The Power of Love

Story by delta9 on SoFurry

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The sequel to 'Sexual Healing' (http://sofurry.com/page/99121/)

July 11, 2008 - Richard Nixon Memorial Sea Life Refuge and Missile Proving Ground

Jason awoke the next day sore and tired. He absentmindedly scratched his lower back, panicking when he felt the coarse sensation of claw on scale (and when his hand ran into his tail!). For a few seconds, Jason's mind reeled as he remembered all that had transpired the previous day.

Sluggishly, he yawned and stretched out on the grass. His insides still felt squishy and tender from... what he had done last night. Reflexively licking out his tongue, he could still taste the powerful flavor of musk and sex soaking the area. "Ugh... oh god... that all actually happened, didn't it?"

"That would be a yes." Stephen wasn't far away, writing something in a thick lab book. His smile was warm and affectionate, sharp teeth nonwithstanding. "Good morning."

"Uhm... good mornin' to you too. What a night..." Jason managed.

"How are you feeling?"

That turned out to be one hell of a difficult question to answer. On one hand, he was elated about being able to use his legs again. On the other, he wasn't sure what to think about his reptilian transformation, or about the passionate (gay?) sex that had initiated it. Jason had the ineffable feeling that he might have enjoyed the latter two activities more than he was willing to admit, even now. Either Greene's love bomb was far more powerful than he suspected, or he might actually be...

"I'm... doing... good. I'm just a little tired." Jason grimaced, willing his thoughts safely aside.

Stephen looked concerned. "Look... I'm sorry that Dr. Greene manipulated you like that. He means well; he really does. He's just not very gifted in the empathy department and more than a little impatient. I'm sorry that you had to... uh... sleep with me last night; I know that can't have been easy for you, even with all that chemical manipulation."

"Y- yeah, I guess. But regardless, thank you for helping me." Jason finally responded.

"Well... Dr. Greene and I are about to get to work on figuring out the virus; we can talk all this out later."

Stephen said, sighing. "I just hope you can forgive me for everything..."

Jason squirmed a little, swishing his tail restlessly as he tried to collect his thoughts. Before he could bring himself to say anything, however, Dr. Greene arrived.

Stephen and Dr. Greene were walking back to the main research building, Jason in tow. Jason had given up on trying to understand the medical, chemical, and biological lingo they were conversing in, and was listening to his iPod instead.

"Wow..." Greene said, as he browsed through Stephen's written report. "Oh my. This is... uh... very detailed. I didn't even know that you could do that with your tongue... oh I see... yes, that makes sense..." His discomfort was, at best, thinly veiled. "...hmmm... sheesh, your knees are going to wear out if you do that too much... Christ! And to think I was afraid you two weren't going to get along. You know, you could have left some of the more, ah, naughty bits to the imagination."

Stephen smiled, slightly guilty. "You said you wanted a full report."

"Eh, it's fine. Better more detail than less, never know what will turn out to be important in matters such as this. But by jove, it worked! It worked! I got Strain Seven to propagate itself and I synthesized icon_inlove.gif! Take that, god!" He yelled, scaring a small flock of colorful birds out of the undergrowth.

He recomposed himself. "Now, we can get to work on the simple, straightforward science. It couldn't be easier."

"I hope you're right. We better find a way to reverse this before I forget how to walk without a tail."

Back inside the main laboratory, work had begun in earnest. Centrifuges were spinning, computers softly humming and less-identifiable machines were busy going about their arcane work; it was as if the whole room was responding to Dr. Greene's commands like an orchestra to its conductor. Jason noticed that unlike the antagonism he noticed between Stephen and Greene the previous day, they worked quite well together.

Greene stopped working for a brief second to gesture to a nearby cart stacked with breakfast sundries. "Juice. Donuts. We're going to need a blood sample in a second."

Jason dug in with voracious zest, but spilled his orange juice all over his shirt while trying to drink it with his newly-elongated muzzle.

"You're going to, uh, have to adjust to a few things before we can reverse the transformation process." Stephen said, rummaging through his pockets for a bit before pulling out a brace of straws and tossing them to Jason. "Watch where your tail is swinging, and be careful with your teeth and..."

"Son of a bitch!" Jason exclaimed suddenly, as a realization struck him. "I ruined my iPod's screen!"

"...claws." Stephen finished.

"Don't worry, you shouldn't have to use them for too long." He turned back to Greene. "Once we compare the blood samples taken from Jason before the experiment with this one and isolate those last few chromosomal sequences, we should have Strain Seven all figured out."

Drawing blood had turned out to be trickier than expected. Greene had to leave twice to upgrade the gauge of his syringe to properly penetrate Jason's thick scales, and there was a small scare when his rapid regeneration made it stick in his arm, but eventually he had drawn enough blood to use. Not long afterward, the humming of the machines grew quiet, and the doctor stood triumphant.

"We've done it." Greene spoke with simple pride. He held up a sealed test tube filled with a glowing, viscous chromatic fluid. "We've isolated Strain Seven. You should be back to normal within a few days, my reptilian friends."

Jason smiled, but felt a small pang of apprehension that surprised him. He absentmindedly rubbed his hands together, feeling the roughness of his scales, and felt disappointed he wouldn't have more time to experiment with his new body. It was a strange but endlessly fascinating condition; being unfamiliar with one's own body.

"That was some amazing work, Dr. Greene." Stephen said, giving a short laugh. "Heh, I hate to say this, but for a while there I was afraid we'd never find a way to reverse-engineer it."

"Oh ye of little faith! I knew exactly what I was doing! Well, most of..." Greene was interrupted as an explosion somewhere topside shook the lab. He didn't look terribly perturbed.

"What was that?" Stephen asked.

"Hm? Oh, this place is littered with unexploded bombs and missiles from all the testing we used to do. It's probably just an old..." Greene wasn't able to finish his sentence before two more detonations, both much closer, rocked the lab. The lights overhead briefly flickered.

"That can't be good..." Jason said, a lurching feeling in his stomach.

Suddenly, the door to the lab exploded inward, crumpled by an explosive charge. Terrorists wearing camouflage gear and wielding assault weaponry poured into the room; through the din of the attack all Jason could hear were shouts to hit the floor.

Before the smoke fully cleared, a woman walked into the room, slowly clapping. "Bravo! Dr. John Greene, how does it feel to have finally created something of worth? I'm so very sorry that I'm going to have to take it from you."

"Wh... what do you want? Who are you?" Greene responded, coughing.

The obfuscating smoke was slowly dissipating. She looked to be in her late-50s, her hair a collage of blonde and gray. Authority, power and arrogance suffused her presence; the terrorists around her were noticeably keeping their distance. She wore a lab coat buttoned across the shoulders, a pistol holster and a look of conceited distain. "Don't tell me you've forgotten, John. It would break my heart..." She pouted, insincerely.

"Peterson!" Greene said, in shock.

Stephen, Jason, and Greene had been tied up by Peterson's troops; she had seized the test tube of purified Strain Seven from Greene and was busy doing something with it. A gleaming silver briefcase full of ominous-looking multicolored vials had accompanied her, and was mixing them together with the fervor of a mad alchemist.

"So, that's the infamous Dr. Peterson?" Jason asked. "She looks like Dr. Horrible's mom."

Stephen and a few of the terrorists sniggered at the joke, but they were silenced by a fierce stare from the woman. "I see your virus works as advertised, John. How appropriate the only useful thing you ever create is due to an accident. Lizards? An interesting choice."

"Never mind that! What in the hell are you doing?" Greene said, his initial surprise being replaced by boiling anger. "This is too much, even for you! What are you planning!?"

"To steal your research and use it for nefarious purposes. Isn't that that clear enough?" Mocking derision, as thick as mayonnaise, clogged her speech. Jason had the feeling he would hate her even if she hadn't just taken him hostage.

"Peterson, you can't be serious!" Dr. Greene's face was contorted in an expression of hate and fury. "You have no idea what Strain Seven is capable of!"

"Oh, but I do. I do indeed! And I plan on making it even better. Do you remember Poltergeist, John?"

A look of alarm seized Dr. Greene's face. "No... surely you don't intend to... that is madness!"

"What is Poltergeist?" Jason and Stephen spoke simultaneously, with a mixture of uncertainty and horror.

"Mmm, why don't you tell them, John? After all, it was our little secret."

Dr. Greene spoke slowly, with terror in his voice. "Poltergeist is a universal airborne virus vector; you can bind any other virus to it. It was designed to be used with intercontinental missiles, fired into the Earth's exosphere. Heat and pressure- like from a missile detonation- activate it, spreading whatever you paired it with over the whole world."

"It was a doomsday weapon. That's why it was canceled; there's no military value in a weapon so indiscriminate. If you combine Strain Seven and Poltergeist, you would... you... oy vey..." His voice went quiet.

"Yes." Said Peterson, a dark smile on her face. "We are going to change the world. Literally. And it will all be possible with this hybrid virus! With- Poltergeist Seven!"

The terrorists let out a mighty cheer at this; the prisoners were stunned into silence.

Greene was first to speak back up. "First of all, you're going to call it Poltergeist Seven? That's the best name you could come up with, just mashing the two names together? I mean, I'm embarrassed enough to have to call my work something as prosaic as Strain Seven, but at least I can be excused by the fact I only took over the project after Strain Five! If you're going to make a doomsday weapon, you at least have to put some ominous-sounding Latin into it or something."

She gave him a stare cold enough to freeze helium. "When you change civilization, you get to pick the name."

"No class, no style..." Greene muttered, unmoved. "Secondly, why the hell do you want to transform the whole Earth?"

"Oh, I think its best that I keep a few things secret for the time being." Peterson spoke, a mischievous smile on her face. "Once we have accomplished our goal, I'd be more than happy to explain everything in exquisite detail. In the meantime, we're going to play it safe. Besides, this way I can finally have my revenge on you for all the misery you've caused me over the years. I've grown rather sick of our rivalry."

"You started it, you know. When you punched my wife at that picnic back in '83!" Greene retorted.

"I started it!? You ruined my first marriage with that strippergram, and the second with your gay bomb!" Peterson shouted.

"Those were simple, good-natured pranks that you blew way out of proportion! You couldn't take a joke to save your miserable life!"

"And you can't take anything seriously! You won't even take this seriously!"

"You stole my research on smallpox!"

"I don't know why I even bothered to! It was terribly sloppy work! You almost got me kicked out of the military!"

"Because you were selling our secrets to cosmetics companies! You blew up my car!"

"A shame you weren't in it at the time! Your bodyguard shot mine!"

"Yeah, well, he deserved it!"

"Where is Alexi, anyway? I was hoping to return the favor."

"I don't know! I'll tell you when he starts killing your men!"

Greene and Peterson glared at each other coldly, staring daggers.

"Hold on, go back one minute. Dr. Greene is married?" Jason said, unable to hide his surprise.

"I know, right? I didn't believe him either until I saw the pictures; he even has kids and grandkids!" Stephen responded.

"Oh, wow!"

"You know, just because I have an unusual line of work doesn't mean I don't have a life outside my job." Greene said, more than a little annoyed.

"Shut up, all of you! I've had enough, John! You are going to help me complete my work here. If you don't feel like cooperating, these nice people with guns will provide persuasion."

"I'm never going to cooperate with you, Peterson. I can withstand any torture you wish to throw at me; I have training beyond..." Greene said, blustering.

"Take these two up top and shoot one of them." Peterson said, pointing at Stephen and Jason. "If he hasn't cooperated by then, kill the other."

"Wait...!" Greene's protest was the last thing Jason heard before he was dragged out of the room.

Jason struggled and thrashed with all his might as he and Stephen were dragged back to the surface, but was unable to make any headway against the people dragging him or his bonds. When they emerged from the laboratory bunker, he saw the devastation that had been wrought on the compound. Small fires and empty bullet casings littered the base, which was now under the complete control of the mysterious terrorists. He wasn't able to get much more of a look before he and Stephen were forced outside the base perimeter into the dense jungle itself.

He and Stephen desperately attempted to plead for their lives, and they heard the terrorists hesitate.

"Are you sure we have to kill one them? They were the heralds; the first to change. They could be honored among our ranks!"

"Doctors orders. If you want to explain to her why we didn't follow her direct orders, then be my guest..."

One of them circled around, facing Jason. Time flowed at a sickeningly slow rate as the man raised his gun at him. Jason froze, his heart missing a beat.

*THIP* *THIP*

A pair of wet thumps resonated through the air. The terrorists jerked and dropped to the ground as the impacts struck them.

They were not moving.

Alexi emerged from a nearby patch of jungle, gun in hand. His suit and hair were mussed and covered in foliage, but he didn't look much worse for wear. With fluid ease, he pocketed the depleted magazine and replaced it with a fresh one, before cutting both lizards loose with a knife.

"Oh sweet mother of fuck, thank you!" Jason said, voice cracking with relief. His attempt to hug Alexi was awkwardly held back by the bodyguard's free arm.

"Glad to see you two are still alive." he said coolly, searching the downed terrorists. "I've downed four so far, how many have you lizards neutralized?"

"We haven't killed anybody; we aren't soldiers." Stephen responded quietly, still in shock.

"Hm? Me either; I'm using raptor tranquilizers, for now." His account seemed to be confirmed by a burst of loud snoring from the men on the ground.

"Why on earth would you be carrying tranquilizers for an extinct species?" Stephen asked incredulously.

"Oh, they aren't quite as extinct as I'd like them to be. Dr. Greene was obsessed with 'Jurassic Park' a few years back; got into some crazy research. Scaley bastards were fast and clever; we never DID track all of them down and... you know what? We don't have time for this right now! We have to stop these terrorists. Whatever they are up to, it can't be good..."

Jason and Stephen quickly explained what they had seen and heard in Greene's lab while the three of them quietly infiltrated one of the few guard towers still intact. It was located at the far south of the compound, where they could get a clear view what most of the terrorists were doing. Dozens of them were clustered around a very large truck parked in the empty space between the laboratory buildings, while large patrols occupied the com center, living quarters, and airfield.

The truck was a vicious, ungainly monster; it bristled with radio antennas and communications gear, but its defining feature was a massive upward-pointing tube.

"Hmmm..." Alexi said, staring at the assembly area through a pair of binoculars. A scowl was practically carved into his face. "We have a big problem. A very, very big problem..."

"What are they doing?" Jason asked, drumming his claws on the floor as he tried to keep his head down.

"They are setting up a SS-27 Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile launcher. Russian, cutting edge technology. It is one of the most advanced mobile missile delivery systems in the world; resistant to EMP blasts, MIRV capabilities, has a range of ten thousand kilometers, can be equipped with defense-fooling decoys, has an extremely short boost phase, which makes it hard to detect... how in the hell do you suppose they got their hands on one of those?"

"Holy shit. What does 'topol' mean? Do you speak Russian?" Jason asked, eyeridges raised.

"Yeah, although I'm a little rusty. I believe it means 'poplar'; like the tree."

"The Russians built a weapon that powerful, and they named it after a tree?" Stephen asked, peeking at the missile launcher.

"Yeah. Suffice to say, if they launch that missile we are going to be fucked." Alexi put down his binoculars, put his sunglasses back on and walked back towards the table in the center of the room. "So, we are going to make sure they never get the chance."

"Here is the plan:" Alexi said, snapping body armor on over his suit, "Stephen, if I give you my access codes, can you get into the lab's computer network and create some sort of distraction?"

"Hmmm... I could try activating whatever alarm systems and defenses are left. They should be none the wiser if I set a delay and high-tail it out before its set to go off. Uh, pun not intended."

"Excellent. I'm going to get back in to the communications center and send out a distress call to Washington, then seen if I can disable that launcher. Jason, you're going to go to the main lab underground and rescue Dr. Greene."

"How do you expect me to do that!?" Jason said, incredulous. "Please remember that I just spent a year in a goddamn wheelchair!"

"Improvise." Alexi responded dryly, picking up a large black briefcase. "Don't worry; I'm not sending you unarmed."

Alexi put the briefcase down on the table and snapped it open, revealing a neat, tightly packed collection of gun parts, ammunition, and explosives. He pulled several of the pieces out, seemingly at random, and began assembling one of the weapons with mechanical precision. When he finished, he was holding a vicious looking black-matte assault rifle.

"This is my Heckler & Koch HK 416 carbine. It fires five-five-six NATO rounds either semi- or fully- automatic, uses thirty-round mags and has ACOG reflex sights." Alexi said, slamming in a magazine and cocking the weapon with a satisfying double-click.

"I've never even held a gun before." Jason mumbled, not sure what to think of Alexi's demonstrated puissance.

"Wow. I'm sort of turned on." Stephen said, agog. Jason tried not to react to the joked comment, but felt his heart beat off-rhythm for a second.

Alexi frowned uncomfortably, but continued. "Aim at your target's center of mass, fire in short, controlled bursts, and for the love of Ronald Reagan don't shoot yourself on accident. Better yet, try not to shoot at all; leave the fighting to me if at all possible."

"Are you sure I can't just... hide somewhere? I don't know a thing about rescuing or shooting people!"

"Look, most of them will be topside, preparing for the missile launch. Odds are good you'll only have to deal with two or three guards, and when you get shot, you should be able to regenerate most of the damage. Just try and protect your head and chest, and everything should be just fine."

"*When* I get *shot*!?!"

"We don't have time for this right now! If you can't handle it, just wait for me. We'll all rendezvous at Greene's lab once our missions are complete. Okay?"

"Got it." Stephen said.

"I... Okay." Said Jason.

Alexi handed Jason the gun, then began assembling another one. "Be careful. We fuck up, and there's no telling what the world will look like tomorrow."

"Hey, Jason?" Stephen asked, concern plainly evident on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful."

"And try not to lose my gun!" Alexi added.

Back inside the lab...

"The last of the Poltergeist Seven virus has been synthesized, Dr. Peterson." One of the terrorists spoke, excitement in his voice. "We even had surplus material!"

"Did you manage to hybridize it with all of the DNA samples we brought?"

"Yes ma'am. The avian strain gave us some trouble, but in the end we managed to get it synthesized, too. Mostly thanks to Dr. Greene."

Peterson was ecstatic. "Excellent! Wonderful! I'm happy you decided to help us, John. It's really too bad about your friend, but you should have thought of the consequences sooner..."

Dr. Greene glowered at her, defiant.

Peterson turned and addressed one of her men. "It's time to load the missile. Make sure Dr. Greene is secure. As much as I would like to gloat in his face as we end the bloody hegemony of humanity, he is too dangerous to be allowed anywhere near the launcher. "

"I'll go lock him in one of the storage rooms." He said.

Peterson pistol whipped him across the back of his head. "Are you a moron? Do you know what the government is storing here!? It would be like locking MacGyver in a bloody hardware store! Just keep him here and watch him carefully."

"Peterson... why are you doing this?" Greene asked, quietly.

She hesitated for a second, but eventually responded. "Not that you would understand, but I'm doing this for someone that I love. Someone very special..."

Peterson left it at that and began to leave, but paused at the door's broken threshold.

"Just out of curiosity- and don't for a moment think that I'm changing anything- what would you have called Poltergeist Seven?"

"Hmmm... Proteus Omega?"

"Hmph. Not bad, I'll think about it." She responded, departing.

Jason watched Dr. Peterson and her guards leave from around the corner, leaning against it and counterbalancing with his tail. This was his chance...

Swiftly, he darted down the corridor, footpads silencing his steps. He jumped past the charred threshold where the lab door used to be, and screamed an incoherent battle shout as he raised his gun to fire.

It was then that he noticed that there were not two, not three, not four, but twelve armed terrorists in the room, all whom slowly turned to face him, weapons drawn.

His warcry devolved into a whimper.

The gun was shaking in Jason's hands. He jerked it around, trying to cover as many of the terrorists as possible, but it seemed hopeless- he was badly, badly outnumbered.

Greene was being tied to a chair in the far corner; he looked shocked to see him. "Stephen! You're still alive! I mean, Jason? It's hard to tell you lizards apart..."

"Put it down and you won't get hurt!" One of the terrorists said, releasing the safety on her own gun.

"You aren't going to win this fight, brother lizard." Another stated.

He was right, of course. How the hell could Alexi have possibly have thought he could do this!? What could he possibly do against this many fanatical terrorists? He was going to be killed, or worse!

Suddenly, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye... it looked like Greene was trying to direct his attention to something sitting in the middle of the room...

Something that could indeed work against a room full of people with guns.

Jason steadied himself, and fired at his target: a silver cylinder labeled 'Mk. XIV Love Bomb'. Recoil threw his aim wild after the first few shots, but not before the container ruptured and exploded. As it burst open, it shattered a leftover test tube of Poltergeist Seven labeled Mamalia sitting nearby. In a fraction of a second, the room filled with a white, greasy cloud and the invisible bioweapon.

"Oh fuck..." One of the terrorists managed to blurt, as the cloud enveloped them.

They all looked like they were ready to shoot Jason, but their aim was wavering and unsteady. Slowly, one by one, they started to drop their weapons and succumb to the effects of the love bomb. Jason felt the warm, fuzzy incoherence of the chemical seep into his mind once again; he was only able to maintain the barest sliver of self-control. They all must have been exposed to a massive dose...

He smiled mischievously, and licked his muzzle.

If Jason had been paying attention at the moment, he would have noticed Dr. Greene slipping out of his bonds and beginning to crack open Peterson's briefcase, but at the moment his attention was occupied by the terrorist in front of him. The terrorist was struggling mightily to shake off the effects of the psychochemical weapon, and it looked like he might succeed. No, that certainly wouldn't do... he needed some encouragement.

Jason walked forward and gently took off the man's balaclava, revealing to his astonishment a young man that couldn't have been more than a year from his age. The contrast between the imposing gunman he had been a minute ago and this scared-looking college kid with sandy blonde hair couldn't have been greater. He clearly didn't know what was going on, his mind and body flooded with alien sensations and feelings. If he hadn't been holding an assault rifle and willing to kill him a few seconds ago, Jason would have felt sorry for him. Still, when the choice came down to having to shoot the guy or this, 'this' seemed downright humane. Jason leaned toward him and gently licked his nose with his forked tongue, before carefully taking the man's gun and setting it down on a nearby lab table.

The erstwhile terrorist began struggling with the pistol in his side holster, trying to take it out with shaking fingers. "Now, now..." Jason said in a mock- strict tone, feeling oddly empowered by the control the love bomb offered him. His own behavior seemed more than a little foreign to him, but he was riding the wave of chemically-induced emotion that was flooding his brain as best he could. "If you do that, we won't be able to have any fun. Are you sure you want that...?" Another lick of his rough tongue, this one across the cheek.

Abruptly, the man stopped fumbling with the gun on his belt, and started fumbling with the belt around Jason's waist. Jason discarded his own weapon, and rewarded him with other lick. "That'ssssssss better, isn't it? Why don't we just relax for a ssssssecond..." He spoke, allowing his tongue to hiss softly into the other male's ear. He heard a soft, cute moan in response.

The rest of the terrorists appeared to have succumbed to the effects of the weapon already, completely lost in each other's arms while their firearms were left ignored on convenient horizontal surfaces.

Jason chuckled with sibilant laughter, but kept his focus on the young man in his arms. Jason lifted him up onto the table, removing the boy's camouflage jacket and shirt before continuing the tongue-bath he had started. His long, rough, powerful tongue explored every inch of his chest thoroughly, taking time to tease his nipples and neck before diving into the boy's mouth. Jason used his left hand to hold the still-human's head and used his right to grope and fondle the hardening package within his camouflage pants.

At first the boy was hesitant, passively accepting the deep kiss, but after a few teasing glances from Jason he kissed back with a vengeance. It was still a futile effort; Jason's forked tongue was monstrously strong and overpowered him at every turn, but it made the experience infinitely more enjoyable. He lost himself in their shared passion; not noticing or caring that the lizard was entirely in control of it. It could have continued for eternity, for all he cared.

Jason threw off his pants, revealing that his light-green maleness had already freed itself from his scaled slit, and joined his former enemy on top of the table. His cock was practically dripping with precum and slitfluid already, aroused not only by his makeout session but the burgeoning orgy that had overtaken the rest of the room. Shed of most their garments, Jason was able to see that most of the terrorist unit had been men, but two women in a far corner were kissing each other and rubbing a very happy looking man trapped between them. Some of the guys had already progressed straight into heavy, sweaty sex, but Jason wanted to take things slower.

For now.

He stroked the human's head gently with his clawtips, noting how his sandy blonde hair was getting thicker and spreading farther and farther down his face. I wonder what you're going to be... he thought, gently guiding the human's head down until it was level with his cock. The human looked up, as if asking for permission (which surprised Jason; he thought that his own actions had spoken pretty darn clearly). Jason indicated his asset with a short, smiled nod.

Unlike last night, Jason had the perfect vantage point to see the other male go down on him. He looked so hesitant at first, until he started to breathe deep the lizard's musk. Closing his eyes, the other boy started off cautiously, licking the tip of the smooth, hard penis in short strokes. He quickly grew bolder though, the taste setting off his lust. He started to take more and more of Jason into his mouth, pausing only to play with the lizard's lashing tail. This probably isn't his first time, Jason thought gladly.

This hunch changed from 'probably true' to 'without a freaking doubt' when the boy leaned in deep and started to deep-throat him. Jason was flabbergasted at how deep his shaft was in; the hot, massaging feeling completely enveloped his reptilian member and made it pulse in exquisite, agonizingly intense pleasure. A wandering finger from the hand caressing his tail rubbed roughly against his rear, popping inside his ass ever-so gently...

Jason closed his eyes and shuddered as a powerful orgasm swept over him. It took everything Jason had just to hold himself upright as he pumped load after load of his thick cum straight into the other male's throat, small quantities of his sticky essence backwashing into the former terrorist's mouth. Even when the torrential jets of cum faded into small, short leaks, he continued to suck and fondle Jason's softening penis with wild intensity.

The two of them sat like that, shaking and sweating and breathing deeply, as Jason absentmindedly played with the boy's hair. The human looked dazed but happy, caressing Jason's tail as it flickered back and forth. Jason's clawtips ran into something unusual as they sat there stroking each other: the human's ears weren't quite as human as they once were. Long, gently curving ears covered in tawny fur were slowly growing in to the boy's head, portending his change into what was probably a bunny-hybrid. Jason rubbed the developing ears slowly, making sure not to scratch the sensitive tissue with his claws, drawing a confused moan from the boy.

"Oh god... what, what is that? What am I feeling?" He said, breaking his silence for the first time and reaching up to feel his new ears.

"You are changing. Relax; let it happen, it's too late to do anything." Jason purred. He was almost scaring himself with how dominant he was acting, but he was afraid that showing weakness might break the trance keeping the ex-terrorist docile. He took off the changing human's boots one by one, revealing thick, growing feet that fast resembled paws.

"I'm scared. What... what is it like? Does it hurt?"

Christ! To think I was afraid of these guys a few minutes ago! Jason thought. He's just as worried as I was...

"Oh, far from it." Jason cooed, rubbing the fur on the top of the boy's feet. "It can actually feel kind of good, if you're going the right things at the time..."

"Really? Seriously?" The transforming human's eyes kept darting back and forth between Jason's gaze and his enlarged, padded feet.

"Yessssss. Just let me... help you along." Jason's smile was predatory, filled with lurid promise. He sliced a hole though the other male's camouflage pants, ignoring the zipper entirely, and pulled the soon-to-be-bunny's cock out from his underwear with a firm yank. It was partially covered in the same thick fur that graced the rabbit's feet and face, fully erect still.

Jason rolled the furry orbs around in his mouth, sucking on them gently. The feeling of fur in his mouth wasn't entirely pleasant, but the sweaty taste more than made up for the texture. Well, until the fur started to rub off on his tongue. For a second, Jason found himself longing for the taste of smooth, reptilian scales and leathery, hairless cock...

Pulling the camouflage pants down revealed underwear bulging in the back from the young man's developing tail. Jason growled in lust at the sight, tearing the undergarment apart with his claws in a single burst of violent motion, much as Stephen had done for him yesterday. The boy's ass was almost completely transformed by now, covered in bright, butterscotch yellow fur and adorned with a cute, leaf-shaped tail. Jason gave one of the cheeks a firm smack with the leathery palm of his hand, and started to massage it firmly.

"P... please! S... stop teasing and fuck me!" The transforming boy pleaded, eyes hungry with need.

The young man moaned and backed up closer, rubbing up against Jason's hard shaft. Jason shuddered at the contact, remembering his first experience with anal sex last night. He was more than a little nervous; Stephen had led him gently though the entire process- he was flying blind by himself. Despite this, the cute, furry ass in front of him looked inviting enough for such concerns to take a backseat. Holding the rabbit firmly against him but off his cock, he took a brief moment to look around the room to make sure it was safe to continue. Jason had no easy way of telling how long the terrorists would be... indisposed.

The women were transforming into what looked like fox-morphs, judging by their bushy red-brown tails, while the man between them was sporting a huge black and white tail that could only be from a skunk. Two more men were lying on the ground on top of each other, sucking each other's cocks in a sixty-nine position. They had only discarded as few of their clothes as was necessary to begin the act, but their coarse brown fur, short muzzles, and lengthening tails identified the new additions to their DNA as otter. All of the rest were out of his sight, but he could tell from their human moans and inhuman cries that they were all lost deep in the throes of the biochemical agents afflicting them.

For some odd reason, while surveying the scene the only thing Jason could think was that washing all that fur would be an awful lot of work.

The bunny in front of him was still desperately trying to drive himself on top of Jason's cock, but he couldn't overpower the lizard's tight grip. Jason almost wanted to laugh about how badly the erstwhile terrorist wanted to be fucked, until he started, literally, crying. The domineering personality Jason pretended to have crumbled in an instant; burning guilt made him cringe involuntarily. It was more than apparent this poor guy was no longer a threat; it was time to let him have what he wanted.

Jason held the bunny-boy's hips firmly, claws digging in to the thick fur present there without breaking the skin underneath. His tail lashed back and forth in anticipation as he positioned himself, bending the boy across the table with gentle but insistent force, savoring the token show of resistance he put up. Jason then started to push in, his damp maleness spreading the bunny's cheeks apart ever-so slowly.

He didn't get far in before friction brought his thrust to a screeching halt.

Fuck. He thought, angry at his stupidity. I need some lube!

He looked around at the lab tables with frenzied, searching eyes, but even now he wasn't desperate enough to trust his penis to whatever was in the mysteriously-labeled beakers and tubes that surrounded him.

In an act of almost absurd serendipity, a nearby rat hybrid most of the way through his transformation came to his climax under the ministrations of what looked like a panther-man. A spray of cum arced through the air, most of it landing on the table nearby with a goopy splash. Thanking sweet fortune, Jason dragged his claws though the puddle of warm fluid, coating his length with it until it was perfectly slick. As he licked his claws clean (So sweet! So rich!), he repositioned himself against the rabbit-boy, and began to push into him again.

At first, it felt like it was still an impossible task. Even fully lubricated, Jason could barely penetrate the tightness holding the other boy's ass shut; every movement further in was rough and slow. By the time he had finally managed to sink himself all the way in, the two of them were breathing as hard as marathon runners. Jason stopped his movement, resting flush against the boy's sweat-soaked back fur, letting them both get used to the sensation. He could feel his cock still at work, slowly filling the anal passage with a mixture of slick precum and watery slitfluid. Gradually, the death grip it had on his cock relaxed to a more manageable but still incredibly tight hold... one just barely loose enough for him to thrust into.

He started to pump in and out, letting the head of his cock rub against the new hybrid's prostate every time he hilted himself. The bunny-boy was completely lost in the experience, crying out in sheer ecstasy after every thrust, pushing himself in deeper every time their hips met. Jason grabbed the rabbit-hybrid's cock with his right hand while holding the left across his furry chest, pulling him in tighter and starting to jack off the burning-hot shaft. The bunny's entire body convulsed with pleasure, shaking at every stroke of the scaled hand around his manhood. Jason wasn't sure what was fueling his lust more: the way the boy's long ears flopped back and forth as he rode his cock, or the tickling feeling his short, fluffy tail gave him every time it rubbed against the scales of his belly.

A numb, gnawing feeling visited him for a brief moment, when he wondered if it wouldn't be better to be thrusting into a smooth, leathery backside instead. If, maybe, the roughness of scale-on-scale was more electrifying; if, maybe, sharing a small, careless kiss with a certain budding young doctor could mean more to him than this entire orgy. It only hit him for the smallest fraction of a second between his deep thrusts, but it haunted him like a half-remembered dream. Jason was only able to shoulder it aside because he was fast approaching the peak of his arousal, the feeling of his partner's anal passage constantly clenching around him too much to handle.

Jason growled deeply as he reached his climax. His second orgasm was even more powerful than the first; he fired thick wads of cum so very hard and deep he couldn't even feel them spill out around his shaft until the fifth or sixth shot. The sensation of being filled with hot semen was more than enough to set off the bunny-hybrid; his rabbitcock had been teetering on the edge of orgasm since he had sucked off Jason. The rabbit-boy's climax spewed out across the table against which he was pinned, the warm dampness soaking into his belly and pubic fur.

The power of the orgasm was such that Jason's legs buckled, sending him and the rabbit-boy sprawling to the ground and driving his still-spurting shaft into him even harder. They laid there, soaked in each other's fluids, silent except for the pounding of their hearts. Jason was suddenly struck by the fact that he had never even known the terrorists name, but held his tongue and bathed in the serenity of the afterglow instead. He had to hold his tongue in; the taste of sex in the air was almost too strong to swallow. Slowly, the new rabbit-hybrid fell asleep, as the lizard played with tawny fur.

Jason was only shocked out of the afterglow when a shower of freezing, caustic liquid drenched him. Fortunately, all of the terrorists looked to be too lost in sleep to notice. Dr. Greene was standing at the corner of a lab, near a button labeled 'EMERGENCY DECONTAMINATION' in bright red letters. The others were with him.

Alexi looked speechless, awe and horror in equal measures on his face. He was frantically trying to clean a sticky fluid off the trigger guard and barrel of his beloved assault carbine.

"You told me to improvise, remember?" Jason said with a voice that was caught somewhere between embarrassment and pride.

" 'Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.'; Dr. Martin Luther King Junior." Stephen quoted, surveying the aftermath of the orgy. "Although I get the distinct impression this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. I still can't believe you weaponized icon_inlove.gif, Dr. Greene; I'm not sure whether you did something very good or very evil..."

"Smart boy!" Greene said, beaming at Jason and ignoring the others. "You took my lessons on chemical warfare to heart! Although to be honest, I was trying to get you to shoot at the canister of VX the next table over. I had enough atropine and pralidoxime for the both of us..."

"You have nerve gas stored in this place!?" Stephen said, taken aback. "Just, like, sitting on a table? Are you insane!?" Greene pretended not to hear him.

"How come you weren't affected, Doc?" Jason asked, wiping himself off with one of the terrorist's discarded balaclavas. He was having trouble locating his clothes, so he took one of the discarded camouflage outfits off the ground and changed into that after ripping a hole in the back for his tail.

"What, you think I don't have countermeasures to my own weapons?"

Alexi broke his silence with a grunt, and motioned toward the exit with his gun. "We better get moving; no telling how long Stephen's diversion is going to keep them occupied topside, and I have a feeling whoever they send to investigate will be wearing their gas masks. Besides, I was able to get into contact with the boss."

"Oh thank heaven. What did he say?" Greene asked.

"I apprised him of the situation, and he said he was taking over containment." Alexi said, his words heavy with meaning. "We are going to rendezvous with a helicopter at the backup helipad in 15 minutes, and make a tactical retreat. We're leaving." Alexi started walking down the hall at a brisk pace.

"What about the missile? How is he going to stop them from launching it? We're the only ones anywhere near it!" Jason asked, hurrying to follow him.

"I couldn't get near it; their security is airtight. But don't worry about that; our work here is officially done. We need to get off the island. Now."

"You trust your boss THAT much? Who is he?"

"Trust me when I say this: you don't want to know who our boss is. The man is the goddamn king of darkness himself, and if he says 'get off the fucking island', we get off. The fucking. Island." Alexi said, quickening his pace.

July 11, 2008 - 10:33 P.M. Local Time - An Undisclosed Location near Washington, D.C

Two men regarded the wall-spanning screen before them with dispassionate focus. The green and blue glow of the digital globe shown was marred by a few scattered patches of yellow and a massive red circle around the Richard Nixon Memorial Sea Life Refuge and Missile Proving Ground. Computer models showed time-lapse projections of that bright red scar spreading over the globe inexorably, unfettered by any countermeasure the program could devise.

The first man turned to his superior and spoke in a somber, weary tone. "What in hell are we going to do about this?"

"I think our course of action is obvious. We need to prepare a strike package." The man's voice was as cold as rime on a tombstone.

"I don't think we have that option, sir. Analysis says there is too great a chance that a missile or bomb would release the bioweapon into the atmosphere, and intel says they are using a highly mobile launch platform. It would be too difficult to pinpoint it for an airstrike regardless."

"Is that so?" the dour man grumbled. "This is not the time for half-measures, David. We're going to fix this situation, properly."

"Sir? What exactly are you suggesting we do?"

"Only what is necessary. Get ahold of Global Strike Command; initiate level six containment protocol."

"S... sir? Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! Get it done on the double!" He emphasized his command by hurling his briefing book off the table, which blindsided an unlucky analyst walking past them.

"Yes sir, Mr. Vice President!"

Richard Nixon Memorial Sea Life Refuge and Missile Proving Ground

The last of the polychromatic submunitions filled with Poltergeist Seven were being loaded into the missile. All of the terrorists were distracted, though; gawking at the sight of the men and women who Jason had exposed to their own bioweapon. Several looked eager; others, decidedly apprehensive.

Peterson stood in front of her transformed soldiers, smoldering with rage. "Fools! Idiots! You couldn't stop four people!?"

A rumbling of protest came from the pack of newly minted hybrid humans.

"There was... then the virus spilled, we couldn't help ourselves. It was impossible to fight it!" One of the otter-men said, the fur on his face still stained with cum.

"They drugged us with some sort of ultra-potent aphrodisiac, Dr. Peterson. It wasn't our fault!" A vixen pleaded.

"John, you clever bastard..." Peterson briefly considered making an example out of one of them, but discarded the idea. "Bah! What does it matter? We have a grave injustice to remedy, and we're going to do so whether they escape or not. I'm going to make you happy, my love..."

It was a mad, headlong rush to the backup helipad, which was on the very southernmost edge of the island. They were pursued half of the way by a small unit of Peterson's men, who Alexi dissuaded with precision gunfire and a pair of convex land mines that bore the ominous legend 'FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY'. The second the ragtag group reached their destination, a black helicopter appeared over the horizon, zooming in barely above the spray of the ocean. As soon as it landed, they scrambled in and took back off without a moment of hesitation.

The helicopter pilot glanced back at his reptilian passengers in alarm after they were safely underway, but resumed piloting without offering as much as a comment.

"So... you black ops pilots get passengers like us often?" Jason asked, trying uneasily to make conversation. The seats were cramping his tail pretty badly, but at this point he was just glad to be safe.

"Oh yeah, all the time," the pilot responded nonchalantly, "Werewolves, vampires, time lords, you name it."

"Wh-? Really?"

He did a double take. "What the hell do you think? Of course not, I was kidding! I've never seen a goddamn talking lizard before in my life! When we get emergency orders from D.C. diverting us off our flight path to pick someone up, it's usually just some general's mistress."

The co-pilot chimed in. "Yeah, I'd say this is easily the strangest thing we've ferried around this year. Except maybe those aliens."

"You're kidding about that too, right?"

"Maybe." The crew answered in tandem.

Stephen was next to Alexi, trying to pry a bullet out of the man's shoulder. His body armor was dented and partially fragmented from the abuse it had taken, more than a few slugs were embedded in it.

"Can you try and hold still? I'm going to need a knife or something to take out the bullet; anyone have a knife?" Stephen asked, trying to make do with the helicopter's first aid kit.

Alexi gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the blood ruining his good suit. "N...no, my knife is stuck in some guy's kidney back on the island. Fuck! Just... just take it out, I can handle the pain. Use those damn claws of yours or something."

"Okay, this might sting a bit..." Stephen said, beginning the delicate work.

Jason looked over to Greene, who was talking intently on two satellite phones at once. He looked extremely agitated, but it was impossible to hear what was being saying over the noise of the engines.

Everyone except Dr. Greene was straining to see what was going on is the island; the helicopter was thick with expectant tension.

"So... the missile is minutes or seconds away from launching into the stratosphere, where it will spread its payload over the whole of the earth and cause a significant percentage of the planet to transform into hybrid-humans." Jason said. "What exactly is your boss going to do? It's getting a little late for the Marines or Air Force to save us..."

"I h... hate to admit it, but I'm a little c... concerned myself." Alexi said, voice pained. Stephen was carefully digging through his shoulder, trying to find the slug. "Whatever the boss is planning, he b... better hurry the f-fuck up..."

Stephen grunted in assent as he removed the bullet and tossed it out into the ocean. "I took a look at Greene's files on Poltergeist. No matter where that missile explodes, that virus is a devil's brew. It will be almost impossible to contain, to predict, to counter. If it reaches the upper atmosphere though, we are flat out of luck. There will be no chance of stopping it."

"How bad could it be?" Jason asked. "I mean, it's not like it kills anyone..."

"Well, it didn't kill us, but the sick, young and old likely won't fare as well through the traumatic process of transformation. Also, keep in mind that our metabolism is far higher than your average human- in less developed areas of the world, we'll be looking at mass starvation. Not to mention the effect that all of this will have on the existing social and political order is incalculable, and there is the possibility of rioting, civil war, mayhem, discord, and chaos on a scale unseen since..."

"Okay! I get it! So, Dr. Greene; what in the hell is your boss doing!?"

"Look, I will explain everything in a minute, but first I'm going to need a small favor." Greene said, hanging up both phones at once. "Alexi, can I borrow your sunglasses for a second?"

Alexi gave him a strange look before sliding them off slowly and handing them over, still clutching his wounded shoulder. Greene quickly put them on, the stylish black glasses incongruous with his tattered lab coat. His smile was almost maniacal. "We've initiated containment protocol six."

"Six? You only briefed me on one through three..." Stephen said.

"And you only briefed me up to five!" Alexi said indignantly.

"Containment protocols..?" Jason began. "What the hell are you talking..."

He was cut off mid-sentence by a blinding, all-enveloping light and a hellish, deafening roar. An immense, radiant fireball consumed the island, blotting out the afternoon the sun like a speck of dust.

"Ack!" Jason blurted.

"Goddamnit Greene!" Alexi shouted.

"Mother of god!" Stephen exclaimed, awestruck.

"What the fuckshit..!" One of the pilots exclaimed.

"Hold on! Major turbulence incoming!" Said the other.

"TAKE THAT YOU TREASONOUS BITCH!" Dr. Greene shouted into the ocean, gloating over the roar of the blast.

The helicopter rocked unsteadily as searing winds struck it; warning sirens blared from the cockpit. In the chaos, Jason struck his head on the side of the helicopter and passed out.

Jason's head was pounding when he regained consciousness. A mushroom cloud was coalescing where the Richard Nixon Memorial Sea Life Refuge and Missile Proving Ground once stood- almost over the horizon now- but the helicopter was still flying.

Alexi was in the middle of saying something to Greene. "...last time, boss. Our relationship has to be based on trust, and if you can't trust me with containment protocols, then I don't know if I can... Hey, Jason's awake."

"Ugh, my head is killing me. Did we just get nuked?"

"Affirmative." Responded Alexi. His sunglasses were back over his eyes now and his shoulder was bound tightly with bandages. "Don't worry, you haven't been out for too long."

"You probably have a concussion; you hit your head quite hard. I'll get you some paracetamol when we land." Stephen said. "We're going to have to wait and see what we can do about that tan you got as well."

"Tan?" Jason asked, confused. When he looked down, he saw that some of his scales had been blasted into colorful hues of red, blue and orange. "Holy shit! I didn't know you could get a tan from a nuke..."

"Hey, at least now I can tell you two apart." Greene said, helpfully.

"I didn't know lizards could tan." Alexi said.

"Me either, but then again we aren't exactly dealing with normal physiology here. You know, given all the genetic manipulation you've been through recently, being exposed to a nuclear blast probably wasn't the best thing..." said Stephen. He paused for a second, contemplating something, then turned to Greene. "Do you think that the explosion got all the traces of the virus?"

"Without a doubt. Peterson too! I'd like to see her come back from that!" Greene said, a smile visiting his face. It quickly disappeared when he glanced back at the slowly dissipating mushroom cloud over where the island used to be. "Of course, we lost the base, millions worth of equipment, and all of our research data- including how to turn you two back to normal. And I don't even know where the hell to begin on covering this whole incident up..."

"Okay, let's play a game." He said, rubbing his hands together conspiratorially. "The first person to find a way of explaining away a nuclear detonation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean without implicating the U.S. government wins."

July 11, 2008 - Pearl Harbor Naval Base - O'ahu, Hawaii

"In world news tonight, shock and outrage from the world community over the unannounced nuclear test conducted by the French government in the Pacific Ocean earlier today- in a marine wildlife preserve, no less. The French President and government continue to deny any involvement or knowledge of this incident, but CNN has obtained confirmation from sources inside the American and British intelligence community..."

"Unbelievable." Stephen muttered, turning the volume down. "The media are all morons."

Jason laughed. "I told you! Actually, I'm a little surprised my idea worked, too..."

"Well, it was impressive." Greene said, a cautious smile on his face. "You know, you might have a future in this line of work."

Alexi didn't look so happy. "Madeline is going to fucking kill me. She is going to figure out it was us in about five seconds like she always does, and Jesus is she is going to be pissed about us pinning this on her country..."

"We can worry about that later. At least the boss is letting us stay here for now." Greene said.

It hadn't been easy sneaking Jason and Stephen onto the base without exposing the truth of their odd condition. Greene had them dress in full-body Hazmat suits, waving away the curious with his top secret clearance badge and dire warnings about 'genital blisters the size and texture of cherry tomatoes'. The room they had taken looked like it was intended to hold medical supplies; it was secured by thick sheets of black plastic and biohazard signs. Dr. Greene had managed to acquire a pair of couches and a television, but it was still decidedly spartan. A faint, cloying, antiseptic odor didn't help the ambiance much, either.

"I'm just glad we got off that damn island safely. We were dangerously close to the blast radius of that bomb; it's a miracle none of us were injured." Stephen said.

"Say that for yourself..." Jason said, looking at his tropical-themed scales with uncertainty. "At least we've seen the last of those terrorists."

Alexi grunted. "I don't think so. There are still a few things that are bothering me. Who were those terrorists with Peterson? How did she recruit so many people? Where the hell did they get that missile launcher? What did she even intend to do after spreading the virus..."

"She said she was doing it for someone she loved, if you can believe that." Greene interjected.

"We also don't know who or what was backing her. Until we find and neutralize them, we can't be sure of anything. But I think these questions can wait until tomorrow. I'm going to go find myself a pack of smokes, a bottle of scotch, and a beautiful woman, in that order. Don't wait up. And before you say another thing about smoking being bad for my health," he said, planting a finger on Stephen's chest, "consider my line of work."

Stephen muttered something under his breath about lung cancer anyway.

"I'm going to head off, too." Greene said. "I've got a lot of work to do now that all of my research was disintegrated. There's some sheets and comforters and such on the floor around here somewhere, I'll see you two in the morning. Goodnight."

When Alexi shut the door, Stephen clicked off the television and sat down next to Jason. "Alright. Now that they are gone, could you take off your shirt? I want to see what that bomb did to you."

Jason complied, doffing the camouflage jacket he had taken from one of the incapacitated terrorists. "How does it look?"

The scale-patterns were vivid, bursting with color; a certain underlying order lay beneath the veneer of randomness. "Hmm... this has to be the most beautiful radiation burn I've ever seen..."

Jason groaned. "That doesn't sound good."

"Ah, don't worry; it doesn't look too bad, I think. We better put some ointment and antibiotics on you, though, just to be on the safe side." Stephen said, rummaging around the cabinets in the room until he found what he was searching for. "Here we go: some Miaderm and a tub of Neosporin." He tossed them both to Jason.

"Can you help me put it on?" Jason asked, feigning innocence. "I don't think I can reach everywhere."

Stephen looked hesitant. "Well... yes, I guess I could help. As long as you're comfortable with it."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because I'm gay, and you're not? And the only reason we had insanely passionate sex last night is because Dr. Greene dosed you with a weapons-grade aphrodisiac without your knowledge or consent?"

"Yes. Well. That." Jason was fidgeting. "Ah, fuck it; I don't care anymore. I don't know why I feel like this, but... I think I like you, Stephen. And I'm pretty sure that Greene's love bomb isn't the only reason."

Stephen was quiet. "You're serious? Really? I was afraid I was falling in love with a straight guy."

"Stephen... I... I couldn't stop thinking about you, even when I was in the middle of that chemical-induced orgy. I mean, I don't know if it's gay or whatever to say so, but I think I'm in love with you."

Stephen laughed nervously. "Heh, well. Wanting to have sex with guys is pretty much the definition of 'gay', but I've never been one to obsess over labels."

"Well... it's only gay if you touch balls."

"What? First of all, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Second of all, we have internal testes at the moment, so that is physically impossible."

"Exactly." Jason said, smiling childishly. "Now, can you rub me down before my scales flake off, or something?"

"I'd be more than happy to." Stephen said, giving Jason a lick across his cheek. It was such a small piece of intimate contact, but it made Jason's heart flutter nonetheless. "Lie down for a second."

Jason complied excitedly. Stephen spurted a bit of both creams into his hands and mixed them together before he started rubbing Jason's shoulders. His gentle rubbing to spread the soothing ointments slowly turned into hard, vigorous massaging. Jason practically melted under his touch, the stress-induced tightness in his shoulders yielding to the other reptile's claws. Despite the dampened, armored sensations his scaley exterior transmitted, Jason was in heaven.

"Ah, how's this?" Stephen asked, continuing his rubbing across Jason's upper arms. "And to think, I was afraid my medical skills were going to atrophy, relaxing all summer on a tropical island..." He paused for a second to squirt more cream into his hands, then began kneading his knuckles into the other lizard's back . "Boy was I wrong. Gunshot wounds and radiation burns. DNA-warping viruses and psychochemical weapons. What a summer..." Stephen started working his way lower, towards the small of Jason's back.

"Looooower." Jason said, lost in bliss.

"Here?" Stephen asked, massaging hard around the top of Jason's tail base.

"Lower... ooooooh, right there..." Jason said, sighing in content. His tail was swaying back and forth like a lazy metronome. It felt like all of the tension, confusion, and fear of the last few days was draining out from his sore and strained muscles.

"How about... this?" Stephen asked, as his hands started to rub the sensitive underside of Jason's tail, pulling Jason's borrowed pants off. He took a minute to rub the muscles under Jason's legs, working over his thighs and calves before progressing to Jason's feet. Stephen pressed hard into the leathery pads before massaging each one of Jason's toes individually down to the clawtip.

By this time, Jason's normally active tongue was hanging out of his muzzle, drool seeping onto the couch beneath him. Despite all the chaos of the day behind him, he had never felt so good, so right in his life lying there, being massaged by his... boyfriend?

"Sssso... are you my boyfriend now?" Jason asked, voice slurring from relaxation.

"I'd say yes. And you're mine." Stephen said, his claws making their way back up Jason's legs slowly but surely. "Which means... we can do things together... whenever we feel like it..." He punctuated every pause in his speaking with firm, powerful compressions of Jason's lower back, cracking it with loud pops.

"Why the hell are you bothering with med school... when you can give a rub down like this..." Jason asked half-seriously, still drooling.

Stephen's response was a small laugh. "Well, I've always wanted to help people. Making them feel good is nice, but keeping them alive and healthy is better. Not that this isn't important too..." One of his hands went around towards, the front, spreading more of the ointment across Jason's abdomen before questing further downward...

Jason shuddered as two fingers started to rub deep inside his slit, massaging his glans and internal testicles with a firmness that made him whimper. It didn't take Stephen long to coax the full, hard length of his maleness out into the open, where it was pressed tightly into the couch beneath him.

Stephen kneeled down next to him, and asked in a husky voice: "What do you want to do to celebrate our five minute anniversary?"

"I want you to fuck me silly." Jason said, mumbling through the cushion his muzzle was pressed against.

"I think I can do that for you," Stephen replied, smirking, "but you better be willing to reciprocate later. I like it, too, you know..."

"Don't worry. Wooooon't be an issssssue." Jason sighed, eyes shut tight in anticipation. Stephen's free hand, the one not playing with his hard shaft, was spreading some of the cool ointment around his rear entrance. Jason could feel his lover climb on top of him, straddling the back of his knees as he positioned himself just right, his tail being gently moved aside...

For the second time in his life, Jason felt the fullness of anal penetration; Stephen's hard, massive reptilian cock spreading wide his passage. He had forgotten how large the other lizard was, but in this case too much felt like just enough. Stephen was just as adept at massaging his prostate as he had been at massaging his sore muscles. Warm, tingling pleasure spread throughout his body, a conflagration of sensation that resonated with the hard, throbbing ecstasy of the clawed hand stroking him off. Jason felt complete, physically and mentally.

They took it slow, savoring each other's bodies, exploiting the knowledge that there were many, many more nights like this to come. They continued rocking back and forth together, moving as one, until their sweat and sexual fluids drenched the couch beneath them so much it resembled a used sponge. They whispered small, gasping but sincere promises of affection to one another, and they tasted each other's musk with their sensitive, forked tongues until it was engraved in their memories. They made love.

When their climaxes finally arrived, they came as one; each pulse of warm seed into Jason's backside was accompanied shortly thereafter by a blast from his cock into the soaked into the fabric beneath him. Awkwardly, Stephen leaned his muzzle over Jason's shoulder, and they kissed each other.

Wordlessly, they pushed the two couches together, before removing what little remained of their clothing and climbing into the makeshift bed together, naked save for their thick scales. They touched each other, exploring each other's body, no longer out of sexual need but simple affection and curiosity. Jason wrapped his tail around Stephens and played with it using his own; Stephen took Jason's hand into both his and stroked his claws lovingly.

Suddenly, a look of regret flashed across Stephen's face. He turned away from his lover, sighing.

"Hey, uhm... I'm not sure exactly how to put this, but I'm sorry things ended up like this. I would never have let Greene bring you in if I knew it was going to be this dangerous, or that we would be stuck like... like this for so long. I guess I'm trying to apologize."

"Oh god, no, you don't have to apologize to me. I don't have any regrets. This might sound sort of weird, but believe it or not," he said, smiling, "I actually kind of like it."

"The action? Yeah, once you taste the adrenaline rush of this type of work it's hard to..."

"No, not just that..." Jason interrupted. "I mean, like, this body. It's kinda growing on me, being part-reptile, having a tail and all that..."

"Yeah, true. I know what you mean." Stephen said in assent. "It is, ah, a unique condition; one with a lot of perks. I've actually gotten quite used to it, but I didn't want to say anything in case you didn't feel the same way."

"Well, I do." Jason said, planting a kiss on the nape of Stephen's neck, nuzzling it as he spoke. "This might not be how I imagined this experiment was going to work, but then again my imagination is horrible. I'm happy with this, and I wouldn't change a goddamn thing. Well, except for that whole terrorist attack..."

Stephen turned around to face him again. "Not to be hopelessly optimistic, but at least we'll never see that horrible Poltergeist Seven virus again. This may be fun and games for us, but worldwide it would have been catastrophic."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Jason and Stephen exchanged a kiss muzzle-to-muzzle, then threw the covers on over their makeshift bed.

"Goodnight, Jason." Stephen said, holding him close.

"Goodnight, Stephen." Jason smiled, and fell asleep peacefully in the scaled arms of his boyfriend.

Meanwhile, Greene sat in his newly-seized office topside. The name of a Lieutenant-Colonel Beckinridge was still visible below the sheet of office paper duct-taped to it that had 'Dr. John Greene, Chemical Corps' written on it in sharpie. He sat and stared with conflicted emotions at the test tube of Poltergeist Seven he had secreted away from the island.

It shone in the dimly-light room, throwing off a rainbow of colors in almost-hypnotic patterns of luminescence. Its power was tangible, a thing of fearsome, terrible beauty. 'Serpentes' was written on its side in hastily scrawled pen.

"Now... what are we going to do with you?" He pondered quietly, rubbing his beard.