The Wasp Chronicles #1: Into the Hornet's Nest

Hornet Cure & Curiosity

Clément: The cure was easy enough to attain.  It was just a matter of removing the Molecular Growth Ray control from the spear and pressing the button with the skull and crossbones.  Thankfully, the hornet tissue had not become so integrated with my system that it was impossible to remove without causing permanent damage.  I was cured easily and successfully.  With that done, I made my way back to the others, who were waiting in a sort of makeshift campsite near the Hornetian canyon.  When I arrived, the island shook.  Amid cries of “Earthquake” rang out from the camp.  I looked east and saw a mountain collapse.  With horror, I realized that that was where Louis was.  Using the Growth Ray control, I summed a wasp steed, mounted it, and took off in the direction of my friend.

As I was flying, I noticed a peculiar figure in the ruined forest below me.  I swooped down after it.  It was a boy wearing a LEHS band shirt!  When he heard the wasp’s buzzing, he looked around and I saw his face for a fleeting instant.  Was that Marc Cashington?  Incredulously, I began to pursue him, but at the last minute, he dove into a thicket and I didn’t see him anymore.  I thought about Marc as I continued on toward the collapsed mountain.  What was he doing away from the camp, by himself?  Why did he run from me?  Did he see me on the back of the wasp, or did he think the beast was about to attack him? I put these thoughts to rest as I approached the mountain.  I began to search for Louis upon arrival.  He was nowhere to be found.  The mountainside had been reduced to rubble, and several large boulders had fallen to crush the hornet hive below.  I steered my insectoid steed down to the hive ruins and discovered a waxy tunnel leading into the depths of the island.