Author's Notes: Quite some time ago, 13 or 14 years at least, I did some collaborations with various other artists and writers who specialized in the same sort of niche categories as me. Things like transformation, aliens, corruption, and stories that used things like laboratories and science experiments as their settings. These weren't ever part of some larger cohesive collection or anthology though, they were just sorta "out there" and none of us really drew any parallels to one another's stuff. We just all networked over Skype and shared ideas and WIP's and all that. A handful of the stuff that was made by the folks in that private little circle is still floating around out there today, but I'm not going to name names.

This story is based on some notes I jotted down during that era. We all shared lots of ideas, some of them stuck and some of them didn't. Ultimately, this is one of the ones that didn't. There was some loose interest into perhaps adopting this one into a short comic but we never saw it through beyond the base idea. I would like to revisit some of these ideas though and actually create them so I've decided to try and organize these stories into a sort of over-arching framework where this and the works to follow all happen in the same "universe". I'm going to try my best to keep a consistent canon, but I apologize in advance if some of the stuff is rough around the edges as like I said they weren't originally meant to all go together.

There are 3 chapters to this first story. It follows Jace Parsovian, a college graduate anxious about finding his first proper job. To buy some time he signs up for a well-paying experimental gene therapy trial. He hastily scribbles his name on the contract thinking it's just going to tamper with evolutionary "junk DNA" leftovers, though for someone who graduated with honors he probably should've thought that action through a little better.

An eager "whoop" resonated through the small dorm. Muffled chatter could be heard from the headset worn by the person who had just hollered a second prior.

"Yeah dude!" He exclaimed. "I couldn't even see him I just chucked the knife and hit him!"

More chatter followed.

"Well, that's a solid way to end the evening. I should go, I got a ping on my phone during that last round so I'm going to see who that was and get something to eat before bed."

Jace carefully removed his headset and set it on the coffee table in front of him before rousing himself from his loveseat to turn off his game console. Jace was a young raptor rounding out the very tail end of his last semester at university where he was studying mechanical engineering. He was an avid gamer in his free time though, and maintained an impressive rank in the shooter he routinely played with his classmates and colleagues. He had a sort of mustard yellow skin that was very vibrant under the right kind of lighting with lighter and softer skin all over his neck, chest, and underside and soft sky blue eyes. It was hard for him to look intense, but when he was in the middle of a heated round he could put on a face of determination that one might mistake for someone performing open heart surgery.

The raptor yawned and stretched for a moment before reaching over to grab his phone. He had a missed call from a number he didn't recognize, but the voicemail revealed it to be someone named "Oren". Oren claimed he was one of the aides from the biology class Jace took the previous semester, though Jace couldn't seem to remember that name. The raptor shrugged it off because he realized he didn't really remember anyone from that class as it was so this guy was probably there and Jace never met him formally. Jace opened the missed call on his phone and tapped the redial button before moving the phone up to his ear as it rang.

"Hey, is this, uh, Oren?" Jace asked. "It's Jace, from Dr. Ward's class, I missed a call from you?"

"Oh! Hi Jace! Yeah, it's me," a male voice on the other end replied. Jace couldn't pin the voice on anyone he remembered who was an aide but he still maintained the call anyways.

"I know it's weird for me to just call you out of the blue like this," Oren continued, "but I heard you were graduating soon and if you were perhaps looking for something to do I might know a place to look into."

"Oh?" Jace asked, his interest piqued. "Yeah, I'm definitely looking. I've been working on my CV and just waiting to finalize my GPA on it before sending it out to places."

"Right, good call. Have you heard of Dimetrocorp?"

"Dimetra-what?" The raptor answered.

"Uh, Dimetrocorp. They're a biotech company in the neighboring city."

"No... I can't say I've ever heard the name before."

"Yeah, they operate out of one of those big gray buildings just outside of downtown," Oren explained. "They don't have a giant logo on the place or anything, just their sign on the doors."

Jace continued his conversation with Oren who went on to explain that Dimetrocorp was looking for volunteers and staff for a long-term study they were in the process of starting. Oren said he thought of Jace since he had some practical experience in the science field and was close to graduating. Jace thanked Oren for the consideration, took down Dimetrocorp's information, and ended the call. As Jace set his phone back down he furrowed his brow slightly at how strange the conversation felt. For the life of him he could not remember anyone named Oren from that class, nor had he ever heard of this company. Jace quickly picked his phone back up, opened its web browser, and popped "Dimetrocorp" and the street address Oren gave him into the search bar. Sure enough, there was a business there named Dimetrocorp Enterprises. Everything seemed to check out.

A couple of weeks passed and Jace ended his last round of classes. The weight of being a full time student was finally off of his shoulders, now replaced with the heavier burden of segueing into gainful employment and settling into adult life proper. He pulled his car into the parking lot behind the Dimetrocorp complex and emerged from it dressed in the nicest clothes he owned, completed CV in hand. As the raptor stepped through the building's front door he found himself in a sparsely furnished room that superficially resembled the waiting room of a doctor's office.

"Hello, can I help you?" The secretary at the nearby desk asked.

"Hi, my name's Jace, I'd like to drop off my CV and hopefully meet your hiring manager if they're here right now. I just graduated last week and I'm on the job hunt now."

As Jace spoke he handed his paperwork over to the secretary.

"Oren gave me a call, he referred me here from the university," Jace added.

"Oren?" The secretary said with a puzzled look. "I'm not familiar with an Oren."

"He was an aide for Dr. Ward?" Jace responded.

"Oh! Dr. Ward, yes we've done some work with him in the past," she replied nodding.

A few moments of silence passed as the secretary gave Jace's CV a glancing over. In that time Jace again found himself unable to shake a weird feeling about this "Oren" guy. The secretary didn't know him? Maybe that was just because she's the secretary and doesn't actually do anything behind the scenes at the business. But... she would still have to see everyone who came into the building, right? Jace's mind wandered for a while until the secretary spoke up and snapped him back into focus.

"Wow, that's an impressive GPA!" She exclaimed.

"Heh, thanks," Jace replied. "It wasn't exactly easy."

"So, if you'd like you can come with me through the double doors here. I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Karo, he's overseeing our current effort. That might've been the one you heard about."

The secretary stood up from her desk and walked out into the waiting area where Jace was. She approached a set of metal doors and pulled the badge from her lanyard over to the sensor on the wall next to them. The sensor dinged followed by the locks on the doors disengaging long enough for her to prop one open and motion for Jace to follow. Jace eagerly stepped through and followed her down the hall to a room whose door was already ajar.

"This is Dr. Karo's office, he's inside," she said with a smile.

"Thanks!" The Jace replied. "I really appreciate it!"

The raptor stepped into the doorway and was greeted by Dr. Karo who smiled and motioned for him to enter.

"Close the door behind you if you would, please," the man said as Jace entered.

Jace obliged before introducing himself and shaking Dr. Karo's hand. Karo was a much older man, easily in the back half of middle age. He was a well built tyrannosaur with olive green skin. As Jace shook his hand he was surprised at the firmness and strength of Karo's grip, it seemed odd for someone in the biotech field to be so stout.

"How can I help you, son?" Dr. Karo said as he sat back down behind his ornate desk.

"I heard about a long-term study you were getting ready to start," Jace answered. "That you were also looking for volunteers and staff for it? I'd like to know more about it."

"Ah, well yes we are getting ready to do some research into gene therapy. Says here you've got a background in mechanical and industrial engineering?"

"Yes sir," Jace said. "Near the top of my class, with honors."

"Very impressive," the rex said with a grin. "I assume you also enrolled in some of the biology classes then, if you had Dr. Ward as an instructor?"

Jace nodded.

"Well, the staff we are looking for would ideally be someone who majored in or had significant experience with the biosciences..."

As Dr. Karo spoke the raptor felt his heart sink. It was going to be an immediate soft letdown.

"...but we are still looking for volunteers for the study, and the pay is quite generous."

"As a volunteer?" Jace asked. "How generous is generous?"

Karo grinned as he held up six fingers.

Jace shook his head in disbelief. "What would I have to do?"

"Not much, how much do you know about the process of gene therapy?" Karo asked.

"I mean, I understand what it is in a general sense. Changing what genes are expressed through artificial conditioning."

"Correct," the rex responded. "We're investigating a new form of medical treatment based on this. You'd be subjected to a trial and monitored by our onsite staff."

"Gene therapy?" Jace asked.

"Yes. Surely though, you're aware of how a significant portion of our DNA is mostly 'junk' that remains as evolutionary leftovers?"

Jace nodded again.

"In this trial we'd only be focusing on altering this junk DNA that isn't expressed. If we can focus on a specific gene and induce a change in it, then that trial will have been successful and in theory we could apply this procedure to a patient who needed treatment for a hereditary disorder for example. Don't worry, we wouldn't do something drastic like changing the color of your eyes or anything."

Dr. Karo chuckled as he finished speaking.

As Karo continued his chat with Jace he explained that the study included temporary residence at the Dimetrocorp facilities so he could be monitored in a controlled environment. He'd have a room provided all to himself, regular meals, and daily check-ins from medical staff. When the trial concluded, he'd be reimbursed for his participation.

Jace glanced over to the framed photos and documents on the far wall. Most were papers, but one of them was of Dr. Karo with someone else in military dress. Next to it was a framed medal of some sort, Jace recognized it from the game he played.

"Where does all the money for this trial come from, if I may ask?" Jace posed.

"The usual sources. Grants, endowments, the like," Dr. Karo responded.

"Is this DoD?"

Karo laughed. "Well if it was I certainly wouldn't be able to tell you that."

"...are you military?"

"In a previous life, yes," Karo affirmed.

"Marine?" The raptor asked.

"Indeed I am. How did you know?"

"I recognized the medal on the wall over there," Jace replied nodding toward it.

"You're a sharp one Jace, I like that. You'd be perfect for this trial if you're interested."

"I am; do I need to sign something?"

"Yes, the usual sort of waivers and the like. Standard procedure."

As Dr. Karo spoke he produced a sizable stack of papers and set it on the desk between him and Jace.

"If you'd like to review this and return it to us," Karo said as he set the paperwork down.

"Well, we covered all the bases, right? I assume this is just boilerplate?" Jace asked.

The rex didn't respond, he just craned his head to the side slightly and gestured to the stack.

Jace pulled a pen out of the coffee cup on Dr. Karo's desk, turned straight to the last page of the contract, and signed it. As he put the pen back he spun the papers around and nudged them back toward the now-grinning rex.

"Welcome aboard," he said.

Jace didn't realize it, but he'd just signed a stack of papers that would forever alter the course of his life.

Jace was pleased with securing a place in the study almost immediately after graduating. He had to move his things out of his dorm as it was, so being able to migrate from one place to another that was already lined up made the process easier. He was warned that he wouldn't be able to bring certain things into the facility with him, such as his game console, but he figured he'd have plenty of time to catch up once he got paid and was able to immediately place a down payment on a home and settle in literally anywhere he wanted to while finding work at his leisure.

He arrived at the now-familiar Dimetrocorp building and parked in the same area, though this time he was wearing much less formal clothes and carried a large duffel back with him as he approached an alternate entrance at the back of the structure. He rang the buzzer, provided his name, and was welcomed in by an assistant wearing a lab coat. The assistant escorted Jace to a room on the second floor that was locked with the same sort of badge sensor as the ones he'd seen the secretary open previously.

"This is where you'll be staying for the duration of your trial," the assistant said as he opened the door with his badge and guided Jace in.

As Jace stepped into the room he noticed it was furnished just like a mid-rate hotel room, even down to the carpet. It had a familiar feel, almost homey, like he'd been in this exact room before while traveling to see a concert or something. Though, as nice as the room was it was laid out strangely.

"Kind of a weird layout," Jace said as he nodded over to the toilet in the corner of the room. "No bathroom?"

The toilet was accompanied by a sink, standing shower, and the other usual amenities on a laminate floor. It was a full bathroom but it was strange that it was just an open floor plan. There was a kitchenette present in the room too, also out in the open. The more Jace eyed the room over the more it started to resemble a very nicely furnished prison cell.

"Well, you'll be here by yourself," the assistant clarified. "We designed all of these rooms to be as efficient as possible, and that included simplifying things like the number of rooms to just one with all of the comforts of home."

"I get it," the raptor said with a laugh. "Just a little weird that's all."

The assistant nodded and returned the laugh. "Well, for now just get settled in and get comfortable. The trial officially starts tomorrow. If you need to call anyone just press this button right here and it will ring the intercom in the nurse's office."

Jace traded goodbyes with the assistant and was left to entertain himself for the time being. He turned on the television to browse what was on and snacked on the apple and a small bag of pretzels that were sitting on the counter in the kitchen area.

Some time passed before Jace heard a knock on the door followed by the "ding" of the badge reader. As the door opened, Jace was greeted by Dr. Karo who was also now wearing a lab coat too.

"Oh, hello Dr. Karo!" Jace said as he recognized who had entered the room.

"Jace, great to see you, son," the rex said as he gave the raptor another firm handshake.

The two men exchanged small talk and pleasantries for several minutes.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you for this opportunity, sir. This is going to really help me out," Jace said with a smile as their conversation came to a close.

Karo smiled back. "I should be the one thanking you, Jace. The journey you're embarking on will have ripples felt by all of dinosaurkind for generations to come."

The rex parted with another handshake as firm as the first along with a pat on Jace's shoulder.

Jace rounded out the rest of the day watching a movie on TV and skimming the newspaper on the dining table before checking in for the night, eager to see what tomorrow had in store but just as apprehensive too.

Jake awoke bright and early at 7:00 AM as the digital clock next to his bed rang out with a piercing alarm. As the sound shook him out of slumber he realized he didn't set that clock, it was already there. He reached over to press the snooze button but found no such button, he had to actually wake up proper and get out of bed to be able to get to the clock that was just ever so slightly out of reach. As Jace shut the alarm off he fiddled with the clock to see if he could adjust the settings but there were no such options. It was apparently hardwired to ring at a prescribed time.

At around 7:15 there was another knock on the door and as it opened another rex in a lab coat stepped in. This was someone different from the assistant who let him into the building the day prior, though Jace realized everyone he'd met so far was a rex, including the secretary.

"Good morning Jace," the nurse said as he smiled.

"Good morning... Harlow?" The raptor replied as he squinted to read the nurse's badge from his bed.

The rex nodded as he brought in a small cart of supplies. He introduced himself and began measuring all of Jace's vitals with what looked like standard medical equipment. Blood pressure cuff, stethoscope, pen light, the usual. He also drew a vial of blood as a baseline but explained blood tests were only going to be a weekly routine while everything else would be checked every day at the same time. As he wrapped up his notes and capped the vial of Jace's blood Harlow reached for a small metal case. It looked like a cigar case made of brushed aluminum, it even opened like one. From it the nurse withdrew a syringe. It looked like any other immunization syringe, though this one had a noticeable amount of fluid inside of it. The fluid was almost clear, just with a very slight amber tint.

"Alright, this is going to be your first dose, are you ready?" Harlow asked.

Jace sighed and nodded. The rex rubbed an alcohol pad on the raptor's upper arm briefly before pulling the skin taut. Jace winced and bit his lower lip as he felt the needle breach his skin followed by a slight burning as the fluid inside was injected into him. It was over as quickly as it started and the nurse finished by placing a small round bandage over the spot.

"There we go, done!" The nurse said in his thus far unwavering upbeat tone.

After administering Jace's first injection, Harlow snapped a laminated band around the raptor's ankle that had all of his general information on it along with a barcode that could be scanned into... something? The rex didn't actually have anything on him that interacted with the barcode, it was just there on the band but not being used.

With the first day of Jace's trial underway he spent the rest of it largely learning what his daily routine was going to be. He was free to do whatever he liked as long as it was within that room as he discovered that he wasn't able to leave it because it was locked from the outside, presumably by the badge reader. As the raptor sniffed around the room he found several books of different kinds of puzzles, a deck of cards, a journal, and some writing instruments. There were also some books on the shelf next to the television, a few recent best-sellers and several of what were usually referred to as "the classics". In the dressers were several plain shirts, pants, and pairs of underwear. He'd brought some clothes with him in his duffel bag but realized there wasn't a way for him to wash them himself on account of not being able to leave his quarters to go to an assumed laundry room or something. The extra clothes provided were all made of a soft material, probably cotton. They didn't have any tags for Jace to read. The clothes were all black, including the underwear.

Another nurse, also male, stopped by at 8:00, 1:00, and 6:00 with meals. They were hot, but resembled the cafeteria food from the university Jace had just graduated from. Still, not bad and they were filling nonetheless. He was instructed to eat everything though as he was told the selection of food in each meal was part of maintaining the controlled environment he was in. Despite this, there was always a couple of pieces of fruit and some dry snacks on the kitchen bartop and a whole can of both coffee grounds and tea leaves plus the appliances to brew each drink that Jace was free to use whenever he liked. Overall, Jace could see himself riding this out. It was nice. A bit boring, but cozy. He figured unplugging from the online world would do him some good.

A couple of days passed and Jace found himself already falling into routine. Harlow showed up at 7:15 every morning like clockwork.

"How are you feeling now that you've been here a few days?" The rex asked as he checked Jace's vitals.

"Fine, I guess," Jace answered. "But my arm where you gave me the injection has been really sore, like constantly."

"Hmm, well soreness at the injection site is a very common side effect of pretty much every kind of treatment delivered in this manner," Harlow explained. "It should go away on its own, and become less prevalent as your body adjusts to the dosage."

As Harlow got ready to leave he opened a small drawer on his cart and pulled out a blister pack of pills.

"Here, these should help with the nerve pain in your arm," the nurse said as he handed them to Jace. "Just over the counter stuff, but they do work."

"Thanks," the raptor replied with a smile.

Days passed, and the pain in Jace's arm did seem to slowly fade away on its own. At the start of the following week Harlow brought with him another syringe of the gene treatment to administer as well as drawing another vial of blood beforehand.

"Before I go, I need to leave something here for you to do on your own," the nurse said.

"What's that?" Jace asked.

"Now that your trial is underway we will also need a different kind of sample from you each week."

As Harlow spoke he wheeled his cart over to the small dining table and placed a couple of small books and an empty cup onto it that had been sitting in a compartment under the cart's top tray.

"Is that... what I think it is?" The raptor asked raising an eyebrow.

Harlow chuckled slightly. "Perhaps. We do need a seminal sample. Since DNA is also expressed in gametes this is another method with which we'll track your progress and any changes. Just, at your leisure. Me or one of the other nurses will collect it when we check on you and notice it's been done."

An awkward silence fell upon the room. Jace understood the rationale behind why this particular kind of sample was needed, but it wasn't anything he'd ever done before.

Once Harlow left, Jace stepped over to the table to see what the rex had left behind. The books were actually adult magazines, two of them. The raptor picked up the one on top which had a scantily clad woman on the cover and sure enough the pages inside were as explicit as he assumed they'd be. He moved the magazine to the side and looked down at the table and chuckled as his focus shifted to the other one. There was a well-toned man on its cover and as Jace had guessed the pages were filled with photos of men completely in the buff.

"No judgment here I suppose," Jace said as he laughed to himself.

It took a couple of hours but eventually Jace mustered up the nerve to get the sample that was asked of him. He wasn't sure how much was enough, so he awkwardly shot his entire load into the cup before sealing it and setting it on the counter away from everything else, especially the food. Just as Harlow said though, it was picked up by one of the nurses during a routine check in. No questions, no awkward small talk. Just business.

The week went off fine at first, but part of the way through however Jace found himself fighting to go to sleep one night. Earlier in the day he sensed a slight dizziness and now that hours had passed it had devolved into a full on throbbing headache. He thought about ringing the intercom but opted to tough it out until morning. He felt a little better come daylight, though when he brought it up to Harlow the rex shrugged it off as possibly due to stress or a reaction to something Jace had eaten.

The day before Jace was to receive his third injection he awoke just before the alarm. That wasn't unusual, by now he was accustomed to the 7:00 wake up call and usually caught it a few minutes before it went off. What was unusual is the raptor found himself painfully aroused. He'd "relieved himself" the night prior, but as he awoke he felt like he'd abstained from release for days. He could tell it wasn't just the usual morning wood. Jace heard the door start to open and quickly shuffled around and tried to tuck his erection into his crotch as best he could. He'd taken a liking to sleeping in one of the shirts and pair of underwear from the dresser as he liked how the soft fabric felt on his skin, but it definitely didn't do anything in the way of hiding, well, this.

Jace felt on edge the entire time Harlow was going about his routine. The raptor let out a brief sigh as the rex finally left with his cart. He waited a couple of minutes before relaxing back onto the bed with a huff. Jace propped himself up into a sitting position and yanked his underwear down letting his erect shaft flop out from behind the black cotton. Almost immediately he grabbed his cock and began gently stroking it, sighing again as the light yellow skin of his shaft pulled back and slid across its slightly pointed pink tip. Every pass felt as pleasurable as it always had but as the raptor continued he felt a dull pain in his balls the longer his private session went on. It really did feel like the "blue balls" nonsense his former classmates used to joke about at parties, like he hadn't cum in god knows how long.

Moments later the raptor shuddered slightly as he reached his climax. A muddied "fuck" left his lips as he moaned gently and his cock throbbed, releasing several ropes of seed onto his lower belly. Even as his peak tapered off Jace continued to stroke himself for a few moments longer just to try and subdue his urges as much as he could.

He reached over to the nightstand by his bed for the box of tissues to clean himself up so he could get dressed and ready for breakfast which would be arriving at the top of the hour.