Anderson felt like he was falling into a great chasm of numbness. It was how he'd felt when he realized the police had connected him to the attack on Toby, only a hundred times worse. No, no, no! This couldn't be happening! This could NOT be happening!!!
It was perhaps a little mercy on the part of the universe that his mind simply dropped off into empty space as the change overtook him.
Jay was watching with interest as Anderson gave up panicking and simply sank to his knees on the cool green courthouse lawn. She almost...almost felt a little sorry for the man, but a quick mental review of why he was even here took care of that. Still...she wasn't going to let herself get too excited about this, at least not on the job. She was a news reporter, not a paparazzi. She edged closer to Anderson, wondering if he'd snap out of it and how he'd react if he saw her, but he was completely out of it for the moment.
As the fox-woman watched, his hair began to grow longer, lengthening from his short "high-powered executive" cut to hang just around the base of his neck, and changing color to a warm green with a strange hint of metallic sheen about it. A metal band formed across the top of his head, from just above one ear to just above the other - it looked for all the world like a plastic crescent hairband, except it was made of some silvery metal. Two wiry antennae with small chromey spheres on the tips poked out from under his bangs; Jay couldn't tell whether they were decorations on the hairband, or actual growths from his head - or was the "hairband" actually a part of his body now? That seemed improbable, but she'd seen quite a lot of strange changes.
Jay found that she was now looking down at the kneeling figure, and realized that all this time he'd been shrinking slightly. It wasn't just in size, either - his body was slenderer even accounting for that. Jay had a feeling she knew what was coming next. She turned out to be quite right.
Harris sighed. Thank God that was over. Now that he was breathing freely, detached from his professional responsibilities, he was feeling thoroughly unhappy with himself. Really, whatever it might mean for his practice, he'd rather have lost that one. He needed a drink...of course, he couldn't go get one for at least another half-hour.
He sat down on a bench in the hall, feeling tired and depressed, wishing more than anything for a stiff drink and a warm bed. Anderson had already gone, and good riddance. Toby, the victim, passed by; he couldn't quite tell what was in her expression, but it didn't seem to be anger. At least she didn't seem traumatized by her change - not that that excused Anderson's actions at all, but maybe it meant the rest of the people involved could move on.
He heard a noise beside him, and looked up to see the prosecuting attorney, the lamia who'd looked familiar. She regarded him warily. "You do realize your client just blundered out into the sun, right?" she asked.
Harris wanted to come up with something to say, but he was just too damn tired; he settled for a guttural noise of disgust. The snake-woman showed a hint of a smile. "One of those cases?" she asked. He nodded. "One of those cases. Just between us, I'm sorry you didn't win."
She sighed and shrugged. "I guess that's how it goes sometimes. At least I get a little schadenfreude for a consolation prize."
He nodded. "I hope there's enough to go around. Say, do I know you from somewhere?"
She regarded him curiously, like she wondered if he was being serious. "You don't remember?" she asked.
Harris shook his head. "You seem familiar, but I'm having a hard time placing you. Sorry, I've been up for nearly seventeen hours now..."
She nodded. "Mmm. Think a drink would refresh your memory? You're buying."
He smiled. "Fair enough. But, uh, we'll be doing that after the sun's down."
Jay was now staring at the form of a petite woman just entering her 20s. In addition to the green hair and antennae, she was dressed in a garment of silvery fabric - not quite form-fitting, but it hugged everywhere it needed to. The neckline was just low enough to give a hint of the cleavage formed by her breasts, which were of moderate size but seemed large on her small frame, and the skirt-like bottom of the garment came down to a little ways above the knee, below which she was bare-legged and bare-footed. It was held in place at the waist by a belt of silvery green fabric.
The fox-woman stifled a laugh; the figure before her looked like nothing so much as an "alien" from a cheapo B-movie - all she was missing was a ray gun. She wondered briefly whether she should leave before Anderson came to and recognized her, but there was no way she was going to miss this. Sure enough, before long the space-woman began to blink and look around, as if coming out of a trance. Idly, as if to herself, she murmured something that sounded to Jay like "adolau nunye ta?"
Anderson clapped her hands to her mouth as she heard what had come out of it, suddenly fully alert and aware that things were not right. She sprang up in a start, "landing" at an angle several inches off the ground, where she hovered, legs fully extended and feet pointed earthwards, as she stared in shock at her new body. She began to make more strange sounds, but as Jay listened she could make out patterns and cadences that suggested this was actually a language and not just nonsense.
This, however, did nothing to comfort the transformed executive, and as she babbled frantically while taking in her new body, there seemed to be a growing realization that she was not speaking English, which only made her freak out more. She clasped her hands at her collarbone and stared off into space. "Anneza Karaz jhys ta!" she stammered, then seemed to realize she'd said something wrong. "Anneza! Anneza!" She turned her hands inwards, as if to indicate herself to herself. "An ne za Ka raz! Ahhh, CHASKRY!"
From the vehemence of this last word, it wasn't difficult for Jay to figure out that it was an obscenity.
A couple of Sarah's mother crawled up her father's chest from where they had been attending to one of the buds on her breasts, and the plant-woman blushed and shuddered at the sensation. "D-did you hear that?" she asked, still boggling at Iris's suggestion.
The bee-women nodded. "Yes, I think so. You were worried about not contributing anything...?"
Her husband looked downcast. "...yeah..."
Mrs. McMillan laughed. "We could always set up an apiary."
The plant-woman's blush became a full, vivid green. "N-no, I...that is, you and I..."
Her wife smiled. "I was joking, dear. You're right, that's...intimate. I don't even know if I'd be comfortable sharing our honey with family members. Besides, what would the health department say?" She giggled. "Oh, look at you! Honestly, dear, you blush easier than a Catholic schoolgirl at a..."
Mr. McMillan's expression gave her pause. "I'm sorry, sweetie," she said. "I know this is still new to you..."
The plant-girl nodded. "I...don't get me wrong, I...I kind of like that we're so closely bonded, but...I just never thought I'd see anything like this in my life..."
"Of course not. This has been strange for all of us, and I don't think many people have had odder changes than you and I..."
