With the official opening of Project Dinotopia to public entry in just a little over two weeks, there have been many people who have been applying to becoming Dinotopians. Of course, they'll have to wait until the official opening and the announcement for the Dinotopian colonies. There would be some people who'll have to wait while the Dinotopian-scaled buildings were completed. But there were exceptions, particularly for those who had conditions that could be treated by the Animalia virus and wanted to become new species.
One such volunteer was Regina, an old classmate of Heather and Jeremy's. She was a closer friend to Jeremy than to Heather. Heather had been in the mid-range of popularity, her attention shifting towards Jeremy mostly during their college years. Jeremy had never put much effort into being popular, caught up in his studies and work as he was. Regina clearly fell into the category of 'nerd'. She wasn't particularly attractive, being a little overweight, wearing thick glasses, and her laugh was considered really annoying for other people considering she tended to snort when she laughed. But if you could tolerate her laughter, she was funny to have around.
Regina couldn't help reduce her weight much, but it wasn't because of a thyroid disorder or something like that. When she was in mid-school, a swimming accident damaged her spine. She wasn't totally paralyzed, she could still move her hands and her feet. However, she was incapable of really walking and her arms couldn't carry much of a load. As such, she got around in a wheelchair and had to be careful not to take large loads.
When the opportunity to become a Dinosaur Animalian presented itself, Regina jumped at the opportunity, figuratively speaking. Since the special early offer required her to become a dinosaur that hadn't been done yet, it was pretty easy for her to pick what she wanted to be. It was actually a surprise that no one wanted to become a Spinosaurus yet. Once Regina got to Horizon Labs, it didn't take her long to get set up. She was only wearing a hospital gown when she was taken to the testing area. She required a bit of help getting onto the table where she lied face down on.
"Ok, before we get started, you do know what you're getting into, right?" asked Dr. Stein.
"Well, I know that Spinosaurus is now thought to be a different dinosaur from the movies as of a few years ago," said Regina, "It's mostly a swimmer, right?"
"Correct, while not a marine reptile or an ancient crocodilian, it's now believed that Spinosaurus was primarily an aquatic animal. It was most likely able to walk on land, but its shorter hind legs meant it had to walk on all fours," said Dr. Stein.
"So what will that mean for me?" asked Regina.
"Well, not that much. Since you'll be more humanoid than a real Spinosaurus, you won't be so restricted. Though we would like to see how well you'll be able to swim after you have converted," said Dr. Stein.
"It sure would be nice to be able to swim again," said Regina.
With that, Dr. Stein injected the dosages into Regina's back. As he walked out of the room, he said, "Welcome to Dinotopia."
Eventually, Regina started feeling the changes start going through her. She could practically feel each vertebrate in her spine tingling as nerves repaired themselves. But that was a mere prelude to the start of a bigger change. Pine green scales were appearing across her back, along with brown nobbles of tougher skin as natural armor. The scales spread out, covering more her back. Regina felt the tingle as it reached her arms and legs, paralyzed and atrophied muscles springing back to life. She could probably lift herself off the table now, but there were bigger changes coming.
Her hospital gown was getting too small as she was gaining height. It was also being helped by the way her spine was starting to grow out, pressing tighter against it. Regina's growing tail actually had plenty of room to grow as it extended further. The way she was lifting it made it clear to see that the underside of her body had jade-color scutes covering it. Her lifted tail also gave a full view of her ass, which was swelling with muscles and padding. Her breasts were also getting bigger as they pushed against her hospital gown. Eventually, the gown ripped apart as her new sail grew out covered in tan skin that stood out from the rest of her back. Her gown stopped covered her breasts, leaving the large jade orbs exposed.
Regina watched with fascination as her hands changed. Her smallest finger shrank, eventually melting into the rest of her hand. Her fingernails turned yellow as they sharpened into claws. Regina was half-expecting webbing to appear between her fingers to accommodate Spinosaurus's swimming habits, but none appeared there. However, her feet were finishing growing out into large saurian ones and there was webbing between her four toes. Regina felt some discomfort as her face was growing out. The scales had already overcome her head, her tail fallen out. Her ears shrank to nothing as her mouth and nose grew forward. However, unlike most Animalians, her nostrils didn't travel down to the front of her growing muzzle. Regina's nostrils stayed closer to her eyes, though considerably placed apart. Like with herons, it was an adaptation to keep her nostrils out of the water and allowing her to fish with her snout more effectively. Similarly, the sharp teeth filling her muzzle were more cone-shaped and designed to grab prey than tear it apart.
Once Regina's changes had finished, it took her a while to stand up. Not only did she have to adjust for her new feet and tail, but this was the first time she had been able to stand for a long time. Eventually, Regina was able to stand, though she leaned on the table for support. With a few unsteady steps, she walked into view of the mirror. The sight that greeted her was an astonishing one. Instead of the nerdy overweight girl she had known most of her life, there stood a beautiful and sexy Spinosaurus woman. Her scales were quite lovely, jade green on the underside of her throat, down her chest, between her ass cheeks, and the underside of her tail, pine green everywhere else. The dark brown knobs of tough skin didn't detract from her beauty, mostly given her an interesting cobblestone pattern on her skin. Her sail was tan in color and not as big as Regina was expecting. But it could be it because she was a female or an Animalian. But at least it shouldn't get in the way of things. Regina smiled, showing her crocodilian teeth. She could used to this look.
==========
It didn't take Regina as long to get new clothes as she would have guessed. Animalian fashion has already been designed shirts with slits to accommodate wings and her sail didn't take up that much room. The bra was a bit trickier and she was currently holding her jade boulders in with a swimsuit top meant for sharks. The pants were no challenge.
Acclimation classes and studies aside, Regina wanted to catch up with her old friends. Fortunately, Jeremy already worked at Horizon Labs and wasn't hard to get a hold of. The two of them went to get some lunch at the steakhouse, considering Regina's transformation left her very hungry. The steak was good, but Regina found herself preferring the grilled salmon.
"So, what have you done with yourself since school?" asked Jeremy.
"Not a lot that one can do with weak arms and legs," said Regina, "I went into computer programming, but I'm not sure I can do much with these claws." She held up her four-fingered hands.
"I know it took me a while to adjust," said Jeremy, "You'll get the hang of it."
"Well, I want to do something more exciting," said Regina, "I've been stuck in a wheelchair for too long. I want to something more thrilling, maybe dangerous."
"Like talking up a dinosaur's fiance?" asked an annoyed voice. Regina turned to see Heather giving her an irritated look.
"Heather, how have you been?" asked Regina.
"Pretty well, right up until now," said Heather with a growl, "Did Jeremy tell you what happened with the last floozy who tried to make a move on him in here?"
"I was just catching up with him," said Regina, "No need to feel threatened."
"Threatened? Just because you're a Dinotopian doesn't mean you're a threat," said Heather.
"As I recall, Spinosaurus is supposed to be a bigger, badder threat than Tyrannosaurus," said Regina, getting annoyed.
"I'm only part Tyrannosaurus, pike face," growled Heather.
"And all the lesser for it, mongrel," growled Regina.
"Ladies, ladies, let's not fight here," said Jeremy.
"Yeah, save it for the ring," said another voice.
Heather and Regina turned their heads and asked, "What ring?"
The speaker was a man in a business suit. "I'm a representative from the SyFy channel. I was just visiting Animalia to find some inspiration for new shows. And promotions for dinosaur fights is also something I've been hoping for," he said, "Do you have any idea how long people have been wanting to see a fight between a T. rex and a Spinosaurus?"
"I'm an S. rex," said Heather.
The representative waved a hand dismissively and said, "Minor semantics. We can bill you as "Indominus vs. Spinosaurus". It'll still draw in a big crowd. Every Jurassic Park fan will want to watch."
"Now hold up," said Jeremy, "First of all, the Mesozoic Fight Club won't be open for quite a while since there aren't enough trained Dinotopians."
"Gives us more time to advertise, draw in more interest," said the representative.
"Secondly, I don't think Heather and Regina want to fight just for money, right?" asked Jeremy.
"Well, I'm not that much of a fighter," said Regina.
"I might have overreacted a bit," said Heather.
"A bit?" asked Regina dryly.
"You were encroaching on my territory," said Heather.
"I don't have any interest in Jeremy," said Regina before looking at Jeremy, "Even if he is buffer than I last saw him."
"Listen, ladies. You don't actually have to hate each other. A lot of fighter rivalry is more for show than any real animosity," said the representative, "All you have to do is throw some insults, spar with each other, the crowd will eat it up."
"That sounds a lot like fake wrestling," said Heather with disapproval.
"You can battle out who's the apex predator for real. There are rules for that fight club," said the representative.
"Well, I do want to do something exciting," said Regina, "As long as we're not trying to bite each other's throats out, I don't see the harm."
"I think this is a discussion better had at the PR office," said Jeremy.
"Not until my lunch is finished," said Regina, "I'm still hungry."