You emerged with the latest mandible-full of dirt for the construction of your nest with a great deal of concern in your mind. Doctor
Benjamin had broken his promise to keep the fact that you were a giant ant queen secret and had sent the security camera footage to his
superiors. He had also asked for someone's military to move in and try and capture you before the drones "rape" you and you began laying
eggs that would hatch into more giant ants. He didn't know that Hank had already become your drone and that you had mated with him and that
you would soon be laying eggs and that you now looked forward to mating with the other drones as well. But regardless of what he knew,
Doctor Benjamin was proving to be a serious threat to you and the colony's future. You never wanted to be poked and prodded by anyone,
getting the colony back to its ancestral home was in the best interest of your freedom. Doctor Benjamin had promised to make you a lab
animal, even if he had "good" intentions.
You ignored the other ants as they went into the shaft that had been dug to continue building your nest to move toward Hank Pym as your
first drone was feeding on a large beetle that your workers had stung, and that beetle then grew to great size. You could hear as his
mandibles crushed through the enlarged beetle's exoskeleton and his mouth behind them then chewed and ate the softer inside material of the
beetle. It represented some hope that your colony could be allowed to not only live but grow. After all, you did know that invertebrates
all bred in large numbers. You would lay lots of eggs that giant Divine Fire Ants would hatch from, the beetle likely laid or sired many
eggs to replace it, and there were other invertebrates in the Amazon. Your colony would be able to feed without doing damage to the Amazon
rainforest.
But Doctor Benjamin didn't know of that development, and given that he had already broken his promise, it was doubtful that he would accept
any report that Divine Fire Ant venom, which transformed you and Hank into a Queen and Drone ant respectively, enlarged invertebrates to
massive size. As such, you felt that you had to talk with Hank about some method to defend the colony from whatever threat would surely
come from Doctor Benjamin.
"Hank," you said to him as you approached him.
Hank paused in eating and turned his head to you as you reached him. You soon felt his antennae touch yours softly.
"Yes, Christine, my Queen," Hank spoke, sounding with the same undying love that you had heard in the rest of the colony, which made your
love for him grow in return.
"We need to talk about your partner, Hank," you said slowly.
Hank tilted his head in confusion and you decided to try and explain what was going on.
"As I'm sure you've noticed we can now all talk to each other telepathically," You began to say.
"Yes," Hank nodded, "It's something I plan to look into... or at least theorize on... why do you ask?"
"Because I've also been able to get some sense of things through the colony... and not just hearing them talk to me or being close enough
to "overhear" what they say to each other but that I see what they see and hear what they hear," you replied, "and since you joined us and
the rest of the colony grew... it's grown stronger..."
"A sort of hive-mind," Hank said slowly, "I suppose it would fit, since ants are social insects... and since you are the Queen Ant and most
important part of the colony, it would be perfectly understandable that you are the one who can see, hear, and feel all these things and
the colony is linked to you..."
You weren't quite sure if that was entirely it, since the ants that would be yours and Hank's children were still in the process of
developing into fully formed eggs in your abdomen. The workers that had stung you had done so because the queen that had died had not laid
an egg that was raised to replace the dead queen. However, you weren't that great at science so you weren't going to try and speculate on
Hank's theories.
"Maybe... but the thing is, remember the two ants I left to spy on Doctor Benjamin?" you asked.
"Yes..."
"Well... thanks to the greater strength of the link to the colony I could see and hear what they saw," you continued, "and Doctor Benjamin
has betrayed me... betrayed us. Contacted the company you worked for and told them of my transformation and sent security camera footage to
prove my existence as a giant ant queen and said that we're going to eat all the animals in the Amazon."
Hank then looked to the beetle he had been eating from.
"I'd figured this guy would prove that that would not be the case," Hank commented, "It'll mean we'll need to eat bugs for the rest of our
lives... but then hey... insects actually are delicacies in some cultures..."
"You don't need to convince me on that," you cut him off, "I've actually been growing more and more accustomed to the idea... it's like
when I was first stung I became an ant on the outside and now... I'm becoming one on the inside too... and I don't care... I might even
WANT to... but I will tell you what I do not want... I do not want to be some lab animal. I want to be left alone to lay my eggs in peace."
Hank began to caress your antennae and head with his antennae and you could feel love between the two of you.
"I still have my cellphone and the gear that we'll need for going deeper into the secrets of the Divine Fire Ant as a species," Hank
answered, "I figured that I'd send him an email from it once we're all safely underground."
"But what if that isn't enough?" you asked, "he talked about recruiting some military capture team..."
"To kill you?" Hank asked.
"To take me back to America to turn me back," you answered, "and if I still wanted that to happen... I would not be carrying three thousand
eggs at the moment."
"Three thousand..."
"Give or take a few hundred," you told him, "and that will surely grow when the other drones add their sperm to yours... and I don't know
how I know... I just... I just know."
"Instinct," Hank commented, "For the moment, Doctor Benjamin is not a threat. Even if the US or Brazil mobilize troops, it'll take a day or
two for them to even reach the company camp. By then we will be underground and the nest hidden. We can then send the message that will let
him know that we can feed on insects without fear of starving ourselves or eating everything in sight. Once he knows that, Doctor Benjamin
will calm down a bit... he really isn't a bad guy..."
"And suppose he doesn't believe you? Suppose he wants proof? Can your phone take pictures?" you asked.
"Actually... no," Hank said slowly.
"And if he wants proof?"
Hank didn't immediately answer, which only added to your nervousness. This surely meant that the answer wouldn't be a good one.
"We may have to give it to him," Hank answered, "Leave the carcass of this beetle outside the nest and direct him to it. It'll mean greater
exposure... but to be honest, my Queen... complete secrecy probably went out the door the instant he saw you. We may need to give some of
our daughters to them for experiments or work outside the colony or accept them bringing stuff here and conducting experiments here."
"If ANYONE does experiments," you said firmly, "it will be you. I trust you not to do anything to hurt our daughters."
Hank only caressed you with his antennae again. The answer he gave you wasn't good in the sense that you'd get a happy ending and would be
left alone and you guessed that he was feeling your unease radiate off of you, which probably meant that the colony's "hive-mind" didn't
just go to you but went both ways.