Disclaimer: There is a complete and utter lack of science contained within the below text. If you take this as fact, you will fail high school a dozen times over. Also, don't own it.
(TRANSITIONONONONONONONONON)
Catalyst
Abathur sat down at the table just as the headmaster stood up to speak, delaying the intake of biomass for the entire group, a poor logistical choice. Terrans were always more docile after nutritional intake, and it was unlikely that they would pay much attention while hungry. Abathur would not make that mistake again, not after the corridor with all its essence, even if all that resulted in the delay was a number of minor burns and an explanation Abathur didn't have the context for. Oh, and the hospitalization of Harry and Ron, but that wasn't really important. Even as Abathur reflected upon the past few days, the headmaster spoke.
"As we come to the end of another year, there remain only a couple things left to discuss, before you are rid of us. I am sure you all are looking forward to that almost as much as your teachers are looking forward to being done with you for the year," he paused, waiting for the laughter to subside. "Before we begin to eat and award the house cup however, some last minute points are in order. For excellent chess skills from Ron Weasley, I give 100 points to Gryffindor," The hall was silent. "For Hermione Granger, and her ability to make sacrifices, I award 100 points to Gryffindor. For their bravery in the face of adversity, I award 100 points each to Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom," The hall, except for Slytherin, burst out into cheers And for his expert demolition skills, I award 100 points to Thenabar," Abathur twitched. "Jaren. I believe that puts Gryffindor in the lead. Congratulations Gryffindor, on winning the House Cup!" The banners changed to red and gold, displaying a lion, and once again the hall erupted into cheers.
Abathur was still waiting for his biomass. It never ceased to amaze him how much useless ceremonies terrans could insert into any event right before food arrived. It had been less than a week and this one event was already making him rethink his listening to humans policy. At last the food arrived, in the sudden manner that Abathur had become accustomed to. He really did have to investigate that, that kind of resource transportation would be useful. A job for another day.
His head full of plots, plans, and essence, Abathur eat the meal set up before him. The year had been full of gathering, on the spot improvisations, learning, and avoiding detection. Now the year was coming to a close, and it was time for consolidation. The next phase of modifications was ready, and Abathur could hardly wait.
(Transition)
"You guys promise to write?" Hermione said. The quartet had arrived at the platform after the train ride. Ron had gotten pulled away into a pack of terrans with surprisingly prevalent red hair. Abathur wondered if that was normal. Harry remained with the other two, but kept glancing nervously at a group of particularly metabolically poor terrans. Looking at the absurd amounts of fat, both low and high, Abathur was more glad than over that he removed the possibility of that genetic mismatch.
"Cannot promise. Summer, contains many plans. Time, may not be available. Will attempt," Abathur replied. Deflections were much more useful than solid answers, very versatile. Especially if you had no intention of writing.
"I'll write if I can, Hermione. Can't promise anything either though," Harry said, with another nervous glance. Was this normal terran behavior? Abathur could hardly call himself an expert on terran social structure, but usually caretakers of any species didn't inspire this kind of behavior. It would be a huge detriment to the reproduction rate. Not his concern though.
"Well, I'm writing to both of you, and you better respond," Hermione said forcefully, before pulling them both in for a hug. "I'll see you both next year," she said, before running off to join her apparent progenitors.
"I guess I'd better get going," Harry said. "I'll see you next year then, Abathur."
"Most likely outcome," Abathur confirmed, before Harry ran off. Abathur waited a moment, before leaving the platform himself. He took a slightly different path, stepping out of the train station to a side alley, before raising his wand in the air. After a few moments, a tall purple bus appeared, plowing straight through the assorted traffic without touching a single vehicle. Abathur boarded the vehicle, which took off seconds later, moving as if every structure in the area was but mist. It took little time to disappear into the maze of steel.
(Transition)
The bus eventually passed the outskirts into a more forested area, where it stopped, apparently in the middle of nowhere. It was in that spot where Abathur exited, the purple contraption vanishing into the trees behind him.
Abathur honestly was a fan of the Knight Bus, even if it was a terran-made contraption. It let his body adapt to the vigorous explosions and wide forces of the battlefield without actually being in a battlefield. And it got him to the appropriate location. Speaking of the location, it was rather bare, being little more than a very small clearing within a decently sized forest, a nondescript place which likely had countless other locations just like it. In other words, it was ideal for Abathur's purposes. After taking a moment to scan the area for immediate threats, he set to work. He walked over to a tree stump in the middle of the clearing, calling up the sequences straight from the Swarm for the first time in years. The remaining creep essence, so simple and so useful was built into a virus, an unfortunately weakened version of the standard hyper evolutionary virus that made the zerg able to assimilate. It took but a few seconds to load the virus into the tree stump, where the effects were immediate. At the point of infection, the wood slumped in, losing cohesion, before taking on a slimy appearance, with the remainder of the stump following shortly. Abathur watched as a squirming coat of reddish-brown almost creep spread out from the tumor like remainder of the stump, killing and consuming the smaller plants around it. Soon there was a thick carpet of creep covering the clearing, extending partially into the woods, collecting nutrients for use.
His preparations complete, Abathur lay down on the creep. It quickly covered him, submerging his body beneath the living layers. Once submerged Abathur began weaving the surrounding creep into a cocoon, durable and hidden, taking the nutrients from the creep. Abathur's body curled into a fetal position as the carapace enclosed it. Abathur himself extended his mind out of the body, permeating the cocoon and its contents. With all the steps done, Abathur began his work. It was about time that he underwent serious metamorphosis.
First to gain his attention was his limbs, more specifically his hands and arms. The jellyfish-derived barbs were still his most effective biological weapon. The muscles surrounding the barbs, as well as the barbs themselves, were strengthened, the harpoon-like ends grew and sharpened, to the point of being able to pierce stone, but still concealed within his palms and fingers. The venom production and storage was moved to the forearms, and amplified to a degree that would make a Defiler proud. It was still a limited, melee weapon, but it would be adequate.
Next was his carapace, or the pathetic human equivalent. The insect armor made for the troll was a poor choice, impromptu and rushed, limiting flexibility and only providing minimal protection. It was removed. Instead a more intricate design, based on the troll's defenses as well as carapace was added, weaved intricately through all layers of his skin. Ideally, providing much better defense, especially taking into account the trolls innate protection from psionics. The preparations were put in place, and the next part was examined.
The brain. Terrans minds were so malleable, so simple, and yet, they had potential that had eluded Abathur for years as to how to replicate. He couldn't meddle too much here, for fear of damaging the potential, but there was still improvements to be made. Namely, adding Overlord essence to it. Abathur could feel his mind improving, able to multitask, processing much better, extending its reach.
Then came the other systems. The digestive system size was minimized, roach acid added to enhance its efficiency.. The new space was used to add more dedicated facilities for DNA reading and spinning, as well as similar organs for other chemicals. The various waste systems were overhauled, reclaiming much more mass. The chizpurfle essence was added to every tooth, the miniscule thaumavoirc systems concentrated in the chitin, allowing Abathur to feed off magic. Similar systems were set up all over the body, constantly feeding on the small bits of energy present around Abathur. His muscles were exercised, condensed, improved. His sensory organs were improved tenfold, even if he couldn't appreciate that at the moment.
Bit by bit, Abathur improved himself, working in more and more essence to make an improved form. Every cell was revamped, proteins modified, efficiency improved. It was the first large scale improvement Abathur had done since arriving, made more difficult by the need to preserve aesthetic humanity. He remained in his cocoon for months, feeding off what the creep provided. The clearing he was in remained largely undisturbed, the few organisms that tried to eat the creep ending up poisoned, dying, and absorbed by the organic carpet. Abathur took their essence and mass. Even a number of owls arrived carrying letters, but most left after dropping their packages in the creep, simply confused at what they found. Abathur fed on the few that didn't. The letters themselves were saved, just in case.
At last, the final enhancement was complete, the last strand of essence spun. Abathur was ready to re-emerge from the cocoon. The cracking sound echoed through the empty space, breaking the silence of the clearing. As the pseudo creep receded from the cocoon, revealing its mottled green shell, cracks running through it. The cracks spread and the creep continued to decay, until eventually, a hand burst through. The hand was followed by another, which grabbed the ground and pulled up the rest of the body. An apparently human body emerged from the ground as the last of the creep dried up. The cocoon crumbled away as the contents stood up fully. It looked around with bright yellow eyes, with just a hint of green at the center. Abathur was ready.
Nydus network: More of a large throat than a living creature, the nydus network is the swarms fast transport system, a large worm that transports massive numbers of zerg forces under the earth. A Nydus network consists of two parts. One, the Nydus network itself is a stationary structure, morphed from a Drone. Resembling a toothed cavity set in a ribbed dome, the nydus networks purpose is twofold. The first is to load zerg units into the network, preparing them for transport. The second is to generate Nydus worms, essentially giant tunneling cavities, which function as exit points for the Nydus network, as well as spreading creep. Once a worm or worms have been established, zerg may move freely between them, the cavities of the nydus worm transporting them quickly through the underground. Many battles have been lost because of a well placed Nydus worm quickly entering a good location, and disgorging its deadly cargo. Nydus worms are also utilized to transport zerg to and from hive clusters spread far across a planet, allowing for quick reinforcement. Nydus networks are versatile creations, frequently used to great effect.