Overwatch: Mei's un-bear-able change

"So why are we going to your old place again?" Tracer asked as she, Mei and Winston went to the arctic base.

"There were some important research materials that got left behind when I moved to be closer to the rest of you, so I need to get those back," Mei said to the pilot. "So, are you sure you're safe to fly this?"

"Sure I'm sure, love. I was a pilot before, remember?"

"B-but with your whole being unhooked in time thing, what if you flicker out?"

"Huh, never thought much about that...No worries, though! Winston's a topnotch scientist. I trust his work will hold up."

"Thank you, Tracer...But let's land just to be safe," the gorilla said hastily.

"Roger that!" Tracer grinned as she brought the plane down on a landing pad. As she did she gave them a thumbs up. "We're right as rain."

"Right as snow, actually," Mei said pointing outside. "You two should bundle up, the weather outside is frightful."

Winston adjusted his glasses, choosing to not acknowledge the reference. "Let's go inside and see what we can find."

"Right!" the two brunettes agreed.

As they explored the arctic base, the trio felt as if the mission would take longer than expected. While Mei had already gathered many notes, she had gotten caught on one particular area.

"What's the matter, love?" Tracer asked as she zipped over. "Messy handwriting?"

"No...Well, yes, but I can still make it out." Mei read the notes. "These seem to be related to the experiment with Winston and the moon base."

"Issat the one with the intelligent animals and all?"

"Yes. Apparently there was an experiment planned for hybridization of humans with animal DNA."

"I read a book like that once, the Island of Dr. More-something-or-other. So why would they wanna do something like that?"

"Apparently it was a potential way for humans to survive if there was a cold crisis. Polar Bear DNA was chosen as base. I was never informed of this because I was in cryostasis."

"That's right, you're technically a decade older than you look."

Mei chuckled a little. "Guess time's on my side and yours. Still, I have to look into this. Can you do me a favor and find Winston? After this I think we'll be good to leave."

"Roger that, Mei! Be back in a tick!" Without wasting a moment, Tracer dashed off. The temporal traveler going away quickly, while Mei continued to investigate.

Eventually, she came to a strange door that seemed frozen shut. She had known that it was a storage room, but apparently there was a basement under a certain crate. Heading inside, Mei moved it and found a door that led to a dark, abyss... "Well, this is giving me chills...Or is that just the cold?"

Bravely, Mei went inside, delving deeper into the basement, Mei saw a light come on as motion sensors activated. After, she saw a single chamber, a computer terminal, and a few test tubes, vials, and several scattered notes.

Mei couldn't help but feel reminded of a mad scientist's lab, but she hoped that wasn't the case at all. Mei continued to observe the chamber in front of her before going to a terminal, wondering what exactly would happen, when she finally managed to activate the device.

Then, the chamber before her began to come to light, the machine whirring while the rest of the lab remained motionless.

Curiosity got the better of Mei and she decided to check out the inside of the machine. She had figured that years of inactivity and lack of maintenance had rendered it useless. Going inside, she began to look, seeing strange tech that reminded her of Omnic devices she had seen before. In the back of her mind, she made a note to see if Zenyatta could provide any insights.

However, that was also when a female, robotic voice was heard, not dissimilar to Winston’s Athena. “Activating DNA Recombination.”

“Huh?” Mei turned, just in time to see the door behind her close. “H-hey! Open up!” That was when Mei noticed the blue lights beneath her.

Just then, Mei felt enveloped by light, her whole body tingled as she began to change. She looked at herself, wondering what was going on, when she felt warm. She looked at her palms, discovering the black pads on them.

The softness surprised her, but then she noticed her nails were also sharp and turning black. Slowly, the same happened with her nose, it began to feel wet. As Mei touched it, she felt a tingling around her mouth as a small snout began to form. She gasped as she felt her teeth sharpen and noticed that her face and hands were covered in… “Fur?”

The ivory white fur sprouted all over Mei, even her ears, as they became more rounded. Mei could feel her body growing wider and heavier, though there was an increase in height as well. Her bones, muscles, even senses changing.

Mei gasped as she saw her winter gear was now somewhat ill fitting, ripping at the seams as her jacket opened to reveal it had spread all over. She even heard another few rips as her shoes broke and her small, bearlike tail appeared.

“DNA augmentation complete.”

The door finally opened and Mei was released. Walking out, or stumbling with her new form, she began to wonder about her new form, when she heard some sounds. One moving fast, the other heavy. It set her on edge a moment, until she heard a voice.

“Mei? You here?” Tracer asked.

“Are you alright?” Winston added.

“I’m-I’m fine….I think. There was a bit of an accident, though,” Mei said as she stared at her claws and paw-like hands.

“What sort?” Tracer asked as she and Winston came closer.

Mei felt sheepish as she stared at herself, adjusting her glasses so they could rest on her new snout. On the one hand this form would make surviving better between the added bulk and fur, but on the other she had no idea how to get back to her old body, much less operate the machine. She’d definitely need help unless she wanted to remain a polar bear.

Just then, both Tracer and Winston were in sight and gasped at the changes she had undergone.

“Mei? Is that you, love?”

“Yeah…” The arctic researcher nodded, though she felt unable to bear the embarrassment.

“My word.” Winston stared, almost dumbfounded. “What could’ve caused this?”

Mei pointed to the machine, just before it fizzled and crackled, the activated screen shutting down. She and her allies stared at it, surprised by the bad luck. Mei narrowed her eyes, her ears drooping slightly at the misfortune. “Oh, man…This isn’t cool at all.”