For as long as you can remember, you have always loved cats. Never mind the teasing at school because of that. At best, it was "future crazy cat lady" or at best "catwoman". Of course you preferred the latter. You even wear catwoman-themed shirts to this day. As if empty-headed cheerleaders and so-called popular girls were better than you. They were all just so banal. They were a dime a dozen, those ones! And the guys! No better, between the jocks and the bullies, not to mention those that achieved the dubious exploit of combining both. Why did their approval matter to girls so much? Seriously, why? You always preferred to be friends with the nerds, geeks and other more original people. At least with them you could be yourself and learn to be more tolerant. Anyway, you studied animal conservation and hoped to work with cats, big or small, in the future. You could not conceive a a job without cats. You just couldn't.
So you went off to that new pet shop. You liked to look at cat paraphernalia, so as to imagine what you will buy once you finally are independent enough to end up in your own house and stable enough to have your own pet. Wishful thinking but a nice one for sure. Also, you hoped the pet shop owner could advise you in helping cat shelters. Helping cats before you could have your own always made things better for you.
Mr John was very nice. He said he sold pet things but no actual pets. He worked with wildlife conservation associations but he'd be delighted to give you their info. It was so pleasant to speak with someone who loved felines so much, ad he said. He also congratulated you on spending a bit of money for animal welfare and protection when you're still a student. The man is interesting and he asks you if you would like to work with zoos and wildlife parks as he had connections an d he can recommend you to them. What an opportunity! You said yes immediately and he took you to a backdoor of the store. He said he needed to gather some papers for you to fill out and to wait where you were. Suddenly, after not even five minutes, the door opens gain for a hand to snatch you and pull you in by force. It was John and he pinned you to the ground by force. And he was much stronger than he looked! You tried to scream, pure terror coursing through your veins when he pressed a piece of cloth to your mouth. You slumped, overtaken by sleep.
John dragged you to a hidden trapdoor in the room and carried you down stairs. He injected you with a serum, undressed you and placed you naked in a cage with water. He'd fill it with meat later. In the meantime, with her curves, her slender body and black hair, he had his next female panther. She hah had a good heart, that one. Well, since she worried about big cat preservation, thanks to him she could fully participate! He oped you'd keep your kind heart and sweet personality in the process, or as much as possible. He then marched back up the stairs, leaving a human with fur and lynx ears growing out of his skull to look at you despondently.
When you wake up, you feel strange. Your mind is fuzzy. Then, with a start, you realize what has occurred. Mr John! He's a rapist! A... A... A sicko who has left you naked in a cage! He's a nutcase who's going to kill you! It can't be real! You start to panic and you get even more terrified upon realizing that you are not alone. Another person is in a cage next to you. And he's got fur and eyes that shine in the dark! You attempt to call for help and ask questions but only unintelligible groan come out of your mouth. You clutch your throat. It seems normal but... What's going on? And if he raped you, then why doesn't your vagina feel sore or painful? What does that monster want? The other captive just shakes his head and growls out the same sort of sounds as you do.
Only when Mr. John comes do you grasp the bars of your cage and look at him, snarling. He has two bowls that do smell heavenly, you have to admit.
"Ah yes, you have a lot of questions, I bet. Let me get Charles here settled first."
He pushes the bowl through a latch of the cage. How come Charles gets to taste the delicious-smelling food first? But then John catches the hand with enormously long nails of Charles and injects him with something. He hisses and backs away, only to dig in the bowl of food. Now John turns to you.
"Your turn now."
And without warning, he jabs into your shoulder a shot that he presses on deftly. It lasts a second but it hurts like hell and you snarl and hiss. But by the time you try to bite him in retaliation, his blasted hand and arm are away.
"I see you are reacting to my serum better than I anticipated. That's always good. You see, I am a scientist wielding a bit of magic. This allows me to change people into animals and work at replenishing the population of endangered species. Fresh DNA and helping zoos and parks that wish to attract more visitors. And I thought you'd make a superb black panther. Pretty and young as you are, you'll be a boon to the population. And you love felines so much, it would be such a waste not to recruit you, don't you think? Charles here is on his way to becoming a fine male lynx. Much better than just attending college to become a banker. It's not like those are endangered. A few more daily injections and by this time in ten days, you'll be set to go to your new home. All registered honest zoos, I assure you. No awful circuses or private owners with, don't worry. All parks will be fighting to acquire you and frankly, who could blame them?" he smiles.
He then slides the bowl and you realize that what you thought to be something delicious is in fact raw meat chopped up and that you eat as if it was the best ice-cream that ever had been made
The next days are a haze to you. The transformation is painful and your mind shuts it out. You are perpetually tired and slumbering. You wake up to feed and drink. Charles gives you a window into your future and his body morphs until nothing differentiates him from a normal bobcat. You wake up to John transferring him to a smaller cage hoisted up by machinery up the stairs. Hr's been sedated and you hope dimly that you'll be transferred to the same park as he shall go to. Sometimes you are startled out of your sleep by John's injections. For a mad scientist, he tries to be kind and reassuring. He speaks gently and he doesn't want to cause you undue pain. He says the vocal cords are the first to go to avoid shouts, even if the place is soundproof. He is surprised when tears fall from your eyes longer than anticipated. But ultimately even those cannot be, your lacrimal ducts vanishing. He says your name is now Detha Bara, like the actress of old movies because you were fascinated by Egyptian cats and it offers a mystical aspect to your appearance. He keeps saying that you are beautiful, the most beautiful panther that ever was and if he could, he'd bring down a mirror to make you admire yourself. He showers you with compliments about how your beauty transferred intact to your panther form and even if these are merely pleasant words, and actually just nonsense, they make you relax and feel good inside. Were you really that vain before? Did other male panthers stare at you appreciatively while you hoisted tyour prey in trees? Was your mother jealous and bite you to go off to live your life once you were weaned? When did her sweet licks stop? Do you even really miss her milk sand soft fur? Your mind is getting fuzzy. Too much confusion. Too many shattered thoughts and memories. When did you leave the warm plains of your youth? Since when have you been so alone behind bars? Detha Bara are weird human sounds but the human feeding you scratches you and tells you things that you know instinctively are nice. Having lots of panther fiances and carrying your beautiful babies sound quite pleasant. And you'll be a great mother. Not like your own who used to... What did she use to do, again? You sleep when the thoughts are getting too shattered, anyway, which occurs more and more often.
John smiles happily. Tomorrow he'll get Detha Bara to the employees of the zoo that acquired her. Insisting on her gentleness and youth was a good idea. He has all the papers done. All fake, of course. It'll be another few years for her to start making cubs but all in good time. She'll have all the time to get used to her new life. A pretty thing like her, in heat, will attract not only the male panthers but all the big cat population of the zoo. He laughs at the thought. He insisted that she was very sensible to positive reinforcement too. She was so beautiful as a human, it would have been a waste not to make her part of the animal kingdom. The human species did not deserve her and he can always find better fates for people, more suitable for their personality. The last crocodile he sold had been a low-grade drug dealer. He served more purposes and kept more people safe that way. Yes, changing people into animal was fun, deciding what best would become them.