Gemotions

The fluorescent lights of the lab hummed, a monotonous drone that seemed to vibrate through Leo's very bones. He leaned heavily against the counter, the cold metal a small comfort against the heat that seemed to be radiating from his very core. His muscles ached, a deep, persistent throb. He had been hunched over the microscope for hours, and the world swam around him.

He heard footsteps, and his lab partner, Maya, approached. "Leo," she said, her voice filled with a strange mixture of relief and… something else. "I think you should see this." She held up a printout, and the image on it was painfully familiar.

His vision swam again. The paper in Maya's hand looked like a mirror image of his own creation.