Drew sat one of the waiting rooms at Horizon with a slightly depressed look as he looked down to his badly swollen legs. It had all started with what he'd thought was a vacation of a lifetime. He'd won the trip as part of a contest he'd entered that took him on a tour of Africa from Egypt all the way South Africa. He got to see historic sights, like the Pyramids and even where the fabled lighthouse was supposed to stand. He also got to see the beauty of nature on the African savannah in Kenya, and he had pictures of Cheetah chasing gazelles of some in Kenya and Lions resting under a tree in South Africa.
The one animal he didn't get to see was actually the one he wanted to see the most, the Black Mamba. Yes, it was dangerous, but he'd always had a healthy scientific interest in snakes, as they tended to balance out the world's rodent populations and that without them, rat populations world wide would be bigger than they already were and would risk things like Bubonic Plague becoming a major risk, particularly if bacteria continued to evolve to become more and more resistant to antibiotics. Of course the fact that the Black Mamba was fast, aggressive, and dangerously venomous had been enough that his guides weren't going to turn over too many bushes to uncover one for a tourist. His best option was a zoo in Cape Town, but that wasn't the same.
The thing that gave him the most trouble during the entire trip thankfully wasn't political turmoil in the Middle East, big predators on the Savanah, or venomous snakes, but mosquitoes. He felt lucky to have avoided some of the more deadly illnesses, but he still ended up on the wrong end of a parasite as the bug spray he used either wasn't effective or wore off too quickly and he ended up being eaten alive by mosquitoes, particularly on his legs. At first the bites itched like crazy and he thought that was the worst of it, but then his legs began swelling up in size, hampering mobility and causing him some pain. By this time he'd returned home to Detroit and soon had to take time off from his job at one of the Ford manufacturing plants there to find out what was wrong.
There, he learned that the mosquitoes did more than suck his blood, but also introduced a parasitic worm into his blood and lymph system, Wuchereria bancrofti, causing Elephantiasis making his legs painfully swell beyond what they were supposed to. He was soon given a special Anthelmintic medicine, though the name he couldn't remember specifically, and probably couldn't pronounce even if he could remember the specific name. It successfully killed the worms, but because he didn't initially pay that much attention to it, he'd ignored it as nothing more than itching mosquito bites, he still had painfully swollen legs, feet, and ankles, which made walking difficult and painful, and that was what brought him to Horizon and Project Phoenix.
"Mr. Pixx?" a male voice spoke softly making him look up to see Doctor Stein standing above him in the waiting room at Horizon that he'd found himself in.
"I prefer Drew," Drew answered, mostly because his last name often lead to jokes on him being an artist or a photographer. And while he wasn't necessarily bad at those things, his primary job had been to run the machines that helped assemble the engines used in Ford's cars.
"Okay... Drew," Doctor Stein said slowly, "We are ready."
Drew smiled at that, as while the medicines he'd taken had killed the worms and wood assure recovery, but Animalia was still the best answer for a full recovery. He'd lose all the swollen lymph glands and gain strong lean muscle, and he'd get to be the animal he'd most admired, the Black Mamba. He'd seen some of the video clips that showed the various serpent Animalians, though most in Animalia proved to be some species of rattlesnake or gopher snake, which were native to Nevada, but there were some that had come from the Lyre Zoo and showed a great amount of strength and beauty. There was also the thought that if he became an Animalian that was based on a species that actually lived in Africa, things like Elephantiasis wouldn't be an issue for him in the future.
"Thank you," Drew said slowly as he got up.
"It is no problem," Doctor Stein spoke, "we have had some concerns with the number of worms that were found in your blood tests..."
"Yeah," Drew sighed and looked down as he staggered forward, barely managing to stay upright, "I seemed to find every mosquito carrying those worms and thought it was nothing... But the drugs I got DID kill the worms."
Doctor Stein nodded as he lead Drew out of the waiting room and toward the transformation room that was actually across the hall from the waiting room. The Horizon scientist stayed close by as Drew slowly made his way forward, ready to catch Drew if he staggered too much and fell. He wasn't fully certain on all of Elephantiasis's symptoms and what would be needed for him, but the doctors at Horizon Light did comment that it wasn't something to ignore. In that while Horizon's main labs in Lyre was more for research science and moving things toward the proverbial horizon of the future, that didn't mean that Doctor Stein wasn't going to listen to medical doctors, particularly as things like Project Phoenix that were intended to use the Animalia Virus to fight disease.
"Yes, they are either dead or dying," Doctor Stein nodded, "which is good. The thing we wish to avoid is that your conversion may revitalize those worms."
Doctor Stein then calmly opened the door and ushered Drew in. He followed and set him on the bed that was there. Drew looked to see the room was empty, but there was a small mini-fridge that was next to the bed and Doctor Stein purposely walked toward it. He opened the door and produced two plastic glasses and then set them on top of the fridge while Drew managed to slowly scoot along the top of the bed so that he could easily reach the glasses.
"These glasses contain the milk from one of the Black Mambas that was uplifted during the initial outbreak," Doctor Stein explained, "and each glass will serve a single dose, as the drug that is there to at least temporarily counteract the vaccine for the Animalia Virus was administered. You should feel the effects immediately, and since it will be direct through drinking her milk... there will be no risk..."
"But the virus doesn't seem to affect invertebrates," Drew commented.
"True... but again, your blood samples had so many that we didn't want there to be the risk of injecting the worm rather than you," Doctor Stein explained, "This way, it will be you converting rather then killing the worms with the virus and failing to convert you..."
"Oh," Drew said slowly and tilted his head back as he acknowledged the explanation.
"I'll leave you to your privacy, and welcome to Animalia," Doctor Stein spoke and then made his way out.
Drew nodded and managed to lean over to pick up the first glass. He'd raised it to his lips and he could feel the cool milk sliding down his throat before he could even hear the door actually shut. However, Drew didn't really care as he felt himself begin to feel warm but with a series of odd sensations. It felt like pressure at the end of his spine and actually constriction in his legs. After finishing the first glass, Drew managed to slide off his oversized slippers and his shorts and underwear. He knew that snake Animalians balanced on their tails and from some of the descriptions of their conversions, their legs merged before forming into their new tail. He didn't want his clothes to end up needing to be surgically removed.
As he did this though, he found something rather odd and rather different. At the base of his spine, a tail was actually beginning to grow out. It was covered in the same sort of scales associated with the Black Mamba, though they were more of grayish color. There might have been some olive green tinges in the scales, but Drew had never worked in the department that painted the cars and thus he was never great with identifying colors. He knew that its coloration matched the grayish color that the Black Mamba typically was. The thing though was that he'd expected his legs to merge together to from the tail, as the other snake Animalians had.
"Thissssss isssssss sssssssssssssssssssstrange," Drew spoke and found his voice practically hissing and soon seeing a long and forking tongue actually poke out of his mouth as voiced his puzzlement. His eyes also noted the tongue getting thinner and the fork growing longer, to match a typical snake's tongue.
At the same time he felt an odd constricting sensation forming in his legs. It felt like they were being slowly squeezed in a great mechanical press and that they were being made smaller by it. As he looked down to them, he could see the bloated forms that his legs had taken on during his illness, but they now looked smaller and even weaker then before. It was puzzling as Animalians seemed to be stronger looking beings, and in that he expected to feel some rush of strength. Sure the Black Mamba wasn't as bulky as the African Rock Python, but it wasn't exactly a "little" snake either. As in nature it was nearly 15 feet long and only the King Cobra was longer, so he thought he would feel some additional strength. But in his legs he wasn't getting that. In fact it actually looked like his legs were shriveling back into him.
"Mossssssssssssst ssssssssssssssssssssssstrange indeed," Drew spoke, his voice still hissing and he could now see his face pushing forward into the narrow muzzle that the Black Mamba was known for. He still had control of his tongue and found that even with the fork he could feel his teeth, and by now his front canines had become the pointed fangs used to inject venom. The rest of his teeth had also shifted into the needle like teeth that was fairly common with all snakes, though he knew that his mouth would also have something special. Many venomous snakes were known for their mouths being a bright pink, but their were a few exceptions. In America, the Cottonmouth had a more whitish colored mouth and in Africa the Black Mamba's mouth was more of a blackish tone. In fact, on that snake, that was possibly the only part of the snake that was actually black.
Drew furthered his confusion by shaking his growing tail over the top of the bed, which made him look back at the growing tail. It was growing longer and stronger. In fact after a few moments he slid off the bed on onto his tail. For a few moments he was a bit shaky, but he soon gained his balance and stood on his tail as his shriveling legs and feet were soon sucked into him, living the light gray bands that made his belly scales. He managed to move forward to look to the mirror and was rather impressed. He did look a bit stronger and by far healthier.
"I look good," Drew smiled and then looked back to the other glass, "and this was only dossssssssssssssssse one!"
Drew was quick to move back and finished the second glass, which made him feel warm again. This time he felt a surge of power go into his arms and chest as his muscles swelled with power. He wasn't too much bigger than before, but he also felt much stronger with some pulse. He could see his pectoral muscles twitch by the rise and fall of his shirt that he was wearing, which was greatly pleased by this. He was stronger had to be fully recovered from what had lead to him coming here. All his equipment was now internalized, but he felt good and confident and made his way the door as he felt confident.
He found Doctor Stein waiting and with a female Black Mamba Animalian with him. He decided to announce himself as he came out.
"I've finissssssssssssshed changing," Drew spoke, "and I feel good... but thisssssssssss hissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssing..."
"It'll get better when you get used to your new tongue," the female Black Mamba Animalian commented, "I am Olive."
And that seemed to match her scales, which were a olive green shade with her belly scales a paler shade than the rest of her scales.
"Drew," Drew introduced himself, "thank you for changing me."
Olive nodded, "I'll also help you adapt and learn."