Elly had provided invaluable data with her conversion. The information provided proved a definite link between AES and Regressive Hypersexuality syndrome. However, that was only half of the equation. AES was caused by an overproduction of estrogen. Therefore, Horizon Labs needed to study an overproduction of testosterone. They needed to convert someone with CAH, or Congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
CAH is a genetic disease, usually caused by recessive genes or a rare mutation. At the onset of puberty, the body begins producing much more testosterone than most children their age. With girls, it made them a lot more androgynous than usual. With boys, it caused them to develop adult features a lot faster than normal. Andre was a textboot example of that. When his puberty started, he went through a pretty big growth spurt, followed by hair sprouting up in the typical places for a teenage boy. At first, everyone just thought that Andre had been an early bloomer. But then the body and facial hair started growing in thicker than his classmates. It wasn't to the extent of werewolf syndrome, but it was still a lot for a boy who hadn't gotten his driver's license yet. And his genitals were coming into adult form far too quickly.
A medical examination eventually revealed that Andre had CAH. It wasn't a life-threatening condition, but it did come with complications. Unlike Elly, Andre's hormone imbalance was not compounded with gigantism. In fact, his testosterone overproduction was interfering with his body's ability to produce iodine for growth. At this rate, it looked like Andre would never grow another inch taller. There was also the possible problem of the estrogen deficiency rendering him sterile. So when Horizon Labs contacted Andre's parents to see if Andre was willing to help their research, they accepted it before Andre's condition could cause worse problems.
Like many 15-year olds, Andre was an avid comic reader and that affected his choice of animal to be spliced with. Andre's favorite comic to read was 'Spider-Man', particularly issues that featured the Lizard. When Animalia first formed, Andre dreamed of becoming like his favorite tragic monster from the comics. Now he was finally getting his chance. Of course, he couldn't become just any kind of lizard. He had to become a species of lizard that was actually capable of autotomy and shared the Lizard's distinctive green scales. A suitable choice was soon found in the American anole. The anole's dewlap and its ability to change from green to brown and back were also bonuses.
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Of course, Andre couldn't just receive the conversion dose in just any way. We wanted to act out Curt Connors's original transformation, though preferably without losing an arm. This included wearing a lab coat and easy-to-rip clothes under it. The prepared formula was in a beaker to be drunk and dyed green. Andre held the beaker as he pontificated. "For years, I have been researching how to take the best traits of the reptile family and give them to humans. Now, at least, I hold in my hand the purest essence of the lizard. And who better to test this formula on than myself?" The performance was about as hammy as one would expect. And Andre's voice kept cracking rather often as he spoke. At least he wasn't planning on being an actor when he grew up. He drank down the formula and grimaced slightly. "Maybe I should have told them to put it in apple juice or something," he said.
Then Andre felt a tingling go through his body. Looking at the back of his hands, he could see green scales starting to pop out. His fingernails were also starting extend out into sharp claws. Then Andre felt a lot of pressure in his chest that caused him to bend over. The Animalia virus was interacting with his body's hormones and working hard at boosting his iodine levels to catch up with his testosterone levels. Andre's body surged outwards as the muscles expanding, building upon the testosterone over-saturation. The clothes he wore were quickly ripping apart, revealing bright green scales underneath. His feet shredded through his shoes as they became more reptilian, though the claws were not that big and dangerous. The growing tail ripped up more of the pants as it grew out. Andre's neck bulged as it grew a little longer before a dewlap grew out of it. His head flattened a bit as his face stretched out into a lizard's snout, his ears reducing to mere hole in the sides of his head. The hair on top of his head remained, but the excessive facial and body hair fell off as green scales swept over.
As fast as the changes started, they soon ended. Andre stood up straight, noticing that he had grown a lot taller. Apparently the Animalian virus had worked overtime to make up for his stunted height. He also felt quite a bit stronger, his muscles feeling more primed than before. Walking over to the mirror, Andre saw a humanoid lizard wearing only a tattered lab coat. He had indeed grown rather tall and his muscles were more defined than they ever had been. Curious, Andre extended his new dewlap, its red coloring standing out sharply against his green scales. "Cool," said Andre, rubbing it. His voice was no longer cracking, sounding appropriately deep for his larger chest, "I bet the ladies are gonna love this."
Thinking of girls soon started up his heightened Animalian libido. His penis, which had retracted into his body, was now emerging from his slit and growing to full size. "Whoa, that's new," said Andre. His dick was a bright red spear that was over half a foot long. His balls had retracted to be inside his body and out of harm's way. Andre's testosterone had already made him pretty well-endowed, but this was a new level. "Ok, can't really walk out with this sticking out," said Andre. He thought sobering thoughts until his dick slid back in. "Ok, now I need to get some new clothes," said Andre. He flexed his much bigger arm, "Maybe hit a gym too. I wanna see how much I can lift now."