The Vespidian

Arc 1 Contamination

Chapter 12

Morning came with the sound of Molotov opening the door. She smiled mysteriously, and my gut rolled; I had a profoundly bad feeling about this. "Vespidian. Ready to start today's training?"

I nodded, knowing it was not a question. She led me back to her room. She motioned to the weights, and I took them. I was almost expecting my muscles to be burning from yesterday's exertions; however, as of late, I had grown used to the quick recovery. To think that two weeks would have flown by so quickly. The training was my only escape. I could zone out and be somewhere else while the body lifted weights or did various exercises. It was surprising how fast my muscles grew. My strength had already passed the threshold where lifting a thousand-pound weight was the norm.

I never did that death dungeon again and was thankful for that. Molotov taught me varied techniques. Thankfully, for now, it was all nonlethal stuff. Apparently, she wanted to hammer in the basics in case I needed to kidnap people without hurting them too badly. Strangely, I found myself adjusting to this inhospitable environment. With no rescue in sight, the real prospect that I would become a Super Villain sank in. I don't wanna ride that pony; it is a bad pony.

She quietly watched my unflattering grunts and groans, lifting the weights. I hated her, and I despised her to my core. It was strange, almost like she was trying to make me hate her. I would catch her dreamy-eyed gaze at me. The moment she realized I was looking, her face would harden.

"Are you trying to make me hate you?" I asked, doing my push-ups.

Her smile was bleaker than the tundra. "Da. Too smart for own good I see."

"Why do you want me to hate you?" My mouth gaped a little. Why was she being honest? Now, I am scared. "Shouldn't you be nice to me? I mean, I would work better that way. I am a very incentive driven person you know."

"What is hatred?" She asked vaguely. I did not get a chance to reply. "Hatred is another form of love, my dear sweet Vespidian."

"I don't understand."

She laid her hands on my shoulders, rubbing them slightly. "What is love? Is it not being unable to get someone out of your mind? Being unable to control yourself and desire someone even if you do not really know why?"

I thought on it. I had never been in love, so not too sure about that. It is what everyone said about it. Dad was always going on about how much he loved Mom, and sometimes it made me sick, especially when they got all lovey-dovey out in the living room. Well, not really sick it was cute, but it was my parents, so it weirded me out. It felt like a ping-pong ball bouncing around in my head, dragging up memories. Hatred was different altogether. It was a seething rage that made me just want to kill someone. It made me plot against them. Think of ways to make their life hell. Like Molotov, I just want to strangle her and escape from here.

She had a knowing smile when I thought that. I scowled at her, "I don't get it."

"Don't you see?" Her grin was pure evil. "You can't stop thinking about me, can you?"

"Fuck that. I hate you."

"So you love me." She whispered.

"No, I hate you."

"They are one and the same." She said, twirling and holding her chest while blushing. Oh, Swolix, she is one of those yandere. Well, I shouldn't be surprised she is a Super Villain. "You see, I wanted you to work harder and so I offered you an outlet. I gave myself to you, to be your target. Da, Vespidian. Your hatred for me will make you stronger since you have a goal. You want to surpass me and to do that you will soak up every technique I show you in hopes that you can use it against me."

"That is fucking bullshit!" I yelled, throwing the weight at her, and she flicked it away and tackled me. Her arm coiled around my neck, and she squeezed, cutting off the windpipe. I struggled, but there was no escaping this. Air would not reach my lungs as my eyes felt like they would pop out.

"This is called the sleeper hold. Remember how it feels. Da, just like that. Shh, it will all be over soon," she whispered as the world darkened. Then she let go, and I gasped for breath, writhing on the floor. I had pissed myself. I hate this. She clapped, and several men entered the room.

She bent over me, stroking my head. It felt light, and my brain tingled from the lack of oxygen. "Now then, if you do the sleeper hold correctly on these men. I will let you try and see if you can get me with it. Remember, if you do it wrong they will die and that will please me even more. Another step taken to being a real villain."

Damn, it's all to hell. She was manipulating me! She was not giving me a choice. This was only the illusion of choice. If I refused, she would hurt me more, then ask again to do it until I had broken down. No matter what I did, I was playing into her hands, Fuck! I started crying, and I felt the coldness of her eyes.

I screamed at her. "What do you want from me?!"

"For now do the sleeper hold. I will reward you when you do it right." She approached me, and I retreated. "You better start or was that demonstration not enough?"

I whimpered when her hand grasped my own. "Show me again just, just don't do it to me."

She wore a blissful smile, knowing she had just won. Her hands showed me what to do, and I had no choice but to do it. I mimicked her, and she nodded in approval. The men were shorter than me, but they were still large. Six feet is nothing to scoff at, after all. With their broad shoulders and thick necks, I found myself being aroused by it. Those thoughts were crushed in an instant as I set to work. My arm wrapped around the first neck, and I locked it into place. He did not flinch when I tightened to the point I could hear his inability to breathe. Jesus, how fucking loyal are these guys? I could kill them, and they don't even care. He was down after a few short moments. Thankfully, he was not dead.

I moved to the next guy, he was roughly the same in build, and unlike the other one, he struggled when I had cut off the air supply. This set off something monstrous inside of me. A predatory urge to kill, to feed, filled my thoughts. It was enjoyable when my prey resisted. He bucked and fought against my grasp, the mouth unhinged, and my saliva slopped down on him. His screams made it even more tantalizing, and when they were muffled by my lips closing around his head, I shuddered in bliss.

"Yes, my child, feed." whispered a voice in the back of my head, an irresistible voice I had heard somewhere before; it made my eyes nearly roll in pleasure. Just the sound of that voice made my vents burst open, and I wanted nothing more than to obey. A single word described that voice, Mother.

My tongue thrashed violently, licked and squirmed, tasting him, telling me how delightful it would be to simply give in and devour him. It took every ounce of will not to bite down with my mandibles on his head, even though every ounce of me begged to taste the flesh and tear him apart. I ripped my jaws back and threw him away. My breathing was uneasy, fuck. No, no, no. I held my head, wanting to cry. I almost just tried to eat that guy.

Molotov clapped. "Da. Interesting. Time for reward." She opened a container, and there sat a raw and bloody slab of meat. My antenna squirmed, drinking in the drool-inspiring aroma, and I shook my head, resisting.

"I am not an animal."

"When did I say you were animal? You are kind person, but we must strip away that weakness, if you wish to survive. I know you like meat. I thought you would enjoy it." She said, looking shy and a little sad at being rejected.

"I hate you!" I yelled at her. She looked so hurt, yet I knew it was all a lie. I could tell she was grinning on the inside. She was crazy!

"I only do this because I am worried about your future." She smiled. That was not a lie. Somehow I knew it deep down. What would make her worried so much? That did not bode well at all. Something that even Molotov was concerned over sounded terrifying.

My voice shook. "What are you worried about?"

"There are many things I am troubled about Vespidian. I am genuinely concerned about what would happen to you if you escaped and tried to fit in. I know full well how unsupportive humans are of sub-humans. I can just imagine it now. You being chased through streets like a monster the bullets if you are lucky, the Supers if unlucky. All because of what you look like and not who you are. They would hurt you, hunt you like animal."

I grabbed her, and she did not resist. I shook her, crying. "Is that any different than what you are doing?! Why are you so mean? Why can't you just be nice to me?"

Molotov pat me on the head. "I hurt you because I love you, because I know you are not animal."

I started wrapping around her trying to kill her. My arms squeezed her neck. "Love should not hurt. Let me go!"

She ripped both hands off, and I screamed, falling to the floor. Yellow pooled out, and the pain made me shiver. Vaguely she tossed the severed digits at my feet. "It is not love, if it does not hurt."

"You are insane." I wailed, trying to attach my hands.

She thought on it. "The world is mad why should we be any different?"

"You are the monster, not me."

"Don't you see?" She cackled in that deep manly voice. "You might deny it with all your heart, but you are a natural born killer. You are already my protege and I will teach you everything. There is no place for you, but at my side. You think the world is going to accept what you have become? No, they will shun you. I am the only one you can rely on. The sooner you realize this the sooner I will treat you kindly. You think this is bad? This is nothing compared to what those people out there will do to you."

"Why are you doing this?" I cried.

"I want to fill your heart in every aspect." Molotov shyly replied. "After all I want you to think of me at every waking moment. I want you to dream of me. The more you hate me the more this will be true and the stronger these feelings become the more you will realize that they are affection."

I growled and rose up to charge her. Fuck you, Molotov! I stopped myself when I saw how large her grin grew the moment she saw my aggressive stance. Damn it! This is what she wants. I held my head, screamed, and slammed it into the wall to take out my frustration. I looked away from her. "I am not falling for this."

"So I see." She said, changing her tone. "Da. You have done good Vespidian. As expected you resisted psychological taunts. Now then I believe it is time for your check up with Dr. Arbor."

I stared at her. "That was all a test?"

"Da. But of course. You think I love you?" Molotov chuckled lowly. "Da. Little smidgen perhaps, you are my cute and cuddly little monster after all. What I was just talking about is how I felt about Nicky Mouse. Though I do hope it motivates you. Although what I said about the outside world treating you terribly is very true. There is massive xenophobia against non human supers. Look at Slums for proof. In fact look no further than how your own mother treated you. That is the normal response to your appearance in case you were wondering."

"Don't fucking talk about that bitch." I snarled, and then she shoved the meat chunk in my mouth. I chewed on it angrily, feeling the mandibles tear it apart. Tingles spread through my brain in delight. I hated myself for enjoying it. She had figured me out and was just toying with me. Molotov knew all of my buttons and was systematically pressing them to piss me off, then calm me down. I don't even know what to do anymore. Is there really even anything I can do? She enjoys my resistance, delights when I give in, and eagerly anticipates my hatred. I am cornered. She is controlling everything.

"Come along Dr. Arbor is waiting."

"What does Dr. Arbor want?" I asked with a stingy face.

"Tests. Mostly check-ups on your body."

"Nothing crazy?"

"If I see it getting out of hand I will step in rest assured. I has your back comrade."

"Fuck you."

She smiled vaguely. "More you hate me, more you love me."

"You are full of such bullshit."

"What? You want me to leave you at mercy of perverted bioengineer who might rape you?"

I shuddered. "No. Please don't do that."

"I thought as much." She smirked.

We went to a new place, floor sixteen. It was my worst nightmare. This floor was expansive and housed Dr. Arbor's research on me. Test tubes, culture tanks with half-formed monsters, and robotic arms moving samples from one container to another. A vast screen looked over much of the lab. Numbers and sequences were scrolling across it at a slightly slower rate than a blur of green and black. It hurt my eyes to look at it.

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There was a containment cell with a large window for observation on the far side of the room; it was currently empty. An autopsy table with lights glaring down at it and mechanical arms whirring above dominated a side corner. Desks arrayed themselves near the computer monitors that glowed in the opposite corner. A shadowy figure sat, typing away with manic glee. Overhead, the fluorescent lights flickered for a few moments. It felt like a damned horror movie.

"Dr. Arbor." Said Molotov walking forward.

The person working turned, and I got to see the woman who apparently had single-handedly kept me from dying for the first time. Her hair was long and malachite, tied into a loose braid that was sloppily put together. She wore a vented gas mask; it covered her whole lower face and glowed with neon green gusting every time she breathed. Her goggles magnified her wide chromatic eyes, and the deep dark circles below them made me wonder if she had slept in the last three days. She wore an unbuttoned lab coat that had seen better days; below, she had on a sagging black tank top and musky gray sweatpants; I could smell that she had not showered in a few days. She was wearing white bunny slippers. Her arms spread wide as though to hug someone, and I felt like I was staring down a flasher. She looked unhinged.

Dr. Arbor's voice was muffled, which distorted it to sound dark and creepy. "Finally, you bring her here! Vespidian, Mommy missed her baby! I was beginning to think I was wasting my time here. Seriously though, how long are you going to keep me here? I have many other projects that require my attention, you know. I mean, there is the weaponized Baboon project for South Africa, Mutigene culturing for various buyers, and I still need to make a cure for cancer. Been getting a lot of complaints about the cancer."

"Mommy? What the hell are you on about." I stared at her.

"Oh yes, I made you, dear. Though I will say, you have exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. You had a certain genetic trait that made you susceptible to Mutigene, compatible with it. You are the second I have ever seen to have this special mutation marker. It allowed me to alter the course of your change and manipulate, to some degree, the path you progressed. I can't and will not take credit for your design. That was all natural. As such, my research will likely never end. I will crack your genetic code and reverse engineer your biological blueprint."

I pointed at her, and her eyes got big for a moment, and the pupils dilated. "Take it slow here. There is another person like me?"

"Yes though she has been this way for many years and is very different than you. Her name is Arachnaon and she became a beautiful spider. You are a lovely wasp."

"So there is some crazy spider lady running around?" I asked, looking between Molotov and Dr. Arbor.

Molotov nodded. "Unfortunately yes, Arachnaon is something of a boogeyman. She is rank 9 assassin who is feared across the world. There are only ten rank 9s in world at moment. Her skin can change colors to render her virtually invisible, her webs are stronger than titanium and stickier than crazy glue, she has retractable fangs with poison so vile they liquefy the insides of her prey in seconds, she then slurps up the juices, she has four legs that come out of her back which allows her to scale buildings in seconds. She is literal monster and the scariest part is, she is tactical genius. Every assassination of importance for last twenty years was her doing. The worst part is she is leader of Chimera. In other words government lap dog, she has been brainwashed and is our enemy. Arachnaon has been hunting members of Kraken for better part of decade. She has killed a few of our high-ranking members, her ultimate goal is revenge on the Puppeteer."

"You make her sound so terrible." Said Dr. Arbor with a cheery tone. "The predator will always seek out their prey. It is the course of nature. It is a real shame that the government got a hold of her though. I remember the first time I saw her. Such a wondrous form. She had been exposed to the Spore in its most primal of states. Usually, you die if you come in contact with the Spore. I have seen it happen many, many times. Humans make errors and so I started using machines as assistants. After all, Mutigene is merely a diluted and processed extract. I have my own Spore farm you know. The government was being stingy so I stole some and started growing it myself after I cut ties."

"Oh great so there is a spider running around. She is going to eat me, isn't she? Why did they not hunt you down? I mean you betrayed them."

"They are not that stupid. I am the leading researcher on Mutigene and the Spore. If they killed me the amount of knowledge that would be lost would be catastrophic for their projects. You see I keep most of it in my head. They still bug me from time to time, but the pay is good and I am left to my own devices. They know better than to try and control me."

"Da, da. Shut up and get to work. Do blood samples and check on her progress." Dismissively said Molotov.

I thought about everything they had been discussing when something caught my attention. "Wait you are making a cure for cancer? That does not sound so evil."

"Evil?" Asked Dr. Arbor, her multicolored eyes huge in the goggles, dilating several times. "Evil is subjective. What one person finds objectionable another will find enjoyable. It is all a matter of perspective."

"You are a Villain right?"

She thought on it and shrugged. "Labels. Nothing more, nothing less. I will have you know though that I work for the highest bidder. I don't care who it is, or what it is for, I only care about if it is biological and if I get paid properly. As the Japanese would say, every dollar spent on something could have been spent on genetically engineered cat girls for domestic servitude. They sure do love animal women over there. At any rate, research is very expensive. Sometimes dark deals must be cut to get funding."

"Wait so you are helping Kraken and Chimera at the same time?"

"Well, you see I am sort of a genetic arms dealer. It is good for business if there is conflict. Everyone always wants a bigger stick. Which is what you are. You are Kraken's new stick. Granted you are just a little grub and still my cute little baby. We can't send you out into that terrible world the way you are."

"So what is stopping you from ratting out Kraken to Chimera?"

"Oh, that? I have not had any contact from them in... lets see must be five years now."

Something did not make sense here. I asked. "If you are such a big shot what the hell are you doing here in Bronson?"

"I originally came here to study the sub-humans in the slums." She seemed very giddy about that. "The effects of radiation are marvelous and very similar to Mutigene. About four months ago I was specifically… hired? More kidnapped, to watch over you."

"Then who hired you?"

She glanced over at Molotov, and a little nod was exchanged between them. "Dr. Tesla." Something seemed weird about that.

Speak of the devil; he sauntered in with his hands behind his back. "Comrade Molotov, I have something I believe you would be fascinated with."

"Da? What is it?" Asked Molotov following him off to the side.

They were looking over some cube thing. They started talking in science mumbo jumbo. Something about black holes or something. I made the mistake of looking away from Dr. Arbor for a moment. She was surprisingly fast, and I jumped when she latched onto my abdomen. She literally coiled around it. This bitch was glued to me and would not let go. She ran her hands up and down the smooth carapace whispering something. It was creeping the hell outta me. Her body was shivering with joy, I think.

"Such an elegant design." She cooed. "What secrets do you hold from me."

I was starting to see why Molotov thought Dr. Arbor was nuts. She grabbed my hand and dragged me to a slab-like table. I already did not like where this was going. Dr. Arbor pulled out a syringe after I sat down. She rubbed some cotton swabs on my arm joint. Her hand was so damned shaky when she stabbed me with it that she missed the vein and had to do it twice more. The needlework was not gentle, and it was obvious that she was not in the right mindset to do this. I cringed, covering my eyes. There was no point in resisting; Molotov would hurt me if I did. My blood flowed into the tube, and after a short few moments, it was over. She pulled it out, tapping the side.

"Such a good specimen you are. So obedient for mommy." She said, putting it into a strange machine. "Now then lay down so I can proceed with the next part."

I did as told, and mechanical arms descended. Concerns raised when I saw the needles oozing some sort of fluid. Every instinct in my head went off that this was bad, and I attempted to move. It was already far too late for that, though. My limbs were shackled before I knew what was happening, and the needles stabbed in from all sides, injecting their payload. I screamed and writhed. It hurt; a burning was spreading from the insertion points. Every muscle in my body spasmed, then it all went numb. No matter how I tried, I could not move anything.

Dr. Arbor stood over me; she had donned a green containment suit that covered her body and head. It looked like one of those old space suits from the movies. Sleek and with a domed glass head. I could see her face. Her mouth reminded me of my own, and her long tongue wet her lips; she raped me with her eyes. At this moment, I realized that Dr. Arbor was very much inhuman in mentality and whatever the hell was going on with her body.

Vaguely I could see Molotov on the other side of the room, talking with Dr. Tesla. They were looking at that damned cube and not paying any attention to my plight. My voice seized in my throat, and I could not scream for help. She held a controller, and the arms above started a terrifying ballet of dismemberment. The sound of a dentist's drill resounded though it was far louder and accompanied by the grotesque shattering of bone. Saws descended, and tubes started sucking up all the blood from the gashes she carved out of my carapace. The scariest part was that none of it hurt. I could not feel anything. Yet I saw everything.

In less than a minute, she hacked off my arms and legs, then cauterized the wounds so I would not bleed out. After taking those away to be studied, she turned her attention to her real objective, my abdomen. That terrible grinding sound rose, followed by the gurgling sound of her ripping open the plates to get at my gooey center. There was a moment of utter bliss across her face as she shoved her hands into me. She rifled around until she was elbow deep in my innards. Dr. Arbor relished every moment of it. She looked so damned satisfied I got the feeling that she had just creamed herself. You sick bitch!

It was like a switch went off in her head, and her smile grew even more unhinged. She was drooling as she spoke lowly to herself, logging her discoveries. Oh god. Fuck me; she is going to dissect me while I am awake! She ripped a heart out, turning it curiously, noting more, then placing it to the side. Her hands went back in, and she wrestled out a long tube-like organ; it writhed in her grasp. She was having to really fight that thing, whatever the hell it is. It gushed some white goop at her, and she wiped it off into a storage container. She noted more and flopped it to the side before going in for more. I could feel the tears flowing down my cheeks.

I wanted to run, to scream, to be anywhere but here. My tongue writhed in my mouth, and finally, I managed to make a sound. She noticed, though, and stabbed me with another needle. Dr. Arbor was cruel enough to make me watch as she tore me apart. Piece by piece, organ by organ. It was too much, and I passed out. Then I was rudely awoken not even a few moments after I had slipped unconscious. She had injected me with adrenaline. The glee on her face when she had exposed my genitals, made my blood run cold. No. Get away from there! No. No more! Please, no more, have mercy!

Dr. Arbor explored every inch of my body. She did not give a fuck about what I wanted. She had cut open my chest and dug out that heart as well. She lifted out my lungs so I could see how they expanded and contracted. Somehow I was still alive. How long has it been? How much more is there? So tired... why is this even happening? She moved up until her yellow-stained hands caressed my head. Oh god... She isn't going to cut open my head, is she? Molotov, save me, please! The drill drew closer, and she set to work, cutting open my skull. I could hear the serrated metal hands boring into me and the feeling of the pressure mounting, then, all at once, it popped. She lifted off my cranial plate, and I saw all the blood oozing from the sides. She gazed reverently down at me.

"At last. What a wonderful journey this has been. My beautiful Vespidian. You are perfection." She whispered to me, pressing the glass of her helmet against my face. My blood smeared across her visor, "You are astounding, and not even all of this will kill you. Oh no, your body will pull itself back together, it always has. I know, I made you."

She stuck a finger to my lips as though to silence me. Not that I could make a fucking sound anyway! She is insane! Save me, somebody. I don't care who. Her hand grasped my tongue, and she pulled it out. She put it and set it to the side. "Now then. This gorgeous, marvelous brain of yours is begging me to have a closer look."

Terror seized me as her hands went for my brain. Every synapse was firing off, and my body moved. I had no limbs, though, so it was futile. I flopped about like a fish, and she held me down. My eyes gaped when her finger wormed its way into the folds. It felt like fire spreading through my head. Colors flowed into view, little auroras waving through the air, and I writhed. She thrust another digit in, and everything went black.