He had to initial every page. And on pages where he had to fully sign there was a short summary of the particular topic. That was handy he thought and it was exactly what Amy had explained. There was one interesting page that talked about the bonus he would get if he stayed a mermaid and signed up for the next season. It would give him fifteen grand extra and it included a three month tropical vacation. If he just chose to keep the breasts he would get three grand if he signed up again. Interesting indeed. Keep the voice would pay a grand. Same when he would maintain his waistline during his three months off and for keeping his mermaid hair. It would make the second season much easier.

Amy came with one more page to sign. It would grant Disney the power to change his name officially to Marilyn. Amy's explanation was simple. You have to be Marilyn in mind and body to play the role of Marilyn day and night. And when you don't extend your employment with us Disney will help you to change it back again. He almost missed that his sex was listed as female. But again, Amy laughed. When Marilyn's dress was pushed up by that wind, do you think that she would have been so popular if people could see that she was a guy under her dress? You will be a woman my dear for the next nine months and maybe more. When someone asks you, you want to tell the truth.

He nodded and signed. Next time he signed anything he, no she would sign as Marilyn.

It was a bit of a relief now. Being employed by Disney, making people happy, kids happy. Still would he make friends? Or better, would SHE make friends? They seemed like a tight bunch, the way they jumped all together out of the water. Would he fit in? She. Oh my God, this was going to drive him crazy. What was he thinking, you can't just suddenly say you're a girl, just because you just signed your name away. At least he liked Marilyn, it was a good name. Marilyn. Marilyn. It took a moment before he realized it was a voice and not just a thought in his head. He looked up and saw Amy smiling at him.

You were far away in your thoughts, she said, having second thoughts? He shook his head, no don't worry, I'll finish what I start, always have.

Good, she replied. Now that we're colleagues, I can take you in deeper behind the scenes. Follow me. And she lead him to an elevator and pushed the button to go down. All offices and labs and storage areas are underground, she explained, no visitor will ever come down here.

They walked for a while until they finally reached a large room that was a cross between a pool area and a doctor's office. And the man she left him with definitely looked like a doctor in scrubs and a lab coat. His name was Dr. Kazlauktas. Call me Kaz, he said, everybody does. And you are Marilyn, or at least it will be once I'm done with you. When Amy told me you love Monroe I could not be more pleased. We're gonna make her proud!

Who? Joe asked, Amy?

Haha, good one, Kaz laughed. Her too yes. But I meant the real Marilyn, the original. You took her name and I'm going to give you her looks. You'll be a fan favorite.

And Joe could only smile at that.

He had to take off his clothes for all kind of measurements. And suddenly remembered that he had left all his stuff in Amy's office, his clothes, his laptop. Don't worry, Kaz said, she'll store it for you. You get it all back once you leave. If you leave...

At Joe's surprised look he explained. The mermaids are my best creation. They all love it and some have said already they stay for next season. Who knows, maybe they're lifers, they make me proud. I have some ideas to provide more air, a stronger tail. As a matter of fact you'll be the first one with some of my improvements. I can't wait to start.

He started explaining to Joe about the air pockets inside the tail that would allow him to breath up to fifteen minutes underwater. Longer if you're careful. And the way his toe movements would control his fluke. The special transparent layer to cover the skin to stay warm and stop the skin from wrinkling. The special hair extensions and nails and contacts and makeup. Soon Joe was trying to suppress a yawn and Kaz asked, you look tired, did you not sleep well? Greyhound, Joe explained and Kaz nodded.

Listen, he said, why don't you lie down for a bit. I can actually take you out while we're working on you. Some like the experience of slowly turning into a mermaid. But I have the feeling you would love to wake up and be done.

Is that possible? Joe asked. Kaz nodded. I would have taken you out a few times anyway. Adding breasts is a surgery and so is some of the plumbing work between your legs. Don't worry, I can undo most of it like it never happened, once you're leaving us again. Except for the tattoo, did Amy talk to you about that?

Joe nodded, while they looked at an image of the letter M, in an elegant black font, but surrounded by colorful coral and some dolphins. It was a piece of art more than a way for visitors to identify him. Not bad. It would be okay still once he was a man again.

There's one more thing doc, Kaz I mean. I didn't dare to ask Amy, but what exactly happens between my legs. Will I still be able to, you know, have erections and stuff? He was worried Kaz would laugh but he didn't, he answered dead serious.

I'll be honest with you Joe. Until the tail comes off you will not experience any erection. The way I have to extend the urinary path through the tail leaves no room for growing bigger. We'll pack away your scrotum as well, you won't even know it's there anymore. But once the tail comes off, even if you stay for an extra season, I will put it all back in working order. If you want to stay longer after that we'll have to talk. You may lose your manly parts slowly then but after two years of being a girl you may not care about that anymore. I could give you the matching girly parts, if you know what I mean.

Joe didn't think it would come that far. And nine months without sex? What had he been thinking?

Kaz guessed his thoughts. Just so you know, your breasts will be very sensitive and provide perhaps some unexpected pleasure. And the girls have found a way to overcome the lack of standard sex. It may work for you as well, you'll find out. Why don't you let me knock you out and turn you into mermaid Marilyn?

Ten minutes later Joe had a final thought before he blacked out. When I wake up I will be Marilyn...

It took three days before she woke up, but of course she didn't know. Her first thought continued from when she fell asleep. I am Marilyn.

Things were feeling weird all over, like she was covered by water. Without opening her eyes she started to feel around. She could feel her bellybutton but it was like a layer between her finger and her skin. She moved up her chest and hit something that wasn't there before. It felt foreign to her but she could also feel the touch from the other side. It was a breast, she realized, her breast. So it was all true?

Was she a mermaid now? She moved her hand down to her legs. She could feel her skin there be touched but her fingers felt something different, scales, her skin had scales. Rubbing down felt nice, rubbing upwards not so. She rubbed where her crotch would be and felt nothing different. Just more scales. She tried to find where the tail and skin met and it was a perfect transition. She tried to move her legs and stretched her toes while doing so. She felt a rush and a wave of water rolled over her. Suddenly she panicked, she was underwater!

Now she opened her eyes and it confirmed she was underwater. She started to scream, only to see air bubbles floating upwards. She suddenly sucked in her breath only to realize that she could breath without problem. I'm a mermaid, she thought, and it calmed her down. She had clear sight and noticed she was in some sort of glass cocoon. The water around her was pleasant. She looked down over her body and saw the large globes that were her breasts, covered in platinum white scales. Pushing up her hips slightly and she could see her tail in the same color. She was hooked up to a hose and when she made a small move with the tail it disconnected.

When she looked up she saw the edge of the cocoon and with her hands she could just reach and she started pulling herself out. She could see how the cocoon kept the water in under the slight angle but it was easy to get out. Only a feet below her was a pool and she simply dropped in the water. Somehow she was still breathing even though the air hose was no longer connected.

She was sort of floating under the surface of the pool and she tried a swim move. That didn't go as her legs felt like they were tied together. But she could make an up and down move and she started a slow move through the water. With a bit more up and down speed she went faster until she reached the side of the pool. She automatically corrected until she moved parallel to the side. It felt like she could move her feet a bit and her speed suddenly increased. And when she moved her toes just a bit she took off.

Suddenly she saw a mirror attached to the side and she felt like she bent her knees to break her speed. When she saw herself in the mirror she gasped.

She was beautiful! And totally female, no doubt about that. She looked indeed like Marilyn Monroe but with very long hair that was sort of floating around her. Her breasts were large but thanks to the water they didn't feel heavy. She wouldn't need a bra but the scales covering a big part gave her some decency. No one would think like she was naked. Her waist was impossibly narrow between her large hips and breasts, very curvy. Her tail started just below her bellybutton in an unusual white, almost like a wedding dress, or the skirt of the dress. And the fluke was amazing, large and sleek.

Quite a sight huh? She heard the voice in her ear but with a quick check she realized there was nothing in her ear. Bone conduction, the voice said, a tiny addition around your ear. It works using bluetooth and connects to any matching microphone within thirty feet. It allows you to communicate under water. Say something, so we can test your microphone. It was a weird feeling. She had air in her lungs and while breathing out she could speak. She could hear something in her ear as well, this time it was a woman speaking.

She looked around and saw no one. When she looked up she could see Kaz standing above the water surface outside the pool. But nobody else. She started saying, Where did that voice come from? And at the same time she heard the sentence in her ears. It was her voice, perhaps as sultry as Marilyn's. Kaz laughed, you like your own voice?

Marilyn gave a flick with her toe and she surfaced. With her arms on the side of the pool she looked ar Kaz and asked, How come I can breath under water?

Ah, Kaz replied, one of my little inventions. There is a tank built in your tail with slightly compressed air. In the original design we had a tube going from the tank to your nose. But with a little incision we guide the tube inside your body and into your airway. You could breath for at least ten minutes if you're very active, double if you're relaxed. We have a high pressure connection in your tail that can fill up the tank in ten seconds. And a low pressure one that fills you up overnight while sleeping and keep you breathing as well. Don't worry, all kind of alarm sounds will pop up in your head if you start running out of air.

Marilyn interrupted him. When I woke up there was a hose connected to me but it broke off.

Haha, Kaz laughed, that is a magnetic connection in the charging pod. While you sleep we charge your battery as well, completely wireless.

Battery? Marilyn looked confused.

Yep, the battery that drives the servos in your tail to make the fluke work mainly. And the air regulator and your ear pieces, have some micro wires go through your skin to you headset and microphone.

You saying I'm partly bionic? Marilyn wondered.

No, not that fancy. For now at least. It uses sensors on your toes and ankles and then drives the right motor to move part of the fluke. But I'm working on tying things straight to your muscles and nerves, so in a few more years maybe. Right now only Ursula has some bionic parts, my first experiments.

Ursula? Why does that name sound familiar?

Kaz laughed. From Ariel, the little mermaid, silly, that's what this is all about. She's your roommate. And she's the sweetest woman you will ever meet.

She wanted to ask more questions but all she could say was, I'm hungry.

Of course you are, he replied, you haven't eaten in three days. Things took a bit longer than I thought. He held out a granola bar for her and she took a large bite from it. It tasted like heaven.

I will have some lunch brought in for us and I'll answer any questions you may have. Then I will check your vitals which are a bit more complicated as a mermaid. Maybe you could practice a bit more swimming around, see what happens when you run out of air. And then I'll ask one of the girls to pick you up here and take you to the group. By then it should be dinner time.

The biggest question she had was about the surgeries. Shouldn't she feel any pain? He explained that all of them were minimally invasive. And being in water helped a lot, for example the weight of her breasts would make it much more uncomfortable on land.

What about when she had to pee and you know... He smiled, saying how proud he was about his work in that field. Essentially he had extended these parts in her body to one hole in the tail. It would open up when she would push her stuff out like she normally would do in the bathroom. He showed her the location of the exit about a foot below where her crotch used to be. You couldn't tell but when he started rubbing it she could feel it and it started opening up. How come I can feel it?

Because it's your own intestinal tract that I pulled out and you have nerves in it so you can feel it. Believe me, doing both number one or two will feel very natural. Now we prefer you don't let go of it in the water so we created bathrooms that contain a sucking hose. It will latch on over your exit hole and whatever you release will be sucked up. Very clean, no mess.

Likewise there are areas where you can refill your air tanks under water. It only takes a few seconds. The same magnetic connection is used that fills you while you sleep. You just swim up to a refill area and move your tail toward the hose. It will automatically connect and fill up and you're on your way again, simply pull loose.

How will I know I need a refill?

Oh you will know. When you're getting low you will hear warning beeps in your head. The more critical the air value becomes the more noise it makes. It will also trigger a signal in our computer room and we'll locate you in seconds, there's a GPS tracker in there as well. Just in case you're not capable of getting to the refill area.

He continued. When you're running out of battery power, same thing. Except it will take a bit longer to recharge, at least half an hour to get you going again. Or you spend a few hours resting in the sun. The scales will turn the solar energy to charging energy. I have a patent for it.

Speaking of your scales, can you feel this? And he rubbed her tail following the direction of the scales. She felt a pleasant tingle like he was rubbing her leg and she nodded. Before she could ask he said, there's a layer between your legs and the tail. It took off a fraction of your skin, you'll never know when we take the tail off. But it freed the nerves and connected each nerve to one of the scales. Soon you won't know better even. We even hooked your fluke up so if you brush against something you'll know.

It's unbelievable, she said, I just finished college but I would love to add another year and learn about this stuff. I could be your assistant. He smiled. I surely could use some help. If you're serious I can teach you on your days off and after the season. As long as you stay with us. We can sign another contract...

It suddenly hit her. Her studies were not too far off, at least enough to get a basic understanding of what was going on here. Maybe this could be the "real" job that her mom was talking about. I'd love that, was all she could say and it put a big smile on his face. Not a bad idea, he said, to get true inside information on how it all feels and if we're truly making improvements.

Now in teacher-student mode they went into detail on how the motors worked and how he thought he could improve the bionic part. Just talking about it generated new ideas and she volunteered to be the guineapig for these experiments.