Topaz undressed and wrapped a towel around her midsection to keep warm while she started the bath. The water would take a while to fill the tub, so she put a little of the fur wash on her hand and sniffed it. The smell was pleasing, and a little dripped on her foot as the bottle lay on the tile floor.

"Hey, this stuff smells pretty nice. I can't wait to get in under the water and put this stuff to use." She did not notice at the time, but her nose and other parts had already started to change from feline to a more reptilian shape. Perhaps it was hanging around Lauren too long, but everything felt normal to her.

Oblivious to the shell forming on her back, she did not even notice the urgent beeping from her communicator on the counter top.

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