I would like to take this opportunity to assure any mutant bees in the audience that this is a work of fiction. I do not in any way, shape, or form, condone the wanton slaughter of innocent drug-warped insects/arachnids/etc.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bioshock or any of the characters associated with it.
As it turns out, the dramatic entrance Archer had been hoping for never came together. Davian had watched in disbelief as the young man charged headfirst through the doors of the train, only to rush after him and find that he hadn't made it three steps.
"Yech!" Archer exclaimed, drawing back from the bulkhead to the Farmer's Market in revulsion. "What happened to that thing?"
The doorway had been entirely covered in a sticky, light-yellow substance. Every member of their group observed the crusted metal with expressions ranging from distaste to outright disgust.
"There are a few things that could be." Archer commented. "And I really hope I'm wrong about which one it is."
"Stop. Talking." Tomas growled, glaring down at him.
Doctor Gregory took this opportunity to step forward. Dipping one of his fingers into the gooey mess, he raised a small amount to his mouth. This sent Archer into a fit of dry heaves.
"What the hell! You find sludge on a door and your first instinct is to put it in your mouth!? I thought you were supposed to be a doctor!"
The old man ignored him. He gave the substance several thoughtful swishes over his tongue before spitting it off to the side.
"No need to worry lads." He said. "It's just honey and beeswax."
"Honey? I want some!" Wren shouted from Amelia's back. The big sister struggled to keep her in the carrying cage while she strained to get a better look at the sweet substance.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Davian said, reaching up to pat her back in her seat. "This doesn't look like the kind that's good to eat."
"No eating anything in there." Came Tomas's authoritative command. "This is a cleanup mission. Archer, Gregory, you two stay in the rear. Davian, you take the middle. And the tin girl is up front with me."
Amelia hissed in annoyance, but grudgingly took up her position at his side. Davian followed behind her. He could feel his pulse picking up as they all got ready to enter. While he was no stranger to walking into a confrontation, there was no telling exactly what would be waiting for them. If they were really luck, it would just be an abnormally large bee's nest. It was a pity he wasn't feeling very lucky.
The door slowly pried itself apart, moving significantly slower than normal thanks to the coating of insect excrement. When it had finally moved aside, it became apparent that they were dealing with more than just a small hive. The hallway was entirely smothered in honeycombs, formed along the walls and stopping just short of the bulkhead. It wasn't just their number that left the group uneasy. Each of the waxy constructs was massive. Davian could easily have fit his head inside one of them and still had room to spare.
"Stay ready. This is their lair, and I doubt they'll let us in without a fight." Tomas warned. He slowly crept forward with his shotgun raised. The barrel of the weapon glowed lightly, warning any would-be attackers that it wasn't loaded with ordinary ammunition.
A sudden buzzing sound caused all six of them to whirl around, various armaments raised to strike down the offending creature. It was hard to tell who was the most surprised when their target turned out to be only an inch and a half long.
"Is that one of them?" Archer asked, his finger twitching on the trigger of his crossbow. "It doesn't look so bad." Seeming to sense the threat to its life, the tiny creature had landed on the ceiling, making for a slightly smaller target.
"No, I don't believe so." Gregory answered. "The apiary in the market was home to bees. That insect looks more like a hornet."
Wren leaned forward to get a better look.
"No it doesn't." She said. "It's not all wrinkly, and it doesn't have a beard! How can it be a hornet without a beard?"
"That would be a hermit." The doctor explained with a chuckle. "A hornet is a type of insect similar to a bee but somewhat larger in size and aggression. It's strange though, I don't recall any hornet's nests being brought down into Rapture."
Davian watched the insect warily. Something about it tickled the back of his memory, almost like he had seen it somewhere before. He couldn't have, could he? He had only ventured into the Farmer's Market once before when he was fleeing the Saturnine, and he didn't recall seeing any hornets. Maybe…
That was when it struck him. In the restaurant, when they were headed towards Pauper's Drop, a large winged insect had flown directly at his face. Come to think of it, the one in the restaurant bore a striking resemblance to the one that was watching them right now.
And it was watching them, hanging suspended with its inverted gaze. It almost looked like it was waiting for something.
Had the bug followed them that far? Why would it do something like that? Surely it was just a coincidence. There was no way that the same hornet had followed them all the way here.
"Well then let's get going!" Archer said impatiently. "I'm not getting any points by killing random bugs. I need to get to the real fight."
"Points?" Tomas questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing." Davian said quickly. "Just a bit of competition. Don't worry about it."
The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but decided against wasting time pushing the issue. With a hand signal the splicer didn't recognize, he took up the lead once more and the rest of them fell in behind.
The procession pushed forward to the end of the hall with no resistance. Even so, they were all on high alert. The honeycombs lay on the glass walls so thickly, that they couldn't see the ocean behind it. Davian couldn't help feeling like the substance was slowly closing in on them from all sides. He had never realized how much the presence of the water outside had been a source of normalcy for him before.
As they reached the door on the far side of the hallway, their confined space was suddenly filled with the sound of cracking. Davian turned to face the way that they had come in a panic. Every instinct associated that noise with the breaking of glass that was inevitably followed by a rush of water. This time however, it wasn't the walls of Rapture breaking down.
Some of the honeycombs, previously caked over with a waxy shell, began to split open. The onlookers watched as large, exoskeletal heads poked through the openings. Antennas twitched and mandibles clacking together as the giant insects pushed their way out of the organic restraints. When at last they pulled themselves free the four creatures fell to the ground. Their wings were crumpled and glossy, not yet strong enough to support their weight.
It was almost funny the way they stumbled unsteadily on their six legs. Or at least, it would have been had they not looked so hideous. Davian suddenly decided that he hated bugs.
Eventually, the spell of inaction was broken as one of the creatures spotted their group. The bee nearest to them began to hiss menacingly, its crushing maw snapping with anger at the strange beings invading its home.
Before any of them had a chance to move, a sudden twang filled the air and a crossbow bolt pierced the unfortunate insects head right between its oversized eyes. The bee had just enough time to jerk backwards before the bolt exploded, tearing apart its siblings in a hail of shrapnel.
"That's four for me." Archer said, patting Davian on the shoulder with a devilish grin. "You just got to love explosive bolts don't you?"
The splicer, who was looking considerably less sure of himself, decided against answering.
"There's no way they didn't hear that." Tomas said, hurrying the group towards the door. "We need to hit them now, before they can react."
"Calm down big guy." Archer said. "They're just bugs. I don't think-"
The rest of his sentence cut off as the bulkhead door opened up, revealing just what fate had befallen the Farmer's Market.
The entire place had been turned into a hive. Stalls, stores, and all manner of other structures had been covered in the same sticky substance that the halls had been subject to. The humans, and debatable human sub-species, had no time to take in the sights however. The moment they stepped inside, their whole world was filled with a deafening buzzing that came from all directions.
"Stay against the door!" Tomas ordered. "Limit the ways they can come at us. If things go bad, be prepared to run back into the hallway!"
Nobody got the chance to respond. A large swarm of bees rounded the corner headed right for them. Some crawled along the walls, floor, and ceiling, while the bulk of the hoard flew through the limited space on wings that seemed to tear at the air.
Tomas scored the first blow, his shotgun letting out a blast that could be heard even over the vicious noise. As Davian watched, one bee was blown in half. On impact arcs of lightning shot out towards its surrounding kin, striking them from the sky and reducing their bodies to twitching piles of fried chitin. Davian wondered just what was loaded into that weapon.
There was no time for thinking after that. Each of them unloaded into the approaching mass as quickly as they could.
Each of Archer's bolts tore chunks out of the swarm, but he was held back by the slow firing speed of his crossbow. His expression had changed from the eager grin to something much closer to worry. Even after only firing ten shots, the exertion from reloading his weapon was starting to wear on him.
Gregory was more meticulous with his shots. Any time one of the bugs would start to pull away from the mass, it would be immediately shot down by a well-placed bullet. This did very little to stem the major tide however, and it quickly became apparent that his contribution to the fight was negligible at best. Even he had not expected them to be so great in number.
Tomas's hands were a blur. Six shots would ring out, bringing devastation to the mob, and then he would pause for only a moment before firing off another volley. The speed at which he restocked his ammunition was almost unreal. Through it all, he kept the face of grim determination. The man was likely the only one who was truly prepared for such heavy resistance.
Davian's flames made short work of any insects that bunched too close together. Each fireball was a miniature comet streaking into the heart of the swarm. There were so many targets that he didn't even have to bother aiming. As more and more burning corpses fell to the ground, the heat of their bodies started forcing the survivors to stick more closely together.
This was a double edged sword however. While it made the bees easier targets, the smoke served to blind the group of humans and the choking smell of charred insects burned their lungs.
Amelia hadn't wasted any time getting stuck into the fight. As soon as the bees had drawn near enough, she dashed forward with a ferocious battle cry. Her suit of armor protected her from the majority of the insects' assaults, and each swing of her harvester cut a broad swath into the wall of buzzing horrors.
Her contribution was far more than the number she killed. Seeing the big sister as the greatest threat, most of the swarm focused their efforts on bringing her down. This gave the other, less durable, members of the group the breathing room they needed to continue the fight.
Against the press of bodies, Davian gave up launching individual balls of flame. He channeled the plasmids in his veins into one continuous streak of fire, essentially turning his arm into a flamethrower. Some part of him retained the knowledge of strategy despite the chaos of their current situation.
He doused the walls and all other available surfaces in molten heat, forcing the bugs to narrow their avenue of attack down even further. The smoke and temperature were becoming unbearable, but he still pushed on. His infernal barrier condensed the hoard into an area so tight that they were hardly able to fly. That was when he made his move.
Be they metal bots or giant bees, Davian was very good at killing swarms of things. The drain on his Adam supply was getting dangerous, but he willed as much as he could into a swirling vortex of burning might in the palm of his hand.
"Amelia! Get back!" Much to his relief, the protector didn't stop to question the orders. She dashed away from the hoard she had been fighting giving him the opening he needed.
The splicer launched his attack with the last ounce of willpower he had left. The eyes of his companions trailed after the blazing orb as it struck the bulk of the swarm directly. The explosion was a beautiful sight to the beleaguered fighters.
As they looked on, countless mutated bees were immolated in a brilliant wall of flame. The shockwave from the blast was so great that it shattered all the remaining windows in the immediate area, and blew out much of the burning insects that had been ignited by the fight.
For several moments, all of them stood at the ready. Their weapons were raised and prepared to continue the struggle at any signs of resistance.
Thankfully, none came.
Davian sagged heavily as the strain from his exertion took its toll. He had no idea how much Adam he had used up, but he knew it had to be an obscene amount. His insides were turning ice cold despite the intense heat of the surrounding room.
A hand grabbed his shoulder before he could fall over.
"Can you keep going?" Tomas asked, supporting the young man.
Davian's response was slow to come.
"Yeah. No. Maybe." His voice was slurred and unsteady. "I don't know. Was that all of them?"
"No." Gregory said, observing the carnage. "That was likely a large part of the hive, but if these bees are anything like their smaller cousins they will have a queen leading them. We need to find and dispose of her before we can be finished here."
"Mister M?" The concern in Wren's question brought his mind back to reality. "You look sick. You'll be ok won't you?"
Despite the chill in his veins, he forced a reassuring expression onto his face.
"Don't worry about me." He said, standing up straight once more. "I can manage. How about we get moving? Its' not polite to keep royalty waiting."
The group tried to move quickly into the heart of the hive. The key word being 'tried'. After their initial attack, Epsilon and Tomas were the only ones still in good condition. Davian could hardly stand, Archer didn't look much better, and the doctor had to stop every now and then for a coughing fit due to the smoke. The big sister wondered to herself if it had been such a good idea to take someone as advanced in age as he was along.
Even so, they made good progress. It quickly became apparent that any surviving bees had rallied to protect their queen. Only a couple of minor assaults hindered their path.
Coming up to another bulkhead door, Wren suddenly jumped up on her back.
"There's angels in there!" She said excitedly. All eyes immediately turned to her.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" Archer asked, rubbing his sore arms.
"Considering the fact that these bees have been heavily mutated by Adam, I would think so." Gregory pointed out. "It makes sense that they would have a source to get their supply from."
Epsilon clenched her fists. Good. It was time to finish these things off. The fighting had been fun and all, but even she was starting to get a bit weary.
Tomas stepped forward to take the lead.
"You know the drill." He said without turning to them. "Find the queen, take it out, and finish off any bugs left over. There can't be too many after the mess at the entrance."
They all made their preparations for the final push. Archer and Gregory took up positions at the rear. Davian swayed a bit, but managed to stay upright at her back. Epsilon looked to Tomas, silently waiting for him to give the word.
With a nod, he opened the door.
And all hell broke loose.
The bees had been waiting for them, displaying slightly more intelligence than the ones who had initially charged their position. As soon as the bulkhead moved aside, they charged.
Tomas immediately began firing along with Archer and Gregory. Davian was having trouble staying on his feet, but he managed to lob a fireball every now and then.
Amelia ignored them for the most part. There were too few bees to really stop them, so she turned her attention to their other objective. She dashed past the mob, swatting aside several insects that tried to bar her path.
The inner sanctum of the hive was a rather large room that had been cleared of all furniture to make room for the honeycombs that dotted every surface. Small glimpses of the ocean peaked through the coating on the far wall, implying that this had been a viewing room of some sort with a glass backing.
Epsilon didn't care about any of that. Her whole attention was devoted to the massive creature in the center of the mess.
The queen was huge, easily dwarfing a bouncer. Two vestigial wings hung uselessly on her bloated back. It was apparent from her disproportional size that she would have a lot of trouble moving quickly.
However, the giant bee was far from defenseless. While most of her was ravaged into uselessness from exposure to Adam, she had gained one benefit from the drug. A massive stinger was attached to a long strand of twisted muscle extending from her thorax. The whip-like appendage was raised threateningly as she hissed at the big sister.
Without hesitation, Epsilon charged. Her own harvester was raised to strike against the queen's stinger. As she drew close, the mutated tail shot towards her. She could have smirked.
Bringing her free limb to bear, she parried the blow off the metal of her arm-guards. The barb scraped across the metal with a grating shriek.
The queen tried to move her bulk backwards to get a second strike in, but it was far too late. Epsilon put on an extra burst of speed, and leapt up onto the creature's back. The tail lashed around wildly in an attempt to dislodge her.
She easily avoided the feeble assault. Raising her harvester, she drove the metal needle deep into the queen's back.
The enormous insect let out a sound halfway between a howl and a whimper. Its cries fell on deaf ears.
Now thoroughly embedded into the queen's body, Epsilon's harvester activated. The big sister's system was struck by a massive rush as the Adam rich organs were liquefied and sucked out. With one final shudder, the queen bee collapsed to the ground and lay still.
Epsilon remained in her position for several moments letting her system get readjusted to the influx of Adam. She felt each of the injuries she had sustained over the past few days heal and close as her metabolism was jump-started.
Eventually she rose to her feet. Jumping off the fallen queen she slowly strode back to the group.
They all looked at her, towards the body of the insect, and back to her again.
"Well…" Archer said. "That still only counts as one."
Near the entrance to the Farmer's Market, a lone rat scrounged for food. Times had been lean, and the tiny creature had to make do with what few crumbs could be found that were still edible.
Suddenly, alerted by some sixth sense, the rat's nose shot into the air. Its whiskers twitched as it tried to interpret the sensory information that it was being given.
The metallic creak of a nearby airlock put an end to the internal debate, sending the rodent sprinting away in fear.
Protectorate M2 Gamma-02 strode drunkenly into the hallway. Her body was still under the influence of the ocean's weightlessness, causing quite a bit of unsteadiness in her stride.
And of course the massive amount of Adam in her system wasn't helping anything.
The safety measures in her harvester were leaking again, but that was fine. She had gathered more than enough of the red substance for her baby sisters to enjoy.
Giggling, she quickened her steps. The queen had a new batch of infants that needed to be fed. Just the thought of their smushy, white faces, and stubby limbs made her feel all warm inside.
As she opened the bulkhead leading to the hive she stopped. It took several moments for her drug-addled mind to comprehend what she was seeing.
Four newly-formed drones lay unmoving before her. Were they sleeping? Something seemed off about their unnatural stillness.
Leaning down, Gamma began prodding one of the creatures. It was then that she saw what was causing their strange behavior.
The bees had been torn apart by shrapnel. For one second of breathless horror, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The panic soon gave way to action.
Gathering up the fallen insect, she pressed her gloved hands against the wounds in an attempt to stem the damage, refusing to accept that she was far too late. Letting out a mewling whimper, she tried patching over the wounds with handfuls of beeswax and honey. The substance covered the injuries but failed to help.
Waves of alternating grief and shock rolled over her as she realized they were truly dead. How could this have happened?
Suddenly, something caught her eyes. A shattered bolt was stuck into the head of one drone.
Even Gamma's damaged mind could put the two together. The hive had been attacked.
Her family had been attacked.
A dark rage burned into her system wiping out all other sensation.
The enraged protector roared to life, dashing forward to exact bloody revenge on the heartless monsters that had invaded her home.
The maddened howl reverberated into every corner of the area. Its message was one that even the most crazed occupant of Rapture could understand.
Someone was about to die.