Danny's new master (Arcfa22GS2598LZa, or "Arc") was delighted with the quality of the slave it had acquired. In spite of a shocking amount of scar tissue, Arc otherwise found its new host to be in excellent physical shape, with finely-honed reflexes and precise muscle control. The host was a highly decorated soldier with a comprehensive mastery of human combat tactics and techniques: Even though Arc was a veteran of many invasions, it was shocked by its young host's extensive array of combat memories. The host also had a very quick, disciplined mind--not powerful enough to challenge Arc's overriding control of the host's body, but sufficiently willful to maintain a constant low-level interference with Arc's coprocessing efforts. It was nothing Arc couldn't handle, but it was annoying and--unlike some hosts that embraced their subordinate role joyfully--this host seemed unlikely to embrace his subjugation.

Before they made the journey to Earth, the Hierarchy had briefed Arc and other broodlings about Earth, which had basically portrayed a peaceful, fat, and indolent planet that would easily yield to the discipline of the Brood. But this host seemed to have been in a nearly constant state of war almost from the moment of maturity. It wouldn't be the first time the Hierarchy had provided its invading forces an inaccurate picture of what they would be facing, but Arc took pride in how it and its fellow broodmates had triumphed in much worse situations.

For that reason, Arc had been delighted to learn that its longtime comrade, GLaau18yP343Rn (also known to his colleagues as Glau), would once again be its commander on this invasion. Despite previously falling out of favor with the Hierarchy, Glau had apparently become very influential since joining this invasion. As a sign of that influence, Glau (now controlling a human Marine Captain named Karl Langston) had been allowed to hand-pick broodlings for an important mission, and had chosen many former comrades from their old unit. Based on its host's memories, Arc realized that its and Glau's human hosts were also former comrades in arms and veterans of the same fierce battles (although serving under different national human hierarchies). As Arc drove through the sparse 3 a.m. traffic back to meet Glau, it wondered what Glau had planned for them.

For a brief moment, Arc could feel the resistance from his host ebb. Apparently his human was also curious to learn more about their new mission.

---------------

Back at the barracks, Taylor tossed and turned as he worried about Danny. Gary was a trusted comrade and had put his life on the line for Danny and his team time and again, but he couldn't help worrying that something had happened. Gary had certainly fed those concerns with his ominous, cryptic messages, and it wasn't like Danny to go so long without checking in with at least a te...

Taylor's phone buzzed and his heart did gymnastics as he scrambled to grab and unlock it.

"Sry--Gary made jump thru ALL hoops & leave cell in car. Talked forever. Fine, but need to dbrf w/Karl. Don't wait up... make up later." Taylor sighed, both in relief and irritation. Like he'd be able to sleep after all that. Instead of counting sheep, Taylor counted all the things he planned to do to Danny once he returned.

-------

"Hmm. Something about you looks different," Karl mused as Danny entered his office. "No, don't tell me... new haircut?"

Danny scoffed and shook his head. "Christ, Glau... I mean Karl. It's 03:30 in the a.m. and yet here you are, moving chess pieces around the board and busily enslaving humanity. Don't you ever sleep?"

Karl nodded affably. "I'm trying a new 7-hours-up, one-hour-down rotation. We'll see if that's sustainable, but this is a critical period for the invasion and this body seems to be holding up so far."

"Speaking of bodies, thanks for this, by the way," Danny said, gesturing toward his body. "I was worried about my placement--I heard most of the broodmates in my transit were assigned to local politicians and to medical imaging techs. No offense to them all, but this is definitely more my speed," Danny said.

Karl nodded sagely. "Hopefully the mission will be more to your liking, as well. And I think you'll find your host's skills to be useful as you proceed: your assignment is going to be unusually risky."

Danny looked confused. "But I thought the invasion had been going well? When the last superhero was taken, the homeworld was all abuzz about the Brood's inevitable victory here, especially since the Hierarchy finally approved the delivery of queens to Earth."

"That's the official line," Karl said glumly, "but as with a lot of the tales the Hierarchy tells us, the real story is far less cheerful. Yes, after almost five years here we control millions of hosts, the most powerful nation-state, and the League. But our slow, steady expansion carries a constant risk of exposure, and there have been too many near-misses already. Unlike most other worlds we have conquered, people and information flow easily across great distances here, and there is no unified human political or military or media hierarchy to subvert. Almost every human is constantly connected to a worldwide information network and carries high-quality video and audio recording equipment. It's a distributed surveillance state! It will only take one slip to tip the planet into overt war--and even with the help of the supers, that's a war we would probably lose.

"But what about Gary's group?" Danny asked. "Aren't they a real threat to expose the invasion? Even though I understand Gary is a double agent working for you, the rest of the members seemed pretty well-informed about us, and it seems like they have good tradecraft."

Karl smiled. "They're a clever and careful group, but we've been pretty successful at using Gary and Invisitor to manage them. It really is helpful to have an invisible super on your team."

"Don't I know it!" Danny chuckled, wincing slightly as the rage from his suppressed host bubbled through his suppression momentarily. "But how are you defeating the ultrasound spinal scans like the one they used on me?"

Karl nodded. "Those scanners definitely would be a threat...if Invisitor hadn't secretly turned the member of their group who interprets their scans. At this point we control enough members of the group that we could probably roll it up in a day if we wanted to. But we decided to let them keep operating to give us early warning of genuine security risks and to act as a honey pot for us to identify and subvert any other potential resistance groups."

"Wow, I'm glad we're on the same team, Karl," Danny said appreciatively. "You are even more devious than I remembered! So what are my orders?"

Karl nodded. "As you probably guessed after hearing about the fake screenings, the main purpose of this entire NATO exercise has been to start bringing all the NATO militaries under our control. If we can get all of the armed and police forces in our grip across the globe, the risk of war drop dramatically. Each of the transport planes taking the participants back to their home countries will have some extra stowaways that won't show up on the official manifest, and we'll use them to establish beachheads in each of the countries, with a secret escort of supers to help clean up if things get hairy."

"That does sound risky," Danny said, "But my team has pulled off crazier shite," he laughed.

Karl nodded. "Yes, when I thought of shit, I thought of your team. Speaking of which, Taylor and Alan are the only two remaining wargame participants without masters, so you should send them for their 'testing" ASAP. Then we're going to have a leaders-only strategy session at 14:00 to discuss how to best manage the infiltration of your countries' militaries once you return. While the leaders are doing that, we'll have the other team members turn the flight crews and loadmasters of your return flights."

Danny shook his head. "I'll send Alan to the trailers for the testing, but I'll take care of Taylor meself. He felt bad about betraying and mind-controlling my host in the Lithuanian simulation and wanted to make it up to him."

Karl laughed. "Well, turnabout is fair play! Check with Frank when we're done and he can set you up with another good candidate for Taylor's new master. I was able to get most of our old squad delivered with our most recent shipment of broodmates. Actually..." Karl pulled out a sheaf of index cards and flipped through them, then pulled out a card and waved it triumphantly, "...looks like your old buddy Eral was in this shipment. You two were quite...friendly, as I recall?"

Danny's face reddened, "Ah. Nothing ever gets by you, does it? I'm not sure why I even bother pretending to keep secrets!"

Karl nodded. "Well, it's good practice, even if it's a fool's errand. I see all! Here, give Eral's card to Karl and he'll track down the right crate and tube. Tell Eral I said 'hi!' Oh, and I almost forgot: Try to make sure you're done... reacquainting yourself with Eral by around 13:30. I'd like for you to meet a consultant we've brought in from the Cebeld Graduate School. I've got a special project I'm planning with her, and I'd like to have you hear her pitch, too."

Danny nodded. "Never too late to learn something new," he chuckled to himself.

---------

Taylor rolled over and blearily awoke just enough to notice a hushed conversation occurring outside his door. He couldn't make out what was being said, but he smiled as he realized that the voices belonged to Alan and Danny. "Finally," he muttered to himself.

Alan quietly came into the room first, silently closing the door before noticing Taylor was awake. "Ah, you're finally awake. Sarge has returned from his mysterious late-night tour of the finest watering holes of San Diego, apparently. He told me the Ministry has approved us getting screened for Zika, so he asked me to take care of that ASAP... the early bird gets the worm!"

Taylor nodded and looked at Alan innocently. "Ah, I imagine that will probably take a while... Probably at least an hour with those long, long lines. I didn't get much sleep so I'll take care of my testing later."

Alan gave a little snort of amusement as Danny came into the room. "Looks like Taylor wants to get some more beauty sleep, too, Sarge. Hopefully his snoring won't disturb your well-earned slumber?"

Danny chuckled as Alan quickly excused himself. Turning to Taylor, he said, "You weren't planning on disturbing me, were you, youth?"

"I wouldn't dream of it, especially since you were Out. All. Night!" Taylor said, thumping Danny's chest for emphasis. "Last night was supposed to be my chance to make up for selling you out to the mind controllers in yesterday's wargame. And I don't like to leave my debts unpaid!"

Danny smiled broadly. "Don't worry... I think by the time Alan gets back we'll be squared up. Speaking of which, I wanted to try something a little different this time," Danny said reaching for his pack.

Taylor raised his eyebrows curiously. "Did you fit a little shopping into your late-night adventure?"

Danny just smiled cryptically, then pulled out a black silk sleep mask and tossed it to Taylor. Taylor giggled a little and slipped it over his eyes, then sat expectantly.

Once Taylor's eyes were covered, Danny's smile dropped and his face became emotionless. Danny pulled off his shirt. Arc had moved its body to the surface and was glowing softly as it sent impulses through Danny's skin and nerves to Eral, who was glowing brightly on Danny's stomach, eagerly anticipating its new host. Danny gently lifted Eral gently off of his skin, then moved it toward Taylor's patiently waiting body.

But then Danny's body seized up as Arc tried to move Eral into contact with Taylor's defenseless spine. Arc was shocked: it hadn't had a host successfully defy its control of a fully-merged host since, well... ever. Arc tried to redirect the host's thoughts with distracting memories, then shifted to highlighting horrible past injuries, but the host's mind would not yield its focus. In exasperation, Arc disabled the connection between the host's spine and arms, rerouting control through itself and a secondary nerve channel. The host's mind seemed shocked and anguished, but Arc was able to isolate the emotional output and shunt it back to the host. With Arc back in control of Danny's body, he reached over and gently pressed Eral into place.

Taylor smiled and twitched nervously at the unexpected contact, but then looked confused as Eral spread itself flat against Taylor's spine. When Eral had a firm connection to the back, it started piercing Taylors skin, sending thin tendrils that interfaced with his spinal cord. Taylor's confusion deepened into pained alarm and his arms began to rise to remove his mask. But after Taylor tensed and shuddered, his arms limply dropped to his side as Eral began to glow brightly on Taylor's spine. Taylor took a deep breath and smiled and removed his mask, gazing at Danny with his glowing blue eyes.

"It's good to see you again, Arc, or should I say Danny!" Taylor said as Danny pulled him closer. "I thought that after they disbanded our unit that I'd never lay eyes on you again, and we definitely had some unfinished business."

Danny nuzzled Taylor's ear and smiled broadly. "I gave up hope when I heard you had been assigned to the planetary scouts, but here we are, together again. Even better, on this world our hosts have established a prior physical relationship, so there will be no need for us to conceal our feelings: it will just appear that we are maintaining our cover."

Taylor embraced Danny and whispered into his ear, "So let's get under the covers and see what these bodies can do!"

And for only the second time since Arc had taken control of Danny's body, the angry voice in his head quieted as Danny began exploring Eral's new host, inside and out.

-------------------

As Alan walked up to the long line of soldiers outside the screening trailers, he wondered why the MoD had changed their minds about this totally unnecessary screening. They were going to be leaving the States in less than 24 hours, and he hadn't seen a single mosquito in his entire time in California. "Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die," he muttered to himself. "It's a British Army tradition... but hopefully with a better outcome this time!"

Speaking of massacres, Alan contemplated the number of trees that had been murdered for all of these completely unnecessary forms a cheerful MP had handed him as he walked up to the trailer. Couldn't he just do all this on his phone? But soon enough, Alan stopped worrying about whether he would ever finish all the forms and began to worry that the surprisingly fast-moving line would deliver him to the front of the queue before he had finished dotting every i and crossing every t.

Alan was even more surprised by the upbeat staffers who were running the screening. He again looked at the cheerful, smiling American MPs who were handing out the forms to the soldiers arriving in the line and contemplated how few other times in his military service he had seen similarly cheerful military police. While he'd managed to coax an occasional sly smile out of one or two Redcaps over the years, the default vibe he'd gotten from the monkeys was somewhere between "hostile" and "guarded." And from what he could see of the lab coat-wearing medical technicians who were eagerly collecting the completed forms, they were cheerful to a fault, too. Maybe they really believed in their mission; maybe it was just the effect of the pleasant California weather; maybe they were all peaking or melted (although presumably not the MPs!).

Alan's reverie was interrupted as one of the cheerful medical technicians grabbed his paperwork and led him to one of the entrances to the trailer. Alan realized that one of the reasons the line had moved so quickly is that the trailers were subdivided into a series of smaller testing rooms. As he checked in with another soldier at the entrance to the testing room, Alan peered in to the trailer to try to see what the test was like. He saw another medical technician standing next to what he assumed was the test equipment--which looked surprisingly basic, even for army medical equipment. As the smiling MP pulled the thick, insulated door open Alan noticed the bland and emotionless expression on the medical technician's face. But as soon as the technician saw Alan enter the testing room, his face immediately morphed into a wide, enthusiastic smile.

"Please take off your jacket and shirt and hang them on the hook behind you," the technician said.

Alan thought about objecting, but since the testing seemed to be a quick affair, he reasoned that it didn't make sense to throw a wobbly. Alan actually did grumble and complain when another technician pointed to the test equipment, saying "Place your chin at the bottom of that circular opening in the scanner. Let me know if I need to raise or lower the opening to make it more comfortable for you. The main test is optical, but we do take some skin conductance measures as a secondary marker for infection, so please place your wrists onto this metal bar, which will serve as a ground for the electrical conductance tests. Hold still while I strap your head into the optical scanner," the tech said as he pulled the industrial velcro tightly against the back of Alan's head, pinning him tightly to the machine.

"Just let me make a few more adjustments to the scanner's positioning, and then we'll add the skin conductance strip to your spinal column. You might feel a cold, moist sensation as we attach it," the tech continued.

As Alan wondered when the testing would begin, he felt the tech place a surprisingly squishy and cold object onto his back. Alan tried to hide his disgust and shock so that the test could proceed, but was surprised when the object on his back seemed to start moving around. "Is it supposed to be doing..." Alan asked with alarm, before his train of thought was derailed as he felt a series of sharp pinpricks up and down his spine. Alan tried to yell that something had gone wrong, but almost the second after the pain had started, it morphed into the most exquisite feeling Alan had ever experienced.

As his mind floated for a while and Alan marveled at the complex and beautiful sensations that were radiating from the object on his spine, he dimly realized that his body was standing and saying something to the tech. Alan struggled to understand how his body now seemed to be operating completely outside his control, but his ability to process what was happening to him was short-circuited by the overwhelming pleasure that was reverberating around his brain. Alan had heard of mind-blowing pleasure before, but now he felt like the term was only a faded invocation of the tidal wave that surrounded and subdued his consciousness.

"You are my host. I am your master," a powerful, charismatic voice said in his mind, and Alan knew instinctively that it was true. His master was the infinitely powerful source of this mind-melting pleasure, and Alan felt himself agreeing to relinquish his claim on his body in exchange for his master continuing to provide it to his weak, off-balance mind.

"Good. Accept your place. You will serve me well," his master thought to Alan as he amped up the waves of pleasure. Alan was glad that he no longer had control of his body since he would certainly be embarrassing himself--his master made sure that the Alan's whimpers of pleasure stayed locked up in his brain where no one could hear them. Alan could also feel changes being made to his values and personality, which he eagerly accepted as right and proper. His master was so smart and powerful that serving it was a privilege, not a task.

Alan's master turned out to be a grizzled veteran of multiple invasions, and had controlled many high-spirited hosts in the past. His master kindly took a moment to explain to Alan exactly how his tendrils had infiltrated and taken control of his nervous system, and how even now one of the tendrils it had extended into his brain was stimulating his pleasure centers.

"No wonder everyone working here looks so happy,"Alan's mind thought placidly. They had such beatific expressions on their faces because they were being endlessly pleasured by their benevolent masters and the burdens of struggling through their daily lives had been lifted from them. His master used its amazing electrical sensing organs to show Alan the other hosts surrounding him lovingly serving their masters. He could feel sadness welling up in his mind as his master showed him the lines of masterless soldiers waiting patiently outside the trailers. He could only smile as his master reminded him that--like him--they would soon be experiencing the bliss of service. Alan smiled as he handed his now-irrelevant paperwork to the smiling MP waiting at the foot of the stairs, and as their hands touched briefly he could sense the message the MP's master transmitted through his skin: "Welcome to Earth, brother!"

--------

Danny sat staring off into space at a conference table in Karl's office as he awaited the return of his superior. Danny was still a little overwhelmed after his joining with Eral and his human host Taylor. After serving on multiple planets and controlling multiple hosts, Arc was no stranger to how host species reproduced. The Brood had often leveraged the mating impulse in their hosts to help advance their spread during invasions. But Arc had never been joined with a species that had evolved its reproductive process so distinctly into a tool for bonding and pleasure separate from actual reproduction.

Arc had frankly been unprepared for how intensely the human nervous system and the Brood's own delicate electrical sense organs would reinforce each other at the height of the comingling of their essences. From what he could tell from his host's stunned reaction after the peak of the activity, the level and depth of sensation had also been novel to Danny. Unfortunately, the resulting reduction in his host's resistance had been fleeting: Even now the stubborn host fruitlessly continued to try to pry open Arc's grip on his mind. While he did not relish taking any action that might damage such a fine, spirited host, Arc had to consider the possibility of more drastic measures if....

Arc's line of thought was derailed as Karl strode briskly into the room. "I take it your conversion of Taylor and re-acquaintance with Eral went...well?"

Danny's face blushed as Arc (and Danny, himself, Arc noted) thought about the intense coupling. Since the completion of that coupling, Arc had found that his host's incessant resistance had only strengthened... but was noticeably weaker when Arc contemplated the next bonding opportunity. It seemed like the human copulative impulses had the capacity to short-circuit their higher critical though functions. But Arc realized he had not yet answered Karl.

"It is pleasing to serve again with Eral, and to be able to provide him with such an excellent host," Danny said. "When the Hierarchy disbanded and scattered our unit, I thought we would never see one another again."

Karl's face darkened momentarily then shifted to a more affable expression. "I admit to harboring some hostility to the Hierarchy after the incident on Kowphank. I have become convinced that there are some members of the Hierarchy who could better serve the Brood in other capacities."

Danny looked pained, but nodded. "You know that we all supported you. We are all willing to lay down our lives in service of the Queen of All, but those orders..."

Karl sighed heavily as he interrupted. "Actually, one of the reasons I used my newfound influence to arrange for members of our old unit to be reassigned to me is my fear that we are about to repeat the Hierarchy's past mistakes again here on Earth. I don't think the Queen of All is getting accurate information about the unique challenges her broodlings are facing here on Earth, and handling it incorrectly might be more threatening to the whole species than she realizes."

Danny looked concerned. "You mentioned the risk of open conflict earlier, but surely that risk can be contained here on Earth, regardless of how poorly things might go? With fall of the Heroic League, it seems like any threat is localized to this planet, and you and I both know the Hierarchy is not shy about sacrificing a few broodlings to achieve their aims."

Karl shook his head. "The Hierarchy does not have all the information, as usual. The League is not the only threat about which the Hierarchy--and the homeworld--should be concerned." Karl was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Speaking of which, this should be the consultant I mentioned, who is an expert on this subject. Cecelia!" Karl said loudly, "We're ready for you!"

As Danny looked at the woman as she entered, he was surprised at her beauty--not just her physical appearance, but also her pure and radiant aura. Arc noted with surprise that she was bereft of a master, but her smooth-edged and bright aura was among the brightest he had ever seen. Curiously, he noted that Karl's aura had brightened and clarified noticeably when she entered the room. "Looks like Karl--and Glau--are interested in a little coupling of their own!" he thought to himself.

"Arc, this is Cecelia Metz, the Chancellor of the Cebeld Graduate School. She's been serving as a consultant for us as we've tried to be more nimble and adaptable to local circumstances and better understand the threats this planet faces," Karl said with enthusiasm.

Danny's head swiveled in surprise as Karl revealed Arc's real name to the uncontrolled human. He briefly wondered if it was an inadvertent slip of the tongue... but neither Karl nor Glau ever did anything inadvertently. Both Arc and his host separately intuited there was something odd going on here, but they had no idea what game Karl was playing.

"It's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you and am looking forward to working with you!" Cecelia said as she clasped Danny's hand warmly.

As both Danny and Arc pondered what else Karl might have told her in addition to his broodling name, Cecelia continued talking and gripping Danny's hand. "I know people in the military tend to think of us academics as being ivory-tower intellectuals pushing strange, impractical ideas, but I have always believed that just a few of the right people wielding the right ideas can change the world!"

Arc and his host were now more confused and off-balance than ever. To Arc, it looked like Cecelia's powerful aura was twisting and extending itself down her arm, and her touch seemed be forming a bridge into Arc and his host. Arc's consciousness was being buffeted by a cyclone of electrical and chemical impulses, eroding, shaping, and reconfiguring his mind. It was impossible, Arc thought to himself plaintively. The Brood do the shaping, not humans! Meanwhile, his host seemed lost in a veritable ocean of warmth and affection that made the earlier coupling seem like a chaste peck on the cheek. He could feel Danny's increasing love and dedication to Cecelia swelling by the moment as all of Danny's senses seemed to white out in complete devotion and ecstasy.

Then Arc understood. If Cecelia were a mere human, she could not have bent both Danny and Arc to her will so easily. Danny and Arc felt their thinking coalesce and reverberate around a truth they both shared to their core: Cecelia was a goddess.

No, Cecelia was their goddess!

And they would serve her.

----------

Cecelia looked around the table with satisfaction. The past three days had been draining and stressful as she traveled to what was effectively enemy-controlled territory and exhausted herself enchanting more than two dozen key Brood-controlled soldiers and officials. Her fellow members of the Hall of Doom had tried to convince her to abandon the bold plan, arguing that if she were captured and enslaved, they would all be doomed, so to speak.

But the Doomers were not a democracy, and while Cecelia would probably pay a cost for defying the consensus of the other supervillains, it was worth it (she hoped). She had become extremely impressed with Karl (and Glau) over the weeks since Starling and Owlson had helped arrange for him to be turned. While she only had a small number of her devoted followers strategically placed among the Brood, their coordinated action had discreetly helped lower the stock of Glau's rivals and raise his stature, especially after he had successfully arranged for the infiltration and sidelining of the Panopticon resistance. Now that she had identified and gained control of Glau's immediate superiors in the Brood Hierarchy, he had been given far greater discretion and resources to help advance her interests (and those of the other Doomers, of course).

Arranging for the NATO expansion to be coordinated through his command was risky and came with far greater scrutiny from the Hierarchy, but if Glau was correct in concluding that one of the planetary Queens would likely be located in Europe soon to foster that expansion, having her enslaved thralls leading the European invasions would enhance their chances of defeating the invasion from within.

As she charged her thralls with protecting and expanding her power, she was pleased to see that the ideas were creative and the discussion was raucous. In her and the other Doomers' observation of the Brood and its decision-making, it was clear that while individual broodmates were highly intelligent and adaptable, the Hierarchy was rigid and doctrinaire and tended to treat its human resources as file cabinets of information and not true collaborations. In contrast, Cecelia's thralls (both parasite and host) worked collaboratively and with one clear purpose: Serving her.

Glau had argued passionately (with Karl's complete support) that the Brood were proceeding far too conventionally and slowly in their invasion of Earth, and that their risk aversion would doom their effort (or at least burn their prize to a radioactive cinder). So at least for now, Cecelia and her thralls would help ensure the Brood invasion did not fail (and did not succeed too thoroughly). Then they would work in the shadows to undermine the invasion from within and ensure that ultimately the Brood on Earth would follow--and not lead--humanity.