What could be a plausible scientific explanation for a man who can transform different parts of his body into different parts of reptiles?

Laws that must not be broken and/or worked around: Conservation of energy Conservation of mass Square cube law Thermodynamics No FTL

Essentially, I'm trying to make a character with similar abilities to Marvel's Reptil, but more scientific than mystical. The explanation I have for his powers so far is that an alien device injects him with a super retro virus that allows him to access the DNA of all prehistoric reptiles and dinosaurs on Earth. As for how he shapeshifts with this, I'm thinking he also has an advanced network of nanobots connected to his nervous system that can alter his molecular structure whenever he shapeshifts. However, maybe nanobots wouldn't be necessary if he has some sort of super cells that can do something similar. Either way, this would require a tremendous amount of energy, so what could be a plausible explanation for his power source? An advanced alien battery perhaps? As for how this wouldn't break the law of conservation of mass, well, animals grow as they age due to mitosis, right? So in order for him to grow into a dinosaur, he would have to perform mitosis at an incredibly fast rate, right? As for his energy problem, I'm thinking he would also need to drink large amounts of water and eat a lot of food for his cells to do this, which is why I thought of the nanobots in the first place. Anyway, my science probably sounds a bit shoddy to you guys, but I'm striving to be as accurate as i can for these powers. Please give me any feedback, point out any flaws in my explanation, list some laws that would be broken or abided by, and propose alternative explanations for this character's powers. Thanks.

posted about 5 years ago

Strivs‭

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