Chapter Three - Future Perfect
Her passage through time left her just as befuddled as before, despite her extensive modifications. She was in the same lab room she had just left, the large, one way glass panel of the conference room above. The organic matrix was as before, broodmother's bulk hidden behind a computer rack.
However, she was alone. There were no broodlings, no scientists, and most importantly, no other wardens. Just her.
No wonder she had been sent back with so many eggs and broodlings! They would be necessary to jump start Mother's invasion of this world. *
The humans had no idea what pleasures they would soon face!*
She frowned. If only she could solve the puzzle on what she should call her new self. She didn't feel that it made sense to call herself 'Kate' any more. That was her old self, and she was something much
more
now. 'Katy' wasn't good either, as that name was simply borrowed, though the other woman's memories were just as familiar to her as her own.
Perhaps she should compromise and choose something in between. 'Kay' had a nice ring to it. She waited a beat, but her broodmaster didn't respond. Either it didn't care, or it thought that human names were beneath it. Very well, Kay was it.
That sorted, she realized that she felt awfully exposed. Maybe she had better hide herself away? She had no idea what was going on outside the lab. She could be under observation at this very moment!
Feeding these thoughts through to her broodmaster, she received a cool assent in milliseconds. They were in agreement. Very well, then, it wouldn't do to stand in the middle of the organic carpet like a deer in the headlights.
Crouching down, she ran lightly across the carpet, her reshaped feet pressing gently against the surface. She headed for the broodmother, using her sexmaster's tail for balance, making a great leap to slide herself behind the monster's bulk.
The jump wasn't necessary, but it made her feel good. She might as well enjoy the abilities Mother had given to her. *
Bless Mother
.*
A whooshing sound echoed throughout the lab, the faint murmur of voices bouncing from the walls. She had hidden herself in the nick of time, but who could be coming into the lab?
From her past experience with this room, it was easy enough to hide herself behind the series of white tanks as she worked her way towards the entrance. The voices were coming louder now, audible to her enhanced ears.
"I just don't think this is a good idea," stated a woman's voice. "We're engineers. What do we know about biological organisms?"
A man's breath hissed, a thick voice coming angrily. "That's irrelevant, Katy. We've been told to do this job, or
else
. Our jobs are at stake. Besides, this experiment has been designed by top biologists. Don't you trust
them
?"
"Fine," sighed the woman, hefting a box in her hands. "Let's get this done and get out of here, I really feel bad about this."
Kay peered around the corner of the tank, spotting a small group of scientists that were walking up onto the organic carpet. A short woman wearing a lab coat was out front, gesticulating with frustration at a balding fat man. Kay recognized her immediately - she was the scientist whose memories were floating around in her head!
If the woman hadn't yet been captured, that meant one thing - time had been rewound far enough back that the group of scientists hadn't yet been trapped inside the organic matrix. That must be
her
job. *
Capture, infest, transform,*
agreed the broodmaster.
That idea was all well and good, but she needed a plan. She doubted she could get away with assaulting all five of them alone. One of them was bound to escape her grasp, ruining Mother's attack. *
Not alone
.*
That was just the reminder she needed. She sent a pulse of gratitude to her broodmaster, crouching until her butt touched the floor. Pushing down with all her strength, she flung her body upwards, wrapping her clawed hands around the railing welded to the top of the tank.
Flipping over silently, she got on her knees, watching the intruders hungrily. They didn't know it yet, but they were in her crosshairs. Her broodlings would soon make them understand.
Grabbing the railing, she leaned over, mentally urging her brood to take them as she stroked the sensitive flesh around the cavernous holes surrounding her breasts. *
Fly, my beauties. Seize their brains and turn them into servants of Mother!*
The bobbing green bodies of the beetles dropped from her chest, the creatures reorienting themselves as their legs touched the metal body of the tank. They leaped onto the organic mat with a dull rustle.
One of the male scientists turned and screamed. "What the hell is that?" he squeaked, falling on his ass.
Katy dropped the box she was holding and ran for the exit. A sense of self preservation, or utter cowardice must be driving her. Either way, she couldn't allow the woman to leave. She was necessary to run the Gate.
Climbing onto the tank's rail, Kay looked for her opportunity, her butt lifted high. The sexmaster raised its tail to counterbalance her posture, helping in its own way. Her mouth drew into a soundless growl as the scientist stumbled over the boundary between the organic carpet and the floor, but she managed to avoid falling.
This was her opportunity! Muscles tensing, she leapt like a cat, timing her fall perfectly to intersect with the scrambling scientist.
Her claws tore at the scientist's back, and she yelped in pain, falling forward as Kay's body slammed into her. Her knee hit the edge of the exit ramp and she cried out, her ankle twisting as she attempted to climb back to her feet.
Kay grabbed her side and slammed her against the floor, climbing on top of her chest to pin her down. The woman stared at her, wild eyed, her hands curling into fists. She drummed them against Kay's bulging chest, but her flesh absorbed the blows handily without any damage.
A blob of green chirped from her chest, and she grinned. Not
all
of the broodlings had deserted her on the first assault. Wrapping her hand around the swollen globe, she tugged gently. The broodling disconnected from her inner teat, popping off into her hand. Its legs moved rapidly, in anticipation of what was to come.
The scientist screamed as Kay wrapped a clawed hand around her throat, squeezing it tightly. "Stay still," she growled, her thick tongue making it difficult to pronounce human words.
Katy's eyes rolled in their sockets, her lips quivering as she watched the swollen broodling dangling above her. She shrieked again as Kay set the creature down next to her skull. "This will feel good soon," she gurgled, her tongue reaching out to lick Katy's face.
Tears streamed from her eyes, her voice blubbering. "W... what are you?" she asked, petrified.
"Your
future
," she hissed, helping the broodling onto her head.
The creature latched on, spiking its legs into her skull. Using them as anchors, it pressed its body tight against her head, ignoring the woman's hair that spilled through its legs. Its mouthparts chittered against her skin, followed by a horrendous crunching sound as the monster drilled into her brain. The green sphere on the broodling's back deflated, the parasitic organism being injected inside.
Katy's high pitch scream went on and on, long enough for even Kay to become uncomfortable, but soon enough it faded off and her eyes closed. Her body relaxed, going limp. Kay let her head drop to the floor, looking around to see how the other scientists had fared.
None of them had managed to leave the organic matrix. Panicking, they had run from the broodlings, doing their best to escape around the tanks and under desks. Unfortunately for them, although the broodlings weren't fast, they
were
persistent, and their victims had been taken completely by surprise.
Without a plan, none of them got far, and although a few broodlings had been crushed under flailing limbs, in the end, they had managed to overwhelm their prey. All of the scientists were unconscious, a green orb pulsing on their heads.
Her mission in service to Mother had been completed. *
Perfect
.*
Katy's limbs were trembling. The parasite was melding with her mind, permanently attaching itself around her cerebellum. Soon, she would awake, and then the real struggle would begin. Before that happened, Kay would need to secure her properly.
Reaching under Katy with both arms, she lifted her off the floor easily, cradling her victim's neck against her shoulder. Her muscle mass had increased significantly since her transformation, easily quadrupling the strength she had originally possessed.
Walking to the organic matrix, she set Katy down on the spongy purple material. Pressing her forefinger into the mat, she tore a vertical hole in the surface, the length of Katy's body. The matrix separated, revealing a cavernous void underneath. She rolled the comatose woman over twice, placing her in the hole she had just made.
She ran her tongue around the edges, pulling the flap of matrix over like a blanket to secure it to her victim's arms and legs. The carpet flexed, tendrils growing together to wrap her up securely. The scientist wasn't going anywhere until she had fully accepted her enslavement.
That task accomplished, she turned her attention to the other scientists. One by one, she dragged them out of their hiding places, preparing a hole in the matrix for them as well. The fat one was a bit more difficult to prepare, but in the end, he was secured as well.
Sighing in satisfaction, she straightened up, stretching. It felt good to serve Mother in this way.
*Her will was spreading.*