Catalyst

Chapter 11: Assimilation

Abathur walked over to the edge of a clearing, to a neat pile of clothes and other items hidden by the creep mere minutes ago, stopping several feet away, clothed only in skin. Abathur stood still for a few minutes, observing the world with new senses. The creases of the fabric, the smell of pine, the bird flying several hundred feet away, the rough ground poking into his soles, all washed over him. But the true enhancement was his mind, sending tendrils of thought rummaging through the matter and minds around him. With a thought, he dominated the simple minds of the ants around him, sending the small swarm over his clothes, sweeping away the debris accumulated on the clothes. Abathur explored his thoughts, previously so trapped, so singular, now spreading around him, taking several routes at once. It almost felt like being a full zerg again.

Abathur tried something else he had seen terrans psionics do. He spread his mind out over the piles. With a flex of will, the clothes rose, hovering over to Abathur before wrapping themselves around him. His wand flew into his hand. Fully clothed and equipped, Abathur then moved his attention to the letters in another pile of former creep. Abathur once again forced his will into the area, moving the letters up to him, then into his grasping hand. Abathur tore off the tops of each envelope, reading through the contents. Idly, he infected his clothes, a fungus like organism quickly growing through it and reinforcing the fabric. Abathur revelled at once again being able to split his attention so efficiently.

The contents of the letters were not as interesting. Ron had gotten bitten by a gnome, Hermione was learning incessantly, Ron had got into a fight with his siblings, Hermione had finished this or that assignment, Ron had gotten bitten by another gnome, Harry had his mail intercepted by some creature called a house elf then locked in his room like a prisoner, complete with iron bars, then broken out by the Weasleys in a flying car, Ron had been bitten by a gnome again, etc. Dull but necessary information gathering. Oh, and there was his Hogwarts letter, containing the list of supplies and books. Hopefully more advanced essences and psionic techniques would become available soon. The ones from last year were useful, but hardly impressive.

Abathur finished the last letter, then packed the papers into a small stack, pocketed for later. Turning to the woods, he raised his wand, heralding the arrival of the Knight bus once again. He boarded it once again, watching the impromptu evolution pit fall behind him, before it was obscured by the mass of trees. Abathur would have to remember that spot.

(Transition)

The trip to Diagon Alley was quick. Abathur knew where to get the supplies and textbooks, how to store them. There was only so much to do in the area, that, when Abathur had completed his gathering, he had simply very little to do. There was still over a week left before school started, and while there was always room to improve, Abathur still had no way to occupy himself for much of the time.

Bored, Abathur poked through some of the less mandatory shops. The other books in Flourish and Blotts were intriguing, even without the context required to understand some of them. Ancient Runes especially looked fascinating, a method of storing psionics outside of an organism. Abathur also picked up some additional books on magical creatures. Even if they weren't available, they were still valuable to learn about, for later location and assimilation.

Abathur briefly stopped by the shop selling broomsticks, but without sufficient funds or understanding of the enchantments, it was essentially nothing but a waste of time, within a period of time already set to be wasted. Finally, Abathur stopped in front of Magical Menagerie, glancing in at the merchandise. It was an impressive display, containing so, so much Abathur would like to consume. The poisonous, kaleidoscopic, streelers, the jewel-encrusted fire-crabs, the... cage containing terran headwear? Leaving aside the last one, Abathur saw essence to use in abundance, locked away in thin glass cases Abathur could shatter in a thought or a fist. Some requiring a "license", some being useless, while others were simply not permitted at Hogwarts, and the ones that were were boring. Even just a selection of creatures to experiment upon would be welcome.

Abathur paused. Now that was an idea. There were massive amount of terran creatures just going around their business, ripe for infestation and mutation. Of course, there weren't enough to make an army, not yet, not with the resources he had. But for experimentation, evolution, iteration, improving, acting as an evolution master once again, a sample population would be excellent.

The only issue was what species? Most organisms on this planet lived in decentralized habitats with smaller populations that were far from useful. Any species large enough to attract human attention would be traced back to Abathur. Another issue was the inherent differences in the social structure that Abathur could use, most being far too individualistic to easily submit to Abathur's work. It was then that a small line of moving dots drew Abathur's notice. Bending down to observe closer, Abathur found his specimens.

A line of ants crawled along the pavement, a supply line of biomass heading to their hive. Each organism working as a part of a greater whole, serving a single organism, a Queen. They were numerous, they were aggressive, they were diverse, they were adaptable, and, above all, they were easily infectable, considering the amount of physical contact and pheromone spreading they had. Not to mention too small to attract notice.

Abathur immediately returned to his clearing, scouting the area for any sign of the nearest ant colony, which didn't take long. A massive swarm of the creatures was clustered around a toppled log, eaten through with holes, and covered with carapace. Abathur sat still and observed them as he compiled the strands specialized for the hive. Occasionally, he plucked an ant from the bark, consuming it. Eventually, he took a random ant and held it up to his fingertip. Scores of harpoons plunged into the insects head, reaching deep into its brain before releasing the hyper evolutionary virus, dormant for now, into the ant, then released it to its fellows. It ran around in a circle, alarming the ants around it as it bumped heads with its fellows, passing pheromones, as well as the virus, through the antenna. Abathur watched the carrier ant as it wandered on the bark, spreading the virus further and further. It would take time before it would spread throughout the colony, or at least to the queen. But when the virus did, the ants of this colony would all be his.

(Transition)

Abathur stood once again at the platform of 9 and three quarters, watching the train load itself with the masses of human children. He glanced around for his camouflage, not seeing any of the members. He passed the time observing the other terrans, scanning their essence for anything interesting. When no sign of either good sequences or his camouflage, he picked up his cargo and moved towards the train, passing through the crowds. He eventually found a seat on a more isolated section of the train, settling in and placing his materials around the compartment. He cracked open and began to read one of his textbooks, while another section of his mind grew out of the compartment, scanning the incredibly powerful brains of those around him.

Soon, he would join them, stepping into the world of psionics, of new essence and new abilities. Of constant danger and the threat of death. Of more growth, evolution necessary just to survive. He could hardly wait.

Ants (The following is, to the best of my knowledge, entirely accurate): Numbering approximately 10,000 trillion, ants are some of the most adaptable, diverse, and numerous species on the planet. Spread around the globe, thousands of species of ants fight and compete for resources, both with other organisms and themselves with a wide array of weapons. Some fight with the most powerful venom of any insect, some glide through the air on wings, others swim through water, some fight with jaws that bite past the speed of any other animal movement, some fight with the ability to clone themselves, some grow fast with the ability to farm, while others fight with a super-colony spanning much of the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Australia. Ants act with swarm intelligence, passing messages along with pheromones, and moving as a whole in vast numbers. Most ants serving a single, massive, reproducing queen, although some species are known to have many within a single colony. Ants are by far one of the strongest creatures for their size, lifting many times their own body weight. They vary enough in size that many colonies of the smallest ants could live within a space the size of a brain of the largest ant. Essentially, they are the Zerg of Earth, an unstoppable and innumerable force.

If you like this story I suggest going to the original source here
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12515480/1/Catalyst

And if you want more like this I suggest going to the original author of this story Strandshaper's home page here
https://www.fanfiction.net/u/9294091/