Experimenting.

Mark was feeling left behind at this point. Jen had considered so many angles and thought through all of the ramifications, and he was still just getting used to the idea that he had taken the pill too. It didn't help that he was still sleep-deprived and stressed out. That's when it hit him.

"The exam!"

"I was wondering when you'd get to that." She crumpled up a blank piece of paper and tossed it at the trash can, hitting her mark perfectly. "Not gonna be a problem anymore. I like a guy who can pass a test without even studying."

She really had thought this through. He frowned. That probably means she saw some potential problems that she hadn't been forthcoming about. He wished honesty was higher up on his list of ideal traits.

"So what's the plan now?"

She pulled up a notepad. "I've got some first steps in mind. First things first, we've gotta get those pills from Grink." Of course! They needed to figure out what was in them so that they could try to get a grasp on the mechanism. "After that, we'll need to get to his supplier. I doubt that walking roach clip is cooking up stuff like this on his own."

"So what, we convince him to give up his supply?" Mark had a feeling she had a plan for this.

"I thought about that. I'd like to kill two birds with one stone here and do a little experimentation. So far, it's just been you and me, right?"

He didn't like where this was going. "You're not gonna go turn into... Grink's partner, are you?"

"Wait, I'll explain. I have a theory. You noticed how it took me hours to transform, right? In fact, I think I'm still transforming - we should talk more about that later - so it's obviously a very gradual process." Mark nodded.

"Well, what if there was a way to speed up or slow down the process? We ultimately need a way to undo it or halt it, but for now, what if we could just alter the timeframe?"

He shrugged. "That would be great, if we could. But how are we supposed to do that?"

"Think about when this first started happening. I took the pill, we had a chat, and then we sat down to study. Nothing changed much until we started studying." Jen was clearly driving at a point that he just couldn't see. "So what? It took a while to kick in."

She raised a coffee cup. "Or maybe it had a catalyst. I've been thinking through the rate of the changes that happened to me, and they seemed to surge ahead whenever I drank more coffee. And look at you - it's been fifteen minutes now. Do you feel any different?"

He had been trying to self-assess periodically, but as far as he could tell not much had changed. He felt slightly less exhausted, but that might have just been the placebo effect. "Not yet, not really."

She handed him a full cup of lukewarm coffee. He made a face. "Oh, just drink it, you baby." He downed the bitter beverage in one go. As he sat the cup down, Jen examined him clinically.

He didn't really feel much different. There was maybe a slight perk up in his energy, but that could just as easily have been from the caffeine. He started to say so, but she cut him off. "Wait for it."

He waited. About thirty seconds went by in silence before he spoke. "Jen, I think it's a good theory, but I just don't feel any different." She smiled knowingly and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She pressed the play button and he heard his own voice come through the tinny speaker. "I just don't feel any different."

"Ok, you recorded me. What was that supposed to prove?" She quickly swiped to another file and replayed his voice from earlier in the conversation. "So what's the plan now?"

The difference was striking. In the first recording, his baritone sounded smooth and composed. The second recording was the vocal equivalent of a hangover. He looked at her in shock.

"Yeah, that's just what's changed in the few minutes since you drank that coffee. And how are you feeling now?"

He had to admit he felt more alert and refreshed. "I guess your theory's correct. So, what, caffeine makes it set in faster? I'd rather figure out how to slow it down."

"I've got a theory there, too, but it's gonna be harder to test. I don't think it's caffeine that speeds it up, I think it's any ****. I think if you started drinking it'd be much faster. My theory is that **** change us slightly - or in some cases, more than slightly - and it makes us lose our grip on our identity. I hope that ultimately, we can figure out how to loosen and tighten our grip ourselves, so we can control the rate of change. For now, though, doing it artificially will have to do."

He followed her logic. "So how do we test it? And more importantly, is there anyway for us to tighten our grip?"

She held up her keys. "It's a college town, the bars are gonna be open. I'll drive."