Chapter 0 - Redundancy

A/N: The next chapter of Unremarkable isn't cooperating, so I'm just going to publish this. It's an idea that's been percolating in the back of my mind for a while, and I just had to put it into words. No idea if and when there is going to be follow up.

Content: fucking machine, DP, female, with a little bit of S&M and noncon at the end.

Zyria tried to keep the expression of annoyance off her face -- she was supposed to have at least another week of downtime -- as she strode into the briefing room in the Special Intelligence Directorate building, and was glad of it when she saw who would be giving the briefing. Instead of Mrs. Wilkes, her usual handler and someone who was familiar with her, Mr. Kennan -- the Director of her entire department -- was sitting across the table, next to a woman Zyria didn't recognize.

"Sir," she said.

Mr. Kennan nodded at her. "Have a seat, Ms. Zumtri," he said, then continued, as Zyria took her seat, "This is Mrs. Blaidwick. I'm told you've met her husband once before?"

"Yes, sir. He assisted me on a previous mission."

Zyria remembered him, now. It had been a fairly simple sneak-and-peak mission. Mr. Blaidwick, a wealthy businessman, had helped her get an invitation to a party at the mansion of the businessman who had been suspected of selling state secrets to the Union of Free States.

"Mrs. Blaidwick, like her husband, is a patriotic citizen. Her husband is unavailable at the moment and you will need another introduction to proceed with your mission, so she has agreed to help us. Mrs. Blaidwick, this is Zyria Zumtri, one of our up-and-coming agents. Ms. Zumtri, Mrs. Blaidwick."

"It's good to meet you," Mrs. Blaidwick said, smiling and offering a hand.

Zyria shook it, noting the way sharp nails pricked her hand and, by training and habit, catalogued and memorized her appearance. Mrs. Blaidwick looked to be in her mid-thirties, though with modern cosmetic treatments that could be deceptive. She had medium-dark skin and her intricately-arranged hair was dyed pure white. She was wearing a conservative blue business suit and looked very professional; attractive but unremarkable. The only exception Zyria noticed was that, as she smiled, her canine teeth were revealed to be sharply pointed. It was not an unusual cosmetic graft, but one more usually seen on rebellious teenagers.

"You too, ma'am," Zyria replied.

"Mrs. Blaidwick wanted to meet you before the mission," Mr. Kennan explained. "She will be briefed separately, and you won't meet her again until a few days into the mission, when you've gotten established. Then she'll contact you and introduce you to the target."

"I'm looking forward to working with you," Mrs. Blaidwick said, then turned to Mr. Kennan. "Would it be possible for me to have my briefing now? I'm sure you're aware that I do have another appointment this afternoon."

"Of course. Please go see the agent at the desk outside. He'll show you to your briefing room."

Mrs. Blaidwick nodded at both of them, shook Zyria's hand and left the room.

"That was... brief," Zyria began.

Mr. Kennan leaned back in his chair and sighed. "She wanted to meet you before the mission. She and her husband can give us access to a number of important people, so we try to keep them happy. Now, I'm sure you were told this before your earlier mission, when you worked with her husband, but she doesn't know anything about our... special methods, so make sure not to slip up. She's an ally, but not a fellow agent."

"Yes, sir," Zyria replied, trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice. She had been working as a full agent for three years now. She knew the rules.

"Good. Now, I know this is very soon after your previous mission and we're interrupting your leave, but this is urgent. We have a mission with two separate roles for you. You'll have to support yourself this time, so you'll have a combined briefing before the Imprint, then we'll do a double Imprint afterwards and you'll be done around seven, free to go home if you want to."

Zyria's eyebrows rose slightly as she nodded. A double Imprint wasn't exactly uncommon or unwelcome -- in fact, she much preferred the opportunity to do her own support -- but so soon after her previous mission and Integration, she knew it was going to be a strain.

"Sir, so soon-" she began, but the Director waved her off.

"We know it'll be rough, but the briefing won't be long, so there'll be plenty of time to recover after the Imprinting. You won't be deployed until tomorrow. Now, report to briefing room 3b."

"Yes, sir."

Zyria stood up and exited the room, long familiarity carrying her to the briefing room without needing to pay much attention to her route.

The briefing was, indeed, thankfully short. The mission was simple; she'd get set up in an identity as a temporary assistant to Mrs. Blaidwick, who would then take her along to the home of a scientist in the Union who was working on weapons research. She would snoop around and scout the place and, if possible, confirm some intelligence on the target to hopefully help crack his passwords. A few days later, her other Imprint would sneak in and copy as much information as possible off his computers.

The only wrinkle was the fact that the scientist was seriously paranoid, and his off-the-grid house was surrounded by power scanners and chemical sniffers which meant that her second Imprint wouldn't be able to bring any electronic gadgets or sophisticated gear; she would only be able to sneak in a specially-built, heavily-shielded data storage device. To that end, her handler explained, her second Imprint would have some new, specialized enhancements.

Zyria was still mulling over the briefing as she made her way over to the Imprinting and Integration lab. At the door she met Jannos, one of the agents who had gone through training at the same time she had. He was wearing the dazed expression of the recently-Reintegrated and replied only with a vague wave when Zyria greeted him. No surprise, really, she thought to herself. He's been on a mission off-world for at least six months. Integration was bound to be rough.

She blinked when she entered the lab, a large, brightly lit cubical room nearly three stories tall, the walls and ceiling covered in equipment. At the center of the room was the Imprinting chair, hanging from ceiling by an articulated mechanical arm. There were a lot of tubes, arms and other equipment attached to the back and sides, so Zyria couldn't be entirely sure, but she thought there had been some changes since she had last been in here. A figure in a white lab coat was bent over by a console slightly off to the side.

"Ah, Zyria," Dr. Wen greeted her, straightening up and combing a hand through his white hair to keep it out of his eyes. "Good to see you!"

He strode forward, extending his hand toward Zyria. She took it, winching slightly at the overenthusiastic way he shook it, then following after him as he turned abruptly and strode toward the far wall.

"You've had you briefing?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before continuing, "Good! Then let me show you what to expect. The people in Bio-Engineering have been working hard to get your new shells ready. Number two gave them some challenges, or so I hear."

The reached a row of recesses in the wall, some of them holding eight-foot-high glass tubes. As Dr. Wen fumbled for a switch on the side, Zyria tried to peer into one. The slightly-tinted glass and the bright lights in the room meant that she only saw her reflection: a medium-height young woman in a black pantsuit, her hair an understated dark blue, in a ponytail, and her skin currently dyed light green.

"Ah!" Dr. Wen exclaimed as the light in the tube in front of Zyria suddenly turned on. Inside, through the slight haze of the growth fluid, was a naked figure that looked like her double, though her hair and skin were their natural color. Zyria grimaced slightly; she wasn't very happen with her mousy-brown hair and pale skin and much preferred something more vibrant.

"This will be the you that will meet with Mrs. Blaidwick, since she doesn't know about the Device. You'll just have the basic hidden enhancements, though we've managed to push the strength a bit higher than on your previous mission, so take some time to familiarize yourself with it before you go out."

Zyria nodded in acknowledgement. She had until tomorrow, so she should be able to apply some cosmetics before she was deployed. Nothing too bright, since she was supposed to look professional as Mrs. Blaidwick's assistant, but maybe some highlights in her hair an a light tint to her skin. Still thinking, she turned to follow Dr. Wen as he moved a few feet further down the row, indicating a tube with an enthusiastic wave of his hand and beaming at her.

"Now this is a more interesting version," he said, proudly. "Bio-Engineering have managed to push the limit a bit further. Some new ideas on kinesthetic stability, I hear. There were a few side effects, as you can see, but nothing that's outside the range of possibility for normal cosmetic grafts and tints, so you won't attract undue attention."

Zyria peered into the other lit tube. The figure inside was recognizably *her*, though there were noticeable differences. It was taller than her normal self, in a gangly, athletic kind of way. Zyria examined the naked form carefully. The ears were slightly pointed and looked to be a bit higher up on the head. The ends of the fingers were not clearly visible through the haze of the fluid, but they looked different, pointer. The biggest difference, though, was that there were dark stripes, like a tiger's, all over the figure's skin and short hair, and the nose was wider and jutted forward slightly, with a black tip.

Zyria turned to dr. Wen and waited for him to explain. He always did when he had something new to show her, wanting her to know exactly what new brilliance his people had come up with. She wasn't disappointed.

"We used a feline template," he began, gesturing as he spoke. "To make stealth and infiltration easier. You'll have enhanced speed and strength, plus we managed to get the extendible claws right, this time, to help with climbing and, if necessary, hand-to-hand combat. Slightly better hearing than the base enhancements, and you can't see it right now with the eyes closed, but also better night and detail vision. Plus a better sense of smell. It wasn't easy to get proper neural integration for that, I hear."

"Sounds good," Zyria acknowledged. "And the coloration is the only side effect?"

"It's the most visible one. The eyes are also more catlike. What you'll have to watch out for are the slightly decreased endurance -- compared to your normal enhancements, not your unenhanced self -- and decrease color vision. You'll still have the full range," he assured her, as she raised an eyebrow. "So you'll still be able to properly work computer screens and such, but things will, I think, look a little washed out. It was necessary for the increased night vision, I'm afraid."

"Well, OK then. Anything else I should know before we do the Imprint?"

"I'd avoid caffeine if I were you. Coffee, tea, chocolate, that sort of thing. It won't be lethal, but it doubt the effects will be pleasant."

"Hm," Zyria huffed as she followed Dr. Wen back to the center of the room. She could do without coffee for a week of so, but she would miss it.

When they reached the padded chair, Zyria inspected it carefully. It did look slightly different, particularly the sensor cap at the top.

"Ah, you've noticed we've made a few changes," Dr. Wen said, happily. "It should make for faster Imprints and less disorienting Integrations."

"But-" Zyria began, knowing what was coming.

"But, indeed, we will have to do a new profile to reacquaint the Device with you using the new additions. That's the disadvantage of working with alien technology that we don't fully understand; we can't just program in the new parameters. So, clothes off this time, I'm afraid."

Zyria sighed as she stripped and piled her clothes on a small table by the console. Usually, she only needed a few neural induction pads to get her into the required neurological state for Imprinting, but each time Dr. Wen's people changed the sensors, the Device at the center of the machinery needed to build up a new profile of her neuro-mental anatomy as interpreted through the new sensors, so a longer and more intense session in the chair was needed.

As she sat down in the padded -- and, thankfully, heated -- chair and the restraints curled over her wrists, ankles and waist she once again wondered to herself whether it had to happen this way or that it was simply a case of Dr. Wen's people being a bunch of perverts. She tried to ignore the small voice in the back of her mind that said that she didn't really mind these extended sessions.

"Starting now!" Dr. Wen informed her, from his position behind the console. He was hunched over again, peering at the readings and ignoring the -- attractive, even if she said so herself -- woman restrained in the chair. In all her sessions in the chair, Zyria had never seen him look at her unless there was something about the chair itself he needed to pay attention to.

There was a hum of electric motors as the chair rose slightly and the back split in two, allowing cool air to play over Zyria's back for a moment before there was another hum and a cold strip of neural induction pads unrolled and pressed itself against her spine, from her tailbone to the base of her skull. Then, the skullcap with neural sensors lowered and covered her head, shifting slightly to make proper contact before locking in pace and keeping her head from moving.

With a jerk, the chair began moving, lifting higher in the air and rotating in all directions. Zyria felt slightly queasy as she was briefly held upside down, and spun around, then relaxed when the chair stopped moving, holding in position on her back so that she could only see the ceiling. With a high-pitched hum the pads on her spine activated, causing sensation of heat and a tingle that ran from up her torso.

"Calibration complete, starting deep Imprint," Dr. When said, absently.

The hum increased in pitch until it left Zyria's range of hearing, and she fled an encompassing feeling of warmth run slowly up her body, from her toes to her head. She relaxed into it as something moved in front of her face. The light glinted off a metallic rod with a rounded tip at the end of a robotic arm. Zyria let her mouth fall open, breathing deeply as she did so. A slightly sweet smell filled her nostrils, and she made an inquisitive sound as the rod moved forward between her lips.

"We've reformulated the fluid slightly," Dr. Wen answered her unasked question. "Improving the flavor wasn't the main goal, but it was a happy side effect."

As the rod hit Zyria's tongue she could detect a slightly sweet taste as a little fluid flowed from the hole in the tip. Better than the taste it used to have, she thought to herself. Earlier versions of the nanite-filled sensor fluid had ranged from unpleasant to nearly unbearably bitter. She closed her lips around the probe as more fluid was deposited into her mouth, running down her throat. She was relieved to feel that, though the rod looked metallic, it was slightly soft to the touch.

She felt a vibration from induction pads along her spine and a warm feeling of pleasure began to build, running down her body and along her limbs into her fingers and toes. As the heat built, she could feel her nipples harden and a wetness begin to build between her legs. As it alwas did at this point in a session, her mind conjured up Dr. Wen's original explanation of the process.

"For a successful imprint, we need to stimulate your sensory system until it is entirely overwhelmed," he'd explained as she sat in the chair. "Be glad that our current methods are more pleasurable than the ones we employed in the beginning."

Zyria choked slightly as the chair's probe hit the back of her throat, making a little rivulet of fluid run from the corner of her mouth. Another ripple of pleasure ran down her spine, then there was a hum as the leg rests of the chair moved further apart, spreading her legs. A slight movement of air warned her a moment before something slick touched the wet lips of her cunt. It moved slightly, prodding at her slit a few times and coating it in fluid before abruptly moving forward into her.

Zyria moaned slightly at the intrusion. She was pretty sure, as the rod moved deeper, stretching her out and coating her insides in fluid, that this one was thicker that the previous version. She let out a muffled yelp and struggled against the restraints as the probe bottomed out and caused her a brief flare of pain, then moaned again when it began slowly rotating and moved back out. She was momentarily disappointed at the emptiness it left behind before it thrust into her again, filling her with so much fluid that it spurted out of her cunt and splattered onto the ground far below.

The probe in her mouth also began moving in and out and releasing more fluid. She swallowed compulsively as it hit the back of her throat, and fluid ran into her stomach, causing a warm tingle to run down her throat. Zyria closed her eyes as the chair began moving again while the probes in thrust in and out of her mouth and pussy and filled them with sensor fluid.

The induction pads along her spine set up a rhythmic pulsing of pleasure through her body, rippling from her toes to the top of her head and back again in time with the movements of the rods fucking her. A squeak of surprised delight escaped her when the probe in her cunt -- by now dripping with both her own wetness and the chair's fluid -- began vibrating while it thrust, starting gently but quickly ramping up in intensity until she could feel her clit vibrate along each time it thrust into her.

Lost in the pleasure, she hardy noticed when the chair turned her upside down and spread her legs wide. She had barely identified the feeling of something touching her ass-cheek when she heard Dr. Wen's voice announce, "Phase Three," and had just enough time to understand what he meant before the third  probe moved between her cheeks, slipping along the fluid that had run between them and nudging her asshole.

Behind her closed eyelids, her eyes rolled back in her head. There was a jet of fluid form the third probe, then it moved, slowly but steadily. Even though Zyria was squirming with pleasure by now, the ring of her ass resisted for a moment as it was pushed inwards, but then it relaxed and opened, granting entrance to the probe. Which immediately let out another spurt of fluid and continued deeper. Zyria's moans grew louder as it stretched her hole and filled her, moving deeper and deeper and covering her bowels in the slick fluid.

To Zyria, it seemed to go on forever. The third probe was slightly tapered, so that her asshole kept stretching more and more as the rod entered her, moving just slowly enough to keep the sensation just short of painful. Abruptly, the rod in her cunt began moving faster and vibrating harder, just as the one filling up her ass juddered to a halt, the wider part where it met the robotic arm lightly hitting her ass.

Deep inside her, Zyria felt another rush of nanite fluid flow out of the probe, which stayed there for a few moments, nestled deep inside her while the probes in her other holes pistoned in and out. Then, as the induction pads sent another rush of pleasure through her body, it started moving again, sliding out of her clenching asshole, pulling some fluid along which ran down her back and dripped to the floor below.

Zyria felt herself shift in the chair as it kept moving until she was face-down, held up only by the restraints and by the rods in her holes. She squirmed as the probe in her as halted again, only the tip of it remaining inside her ass, then screamed around the rod in her mouth as it abruptly began thrusting in the same rhythm as the one pounding her pussy, moving in when it moved out, fluid squirting out around it, then dragging out as the one in her pussy pounded back in.

Zyria let out moans and screams as waves of pleasure rolled through her body, unsure if they were caused by the induction pads against her spine of simply by the thick rods fucking her holes. They moved fast and hard, and Zyria screamed again when the probe in her ass began vibrating as well. Her eyes lost focus as she orgasmed, but the machine didn't stop and even sped up, making Zyria writhe and struggle against her bonds.

It went on for several minutes until Zyria began to get used to it. Then, as a feeling of warmth tingled through her struggling body, there was a hiss of compressed air and the probes, first the one in her mouth, followed by the one in her abused cunt and then the one in her spasming asshole, abrubly swelled, stretching her to the point of pain. She screamed in surprise and pleasure but the machine kept going, pitilessly, dragging more and more pleasured moans out of her.

Zyria only realized she was upside down again when a wash of fluid from her pussy ran along her stomach and dripped in her face. She'd closed her eyes some time ago and lost complete track of her surroundings, concentrating only on the feeling of pleasure.

As she felt another orgasm approach, the rods swelled again and began vibrating harder, stretching her to her limit as the pounded her ass and cunt. Then, just as she reached the edge, they all abruptly pounded deep into her and released another flood of flood of fluid, blocking her breathing while fluid spurted out of all her holes, coating the chair and floor in slippery wetness as she came one final time.

Even behind her closed eyelids she realized her vision went black and then, lost in the roiling waves of pleasure, she passed out.

***

Zyria woke, feeling sticky and sore, with a hum of machinery in her ears. She lay still while she came back to her senses, slowly cataloguing the sensations of padding below her, a restraining band across her stomach and shackles on her wrists and ankles.

She swallowed, her throat and other holes feeling empty and sore, then slowly blinked and opened her eyes. In front of her, the face of Dr. Wen swam into focus.

"Welcome back," he said. "The Imprint is complete. When you feel up to it, there's a robe by your clothes, and you know where to find the showers. Please join us in the recovery room when you're ready. Now I have to see to the others."

Zyria stretched. Right, shower first, then meet the others. She always looked forward to that.

***

Zyria woke, with a rushing sound in her ears. She catalogued the sensation of a cold, hard surface against her back and below her feet and the feeling of liquid draining away from around her. The sore and sticky feeling she had been half-expecting was absent, though there was the unpleasant feeling of a breathing tube in her nose. When the level of the liquid had fallen to below her chin, she reached up an unsteady hand and pulled the tube from her nose, then sneezed uncomfortably.

By then, the liquid had reached her ankles and there was a hiss and a rush of cold air as the glass in front of her slid aside. She opened her eyes. In front of her, the face of Dr. Wen swam into focus.

"Welcome," he said. "The Imprint is complete, as I'm sure you've noticed." She raised an arm, absently noted the pale skin, and swept her wet hair away from her face as she looked past him, her eyes having a little trouble focusing in the distance. A green form, wrapped in a white robe, was unsteadily moving away from the machinery in the center of the room. She turned her attention back to the Doctor, who was still speaking. "When you've got full control of your legs, there's a towel by your feet. Please join us in the recovery room when you're ready. I need to go see to the last one now."

Zyria stretched. Right, wait a few minutes to get full mobility, then dry off and go meet the others. She always looked forward to that.

***

Zyria woke, with a thunderous rushing sound in her ears. She catalogued the sensation of a cold, hard surface against her back and below her feet and the feeling of liquid draining away from around her. The sore and sticky feeling she had been half-expecting was absent, though there was the unpleasant feeling of a breathing tube in her nose. When the level of the liquid had fallen to below her chin, she reached up an unsteady hand and pulled the tube from her nose -- hitting herself in the nose first -- then sneezed uncomfortably.

When the liquid had reached her knees and she shuffled in place impatiently until there was a hiss and a rush of cold air as the glass in front of her slid aside. A high-pitched hum of machinery, which had been barely audible while the glass was closed, suddenly became louder. She opened her eyes, blinking in the bright lights. In front of her, the face of Dr. Wen swam into focus. She could just barely make out her own face, reflected in his dark eyes.

"Welcome," he said. "The Imprint is complete, as I'm sure you've noticed." She raised an arm, absently noting the pale skin striped with near-black, then looked past it and the Doctor, her eyes having a little trouble focusing in the distance. When they did, though, she could pick up a lot of detail. She just caught a glimpse of a pale green form wrapped in a white robe before it disappeared through the door in the opposite wall. She turned her attention back to the Doctor, who was still speaking. "When you've got full control of your legs, there's a towel by your feet. Please join us in the recovery room when you're ready. I'll be waiting for you there."

Zyria stretched startling herself when her fingertips just barely brushed the top of the growth tank. Right, taller now. Wait a few minutes to get full mobility and get used to longer limbs, then dry off and meet the others. She always looked forward to that.

***

When Zyria entered the recovery room, her other selves were already seated on the couch next to each other waiting for her while Dr. Wen, seated in a chair, did paperwork on a tablet.

"Hi," her other welcomed her, though her basic-model self's eyes remained on the catlike version. Zyria found her eyes drawn to her, as well, and she realized it, smiling both of them -- revealing sharp teeth -- and stretching languidly, her robe almost falling open.

"Oh, hello," Dr. Wen said, looking up from his tablet as Zyria made her way over to the couch and sat down next to her catlike self. "All recovered?"

The three of them nodded.

"Well, I've got the readings from the Imprinting here," he said, waving the tablet, "and it looks like everything went fine. Any complaints? You two getting used to the changes?" he added, to the other two.

"All fine," Zyria and her basic-model self said, while the third simply nodded, stretching out a hand. Sharp claws slid from her fingertips. "Here, too," she added, her voice slightly lower than Zyria's, with a slight rumbling quality to it, "The reduced color vision is really noticeable, but the claws and being taller are nice."

"Well, then," the Doctor said, standing up and clipping his tablet to his belt, "I'll let you three get acquainted. This was the last Imprint of the day, so you can take your time. We won't need this room for the rest of the day. You two," he pointed to the other two, "have been assigned temporary rooms for the night. Remember to report to your handler in the morning."

The Zyrias waved at him as he left, then turn to each other. Zyria's eyes were immediately drawn to her middle duplicate's eyes. They were indeed catlike, with bright green irises and a vertical pupil.

"So, what shall we do?" the three of them said together. Of course, they were all thinking the same thing, and the robes slid of all three of their bodies at the same time.

As always, the thought whether this was sex or masturbation crossed Zyria's mind. Then, as she leaned forward, she wondered what having claws and a feline sense of smell was like. She pushed the thought aside as her lips touched skin. In a week or so, after the Reintegration, she'd know. Now, they had the rest of the afternoon for other matters.

***

Zyria woke, with a thunderous rushing sound in her ears. She catalogued the sensation of a cold, slightly yielding surface against her back and below her feet and the feeling of liquid draining away from around her. The sore and sticky feeling she had been half-expecting was absent, though there was the unpleasant feeling of a breathing tube in her nose. When the level of the liquid had fallen to below her chin, she reached up an unsteady hand and pulled the tube from her nose -- hitting herself in the nose first, and registering faintly that her hand felt strange against her face -- then sneezed uncomfortably. She faintly registered that there was something around her neck.

When the liquid had reached her knees and she shuffled in place impatiently until there was a hiss and a rush of lukewarm air as the glass in front of her slid aside. A high-pitched hum of machinery and a faint murmur of muffled voices in the distance, which had been barely audible while the glass was closed, suddenly became louder. She opened her eyes, blinking in the bright lights. In front of her, an unexpected face swam into focus.. It was Mrs. Blaidwick, grinning proudly. The last time Zyria had seen her, she had been slightly taller than Zyria, but now Zyria was looking down at her. And why as she here, anyway? She wasn't supposed to know anything about the Device!

"Good afternoon," she said. "I'm happy to meet you." Zyria raised an arm, confusion filling her mind as she noticed that it was covered in yellow-and-black striped fur. Her eyes darted around, taking in a richly-furnished room, a king-sized bed against one wall and thick carpet covering the floor. She turned back to Mrs. Blaidwick, noticing the severe, corset-like dress she was wearing, the light glinting off her sharp canine teeth and the sharp nails on the fingers she was tapping together in front of herself.

"Confused?" Mrs. Blaidwick asked, still grinning, as Zyria tried to step forward in confusion and had to grab the side of the growth tank. Her legs felt wrong. A glace downward showed a fur-covered, yellow-and-black striped body on digitigrade legs.

"What?" She asked.

Mrs. Blaidwick squeezed her shoulder, then took a step back. "You must have figured out by now that I do know about your agency's... special technology. So, for the assistance my husband and I occasionally give you, in addition to a considerable payment, the SID sometimes gives us a... gift. It's not difficult, I'm told, to divert an additional Imprint during the process.'

"They... What?" It always took a few minutes before her mind was back to full capacity after an Imprint, especially a multiple Imprint, and this much unbelievable information wasn't helping the confusion.

"It's a win-win, really," Mrs. Blaidwick said, her grin turning into a smirk. "They get to try out some new modifications before they're used on a mission -- plus a pile of cash -- and we get a toy."

"Toy? You can't mean-" Zyria began, anger and fear rising in her mind.

"Oh, I can," Mrs. Blaidwick said, nastily. "Your original, your other duplicates and your colleagues don't know you're here, and your superiors don't care. I own you, and you're mine to do with as I please."

"No, I'm not, you bitch!" Zyria snarled. Even to her own ears, it sounded more like a roar. Her limbs were beginning to obey her better now and she stepped out of tank, bringing a hand forward and feeling elated when sharp claws slid from her fingertips. She took another step, moving faster than her unmodified self ever had, and had almost reached Mrs. Blaidwick held up a small black box. There was a beep and suddenly Zyria's body refused to obey her and she collapsed to the ground, feeling numb.

"I think you'll find that you're the bitch, here. Though technically, that's for dogs. No matter," she said, from above Zyria, as a high-heeled shoe appeared in front of Zyria's face and nudged her shoulder, turning her over so that she could see her tormentor looking down at her. Zyria was aware of a strange feeling at the bottom of her spine, but couldn't identify what it was before Mrs. Blaidwick continued, "You can call me Mistress."

"Fuck you! Never!" Zyria managed to mumble, though her mouth felt like it was full of cotton wool.

"Hmmm, no," Mrs. Blaidwick replied. "And I think you will, soon," she added, thumbing another button on the box. A sudden bolt of pain shot through Zyria's body. "With that collar, I can punish you until you do. And you'll see I can be generous with rewards, too," she said, as a feeling of heat suddenly rose low in Zyria's belly, making her instantly wet, then vanished just as suddenly.

"Now, dry yourself off and get dressed," Zyria's self-declared new owner commanded as she turned and opened the door. "Don't leave the room. Someone will be along shortly to explain the rules to you." The door clicked closed and full feeling suddenly returned to Zyria's body. She scrabbled to her feet, then abruptly went still as she caught sight of herself in a full-length mirror on the wall.

She looked like a humanoid cat! Striped fur all over, though it was noticeably sparer between her legs, and dark nipples poked out of the fur on her small breasts. Digitigrade legs, making her even taller than the feline-inspired version of herself she'd seen in the lab. An actual tail, with a black tip, curling restlessly around her legs though it stilled when she concentrated. Cats' eyes above a short but noticeable muzzle full of sharp teeth, and pointed ears on top of her head. And -- she snarled -- a black collar with a little bell on it around her neck.

What had her superiors -- if that Blaidwick bitch had even been speaking the truth -- done to her?
