ORIGINS
Dr. Fluorescent was a pharmacist who dispensed medication across the world by mail. He secretly performed extensive experimentation in bioluminescence and human modification in a lab in his home. He lived in a mansion that backed onto a forest filled with deer. In one of his many secret home experiments, a gene-splicing gone wrong produced a deer with glass legs filled with a strangely fluorescent liquid.
Proud of his creation, he showed his darling wife Mandy. She was absolutely delighted by them, and remarked off-hand:
“Oh, to have such beautiful legs! I’d die for them.”
Determined to give his wife just that, Dr. Fluorescent synthesized a serum to try replicating the experiment. Once he perfected it on deer, he couldn’t risk immediately testing it on his wife. The doctor took in the troubled and desperate, offering them refuge if they agreed to test a "harmless" medication.
Unfortunately, the serum was wildly unstable. Some applications produced weak glass, cracking under the weight of the person’s own body. Some applications produced glass in the wrong places, with strange alternating bands of glass and skin. Some applications even destroyed the subject’s eyes, turning them into a well of dripping, glowing goo.
Failed experiments were released into the forest for nature to take its course, too weak to survive long. After dozens of experiments, Dr. Fluorescent perfected his serum. With a few small adjustments, he could control exactly which part of the body it would change. Determined to surprise his wife, he slipped it into her nightly tea for her to awaken a new woman.
The next morning, screams filled the mansion. Horrified, Mandy fled into the forest. Her eyes filled with tears, she didn’t notice the faint glow hiding between the trees. The experiments the doctor thought were too weak had thrived in secret in the forest, building their own small but strong community. Thinking she too was a victim to the doctor and not the indirect cause of their suffering, the failed experiments welcomed Mandy openly.
The doctor, mad with sorrow, sabotaged medicines from his pharmacy with his serum. Slowly, people with liquid-filled glass legs popped up across the world. While most had deer legs, some had cat or dog legs. Some medications had even more unique effects. After a few years, the doctor was caught and imprisoned.
In the meantime, the forest community grew and eventually ventured into the world outside the forest. Finding themselves not alone, some returned to society and thrived with the attention their glowing bodies garnered. After learning of his imprisonment, Mandy returned to her home and took the doctor’s notes on the serum. She formed her own company, selling the serum to the public.