; ; COPYRIGHT: ; Copyright (c) 2005 Tabico (tmallory@republic.org) ; All rights reserved; this story is not to be reproduced in ; any form for profit without the express written permission ; of the author. This story may be freely circulated only in ; its entirety and with this notice attached.
; ; SYNOPSIS: ; An alien threat has come to Millennium City, but the heroines ; of Millennium Force are there to combat it!
; ; What they don't know is that they are what it has come for.
; ; INTRO COMMENTS: ; Inspired by some artwork by Vice.
; ;
; ; The Millennium Force were sitting around their conference ; table. At least, those of them currently in Millennium City were. Lady ; Thunder, Avocet, and Dynamic were out of town. Off of the ; planet, actually, helping the Upholders fight daemons in ; the Forsaken Dimension.
; ; Which left Dare Damsel, the Awe, and Calico holding down the ; fort. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem. Millennium City had ; no more than the usual levels of petty crime and violence ; to deal with, and the three of them were more than ; a match for any mugger or street gang. In fact, any of ; them alone were.
; ; However.
; ; Dare Damsel tapped a button on her miniconsole and the ; room dimmed. An image of a six-legged creature, wiry ; and without any apparent head, came up on the viewscreen. ; A human silhouette next to it underscored its size, easily ; twice that of a person.
; ; "Well," Dare Damsel began, "the Upholders and the Crimson League ; have both fought them before. Apparently, the Ziim are some sort ; of alien super-race. I don't mean that they are super-powered or ; anything, I mean that they take over other races and incorporate them ; into their own. So they are a race of many races."
; ; "Like the Borg," Calico observed. "Wicked."
; ; Dare Damsel gave her eyes a quick roll. "Yes, like the Borg. ; Only they aren't technologically based. When the Upholders ; fought them, it was on the planet Kalimdar, and the Ziim were trying ; to invade in a more traditional fashion. We don't have any ; pictures, but apparently they had huge bio-engineered ships ; dropping all sorts of creatures onto the planet. Creatures ; genetically designed for war."
; ; "But the Upholders defeated them," the Awe stated.
; ; "Indeed." Dare Damsel clicked a button, and the image changed ; to a humanoid biped. "Now this is one of the sort of Ziim that showed ; up in Missouri and took over the town of Riverdon. I spoke ; with Captain Colossal of the Crimson League at some length about that; ; apparently, the Ziim were trying to invade Earth in a much ; more subtle fashion. They had some creatures who could take ; over minds, and had turned all of the townspeople into their ; slaves."
; ; "Captain Colossal," Calico snorted. "Nice name."
; ; "... Anyway, he said that most of the people were controlled ; by parasitic creepy-crawlies on their backs, and once the ; Ziim hive mind was destroyed, and the creepy-crawlies removed, ; the people went back to normal. Needed counseling, of course."
; ; "A hive mind?" the Awe asked.
; ; "Yes. Apparently, the Ziim are sort of like insects; they have ; one mind, centered on a huge brain-like thing in their hive. ; Destroy that, and their ability to communicate and to think ; is badly impaired until they can create a new one."
; ; "I see. You said that 'most' of the people were controlled ; by these parasites. What about the rest?"
; ; "A few of them appeared to be working for the Ziim voluntarily, ; and were thrown in jail. And a few... the Ziim had some sort ; of biological vats or pods or something, and they used them ; to... change people. Turn them into Ziim. Alter their physical ; bodies."
; ; "Irreversibly?"
; ; Dare Damsel shook her head. "We don't know. When they were captured, ; they killed themselves by exploding some sort of internal ; organ."
; ; Calico stuck out her tongue. "Gross."
; ; "Can you please be serious?" Dare Damsel asked, exasperated. "If ; Protectron is right, we could already have a Ziim ; nest here in Millennium!"
; ; My-analysis-of-surveillance-data-indicates-a-seventy-four-percent- ; chance-that-Ziim-are-in-Millennium-City the computer stated. ; If-the-observed-individuals-have-been-subverted-by-the-Ziim- ; then-there-are-at-present-at-least-thirty-subverted-humans-with- ; a-standard-deviation-of-six-point-four-currently-living-in-Millenium-City
; ; "What do you recommend, Dare Damsel?" the Awe asked.
; ; Dare Damsel frowned. "I don't know. On the one hand, we should ; stop them before they get any more innocent people. And if they ; are... converting people, biologically, then we have no time to ; lose. On the other hand... caution dictates that we should wait ; for the rest of the Force. None of the three of us are immune ; to mind control. I'd feel more comfortable if Avocet were here to monitor ; the situation."
; ; The Awe nodded. "Protectron, have you stepped up surveillance?"
; ; I-have-done-so-additional-information-is-being-gathered
; ; "Oh screw that," Calico said, springing to her feet. "Let's just ; go get them! I'm not afraid of any little bugs taking over my mind, ; I'll shred them before they can get close. Besides, aren't our ; costumes made of impregnite? How could they get to us?"
; ; Dare Damsel shook her head. "We don't know what else they can ; do, Calico. Earth heroes have only ever fought the Ziim twice, and ; both times there were lots of different types of aliens. ; It's risky."
; ; Calico shrugged. "So what's not? Come on, there could be helpless ; people being Body Snatched right now. Protectron, where is this ; nest?"
; ; The-hypothetical-nest-is-in-Astara-Heights
; ; "So we head up there, break in, round everyone up, find the ; big brain, and smash it. Nipped in the bud." Calico put her ; hands on her hips and dared them to disagree with her.
; ; "She makes a good case," the Awe said, turning to face Dare ; Damsel. "However, I feel that waiting would serve us better. ; Protectron can gather more information about what exactly is at ; this nest, and where the Hive mind might be, and the rest of the ; Force may return at any time. How quickly are these possible ; Ziim spreading, Protectron?"
; ; My-best-estimate-is-that-they-subvert-two-additional-humans- ; per-day
; ; Dare Damsel nodded. "We should wait, then. The others should ; be back within a few days, there won't be that many more of the ; bad guys, and we'll know a lot more once Protectron's Spybots ; can get into the nest."
; ; I-concur
; ; "And what about the folks who are being turned into Pod ; People right now?" Calico demanded angrily.
; ; "We don't know that anyone is. The nest is only just getting ; started, and it will take them time to set up any sort of ; conversion facility. Look, Calico, I understand how you feel, ; but it's just a few days. If the others aren't back soon, ; we'll hit them ourselves, okay?"
; ; Calico fumed, but sat down again. "I guess I don't have any ; choice. I'm not going up there by myself."
; ; ----
; ; The human woman opened her eyes, and rose from the conversion ; pod.
; ; "I am Ziim," she stated. "I am a slave worker. I obey ; the Master Brain."
; ; The Master Brain reached out to her mind and took over, guiding her ; naked body out of the pod and up the winding passages to ; the surface building. Once there, she showered off the slime ; of the pod and put her human clothes back on. She tucked in ; her blouse and checked her makeup in the mirror, ; giving no sign that anything at all had happened to her.
; ; But something had.
; ; Marianne Baker was now fully Ziim. Her brain, redesigned and ; reprogrammed with the goals of her new race, was in constant ; touch with the other slave minds of this Hive and with the Master ; Brain which she belonged to. Her body, externally human, ; pulsed inside with new organs designed by the Ziim to make ; her a more useful slave.
; ; She only looked human now.
; ; She left the building, walking past the Ziim-controlled but ; still human slaves who guarded it, and back to her apartment. ; In the morning, she would return to work at City Hall as ; if nothing was wrong.
; ; In her new mind, nothing was. All was proceeding according to ; plan. She was perfectly happy that she had been ; turned into a slave. She was Ziim now, and lived only to obey.
; ; The knowledge that she was expendable did not bother her in ; the slightest. She understood that she was part of a greater plan to ; improve the Ziim race, and would eagerly give her life, or that ; of her prior friends, her former family, any human or Ziim at all, if ; she was instructed to. The race was all. The individual was ; nothing.
; ; The Master Brain felt the same. It had been brought here as ; a cyst and grown deep beneath Millennium City with a single ; purpose. A purpose that the Ziim had devised after their ; two prior encounters with the super-humans, encounters which ; had ended in failure each time.
; ; Failures which had, in the minds of the Ziim, been worth it, ; because they had introduced the Ziim to beings powerful ; enough to defeat them.
; ; Beings who would make perfect Ziim.
; ; ----
; ; Calico watched Marianne emerge from the building.
; ; I wonder if she's one of them, she thought.
; ; The woman walked off down the street. She looked normal - she ; dressed nicely - was her walk a little stiff? Dronelike? Or ; was that just Calico's imagination?
; ; Calico dismissed her. Time enough to round them all up ; later. This was a surgical strike - a one-woman blitzkrieg ; to destroy the brain and render these aliens helpless.
; ; She'd studied the files all afternoon - the brains, the ; slaves, the warriors. Protectron hadn't seen any of ; those, the big six-armed alien spiders, but then it ; also hadn't gotten any of its Spybots into the hive, ; either. It really had no idea what was in there at all.
; ; The brain would just have to be found the old-fashioned ; way.
; ; Calico pulled her grapnel from her belt. She frowned a ; moment, feeling the empty spot where her communicator usually ; was. She'd left it in her room - Protectron would ; have raised an alarm if it had noticed her headed for Astara Heights ; after DD had specifically told her not to come here. ; So she had no backup.
; ; She wouldn't need any. No ten men could overpower ; her, and if she ran into something she couldn't ; handle, well, Calico was the Mistress of Escape. ; Smoke Bombs, flash powder, you name it.
; ; She fired the grapnel, hooked it onto the building opposite, ; and swung across to a third-story window. A quick twirl ; with the glass cutter and she was inside.
; ; Then out of the room and down the hall to the stairs. No one ; around. The lights were off, but cats saw just fine in ; the dark.
; ; Downstairs, and down again, and she was on the ground ; floor. Sure enough, guards. But they were facing the ; front door, not the stairs. Calico peered carefully ; at them.
; ; There were little tentacles on their necks, emerging ; from under their shirt collars.
; ; Icky.
; ; She snuck across to the basement stairs, picked the lock ; without making any noise at all, and then she was ; headed down.
; ; Carefully, quietly, she descended the stairs. In the basement ; were two more guards, staring blankly at the staircase. There ; was no way around - she'd have to subdue them.
; ; Would the tranquilizer darts work? Maybe not. She'd have ; to knock heads.
; ; That was okay. Knocking heads was fun.
; ; They weren't any faster than normal people, and they'd have ; had to have been to stand a chance of stopping Calico. Twelve ; seconds later, she stood over their unconscious bodies. She ; slipped her sap back onto her belt.
; ; She risked a peek under one of their shirts, gingerly lifting ; his collar. A rough-skinned green tentacle crept up the spine, ; with roots in the flesh every few centimeters.
; ; Double icky.
; ; The rear wall of the basement had been knocked out, and ; there was a steep shaft going down behind it. Calico peered into it ; and saw no one. At the bottom, a flickering light. There was a rope ; ladder, but something about it set off her warning bells, so she ; unfurled a cord, tied it off to a pipe, and let herself down, ; holding the rope so that she was at the end. No extra rope to warn ; anyone below that she was coming.
; ; It went down a good forty feet; somehow, they had tunneled ; into the bedrock below the city. Calico reached out to touch ; a wall - smooth, not the sort of tunnel dug by men with ; picks or jackhammers. She wondered how they had dug it, ; then pictured a large acid-mouthed alien eating the rock ; and wished she hadn't.
; ; Then she was at the bottom. Hanging upside-down, she peered ; into the room. It was lit, and as she looked around she ; realized that the light was coming from several head-sized ; glowing bugs wandering idly around the room. Creepy, but ; they didn't seem to have any pincers or fangs or even eyes.
; ; There weren't any people, and aside from the light-bugs, ; no aliens. She dropped lightly to the floor. A half dozen ; tunnels led out of the room.
; ; Her ears picked up the sounds of motion, and squelchier ; noises that gave her unpleasant mental images. But maybe ; it was the brain making those sounds. She fingered her claws, ; hanging from her belt, ready to fit over her hands in an instant.
; ; Reassured, she headed down the hallway leading towards ; the sounds.
; ; They grew louder. Motion, and wet noises, but no talking. She ; passed a glowbug standing in the hallway.
; ; Then there was an opening on the side of the hall into a ; large room. Calico peered in and gasped.
; ; Dozens of people were standing around, some in clothes, ; some half naked, some totally naked. There were large ; pods on the ground, green and wrinkly, shaped like a ; man-sized Idaho potato.
; ; As she watched, one of them opened, a slit on the top ; pulling apart with a wet sound.
; ; A hand reached up out of it.
; ; Calico stared, horrified. A woman was rising from the ; pod, naked, covered in green slime. Her eyes were open ; and stared straight ahead as she raised herself from ; the pod. She looked like she was deeply hypnotized.
; ; Or a drone.
; ; Calico realized that it was already too late; the aliens ; were converting people *now*.
; ; The woman stepped out of the pod and walked across the ; room, striding between dozens of other pods and the people tending ; them. On some of the bare backs Calico could see the parasites, ; just like in the pictures, a green lump at the base of the spine ; above the buttocks and a wiry green root lacing its way up ; the spine to the neck.
; ; They all moved slowly, their faces blank.
; ; Another woman had taken off her clothes and was stepping ; gingerly into the open pod. Calico wanted to run in and ; grab her as she slowly lowered herself into the slimy ; interior.
; ; Her hands were the last to disappear, releasing the sides ; of the pod and withdrawing into it. The slit in the pod ; closed over her.
; ; Okay. That was enough. Forget finding the brain - she had ; to get out of here, get Dare Damsel and the Awe and come ; back and Destroy the Whole Place, Right Now. She turned to leave.
; ; There was an alien in the hallway.
; ; Calico froze. It wasn't one of the big six-armed ones. ; It was smaller than she was, walked on four legs, had ; a spherical body. It also had two sharp-looking arms ; in front of it - at least, on the side she was facing.
; ; Her hands went to her belt, and she slid her claws on.
; ; She stared at it.
; ; Then it spoke.
; ; Submit, human, it said.
; ; No, not 'said', 'thought'. It was thinking at her.
; ; "No chance," she muttered. She eyed it carefully, considered ; where it was standing in the hallway. How fast could those ; arms move? Could she dart around it on the wall?
; ; Submit, human, echoed in her mind again.
; ; "Not likely." She tensed. From where it was, it could ; reach the entire passage.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; Calico shifted in place. She wanted to... to...
; ; Submit, human.
; ; ...to get around it. But they were dangerous, arms.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; She relaxed a little. She had to consider this, had to think ; about...
; ; Submit, human.
; ; ...getting around. It.
; ; Her hands relaxed a little in her claws. It was ; no threat.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; Calico kept looking at it, as she slowly came erect.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; She was just standing there, now, calm, relaxed, the ; unnecessary tension draining from her body.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; Its thoughts were waves, pulsing with a strong rhythm, ; and Calico's own mind was calming down and beginning ; to pulse in time. She could feel it.
; ; It didn't bother her.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; She let go of her claws, let her hands go slack at ; her sides.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; Calico stood erect but relaxed, hands at her sides. ; Her eyes left the alien and drifted upward, to stare ; at nothing in particular.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; ...
; ; "I submit," Calico said.
; ; ----
; ; "She did what?" Dare Damsel demanded.
; ; She-went-to-Astara-Heights-to-investigate-the-Ziim-at- ; least-that-is-my-analysis-based-on-the-evidence
; ; Dare Damsel sank into her chair. She rested the bridge ; of her nose on her fist.
; ; The Awe drifted into the room. "I surmise, from your ; position, that Calico has gone and gotten into trouble," ; she said.
; ; Dare Damsel simply nodded.
; ; "Shall we go get her?"
; ; With a sigh, Dare Damsel leaned back. "Protectron, when ; did she leave?"
; ; Three-and-one-half-hours-ago
; ; Dare Damsel rolled her eyes. "And did she take her communicator?"
; ; Negative-it-is-in-her-quarters
; ; "She's probably fine," the Awe observed. "This isn't the ; first time she's done this."
; ; "And it's not the first time she's had to be rescued," ; Dare Damsel said back. "Stupid... little... girl!"
; ; "Well, we know where she went. I'm ready to go if you are."
; ; "Protectron, do you think she is in trouble?"
; ; Processing-processing-Given-the-observed-number-and-type- ; of-Ziim-at-the-hive-there-is-a-thirty-two-percent-chance-she- ; has-been-captured-or-incapacitated
; ; "But we don't know what's actually in the hive."
; ; That-is-correct
; ; Dare Damsel looked at the Awe, who was now sitting in the chair ; next to her at the table. "The risk is, if we go in and have ; problems, there's no one left to bail us out."
; ; "Not true. Avocet, Lady Thunder, and Dynamic will be back soon, ; and Protectron can advise them of our situation."
; ; Dare Damsel nodded. "You're right. Okay, lets go get her."
; ; ----
; ; Calico stood at attention before the Master Brain.
; ; She was not thinking at all - the Will Suppressor behind her ; was ensuring that. She simply stood there, will-less, obeying ; whatever commands it placed into her open mind.
; ; The Master Brain considered. It had succeeded in capturing a ; super-human. From the minds of its slaves, it already knew ; a great deal about Calico. She was strong and quick, a ; definite asset, and she would make a superior Ziim warrior.
; ; However, she was not one of the true super-humans who had ; pushed back the Ziim invasions. The super-humans who were ; the reason the Master Brain was here.
; ; It had to decide, now, whether to convert her into a Ziim, ; which would take time, or to enslave her with a Ziim parasite, ; which was much faster but impermanent.
; ; She was not a core target. Conversion could happen later.
; ; A human slave brought in a parasite egg at the command of ; the Master Brain. She held it cupped it in her hands; it was the ; size of an ostrich egg, leathery on the outside, with a ; sharp tendril emerging from the top.
; ; The Will Suppressor instructed Calico to remove her clothes.
; ; Calico reached up and touched the top clasp at her neck, ; turning it, and then slid the microzipper down the back. ; She pulled the suit off of her arms, one at a time, until ; the suit hung at her waist, dangling in front of her.
; ; That was enough. The Will Suppressor instructed Calico to ; stop.
; ; The slave approached with the egg. She lowered it to her ; waist, and gently touched the small of Calico's back, just ; above where her costume still covered her ass, with the ; pointed tip.
; ; Nothing happened for a moment. Then the egg shivered. The ; tip began to writhe, and then pushed into Calico's flesh, ; the tip burrowing in, surrounding and engulfing her spine, ; threading its filaments into her spinal cord.
; ; The egg opened, and the long coil of parasite within began ; to attach to Calico's back, starting where the nodule of ; the parasite's body was already binding itself to her lower ; back and pulling itself up her spine, like a bent tree ; slowly righting itself, each new inch pressing against her ; flesh and burrowing a root in.
; ; Calico had started to breathe heavily as the parasite ; began making its inroads into her mind.
; ; It finished attaching itself, twitching a little against ; the warm flesh of her back, then it was still. The slave ; with the empty egg case left, as did the Will Suppressor. ; It was no longer needed here.
; ; Calico faced the Brain and waited for her mind to be ; fully enslaved.
; ; Then it was.
; ; "I am a slave of the Ziim," she announced. "I will obey. ; What is your command?"
; ; Tell me all things you know about your colleagues.
; ; ----
; ; The two guards were still slumped over each other on the ; floor.
; ; "Well, she's definitely been here," the Awe observed.
; ; "And she hasn't called in," Dare Damsel said, looking ; down the shaft in the back of the room. "This is her ; rope, too."
; ; The Awe nodded. Dare Damsel took flight, hovering above ; the floor, then slowly floated down into the shaft. The ; Awe activated her flight belt and followed suit.
; ; At the bottom of the shaft was a round room with several ; passages leading from it. Strange bugs the size of melons ; loitered around the room, emitting a yellow glow.
; ; "Look at this place," Dare Damsel said.
; ; "It appears that the Ziim have been here longer and achieved ; more than we had anticipated," the Awe replied.
; ; "It sure does."
; ; ----
; ; Through the light bugs, the Master Brain observed the ; super-humans. These were the ones it had been sent to ; convert. These were the beings of power that the Ziim ; needed to enfold into their race to make it unstoppable.
; ; But it only had one Will Suppressor. The creatures were ; complicated and very hard to grow. And there were two ; super-humans.
; ; It had to split them up.
; ; It gave its commands.
; ; ----
; ; There was a scream.
; ; "Help me, oh please, help me!"
; ; The heroines whirled around.
; ; "No, please, don't! I don't want to be a mmmmmpth!"
; ; Dare Damsel flew down the hallway the voice had come ; from at full speed.
; ; The Awe opened her mouth to say something, but Dare Damsel ; was already gone. She refrained from sighing as she activated ; her flight belt again and followed at a much slower rate.
; ; ----
; ; Dare Damsel flew down the hall - it forked, but she thought ; the voice had come from the right and so she flew that ; way, past some light bugs and over an ugly round thing ; with sharp blades for arms and into a large, low room.
; ; The room was full of goo - there were three large pools ; of faintly glowing slime against the walls, and at least ; a dozen other pools dotting the floor. There were no other ; ways out.
; ; Dare Damsel scanned the room. She didn't see...
; ; Then a hand rose from one of the slime pools, followed ; by and arm, and then a woman's body. The woman pulled long ; streamers of slime from her face, and gasped, "help me!"
; ; Dare Damsel flew to her, and pulled her from the pool. ; In it she could see other bodies - but not bodies of ; people, alien bodies.
; ; Six-armed alien bodies.
; ; This was where they were growing the Ziim.
; ; Dare Damsel held the woman in her arms. ; She was voluptuous, very naked, and covered in ; slime. She stared up at Dare Damsel, but her eyes ; were distant, unfocused.
; ; "Hello?" Dare Damsel asked. "Hello?"
; ; The woman whispered something.
; ; Dare Damsel looked around the room - none of the aliens ; were bursting from their pools, nothing was rushing ; her. The strange round alien on four legs with the ; scythe arms had entered the room, but stood at a ; respectful distance. It seemed somehow to be focusing ; on her, but it wasn't moving.
; ; She leaned over to hear the woman's whispers.
; ; "Submit, human," the woman breathed.
; ; Dare Damsel looked at her. Obviously, the aliens were ; trying to control her. A wave of sympathy washed ; over Dare Damsel. What this woman had to have ; gone through, what she was still enduring...
; ; "Submit, human," the woman repeated, a little louder.
; ; Dare Damsel had a sudden moment of worry and felt the woman's ; back, but there was nothing there, no mind controlling ; parasite. She was just in a trance.
; ; "Submit, human," she said again.
; ; Dare Damsel relaxed a little. That was silly of her, ; rushing off like that. She was supposed to be looking ; for Calico.
; ; "Submit, human," the woman kept saying. Her voice was ; pretty. And firm, now, like she meant what she was saying.
; ; Dare Damsel considered the alien in the room. It still ; seemed to somehow be focused on her, but it didn't seem ; very dangerous.
; ; "Submit, human," the woman said.
; ; Dare Damsel looked at the woman in her arms. She was ; looking at Dare Damsel, but now her eyes were focused and her ; expression very firm. She seemed quite commanding.
; ; "Submit, human," she said.
; ; She really ought to be leaving here, rescuing the woman ; and meeting up with the Awe. But the woman kept talking ; to her and she seemed so powerful, so important. ; Dare Damsel didn't want to look away from her.
; ; "Submit, human," the woman said.
; ; Dare Damsel found that she was relaxing, allowing the ; woman's body to sink to the floor, following it by ; leaning over. Those dark dark eyes had her full ; attention and she could not look away.
; ; "Submit, Dare Damsel," the woman said.
; ; She was talking to Dare Damsel, not just murmuring ; out loud. The woman was fully ; awake, now, and Dare Damsel felt like she was the ; groggy one, distant and vague. But relaxed, calm.
; ; She sank to her knees next to the woman, never breaking ; eye contact.
; ; "Submit, Dare Damsel," the woman repeated.
; ; Dare Damsel stared into her dark, dark eyes.
; ; "Submit, Dare Damsel."
; ; Dare Damsel felt herself slipping away into those beautiful eyes. ; Behind her, the Will Suppressor came closer.
; ; "Submit, Dare Damsel."
; ; Dare Damsel relaxed even more, sunk down onto her ; knees, her hands falling limply to her sides. She ; stared unresistingly into the woman's eyes. Her ; mouth slowly drooped open.
; ; Submit, Dare Damsel, the alien right ; behind her said.
; ; "I submit," Dare Damsel breathed with a sigh.
; ; ----
; ; The Awe followed the corridor after Dare Damsel. ; She came to a fork.
; ; The shouting seemed to have come from the right.
; ; "Awe!" someone shouted.
; ; Calico.
; ; She was down the left fork. The Awe flew over to ; her.
; ; "Calico," she said. "What are you doing down here? ; We agreed not to come alone."
; ; Calico gave her a guilty look and a shrug. "Sorry," ; she said, "but I just knew they were already ; converting people. I had to find out. And they are, ; aren't they?"
; ; The Awe nodded. "I don't know about that, but it does ; seem as though they have gotten much farther than we ; expected. Did you see Dare Damsel? She flew down here ; to investigate a call for help."
; ; Calico nodded. "She went down the other corridor. ; Let's go find her."
; ; The Awe smiled, and turned around.
; ; Calico hit her over the head with her sap.
; ; She looked down at her unconscious comrade impassively.
; ; "I told you they were converting people," she told ; the Awe's slumped body.
; ; "They have converted me."
; ; ----
; ; The Awe never got a chance to awaken.
; ; In her sleep, she heard the voice.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "Never," her subconscious responded.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "I won't."
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "No."
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "Won't... submit."
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "I... don't..."
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "..."
; ; Submit, human.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "..."
; ; Submit, human.
; ; "...I submit."
; ; The Will Suppressor woke her up.
; ; ----
; ; The three super-humans stood in front of the ; Master Brain.
; ; It was gratified; these two, particularly the ; one known as Dare Damsel, were precisely the ; slaves that the Ziim needed.
; ; From the slave Calico, it had learned much. ; Importantly, it learned that there were other ; local super-humans who would shortly return. ; This could pose difficulties; full conversion into ; Ziim would take several days.
; ; However, with the slave Calico as its tool, it ; should be able to delay them long enough for these two to ; undergo complete conversion into Ziim. The slave ; Calico agreed with her Master's assessment, and would ; eagerly mislead the other super-humans until the converted ; Dare Damsel and Awe could return, and the ; others could be captured and converted as ; well.
; ; And the Master Brain was eager to create its ; first super-slaves.
; ; Other slaves brought the special conversion pods into ; the chamber. Not knowing what made the super-humans ; super, it had been decided that the Ziim would ; only convert their brains into Ziim slave brains, ; and leave the rest of their bodies alone; ; once the Ziim had learned how to breed their own ; super-humans, experiments with their bodies could ; take place.
; ; The special conversion pods were thus much smaller ; than the normal pods; they were thick curved shells, ; the size of masks.
; ; The slaves placed the pods into the waiting hands ; of Dare Damsel and the Awe.
; ; Her eyes empty, Dare Damsel looked at the pod in ; her hands. Slowly, she raised it to her face.
; ; She opened her mouth.
; ; The tendrils of the pod slid into her mouth and nose, ; as it bound itself tightly to her. Her conversion ; into Ziim would take several days; the pod would ; live parasitically on her until then, feeding from ; her even as it converted her brain into a Ziim slave ; brain.
; ; As the tendrils burrowed into her mind, Dare Damsel's ; hands came slowly back to rest at her sides.
; ; It's attention now undivided, the Will Suppressor ; turned to the Awe. She in turn looked down at the ; pod in her hands, then slowly raised it to her ; face and opened her mouth.
; ; A moment later, and both super-humans stood at ; attention, their hands at their sides, parasitic ; masks in place, remaking their minds.
; ; The slave Calico stood impassively next to them, ready ; to obey.
; ; Return to your headquarters, her Master instructed. ; Prepare to deceive the others.
; ; "I obey," Calico replied, and walked from the chamber.
; ; END Part One
; ; Oh no! Will our heroines be rescued from a life of ; slavery? With the rest of Millennium Force arrive in ; time to save them?
; ;