Catalyst

Chapter 38: Embrace the Glory of your Birthright

The glow of the wards was palpable now, a harsh illumination that cast the surrounding shadows into harsh relief. Abathur could only stare in elation as the energy pooled exactly as it was supposed to, congealing in a rough sphere fair above the ground, while his small fleet of overlords converged above it. All the pieces were in place, the weavers were on standby to correct any problems, and finally, finally, everything was coming together. The only thing left was the raw power, and he could gather that.

"Luna. Require presence." The summons was brief, her arrival would be briefer. He had spent years, well over a decade, apart from the Swarm. Countless days that he could have spent improving and honing them, moving them towards perfection, all lost. But he had learned, he had taken what little essence this world had to offer, absorbed the knowledge of its psionics.

He could already picture it now, the weavers draping their patterns across creep, adding the intricate runes to hatchery walls. The psionic light of wards washing across Char, Kaldir, and so many more. How would the psionics' runes fit inside the depths of the Swarm's own essence? Abathur took a moment to indulge in his fantasies. They would be reality soon enough, after all.

(Transition)

One of the unexpected downsides to being zerg was the perfect memory. Certainly, it helped Luna in tests and essays, but, on the other hand, she could perfectly picture every single second of Umbridge's ugly human face sneering at a classroom of open textbooks. She could remember every word within the silly little book, and yet she had already been forced to read and reread it a dozen times over. Oh, how far the Rotfang conspiracy had spread. Abathur had repeatedly reassured her that her teeth could grow back now, but the ministry was still trying to rot hers away. She had to admire their persistence, at least. It's not like there was anything else of worth in them. Luna had stopped even bothering to pretend to read at this point, preferring to watch the wrackspurts dancing around her...teacher? Was that the right word? Probably not, but Luna enjoyed watching her wrackspurts even in spite of the horrid pink background.

"Is there something interesting around my head, Ms. Lovegood?" The pink pest asked.

"No, there's absolutely nothing there," Luna reassured her. Snickers broke out around the classroom. Luna wasn't quite sure why. From the look of things, neither was Umbridge. She stared at Luna in confusion for a few seconds, before returning her attention to the book on her desk, leaving Luna to wallow in the atmosphere of stupidity that humans seemed so good at creating. Were they actively trying to sabotage their own young? At this point, she would take any excuse to get out of here.

"Luna. Require presence."

That worked. Luna stopped pretending to read and abruptly began to pack her things, to the stares of her classmates and the Rotfang perpetuator. It took them a full twenty seconds before anyone began to react.

"Ms. Lovegood, I have not dismissed you," Umbridge spoke up.

"Don't care. I've got better things to do," Luna said, idly wondering if it was worth saving her place. Probably not.

"Regardless of what you think, this class is required by the Ministry, and you will sit down."

"This was a class?" Luna asked, faking a shocked tone. "I thought that required, you know, teaching. When were you planning on doing that?" She was nearly done packing at this point. Just her quill left.

"Detention, Ms. Lovegood."

"I'll pass," Luna said. Before Umbridge could respond, she was out of the door and on her way to Abathur. Used as she was to ignoring the other students, she didn't notice the speculative glances she received as she walked out the door.