Mark was having some serious second thoughts as the roof of the chamber slid into place. He should have at least had them flip a coin. He really didn't want to become a woman after seeing the effect it had on so many test subjects. Frankly he wasn't too keen on being a bird either. Most people involved in the project, particularly the experimental research division, had some 'inner spirit animal' or something they wanted to become, but Mark was perfectly happy as he was. Better to suffer a little harder than a little longer though, right? When they reached the home of a more enlightened backer, he'd get back to normal that much faster with an extra pair of haaa-
His fingers were stretching out, bending in strange ways as his arms elongated. This was more painful than he'd expected. It was like every bone in his body was snapping... or more accurately, hollowing out. He focused on the finer details to keep his mind off it. Hairs thickening and lengthening as they turned to feathers, the big toe on each foot twisting around as the nails thickened into sharp black talons. His face felt strange as well. Bones were reshaping in his nose... was it a beak or just different? He went to reach up and touch it, but his He noticed the skin of his chest darkening to a deep hazel as it pushed forward into a pair of breasts. Well, that was certainly different. The changes suddenly became too uncomfortable for him to bear, reconfiguring his, well, her reproductive system, filling in her wings, and modifying her brain to properly adapt to everything else. That's when she realized something was very, very wrong.
She was trapped! There was no sky overhead! Walls all around like a cave or the inside of a mouth! She had to get out! Out out out! She started to panic, flapping frantically and bouncing off the walls... and cats! There were cats everywhere! Licking their lips as she circled the room! She had to get away! Out out out! How did she get out? Which way which way there was a roof she couldn't go up there had to be a hole a hole to get out through where was it where was it! Wait there was a door! The door lead out where was the door the door to get out there it was! But no no no it wasn't open how was she going to get out if it wasn't open she needed out out out out out! How did it open how how wait the handle! Grab the handle and pull it but she couldn't grab the handle something was wrong her beak was wrong it was all pushed in under her skin how did she open it THE CATS WERE COMING CLOSER! What else could she grab with there was nothing just wings how what she was trapped and the cats would eat her how how! Feet! Yes talons on her feet like a branch just grab this and pull and how did she pull with her feet on the door quick somehow just there light outside the sun quick fly!
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Goldie took a deep breath, now that the situation had properly been explained. Agent Sherman had been right when he'd said she'd been bad. She had so much to make up for, and whatever she could do to help she had to try. It was easy enough to hide a microphone on her. If there was anything huskies had it was all-concealing fur. She just needed to let herself be locked up with the wolverine who's almost killed her and Sam until he tried to do it again. Easy enough.
Of course, in practice, there was a bit more to it than that. There were other cells, packed a bit full with people shouting extremely sexual things as she walked by. She did her best to tune it out as she was shoved into a cell with just one other person. This couldn't be Max, could it? He just seemed so... small. Small and strangely calm. She'd expected him to try and strangle her the second she was in reach but he was just... sitting there, with an eerie calm and a smile on his face. Clearly, he had a handle on Sherman's plan, and was just waiting for the cops to leave so they couldn't intervene. They did. He just kept smiling. Well... she'd just have to goad him into it. That used to be what she did after all, pushing people's buttons until they lost their cool. Of course, she didn't exactly feel intimidating in here.
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Tran frowned as he watched the panicking harpy flounder for the door. Perhaps he'd pushed things too far, instinctually? A lot needed doing for flight to actually be possible, at least on this sort of time table. A fully human mind would be able to deal with the physics of flight given enough study and time to adapt, but from the sound of it, they'd have to leave far too soon to teach her. Of course, it might just be nerves. That behavior from the security staff was rather unexpected, but in retrospect, it made sense. Predator forms were designed to make a subconscious distinction between people and food sources, but it was largely based on overall body mass. Normally, transformees were kept at roughly the size and shape of an average adult human, but Mark was significantly smaller, just a bit over a meter tall now. Any larger and the wingspan needed to stay aloft would just be impractical, not to mention the dietary concerns. As it was, there were still a few impracticalities. The lack of feathers or a practical amount of body fat on the torso would leave her freezing to death in the winter, but the last minute decision to go tropical should fix that.
Then of course there were the breasts. By definition, no non-mammal had any use for mammaries. In theory, they were strictly ornamental, although there was still enough human in the mix they might still function as one would expect. This was precisely the sort of thing he'd have to study. Fortunately, it was safe to assume she'd be willing to hatch an egg or two. That 'enhanced feminine subservience' modification he'd been so keen to inflict on that husky hadn't conflicted with any of his plans for the final brain structure, and it was only fitting to give him a taste of his own medicine. Of course, it was all for nothing if her mind was totally shot. He'd have to have a chat before trying things on himself.
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"So Terry, how long before we have to throw you a going away party like last night's?"
"You could treat me like that every night if you're willing," she cooed.
"Seriously," Tim continued, as best he could with the distraction of her rubbing one hand up the length of his ear while the other headed south. "I'd just like to know how long we have here before you were planning to leave. Your friend the other day mentioned some project you were working on, didn't he?"
Terry cut him off with a long kiss, before saying "I never want to leave... and it was a stupid project anyway."
Well, that's one less date to keep track of then, Tim thought. He had a few more departure dates to verify, but there were no new arrivals to work out, and he hadn't seen a husky since Terry had arrived. That just left the berry supply to worry about, and while it was pretty low at the moment, he was fairly sure the girls had all taken theirs for the day. He'd just have to remind anyone who went out tomorrow to bring a few back, right? Obviously Katerina hadn't meant he was personally responsible for keeping enough on hand. He was a guy. He didn't even know where the things even grew.
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Agent Johnson followed the sounds of a struggle, coming across something like the sight of, well, a bull in a china shop. Or more accurately, a minotaur trashing his own mansion with two members of his own security staff trying to subdue him. Including, if he wasn't mistaken, the cat who'd greeted him at the door. That didn't add up. "Just what the hell is going on here?"
"That's what I'd like to know," the Minotaur managed despite an arm around his windpipe. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to warn Johnson about the third coming up from behind to brain him with the butt of his gun.
As he hit the floor, he heard them chewing his assailant out.
"What the hell were you thinking? That guy's a fed!"
"I don't know! I panicked!"
"Well now what the hell are we supposed to do?"
"We stick with the new plan. Either we kill him and pin it it on the boss here, or we ship them both out to get disappeared using the fed's car, make like he took him hostage."
"Screw that! The rest of this is bad enough, I'm not getting mixed up with the freaking FBI!"
Agent Johnson had his gun unholstered and was starting to turn to face his attacker when the second blow came down, knocking him out.
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Mark circled around the building a few times, thoroughly enjoying her new wings. The freedom of the open air had calmed her down considerably. It seemed the cats had given up on chasing her and left, now there was only Tran there standing by the door. She flew down again, surprised and confused at how he was suddenly so much taller.
"Well... obviously you've worked out how to use the hardware but... how's the software doing?"
Mark stared for a moment before realizing what he meant. "I'm fine! Totally fine! Just a little panic, too many cats too closed up, why do we work with cats anyway they're horrible and dangerous and the next lab needs to be open, not all sealed up why would you ever want to be sealed inside like that with no way out?" She twitched her head for emphasis. Under no circumstances was she ever going to deal with that again absolutely definitely no more enclosed spaces ever no matter what.
Tran looked rather concerned. "Are you sure? You seem more than just a little jumpy. I need to make sure you're mentally intact before I try this on myself."
Mark rolled her head. "I'm fine it's fine of course I'm different I'm a harpy now but I'm Mark, you're Tran the plans for all this are in these cases, we take these cases fly south foreign money lots of investors rebuild everything down there, less laws more freedom nobody on our backs let's go hurry up jam the nasty door thing it's awful inside just change and let's go cars on the highway better leave quick, can't let them catch us and lock us inside hurry now." She perched on one of the cases, getting a good grip on the handle with her talons, ready to take off at a moment's notice.
Tran still looked a bit worried, but returned to the lab, warming up the machine.
Mark ruffled her feathers. It was too cold up here much too cold. Better go south quick they don't speak english there too late to take spanish lessons now though she'd pick it up not a huge problem they had to leave soon though the cats were all gone weren't they better listen for an cats.
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Irene had to wonder where all the guards and technicians had gone. Lawrence had said a friend of his would cause a distraction to cover their escape, but the place seemed to be completely abandoned. Normally, this would have concerned her more, but he didn't seem worried, and Irene didn't really seem to even have the capacity to worry anymore. Suddenly, some sort of huge bird with extremely bright plumage came stumbling out of a chamber, bolting through the front door which now hung wide open. Perhaps they'd been discovered and abandoned the place. All the more reason to set everyone else free. Most of the prisoners seemed far less content with their new forms than she was. Several seemed sick, or lacked that basic spark of human intelligence. Hopefully that would be solved soon enough. One of them should be Naomi by all accounts, but so far no one seemed to recognize the name. It would be a shame if she was one of the ones whose mind had gone, but if they couldn't be restored, they could at least be made comfortable.
When she came upon the tank, she tapped on the glass. This wouldn't do. "Lawrence, do you have any idea how to let these ones out?"
"I think there's a door back on the ground floor for feeding them at least. Not really my department though."
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Something was definitely wrong, thought Charlotte. The researchers had all left, and it just looked like some kind of deranged nightmare zoo on the other side of the glass, or the rejects from Noah's ark. A pair of centaurs loping around, their human arms just hanging limp and useless at their sides. Some kind of lion with a human face... not even an anthro lion, it was crawling around on all fours like an actual big cat. There was a pair with snake tails in place of their legs, just huddled together behind an open door like they were afraid of everything else in the room, and on the other side, a pair of some sort of anthro lizards, who weren't moving at all.
Some sort of horse woman with wings was tapping on the glass now with thick fingernails, almost like miniature hooves. She had a weird carefree smile on her face, almost like she'd been drugged.
"I'm starting to think the hatch might be the safer bet," she said. "If little miss curious there gets it in her head to start kicking the glass, we might end up flopping around the floor in there, and I think these are how we're breathing." She gestured to her gills.