Futuristic 𝗘𝗩𝗢𝗟𝗩𝗘 ◑ ᴀᴍʙʀᴇᴛᴛᴇ

[Kassandra]

Though some several hundred miles away, Dahlia knew much about Miraino City. Its different regions, it's eccentricities, even its protectors. Rotek was not a unique approach to the crime rates typical in metropolises of the 31st century, but no two charters of a variable policing force were the same, and it would be a good idea to get a brief glance at who she was soon to meet. Reports of their successes in the field gave her some inside knowledge about who she would be fighting alongside, and while she'd eventually get around to reading all of them, her eyes were scanning for a specific name. Bardot. Before venturing out for Miraino in her shuttle (which she shared with a taller gentleman who'd already made a pass on her,) her old director had passed along a mission briefing that had been requested to reach her early, dotted with the family name 'Bardot.' Having seen this name in the mission records she'd brought with her, Dahlia started taking a closer look whenever it popped up. However, her fixation was two-fold.

Normally, the roster of an organization such as Rotek read like a comic book super-group, full of unique individuals with even more unique traits. The rhetoric used to describe this 'Frey' was much more plain. He didn't really seem like the type that Rotek's call to action might attract, with no offense, and much less seemed like the type to lead a private investigation into the disappearance of his sister. Never did Dahlia think her first mission would be so emotionally charged, but she had to applaud his restraint. Upon hearing that she was soon joining the team, and that his sister's captor was suspected to be a hive mind such as herself, he had apparently delayed his flight to Antarctica in order to bring her and her expertise along. Dahlia thought this a very good decision.

Shortly after dropping off her fellow transfer and whatever she didn't need for travel at Rotek, her shuttle brought her to the airport. She arrived with her digital ticket, submitted her luggage for sorting, and went looking for the face in her reports. A young man who lacked that killer instinct in his eyes she was so used to. She eventually managed to find him by their terminal, approaching him from behind his seat. "Bardot. I am Dahlia. I've been briefed about your situation, and I'm ready to go."

smolfluffball

 

[smolfluffball]

He had told her not to leave home, after she had been getting those terrible messages from that creep online. He knew it wasn't a good idea. He'd told her he'd go with her anywhere she wanted to, if she wanted to go so badly. She said she'd be fine - she hadn't wanted to pull him away from Rotek. His parents had even told her she shouldn't travel, even though it was what she desperately wanted to do after she graduated from high school. They didn't have the heart to stop her, and his parents had thought they were being a little too over-protective after she pointed out that she could hold her own, since she had taken self-defense classes all her life. He did think that, too, of course, because she could kick his ass, but she was still petite and cute and famous. There were so many potentially dangerous people who were her fans. Who might try to take advantage of her. He had considered for a moment, and ended up convincing himself, that he was being paranoid from his own fear, projecting it onto his sister. Now he knew his paranoia was well-founded.

His little sister, though, had won the battle, and she left a couple weeks after she finally graduated. She always wanted to travel: she got to see so many different planets and take pictures to post on her social media accounts, to show her fans, for the memories, for her older brother, but she never got to explore Earth that much. She had been fine for almost an entire year, as she promised, and she kept her parents and himself updated on what was happening, over the family group chat they had. She talked with Frey about her day every day, too. She loved Earth, and she was so eager that she got to finally explore it. It was a fascinating planet, and Frey really had wanted to join her one day. He could not do that if she was kidnapped.

He couldn't forgive himself for letting her get caught. He hated himself for letting it happen. He had been caught a month ago, but he managed to get away, because he had changed his form and immediately called the police after he whacked a metal pipe (hard, thrice) against the head of the alien that tried to take him. The alien knew what he was. Knew his species. Called him by his species name. He almost got Frey again, even after he changed form multiple times, because the alien was equipped to handle shapeshifting boys. Frey didn't let it happen. He would not let himself be captured. The alien was still unconscious when the police arrived, then he was promptly arrested and locked up after they found out he had an extensive criminal background. Frey had no pity for him. Frey wanted the alien off the planet completely, honestly, with no way to come back, and with maybe no way to survive up in the stars. He had wanted to keep the entire situation on the downlow, though. He didn't want any of his friends to know what happened. He didn't want anyone at Rotek to find out about what happened, because he didn't want anyone to see him as pitiful or pathetic.

Though, of course, the news announced that he had been assaulted, because obviously they had to. His parents were off planet, his sister was travelling, so the news turned their eye to the Bardot son. It was ridiculous. He'd made them take the story off the TV quickly, and he was pretty sure he caught it in time. He hoped he had. He really did not want certain people to know what had transpired.

And, now, his sister was kidnapped. A month after he had almost been. The news didn't report her kidnapping. Frey hadn't told his parents, about either event. The ransom letter had come to him, and he had almost burned it, but then he realized he probably needed to keep it, for evidence. Being at Rotek the past year had taught him that everything could be important. Being at Rotek also taught him how to handle situations like this, even though it was his very own sister who was the person he needed to rescue. He couldn't leave this to someone else, and he had almost gone by himself, because he didn't want to ask any of his teammates for help. They'd probably think he should sit it out, or, more likely, they wouldn't even care enough to help him. He just wanted to save her discreetly. To keep it off the news. To keep it away from his parents. It could be a matter between the two of them, then they'd tell their parents when they got back home. Together.

The alien that took her, he had discovered, was unlike anything else he had ever encountered. That was a minor problem. He still knew he could save her, because he could turn into anything, because he was her hero. Then he found out his squad was getting a new member, and she happened to be the exact same thing as the alien that captured his sister. He had decided to request her assistance. She'd know how to deal with a hive mind, since she was one. He had no idea how they really functioned, at all, but she would know. Maybe they'd be able to reason with the alien. Or, whatever. He didn't really care at this particular moment what happened, as long as he could get Ambie back home safely.

She needed to get back home safely. There was nothing else that would be acceptable.

He was startled from his thoughts when he heard a strangely accented feminine voice, and he turned in his seat to look at who had said his name. He looked up at the black-haired lady and nodded as she introduced herself to him, then pulled up a painfully fake smile. "Hey, Dahlia. Thanks for coming so quickly. It's nice to meet you, even though the circumstances could be better." He heard the intercom announce that his flight was arriving, and he stood up and grabbed his carry-on. It was all he was bringing with him. He wasn't expecting to be gone for very long, so he packed lightly. He could probably get whatever he needed when they landed. What took up the most space in his carry-on was Ambie's favorite blanket. He was bringing it along, even though it had a sloppily patched hole. She had it left behind, because she didn't want to risk its safety on her journey. Frey had patched the hole. She'd need it, in Antarctica.

"I'm usually more cheerful, honestly, but, you know." He shrugged, looking Dahlia over quickly. He wasn't sure what he was expecting a hive mind to look like, but this alien seemed to look as human as he did. She was even almost the same height as him. He allowed himself a brief moment to dislike how tall he was, but then pushed it aside and looked toward the place everyone else was crowding around. "Let's go and see how quickly we can get to the South Pole."

 

[Kassandra]

Dahlia knew it was unlikely that she'd be the only one of her kind when she initially came to Earth. Hives adapted the skills the skills to assimilate early in their life cycles, and with no offense to her fellow denizens of this planet, it was awfully easy to assimilate. For her new acquaintance's sake, she hoped this kidnapper wasn't powerful enough to pose a serious threat. The only thing she couldn't figure out was, why they'd dedicate their energies to such a meager goal. For money? For some sick thrill? So much potential, wasted on a crime as petty as this? It was so... Human in nature. That was something she promised herself to take note of. As this was more of an investigation, and less of a clearly defined mission, establishing the suspect's character and motive were of supreme importance. She was now Bardot's secret weapon, someone with an intimate understand of how hives worked. Their best chance was making sure her status was not compromised before their mission was complete. For now, though, Dahlia got to work observing her partner.

Under the circumstances, she expected some indirect aggression from him, and was surprised to detect none. Dahlia was prepared to forgive some misguided anger out of being in such close proximity to a creature that might've shared a distant kinship with the thing that took his sister, but despite it all, Frey remained perfectly cordial. Noticeably anxious, but cordial nonetheless. She appreciated such professionalism, but saw his hurried nature as something to extinguish before it earned them too much attention. Confirming her thoughts by his excusing of his current mannerisms, Dahlia politely dismissed the notion that she might be in any way offended by his curtness with a motion of her hand. "I understand. You're under immense pressure, and it doesn't feel like there's a moment to waste on niceties. We'll save the introductions for later. I have some thoughts on the case I'd like to share with you, but I'll save them for once we're on the plane. The ransom note you received is much more telling than you know."

With that, she allowed the crowd of strangers to naturally separate them as they boarded the plane. It was her first time flying on a commercial airplane, and Dahlia began taking in the differences between the new experience and the occasional jet she and others took to mission objectives. The seats were noticeably different, contrasting starkly against the uncomfortable plush-wrapped metal frames she was used to. Above each seat was a cubic, flower-like shape that resembled a field generator, which she assumed was designed to allow passengers some degree of privacy to distract themselves with their devices, talk on the phone, or spare their neighbors the torturous mistake of having bought along an infant child to a confined space. Dahlia figured she could take advantage of this and speak with Frey freely, with no chance at being overheard. For any other circumstance, this would be an exaggerated measure, but she had reason to believe there was danger lurking behind every corner. Right now, the kidnapper had the upper hand. She and Frey were being lured to the South Pole, and they knew that. Dahlia had to remain vigilant. Looking over the rows of seats as she got on, she claimed the seat next to Frey and immediately reached up to activate their privacy fields, fiddling with them until the domes had combined into a single oblong shape both of them could speak in. "We're secure. Now, my old director gave me a copy of your case file, along with the ransom note. The thing you need to remember is, the kidnapper doesn't know you have me on your side. They're not on the defensive yet. They're calm, confident. That'll be their downfall," she prattled on, pulling out her phone and opening a presentation she had prepared. It was something she had planned to play for her new comrades, but it would serve a purpose here. Within the slides was information and classification about hive minds, details that even several alien biologists weren't privy to. "No two hives are alike. We naturally occur in nature after several generations of evolution, and can take on any variety of forms or properties. This kidnapper is like a hundred different unknown variables bundled up in one package. Well... So unknown, we don't even know how many packages they could be spread out in."

Dahlia moved to a new slide, titled OVERMINDS. "There are four basic classifications for the way hives are organized. This is mine. An overmind is a singular consciousness comprised of many different pieces that add up to a whole. I am an individual, a sum greater than my parts. If I can written this ransom note, I would've addressed myself as a singular entity. As in, 'I have your sister.' However, your suspect is a we, so we can eliminate the possibility of them being an overmind." She switched again, to a slide titled MERGED MINDS. "Merged minds are typically collective-identifying types, but we can rule them out because of their natures. Really, they aren't consciousnesses at all. They're like biological computers, focused entirely on self-progression. The only crimes they'd commit might be... Against humanity as a whole. Next, we can discount monarchs." Again, she switched to a different slide. "Monarchs are hives as humans are most familiar with them. A singular leader and representative to a large swath of underlings. Despite being a literal single entity, they speak in the royal we, which isn't supported by the rest of the ransom note. That only leaves one possibility."

Her last slide was as predictably titled as the rest. "This the reason we have to be careful. A consensus is a hive mind that can have an unknown number of bodies, but from there, they have no inherent purpose. Like an overmind, they have the potential to be as unpredictable as any single human. With the manpower of several. My working theory is this hive has a network in place to get away with these kidnappings. Someone to do the dirty work, someone to cover their tracks, someone to act as insurance, all a part of a unified consciousness. Our only saving grace is, assimilation can take extreme levels of energy. Whether they have chosen new forms for themselves, or they have possessed people, they won't be able to just change their appearance to hide from us whenever they feel like it. Of course, this also means they could be anywhere..."

 

[smolfluffball]

The ransom note was more telling than he thought? Frey couldn't even admit that he was surprised, since he knew nothing about any of this; it was his first time receiving a ransom note, and it had told him his little sister was kidnapped. He didn't think much after he had gotten it. All that was on his mind was saving her. He was glad he had decided to not burn it. That had been a good call. His subconscious must have nagged at his consciousness and made sure to remind him of his training. He quietly boarded the plane and took his seat, then watched as his new teammate activated the privacy field. He always used it whenever he took a plane anywhere, because he never wanted to be bothered by anyone who might recognize him and ask him so many dumb questions. He was glad Dahlia had thought to use it.

He nodded along as she spoke, realizing that he was incredibly unprepared to deal with the hive mind who had captured Ambie. If he had gone by himself, he'd most definitely have been overwhelmed and captured as well, or maybe even killed, or disposed of in one way or another. He eyed the phone Dahlia was holding, trying to read the text while also listening to her explanation of the different kinds of hive minds - or, hives, he guessed. It was a lot of information to take in, but one thing Frey always loved to do was learn about the various aliens that lived in the universes. He did his best to absorb all of what the overmind said. He also wondered if she would send him the information, so that he could memorize it all, in case there was ever another hive that he encountered. It would be useful, in certain situations.

An entire network to get away with kidnappings was a terrifying idea, but he simply sighed when she finished speaking. "So we can't trust anyone, huh?" he murmured, shaking his head. Of course they couldn't, if a consensus was really what had captured Ambie. An alien that could take over anyone was going to be so difficult to handle, and it reminded him only slightly of himself. If he ever wanted to, he could be so dangerous. He glanced at Dahlia's phone again, then leaned forward in his seat, watching as the flight attendant spoke with passengers. She could be a part of the consensus, couldn't she? It was unlikely, unless the hive kidnapped people off of airplanes going to Antartica. Frey studied the faces of the other passengers, looking past his companion. Anyone could be a part of the hives scheme.

Was it possible that it wasn't a consensus hive? Maybe a monarch, or even an overmind? Using "we" in the ransom note to confuse and mislead? When Frey had first read it, he thought it was someone who was not mentally sane speaking. Maybe that had been the intention, if it was an overmind. If it was a hive that had a sole conscious, then it could very easily use a different pronoun, couldn't it? But... Dahlia's working theory was solid, and he didn't know enough about hives to even want to suggest it might be something else. Keeping their options open would be a good idea, though. He was most likely just overthinking it. Dahlia was the expert. He just didn't understand why a consensus would target his little sister specifically, when there were numerous other celebrities who were more wealthy and famous than her. He'd probably never understand it.

"Okay." He took a deep breath, then leaned back in his chair. "So, we keep your true nature a secret. Easy. I'm fantastic at keeping secrets, and you look completely human. Actually, that makes me wonder. How would we possibly know if anyone we run into is a hive? Is there a certain tell, or is it possible for you to know innately?" His own species could tell if they ever met another, from touch. If there was no way to tell, that would make this entire situation about ten times harder. He suddenly remembered what she said, then shook his head. "No, nevermind. You probably can't tell, since no two hives are alike. Sorry. I'm kind of all over the place. This situation fucking blows."

What would he do if he wasn't overwhelmed by all of his guilt and fear for his sister? She was fine, right now. Even if she was hurt, she was still alive. She had to be. She wouldn't die so easily. He had to believe that.

Kidnappings in Antartica, he thought. Maybe there was something on file about that, at Rotek. Or in the news. It might not be something Rotek would deal with, if it was concentrated to a continent so far away from the institute. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed his query into the search bar, then he looked back at Dahlia. "How long does it take for a hive to take control of a different body? And once the body has been taken over, how long would it take for the hive to regain energy? If we were to take out the hive, which I really don't want to actually do, would we have to target every body that's under its control? That... That seems super unfair, honestly." He frowned, then looked at his phone.

The airplane was going to be taking off soon, but he clicked on an article and quickly skimmed it. There was a picture of a suspect connected to a series of attacks, who was assumed to be part of a gang or organization. There were a couple other suspects in the article, but he bit his lip. A hive could just change it's body and take over someone else, right? Ugh. Bad idea. He put his phone away again, then ran his hand through his hair. "What are your ideas for dealing with this hive? I am open to every suggestion you have."