The members of the BAU sat at the round table as JJ briefed them on a new case, sipping coffee as then listened closely.
Suddenly, large clouds of smoke filled the room. Everyone screamed in panic. When the smoke cleared, everyone gasped in shock at what had happened to them.
Morgan rubbed his eyes with his… paws? "What the hell?" he blurted out, looking himself over. "What just happened?"
"I… don't really know," Spencer replied, catching sight of his new tail. A sudden urge came over him and he began to run in circles in attempt to catch it.
"Everything's gotten bigger," Prentiss pointed out as she looked around the room.
"Well to me, everything's smaller," Morgan replied.
"That's because you're taller now!" Emily shot back.
"That's enough," Hotch interjected. "We need to figure out what happened, why it happened, and how it happened."
"We've been turned into animals," Rossi cut in. "Reid's a puppy."
"Fitting," Morgan mumbled.
"I heard that," Reid growled, ending the chase with his tail.
"Well, what am I?" Morgan asked.
"A grizzly bear," Reid replied. He was about to go over facts about bears when a sudden lapping noise interrupted him. "Hotch, what're you doing?"
"What does it look like?" Hotch asked back, licking his paw and swiping it over his face.
"He's cleaning himself," Emily answered. "Cats take their own baths."
"That's so gross," Garcia finally piped up. "You're getting clean with your own spit. Kind of a redundant thing, if you ask me." She was perched on top of a chair, spreading her wings out wide.
"Still as colorful as ever, my little parrot," Morgan smiled.
Prentiss suddenly spread her own wings and joined Garcia on her perch.
"Check out the contrast," Penelope laughed, comparing her colorful feathers to Emily's black feathers.
"I still don't know what I am," Rossi interrupted. "Can someone please tell me?"
"A timber wolf," Reid barked. "It's rather fitting for you, being an alpha-male of the group."
"Guys where's JJ?" Hotch meowed.
"I'm here!" a small voice yelled.
"Oh! I see her!" Garcia squawked. "She's right over here, by the chair."
Hotch walked over to the chair leg to look for her, but instead found a mouse. His instincts kicked in, and he started to chase it.
"Wait! Hotch, it's me! JJ!" the mouse screamed, running in terror from Hotch-Cat. Hotch apparently didn't hear her, because he kept running. When Spencer saw the cat running around the room, he suddenly joined the chase, barking madly at the feline.
Morgan and Garcia continued to compliment each other while Prentiss tested out her new wings by flying around the room. Rossi had finally had enough. He jumped up on the table and howled loudly. Everyone suddenly stopped, turning their attention to the wolf on the table.
"You all need to calm down," he growled. "Get back to your seats now." As he jumped from the table to his own seat, he knocked over a cup of coffee and cursed under his breath.
Climbing back into his seat, Reid realized something. "The coffee!" he barked.
"What about it?" Prentiss said, perching herself on the back of her chair.
"We're all drinking coffee, right?" Everyone nodded. "That must be it!"
"Someone spiked our coffee," Hotch concluded.
"But who?" Morgan asked. He was too big to fit in his seat now, so he pushed it aside and sat on the floor. Everyone looked around the room, hoping that someone would think of a suspect to pin this on. No one said anything.
"We can't work on cases like this," JJ said, climbing up onto the table with help from Garcia. Hotch resisted the urge to pounce on the easy target in front of him.
"I just got an idea," Reid murmured suddenly. "It's kind of crazy, but it might work."
"Just say it," Rossi pleaded, wanting the madness to end.
"What if we just drink the coffee again?" The others merely stared at him. "I told you it was crazy…" he whimpered.
"But it might work," Hotchner admitted with a sigh. He punctured a hole in the cup with his claw and lapped up the hot liquid that dripped out. A puff of smoke went up into the air and after it cleared, Hotch was revealed to be normal again.
The rest of the team sprang for their cups of coffee and began to drink frantically. The room was filled with smoke once again, and everyone was human once more.
"We're back!" Morgan exclaimed as he high-fived Reid, happy to have his hands back.
"Alright, guys," Rossi said with a smile. "Let's get on with this case."
Outside the room, two scientists watched eagerly from the window.
"I can't believe it worked!" one whispered excitedly to the other. "We must report back to the others. Did you get it all on camera."
"Yes!" the other said, handing the camera to the first.
The fist scientist looked it over and depressed look came over his face. He sighed. "You left the lens cap on..."