"Kent Karnell, formerly 'Butcher Barnes'!"

The animal trainer paused in his tracks, turning to find himself looking down the barrel of a snub-nosed revolver. He followed it to its holder, finding a middle-aged man his current aggressor. "Well. I seem to be at a disadvantage, as you know my name; and yet..."

"Stuff it!" Shouted Lars Maggs, Private Investigator. He thumbed back the hammer to his gun with a stern glare, ready to take his target into custody. There were rumors that Karnell had been responsible for a spree of disappearances, and the unofficial detective had been hired to get to the bottom of them. "You have the right to remain silent-"

"Just as I have the right to know the identity of the arresting officer." Karnell interrupted coolly, crinkling his nose. The damn man's voice was echoing around this alley too loudly; there would doubtless be unwanted attention unless he did something soon.

The gun-toting man flinched, caught off-guard by that. "Well... I mean, that is. I'm not an actual cop, but-"

"A bounty hunter, then. Or a detective. I don't know which is more laughable." Karnell laughed, splaying his hands wide. "Now please, let's-"

Karnell whipped his hands forward, snatching the gun and stabbing his assailant's neck with a hidden syringe at the same time. "-end this, shall we?" He finished coolly, pocketing the weapon with a grin.

Lars blinked in stupefied shock at his emptied hands, an odd feeling beginning to spread across his body. "What arre roo?" He asked, voice warbling as his vocal chords began to twitch.

Karnell grinned. "Dangerous." He replied, turning on his heel. "And you're just a stray mutt now."

"Ruff?" Lars asked, intending to ask the man what he meant. But instead of human speech, a dog's bark escaped his lips. His eyes widened, and he tried to speak again, "Rrrowf arf hrruff!"

Before he could come to terms with what had happened to his voice, a cramping sensation assailed his entire body, and the man groaned, calling to his knees and clutching his gut with both hands.

It felt like his body was on fire; like his skin was crawling with thousands of ants that had decided to sting him all at once. He clutched his fingers as they ached; groaning as his thumbs and big toes both throbbed with pain.

Then they began to pull back into his body, and Lars realized that he had entirely different problems at hand-or rather, at paw; as that was what his hands were rapidly becoming. He looked to his palms in shock as his fingers blimped and his thumbs receded more; coarse black hair covering the back of his palms even as velvety pads pushed out from his skin.

In as much time as it took to gasp, he'd gained a pair of dog's paws for hands; and a cramping sensation in his feet told him that a very similar change had happened to them, too. Thick and black fur sprouted from his every pore as he let out a loud "Rrrarf!"

But his demand for answers was met with stoic silence as Karnell simply turned from the alley's mouth; leaving Lars alone with a rapidly accelerating problem.

His hips and shoulders snapped awkwardly, sending him to all fours; and by the time he'd landed on his paws his tongue had forced itself from his mouth to hang past his chin. He tried to right himself only to moan as his trunk barreled out; a tail jetting out from his backside.

It was all happening fast; so fast! His mind couldn't keep track of the changes, and he whined loudly as his face stretched out into a muzzle; his ears flopping to hang at either side of his head.

This wasn't possible; humans didn't just turn into dogs! He wasn't... Was... Dog...

Lars blinked in confusion as he tried to think. It was so hard now; like his head was packed full of thick wool. He was... Was... He panted to concentrate; then panted for the sake of panting.

In just under a minute, he'd gone from a man to a dumb dog in human clothing; clothing that was hanging uncomfortably on his canine body. He tugged off the human garb with his teeth, tearing what was once a very nice shirt to bits in the process.

Not that he cared. He was Mutt; at least, that's what people called him when they noticed him; which wasn't often. He barked and kicked off the last scraps of clothing; then set about rummaging through the nearby garbage bags for food.

Karnell chuckled as he walked from the alley, shaking his head.

"A-hem."  A female voice called, and he turned to its source. As he'd expected, it was that Asian woman; Doctor Carnes. "And where do you think you're going?"

Karnell sidled up to her with a languid grin on his face. "Watching people transform? That's your job. Mine's finding people; which is why I find it odd that you chose this one. You're one of two people in this city who know my past, which means that," he jerked his thumb to the alley, "was your doing."

If Doctor Carnes was upset by his accusation; she didn't show it. "I had to make sure you were really who you say you are."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "You do know that they're still finding pieces of the last guy who pretended to be me; right?"

"That tells me there's precedent." Doctor Carnes retorted, nodding towards the alley. "Now are we going to-"

A crash interrupted her, and a mangy-looking dog scampered out from the alley with its tail between its legs.

"Check on your newest 'subject'?" Karnell finished, his face twisted into a smug grin. Then he started to walk again, motioning for the doctor to follow him. "Now come on, I'm in the mood for a drink."

Doctor Carnes blinked, looking to him in disbelief. "It's not even the afternoon."

"And I want a drink. Besides... You want to meet your new suppliers, don't you?" Replied Karnell, the last words the doctor got from the man until she exasperatedly trudged after him.