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The Flare

Written by Leo_Todrius

Supported by my Patrons

The surface of the sun stretched out like an immense sea of boiling, churning plasma. It was tangible and incomprehensible, impossibly large and finite. It did what it had since long before the human race had existed. It provided heat and warmth and light to those that inhabited Earth, but all those that lived there had been warned never to look at the sun. It had been worshiped as a god, then it had become a scientific curiosity, and only later had it become a hazard. It had taken several decades for scientists to learn how to shield themselves from the radiation the sun pushed out into the void between the planets and even then it was barely adequate. Still, IASA's Helios space station was the first of its kind.

The structure had joined a network of probes and unmanned observatories that orbited the sun, but Helios was the first to have the capacity to host a human crew. At the moment Romeo Sattler was the only occupant, floating in zero gravity, his cool blue eyes glued to one of the many readouts. His appointment had been routine and mundane, but destiny had been thrust upon him by an event that had doubtless been set in motion millions of years prior. His reflection shone in one of the few screens that was off, showing his close cropped blonde hair and his fairly average build.

“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art my LOS scans Romeo?" A voice crackled over the radio. Romeo exhaled a little, running his tongue over his lips.

“It would have been a lot funnier if it didn't take eight minutes to get here from Earth. Any witty rejoinder would be wasted on you, Russell." Romeo said. He flicked a few switches and the last screen lit up, showing a black and teal user interface that contrasted with the bright white wall panels of Helios. After a few more adjustments, a blurry splotch began to appear in the middle of the screen. It refined and gained clarity, revealing it was not one object but five. One large asteroid was trailed by four smaller pieces like a string of pearls. “EAO-115 on scope. Transmitting data in real-time." Romeo added to his report before he waited. The minutes ticked by. His radio signal traveled inward toward Earth, traveling almost as fast as the light the sun had given off at the moment he'd broadcast. Once it reached Earth, it would take just as long for the response to make it back again.

“We're receiving five by five Romeo. Also… We have some visitors in the control room, a high school class. The commander is wondering if you'd like to give them a little bit of a run down on our current mission?" Russell asked. Romeo grimaced a little. While it had been a few years, as exciting as being an astronaut was, a sixteen minute delay between messages would have been excruciating. Anyone present in the control center could have explained it by the time his words got back to them. That being said, everything at IASA was recorded and his response would go down in history for posterity and even the video of everything he did on the station was data dumped at regular intervals. He took a breath to order his thoughts.

“There have only been a few times in our history that we've been able to witness the impact of stellar objects on planetary bodies in all of our human history. Comets, meteoroids, meteorites… Normally they circle our solar system hundreds of times on slowly degrading orbits until they're pulled into Jupiter. Occasionally they'll hit moons, and sometimes even the sun itself. What makes EAO-115 different is that it didn't come from our own solar system. It came in at an oblique angle, headed right for our sun from somewhere so far off we can't even imagine it. That, and it is a heck of a lot larger than most asteroids." Romeo grinned,

“In just a few short hours we'll be able to witness history being made, and we'll witness it close up and in high definition." Romeo concluded. While he waited for the message to be sent out, he turned his attention back to the work at hand. There were so many instruments packed into Helios and the closer 115 got, the more they could use to study it. Already the sensor clusters were having a field day trying to analyze the composition of the asteroid. There were several figures that weren't adding up right between its mass, velocity and rotation - or rather lack of rotation.

“Romeo, we're going to have some of the kids ask questions. We're writing down the order of the questions so we can queue them up and not wait in between each one." Russell added. Romeo gave a pained nod at that, though he didn't respond to that particular comment. No doubt Russell was going to get right into it.

“Hi, uh, this is James Cross… Is it dangerous to have something like that hit the sun?" A young man asked. Romeo realized only then that Russell hadn't said how long he'd have to answer before the next kid got a chance so he decided to be a little more concise than he might have otherwise been.

“A lot of people have joked about sending garbage into the sun to burn it up so it doesn't clutter up Earth. The sun is essentially one big engine, turning hydrogen into heavier elements. While anything we dump into the sun isn't its preferred fuel source, it essentially is just more raw material. It's also sucked up countless objects-" Romeo was cut off.

“This is Helena Pierce, grade twelve…" Another young voice said, this one female. Romeo took a breath to calibrate the delay. “If an asteroid is going to crash into the sun, is there risk to you? It won't hit you, right?" She asked.

“I appreciate your concern, Helena. The asteroid will miss me by a few hundred miles. While that sounds like a lot, it's actually pretty close on the scale we use for astronomy. That being said, Helios is equipped with the best shielding we have ever made and we don't expect anything that should disrupt our stable orbit. If anything, I just have a good front row seat for the show." Romeo explained. Over the next twenty minutes, several more questions came in and Romeo responded back. He suspected that Russel was reading back the questions the kids had asked just before the answers came in, though he wasn't sure exactly how it was all panning out. He was a little relieved when Russell returned.

“Well, I think that about does it, Romeo. Our guests were quite reassured with your answers. You sounded more eloquent than usual." Russell's voice jibed. Romeo smirked.

“Hey, I cater to my audience. They deserved a little extra." he replied before his face got a little more serious, “I've got a checklist to run down. I'm setting several of the experiments to automatic so I can focus on the impact. If there are any last minute changes you want me to do, you better get them to me soon. I don't want to miss a second of what's coming." Romeo said. With his message sent, he didn't bother waiting for the reply directly in front of the monitor. He pushed off, floating across the space to start working on other systems. While none of Helio's windows faced toward the sun, there was one small one that looked outward. He raised his head, peering into the darkness, knowing somewhere in that inky blackness was EAO-115, heading right towards the sun, ready to take its final cosmic plunge.

****

As the hours had ticked by, a solemnity had settled over Romeo's work. He'd barely stopped to drink from his juice packets, focused on every last minute adjustment that had to be made. It was not lost on the astronaut that he wouldn't have been IASA's first pick. He was merely the officer on scene. Missions took weeks, months, even years to prepare for and the asteroid had given them no time to change their plans. Even if they had been able to get a shuttle ready in time, there was heightened risk of micrometeorites that would be traveling ahead of the larger asteroid. When it came down to it, Romeo would simply have to rise to the challenge.

Pushing off of one of the bulkheads with his sock covered foot, Romeo floated down the corridor with ease. He reached out to grab one of the runs, redirecting his momentum before he slid back into the control room. Several of the screens were updating software. It was a risky move in case any of them crashed this close to the impact, but at the same time they were being calibrated to make the most out of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Romeo double checked a few of the figures on some of the screens, running a hand over his short hair. He missed how long it had been on Earth, but it wasn't professional or practical to have it long in space. Romeo scrunched up his face a little as he tried to make out some of the smaller text on one of the screens. The user interface hadn't loaded properly when the patch had been applied.

“God I wish I could be up there with you right now." Russell's voice came over the radio, startling Romeo.

“So you could help me do a software patch?" Romeo smirked, more to himself. The time delay was a killer.

“So I could see the asteroid. It's gotta be coming into visual now, at least…. Within the next ten seconds or so your time." Russell responded as if he had been able to anticipate Romeo's joke. It was fairly easy to assume he would have said something. Still, ten seconds… Romeo pushed away from the console, floating over to the small window before peering out. He had to be careful not to lean too far into it. Even with the window pointed away from the sun, there were solar arrays on the edges of the station that collected the energy and shone rather brightly.

Looking out into the darkness, Romeo saw nothing but the steady pinpricks of stars staring back… at least at first. He noticed something not by its own refracted light, but by the way it blotted out the stars behind it. Motion, at first, occlusion, and then he spotted it. It started small at first, but it grew so rapidly… At a distance it was onyx black like broken shale, glassy and smooth on some parts and pitted on others. It was, for the most part, exactly what Romeo had come to expect an asteroid would look like… but as it moved, there was a twinkle. Stars were steady in space, they only twinkled on Earth because of the atmosphere. Something wasn't right. The unusual light was also in a cooler spectrum, almost a turquoise color.

“Something's not right…" Romeo said, pushing back to the controls. He brought up one of the station's many exterior cameras and aimed it towards the incoming object. Adjusting it to auto-track the rapidly moving objects and compensate for speed and distance, Romeo began to zoom in and enhance as much as he could. The image was blurry at first, but as it clarified, Romeo couldn't help but inhale in shock. The pits and recesses revealed the interior core of the asteroid, and it wasn't the same black rock. The interior was glowing like some sort of uranium glass. Several other pockmarks across the surface revealed more glowing sections that throbbed and thrummed with the strange incandescence. Romeo nearly stuttered as he collected his thoughts.

“The asteroid; 115, the interior composition is unlike anything I've ever seen. It seems to be emitting its own luminescence. It is bright enough to see with the naked eye, and it is not a reflection of solar output. It seems to be teal or turquoise in color, emanating from the interior core of the object. I'm going to try and get a scan with something that might help with the chemical makeup." Romeo said, moving to another station. He focused on his work, using everything at his disposal.

“What do you mean not right?" Russell's voice came in after a few minutes, then a delay. Romeo tried to remember what he'd said in his report exactly, timing it out in his head. “Oh god, its glowing?" Russell asked.

“Lieutenant, this is Commander Freeman. I am going to need whatever information you can give us as soon as possible." A stern voice came over the radio shortly after Russell's comment.

“Yes sir, working on it right now." Romeo replied, picturing the gruff man waiting that many minutes to have his order followed. Romeo moved to bring another sensor cluster online and nearly winced as the screen suddenly filled with complex patterns and several readings went off the chart. Romeo resisted the urge to curse, though he was detecting several forms of radiation and some readings the system was barely capable of handling.

“The object… is hot, sir. Alpha, beta, gamma radiation. It couldn't be farther from standard asteroid composition if it tried. I'm not sure if there's an ounce of nickel or iron in there. Whatever it is, it is exotic material." Romeo said, moving back to the camera. The image was drizzling in places, the radiation interfering with the camera feed. “I'm going to lose it soon in the corona, but I'm sending every last frame I have." Romeo commented, transmitting it all back home. Several other systems would be able to follow it even as it moved into the blinding light. While they wouldn't be as exciting, they would no doubt be vital pieces of information for scientists to study for years.

“It's terrifying, and beautiful." Russell responded, “We're getting your updates. By our mission clock, it's going to impact T-minus sixty your time… on my mark." Russell paused, “Mark." he said finally.

Romeo moved back to the sensors that could cut through the intense light of the sun. He watched the big rock and the four trailing pearls descend down into the gravity well of the sun. They accelerated as they got closer, tugged and pulled. The outside edges rose and climbed in temperature until the rough edges started to melt and vaporize, but the material that made it was incredibly heat resistant. More than that, the large asteroid taking the brunt of the heat seemed to shield the pearls that followed after.

Romeo counted down in his head, watching the mission clock count down at the same time. The numbers spun down, shrinking away until, at last, they hit zero. The large asteroid plunged into the surface of the sun, followed less than a second later by the trailing pieces. There was no splash, no plume, nothing to indicate that a once in a lifetime event had taken place, nor that such a large object had just plunged into the molten sea of plasma. There was no tsunami, almost no reaction at all… at least at first. Romeo knew he should have said something, something timely and memorable for historical records, but his eyes were drawn to the energy scans. They had dipped down towards baseline when the asteroid had dropped into the sun, but two of the readings had started to climb again.

“The impact occurred exactly on the projected mark. No visible reaction on scopes one through nine… but I am reading the exotic energy signal again, climbing steadily." Romeo reported, switching over to a surface scan. Most of the sphere on the screen was black, although there were splotches of brown, orange, red and yellow that indicated sunspots and other deformations in the fusion reaction. The impact site had started out calm, but it was slowly turning from brown to orange, then red. Romeo started shaking his head. “This can't be right, it shouldn't have a reaction like this…" Romeo murmured, “There seems to be a solar flare building on the impact site."

Chirps, beeps and even alarms started to go off from various systems. Helios Station had been designed to study the sun, predicting sunspots and coronal mass ejections. It was detecting something was coming, something was building fast, and it wasn't any reaction that they had ever detected before. Several hundred miles away, far below on the surface of the sun, the churning sea began to kick up a mist of ionized plasma contained by wild magnetic fields that warped and arced away from the core. As it rose, flinging those particles into space, the new form of radiation spiked so high that the readings on Helios shorted out, the receiver array going dark. A few sparks erupted out of some of the systems, floating across the zero gravity space.

Romeo pushed away from the console, reaching for a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall, but as he reached his hand out, he felt a strange tingling. It started gently at first as tiny blond strands of hair pushed out of his knuckles, the back of his hand, and then his wrist. It was perplexing, like a filter on a smart phone being turned off to reveal the imperfections beneath. Romeo started at his hand even as his fingernails started to darken, turning from a pristine clear tone to brown and then almost black. The tingle spread up his arms, feeling a downy layer of fuzz growing out across his forearms. Likewise, the fabric covering his pits seemed to be too restrained and confining in mere moments. Romeo's scalp tingled next, his short shorn hair beginning to sprout and grow and lengthen, pushing out and slowly taking on curls across his head.

“Something's happening to me, a reaction to the radiation. I'm not sure if it is real though, or a hallucination." Romeo reported to the open radio, “I seem to be growing hair at an accelerated rate and I-" Romeo grunted softly, feeling his nipples grow tender and sensitive, growing erect against his uniform. The sensation rippled down new trails of fur crossing his chest, reaching his groin as his manhood began to swell and stretch out, slinking down his leg as it filled out. Romeo moved up to the darkened bank of screens, seeing his reflection. His hair was growing so fast, regrowing the curls of his youth. More than that, though, his eyebrows were thicker, more unkempt, growing toward one another in a forming unibrow. Similarly, fuzz had grown out across his cheeks, his chin and above his lips.

“I'm… a little concerned you haven't responded." Romeo said, realizing how many moments had passed, “Not about the time of impact, nor anything else. Are you able to read me, control?" Romeo asked. The words felt stranger and stranger as they left his mouth, almost as if his tongue couldn't keep up with them. He had to run his tongue across his lips to ensure they were functioning still. His teeth were feeling overly large in his mouth as they stretched into points. He tried to run his tongue over them, but the tongue was rough and coarse like sandpaper. Looking back at his reflection, it was easy to see how his nose was darkening at the tip, taking on a rougher texture. The stubble running down his cheeks was growing out even faster than the hair on his head, throbbing almost pleasantly as it did so

“This has to be a hallucination…" Romeo murmured, reaching up to run his finger tips through his thick facial hair. He gasped as he touched it, feeling an unexpected jolt of pleasure. As he responded, his cheeks pickled as several thick, wiry white whiskers pierced through his skin, growing outward. His arms burned as they took on faint points, fur sprouting across the backs of them as they filled out. Romeo couldn't help but wiggle his toes, feeling his sharpening toenails start to rake back and forth in his socks, fraying the fabric until plump, clawed toes emerged from beneath. A gentle thump came as Romeo bumped against the console and started flowing in the reverse direction, but he didn't care.

Inch by inch, Romeo's mane was filling in. His head was crowned by rapidly lengthening curls. His sideburns were a far different texture, but they grew out longer and thicker, creeping down the length of his jawbone. He felt so effervescent, so bubbly, so frothy… and the sensation reached his groin, waking up the rod of flesh from its dormancy. Soon Romeo couldn't help but claw at his pants, his newly curved claws proving to be quite potent at the task. In moments he had his uniform open, revealing his hard, erect shaft. He curled his fingers around his length, gasping a little as he felt the strange swollen flesh ballooning out from his fingertips. The hair on the back of his hand had only grown thicker, becoming fur.

Romeo groaned harder, starting to stroke himself off. His hand rose and fell along a rapidly bloating cock. It took only moments for it to become thicker and longer than he'd ever handled before. Despite the lack of gravity, the circulation of Romeo's blood was pushing more and more blood into the member. As it did, waves of confidence, energy and vitality coursed through his veins. The beard Romeo was growing met at the center of his chin, framing his face with fuzz. His pointed ears twitched, and soon he began to have a different tactile sensation coming from the hand working his cock. It felt as if the manhood was getting rougher somehow, like the skin cells were taking on new textures.

One had to be careful working in zero gravity, but Romeo had become too distracted. His shoulders slammed into a bulkhead as he had been drifting backward. The impact caused him to ricochet off in a new trajectory, but he still didn't let go of his cock. He hissed and panted as it continued to grow and swell and bloat and stretch, surging outward from his groin. So much blood had rushed in that it pushed past red and was nearly looking purple. With so much more mass to go around, Romeo grabbed on with his other hand.

His grunts became growls and snarls as he felt so liberated, so good, so free. His cock felt rough against his hands, as if parts of the skin had toughened and were dragging against his swollen fingertips. His face distorted into snarls of pleasure, his brow bone looking thicker as his upper lip began to taper and deform. The hair that unfurled from his cheeks had grown out centimeter by centimeter, then inch by inch, forming a true beard. His curly locks had formed a mane around his head that nearly reached his shoulders now. He thrashed about, bearing teeth that were sharpening with each passing second. His nostrils turned rubbery and soft, his ears swelling and reshaping, rounding as they took on downy fuzz.

A soft tearing sound came from the back of Romeo's uniform. It split down from the collar, prying apart as his shoulder muscles expanded and bulged. The muscle beneath the skin rippled and distorted. Hormones surged through his veins and coursed into his chest. A respectable set of pectorals began to distend and swell outward, pushing out rapidly. The already over-strained material began to cling to his abdomen as muscles down there took on perfect definition. Even his socked feet began to grow tight, the fabric stretching until the material pried apart to reveal growing and stretching flesh beneath. As Romeo floated, he saw one of the stabilization rails near his foot. Without thinking, he stretched out to grab at it with his toes. Long, sharp, black claws sliced through his socks, shredding the material as plump toes covered in golden fur emerged.

He grabbed onto the rail with his paw, slowing his drifting. He reluctantly reached out with one arm to grab the wall, tearing the sleeve from his uniform. His huge biceps and triceps rippled with new strength. Romeo could still feel his blood tingling and frothing, responding to the radiation streaming out of the sun. Every breath made his chest and shoulders and rib cage bigger. He grew and grew and grew. He wanted more, he craved it, and he wanted Russell… he wanted to pin his scrawny body to the floor of the control room, to lick his mocha skin, to fill his belly full of so much cum that he jiggled.

Romeo threw his head back and let out a roar, baring his fangs as his face pushed into a short muzzle. His nose was dark, the beard transitioning to fur that spread up his cheeks, around his eyes, across his forehead and nose. The rest of his uniform tore away, revealing his hulking body in all its glory. With one hand holding the wall, his massive purple dick was visible and the rubbery barbs along the rim of the purple pointed tip was clear to see. The radiation had woken up dormant genes, genes that had never been meant to be active at the same time as his human DNA. Romeo didn't care. He felt stronger and better than he ever had in his life.

Despite his intense hunger and lust, Romeo managed to pull himself through the hallway and back into the control room. His mass increase mattered little in the zero gravity, but his increased muscle strength gave him that much more tension to pull himself around. Romeo managed to skid to a stop in front of the console, running clawed fingers across the buttons. What sensors that were working snapped on and a projection of the solar flare came up. His transformation had taken roughly four minutes. A small smile crossed Romeo's lips as he realized he had a chance to be profound.

“Earth has just witnessed the dawning of a new day, the blessing the sun has to offer… And with it, a new age." Romeo said, still uncertain if the transmission to Earth was still live or not. Even if it wasn't, someone would come for the data logs eventually. Having made his piece, Romeo returned his paws to his huge dick and started jacking off, ready to revel in his first orgasm as a near-human.

[Six Weeks Later]

The late afternoon sun shone over the city, casting amber and gold light. It glinted off the metal trim of the parked cars, though the vehicles themselves had grown dusty. Every window had been shuddered, covered with tinfoil or blacked out with thick curtains. No one ventured outside their homes, leaving the city to look like a wasteland. That would change at night, though people were still wary. Riots had broken out at first and in a few cities the fires still burned. Most places, though, humanity had hunkered down. The internet was full of conspiracy theories, but many eyes returned to the television for the first time in a decade. The screen showed stock footage of the sun gleaming and burning into the camera, then a shot of a solar flare from IASA's library.

“The Flare…" a resonant reporter's voice commented, “Some believe it is yet another curse blighting humanity in the end days. Others believe it is a blessing to usher in a new age. Researchers struggle to understand it, and new cults have sprung up in deference to it. What we do know is that six weeks ago, life on Earth changed forever. For women, exposure to the flares causes an extreme allergic reaction and sensitivity to light. For men, it prompts rapid mutation; growth of hair, muscle and bone. In both cases, in heavy doses it seems to trigger extreme urges and capacity to reproduce."

As the reporter spoke, the footage cycled from more shots of the sun to footage of the riots and looting before showing those affected by the flare. A woman writhed on a hospital bed while strapped down, then there was a wide panning shot of a commune of men that not only sported long beards, but fur around their forearms and ankles and unusually large feet. Then footage shifted to less extreme examples, showing middle school boys with mustaches and sideburns well beyond their years, then business-men in suits with big, bushy beards down to their collar bones and sharper teeth than they should have had.

“The governments of the world have worked to establish an early warning system, but with only a few minutes warning as a flare forms, and only eight minutes for its dangerous effects to reach Earth, the only safety comes at night. A curfew has been extended across the United States and European Union for daytime activity, with other countries enacting more severe states of martial law. Brave farmers work through the night to ensure our supply of agriculture continues, but can our society adapt to live a nocturnal existence? Can we truly continue to live in fear of the sun?" The reporter asked a question that was not meant to be answered.

****

The growl of the bus engine grew louder as the labored vehicle began to climb the hill at the edge of town. The plexiglass windows rattled and shook, triangular hand grips swinging back and forth on cords that hung from the ceiling. The pale white lights made it harder to see out of the bus into the late evening, but Logan tried anyway. It had been too stressful to look when they'd still been in town with everyone trying desperately to go out and get everything they needed at night, dodging Ubers and delivery drivers. As that all fell away, Logan was able to relax a little bit.

The twenty five year old caught sight of his reflection in the window of the bus. Despite the lockdown, he'd kept his brownish-red hair relatively in shape with shaggy waves on top and a shaved fade on the sides. It wasn't nearly as good as his barber had managed, but it helped Logan still feel a little human. His dark brown eyebrows contrasted with his hazel green eyes, the light flecking of freckles across his upper cheeks and the rather new tuft of orange hair that had grown out from the point of his chin. Looking at his reflection, Logan reached up to close his thumb behind the tuft of hair, pressing it against his two forefingers as he gave it a soft brush. As he pulled on the new hair, he shuddered and gasped a little, feeling a surge of pleasure ripping through him that he knew he shouldn't feel.

With the bus empty aside from him, Logan still couldn't suppress his blush. He let go of his modest goatee and leaned forward instead, reaching down to adjust his duffel bag. Unzipping it, he pulled a professional camera up and out, slipping the strap over his neck before he zipped the bag shut again. He glanced up as the whine of the bus engine dropped several octaves and the vehicle lumbered to a stop. Logan slung the duffel bag strap over his shoulder as he stood up, moving forward toward the front of the bus. As he approached, he realized the door hadn't opened yet. The bus driver turned his head, a tired man in his early forties. He looked up appraisingly at Logan.

“You sure this is where you want to get off kid? Not sure they're a very good influence." He asked with a bit of paternal concern edging his voice. Logan gave a small smile of appreciation.

“I'm here to report on the story, not become a part of it." Logan said. The driver made a non-commital noise at that response.

“My last loop on this route comes by at four fifteen for the ride back in. Otherwise, I suggest you find a place to hunker down if you're not back by sunrise. You never know when one of those flares are going to go off." The driver said, reaching to hit the actuator that opened the bus door. Logan's smile grew a little stronger.

“Thank you, both for your concern and for driving still despite everything that's going on out there." Logan said. The driver chuckled.

“What can I say? I'm a people person." he shrugged. With that, Logan stepped down the stairwell and off the bus. The vehicle waited only a moment before it resumed its path, heading along the road that circled around the hilltop. As it slipped past, Logan looked up to see the camp of the Brotherhood of Helios. It had more than doubled since the last person had gotten a good view of it. There were tents stretching from one side of the massive hill to the other, but even larger yurts and communal tents had been set up. The stars sparkled and strobed across a velvet backdrop and the air smelled like cool hay kissed by the first dew of the evening.

Tugging his duffel bag up higher on his shoulder, Logan swung his camera up and took a few pictures of the camp. His camera had been set for low light before he'd even left the house. The camera simulated clicks and snaps despite being digital, giving the photographer a feel for what he was capturing. Satisfied he'd gotten some good angles, he crossed the road and started walking into camp. It didn't take long for some of the brotherhood to notice him and men started approaching. Some wore robes, others merely vests and baggy pants, but all of them were dyed shades of harvest gold and orange.

A particularly tall, lanky nineteen year old with shoulder length black hair and a medium length but very dense beard walked up, his vest showing off a rather hairy chest. His deep brown eyes were almost black this late at night. He reached up, his forearm covered in a thick ring of fur. His hand brushed Logan's cheek, stroking along the jawline until his fingers came to the tuft of hair on his chin. When Logan gasped involuntarily, the lanky man leaned forward.

“Welcome, brother." he said gently before kissing Logan on the lips. It had been unexpected, but not nearly as unexpected as the tongue that plunged into his mouth, or the hand that found Logan's rapidly swelling erection. Before Logan realized it, he'd been kissed and groped and the lanky man had disengaged, stepping back in time for another hand to reach up, caressing Logan's cheek from the other side.

“Welcome, brother." Another man said, this one closer to Logan's age. His long dreadlocks had been pulled back into a ponytail, the dark brown hair bleached blond near the tips. His kiss wasn't quite as long as the first, though he'd done a few things with his tongue that left Logan speechless. When the second brother parted, Logan nearly wobbled on his feet, seeing several more men approaching. Logan blushed furiously, his nipples aching and his cock throbbing. No wonder this group was growing so fast, they were all so affectionate…

“Welcome to the Brotherhood of Helios." A deeper voice announced from the open flap of one of the larger tents, light spilling out around his incredibly broad shoulders. The man would have easily fit the role of a caveman if he'd been cast in it. His brown hair was shaggy and unkempt and his full beard seemed almost overscaled, worthy of a dwarf from a fantasy novel. His mustache curved out and down in two wide crescents and the hair hanging down from his jaw was a dense wave. His brow bone was thicker than it should have been and his eyebrows nearly grew together in the middle. Even in the moonlight, a gold ring in his right nostril glinted. It took Logan a moment to realize that the man's ears were no longer human, having grown round and furry. While he had the same furry forearms as most of the brotherhood, his hands ended in black claws and his bare feet weren't quite human anymore.

“Did you name the brotherhood after the sun god, or the solar observatory that was present for the first flare?" Logan asked. The man smiled patiently.

“Why divide what divinity has paired together? Both are given more meaning by their symmetry." he said. Logan had to admit that the question seemed a little silly in retrospect, especially since IASA would have named the station after the sun god intentionally. The bearded man chuckled gently, “I take it you did not come to join the brotherhood?" he asked. Logan shook his head a little, something that he almost immediately realized cast an expression of dejection across several of the men that had been apparently waiting to kiss him in welcome.

"I am a field reporter for the Chronicle." Logan said, “And sometimes channel 12 if they want stock no one else has." Logan admitted. The man ran his tongue across his teeth, particularly the elongated canines that reshaped his face ever so slightly.

“You are a truth seeker, and I sense you are fair and unbiased. Come, sit with our brothers. I will answer the questions you have." he said, gesturing towards an outcropping that overlooked the city. Logan had to admit, if he had to pick anywhere to sit and think, that would have been the spot.

“I'm Logan, by the way. Logan Miller." the reporter said.

“I am Carter." the leader said, walking along the grass, his bare feet padding along. It was as if every step brought the man pleasure, feeling the ground against the paw pads that had swollen from his callouses.

“How many of the flares have you been outside for?" Logan asked as they approached the circle. Carter gazed out at the city beyond.

“All of them." Carter replied, “What about you?" he asked, sparing a sideways glance. Logan blushed a little.

“Just the first, like a lot of people I suspect." he said. Carter nodded.

“And did you not feel the blessing pouring through your body? Strengthening and nourishing you? Awakening your true drives?" Carter asked as they reached the circle. Several very nice cushions rested on the ground, apparently made out of yoga mats. Carter settled himself down cross legged and Logan sat next to him. Several of the other brothers were already seated.

“I felt something… I mean, before that I'd never really had to shave much. Now I can't seem to get rid of this." he said, indicating the small tuft of reddish brown hair hanging from his chin. Carter shook his head.

“Such a silly notion to shave in the first place… If it is natural for us to grow it, why not grow it? Countless cultures have viewed the beard as an extension of one's strength, vitality, and masculinity. Others view facial hair as a gift from god and to shave it rejects that gift. Aside from that, even as climate change made the world warmer and warmer, more and more men grew out their facial hair in the days before the flare. I think instinctively we knew." Carter said. Logan nodded, though he wasn't sure if he fully agreed. He hesitated for a moment, realizing he wasn't taking notes and it was rather dark.

“Do you mind if I record this?" he asked. Carter shook his head, a sly grin crossing his face.

“As long as you don't mind recording this." he said. Logan wasn't sure what he meant, although as he looked up and around he was able to see rapid back and forth movements from several of the brothers. Their robes and baggy pants had been adjusted to reveal their manhoods, something they were all diligently working. Logan couldn't stop himself from staring for a moment before he turned his attention back to his duffel bag.

“It's just a voice recorder." He said, switching it on. Carter made a soft sound of disapproval.

“A shame. There's nothing quite so beautiful as a man embracing his truest self." Carter said. Logan spared a glance back up, seeing the men writhe and undulate as they jerked off.

“Do you see this heightened libido as our truest self?" Logan asked. Carter shrugged gently.

“It, too, is a gift. The flare burned away our preconceptions, our facades, the lies we told ourselves to keep us in check. Now that we've embraced this way of life, our days are filled with such joy and our nights are filled with such passion." Carter replied.

“There have been movements before in history that embraced the concept of free love, many of which adopted a similar aesthetic. In time there were consequences to that love, including diseases." Logan said. Carter shook his head.

“The flare has burned away such impurities in those it has embraced. There is no disease in the brotherhood of Helios." Carter said. Logan felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up at that.

“Surely… in all the weeks since the first flare, someone has gotten sick with something…" Logan said, trying not to be indelicate. Carter smiled sadly.

“The only sickness I have witnessed is the heartsick for those whose brothers would not join them in the light. But no, non transmissible diseases have spread among us. In fact, some that were sick before the flare no longer are." Carter said. Logan's eyebrow almost twitched. Surely that couldn't be right, but if it was it certainly meant that he'd have to follow up on it later.

“May I ask how many flares it took for some of your more advanced changes?" Logan asked. Carter skirted at that and held out his arm.

“You mean like this? It's alright to pet it." he offered. Logan hesitated before he reached up, brushing the fur along Carter's forearm. It didn't feel like hair or pubic hair at all. It was softer, slick, almost like rabbit fur. As he stroked it, Carter seemed to breathe a little heavier.

“It feels good?" Logan asked. Carter nodded.

“Oh yes… Doesn't yours?" he asked, reaching up.

“I haven't really-" Logan gasped as the man started to stroke his goatee. There was something even more potent when the paw pads brushed the hair, knowing that claws were that close to his face. Logan's eyes fluttered shut and he stood there, slack jawed.

“Welcome brother." Carter said, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. As his tongue, apparently a pierced tongue, slid into Logan's mouth, he couldn't help the erection that sported up instantly. Seeking it like a moth to the flame, the clawed fingers of the leader slipped down into Logan's pants, wrapping around his cock. He began to stroke the reporter off with a practiced hand. His other hand tugged the pants down until Logan was fully exposed. The leader worked faster and harder, squeezing the length as he broke the kiss and lowered his bearded maw to lick, suck and then gently bite Logan's neck. Logan gasped out at that louder, moaning openly. Before he could make much more noise, one of the other brothers knelt down next to him, leaning in to kiss him in welcome as Carter continued to suckle and slurp on his neck.

Logan's lips tried to make words, to object or accept, to tell them to stop or keep going, but he failed. He felt such soft hair brushing against his neck, then his throat. Clawed fingers slid up his shirt and began to pinch and tug on his nipples, stimulating them. Something hot and wet slipped down over his cock and began to bob up and down. Logan gasped as he felt a strange, rough, sandpaper texture on his cock. The tongue in his mouth was rough too, come to think of it. The reporter nearly squeaked as his shirt was tugged off of him and his arms raised, only to get affectionate mouths and tongues worshiping his pits. They licked and slurped, slathering all over him.

The entire circle had approached, soon liberating him of his pants. The blowjob continued even as he fell back against a furry chest, tongue slurping at his arms. Logan couldn't count them. His eyes still weren't as adapted to the dark, but he could feel them. So many mouths and tongues, so much hair and fur, so much warmth and contact. How had he ever lived apart? His life before felt so isolated, so empty, so plain… Logan nearly howled out as his back arched, his head falling back onto a shoulder only to be met with an upside down kiss from a nineteen year old with a long, braided beard. He kissed Logan soundly, running clawed hands up and down over his chest, fondling his pectorals while other men suckled on his nipples until they were puffy and sore.

“Stay with us for the sunrise, and you can bed any man here you wish… If you haven't already." Carter said as he rose back to his feet, “Take care of our new brother, ensure he finds the truth he seeks." he instructed before he slipped away back towards the yurt. As he approached, the flap parted and two men with beards down to their waists reached out to pull him in, having found his absence nearly painful. It didn't take long for the sounds of moans and mews to come from all across the camp, everybody finding at least two others to embrace beneath the moonlight.

****

The IASA control room had never been in such disarray. There were papers scattered everywhere, dried our remnants of donuts and stale coffee cups everywhere. Many of the employees had been working from home since the first flare. The janitors certainly hadn't been in, but Russell just couldn't leave Romeo out there alone. He'd come in at night and retreated to his office during the day. IASA had better radiation shielding than most buildings. Russell had reviewed the original broadcasts several times, then the raw data sent back about the impact. He'd only been able to listen to Romeo's final broadcasts once before it grew too difficult.

“I'm so sorry buddy." Russell whispered, looking up at the screen. As hard as the final broadcast had been, the raw data dump had given the onboard footage. He'd watched the video of his friend mutating into a huge, muscular lion beast in the matter of a few minutes. The last shots showed him with a wild mane of curly blond hair down to the small of his back and an equally long bushy beard down to his waist, not to mention a foot long barbed feline dick and huge dinner plate sized paws. He'd been snarling and writhing, flexing his muscles for sport, his muzzle curled into such rapturous pleasure… He had to be at least seven and a half feet tall, probably over four hundred pounds of muscle if not more… and he'd enjoyed it.

Life on Earth had only been possible because the planet's magnetic field and atmosphere scattered almost all of the radiation from the sun, but whatever that asteroid had introduced had changed the formula. Romeo had described what seemed like some sort of radioactive element that was in such abundance that the asteroid had glowed. When it had introduced that material into the sun, complex fusion reactions had started up, producing reactions that destabilized the sun when it was already near its solar maximum. Flares that had been harmless at best and a nuisance at worst were now broadcasting exotic particles at Earth and having a cumulative effect, even if the Earth's natural defenses diffused it somewhat.

A soft sigh escaped Russell's lips as he hung his head, trying to compose himself. He certainly looked a bit worse for where. He'd pushed the boundaries for what was acceptable at IASA by having a short mohawk, though it was rumpled and uneven with lack of care. Stubble had grown out across his cheeks, though that was as much from neglect as it was from exposure to the Flare. Russell sniffled a little to clear his sinuses as he lifted his head back up and his fingers returned to the keyboard. He tried a new method to re-establish contact with Helios, trying various subroutines and different relays. As usually, there was a delay that was excruciating but eventually his screen started to fill with new details.

“Okay, okay… Now we're getting somewhere." Russell murmured. There had been damage to several of the station's systems, but overall it seemed to be intact. As long as oxygen, water and food stores were intact, they'd have time… although time to do what, exactly? Anyone else that went out to save Romeo would be exposed to the Flare with absolutely none of the planet's shielding. Added to that, the longer they waited the more and more that Romeo would be bombarded by the cosmic rays. If they could just- “What?" he whispered softly, seeing a small red flashing light on one of the displays. He tapped on it to bring it up onto the larger portion of the screen and started the system's interactive diagnostic.

“Helios Airlock 2A was accessed seventy three hours from target date at sixteen hundred hours thirty two minutes." The diagnostic voice announced. Russell's jaw hung open in disbelief. Had it gotten so bad that Romeo decided to end it? Had he changed so much that he couldn't imagine living with it? Then a terrifying idea bubbled up in Russell's brain.

“Is data from the airlock recorder intact?" he asked, almost hoping the answer would be no. As a scientist, however, he had to pursue all angles and figure out what happened.

“Automatic recording began approximately one minute before the vehicle docked with airlock." The computer replied. Once again, Russell was absolutely shocked.

“Vehicle? What vehicle?!" Russell questioned.

“Unknown." The computer replied tersely. Russell bit his bottom lip, his heart racing in his chest.

“Bring feed up on the main monitor and play." he murmured, still dreading the potential outcome. What if Romeo had merely fooled the computer into thinking there was a vehicle to get past various safeguards? The main monitor filled with four views; station perspective aimed out towards the outer airlock, a reverse angle aimed back towards the inner airlock, a side view straight on bisecting the small corridor, and one further back aimed towards the outer door at about hip level. The footage started to play once everything had synced up.

At first, nothing happened. The footage had begun recording about a minute before 'the event' whatever it was. He barely remembered to breathe during that time, his muscles tight. As he watched, the outer door control panels did actually indicate that there was activity. Proximity sensors, attitude control responses, and then ultimately there was a vibration that shook all of the cameras just a little. Several lights indicated a positive seal. Russell's jaw dropped. Someone, something, had actually connected with the station. Had there been another mission going on that he was unaware of?

The next change came from the inner airlock seal. The hatch opened and the doorway was filled with Romeo's bulk. He was immense, covered in glistening golden fur, a long bushy mane of hair and beard down to his waist in front and back. His muzzle was powerful, his eyes glistening, his nostrils flaring. Even now, days after the incident, his right paw worked his huge barbed lion dick steadily. His balls had swollen to the size of cantaloupes, if not larger. It was hard to see with the fur that covered his huge sack. A long, rope-like tail swayed back and forth behind him expectantly.

Staring up at him, seeing Romeo alive but altered, Russell couldn't help but feel a bit… stimulated. He was so powerful, so manly, so different and yet so handsome. Maybe it was his brief exposure to the flare, but there were certainly worse things that could have happened… Both Russell and Romeo seemed to be waiting until, at last, the other airlock door opened. There was no loss of atmosphere, no explosive decompression. The door opened and revealed the interior to a craft unlike anything Russell had ever seen before. Where Helios was constructed in metal and plastic and ceramic in white and silver, this other craft seemed to be hewn from solid reddish-brown stone. Everything had an organic curve to it, though veins of light seemed to run through it all like organic circuitry.

A shadow moved first, and then…. And then the creature walked forward. While it was only a few inches taller than Romeo was, its broad shoulders were almost a quarter again wider than the mutated astronaut. Thick, powerful arms were covered with muscles Russell didn't even have names for on top of the usual biceps and triceps. Hands and feet were paws similar to Romeo's, though fur came down like curtains to obscure them both. The creature was covered in solid black fur, including his powerful muzzle.

Deep, vibrant purple eyes gazed out of that dark face and his beard was so bushy that it extended outward a good six or seven inches horizontally before it even started curving downward into an immense mass of hair. Romeo's eyes, however, had drifted to the thick, undulating, pulsating purple dick extending from the creature's groin. The black feline moved forward, reaching a left paw out to clap Romeo on the shoulder as if in brotherhood, but his right paw grabbed Romeo by the back of the head and pulled him into a kiss. Their heads tilted, their muzzles parted and sandpapery tongues began to exchange, slipping in and out. Their huge cocks were pinned between their massive bodies as they began to press and grind and grope. Romeo seemed uncertain what to do at first, but soon his hands slipped down the black cat's backside, feeling his powerful shoulders, his ribs, and then his ample ass. Their tails swayed hypnotically and then, after what seemed like an eternity, they pared.

“I can't believe I'm seeing this…" Russell whispered, realizing that he had grown an almost painful erection. Swallowed a bit, he decided he really didn't care anymore. He pulled his waistband down, tugged his underwear out of the way and wrapped his hand around his modest human dick. He began to pump it up and down, squeezing, his eyes glued to the huge screen. The two seemed to talk for a while, though the airlock had no microphone. Clearly an oversight, although did that mean that the alien spoke English, or that Romeo had somehow been invested with the knowledge of another language? Furthermore, did this other creature look so similar because it had been affected by the Flare too, or was it all…. Was it intentional? Was the asteroid sent into the sun to make humanity resemble them?

Russell knew he should have been more worried or offended or scared by the idea, but he wasn't. All he saw was his beautiful, handsome friend and an exotic, amazing alien. The black cat eventually took Romeo's hand in his, raised it to kiss the back, and then led him into the strange ship. The airlock sealed itself, cycled, and then the control panel showed the alien ship had disengaged. After another five minutes, the recording ended due to inactivity. Russell rolled the footage back to near the start, watching when Romeo first entered the airlock. He looked at how big he had grown, massive and handsome. Russell moaned slightly, his nipples straining, his dick quivering in his grip.

“I knew you fucking had the hots for me…" An oddly deep but familiar voice cut across the control room.

“SHIT!" Russell muttered, nearly falling out of his chair as he struggled to pull his pants up. He dropped to his knees, righted himself and rose up fast at first, slowing as his eye line came into view to see the same towering, muscled behemoth from the screen standing at the back of the control room. Russell's jaw dropped open yet again, his eyes watering some.

“Ro… Romeo?" Russell whispered. The lion grinned, running clawed fingers through his huge, thick beard.

“In the flesh, so to speak. I have to admit, it's going to be weird getting to hear your responses without a delay." Romeo grinned. Russell said nothing. He broke into a sprint, rounding the long bank of desks and computers to reach the aisle, moving up before crashing directly into Romeo and wrapping his arms around him. The impact was surreal. His beard was so big and so soft it was like landing in a haystack. It even smelled like hay, although there was a salty musky tang to it as well. Romeo placed his large paws on Russell and it was enough to cover his entire back top and bottom.

“I thought you were stuck out there all alone, I was going to try and save you… I'm so sorry we lost contact." Russell murmured.

“Shhh, shh…" Romeo said gently, “You don't need to worry about any of that. I'm fine, I'm here, I caught a ride…. But I'm a little worried about you, buddy. You haven't been growing." Romeo said. Russell pulled his face out of his friend's beard, looking up at him.

“Growing?" Russell repeated. Romeo chuckled.

“Yeah, you haven't been accepting the gift…" Romeo said, running a thumb over Russell's cheek.

“Oh, we call it the Flare…." Russell murmured. Romeo shrugged.

“I mean, I guess that makes sense, it uses flares to send the gift out." Romeo said.

“So it was intentional? The aliens did this to us?" he asked softly. Romeo looked around before he spotted an open spot near the back of the control room. Keeping one hand on Russell, he led him over to it before he sat down on the floor cross legged. Russell blushed a little, realizing that only served to bring that huge dick right up to chest height before him. Russell moved to sit down on the floor across from Romeo but Romeo grabbed him and swung him around to sit on one thigh. Russell blushed, leaning against one beefy arm for support.

“When a culture reaches a certain level of development, there are three possible outcomes. They either destroy themselves, stretch out to the stars and risk destroying others, or they evolve to a higher level of existence and can peacefully interact. We… were on the path of destroying ourselves. The planet isn't able to keep up with our growth, and we aren't growing fast enough to escape it before it kills us."

“So these aliens, these…" Russell paused.

“The Mrwer." Romeo supplied. Russell stifled a laugh.

“The Mrwer? Like meow?" Russell asked. Romeo chuckled.

“Just don't say that in front of them." He murmured. Russell nodded noncommittally.

“So the Mrwer step in to give us another path. They save us from self annihilation by turning us into them?" he asked.

“It's better than a slow, painful extinction. Our food requirements are dramatically dropped. Our health and vitality and healing is dramatically increased. The changes allow us to live on this or any of several dozen other worlds. Over population, lack of resources, temperature variations, none of it is stifling us anymore." Romeo said, although he did seem to be distracted a little. Russell was so very close to his dick, and he'd wanted so much…. So much to see Russell again.

“How does it feel?" Russell asked after a moment. Romeo grinned wide.

“Better than anyone could ever have imagined." he said gently. Russell licked his lips a little.

“I guess I really should have gotten out there and soaked up some sun, but I was busy trying to find you. I guess I have to wait for the next flare, huh?" Russell asked, looking into Romeo's eyes. Romeo grinned wide, bearing his huge fangs.

“Don't worry, I got you buddy." Romeo said, lifting a paw to pull Russell forward, pushing his lips against the pointed tip of his very feline cock. Russell murmured in surprised, though as the warm, rubbery point spread his jaw wide and popped in, he didn't resist it. He began to suck and slurp, and to his surprise Romeo began leaking pre almost instantly. As he did, Russell began to sink into a very content warmth. He reached out, wrapping one hand part way around Romeo's dick, then added the second. Even then, he couldn't quite close his fingers around the girth. He applied what pressure he could and started working it up and down. To return the favor, Romeo easily fished Russell's dick back out of his pants and started jerking him off, though at the moment it took just a few fingers and a thumb to do so.

“Such a dirty boy, jerking off in command and control. I always knew you were a pervert." Romeo whispered. Russell tried to protest but it only came out as muffled grunts as he got more and more into sucking his friend off. He swallowed gulp after gulp of the precum, already feeling… amazing. Romeo watched with pleasant bliss as Russell's cheeks darkened. The stubble that was there nearly quadrupled in thickness, and the skin between sprouted with more and more strands. His upper lip darkened, his cheeks, his chin, his jaw, his throat. It claimed all of it in moments and began to push outward, extruding centimeter by centimeter. As his beard filled out, the short tapered face on the sides of his head grew out too with long, silky strands of hair.

Romeo's chest rose and fell, the fur rippling in the current of the air circulators. He could get used to bringing the gift to others directly. He watched Russell fill out as his skin grew tougher, his arms thickened, his chest bulked. He could feel the cock in his hand stretching taller and wider and fatter… but it wasn't enough, not yet. After all, he wanted to fuck Russell until his belly wobbled with his semen. Romeo threw his head back and let out a small yowl as his precum turned into full on cum. Russell's cheeks bulged with the onslaught. He tried to swallow, and he did swallow a lot, but it began to dribble out of his lips and run down his rapidly growing beard. It splattered down onto a chest that was softening with a thick patch of fur, then onto a trail of hair that was connecting his navel to his own groin. As he gulped and drank and took in the mutant sperm, his ears began to round and grow, flattening and losing the ridges as downy soft fur spread over the back of them.

Russell's suckling was so sweet and tender, but like a kitten he was using Romeo's 'milk' to grow big and strong. His clothing grew tight as muscle packed on his frame. His spine felt white hot as it stretched, his ribs pushing apart from one another. His boyish good looks were hidden behind a growing beard . He squirmed slightly as the clothing became too tight, cutting into his collar and his wrists. He wriggled and shifted. In some cases the stitches popped, but in others Romeo brandished one of his claws to help cut away the material. As Russell's IASA shirt came free, an incredibly thick coat of hair across his chest was revealed, obscuring the flesh beneath. He was coming along so nicely…

Romeo couldn't help but push forward and pull back a little, popping more of his cock into Russell's hungry mouth. Russell salivated and ran his tongue across the rubbery barbs on the cock. He hadn't realized how much he wanted this, how much he wanted Romeo, or how right it could be. Despite his thick beard, wiry whiskers pierced through his cheeks, growing outward. His upper lip tingled and went numb as it split and took on a curve and the flesh around his nostrils became different as well. It was almost as if the barbs in Romeo's cock were tugging on Russell's cheeks, forcing his jaw to stretch and elongate into a muzzle.

The stale air of the control room had grown humid and musky, smelling of salt and spices and the heat of two felines making love… But Romeo knew he had to have more. He pulled back, Russell growling almost angrily to have the cock drawn from his mouth. He panted, chest heaving, clothes in tatters. He looked up at Romeo blearily, his dark beard down to his collar bone already. The fact that he'd once had a mohawk was nearly invisible, his hair having grown out so much and so ast from his scalp. Romeo looked at him, at his best friend, at the man he'd entrusted his life to. He'd known since his first transformation there was something he had to do. Romeo reached out, using his large paws to push Russell onto all fours.

Russell moaned, reaching for his own dick, delighted to feel how fat and full and rough it was. The skin had already started to toughen up in several spots where it caught his hand, acting as far more than just callous. He jerked himself up, kneeling before Romeo, keeping upright with one outstretched arm. He knew what his fate was and he welcomed it. Romeo, however, couldn't help but study the human before him as that very humanity was ebbing away. Humans had a lot of invisible hairs on them, but pigment was staining Russell's. After it darkened, it thickened, and after it thickened, it lengthened.

The fur swept rapidly across Russell's firm, toned buttocks like a setting shadow. It swirled down his legs, sweeping across feet that were already swelling at the toe tips and along the heel. His feet flexed and throbbed, aching as they reformed themselves to a new configuration. Romeo pressed forward, bringing his dick above Russell's now furry ass. Already the tailbone was starting to tilt free of the pelvis, making room as new bones and ligaments stretched outward inside the fleshy casing. Romeo shuddered with the anticipation, ushering forth a glob of his cum that splattered on Russell's furry ass.

“Take me, Romeo!" Russell begged, fingers clawing at the rough carpeting of the control room. Romeo growled a little, unable to hold himself back anymore. The large head of his cock found Russell's hole eager and urgent. It quivered as their flesh touched, but Romeo found it relaxed and dilated more than he expected. He began pushing inward, filing Russell's hot, dark passage. Grabbing onto each hip with a huge, clawed paw, he began to pull Russell down around himself.

From a distance, the two wouldn't have made sense. Standing behind was a behemoth of a lion man, before him a fuzzy human… But as Russell began to push in, the seed he'd already fed his partner continued to work. Russell's hair was a glorious mane, blending almost seamlessly into his full beard. His nose and jaw had pushed out from his face into a short muzzle, his ears rounding and growing fuzzy like Romeo's. He had to use both hands to keep himself upright, but his body swayed forward and back with the impact of the thrusts and as it moved it stretched and tore the remnants of his clothing. It all fell as so much scrap fabric to the floor. Unrestrained, his shoulders continued to bulk and round and expand outward.

Romeo ran his sandpapery tongue across his upper split lip, knowing what he wanted so bad. He pushed in another two inches, then two more, filling Russell so full. He ground and rubbed, then pushed again. He slid up impossibly deep into his partner, and just seeing him there on all fours before him was delightful… but as Russell's newly forming tail started to sway back and forth, fuzzy and a good six inches, Romeo nearly lost it.

Deep inside of his colon, Russell felt Romeo start to cum. It was a trickle at first, but that trickle became a torrent. The hot, wet, slick seed lubricated the immense rod entering his ass, but it also flooded deeper into his body, nourishing it. What had already seemed like rapid growth accelerated further. Pound after pound packed onto his pectorals, his glutes, his thighs and his calves. Mass accelerated outward. Bones popped, tendons stretched, cartilage popped and snapped and reformed itself. The fur rippled outward across Russell's back, curving over his ribs, latching across his abdomen. The little patches of human skin disappeared until, at last, the beast before Romeo was a lion just like he was…. But he still wanted more.

Russell growled and snarled, drool leaking from the fangs forming in his muzzle. He felt so powerful, so large, and yet so needy too. His anus had stretched big enough to fit the forearm of a human. The ring was stretchy and black, but even with the growth it was stretched to its limit by Romeo's cock. Still, Romeo pressed in even more. His hips started to slam into Russell's, the two rocking forward and back in their blessed lovemaking. Romeo gritted his sharp teeth, slammed as deep as he could, angling his dick upwards. To his credit, Russell took every inch that Romeo had to offer, and at last, Romeo threw his head back and let out a roar that echoed through the empty building.

A renewed geyser of semen erupted from the cock, pumping into Russell. While his earlier growth had been to turn him into a tall, broad shouldered, muscle-bound hulk like the Mrwer, there was simply nowhere else for the semen to go now. As it coursed up through and around his intestines, it had nowhere else to gather except inside Russell's belly. The tight, firm abs became a strange stretched out grid of muscle as everything beneath it distended and rounded, bulking out fuller and fuller. Quart after quart, pint after pint, it all added up. Russell had become a fearsome, fertile beast, yes… but now his belly swelled so full of cum that it was wobbling beneath him. He dared lift one arm again, reaching back. It took a bit of doing to get past his belly, but he wrapped his fingers around his cock as his fingernails stung and stretched, curving into claws. Likewise, his palm found a rough, wicked, dangerous cock unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

The windows of the control center slowly fogged over as the condensation continued to grow. The carpet beneath them was soaked in minutes and saturated soon after. They exchanged purrs, growls and yowls as they kept at it. Russell came over and over again, long since having shed the last of his human seed in favor of the copious cream of his new existence. The two were so absorbed in their lovemaking that they didn't register that the main screen had shifted views, going to an exterior infographic display. Helios was broadcasting an alert of unusual solar activity. Alarms and alerts went off as it tracked a forming solar flare. It calculated the intensity, though numerous icons appeared on the screen as the flare failed to match the behavior solar flares were supposed to follow. After all, the impact of the asteroid had introduced elements to the solar furnace that it had never had before.

Somewhere in the distance, outside of the building and a half dozen miles away, an air raid siren began to groan and then howl out across the city. The night had bled away, the inky black stars giving way to shades of brown, gold, green and then pale sunrise. With it came a new solar flare, new exotic particles, and new changes for those caught unprotected. Somewhere in his lust addled mind, Russell was relieved that he had not had to seek out the flares to accept his gift. Romeo had come for him, the two were bound together as they should have been… but some strange glee made the newly forged feline grin wider.

He liked the idea of knowing other men were mutating like he was, turning into something bigger and better and hornier, even if it took more time and effort. With any luck, perhaps he and Romeo could help them turn faster. Surely Romeo wasn't the only one that liked a big kitty. Russell reached down, feeling the heft of his jiggling belly. Yet again, his huge barbed cock unleashed a shower of sperm across the floor beneath them before he collapsed into the puddle. Russell planted for breath, but Romeo stayed with him, wrapping around and over him protectively. Even as they got more comfortable, Romeo inclined his head to watch the sunrise through the foggy windows, welcoming the coming flare.