When the birth started for the new breeders, Ragland had to be present for it. The egg that was birthed for him had everyone in a state of surprise.
"Is that...really an egg I made with you?!" Robert asked with disbelief.
"Apparently so," Agatha mused, as she recovered. The breeder female was still curled up in her egg, but the skin tone of this breeder was darker than usual. Almost as though it was a perfect tan from being in the sun. Even her facial structure was different. She appeared to be a top modeling actress with an Oriental look. Not as beautiful as her mother, but she could come close to it. Just as Hermes was constructed to be what Dana desired, this breeder female was exactly what Ragland envisioned his perfect woman to be. The doctor was simply stunned.
"Should we choose a name for her? Or let her pick her own name?" Alex asked.
"She can pick her own..." Ragland said. He was still trying to regain his senses.
"And, the male for the Dana's baby looks very under-developed," Agatha frowned.
"Tell me about it," Robert winced. The boy within the egg appeared to be trying to develop, but the growth seemed suspended. He was mainly there, but far more skeletal in features. It was almost as though his features looked undetermined. Dionysus and Apollo were soon in the room with Hermes. They wanted to see their future brother.
"Remember what I said about a stasis being possible?" Dionysus asked. "I think this is what's happening. This egg won't develop until Dana's daughter touches the egg. Her future mate won't grow until he knows what she wants him to be."
"Oh!" Agatha blinked.
"You're right," Hermes nodded. "It makes the most sense. No body hair. No real muscle structure. No true features. He's just in a state of suspension."
"I want him here," Agatha said in a stern tone. "I want to ensure his protection."
"Done," Alex nodded and made a tentacle. This one was special. It held a series of lethal spikes within it that could shoot out like quills in defense. The end of the tentacle even had a spiked barb for close impaling. Only a couple spots were open for eggs, but that could easily change. It was decided to have Ragland's breeder female in this tentacle, too. Special breeders would now stay with Agatha. Robert could only agree with it.
"I suppose," Ragland sighed. "I need to make a bedroom for myself. I don't think my future wife would want to live in a lab."
"You could say that," Dionysus grinned. "I'll help you pick out a room later."
"I need to check on Aphrodite. She's almost ready to give birth," Apollo said casually. Hermes waved him out and looked over at his father.
"What?" Robert asked.
"Do we have anymore ham?" his son asked.
"Why are you asking me?" he frowned. "I wouldn't know."
"Oh. Well, I was always told that you were such an awesome cook on the field of battle..." Hermes started. Then he ducked when Robert moved to smack him.
"What's this?" Agatha grinned.
"No!" Robert scowled.
"What? Burned pork rinds not your best dish?" Hermes smirked.
"Asshole!" his father growled. "Go tend to Dana before I fuck you up!"
"Well, as long as you don't char me up like you did to that bacon..." Hermes started up again and bolted from the room when Robert chased him out.
"Wow! Apparently he has to play up to being the asshole," Dionysus laughed.
"Well, the god you named yourself after was a dirty drunk," Robert smirked.
"I wonder if I can get drunk..." his son grinned. Alex started laughing, and he shrugged.
"No alcohol was permitted. You can try to drink cow piss and see if it gives the same result," Alex mused. The look Dionysus gave him was priceless, and Robert started laughing.
"I'll have Osiris send me a batch of the latest wine he manufactured. Thanks," the breeder male grumbled. "Speaking of which, Anubis won a rather interesting cargo in exchange for currency. He'll be sending down a few cases of caviar from wild-caught sturgeon. Our other brothers and sisters settled in various parts of Alaska and will be sending down wild-caught salmon, too. Ares and Artemis did manage to settle in Mexico, and they are sending us some intricate jewelry pieces. They want to help pamper mother."
"Me wear jewelry? I can't even wear earrings!" she frowned. "The holes would close up. I can see maybe a necklace or a bracelet..."
"Think of it as another form of trade," Alex said. "Currency comes in all forms."
"True," Agatha sighed. "Well, I want to walk around. I'm egg free, and I need the exercise. Alex, don't you look at me like that!"
"Ten minutes. Then I fuck you again," he growled. She seemed to glare at him, but she sighed with a nod. Her body had just finished reforming, and she finally got up to stretch. She wanted to visit her daughters. Alex gave a mild glare at Robert to keep him back. This was his turn with her, and the Commander knew it.
"Father, come and help me find the good doctor a room," Dionysus said with a bit of knowing in his tone. "No need to piss off my King or Mother. Right?"
"Right," Robert sighed with a touch of defeat. When they were gone, Agatha gave a mild look at her mate. Alex gave her one back.
"It's my right to be this way. He had his turn already," Alex grumbled.
"I know, Zeus," she sighed. He hugged her tight and kept an arm around her waist.
"Hera, I'm just reminding him of his place. We stopped with the name calling around you. We have tried to make it easier. Haven't we?" he asked.
"You have," she smiled. "And thank you for that."
"You're welcome. Now, where do you want to go?"
"I wanted to visit my daughters, but they informed me that they are rather pregnant right now. They promised to visit with me later. Let's look out one of the windows. I never got to really see outside the place."
"We can do that," he nodded and led her to where a viewing tank was to the outside. There really wasn't much to see at the depth they were at. Some light filtered down from above, but it was rare. However, it was the sight of a couple drones displaying the massive swordfish they caught coming up to the window that made her gasp with amazement. The fish was huge!
"That will feed us for a good month!" she giggled.
"Very nice size, huh?" Alex grinned. "I'm sure a couple swordfish steaks will be given to you. They're hauling it up now."
"I want to watch!" she said.
"Okay," he nodded. He escorted her to the main entrance to see the massive fifteen foot fish being hauled out by several drones. It had to have been at least a good thirteen hundred pounds. She was very impressed. They followed the transported fish to the kitchen where it was expertly sliced up by Kim. A large, thick steak from the tail was now grilled to perfection and served to her. A hint of lemon flavor was used, and Agatha enjoyed it thoroughly.
"Send a steak to Dana," she beamed. It was quickly done, and Hermes reported that it was greatly enjoyed. He would have been concerned about possible mercury content, but Agatha's blood filtered all that out. As a precaution, they agreed to have the steak as a luxury meal when there was no pregnancy.
"The fish are a bitch to catch," Alex thought, as he recalled the information the hive sent him. "However, they will find more. Oh, the breeders on the island want to come back. They think they've done enough. I think it's time for them to come back, too."
"They're Sekhmet and Geb, right?" she thought. "Oh! Yes. I think the island is well fortified now. What about the tentacle nursery?"
"Hmm. I may have to dismantle that," Alex frowned. "That means a trip to the cryo tube. No reports of the island being military bombarded, right?"
"Ah, no. Osiris hasn't heard of anything," she said. "The moment something happens, he vowed to let me know. Don't worry."
"Let's get you pregnant. Then I'll see about getting the nursery taken down on the island," he nodded. "When I come back from the cryo tube, we'll send both tubes down to have the breeders come back at the same time. Come to think of it, we are running short on Hunter meat. We'll get a good stock going again."
"Whatever you say," she smiled, and he kissed her hard. He needed to seed her again. The urge to do it was becoming unbearable. He had it locked in his head that he needed to impregnate her before the Commander had his chance. It got to such a point that he threw her over his shoulder to rush her back into the bedroom. "Zeus! What's wrong?!"
"Can't help it," he grunted. "I can only hold back for so long, Hera..."
"Okay," she nodded. She had to let him do what he needed to do. The last time he waited so long for her nearly killed him. Even when he lay her on the bed and claimed her swiftly, he couldn't stop the loud sigh of relief that escaped him. Only after he started to fully seed her did his mind and thoughts right themselves. At the feel of her hand in his hair under the hooded sweater, he tensed with a form of possession.
"I have...a lot of bad thoughts...about that Commander right now..." he growled.
"Stop talking and keep fucking!" she hissed at him. A rueful grin appeared on his face now, and he kept to that task for the next hour. When he finally separated from her, she clung to him to hug tight. He hugged her back just as tightly, and he felt her sigh.
"What is it, Hera?" he asked gently.
"There's just...a lot going on..." she frowned. "It's a bit hard to keep track of."
"Hmm," he thought and nodded. "I know. We have made quite an army already. But, at the same time, we aren't ready to expose ourselves. We need to have every branch of the world secured first before that can happen. You and I both know this. We still have quite a few areas of the US that can be exploited. But..."
"But?" she grinned.
"It would be rather ballsy to send a breeder pair into the White House," he smirked.
"I don't know if I would want to go that far," she smirked back.
"Why not? They won't go for the presidency. Just part of the staff. Maybe into a bit of the Secret Service. Those guys travel all over the world, and they get ahold of the latest tech."
"They also go through routine check-ups," she frowned. "Seriously, Zeus. It would be too much for me to bear if our breeders had issues with that. And, if a female was recruited and couldn't be there for a briefing, she would be investigated."
"Not if they were drones," he grinned. "And that reminds me. Drones are fully sterile. They were never meant to breed. It does suck, but, if they need to look like they're in a relationship, it could be pulled off."
"That would be interesting," she agreed. She winced at the slow stretch of her belly, and she sighed a bit. He knew she was getting hungry, and a large deer steak was brought over. "Do you plan to go to the island soon?"
"Yeah. I'll be back in a couple hours, okay? I'll have Robin and Aden watch over you. Sekhmet and Geb will return here after I come back, like I said before. We'll see where they want to go," he smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Sounds good," she nodded. "Be safe."
"I will," he promised and kissed her passionately before leaving the room. He found Robert just entering the meat locker when he closed the door to the bedroom. "She's resting. Don't fuck with her."
"No plans to. I was looking for you," Robert said.
"Really? About what?"
"I'll tell you outside of here before I freeze my balls off and render myself useless."
"Didn't think of that," Alex grinned.
"Fuck head," the Commander growled.
"Dick weed," he replied in kind.
"That was kinda tame," Robert snickered.
"Only because my mind isn't really into it. I need to go back to the island to take down the tentacle nursery. The breeding kids want to come back home, too," he said.
"Ah. That explains it. What are you worried about?"
"Leaving Agatha alone."
"She's protected here."
"It's just the mental thought. I like to personally protect her. Anyways, why did you want to seek me out?" Alex asked, as they walked out into the hallway.
"Geb did tell me that he wanted to come back, but also that he was thinking of heading to Australia," Robert chuckled. "There are plenty of places that he can settle with Sekhmet, and camel meat is a bit of a staple there. We may be able to get ahold of other specialty foods, too. If we can get a few breeder pairs to Africa, they can supply us with Wildebeest and Zebra."
"That would be interesting," Alex mused now. "We'll discuss it when I get back."
"Oh," Robert said to catch his attention again. "if we can get to Switzerland, we can get some gourmet chocolate..."
"That we will work on," Alex grinned. "And you're a bucket of fucktard."
"Finally! The piece of shit has something else to say," Robert grinned back. They flipped each other off, and Alex went to the cryo tube to get back to the island. Robert sighed, chuckled to himself, and now went to Dana's room to kick his son's ass to prove who was the better. The asshole had it coming, anyways.