The three of them continued to chat as they waited for the food, mostly Greg and Tessa carrying the conversation, while the tiny woman chimed in every now and then. She didn't exactly have much life experience, having only recently gained intelligence, and even then, most of that time was spent locked in a small cage. Still, she had an insatiable curiosity, and would ask questions whenever she could.

Once their food came, Greg split off a tiny portion for her to try, before digging into his own meal. However, the portion was still bigger than her head, so she only managed to eat half of it before she had to stop. Eventually, Tessa decided she needed a name, and after a few jokes from Greg, such as Petunia or Minnie, they eventually landed on Tina, which Greg didn't think was any better than any of his suggestions. Still, the newly dubbed Tina seemed to like it, so they kept it.

After they ate, Tessa went back to her place to check on the girls, bringing Tina along, while Greg returned to the training room. Last night, Tina had given him the idea to try to mix and match his forms, and he wanted to test it out. "Alright, how am I going to do this… well, let's start simple. Sharkman arms." Greg began, his arms changing into the Sharkman's. "Cheetahman legs." He added as his legs changed as well. "Scorpocroc torso and head." He finished, as the remaining bits changed, giving him the scorpocroc's torso and head, as well as the menacing tail.

Greg examined himself as well as he could without a mirror, sending off a few clicks with the scorpocroc's mandibles, which gave him a vague picture of it all. "Well, it worked… looks weird though." He muttered, walking around a bit as he adjusted to the strange form. "Maybe if we put the scorpocroc's skin over it all… huh, yeah, that's better." He muttered as his skin changed. He did a few tests, mostly seeing if the cheetahman's speed had transferred over, which… kinda? He was definitely faster than usual, but not as fast as he would be in the full cheetahman form.

He then tried giving himself the sharkman's eyes, and the cheetahman's nose, but… there seemed to be some sort of disconnect, where his brain just couldn't process the extra signals, giving him a headache. He quickly got rid of the change, rubbing his head. "Shit, right, brain… crap. Even if I have the equipment to get the data, if the brain can't process it, it's useless." He grumbled. With arms and legs, it all worked off the same basic functions, so mixing and matching was easy. For the senses, it wasn't so simple. He wasn't exactly comfortable with messing with his brain at the moment either, so he decided to just ignore that for now.

He continued to experiment a bit more, giving himself a leg where his arm should be (worked, but useless), giving himself extra arms (didn't work, brain issues), turning into the tentacle man and turning each tentacle into an arm (did work, but not well), putting the sharkman's claws on the ends of the tentacle man's tentacles (did work, terrifying, devolved into putting other things on the ends of the tentacles, not pretty), etc. Greg figured out that as long as he matched the machinery with the head, he could pretty much change anything. For example, if he turned into the cheetahman, he could change the tail into the scorpocroc's no problem, because both had tails, but if he turned into the sharkman and added the scorpocroc's tail, it wouldn't work. The tail would just hang there.

Greg had just turned into a tiny winged version of himself after some testing with the tiny woman's form, when there was a knock at the door. Tessa had said she'd come by after checking in with the girls, so Greg didn't think much as he changed back into his normal form, unlocking, and opening the door wide. "That di-" He began, before freezing, his eyes widening as the familiar form of Meredith appeared in front of him, still displaying more of herself than anyone should in a polite society. Though… he supposed they weren't exactly in a polite society anymore.

"Gregory~! I heard you were in here~! You see, I was talking to my friend here, and she was wondering if you'd be interested in a quick spar. See, her ability is fairly powerful, and it's so rare for her to find someone who can last~ long enough to give her a real workout~ With your healing factor, you should have enough stamina~ to satisfy her, right?" Meredith asked in a teasing tone, winking as she pushed her way inside, followed by another woman, who, while not quite as… explosive as Meredith, was still rather attractive. Greg was beginning to think being attractive was a prerequisite for getting superpowers… but then how did he get them?

"Er, well, yeah, but- hold on, how did you find me?" Greg asked incredulously, frowning as the other woman closed and locked the door.

Meredith giggled. "I just asked around, silly! People are so nice around here, they'll tell you just about anything. Like about that big~, thick~ other form of yours. Wouldn't you like to whip it out and let us experience it for ourselves?"

The other woman rolled her eyes. "Meredith, enough." She chastised her, before turning to Greg. "Hi, I'm Emily. My ability lets me shoot sharp, invisible projectiles, slashing or piercing my opponents from a distance." She explained, demonstrating as a hole and slash appeared on the nearby wall. "Would you care to spar?"

Greg frowned as he stared at the marks on the wall. He was about to reject her, since her lack of defense would make the spar as simple as him walking up to her and knocking her on the head, when he paused. Wouldn't this be a good chance to try out some of the techniques Tessa had taught him that morning? It wasn't like she was some defensive ability user, so he could focus on his technique, dodging her attacks, before getting close enough to land the finishing blow. Greg nodded slowly. "Hmmm… alright, sure. Let's spar." He agreed.

Emily nodded, moving towards the middle of the room, before turning around and frowning. "What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

Greg paused, looking around in confusion. He'd just gotten into his fighting stance, hadn't he? Was he doing it wrong? "Uh… what do you mean?"

"Why are you so far away? Why haven't you changed into your other form?" Emily asked, her frown deepening. What kind of person would purposefully create distance between them and a long range attacker? What kind of shapeshifter wouldn't shapeshift before fighting!?!

Greg frowned. "Wouldn't that make things too difficult for you? I mean, if I'm too close or too fast, how are you going to react in time?"

Emily scowled. "Are you looking down on me!?!" She growled angrily, gritting her teeth.

Greg cocked his head. "No? I just don't want to end it too quickly, you know?"

Emily was practically furious at this point, glaring at Greg fiercely. "I'll make you eat those words." She threatened in a low voice.

Meredith was standing off to the side, watching the two as if she really wished she had some popcorn. "This is going to be interesting~!" She giggled. "Are you two ready then?" Greg nodded first, and Emily's eyes narrowed, before she nodded as well. "Alright~ Three. Two. One! FIGHT!" She announced.

The moment Meredith finished the count, Emily moved, slashing her hand at Greg. Greg jumped to the side, but he still received a long cut on his arm, though it quickly healed. Cursing to himself, he began to make his way forward, dodging Emily's strikes as well as he could, getting at least a minor injury each time. Once he got closer, thing's got even worse, until eventually Emily managed to shoot a spike directly into his gut, and he stopped. "Ah, damn it. That would have been fatal. You win." Greg sighed. "Want to go again?"

Emily paused, frowning as she watched him warily. "What are you doing? You can still fight! Keep going!"

Greg gave her a weird look. "Uh, if that's your criteria, then you're never going to win." Greg lifted up his shirt to reveal his completely uninjured gut. "See? My healing is bullshit. Hell, you could get me in the head and I'd barely feel it. Well, no, I'd feel it, but… it wouldn't stop me."

Emily's eyes widened as she leaned forward, examining his stomach. "You- your healing factor is that good?"

"Yup. I'm pretty much immortal. I've been burned, sliced, stabbed, decapitated, the works, no problem." Greg explained with a grin.

"Decapitated!?!" Emily asked incredulously.

"Several times." Greg nodded. "Large, sharp claws are pretty much basic equipment for ferals."

"But- but then- how- how do I beat you?" Emily asked in a small voice.

"You don't? Or, you know, arbitrariness, like a gut wound is fatal, so you win." Greg shrugged, before walking over to the other side of the room again. "Alright then." He suddenly transformed, turning into his cheetahman form. "Let's try this again." Emily nodded blankly and got into position.

Meredith was frowning after Greg's revelation, thinking seriously, not even paying attention to the other two, until Greg coughed slightly, drawing her out of her funk. "Hm? Oh! Three, two, one, fight." She muttered absently, before returning to her thoughts.

This time, Greg was the first to move, circling to the right, leaving Emily's blows behind. Much like he'd expected, the footwork became much more effective in the cheetahman form, his reaction speed becoming much faster, along with his movements. Before Emily even finished attacking, he was already clear, weaving forward until he was right behind her, his hand lightly grasping her shoulder. "And that one's my win." He chuckled.

Emily gasped heavily, her eyes wide in disbelief at Greg's sudden increase in capability. A simple form change made that much of a difference? She couldn't even keep up! His position changed faster than she could attack, leaving her no chance to actually land a blow! She turned to look at the still feral looking Greg, his low chuckle sending chills down her spine as she gulped nervously. She'd never felt this… powerless, in front of someone. Even the high tiers. They were powerful, but they were still human. They bled, they could be injured, they could be killed. This man… this man was something else.

Emily stepped away from Greg, then again, and again, until she was practically running as she fled from the training room, leaving Greg standing there, stunned. He turned to Meredith, changing back to his human form, as he scratched the back of his head. "What was that about?"

Meredith glanced at the open door, gulping slightly, before turning back to Greg, putting on her flirtatious smile again. "I-I guess she just didn't expect you to be this powerful~ Neither did I…" She trailed off, her gaze losing focus for a moment, before shaking herself, approaching Greg, hesitantly at first, then with determination, latching onto Greg's arm and pressing herself firmly against him. "Gregory, how can I convince you to join Phoenix Squad? I promise you, anything that is mine to give is yours to take. Anything~" She continued to press herself against him, her eyes making it clear that she wasn't kidding as they bore burning holes into Greg's waning self-control.

The moment she'd grabbed him, he froze, holding on to the warnings his friends had given him, not willing to abandon them, but unable to push the all too real temptation out of his mind. Just the fact that she was showing this much interest in him was messing with his head, let alone her generous physical attributes. He had absolutely no interest in leaving Unicorn Squad, or even starting a relationship with Meredith, but… maybe just one night? Just for the experience.

"Hello? Greg? Are you-" Tessa's voice came from the hall as she stepped into the room, before freezing as she caught sight of the scene inside.

"Tessa!" Greg immediately cried, the sight of her immediately clearing his head. He knew that one night would quickly turn into two, then three, until he was completely trapped by this alluring woman. He turned into a cloud of smoke, causing Meredith to yelp as she stumbled due to the sudden lack of support, and flew behind Tessa, reforming as he hid behind her. "Protect me, for I am weak!"

Tessa glanced at him with a cold look in her eye, before snorting, turning back to glare at Meredith. "Still pulling the same old tricks I see." She growled.

Meredith shook her head. "Not this time. I mean it, I'll do anything to have Gregory in my squad. No, scratch that, I don't even care which squad we're in, as long as we're together! How about I join Unicorn Squad? You guys could use a healer, right?" Meredith's voice was full of sincerity, and she even dropped her flirty tone and attempts at seduction.

Tessa's eyes widened in shock, before she turned to Greg. "What did you do?!?"

"I just fought this girl, uh… E something." Greg tried to remember Emily's name, but failed. He knew she'd introduced herself, but Meredith was busy shaking her tits at him at the time, so he barely registered it.

"Emily? Is that why I saw her running out of her like she was being chased by an army of ferals?!?" Tessa asked incredulously, before suddenly pausing and narrowing her eyes at him. "You didn't use that tentacle form, did you?"

"What? No! Fuck no, jeez. That one even gives me the creeps, especially after…" Greg trailed off, before coughing, flushing slightly. "Uh, no, I just used my cheetahman form. It pairs rather well with that footwork you taught me, so I won pretty easily that time."

"That time?" Tessa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, we fought twice. She won the first time. Shot me right in the gut. Decided that was a win for her." Greg nodded.

Tessa frowned. "So, you proved that you couldn't be killed, then you proved it didn't matter even if you could?"

Greg cocked his head thoughtfully. "I guess you could put it that way."

"You are a menace." Tessa shook her head, exasperated.

"Hey, she's the one who wanted to fight!" Greg complained defensively.

Tessa rolled her eyes, before shooting one last glance at Meredith and snorting again. "Come on, let's go." She grabbed Greg by the wrist, pulling him along as they left. They walked quickly, leaving the building and going a good distance before Tessa was sure Meredith wasn't following them, and she finally let go of him.

"Thanks for showing up when you did." Greg thanked her sincerely. "I was about to be in some serious trouble there."

Tessa rolled her eyes, shooting him a glare. "Mhmm. What happened to that 'iron self-control' of yours?"

Greg sighed. "That's just for absolutes. When something is absolutely wrong, it's never going to happen. It's just the way it is. But… Meredith isn't absolutely wrong, she's just… ill advised. If I was already in a relationship, or if she was married, or something, I'd have no issues, but… we're both single, both consenting adults, not under the influence of any substances, and it isn't exactly something people don't do. Even if I know I shouldn't, there's no absolute reason why I shouldn't, so… I'm weak. It's like with junk food. You know you shouldn't eat an entire box of swiss rolls, you know it's bad for you, but they're right there and you absolutely could eat them… this is why I'm-" Greg looked down at his now flat stomach. "Er, this is why I used to be fat."

Tessa raised an eyebrow at him. "So, if you were in a relationship, you wouldn't want to sleep with her anymore?"

"Well, no, I would. I mean, she's still fucking ridiculous, and right there in your face with it, but I wouldn't let myself actually do it. But, I mean, I want to do a lot of awful, terrible things that I don't let myself actually do. I can't help my desires, I just control my actions." Greg shrugged.

Tessa frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose that makes sense…"

"Of course, it probably doesn't help that I haven't been able to properly engage in a certain form of stress relief in almost two goddamn years." Greg grumbled. "I swear, if I could have dreams, they would be wet."

Tessa scrunched up her nose in disgust. "I did not need to know that."

Greg raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? I sort of figured you already did. I mean, you've been around me this entire time, so you know I haven't had any opportunities."

"Not consciously!" Tessa retorted. "I try not to think about men's 'stress relief'. I don't want to even imagine the disgusting ideas they come up with after they learn about my ability." Tessa shuddered.

"Hm, fair. That could get disgusting. Especially when you add in the people with certain kinks. Have you ever heard of vore?" Greg asked.

Tessa shook her head. "No, no, no, I don't and I don't want to know."

Greg nodded. "Yeah, you probably don't."

They kept walking, lapsing into a short period of silence, before Tessa let out an agonized groan. "Fuck, I have to know. What is it?"

Greg raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you sure? It's gross."

Tessa nodded. "I'm just going to make up something on my own if I don't. Is- is it vaginal gore? Please tell me it's not. I don't want to know how shapeshifting plays into that."

Greg shook his head. "No, it isn't that. It's this thing where people get off on the idea of one person swallowing another person whole."

Tessa blinked. "Like- like eating them?"

"Kinda? It isn't exactly clear. The person is alive when they're swallowed, so they kind of just end up… hanging out in the stomach, I guess? Though, I think it's more about the process than the result. I don't know, it's never been my thing." Greg shrugged.

Tessa stared at the ground with a profound grimace on her face. "I hate you!"

"I told you it was disgusting." Greg retorted.

"You brought it up in the first place!" Tessa countered.

"Ah, true… my bad." Greg nodded along, before yelping as Tessa began to stab him repeatedly in the side.