Kai took a peek inside the black case he picked up before asking. "Before we leave, I'm curious - where the hell is that flying thing you rode in on? I want one," he said, half-serious.

Elara let out a sigh of relief. From the red-eyed man's body language, she thought it was going to be a much heavier question.

Her eyes lit up as if he'd asked for directions to the moon. She straightened, brushing a strand of wild auburn hair out of her face. "Oh, that one? I raised it from a chick. Took far too long and far too many chemicals and far fewer ethics than I'd like to admit." She grinned, suddenly sheepish. "I don't tame beasts. I… communicate with them. Nurture them. So it depends on the creature. Some will never listen to anyone but me."

"You made a flying beast from scratch?" Sven whistled. "You've out-Nyx'd Nyx."

"I didn't 'make' it," Elara snapped, then laughed at her own intensity. "I altered, yes. Helped. Guided. It's a big difference."

She then led them deeper into the lab, past racks of humming equipment and tanks that glowed faintly. The space opened up into something that was equal parts mad-scientist movie set and a wildlife reserve gone very, very sideways.

Cages and enclosures sprawled under rigged skylights. One tank held a pale, eel-like thing the length of a human, its multiple eyes blinking slowly and thoughtfully. A padded pen housed a hulking quadruped with antlers braided with metal wire; it stamped once, and the ground seemed to shiver.

Another room was a cool, wet hall of glass cylinders where amphibious creatures pressed translucent skin to the walls, looking like they were trying to read you as much as you were reading them.

It was grotesque and disturbing in equal measure, like some sort of mutated zoo.

Elara moved through it like a host proud of her collection. "These are survivors," she said, voice oddly gentle. "Some were found starved and scared, some were abused. This one was taken before it died."

She pointed to a small, furless thing that clung to a heat lamp like a child. "This one had its spine crushed. I rebuilt it with grafts and a reinforced vertebra. It can't run, but it purrs if you feed it. Others… well, they were going to starve or be put down. I experimented only when it might help them live."

Nadya's jaw tightened. "You save animals by… mutating them?"

Elara didn't flinch. "Sometimes the line is ugly. I don't pretend it isn't. But if I can isolate a trait that helps a failing heart or regenerates a limb, I can help both animals and humans. Eventually, we'll be able to undo mutations that ruin lives. I aim to extract the good and throw the rest away."

Kai watched her closely. Her words were visionary - utopian even - but there was a manic edge to them, a scientist's hunger that made his skin prickle. Still, he couldn't deny a sliver of hope at the thought of cures and restoration. For a moment, he allowed himself to believe it was possible - a better world.

The tour wound on in a hush. Elara spoke about grafts and altered genes, about pain and consent and the messy ethics that never had clean answers. She showed them where her giant flying beast resided, along with her other most prized creations.

They listened, sometimes fascinated, other times unsettled. In the end, they weren't sure how to feel about what they had seen. Lost for words, they were led back to Elara's main lab.

"Before you go," she stopped them as they were about to leave, "I need to see the suppressant work on you. I'm curious if it works as theorised, really."

Lenny swallowed so hard his Adam's apple bobbed. "Me? Now?" His voice squeaked in his giant Lizard form.

"Now," Elara said. "One tablet a day, like I told you. We'll watch the stability."

He stepped up. With a gulp and a grin that still couldn't hide his nerves, he chewed one of the pills Elara handed him. For a beat, nothing happened. Then his shoulders hunched and his limbs tightened.

Everyone watched, breath held. The room seemed to quieten.

Scale by scale, his green hide receded. The lizard-giant shrank, ribs softening and claws shortening, until where a hulking reptile had stood, there now was a scrawny blond kid in clothes ten sizes too big. The lizard-sized pants threatened to slip, and for a split second, Lenny looked like he might tumble out of them.

"Whoa-" Sven started laughing so hard he nearly fell off his stool. Nadya snorted a laugh through her annoyance, then hid her mouth with her fist.

Takeshi, silent as a temple bell, stepped forward and, with the same calm deliberateness he used in duels, tucked the oversized trousers up for Lenny. The blond kid's face flushed an honest scarlet of embarrassment.

"He's small," Amina said softly, and gave him a supportive smile. "But I like it."

Lenny's grin popped back like a spring.

Elara, never the sentimental type, picked up a scalpel and stepped forward, ruining their little moment. "We should confirm the suppressant integrity," she half-justified, half-muttered to herself.

Lenny yelped, anticipating pain, but the blade bounced on his forearm as if striking polished bone. The scalpel skittered and clattered to the bench, unharmed, and so was Lenny.

Elara's eyes widened in actual scientific awe. "Remarkable," she whispered. "Even in human morphology, the scales retain micro-hardness. His epidermal tissue still has reptilian composite layers. That means his mutation isn't just a cosmetic change; it's a structural rewrite."

She crouched down to peer close enough that Lenny flinched.

"Sorry about that, I got a little carried away." She straightened and backed away, catching herself, then grinned sheepishly. "In any case, this is more than I hoped for. The suppressant works, but doesn't erase the physical adaptations entirely. I would love to-"

"We appreciate your gifts, but you're not experimenting on anyone here," Kai warned, a dangerous glint flashing across his red eyes.

Elara saluted with the back of her hand in a joking salute. "I'm not a monster. Mostly." She looked at Lenny and softened. "You look good like this, kid."

Lenny blinked, half-pleased, half-alarmed by the attention. He hugged himself and then hugged Amina, who accepted it without question.

The group lingered a moment longer, the atmosphere lighter now. Gifts had been received, questions asked, and plans laid out. Outside, the day sloped toward midday. It was time to move.

Kai slung the sleek case with Elara's enhancers over his shoulder and glanced back at the cramped, humming menagerie. "We'll be in touch," he said, voice low. "If you find anything useful, let us know."

She waved him off with an absent-minded flick. "I'll keep feeding the beasts," she said. "And the ideas. Just don't get yourselves killed."

Nadya smiled ominously. "We'll try. No promises, though. And you know the drill, right?"

Elara raised a finger to her lips, mimicking zipping them shut. "I won't say a word."

There was a beat of silence between them, then they were off.

They filed out into the cool Romanian air - Lenny still compact, Takeshi silent and steady, Sven and Nadya trading barbs as usual, Isaac lugging a discreet, schemed plan in his mind.

For all the warped grandeur of Elara's lab and the moral fog it lay in, something simple held them: a ragtag band with a plan, with survival in their pockets and chaos at the ready.

Kai paused on the threshold and looked at each of them: a blindfolded swordsman, a kid who could turn into a giant lizard, two Russians who treated the world like a bar, a one-armed idealist, and a quiet healer. An odd group to say the least.

"Right," he said. "Now we figure out how to get across the world without being arrested, murdered, or enthusiastically experimented on."

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