Josephine moaned. "Oh my god, Jo, please be okay. I never meant to hurt you, " said Rick sadly.
Josephine continued to rub her head. Her mouth began to open and close repeatedly, and the sounds began to form a pattern of some kind. It appeared that she was trying to speak.
Slowly, with great effort, she said, "I .... I thin.....I think I am.......I think I am okay."
"You can speak! And you understand me! But how? The compound was supposed to stimulate growth in reptiles. I never expected results like this, " mused Rick.
Josephine shook her head, as if to clear it. She still appeared dazed. "How should I know? You're the scientist, " said Josephine in reply.
Rick was shocked. He had asked the question to himself, and had not expected a response. Especially not a response from a newly mutated lizard!
"Maybe my contact with you after exposure to the compound caused me to change into this form, " said Josephine.
Rick looked at his hands, where he had touched Josephine. He quickly went to the sink and began to wash his hands thoroughly.
"Relax, " said Josephine. "The compound is designed only to affect reptiles. Besides, I think if it was going to affect you, we would have seen some changes by now, " she said with a smirk.
"How would you know that? " said Rick incredulously.
Josephine shrugged her shoulders in a very human manner. "I 've always listened to you while you worked. Maybe I just retained that knowledge until I had a form capable of human speech," said Josephine. Her intelligence was increasing rapidly. She didn't want to admit the other possibilities to Rick - that perhaps the growth compound had also increased the size of her brain and corresponding intelligence. Or perhaps she had absorbed some of Ricks intelligence along with his form. She was slowly developing a plan, and she did not yet want to frighten Rick. She saw his erection, but hid her disgust. She did not like the man, but she might need him later.
"Yes, perhaps," said Rick. He was not a fool, and her increased intelligence did not go unnoticed. But he loved his pet, and he believed that he had treated her well over the last ten years. Even in her current state, surely she still loved her master. "I will need to run some tests to see what exactly has happened."
Josephine winced. She remembered the tests. How could she forget the seemingly endless cascade of needles, always injecting solutions or removing blood. And of course the constant examinations with prodding fingers and painful instruments. Josephine sat down roughly on the couch, cracking its legs under her immense weight and sent it crashing to the floor. Rick and Josephine both were a little startled by the implications of her new size and power. She distracted Rick from his train of thought by feigning weakness. "My head is pounding, " she said. "and I feel so tired.... and thirsty. Can you get me some water from upstairs first?"
"But Jo, your water bottle is right here, "said Rick gathering the small bottle near her cage from the floor.
Josephine rolled her eyes, but her head was turned away so Rick could not see. Of course he would suggest the old ratty water bottle, that was not changed frequently enough for her taste. "Rick, dear, I think I am going to need a little more than that, " she said rolling her hands down her newly enlarged body. "I would get it myself, but I feel a little weak. " she said as laid down on the remnants of the couch with a sigh. It was difficult to lay down with her large size - only her waist could fit on the body of the couch; one thigh rested on the arm while the other massive thigh rested on the floor with her tail, whose sharp spines were tearing into the fabric of the couch.
Rick looked uneasy, but said " Okay, I'll get you some water. But don't go anywhere.... and don't touch anything!" He rapidly ascended the stairs out of the basement.
As soon as he left Josephine jumped off the couch with surprising speed. She rapidly ran to the table, looking for Rick's lab notebook. The truth was that she enjoyed her new form. She felt the powerful, powerful enough to take care of herself and be free of any master. She was no longer going to be anyone's pet, or worse yet, a test subject. She loved being this big, but she really wanted to be even bigger. And she knew the answer to all her desires were somewhere in the lab, if she could just find it.