Easy As Pie (Patreon)

Sophocles drummed his fingers against his desk, staring at the computer. After days of working on an experimental formula, he was almost certain that this must be it. He had been working on a pet project; a proposed chemical compound designed to temporarily suppress the endocrine system, stimulate the muscular system, and produce psuedo-caloric compounds. In layman’s terms, a muscle growth serum. The lion sighed, confirming the formula while he waited for the centrifuge to finish mixing the experimental compound. It ended up making a light blue color, and looked not unlike mouthwash. He was half-tempted to try it for himself, as the feline was more of a stereotypical nerd with fairly chubby build, including a sizeable gut and almost no muscle tone to speak of. 

Sighing, he pushed the thought away. He was doing this for someone else. His friend, Alister, was a good man; a nurse, constantly putting others before himself in his job. The stag was a bit of a health nut, and tried his hardest to stay in shape, but Sophocles knew what he wanted. When Alister was particularly burnt out after a long night shift, the lion had found a small stash of bodybuilding magazines, and coupons for protein powder. After such a hard time, Sophocles figured that the stag could use a boost.

But, he wasn’t quite certain. This was still an experimental formula. Sophocles would have used it on his lab rat, but Steve was away at a wedding. And although the thought of him having a bodybuilder’s physique wasn’t an unpleasant prospect, he had seen the Incredible Hulk movies, even the Ang Lee version. He wasn’t looking to turn into a mad science cliche. 

He turned to drumming his fingers again, thinking through his list of friends. It was too early to give it to Alister, and he had run out of grad students to test on. Looking over to his phone, he flipped through his contacts until a name stuck out to him. Artemis.

“It’s not the worst choice…” Sophocles muttered. Artemis, a polar bear and husky hybrid, was already pretty fit, and had a significant advantage. He had a robotic leg, and a legion of nanobots coursing through his veins. They would serve as a bulwark against the worst of the side effects, if there were any. He wasn’t trying to poison anyone, after all. But, to be on the safe side, he still wouldn’t exactly tell Artemis about it.

Dialing Artemis’ phone number, Sophocles assured himself. He’d spent months working on this formula, and gone through countless simulations. Artemis would be fine. “Hey, Arty. I was curious if maybe we could meet up for some coffee, just to catch up. I’ll even have some pumpkin pie, I know it’s your favorite.”

The next evening, Sophocles and Artemis were relaxing around the lion’s apartment. The hybrid had just finished telling a story, and in a lull in the conversation, Sophocles cut a slice for Artemis. “Hey, uh, you like whipped cream on your pie, right?”

The blue hybrid grinned. “Well, sure.”

“Oh, good, because I, uh… have some homemade stuff right here.” Sophocles reached around for a plastic tub. The cream had already been mixed in with the formula ahead of time, and he made sure to be generous. He wouldn’t want Artemis to miss.

The hybrid took a bite, and instantly grinned. “Oh, nice. You put something special into this, didn’t you?”

“Heh, can’t pull anything past you…”

It was only moments after eating that something registered as being wrong to the hybrid. His stomach churned as heat spread through him, making him groan and pant, buckling forward. Twitching began to happen across his body, muscles shifting as he panted and arched his back. A moan spilled from his muzzle as his hands clenched, the bear-dog watching his forearms ripple and swell, mass beginning to expand below his fur. 

“Uh, Sophocles… what- what did you put into this? Augh!” Artemis doubled over, and Sophocles instantly grimaced. He didn’t think it would be this dramatic.

The heat spread as his breathing grew deeper, chest rising and falling, but not receding as much as it once had. Down his back the muscles shifted and began to spread along with his lats, his blue fur bristling. His feet shifted as he slumped onto the ground, his pants growing tight around his thighs. Seams popped around both legs, the nanobots coursing through his veins adjusting his cybernetic limb to match the organic one. Metal creaked and groaned as his flesh thigh began to press into the mechanical twin. 

Snarling and shuddering he shook, his chest heaving out, pectorals filling out as he rolled onto his back. Inch by inch his torso filled out, rising like a rolling hillside as abdominals cut deep across his middle. His arms were forced upward as his lats spread. Even on the ground his back was growing, thickening muscle lifting him upward as his traps pressed firmly against his neck. Below his legs forced each other apart, thighs grinding together as he shifted and moved. Calves the size of footballs propped his feet off the ground, the metal squealing as more bowed out.

When it finally finished, Artemis was left like a turtle on its back, with his own back the size of a car. His swollen biceps dug into pecs rising up as dramatic as mountains. He was splayed out spread-eagle fashion, and more than a little dazed. He looked up as far as he could, before his chin was wedged into his pecs. “Sophocles… what the hell did you do?”

The chubby lion stared, mouth agape. He could only guess, but his instincts told him that instead of acting like a deterrent, the hybrid’s nanobots acted as a stimulant for the chemical formula. It wouldn’t be impossible, but this was going to mean some long nights in the lab. Still, he did need more data. “So…” Sophocles cleared his throat, regaining his nerves. “You want another slice?”