Hail to the Queen!

Chapter 3 - The Larva

Hey guys! Here's another Chapter of Hail to the Queen!

Enjoy, and please R&R!

Project Pegasus Installation, California

After a relatively short drive to the installation where Project Pegasus was held, Fury and Vers were investigating the mysterious Wendy Lawson. After a rather rude welcoming by the resident agents, who had them sit in a waiting room, they broke out. Vers went down to find the files on Lawson, while Fury stayed up top to distract his boss, Director Keller.

However, things didn't go too well, as Keller had referred to Fury by his first name, Nick. Put off by this, since he was referred to as Fury by everyone, Fury separated from the group and, after a save from Agent Coulson, he helped Vers escape in a cargo jet, where they found Lawson's stowaway cat, Goose.

"Well, Goose has proven to be a clever boy," Fury said, stroking Goose by his shoulders. "So, where to next, Miss Vers?"

"In her file," Vers replied as she handed Fury the Wendy Lawson file she stole, "Lawson said something about a Tesseract, a source of unlimited energy."

Opening the file, Fury found it to be full of scribbles, like an alien language.

"Where the hell does it say that?" he asked.

"You can't understand it, because it's Kree," she explained. "Wendy Lawson was Kree."

"Well, this day just gets weirder and weirder. Where did it say this Tesseract was?"

"It said it was being held by an organization called 'Monarch,' somewhere in China."

"I know where that is." Fury took out a small case, inside which was a map of the world. "For now, we go West." Fury pointed at the compass above the control panel.

"How long should it take us?"

"At top speed? Probably within the day."

Temple of the Moth, Yunnan Province, China

Hank worked fervorishly at his station, using his calculations from other scientists to piece together what he could to try and make sense of it.

"How's it going?" Dr. Ling asked, walking in quietly.

"I think I got something," Hank replied, writing a small equation in the middle of his paper, which was otherwise covered in scribbles. "You know how this thing sucks up radiation like a sponge to water?"

"Yes?"

"Well, I know why. It's using it as a food source. Those fluids that convect inside the egg? They're carrying radiation from the eggshell to the embryo. That's why the egg itself never emits radiation."

"We thought it was for use as a defense mechanism."

"Well, you're wrong. The larva has an outer shell made from some sort of natural alloy. It's hollow, so the larva can absorb radiation from its surroundings."

"Like alveoli in the lungs?"

"Exactly. Now look at this." Hank held up a scan of the larva's head, pointing to a particular region. "See this light spot?"

"Yes."

"That's a spinneret. This thing is like a giant silkworm. It produces silk with a carbon base, so it's stronger than even steel."

"Are you OK, doctor? How much tea have you had?"

"I'm currently on my tenth cup, why?"

"You need sleep. You'll work better."

Hank waved her off. "Sleep is for the weak. Besides, how can I sleep when there's a caterpillar the size of a tank right outside my bedroom window?"

Ling's communicator then went off. She put it to her ear, listening to what the caller had to say. After listening, she put her communicator back.

"We have visitors from S.H.I.E.L.D." she told Hank.

"You gotta be kidding me."

"What brings you to the Temple of the Moth, agents?" Ling asked.

Ling sat in a spare room in front of Fury and Vers, while Hank stood outside, checking out their cat.

"We received intel that you're holding what many call a source of unlimited energy," Fury answered.

"It's called the Tesseract," Vers added.

Ling's head dropped. What she was going to tell them was top secret, but what could she do? They're S.H.I.E.L.D. Their secrets have secrets.

"We're using it as a power source, yes. Dr. Wendy Lawson gave it to us when we requested it."

"Why did you request it?" Vers asked.

"What we're studying here, it consumes radiation. It uses it like a food source. We're using the Tesseract to provide it with more energy."

"And what exactly are you studying here, Doctor? Some sort of insect? Because I know that you requested Dr. Pym for a reason."

"Something truly incredible. Come with me."

The two visitors followed Dr. Ling out of the room, with Dr. Pym joining them, holding Goose in his arms.

"What's with the cat, anyway?" Ling asked.

"Stowaway," Vers replied.

"He's actually mine, but he can be a little... clingy," Fury added.

The group walked into the main room. They saw the immense figure of the egg.

"Is that boulder glowing?" Fury asked.

"It's not a boulder, Fury," Pym corrected. "It's an egg. A caterpillar egg."

"OK, this day just reached its maximum weirdness."

Suddenly, alarms started to go off. Radiation levels dropped, temperature rose slightly, and heart rate spiked.

"What's going on?!" Pym asked.

"I don't know!" one of the scientists replied. "The readings are just going all haywire."

"Hey, Pym," Fury said. "Is it supposed to do that?"

Pym looked at what Fury was pointing at: The egg, now being riddled with holes and slowly ripping apart.

"It's hatching," Pym realized.

"What should we do?" Ling asked.

"Hey, where's Vers?" Fury asked.

Vers walked out in the enclosure where the egg was being contained. She didn't see the need to wear her suit, so she walked in in her civilian clothes.

She bore witness as the egg's top finally ripped open, and a massive, monolithic figure loomed over her.

The creature turned to reveal an insectoid face, similar to a caterpillar's. The technicians ran from it, but the beast didn't seem aggressive, so Vers stood her ground.

The giant caterpillar, noticing this, lowered its head to Vers' level. Vers extended her hand, holding it out to give the creature the chance to interact with her.

And it did so, pressing its head against Vers' hand. Its exoskeleton was still slick with amniotic fluid, but it was still very warm.

Vers smiled at the bugs' interaction. She couldn't help but feel... happy.

The caterpillar raised its body back up, still looking at her. Content with the interaction, Vers turned to leave.

Carol...

Vers turned her head. She could almost swear she heard a woman say something to her, but nobody was nearby, except for the giant bug.

Shaking her head, she exited the enclosure.