The Vespidian
Arc 10 Brooding
Chapter 5
Dreams were fleeting as I stirred and groggily looked about the room. For a brief moment the afterglow of my mating fuzzily filled my head. Contently, I pat about for what should have been around me, however my hands did not find it. There was something missing, only a single Xava was here and her belly not full of my brood. Anxiously, I looked more thoroughly, turning over my bed, finding nothing my antennae waved as they smelled about the floor for my children. I followed the scent to the door, pressing at it, but it would not open. My claws scratched at it tentatively as I looked at Xava. My head turning more than it had any right to.
“What is wrong Vesper?” she asked, stepping beside me.
“Babies… My children. Where are they?” I asked, shifting so that my body realigned with my head with a strangely fluid motion, as though it were snapping back into place.
She replied with a slight smile, placing her hand on her stomach and rubbing it slightly,“They have been taken to the incubation chamber. You don’t need to worry about them, my bodies are gestating them as we speak.”
My unease did not settle down, “I want to see them, make sure that they are safe.”
Xava nodded, understandingly and the door opened. She followed along behind me as I navigated on all six of my limbs with my antennae to the ground. My eggs had a very distinct scent, one that tickled my brain and begged me to protect the source. The trail ended only several doors down, I pointedly looked the door over, canvassing it with my feelers. Yes, I could smell them, my babies were just beyond this door. Xava tapped the pad beside the door, showing me the combination 99284.
The door opened and I stared at a large glass wall. On the other side Xavas were held like… livestock. A tingle spread up my spine tickling my brain. Incubators. The word just felt right. Row after row stacked on shelves the blond cyborgs limply lay in their harnesses. Their bodies swollen and heavy with my brood. Hoses hooked up to their bodies as fluids pumped through them. It took a moment to understand, nutrients were being injected into their fake bodies to sustain my eggs.
“Incubators indeed,” I said vaguely, looking over the dormant synthetics and my already substantial love for my mate increased yet again.
“Yes, I am trying several different variations on the incubation conditions to see what is optimal for our children to grow. Currently, I am using a mixture of reptiles such a crocodile and insects such as wasps to figure out what might be the best temperature and moisture for their development. Still, we are unsure of your species development patterns.”
I nodded, sitting down and placing a hand on the glass longingly staring at the bellies that held my children, “You are a good mate Xava. I don’t think I could have asked for a better egg bearer.”
She smiled, climbing up my leg and flopping into my lap. She nestled after getting comfortable and leaned back so that she could look up at me, “I will do anything for you Vesper.”
My lower arm plopped onto her head, slowly petting her, “I know and I am thankful. How long until they hatch do you think?”
She frowned slightly, shrugging a little, “I am unsure.”
“I see. I suppose this would be the first time this has happened so nothing to really go off of.”
I looked around the room a little more closely. On this side of the glass there was a workstation with an assortment of instruments neatly organized on the table. Standing in front of this was Dr. Arbor in her green containment suit. I must have been too focused on my offspring, I hadn’t even noticed her when I came in. Various little containers sat there under a microscope. Among all of that was a glass dish with one of my eggs sitting in it. I scooted across the floor so that it was within arm’s reach. Gently, I prodded at the leathery translucent purple membrane. Within I could see the embryo or rather a shape taking form slowly.
“What are you doing with this child?” I asked her.
Arbor replied, “That was one of the ones that was damaged during your… copulation. I am experimenting with it.”
My face twitched and I snarled at her, “That is my child!”
“Vesper! Vesper, calm down, calm down,” said Xava holding onto my face and forcing herself in between the two of us, “She is trying to help us.”
I could feel a boiling rage as I shoved Xava aside, looking between the egg and the woman who was holding a scalpel. My mandibles ground together, clicking at her, growling as my body inflated to make myself look even larger and more intimidating than I already was. My head tentacles lashed out, binding her limbs as I lifted her up to my face. She dared to hurt my baby! My powerful coils tightened until she was squeaking and squirming.
Dr. Arbor cried, “VESPER! It is already dead, it got crushed when you were mating!”
“What do you mean it is dead!?” I screamed at her my eyes twitching as I pushed past her to the egg.
My antenna rubbed along the surface, smelling it, touching it… sure enough the normally rounded shape had been flattened on one side and the embryo had been squished. It was cold and lifeless. I whimpered, crying as I nuzzled against it. No… no, I already lost a child.
“Vesper, it… it is ok Vesper, it happens,” said Xava petting me.
“I… I don’t know what to do Xava. Our child, I killed our child.”
She hugged me and kept looking me in the eyes, “Vesper it was an accident. It wasn’t your fault.”
“It happens Vesper, eggs get cracked that is what they do,” said Dr. Arbor sympathetically even as my tentacles squeezed her, “Don’t worry though you still have a lot of babies and Xava is going to make sure they hatch successfully.”
I sat down again quivering, unsure of what to do anymore. I wanted to protect my babies and it was me that they needed to be protected from. I whimpered nuzzling against Xava.
“There, there. It is going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine. You didn’t mean to do it, you were just caught up in the moment,” She cooed gently to me and I started to calm down.
After a while my mind began to become more clear now that it wasn’t in defend my brood mode. A question occurred to me, “What sort of experiments were you doing to it?”
Dr. Arbor replied from where she dangled up above me still very much at my mercy, “It is just preliminary tests. Mostly just taking samples and analyzing them.”
I understood it. I knew why she had been doing what she was doing. Dr. Arbor is studying me and my kind after all. On the other hand that is my child, my flesh and blood. Her dissecting it didn’t sit right with me, though I understood it. Dr. Arbor has done a lot for me, even with my uncooperativeness. I should trust her, she has my best interests in mind. I had to suppress the animalistic maternal instincts that demanded I protect that egg. I looked over to the glass and pregnant women within. One child to learn more about the rest… was I willing to make that sacrifice? Though it did pain me… perhaps others won’t die? Although if it is damaged, maybe it was better that they did?
I pondered on this for a while, rubbing my chin at times. The concept of what was right and wrong had long since been blurred. What was right for humans might not be right for my kind. Either way, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. One egg… my child… truly this a is a case of not counting my chickens before they hatch. All manner of things could go wrong. What if they get sick? There are too many variables unaccounted for. Information was needed and that could only come from one place.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
“How many eggs did I lay?”
“270 eggs Vesper, not counting the ones that were smashed. Why do you ask?”
“Ones?”
“Yes, your mating rut was very violent at the start.”
… I was silent for a moment. Animals that have lots of offspring expect most of them to die. I was very conflicted emotionally, just thinking about my little eggies made me anxious, but this was not a time for emotions. Logically, I knew what was best. I sighed, my resolve settled as I shoved aside the emotional self that pleaded and clung to such human thoughts. I am not human, this is for the survival of my species. If one clutch of eggs has over two hundred then how the hell am I supposed to love all of them? There isn’t even a point in naming them until they hatch. I can lay more eggs. I know I can, I feel them inside of me.
“You can take ten eggs, counting that one, to perform your… experiments.” I said with a bit of loathing in my voice, leaning over her as my head tendrils pulled her to face me, “But if you take anymore than that, then I will take one of your limbs for every one. You will not touch the rest of my children without my permission, not Xava’s, Mine. Is that understood? If you cross me, I will destroy you.”
To get my seriousness across my flexible limbs yanked at her and I heard several pops from her bones straining. She let out a slight groan before nodding enthusiastically, “Ten!? I understand, no more than ten. I am surprised you were willing to part with so many. I had my doubts you could be reasoned with over just the one.”
“I figured that more might die if we don’t understand them better. So get to work, Dr. Arbor, I want to see results or I might use you to make up for the children you have squandered.” I threatened her.
She nodded, “Of course Vesper, now that I know that you won’t stop me I can begin in earnest.”
“Are you sure about this Vesper?” asked Xava.
I set Dr. Arbor down and coiled around Xava kissing her and petting her, “I understand that sacrifices must be made sometimes. If it means that the rest will grow healthy, then I have no hesitation to allow some of them to be used as such. It is not as though there is only one child. If there were only a few I might have ripped Dr. Arbor in half, but since there are so many… it is less of a strain emotionally.”
“I, I see.” Said Xava nodding. “It is understandable. Are you hungry Vesper?”
In the absence of my stress and preoccupation, my hunger descended. My stomach grumbled as I rubbed it. “Famished, I think I could eat a whole cow,” I said.
“A hungry hungry girl I see,” said a voice that sent a tingle of terror up my spine. That deep, manly voice I knew so well, etched into my mind.
I turned and sure enough, there she was, Molotov. I squinted at her, she was even smaller than she used to be. Though that is because I got a lot bigger. Still, I knew better than to try and pick a fight with her. “I hear I owe you my life.”
“It is not as though I ever truly let you go after all. I have always been watching. So did you have fun playing hero?” She asked.
“I wasn’t playing Hero.” I stared down at her. “I tried it as best I could.”
Molotov smirked, “Did you really think they would accept you? Did I not tell you that the Hero League was not what you thought?”
I scowled at her, “You did, but if it was so bad, why did you let me go to them?”
She nodded slightly, “To let you see with your own eyes who and what it is that we are fighting.”
“Nightmare?”
“Yes, though things do not end with her. Speaking of her, a little kitty told me that she is trying to escape the city.”
A tingle spread up my spine as I loomed over her, I could feel a twitching in my fingers, “Where is she?”
“And what will you do once you find her?” Molotov replied curiously.
“Kill her. Slowly. I will rip her arms and legs off. I won’t kill her right away. I will torture her.” I clenched my fist to the point the carapace cracked and regrew dribbling from my fingers.
“Oh I see and how will you torture her?”
I glanced at the restrained cybernetic women filled with my eggs. “Part of me wants to break her and use her. Fill her with my brood and hopefully they will devour her from within. The rest of me wants to force feed her my shit and piss until she drowns in it.”
Molotov nodded vaguely, “Eh, I have done worse.”
Intrigued, I asked, “What would you do to her?”
“Ah well I would get a few turnips and-” started Molotov, before Boris appeared behind her with a bouquet of flowers.
“Vesper!” He beamed straightening his tie. “You are even more beautiful and majestic than before.”
My tentacle took the flowers and I sheepishly replied, “Thanks?”
I wasn’t used to being hit on. Well by people that I liked anyway, besides Xava. Though that was more of her brow beating me into submission with her continuous advances. This though was different. I mean it was a guy. A dude. A man muffin. My baby daddy… hmmm, wait then do my children have three parents? I mean he knocked me up. Then I laid the eggs. And Xava is gestating them. Genetically speaking, there is only two, but what happens if they were laid into a living host? Do they take on the genetic of the mother as well? Like a cock flopping outa the darkness, it hit me.
“Xava, Dr. Arbor.” I said turning to them.
Both looked at me curiously, “Yes?”
I began to articulate what was swirling about in my mind, “So usually during pregnancy the child takes on traits, even sharing the blood of the mother in the womb, correct?”
“Yes, you are correct. Why do you ask?”
“Since Xava’s bodies are synthetic could we use other super’s genetics? To give my children a wider array of power sets?”
Dr. Arbor looked as though she had a stroke laughing hysterically, “That is even better than what I had been thinking of! Oh, but then- If that works like that then this and… I think it could work Vesper. Ohoho, I am a genius. Here I was thinking of kidnapping people and pumping them full of your eggs. We don’t even need them, we just need their DNA samples and I can replicate it and-”
“Calm down,” said Molotov, “We don’t know if that will work or not.”
“Do we have samples that we can try?” I asked.
“Not on hand. Though I have a few in stock at my main facility. I can have them brought over. If we wanted more well I can think of a few places that we could get some.”
“Run along Vesper, I am sure there are some things you want to get sorted out. Since I am intrigued, Dr. Arbor and I will discuss the details of this.” Said Molotov, motioning with her eyes that I should leave.
“I am free to go outside?” I asked perplexed. I had been assuming they were going to try and lock me up in the lab.
“Yes, go visit your parents. I am sure they will be relieved to see that you are fine.” She replied.
I nodded, it felt strange to be so trusted? I had been used to being on a short leash.
Xava smiled, “That is an excellent idea. I am sure they will be happy to see you. They have been very worried. Besides, I am sure you could use a good stretch?”
She wasn’t wrong. I had been rather cramped in here. “Yes, I think I would like that.”
We took several steps before a nagging sensation filled my head. Hmm, I seemed to be forgetting something. I poked my head back into the room, “Boris are you coming?”
He looked shocked and pointed to himself, “I… I can come?”
“Well, yeah, you did butter my biscuits.”
He was well, happy. Giddy even. Boris hugged me, well my leg cause that was as high as he could reach. I pat him and had to pry him off after a moment or else we could be at it for hours. I don’t know why, but everyone seemed… cuter for some reason. Maybe it is cause I am so big? I recall hearing that elephants think people are cute. Could that be what it is? I nodded to myself. Human pets… I could see the merits in it now. That being said, that got weird real quick. I swept that thought process away, it was dangerous.
We walked along the halls of Xava’s base. It was clean, sterile, lifeless, as to be expected. The only things moving besides us were the robo spiders on the walls. On occasion a scorpion would scurry off back to the side vent after cleaning the floor of dirt or anything for that matter. The floor and walls were polished to a gleam and these things were making damned sure it stayed that way.
Xava showed me to the service elevator once more and this time we ascended to the ground floor. Here there were more hallways stretching off to the side, but we were in a warehouse. Standing on both sides of the lift large machines turned, alerted to my presence. They had four thick legs as the base. The body could rotate in any direction freely independent of the legs. It had two large guns well, more like cannons on the shoulders. Below this, it had two arms on the side and six on the back. All the arms had claws, except two that appeared to have a flat attachment. The chest section had rows of hatches in it. Sitting atop the robust frame was the head. It had a spherical structure in which the surfaces were blank faceplates, four of them, each with a glowing red orb moving about.
Xava waved her hand and the machines turned away ignoring us. I stared a moment longer and asked, “What are those?”
“Those are Vira’s toys.”
“Her toys?”
“Yes, those are the Vanquisher MK III attack drone. They are military grade, but they have their weaknesses.”
I nodded, “How strong are they?”
“Compared to supers? Rank 2 or 3. But these are mass produced. Or we at least have the capability of mass producing them.”
“So you don’t have an army?”
“No, but we can make one very quickly should the need arise.”
“Seems like you should make it before you need it.”
“Vira is getting better at an astounding rate, there is no point. These will be obsolete in a month. It is a waste of resources to build a lot of them. Not to mention the maintenance costs and the upgrade costs for once a newer model is made.”
I scratched my chin. Made sense, “How strong is Vira?”
“She is a rank 5.”
“I see,” I replied, nodding slightly, “How strong am I now?”
“We will have to run tests, but at minimum, you are in the 6 to 7 rank range.”
“Oh? That much stronger?” I glanced at Boris. Did that mean I was closing the gap between us?
“Yes, well, we can discuss this more in-depth as we test things out in the city later.”
“In the city?”
“Oh, right. You haven’t seen the city since then.”
The bay doors before us opened up. The lazy afternoon sun hung in the air. After a moment my eyes adjusted and the world outside had changed drastically. The city skyline at the center was gone. Completely and utterly. Buildings on the cusp of the crater were malformed and sheered in half. Smoke rising in various places. Debris from the buildings had been cleared to the sides of the streets. Even from here I could make out the distant sounds of gunfire. The city was no longer at peace or at least what facade that it had been maintaining completely crumbled away. If there was still a hero league here, they must be held up somewhere. Bronson had gone to shit.