Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

By and large, superpowers were cool. Mine… I guess from an outside perspective they were pretty badass but came with some pretty hefty drawbacks, I thought as I sat in my Hive, staring at the mirror I had a zergling surreptitiously retrieve for me.

Perhaps I should go back to the beginning and explain exactly how I had gotten my powers. My life had been on a pretty notable downward trend for the last year or so, ever since my former best friend, Emma Barnes, had returned from summer camp and become the most unholy bitch in my existence. She had made the first six months of my freshman year a living hell, culminating in a ‘prank’ that on another Earth would have left me traumatized for life. On this Earth? It had given me powers, connecting me to the nightmarishly alien Zerg.

For as long and desperately as I had wanted powers, I now wished with equal fervor that I had never triggered at all. I had not realized what had happened at first, simply thinking my mind had broken as I recovered in the hospital, that the constant hissing voice at the back of my mind urging me to consume assimilate evolve was the most fucked-up fracturing of a person’s psyche anyone had ever experienced. Sadly, the truth was something far more horrifying.

It took three months before I spawned my first larvae. I woke up about three in the morning convulsing, unable to breathe as something long and fleshy and wriggling slithered up my chest and throat from somewhere in my gut, landing on the floor beside my bed as it slid out of my grossly distended mouth.

I stared at the writhing larva (the name snapping into place as I thought it,) in a sort of muted horror. Faaaaaaantastic. I went through the trauma of having a trigger event and came out the other side with the ability to vomit armored maggots. If I had not been convinced that the universe was an uncaring, sadistic bitch before now, the writhing, spittle-streaked worm lying on the floor beside my bed confirmed it for me.

The thump of the larva landing on the floor had roused my dad and he tapped a pair of tentative knocks on my door. I hurriedly shoved the thing under my bed, ignoring the flicker of something that hit me when I touched it and padded to open the door before he came in.

“Everything alright in there?” Dad asked, peering past me into my room.

“Yeah, sorry for waking you. I was dreaming and rolled out of bed.”

“You okay?”

I nodded. “I’m fine. Whacked my elbow on the nightstand but it’s just a bruise. Go back to bed.”

Dad gave me a careful once-over before accepting my explanation and heading back to his room. I heaved a sigh of relief as I closed the door and leaned against it. Getting down onto my hands and knees, I peered under my bed where I had shoved the larva. It had gone completely still when I shoved under my bed but it started wriggling its way towards me once I lowered my head enough to see it.

It was about three feet long, comprised of an equal number of segments and pairs of legs. There were two glossy, black insect eyes on one end just above a mouth surrounded by a pair of wickedly sharp looking mandibles. I reached out for it, the inky depths of its eyes drawing me in. I laid my hand flat against its exoskeleton and infinite genetic possibilities laid themselves out before me. I pulled my hand back, staring at it and then back to the larva. I knew what I had to do.

~~~~~

The larva fit comfortably in my backpack once I had emptied it of all my school supplies, though carting it across a third of the city had not been enjoyable. I hadn’t dared take the bus for fear of being questioned why I was not in school or the possibility of my larva being discovered. Finding an appropriately large ship in the Graveyard didn’t take long, trusting that the new set of Zerg instincts that I had taken to calling the Queen would let me know when I found something appropriate. Though it did take a few minutes for my larva to chew a large enough hole in the rusted hull of the ship for me to enter.

I wandered through the derelict vessel before I set my larva down on the floor of what I thought was the main hold and gave it a mental command.

The establishment of my first colony took most of the day which was fine with me as it gave me a chance to examine the Zerg knowledge that had been downloaded when I had touched the now twice- repurposed larva. I would have to be exceedingly careful with how I managed my Swarm; there was little restraint built into my xenomorphs. If given the chance, my Swarm would consume every living thing on the planet. Not to mention I doubted the PRT or Protectorate would react favorably to what they would probably see as another Nilbog.

The sun was setting by the time I was satisfied with my colony. I was keeping it small for the time being, limiting myself to a single hatchery, a spawning pool, half a dozen drones and a dozen zerglings. That was pretty much all the forms I could comfortably manage at the moment anyways. The creep, the sludgy, purple, cancerous growth that nourished and sustained the Swarm had expanded to cover every inch of the inside of the ship, including my legs where I sat down against the hull. It left a bit of a residue behind when I stood up, the stuff quickly repairing the hole my movement had created.

Satisfied with my hideout for the time being, I gathered my zerglings and left for my first patrol. I decided to target the Azn Bad Boys, being the criminal group I had the most personal experience with.

I didn't have a costume other than the balaclava I had dug out of the box of cold weather clothes in the basement but I didn’t think it would be much of an issue as I didn't plan on getting that close to any fighting. The whole locker thing had left me with a slight sense of claustrophobia so I had spent the last couple months running and it was paying off now. While I was nowhere near as fast as my ‘lings could be across level (or even less than level) ground, I was keeping them on the rooftops and high on walls to keep them out of sight until I was ready to make my move.

Control of my Swarm didn't seem to have a range so I sent each ‘ling out in a different direction, searching for the highest concentration of ABB ‘bangers, the idea being that Lung, the leader of the ABB would be there.

It took me about fifteen minutes for one of my ‘lings to find him, another five to close to about a block and gather the rest. He was standing out in front of a Chinese restaurant, clad in a pair of jeans and an ornate, silver dragon mask, his heavily tattooed torso bared for all to see.

“I don’t give a fuck if they are children,” Lung snarled at an underling. “They die tonight, understand? You shoot, no hesitation. One goes down, shoot him again. We’re not going to give any of them a chance to be clever or lucky.”

If there had been any doubt in my mind about what the right thing to do was, Lung’s words erased them completely. Lung was one of two parahumans in the ABB, Oni Lee being the other but there was no evidence of his superpowered lieutenant being present, so I attacked.

The ABB’s morale broke pretty much instantly. Having a dozen slobbering, quadruped nightmarish alien monsters the size of large dogs fall on them was not something Lung had prepared his henchmen for and when their bullets spanged off their armor, they dropped their arms and fled. Lung’s smile nearly took in his ears however.

I was going to have to be very careful with how I fought Lung here. He was a brute-shaker, slowly becoming more dragon-like the longer he fought, gaining, strength, speed and durability as he transformed. Not to mention he gained pyrokinesis at some point and if he reached that state the fight would pretty much be over. There was a fine line between where my ‘lings would tear Lung apart limb from limb and where Lung would slaughter my swarm. This was gonna be tough.

Lung started to transform the moment my murder of zerglings fell into view, so I had to act swiftly and really hoped a hero showed up that could incapacitate him more completely. I’d only dropped half the murder at first, and two had been crippled by lucky shots. Lung was pretty strong naturally, so he was able to easily backhand the pair of ‘lings that initiated. Their armor held though, so they simply bounced off the brick and rejoined the fight.

Then his pyrokinesis kicked in. The two wounded ‘lings were killed almost instantly, their bodies bursting as a wave of fire washed over them. Shit. I had to shut him down now, before he got beyond my ability to handle. Dropping the rest of my zerglings, I had them all aim directly for him, hoping to knock him down and out. Another pair died as he sensed the attack and exhaled a small column of fire, but he ran out of breath and the remaining four overwhelmed him by virtue of superior biomass.

His head cracked against the pavement sharply, stunning him but not knocking him out. I didn’t let up, immediately ordering my remaining zerglings to skewer his limbs, pinning him to the ground. Fortunately, the blade-limbs of my ‘lings were designed to pierce much harder substances than steel, so they parted scale, flesh and asphalt with equal ease.

Finally, I positioned a ‘ling right over his head and had it headbutt him repeatedly until his body went slack.

Our fight hadn’t gone unnoticed, sirens dopplering into earshot less than a minute later. Which was good because I didn't want to test my luck. The more pissed off Lung got, the stronger his powers got, and that much pain was bound to jumpstart his abilities. Zerglings were mutated from a creature that had evolved on a desert planet so while they could tolerate heat, fire was another issue and I could easily see him being able to self-immolate if he woke up.

Three Parahuman Response Team containment trucks screeched to a halt in front of the restaurant where I had Lung pinned, their arrival timing up with that of Armsmaster and Miss Militia on a motorcycle and Dauntless crashing to Earth a moment after that.

My zerglings’ blood was still up from the fight, their predator instincts urging them to abandon their fallen adversary and attack the newcomers. I had my zerglings gather their dead packmates and retreat the moment the the trucks oriented on the supine Lung, as I had absolutely zero desire to have any of my Swarm captured by the authorities this early in the game. Once again, I kept my ‘lings out of direct sight of anyone on the ground as I strolled back into the direction of my colony.

Unfortunately, this was not to be the end of my night as I sensed more than anything as the three Protectorate members converge on me about twenty minutes later. I had no idea how they had figured out the zerglings were mine, but I hurriedly pulled my mask on anyways. I had my ‘lings leap down from the roofs and arrange themselves in a semicircle behind me as Armsmaster slewed his bike to a halt in front of me, Dauntless drop Miss Militia beside him and land behind me.

I tensed, resisting the fight-or-flight instincts that came with my Zerg self.

“Good work on apprehending a very dangerous supervillain,” Miss Militia said, stepping forward and holding her hands up. It made little difference, I knew from my extensive research she could create a weapon in either hand as quickly as it took her to think it. “I’m Miss Militia; how’re you doing tonight?”

“Fine,” I answered tersely after a second.

“That’s good to hear. Do you have a name?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but my words got tangled as both Taylor and the Queen tried to answer. “No,” I answered once I suppressed the Queen once more.

“Don’t worry, it’s not unusual for new capes to take a while to figure one out. In the meantime, is there something we could call you? Just temporarily?”

“Queen,” I replied after a few seconds. It wasn’t original, it didn't possess the gravitas both the Queen and I wanted for my costumed identity and it was almost certainly taken, but it would do for now.

“Very well, Queen. As you may already know, these are my teammates, Armsmaster and Dauntless.”

“I know who you all are.” According to the Parahumans Online wiki, they were both Tinkers, Armsmaster’s abilities centered around his Halberd, while Dauntless made one piece of his lightning-charged equipment a little bit stronger each day. “Are you here to arrest me?”

“Not yet,” Armsmaster replied from where he leaned against his ‘cycle, arms crossed over his chest, Halberd clutched in one hand.

Miss Militia shot a glare over her shoulder before turning back to me. “I truly hope it won’t come down to that. Right now, I just want to talk.”

“So talk,” I said shortly, the Queen not calmed at all by Miss Militia’s words.

“While we appreciate the help you gave us tonight, Queen, I hope you understand that we cannot just let you go without having some questions answered.” I didn’t say anything, so Miss Militia took that as a cue to continue. “I assume you are aware of the Master power classification?” I nodded wordlessly again. “You seem to fall squarely into that category. As you might imagine, the Protectorate likes to keep an eye on local Masters, but you complicate things further. Would I be wrong in assuming that you created those creatures behind you?”

And this was it. I had to be very, very careful of what I said. “I did,” I replied after a moment.

“Can you make more of them?”

I frowned, as if I was considering it for the first time. “I don't think so, they just sorta appeared when I triggered.”

“Half-truth,” Armsmaster growled from behind Miss Militia. Crap. It seemed he had some sort of lie detector built into his armor.

“I understand the desire to keep details about your power to yourself but we need to make sure that you don't hurt anybody accidentally with it,” Dauntless said, stepping forward. “And should you choose to join the Wards, which I think I speak for everyone here when I say I hope you do, you will have to tell us anyways.”

I nodded after a moment; she had a point. “I guess I get it. I promise the only people I would hurt with my power are the villains of the city.” I ignored how the Queen kept returning to urging me take their strength and add it to my Swarm.

“I appreciate you saying that. In the meantime, would you like to come with us on a tour of the Wards headquarters?”

“Right now? In the middle of the night?”

“No time like the present,” MM said. “We could call a van to collect your…”

“Zerglings,” I answered, seeing no harm in the heroine knowing what they were called.

“Zerglings,” she repeated.

“No need. They’re mindless unless I’m actively controlling them and I can send them somewhere far away from where anyone is living.”

“You are positive that they won’t hurt anyone?”

“I am the Queen. They won't hurt anyone I don't tell them too.” The Queen got the better of me for a moment, my words coming out in a snapping tone, offended anyone would second-guess her.

Miss Militia turned to look over her shoulder, Armsmaster nodding after a moment, swinging a leg over his bike and roaring away. Dauntless took off a moment later.

“I hope you understand I am extending you a measure of trust here,” she said as all but one of my ‘lings tore off towards Captain’s Hill. I hoped to keep the Protectorate as far away fro my main colony for as long as possible. It wouldn't add much to the the murder’s trip either.

“Thank you for not assuming I was a villain. I know my zerglings don't exactly have a heroic appearance.”

“To be honest, we didn’t want to engage you without knowing what you were capable of if at all possible.” Miss Militia gestured back the way the three heroes had come. I followed, trying to hide my trepidation. I wanted to be a heroine and I couldn’t very well do that if I did not trust the people I would be working with. Besides, Miss Militia seemed nice.

Miss Militia led me into the back of one of the vans with some waiting PRT officers. They gave me and my ‘ling very careful looks but nobody did anything with Miss Militia sitting next to me. I rested my hand on the head of my zergling and stroked its carapace. I think I was as startled as anyone else in the van when it started making a growling noise before I realized it was purring. I quieted it with a mental order so as not to freak out the PRT guys any more than I already had.

I got more than a few stares as Miss Militia escorted me out of the van and into the PRT building where the Wards were headquartered.

“So most of the Wards will have gone home by now but I think Clockblocker should be on console duty tonight.” The elevator stopped at the top of the building and Miss Militia waited for a red light to turn green before exiting. Sure enough a boy in a white costume and faceless mask was waiting for us.

“Clockblocker, meet a potential Ward. We’re calling her Queen for now.”

“Nice to meet you,” Clockblocker said, voice friendly enough as he stuck out a hand to shake. He faltered though when my ‘ling hopped forward between me and him, snarling as the Queen reacted to the sudden movement. I glared at it and it turned around and cowered.

“So a master, I take it?” I nodded. “Well, your thing there looks pretty nasty. I really hope you join us. We can always use some more muscle on the team.”

“When we found her she had another eleven with her.”

“She didn’t have anything to do with Lung getting brought in?”

“Her zerglings had him pinned to the asphalt when we got to the scene,” Miss Militia confirmed.

Clockblocker squatted down and peered at my ‘ling’s scythe arms, which still had some dried blood on them. I was surprised he wasn't more nervous around it. “Want me to give her the tour?”

Miss Militia nodded and Clockblocker gestured for me to follow him. The Wards headquarters was fairly expansive, consisting of the hub where the elevator had opened to, several medium-sized bedrooms, a gym and tinker’s lab.

“So what do you think?” Miss Militia asked when Clockblocker brought her back to the hub.

“It’s… nice,” I told her. And it was. I could even see myself making a colony here. I was going to have to keep a close lid on my true abilities and but a hatchery and spawning pit, maybe an evolution chamber. I would need a floor to myself but that wouldn't be much of an issue; worst case scenario I would have to reveal my drones and excavate a lair for a secondary colony underground and we were a partially subterranean species.

“And have you made a decision?”

I nodded. I didn’t have a choice, not truly if I wanted to be a heroine. I had no delusion about going independent. The Protectorate didn't look kindly on independent heroes and I really didn't want to be hunted when the scope of my abilities came to light.

I gave Miss Militia the number to the house and followed Dennis to the rec area. It was about two thirty by the time Dad stepped out of the elevator and rushed to envelop me in a hug. I made a conscious effort to suppress my zerglings instinct to to tear and consume the fleshy human who thought to touch the Queen.

“Taylor, are you alright? Miss Militia said you were fine but…”

“Yeah Dad, I’m fine. I wasn’t ever in any real danger.” He took several more seconds to assure himself that I wasn’t hiding any injuries before turning to face the heroine that had called him.

“And she’s not in any trouble?”

Miss Militia shook her head, clearly smiling behind her scarf. “No. In fact, she just about singlehandedly captured one of the more notorious villains in the the city.

“Which one?”

“Lung.”

Dad’s eyes widened almost comically. “Isn’t he the one…”

“Who turns into a dragon, yes that’s him.”

“So what happens tonight?”

“Nothing. You take your daughter home. But Director Piggot and I would like to meet with you and Taylor tomorrow morning. Say, nine o’clock?”

I nodded when my dad looked at me. Miss Militia gave Dad a special pass and instructions to find a covert entrance to the building we could use tomorrow. The trip home was quiet, both of us exhausted and neither wanting to mess anything up by saying the wrong thing.

I had a hard time falling asleep, the Queen restlessly desiring the purple, slimy viscousness of the creep and humid, pulsing heartsbreath of the hive.

Chapter Text

Dad and I were each quiet people by nature, performing our morning routine with little conversation exchanged. I’d brought one of my ‘lings home and Dad eyed it warily as it laid down in the dining room at my feet.

“So does it have a name?”

I shook my head. “Zerg don’t work like that. We’re a hivemind, they have no personality or will without me.”

“So it won’t-”

“It would starve to death sitting here if I never told it to hunt or eat.”

Dad nodded his head and returned to his breakfast. I sent the zergling off to join its brethern when we finished breakfast. We arrived at the underground parking garage Miss Militia had given us directions to at about quarter to nine.

The elevator deposited us about halfway up the building, Miss Militia waiting for us with a fat woman with a bad haircut who introduced herself as Director Piggot.

She helped us with the paperwork setting up my trust. “Can I get transferred to Arcadia?” I asked.

“Next year perhaps, but everyone knows the Wards all attend Arcadia, so having a new one appear right as you transfer in would not be helpful in concealing your identity.” I frowned. One of the major reasons why I had decided to join the Wards was to get out of Winslow.

Eventually all the forms were filled out and my dad was escorted out of the building.

“So now what?”

“It’s a little late for you to go to class, so we might as well begin recording your powers. Given your previously displayed abilities, I think Director Piggot would like to be present as well.”

I waited patiently as Miss Militia went to collect the Director. She was a black woman, a bit on the short side, fat with a very unflattering haircut. “Emily Piggot,” The woman introduced herself, holding out a hand. “You’re Taylor Hebert, going by Queen for the moment, I understand,” she said as I took her hand.

“Yeah. It’s been the least supervillain-y name I have come up with so far.”

“I checked to make sure before I came up here, and it is taken. A stage actor in San Franciso with some sort of costuming power.”

“I figured. So far I’ve come up with Mother of Monsters, Monsterina, Xenomorph, Creep, Swarm, Brood, Hive, Hivemind and variations.”

“Well, I read Armsmasters, Miss Militia and Dauntless’ reports and from what they have observed of your abilities I can imagine. At the moment we have you down as probable Master. Now, please describe describe your powers in your own words, to the best of your ability.”

I had spent most of last night working out exactly what to disclose and to what extent. “Basically, I can grow the creatures that I used to take down Lung last night. They’re fast and agile but not very durable. Any decent  bruiser or striker could kill one without much effort.”

“How did you grow them and how many can you make or control?”

“I threw up these worm things last night and they grew into zerglings. And I can only make ten, maybe twelve at a time. I think I might be able to make another of the worm things if one of my ‘lings dies.”

Piggot grunted and make some furious notations on her tablet. “Miss Militia says that you sent all but one of your zerglings off to the north-west. Where did they go?”

“I sent them towards the woods on the other side of Captains Hill. They ate three deer and are hibernating in a burrow they dug.”

“So you control them telepathically? How far away can you sense them?”

“I don’t think I have a range. Um. It’s not a distance thing, more like a numbers thing. They’re these little balls of instinct in my head. I can command them individually or collectively simultaneously. My ‘lings don't have individual will either; they’re incapable of disobeying me. They will starve if I don’t tell them to hunt.”

“You say they’re ‘little balls of instinct,’ so would it be accurate to call them animals?”

“I suppose. They don't have anywhere near human intelligence, at least while on autopilot.”

Piggot grunted and made a few more notes. “After we are done here, I would like you to take a convoy out to the Hill and bring them back here. We can have our scientists and tinkers examine them, hopefully be able to tell us something else about them. From what I’ve heard, they’re not exactly cuddly-looking and I’d rather not have any civilians stumbling on them. What would be the best way to house them long-term?”

“They like the underground, I think. I told them to look for shelter, and they burrowed down into the ground.”

“We will have to see what we can do with setting you up with a den somewhere nearby. And figure out how to best keep them fed.”

“They’re omnivorus and have a hyperefficient digestive system so all they need is biomass. Um. I wouldn’t recommend trying to feed them by hand unless someone told me beforehand though. They’re predators, so they’d take off a hand by mistake pretty easily.”

“Would I be safe to assume that all this knowledge is instinctive?” I nodded. “And given how you have guessed with some things, there may be gaps in your knowledge?” I nodded again. “Armsmaster noted evasion when Miss Militia asked you how many zerglings you can make. Why?”

I winced internally. I was really hoping that this wouldn’t come up. “I don’t really understand it but it takes… essence for lack of a better word to control my ‘lings. It feels like a muscle that might be able to grow.”

“So you might be able to increase how many zerglings you can control at some point in the future?” I nodded. “Well, that seems to cover the essentials,” Piggot stated,  Miss Militia will take you down to the garage and you will take her to collect your zerglings. We have several tinker labs that are unused at the moment so you will be able to store them there in the short term. Afterwards, we will have a meeting with the PRT’s head of Image to help you figure out a codename and costume. We can get you a basic skinsuit and mask for you to use temporarily as well before we leave.”

I followed Miss Militia back to the elevator. We descended a few levels and I changed into the plain white skinsuit and mask I was handed.

There was an unmarked black boxtruck waiting for us in the garage. Miss Militia got into the driver’s side and followed my directions to where I had nested my zerglings. I ignored the PRT containment van that followed, telling myself I simply wouldn’t give them cause to even get out of the vehicle.

“Should I turn the truck around?” Miss Militia asked as we got as close as the truck could get.

I shook my head. We got out, a PRT uniform opening the back of the truck. It took me several minutes to get my murder to us. All the PRT officers tensed when they came out of the treeline, though only one raised his weapon. It was a tight fit, but ly lings were pack creatures so the close proximity didn't bother them much.

I focused on keeping my ‘lings docile and as non-threatening as I led them out of the truck, surrounded such as we were by such a wealth of vulnerable biomass. It was getting easier to ignore the Queen’s constant thirst to kill maim rend consume assimilate evolve with practice.

Miss Militia was pressed into a corner of the cargo elevator to make room and and led me to a large open space that was at least half of the eighth floor. All flat surfaces were tiled some slick white material that was without seam and fluorescent lights recessed into the ceiling.

“Well,” I said looking around. “Not ideal but it’ll do in the short term. I hope I don't actually have to say this but you need to keep this area locked down. Nobody in here without me or telling me beforehand.”

“Did you not say that you have complete control of your zerglings?” Miss Militia asked.

“I do, but I figure this way minimizes the chance of any accidents or mistakes happening. I’m gonna put them in a hibernative state but this is hardly their natural environment and I’m not entirely sure how this will affect them. My power is still pretty new and I don’t know everything about it.”

“Fair enough,” Miss Militia allowed. “Better safe than sorry.” I nodded. Casting my gaze over the murder, I triggered their hibernation processes and waited until I was sure that they were completely under before killing the lights and followed her back into the elevator.

Glenn Chambers was not what I had imagined when I had envisioned the PRT’s main PR man. He was obese for one and seemed to possess the absolute worst fashion sense of anyone I had seen. He wore clothes that almost seemed designed to be as tacky as possible not to mention the worst faux-hawk I had ever seen.

He was not alone in his office, surrounded by a gaggle of twenty-something professionals hoping to jumpstart a career in media relations no doubt.

Glenn held a finger up when he saw us enter, Miss Militia nodding and leaning against the wall. Glenn finished up whatever business he had with his interns or employees or whatever they were and ordered out.

“Good afternoon, Miss Militia. I take it this is the new Ward?”

“Yeah,” I said, pulling off my mask. “Taylor Hebert. I haven't come up with a name yet.”

“Well that’s hopefully something that I can help with you that today. If you want to step into my office?” Glenn asked, gesturing to a glass-walled working space.

“Do you want me to stay?” Miss Militia asked.

I shook my head. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’m okay here.” Miss Militia nodded and left.

I sat in an armchair as Glenn lowered his bulk into an office chair behind his desk and tapped away at his computer for a moment. “So I have read up on your file and what has been observed of your powers and I will say I have my work cut out for me. You said that you haven’t come up with a name yet but I’m sure you have a few ideas.”

“Nothing that doesn't sound like I’m a cat-petting supervillain.”

“Try me.” I did and I was right; he didn’t like any of them. “Well, I can’t say they don’t fit your powers. Let’s work on your costume a bit and see if we can come up with something a little less movie-monster.”

“Well, I don’t have any physical powers, so I don’t really need any armor or special equipment. Um, I’m not much of a fighter, so maybe give me a taser or something if I have to?”

“Yeah, we can definitely do something about that. So design, got any preferences?” Glenn asked as he pulled out a tablet and stylus as the windows looking out into the rest of the office darkened and a window popped up, a 3-D silhouette of a figure approximating me appeared, arms and legs outstretched.

“I was thinking a full body suit. Purple, for the main color, something dark, royal.”

“Patterns, designs?” Glenn asked as the details filled in.

“Teeth or fangs around the face, claws on the arms and legs?”

Glenn gave me a look at that. “I know your power gives you control of some fairly scary-looking creatures, but I was hoping we could work on making you a little more... family-friendly.”

“I don't know what you expect of me; I can’t exactly replace my zerglings claws and fangs with… well I dunno what. Mittens and fuzzy dice?”

“No, I know that you can’t change your power. What I’m talking about is giving you a costume that doesn’t scream ‘supervillain.’ Fangs and claws don’t really convey the proper image of a superhero.”

“So what were you thinking of then?”

“It says that your creatures are called zerglings, so something based around the letter ‘Z’ perhaps?” Glenn scratched away at his tablet for a moment and the screen updated itself accordingly. He put the letter large on the center of my chest and added a gradient to the color of my costume, going from a rich, vibrant purple at the chest and fading to a pale indigo at my head, hands and feet.

I wasn't in love with the design but at the same time it wasn’t terrible . Glenn reviewed some footage of my zerglings and adjusted the color palette to more closely match their coloring and added some subtlely z-patterned scaling to give my costume a more reptilian appearance. “Make it a K,” I said abruptly.

“Did you have a thought about your name?”

“Koprulu,” I said, tasting the sound.

“It’s not a word I’m familiar with.”

I shook my head. “You wouldn't. It’s a Zerg thing.” He gave me a look  changed the letter but kept the scaling.

My mask was more of a challenge, I insisting on something recognizably Zerg while Glenn was adamantly opposed to anything I suggested. Fortunately, Miss Militia came to my rescue. Knocking on Glenn’s door, the heroine smirked at the scowls we both wore.

“Something wrong?” she asked pleasantly.

“I'm glad you're here. Maybe you can over rule Glenn here. I would like something of myself in my costume. Glenn insists on avoiding anything that might scare a three-year-old.”

Miss Militia cocked an eyebrow at Glenn. “You have seen her power right? Queen is never gonna be one of our media-friendly heroines. There is nothing you can do that is gonna keep her from freaking kids out, at least at first.” She gave me an apologetic look. “At least until the public gets used to you.”

“No, it’s not anything I wasn’t expecting.”

“And her costume is bland enough, Glenn.” MIss Militia said, tone sharpening as she rounded on the man. “ Let her have her mask at least.”

Glenn’s scowled but leaned back in his chair in grudging assent. Suitable chastened, he draw out a zergling face over the hologram’s head, yellow lenses in place of eyes, scales sweeping back in a crest and mandibles along my jaw.  “How long will it take?” I asked when he finished.

“Your costume doesn’t have any special materials or features so just an hour or so. I’ve already scheduled your press conference for tomorrow as well.”

“So quickly?”

“Well, we want to get you active as soon as possible and we want to let the city know about you before you see them skulking on their rooftops.”

“Fair enough.”

It took forty-five. While not awesome, it was better than anything else I would have been able to put together myself.

By the time we were finished, it was almost five. “How do you feel about meeting the rest of your team now?”

Miss Militia didn’t bother waiting for the light to turn green before stepping out of the elevator this time. There were six kids and I was pretty sure I could match each up to his or her costumed identity.

“Wards, meet your newest teammate, Taylor Hebert, aka Koprulu.”

The Wards introduced themselves and I felt a sense of relief creeping over me as they seemed like people I could have as friends.

“So as time-honored tradition demands, let’s see the video of your fight Taylor,” Carlos, aka Aegis, said, grinning as he queued the video up once Miss Militia had left. The video was from a phone camera, shaking a little as Lung and my zerglings tore into one another.

Dennis, aka Clockblocker, frowned. “You’re one of those Masters that can fight someone without ever seeing them, aren't you?” he asked as the camera panned and I was nowhere in view.

I gave a sheepish nod. “I don’t think I have a range on how far I can control them. Or at least it doesn’t feel like I do.”

“SHHHH!” Chris, aka Kid Win, shushed me. “Don’t let the grown-ups hear you say that. They’d never let out out of the building in costume if it were true.”

“Anyways, how about we go check them out?” Dennis asked.

I looked around and nodded when it was clear that he wasn't the only one who wanted to. I followed Dean, aka Gallant, out and pressed the button for the eighth floor.

My ‘lings were sleeping in one big pile and woke with a start when I flicked the lights on. Missy, aka Vista, started when they hissed and growled before I mastered them.

The group stayed back as I approached, the murder prancing around my legs like dogs as I reached out to give each a touch.

“That’s a sight that’s gonna take getting used to,” Chris said from the doorway.

“It’s okay, guys. You can come look at them, they won't hurt you unless I tell them to.”

Carlos, being the most damage-resistant one of the group was the first to approach, holding a hand out for a ‘ling to sniff before it sank to the ground to allow him to pet it.

“So do they have names? He asked.

“No, they're kinda like bugs, if one dies, I can just grow another one. Pretty interchangeable in general.”

“Look more like something from James Cameron’s nightmares, but okay,” Dennis replied.

“Careful,” I warned Missy a second too late as she touched the edge of a blade-limb and cut her finger.

“Those are very sharp.”

“Yeah. They could probably cut metal if I tried.”

Carlos gave the group a few minutes to get familiar with the murder before he clapped his hands. “Okay guys, show and tell is over. Clockblocker, Kid Win, you’re on first patrol. Missy, Dean, you guys got homework.”

We all piled back into the elevator and the sight of the last person I had ever hoped to hear again greeted me from the console. “No. Fucking. Way. What the hell are you doing here, Hebert?”

Sophia Hess was at the console pinning me in place by the door with her eyes. I froze, busy suppressing the Queen so Gallant, living up to his name, answered for me.

“Sophia, this is Taylor Hebert, aka Koprulu. She just joined the Wards today.”

“Uh-uh, no way. No way Taylor Hebert has powers; she’s a worm, a wallflower. You should double check her.”

“She has powers Sophia,” Carlos said sternly as Dean asked  “Taylor, you okay?”

I looked around, doing the math. “You're Shadow Stalker,” I said quietly. “It all makes sense now. Why you could get away with practically anything. You’re a superhero; what does it matter if you make one classmates life hell?”

That caused all the Wards to eye me sharply but the only figure that mattered at all to me was the one directly ahead of me. Sophia scoffed. “She’s lying. She’s just this oversensitive, whiny bitch who is jealous of me because all her friends like me more.”

“Right, ‘coz that seems likely,” Clockblocker said dryly from the console.

“She and some of her friends stuffed me into my locker which they had stuffed full of used tampons and pads and left me there for Valentine’s Day weekend. You triggered me. I almost died.”

Sophia snorted. “See what I mean? She over exaggerates everything. Yeah she spent some time in the hospital but it wasn’t that bad.”

The arrogance of this… human boggled the mind and I recoiled at the Queenly thought. It was getting harder to keep Taylor and the Queen separate as each was increasingly in line with what the other thought.

“And how would you know how bad it was?” I asked quietly, anger suffusing my whole being. “A lot of things make sense now though. Why you could get away with anything. Why you could bully me right in front of the teachers. So what if you made my life absolutely miserable? You made sure that I had no friends, you went out of your way to do it. You stole my homework, ruined my projects, trashed my clothes. And you are surprised I got powers?”

“I think it’s time we got the Director involved.” Aegis suggested.

The revelation of why she could get away with murder destroyed any resolve to keep the Queen in check. “No,” I hissed. “No, she pays now.”

“Taylor, if what half you say is true, I will personally make sure that she is punished appropriately,” Aegis assured me.

I shook my head. “It won’t be enough. She’ll get away with it again.” I lifted my hand as the Queen and I merged, Sophia rising off the ground in my psionic grip, choking as I rose with her. The ends of my hair started floating as the air stirred from the potential energy that suddenly filled the room.

The rest of the Wards sprung into action as I grabbed Sophia. All the boys except Kid Win charged me but I cast my other hand out and knocked them back with a wave of psionic energy. Browbeat was on his feet a split second later so I turned my hand palm-up and flicked my first three fingers up then down, bouncing the Brute against the ceiling and floor to knock him out.

“So not only does she get nightmare alien things, but she get some strong-ass telekinesis,” I heard Clockblocker complain where he had tumbled over a couch. Vista started to stretch the space between me and Sophia. Unfortunately for her, my powers didn’t work in a fashion that she would be able to disrupt. I saw Kid Win dash out of the room towards where the bedrooms there, doubtless to get some gadget. The rest of the Wards spread out, Aegis placing himself between me and Vista.

Sophia tried to use my distraction to escape by shifting but I snapped my head around and dispersed her form with a psi-bolt to her chest. I smirked at the quiet, disembodied scream that sounded. I created a sphere around her gaseous form and forced her back into a state where I could take hold of her again. “Do that again and I will make sure you don't reform.”

Gallant hit me with a weak jolt of ennui, a calm settling over me before the Queen shook it off. Making sure I had Sophia firmly in hand, I turned to glare at Gallant. “Fool, I am the Queen of the Zerg, let me show you what a true psychic can do.” I lowered my gaze and Gallant went to his knees, face going slack.

“Taylor, stop it, what did you do to him?” Vista demanded. The Queen bristled at the worm’s impertinence but refocused my attention back on Sophia now the threat had been neutalized.

Vista rushed over. “Gallant, you okay?”

“Yeah, just… She was beautiful, shining. Glorious.”

“What did you do,” Vista demanded again.

“He should count himself lucky. He is the first to see my true self.”

The elevator doors pinged open and Director and most of the Brockton Bay Protectorate entered the hub. Director Piggot scanned the room, taking everything in without blinking. “Would someone care to explain to me what is going on here?”

“Taylor claims that Sophia caused the circumstances in which she triggered,” Aegis explained succinctly.

I glared at Aegis with psionic pressure, forcing him to his knees and snarled, tightening my grip on Sophia. “Sophia nearly murdered me.”

“I see,” the Director replied calmly. “Taylor, would you care to let Sophia everyone go and we can get to the bottom of this?”

“I am Queen of the Zerg,” I repeated. “You do not give me orders. Sophia wronged me; I will have retribution.” I tightened my grip on Sophia again and she stopped scrabbling at my invisible fist.

“That is not how things work around here,” Piggot said with a shake of her head. “I believe you when you say that Ms. Hess has hurt you and give you my word that we will take a very close look at everything you have accused her of. But before I can do that, I need you to let her go.”

I didn’t get a chance to reply, Sophia having pulled one of her small, pistol crossbows out from somewhere and fired it at my stomach while my attention was diverted. I lost my psychic grip on everyone and I fell to one knee. “Sophia!” the Director barked even as Velocity darted to catch her.

“Taylor did she hurt you?” Miss Militia asked at the same time.

I gripped the bolt and tore it out, ignoring how it caused blood to pour out. Taylor was nothing but a screaming voice in the back of my mind as I turned to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows and shattered it with a shout, leaping out a moment later. Blackness followed within moments.

~~~~~

“Dauntless, go after her. Do what you can to keep track of her and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone.” The silver-armored hero nodded and followed Taylor out of the window.

The hub was silent for a long moment until Kid Win ran back out into the main area lugging a tripod mounted device. “Damn, I missed out on everything, didn’t I?”

“So, I think it’s pretty obvious what happened here, but would someone care to fill me in on the details?” Piggot asked.

“Well, she was either holding a lot back when fought Lung or Sophia caused her to trigger. Again,” Dennis replied.

“She is the Queen,” Dean muttered absently from where he was still kneeling.

“What’s wrong with him?” Piggot asked.

“Not sure,” Carlos answered. “He tried to hit her with one of his emotion blasts but she pretty much ignored it and maybe turned it back on him. He’s been going on like that since she hit him with it.”

“So she went from a master, to mover, master, blaster and maybe trump, depending on what Gallant says if he recoverers,” Piggot mused.

“Don’t forget changer, maybe. Her eyes changed colors when she started going Carrie on us,” Dennis added.

Dauntless returned a moment later though the broken window. “I lost her. Her zerglings burst out of the lab they were in, caught her and got her to the ground safely. I followed them for about two blocks before they tore up a manhole and disappeared into the sewers.”

Piggot grunted. “She did say something about her zerglings being subterranean. Armsmaster, think you could put something together?”

He nodded. “I will see what I can do,” and left.

“At least she showed that she is no hero,” Sophia added.

“Shut up Sophia,” Carlos snapped. “It is abundantly clear that she is not making everything she said up. She was perfectly fine until you appeared and started messing with her. I really hope that you didn't just turn her into a villain. You shot her with a real bolt.”

“She was going to kill me!”

“You would have deserved it,” Gallant lowly, glaring at her.

Piggot frowned. “Vista, get Gallant down to the medical floor and get him checked out. Sophia, you are confined to quarters until further notice and your probationary status is going to get a thorough review.” Sophia stormed away, Velocity following.

“Miss Militia, I need to go call Ms Hebert’s father. Would you mind keeping an eye on things here, just in case Ms. Hebert returns?”

She nodded and Piggot left.

Chapter Text

When I awoke I had a brief moment of panic as I found myself to be floating in some sort of yellow liquid sac. My panic subsided as I realized that I wasn’t drowning and a reached out for the wall of the sac. The skin parted under the barest of pressure from my claws and I tumbled to the creep in a gush of amniotic fluid.

Horror rose in me as I picked myself up and took stock. A drone brought a large piece of shattered mirror that had been recovered from the floor of the Bay while fishing for biomass for the colony without my telling it to and I saw how I had evolved. I was covered from just below my jaw to soles of my feet in a suit of royal purple chitin. My breasts had gone from ‘practically nonexistent’ to ‘voluptuous Barbie tits’ and my fingers and toes now ended in razor-sharp claws. And as if that wasn’t enough, a pair of wingframes sprouted from my shoulderblades, ending in three skeletal fingers.

My skin, what little of it remained visible, had turned an unhealthy shade of green perfectly offset by my luminous yellow irises. My black tresses, which were just about the only thing about myself I liked were now something closer to segmented tentacles.

“Now I really am the Mother of Monsters,” I joked to myself, frowning when I heard the Queen’s flanging in my voice. Then I got angry. Sophia, as usual, had ruined my life. There wasn’t any going back from this I knew. Before Sophia had wounded me, the Zerg influence on my DNA had been minimal, just enough to enable me to control a few low-essence strains. Sophia had forced my body to fully incorporate the Zerg DNA, resulting in my current form.

Taylor’s horror faded as I tested my new body, the Queen’s pride in a well-constructed body rising to the fore. In addition to gaining a supermodel figure, I found everything else had gotten a boost too, speed, strength and durability most prominently.

I glided across the creep like my swarm did, dipped my hand in the spawning pool and withdrew it unharmed, where it had burned my hand before. I reached out with my mind and held my entire Swarm in the palm of my psychic grip, where before it had been all I could do to hold them all with both arms.

Grasping the larvae that crawled around the foot of the hatchery as I set the structures production processes in motion and set to strengthening my swarm.

Stepping out of the ship hours later, I looked to the skies and closed my eyes, reaching into the atmosphere and gathering as much moisture as I could, encouraging a gentle rotation in the gathering cloud cover, heat some parts while cooling others, causing electricity to start to arc. I had centered the storm over the PRT so it only took a few minutes to fly over the center of the storm above the cloud cover. The overlord was far slower than I was of course and took another ten to arrive.

My wings didn’t give the appearance of being capable of flight and under normal biological rules they weren't. But I was the Queen of the Zerg, the most powerful psychic on the planet; normal rules didn’t apply to me. Wind and gravity bent to my will, assisted by the powerful psychokinetic bursts my wingspikes were capable of emitting.

Once the energy potential reached an acceptable level, I let my grip on gravity and the storm slacken and I drifted slowly downward as lightning erupted in a furious barrage. The bubble shield that protected the PRT building showed signs of starting to buckle under the sustained assault after just a few minutes. I sensed something blow underground, power failing and the shield flickered once and died.

~~~~~

“Hey guys, is it just me or does that look a lot like Taylor?” Chris asked from where he was monitoring the console. He had the roof feeds up on his monitors and he zoomed one camera up on the floating figure.

The last four days had been fairly quiet, Piggot keeping the Wards on the down-low while Taylor’s accusations against Sophia were investigated. It wasn’t looking good for the probationary Ward, many of Taylor’s claims proving true.

“Holy shit, it is,” Dennis muttered from where he was looking over Kid Win’s shoulder. “Man, you really did a number on her Sophia. The shields aren’t going to be able to hold out much longer.” Sophia had been confined to the Wards level of the PRT building and she was now in the center area looking at the screens over his shoulder.

“Oh come on, there’s no way that Taylor Hebert is this powerful. Let me go out there and I will take her down.”

“Sophia, you’re delusional. Lightning is your weakness and you want to go try and fight her when she created this storm in like 10 minutes?” Carlos asked.

“One shot is all I need,” Sophia insisted stubbornly.

“You shot her once and now look what’s going on. No, I don't; think anyone here thinks that letting you handle her is a good idea,” he continued.

“Aegis, I think I got it to work,” Kid blurted as he rushed out of his lab, wearing a frame of lightning rods and tossing Vista a helmet. The young heroine settled it over Gallant’s head, who had a dazed look on his face. He started as it settled, looking around.

“You okay?” Vista asked.

Gallant touched his head and then looked up to where Taylor was probably floating. “Yeah. Sorry, it just that she’s so strong. It’s overwhelming, a warmth that surrounds her.” The rest of the Wards exchanged a concerned look.

“You think?” Aegis asked after a moment.

“Dude, look at how much electricity she is throwing around out there. Dragon designed the PRT’s shields and she’s about to take them out. No I’m not sure but this is the best I got right now.”

“Fine. Let’s go see if we can talk her down.”

“And where do the two of you think you are going?” Director Piggot asked when they got to the top floor. Of course they should have expected the adults to be reacting.

“I want to try to talk her down, Director. Kid Win has a thing that will capture any lightning she throws at us.”

Piggot frowned. “Where’s Gallant?”

“I don’t think we should send him out there. He seems to be reacting to her presence.”

“That is concerning but very well. Miss Militia, you should go too. You are the one who has had the most exposure to her.

Miss Militia nodded and followed the two teenagers outside. The building rumbled as they did so and the shield died. Taylor, looking very different than she had last time, drifted down to the roof, settling in the air about a foot above the cement. “Give me Shadow Stalker,” Taylor demanded, her voice distorted by an insectoid flanging. She was hovering about ten feet above the roof, a large bulbous, tentacled thing bobbing gently a dozen feet above and behind her.

“Taylor-” Kid Win began but the other broke in.

“My name is Koprulu, Queen of the Zerg, Mother of Monsters,” she said imperiously as she reached out to pick him up and tear the battery out of his backpack.

“Shit, you guys get that? She has no Manton limit!” Kid Win screamed.

Miss Militia swallowed despite herself. She had faced down the Slaughterhouse Nine, Endbringers, the Sleeper and she felt the beginnings of the same trepidation rise in her as she met Koprulu’s smoking golden eyes. “I can't do that, Koprulu, and you know that. But you should know that we have been investigating what you said a couple days ago and it is clear that the system failed you. Sophia is going to go to jail, I promise you.”

“That’s not good enough,” Koprulu snarled, the flanging of her voice growing as her ire rose. “I had to turn myself into this… monster in order to survive her attack. She forced me to sacrifice any chance of a normal life! She has tried to murder me twice now! I will have her blood. Give her to me or I will take her.”

“The Protectorate has more Tinkers than any other group in the world; we will set every single one of the them to figuring out a way to reverse whatever you had to do to yourself. You told me you wanted to be a heroine, you can still be one. You just have to let the law take care of Sophia.”

“I’ve read enough of the investigation to know that I will be strenuously pushing for jail too,” Aegis added. “What she has done to you, it goes beyond the pale. I will not have someone like that on my team.”

Koprulu seemed to hesitate, her gaze turning inward as her eyes started smoking less intensely and Miss Militia hoped that the day might be salvaged after all. “And how many more like her are there in the Protectorate, villains who masquerade as heroes? I have had enough of bullies going unchecked because they call themselves good.”

“None, at least not in Brockton Bay, I swear to you,” Miss Militia vowed.

“I will exterminate injustice wherever I find it,” she continued.

“The Protectorate isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we got.”

Koprulu snarled and cast a hand upwards, the slowly gyrating storm dissipating.

Director Piggot stepped out onto the roof just as the flying thing started floating away and Koprulu's taloned toes touched the roof. She gave it a long stare before marched to Koprulu. “I’m not going to ask whether you could make that thing before. But we are going to have to have a serious talk about how many and what kind of... Zerg? You can make and where you have been growing them.” Piggot paused for a moment, choosing her next words carefully. “For what it’s worth, I am truly sorry the system failed you as completely as it did. This… this should have never been necessary.”

Koprulu shook her head. “On that we both agree. We should go inside. You are not going to like what I have to tell you.”

~~~~~

She was right; Piggot didn’t like anything I told her. Fortunately, Armsmaster wasn't present, so I fibbed a bit and said that my new form had expanded my power. Which they had.

“So I think we need to discuss a population cap on your Swarm,” Piggot said as she leaned back in her chair.

The Zerg in me immediately rebelled at the idea. “Think very carefully about your number,” the Queen told her, instead of ripping her throat out. “I am the Zerg and the Zerg is me; I will not kill parts of myself simply because you are fearful.”

“Or at least one on how many you can use above the ground. Depending on what  and how many you can create, you could be a powerful weapon against the Endbringers. Perhaps the aquifer could be drained and you could use the cave system to build a Swarm to use against the Endbringers.”

Her proposal caught me off guard. “You don’t have concerns that I could be another Nilbog?”

“I will admit that the thought has crossed my mind but you have displayed a strong sense of justice so far, and as long as you do not become deceptive or unruly with your Swarm, I do not think the risk is great.”

I considered it for a moment. “Fine. But I will have no interference with the evolution or composition of my Swarm.”

“Let’s see just what you can make first, then we can discuss limits.”

“Fine. Gather anyone you wish to and bring them to the Boat Graveyard when you are ready.” I rose to my taloned feet and strode out of the director’s office before she should say anything else. It seemed someone had been watching the camera monitoring the hallway outside the Wards HQ, as the normally-locked door whooshed open as I approached. It was probably a good thing; I would have torn through it otherwise. None of the Wards said anything as I crossed the Hub and leaped out of the window, gravity bending to my will and a flap of my wings sending me tearing through the air directly to my hatchery.

~~~~~

Not surprisingly, most of the Brockton Bay Protectorate followed the Director to the Graveyard, only Assault, Battery and Triumph remaining behind. All the Wards were present of course, along with half a dozen PRT scientists with a boggling array of scientific equipment. The two senior capes also brought what appeared to be most, if not all of the training equipment.

A convoy of regular cops followed the PRT’s, setting up a cordon around the section of the Graveyard they were using. I noticed more than one glance up at the overlord that tracked them.

I had sent my Swarm into production before I had left for the PRT building, just in case I had to go to war with the PRT or something; Taylor, the human part of me just hoped they didn't find my enhance Swarm too much of a threat and make me defend myself. The Queen could care less what the humans thought; she was just satisfied to finally have a proper Swarm.

“I’m getting a massive heat signature from the ship,” my overlord hear Armsmaster tell Piggot.

“I see it too. Whatever’s going on in there is big,” Dauntless concurred.

One of the first strains I had birthed was a broodmother; she waited outside my colony ship for Piggot and the rest.

“Greetings, humans,” she rasped once everyone was assembled on the beach. “I am Neriel, first broodmother to the Queen. Leave your equipment out here and follow me inside.”

Piggot frowned at how the broodmother spoke, displaying intelligence that Koprulu had said that none of her creatures possessed. Just one more thing to discuss with the girl. Ordering the Wards to stay outside, she led the group of capes and scientists after Neriel into the beached tanker. It was just over five hundred feet long and had been hollowed out. Piggot had to force herself not to flinch as suppressed the memories of Ellisburg rose to the fore when she came into sight of the colony. The entire inside surface of the tanker’s hull was covered in a thoroughly disgusting purplish slime that sucked at their feet, forcing them to high-step if they didn’t want to have to trudge through the stuff.

A variety of pulsating, tumorous structures appeared to grow out of the sludge, filling the hold of the ship with a stifling, muggy heat that made what might have otherwise been a mildly irritating stink into rank, fetid odor that caused one of the PRT scientists to lose his lunch.

Everyone started when a drone, the size of a small terrier, darted in from the murky dimness to collect the offering and disappeared just as quickly.

Piggot grimaced as the broodmother moved much quicker than they did, almost gliding across the slime-stuff.

The purple slime emitted a slight bioluminescence, so they weren’t completely blind, but she wasn't the only one who started when Koprulu emerged from around the bulk of what seemed to be the main structure, her eyes collecting what little light there was and shone like molten gold.

“Good morning. I have to say, your…”

“Colony,” Koprulu supplied.

“Your colony is more extensive than you implied,” Piggot said, looking around. The purple stuff covered everything, floor, walls and ceiling.

“I am not be blamed if you underestimated the size of my Swarm.”

“You were hardly expressive about what you’d done here. In any case, I have some serious reservations about what I’m seeing, but I’d like to look around and see what you’ve done before we speak.”

“Very well. Look around all you want, but be careful what you touch and do not try to harm any of my Zerg. Any questions you have, you can ask Neriel.”

“After we’re done looking through your colony, I’d like you to let us test your capabilities of your various…”

“Strains.”

“Right. Your strains. If they’re as combat-capable as your zerglings, I think you could be a real asset to the Protectorate.”

“You cannot be thinking of entertaining this human,” Neriel asked, displeasure clear. “The Zerg do not perform like trained monkeys. We attack, consume, evolve.”

Neriel had not spoken for her voice to carry but every person in the group heard anyways.

“The Zerg does as I command, Broodmother. If I command you to, you will serve tea and cakes, because I am the Queen.”

“You wish us to serve that which we should consume?”

My irritation spiked at Neriel’s continued insubordination. “I serve no one, but you serve me,” the Queen snarled, taking Neriel in a psionic chokehold. “If that is too much for you, I will return you to the spawning pool and create another broodmother who knows her place!”

I had picked Neriel six or seven feet off the ground and all her limbs flailed uselessly as I suppressed her combat instinct and closed off her airways. “No… I… serve… the Queen,” Neriel choked out.

“You told me that you couldn’t make anything that was sentient.” Piggot said, sidling up to me as the capes and scientists followed Neriel.

I had folded my feet under me and was levitating, adjusting my height so that we could look each other in the eye. “Neriel is… unique.”

Piggot grunted. “And unruly. She seems rather hostile to us humans.”

“You will have to forgive her that. She is young and her instincts are still very strong. She will learn.”

Piggot’s distrust was plain but she didn't push the issue. “And we are going to need to discuss relocating your colony. I appreciate that you placed it just about as far from people as you could and still be in the city, but this is too far away for us to reliably monitor.”

“I will not downsize my colony.”

“I think we can agree on that, if you agree not to grow it without consulting us first.”

“Where were you thinking of?”

“I’m giving you a biologic Tinker classification so we can give you a workshop you can set up in.”

I shook my head. “I can compact my colony somewhat, but I use structures not tools to manipulate my Swarm. I need more space than you can provide in the PRT building.”

Piggot’s frown deepened, if that were possible. “What were you thinking of?”

“One of the abandoned warehouses in the Docks. Or at least two levels of the parking garage if you insist on keeping my colony closer to the PRT building. I can make my colony take up less space laterally, but I cannot make my structures smaller.”

“Very well, I will take that under advisement. How would your relocate once we find a better place for you?”

“Not a problem. My drones can cannibalize the biomass from here to move the colony, but that means they will get much bigger, so you will need to clear a path for me through the city.”

Piggot grunted again, settling in to wait on the scientists. They left the bioforms alone for now but took innumerable samples from every structure in the ship. When they had satisfied themselves, they reassembled by me with their cape minders and returned to the beach.

I had my Swarm spill out of the ship and assemble on the beach, a dozen zerglings, ten hydralisks and an equal number of roaches. Finally, I brought out the eight drones that maintained the colony, placing them under the overlord that hovered about ten feet above the sand.

Neriel’s displeasure was a cloying taste on the back of my tongue, but she didn't protest when the scientists started putting my Swarm through its paces, so I let her alone.

The testing took until dark, the beach resembling something out of a sci-fi war movie, what with the acid-chewed pits and destroyed testing gear.

“We can relocate your colony tomorrow night, I’m thinking. Use the darkness to avoid freaking out the civilians and hold your announcement press conference tomorrow afternoon. May I assume from some of what you said at the HQ this new body of yours is permanent?”

I nodded. “Before, I was only part Zerg, just the bare minimum Zerg DNA needed to control my Swarm incorporated. Sophia’s attack forced me to assimilate it completely in order to survive.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. Ms. Hess’ probation has been revoked and she was transferred to juvenile detention today until she turns eighteen.”

“That’s something I suppose.”

“If you want, you can also start at Arcadia tomorrow.”

“Just like that?”

“The main reason you weren't allowed to before was to protect your civilian identity; that’s no longer possible  and not to mention it’s been made abundantly clear that Winslow High is not a healthy learning environment for you.”

“I would appreciate that,” I replied quietly.

“It’s been a long day for everyone, so if you would command your Swarm to return to the ship we can get back to the HQ. I had to call your father after your initial encounter with Shadow Stalker and he has been making quite a fuss over the last couple days. I’m sure he’ll be overjoyed to find out you’re safe.”

Dad was waiting for me in a lounge on the flow below the Ward’s headquarters. He looked paler and thinner than usual with bags under his eyes. He barely hesitated before throwing himself into what must have been an uncomfortably tight embrace given my armor and wouldn’t let go of me until I assured him that I was in perfect biological health.

I flew us home, Dad lying on my back between my wingspikes, holding onto them for dear life. Neither one of us were particularly tired, (my evolution largely having negated my need for sleep) and he sipped coffee as told him everything about myself and the Zerg, holding nothing back.

Chapter Text

Waking up to my first day of class at Arcadia was more than a little different in more than a few ways. I didn't need to shower or brush my… well, fangs really. I didn't have to choose an outfit, nor did I have to wait on the bus to take me to school.

As much as losing the ability to have a civilian identity sucked, flying was pretty awesome and I had to admit, the Queen took more than a little pleasure in circling around the school once before swooping down to land on the front lawn.

Shockingly, nobody ran away screaming, through the yard was dead silent as I headed to the front doors. Arcadia was a relatively new school, with a Faraday cage built into it to enforce the no-phones policy. The school was build in an H-shape, north to south, with the offices in the crossbar. The cafeteria and gym was in one arm and the auditorium in the other, with classrooms filling out the rest of the four stories. Two sets of double doors were set into the south faces of the legs of the H.

My talons clacked loudly against the tile floor as I headed to the front office. Just about everyone stopped to stare, shuffling back against the walls so I moved in my own little bubble. As usual, my two halves had two very different opinions of all the attention I was getting. The Queen loved every second of it, revelling in the sharp prickles of shock and fear that passed through the crowds at sight. Taylor simply endured it mournfully.

“Taylor Hebert,” I said as I walked up to the lady sitting behind the front desk. the insectoid flanging that was part of my voice easily filling the area. “Transferring from Winslow High. PRT Director Piggot should have expedited it.”

“Ah, yes, here we are, the lady at the desk said when she recovered her senses. “Ms Hebert, you're on the transfer C-track. Your homeroom will be with Mr Phillips.” She handed me a couple papers spat out by the printer next to her and I took them with care. The topmost paper was my schedule, listing how my alternating classes worked and where they were. The second page was a map, with the third an explanation of the Arcadia rules as they differed from Winslow’s.

Mr Phillips room was A-223, which meant it was on the second floor of the left-north wing. A single twitch of my wings drove me up through the middle of the stairwell and I hovered midair for a moment, consulting my map to determine which way to go before floating over the rail and touching down.

I showed Mr Phillips my paper and he made a vague gesture to the rest of the class, telling me to take any empty seat. I took one look at the relatively flimsy-looking desks and elected to sit against the back wall.

“Ms Hebert, Taylor,” Mr Phillips began hesitantly when he saw me sit against the wall, “you need to sit in a desk, please.”

“Unless you have some special desks, I would just break it, Mr Phillips,” I rasped. “I have a brute classification and I don’t have a very good handle on it yet, and I’m much heavier than I look.” Picking the nearest empty desk up by the back of the with one hand, I twisted the arm holding the table part, showing him the light scoring my claws dug in from just picking it up as well.

“I see. Well, as long as you can see the board, sit wherever you like then.”

I went back to where I had been sitting before and raised my hand when he called my name.

The rest of my Ward-mandated half-day passed much in the same manner, people avoiding getting too close and whispering, but no one daring to make trouble. None of my classes coincided with those of my teammates unfortunately, possibly deliberately given the instruction I had received to avoid them so I didn't accidentally blow their secret identities.

The prickling sensation of the constant apprehension of everyone around me followed me all day, but nobody freaked out, accused me of being a supervillain or called the heroes on me which was frankly better than what I had been expecting.

I turned my special PRT-issued smartphone on as I left as lunch started. It buzzed several times and opened the messaging app to see several from Piggot saying my announcement press conference was going to be held in front of the PRT building a five.

It was only 12:15 so I had a couple hours to kill. I entered the Wards HQ via the roof entrance and found the team already assembled in the main area.

I pulled to an abrupt stop, surprised. The population density of Arcadia had me all but shutting my psychic senses down and it took me a moment to listen again. “Hey Taylor,” Dennis said from the console. “Looking forward to your announcement?”

“It is time Brockton Bay learned of me,” I declared, the Queen getting the better of me for a second.

“There are news crews already setting up,” Missy told me from where she was leaning against the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the building’s entrance. “Nobody wants to miss this particular announcement.

“It’s been awhile since there’s been an announcement for a powerhouse like you. You summon a storm to take down the PRT shields like you did and everyone’s gonna want to know who you are,” Chris added, emerging from the back hall where his workshop was.

“How do these things usually go?”

“It’s a PR thing, so we’ll all be there, Protectorate, Wards and the director. Armsmaster will start, say a few words about how you got recruited to the Wards and then let you introduce yourself. You get to say how proud you are to be a Ward and stuff. The reporters get to ask you some questions and take your picture, then everyone goes home.”

“Seems simple enough.”

“If you were a reformed villain or something, they’d probably give you a hard time about your appearance, but your just a new Ward, so anyone who gives you too much grief gets 86’d from the next one.”

Sure enough, just about every news and radio station was assembled when I followed Armsmaster out to the stage that had been set up. The reporters quieted down after just a few seconds and Armsmaster’s baritone rang out over the crowd.

I barely heard anything Armsmaster said, barely registering his crediting of Lung’s capture to me and that I was a “master that would strike fear in the heart of villains across the city.” Most of the crowd was radiating curiosity or excitement of some flavor but there was a single, bright flame of terror somewhere in the crowd.

So engrossed was I in trying to figure out what was going on to inspire such pants shitting terror that Armsmaster had to grab my shoulder to jerk me out of my reverie.

I’d barely gotten my own name out of my mouth however when the source of the terror-flame shoved his way through the crowd to just before the stage. He ripped his coat open to reveal the bombvest he was wearing and thrust his hand, clutching a deadman trigger into the air.

“I’m here on behalf of Bakuda, leader of the Azn Bad Boys. You have six hours to release Lung. There are bombs planted all around the city and they will go off one per hour until this city is reduced to a smoking ruin.”

I sensed his fear spike as his wavering resolve hardened. Realizing what was about to happen, I cast my arm back to seize Clockblocker in a psionic grip and hurled him at the suicide bomber. He flailed at the unexpected flight but kept his head enough to time-stop the bomber before he let his thumb off the trigger.

The crowd hesitated for a split second before it dissolved into a panicked herd.

The Protectorate moved in to secure the area an instant later, Clockblocker pushing himself off the would-be mass murderer but not moving away.

“Nice move there,” Aegis said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. The Queen had surged to the fore with the threat and jerked out of his grip with a growl before I could restrain myself. Taking to the air, I scanned the area with all my senses, trying to determine if the now time-locked bomber was the only threat.

Sensing nothing but the heroes below me, I slowly allowed gravity to reassert its hold. Several containment foam-equipped PRT officers rushed out of the building and doused the bomber. “I’m pretty sure he’s alone; I'm not sensing any danger in the area.”

That got me a look or two but the relief, in the Wards especially was almost tangible. “How sure are you?” Miss Militia asked.

“All the civilians are gone and I’m not sensing anyone else in a hundred yards.”

Armsmaster grunted. “Dauntless, Velocity, Battery, check the area out anyways.”

“You doubt my abilities?” the Queen snapped.

“Given that you are a brand-new Ward, whose powers have yet to be properly documented, I’m not taking any chances. Especially with a threat from Bakuda.”

“But that was some very good on-your-feet thinking,” Triumph added. “I think everyone would agree with me when I say that I’m very glad you were here today.”

“Hear hear,” Kid Win added.

“You congratulate too quickly,” I replied sharply. “There’s a superpowered, psychopathic bomber threatening the city; none of us deserve anything until she has been neutralized.”

“We have six hours until the first bomb goes off-” Vista began but I cut her off.

“Assuming that she sticks to her schedule once she figures out we foiled her initial attack.”

“Be that as it may, this is not a job for the Wards,” Armsmaster replied.

“For the Wards, no. But I can find all of Bakuda’s bombs before her six hours are up.”

“How?” Piggot asked simply, speaking up for the first time.

“There is a strain of Zerg called overlords I can create. They were evolved as scouts, sensors, listening posts all in one. They have no combat or offensive abilities but possess senses infinitely more sensitive than anything on this planet. If you allow me to expand my Swarm, I can make sure nobody dies because of her.”

Piggot hesitated for a long handful of seconds while I struggled to keep the Queen in check and not make anything worse. At the same time I hoped that Piggot didn't ask anything too piercing, all too aware of Armsmaster and his lie detector just a few feet away.. “This is the perfect opportunity to showcase my power to the city and show that however villainous I appear, I’m not a bad guy.”

“Very well,” Piggot finally relented. “How many do you want to make and how long will it take?”

“A half-dozen should be enough to cover the city. I can have them sweeping the city inside the hour.”

“Do you have any… strains that could defuse or contain the bombs when found?”

I gave her question a second’s thought. “Not without expanding my colony far beyond what you’d be comfortable with and not quickly enough.”

“Fine. Deploy your overlords and I’ll try to convince City Hall that we aren't being invaded by aliens.”

Armsmaster held me back for a moment to patch my phone into the Protectorate’s encrypted network. My colony was only a couple minutes away at top speed from the PRT building, the first three of my new batch of overlords already about a third of the way grown. My original one was meandering its way to the city the moment Piggot had given permission to field the Swarm.

There was some moderate freaking out as my overlords spread out over the city, but most people seemed to calm down once they saw the other heroes working with them and realized they weren't a threat. In the end, there were over forty bombs scattered throughout the city, impressive given how short a time Bakuda had to scatter them.

The mobilization of the Protectorate meant that the tinker caught on quicker than anyone would've wished. Overlords weren’t speedy creatures by anyone’s measure but I tried to prioritize the most sensitive locations, schools, hospitals, playgrounds, places a psycho like Bakuda would likely target first while searching methodically.

The first bomb went off before I’d found more than a third of them, but I had found those that would've caused the most mayhem.

“Fuck tinkers,” I said to no one in particular, flying to a bomb one of my overlords had just located out towards Captains Hill two hours into the search.

“Excuse me?” Armsmaster’s gravelly voice said in my ear.

“Ah, whoops. Didn't realize the line was open,” I said, trying to sound apologetic.

“Right. Because that makes it better.”

“Sorry. If you’re finished with the last location, I have another one for you. Just picked one up in the Trainyard.”

“I'm closer,” Velocity said before Armsmaster could reply. “Send me the coordinates.”

I sighed. I’d already explained that my overlords couldn't sniff the explosives out that precisely, but I sent him the area in which he should be looking.

I’d just hit the send button when my phone buzzed, the very annoyed voice of the director sounding.

“Koprulu, what’s this I’m hearing about monsters roaming the streets? I’m quite sure I was clear when I said you were to keep your Swarm in the Boat graveyard, except for your overlords.”

I gritted my teeth and bit back the first Queenly retort that came to mind. “There are people wounded that emergency services can't get to. My Zerg can. I’m not going to keep them hidden in the colony when they can be useful.”

“Koprulu-”

“Have any of my Swarm hurt anyone?”

“No, but-”

“Then they will keep helping until you can give me a good reason why they shouldn't. I just found another one of Bakuda’s bombs so I need to take care of this before it hurts anyone.” I tapped the earpiece wedged in my ear, cutting the director off. I would probably pay for that later, but I couldn't worry about it.

This particular bomb was hidden in a park in a partially hollowed out tree. There weren't any external indicators of what it would do or when it would go off, just a smooth silver cylinder. I grabbed it and gave about ten seconds of skyward flight before I hurled it up, snatching it with my mind and crushing it.

The next eight hours passed in a blur, but by the time the explosions had stopped I was bone-weary. I’d caught the brunt of two plain explosive bombs that had gone off as I was clearing an intersection and lost a good bit of armor and flesh off my left hand when it exploded while I was trying to get it clear of any potential casualties. Not to mention how my face and lungs itched and burned like they’d been attacked by a host of poison ivy-laden mosquitoes after I’d inhaled a bit of some gray gas a bomb hidden in a treehouse had issued.

Piggot started yammering in my ear again but I was too tired to listen, all I could think of was returning to my colony and resting.

I barely made into the ship, a clutch of drones rushing in to catch me as I gave up and passed out.

~~~~~

“Where is she?” Piggot demanded, rushing into the Wards’ area without preamble. All the Wards had been put on standby, just in case any of the other local villains decided to take advantage of the chaos. “Where’s Koprulu?”

“Ah, I don't know, ma’am. I don't think any of us have heard from her tonight. What’s wrong?” Gallant asked, throwing a worried look at his teammates.

“What’s wrong is nobody seems to know where she is or get in contact with her and her ‘Swarm’ is still out causing a ruckus.”

“Have you called her dad?” Aegis asked.

“She’s not there, not anywhere as far as I can tell.”

“What about her colony?” Vista asked in a small voice. “Maybe she was hurt and she went back there to rest?”

“Nobody’s been able to check. The Protectorate is still out on damage control and my officers are rather reluctant to head out there.”

Everyone gave some sign of agreement at that. Their newest teammate was a nice enough girl once one got to know her, but she was still supremely creepy and they could understand the reluctance to go into the infested ship.

“Fine. If she contacts any of you, I want to hear about it immediately. If she doesn't turn up by morning, I won't have any choice but to find her no matter what.”