"Come with me, Captain," ordered Graves.
Zack motioned for a reluctant Linda to follow him along.
They followed Graves into a small science lab.
A burly young man, unconcious, clothes torn by claw marks, lay exausted on the table. Two MP's stood on guard. Reditt and Mark. They gave a quick salute, and suppressed their look of surprise.
"This is No. l4, today," he smiled. "Captain, will you do the honors."
Redditt was suppressing a growl, as, with a look at Linda, Zack did as he was told.
He took out his kit, and injected in the young man's sinewy forearm - the two wolf troopers looking very solemn indeed.
The young man was strapped down.
He woke up.
"What happened," he muttered.
"You rable rousers caused a riot," said Dr. Graves. "But you're not going to prison. In fact my boy, you've just joined the navy."
"Huh, . . . Yah," the young man struggled with his bonds as he looked from Redditt to Mark to Zack.
"This is quick acting potion - any moment you won't be scared from these dogs anymore - right Captain! You'll be a better and stronger being.
"Yes, SIR," said Zack.
Personally, he was less than pleased. Redditt and Mark were even less so.
As Graves went on about Captain Smith being the model K-9, they eventually caught on. They nodded their approval.
A loud groan came from the table.
The young man's feet suddenly turned outward, and his heels faced one another.
A loud crunching sound was heard, as the socks and jean's he was wearing ripped along the seam. His legs were merging together, and amongst the rags they could see the grey skin move up from his feet, and come down the other direction. They met - and the tail, for that's what it was, grew muscle as it grew greyer and wetter.
The last of the socks ripped off as the fins expanded from the base of his no longer human feet.
The young man looked terrified - especially as he grasped his neck - when again the group saw it, there was long folds in the skin. Gills.
The young man was now visably panting.
"They don't like it," said Graves, "but male "Sharkmen" as I call them - can breath above water. This transformation is always amusing - the subjects are usually so terrified.
Like Zack, the young man had his mouth bleed as his teeth grew larger and fang-like. The nose pushed out marginally, leaving a human face with only the mere suggestion of a muzzle.
Dr. Graves let go of the restraints.
The young man was in pain, as his shirt ripped at the back, exposing a huge dorsal fin as long as his torse, and half as wide.
"Get up," smiled Graves. "You can hop."
The sharkman could hop, the muscles in his tail were strong enough. He could hop as well as a normal person could walk - though, in his frightened eyes one could see this was hardly an ideal arrangement.
"MP's," ordered Graves. "Take him away to the river. The skipper will take care of him - some raw fish, and a shark collar, will bring him to his scenses.
As Mark and Redditt escorted the hopping sharkman, Zack could see the poor guy was trying not to drool at the though of raw fish.
Zack looked at Linda, she could tell by his forlorn look and his sudden shudder, he was still Zack, and not given in to Dr. Grave's madness.