After a lot of thought, and because I've recently come back to this series, I've decided to re-publish this series on here under one title, because new readers will probably get sick of jumping around, so here it is: The Xenomorph Series.

After many requests and winning a poll on Twitter, we're up to the tenth part of the Xenomorph Series!

Long live The Tiny Squad, much love!

The original concept of the Xenomorph came from an AU art by CreatureXIII for their RK800 Connor Xenomorph. JCK22 has since made their own interpretation of an RK900 version and the cover for this story.

Thank you for reading, please review!

Much love!

Gavin sighed as he shut the heavy door, relief flooding his chest as he cooled off. His brother always kept the AC running in his mansion. It was one of the best things about visiting. That, and he always had new projects on the go. His favourite so far had been the prototype for android cats. He'd been used as the very first test subject. The poor thing hadn't even had fur. Gavin didn't usually like androids in any form, but that little cat had just about melted his heart with its twitching tail and big, blinking eyes. He'd been heartbroken when it had shut down. It had been an early prototype, with very simple programming and no safety awareness. A fall from the banister on the second floor walkway was all it had taken to break it. Elijah had eventually made more, but none had come close to that first twitchy little machine that had rubbed against his shins, pawed his jeans, and followed him just about everywhere.

"Eli?" Gavin called as he stepped away from the door, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was a little hot after walking up the mountain in the summer heat. It was his day off, so he'd figured, why not? It wasn't like he had anything better to do, and hiking helped keep him in shape. He'd worn a simple tank top with his usual jeans. It was too hot for his leather jacket in the sunny weather, so he'd left it at home. "Chloe? Anyone home?" Someone was usually there to greet him, even if it was just one of Chloe's doppelgangers, which she left running on autopilot. The car was out front…Are they in the garden out back?

His brow furrowed as he crossed the tiled floor, passing the laughably obnoxious portrait of Elijah that hung in the entryway. He still couldn't believe he kept that thing. Elijah always insisted it was only there because it had been painted by some artist friend of his. Cracking the door to the pool, he didn't find any people, but there was something. He frowned as he stepped inside and closed the door as quietly as he could. What the phck? He didn't even know what it was supposed to be. It was about the size of a cat, but it was definitely no fucking cat. It was leaning down to lap at the chlorinated water, drawing back with a small grunting noise. Cute…

"What the phck are you?" Gavin murmured as he walked closer, trying to be quiet so as not to startle the…whatever it is. The creature was black with a matte casing that looked sort of like an exoskeleton. The solid plates were in delicate segments that glowed a soft blue at the seams. It was clearly mechanical, with clawed hands and feet similar to a human. Its fingers were clawed, as were the toes, and there was a spike on the heels of each foot. The feet sort of reminded him of that old Gargoyles cartoon he used to watch as a kid. It walked like a cross between a cat and a monkey. The arms could definitely work like a human, but the legs were back jointed like a cat, which likely gave it quite a high running speed. It had a long tail, more like a lizard than a cat or dog, with ridges running all the way down from its spine to the sharpened tip. It was almost scorpion-like at the end. The most eerie thing about it was the human head. It wasn't human sized, of course, it was in proportion with the sleek body, but still human. It looks…familiar…

The little creature turned to look at him, clicks and grunts fleeing its lips as it hunkered back. The pale blue glow shifted to a cautious yellow that sometimes blinked red. It raised its tail cautiously, an obvious show of aggression. It sort of sounded like a velociraptor. Gavin paused. The small creature was nervous. Its face was pale, with black, almost tear-like lines running down from its dark black eyes. The irises were a startling blue, almost ethereal, like a wolf. Gavin held up his hand in a stop gesture as he lowered himself to one knee. The little creature hunched further, the clicks quickening as it assessed Gavin as a possible threat. It looked ready to pounce. Gavin made small hushing sounds, settling down to make himself seem smaller.

"Hey…It's okay…It's okay…" His voice was soothing as he slowly moved his hand to rest near the floor, palm up. "Come on…" He kept his tone soft and encouraging as he watched the small creature slowly unfurl. Its claws clicked on the pool tiles as it edged closer, tail still raised and ready to strike. It was really weird. The casing was like armour. The claws and tail were clearly weapons. Is this some private military project he's working on? Or…was working on, before the revolution…He could hardly sell an android like this now. Even something as strange as this would have rights if it had a human level of intelligence. It hadn't spoken yet, but Gavin could see it in the eyes. It was smart, with a certain level of awareness.

Gavin continued to wait, staying still as possible lest he spook the small creature. He watched as it ducked and weaved. It was sort of weird. Sometimes it acted like a lizard, and sometimes it acted like a cat, skittering and prowling across the tiles with small clicks and scrapes. It finally got close enough to sniff his fingers. Gavin blinked in surprise as he felt something wet and rough swipe his fingertips. It…licked me? It felt like a cat's tongue. Like sandpaper. His lips raised in a smile as he watched the creature make a few small tutting sounds as it analysed him. It blinked at him with its big, luminous eyes, which widened slightly as it looked at his face. Gavin stayed still as it snuck closer, moving past his hand until it could paw its way up his thigh and chest. Its red glow shifted to yellow as it explored and analysed, sometimes flickering to blue as it decided it was safe.

The claws could definitely do some damage, no matter how small it was. They were made from something strong. More than just simple plastic. It looked like it could claw through metal. They would shred his flesh like butter. Gavin tried not to let his nerves show as the small creature felt his pecs and shoulders. Its small face was now level with his own, staring right into his dirty green eyes. His heart almost melted as he heard a soft purring sound rumble in its throat. It started to nuzzle his cheek, clearly a stranger to stubble. It clicked and grunted as it nodded up and down against his cheek, clearly enjoying the sensation. Gavin chuckled softly, noting the purring getting louder as he did so. The creature drew back a little, the tips of their noses almost touching as they stared at each other. It made an almost trilling sound as it smiled. Wait…is this a…Connor? It fucking was! The facial structure was almost an exact match to that puppy eyed fuck, only somehow sharper. More dangerous. Still cute as phck though!

"Gavin?" Elijah's voice interrupted from somewhere near the door, which opened with a loud creak. The sudden, echoing sound unsettled the curious creature. With a series of loud clicks, it flinched away from Gavin, its tail swiping in reflex. Gavin hissed as the sharp tip sliced his cheek, slapping his hand over the long cut. The sharp sting on his cheek almost burned. "Gavin! Are you alright?" He looked up as he heard the hurried steps. Elijah dropped to one knee and tugged the hand away from his face, wincing sympathetically as he examined the long, bleeding cut. The creature had hunkered down, the glow now a solid red. Its brows had drawn together worriedly as it curled its tail low and close to its body.

"I'm alright-I'm alright! You just spooked him, is all. It was an accident," Gavin insisted as he noticed Elijah's sharp eyes shift to the small creature, ready to admonish it. The creature looked distraught. It was making small grunts and clicks as it shuffled and tapped its sharp claws like a guilty child. It knew it had done something terrible, and it could be in a lot of trouble. Gavin made a few small hushing sounds as he pulled his bloodied hand away. "Hey-hey-hey! It's okay, see? It's just a scratch…You didn't mean it, right? My idiot brother just scared you is all…We're good, okay?" Gavin's voice was soft as he spoke to the small creature. Elijah was surprised. He'd expected the Xenomorph inspired design to creep him out, though the smaller reconnaissance model did have an element of cuteness and charm. He paused. But if the drone is here…where's…Elijah looked around the empty glass fronted room with an air of caution. It clearly wasn't with them by the pool.

"In this instance, you're right. I should have placed it in stasis once I'd finished-" Elijah cut off as a series of distressed grunts and clicks escaped the creature. The once yellow glow returned to red as it shrank lower, dark eyes wide and imploring. It didn't want to be deactivated. It didn't want to be placed in stasis. Gavin shoved Elijah's head in reproach, making the small creature blink in surprise. Elijah scoffed as he almost lost his balance. Gavin was looking at him with a pout of resentment. He held his bloodied hand out to the small creature again, leaving it there as a silent offer. The creature looked between them cautiously, assessing both of them as the glow blinked between red and yellow.

"Don't say shit like that! You're making him nervous! Don't worry, I won't let the mean man put you in stasis," Gavin cooed as he looked at the small creature. That was all it needed to hear to decide friend from foe. It greedily nuzzled its small head into Gavin's fingers, enjoying the little cooing sounds Gavin made. The ebony hair, identical to Connor's, was as soft as human hair, and its cheek was soft like a human, too. It smiled at him with dark lips that were closer to black than red, but that somehow didn't affect how cute it was. "You're a good boy, aren't you? Yes, you are!" Gavin scowled as Elijah scoffed and got to his feet.

"I can't believe you…The thing almost sliced your face open! It did slice it open!" Elijah was beyond exasperated as the small creature hissed and huddled closer to Gavin's chest. He watched as it climbed up to his shoulders, careful not to scratch this time. It was well aware of how sharp its claws were compared to Gavin's flesh. It settled across his shoulders like a cat, looping its tail across his chest and slowly licking the blood clean with a low purr as its light returned to a cool blue. Gavin reached up and scratched its small head, much as he would a cat.

"It's not that bad! It probably doesn't even need stitches!" Gavin insisted as he got to his feet. The creature kept balance perfectly, purring even louder as it leaned into Gavin's gentle touch, eyes closing in something akin to bliss. Elijah couldn't believe how manipulative the little beast was being. It clearly knew a sucker when it saw one. Gavin had always been hopeless when it came to small, nervous creatures. He'd endlessly lure out homeless cats and nurse them back to health. Elijah had even opened and funded a cat sanctuary on the estate to keep them all homed and fed, though they'd pretty much become Chloe's pets at this point.

"We'll just see what Chloe thinks when she sees it!" Elijah retorted, though Gavin seemed less than concerned as Elijah led the way to the door. He was pretty sure Chloe would be on his side, especially once she caught sight of the little cutie on his shoulder. The small creature clicked and purred its agreement as it lowered its head to rest against his neck. It nuzzled closer, sniffing and licking the soft flesh near his jugular. Gavin seemed less than concerned about it being so close. Foolish, in Elijah's opinion. In fairness, he has no idea what that little beast is capable of.

"Yeah? We'll see what she thinks about you threatening to put Tiny in stasis, too!" Gavin continued to argue in the small creature's defence. Elijah slapped his forehead loudly. He couldn't believe Gavin had given it a name already. It was a sensitive piece of espionage equipment designed to work with the Marines! It was a dangerous and extremely deadly machine, and Gavin was treating it like some sort of house cat!

"I can't even with you!"