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Like most of the small town butcher shops they'd seen, this one was a strange mix of cleanliness and gore. The tables and knives were spotless; the floor was spotlessly bleached in some areas and had lumps of intestine in another. "This one." The short, fat man wiped his hand on his apron and gestured toward a meat carcass. "I already processed the bull."

Banks felt nauseated. This was Amelia Haster. age nineteen. He thought about the picture of smiling cheerleader, thought of how much she looked like his own daughter.

"Are you sure?" Agent Chen demanded. "Could you have mixed them up with other cows?"

The butcher shook his head. "Nope. We don't get too many Angus cattle in here. Most of what I do is tapped out dairy cows, 'cept in the fall when I get a lot of steers. You city boys know about steers, right?"

Chen ignored the comment. "And you bought them from a farmer, Henry Brooks?"

"Look, it's been pretty tough around here for farmers," the butcher pleaded. "Henry found 'em in with his dairy cows. He has Jerseys, doesn't have any use for a couple of meat cows. He waited a couple weeks, and when nobody came to claim them... Henry's not in trouble, is he? Why's the FBI looking at stray cows anyway?"

"No, Mr. Willis," Banks replied. "Mr. Brooks is not in trouble."

"We're investigating an insurance fraud case," Chen lied smoothly. "We'll be in touch if we need you to testify, but it appears the evidence is already eaten."

Banks suddenly noticed a cow's head sitting in a barrel. It was black, that of an Angus and not some other breed. Half opened eyes seemed to stare straight at him. The FBI agent turned, vomiting on the floor.

"Sorry," Chen said, grinning. "My partner is kind of squeamish."

The butcher tried to not laugh. "It's okay, lot of people can't take it. You boys want a couple of steaks? On the house."

"Wish we could," Chen replied. "Against the rules."

"Well, stop by some time," the butcher persisted as they walked into the front of his shop. Several women were looking through carefully wrapped steaks, and Banks almost vomited again when he saw the sign proclaiming 'Fresh Angus Special!'

"Thank you, Mr. Willis," Chen said as the two agents walked from the shop. "Will, you better let me drive."

Banks didn't answer as he slid into the passenger seat of the big maroon sedan. Chen started the car, backed out, then turned onto the highway. "Well, another case closed."

"They were just a couple of kids," Banks answered. Too many of these cases end this way...

"They were freaks and wanted to be cows. What the hell did they think was going to happen?" He signaled for a left turn, pulling into a restaurant parking lot. "Eat in or drive through?"

"I'm not hungry."

"Drive through, then." They waited silent for a moment.

The tinny voice came through the speaker. "Welcome to BurgerLand. Would you like to try a Clara Cow Mega Meal?"

"Nah, I'd like a Half Pounder, no lettuce or tomato, extra mayo, and a medium Coke. Will, you sure you don't want anything?"

"I guess a diet Coke," Banks admitted.

"Six forty five. Please pull to the window."

Banks' phone rang. The two FBI agents instantly froze, staring at each other for a second. Like most cellphone users, the FBI had taken advantage of ring tones to indicate who was calling. Unlike most, it wasn't to let you know if it was your wife, girlfriend or boss. The harsh, undulating tone was only used for extreme emergencies. The agent took the phone out- it looked like an old Razr flip phone, but was instead encrypted, specially built for U.S. Government. "Banks."

The tone was clear, much better than that of a civilian model, and Banks recognized the voice of the Assistant Director for Special Investigations. "How soon can you be back to D.C.?"

"We're in Virginia, near Brandy Station," Books replied. "About an hour and a half."

"Get back to the barn as fast as you can. As of now, you're on special assignment, a joint task force with the Secret Service and the NSA."

Tonya Brooks looked up surprised as the purple sedan pulled out of the line waiting for food and sped off. "Great, another asshole drive off," she grumbled. "Cancel forty six."

****************************************************************************

With less than three months to the election, President Clendon's sudden disappearance from the campaign trail has left Washington insiders speculating. Fellow Democrats hint at secret negotiations with the Chinese to resolve the deepening Taiwan crisis, while his Republican opponents openly state the President is avoiding the press so as to not answer claims of an affair with White House secretary Mary Pound. In local news, Milledgeville police report that a prankster dressed in a lion suit ran through the Oakdale shopping mall this afternoon...

The heavy iron door slammed open. "Get up, Two Trees. You have a visitor."

James Two Trees opened his eyes and looked up from where he lay on the prison cot. "Really? Is it someone I know, or perhaps an attorney?"

The guard- who wore the dark blue uniform of an Air Force policeman- looked back coldly, his face unemotional. "Get up, or I will drag you there."

"No need to get emotional," the scientist replied as he slowly stood. The four by eight cell was bare, except for the cot and a toilet in the corner. Two Trees shuffled after the guard, their footsteps echoing down the empty corridors of the maximum security wing of Corbett Air Force Base's detention center. The facility had been modernized and was capable of holding a hundred of the most dangerous criminals, and Two Trees found it amusing that the entire building was devoted to his exclusive detention.

They arrived at a large interrogation room, which contained a table and several chairs. The guard stepped out, shutting the door, leaving Two Trees alone to stare at the mirror that he knew was one way glass. "Anyone coming to play?" he asked aloud. Two more men walked in- Two Trees noted with surprise that they did not wear uniforms, but instead suits and dark glasses. They did feature the same impassive face as the airman. "Light too bright for you?" he asked. They did not reply, but instead moved to either side of the door, staring blankly at the old scientist. The door opened again, and they were joined by a third man, who Two Trees instantly recognized.

Or more accurately somewhat recognized. The face was somehow pinched, as if someone had pulled at it, and covered with soft white fur, sporting whiskers. The man's ears seemed rounded, too large and too thin, veins showing in the pink coloration. He sat in the chair across from Two Trees, who spoke. "Welcome to Texas, Mister President," he said in a cheerful voice. "Care for some cheese?"

"You find this amusing, Mr. Two Trees?" Clendon replied. "That the leader of the free world is turning into a giant rat?" One of the suits standing by the door scowled, tapping his shoulder as if to confirm that his pistol was still there.

The scientist shrugged. "I'm not sure I agree with you about the 'free world' part of it, as I've been detained here for nearly a year without legal counsel or any charges being filed against me."

Clendon touched his face with a hand- it was more like a paw, Two Trees noted. "You are being held under the Patriot act," the President replied. "You have to admit, this is akin to terrorism."

"I agree, the Patriot act is akin to terrorism."

"You unleashed this on the world."

Two Trees pressed his hands together and sat back in his chair. "I did not. The Alworti did, several hundred years ago. My colleague's wife unknowingly..."

"Forgive me, Doctor. I did not come here to debate you, but rather to ask for your help." Clendon swept his hand - or paw- toward the two secret service agents. "Leave us."

The two quietly left the room, and the President turned back to Two Trees, who leaned forward and coldly evaluated Clendon. "I would guess this is the first month," the scientist said. "There's another full moon in two weeks."

"You're right," Clendon replied. "I can't go...I can't be seen like this."

"Forgive me for asking," Two Trees said, "but is the First Lady's transformation as far along?"

"It wasn't her," Clendon replied. "Someone else."

"Aaaah...I see. Is she here as well?"

"We haven't been able to find her," Clendon said. "Doctor, can you stop this? Reverse the effect? If you can, the nation will be eternally grateful."

"My research has been somewhat interrupted," Two Trees replied. "I don't have much in the way of lab equipment here. Just a toilet and a bunk."

"I'll see to it you have access to anything you need," the President stated. "And a pardon."

"For just me?"

"What do you mean?"

Two Trees again closed his eyes. "I read in the National Examiner that five percent of the population has 'disappeared' in the past six months. One of the guards told me that there are two thousand transformees in the detention camp here. What about them?"

"We can't have thousands of freaks running about loose. There'd be chaos."

"But the leader of the free world is a freak now, too," Two Trees said. "That's my price." He looked quizzically at the President. "You know that that the next change will likely make you unrecognizable. With the third, you'll be a giant rat. With the fourth..."

"I know, Doctor." Clendon looked nauseated. "Mass conversion. I shrink. How is it possible?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Two Trees admitted. "My theory is that the excess mass is converted to some form of energy we are not familiar with- or in the case of a transformation to a larger animal, that same energy is absorbed and changed to mass. Einstein would have loved it."

"Unfortunately, he's no longer available," Clendon replied, standing. "Will you do it?"

"Will you release all the detainees?"

"But they're animals, or worse," Clendon protested.

"If they are animals, they pose no threat." Two Trees opened his eyes again. "And if they are animorphs- trapped between... they are..."

"They are going to be a temptation to every child who watches a cartoon, to try to change into one of these...things."

"That's a fine thing for mickey mouse to say... though I suppose you're actually a rat in process."

"I could have you shot," Clendon threatened.

"You could. Maybe they will give you one of those little wheels to run on. You know, about twenty percent of the transformees lose their cognitive abilities," Two Trees said. "Perhaps you will be one of those fortunate ones. Or else you'll be there, remembering being a human, and knowing you're a rat and will..."

"Enough," Clendon said. "I'll sign an order releasing them as soon as you're successful." The rat-man stood, and Two Trees noticed he had a tail that was at least four feet long. "What else do you need?"

Can I trust him? Do I have a choice? "I'll need a lab. I'm assuming you have one set up here. I'll let you know what additional equipment I need. And I need volunteers from the detainees...for DNA testing. Including yours."

The rat's tail twitched. "Do you need Mary's as well? She did this to me."

"It would help. And the rat she used, do you have that?"

"It's at Secret Service headquarters." Clendon clenched this fist...no, his paw. "Doctor, you have to stop this, reverse it. There's less than two weeks left."

*****************************************************************************

Ten days later, Two Trees was conducting his fiftieth examination. "So you've been this way now for four months?" Two Trees asked. He regarded he carefully- she was a little bit plump, but otherwise her body had curves in almost all the right places, hidden by the red satin dress she wore. Other than the fact she had a pig snout and the floppy ears of a China Poland hog, she could have almost walked into a shopping mall unnoticed.

The pig-woman ran what looked like a deformed hand through long, blond hair. "Stefan and I had always dreamed of being totally uninhibited sexually, you know? I don't know why, he changed all the way and I'm like this." She looked over toward a large boar, who grunted in seeming agreement.

The scientist motioned toward an examination table. "If you don't mind, I'd like to examine you. If you'd prefer, I can have one of my female assistants..."

The red dress had already fallen to the floor, revealing a curious blend of human and animal features. Her arms seemed to be human until they reached a few inches below her elbows, from which point they were somewhat porcine. Her fingers were bloated, a cross between those of a human and a pig's trotters. Her legs were similar, except her feet were almost entirely the extended limbs of a hog, and covered with coarse bristles. Most interesting was her torso- her breasts - most accurately, her top two breasts- were almost too big, and almost pornographically jiggled from side to side. Below these were three sets of much smaller teats. "Do you want to see my tail?" She didn't wait for Two Trees to answer, but slowly and erotically turned, arcing her back slightly. The air policeman standing near the door twisted uncomfortably, and the pig-woman winked at him. "Don't worry. Stefan will share," she told him coyly.

"If you'd please get on the table," Two Trees said.

She sprung lightly on the table and whipped her legs apart. "Come examine me, Doc," she said.

An hour later, Two Trees was staring into the screen of an electron microscope. Doctor Patricia Gletz stood beside him. "I don't see anything unusual," she said coldly. "We've been looking at this for nearly a year now."

"And you've seen nothing unusual?" Two Trees said. "Did they cover this at your medical school?"

She looked at him with obvious contempt. "I graduated first in my class at Harvard, and interned at John Hopkins. I should be leading this project, not some..."

"Drugged out hippie that went to some crappy school in North Dakota," Two Trees finished. "Actually, I'm not even a medical doctor," he said in a confidential voice. "I'm an archaeologist."

She was stunned. "Then why...this is a waste of time!"

"Probably," he agreed. "I think you missed the big picture here," he said, motioning at the display.

"Which is?"

"You said it. Nothing is different."

Now the Harvard graduate was confused. "We can't measure anything different in the DNA changes for those that are fully transformed and those that are stuck halfway with any of the equipment we have. All of our science says that the animorphs should have also changed all the way."

"So, that is the answer," he replied. "We are asking the wrong question." He carefully sat down. The lab had multimillion dollar equipment, but the chairs were cheap ones from the local warehouse store and would break if someone sat in them abruptly.

Gletz was annoyed. "Your own research established the DNA changing, the buildup of energy that's triggered at every full moon. What else could it be?"

"Magic."

"Don't be an idiot. Magic?" she scoffed. "We can see the sequencing changes. It happens in the same way on every of the affected transformees."

Two Trees idly flipped through the microscope's screen menu, then brought up the computer's menu. "Can we get into the internet from here?"

"These are secure computers," she said. "A closed network, so no one can hack in. What research data do you need?"

"No research. I was hoping we could get streaming radio. I miss the local rock station back home."

"The President of the United States is turning into a rat, and you want to listen to the radio?" she screamed.

"Okay, fine. I want to talk to the people we examined," Two Trees said. "Alone."

"You can't..."

"If you want, I will ask the President to have you removed," Two Trees said.

*************************************************************************

Four hours later, Clendon arrived at the lab. "You have news for me, Doctor?" he asked after dismissing the Secret Service agents from the room. "A cure?"

"I know what has stopped the transformations. I do not know how to reverse it, or if that is even possible," he replied. "There is a common thread with all of the animorphs."

"Go on," Clendon said, leaning across the table.

Two Trees felt a bit uncomfortable. Clendon seemed more ratlike close up, and he smelled slightly 'mousey'. "We made the mistake of looking at this scientifically, when it was in fact a magic spell. Have you ever heard the spell, Mr. President?"

"No," Clendon admitted.

"Well, no matter. It has to do with a mated pair transforming."

The rat's face seemed to brighten. "So if one dies?"

"No, Mr. President," Two Trees said. "What I mean is, if they are no longer mated. If one is unfaithful, or takes another mate before the transformation is complete, the pair is broken and the spell stops for the other."

"So I just have to go find some girl?" Clendon said hopefully.

"If you do, Mary Pound's transformation will stop. Yours will not, unless she does the same," Two Trees replied. "If you don't mind me asking, why did she run away?"

Clendon stood. The rat's tail twitched as he began to pace. "Harriet...the first lady found out. Insisted I get Mary fired." He spun, again facing Two Trees who was startled and almost fell over backward. "It wasn't my fault," the President whined. "I have my needs. I'm a man."

"Or you were," Two Trees replied.

Clendon wiped his face with his paw. "A little plastic surgery...I'm not too far gone. Can you reverse this?"

"I have some theories," Two Trees lied. If he thinks I am of no more use...

"Half the FBI is looking for Mary right now," Clendon said. "Where can a giant rat woman hide?"

To be continued...