"Some Assembly Required"
Later, after school let out Tony, Steve, and Aurora met with the others in Tony's tree-house, which fit all of them and still had some room to spare. The tree-house was nicely furnished. A couple of couches and an armchair surrounded a wood stove, which was there for the winter months. The others looked around the tree-house with interest, but Aurora and Steve were too somber to take notice of the amenities. Tony waited impatiently for Aurora to begin. At school it was decided that the rest of the group should be brought up to speed on the invasion. If anyone was infested it would become readily apparent.
"OK. Has everyone here seen the movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Or at least heard of it?" Aurora asked. Everyone nodded, even Thor and T'Challa.
"OK, well don't freak out, but..." Aurora trailed off, before she began to change. The unearthly blue light returned, and she started to shrink. Her arms stuck to her sides and her legs fused together. Her skin turned a slimy grey color, and as she finished transforming, she hit the floor with a splat.
There was silence was a moment, then...
"What the fuck?" Clint asked. "Also, ew..."
This is what you call a Yeerk. Everyone started slightly.
"What?" Tony said sharply.
I can't hear you guys very well. I'm going to change back now. Everyone started again.
"Telepathy." Thor said, in awe as Aurora changed back. When she was finished there was nothing left but a smear of slime on the wooden floor, which Tony swiftly wiped up. Aurora turned to the others.
"OK. Yeerks. Yeerks are evil little slug aliens. They crawl in your ear and wrap themselves around your brain, seizing control of your body. They can also hear your thoughts and go through your memories. That allows them to behave just like you, fooling everyone around you. Anyone could have a Yeerk in their head, anyone." she said, somberly. "That includes you guys."
Everyone looked at each other uneasily.
"Well, I'm not a Yeerk. How do we fight them?" Clint asked. Natasha snorted. Aurora smirked.
"We have some weapons that I was given by another alien species, the Andalites." she said. "Let me bring you guys up to speed on what's happened so far."
~Flashback~
Aurora was walking home from the SHIELD Academy. She sighed. Being a SHIELD junior agent was harder than it looked. Sure she helped find Steve, but that was mostly an accident. Maybe buying her way in wasn't such a good idea. Sure they seemed nice now, when they needed any funding they could get a hold of, but what about later? If they got a hold of additional funding, they wouldn't need any students to provide them with money. If only being a Drake meant something other than weird looks and money.
BOOM.
Her head shot up. A sonic-boom? She was nowhere near an airport. Weird streaks of light began shooting across the sky.
"The hell?" she muttered. One was moving slower than the rest and was slowly angling towards her. She immediately regretted taking the path through the woods. As she began backing up, the meteor crashed into the ground before her. She stopped and stared. It wasn't a meteor at all, it was a huge metal object about the size of a school bus. As she watched it began to open up. It was a spaceship! And as the pilot began to emerge, she felt the urge to start running.
Wait! Please. I mean you no harm.
"What?" Aurora gasped, clutching her head.
I am speaking to you with my thoughts. Please, do not be afraid.
It looked like a centaur, but with a long tail ending with a spike. Its face had no mouth, and an extra pair of eyes peered down at her from stalks. The hands spread out in front of her had two extra fingers each, and its fur was a dark purple.
I am Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan. I am an Andalite.
"You're an alien." Aurora muttered in awe.
