[Melissophobia - The fear of bees, particularly tied to the act of being stung and often includes wasps. It is not uncommon among people with bee allergies.]
Pitch woke up from sleeping in the tub in his true form, it has been a few days after the capture of Vance the newly formed Chimera Cryptid. It was still not a pleasant thing to think about, the fact that Vance and James had similar upbringings but went in opposite directions. Like a twisted dark mirror of what James could have been like under different circumstances. Looking for answers, Pitch was still waiting on lab results from the sample Kathryn took. She had been really busy with the latest capture and hadn't had time to analyze the sample.
Shortly after getting up and taking on his human guise, he got a text from Kathryn informing him she planned to meet him at his house to talk privately. Pitch waited for the knock, answered the door, and let her in. The two then sat down on the couch. Kathryn then hands Pitch a folder. “These are the results of the tests I did on the particles you gave me. Still strange that if you put a part of yourself in an airtight container then close it, that part will simply go limp and become like sand in a jar.”
Pitch opens the folder. He sees equations from tests that ran energy currents through the particles as well as a chemical, mineral, molecule read out of what his particles are made of and the same the atoms take in the structure of the particles. “Carbon, iron, potassium… a lot of the same stuff organic life is made out of. But this structure… It's like a bunch of extremely dense interwoven crystal lattices. It's deceptively complex. Not only that but it seems you were even able to get a DNA reading on the genetic material within the structure.”
Kathryn nodded. “In addition to traces of your previous human DNA I got a good look at the Cryptid structure. I couldn't exactly freely compare it to others in the database though considering the closest match wouldn't be on file.” Pitch nodded as he continued to look through the file. “Did you come up with any theories about my origin?” Kathryn shuffled and pressed two fingers together. “I've had a working theory for a while, but I've been reluctant to share it.”
Pitch puts the file down on the table and gestures to Kathryn. “Let's hear it. Even if it's unpleasant it's better than nothing.” Kathryn still hesitated while looking at the floor. “So you know how you told me that when you possessed that thug you had some of his memories bleed into you? Well I think when the Umbran that killed those students when you were in first grade was hit by that light it left a big enough chunk of itself to propagate. Slowly feeding off you and everything you eat over many years. Eventually it started to grow exponentially resulting in your hunger boost at eighteen. By then everything that was James had bleed into the new Umbran.”
Pitch put a hand on his chin. “So quite literally my new self ate my old self from the inside but because all the memories bled over till essentially the Umbran had a copy of your consciousness. Meaning your statement of having died and being born as a new entity isn't entirely inaccurate. You are the offspring of the Umbran that attacked James that then absorbed everything that made James who he is. It's definitely something that would give most people an existential crisis as they think over various philosophies as to what makes us a present, a human, and how one defines self and identity.”
Pitch nods. “It's a solid theory too. One could say I both am and am not the same person. After all, wouldn't someone with your exact memories and experiences be you? Since there isn't a second me running around it's not like we have to deal with a tulpa situation. That would be awkward.” The two then take a moment to let the idea sink in when there is a knock on the door. Pitch slowly gets up and goes over to answer it. On the other side is General Ishwada. “Can I help you, General?”
Somewhere in the city of New Arkham, two guys are approaching a warehouse. They step out of a black pickup truck and look at the building. “Apparently they just up and abandoned this place a few years back, leaving whatever they had stashed in here behind. Not sure why they just left everything here, but some of it has to be worth money. We can make an easy buck and no one gets hurt.” The other guy rubs his hands together and pulls a set of bolt cutters out of a truck. He used them to cut the lock off the door and the two opened the garage before the truck was moved to the inside of the building.
The two then start looking around the warehouse. Half empty shelves with boxes liter the area. Naturally guy number one grabs one to see what's inside. “Toasters.” He then takes the box and puts it on the back of the truck. Guy number two checks a couple boxes. “This one has boxes of staples in it for an office stapler, and this one has staplers.” He loads up the boxes. Guy number one goes to check another box but pauses as he starts to pull it off the shelf. “Do you hear that?” Guy two pauses checking his box to look up and listen. “Hear what?”
Guy one explains “That buzzing noise.” Guy two looked around as he listened more. “It's probably a generator or transformer or something.” Guy one then reminds him: “We are using the truck lights to like the place because it's not getting any power. So what in God's name-” he is suddenly cut off as the sound gets louder. “Is it… getting closer? Who's there?!” He shouts out into the building, but receives no response. The sound gets louder, the quieter, then louder again, moving through the building.
The guy loads up his box and decides to check it out. “I'm going to see what that is, you keep loading.” He looks around the building until the sound is almost defining. Then he spots the culprit behind the sound. A bee, or perhaps a wasp, only it is the size of a house cat. “The fuck!” He shouts before he starts to run. Unfortunately the creature gives chase. The monstrously sized vespid gives chase and sings the man in the back leaving a massive hole and an even bigger lump around it as the man falls dead right in front of the other guy. He screams, closes the tailgate, and hops inside the truck before speeding off.
Back at Pitch's house, Ishwada is sitting on a chair talking to Pitch and Kathryn. “Anyway, that's the situation.” Pitch sat in silence for a moment. “Okay, but why exactly come to me? It's not like last time where I knew the culprit.” Ishwada puts a hand out. “I may not know exactly what you are, but what I do know is that Cryptids seem to have some way to detect other Cryptids with the method differing between types. Yours seems tied to the EMF field you have been able to produce since before. This gives you a longer range of detection. Basically I was hoping you could be a Cryptid radar for me in this case.”
Pitch thinks about it. “I would like to be a regular consultant on cases, and hands-on experience with Cryptids could help me learn more about them but I don't want to take orders from your bosses or you. No offense.” Ishwada puts a hand up. “None taken, you've voiced your opinions on the material before. I might have to clear that with my higher ups but as long as you show no signs of hostility towards my men and me we'll be fine.” Pitch nods. “Same. Alright then, let us hunt down an oversized bee.”
Pitch gives Kathryn's hand a gentle squeeze. “I'll be back.” He then leaves with the general to investigate the giant bee situation. The car ride to the site was silent and awkward. Once there the two step out, accompanied by three Black Eagle goons. Everyone was armed with Volt Rifles and Watt Pistols. The group slowly approached and entered the large bay door, guns aimed and moving on a pivot. Pitch closed his eyes and took a few unnecessary breaths. “I can do this, just gotta feel for a presence.” After a moment, Pitch detects something and starts moving towards it.
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Pitch rounds a corner to find a Black Eagle trooper rapid firing at something. Figuring it had to be the bee, Pitch began getting closer only for the soldier to start speed walking backwards while shooting at their target. Pitch goes into a sprint and shoves the soldier to ground, getting between him and the house cat sized vespid. “Alright you oversized freak of nature, square up.” The creature got closer, aiming to sting Pitch. However, the moment it got close it froze, giving Pitch the opportunity to fight back.
Pitch smacked the creature away with the butt of his gun before shooting at it a few times. The large wasp is quite nimble and able to dodge the lightning pulses. “Sit still you annoying insect.” Pitch raised his voice slightly in frustration. The Black Eagle soldier got back up and also started shooting at the creature causing it to buzz off. “Great, now I have to track it down again. Squirrelly bugger.” The Black Eagle soldier takes the time to brush themselves off. “Thanks for the assistance, I guess.”
“You're welcome, I guess.” Pitch replied somewhat rudely before searching for the creature again. The soldier followed him. “It might be better if we stick together. We are supposed to move in teams of at least two but that thing got my partner. These bullet resistant outfits are unfortunately not as good at being stab resistant.” Pitch looks over at the soldier. “You guys knew it was a bee, do you not have a different armor that is resistant to stabbing?” The soldier doesn't respond.
Pitch suddenly stopped walking and put his arm out to stop the soldier as well. “It's nearby, must be standing on something because I don't hear it.” Gun pointed, the soldier begins to pivot and search for signs of the creature. “You know, there's one minor thing bugging me about this mission. No, that wasn't an intentional pun.” Pitch looked over to his temporary companion. “Okay, I'll bite. What's bothering you about this case?” The person looked Pitch dead in the eyes. “Just like with ants and rats, there's never just one.”
Pitch's eyes widened. “So you are suggesting this is just a scout drone for an entire hive of house cat sized wasps? From what I've seen Cryptids don't always follow the same rules and patterns as other things. Just because normal bees, hornets, and wasps have nests doesn't mean this thing does.” There is then a sudden intense buzzing as the creature blazes by, picking up the Black Eagle member and carrying them off. They try to shoot it or flail out of its grasp but it's in vain as they are carried out of sight. “Fuck.” Pitch cursed.
Pitch noticed that the soldier dropped their radio so he picked it up. “This is James Holden, one of the soldiers just got snatched up alive and carried off. I'm in pursuit. I'm in a section with kitchen appliances and going… north. Over.” Pitch started heading that way as the radio chirped a confirmation. He started speed walking with his Volt Rifle at the ready in case he ran into a jumbo wasp. Moving cautiously through the warehouse. Hearing footsteps nearby he heads that direction.
Pitch turns a corner to find himself pointing his gun at Ishwada who's traveling with the last remaining Black Eagle soldier that came with them. Pitch lowers his gun and nods at the general. “I think we should call for backup. There's a non-zero chance that there's more than one of these things.” Ishwada nods and switches channels on his radio to request two additional Humvees. Requesting they be sent with net guns and riot shields in addition to the standard equipment. HQ confirmed the request would be answered but it would be a while before they got there.
The radio chirps again with a female voice coming over it. “Can I get a proper description of the Cryptid? Something more than “big fuckin was wasp” would be nice.” Pitch sighs and picks up the radio. “The Cryptid is likely Melissophobian in nature, and there may be multiple subjects. The whitenessed subject resembled a yellow jacket wasp a size comparable to if not slightly bigger than that of a common house cat. It is capable of lifting a full adult human and flying off.” Pitch then puts the radio back on his belt before looking around. He noticed he's in a section with sports balls and gym equipment.
Pitch stops causing the others to stop.. Ishwada looks around. “Are you detecting anything?” Pitch shook his head. “No, but I have an idea.” He locates a box with basketballs and soccer balls. “You both should grab a couple.” Pitch says as he holsters his gun to pick up a few sports balls. Ishwada gives Pitch a confused look. “You lost me, son. Why are we grabbing sports balls?” Pitch chuckles to himself. “Funny bee fact, they enjoy playing with balls.”
Ishwada groans. “I can't tell if you're being serious or not.” Pitch explains. “They did tests on bees and found that they would go out of their way to roll a ball even if no reward was offered to do so. Meaning they'll do so with no obvious benefits indicating they just do it for fun. Not sure if wasps do it too but there is a possibility we can distract them with these.” The two shrug and grab sports balls as well.
The three then continue walking when Pitch stops once again due to hearing a buzzing sound. The others look for the source while Pitch feels for it. “Damn thing's moving around too much to get a lock on it. … … And there's at least two.” Pitch grabs the radio and whispers into it. “Confirmation on multiple targets, at least two. Waiting on visual confirmation. Going radio silent. Over.”
A one of the subjects, resembling a yellow jacket indicating it's the same or at least same type as the one already seen, rounds a corner in front of them. The creature blocks their forward progress. Pitch slowly placed a soccer ball on the ground, kicking it between his feet. The giant wasp lands and watches the ball go back and forth. After dribbling the soccer ball for a bit he slowly kicks it to the large vespid.
The monster puts its leg on the ball and rolls it back and forth before grabbing on it with its two front legs and pushing it back to Pitch. “Holy crap, it worked.” Pitch dribbled the soccer ball again before kicking it at an angle. The wasp flies after where it went while the three start walking forward. They spot the thing rolling around the ball and even lifting it up to bounce it. Playing by itself it makes no attempts to pass it back to Pitch again.
The soldier looks over at the cat sized vespid. “You know, if it wasn't so terrifying with its size alone, it would almost be cute.” Pitch chuckled. “I'll send you a video of bumblebees playing soccer with foam balls bigger than they are. The little buggers will even ride on them and roll around.” While crossing an intersection, Pitch has to suddenly jump backwards to avoid a wasp five bombing across the aisle.
Pitch turns to see it hovering. It's as large as the other but its body is shaped differently and has a different coloration. Its black head is accented by dark red eyes and its black midsection leads to a dark red thorax. “That looks like… a vulture bee.” Pitch picks up the radio and whispers. “Visual confirmation on the second subject. Subject two resembles a vulture bee with size comparable to subject one.” Pitch then sees another yellow jacket fly over to the vulture bee. Pitch knows it's not the one they left behind as it came from another direction.
Pitch whispers into the radio again. “Confirmation on a second subject resembling the first meaning there's at least two that resemble yellow jackets. Although no visual confirmation has been made, I think it's safe to assume this is confirmation of the existence of a hive. Requesting no response from HQ. Side note, the two different subjects are not acting hostile to one another. Over.” He then clips the radio back to his side before placing a second soccer ball on the ground and dribbling it. Both bees land and watch the ball.
After dribbling it for a while he kicks it forward only for the vulture bee to catch it under its leg. It passed the ball between its legs, mimicking the dribbling before passing the ball to the yellow jacket. The other bee then matches its movements before passing it back. The two giant vespids continued to pass the ball between themselves while Pitch, Ishwada, and the last random Black Eagle mook continued forward slowly.
Pitch then whispers to the other two walking with him. “So… proportionally speaking… How big are we talking about for the size of a hive?” Ishwada stops in his tracks. “Oh. Oh god. I wasn't even thinking about that. It would have to be the size of a mansion if not this entire warehouse. The hive wouldn't even be inside the building because it would have to be the size of a building.” The soldier has to hold back from raising their voice. “How in the hell would something like that go unnoticed?” Ishwada chuckled. “You'd be surprised how little attention people pay. Also very few people go through the warehouse district. Outside the companies that use them there's next to no through traffic here.”
Pitch nodded. “Has that building always been there?” Or “Wasn't that an empty lot just last month?” Would likely be as far as they thought about it. Even if the building didn't look normal they'd probably assume it was some architectural art piece.” The group then continue their slow pace till they come up to the north wall of the warehouse. A section of bricks had been knocked out leaving a hole in the wall leading outside.
“It's likely the wasps entered through this hole from their hive outside” Ishwada remarked as they approached the hole, ready to exit the building and find the nest of these oversized vespids.