“With the current state of crisis within North and Central America, the following documents have been released from the now defunct Burcheck and Harley Research Facility.  Government officials request all research facilities to familiarize themselves with these experiments to help further research into a solution to the global crisis.  Containment and elimination of the Incorperants is this nation’s highest priority.  Your assistance in this time of need is of the highest importance if innocent lives are to be spared a grisly and painful fate.  Time is of the essence!

President Marsha Fairbrooke”

Such was the first page of the lengthy binder sent to every biological and chemical lab in North America.  The following is the table of contents found on the second page.

Pages 3-9

Project: 564E-39F

Date: 03/19/2038-06/12/2038

Head Researcher: Dr. Nadene Goodwell Ph.D.

Assistant: Edmund Hark

Summary: With the recovery of Meteor Class AE7 from Crashsite 17, Dr. Goodwill broke down the chemical makeup of its dust to identify its point of origin.  Within the compounds discovered in the dust, not only was an undiscovered acidic liquid found, but as were single cell organisms.  Further research will be needed on the nature of this new life form.

Pages 10-13

Project: 564E-3A3

Date: 06/15/2038-7/23/2039

Head Researcher: Dr. Harold Arment Ph.D.

Assistant: Amanda Beach, Calvin Helgrant, Justin Falcher

Summary: Tests on the liquids discovered within Meteor Class AE7 revealed a composite of several chemicals.  The first was Acid Classification 8D0, henceforth referred to as armentic acid. reveal corrosive properties when exposed to high quantities of silicon, though these properties are dormant in a controlled environment.  Within 2500 tests, armentic acid applied to surfaces with silicon droplets applied corroded only areas where the droplets were present.

Further testing is requested for applications in chemotherapy and vaccination.  Further testing has also been requested for applications in mining and demolition.  

Pages 14-16

Project: 564E-3A4

Date: 06/22/2038-6/27/2038

Head Researcher: Dr. Winston Selvoy

Assistant: Luke Maxwell, Ryo Kageshi

Summary: Among the chemicals discovered within Meteor Class AE7 was a mysterious solvent, henceforth referred to as Selvoy Solvent.  Short term exposure to the solvent resulted in nausea and convulsions in test subjects.  This document details safe containment protocols for handling of Selvoy Solvent.  Until further research can be done, the current recommendation is for Selvoy Solvent to be classified within this facility as a highly restricted substance.  Until further notice, testing of higher concentrations of Selvoy Solvent will be suspended indefinitely.

Pages 17-30

Project: 564E-3B0

Date: 06/17/2038-09/20/2043

Head Researchers: Dr. Nadene Goodwell Ph.D., Dr. Phineas McAvoy Ph.D., Dr. Will Stein (after Goodwell’s departure), Dr. Gerald Fogart (after McAvoy’s departure), Dr. Caroline Charter (after Forgart’s departure)

Assistants: Edmund Hark, Zachary Young, Aditya Hadid, Henrietta Smith, Annette Arnout, Jason Carver, Reginald Bordeaux, Qadriyyah Ragunathan, Antonio Mazerelli

Summary: Living specimens were discovered amongst the sample recovered from Meteor Class AE7.  These silicon-based organisms, henceforth referred to as Incorperants, seem to exhibit extreme heat, cold, and impact resistance. Each has cell walls not only with a heavy resistance to armentic acid, but the ability to secrete it onto other single cell organisms in their vicinity.  It seems it uses the acid to latch onto cells and absorb them into their cell walls to absorb proteins and minerals.  They seem to be able to incorporate properties of absorbed minerals to facilitate growth and 

Complicating testing, among the fluids these organisms secrete is Selvoy Solvent.  When Incorperants are exposed to extreme heat or cold, they can release quantities and concentrations well above acceptable safety boundaries.  

Following extreme exposure to Selvoy Solvent by a number of researchers and assistants, Incorperants were classified as biohazards and moved to the Containment Ward.

With the escape of the Queen Incorperant, all testing will be henceforth terminated.

Pages 31-35

Project: 564E-443

Date: 06/12/2042-06/14/2042

Head Researchers: Dr. Caroline Charter

Assistants: Antonio Mazerelli, Daniella Gillian

Summary: After the recovery of Reginald Bordeaux, the following symptoms were observed after exposure to 1.714 grams of Selvoy Solvent:

Extreme contraction of body cells, resulting in body shrinkage.

High levels of suggestibility

Long-term high blood pressure

Hemorrhaging of the mouth and nose

Within hours of coming into contact with the high dosage of solvent, the subject shrank to only a few centimeters.  After a full 24 hours, the subject steadied upon reaching a microscopic height.  However, heart failure began within 30 hours of initial contact.  As a result, testing on high concentrations of Selvoy Solvent has been reclassified from indefinite suspension to termination.

“Uuuuugh!  What happened?”

Nadene Goodwell pushed herself off the floor, her eyes adjusting to the light.  The last memory in her head was as she was bringing the petri dish from containment to the microscope.  The specimen she had discovered within the meteorite was displaying erratic behavior and growth, and she wanted to find the source of the irregularity.  Her new assistants were sanitizing and preparing her set-up.  Usually Dr. Brown and Dr. Hadid would be preparing the station, but for some reason neither had shown up to work.  Instead, she had been saddled with a crew of interns, much to her consternation.  She was about to chew the new guy Zachary out for using the wrong cleaner when she started feeling dizzy.

“Dr. Goodwell!  The dish!”

The words sounded vaguely as though they came from the mouth of Ms. Hernietta Smith, who had been brought over from another department to help out.  Though in her slightly addled mind-set, it was hard for Nadene to tell.  Her finger had accidentally dipped into the petri dish and went numb.  And soon her whole body followed.

Now upright, she squinted around the barren landscape.  It didn’t take long before she heard the first familiar voice in this barren waste.

“There you are!  You’re alright!  You disappeared from the lab and nobody knew where you were.  Are you hurt?  Where are we?”

Of all the wastes of oxygen to be stranded in an unknown world with, Nadene shuddered to find herself stuck with Zachary Young.  The imcompetent college grunt was unhelpful in even basic tasks.  The good doctor figured that if she had to rely on him for survival, she was as good as dead.  Zachary tried to grab her hand to steady her, but she yanked it away,

“I’m fine!  Get your grubby mitts off of me!”

Dr. Goodwell looked far from fine, but Zach knew better than to provoke her.  He had been on the receiving end of her ire more than enough for one lifetime.  Thankfully for the both of them, they weren’t the only ones in this plane of nothing.  Otherwise, they may have been each other’s downfall.

“Zach!  Dr. Goodwell!  I found you!  Thank goodness you two are alright.”

“Ah, you’re here too then?  I suppose it’s about time you showed up, Ms. Smith.  Did you see what happened in the lab?”

Fortunately for the two confused survivors, and unfortunately for Hernietta’s psyche, Hernietta had remained conscious during her transformation.  As she explained to the group, as soon as she reached out for the petri dish, her body began to numb.  She fought to stay awake and warn Zach to stay away.  She felt her body implode in on itself.  Her hand dwindled rapidly, and the rest of her body followed rapidly.  It was almost too quick to see, but hard to avoid feeling.  He watched as the ever expanding Zach approached the dish to see what had happened to his labmates.  She tried to yell to stay away, but her voice failed to carry and she watched as Zach shrank with her.

“So we’re in-” Zach said confused before Dr. Goodwell interjected.

“...the petri dish?”

“It seems like it”

Nadene gazed around her new surroundings in awe.  All her life, the world beneath her gaze had always fascinated her.  An entire ecosystem full of life and mystery.  All smaller than the tip of her nail.  She had dedicated her life to such studies.  Never had she imagined she would be able to see it up close.  She stepped forward to see the wondrous sights her new size would grant her.  The interns followed behind her, confused.  They didn’t understand what had  come over her, but they were alone in a strange land.  They walked lockstep with the only person with any chance of saving them from this odd experience, even if she seemed lost in her own thoughts.

BOOOM BOOOM BOOOM

The crew didn’t know what to make of the strange sound until a shape emerged over the horizon lumbering towards them.  Dr. Goodwell snapped out of her trance and quickly stepped behind Zach and Hernietta, who had frozen in place like dust settled on an unused shelf.

The newly minted explorers of this microscopic world stared in awe at the vaguely humanoid yet vaguely amorphous shape in front of them.  It was like a twenty foot display mannequin, but with every recognizable feature sanded off of it.  A generally human shape warped into a clean slate was all that gazed back at them, if it even could gaze without even the remotest hint of an eye.

The cell walls held the giant gooey mess into its shape.  It was almost like an aqueous skin around the monstrous, unsettling cell.  Against her better judgment, Henrietta reached out to feel the walls of the cell.  To her surprise, the cell wall was like goop in her hands.  Her palm passed through the exterior of the giant cell, allowing her to reach inside the Incorperant.  Dr. Goodwell immediately started shouting at her.

“Ms. Smith!  What are you doing?!?!  Stop playing with that this instant!  We have no idea what that thing is capable of!”

Henrietta tried to pull her arm back, but found herself stuck in place.  No matter how hard she tugged, her arm was buried elbow-deep inside the Incorperant, unable to free itself.  That’s when she felt a sharp tug.  She screamed for help as the other assistants rushed to her side, trying as they might to pull her away.  But the pull of the odd organism was too much for her.  Soon her shoulder was embedded in the gelatinous creature, then her torso.  Zach held onto Henrietta the longest, collapsing her hand in his until even that was wrenched away and absorbed.  Dr. Goodwell, meanwhile, kept her distance.  Fear gripped at her, like an ominous premonition of danger.  

For a moment, Henrietta was simply suspended inside the cell.  The miniaturized humans could see her through the translucent green membrane.  At first, she struggled with all her might for air.  But the panic quickly gave way to an unsettling calm.  Her face appeared as though she were sleeping on a bed of clouds, rather than floating within goo with no air to breathe.  That’s when her hands and feet began to disappear.  Her flesh didn’t so much peel or burn away, so much as merge itself with the ooze within the Incorperant and simply wash away.  With her hands and feet gone, soon her head, arms and legs became the same watery consistency.  As they mixed into the concoction brewing within the inside of the cell, her chest finally spread and thinned like paint dripping into the ocean.  The hapless scientists could only watch as the space that was once occupied by their coworker was now indistinguishable from anything else. The remaining pair stood motionless, unable to process what happened.

“She’s gone”

The two looked at each other.  One thing was clear.  Those words didn’t come from either of them.  

It smiled.

Nadene gulped as she peeked up at the blob.  What was once completely featureless had become more defined.  Its hips became wider.  Two protrusions jutted from its chest.  Where its face was once blank, now a mouth curled into view.  Hair-like strands of goop developed from the top of its head, trailing to about where its shoulders were.  A cute button nose and what seemed to be a pair of perpetually closed eyelids materialized from the front of her head.  She knew that even if the Incorperant could open them, her gooey, unformed eyes would be blind to the world around it.  And yet, the creature still bent its head low, as though it could not only see the shrunken scientists, but peer into their very souls.

“Fascinating.  You humans are afraid of me.”

The being didn’t open its mouth to speak these words.  It was almost as though the words had reverberated from within their body, like the wind had whispered them into their ears.  Dr. Goodwill screamed and Zachary took a step between her and the blob, shielding her with an arm.

“Worry not humans.  I understand your fear.  In fact, I now understand far more than just your fear.  Your love.  Your aspiration.  Your joy.  Your regret.  It’s all been revealed to me.”

Zachary stepped back, almost knocking the doctor over.

“What are you?”

“I believe humans call us the Incorperants… no, that’s not quite right.  They are the Incorperants.  I once shared that same pitiable existence as well.  But they lack what I was given.  They are nothing but mindless protozoans, consuming unrefined and simple creatures to keep themselves alive.  They lack the inspiration and enlightenment that your Hernietta granted me.  They have no method to rise above themselves, or even understand that there is a themselves to rise above.  But I’m different.  I’m something far greater.  I will have to absorb these into myself.  I will bestow upon them the wisdom I have acquired and release them again as my offspring.  Only incorperants like me can be allowed to persevere, or even should be allowed to persevere.  But for that, I’ll need to become bigger.  I’ll need to become stronger.  I’ll need… you two.”

The being bent down.  As the hulking thing brought itself low, it was now apparent to the shrunken explorers that the Incorperant had become much bigger.  While the gigantic specimen had initially been over three times their height, it now seemed that they only came up to its kneecaps.  Both tried to run, but Zach slammed into the back of Dr. Goodwell and sent both sprawling to the ground.  The slime grabbed Zach by the leg and hoisted it up until it was level to its unopened eyes.

“Don’t run!  It’s clear to me what I must do.”

Zachary screamed as his leg was sucked into the palm its hand.  He watched as the leg dissolved bloodlessly into the green sludge.  Nadene was unable to stand up and run, transfixed by the sight of her associate being dragged slowly to his doom.  Zach’s screams only ceased when the gunk pooled into his mouth.  He tried to give one last pained scream until his eyes shut in peaceful tranquility as Hernietta’s had just moments ago.

“You monster!  What have you done?  They-”

“They aren’t gone”

“...what?”

“They aren’t gone.  They’re still alive.  Inside me.”

“Are you insane?  I saw you devour them with my own eyes.  You’re a-”

“Queen.”

“...huh?”

“Call me Queen.  That’s what you humans, or I suppose I should say ‘we humans’, call the mother of a tribe of insects, is it not?  The one that births them and leads them.  The one that they serve?  You should envy your friends.  They’ve become part of something much… bigger… than themselves.”

Nadene watched as Queen swelled in size.  Its arms and legs became more swollen and defined, as though muscles that could not possibly exist rippled beneath its translucent green skin.  The outline of a six-pack developed on its stomach.  And the two generous protrusions on its chest were met with one between its legs.  It was little more than a bulge.  If not for its placement, it would have been unclear what the large mass at its front was even supposed to be.  Its jaw chiseled itself, as though hefted to perfection from marble by masters of their craft.

Nadene was no longer able to process what was going on around her.  Her two research assistants had already been consumed into this ever growing, ever feasting abomination, and she would soon likely join them.  She broke down into tears.  Queen looked down at her sympathetically.

“Don’t cry, Dr. Goodwell.  This isn’t the end.  Their thoughts and feelings remain within me.  Here, take a listen.”

Queen’s ‘hand’ cupped against Nadene’s ear.  She could hear them.  Zachary explaining that things would be alright.  Hernietta attempting to comfort her.  But that wasn’t all she heard.  Other noises echoed through her mind.  The simple chittering of strange insects.  The howl of beasts so alien, the mind could not even grasp their form.  Nadene started to finally feel at peace.  She nuzzled into its awaiting palm, feeling a warth that almost assuredly couldn’t be there.

She did not realize that half of her face had already been digested by Queen, but at that moment she probably wouldn’t have cared.  Nadene came to an understanding with the creature.  Whether it was because she genuinely understood its goals, or had simply had her mind hi-jacked was irrelevant to her.  She knew there was only one way to go forward.

That it would consume all the other Incorperants and replace them with its own superior breed.  Its incorperants would bond with humans, adding them to its own complete whole.  That those that we brought into ourselves would not lose their humanity, but acquire an even greater humanity.  That we would thrive.  That we would persevere.

We would consume.

Today was the busiest and most hectic day Iris had suffered in a long time.  It wasn’t for the reasons the receptionist for the Harley and Burcheck Research Facility would usually be busy.  No, the days where the entrance to the main lobby was bustling with researchers, assistants, janitorial staff, and all sorts of visitors was long gone.  In fact, the last few days had been eerily quiet.  Staff was disappearing left and right.  First a few researchers ‘quit’ with very little notice.  Then the cleaning crew would sign in for shifts only to never sign out.  Even accountants and HR representatives started making themselves scarce.

Instead, today was busy because the facility was expecting visitors, and everything needed to be spotless and in tip-top shape when they arrived.  Apparently, whoever it was that was coming gave very short notice, and had enough sway that turning them away was the furthest thing from an option.  Heck, even the names of these visitors were on a need-to-know basis.  And Iris didn’t need to know.  She only needed to do her job, and do it fast.

Unfortunately, time didn’t end up being on her side.  She wasn’t even able to get seated from bringing a file of important documents to the director before an entourage of officials walked up to the reception desk.  Each one was in full military garb, with enough medals among the five men to stack from floor to ceiling.  The toughest looking of the bunch cleared his throat.

“We’re here to see Director Charter.  Take us to her at once, and be quick about it!  ”

Of course, before Iris could even get a word in edgewise, the director came bustling out of a door marked “Authorized Personnel Only”.  She rushed quickly up to the reception counter and put himself between the guests and Iris.

“General Margrave, General Gripley, General Kelver, General Ormin, General Isaacson.  Welcome!  I was told you all would be coming today.  Please, this way.”

One of the men in the back, who from his nametag seemed to be GEN Gripley, spoke up.

“Charter, what is this about?”

“General Gripley.  Surely they briefed you all about the specifics of why I called you all here.

“I was briefed on a bunch of stupid nonsense is was I was briefed on!  What’s all this about-”

But the director cut him off.

“Not here.  It would be better to discuss this when we get to the person I brought you to see.  We can’t be too careful about keeping this information under wraps.”

Director Charter looked side-eyed at Iris.  Iris quickly pretended to be busy to avoid her gaze.  Contented, the director escorted the entourage of skeptical and concerned military men towards the door she had initially come out of.

Before they disappeared behind the “Authorized Personnel Only” door, GEN Isaacson gave Iris a look that told her that she should forget she ever saw this for her own sake.  Iris took the implied advice to heart.  She was about to pull some forms from a file cabinet when she felt something slimy under a file folder.  Looking beneath the manila folders to see what it was that she had accidentally touched, a pile of green, unnatural goop had built up inside the drawer.  She began to panic, because she knew what this meant.  She tried to call for help.  But instead of a scream, she let out a yawn.

Iris hadn’t realized how exhausted today had left her.  All this running around had made her tired.  Besides, now that the visitors were no longer her problem, she finally felt a cool and tranquil calm rush over her.  She needed a break.  Nobody would mind if she took a quick nap and let what happens happen.  So with a smile on what was left of her face, she flopped down on her chair, kicked her remaining foot on the desk, leaned back, and shut her eyes for the last time.

The generals were put in air-tight containment suits and brought into decontamination.  After procedures were completed, Director Charter brought them into a giant room full of medical equipment, with a seemingly empty stretcher at its center.  Of course, most of the men there had been briefed enough to know that looks were deceiving.  

“Gentlemen, I brought you here today on a matter of great urgency.  It seems the meteor your men brought here harbored extraterrestrial life.  And the results of first contact have been… well, see for yourself.”

Director Charter brought a magnifying glass to the stretcher for the generals to look through.  Laying down in the middle of the stretcher, standing probably only half a millimeter tall was a miniaturized human being.  GEN Ormin was so taken aback he almost jumped out of his shoes.  He screamed.

“What is that!?!?”

In response to the outburst, a speaker in the corner of the room crackled to life.  A booming sound blasted out of the decrepit old amplifier.

“Ach, not so loud!!!  You’ll give me a splitting headache.”

GEN Ormin turned around to look at the worn-out speaker, then back to the stretcher.  Seeing his clear confusion, Director Charter cleared her throat and, in a far softer voice than before, spoke to the man on the stretcher.

“Ah, excellent!  I was going to ask if the microphone we supplied you is working properly.  This should make things much easier.  Everybody, this is Reginald Bordeaux.  He’s one of the interns we brought on about 3 months ago.  And unfortunately, he’s also the only survivor of an alien attack that took place in this very facility just two days ago.  Mr. Bordeaux, would you care to give us your story?  Be sure to include as much detail as you can.  The very fate of the world could hinge on it.”

The speaker in the back of the room crackled to life as Reginald Bordeaux told his story.

“See, the day before yesterday, I was helping out in the lab.  We’d been having trouble with the Incorperant experiment.  A bunch of staff kept quitting with no notice.  Didn’t call, didn’t die.  Just went missing.  The entire thing had me pretty spooked.  Felt like the position was haunted.”

Dr. Charter cut in.

“Can we please keep on topic?”

The small intern was taken a bit aback but continued.

“Right, well, I was supposed to help Dr. Fogarty with one of his samples.  The way he told it, he had been experimenting with one of the petri dishes, and the population of cells multiplied rapidly.  Apparently, things got so bad he had to pull me and my friend Riyah from the intern program to help him now that Jay was the only assistant on hand.  We were expecting him to bark orders at us the second we came through the door, but there was nothing.  He was just gone.  I didn’t want to be there anymore, so I tried to put the petri dish back in containment, when poof!  I was out like a light.”

“When I finally came to, I was about the size I am now.  It was a heck of a sight, let me tell yah.  Even now, looking up at all of you, it’s amazing how overwhelming it all is.  But anyways, I ran into Riyah, Jay, and the Doc, all just as small as me.  Well, Jay was a bit smaller, but he’s always been a shorty.  Not that I’m much to talk anymore.”

“So Dr. Fogarty started yelling at us for touching the sample.  Riyah started panicking, but I tried to stay calm.  I tried to ask him what’s what, but then Jay started screaming his head off!  Dr. Fogarty turned around and said we need to run.”

“When I looked where he was pointing, there were two massive figures walking towards us.  Both seemed humanoid on the surface, though every time they looked at the two again, something new just seemed off.  The pair had weird green skin that you could see right through.  Neither seemed to have feet.  Rather, where their feet should be, a pile of goop pooled at their ankles keeping them upright.  Their hands occasionally dripped away, only to reform seconds later.  It was a strange sight to be sure.”

“Of course, the two couldn’t be more different in appearance though. The figure on the right was curvy and feminine.  She had unnaturally wide hips and a large chest.  I hate to say it, but she was quite a looker.  Her face was a bit jacked up though.  She didn’t have a mouth, per se.  She could talk and all that.  Don’t really know how she could talk, but she could.  Her voice was pretty sultry and all, but I couldn’t see a way for her to do it.  She also had big expressive eyes.  I could swear she could see my soul through those creepy eyes of hers.  Well, at least it seemed that way.  Her eyes were just as slimy and gooey as the rest of her body, so they might have been for show.”

“The left figure though was a real piece of work.  Muscular as all get out. At least, I think they were muscles.  They were shaped like muscles, but they looked just as goopy as everything else.  A full six pack.  Calves you could bounce a coin off of.  Thick shoulders and huge pecs.  The whole works.  He was also naked.  Well, I guess the lady was also naked, but well, this guy…”

Reggie held his hand out as wide as he could away from each other.

“… let’s just say he was pretty well endowed.”

Reggie cleared his throat a bit, clearly looking embarrassed as the military men gave him judging looks.

“Anyway, his face was kinda the opposite of the lady’s.  While the first had no mouth, this one had no eyes.  Not even a hole where they should be.  It was like he had a sheet over the top part of his face.  Not the bottom though.  God, I’ve been seeing those teeth in my nightmares.  Sharp and jagged as all get out.  And when he laughed, you could see his long tongue sticking out.  Looked like the devil himself.”

“Then, the guy one says, ‘Look what we have here!  Looks like we caught up to the little appetizer platter.  Hello, humans!  My name’s Drone!  And you little things get to have the privilege of getting added to this magnificent fucking body!  We’re not just any Incorperants, after all.  We’re Queen’s spawn!  We’re going to run this worthless little world.’  And if that wasn’t enough, the other one started throwing a fit.  ‘Not fair, Drone!  I’m hungry too!  And you got to eat the janitors we ran into last time.’  No clue how she even said that without a mouth!  And he said, ‘Yeah, and they added all this to me too!’  And then he flexed his muscles hard.”

“Of course, we ran away.  The guy was going to catch us, but Riyah tripped and the woman snatched her up.  ‘Ha, I got the first one.’  ‘No fair, Worker!  I was the one who found them.’  And she said, ‘Yeah, and I was the one to eat them!’”

“And then the strangest thing happened.  Her fist closed around Riyah’s body.  At first, it looked like she was gonna get crushed in her fist.  But then her skin started peeling off.  You could even see it through the giant woman’s fist.  She was peeling away layer by layer into nothing.  Riyah didn’t even put up a fight.  What was weirder, As each layer peeled off, the woman got just a bit bustier.  Her hips swelled up.  She got taller.  Like, a head taller than the guy tall.  And that’s when she opened her mouth.  She says, ‘Hey Drone, check it out!’ and starts prodding her teeth with her tongue.”

“So Drone says, ‘yeah I know.  Check out what you can do with them.’  So he picks up Jay and dangles him about his open maw.  Jay begged for his life, but it didn’t do him any good.  Drone dropped Jay through the air and caught him with his teeth.  Now, those teeth looked just as gooey as the rest of him, but I can assure you it wasn’t.  Jay screamed as Drone chewed him to bits.  When I turned around from running, I saw blood run down his mouth and chin.  You could see Jay’s dismembered body through his mouth.  It was some of the most fucked up shit I’ve ever seen.”

“I managed to hide under a snag in the carpet.  The Doc wasn’t so lucky.  Worker crawled on all fours over to Dr. Fogarty.  Drone was busy growing bigger.  His muscles got bigger.  His height grew.  His…”

Reggie looked a bit embarrassed.  Dr. Charter coughed.

“Yes, all of him got bigger.  What next?”

“So, Worker caught the doctor and was about to chew him up like Jay.  But Drone came in and tipped her chin up.  I watched as Dr. Fogarty sank into her guts.  You could see him through her stomach.  At first, he was struggling.  But eventually, he just gave up.  It seemed at the end, he even felt comfortable with it all.  And so Worker says, ‘Let’s go tell Queen about all the humans we added to ourselves.’  And they walked away.”

As the soldiers processed the story they had been told, a voice came from near the stretcher.

“My, how dreadful!  I do apologize for my children’s manners!”

Everybody nervously looked around, trying to identify the source of the sound.  The vials of chemicals along the wall shook and clattered.  At first everybody wondered if something was trying to pound its way through the walls, but the beakers spat their fluids into the air.  The way the chemicals swam through the air and intermingled would have put the greatest waterworks displays in the world to shame.  The watery liquid coagulated into a syrupy, translucent soup.  That’s when its form started to shape.  A long transparent dress was the first thing to form from the strange goo.  From within the dress, what looked to be liquid muscle twisted around itself to form arms that could make a body builder blush.  Long curvy legs swelled from the bottom of the clear clothes.  The slick slime soon poured from where her shoulders should be until it connected to her legs, inflating into a well endowed torso.  Now almost complete, a fountain of slush poured from her neck until it gelled together into a head and face.

There was a surprising softness and gentleness to the monster.  Lines formed beneath her eyes giving the impression of a being far older than her actual presence on earth would suggest.  The very image of a kind, caring mother, if not for the ooze comprising her body, and the massive protrusion from her crotch the dress did nothing to hide.

“Poor little Reggie.  I’m so sorry our children gave you such a fright.  You don’t have to worry.  Soon, nobody will have to worry anymore.  Come to us, and all your human frailty and fear will melt away.  No need to be shy.”

Queen approached the stretcher.  But instead of standing near him or walking around him, Queen passed through the stretcher, capturing the poor beleaguered lab assistant on its path to the military assignment across the room.  It took less than half a second to digest Reggie.  His knowledge and experience coursed through Queen’s body, as the slight impression of a skull and crossbone tattoo embedded itself into its shoulder.  Few had ever seen the tattoo on Reggie, but soon everybody would come to know the tattoo as a symbol of humanity’s collective fate.

“As for you, from what we’ve observed, you all represent this place’s military, correct?  I have a proposition for you.”

Dr. Charter wasn’t having any of this, however.  She pulled a device from inside her lab coat and fired 3 rounds into Queen’s chin, which turned to ice on impact.  The newly frozen jaw slunk off her body and landed with a resounding clunk to the ground.

“Well. that was exciting.  You do realize we didn’t need that to talk, right?  We can still communicate with you even without moving our mouth.  That was more for your sake.”

It was a courtesy done more by muscle memory than anything else.  Even now, its upper lip moved as though a lower lip was sure to meet it.  GEN Kelver could taste his lunch returning from his stomach at the sight.  Ormin almost hit the floor as quickly as Queen’s jaw.  Queen talked, but the sound of her voice didn’t seem to reach the horrified humans.  Seeing her deformity would get her nowhere quickly in this negotiation, part of her shoulder slithered along what should have been veins up her neck until a new jawbone pooled into place.

“As we were saying,” she continued as though she hadn’t just deformed and reformed, “It seems you all have come on a matter of national security, are we correct?”

GEN Gripley stepped forward with a stare that could drop the temperature of a room ten degrees.  “Well, what of it?  State your intentions, alien!”

“My, my.  No need to be hostile.  We come to offer humanity the way forward.  You need not worry about strife and conflict.  After all, we can always reform ourselves from any confrontation.”

A large tendril lashed out at Dr. Charter.  Her wrist snapped backwards, sending the ice pistol flying backwards.  Her brief resistance drew to a close as the green slime slathered her face.  A smile of acceptance spread across her face as she turned slowly to nothing.  The missing chunk of shoulder that had become her jaw slowly reshaped.

The military was prepared for the fight of their life, but to their collective surprise, GEN Isaacson spoke up.  “And how exactly can we be sure if you can really provide America with the sort of collective unity you seem to be promising?  Surrender yourself to testing and we’ll consider your offer.”

Queen smiled.  “Consider it done.  Make sure you keep your promise, General.  The consequences of deceiving me can be… severe!”

With that, its form deteriorated back into a sludge, which sloshed into the old speaker for ease of transport.  Though at its current size, it was leaking a trail of slime.

Isaacson took charge.  “Alright team, get this thing into the transport and keep it cold.  And for the love of god, don’t touch the ooze!”

As goons in hazmat suits carted the monster away, Ormin stopped Isaacson.

“We can’t just bring this fucker to the base!  What if it gets loose?!?”

Isaacson picked up the frost gun from the ground.

“Simple.  We freeze it and shatter it.  We know its weakness, remember?  Besides, think of the applications for this thing.  Reducing entire battlefields to goo, gathering intelligence directly from the enemy’s mind, infiltrating enemy bases, the possibilities are endless.”

Ormin tried to protest, but Isaacson was already out the door.  Ormin looked back into the eerily empty containment room and, with a shudder, followed the rest of the generals out.