Chapter 1

Jeremy Jones. Photographer by day, liberator of animals by night. The one who saved them from cruelty. The one who protected their rights. The one who gave them freedom.

The plan was simple, nothing more than a sneak job. Rumour had it that there were animals being tested in the local biomedical facility that was just around the corner two blocks down from his place (which, by all things considered, was rather convenient), and Jeremy was there to find out for himself. If there wasn't any animals there, good. If they were, Jeremy would simply sneak as many as he could out before daybreak. Nothing too hard, considering that there was a large forested area not more than a few hundred meters from where the biomedical facility was. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Jeremy had done similar things countless times before, and this was just going to be like any other run. Or so he thought.

Walking down the street, he looked around, adjusting the straps of his backpack as he noted the looks of people he passed. No reason to be nervous, he thought, I'm just passing by... The sun was setting as the cold, autumn wind settled in, blowing leaves across the sidewalk. It was at these times that Jeremy felt alone and scared, but he took comfort and courage in the idea that he was doing the right thing by setting the animals free, sparing them from a life of torture.

By the time he reached the facility, it was already dark. Reaching into his backpack, he checked over his equipment. A pair of old wire cutters, a lock picking set, some black paint, a long brush and a knife, just in case. Snapping away at the chain link fence with his wire cutters, Jeremy made a hole large enough for a bear to pass through, and then slipped in himself, tossing the wire cutters into his backpack. He looked around, and then looked at the building. A light was still on, which meant that even at this hour, there was still at least a few people left inside. It was a good sign though, as it meant that he did not have to break windows or pick locks to get into the place. Walking around, he examined the building, trying to look for a way to sneak into the building. Spotting a small back door entrance near a few dumpsters, he jogged over  before slowly twisting the door knob, being pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn't locked. Pushing the door open slowly, he walked into the room, shutting the door behind him carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was to let someone hear him.

Stopping to take a breath, he looked around. He found himself in what appeared to be the janitor's room. Opposite the door that he came in from was another door, presumably leading into the main building.

Sweat pouring out from his face, Jeremy creaked the door open slightly, popping his head out and looking around before darting it back in. There was no-one, and that was good. Grabbing a small role of duct tape from a shelf in the room, he peeled a small piece of silvery tape and stuck it on the door as he left, a marker to show his escape route.

Cautiously, Jeremy began trekking into the building, following signs and checking rooms to look for possible clues that might have hinted animals having been present within the vicinity.

After a few minutes of what could be considered fruitless searching, Jeremy hit something.  A door, labelled in large, capitalised letters that said 'TESTING ROOM'. Jackpot. With a slow push of the door, Jeremy found what he was looking for. It wasn't much, but it appeared to be a few cages containing some seven or so frogs, along with a few lizards that seemed to be from around the region. 

Rushing over to the first cage, Jeremy literally slammed his bag onto the floor and pulled out his lock picking set. Getting about to work, he fished out a pick, and began picking the lock. A few quick twists and some pleasant clicking noises came from the lock as he jammed the pick up the lock, twisting and rotating the pick in an attempt to bypass the system.

Almost there... Just a few more seconds, and Jeremy would have had it unlocked. He'd then open the cage and lead the animals in the first cage out, before coming back for the rest.  It was the perf- Wham. Something hit Jeremy in the back of the head. Hard. He was out cold in a snap.

********

"Unnnughhh..." Jeremy moaned, feeling the soreness of the back of his head, "Where am I...?"

"You're right where you were, Mr. Jones." a voice said from behind.

Jeremy struggled to get up, only to find that he was bound firmly to a chair. Tugging at his restraints, he struggled to get free, knowing that he was well in deep shit.

"I'll admit, bothering to even pursue the search of animals here is quite the dedication in protecting these animals, Mr. Jones."  a voice said from behind him.

"W-who are you?!" Jeremy sputtered, feeling rather embarrassed to have had been caught.

"Ah, but a mere scientist, Jones." the voice said from behind him. Jeremy struggled a bit more, before the scientist stepped in front of him to tighten the restraints. The man was a young, lanky person who couldn't have been more than past his mid-thirties, with a mop of light brown hair, dark green eyes and an air around him that just seemed to radiate a 'this-will-not-end-well' feeling for Jeremy.

"My name right now shouldn't be too much of a concern to you, but what I do is." the scientist said, looking over to the various caged animals, "You see, the ocean levels are rising, and I'm sure even a man of your intelligence should be able to see that..."

"So what does this have to do with testing on these animals, you sicko?!" Jeremy spat.

"Ah, temper temper, Mr. Jones, you've yet to let me finish." the scientist said mockingly, "You see, I've been working on something. A formula. Something to allow humanity to survive when the water levels go beyond. Something to make us more... water faring. You're only partly right about me involving animals in this, I'm actually studying certain traits in them, and the DNA sequencing for these features..."

Jeremy frowned, not quite getting where the scientist was getting at. "I'm not planning to experiment my formula on animals... I'm wanting to experiment it on humans." The last few words to escape the man's lips shocked Jeremy. Humans?! This was not going to end well.

"...but you see, Mr. Jones, it's hard to get willing subjects to test the effectiveness of my formula, and that's where you fortunately happened to come by..."

"You'll never test it on me, you bastard!" Jeremy interrupted, rocking the chair as much as he could, "Never! This is sick and wrong!"

"Awww, what's the matter?" the scientist mocked, "You're so against animal testing, so instead of testing it on a chimp, why not test it on humans?"

Jeremy froze, seeing the loophole in his own points of view. For years, he'd been against such a thing, and now, in an incredible twist of irony, here he was, face-to-face with someone not willing to experiment on animals and hoping that the said person would have been willing to do so.

"I offer you this preposition, Mr. Jones." the scientist said, now looking dead serious, "Seeing that you originally came here to 'redeem' these animals from me, let me test the formula on you, and I'll let you and the animals go free when it's done."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well, then we could always call the police. I've read about you, Jones, and enough to know that this isn't the first time you've been caught doing something like this. I'm pretty sure a personal invitation for the police to pick you up is enough to have you locked away in some prison cell for a long, long time..."

Jeremy considered this ultimatum.  Sacrifice himself to save the animals, or sacrifice the animals to save himself? 

No telling what the formula could do to him, and at best guess it could kill him. Still, he had come here to save the animals, and what better way to do so heroically than to sacrifice himself for their benefit?

"I-I'll do it." Jeremy confessed, looking up at the scientist.

"Good." he replied with a rather twisted smile, "I'll begin preperations..."

With that, the man took of laughing, very much like a mad scientist would have. Jeremy shuddered, but glanced at the animals and had compassion for them, so he steeled himself for what was to come.

The scientist returned a few minutes later with a syringe containing a yellow-ish liquid, and what appeared to be a small inflatable pool. Raising an eye ridge at the scientist, Jeremy gestured to the pool.

"To test if you are more... water faring after this." he said, before undoing the ropes slightly, giving Jeremy a little room to shift around on the chair. "Now, this might sting a little..." the scientist said.

"Wha- ARGH!" was all Jeremy could utter before the scientist jammed the syringe into his arm, emptying the syringe's contents into his bloodstream.

A minute passed, and nothing happened, save for the dull throb that was manifesting itself in Jeremy's arm. The scientist stood nearby, observing everything, noting things down on a clipboard. Sweat, beginning to pour out more and more, caught Jeremy's attention. Jeez, it's not even hot in here... he noted, rubbing his bound hands together. It was then that Jeremy found something to be wrong. His sweat, now drenching him, was beginning to feel slimy.

And then it started. Fire, liquid fire, a burning in his entire body. He screamed, adrenaline starting to dull his other senses to compensate for the pain he was feeling. His skin felt like it was on fire, and though he could not see it, it began shifting to a slightly darker, greenish hue.

His eyes grew frighteningly large and the irises and colours of his eyes began to match those of a frog's, while his face pushed out into a broad, rounded muzzle. With a cough, his teeth fell out, and as he coughed, his tongue stretched out, dangling out of his mouth at ominously long lengths.

With a pained groan, Jeremy flopped in his chair, flaps of webbing beginning to grow between his fingers while his fingertips bulged up slightly. His shoes strained, and with a large 'pop' sound they burst open, revealing a pair of large, webbed feet. His legs made an audible cracking sound as well, swiftly switching his standing stance to a crouched, digitigrade one.

At this point, Jeremy was no longer recognisable. At first glance he looked like a giant frog now, his huge, red eyes scanning the room as he slipped in and out of consciousness. The scientist standing nearby released the bindings and laid him in the small pool, taking notes and observations of what was at hand.

At once, after being laid in the water, Jeremy felt great! Like someone had given him new life, he opened his eyes, enjoying the cool sensation of the water over his moist skin. It was then though that he noticed his new body and what was going on, and at once began to panic. "W-what have you done to me?!" he screamed, looking over his mutated form in horror.

"Oh, but you've merely just... helped with testing. I should thank you for this, you've provided some invaluable data for me..." the scientist said with a smirk, putting his clipboard and notes aside. "And now that it's done, you're free to take the animals and go."

Jeremy looked at the scientist in utter disbelief, not comprehending his rather sudden, nonchalant attitude. At this moment Jeremy truly believed he was mad, for suddenly not seeming to care that there was a large mutant frog in his lab.

"What about me...? Are you going to change me back or something?" Jeremy asked, watching as the scientist walked off.

"Change you back? Hah! You wish." the scientist said, gesturing at the animals, "Consider it a price; one to pay for their redemption."

"Bu-I-wha-how am I supposed to live like... this?!" he said exasperatedly.

"That's for you to find out." the scientist snapped, "Now get out of here. You should be lucky I didn't call the cops."

Before Jeremy could croak any further about this, the scientist practically whisked Jeremy and the caged animals out of the facility in a trolley, before proceeding to dump him (and the animals; not-so-much) unceremoniously out the back door, before shutting and locking it behind them.

Jeremy sighed, looking himself over. Rummaging through his back, he proceeded to pick the locks on the cages with his now more clumsy, bulbous fingers, before guiding the animals he had released into the forest.

As he watched the animals he had released happily scamper off into the forest, he couldn't help but envy them, being free to do as they pleased. New instincts in his mind surged forth and promptly urged him to follow suit, but he suppressed them despite the temptation to give up everything and lead a carefree life, knowing that he had a life to continue, despite the setbacks. 

It was going to be a long, hard journey to get life back to normal from what he was now, given his new form now, but perhaps some lily pads and cattails in his house would make a good start to getting back on track...