You're Laura now, Emily

"This is... probably a bad idea. I'm going on the record as saying this is probably a bad idea, Ela. And this should be the only time we do this." ...Probably, you thought. "But, okay. If you think it would be safe where I could use Laura's body so we can keep it with us, then let's do that. I don't really know how, but..."

"Hooray!" Ela seemed particularly excited about your choice. You cleaned up a bit, and then dressed yourself again, though not in the business attire. For walking around looking sweaty, you searched in Laura's things for her activewear, pulling out some leggings and a sports bra. It's not exactly work-appropriate, but who was going to tell Laura, of all people, that? "Could we go get some coffee though? I want to see if that drink she wanted actually is tasty."

You chuckled a little. How much of an insult would it be to Laura, whose mind is still fully conscious but unable to see or hear or react, tasted the exact order of the drink you didn't bring her at first? There would be no coup de grâce sweeter than the saccharine macchiato you were going to order in Laura's stead before you assumed her existence.

You left the office, taking some of Laura's belongings like her keycard, but also your own badge that you'd brought down, and got in line at the barista stand, ordering the drink precisely as Laura wanted it. The baristas all hesitated when they saw you--really, everyone did--but they did their work anyway once you paid. You picked up the drink from the counter when it was complete, beginning to walk away before a barista meekly asked, "Aren't you going to check it like you always do?"

You turned around, looking at the cup and then back at the barista. "I'm sure it's fine, thank you."

"That's... different for you, Miss Estrada."

You realized in the moment that Laura terrorized everyone with her need to have everything exactly right. Maybe that made her a good senior engineer for the testing department, but it she left everything else in tatters and ruins wherever she stepped, apparently. You just smiled a little. "I'm trying some new... anger management therapy. Have a nice day."

You were pretty sure everyone fell silent around you as you walked away, smile still persistent on your lips. Laura had never uttered those four words in her life, you assumed. Maybe this actually was a good idea to take her life over. You took a sip once you were around the corner, looking down at the drink. Wow, this really was tasty... Ela happily agreed, as you knew she would. All of this was sensory overload for your shapeshifting friend, it was going to be a long time before she developed true preferences in things she ate or drank, but for now, you were a little envious that she didn't yet know what foods she might be disgusted by, if anything.

You didn't return to Laura's office, instead you headed for the elevator. Everyone went to great lengths to avoid you in the hallway, having heard about what 'Emily' had done earlier. You rode the elevator back up to the fifth floor, and entered Lab 5 in the back.

You glanced over to the lounge area, where you had remained for some time. Zoe and Chloe had departed from your body a little while ago, letting you nap on the couch in peace, while they tinkered with something at nearby lab stations. You looked their way as they turned to see you, horrified expressions on their face. "Laura, you haven't been authorized to enter this lab, what on earth are you doing here?"

"It's fine, it's fine..." you said, in a way Laura never would. Immediately, Dr. Walker quirked an eyebrow. "We're trying some in-body experiments."

"That's my girl!" Chloe clapped, excitedly. Apparently, it was easy to get away with taking a body hostage, so long as you did it just like family would. Chloe scoots right over to examine you. "Everything feels normal? No problems moving the digits? How about internal bodily function control, can Ela modify her heart rate or hormone levels?"

You shrugged a little. "I don't know most of that, but I'll let her take control again so you can talk to her about it." You relaxed your consciousness, feeling yourself teleported back into your normal body, seeming to wake up. It was amazing how easy it was to forget that you were doing all of that movement through Ela from afar. The moment you left Ela's mind, Laura's demeanor changed, becoming giddy and excited compared to your measured calm. "Look, I took over a whole person!"

Chloe immediately ferried Ela-in-Laura over to somewhere else in the lab to test out the nature of the abilities she inherited from Chloe, while Zoe strolled over to you, taking a seat. She checks your forehead like she was taking your temperature--could nanites overheat in your head?--before smiling.

"This is going to sound weird after seeing that you and Ela stole a whole person, Emily, but... thank you. For not stifling her abilities, and letting her grow. And hopefully having fun with a body like that? Laura's a very good find for these tests, I have to admit. Nobody would complain if the Laura everyone knows were to cease to exist, even for a day."

You nodded a little, glancing over at Chloe and Laura, while Ela made Laura's body do jumping jacks. "About that. Ela suggested it could be possible that she could put me in Laura's body permanently. It's... well. You know, compared to..." You blushed a little. It was hard to say that you wanted an upgrade just as much as Ela was willing to give you one.

Zoe smiled a little. "She might need a little help, and you might need to dial up those nanite concentrations, but... it's doable, yes. Chloe could interleave you into Laura's body, keeping you housed more inside than out, if your preference isn't a full merge. Laura's brain would be a challenge, but we could overcome it."

"Ela suggested keeping the brainpower, and just ditching Laura's personality."

"Indeed, hmm. Your brain could easily act as the driver for both brains, where Laura's thoughts are just extensions of yours. You could then have access to her memories and knowledge, which is frankly quite valuable to have around here."

You shuffled in your seat a little. "I'm curious why you're surprisingly okay with essentially erasing 'old Laura' from the earth, she's a whole other person. I anticipated a little resistance at least."

Zoe laughed. "Emily, have you met Laura? Of course I'm okay with a far better iteration of her, containing her intelligence and, frankly, lovely appearance, but without her attitude. She has been an absolute roadblock when it comes to getting anything done around here. So long as you're willing to somewhat play the part--you can't just become Laura and then go back to acting like a lab technician. Her job is important, though it would be nice to have her on our side for once. You could still move your things up to this lab and help Ela with experiments, but I'd like you to keep some of Laura's duties intact. That could really help our own research efforts out."

"Okay, but like... just, in general. Absorbing people into a collective shapeshifting mass that exists beyond our limited three-dimensional space seems questionable."

Another laugh, as Zoe stood up to get a drink from the fridge for both you and her. You thought for a moment you still had the macchiato, but you remembered that was in Laura's hands when you departed... so you took the iced tea that Zoe produced instead. "Chloe and I may be monsters, but we're not... monsters. We anticipated Ela's absorption abilities long into our process. Chloe and I are very well-versed in borrowing other humans to achieve a goal, as long as no one was hurt. That's sort of in direct opposition to our own purpose, after all. In Ela's case, in this case you're describing, it's not like anyone is dying. It's more... repurposing. Laura may not have the independence to go scream in the faces of interns anymore, but with you at the helm, it'll be a more fulfilling existence that helps everyone out a great deal. If more people are absorbed into Ela's elastomer matrix and their bodies and minds can contribute to a greater singular being, that only sounds like an improvement over the current status quo for many."

Well, when she put it that way, this horror movie plot you'd somehow become involved in seems incredibly benign. You weren't sure it would ever come to any of that, but taking Laura's form was a first step regardless...

"So, Emily, when do we begin? We should all come to a consensus on how exactly you'll be integrated into Laura's body and mind. We'll take care of the work logistics later."