Intersexed

His cock throbbed as it typically did after he'd been in the chamber. His nipples, which Tank swore were growing, ached in time with his throbbing cock, as did his clit. Tank desperately needed to masturbate and ease some of the sexual tension he felt, but his 'benefactor', Tenerife, had told him to leave his 'new and improved' cock alone until sufficient time had passed for the reattached nerve and blood vessels to heal. Tank wondered why everything except for his cock healed almost instantaneously inside the regeneration chambers. However, it was just another inexplicable phenomenon that Tenerife had failed to explain.

No one greeted him when he got out of the chamber, so putting on the hospital gown he found on a chair beside the chamber, Tank went exploring. After finding nothing but empty corridors that circled back to themselves, he made his way to the dojo. He wanted to examine the bricks to see if they were concrete or something else because he couldn't comprehend how his fist had smashed through two bricks virtually unimpeded and still hit a padded wall with enough force to break his knuckles.

Tank opened the dojo door and stepped inside. Tenerife, Margraine, and Genet were examining the shattered bricks and hadn't noticed Tank's arrival. "I'm telling you," Tenerife insisted. "Tank drove his fist at the top middle block, and both centre blocks exploded as if hit by a sledgehammer. They provided so little resistance that Tank hit the wall behind them so hard he broke all the knuckles in his fist."

"Impossible!" Margraine responded heatedly. "The strength and hand speed required to do that exceeds anything we can produce, let alone a devolved human! Who in their right mind breaks his fist against a reinforced steel wall? The bricks must have been defective, and Tank's knuckles broke when he hit the first block!"

"He would have focused his energy on hitting the padded wall," Genet mused. "If you only concentrate on breaking the brick at the front, you don't drive your fist through it as you should. Typically, that results in an unbroken brick and a broken hand."

"Can you break these bricks?" Tenerife asked Genet.

"Not with a punch," Genet replied. "I could if I used a hand chop on the hollow part of the brick."

Margraine stacked two bricks on their sides, one above the other. "I'm telling you the bricks are defective," Margraine insisted. "I bet if you hit this top brick, both will disintegrate."

Genet looked at Tenerife and asked for confirmation. At his nod, she meditated until she could see the brick breaking and falling apart under her stiffened right hand. She screamed, "Hiiiiiiiiiiii!" and slammed her rigid right hand downwards at the besser block. The sound of concrete breaking filled the dojo. The three Providians looked at the brick Genet had struck. The front wall covering the left side hollow was shattered, and the brick had broken in half. However, the other sides and parts of the block remained undamaged, and it hadn't been smashed into pieces like the ones Tank hit had.

"Ahem," Tank said from behind the three. "That answers my first question. I, too, find it difficult to believe I could have broken two layers of concrete blocks and still hit the wall hard enough to break bones."

"What are you doing here?" Genet snarled as she stalked towards Tank.

"Don't embarrass yourself any more than you already have, Lieutenant Genet," Tenerife soothed. "Nobody told Mister Zaffra he had to remain in the treatment room, his hospital room and the cafeteria only. As long as he doesn't pass through any doors saying military personnel only, he's free to explore."

"What do you mean 'embarrass myself', Major?" Genet almost shrieked. "I beat him fair and square! You saw his lip split and start bleeding."

"I saw him move his block aside and let you hit him," Margraine interjected. "Just the same as everyone else in the dojo did. Even you, if you're honest with yourself. Now, if we're done revealing to Mister Zaffra that we're military and not just scientists, perhaps he will accompany me to an examination ward and consent to me running some tests."

"I'll consent to your examination and tests if you tell me what the fuck is happening here," Tank offered.

Margraine's face and eyes turned ice cold. Then, with her voice heavy with threat, she said, "I phrased it as a request, but it wasn't. You will accompany me to examination room 1. In there, I will take blood and tissue samples and compare them to those we took when you first came on board."

"When you kidnapped me from my limo, you mean?"

If possible, Margraine's eyes and mien turned even more wintry. "Call it what you will, but you will accompany me."

"And if I won't?" Tank asked as he turned his stony eyes to the woman.

Margraine patted beside her left breast, where Tank assumed she had a handgun in a shoulder holster. "I'll make you," she said flatly as if she wanted Tank to defy her.

"Too close," Tank said dismissively.

"For what?" Margraine sneered, itching to pull her pistol out and shove it in Tank's face.

"To get your gun out before I break your neck," Tank said levelly.

It was more Tank's 'dead fish eyes' than the cold, emotionless way he spoke that made Margraine hesitate. Torn between calling his bluff and fearing it wasn't one, Margraine's mouth worked silently several times before she spluttered and took a breath. She reached for her gun, but before her hand even got close, Tank had her elbow squeezed painfully.

"Lieutenant Margraine, enough!" Tenerife barked. "Mister Zaffra is a guest, not our prisoner. You will treat him with more respect."

"Not much of a guest when I was brought here without my consent or knowledge and when I'm guarded, followed wherever I go, and unable to leave," Tank muttered, giving Margraine's 'funny bone' another painful squeeze before releasing her. He turned to Tenerife, "I'm but one person, and I'm sure there are many more of you than just you three, so I'm sure you can indeed force me to comply with your wishes. But wouldn't it be better to have a complaisant test subject rather than having to compel me to obey you physically? If my modest request is not met, then I will ensure that taking your samples will be a very painful experience for whomever you send to get them."

"Or, we could shoot you full of tranquilisers, keep you bound and helpless, and take whatever the fuck we want," Genet snarled.

"And you better pray to whatever greater beings you believe in that I never get free," Tank riposted. "Because if I do, I will go on a rampage through this ship or facility or whatever the fuck it is." He glared at Genet and Margraine. "Make your move, bitches," he snarled. "I have no problems beating the shit out of a woman."

Neither woman moved, so Tank turned to Tenerife. "Major, I believe that you're running experiments on Julie and me. I'd like to know why and what you hope to achieve. You can prattle about 'giving us back what nature and evolution have taken away', but we both know that if being hermaphrodite was an evolutionary advantage, human beings would not have adapted away from being them. I'd also like to know what the fuck was in that sleeping chamber last night that caused me so much pain."

Margraine, Genet, and Tenerife exchanged shocked glances. Margraine was about to snarl something, but Tenerife shut her down with a head shake. He looked steadily at Tank. "If I agree to be more forthcoming, will you allow Margraine to take her samples and run her tests?"

Tank shook his head. Anger flared in Tenerife's eyes briefly before he brought it under control. Tank knew Tenerife would unleash the dogs if he didn't offer at least something. "I will allow anyone but Lieutenant Margraine to take whatever is necessary so you can run your analyses. But the next time she threatens me, she dies."

"You're in no position to refuse or make threats," Genet growled. "Major, let me shoot him with a tranquilliser gun. Then, I'll strap him to a bed and take whatever we want. We'll want brain, spine, and internal organ samples at some stage anyway, so why not take them now?"

Tank prepared himself to attack. He had no illusions that he could escape, but if he was going down, he would take as many of these Providians with him as he could, starting with the two lieutenants and one Major before him.

Tenerife didn't reply immediately, so Tank thought his 'goose was cooked'. But before he could attack, Tenerife said, "No. I believe having Mister Zaffra's willing cooperation will yield better results than restraining him and taking the samples we need." He turned to Tank, "Your belligerence is unbecoming, Tank. Surely there was a more productive and less confrontational way to achieve your goals?"

"Just testing to see where the limits are," Tank admitted genially. "I don't know what's going on here, but I don't like it. Say what you will, but this has worked because I know more than I knew before initiating this confrontation. I know we're not 'guests' but prisoners. I know you're conducting experiments on us, and I know you'll force your experiments on us if we try to refuse.

"What I need to know is why. Why have you returned after so many millennia away? Are we a planet seeded by your forebears, or are we merely a compatible race you can try your chemical enhancements on and test if they're safe for you to use? Begin to answer these questions for me, and I'll cooperate with your scientists. If not," Tank shrugged, and his demeanour turned stony again. "I guess we'll find out if I'm bluffing or not, won't we?"

"Walk with me, and I will answer what I can," Tenerife replied. "You must understand that much of which you asked is under the umbrella of 'military secrets' and 'need to know'. Unfortunately, the only thing you 'need to know' is that you're right. We will conduct our experiments and take our test samples by force if we have to. I'd prefer we didn't 'have to'."

Tenerife guided Tank to a different but similar research lab to the one Tank had left earlier. Another startlingly beautiful woman, wearing the same type of jumpsuit and lab coat that Margraine typically wore, sat on a stool examining something under a microscope.

"Tank, Anan. Anan, meet our friend and willing test subject, Tank. Tank, I trust I can leave you with Anan without needing to resort to calling a guard?"

Tank shook his head, "You promised me some answers, Major. I'm holding you to that promise."

Tenerife vaguely grinned before sitting on a stool. Tank sat beside him as Anan prepared needles and syringes to take some of Tank's blood. Tenerife thought of what he could safely tell his recalcitrant test subject that wouldn't get him in trouble with his superiors. He sighed, "Okay," he began. "You may have guessed our war against the Aridians is not going as well as I indicated it was. In fact, we were forced to abandon our entire planetary system and flee into the cosmos in spaceships like these. Our home planet, Providia, was destroyed not long after we escaped."

Tank listened as Anan gathered blood and tissue samples. It didn't take long, and then he walked with Tenerife towards the cafeteria. Asking for a beer, he sat with the Major as he filled in some of the gaps in Tank's knowledge.

"Much like you Earthlings, our planet was hopelessly divided along racial and religious lines," Tenerife continued. "Even in the face of an overwhelmingly powerful common enemy, we didn't unite to fight back until it was too late. Even then, the only thing our various countries cooperated on was building these spaceships to flee in. We used our databases to search for planets suited to our physiology that we could inhabit. Then, trying to ensure at least some of our people's survival, we left Providia in several directions--each ship, or group of ships, searching the cosmos for a planet capable of sustaining their lives.

"We've colonised many planets since then, and every time we think we're safe, the Aridian slavers find us, and we're forced to flee again. We've been on this ship, and the others like her, trying to find another hospitable planet to colonise for nearly five thousand years."

Tank interrupted, "You're telling me you and the others are over five thousand years old?"

"Some of us, yes," Tenerife admitted. "A few of our senior leaders were amongst those who left Providia. We've built our population back up to almost three million since we fled Proxima Centauri b, as you humans call it. We found some hints in our databanks that one of our ships came to Earth, and we followed those clues, hoping to discover a thriving planet of Providians.

"Unfortunately, it seems only one ship of approximately ten thousand travellers survived the trip from Providia. It crash-landed in what was called Mesopotamia. The ship was destroyed on impact, leaving very few survivors. You and Ms Angelina are descendants of those few survivors. Well, the entire human race is. But it also appears that the original Providians crossbred with some indigenous humanoid species, including Neanderthals."

Tenerife stared at Tank intently, "Most of you humans are more purely Providian than crossbreeds. Others have Neanderthal DNA submerged within their genetic core. You and Ms Angelina are two who do. Those with enough Neanderthal DNA still mixed in their genetic codes are stronger and faster than those without." Tenerife sat back as Tank got another beer. When Tank sat opposite him again, he asked, "Questions?"

"Too many to elucidate now," Tank stated. "You've given me much to think about. I do have an immediate question, though. "What is the gas you subject me to every night?"

Tenerife coloured as he hesitated to answer. Tank thought he'd refuse to reply, but Tenerife exhaled slowly before saying, "Mainly, it's what I told you it was, the chemicals you need to regenerate what evolution took away from you."

"And the rest?"

Tenerife sighed again, "Super soldiers," he admitted. "Your reactions, strength and speed, despite your species' protracted withdrawal from nature, are extraordinary. We believe that breaking two layers of concrete blocks will be only a minor accomplishment once we've returned your strength to pre-evolution levels and added the improvements our chemicals give you. We hope. No, we know that if you grow to what we think you will, you can go toe-to-toe with an Aridian slaver, and we might finally be able to turn and face our persecutors with a chance to win.

"The chemicals are stripping back years of devolution and returning you to what we were before the Aridians destroyed our planet and chased us into the stars. Thousands of years in spaceships, fleeing across the galaxies, haven't been kind to our physiology either. We're less than we were; even when we weren't, we couldn't fight the Aridians successfully. And no matter what we've done, we've been unable to match the Aridian's technology.

"We're fleeing, trying to survive, fighting to escape, and running again. Soon, there'll be nowhere to run because every direction we go will be towards more of them."

"Okay," Tank answered, his mind reeling as he tried to decipher what Tenerife had told him. "I need to think my way through everything you've said. One last question for tonight. Why can't I use my cock? No more bullshit about needing time for nerves etc. to mend. The regeneration chambers fix everything, am I expected to believe it can't fix enlarged dicks?"

"Too fucking smart for our good," Tenerife muttered before looking into Tank's eyes. "Providians are incredibly fertile. We have to be because it's the only way we've survived this long. We're afraid that your sperm is strong enough to impregnate us despite any chemical or other protection we may have. We're scared the offspring might be mutant due to the changes we've made to your DNA and it being incompatible with ours, and we're not prepared to take the risk."

"Julie?"

Tenerife muttered again before saying, "The chemicals took with her and Ms Angelina's male parts are infertile."

Tank thought that through carefully because it seemed Tenerife was leaving an important piece of information out. "But her female parts work. You wish to impregnate her." He thought more. "You're trying to impregnate me." His brain flicked through possibilities. "Why aren't you afraid that the offspring from our wombs won't be mutant?"

"We're way above my pay grade to answer," the Major replied, suddenly standing. "I'm probably already facing a court martial for revealing what I have." He walked swiftly away, leaving Tank with more questions than he started with.

Knowing he was better off thinking about virtually anything else and letting his subconscious work on the problem, Tank ordered a sirloin steak cooked rare and served with a salad, chips and mushroom sauce. He got another beer and sat back down. He wondered if there were any books he could read, but Julie entered the cafeteria before he could fully formulate that thought. She looked around and, happy to see him, walked over and sat at Tank's table.

"Where have you been?" She asked. "I haven't seen you since..." she stopped. "Hmm, this morning, I guess. But with only artificial light and no clocks, I have no idea what time it is." She stood and ordered the grilled fish with a garden salad, no dressing, and a glass of white wine before rejoining Tank.

Tank grinned and said, "I've been doing my best impression of a lab rat and getting poked, prodded and tested all day."

"Oh," Julie replied. "Me, too. Genet told me I am twenty per cent stronger than I was when they brought me here. My reactions are faster, too." Then she frowned. "I've put on almost ten kilos, though. Strange, because I don't feel any heavier. But it's hard to say, given all we wear are these stupid hospital gowns."

"At least yours closes at the back," Tank joked. "I walk around showing my fat ass to everyone."

Julie coloured bright red, "I don't think it's fat. Toned and muscular is what I'd say."

"Did Genet say if you could use your pussy?" Tank dropped in, trying to appear casual. Sitting close to his favourite celebrity crush when she was virtually naked and barely covered by a thin hospital gown meant that Tank was constantly fighting away an erection. To add to that, he hadn't had any sexual relief since Margraine had licked his freshly created clit and slit.

Julie blushed a deeper red, and her eyes hit the tabletop. "No," she answered. Her eyes flicked up to meet Tank's briefly. If it was possible, her red cheeks darkened further, "Genet has been teaching me... other ways to... umm..." Julie stumbled to a stop.

"To do what?" Tank teased as he chuckled at Ms Angelina's discomfort.

"Get relief," Julie whispered. "I'm so fucking horny all the time." Her eyes flicked up to Tank's and back down again. "Having your sexy ass parading around me all the time isn't helping."

She stood and fled.

Tank watched Julie's rapidly departing ass and sighed. 'I've never been much good at reading signals,' he thought mournfully. 'But I'm pretty sure that Ms Angelina is as hot for me as I am for her, so why doesn't she say anything?' His subconscious supplied an answer, "Because you act as cool around her as she does around you. She doesn't think you're interested. Next time, let her see you have a boner.' Realising he was about to argue with himself, Tank finished his beer and set off to explore.

Unfortunately, Anan cornered him as soon as he stepped through the cafeteria door. "Mister Zaffra," she said cheerily. "I was just coming to get you."

"More tests?" Tank said resignedly.

"Yes," Anan agreed. "Physical ones this time, though. We didn't ask you to take any physical tests when you first came on board, and even though you've undergone some treatments, we'd like to see where you're at now so we have something to compare to as you progress."