hundreds of sharp-looking, spider-leg spines erupted from her back, as her face and body continuously shifted into different forms.

"I would say she's doing fairly well, sir. We've allowed her access to a computer and TV, which has certainly helped distract her. There have been a few notable discoveries about her that you might want to hear about." The man quickly spoke as he saw the General's eyes take a disturbingly shiny look to them.

"Mhm... Do tell." Jeremy said in a dismissive tone, still staring at the horrifying show before him. He grinned slightly, thinking of so many wonderful ways that they could use those strange powers.

"Well... First of all, she has shown no signs of needing to excrete, and while we tried to give her food, she's yet to eat any of it. Furthermore, she hasn't slept for a single moment in the entirety of her four-day stay at the facility." The lackey cautiously reported, fidgeting in place as the General didn't even bother looking at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Submit a report tonight, and the staff and I will go over it then." Jeremy said dismissively, obviously not having heard a word of what the other man had just said.

"Bloody hell..." The man commented angrily when the General finally left. He let out an aggravated sigh, focusing back on the monitor and resuming his watch of the monstrous woman. "They don't pay me nearly enough for this shit."

Meanwhile, Lilith idly stared at what was once her hand but had turned into a tentacle-like thing. Feeling satisfied that she was sufficiently horrifying, she summoned a thin, long limb from her back and formed an eye on it, staring at herself.

She looked like an eldritch abomination, complete with tentacles, sharp teeth, and far too many eyes and mouths. Smiling inwardly, she shifted back into her normal form, feeling quite giddy.

She'd always been a horror movie fan, and while she couldn't say she'd ever thought about doing this sort of thing... Now that she could, she just couldn't stop it. It was fun, it killed time, and it was also good training. Really, it was a three birds with one stone kind of deal.

Letting out a sigh, she plopped down on the sofa, gently stroking the comfortable furniture piece. She snorted when she thought about how she would have never been able to afford such a comfortable luxury back at home.

With but a mere thought, an arm stretched out from her belly. Long, dexterous fingers wiggled slightly before the arm extended, reaching all the way to the other side of the room and over to where her bed was. Digging around the sheets, she felt the hard, cold cover of the phone she'd been given, and quickly grabbed it with her new limb.

She threw it back at herself, catching it with ease. For the next few hours, she surfed the internet and news, trying to find something to occupy her bored mind.

"Breaking news! The Chinese government has announced that they will be starting a military program involving the Emergent Metahumans! How will our president respond? Where are our Metahumans?! The people want to know!" She read through one of the articles, feeling a bit sheepish.

'Bitch, I'm no one's metahuman. Who invented that term anyway?' She thought, feeling a bit angry. Still, she mostly just didn't care. Still, she was surprised nobody had tried to make contact with her yet. They'd allowed her quite a bit of freedom, although she heavily suspected that the stuff she read and went through was heavily censored.

She didn't really care what the Chinese did and whatnot. All she cared about was being released and allowed back into society and if they offered her some sort of cool supersoldier position, then they better pay a nice and juicy salary, because she was practically bursting with ideas on how to use her powers to cash in the big bucks.

A knock the door ripped her out of her thoughts. 'Finally!', she thought, hurrying towards said door. After a few moments, the large, heavy metal doors swung open, revealing three people behind them.

One of them was a large, muscular man with what Lilith would happily call a 'sexy ass beard' and a bald head. The other one was a shorter and much leaner man, with features that wouldn't stand out amongst a crowd. Finally, the last man was a short, plump man that sported what Lilith liked to call the 'I'm rich and you bet I'll make everyone else know it' smile.

"Hello, Ms. Lilith. May we come in?" The leaner man asked, giving the shapeshifting woman an awkward smile when he noticed how openly she was eyeing the three of them up and down.

"Ah? Of course. Please, come in. It's almost like I have a choice in the matter, no?" She responded sarcastically, giving the man a glare. His smile only turned more awkward in response as the plumpier man let out a short, amused huff.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Lilith led them over to the sofa, where the three men sat as Lilith took the chair in the corner and dragged it in front of the couch, dumping her ass down onto it. It was obvious the three of them were hesitating to say whatever it is they wanted to say, so Lilith took over for them.

"So... Let me guess, you three are either going to tell me that I'm free and I'll be able to happily live ever after, or you're going to tell me that you have this sweet ass opportunity that I just can't pass up, and it just so happens to be in the military. Kind of like the Chinese. I'm going to bet one of my many, many feet that it's the second one, correct?" She bit out, feeling pretty pissed with these people, who were essentially her captors.

Might have had something to do with how she'd been stuck in what was essentially a prison for almost a week when she had done nothing to deserve it except suffering what might have been the most horrifyingly painful torture ever inflicted on a human.

This time, it was the large, muscular man's turn to let out a chuckle as the plum man smiled again. "I like you a lot more than the other two Metahumans. I assume you've been keeping up with the news, correct?" He asked, obviously relieved that he didn't have to dance around the topic.

"I don't know, did I? I'm pretty sure you guys monitored everything I do, considering literally any and all news about myself or the other two supposed 'metahumans' is virtually nonexistent as far as I can find, so why bother asking?" She retorted.

"Aah, yes, yes. My bad, miss. Anyways, yes. You've hit the nail, but not quite on the head. You see, Congress has just passed a law yesterday, after a surprisingly short debate, that essentially made it so every Metahuman in the United States is technically... How should I say this... Nationalized." He said, obviously toying with her as he stared into her eyes with a challenging smirk.

She frowned. "You don't mean... I'm not an object, you know? Where can I file a human rights complaint?" She complained, although inwardly, her heart was starting to beat a bit too fast.

"Aah, no, no. It's not quite like that. You see, what I mean is that, from now on, you're technically state property. Kind of like a park, you know. That means you'll gain special privileges, as well as some... responsibilities. I hope you can understand why the government can't just allow individuals with powers like yours out into society." He quickly explained. Lilith glared at him in response, keeping a stubborn silence.

She could see the reasoning behind it, and had she not been the one affected, she likely would have even supported it. But, as it stood, understanding did not mean agreeing.

The plump man suddenly stood up. "General, please. You're not being very diplomatic about this. Miss, I apologize for his rudeness. My name is Mike Katotski, and I'm the man in charge of most of the State's military research." He introduced himself, looking at her expectantly. She just stared blankly back at him.

His smile didn't even falter. "Aah, you never heard of me, I suppose. That's alright. And, yes, about your earlier words, we are indeed here to offer you a position in the military, complete with training. However, unlike what the General said," He glared at the man, who looked a bit sheepish. "You won't be stuck in the military forever. The government only wants you to fulfill a 5-year contract, following which, you may return to your civilian life... Under some limitations, of course. They just need to make sure you're trustworthy. If it makes you feel better, the offer is the same across the board for all our current Metahumans, by the way."

Lilith pursued her lips, silently wondering how much trouble she'd get in if she skewered these men. Finally, she let out a sigh. "Fine. Where do I sign? I don't know if you actually can provide me any 'training' though."

"And that's my clue to join in." The lean man spoke, getting up. "I'm the man appointed by the president and the military to oversee all the Metahuman's training. Essentially, you'll be expected to become a weapon for the country should we ever need you, but your main role will really only be to show off our power. There are still a whole lot of unknown factors out there about your powers, and showing that we can put you to good use will reflect well on both our administration, as well as you."

Lilith blinked slightly, wondering if this man was serious. She eyes him up and down, raising an eyebrow. "... Sure. Whatever. I don't really care, I just want to get free. I'll have you know, though, if you try to work me like a bloody slave or act like I have no rights, I'll just run off and join the Chinese or something, understood?"

The muscular General sighed. "Damn. You just gave the editors a whole bunch more work. Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He waved her off as he stood up, gesturing for the others to follow him.

"Editors?" Lilith asked, curious. The General turned to her once more, eyebrows raised. "This whole conversation is being recorded, and snippets of it will be used to make into some sort of propaganda or something. I don't know, it ain't my job." He shugged, making to leave once more.

"This room will remain yours for the remainder of your stay here, which I believe should only be a few months. The paperwork will arrive tonight, make sure to finish it. I'll pick you up tomorrow at nine, alright?" The leaner man said before joining the General in leaving the room. The plump man gave a short wave before hurrying to follow the other two, leaving behind a thoughtful shapeshifter.

"That went well." The General commented, and now that he wasn't in the woman's presence anymore, he allowed himself to truly relax. "She's bloody dangerous, I can tell you that." He added after a few moments.

"So she is, so she is..." The leaner man sighed, rubbing his hair in irritation. "Next up is the Fireman. He's the most problematic of the three, so we'll need guards to go along with us."

"Technically, bringing guards with us would show that we don't trust him enough, which won't be good. I have high hopes for all three of them, and I'm sure that they'll be worth the investment, but we need to make it so they won't kill us for it." The plump man pointed out. Huffing, the General looked away.

"Whatever. Call the headquarters and tell them that the Shapeshifter is dealt with and that she's a mercenary type. Reliable if happy, dangerous if not." The lean man said as the three of them kept walking.

"I got it..." The General sighed, taking out his phone and dialing in the right number.

Really, he was too old to deal with this shit.