The female ant gently placed the eggs on the floor of the apartment basement. Using her strength, she tore through the floor and began to pile the cool earth snuggly around the eggs. She knew that they would soon hatch, and require nourishment.
The female ant sighed. She did not know why her Queen was so angry at her. The nourishment she had given her had made her stronger, a more powerful Queen. Why had she resisted drinking more?
The female ant gathered boxes of junk food from the evacuated apartments. Inside the boxes she could smell a high concentration of sugar. She knew the Queen would have to be satisfied by such a tasty treat.
But when she brought the treats, the Queen just raged at her again. She denied being hungry, despite the fact that her massive body must be in need of nutrients. The Queen was much larger, and barely fit in the room. The female ant knew the Queen would need to be moved soon. And the several large eggs around her made the space even smaller. Each egg seemed larger than the last. The female ant was beginning to wonder if she would have the strength to move them soon.
The Queen threw the boxes angrily at her, demanding that she find the 'vial', whatever that was. The female ant gathered what eggs she could, and exited the room. In the hallway, she dropped the eggs. They were just too big to carry. She sat down and sighed again. She did not know what to do. Her Queen was unhappy with her work, and she was becoming too small to be of use to the colony. She knew that she would be rejected as soon as the eggs hatched, and the larger workers replaced her.
Just outside the door in the hallway, the female ant saw the bowl she had brought to the Queen to provide her with nourishment. Some of the liquid was spilled on the floor, but there was still quite a bit of liquid still in the container.
Hmmm, thought the female ant. If this nourishment made the Queen bigger, perhaps it could do the same for me. I will just take a little, enough to make me strong enough to serve the Queen better.
The female ant lifted the bowl, and poured a small amount into her mouth. The liquid had no taste, but she felt oddly refreshed after drinking it. Like her body was infused with new strength. She lifted the eggs and hauled them down to the basement.
When she returned upstairs, she decided to sip just a little more. Just enough to make the burden of the eggs a little easier. When she lifted the bowl to her mouth, she swallowed a little more than she meant to.
Oh, well, she thought. It will just make me a better worker.
She made the trip to the basement much quicker this time, and the eggs did not seem as heavy. The only problem was that the doorways were now much smaller, and she had to squeeze through a few of them. Her thorax still fit, but her abdomen was swollen, and pinched as it squeezed through the door. Her abdomen was developing a different color, too. It appeared bright red where she had scraped it against the door frame.
On her next trip, she drank several large gulps. The feelings of strength were intoxicating as she grew, and she desired more. It was not her fault that her Queen was too foolish to partake of this delicious nectar. She was not about to waste it. She thought about using it on the young eggs, but for some reason she felt possessive of it. Why should she share this with anyone? Why should some other ant get this power? She was doing all the work after all.
She found her next trip impossible. Her abdomen was enormous, and could no longer fit through the doorway. The red color had spread across her entire abdomen, and was now working its way up her thorax. Her abdomen also hurt, and she felt a churning as things shifted and moved inside it. She had no desire to make the pain worse by squishing her abdomen. She felt a tickling on her back, and large delicate wings erupted from her back.
What ... what has happened to me? thought the female ant.
The female ant felt a slight pressure in her abdomen. She strained, and a large smooth white egg dropped out of her abdominal orifice.
An egg? That must mean .... I am a Queen, thought the female ant.
She smiled wickedly.
So, I am a Queen, too. A Red Queen, she thought as she examined the red color now covering her entire body. Well, I see no need to serve that lazy ungrateful spoiled brat anymore. But there is only room for one colony in this territory. And, as Queen, it is my duty to insure that my colony is the most successful. To do that, we will need a very powerful leader.
She moved her enlarging body down the hallway. She finished the few small drops of "Growth" potion left in the bowl, and began to slurp the spilled liquid off of the floor.
But, if I am to be successful, I will need more than just pitiful male drones, thought the Red Queen, staring at her unfertilized egg. I will need some female workers, who I can mold into powerful warriors. And to do that, I will need to breed.