Research Trial (A Fox Serum Story)

Note: This story takes place about a year after the invention of the Fox Serum by Dr. Adam Fox. (This is several years before the story “Zoo Tour”.) Although the new lead scientist on the case, Dr. Craig Welton, has been successful in altering the serum to transform people into other animals as well, there is no way to shorten the duration of the three-year change.

Until now...

Hannah Michaelson stood waiting by the door to Dr. Craig Welton's office. Now that Adam Fox was living his life as a fox, Craig was the head scientist on the trials of new and improved serums. Hannah had taken over from his original lab assistant, Amy, who had gone off with Dr. Fox to be his mate. Adam and Amy occasionally came by for a visit, and their glorious bodies and apparent happiness made Hannah secretly jealous. She knew she herself had the means to attain that same happiness right there in the lab, but she did not want to be away from her human life for the three years that the serum lasted.

But Dr. Welton had altered the serum, and that was why she was waiting to speak to him.

“Okay, Hannah! I'm off the phone. Come on in!” Dr. Welton called, and she entered.

Craig Welton was maybe fifty, and he was thin and tired-looking. Hannah suspected that he often wished he could join Adam and Amy in the woods as well, but he had family and a career to nurture. He had plenty of money that was rightfully Adam Fox's, but it went to him with Adam's blessing. Adam never wanted to return to humanity again.

Hannah seated herself in the chair that sat in front of the scientist's desk.

Dr. Welton reclined in his own chair and folded his hands together. “So, you're really willing to do this?”

Hannah nodded her head. “If it's only one week, and you don't mind me sharing it with someone, then, yes. I've wanted to do this for as long as I can remember.”

“And you don't mind it being recorded?”

Reddening, Hannah shook her head. “I kind of like the idea, actually. How slow does it happen?”

“Well, as you've seen in the mice experiments, the change seems to happen over about twelve hours. The original Fox Serum transforms the subject over minutes, but it lasts for three years. This new serum allows a much shorter time that the person is transformed, but for some reason, the transforming process slows down too.”

“That's weird. You'd think it would be the opposite,” Hannah commented.

“More stuff to work out, what can I say? Meanwhile, you might enjoy the slower rate of transformation. The pleasure-inducing drugs in the serum lasts entirely through the changes,” he winked at her, “and the slower pace allows us to study the changes much better than simply slowing down a video.”

“You'll be with us when we change?”

“If you don't mind. Who's us? Max?”

Hannah blushed again at the sound of her boyfriend's name. “No, Max is in Europe now for some doctoral thing. This would be with my friend, Jill. It's her birthday in a few days, and she's just dying to try the Serum. But, like most people, she doesn't want to stay an animal for three years. This will just blow her away!”

Dr. Welton chuckled. “You need to sign some forms and stuff. Come with me, and let's get this going.”

***

A confused Jill answered her door, studying the three men behind her friend. “So these people are part of my birthday present?” she asked timidly.

“Come on in, guys,” Hannah ushered the scientist inside Jill's apartment, and two men carrying camera equipment followed.

“Jill, this is my boss, Dr. Welton,” Hannah introduced the scientist.

“The Dr. Welton! I'm thrilled to meet you!” Jill cried, shaking the man's hand up and down. “What you and Dr. Fox have done is amazing!”

“And now it's your chance to be part of it.” Hannah placed a case in front of her friend and pulled it open, displaying two rows of syringes.

For a moment, Jill could not speak. “No!” she pushed out. “Is that...but I don't...”

Dr. Welton stepped in. “This is a new variant of the Serum we're working on. The change only lasts a week. However the transformation takes about twelve hours to complete...well, at least on mice it does.”

Jill's face lit up in excitement. “So you're going to let us try it out?”

“If you'd like. Hannah is going to, and she was hoping you'd join her.”

“Oh, my God, Hannah. Talk about birthday presents! This is the best one ever!” Jill clasped her hands together and made several small jumps.

Dr. Welton grinned at her enthusiasm.

“Just one thing, Jill,” Hannah cautioned her friend. “If we do this, it's part of an experiment. We'll be monitored. Our changes will be taped, and Dr. Welton's going to stay with us during the transformation, if that's okay with you.”

Jill nodded. “Is it ever! When do we start?”

“Call into work, set things up to be 'gone' for a week, and let's go.”

***

Jill and Hannah sat on the couch, both quivering in anticipation. “What will we become?” Jill asked Dr. Welton, who was helping the men test out the cameras.

Hannah answered for him. “Dr. Welton and I thought it would be more fun if you and I didn't know.”

Jill pondered this. “Yes,” she answered thoughtfully, her voice growing into an excited squeak. “That will be incredible, in fact. As long as it's not something yucky. I don't want to be a bug, or a rat, or–”

Dr. Welton smiled secretively. “I can guarantee you both will end up very warm and cuddly.”

Jill hugged her arms to her chest and squealed delightedly.

The scientist flicked a switch on one of several cameras stationed through the room, and he saw the two men out. Once they left, he went over to the case of syringes and held it out to Hannah. “Take one from the top row for Jill. The bottom's for you.”

Gingerly, Hannah picked up a syringe. Jill yanked up her sleeve and offered the lab assistant her arm. Hannah's hand shook as she pierced Jill's skin and pushed the plunger.

“I can't wait...” Jill murmured.

Quickly, Hannah picked up the other syringe and injected herself. The feeling of the serum entering her body first was uncomfortable; the pressure of the liquid was just like any other shot. Then, slowly, a pleasant tingle began to fill her.

“Ooh, I feel it...it's nice...” Jill purred.

“Jill is seconds ahead of you, Hannah. But understand, from what we see, people are affected differently by the serum. In fact, every person transforms differently. Watch each other, and you'll see.”

“I feel it now too, more and more,” Hannah said, and it was indeed pleasant. For a few increasingly blissful moments, both girls simply stood watching each other, waiting for the first sign of a change. Dr. Welton went off into a corner, where he sat down and began to furiously scribble notes into a notebook. Then he pulled out a tiny digital recorder and spoke into it:

“Injections delivered at 8:18 PM for Jill, 8:19 PM for Hannah. Both subjects are quite comfortable. Watching for first changes to occur.”

“Oh, my God. My mouth feels funny!” Jill suddenly announced. All three ran to the mirror. Jill stuck out her tongue, and realized it was getting longer...and thinner. She grabbed at it, tugging slightly, and giggling all the while. “It's...it's like, falling out of my mouth! What am I turning into?” she asked in wonder.

“It's a surprise!” the scientist replied, and he walked back to his corner. He turned on his tape. “Jill has had the first change; her tongue, of all things! It's lengthening and thinning.”

Suddenly Hannah's face felt itchy. “Oh!” she grasped at her cheeks, to find whiskers sprouting from them. “Whiskers!” she cried happily. “What has whiskers? Cat, bunny, dog... Oh, I'm going to be cute and furry...”

Dr. Welton approached her, reaching towards her face. “May I?”

She nodded.

Fascinated, he touched the thin whiskers, which were still elongating. “And you feel this?”

“Oh yes!”

The scientist went back and spoke into the recorder again, “Hannah's first change is the growth of a nice set of white whiskers from her face,” he clicked off the recorder. “Hannah, make sure you're facing the camera.”

Hannah turned to one of the cameras and winked, twitching her whiskers. “Hey! I can move them!”

Jill giggled again, showing the camera her tongue, which was even longer now. “How weird is this?” she said. “I mean, it's going to get weirder and weirder as we're like, only half-human, and then, one quarter...”

“It's fun weird, though.”

“It's a dream come true, Hannah. Thanks so much for including me in this. You didn't have to.”

“Well, I know Max wouldn't do it, and I didn't want to do it alone, so enjoy!”

***

“It's an hour in, and the subjects report a feeling of general well-being. They are relaxed yet anticipating each new change. Jill's epidermis seems to be coming mottled–”

“You're getting spots, Jill!” Hannah cried in glee.

Jill was back in front of the mirror, touching at her skin. Indeed, it seemed to be darkening in blotches all over her body. “What's spotted? A cheetah? What else? Lots of things can be! Oh, my God, this is so exciting!”

“And look at me,” Hannah studied her own reflection. “My ears...they're getting pointy, and,” she touched her nose, “my nose is getting...smaller?” She turned to Dr. Welton, who simply agreed and added these notes to his recording.

As the night wore on, the two girls were growing tired. “Why isn't anything happening?” Jill complained.

Dr. Welton sat up in his chair. “Oh, but it is, Jill. But on a microscopic scale. Your very insides are altering, your cells...”

“And remember, this is the slower serum,” Hannah pointed out.

“I'm getting so tired,” Jill lay down on the couch.

“Of course, think what your poor body is going through!” Dr. Welton said, and stood up. “And honestly, if not for the drugs in that serum, my guess is that transforming might be quite uncomfortable!”

“Mmm, I don't want to know,” Jill murmured. “I just feel so good right now...”

“Girls, one thing I will ask is, if it's not too awkward, could you both sleep here in front of the cameras so we catch any changes happening when you sleep?”

“You think we'll be able to sleep?” Hannah asked, rubbing at her back.

“Hannah, I could fall off right now if you let me,” Jill remarked. “Here, guys. Help me pull out the sofa bed. One of us could sleep on here, the other on the loveseat, and Dr.–”

“Oh, don't worry about me. I'm going to pull an all-nighter. If I doze a bit here on the chair, that's fine. Just get me some strong coffee and I'm good to go.”

Jill brought a cup of coffee over to the scientist. She was rubbing at her spine. “I feel weird down there.”

Dr. Welton just smiled. “You know, and I'm saying this only as a scientist, soon you're going to want to take those clothes off if you don't want them to be ruined.”

Jill popped up and began to pull off her pants quite happily.

Hannah, however, blanched. Always a private person, she had not thought this through all the way. Of course they would want her naked so they could see the changes taking place in her. She glanced up at Dr. Welton questioningly.

“If you're uncomfortable with me here, Hannah, I could go into the other room and watch on the video feed,” he suggested.

She shook her head vehemently. She was doing this for science. And Dr. Welton was a cold-blooded scientist. And married, she told herself hurriedly.

“Oof!” Jill suddenly grasped at her panties. “My God! They're...I'm growing a tail!” she announced ecstatically. As the tail-bump stretched the underwear to its fullest, the girl glanced at Hannah and Dr. Welton, touching the elastic hesitantly.

“Go for it. It's for the good of science,” Hannah mumbled, and she began to fiddle with her own pants zipper. These were expensive slacks, after all. She could not wear them with a tail-hole in them...

Jill shed her panties with abandon and, not caring in the least that she was in mixed company, she simply twisted around to watch her new appendage make its appearance.

Dr. Welton drew near, talking into his recorder. “Jill's tail is growing. It's covered with mottled skin right now,” he ran his fingers down it, and Jill wagged it emphatically. “Quite interesting.”

“Oh! Me too!” Hannah's tail had begun to form as well, and she found the sensation quite odd. Dr. Welton came and inspected it. “I find it intriguing, that when the transformation is slowed down like this, these particular changes to the anatomy have expressed themselves first. The normal serum has it all happening at once, while the subject enlarges or shrinks to the appropriate size.”

More time passed. The girls were now devoid of clothing from the waist down, but Hannah's top remained on. Both were exhausted, and, though their bodies were hard at work, nothing particularly grand was happening. “Remove the rest of your clothes, Hannah, and both of you take a nap,” Dr. Welton instructed.

“Sounds good to me,” Hannah yawned. “I'm not sure I'm liking a slow change like this.”

“I do!” cried Jill. “In fact, come to think of it, I don't care if I'm tired. I don't want to sleep because I don't want to miss anything.”

“Jill, your changing body needs rest. It requires energy to complete the metamorphosis. Sleep, and if anything big starts happening, I'll wake you for it, although you'll probably wake yourself.”

“I remember with the mice there was a long lag until the size change anyway,” said Hannah.

“Good. If I'm shrinking or growing, I damn well want to feel it!” With a contented moan, Jill fell onto the sofa bed, stretched herself out, and was asleep immediately.

Hannah watched her naked friend for a moment, and she covered her own body with her hands, but she saw Dr. Welton was not even looking at her. Yet this was her boss... “Good night,” she said to him timidly, and she curled up onto the loveseat.

“Good night, Hannah. Straighten out so we can see you,” Dr. Welton did not look up from his work.

Hannah stretched out somewhat.

“Better.” His quick glance resulted in a double-take, but Hannah missed this. “Good night, Hannah, and,” he hesitated once more, “enjoy!” He did not want to get her more excited, because she needed to sleep, but both she and Jill had definitely begun to shrink.

He grinned to himself as his lab assistant dozed off.

***

Intrigued, Craig Welton observed the two girls further transforming through the night. “A light spotted fuzz has begun to sprout from Jill's skin, and she is perhaps only three-quarters of her original height.” He stood over the naked girl, who groaned and twisted around in her sleep. “Tail growth is complete,” Jill's tail twitched slightly, “and ears are flattening and elongating.”

He turned to Hannah, who had curled up again. Gently he coaxed her onto her back, and he tried to ignore how lovely her body was. Even with the slight gray fuzz on her skin, she was splendid, and he had often wondered what she looked like under that lab coat of hers...

But he was a married man, and this was purely science.

“Hannah is getting gray fur. Subject also maybe three-quarters of original height. Tail long, looks like developing striped fur there... Ears complete...”

***

Sometime past six in the morning, the visible transformations started to speed up, and the girls stirred. “My arms feel...” Jill burst up in amazement. “I have fur! I have a beautiful spotted coat!” She tried to jump to the floor but toppled down instead. Her feet had receded to half their length, and her arms were becoming legs. She gazed in astonishment at her fuzed fingers which were rapidly forming into paws.

“Look at me, Dr. Welton, I think I'm becoming–”

“Yes,” he stated, “a dalmatian. Does that make you happy?”

“Happy? That makes me...ecstatic!” She rubbed her furry arm against her face. “It feels so nice...” She tried to get up on two legs again, but found that she could not. “Dr. Welton, feel my coat!”

The scientist ran his hand over her silky fur, and she gazed up at him. “You're so big...”

“No, my dear, you're so small.”

“We're shrinking, Jill! Don't you feel it?” Hannah gasped, her long striped tail flicking back and forth.

“Look at you, Hannah! Gray tabby stripes!”

Hannah grabbed at her tail and studied it. “A cat, Dr. Welton?”

Nodding, he tried to help Hannah from the loveseat. “You have four legs now, my dear. Something to get used to. My, the transformation really is speeding up. I can actually see you losing height, and your body is becoming more and more feline...”

“She's beautiful. And, wow...” Jill gasped, inhaling the air with a decidedly large black nose. “The smells in the air! Oh, my...” One could see her face starting to protrude.

“Yes, you'll feel more and more of that. You're becoming animals, and you'll gain the instincts of those animals. You'll still be you, but you're in an animal body with animal reactions and feelings.”

Hannah watched her friend, who was now mostly dog. Her eyes had widened and darkened, her ears flopped back and forth, and her tail wagged merrily. Her muzzle was very obviously forming, and Jill tried to touch at it, but with only paws, she was largely unsuccessful. She went into a fit of giggles until she picked up a smell in the air and followed it blindly...

“Jill! Stop smelling me...there!” Hannah threw her tail down, hitting her friend in the face.

“See what I mean?” chuckled Dr. Welton.

Jill's canine eyes opened wide in embarrassment. “I'm sorry, but you smell so good, I only wish you weren't female or the wrong species...” She tried to continue, but she was losing the ability to speak and now could only make happy groans and whimpers.

“My dear Jill, you are officially a dog!” Dr. Welton cried victoriously, and Jill made an triumphant squeal, trotting around in drunken-like glee.

Meanwhile, Hannah had reached cat-size, and her eyes had grown green and cat-like. Her own snout popped out, and she tested out her voice. “Rowrrrr...” was all she could summon.

“And you, my dear, are officially a cat.”

***

Dr. Welton left the happy new animals to their own devices. For a while, they simply sat around, enjoying their new forms. They communicated with each other through taps and yelps, and Dr. Welton left plenty of the best-quality cat and dog food for them. Before, they had found this laughable and slightly disgusting. Now it was like a wonderful, endless banquet.

***

Hannah understood now why Adam Fox wanted to remain a fox. Being an animal was simply...freeing. Suddenly there were no bills to pay, no job to go to, no phone calls, no mail...it was simply eat, play, sleep...

And her body was so muscular and energetic! She could jump from great heights without hurting her legs, and her cat-like reflexes were quite impressive. Her sense of smell was splendid, and seeing in the dark was, well, awesome.

When she walked past the tassel on Jill's curtain, she simply had to play with it. Jumping at it, she managed to pull it off and bat it around the floor until Jill approached her. Glaring at her friend with her big dog-eyes, Jill tried to fish up the tassel. Unfortunately, that was hard to do with a paw.

Mischievously, Hannah pulled the tassel away – until a newer smell came to her.

Mouse.

Her human mind tried to fight it, but the cat instinct was too great. The mouse was quickly and easily sandwiched between her razor-sharp claws, and she needed to eat it–

“RRR!” growled Jill, swatting angrily at her.

The mouse scampered off, and Hannah sighed. Her quarry was gone. But she had not killed, and deep down, she was relieved.

She and Jill cuddled up together on the sofabed and slept for hours.

***

The sun was warm on Hannah's furry back, and a knock on the door did not elicit a response from her nor Jill. They had left the TV on, simply because it was hard to use the remote with their paws. Hannah was able to maneuver it a bit better as hers were somewhat smaller than Jill's.

Hannah stretched lazily, testing her claws and then slowly retracting them as the knocks grew more urgent.

“Jill? Are you there? Is Hannah with you? I came home early, and she left a note at her house that she'd be here.”

Hannah jumped to her feet with a start. That was Max's voice! He was not supposed to be back for several more days!

She ran past Jill, who merely opened and closed one eye, and jumped onto the front window. She began to tap at it furiously with her front paw.

Max's face looked in at her curiously.

“Hello, little kitty. Since when did Jill get a cat?”

Hannah could only meow back pitifully and bat her paws against the glass.

“Wow! You're a vocal one. No wonder Jill liked you.”

Max looked past the frantic cat to see a large dalmation asleep on the floor in front of the TV.

“A dog also? And why the hell is the TV on?” He banged harder and harder. “Jill! Hannah! Where the hell are you?”

Jill opened both eyes and raised her head at the sound of her name. Tongue hanging out, she bounded over to the window and put her face to the glass.

Max jumped up in shock. The dog had very deliberately winked at him.

“What the hell?”

Then the cat waved.

His mind was at work. Either these were very smart animals, or... “No,” he whispered aloud, backing away from the waving pets. “No way...” And he made a mad dash for his car.

***

Max burst into Craig Welton's lab. He was surprised how easy it had been to get in the building. There had to be more security around the place than that! This was the Fox Serum lab! But then again, it was a lot easier to get around a university when you had a student ID...

“Um, excuse me, how did you get in here...” Dr.. Welton flipped around from an experiment he was working on. He still held a medicine dropper in the air.

“Welton, what the hell did you do to my girlfriend?”

The dropper promptly fell to the floor and broke into fragments. “They didn't tell you?”

Max's worst fears had been realized. At this comment, he collapsed into a chair, his head in hands. “Oh, God, she finally did it. The dog and the cat. She always wanted to do it, and I wouldn't join her. I can't be an animal now and lose three years of my life! It's not the right time! And she can't either! She has such a promising life ahead, and you let her throw it away! Did you force her? You should have just used Jill only! She's nuts, and who the hell knows what she does everyday anyway?”

Dr. Welton approached the upset man. “Max, right?”

“Yes.”

“Max, it's not what you think.”

“Not? A cat and dog waving at me, watching TV in Jill's apartment? Do you feed them? Do you take them for walks? Is there a litter box? Who the hell is going to take care of them for three whole years? Oh, my God, Hannah...”

“They're fine. I'm watching them.”

“For how long? Will you put them in a pound when you're tired of them? I was going to propose to her next week. I can't now. Who can marry a cat? She couldn't wear the ring now anyway...unless I get it resized...”

“Max, shut the hell up for a minute, okay?”

Max glanced up at the scientist in surprise.

Craig softened his voice. “It's a new serum, and Hannah wanted to try it out with someone. You don't want to have anything to do with transforming–”

“Not for three years!”

“This is only a week, Max.”

Max straightened up. “Really?” Hope poured into his face, and he shuffled his feet on the floor. A week was not so bad. Losing a week was not nearly as bad as losing three years. “So she'll change back soon?” He realized that, for some reason, this almost made him feel let down. He jumped to his feet and made his way to the door.

“Where are you going?” Craig asked.

“I want to go pet Hannah,” he said bashfully.

“I've got the key to Jill's apartment. Give me a second and I'll go with you.”

***

“Oh, my God, Hannah, you're so beautiful, and soft.” Max stroked his purring girlfriend's coat with absolute wonder. “Does this feel nice to you?”

The cat shook its head up and down, then rubbed it against Max's leg.

“But you're so small! And yet you're still in there, you're all Hannah...”

“Woof!” Jill nudged up against him, throwing all her weight at him.

Max gingerly petted the dog's head, and he watched her wagging tail. “Jill, you're looking good,” he said, feeling rather peculiar. She answered with a butt of her head and another bark.

Max straightened up and regarded the scientist, who stood in the corner. “They're enjoying this?”

Both the cat and dog nodded vigorously, and Dr. Welton laughed. “Quite.”

Max studied the cat which looked up at him with love. “Well, you know, a week is a lot different than three years. I guess I'd consider doing this for a week...if it would make Hannah happy...” he gulped.

The cat rubbed him again, meowing intensely.

“I can make that happen, Max.” Dr. Welton pulled out the case of syringes. “The newest set yet. This is still the week-long one, but I got the transformation up to speed. It took twelve hours for Hannah and Jill to completely change, but this serum here is just like the Fox Serum transformation. We're talking minutes to transform rather than hours.”

Max pondered the two rows of syringes for a second, then he threw down his jacket. “Call my work for me, okay?”

He held out his arm.

“Max, get down on your side or you'll fall to the floor. Your legs and arms change pretty quickly,” ordered Dr. Welton as Max began to shrink. He obeyed, watching his rapidly growing black fur. As Dr. Welton had warned, Max's legs and arms swiftly reached the same size while his feet and hands became paws. His ears and eyes grew feline, and he gasped as a tail burst forth from his spine.

“I didn't realize it would feel this nice...ah, drugs....rrrrrowwwwrr....”

“Good-bye, ability to talk!” announced Dr. Welton.

Max answered back with a pleasured moan. His whiskers twitched, and he flicked his tail experimentally.

“You're done, Max. Go take a look at yourself in the mirror. Jump up. Be careful, the four legs take a minute to get used to.”

But Max was surprisingly deft on his new limbs. He gave a great leap, depositing himself directly in front of the mirror. In shock, he studied the tuxedo-cat before him. Shiny black fur, white chest and face, white feet... Max wanted to giggle to himself, but it came out as a broken purr. He was a cat... a real, true, warm-blooded, cat!

And then there was the smell.

He turned to the two females in the room. Jill the dog did not hold much interest for him. He raised his paw in greeting, and she barked, wagging her tail and running eagerly in a circle. He walked past her to the gray tabby, his gray tabby...

Hannah raised her tail in greeting, and they nuzzled each other happily. Dr. Welton watched the display of affection, and soon he stood up and opened Jill's unused bedroom door. “You too need some time alone, it looks like.”

The two cats nodded gratefully, and, practically entwined, they slunk into the dark room.

“I hope you'll excuse them for a bit, Jill. They have quite a lot of exploring to do. I only wish I had someone for you...”

Jill caught his eyes and held them there.

“No, Jill. I couldn't. My wife would kill me.”

Jill's puppy-dog eyes were more authentic than any human could have hoped to exhibit.

“Well, it's not like I'd be in human form...”

The puppy-dog eyes pulled at his very soul...

“Oh, God damn it, what the hell.” He jabbed himself with the a syringe from the top row and turned into a dog.

It was quite a night.