Catalyst

Chapter 48: Integration

"He's been there ever since I can remember, a voice in the back of my mind," Thenabar said, standing in the center of the Malfoy's meeting room."I can't say I know how he got there, but Abathur has guided me since the moment I took my first steps." He had a captive audience; even behind their masks, Thenabar could feel the unwavering attention the Death Eaters were directing towards him. Then again, they might have been towards the spindly form of the Evolution Master standing farther back, or Luna's tentacles coiling next to him. It was quite hard to tell when you couldn't see the eyes.

"He didn't really know magic, at least, not like ours. He has a bit of a...different approach."

"Look at flesh, see potential. Consume essence, spin strands and sequences," the Evolution Master summarized. He really didn't know his audience. It was a wonder he'd managed to survive undetected before Thenabar came around.

"What Abathur is trying to say is he can eat anything living, and apply their traits to anything else. Magical, mundane, microscopic, doesn't matter. If he can get his hands on it, he can use it."

"How so?" Voldemort's voice was low, but the moment he spoke, everyone's attention gravitated towards him. They were fascinating, these human power dynamics. Without the benefit of a hivemind, human groups were so much more...fluid. Voldemort had barely needed to speak up, but his position ensured he was listened to regardless. Were the primal zerg similar? Wait, he was supposed to respond now, wasn't he? Verbal communication was so inconvenient sometimes.

"Exactly how you would think. Feed him a jellyfish, he can use the stingers. Feed him a turkey, he can use the feathers. Feed him a fly, he'll use the wings. Or possibly the eyes. Abathur can be odd like that."

"So he can use anything, then?" Voldemort turned towards Luna and the Evolution Master. Luna shifted away, drawing into herself, a wave of discomfort emanated through the hivemind. Thenabar couldn't blame her. The human's essence really was quite shoddy. He could feel Evolution Master was actively resist tearing open the man and patching over all the holes.

"And such is the reason we agreed to serve you. Abathur's creatures and modifications are powerful, but they require a price. The creatures you massacred before cost an entire acromantula colony and an entire centaur colony. Without new essence, Abathur can't even modify already living creatures," Thenabar said, neatly weaving his web of lies. He didn't expect the Dark Lord to believe it. He had just clearly stated nearly all of their imaginary weaknesses, an idiotic move in any circumstance. But Thenabar expected he would play along long enough for them to collect everything they needed.

He had yet to meet a human that could resist even just poking at a lovely treat dangled in front of them.

Then again, he was also only two years old.

"But once he has what he needs, well, you've seen the results for yourself. Well, Lestrange did," Thenabar added dismissively.

"Hang on!" One of the masked humans stood up, glare directed at Thenabar. "This is the little mudblood that killed Bella?"

"Oh, no, of course not. I wasn't even there," Thenabar corrected idly. "That was Luna."

"You bitch!" The human raised his wand, slashing it violently towards Luna, a blast of light she dodged easily. Perhaps the human had swung his wand a bit too violently, because by the time he tried to pull the stick back for another curse, Luna had grabbed the offending limb and crushed it under her claws. The human collapsed to the floor, screaming.

"Rodolphus, precisely when did I give you permission to attack my guests?" Voldemort spoke up, looking down contemptuously at the crippled Death Eater.

"She killed Bella!" He really did seem quite fixated on that. Was it some kind of mental disease? Was she his mate, perhaps? Oh, yes, that was it. That did explain all the memories of their breeding, although it didn't really explain the anger. It wasn't as if Luna had stopped him from reproducing entirely. Oh, humans grew emotional attachments to their mates. That was it, probably. He needed to spend more time around adult humans. School children really did not make for good studies.