When I woke up, it was to darkness. I found a kind of fluid was surrounding my body, and for the first time since I changed in the locker, I felt a bit grossed out. I guess that would be another downside I hadn't considered. I reached upwards, pushing at my shell with my hands until I felt it begin to give out.
Then, I accidentally tipped my head forwards, and the giant spikes growing out of my head shatter it. Whoops.
I tip all the way out and end up on my ass. It's... kind of hard to balance, actually. I'm a little top-heavy. I get to my feet, and shiver in the cold I can now feel- the cold the bugs are probably feeling, too. It is January, even if Brockton Bay tends towards warm winters.
I shake out my arms, my legs, and my head- and then my wings. Oh!
I turn my head enough to see them, and shake them out behind me. They're kind of small, but... I take a leap, spread them, catch the air, and let them lift me up- before I drop back down to the ground again with a small thud. Not very strong, though. Maybe I'll grow into them?
I start walking down what used to be my throat, up and up the coiled passageways, until I reach my former mouth. I look out over the sewer, with the nearest bit of electric light some distance away, the only light illuminating the cavern was my own. I leap out, spread my wings, and glide a ways down to the sewer wall, sliding slightly in the grime. Yeah... if we're going to live here, I'm going to have to order a thorough, repeated, cleaning of this place.
Ongoing cleaning.
I was getting shivers down my spine.
I make my way down, closer to the nearest cocoon, and try to call up an image- only to not have it come. I can't just see this bug's entire life play out before me like a highlight reel anymore. I sit down, concentrating- the light around me concentrates, growing brighter, and I begin to see images fade in.
A cockroach, different from the last one I saw. This one... becomes a soldier of mine. He does because when he came out of his cocoon, he saw me standing over him and... felt inspired.
I wait, then, until the shell begins to crack open, and take the hand that pushes through it. I pull him out, and then step back as he uses his other arm to shield his eyes. "What..?" he asks.
"Welcome to the world." I say, before looking to the side, and walking to the next cocoon. Without anything better to do, he follows me hesitantly. This one breaks as well, and I pull the fuzzy form of the filter fly out, her antenna brushing against the shell of my face as she looks up at me. I help her step out, and move on to the next.
There were hundreds of them, maybe more than a thousand just in this stretch of sewer alone. How many hundreds of thousands more throughout the rest of the tunnel?
I pull more and more out, and after a few seconds, the cockroach and filter fly share a look, and start helping as well. Along with more members of their species there were also moths, snails, maggots, and the occasional beetle. All of them with brand new humanoid bodies, expressive faces, and a mind that was for the first time taking in their surroundings with more than just instinct. More joined in the first two in helping others, gathering them up in a group, following me.
Some of the moths spread out their wings, taking to the air and helping down those who stuck to the ceilings and walls on the opposite side of the river that cuts through the center of the tunnel.
It's a magical moment. Already, I think I'm getting attached. These are their first moments with sapience, and the very first thing they see are bugs helping bugs, and so the very first thing they do with intelligent thought is join in and help too. None of these creatures are social ones. They don't have any drive to help their fellow bugs. This is all purely learning by copying, with maybe a bit of human compassion.
I'm the center of attention due to my living light bulb nature, but I let them have a period of adjustment before I say anything, letting them get their bearings when it came to their new mode of life. A few of them took unbalanced steps, not used to the way their bodies were now shaped, but just like I did, they get used to it relatively quickly. Eventually, though, I jump into the air, and then flash out my wings, getting even higher, drawing the attention of just about every bug there.
"Hello." I say, "I'm sure you're all confused." I begin, "But don't worry, this is a good thing. My light- whatever bugs I shine it on, change. Become more intelligent. I've shone my light in the building above us," I say, pointing towards the top of the tunnel, "And down these tunnels." I say, pointing into the depths that still sparkled with fragments of cocoons, "We're the only intelligent bugs in the world. And we need to stay together, so that we can protect each other, and help each other."
I look around, seeing the crowd begin to murmur and talk among themselves. That first cockroach who I helped looks around for a bit, before turning towards me and making his way through the crowd, shielding his eyes, "What... what do you need us to do?" he asked.
"...First," I say, "We need to get supplies."
"Supplies?"
I gesture to the cocoons deeper in the tunnel, only visible by the tiny glittering of their lights, "I think the more light you're exposed to, the faster you'll change." I explain, "I spent the most time right here, so you bugs are the first ones to hatch, and hatched fastest. But eventually, all of the cocoons down the path will hatch, and I want bugs waiting for them, to help them and guide them towards our headquarters, which I'm planning to be at the end of the path."
"Why do we need supplies for that, can't we walk?" a maggot asked.
"Because it's going to be a long, long distance. And we're more intelligent now. You don't have to walk everywhere, we can use tools to help us." I look upwards, "Above us is a building called Winslow. It's a school, for humans, which means it has lots of different kinds of supplies." I look out over the crowd, "Stuff like food, weapons, and materials to build with."
As I look back down, I notice a
large number of heads and antenna perk up at the mention of food. And interest in weapons as well.
"There are rats and amphibians, and even ordinary bugs that can't be transformed." I say, "Most of you are bigger and stronger, and smarter, than when you were ordinary bugs. But those things will
still be dangerous to us. We want to be prepared going forwards. We'll also probably want to act quickly. There should be other bugs who've been exposed to the light up there, and will probably hatch soon if they haven't already. We want to bring them with us."
I look towards the cockroach, and he straightens up slightly, walking towards me, "I'll go!" he turned behind him, "Anyone else want first pick of food and weapons?" For the most part, I see that the moths, snails, and filter-flies aren't interested, and the maggots too afraid to volunteer, but the roaches and beetles, however, seemed eager at the thought.
I begin leading the way around a corner, past more cocoons that haven't yet opened up, and see a pipe with a slow, constant waterfall leading off of it. "That... was not there when I came out of it." I said to myself, frowning. Was someone
using the gross shower with the missing drain? I wouldn't have been brave enough for that. But then I realized that all the water from the showers was probably coming out right now. Maybe from other pipes across the school as well. I didn't really need to worry about water in my big worm form.
"Well." I say, frowning, "We'll have to find another way in."
