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RiftVeil: First Impression (Anthro Hawk TF)

The front door of the building grazed open as tall man in biker attire stepped through, taking his shades off and sliding them into his vest pocket as he peered around the small room. A large man in a black security tuxedo with a red undershirt stepped up from his chair in the corner, placing his book down to his side as he walked over to the front counter where the young biker now stood.

"Good afternoon, sir," spoke the youth with a beaming smile as his eyes darted around the room before returning to the security guard that stood behind the counter with one hand at his back and one rested on the counter. "Is this RiftVeil Labs?"

The guard stood at attention with an almost expressionless face as he sized up the "punk" before him, towering several inches above his short 5'9" frame with black swept hair along his sides and dark green eyes. "Maybe yes, maybe no," the burly man muttered with a shrug, his heavy Italian accent apparent. "Tell me, what business you gotz here anyway?"

"O ummm...hold on a second," the biker replied while extending a finger forward and checking his side pocket for something. He took a blue note card out with bright red lettering and a logo in the corner before handing it over the guard. "It's my friend's business card, Bolt Fenris. He mentioned to give this to the man upfront when I arrived here.

The guard squinted to read the lettering as he looked back at the kid before rubbing his chin. "Alright, everything checks out, ok?", the man remarked as he handed the card back to the youth. "Apologies for the inconvenience. My job is to make sure no one fishy comes ere and tries to do anything stupid, copesh? I mean, you didn't come ere's to do anything stupid, no?" The biker raised his hands with an open mouth while quickly shaking his head. "Good, then we have no problems. Anyways, you must be...Buzz, I take it?," questioned the guard as the biker gave a smiling nod back. "Alright then. Mr. Fenris mentioned you'd be coming sometimes today and I was to let ya's through. Just making sure. Don't want to lose the job I just got, eh."

Taking a moment, the guard typed in his credentials on the nearby monitor as he scanned his card on the side receiver. After a minute of scanning the ID he punched in, a green check and voice command relayed that it all checked out before a hidden pair of sliding doors separated sideways to reveal a stairway leading below the building. "Really fancy place they got setup here," Buzz muttered, surprised to see how small the building was relative to the outside area.

The guard motioned over for the youth to follow him as he stepped around the counter and walked down the steel-barred stairway down a level till they reached a large cargo-bay like door with latches on the side. "Mr. Fenris mentioned he wanted to give you a tour of the facility, I think. Anyways, here's the lift that will take you down to it. Let me the door for ya's." The guard undid both side latches before placing both hands in the rubber opening slots on the bottom and pulling the door up in one fluid motion as a large yellow platform with a caution "X" plastered on its surface stood before the two.

"Wait, so the facility isn't up here?," Buzz asked as the guard just stared. "So how far down is it?"

"Don't know, don't care. Now please sir, enter the lift would ya's," remarked the guard as the biker stepped past him. "O and I'd hold onto that rail bar on the wall if I was you. The lift is still being touched up at the moment and it's a quick ride. Hope ya didn't have lunch, heh heh." With a laugh, the guard pulled the door down as he stepped over to the control switch and pushed the red button, sending the lift flying down in a freefall pace as Buzz screamed in terror all the way down.

---

The crazy ride down the lift lasted a little over a minute as the platform braked itself just moments from hitting the bottom, the youth having to grip the rail tight to avoid being flung forward from the momentum. Buzz was good with heights and all as well as enjoying a thrilling moment like going fast, but he'd never freefell before. Now he had a good idea how skydivers felt while his stomach arranged itself back into place. "Guh, good thing that cheeseburger stayed down," he mumbled as he shook his head to snap his senses back.

The youth's ears perked back at attention as he heard a voice over the intercom in the lift while the door rotated the tumbler locks. "Hello. Testing one..two..test, test. Hey Buzz, can you hear me in there?", asked a familiar voice.

"Yo Bolt. It's me dawg! And yeah, I here ya loud and clear," Buzz replied as he looked around the lift area.

"Awesome, man. Let me get the gate open and I'll show you around. Give me one sec," Bolt muttered as his clawed fingers could be heard pecking a keyboard. A loud noise of gears sliding out could then be heard as Buzz stepped back for the double doors of the lift slid open. Just looking deep into the facility as he stepped out was like walking through an alternate bat cave with mostly machinery covering every inch of the area and a sky rail extended overhead along the ceiling. Buzz's face appeared like he was in Santa's workshop from how awesome the technology was that circled him, being a gearhead himself. "Wow..." he gasped to himself as his eyes did a 360 sweep around him.

"So what do you think of the place?" inquired a voice that came from someone stepping down a nearby staircase, causing the biker to turn towards it. A small silver-furred lombrax strode towards his friend with open arms as the youth rushed forward to hug him.

"Great to see ya, Bolt!," Buzz exclaimed through the fuzzy embrace. "And yea, this place is SICK! It's even better than you described it, like out of a science fiction movie or something."

"Heh, well it wasn't no small feat doing the whole "science fiction" stuff I assure you," chuckled Bolt as he performed a secret handshake with his long time friend. "I told you a few weeks back what me and Magnus had in mind when we were gonna make this facility. And I still remember you rolling your eyes at the thought, saying "no way you'll come up with that kind of tech in that amount of time," mentioned Bolt as he waved a clawed finger at the man while sticking a playful tongue out. "Yet here we are. Welcome to the RiftVeil Laboratory."

"Alright, brother. I'll eat my words...and by you dinner as way for letting me stop by. I mean, this place is gonna be open in a week, right?," asked Buzz with a cheery face while gazing down the row of life support pods on one side while a few shelves of chemicals and books rested against the opposite wall.

"You betcha," remarked Bolt as he twirled his Omniwrench in his hand while pointing around to explain what some of the things were in this area. "This half of the facility is all ready to go, I made sure of that. But we still need a few weeks to get the other wing up and running where all the advance testing and procedures will possibly be done." He pointed his wrench towards the back wall of massive double doors that remained taped shut with a warning sign.

"Gotcha. So I take it the doc is over there at the moment."

"Yep. Mag has been over there setting up the portal chamber and spare floor area for about a week now. Unfortunately, he wants to keep it under wraps from anyone that comes by, so only me and Jude have seen the inside of it. He isn't even letting Cait come and take a peek, as noisy as she is. She probably couldn't keep a tight lip on it as soon as she sees it," remarked the lombax while rolling his blue eyes at the thought. "So yeah, I wish I could show you it, but it'll have to be later," he said with a shrug.

"It's all good, man," Buzz replied with a shake of his head. "Just seeing something like this out of dream is so surreal. And being shown around here by the coolest looking cat I know too?" He snapped his fingers with a silly smirk. "Wouldn't trade it for the world." Bolt was almost blushing at the compliment under his silver fur.

"Yeah man, I feel ya," the feline replied with hands along his belt hip as he looked over the area. "It's mine and Mag's ten year dream in the making after we met thanks to Jude, and it feels like a match made in heaven, you know?" They walked down the wing past the lab desk in the center as they continued chatting. "Taking his science and magic knowledge and melding it with my tech and gear head ideas, we can achieve the impossible. Now it's just a matter of making a mark with it on the world once we start spreading the word about it."

Buzz tilted his head as he looked to Bolt. "By the way, Bolt, you never mentioned to me what exactly y'all were gonna do with this place anyways." The question was immediately met by a facepalm as the lombax buried his face in his paw.

"Damn, I can't believe I forgot to mention it to you," the feline said as he stopped and turned back to Buzz. "So RiftVeil is initially going to function as a facility for transformation procedures." A toothy smile came across his muzzle as the biker's eyes went wide with shock.

"Transformations?," said the youth with a dumbfounded look. "You mean like...turning people into something else?"

"Yeah, isn't it awesome!" Bolt could hardly contain the excitement as he jumped up and down. "You already know about the magic that exists around us right?" Buzz nodded slowly, since he once did projects with Bolt a few years back on creating portals. "Essentially, we hope to refine it to make it a more common practice, but taking it to the next level with all new manner of creatures. Haven't you ever wanted to be someone or something else as a kid?"

"Heh heh, I had some imaginations about it when I was growing up," blushed the biker as he scratched the back of his flowing hair.

For a second, an idea struck the lombax square in the head while he examined his friend and felt around his limbs, leaving Buzz to stare with a confused look. "What are you doing, Bolt?," chuckled the youth as he a clawed finger ran slowly along his leather vested arm. "You have that weird look in your eye when you have an idea, buddy."

"I'm checking your measurements for a moment," remarked the lombax as a toothy grin crossed his muzzle. Taking his remote armband, he typed a few commands on it while looking the details over on the small screen with Buzz looking over with a bead of sweat going down his side. Bolt chuckled with a slight nod as he turned off the screen to stare into the eyes of his friend. "Follow me. There's one more thing I want to show you before you leave." With a wave of his paw, the biker followed the furry gearhead back towards the front area to a side room on the left that read "PROCEDURE BAY 1" on a hologram chart to the side of the door. As the glass slides separated, Buzz walked in first with a quirky smile as he thought about what his feline friend had in mind, leaving Bolt to step in last with a gleam in his blue eyes as the shutters closed.

The room was well lit around the center with a square metal plate on the ground while a few shelves/cabinets lined the back wall. Buzz scanned the shelves at all the color full chemical beakers and few books that on one side as his feline friend asked for a moment, stepping behind a corner curtain that seemed to have a computer cart behind it. "So what's this room used for?" inquired the biker as his fingers traced the spine of some of the books, one of them labeled "Elemental Incantations for Amateurs."

"Careful with those by the way," barked Bolt from behind the curtain as a few smashing noises and some pouring could be heard. "Last one I looked at was a mimic being a makeshift page. Nearly took my nose off when it snapped at me."

Buzz gave a grim look with a quick shook as he shoved the book back in place and ideally stepped back towards the center room as Bolt emerged from the curtain a few minutes later. The feline rolled what looked like a portable desktop on wheels near the side of the plate before locking the wheels down and looking over something on the computer. The biker moved over to peek, but was quickly shooed away by the lombax. "No peeking yet. It's a surprise," he replied with his front fangs showing through a grin.

"What surprise you mean, Bolt?" remarked Buzz with a now worried expression as he rubbed his arm. "You're kinda making me sweat over here in the dark, like your some sort of mad scientist or something. Just go ahead and tell me, will ya?"

After running a program with schematics on the screen, the lombax walked over to his friend and stood directly in front of him, his paws at his side. "O right. My bad, dude," apologized Bolt with drooping ears. "I got so caught up in the excitement that I forgot I mainly asked you to come see the place, and here I am being all Dr. Frankenstein like to you. I'm sorry if it came off that way."

A warm smile came across Buzz's lips as he stepped forward and put a hand on the furry shoulder as Bolt looked him in the eyes. "Don't be sorry, Bolt. I know you just want me to have a good time while I'm here, and I appreciate it dude. You don't have to hide anything from me. I'm one of your close buds, right?" The lombax returned a smile of his own as well as a nod, knowing full well what he meant. "Good to hear," the biker replied as they clasped their free hand and gave a shoulder hug. "So what's this surprise your hiding from me? Some new tech or a new ride?"

The feline chuckled as he glanced back at the monitor before returning to Buzz. "No, no new tech to show you...for now. I actually was going to ask you if you wanted to help test the equipment out." The biker tilted his head with a look a joy, but a hint of nervousness at the idea. "Yes, if you are thinking what I'm thinking you are thinking, then yeah. Care to give it a try?," Bolt asked with a smirk.

"I don't know, what if something goes-", questioned Buzz, but was stopped mid sentence by a playful punch to the shoulder.

"I dare you to try it."

An intense stare left the biker's eyes as lightning seemed to clash between them. Suddenly taking his arm to his shoulder, Buzz pulled off his biker vest and held it forward before replying. "Deal...but you owe me a new propulsion convertor for my bike for being a guinea pig," he retorted with a smirk.

That was easy enough, thought the cheeky lombax to himself as he took the vest and placed in on a nearby chair. "Truth be told man, I was meaning to have this as a gift for you, at least when your birthday comes up in a few months." He returned to the computer cart as he pointed a claw at the metal plate for Buzz to stand in the center and have his arms stretched to the sides. A metal lens appeared overhead as it swept the youth in a green glow back and forth a few times, taking on a full body scan for the procedure.

"Wow...thanks, Bolt. I mean that's really thoughtful, but you sure it isn't to repay me for that engine you busted last month?," laughed Buzz as the feline buried his face with annoyance in his paw.

"To be fair, I might've tightened those screws too tight when I installed it. How was I supposed to know it would overheat and breakdown just a few miles down the road?," Bolt mentioned as he retrieved a few bottles from the lower cart compartments.

"Which is why ya should've had me install it while you watched," shook the biker's head with a smile. "I know you're a brainiac when it comes to anything that can be built, but vehicles are my wheel house still. At least I leave all the other 'advanced' things to you." He chuckled under his breath as he flexed his neck to the side before slightly lowering his arms.

"Duly noted. Now, hold still and keep your arms extended for a moment." With click of a claw on a key, four coiled arms with pincers on the end emerged from the ceiling and ground plate, clamping snuggly around Buzz's wrists and ankles as he was left stunned. "Relax, they are more of a safety mechanism, I assure you," the feline said with an extended paw as the youth stood fast with a trusting look, curious at what was going to happen.

"So doctor, what creature am I going to be," replied the bound human with a playful stick out of his tongue. "I'd make an adorable brother to you as a cat too, heh heh." A funny 'meow' left his lips to egg the lombax on as he bent over laughing.

"Hah hah, your hilarious, you know that," retorted Bolt with sarcasm. "But no, I actually had an idea in mind from some feedback. Caitlyn gave me some ideas when I chatted a few days back with her." Taking a syringe, the feline carefully drew a clear liquid from a vial as brown dots suspended in the solution, pulling the syringe all the way to its end. He then it aside as he took a cup with some wet powder in it, adding some water from a nearby nozzle while sloshing it a few times to dissolve the substance well. "Alright. First I'll need you to drink this solution if you can. You can move your arms still by the way, I haven't secured them in place fully just yet," he explained while handing the biker the clear plastic cup of liquid, appearing almost like lemonade.

"So this how y'all do these transformations? Giving us a drink and a shot? Heh heh, doesn't sound fancy if you ask me," chuckled the youth as he swirled the liquid in the cup.

"Not really," Bolt replied with a shrug. "The procedures will vary from client and transformation types as we learn new ones along the way. Fortunately, as with most of the ones we'll initially be offering, the early ones are simple to perform and only take like 10-15 minutes to fully do. The one I lined up for you is simple and pretty sure it will go smoothly." He pointed a clawed finger at the restraints before returning to the cart for the syringe. "Some of the transformations can get violent, but we don't know how much. Hopefully yours will give us an idea with how well the restraints hold up so you don't hurt yourself."

"Is it really that painful?" remarked Buzz as sweat ran along his face and he swallowed heavily while eyeing the glass.

"Nah, man, don't sweat it. You'll be fine. I'm pretty sure you'll feel some discomfort, but your other senses being overwhelmed should block out most of it," reassured Bolt to his friend. "Go ahead and drink up. You need to ingest all of it if you can."

With a final look at the glass, the biker remarked "down the hatch" as he flung his head back and felt the cool liquid rush over his lips and down his throat, leaving a little tingle along the back as he shook his head and handed Bolt the empty cup, discarding it in the nearby trash can. A few minutes passed as Buzz waited with a eyes fixed forward, anticipating the rush of some new feeling to sweep over him at any minute. But he felt nothing, only silence as the lombax stared on with a blank face. "I think your drink is a dud, man. I still feel the same."

Bolt could only reply with a "me-gusta face" like expression as he shook his furry head, ears now pointed to the side. "You are so clueless to this aren't you, dude." Bolt laughed before he continued while the biker rolled his eyes. "Anyway, that drink won't do anything to you yet. I just needed to give it a moment to reach your gut." Holding up his left paw, he rotated the syringe in view for his friend to see as he stepped to his right side and dapped his upper bicep with a wet pad. "This solution will act as a catalyst for the crap I just made you drink. Once this enters your system, it should react instantly with the particles running in your cells to start up the change." Assuming I give the right dosage, the feline thought and prayed internally to himself. As Buzz met his gaze, Bolt asked him if he was ready. With a quick assuring nod, his blue eyes looked down at the arm as he submerged the needle into his skin and pumped the fluid in one steady motion into the arm before taking a step back. His eyes lit up with glee as he could already see the human's muscles begin to tense up and a grunt escape Buzz's mouth as he leaned forward on the restraints; the transformation had begun.

Wasting no time, Bolt snapped back his senses he swooped back over in front of the console to engage the safety measures while the human spasmed his chest outward and then reeled his head downward. The tense tissue along Buzz's visible skin began to be swept over with dark brown patches as the skin shifted to the new hue. His green eye color lightened up as the irises morphed to that of a hawk's with a yellow surrounding color, his teeth gritting from the initial pain as his face was now all brown. The concoction worked its magic first by gradually inflating the muscles in his legs and thighs, putting an initial strain on his jeans to contain the new girth. Even his manhood was being targeted, the decent sized orbs that were concealed now outlining the trim of the pocket as they pressed forward with each surge.

Buzz winced once more as he noticed more changes below, his bone structure rearranging in his chest with the growing muscles and his stylish military boots being punctured through from the stretching in his feet in all direction. He was shocked and excited from the sight of the shimmering talons that burst from the thick leather below as they linked with the hardening yellow callus layer around his lower feet. It was at that moment everything felt like a dream to him, and he didn't want to wake up. The biker was becoming a humanoid bird with each passing second, though he didn't fully know what type for now as they changes kept coming as the serum delivered a final kick, signaling it reached his heart and was pumping straight into his entire body. The still-human man yelled, which came out as a somewhat of a shriek, from the feeling as his senses and changes went into overdrive. The pain began to block out mostly as pleasure swept over every pore and nerve fiber in his being as he gave a lulled smile with an open mouth, leaving Bolt to marvel at the wonders of the handiwork he was witnessing.

Buzz's fingernails pushed out slightly over his now yellow callus hands while he flexed the wrists under the metal cuffs, marveling at how much strength he now possessed. The rough ridges roughed about the metal clamps while additional markings began to trace around the spot above his elbows and just above his knees, creating a bright yellow spiked cuff pattern at the sites. His orbs began to meld with a new type of seed (a mix if you will) as they pulsed outward a few more centimeters, leaving them at the size of tennis balls from under his jeans that now began to tear at the seams from how wide his thighs had gotten. Additionally along the openings of those holes and on the outside, the brown skin began to be concealed by the rapid appearance of feathers sprouting out like weeds until they meshed a fine layer of fluff around his visible skin and along his neckline, leaving only his head as his black hair was already dropping in clumps onto the metal plate with the new brown feather coat sweeping over to replace it. His ears had might have receded inward, but the sounds he heard in the room echoed now with more presence to him. The biker's fleshy tongue began to thin out in his maw as a golden hue swept over his lips and began to push out of his face inch by inch with a strain of pain look as he shut his eyes. The once fatty lip tissue had hardened and thinned out as it curved forward and then to a downward point as his beak grew in. The now anthro hawk clicked his new beak in to feel and try to talk, finding it initially difficult to get whole phrases out as he no longer felt teeth in his salivating mouth.

"God...I feel...so hungry," muttered Buzz with the same voice, but still raspy from being groggy through the ordeal. "Man...my face is...sore." Taking a moment, he cracked his neck he rotated it around, surprised to see how more dexterous and flexible the joint was than before. He was breathing rather heavily from his expanded chest, no doubt drained but feeling his body get used to the larger lung capacity he acquired.

Bolt stepped over to the computer as he ran an analysis of his friends new biometrics, checking to make sure everything that was intended to happen took place while monitoring his vitals. His temperature was high, as expected from the metabolic reaction for the changes, and his brain activity and heart rate were all working normally. "90% complete," the lombax muttered under his breath as he gave a puzzled look around the monitor screen to run his blue eyes to every site of the new bird's frame till he reached the back and had the realization hit him. "O right, nearly forgot about those."

"Something wrong...Bolt?" questioned the anthro hawk as he rotated an eye to his back to see what his friend was referring to. Suddenly, he felt a sharp jolt along his upper back as two flaps of skin were split open. Two fleshy bones emerged with a few feet as they began to fan out with a mesh of brown skin that quickly became coated in brown feathers.

"Nearly forgot about the wings, heh heh," chuckled the feline from behind. "You wouldn't be a legitimate bird without them. Plus its way more fun to be able to fly than well...not flying." Buzz gave a half hearted squawk (or laugh) at the joke as he can't believe he forgot about the wings. It was something that he dreamt of for so long as a kid. To be able to fly someday and soar to places he could never reach with his bike; to experience a freedom unlike any other. This was partly why he always had a fascination with birds, being one of his favorite animals. Of course, Bolt already knew this as of a few weeks ago when he chatted with Caitlyn about giving Buzz a new makeover to try out and see if he would like it. From how readily the hawkman was testing out his new appendages with a few swift and oddly timed flaps, the lombax could already surmise that his friend was more than happy with the new look and feel. Then again, he'd probably need a few days to get used to walking on bird feet now and having a much sharper vision, among other things.

"How you feel now, buddy?" conjectured Bolt with a pat on the bird's strong shoulder as he paced back to the front of the room. "What do you think of the new you?" He grinned over his handiwork, feeling great that the formula worked.

With a quick glance at both side arms, and a subtle peek at his larger package that greeted him below, Buzz gave a smirk through his yellow peak with a ruffle of his feathers and neck. "Heh heh, if you...get these metal..restraints off, I can...tell ya, man." Bolt's faced brightened with widened eyes at forgetting to release his friend once the changes finished. Stepping back over to the computer, he typed in a few commands that signaled the arms to unlock and reside back into the ground and ceiling, leaving Buzz to quickly adjust his balance as he felt his full weight now press along his bird feet. The metal plate was slick, but he instinctively gripped the sides with his sharp talons to stabilize himself before confidently stepping onto the floor to approach his feline friend.

"So this is what...being someone else, an anthro, really...feels like?," remarked the biker hawk as he clasped his new hands in and out and took in the air with a deep, steady breathes. "It feels so...euphoric, man. I've never felt...this alive before." He immediately dropped to a knee as he swept the feline up into the air and gave him a big fluffy hug with his duster like arms, leaving Bolt to pat him on the side at first for a "no problem", and then to a more frantic tap as he felt the constriction overwhelm his neck. "O sorry, Bolt", the hawk apologized as he dropped the smaller anthro to the ground, the lombax readjusting his lab coat over his neck. "I'm just...so thankful for everything you did."

Bolt coughed a moment as he rose to his feet and smiled back at his friend while shaking his coat of some of the still loose feathers that came off. "Cait is actually the one you should be thanking," replied the feline as he began putting away the computer cart. "She told me how much you admired birds and something about dreaming one day to fly freely with them. So I just took that info and rolled with it. Hope I got the right type for ya, I literally had to guess."

Buzz immediately nodded as he handed Buzz the spare tray to put up. "Dude, I ain't complaining with any species...you had in mind. Just being like this...and feeling soooo strong...I say you got a happy first client."

"Heh heh, I can already tell," grinned Bolt as he glanced down at the massive bulge in the hawk's pants as he followed the gaze to be rather shocked. He was already a stud from the bodybuilder frame he now sported, but his real equipment down stairs could easily breeze by the competition. "Holy moly, I think I might've overdid it on the serum dosage."

"No kidding, dude," Buzz exclaimed with wide eyes as he gave them a sway to the side. "Impressive equipment y'all have here."

"I don't know man," Bolt laughed as he poked the sack, making the bird twitch slightly. "With orbs like that, you'll make any girl swoon for ya."

"Heh heh, I guess," Buzz replied as he scratched his head in embarrassment at the compliment. "Like I said...I'm ecstatic with everything I'm feeling."

"Good to hear," the lombax assured the happy biker as he motioned with a paw for them to leave the room. "The best part is the treatment isn't set in stone just yet, so you would've had the liberty to not have this permanent if you didn't want it, in case anything went...horribly wrong." At least that's one good incident for now..., thought Bolt to himself with a grazing paw across his brow. "Anyway, how's about testing your wings before we take off? I know that's what your itching for right now," he remarked with a cheeky grin across his fanged mouth. "Give it a go; just take the ladder up and use that skyrail above as a jumping point."

Buzz nodded with a stride of confidence as he leaped over to the ladder in one pounce and rushed up the pegs until he was sitting at the railing of the skyrail, looking almost 30 feet down to the metal floor below and small waving silver cat. He gripped a side rail in each clawed hand as he individually extended the left then right wing to his side. The hawkman pulled himself back slightly before catapulting himself forward and into the air as he beat his wings as best he could. Though he had only been a bird for a short time, his body was already picking up on how to maintain the flight briefly as he began to glide somewhat around the top area with brief flaps, even though they were somewhat out of sync and making him drift in different directions. However after a few seconds in flight, his body had already shown signs of fatigue from the transformation as his wings locked into place and he plummeted the remaining 10 feet to the floor below, leaving a stunned Bolt to come rush to him as he slammed the metal tile with a shoulder and bounced a few feet before stopping. A groan escaped his beak as his right shoulder throbbed from the impact that nearly dented the tile. The lombax quickly dropped to a knee to check on his friend, but was waved off with a smile as the hawk still felt fine for the most part. "No worries, dude. Guess I'll...have to wait a bit...before I can try out this 'flying' thing again, heh heh," the hawk chuckled as he gripped his sore shoulder.

"Yeah, you did fine from what I saw, Buzz," replied Bolt with a confident and reassuring tone for his bruised buddy. "But I agree. At least take it easy for the next week till your strength returns."

"Alright, doc. I'll take it easy then."

Bolt shook his head with rolling eyes at the jest, especially with Buzz still having his corny sense of humor. "I'm not a doctor Einstein. And you know that already, you ass." He took a heavy winged arm over his scrawny furred shoulder as he helped the tired anthro hawk get to his feet. The feline nearly slipped off his feet from lifting the now bulky body, completely underestimating how much heavier his friend had gotten with muscle. "Jesus, you're heavy! Anyways, I'll give you a ride back to your place. As for the bike, I'll have Jude drop it off tomorrow at your shop if that's cool. I still need to get my driving skills better."

"For sure, man," nodded Buzz as he glanced down to Bolt. "And Bolt...thanks again."

The lombax gave a playful face rub against his massive feather chest at the compliment, showing a gesture of just how much a friend Buzz really meant to him. "Sure thing, Buzz. Happy early birthday by the way."

As they reached the elevator lift, a loud yawn left the hawk's beak from how drained he was while a low growl could be heard from his lower midsection. "Say, how about we...stop at a diner on the way back and...grab a bite to eat," Buzz remarked while rubbing his trimmed belly below. "I'm so famished."

The gates to the elevator bay opened as they stepped inside. "Sure thing. Care for anything in particular this evening?," conjectured the lombax as Buzz ran a claw on the side of his neck in thought.

"I can grab a burger...from anywhere we stop along the road. What place... should we hit up?"

"Cait suggested I should stop by that diner near the speedway sometime, so how about there?" Buzz shrugged, figuring it would work fine. "I hear it serves the best chicken fried chicken in the area," Bolt continued as he flashed a toothy grin.

Slowly as the shutters began to retract, a glare could be seen in the hawk's corner eye as the head rotated down to the feline that rolled on the floor laughing at his joke. A pair of knuckles could be heard cracking as the laughing stopped and Bolt turned his face upward to a pair of piercing eyes as a childish look of worry crept across his muzzle. "Heh heh, you know I was kidding about the whole chicken thing, right buddy?" The veins in his massive arms could already be visible even beneath the layer of feathers as Buzz's face remained expressionless, gradually lowering to the floor. "Buzz?" Shrieks could be heard echoing down the lift to the lower facility as the lift returned to the ground level.

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(Back at the lower facility in the advanced wing, two days after the first procedure)

I sat back in the mobile chair of my office as I stared down the chemical formulas and writings I had spilled across the white board. I must've been at it for nearly 4 hours straight before my hand gave out as I scanned the wall to make any more connections. I got the data and base down right from the looks of things, I pondered to myself as I brushed my goatee under my sweaty fingers. Yet it still won't react from an electrical stimulus, damn it. There's got to be something I'm missing. I dipped my head in my hands while swaying back and forth on my seat, the frustration really getting to me. I'm so close!

Suddenly, I snapped back to attention and nearly flew off my seat as I heard a knock at the closed door, leaving me to glance at my watch. Nearly eleven o'clock at night already? I opened the door as my colleague gave a friendly toothed smile while holding up a few drinks. "Thirsty Mag?", asked Bolt while he handed me an open can of Sunkist. I swiped it instantly from his paw as he closed the door to take a seat while I returned to mine.

"I'm surprised to see you at the lab this late at night Bolt." I smiled as I took a swig from the drink, being nearly parched for the last few hours while holed up in this room.

"Hey, that's my line sir," Bolt rebutted with an annoyed look as he placed his coffee cup on the table. "I figured I check up on you to make sure everything is alright." The feline scanned a good view over the board to see my data, already having a good idea of the progress I had made since last week. "So this is the formula you've been trying to crack for the last month." He snickered at just how complex the symbols and diagrams were, considering I had an edge over him in science while he crushed me in the technology department. "Think it will finally work?"

I placed the can on the table as met my feline colleague's blue eyes with my own, shaking my head at the inquiry. "Not yet, I'm afraid. The formula is right, I'm certain of that. But..." I hesitated for a moment as I removed my glasses and wiped the strain from my tired eyes. "But it needs a strong catalyst to react to full value of the transformation I hope to achieve won't work. I just can't think of something strong enough to bond the substance with enough energy to trigger the change."

Bolt had a calm expression as he twiddled his paws with clicking claws as he thought it over. He usually did that when he was in intense thought (I say it from knowing some of his habits while he can tell my bad ones). "Hmmph. You got a theory about it, good sir? I'm open to any suggestions, as you know."

"I'm drawing a blank too," he replied as his ears briefly drooped with defeat. "But I have a contact from the mage faction I make visits too that might have a better idea. I can have her stop by next week after the lab is up and running. She might know or even have an item you can use." The lombax leaned forward as he took a final swig from his mug while still eye-balling me. "She's probably gonna want that book though that you've been keeping from her in exchange for it."

"Hah hah, I figured as much," I jested as I took another citrus swig of my drink. "Honestly, I'll let her keep the tome if she wants just for a lead. I mean, I owe her anyway for the reactor crystal that we needed for the portal generator in the back."

"Despite what lengths you went through to retrieve that tome in the first place?," the lombax retorted with an extended claw, pointing to said book that sat on top of my shelf, leading my eyes to glance back at it.

"I know, those bandits didn't give me the nicest reception when they saw me flee the temple with it. But I put more use with it in the last few months than what they would have done by leaving it in a museum or some rich fart's private home."

"Amen to that brother," Bolt said as he raised the empty mug in a gentlemen manner, making me nod in approval. "Alright. Do you need her here anytime soon though?" he asked as he rose from his chair while his paintbrush tail twirled against the seat cushion.

"Nah," I mentioned with finger tips together on my pressed hands before rising out of my chair to walk my colleague out. "Whatever is more convenient with her schedule will work. This formula isn't going anywhere or doing anything in the meantime."

Just as was about to turn the knob, Bolt clasped my sweaty hand in his soft paw as he looked me in the eyes. "You sure you're alright Mag?" He focused on me with concerning eyes. "You know you can talk to me about it if you feel overwhelmed, right? I know you'd do the same for me, or at least usually do when I'm in a fit." He smiled as he clasped his free paw on my shoulder, leaving me to nod back and return an affectionate hug around him as he gave my back a pat while I gave his a quick rub.

"Thanks for being here, Bolt," I replied as a small tear left my eye. "I'm glad Jude and you are my partners in all of this. Y'all are the best group of friends, along with Caitlyn, that a nerdy human like me could ever ask for."

"Of course, Mag," Bolt remarked as we broke the hug and I opened the door while he took his mug from the table. "It's like you said when we first came up with the idea for this transformation laboratory. 'We're in this together, no matter what.' I'm glad to know you as a friend and colleague, and nothing will ever change that. You know that right?" He smiled a playful grin.

"Hah hah, right you are, Bolt," I said with a sensible chuckle. "Right you are. Now come on, I think it's time we both turned in for the evening."

With a quick nod, my lombax colleague left my office as I glanced one final look at the white board, the excitement of my work anticipating the discoveries of it and other things to come while working here. With a flick of the nearby light switch, the room went pitch black as I stepped out of my office and locked up for the night. Only a few weeks to go till RiftVeil Labs would be operational, and all three of us were prepared for the new trials it would bring for us to come.