(Man to Puma)
(Man to Black Jaguar)
(Puma and Black Jaguar to Tiger (Merge))
(Woman to Elephant)

“Hey. Nothing risky.” Gerald, spread across a pair of connected beds, looked at his team sternly. He was still recovering from the blows Raptor had inflicted upon himself, and though he was strong enough to take on any man—at least, in his own words, but Mira was a little concerned for his safety against ‘Balancers’, as they were called.

His team of three simply laughed. Daz and Ilos gave each other a knowing look while Fiona ran a hand through her team leader’s hair. She snorted with laughter as the big man’s leg instinctively kicked, and he looked down to it with a scowl.

“See? Mira was right; you do need to be kept here. If our opponent had a bone, you’d be helpless.” She winked, brushing some of her golden hair past her ear.

“Impertinent girl.” He muttered under his breath, trying to hide the fact that the thought of a bone had caused him to salivate a little. That last dog transformation had really sank deep, the magic sinking into the big man’s bones. Talon was already back up and running, and he was stuck in bed. The thought was mortifying to him, but he couldn’t resist the effects of change.

“Since when does ‘impertinent’ mean ‘correct, stunning, and wonderful’?” Fiona’s eyes flashed with mirth. “Relax, I’ll be fine.” She and her team’s leader had an awkward relationship after their last mission.

It had taken the best healing mages a full week to find out how to change back ‘balanced’ humans, during which Gerald was kept as Fiona’s pet. It was hard to have respect for someone who’d spent the better part of seven days cuddling you and licking your face.

“Of course you will.” Gerald pet her hair, this time able to resist the urge to nuzzle her affectionately. “Otherwise I’ll need to have words with the other members of Hammer.” He followed this with a hard glare to the red and blue headed twins.

Daz laughed. “Of course…” He began, putting his hands in his blue uniform’s pockets.

“You know we’re always careful.” Ilos finished, copying his brother’s movement. His crimson clothing made the motion stand out more and Fiona chuckled.

“Thanks for the effort, guys. But one of the people in this room has killed a Balancer.” Fiona stuck out her tongue.

“Only destabilized…” Daz said with a wry grin.

Ilos rolled his eyes. “Yeah. We don’t know if we can kill them. But we can seal them away.” He looked over his shoulder, no doubt thinking of the deep vault within TransSec headquarters. The company had meant to use that space as a training ground, but housing captured Balancers worked equally well.

“We can.” Gerald sighed. “But if it comes to a choice of being transformed or destabilizing a Balancer, I’d rather you take the latter. It’s better for you to be safe than to potentially be lost.”

“Aw, such a loyal puppy!” Fiona giggled, laughing harder as Gerald’s eyes briefly lit up. “Relax, we’ll be fine. Besides, now we know how to change people back. It might take a while, but we’d be back to normal with a little time.”

Yeah, boss.” Daz gave Gerald a thumbs-up.

“All evidence demonstrates that these monsters don’t hurt things they’ve changed.” His brother beamed comfortingly.

“Let’s hope so.” Gerald sighed. “I’d hate to take care of a trio of animals.”

“We’ll be fine.” Fiona patted him on his shoulder, sending a glance back to the clock on the wall. “But we really should be off. It’s time to head out.”

The twins nodded, and Gerald waved them off with another well-meaning wish. The trio of operatives headed to their teleport room, each of them running over their mission in their heads. It didn’t look good: TransSec had been receiving reports of a series of disappearances near a circus, which had a marked increase in animal ‘donations’.

It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together, and TransSec wasn’t pulling any punches in sending Team Hammer. Right now, they wanted people with experience, and the only other teams who’d encountered Balancers were recovering or en route to debriefed.

At present, it was intelligence-gathering and containment alike, and while a recon team would be following Hammer, the trio would be going in alone. Skilled as they were, they had no idea what they were getting into; only that it needed to be stopped.

Fiona led the group, waving at the transport technicians. They smiled back, each finishing their calibrations to the runes. All of them looked identical, but Fiona knew they weren’t twins. Everyone had a certain skill in magic, and Paula Moran’s was in duplication.

“Sorry, hope you don’t mind if I’m in a few states right now. Whoever set up a magical barrier around this place certainly did a good job; I’m having more than my fair share of trouble getting through to the destination.” Paula’s grin almost spread past her freckles as she spoke.

Fiona arched an eyebrow and Paula continued. “But I’ve done it. Took a while, but I’ve been able to get a working and stable rune. You guys will show up in the middle of the circus tent, so you should be ready for anything.”

Her duplicates nodded, then walked back into her body, disappearing as they did. Still, despite their encouraging nods, that hardly did much to abate the fluttering in Fiona's heart.

“Nothing like jumping straight into the belly of the whale.” Fiona muttered.

“Last place they’d ever expect, though…” Daz muttered.

“I like it.” Ilos nodded his assent, flashing Paula a grin.

The redhead frowned at the twins, pointing at them. “Hey… Do you two always have to speak like that?”

Fiona rolled her eyes, stepping on to her transportation rune. She’d asked that before, and she answer was hardly what she’d have preferred. As expected, the pair of twins glanced at each other; then smiled at Paula.

“Well, as luck would have it we can also talk like this.” They said in perfect union. “That is, if you’d prefer. Most people find it unsettling, though.”

Paula shivered. “Because stereo is awful? Never mind, go back to the old way.” She shook her head with a frown.

“Yeah…” Daz sighed, stepping onto his pad.

“That’s what we thought.” Ilos finished as he stepped up to his own transporter.

“Much obliged.” The transport technician said with a smile. “So, who’s ready to face some scary monsters?”

“Hopefully just one.” Fiona smiled. “But even at the worst, I think we can handle ourselves.”

“Let's hope so, because you're going, going, gone!” Paula smiled and winked, triggering her set runes with a surge of magic.

The world spun around Team Hammer as they were whisked away to their mission. Or rather, as their mission was whisked away to them.

Teleportation, the instantaneous transmission of matter from one location to another, was still impossible; even for TransSec. However, making an anchor in the ground; then bending the world to meet their anchor wasn't.

Fiona grinned at the thought as she and the twins arrived at their destination. She truly loved science; it was why she applied it constantly with her magic. The moment they arrived on-site, she set up a series of triggering runes, preparing to change the very air into something more reactive.

As she did, the twins smartly moved into position behind her, raising a magical barrier around the group.

Yet no attack came, despite a few terse seconds of baited breath. The team waited a little more, then relaxed slightly with disappointment. It looked like they were too late.

Just as the thought collectively passed through their minds, a woman ran into the room, wearing a ringmaster's uniform. “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” The red-garbed woman said. “I didn't think you guys would come in through the center of the tent!”

The TransSec team raised their guard, and the ringleader's hands flew to the air. “Easy, I just want to talk for a little bit!”

“Just like the others we've encountered?” Fiona raised one of her hands, already preparing dozens of runes.

“N-no, really! I want to know why you're here; I haven't hurt anyone!” The creature raised its own hands, holding them palm out. It realized its mistake, dodging one of Fiona's blasts when she interpreted the move as an attack.

“Please, don't!” The ringleader cried. “My name's Dollie, and I can explain everything; I haven't changed anyone against their will before!”

Fiona paused her next attack, though the twins kept their barrier as strong as possible. “Come again?” She asked, tilting her head at 'Dollie'.

“I swear! Do you guys know why we change people?” The Balancer kept its hands low, no doubt intending to seem as small a threat as possible.

“No.” Daz admitted.

“But we'd imagined it to be along the lines of 'for giggles'.” Ilos said flatly.

Dollie rolled its eyes. “Come on, guys. 'Balancers'? It's in our name! With the advent of so much magic being added to the world through repeated shapeshifting, we need to drain away the rest of that. Humans just have more innate magic than any other creature, so we drain some of theirs!”

Fiona paused, her heart hammering. “Wait, have we been doing something wrong? What happens if the balance gets offset?” A pang of guilt settled into her gut and she bit her lip nervously.

Dollie paused, biting its lip. “Well... Nothing. But we don't like it!” It added the last bit defensively, its face coloring.

A stunned silence greeted its words, and the Balancer only colored further. “You know what really sucks? Awkward silences.” It muttered, its face turning an even darker shade of red. “It's like a compulsion; we can't help it.”

Fiona's stare hardened to a glare. “Can't help it? You've changed some of our friends, and you say that it's because you can't help it?”

“No!” Dollie exclaimed. “Well, yes. But I didn't change them personally. It was Raptor and Prinzy, right? Everyone that I've transformed have been volunteers from the crowd!”

Fiona tried to retort, but found herself unable to. TransFun had certainly had a fair share of addicts, and she knew that many of them would jump at the chance to be transformed for life.

But while she couldn't come up with anything to say, her partners certainly had thoughts to voice.

“You know, you’re being rather open with us…” Daz trailed off, standing back to back with his brother.

“I don’t suppose that’s because you anticipate us being transformed, and thus unable to share your secrets?” Ilos finished his thought, the man’s blue hair glinting in the light of the circus tent.

“Oh, no! Well, yes. But I really mean you no malice.” Dollie smiled. “Honestly, all I aim to do is just put a smile on as many people’s faces as possible. That’s why I only change one person per show, and even donate them to zoos afterwards.”

“But if you're trying to be such a good person... Balancer... Thing, then why change us?” Fiona arched an eyebrow.

It sighed, looking skyward and tapping its chin. “Well...” It shook its head. “No, I really shouldn't consider this.” The ringmaster looked back down to the humans with a frown. “Regardless of my opinion of her, Prinzy was a sibling of mine. And besides, there's that compulsion to keep in mind.”

“So what, you’re just going to fight us for that?” Fiona asked, arching an eyebrow. “Can't you see that you're just making excuses? Can't you see that what Prinzy was doing was wrong?” She spread her arms, trying as best she could to be reasonable. But in the center of her gut, the blond had a feeling that the negotiations had just gone south.

“Sorry, but it's out of my hands!” Dollie bowed apologetically. “If it helps, I’ll try and make it as fun as possible for you.” The Balancer coursed with magical power as it clicked its fingers. “Though I really suppose the ‘fun’ depends on how big a fan of Nickelodeon you are.”

There was a rushing sound from above, and the trio looked up in surprise to find a cascading torrent of slime pouring on them.

“What the hell?” Ilos muttered, even as Daz shoved Fiona out of the way. He was always the more intuitive of the two, and he remembered Gerald’s orders well. Something about this set his nerves on edge, and he had the sinking suspicion their barriers wouldn't be enough.

Fiona rolled as she fell, flipping to her feet as the goo coated her partners from head to toe. “Daz! Ilos!” She gasped in surprise: the goo had slipped past the twins' barrier as though it wasn't even there.

Loud cracks filled the room as the pair of men began to transform, the true nature of the attack being revealed in an instant.

“Shapeshifting slime! It's a real hit with the younger members of my audience.” Dollie grinned and clapped.

As she did, Daz's hair began to brighten from red to gold, and Ilos's darkened from blue to black. Fur sprouted from all over their bodies, their uniforms seeming to melt away beneath the coarse hairs.

Both of them fell to their hands and knees, their hips and shoulders popping as they were reconfigured to four-footed travel. The twins' backs cracked in unison, and both of them let out something that was between a cry and a roar.

Despite the loudness and severity of the changes, however, neither of them felt any pain. It was oddly numb: they could feel every sensation, tell how and where every bone was shifting—yet none of it was sharp or discomforting.

Perhaps the only bad thing about these changes was that they felt completely and utterly mundane. It was just like stretching after a long night's sleep.

Daz grunted as his jaw began to crack into a muzzle, his nose flattening as it darkened gently. His teeth drew to fangs even as his head shrank. At the same time, his ears slid to the top of his head, curving gently as only a puma's can.

Very similar changes were happening to Ilos, albeit in a darker shade of midnight black. His face twisted and reformed, his cheeks pulling out and his eyes turning a dark gold to match his twin brother's. His ears flicked gently from side to side as their range of hearing increased. And his nostrils flared, picking up more scents than were humanly possible.

Both of them growled menacingly, their human frames rapidly disappearing to those of big cats. Their shoulders cracked further, sending them a little lower to an instinctive prowl. The loud sound almost masked the clicking of their spines as the two grew a pair of long and jaguar gently flicking tails.

Daz stared down at his hands, while Ilos stared at his feet. The changes were markedly similar: digits plumped up; nails drew to sharp claws; and the undersides of each limb were covered by thick, plump pads. Their palms drew out and their soles shortened, leaving them with equal paws on all four of their feet.

The twins hissed aloud as the last of their changes swept over them: an adjustment of the limbs and a straightening of the neck. The latter was the oddest change yet; they realized that they were effectively stuck looking straight upwards from what their old forms were.

Fiona watched them in amazement with wide eyes. She knew that the men were far better at transformative spells than her, and the fact that they were changed so easily hardly boded well for her.

“Oops. Sorry, I suppose it wasn't very good of me not to hide that my techniques ignore magic.” Dollie sighed, frowning a little. “I'll be sure to keep you all on in my circus, so I know you'll be treated well.”

Then she paused, tilting her head. “Unfortunately, I don't really have a place for a puma or a panther... But then again...” She clapped her hands together, and a wave of sludge poured from above, covering the two big cats.

Both of them yowled in surprise, then in distress as the goop pulled them closer in a tight hug. It squeezed them against one another harder and harder, until they realized with a start that they were no longer being pressed against one another—they were being pressed into each other.

The two big cats began to merge together, their shared body getting larger and larger. Their fur grew longer, Ilos's golden darkening to an orange on his back while the fur on his belly became white. Even as this happened, Daz's fur split off into jet-black stripes which soared across his brother's form.

The two of them opened their fanged maws in unison, letting out a shared roar as their heads began to conjoin. Their inner fangs shrank even while their outer fangs broadened; their shared jaw getting broader; their nostrils flaring.

For a moment their vision was skewed as their minds connected: they were perceiving things out of four eyes; two noses; two sets of ears. Then even these slipped into one another, and the pair of men felt themselves truly combine.

Their thoughts blended into a massive surge of pride, their chest broadening as their tails slipped together. The useless paws in the middle of their body dwindled away to nothing, and they stood atop their four feet dominantly.

Then the tiger shook its head. What was it doing; thinking of itself as two separate creatutes. He was a single king of the jungle; the lord of his domain. Well, the second-in-command of his domain.

Clearly, the woman in red was the one in charge here. He walked up to the shapely figure, purring as the ringmaster scratched him behind the ears. He'd completely forgotten all about magic, Balancers, and any such nonsense. The only thing that mattered was his new owner.

“I could always use a tiger.” Dollie finished triumphantly. The merging had taken less than five seconds. It then turned to Fiona with a frown. “By the way, sorry about erasing their mind. I hope you understand; I don't want any animosity in my new stagehand.”

The Balancer turned to the mage with a smile. “Well, stagehands.” It clapped, and a torrent of slime poured from a bucket hidden by the stagelights.

Fiona flicked her arms to her side, gathering as much power as she could. “Not going to happen!”

Dollie laughed. “Sorry, but barriers don't work against me!”

The TransSec commando's response was to unleash her magic, a rippling series of explosions forming above her to clear away the oncoming fluid.

Dollie beamed with amusement even as its new tiger ran backstage in fright. “You humans really are interesting!” It laughed, flicking its hands around. “I don't suppose I could convince you to just be friends and become my assistant?”

Fiona grinned savagely back. “Assistant? Hell, I'm the main act!” She rolled out of the way of the oncoming slime, turning smartly to fire off another explosion.

This one nearly clipped Dollie, and the Balancer barely dodged in time. Its grin only widened, even though it looked sad all the same. “I'm really sorry that I have to change you now... I really enjoyed this.”

Fiona's response was to snap her right finger, setting up a wave of crackling explosions over her head. “Sorry, but I'm not that easy a target.” The wave persisted, a veritable shield of shockwaves.

Dollie's smile grew a little sadder. “I know.” Then the Balancer flicked both of its hands upward.

Too late, Fiona noticed how porous beneath her the ground was. She tried to move, but before she could instruct her legs, the slime covered her entire body. The girl groaned in distress, feeling the goo sliding down her throat; running across her body; dissolving her uniform.

She cracked open an eye to see that her skin was turning darker and darker. Her flesh was turning a dull gray, cracking as it grew thicker and thicker.

The transforming woman held up a hand to her face, her eyes widening as she watched her fingers disappear into her palm; her nails growing hard and tough. The goo around her dropped to the ground and she sputtered. “An elephant?”

“I'm sorry!” Dollie squealed again. “But really, elephants are the stars of the show, and everyone loves them. I promise you'll have fun!”

Fiona glared, her eyes widening as her belly expanded on the spot. She wobbled unsteadily as her torso grew positively massive; thudding onto her forefeet with a loud thump.

“Come on, you could have at least picked something more attractive!” The woman joked a little. If she was going to be stuck like this, it might as well be on good terms. And honestly, this Balancer didn't seem too bad.

Dollie frowned, pouting. “I think elephants are cute.” She opened her palm, balling up a little bit of slime in it. Then she walked over to the transforming TransSec employee, booping her on her nose.

The moment the slime touched Fiona's nostrils, it flowed into them, like a thick and runny nose but in reverse. The girl gagged, her eyes fluttering and her nose twitching like mad. Then she watched in surprise as it began to lengthen; getting longer and longer with each passing second.

Her nostrils flared, sliding down to the tip of her new appendage. Its thick and gray skin wrinkled a little as she flexed it to and fro, her eyes crossing as she flexed it. Her new trunk was surprisingly responsive; controlling it was almost like controlling one of her fingers.

“You're good at that!” Dollie grinned widely, sitting back and humming contentedly as the woman continued to change in front of her.

Fiona's legs thickened much like her arms had, and she stamped them against the ground, getting accustomed to them quickly. In all truth, this was a change she didn't mind. Her still-human legs were aching from supporting half of the weight of her elephantine body.

Her rear tingled as a tail grew out, and Fiona turned her head to see it. A flapping on the side of her head surprised her, and she shook her head again in surprise, feeling what could only be her ears smacking against the sides of her head.

Her skull broadened and she groaned, the sound coming out more as a trumpet than any human sound. She trumpeted again in surprise, her eyes widening as she realized that her vocal chords had changed, too.

And with her vocal chords when the rest of her mouth, a pair of long tusks growing out from her jawline. In just a matter of seconds, they were as long as a human's arm, and the transforming woman tossed her ears once more, unused to having these massive teeth in her mouth.

Fiona's bones cracked and popped, and she huffed as the last of her transformation completed. The new elephant stomped her heavy feet on the ground idly, letting out a small toot from her new snout.

“Like I said. Cute!” Dollie smiled in the most friendly way she could. But the Balancer could see the sadness in Fiona's transforming eyes. It sighed, steeling itself for what it knew it had to do.

Fiona stared as Dollie pet her trunk, incredibly surprised that she still had her human mind. She had a chance! All she'd need to do was wait for the Balancer to lower its guard...

“See? We can still be friends. I know that you'll be awesome.” Dollie turned on its heel, looking around its tent as if to check if it was damaged. “Sorry again, but I really did have to change you.”

Fiona trumpeted angrily, flopping her massive ears. Like hell the Balancer had to do this! Then her ears perked up as Dollie continued to speak.

“But I really wanted us to be friends. So much so that I'm completely lowering my guard right now, and that I let my emotions get the best of me when I changed you. So I might have maybe triggered the distress beacon in your suit when I dissolved it.”

The Balancer took a deep breath, bracing itself. “And if something were to happen that I would be defeated, I can only assume that your company would pick you up and change you back.”

Fiona caught on, realizing that it was no mistake that her thoughts were unchanged. She lumbered up to the Balancer, raising her right forefoot. Her trunk tilted a little, giving her a clear view of the girlish form beneath her.

“I really had fun.” Dollie turned with a huge smile. “I hope we meet again after I restabilize.”

Fiona's foot mashed her into the ground a second later, completely destroying the Balancer's body on the spot. The thud seemed to echo throughout the tent, and for a moment the only sound was silence.

Then someone spoke. “Well done!” A familiar male voice cheered from behind her, and Fiona whirled as the man began to speak again. “A little unsporting, but still!”

He had purple hair and a matching TransSec uniform. More to the point, he looked exactly like the twins. Fiona looked him up and down, wondering if their mind had merged too. If so, that would make it a hell of a lot harder to separate them.

“I’m sure your wondering, and I hate to burst your bubble… But Daz and Ilos aren’t exactly twins. Actually…” The man trailed off just like Daz would. Then he spoke again with a huge smile. “We’re triplets.” He laughed, running a hand through his hair. “The accident that gave us magic… It kind of sealed me away within the others.”

Fiona trumpeted questioningly, looking down at her massive form, then back to the man. How in the hell did he return to human form?

He smiled up at her with a cocksure grin. “But I haven’t introduced myself yet... My name’s Rota, and it’s a pleasure to meet you. Daz and Ilos are transformative mages… And I’m a restorative one.” He strode over to the elephant, placing his hand on its left foreleg.

Fiona shivered with an unusual magical sensation, and her huge eyes widened as she began to shrink down. Her thick mottled grey skin became smooth and creamy once more, and she could feel herself getting lighter and lighter.

Then her trunk pushed back into her face, and she gagged aloud, her eyes fluttering in distress. She pawed at the ground at the sensation—it was like having a pair of long rubber tubes being slowly inserted into her sinus cavities.

“Sorry about that...” Rota smiled a little nervously. He scratched at his own nose a little in mock sympathy. “Especially since you still have a pair of tusks to shrink away, too.”

Fiona stuck her tongue out at Rota, huffing indignantly. She was beginning to have second thoughts about this, but her teeth ached before she could do anything else. She groaned, feeling as though someone was shoving them back into her jaw. It was a numbed sensation, but still worse than having teeth pulled.

That said, it did leave her with the ability to close her mouth again, and Fiona raised a forefoot to her mouth, working her jaw left and right. The thick nails at the end of her foot grew out to fingers, and she cupped her jaw a little irritably. “Thanks for the head’s up.” She said with a small smile. “Why don’t you guys work medical?”

“Well… It’s a bit of a long story, to tell you the truth.” Rota shrugged. “But basically, being like this really drains my brothers. Not that I mind, since I can still see through their eyes.”

“So why don't you split back to them?” Fiona put her fingers together; trailing them apart a moment later with a soft smile.

“Because...” He sighed. “They'd just morph right back into a tiger. We've never had it with them both changed before. Honestly, it's a little weird..”

“Yeah, guess it would be.” Fiona sighed, combing her fingers through her hair. If she kept up this trend of being the only unchanged member of the team, she might get a reputation.

Then she looked to the pasted Balancer with a frown. “I think that HQ needs to know about this; to know that not all of them are that... Bad, you know?”

Rota nodded. “Yeah... Definitely.”

The two kept staring, even as their reinforcements arrived on-scene, asking the pair dozens of questions.