“Welcome to Mission Replenish's Zoo! For those of you with children, please keep them from banging on the enclosures. As you know, many of your friends and mine are well at work restoring endangered species!”
Rena Bynes grasped her boyfriend's hand excitedly. “This is so exciting, Matt! I always wanted to come here and see them!”
Matt smirked at her, watching the sunlight play off of her reddish hair. “You want to be them, Rena.”
“That too,” Rena blushed, and they turned back to the tour guide as he continued.
“I'm Rod Sloan, the director of the program, and, since we're so busy today, you're getting the tour direct from the top.” There was a general snicker from the group, and Rod cleared his throat. “Now, some of you are here simply to view our work and to see some of these rare animals for the first time in your lives. Others may want to join us. I know there's a lot of questions about how it works, and I'll try to answer whatever I can throughout the tour. Anything else, well, I ask you to keep your questions to the end, when we'll have an answer session. Now, let's enter the gate, and remember, don't get too loud. Many of our couplings have been successful, and we don't want to scare their young.”
As they walked through the gates, the woman beside Rena nudged her. “My neighbor is the turtle exhibit. She and her husband are in the second enclosure. They just had babies again, and I visit them every week.”
“Very nice,” Rena murmured, squeezing Matt's hand.
They came to a glass enclosure. There were rocks surrounding a small puddle of water. Thick plants grew around it, and a large, hollow boulder with an entrance hole was partially hidden at the very back corner of the tank.
“There's people in there? It's so small!” yelled out a child.
Two snakes slithered into view, fixing their eyes on the spectators.
“Tom and Pat chose to become the very rare San Francisco garter snake. Because they're little, they have no problem being in a smaller environment. We always ask about how comfortable our volunteers are both before and after their transformation, just to make sure they're okay.”
“How do you communicate with snakes?” asked a man.
Rod smiled. “Well, if any of our guests need to get our attention, there are buttons to press in their enclosure. See the big rock in the back? That's where the buttons are. That's kind of Tom and Pat's house, where they can go for,” he glanced at the several children in the group, “privacy.”
The adults glanced at each other knowingly.
“Yes, everyone who lives here has a 'house' in their living area. Even when you're in animal form, you still are you, and, well, we encourage our volunteers to...be discreet.”
Tom and Pat were quite beautiful, displaying stripes of red, white, black, and green, with turquoise on their bellies. They began to show off their new bodies, twisting and curling around each other like contortionists.
Rena gasped in delight. “They're gorgeous! Can you imagine what that feels like to them, Matt? I mean, they have no arms or legs! What does changing into a snake feel like?”
“I imagine, with all the drugs they add to the serum, it probably feels amazing.”
On overhearing their comments, Rod nodded his head. “Yes, with a little bit of tweaking to Dr. Adam Fox's famous Fox Serum, we are now able to transform people into any type of animal. And the addition of other drugs to the serum makes it a remarkable experience. I've been quite a few animals myself, and, as some of you may know, I have released many animal children back to the wild, replenishing quite a few species.
“Thanks to our efforts, we've brought many animals back from the brink of extinction, but we have to keep them from it. And so, we need you. Now, let's move on.”
The next enclosure, which looked very much like the first, contained a set of colorful turtles.
“Those are my neighbors!” the woman that had spoken to Rena waved at the glass. “Anita! Bartie!”
The female turtle glanced up, and her eyes took on something that could be described as a smile. She waved her chunky front leg and nudged her partner with the side of her shell. He raised his head and nodded at the woman.
“They're so happy,” the woman said longingly.
“Anita and Bartie have been with us for almost two years,” continued Rod. They're red-crowned river turtles. They've had many children. And, if any of you do join us and have children, yes, it's hard to let your babies go, but when they grow to adulthood, we place them all over the world- wherever their proper environment is. And they do wonders for the genetic diversity... These baby turtles will be shipped to India, where the last remaining members of this species exist in the wild.”
They walked past several more smaller enclosures which held reptiles and amphibians, all of which waved or wiggled at them. Next up was the aviary.
“Oh, my God. I want to be a bird,” Rena decided. “Matt, we have to do this.”
“Rena, there's so many animals to choose from. Don't make any decisions yet. They have lists of what they need.”
The aviary was very large and was enclosed by a transparent dome. Several different biomes were represented here, and colorful birds darted through the sky, building nests, searching for food, fledging their young.
“And they're all really people!” Rena exclaimed happily, watching a pair of particularly beautiful tropical birds fabricating a nest in the treetops above her.
“Normally many of these birds would not get along; they would fight over territory or even eat each other's young. Here, though, despite the innate bird urges, everyone has a human mind, so we refrain from this behavior. If we find someone has trouble fighting the urges, we place them in a separate enclosure. Birds of prey are placed on their own, because they need to eat small animals and birds, and obviously, we don't want them to eat a transformed person.”
“Ugh, people catch and eat animals? Like eating raw rats?” mumbled a teenage boy. His t-shirt, as was the current fashion, read: 'I'm gonna be a lion one day @ the Zoo: Mission Replenish, saving the world, one species at a time.'
“Yup,” Rod answered the boy while sprinkling some birdseed into a metal holder. A brown and red finch-like bird landed on the bowl and nodded at him. “Hey, Andrew. Where's Catrina?” Rod asked the creature.
“Andrew” pointed his wing at a tree.
“She's in her nest, huh? The kids are looking good. Are you going to stay on with us for another clutch?”
The bird ate some seed, then, still cracking it with his sharp beak, nodded his head enthusiastically and flew off.
“People can choose how long of a time they want to remain with us, and then we alter the Fox Serum for that. If they decide to stay longer, they might need another injection to stay in that form. We want to be careful that a female doesn't start changing back if she's carrying young. Then we lose them. It's a tough experience for her too, believe me.”
They walked through another gate into a vast space similar to the last. “The butterfly area,” said Rod in explanation. Rena stared longingly at the butterflies all around her. They sipped at flowers and congregated at the edges of puddles. “Oh, God, I think I want to be a butterfly, Matt.”
Matt just laughed.
“Butterflies and bird transformations are very popular here. Many of the well-known endangered species are popular as well. Like, there's a waiting list a mile long to become a panda.”
“You'd be a cute panda,” Rena giggled to Matt. He rolled his eyes in answer.
Next up was the insect area. Many small cages contained bugs and larvae of all sorts. “Most people who have changed to bugs are in their own cages. Bugs that eat other bugs, well, they could end up eating their best friend without knowing it. We have to provide bugs for them that we know aren't people.”
Rod pointed out caterpillars munching happily on a plant. “The Platt family chose to share a family vacation as caterpillars. They're fattening up and getting ready to pupate. The metamorphosis into a butterfly is spectacular, and they're going to enjoy the whole experience together.”
“I want to do that,” said one of the children that stood near Rena.
“No transformations before age eighteen,” warned Rod. “It's the law.
“The Platts' youngest daughter turned eighteen the other day. They were transformed on her birthday. As she was changing, she said it was the best present she ever got.”
They were shown through the aquarium, where many of the sea creatures pressed up at the glass and made faces at them. Then they walked outside to view first the small mammals, then the large.
And Rena was beside herself. “Look they're so furry and cuddly, should I be a small animal, or a big one, like those tigers – oh, her baby is so adorable! Did you see those weird elephants? The man is eighty-one and his wife is seventy-nine, yet somehow, in animal form, they were able to have a baby anyway!”
Rena's excited words were a solid stream cutting into Matt's mind. Was he really going to do this? Could he really allow himself to be turned into an animal? Could he seriously live in a zoo and have people come by and look at him?
Rod stood before the last enclosure as if to shield it. “And here's our pride and joy here. Our scientists have been toying with bringing back species that are already extinct, but we do need viable DNA for this. Whatever animal you're to become, the serum you take must contain that animal's DNA. And bringing back extinct species can have its own effects on the environment and other species, so more study is needed before delving into this.
“But, Chandra here has graciously volunteered her time to become,” he moved away from the cage, “our first passenger pigeon!”
The crowd oo-ed and ah-ed at the stately bird that waved to them from the branch it was perched on. “We figured she'd be lonely, but she didn't mind. We don't want to find her a mate until we know more about what effects re-releasing her kind may have. Meanwhile, she's so happy as a passenger pigeon, she wants to remain this way for as long as we want her to.”
Chandra the pigeon curtsied to them, making the children laugh. Then she flew off to pick at a feed bowl.
“Mommy, I want to turn into a dragon,” said one boy.
“Unless you find some dragon DNA, you're out of luck, kid!” smiled Rod, then continued on.
“So, our tour is complete. Anyone who has questions or wants to join us, come join me in the theater. Packets are on a table at the entrance. One packet is the lists of what animals we're looking for, the other is the papers to sign your 'form' away. Or, the forms to sign your form away.” He made a small chuckle at this.
The families with children left, but most of the others filed into the theater, Rena and Matt among them. Rena grabbed two of each packet, shoving a set into Matt's hands even before they sat down.
As they waited for Rod to start, both combed through the lists. “You really want to do this, Rena?” Matt asked, gazing at the column of arachnids.
“Matt, you know I do. I wish I could be changed today. I can't wait.”
“I can't believe you cleared it with your boss already.”
“Most people are on board with it if you join this program. I mean, it's like the ultimate volunteer experience.” She flipped through the sheets, growing more and more flustered. “My God, I don't know what to be! There's so many amazing choices, and–”
“Sh. Let's see what he says.”
Rod stood before them and asked for questions, but Rena ignored him, pulling out a pen and filling the top of her form out.
The woman that had spoken to Rena asked Rod, “What if we want to turn back? Like if we're uncomfortable.”
“That's what the buttons are for. When we come to you, we ask you a set of questions, like 'Do you want to change back,' and you nod yes or no. Your form can be restored at any time, and we'll be happy to transform you into a different animal of your choice. All we ask is that, ladies, if you're expecting, you wait until you give birth and the young are weaned.”
“You'll send a note to my boss if I do this?” asked an older man.
“If you request, we have a service that can take care of things like bills, mortgage, work vacation, whatever is needed. We provide this free because we value your help, obviously.”
Rena nudged Matt. “Fill out your forms.” She pushed a pen into his hand, and he scribbled down his name. “Did you see this question, Rena? 'Partner- yes/no? If no, will you attend our Meet & Greet session to find a mate?' Oh, I like that,” he laughed. “I'd love to go to one of those things.”
Rena did not answer as she studied his form. “'Emergency contact'? You're writing your mom?”
“And you write yours.”
Someone asked about the 'partner' part, and Rod answered, “Couples receive the first choice. As you know, we offer single volunteers our Meet & Greet Program where you attempt to find a 'mate'. Even when transformed, it's easier to have a family when it's with someone you want to be with. We've had quite a few 'pairs' meet up here that have gone on to get married, thanks to their time together in our program.”
Matt struck at the paperwork with his pen. “Ha! I like this one: 'I do/do not wish my transformation to be recorded. (Recordings will be available for purchase ($10) after your time with us is completed. Our scientists may use them as a tool for further research.)' It's weird enough I'm going to turn into an animal. I need to record my body going all wacky?”
“I want to,” Rena said softly. She looked over at him pleadingly.
“Why?”
“I want to watch myself change.”
“Whatever.” Matt checked off the 'I do' box.
“We have private changing rooms in the back. Couples can transform together or in separate rooms, whatever you like,” Rod was saying.
“We'll change together,” Rena whispered. “It'll be romantic.”
Matt made a little shudder. He hoped Rena had not noticed.
“No,” Rod answered another question with a grin. “You take your clothes off first. If you don't, well, imagine turning into an...ant. You shrink down to ant form and then get crushed by your own pants.”
Nudging Rena, Matt exclaimed, “Oh, this is for you. 'Females: I agree to follow through any pregnancy and to prepare my young however necessary (weaning, fledging, etc) for release into the wild. I understand that I cannot keep any of my animal offspring and renounce all claims to them.' There's all kinds of lawyer-speak here. I'll read through it,” he began to mumble through the paragraphs.
“If any of you are interested in changing immediately, we just had a couple that canceled on us for today. So, we have an opening for two black rhinos–”
Rena jumped up from her seat. “We'll do it!” she cried.
“You want to be a rhino?” yelped a surprised yet intrigued Matt.
Amused, Rod studied her. “You're willing to change today?”
Rena looked down at Matt, who gulped, then nodded his head slowly. “Yes,” she said.
“Well, then, that's wonderful! Please finish up your paperwork and then you'll go with Mary to go over everything. There will be a general physical exam by our doctor, and, if all goes well, at day's end, you'll be happily chomping at bushes! Enjoy!”
“Oh, my God! I can't believe this is happening! Rhinos! How cool is that!” cried Rena, and she finished the paperwork as fast as she could.
Still surprised that Rena was willing to be a rhino, Matt scribbled out the rest of his papers. He had been worried what animal Rena would choose, but being a big, huge rhino actually sounded quite interesting.
A woman approached them. “I'm Mary. If you're done with your papers, you can come back with me.”
Rena, quivering with excitement, jumped up and trailed after Mary.
Hesitantly, Matt followed.
***
“A black rhino pregnancy is fifteen to sixteen months long. Are you okay with that?”
Rena nodded enthusiastically.
“You'll need to be with us at least three years. Is that acceptable?”
Matt gulped for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day. Was he really going to give up years of his life for this?
“Oh, yes. I'd stay more if I could. Living the life of an animal...Maybe we'll be something else after we're done being rhinos, Matt.”
“Uh...maybe.”
General information and consent forms were signed, and their physical examinations went well. They were brought to view their enclosure, a vast space filled with plants and bushes that would appeal to them when in rhino form.
“We even have our own muddy pond over there,” Matt pointed out. “I can't believe I'll be lying in there instead of taking showers.”
Rena chuckled. “And our very big 'house' is in the back.”
“Yes, it's rhino-sized,” added Mary. “Understand that you are transforming into something larger and heavier than a human being. It's kind of weird at first, but you'll get used to it. Any other questions?”
Rena and Matt shook their heads.
“Then, my dears, please go to Changing Room 2 to start your adventure!”
***
CHANGING ROOM 2: Large Animal Trans.
“We're doing this! We're really doing it!” exclaimed Rena as they gazed at the sign above the door.
“Rena and Matt?”
The couple nodded at the man who approached them. He wore a white lab coat and carried something resembling a small suitcase. “I'm Dr. Jin. Please go inside and remove your clothes. There are two robes to place on for privacy during your injections, then you will remove them as the changes commence.”
Rena pushed open the door and they entered. The changing room was a spacious hut with a tall ceiling. To the corner was a small stall which read 'please use restroom before transforming'. Rena ran to the stall, used it, and raced out. Her clothes were in a pile on the floor before Matt even had removed his shirt.
When they were both in their robes, there was a knock on the door, and Dr. Jin entered, followed by a nurse. He placed his case on a table and opened it. “Are you ready? Last chance to speak English for three years!”
“Let's do it!” Rena cried, offering him her bare arm.
The nurse handed the doctor a syringe, and he pushed it into Rena's skin. She flinched, and then a relaxed smile played over her face. Her eyes became glassy, and she moaned. “Ooh, Matt, it makes you feel so good...”
Dr. Jin coaxed her to the floor. “Lie down on your side so you don't fall to the floor and hurt yourself during the transformation. If you'd like me to leave, Nurse Tara will help remove your robe. Just face towards the camera.” He pushed Rena sideways so she was facing a wall-mounted camera.
“I'll even say 'cheese'!” Rena giggled, then she twitched. “Oh, I think that's my tail starting back there! You can stay here if you want, Doctor. I assume you'll be watching the tape later anyway.”
Matt gaped at his girlfriend, who was now grunting in pleasure as her body seemed to be gaining mass. Nurse Tara carefully removed the robe. Rena did not seem to notice.
“Are you ready, Matt?” Dr. Jin asked.
Matt continued watching Rena, doubt creeping in...
“Matt, you're doing this. Don't chicken out...Oh, my God! I'm getting...so big!” Rena shrieked, and everyone watched as her legs and arms elongated and thickened. Her midsection grew larger, her girth expanding exponentially. She began to twist her large head. “The pressure...my horns are coming...Yes!” she gasped, as tiny horns sprouted from her face.
She was tittering now, her words becoming slurred as her head and neck enlarged. “RRRr!” she rumbled happily, and Matt looked alarmed.
“She lost her ability to talk at this point. It's okay,” explained the nurse in a calming voice. “Push up your sleeve, Matt.”
But Matt could not pull his eyes from his changing girlfriend. She was unrecognizable as a human now. Her skin, thick, wrinkled, and blackish-gray, was growing, hanging in folds from her increasing belly. She still was twisting and making blissful sounds as her body completed its metamorphosis.
“My God!” Matt gasped, as the large animal rolled itself joyfully back and forth on the ground.
“Rrr!” it cried happily, and tried to smile. This did not work too well, but that did not put Rena off. She jumped up onto her new legs, wobbling a bit until she got the hang of her height and girth. She was quite large, and she seemed to be thrilled.
“Don't get too close right now. Yes, it's Rena, but she's not quite used to her new body yet. When she touches you, she might think she's tapping you lightly, but to you, that tap can be bone-breaking.”
Matt took a quick step backwards, but Rena inched towards him. “Rr!” she howled.
Dr. Jin stepped between them. “How do you feel, Rena? Wonderful, right?”
She nodded her great head enthusiastically. She lifted her leg and pointed it towards Matt. “Rr!” she repeated, flicking her tail.
“I'm doing it. I'm doing it,” Matt assured her, glancing doubtfully at the large creature before him. But it was now or never. He had made her a promise, and if he went back on it, well, Rena the brand-new rhino could simply crush him to death if she wanted to.
He raised his arm and looked away as the needle plunged in, injecting its contents deep into his arm. And then the drugs took over.
“Ooh,” he panted, as a flood of well-being took over his body. Feelings of pleasure and happiness soon followed. He was doing a good thing; he was helping animals...And it felt so tingly and wonderful...
He was being helped to the floor, his robe was coming off... And he was enlarging...all of him was growing big, and muscular...The wonderful pressure in the back of his spine announced the arrival of his tail, and his skin was thickening just like his arms and legs and neck were...
The rhino that was Rena watched with great interest as her mate came into being, and she could not wait to join him in their new home. With her large eyes, she glanced at the doctor and nurse as they observed, detached. She hoped they had transformed at some point. No one should be denied this experience, and she only wished she had done it earlier.
Matt made a great trumpeting sound as his horns grew to their full length, and just like Rena, the new male rhino rolled around on the ground quite contentedly.
“See, Matt? Nothing to be worried about. Feels good?” asked Dr. Jin, going over and shutting the suitcase.
Matt rose to his full height and trumpeted again, shaking his head. The sound echoed through the hall, and Rena bounded over to him, her footfalls shaking the room. The two rhinos rubbed at each other amorously, and Nurse Tara examined them from several feet away. “You guys came out great. Can you walk okay on all fours, Matt?”
Matt tested his chunky legs, walking in a circle, then he nodded.
“Then follow me to your new home.”
***
Because black rhinos are herbivores, Matt and Rena shared their enclosure with other transformed couples, who Rod Sloan introduced them to on arrival. Several types of birds were represented, as well as small animals. “This is my sister and her husband, Tanya and Max. They're black-footed ferrets.” The two animals nodded at them, then went off under some bushes. Two birds landed on Matt's back, and he tried to shrug them off by hunching his mighty shoulders, but Rod laughed. “It's okay, Matt. Sam and Charisse are red-billed oxpeckers. They eat bugs and parasites off the big game animals. I know you're thinking that's disgusting, but as the rhino instincts take hold more and more, it'll be completely normal to you. It is to them already. They have no problem with it, right, Sam?”
The male raised a wing, and his mate nodded.
“You're too clean, though, right now, so they might have to wait for a meal,” Rod chuckled as the birds flew away. “Anyway, I'm off. Two people are being turned into mountain gorillas in changing room 7 as we speak. So welcome, have fun, and hit the buttons if you need us.”
They watched Rod leave. Then, side by side, Matt and Rena examined every inch of their enclosure, sampling the vegetation as they did. Each bite tasted better and better to them, having acquired quite an appetite from their transformation. Soon they were both munching happily at a bush.
When their hunger was sated, each looked into the other's eyes knowingly. It was time to spend some time in their 'house'. Alone.
***
Rena was soon an expectant mother, and she and Matt were overjoyed. The months melted away surprisingly quickly, and the day arrived when Rena was ready to give birth. With the help of some more medications, the delivery went very well, and Rena and Matt were the proud parents of a baby girl rhino. It saddened Rena that one day soon she would be taken from them, but at the same time, she knew this baby was an animal, and would always be an animal. There would be no dress-up princess parties or school plays with this daughter.
Perhaps in the future, she would have her own human baby. Then, when it was eighteen, she could arrange a family vacation at the Zoo, just like the Pratts. Maybe they would all become turtles. The idea of a shell growing onto one's back was very appealing to her. That sounded like quite a fun transformation. She would have to ask Anita and Bartie all about it, if she ever ran into them when they were all human.
Meanwhile, her rhino-baby was hungry again...