The mangrove killifish (or mangrove rivulus) was first noticed by the scientists at Horizon Labs when a cursory search on the internet revealed it was the only naturally-occurring hermaphrodite among vertebrates. But the more they looked into it, the more impressive it became. The killifish has a very high tolerance for both salinity and temperature. It can live in fresh or marine waters and can withstand temperatures from 54 degrees Fahrenheit to 100. On top of that, the killifish can spend up to 66 consecutive days out of the water, spending most of that time in burrows that insects have made in trees. And instead of just crawling on land, it is also capable of jumping a respectable length that improved with age.
As such, the scientists at Horizon Labs were very eager to study the killifish once it was uplifted. It took a while to procure a specimen though. Being on average an inch long, one killifish was hard to grab. Not to mention they had to make sure the fish in question was a hermaphrodite. Eventually, the killifish arrived and they were ready to get started with it.
One scientist looked at the tiny silver fish with golden fins and scales on its back. The fish was, for the moment, content to just lie on the table. "Tiny little thing to have so many distinctive features," said the male scientist.
"Mangrove swamps are not easy environments to survive in for part of the year, let alone the whole year round," said a female scientist, "This fish had to adjust to extreme conditions by evolve in extreme ways."
"So, are we using the standard Animalia Aquatica formula or has Allura provided a more specific derivative?" asked the male scientist.
"Actually we're just giving the basic Animalia virus," said the female scientist.
"But I thought it won't work on a fish unless it's been treated with mudskipper DNA," said the male scientist.
"It usually needs mudskipper DNA because a normal fish would just filter out the infected water without being uplifted," said the female scientist, "The mudskipper DNA not only makes sure the fish can breathe on land, but also insures that it can retain water long enough for the virus to take root. Since this fish is already adapted to breathing on land, I think it's capable of being uplifted without special treatment."
"Well, it wouldn't be surprising," said the male scientist.
"Though we already have prepared formulas in case the original doesn't work," said the female scientist, taking out an eyedropper and carefully dropping a few drops on the killifish.
The killifish just lied there for a few seconds before it started jumping across the table. And each jump was longer than the last one as its body was growing bigger as it went. As it reached the end of the table, it took one last flying leap, that made it spin several times in the air. When it finally landed on the floor, it didn't land on its side, but on its freshly-grown pair of feet. The killifish wobbled a bit on its new legs which were still growing. Its pectoral fins were growing out on the ends of new arms. The fins flexed as bones appeared in them, gaining more dexterity as they morphed into hands.
As the killifish's limbs were completing their formation, its body was taking on a more human shape. Hips were becoming defined before expanding out, accompanied with a rear end under the tail. The shoulders were extending out to a width that was a little wider than the average woman, but narrower than a large man's. Silver breasts ballooned to D-cup from the fish's chest, capped with golden nipples. But the killifish wasn't going completely female as a 10-inch penis emerged from the groin, a functional vagina opening underneath it. The killifish clutched briefly at hir head as it reshaped into something more human. Without hair, ears, or a nose, the head was rather featureless, though shi did have wide eyes and large lips.
The uplifted killifish finished its transformation at 5'9". Shi wasn't very tall compared to other Animalians, but shi did start as a very small fish. Hir body wasn't as overly muscular as bigger Animalians, looking more like she was built for agility than strength. At least shi had the right amount of curves for a hermaphrodite. The killifish looked over hir new body and said, "This is really strange."
"You're an Animalian now," said the male scientist, "A member of a community of uplifted animals."
The killifish looked at the scientists and said, "You're...not like me. And I don't mean that you don't have fins or scales."
"We each only have one sex and gender," said the female scientist, "You have both. Your species is even capable of self-fertilization."
The killifish felt one of hir breasts and hir cock and said, "I suppose I could, but that doesn't seem very...fun. I'm not sure why I think of it like that."
"There is a lot to teach you about those, er, new thoughts," said the male scientist.
"As well as what your new body is capable of," said the female scientist.
The killifish looked at them with interest. "Please show me," shi said.
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While not built for weight-lifting, the killifish's body definitely proved to be very agile. Hir amazing flexibility, speed, and ability to jump over ten feet from a standing position soon earned hir the name Rocket, which also reflected her outstanding capabilities. Rocket took to gymnastics like, well, a fish to water. Already shi was showing great potential for competing in the IAC in the coming summer. An extreme fish like hirself would soon be getting a lot of attention from both fans and sponsors.