The Shapeshifter | Phan AU

Chapter Sixteen

Phil
I woke up, expecting to be back in the B&B, lying in bed with the most beautiful man I'd ever seen, but instead I was lying on a cold, hard surface. What had happened? I couldn't remember anything from the time in the toilets onwards. As I sat up and rubbed my eyes, I looked around the room. There was science equipment littered around work surfaces, cameras in every corner, and charts across the walls.

The door opened, and in stepped a doctor. I recognised him. "Hello, Philip." He smiled.

"H-how do you know my name? Where am I? What happened?" I asked, rubbing my arms up and down. It was cold.

"Public records, you're in a lab and you started changing in public and I was called to take you away." He listed. I remembered it; Dan was with me.

"Where's Dan?"

"Oh, your... boyfriend," he said the word with a slight disgust, "He's safe. In the waiting room. You can see him in a while. But it depends what you choose."

"Choose?" I repeated.

"Yes, Philip. Here at Alistair Labs, we're lenient. We don't want to hurt anyone. Mainly because of all the lawsuits we'll get, but we're not going to hurt you. We can get rid of your powers, or you can keep them. But if you keep them, we'll have to experiment on you."

"Oh. How can you get rid of them?"

"Ah, you see, 16 years ago, a woman came to us, with a small baby in her arms. Her baby was disabled, couldn't speak, or walk, and would never be able to have an independent life, but she'd heard of a treatment where cells were replaced, skin was moved. It's hard to explain really, but she paid for this treatment, and her baby was fixed. But there was a side effect... shapeshifting."

"That baby was me?" I whispered.

"Yes, Philip. Anyway, you learnt to control it, thank god. We wanted to monitor your progress, but your mother wouldn't let us. She changed all her details, moved house, until finally we couldn't trace you. We just had to assume you'd be fine, other subjects have, so far. Now we've come to the conclusion that in your case, after... sexual activities, your abilities go haywire." He finished.

"Oh..." I wasn't really special. Mum had always told me that I was, but I wasn't really. It was just a side effect of a medical treatment. I tried to imagine my life if she hadn't risked the treatment. It seemed so horrible. "It explains why there's no photos of me as a baby. Say if I give up my powers, will I go back to the way I was before? Disabled?"

"We don't think so. Our scientists have developed a way to have the treatment without the side effect. But you might struggle with walking, we're not sure, but if it does happen, you should only require crutches for a few months." He explained. I had my decision, in my head, but I needed to make sure it was the right one.

I sighed, "Can you give me five minutes to talk it over with my boyfriend, please?" He nodded, and left the room. A few minutes later, Dan rushed in, looking dishevelled. My heart grinned. I'd missed him so much and we hadn't even been apart for that long.

He ran up to me, hugged me, and then looked at me, rubbing his hands on my arms. "Are you, okay, Phil? What's happening? What have they done to you? Have they done anything to you?"

I laughed, and booped his nose. He was so sweet. "Shush, Dan. I'm fine. I just need to talk something over with you." I told him the whole story, and asked him what I should do.

"It's obvious!! Give them up. They're not worth giving up your whole life for. They've given you nothing but trouble, and quite frankly, I can't lose you." I nodded. I had been thinking that, but loads of worries had been telling me I shouldn't do it. They were what made me different.

"W-what if I change? If I can't walk, or I get disfigurements, or I can't talk?"

"I'll still love you. And they said, there shouldn't be any trouble." Dan smiled at me, and I made an effort to smile back.

"They're what make me special. I'm different from everyone else. I don't want to be normal. They've been a part of me for as long as I can remember. It'll be hard to give them up." I sniffed.

"You shut up right now, Phil Lester. You're special anyway. I fell in love with the you the world sees. I didn't fall in love with your powers. They may have made you feel special, but they're not what make you special. You could never be normal if you tried, and that's a good thing. Losing your powers isn't going to change you or how much I love you. You're sweet and adorable and kind and gorgeous and loyal and amazing and did I mention gorgeous?" I grinned, "Losing your powers isn't going to change how everyone else perceives you. You're amazing, Phil. Without the powers."

"Have I mentioned how much I love you?" I whispered, kissing him. He tasted like vanilla coke today, and I drank him in, sailing on a calm ocean. Suddenly, we interrupted by the doctor walking back in. We broke apart, blushing profusely. It was like a "who can blush the most?" contest in the room.

"Do we have a decision?" He asked.

I looked at Dan, and nodded. "Yeah, you do. I'm giving them up."

"Okay. Let's get this under way." He rubbed his hands together, and I turned back to Dan.

"I'll see you later. I love you."

"I love you too." We kissed quickly, the doctor looking disgusted (which was quite satisfying) and he left.

The rest went by in a flash. Before I knew it, I was being dressed in a gown, and being put under anesthetic.

----

I woke up, my mouth tasting like death. Not to mention it was dry. Dan was holding my hand, looking at my face.

"Martyn is here as well. He's outside."

"How'd it go?" I croaked, struggling to get my lips apart.

"I think it went fine. You were out for a while, though. How do you feel?" I tried to assess how I felt, and after a few seconds I decided I felt fine.

"Alright, I guess. You look tired." The croak wouldn't go away.

"Couldn't sleep." He shrugged, stroking my hair. I looked into his eyes and internally sighed. I felt so guilty; it was obvious that he stayed up waiting for me to come round. We had a small staring contest, before we were distracted by my brother and Doctor McArthy walking in. We looked at them expectantly.

"Everything seems to be good," Dan and I both sighed out of relief, "However, the results show that the new treatment has brought back some of your old condition. It's not serious, don't worry. It's just some nerves in your right leg have been damaged, meaning you're going to to find it hard to walk properly for the rest of your life. You'll have to use a cane. And secondly, have you noticed a croak in your voice?" I nodded, "It'll just be croaky for a few months. But otherwise, we're confident that after a few more hours of monitoring, you can go home."

"Thank you." Doctor McArthy nodded, and left.

"It all turned out alright." Dan whispered.

"Yeah." I replied, my mind elsewhere. I was fine, but I couldn't get over the fact that I wouldn't be able to walk properly for the rest of my life. I guess I was kind of mourning over my loss of perfect walking ability, but it was just a lot to process.

It was definitely better than not ever seeing Dan again.

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AN
Yes, I made up the treatment thing. I don't even have a clue how it works, and I made it up. As far as I know, there is no such treatment similar to the ones Phil has had in this chapter. But it makes quite a good chapter I guess?

Love you all!!!