The needle pinched her arm, and the cold liquid burned. But otherwise she didn't notice any other changes.
"Hey, what gives?" said Carol. She had expected some intensely painful transformation.
The man stared at her with fascination. "Give it time. It may take a while for the serum to have an effect. But, if I may be so bold, I might suggest you remove your clothes. At least for the time being. I assure you, we are all professionals here."
Carol quickly removed her clothes without hesitation. She was not embarrassed by her nudity.
The man from the Zoo smiled, and decided he really did like this girl. He hoped everything worked out for her. These formulas did not always work in the way they were intended. The Dragon formulation had been a perfect example. The fools that had designed that compound had been reassigned to a more fitting task. He believed that they had been cleaning the dung from the Dragon's cage before it's escape, essentially assigned to permanently clean up after their mess. He hoped that the researchers who had designed this formula were more competent. He would personally supervise their punishment if they failed this time.
Carol began to feel a little strange, and weak at the knees. She knelt down, crouching on her hands and knees, as the changes began to overwhelm her. Her entire body felt like it was on fire, like electricity was shooting through her nerves. It was uncomfortable, but also felt good, like she was full of energy.
Her skin tingled. She looked at her forearm, and saw that it had taken on a glossy sheen. Something seemed to be bulging beneath the skin, possibly bone. She felt her arm, and found that it was hard, like an exoskeleton.
Her back ached. She turned her head and saw a small bulge forming at the base of her spine, just above her ass. The bulge was circular in appearance, and continued to grow larger. She saw a second circular bulge bud at its tip. As it grew a new bud began to form at its tip. The process repeated until she had a tail with six segments. The last segment swelled larger than the others, as the large vesicular sacs developing there filled with venom. A small sharp barb poked from the tip of her tail, slowly growing longer until her tail stopped its development.
The whole transformation was completed quickly. Carol stood up to examine her new body. She looked relatively the same. Her skin was tougher and had a glossy shine, and she had a scorpion tail, but otherwise she looked exactly the same as before. She was glad that she hadn't become a monster, but at the same time she was a little disappointed. She had expected something a little more dramatic.
Carol stretched her body, flexing her new tail. She felt exhausted, but full of energy at the same time. The man from the Zoo approached her with a robe. When he reached her, she was surprised to find that he towered over her, and now seemed much taller. She looked around the room and realized that everything seemed bigger. Well, everything but her. The formula had caused her to shrink!
"Hey! What the hell! You didn't say anything about this! " said Carol, in a squeaky voice.
"Hmmm. This is an unforeseen side effect. But not entirely unpredictable. Scorpions are much smaller than humans, so it is logical for a hybrid to be smaller, " said the man, as he knelt down to examine her.
"How small?" asked Carol.
"I believe the Deathstalker is just 4 inches long. Well, the female ones, at least. The males are even smaller. That is part of the reason why they can be so dangerous. They are hard to detect, " said the scientist.
"No, " interrupted Carol. "How small am I?"
"Oh, it looks like you are just under three feet tall, " said the scientist.
"Just great, " said Carol. "And how am I supposed to kill that monster like this? I mean, I didn't expect much, but it looks like you made me worse. I think I was better off before."
"Not necessarily. You have enhanced strength. And your reflexes are much faster now. And we gave you the armor and venomous tail you wanted, " pleaded the scientist.
Carol flicked her tail, and she found it strangely easy to manipulate. She was very tempted to strike the man with her tail, just to test out her venom. But she resisted the urge, fearing that the high dose of her venom might kill him.
"That's great, but this small thing won't penetrate its hide. It's a waste. And it will take me even longer to track it with these shorter legs. I think I was better off before. Why don't you just turn me back to normal?"
The man from the Zoo stood up, and walked over to the scientist. They began to talk quietly. The scientist seemed even more upset, and gestured wildly with his hands. But he eventually relented. He walked over to a cabinet by the wall, and returned with a small plastic jar filled with pills. He sighed and handed the bottle to the man from the Zoo.
The man from the Zoo returned to Carol, and knelt down. "Now, let's not give up on this just yet. Why don't you try your body out for a while, and see what you think? And as for your size - well, there are ways around that. We just happen to have another compound - a growth stimulator of sorts, a kind of growth hormone specifically designed for insects. If you use them sparingly, you should be back to normal size in no time, " said the man as he handed her the bottle.
Carol shook out three pills and swallowed them. The scientist gasped.
"I said to use them sparingly! " said the man angrily. "We are still testing their effects on the animals. We have no idea how effective they will be on you!"
"Relax, " said Carol with a smile. "This is an experiment, after all. You need to be bold if you want to get results. Besides, what is the worst that could happen? I've always wanted to be a little taller."
Carol's stomach burned a little, and she felt the warmth quickly spreading across her body. She had a feeling she was going to find out what these pills could do real soon.