Swarm
I'm not the kind of person who doesn't work and spends all his time socializing. In fact I'm the exact opposite. I know that's probably not good for my so-called "health", but most of the time I have no choice. Today wasn't one of those days. I really had a choice, but I chose to work rather that hang out. Personally, I like working. I was welding together metal for a motorcycle that I was constructing. It was fairly easy for me. I usually finish projects like this in a day or two. I know this is probably not interesting, but I like explaining things. Anyway, I was fixing up the hood when Raven came in. The welding torch was drowning out the sound.
"Biohazard!" she shouted over the screeching noise. I didn't hear and started walking around the hood to weld the other side. When I caught sight of her, it startled me and I stumbled and dropped the torch, igniting a small flame on the ground. I quickly suffocated the flame and blew the torch out. I lifted my welding visor.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded a bit harsher than I had intended.
"I was just..." she began, but trailed off. I checked my watch.
"I'm gonna take a little break, you keep thinking about that," I said, and patted her shoulder. Suddenly she jerked back and gasped. I pulled away. "Oops. What'd I do?" Raven stood there for a second and then snapped back to reality.
"Huh? Nothing," she said, "Nothing important."
"Uh oh," I said, "Does somebody need a Care Bear stare?" She rolled her eyes.
"I have to go," she said. She turned and left. I shrugged.
"I will never understand you," I said.
The strange image that Raven had seen she didn't understand. It looked like a bug, she thought. Then it hit her. Killer Moth. But why did she pick up a premonition on Biohazard? Would Killer Moth kill Biohazard? She felt like turning around and warning him, but she couldn't. She turned her head and looked back. Suddenly, she felt herself collide with someone. Startled, she turned and backhanded him. It was Beast Boy.
"Hey! What gives?" Beast Boy said, rubbing his jaw.
"Get in here," she said, and pushed him into a room.
"Ooh, it's dark in here," he joked.
"Biohazard is in danger," she said, turning the light on.
"Huh?" he said, "Why?"
"I think Killer Moth is coming back," she said, "And I think he's going to kill Biohazard." Beast Boy laughed nervously.
"W-why are you telling me?" he asked, "Go tell him."
"I can't," she said, "I—" she was cut short by the sound of gunfire. Before she even had time to think, she bolted, ripping the door off it's hinges. Beast Boy stood for a second in shock, and then snapped awake and ran after her. When she hit Biohazard's door, it flew off it's hinges as well. Biohazard turned with a jolt.
"Uh," he said, "Well, personally, I woulda just knocked."
"What the hell are you shooting at?" she demanded. Biohazard pulled two revolvers from holsters at his sides. Spinning them around his finger, he turned and fired rapidly at a target on the wall. He hit the center piece several times, then spinning them again, he slipped them back into the holsters.
"I was just practicing," he said, "See, I just built these revolvers..."
"Biohazard," she said, cutting him off, "I think you should know, I..." Suddenly the crime alarm went off. Robin's image blinked on the screen.
"Guys, it's Killer Moth," Robin said, "Report quickly." The video feed cut off.
"Killer Moth? This is going to be easy," Biohazard said, "Hey, hold that thought and tell me when we get back." He turned and headed out the door. Raven sighed nervously. Beast Boy finally caught up.
"So, you told him?" He asked, panting.
"No," she said, "I don't want to worry anyone. I could be wrong." She turned and started for the main room.
Robin explained the situation. It wasn't much, just a tech-robbery. Apparently Killer Moth had broken into a facility where a special gyroscope was being held for use on the next NASA space mission. He was after the gyroscope because he was working on a flying mechanism for himself, and the gyroscope was strong enough to stabilize it. I was used to tech-robberies, so this was going to be an easy job.
"Reports say he's got some heavy artillery with him already, so be extra careful," Robin explained.
"What weapons is he carrying?" I inquired.
"I've been told he is carrying a sonic guided rocket launcher," he replied, "The missiles lock onto targets using sonic waves. Once a missile is locked onto one target, it doesn't leave the target until the missile is destroyed, which might include the target, too." I nodded. "Alright everyone, move out."
At the facility, Killer Moth had quite easily overcome security officers. I leaned over one who was missing his head.
"This was done by something considerably large," I said, "I'd guess an animal of some type. Genetically engineered." I stood up and looked around. "I think we might've missed it." Then we all heard it. A faint click... click... click.... I drew both of my guns and searched the ceiling. The sound became louder and louder. Everyone was frozen at this point, a few not even reaching for their weapons. Then, abruptly, the sounds stopped. I noticed that Raven's heartbeat was racing faster than anyone in the room. She was truly scared, which was a bad thing. Suddenly, there was a loud thump and Killer Moth landed behind me. I spun around quickly and fired rapidly at him. The bullet's bounced off a strange surface. He backhanded me and I was sent flying.
"Titans, GO!" Robin commanded. I confess, I was getting particularly sick of that line. I stood up and started after them. Robin threw a punch, nothing happened. I ran a quick scan over Killer Moth and discovered quickly that he was using a personal plasma shield. The only way to finish him was to get rid of the shield somehow. As I came on approach, another form dropped down in front of me. A giant tiger moth. It had been genetically altered, of course. I pulled a revolver from my holster and fired. The bullets sank, and the animal became enraged. Taking a second's advantage, it swiped it's front claw and slammed me to the ground. Despite my best efforts to get up, I couldn't move. I fired both revolvers at it, and it seemed to feel them, but it was determined to keep me pinned. I grabbed its claw and pushed back as hard as I could. The artificial hydraulic muscles were pushed to the very limit, but I was more determined than ever to get up. Finally, the animal gave up and stumbled back. I leapt to my feet and started firing at it rapidly. It screeched and swept it's arm under me, sending me to the ground again. Then it took me by the leg and swung me around, smashing me into a wall. It cracked underneath the intense pressure, and the animal jerked me to the side again, smashing me into another wall. I was so incredibly dazed that I can't recall exactly what happened next, I just know that at that moment, someone came to my rescue. Something large and heavy landed on the giant moth, and it crashed to the ground, dead. I pushed myself back into consciousness and got up. Raven had brought a large metal block down onto the moth, crushing it. Killer Moth scissor-kicked Robin. Starfire threw a few bolts at him, but she missed.
"Raven," I said, "Distract him. I'm going to find a way to destroy his shield." Raven nodded and threw a few pieces of debris at him. I ducked down and snuck around him. He had a formation on his back that undoubtedly controlled it. I fired once at it, and it cracked. Killer Moth noticed me then and turned. I tried to fire at him, but the generator wasn't off. He leapt and landed in front of me, gripping my neck and began to tighten his grip. If he broke my primary power cord, it'd finish me. Suddenly I lost the reading on his shield. Someone had shut it down. I fired at his leg and he dropped me. He fell to his knees. I held both guns to his head.
"You're under arrest," I said, and slammed the butt of the revolver into his head. He fell to the ground. I spun the revolvers around my index fingers and slipped them back into the holsters. Robin's nose was bleeding and he had a cut on his lip. I tossed him a medical pad. "You ok?" I asked. He nodded. "Who shut down his shield?"
"I did," Raven said.
"Then the credit goes to you," I said, bowing to her. Robin took the pad off his face.
"Lets get someone in here to take this guy away," he said.
I sat silently on the couch and drank away at a theater sized cup of soda. Raven was sitting on the other end of the couch, looking up at me every once in a while. Night of the Living Dead was on, so I decided to watch it. She looked up at me again. I turned my head.
"Is something wrong?" I asked curiously.
"No," She said. Then under her breath, "Nothing you'd understand."
"I heard that," I said, "What is it?" She paused.
"When you touched my shoulder today I had a premonition. The shape of a bug under a microscope. I thought you were to be killed by Killer Moth," she said, "But you didn't die."
"Well, you only saw the bug shape," I said, "So maybe that was a forewarning that I was going to finish him?"
"I guess," she said, "But now I'm not sure that it had anything to do with Killer Moth."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"The feeling hasn't left. I think there's something else," she said.
"Are you sure that I'm supposed to die?" I asked. "The vision you had didn't seem very explicit."
"Usually a vision is a harbinger of death," she said, "Sometimes not, but I'm just telling you what I know." That was, as you might have guessed, not comforting.
The next morning we got paged for another job. Just a typical tech robbery, nothing fancy. Just a few guys in light bullet-proof armor stealing something unnoted. Of course, when we got there, it wasn't that way. They had already made it out of the building.
"Titans GO!" Robin commanded. One of them shot at Robin, but missed. I picked up the dart. It was filled with a paralyzing toxin that made you immobile for several hours. I threw the dart down and took off. Apparently, our arrival was quite planned. They had come better prepared than I had thought. The bulkier criminal fired a large bazooka-like gun at Cyborg. A strange box with 4 darts tied to each corner struck Cyborg in the chest. An electric pulse paralyzed his system and he fell. Then someone shot at me. I didn't have a lot of time to analyze what it was, but I dived out of the way to avoid it, rolled, then got back to my feet and fired to rounds into the mans head, killing him instantly. The others quickly got into a truck and started off. We took off after them, though it seemed like a futile effort. I bolted at the car and jumped on top of it. They swerved left, and I fell over and gripped the edge. Being especially careful, I crawled over the roof and fired through the roof, killing the driver. The car swerved violently and I was almost thrown off. A bullet ripped through the driver compartment roof. I guess they thought I was still there. The car drifted to the side... and slammed right into a truck. It was a truck labeled "Royal Mail". I was thrown forward and slammed into the metal wall of the truck. Dazed, I stumbled to my feet and looked into the robbers truck. A few had died from the impact. Some were just unconscious. That was when I first heard the hum. I thought it might have been a generator, but then it got progressively louder. It was coming from inside the truck. Suddenly, they poured out of every hole like a great black cloud. Then I realized what they were. Bees. Hundreds of thousands of bees. An immense swarm of them. I stared in horrid shock at the swarm. As the cloud grew, I got more and more nervous. Why would someone be transporting bees in a truck labeled "Royal Mail"? And there it was. Someone was trying to transport them in secret. It wasn't long before my thoughts broke and I realized that the cloud was targeting me. It was staying together in an attack position and was actually targeting me. Knowing that this was more than I was prepared for, I bolted. The swarm chased after me. Without even knowing it, I ran past the titans. They stopped when they saw me.
"I guess he's ok then," Beast Boy said. Then they saw it too.
"Oh my god," Robin said, "what is that?"
"Biohazard was running from it, right?" Beast boy asked. Everyone turned their heads in my direction, and then took off after me. I was already at a good head start. A woman was lighting a cigarette on the side of the road. I snatched it quickly.
"Hey!" she cried.
"Lady, you'll thank me in a minute," I said. Acting as fast as I could, I took a large propane atomizer and started it. Then I quickly ignited the lighter. The titans ran by, giving me my cue. I held the lighter to the atomizer pipe and a giant fireball scorched the air. The front of the swarm flew right into it and died immediately. I started to turn the propane atomizer to spray more of them, but I didn't get many before they took off. I turned both the atomizer and the lighter off and tossed it back to the woman. "Don't mention it," I said.
Naturally, at the tower, I suddenly became the source of every answer, even though I didn't have any more knowledge than they did.
"What in the hell are these things?" Robin demanded.
"I can answer that question," I said, "Bees. A swarm of bees. They were being transported in a truck that was not labeled in such a manner, so I'm guessing whoever had these bees transported didn't want anyone to know. That's all I know."
"Then figure something out, you let these things free," Robin said. I felt ready to jam my trench knife into Robin's skull, but I held back.
"There's one more thing," I said, "I think there's something different about this swarm."
"What?" Cyborg asked.
"When they first were released, they stopped and looked at me. They targeted me, readied to attack me. They even got together in an attack formation. There's something weird about them," I explained.
"You make it sound like a sci-fi original," Robin said.
"I know it sounds strange, but listen to me," I said, "I need you and Cyborg's help to locate the bee's origin. Use the databases you have."
"The swarm is still loose," Robin said, "what are we going to do about that?"
"First we have to learn about them," I said, "I know that I destroyed the queen with my first attack. They didn't even phase. They self sustain and replace the queen when one dies."
"Wait a sec," Cyborg said, "You mean that there's no primary core?"
"That's right," I said, "I'm not sure I've ever been up against a more dangerous situation. But maybe if we learn about these things we can find out how to stop them."
"Ok, so what are we supposed to do?" Beast Boy asked, slightly frustrated.
"The rest of you should monitor the police stations and note where the bees are striking. We might be able to find a pattern," I said.
"Wait, we're just supposed to leave the city unprotected?" Robin demanded, "Not even an effort to stop them?"
"If we try to stop the bees now we risk injury and possible death," I said, "I know it seems wrong, but we have no choice." Everyone exchanged glances. I guess choosing priorities is difficult sometimes, but you have to take the best route, no matter what it might mean. "Alright, move out," I said. There was a moment's pause, and then everyone spread out. Raven stepped up to me.
"My vision," she said, "I saw this coming." I put my hand on her shoulder.
"No you didn't," I said, "You had only a vague hint, nothing more."
"Whatever you can find, find it quick," Raven said. I nodded and took off towards my room. I've never been in a situation where I had to make such a terrible choice, and I'm not sure I made the right call. Either way, the call was made and I had to follow it.
I sat down before my computer, turned it back on, and opened a database. What I was looking for was simple: A log of the departing station of the truck. That would head me in the right direction. I typed in the serial number of the truck and checked for a location. It was an abandoned field in Virginia that had been closed off with an electric fence and barbed wire. I used the serial number to search for where the contents had been headed. That was where the story got strange. It was headed to an American military outpost in Canada, in the north of Yukon. The reason why this was strange to me was because of the 1542 military bases that I had documented, this one was not in the database. I dug a little deeper into the field in Virginia and discovered that the a corporation called BioTech was operating in it. The company had supposedly been permanently suspended after they were discovered performing dangerous and deadly tests on human subjects who were unaware of the tests they were being given. As I dug deeper, I discovered that the government secretly was in control of the operation and moved them from them from the public, making it look like it had been shut down. Still, I had a lot of background on where the bees came from, but still no info on the bees. My titan communicator beeped. I turned it on. It was Raven.
"I have the first 3 strike areas," she said.
"Lay them on me," I said.
"Saint George, Brooklyn, and Bronx," she said, "No deaths."
"In the military we call them casualties," I said, "But it's good to hear."
"What've you got?" She inquired.
"I know where the bees came from and where they were going. This is interesting, catch this. The bees were produced and sent from a lab in Virginia. A company called BioTech that was supposedly suspended permanently over 8 years ago. They were being transported to an American military outpost in Yukon. Also interesting. I have 1542 military outposts in my databases, and this one didn't come up. It was never recorded," I explained.
"Wow," she said. "What were they for?"
"They were produced for the DOD," I said, "I think they were supposed to be a weapon."
"I'm waiting for the good news whenever you're ready," she said.
"Keep me posted," I said, "I'll call you if I find out anything else. Biohazard out." I flipped the radio closed and searched the databases for information on the experimental bees, but found what I was afraid of. A pair of encrypted files, which meant a long decoding period. I picked up the communicator and called Robin.
"Robin speaking," he said.
"Hey listen, I just found the files containing information on the swarm," I said.
"Alright. What do we have?" He asked.
"That's just what I was calling about," I said, "Nothing. The files are encrypted. I can't read them."
"Dammit," he said, "What can we do?"
"They're a recognized format. There's a high chance that I can decode them," I said.
"How long will that take?" He inquired.
"It can range from two hours to two days," I said, "I'll get working on it right away."
"Good. I have some info on BioTech. They were originally shut down because they were advertising for volunteers to test for a simple heartburn medicine. Turns out that they were actually injecting them with a neurotoxin and then giving them an antidote after several hours of terrible suffering. Then the subject's memory was wiped using an EMP and they were sent home, believing that they had gone through the tests."
"Wow. Find out what you can about this military base that the truck was headed for."
"Right."
"Biohazard out," I said, and flipped the communicator shut. I ran my hand through my hair and started the decrypting programs.
Five hours later, I had half of the first file decrypted. I had a good bit of information, but not enough. I knew as much as that the swarm was vulnerable to extreme temperatures and immune to exhaustion. Both were interesting and helpful, but the swarm had already struck over 14 different locations already, and there were some casualties with recent attacks. I was beginning to think that the swarm was gaining intelligence, and with each passing moment we had less and less of a chance against it. The feeling made me sick and nervous, but I continued hoping to find an information miracle before the files were finished. Raven pinged me again.
"What's new Raven," I mumbled.
"2 new strike locations," she said, "Troy and Brunswick."
"Weird," I said, "They keep moving north, but it should be getting colder. The files say that they're immune to extreme temperatures."
"Didn't you say that the bees were supposed to arrive in Yukon?" she asked. And then it hit me. They were being sent for termination. They were to be destroyed to hide evidence. In the cold of Yukon they would be too weak to continue fighting and the teams would have no problems incinerating and disposing of them. But then why were they continuing north?
"Raven you're right," I said, "They were going to Yukon to be destroyed."
"Then why are they moving north?" She asked.
"Because something is drawing them north," I said, "And this company is going to drag this swarm through every single city and town on the way and then dispose of the evidence."
"Son of a bitch," She muttered, "So what's next?"
"We have to use the info we have to stop the advance and then use the swarm to expose the company and the government ties," I said, "Expose these bastards responsible."
"Strange huh?" Raven said, "We walk right from one small crime and straight into a conspiracy."
"No kidding," I said, "It's our lot in life I suppose. I'll inform the others. We have to kill the swarm and expose the evidence."
"You have a plan?" She asked.
"Yeah. Biohazard out," I hung up and grabbed the mic for the loudspeaker. "All titans report to the main room, We've got some things to discuss."
I laid it out to them. The conspiracies, the deception, the disregard for human lives, the whole thing. Everyone was pretty shocked.
"So now that we have all of this information, what good is it to us?" Robin inquired maliciously.
"One of my discoveries is that the swarm is sensitive to extreme temperatures, but according to their flight pattern they're moving continuously north," I said, "Surely even unaltered bees would have sensed it, but they continue like they don't. Something is leading them forward. Someone from this company. I've come up with evidence that the company used humans to test the aggressiveness and intelligence of the swarm, and that they were taking the bees to Yukon to destroy them."
"You make this sound like something out of an X-Files episode," Robin said.
"I know this all sounds crazy but its true," I said, "If we don't neutralize the bees then the person leading them north is going to make it and BioTech will get away with this." There was a pause. It seemed impossible.
"Alright, what do you have in mind?" Robin asked, sounding slightly hesitant.
"I've developed a special type of atomizer," I held up a gun attached to a pump backpack. "you might think of it as an icethrower. This one can't be activated, but I can have them built in a short time. It sprays liquid nitrogen and will freeze the swarm dead on impact. If we all have these we can kill the swarm before it makes it north." Another long pause. Exchanges of nervous, doubtful, and frightened glances.
"Alright. Lets do it," Cyborg said. And then, suddenly, everything took a sudden turn. We could hear the hum. The drone of hundreds of thousands of small wings beating at 60 times a second. The swarm had turned around and come back.
"I don't believe it," I said, "They traced us. They traced us back to the computers in the tower and turned the cloud around silently.
"So how fast can you have those ice guns built?" Robin asked.
"It's too late now," I said, "I just have one choice now. We have to fight them with what I have. Lets get everyone a loaded flamethrower."
I guess in some situations I leave Robin to make the calls. In this case I'm not sure taking charge was a good idea. Then again, had I left it up to him, things would probably be a lot worse. By the time we were ready the cloud had surrounded the tower and were circling it like a shark preying on its next victim. We were at the door to the roof.
"Alright, this is going to be a bit dangerous, so listen up. Face outward, don't turn. If they start to form in the center of the group then we run back inside. Lastly, don't panic. You panic, you or someone else can die," I said, "Alright on three. One..." I could literally feel the tension rising in everyone. "Two..." For a brief moment it looked like Beast Boy was ready to vomit. Starfire closed her eyes. "THREE!" I pushed the door open and we spread out as planned to the edge of the roof. "Open fire on my mark." I paused. The bees began to close. "FIRE!" suddenly the circle of bees scattered. Every one of us missed the mark. "GET OUT OF HERE! ABORT!" I cried. Then we did what I feared we would do. We panicked and made a scramble for the door again. We'd fallen into a trap. I was thinking just as fast as I could process my thoughts. Then I had it. Bee's carry pheromones in their stingers to get the rest of the swarm to begin attacking. I was the only one who could be stung but not killed by it.
"Biohazard! We have to get off the roof!" Raven cried.
"Get everyone else off! Make sure you keep your mouth and eyes closed! Get inside! I have one last idea!" I shouted over the roar of the hive. I snatched a bee from the air and stung myself with it. I ran to the edge of the building and turned. The swarm turned to me. The door to the roof slammed shut. "Now that I have your attention," I said, and fired. I scorched almost the entire swarm. They turned into dust on impact. The swarm was still too primitive to understand and grouped together again to attack me. I torched them. And instantaneously, the hive was gone. I breathed a sigh of relief and sat down. The door swung open and the titans came rushing back out. The swarm was dead.
"You did it," Cyborg said, "That was friggin' awesome!"
"How did you do that?" Robin asked.
"I got stung," I said, "The rest of the hive tried to attack me and grouped together too close. I scorched them all quickly."
"Now we don't have the evidence to prove that company was behind this," Robin noted.
"I know," I said, "But we did dispose of them. That's all that matters." We all exchanged glances. There was something about the simplicity that made it all seem strange. But none the less, we were joyful.
"The swarm was neutralized by an unknown group of people in New York sir," the uniformed man said.
"Do they know by whom?" The man sitting at his desk inquired.
"No sir," uniform said, "They only know that they were release when there was an accident. What is our next move?" Desk thought for a moment.
"Nothing. The swarm was incinerated. There is no trace left of us."
"As you wish sir," uniform said, and left.