Project Hlin 7
By Lionbadger I have a dreary commute to work and while looking for something to read came across Frenemy54's Fox Hunt serial (Misc stories, Mr X site, if you haven't read it, you should and if the setting confuses you I sort of tacked on my own continuity through the stories Fox Hunt 6-10). I've always been a fan of the Butterscotch Fox universe and with Frenemy's continuity I figured I could create a little off shoot/parallel universe setting for some home brew heroines and hopefully help out any other fetish inclined commuters. I suspect I am not great at describing costumes so there is a deviant art pic of the girls of project Hlin here . Comments, suggestions, offers of cake etc; lionbadger@hotmail.com
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Sun glinted from the brilliant white and gold figure of Sovereign Girl as she plunged towards the earth in an uncontrolled freefall. The wind roared in her ears and turbulence streamed her long blonde hair behind her. She shone like a comet as the early morning sun bathed her form hugging costume in light. At the last moment, when any casual observor would be convinced that the slim girl would surely crash into the dirt and burst like a balloon, she pulled out of the dive slingshoting away from the promised impact. She splayed her arms out and barrel rolled gracefully then climbed back into the cool blue sky.
"Commencing sweep" she said touching the paper thin com secured behind her ear as she glanced up and behind her to see the droning olive green cargo plane turning in a long lazy arc back towards its base.
"Proceed south Sovereign but stay in the EU" came the voice of Jagkommand's Colonel Horst
"Unless I see something suspicious right?" Replied Sovereign
"Call in anything suspicious. We have back up on standby for you at Lublin" said Horst "Plus, Belarus air defence will almost certainly fire on you if you cross into their airspace"
"I can handle myself Colonel" said Sovereign her east England accent biting crisply across the com "What about Ukraine?"
"Kiev has cleared you for emergency access but I wouldn't put it past them to try to grab you. The current regime is heavily in debt to the Russian Tsar. The Ukrainians say one thing and do another, they might even be behind the disappearances" replied Horst
"If I find out they have Butter and Strike they'll be really sorry really quick" said Sovereign
"Sovereign, if someone can make Butterscotch Fox and Night Strike disappear then we have to assume that they can do the same to you" said Horst firmly "I would never have authorised this sweep of yours if the orbital sweeps or recon planes had picked up even a hint of what has happened to them"
"You need to stop treating me like a kid Colonel, I might look like a teen playing dress up but I've been a heroine longer than Jagkommand has even been in existence" said Sovereign huffily
"We do not treat you like a child Sovereign. The fact is that you are extremely valuable and our being 30% down on our frontline meta human strength increases your value exponentially. I am not asking you, I am ordering you to look for clues and avoid engagements" said Horst bluntly
Sovereign ground her teeth in frustration for several moments her headstrong nature warring with the obedience conditioning "Understood Colonel" she finally said as she clicked off her com.
Sovereign turned her keen blue eyes onto the rolling landscape below her. She flew south hugging the heavily guarded border. Polish flags fluttered from concrete pillboxes dug into the land as grim faced soldiers glared out across the border. To her left the scene was repeated with watch towers and barbed wire. The Russian Tsar's puppet buffer state glaring enviously at the european soldiers metres away.
"Butter's right, we could have beaten Scarlet and liberated North America if we weren't so paranoid about our neigbours" muttered Sovereign
Sovereign chewed over the thought as she skimmed south. She remembered when Scarlet Fox destroyed the Institute and took over America slaughtering its Monsduggian members. She had thought for so long that she was the last of her kind. Her race all but extinct. She'd been barely into her twenties and living at MI13's barracks in the UK when she watched the BBC reporter announcing the death of her idol Butterscotch Fox. The reporter had trotted out Scarlet's propaganda verbatim and it had hit the young Sovereign like a kick in the chest.
She'd been rolled back from frontline missions after that as MI13 investigated Scarlet's assertions about the Monsduggians and it had driven her into a downward spiral. She had consoled herself with drink and lost her edge. Simple missions had been botched and her handlers had marked her down as unreliable. The horrible truth that she kept buried was that when the EU began to quietly set up Jagkommand the sceptical UK government had seen it as an opportunity to get rid of its problem supergirl while looking like it was contributing something to the international task force.
Horst had seen it immediately when Sovereign Girl stumbled off her transport her eyes red and bleary. He'd thrown her in a cell for 4 days to dry out, treated her like a criminal. She'd been hosed and her clothes removed. 3 and a half days shivering naked in a Salzburg dungeon. She'd woken to find him looking at her on the morning of the 5th day. He'd looked her in the eyes and told her they were going to save the world. He'd told her he needed her. He'd given a big speech about how the people of Europe needed her. As she sneered at his idealism he speared her heart. He said that her dead sisters would be ashamed of her and that Butterscotch Fox would be disgusted at what she had let herself become. Then he'd told her that Butterscotch wasn't dead and Sovereign wasn't alone.
Sovereign snapped out of her reminiscing and continued searching the land for some indication that a fight had taken place. Both Butter and Strike had been operating with a full squad of jaegers each. They would not have vanished quietly. After two hours of fruitless flight she realised the Belorussian flags had been replaced with the blue and yellow bars of Ukraine. Heads turned to look at her as she flashed past a border check. On impulse she gave a wave and rolled in the sky.
The border crossing disappeared into the distance behind her as she continued south. The land gradually became more marshy and hilly. Clumps of twisted trees surrounded by fetid fog clung to the edge of the stangnant pools of water. Sovereign decelerated to better inspect the sour landscape. A few broken down huts and shattered fences marked where farms had once been. An eerie quiet permeated everything.
"Base do you have me on augers?" Said Sovereign into her com
The com hissed static.
"Base?" Repeated Sovereign cycling the chanels
Static continued to hiss. As she strained her ears she thought she could hear faint voices but the words were indistinguishable under the hissing white noise.
Sovereign halted her sweep and stood in the sky to think. Something was clearly wrong here and merited further investigation. The voices on the com were probably base but could easily have been Butter and Strike calling for help. The thought of her teammates in peril filled her with equal parts dread and rage. She considered diving down lower to investigate but the words of Colonel Horst stopped her. She hung in the air for long moments in agonised indecision then reluctantly turned west. She would get out of this deadzone and log her position so Jagkommand could send in back up. Then she'd zip back and find her team. The deadzone couldn't extend very far into Poland or it would have been logged and reported by now.
She pushed herself up to 80 mph and sped west. A sudden flicker of light on the road she was shadowing caught her attention. A small checkpoint sat in the middle of the road. A red and white barrier pole lay across the road in front of a quaint old farmstead. A pair of black and green jeeps were parked beside the farm. Sovereign could see at least one soldier standing by the road. She touched her com again. The static continued to hiss.
If there are troopers down there they might have a stronger radio she thought to herself.
She splayed her fingers out and rolled into a dive. She pulled herself up a few metres from the ground and dropped lightly onto the road. The soldier guarding the checkpoint swivlled his head to look at her briefly then turned back to watch the road. Sovereign twitched an eyebrow, usually a white and gold clad supergirl dropping from the sky would have more effect. She walked casually towards the guard and stopped a little short. The situation seemed odd and a nagging doubt had formed in her mind.
"Good Morning do you speak English" she chirruped brightly displaying a warm smile.
The trooper turned slowly to look at Sovereign. The busty blonde brought her hand to her mouth as the trooper's face came into view. Milky white eyes stared at her and thick ropes of drool ran from the man's mouth. Dark patches of necrotism patterned his face and Sovereign belatedly realised that the man's black hands were not a product of gloves but rather of hideous decomposing flesh. The man stared dumbly for long moments then his brows knit and he raised his rifle. Simultaneously he hissed a terrible shriek of warning. A collection of thuds issued from the farmstead as the soldier's comrades answered his summons. The trooper pulled the trigger of his rifle sending a spray of bullets into Sovereign's chest. The shock of the impacts broke Sovereign's reverie. Flattened bullets pinged away from her like hail as she jumped into the air and accelerated upwards. Frantically she clicked her com. The hissing static seemed be growing weaker but the half heard voices were still maddeningly indecipherable.
A trio of dark shadows criss crossd over her. She spun in a barrel roll to get a look at her pursuers. As she rolled onto her back she found herself staring into a face born from nightmares. Huge multifaceted compound eyes stared at her. Thick mandibles coated in mucus clacked at her face. 3 pairs of horribly spindly legs dotted with short coarse hairs wove towards her. The creature hissed and buzzed its wings while its orange and blue body vibrated with animalistic rage as it tried to close in on the fleeing girl.
Sovereign balked in fear at the giant hornet. She glanced down its body and confirmed her worst fears. The creature was stabbing a glossy black stinger towards her. Options flashed through Sovereign's mind quickly replaced with fury. These things had taken her team mates plus who knew how many normal citizens ambushed at the checkpoint. She altered her trajectory and shot up into the creature's face. A mandible snapped under her fist. The monster's left eye caved in under a white and gold clad knee. Its stinger stabbed frantically after Sovereign. She flipped around the wasp chopping a hand against its blurring wings cracking a membrane sending the creature spiralling down towards the ground.
She had no time to celebrate her victory as a second hornet swooped in from her right. This one didn't bother to try grabbing her with its legs. It lunged with its stinger at her flat stomach. Sovereign's reflexes saved her. She wrapped her hand around the stinger and braced herself against the furious insect. The creature's legs buffeted her but it lacked the strength to injure her. A burning suddenly errupted along Sovereign's hand and wrist. She glanced down as saw that a thick black slime was oozing from the immobilised stinger and coating her hand. With both hands busy she did the only thing she could think of. She flipped her head back then snapped it forward. The hornet's manibles snapped under the impact and the monster hissed furiously. Mucus plastered Sovereign's hair to her scalp. She snapped her head forward again but missed. The hornet shook frantically trying to dislodge its assailant. The third headbutt smacked into the hornets eye fracturing the orb. The fourth caved in the eye socket. Thick yellow puss spilled out of the wounded insect as its frantic struggles lessened. Sovereign kicked away against the creature. She flipped in the air ready to take it on again but watched with satisfaction as the wounded animal turned away from her and fluttered unsteadily east.
Pain suddenly lanced up her thigh. Almost immediately it was followed by a creeping deathly cold. Sovereign felt her heart suddenly stutter as 3 pairs of gruesome insect legs enveloped her. A second pain exploded in her back and she felt the cold sweep through her. Her arms moved sluggishly to pry at the 3rd hornet's legs but she couldn't break it's suddenly crushing hold on her. Her vision swam and she began to panic. A glimmer of training rose through her fogging mind and she pushed at the com.
"Help me" she squeaked almost silently into her com
Static hissed back at her. Before she slipped into unconsciousness she was sure she had heard a reply
****
The first thing that hit Sovereign was the smell. The sickly sweet smell of a wound gone bad or fruit long past its use by date permeated her cell. She pushed herself onto her knees and touched a hand to her groggy head. The cell was lit by a dim blueish bioluminescence. She touched the near wall then recoiled suddenly. It was soft, warm and spongy. She touched the wall again slowly increasing the preassure on it. It bowed slightly then stopped. Sovereign brought her other arm up and pushed as hard as she could. The wall remained intact. When she withdrew her hands the dent she had made slowly returned to flat wall.
I'm not dead thought Sovereign that means the bugs want something
Initially the thought had been comforting but as it sunk in Sovereign began to worry what a hive of wasps might want from her that necessitated keeping her alive.
A soft scratching came from the font of the cell. Sovereign sprung onto her feet and brought her fists up. She was under no illusions after her aerial defeat that she could fight the whole hive but the idea of meekly submitting to the disgusting insects filled her with revulsion. A hole appeared in the front of the cell as a set of glossy mandibles chewed into the prison. Sovereign shuddered at the invader but stoicly stood her ground. The wasp chewed a hole large enough for a person to exit then withdrew. Sovereign stared at the hole for a moment. A man stepped into the gap. He was average height though a little slim. He wore a skintight orange and blue jumpsuit with a goggled hood covering his eyes. His expressionless mouth, nose and chin were bare.
"You must come with me" the man stated
Sovereign frowned. The voice sounded wrong. It echoed slightly as if it was coming from much further away than virtually right in front of her. She flicked her hair defiantly and placed a gold gloved hand on her hip.
"I'm not going anywhere until I get some answers!" She stated "For starters what happened to those things? How did they get this way?"
The man stared back at her for a long moment. His mouth betrayed no hint of emotion.
"You must come with me" the man repeated
"Make me" said Sovereign bringing both fists up in front of her
The man stared again as seconds ticked past.
"The Queen demands that you come with me. You will die if you refuse. You know we can harm you" stated the man
Sovereign shuddered at the emotionlessly delivered ultimatum. She considered briefly rushing the man. She was almost certain he was human and would prove no obstacle to her but his insect friends would eventually sting her and bring her down again.
"Very well" she declared haughtily "Take me to your queen"
Sovereign followed the man along a tunnel. Separate passages branched from the corridor at seemingly random intervals. The tunnel appeared to be made of the same spongy material as her cell save that it had thick solid ribs supporting it every few metres. Hissing wasps ocassionaly errupted from the side tunnels their wings buzzing furiously while the pair passed. Sovereign wasn't sure how long they had been walking when the tunnel begzn to lighten. The cold blue bioluminescence gradually gave way to a warmer orange glow. The tunnel widened and smoothed. As Sovereign and her escort left the tunnel they found themselves in a large open gallery. Blue and orange wasps buzzed across the large open room while dozens of men dressed in the same orange and blue jumpsuit that Sovereign's escort wore hurried back and forth across the room.
Sovereign's gaze was drawn to a raised dais in the centre of the room. The stepped tower looked like it was made of some kind of dark wood. An angular throne sat on top of it. A woman was sat in the throne. Blue chitinous exoskeleton covered her feet and lower legs up to the knees. Sovereign couldn't tell whether the woman's thighs were bare and her skin a dark orange or if she was wearing some sort of skin tight suit. More chitinous armour covered the woman's abdomen. The dark orange theme ran up the centre while blue bands ran up her sides. The exo skeleton continued up to her bust. Prickly blue plates covered her shoulders and biceps. Her right arm ended in an almost human hand albeit one wrapped in orange chitin. Her left arm began to taper at the elbow and darkened to a glossy black spike. An expressionless human mouth sat above an almost delicate chin. Either the woman was wearing a goggled mask or she possessed huge dark compound eyes. Two orange antennas ran across the top of the eyes and hung off the side of the woman's head. A bushy black mane of hair surrounded her head.
The woman turned her head to regard Sovereign. Wasps buzzing through the hive suddenly stopped in mid flight and turned to follow the woman's gaze. The various jumpsuit clad humans did likewise. A long moment passed as various sets of eyes stared at Sovereign. Without any hint of a command the various humans and insects abruptly returned to their tasks.
"What are you?" said the woman in the throne
"I'm a heroine, a member of Jagkommand you can call me Sovereign Girl" said Sovereign surprising herself at the surge of confidence the declaration gave her.
"I said what not who" replied the woman "You look human but you fly without wings"
Sovereign thought frantically and settled on the truth "I'm not human, I'm a Monsduggian. A race from a different reality. My home was invaded and destroyed and we escaped here to this world. I can fly because my people were granted the strength to help others by our goddess"
"You are strong" said the woman
"Stronger than a human" replied Sovereign "I've told you who I am who are you?"
"I am the queen of this hive" replied the woman
"I sort of guessed that" said Sovereign "I mean, what is your name. Your majesty" she added hurriedly
A flicker of a smile crossed the woman's face "We don't use names we use pheromones"
She looked away and cocked her head "I used to have a name before"
"Before what?" Asked Sovereign
"Before my children rescued me" said the Queen
"Rescued you from what" said Sovereign This is like wading through tar she thought.
"Rescued me from humanity" the queen snapped.
She sprung out of her chair suddenly agitated. A pair of flickering wings vibrating furiously behind her.
"They tormented me. They wounded me. They left me to die. Alone in a poisoned swamp" the Queen growled "They never had any regard for our saftey. They let everything burn and they left me behind"
The Queen darted left and right down the steps to stand in front of Sovereign.
"Your goddess made you strong to help people" hissed the Queen inches from Sovereign's baffled face "Then help me. You could be a queen. We can make them pay for what they have done. What they are still doing"
"Who exactly are they, your majesty" asked Sovereign uncertaintly
"The humans" said the Queen
"Just because some humans hurt you dosen't make all humans bad" said Sovereign slowly
"You can have pets" said the Queen
Sovereign nearly laughed at the horrific sincerity of the off the cuff remark "I work with the humans, I know that they are not all bad. If we speak to the right ones you can co exist, even prosper. If you attack them they will swarm on you" Sovereign grinned at her clever use of words.
"You talk like the others" said the Queen "We will not be weak, we will not be slaves. My children will be free!"
"What others" asked Sovereign slowly as a cold sinking dread filled her stomach.
"Two women came, stronger than humans. They killed lots of my children but the hive was too strong for them. They talked like you. They said they would never help me" The Queen's eyes seemed to bore into Sovereign "They were wrong"
"I don't understand" said Sovereign slowly
****
The Queen led Sovereign deeper into the hive. A pair of orange and blue suited men followed them. Occasionally the horrible face of a wasp would burst angrily from a side passage only to halt, it's antenna twitching frantically, and retreat back. The air gradually became warmer and more humid. The sickly sweet smell that seemed to permeate everything also increased. Sovereign put a hand out to steady herself, the heat and stench was combining to make her head swim. Her hand pushed into the spongy wall.
At length they exited the tunnels into a cavern buzzing with activity. Wasps swooped across the vast space carrying indistinct grey objects. Suited men hurried around the chamber or clustered in masses around the walls.
"What is this?" Asked Sovereign quietly
"The nursery" replied the Queen off handedly
Sovereign's eyes widened in horror as she followed the queen deeper into the nursery. As they drew closer to the groups of suited men her eyes widened in horror. A woman was plastered against the wall, her arms above her head embedded in the spongy wall material. Her eyes rolled in a drugged stupor and a thick cord of milky drool poured from the corner of her mouth. Her legs were hitched onto the shoulders of the jumpsuited man infront of her. Belatedly Sovereign realised that the man was furiously fucking the drugged woman. As she watched the man groaned in climax before withdrawing and being replaced by a fresh henchman.
"Stop this!" Snapped Sovereign "this is monstrous!"
The Queen glared in anger and confusion at the horrified blonde. Her wings snapped menacingly behjnd her "You still don't understand"
Sovereign glanced around the cavern. Anger was boiling up inside her at an alarming rate. Her eyes scanned dozens of clustered groups and a cold realisation dawned on her. She could not fight all this alone. She needed to focus on escape and for the moment that meant diplomacy.
Sovereign ground her teeth in frustration "Sorry your majesty, please continue"
They continued to walk across the cavern passing numerous groups of henchmen forcing themselves on their helpless victims. At some unspoken marker the groups ceased and Sovereign was able to see haggered women hanging from their prisons. As they continued walking she realised that the abused captives were rapidly getting fatter.
A woman on her right suddenly began to squirm violently. Her glazed eyes fluttered and the veins in her shoulders stood out. A wet slopping gush errupted from her womanhood drenching her thighs and pooling below her. She continued to kick and thrash. Her distended belly seemed to ripple. A horrible shriek issued from her throat. Sovereign began to move towards the woman. The Queen's chitinous hand clamped down on her shoulder.
"No" she said "it is beneath us"
"What is happening to her" said asked
"Observe" replied the Queen off handedly
Sovereign turned back to the abused captive. Her eyes widened in horror as a mewling grey mass forced it's way out of the woman's swollen cunt and splashed messily down into the cold grey puddle of mucus below the captive. The mass uncurled to reveal a disgusting insect face attached to a larval body. In moments a buzzing wasp swooped down and grabbed the hideous grub before winging off.
"This is what you meant when you said nursery!" Exclaimed Sovereign "But, how is this possible? Did you let your wasps rape this poor woman"
The Queen turned to look at Sovereign "You saw the man drones impregnating the prey. This is how my children are born. The burden is no longer mine"
"That's not possible, they are both human, what did you do to them?" Said Sovereign
The Queen raised the glossy black stinger that made her left arm "I put myself in the men. I made them part of me so they could make my true children"
"You stung them and made them part wasp" murmered Sovereign "and now you're breeding an army"
"It is my time" said the Queen
She stepped forward and stroked Sovereign's white and gold clad chest with the rough chitin of her hand "It could be our time"
Panic welled inside Sovereign Girl. She was deep inside a mutant wasp hive with the wasp queen making a clumsy attempt to seduce her. Worst of all she was alone. Her team mates were still missing and she had no jaegers. She resolved to be more appreciative of the hulking troopers in the future. A barrage of coilguns would certainly help her out of this mess.
The Queen stared at Sovereign intently. Sovereign felt like hours had dripped past. The queen clearly wanted an answer.
"What's that?" Said Sovereign pointing to a buzzing collection of wasps
"The others, come" said the Queen
The statement filled Sovereign with dread but she followed the Queen to the buzzing group. She slammed her teeth shut to muffle a scream.
"They said they would never serve me" said the Queen "But they were wrong, they are strong enough to breed with my true children. They make for me warriors"
Sovereign started to move forward but stopped herself. Butterscotch Fox and Night Strike were each plastered into the wall with a group of wasps surrounding them. Butter's legs were wrapped around the orange and blue body of a wasp that was cleary violating her. Sickly green insect cum coated her thighs and splashed wettly under her. Night Strike hung in the wall with a horribly distended belly. Ripples and waves seemed to move across her stretched gut as the rapidly maturing creature inside her squirmed. Both women had their heads turned up towards a wasp that clung to the wall.
For a moment Sovereign thought that her friends' sanity had snapped and that they were locked in some sort of horrible kiss with the monsters. Then she noticed the dripping orange mush and flaking stains around the helpless heroines' faces. The wasp was regurgitating a thick sugary paste into the hungry mouths of the women.
"They like our nectar" said the Queen "It's their world now. They'll do anything to get it. They said they weren't human but they react the same as humans"
She raised her right arm to her mouth and make a wet retching "Would you like to try some?" She said holding out a handful of the filthy sweet mush.
Sovereign could feel the full weight of horror fraying the edges of her mind. She glanced at Butter and Strike and discarded a dozen desperate plans to free them. Would they even want to leave or would the wasps addictive nectar see them turn on her. Her breathing came in short ragged bursts as she considered that her decisions could very well doom the world. If the wasps increased their numbers, if they captured more heroines then they might become unstoppable.
"You said our time" said Sovereign mechanically
The Queen dropped her hand. The nectar slid off and splashed onto the floor. She cocked her head.
"You want to be like me?" Said the Queen
"I don't want to be alone again" said Sovereign her mind racing
"Alone" said the Queen glancing away "I was alone before my children"
"But I want those 2, I want the pets you promised. Make them mine and I'll join you" said Sovereign desperately
The Queen's wings snapped menacingly as she glanced from Sovereign to the delirious Butterscotch and Night Strike. Sovereign bit her lip and reached forward to stroke the smooth flesh above the Queen's bust. The queen glanced down at the gold gloved hand and then back up at Sovereign. The two women stared at each other as seconds ticked by.
"I will consider" said The Queen
****
Sovereign tapped the glowing blue strip in her cell. It felt hard and cold and gave not hint at what was actually creating the glow. She turned away from her inspection and returned to pacing her cell. She assumed that the room was meant to be more homely than the dungeon she had woken up in. Was that really only a few hours ago? Come to think of it how long had she been in this hive. She assumed no longer than a day, two at most but she really had no way to guage the passage of time in here away from the sun. The sickly sweet smell of the hive had faded from a rotting assault on her nostrils to a background annoyance so she must have spent enough time for the stench to become familiar. A fluttering woozy feeling rose up in her chest again, fighting its way clear of the control she had been maintaining on it. She swallowed and tried to push the rising feeling of panic back down. She had no plan, no back up and even if she did get out of this alive she'd have no team if she couldn't take the other two members of Bravo team with her. The fluttering feeling became a lump and she felt the blood pounding in her skull as the enormity of the danger threatened to overwhelm her. She glanced at the pile of orange mush heaped on a simple wooden plate. Would it really be so bad to join to the queen? She'd have the hive, probably one of her own eventually. She'd been in constant contact with the swarm. She'd never be alone again. She glanced at her raised hand reaching for the mush. She snatched her hand back and clenched her teeth.
"I'm Sovereign Girl" she growled to herself "I'm not some insect's barbie doll"
She recalled the long conversations she had had with Butter as her hero had recounted the nightmare of being locked helpless in her own head while an implanted personality lived it's sad hopeless life. She suspected that was the fate that would befall her if she accepted the Queen's offer.
"Technically you've already accepted Sov" she muttered to herself as she paced back across the cell.
She turned at the far wall and slid down it to sit on the floor. The spongy wall still felt wrong against Sovereign's back. She hugged her knees and stared into space trying to think of a plan.
A glossy black mandible ripped through the opposite wall. It was quickly followed by another as a wasp chewed a door into the cell. Sovereign sprung to her feet unsure if this was an attack or some follow up tour. A pair of orange and blue suited man drones pushed the haggered form of Night Strike through the gap to fall face down on the floor. The wasp that had chewed the doorway shuffled into the room and took up a position in the corner.
"The Queen comes soon" said one of the man drones in its odd echoy monotone.
"Aren't you taking that with you?" said Sovereign as the drones exited the room and the wasp sat immobile.
"It is for her not you" said the drone
Sovereign glanced at Night Strike. A spike of shame flared in her as her treacherous preference for Butterscotch Fox flashed through her mind. She mentally shook herself and forced herself to focus. Her team mate was on her hands and knees panting heavily. Her usually lustrous auburn hair was lank and plastered to her head. Clumps of dried and crystalised mush matted her hair and flaked across her tattered uniform. The black and gold costume barely clung to Night Strike. the arms had been torn away at the elbows and rents littered the torso. The crotch of the leotard had been ripped out and it was clear she had been repeatedly violated without being cleaned up. The netting on her thighs was ragged and her boots, while largely intact were matted with filth. Sovereign wrinkled her nose at the smell of her distressed team mate.
"Strike" said Sovereign softly as she approached "Are you ok?"
"Nectar" hissed Night Strike
"What? No, you don't need to eat that stuff" said Sovereign
"Give me nectar" screamed Night Stirke turning her head up to look at Sovereign
"Strike, no, listen to me, that stuff is controlling you, it'll kill you" said Sovereign reaching out a hand to Night Strike.
Night Strike's gaze focused on the platter of sickly orange mush behind Sovereign. She rose like a puppet pulled by strings and reached out her hands in front of her. Her fingers curled into misshapen claws as she sprung forward barging Sovereign aside. She grabbed the plate of mush and rammed it into her face. Wet slurping sounds came from the heroine as she slurped and gulped the sickly paste down. Sovereign could only watch in fascinated horror. Night Stirke dropped back onto her knees and clawed at the floor scooping every last dropped morsel of the mush and cramming it into her face. When she was certain there was no more mush left she settled back on her haunches and blew out a long breath.
"Get out of here Sovereign. We're done" she muttered slowly rubbing her temples
"I'm not leaving without you, without both of you" said Sovereign crouching down beside the distressed Night Strike "You need to do one of those detox things you guys do, gland some of that anti venom stuff and wash this filth out of your system"
"But I don't want to wash it out" said Night Strike quietly "I just want more of it. I need more of it Sovereign. They'll listen to you if you ask them for more"
Sovereign stared at her defeated friend "Strike, you've got to snap out of this, you're stronger than this. You're stronger than me and Butter. You stopped Crystal Fox, we only slowed her down. You can beat this. Just do your detox, you'll think clearer after that, I promise you"
"You need to ask them for more nectar Sov, you don't understand, I need it" mumbled Strike "My head aches, I can't think of anything else, the nectar makes it better"
Sovereign tried not to glance at the wasp crouched in the corner but her eyes flicked over the creature. Night Strike saw the flicker of movement and followed her gaze.
"I knew you wouldn't let me down Sov" whispered the dark clad heroine as she scrambled across the room.
Sovereign watched in disgust as Night Strike reached the wasp and began to stroke its hard orange and blue face. When the creature made no response she drew herself closer to it and began to softly lick the hard chitin of the thing's face. Her movements started slowly and delicately but rapidly became more feverish and desperate. Suddenly the wasp shuddered and coughed out a stream of filthy orange mush into the broken super girl's face. Immediately Night Strike's hand snapped up and began to shovel the sugary nectar into her mouth. Night Strike panted heavily as she finished clearing the mush from her face.
"She could have been a queen, or a princess at least" came the voice of the Queen from behind Sovereign
Sovereign turn to look at her captor "I said I wanted them both"
"They are my prizes, be grateful that I offer you one and do not keep three" said the Queen coldly
"They're broken" said Sovereign
"They will breed for many weeks and they do not threaten my children" said the Queen cocking her head "They are perfect"
"What do you mean weeks?" said Sovereign
"The process takes much from them. They are stronger than the humans but the nectar weakens them and the birthings are difficult. They will wear out in a few weeks" said the Queen offhandedly
Sovereign glanced at Night Strike. Her black clad team mate was curled on the floor clutching her head. The image of Butterscotch wasting away in this hive, her magnificent body ruined and her sanity blasted by the addictive nectar, speared through her. Behind all of that concern for her fellow heroines was the cold dread of being left alone. She'd be folded into Alpha team or maybe even Charlie but she'd always be the one from Bravo team. The icy terror gripped her heart like a vice as he eyes swivelled around like search lights to lock onto the Queen.
"No!" screamed Sovereign
The white and gold clad heroine flashed forwards her feet a few centimeters from the ground as she flew the handful of steps towards the queen. The wasp from the corner immediately cracked it's wings and lurched forwards. The Queen turned, a look of bafflement on her alien face as Sovereign powered her fist into the former woman's face. She screamed in rage and pain as the delicate compound eye cracked under Sovereign's golden gloved fist. Sovereign pistoned her arm back and forth into her opponent a red mist clouding her vision. The advancing wasp stopped in the middle of the room and buzzed frantically as it swung it's head back and forth.
"You! Can't! Have! My! Friends!" yelled Sovereign
Dark yellow ichor ran down the Queen's face from her shattered eye. An antennae hung broken across her alien face.
"You stupid ape! You could have had everything!" the Queen hissed venomously as she waved her glossy black stinger arm.
The agitated wasp ceased it's confused buzzing and sprung forward. Long spindly legs reached for Sovereign but the furious girl batted them back. The Queen's own probosis jabbed at the battling super girl trying to inject into her tan legs. The wasp guard suddenly jerked and vomited a deluge of sickly yellow gore from it's clacking mandibles. The thick hairy legs twitched in spasmodic pain and flailed in front of it as it tipped forward into the floor. Night Strike stood panting heavily, her arms soaked in the insect's blood from the huge hole she had ripped in the side of the hideous creature. Her dark eyes swivelled to the prone wasp Queen. The Queen hissed in rage her head jerking towards the entrance to the room and back again.
"One wasp comes through that door and you die your majesty" said Sovereign coldly as she turned to her team mate "Please don't ask me for nectar"
"The detox was a good idea but this stuff is like fire in my veins, if they put it in front of me again, I, I don't know if I can refuse it" whispered Strike "I dread to think what Butter will be like coming off it"
"One thing at a time" muttered Sovereign
The two super girls turned towards the Queen
"So, what now, we're still stuck in a literal hornet's nest" said Night Strike
"We want our team mate back" said Sovereign "Get her up here now or I'll end you myself"
"Without me you they'll kill you all" hissed the Queen
"Then we have nothing to lose if you won't help us" growled Night Strike
The Queen glowered at the two heroines for a long moment "it is done" she finally said
"Ok what now?" said Night Strike glancing at Sovereign
"Fix Butter, cut a deal and get the hell out of here" replied Sovereign
"Cut a deal? that's your plan?" asked Night Strike incredulously
"I didn't really have a plan, I just saw red and now I'm kind of busking it!" replied Sovereign "If you have anything better I'm all ears, seriously, no idea is a bad idea right now!"
Night Strike frowned at her team mate "I've got nothing, I can barely think straight, my limbs feel like lead"
A soft thud made the two girls turn. A hulking blue and orange wasp, spiked chunks of cartilage covering it's limbs and body, stood over the body of Butterscotch Fox. A small puddle of orange tinted drool seeped out from under the buxom supergirl's lank, dirty hair. Shallow breaths wheezed in and out of Butter's body. Sovereign took a step towards her unconscious team mate but stopped as the monstrous wasp buzzed an angry warning. The creature drew up on its legs and displayed it's venom slicked stinger menacingly close to Butter's chest.
"She will not survive a sting form my soldier" spat the Queen contemptuously
"She's a lot tougher than she looks" replied Night Strike quietly
"You can't escape, kill me and they will devour you" hissed the Queen "How many of my children will you kill before they pull you down and eat you?"
"We don't need to kill each other" said Sovereign "You're sentient and these creatures are unique. We can call a truce. We can co exist"
The Queen opened her mouth to spit a retort then stopped. For a long time she stared into Sovereign's deep blue eyes. "You speak for your leaders?" she said slowly
"I have authority to call a truce, diplomats would need to hammer out the details" said Sovereign
"How can I trust you?" asked the Queen
"What other choice do you have your majesty?" said Sovereign bluntly "At some point an army is going to come looking for you. Are your soldiers bullet proof? or missile proof? Is this hive flame resistant?. You can't survive alone in the world"
"Alone" murmured the Queen
"Let me help you" said Sovereign holding out her hand
*****
"Do you still feel like something is squirming inside you" said Butterscotch Fox
"Urgh don't remind me" replied Night Strike
"Walk it off ladies" said Sovereign Girl "We've discovered a new species, ended a war and plugged a hole in the border all in one weekend"
Butter and Strike shared a look then turned back to their enthusiastic team mate. Sovereign Girl stood with her back to the newly relocated hive seemingly oblivious to the giant wasps swooping around the clearing and the droning helicopters with sacks of mulch slung underneath.
"I can't believe the Romanians let you put this thing here, I mean, total Dracula country and isolated and all that but we'd have burned these things back home no matter what corner you hid them in!" said Butter
"It works for everyone. Romania gets it's north eastern border guarded, the Wasps get protected status so long as people and livestock don't start going missing and bankrupt, tottering Ukraine doesn't have to go begging to the Tsar for troops to clean out the hive" said Sovereign
"Yeah, well, kudos for getting us out of there in one piece but until you've had grubs gnawing on your uterus you don't know how much these things creep me out" said Night Strike
"We could kick it all off again if you like? What's one more band of mortal enemies" said Butter
Night Strike sighed "ok, ok I know it makes sense, just, urgh, no more bugs for a few weeks, agreed"
"Yeah, sure, I'll tweet please no bug related missions with a hashtag villains, that should stop anyone out to get us from throwing some cavern full of scorpions at us for at least a few weeks" said Sovereign as she slowly rose into the air.
Night Strike glared at her team mate then glanced at Butter "she has a point" said the caramel clad heroine as she gently lifted off into the air.
"Damn optimist alien flyers" muttered Night Strike "Flying off does not mean this is over!"
The black and gold clad heroine scowled at the hive and then turned towards her idling gunship muttering further complaints about her flying team mates.
Keen inhuman eyes watched from the depths of the hive as the gunship whirred into the air and swung away west.