With Molly's shots taken care of, Molly and I then continue on to what was to be the next leg of our missions that Tuesday. We would let Leona know that one of her bridesmaids, and likely the only one that was a feline had arrived. We departed the zoo and ignored interest that the big cats there gave to Molly and I as we walked by. I did have to admit that they were magnificent animals worthy of the realms they ruled in nature, but after seeing similar face in the mirror since my transformation, I hadn't paid all that close attention. As we left, I promised to myself that Molly and I would donate some money to preserving the forests of India and other places where the tiger, regardless of its subspecies, resided.
The lone frustration from leaving the zoo was leaving what had an almost "natural" sound of animal vocalizations to the mechanical hum of cars and other human things. And even that wasn't too much of a problem. What bothered Molly and I was more the high density and volume of the noise more then the fact that it existed. But, that was why we moved out of Peoria to Columbia Falls.
The trek from the zoo to Leona's lab was about as long as our hike from home to the zoo. The original lab that had been set up for Leona after Changes' scheme with the Animatrix Fun House had gone bust was essentially an annex near the Peoria Police Station, which probably explained why the Peoria Police Department suffered such heavy casualties in a single day when Beauregard's gang assaulted Leona's lab. Since then, however, things had obviously changed for Leona.
The lawsuit filed against her was the key thing. Before it, Leona's research was devoted one hundred percent to curing the effects of the serum. The lawsuit however, revealed that people wanted it produced. This of course went against what Leona had planned for the serum and meant that when they won the lawsuit, Leona had no chance of maintaining the government grants for the access to animal DNA samples, some of which coming from endangered species that were increasingly rare. Of course the selling of the serum to those that wanted it would probably compensate for that, even if it added to Leona's frustrations concerning the distribution of the serum.
The bigger issue though was the change in location. Leona had proved right in the fact that various pharmaceutical companies had had interest in her research and nearly all of them had supported the lawsuit. The Animatrix Serum seemed to a hot topic among... possibly from the possibilities it could produce. From what Molly and I had followed on the news, or what Molly had heard from Leona herself, a company called Gen-U-Tech had won Leona's favor for the contract of producing the Animatrix Serum. They'd have to follow various government regulations, but did obviously stand to gain a lot from the victory the "furry fandom" had won in court. And the first sign of it was a new lab for Leona.
The building itself had been a sort of regional office for the company, mostly devoted to working on various drugs that dealt with genetic problems. Suppressing immune system reactions to transplants... hormonal replacements... and even the very few "legal" steroids that were out there for dealing with specific injuries. It had been shared with a company that had required a large open area for some business that neither Molly nor I had seen on the news and Leona didn't know much about. Gen-U-Tech bought the rest of the building and equipped it as a lab for Leona to use and even included a large are where people could take the Animatrix Serum on site, with door that were big enough for mundane elephants and giraffes to go through.
"It's a heck of a set up isn't it?" I mused to Molly as we approached the Gen-U-Tech offices.
It was in a relatively clean area with a few other business in the area and well manicured lawns for those businesses, and that was what I was commenting on. Maybe Leona was doing alright here because she picked a company whose offices weren't in the inner part of the city.
"I guess," Molly shrugged, "hopefully they understand that we're here to talk with Leona on a "personal" matter for a few moments."
I nodded, and opened the door, allowing Molly to enter. I followed along behind her.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We entered the building into a well air conditioned lobby and found that parts of it even worked as a small pharmacy area for the specific drugs that Gen-U-Tech sold. Though that wasn't the thing that surprised us the most. Sitting at a booth-like desk was a rat person. A female rat at that. Her head and neck were brown but her arms and neck were white. She wore a button down vest with a name-tag that read "Michelle" on it. And as we entered she was cleaning her whiskers.
We slowly approached her booth. As we got closer, she noticed our presence. Either she heard us or caught our scent. As she looked up, both Molly and caught the fearful look she put on.
"Oh, hello," the rat lady, Michelle, spoke, sounding nervous, "welcome to the Peoria office of Gen-U-Tech. What can I do for you today?"
"You have no need to fear us, Ms. Michelle," I told her.
"No need for the Ms.," she replied, "Just Michelle will do, and I'm afraid that's sort of an instinctual reaction on my part. You are cats after all."
"Tigers prey on deer," Molly told her, "deer, wild pigs, monkeys, and some even prey on bears, pythons, and other large animals... not..."
"I'm a "Fancy" Brown Rat," Michelle gave a nervous smile.
"Fancy?" Molly asked.
"Well, my species is the Brown Rat, also known as the Norway Rat, though it never came from there," Michelle explained, "but in the 18th and 19th Century, rat catchers in Europe would begin catching the Brown Rat for the blood sports of the time. Eventually these rats were bred as pets and became known as Fancy Rats. Probably because our coats are different from wild Brown Rats. A wild Brown Rat is generally brown all around, hence its name. Fancy rats can vary in color. My coat pattern is referred to as "Hooded"... which I guess makes me rather fancy looking in comparison to wild Brown Rat, and before you ask, fancy rats are no more dangerous then pet cats or dogs. I do not carry Bubonic Plague."
"You'd probably still be susceptible to it," I commented, "but then, tigers aren't known for having Rabies, but are still susceptible to that, so I suppose it all evens out."
Michelle slowly nodded.
"May I ask why you wanted to become a rat person?" Molly asked.
"I had a pet rat I had named Squeakers as a little girl," Michelle explained, "he was so cute and friendly. He loved everyone... and yes, he did love cheese, though rats and mice actually feed more often on harder foods, the gnaw down their incisors... anyway, I loved Squeakers to death... but one day, I had taken him outside to play on a swing set that we had when an owl came out of nowhere and carried him off. I chased after it, but the bird ate Squeakers before I could save him... now... I can show him just how much I loved him."
"I'm sure wherever his "spirit" is now, he is at peace," I told her, not really sure of what else to say.
"Thank you," Michelle responded, "you're very kind, for a cat. What can I do for you?"
"We are here to meet with Leona Washburn," Molly spoke.
"For what?" Michelle gasped, "You've both already taken the Serum... or one of you did and mated with the other..."
"You know that Leona is engaged to be married, correct?" I asked, trying to sound and look as non-threatening as I could to Michelle's rat instincts. She had explained a lot about herself and what she had studied, but she still sounded nervous to Molly and I.
"I had heard that from some of the others here in the office," Michelle nodded nervously, "but I've been too scared to go into her lab since I took the serum... cats of any kind make me a little nervous. Be they domestic house cats, cat-people, tiger-people like you two, or a lion-person like Leona."
"She is," Molly nodded, "and she has asked me to be a bridesmaid for her."
"You know her?" Michelle gasped.
"Yes," Molly nodded, "George, here, first met her when he joined his dad on the "raid" that brought Eugene Changes to justice and I met her at Eugene Changes trial. And she's been a big help to my husband and I. She came out to Columbia Falls when our wedding night ended up in George gaining his stripes. She helped explain what happened and put the fears of the people there to rest, and we've talked on the phone from time to time since then."
"George... Eugene Changes... Columbia..." Michelle spoke slowly and then widened her eyes at Molly, "You're Molly Rhoer!"
"Molly Wayne now," Molly corrected.
"You're the ones who freed Leona and ultimately made all of this possible," Michelle spoke, her nervousness replaced by an almost "hero-worshipping" like tone.
"I wouldn't say that, George did more then me," Molly spoke, "when it comes to bringing Eugene Changes to justice, and we plaid no role in the lawsuit that has allowed you to pay homage to your pet Squeakers... or at least we don't see ourselves as having a role in the lawsuit."
"Maybe, but without you, none of what has happened would be possible," Michelle spoke, "thank you both, so much."
She then reached over the desk and shook our paws as vigorously as she could.
"We're here to see Leona," Molly spoke, "it's on a fairly personal matter and we promise not to stay long."
"Okay," Michelle spoke, "it's the least I can do for a couple of heroes... and besides many people come in to see Leona every day. Just go over to the door to your right and I'll take you to her. She's likely in her lab."
We went over to a side door that read, "Animatrix Serum Recipients Only, Must Be Accompanies By Staff". We shrugged at the sign and waited for Michelle to open the door. She was wearing a skirt that was separate from the vest she wore, which had a hole in it for her tail.
"Right this way, please," Michelle spoke as she lead us along.
We followed her through a maze of passageways until we came to a room labeled "Science Lab 01".
"Ms. Washburn," Michelle called from outside the door, "You have guests."
"No one has an appointment to take the serum at this time," came Leona's voice from inside the lab.
"It's one of your bridesmaids and her husband," Molly called back in reply before Michelle could say anything.
Leona soon appeared in the doorway and smiled at seeing Molly and I. She looked a little worn from everything, but she looked well.
"George and Molly!" she spoke in surprise and came forward to hug Molly. The two rubbed heads as they hugged, and I noticed the obvious differences in the sign of their ages. Leona's nose was going black whereas Molly's was still pink. "It's good to see you."
"Thanks," Molly hugged her back.
"Thank you, Michelle," Leona said politely to Michelle who nervously nodded and returned toward where her reception desk was.
"How are things going?" I asked as Leona came to me and we shook hands.
"About as well as can be expected," Leona sighed, "I had expected you to call when you arrived in Peoria."
"We arrived early," I told her, "and thought it best to check in to see if you were okay."
"Oh," Leona gave a smile, "come on in. We can talk over some things."