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Description

    It should have been just another day at the factory.
    Elliot had just clocked in for his shift; another nine to five on a Wednesday. He chewed on a piece of gum, making his way over to his station; the station he had seen for the past seven- no- eight years of his life. His job was simple; manufacture rubber. Rubber bands, tires, bouncy balls, and anything else that required rubber; that’s what was being made here. With a background in chemistry, it was a simple job for him, made even easier by the fact he had been doing it for so long. Recently though, his boss had given him a new project: find a way to turn solid rubber into liquid. It would take awhile, but he definitely had a few ideas about how it could work. That’s why he was hired after all.
    His boss- the owner of the company- walked in unexpectedly one day. He was with a group of suited people, most likely investors with the company.
    “And here is where we manufacture the rubber you use in your…”
    Elliot blocked the noise of their voices out, choosing instead to focus on the task in front of him. Not like it was important for him to hear anyways. He wasn’t the one investing in this company.
    Then, his boss’s voice faded back in, “...a new chemical that can revolutionize rubber making as we know it.”
    Now that caught his attention. Elliot slowly looked up from his workstation and over at the group. A big drum was wheeled in by one of his coworkers, labeled RBRMKR. The investors didn’t seem all that impressed, but Elliot certainly was. When was the last time a new chemical had been made, and better yet, one he was going to be able to work with!
    “This chemical is able to turn any non-biological object into rubber! To demonstrate-” His coworker removed the lid of the drum. Pulling out a pencil, his boss carefully dipped half of it into the chemical. After a few seconds, he pulled it out to let it dry. Once it did so, he grabbed the ends of the pencil and pulled. The half that was dipped into the chemical stretched out as far as his boss's wingspan, while the other half remained stationary, “-voila!” the top was put back on the drum.
    Now the investors were- pun intended- invested, and so was Elliot. This truly was revolutionary! A chemical that could turn things into rubber? All the trash in the world could be reused and made into rubber! So that’s why his boss had assigned him the task of making rubber into liquid.
    “I have a question” One of the investors asked, “how does the storage drum not turn into rubber?”
    “Simple” The boss patted the side of the drum, “The drum is made from a thick rubber. I know I said any non-biological object, but you can’t rubberize rubber.”
    “Hm- and how would you take old rubber and make it into new rubber?” Another investor asked.
    “We’re in the process of developing another chemical that can turn the rubber into a liquid that can be poured into molds and such, and thanks to our team of chemists, we’re pretty close to figuring out that formula. Once we have that complete, we can turn this factory into one that’ll develop the chemical instead of rubber. Furthermore, the chemical can be produced by machines, so we’ll only need a few operators to run them.”
    All the happiness and excitement Elliot had felt immediately dissipated. Machines? Operators? He didn’t know anything about machinery or how to operate it. That- This would cost him his job! And while he could most likely find another, what of his coworkers? They’d lose their jobs as well, and none of them had the experience and expertise he had! Elliot dashed away from his workstation and over to the investors and his boss.
    “Ah! Ladies and gentlemen, this is our lead chemist, Elliot Innabol! He’s the one developing the-”
    “Sir, you can’t develop this chemical!” Elliot interrupted, “It’ll cost the jobs of your employees! They could wind up homeless!”
    To that, his boss and the investors simply laughed.
    And that’s when Elliot realized that is precisely what they intended for.
    “Get back to work, Mr. Innabol.” His boss had stopped laughing.
    Frustrated, Elliot trudged back to his workstation. He had to stop this chemical from being developed. He needed to make it fail. Elliot determined the best way to do so was to find a way to sabotage the chemical so it stopped working. Of course, he would need to procure a sample first. The sooner the better, so for the rest of the day, he devised a plan.
    ***
    That night, he took the subway back to work. Getting in wasn’t a problem, seeing as he was an employee. He just told the guards he left some important papers behind. He made his way to the chemical storage units, looking for RBRMKR. Eventually, he located it, swiping his keycard. The screen buzzed and turned red.
    So he didn’t have access to it. No matter, he had access to plenty of other chemicals. After finding a few specific ones, he mixed them together and brought it over to the door. He poured it on the keycard swiper, causing it to short circuit. The door swung open, and Elliot strutted in, proud of himself for thinking of a solution so quickly.
    However, what he couldn’t have realized is that he tripped a silent alarm. Opening the drum up to collect a sample, he heard security running towards his location. Panicking, he looked around for a hiding place, but there was nothing. Nothing besides the drums. His boss had said it only affected non biological objects, so only his clothes would’ve been affected. A small price to pay. He jumped into the drum of chemicals to hide, putting the cover back on. But he underestimated how long security would’ve checked the room, and how long he could hold his breath for. Eventually, he had to come up for air, gasping loudly. The security guards spun around and pointed their guns at him.
    “FREEZE!” One shouted “PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!”
    Elliot did as he was told, thrusting his arms up. But to his horror, and the surprise of everyone else who witnessed it, his arms stretched straight up into the ceiling, crashing into the tiles, before recoiling back down to his body. It took a moment to process what had just happened, but only a moment. Elliot realized his boss had lied; the chemical did affect biological organisms.
    “FREEZE!” The security guard repeated, not really knowing what else to say in response to what he just saw. But Elliot didn’t comply this time. He stretched his leg out of the drum, setting it down on the floor. It buckled beneath his weight, and he fell over, melting slightly into a blob, before using his arms to get back up. His body slowly took its original form, and he hobbled towards the guards, grinning.
    “OPEN FIRE!” The guard shouted. A hail of bullets flew at Elliot, but he just stood there. All the bullets entered his body, stretching his skin with their momentum. Then, like a slingshot, they were all launched back at the guards.
    The cleanup was simple. Elliot threw the guards into RBRMKR, then took the rubber and put it into the liquidizer. He exited the building with a sample of RBRMKR and newfound powers. He already decided he would be keeping this ability, at least for the time being. He pulled out a pack of chewing gum and snickered, popping a piece in his mouth, before heading back to the subway station.
    ***
    “What do you mean the chemical stopped working?!” The investors cried.
    “It- it seems as though-” his boss began, but was cut off.
    “No more excuses, John. This is the last straw. No more of your crazy ideas. Stick to what you know.”
    Elliot listened from afar, grinning to himself.
    When his shift ended, he headed back home on the subway, chewing a piece of gum.
    And when he was done, he stuck it on a railing in the subway station.

Description

    It should have been just another day at the factory.
    Elliot had just clocked in for his shift; another nine to five on a Wednesday. He chewed on a piece of gum, making his way over to his station; the station he had seen for the past seven- no- eight years of his life. His job was simple; manufacture rubber. Rubber bands, tires, bouncy balls, and anything else that required rubber; that’s what was being made here. With a background in chemistry, it was a simple job for him, made even easier by the fact he had been doing it for so long. Recently though, his boss had given him a new project: find a way to turn solid rubber into liquid. It would take awhile, but he definitely had a few ideas about how it could work. That’s why he was hired after all.
    His boss- the owner of the company- walked in unexpectedly one day. He was with a group of suited people, most likely investors with the company.
    “And here is where we manufacture the rubber you use in your…”
    Elliot blocked the noise of their voices out, choosing instead to focus on the task in front of him. Not like it was important for him to hear anyways. He wasn’t the one investing in this company.
    Then, his boss’s voice faded back in, “...a new chemical that can revolutionize rubber making as we know it.”
    Now that caught his attention. Elliot slowly looked up from his workstation and over at the group. A big drum was wheeled in by one of his coworkers, labeled RBRMKR. The investors didn’t seem all that impressed, but Elliot certainly was. When was the last time a new chemical had been made, and better yet, one he was going to be able to work with!
    “This chemical is able to turn any non-biological object into rubber! To demonstrate-” His coworker removed the lid of the drum. Pulling out a pencil, his boss carefully dipped half of it into the chemical. After a few seconds, he pulled it out to let it dry. Once it did so, he grabbed the ends of the pencil and pulled. The half that was dipped into the chemical stretched out as far as his boss's wingspan, while the other half remained stationary, “-voila!” the top was put back on the drum.
    Now the investors were- pun intended- invested, and so was Elliot. This truly was revolutionary! A chemical that could turn things into rubber? All the trash in the world could be reused and made into rubber! So that’s why his boss had assigned him the task of making rubber into liquid.
    “I have a question” One of the investors asked, “how does the storage drum not turn into rubber?”
    “Simple” The boss patted the side of the drum, “The drum is made from a thick rubber. I know I said any non-biological object, but you can’t rubberize rubber.”
    “Hm- and how would you take old rubber and make it into new rubber?” Another investor asked.
    “We’re in the process of developing another chemical that can turn the rubber into a liquid that can be poured into molds and such, and thanks to our team of chemists, we’re pretty close to figuring out that formula. Once we have that complete, we can turn this factory into one that’ll develop the chemical instead of rubber. Furthermore, the chemical can be produced by machines, so we’ll only need a few operators to run them.”
    All the happiness and excitement Elliot had felt immediately dissipated. Machines? Operators? He didn’t know anything about machinery or how to operate it. That- This would cost him his job! And while he could most likely find another, what of his coworkers? They’d lose their jobs as well, and none of them had the experience and expertise he had! Elliot dashed away from his workstation and over to the investors and his boss.
    “Ah! Ladies and gentlemen, this is our lead chemist, Elliot Innabol! He’s the one developing the-”
    “Sir, you can’t develop this chemical!” Elliot interrupted, “It’ll cost the jobs of your employees! They could wind up homeless!”
    To that, his boss and the investors simply laughed.
    And that’s when Elliot realized that is precisely what they intended for.
    “Get back to work, Mr. Innabol.” His boss had stopped laughing.
    Frustrated, Elliot trudged back to his workstation. He had to stop this chemical from being developed. He needed to make it fail. Elliot determined the best way to do so was to find a way to sabotage the chemical so it stopped working. Of course, he would need to procure a sample first. The sooner the better, so for the rest of the day, he devised a plan.
    ***
    That night, he took the subway back to work. Getting in wasn’t a problem, seeing as he was an employee. He just told the guards he left some important papers behind. He made his way to the chemical storage units, looking for RBRMKR. Eventually, he located it, swiping his keycard. The screen buzzed and turned red.
    So he didn’t have access to it. No matter, he had access to plenty of other chemicals. After finding a few specific ones, he mixed them together and brought it over to the door. He poured it on the keycard swiper, causing it to short circuit. The door swung open, and Elliot strutted in, proud of himself for thinking of a solution so quickly.
    However, what he couldn’t have realized is that he tripped a silent alarm. Opening the drum up to collect a sample, he heard security running towards his location. Panicking, he looked around for a hiding place, but there was nothing. Nothing besides the drums. His boss had said it only affected non biological objects, so only his clothes would’ve been affected. A small price to pay. He jumped into the drum of chemicals to hide, putting the cover back on. But he underestimated how long security would’ve checked the room, and how long he could hold his breath for. Eventually, he had to come up for air, gasping loudly. The security guards spun around and pointed their guns at him.
    “FREEZE!” One shouted “PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!”
    Elliot did as he was told, thrusting his arms up. But to his horror, and the surprise of everyone else who witnessed it, his arms stretched straight up into the ceiling, crashing into the tiles, before recoiling back down to his body. It took a moment to process what had just happened, but only a moment. Elliot realized his boss had lied; the chemical did affect biological organisms.
    “FREEZE!” The security guard repeated, not really knowing what else to say in response to what he just saw. But Elliot didn’t comply this time. He stretched his leg out of the drum, setting it down on the floor. It buckled beneath his weight, and he fell over, melting slightly into a blob, before using his arms to get back up. His body slowly took its original form, and he hobbled towards the guards, grinning.
    “OPEN FIRE!” The guard shouted. A hail of bullets flew at Elliot, but he just stood there. All the bullets entered his body, stretching his skin with their momentum. Then, like a slingshot, they were all launched back at the guards.
    The cleanup was simple. Elliot threw the guards into RBRMKR, then took the rubber and put it into the liquidizer. He exited the building with a sample of RBRMKR and newfound powers. He already decided he would be keeping this ability, at least for the time being. He pulled out a pack of chewing gum and snickered, popping a piece in his mouth, before heading back to the subway station.
    ***
    “What do you mean the chemical stopped working?!” The investors cried.
    “It- it seems as though-” his boss began, but was cut off.
    “No more excuses, John. This is the last straw. No more of your crazy ideas. Stick to what you know.”
    Elliot listened from afar, grinning to himself.
    When his shift ended, he headed back home on the subway, chewing a piece of gum.
    And when he was done, he stuck it on a railing in the subway station.