"Why does the hive need my help, of all people?" There was just a hint of self-depreciation present in the spearmint-colored hybrid's tone. "Why not go for the president, or somebody like that, instead of some wanted criminal?"
Smiling, Chicle ran a hand through her rubbery hair. "Hey now, gorgeous, don't sell yourself short. Every living thing in the universe deserves this gift." She took a moment to plant a reassuring kiss on Gumartha's lips before continuing. "Truth is, your world is.... unusual. There's a whoooooooole lot of really weird stuff packed into this little blue dot. We tried invading in another timeline, just dropping out of the sky and assimilating everything in sight..." She sighed in contentment. "It was great for a few hours, but... then the Martians came and kicked our asses, and then your people kicked the martians in their ass, and then you gave us an ass kicking too for good measure."
There was quite a bit to unpack there. "Martians?" She was used to weird stuff, everybody was, what with all the magical creatures running around, all the transformative spells and artifacts you could get in stores, thousands of witches all over the place, those reptile alien battlemage ladies... but Martians? "And what do you mean 'in another timeline'? Did... did you travel back from the future?"
"Oh, Martians are total mood-killers," Chicle confirmed with a shake of her head. "No time travel, though! One of the worlds we assimilated had technology to view alternate futures, basically peering into other timelines to see how they played out. That's how we knew invading Earth would end in disaster - so instead, one of our lovely sisters had a better idea." She grinned and took both of the new hybrid's hands in her own. "Infiltration! We work behind the scenes, build up an army, then take the world at once. And all your fancy hacking skills are going to help us with that!"
Things were starting to click into place. She'd been an excellent hacker - but the sad truth was, nobody would miss Jack. No friends or family would mourn his disappearance. He'd been alone, a fugitive with nobody in his corner, nothing to look forward to. But that was different now - now Gumartha had purpose. Now she had a cause - a family. Billions and billions more like her who would love and adore her forever.
Hell of a step up from potentially rotting in a federal supermax. "Well then... whatever you need, just name it." Her heart was starting to beat a bit faster. Was this what it was like to belong? God, it was... it was incredible. It had to be shared with the world. "I should be able to get into any system on this planet... so where do you want me to start?"