Stirring up a hornet's nest.

Watching the events unfold all around her, Susan sat on the ground and watched while keeping Reed close for his own safety and hers. The rest of the Fantastic Four stayed nearby and kept their guard up, waiting for the gene trigger to do its work. And from all the screams from the creatures on the ground, it was.

All around them, dozens of creatures fell to their knees, clawing at themselves and screeching so loud, some of her friends and loved ones clutched at their ears to block out the terrible noise. When Tony shot the cannister filled with the gene trigger, the explosion flooded the entire area with the compound. the chemical clouded the air like a thick blue fog, and after it fell over the swarm that had lunged forward to attack, they fell to the ground screaming as the compound was absorbed through their skin or from being inhaled by the rest of the Avengers and their spawn.

The looks on their twisted faces were not of any pain; she knew that from her own experience with the compound. No, it was pure terror. Whatever had overtaken their minds, warping them, perverting them, was suddenly losing its grip over them. The screams they gave off were not their own but of the hive consciousness dying in their minds, their core selves finally free and gasping for air now that they were not being subsumed by the oppressive will of the swarm.

“Stay close to me Suzie.” Reed whispered, keeping his eyes open to the flailing bodies reacting violently to the trigger shutting down their metabolism.

Then a blast rocked the lawn when Thor sent Carol back to the ruins of the mansion, the creature screaming at the top of her lungs as he kept her in place by Mjolnir like an anchor and the trigger flooded her veins. Already there were those who had been completely overtaken by the compound and staggered back to their feet, lost, and confused. Looking around numbly as if they did not recognise their surroundings or each other.

Darting her head to the sight of someone stumbling out of the blue mist, Susan found a six-armed female grasping at her throat with one of her many hands before falling to her knees and covering her face with another pair of hands from her sides, coming to terms with what she had done, and what she had become. When Black Widow pulled her hands away from her face, she blinked back at Susan Storm as if recognising her for the first time. Her mandibles and prehensile fangs were gone, giving the woman her humanoid face back, a face still framed by a pair of horns and long flowing tentacles that draped down her shoulders and back like her formally red locks. Very quickly, Hawkeye became visible behind her, falling to one knee and suddenly being tackled by the woman in an embrace after the man rested a hand over her shoulder. The tentacled man reciprocated the hug back, more than understanding of the whole experience.

Nearby, another female creature with a tail shambled out into the open air and spotted Susan and Reed on the ground, quickly making her way towards them and falling to her knees in front of the two. “Susan?” Hesitantly she reached out her clawed hand to the Invisible Woman as if to see if she were real, breathing in sharply when her finger pressed against smooth blue flesh over Susan’s cheek and chin. Trading looks between her, Reed and Steve nearby, the tiger woman turned tentacled creature looked like she would break down into tears, hugging herself and curling up on the spot.

“Susan? Please tell me this was all just one big nightmare…”

Sighing with relief, the Invisible Woman smiled back to the confused Tigra, resting a talon over the woman’s shoulder, Susan gasped when Tigra moved forward and wrapped her arms around her, burying her face into Susan’s shoulder.

“Welcome back Greer.”

Resting a hand over her swollen middle and extending a pair of arms out to hug the woman close. Tigra had regained her sense of self, her face and body roughly back to normal save for the horns, tentacle hair, and spurs running down her forearms and ankles, along with a stinger tail and spines running down her back.

Looking over the woman’s shoulder, Susan noticed the blue mist dissipating behind her and the rest of the Avengers stumbling into view. The Hulk was on his hands and knees, shaking his head and rubbing his face with his hand while Jen crouched next to him, checking him over. Joining the two, Ben and Alicia helped Banner to his feet, followed by the woman pulling Jennifer into an embrace. The maw, mandibles, and chitinous armor was gone from the Hulk’s visage, leaving the massive being in a roughly humanoid shape save for the horns at either side of his skull, the tentacles running down his spiny back and spurs down his arms and ankles. the Hulk squinting his eyes, looked over his hunched shoulder to see Ben smirking back at him.

“Hey der Banner, feelin any better?”

“Yes… What a nightmare. That creature, Lilith, she…”

Stopping mid-sentence, Bruce looked down at his massive hands, closing them into fists and reopening them. Feeling up his face and horns, he looked down at his solid and gigantic frame, blinking down in surprise at his size and mass and to his cousin, who shared in his expression.

“My mind! I’m ME!” Looking up with an almost frantic smile, the Hulk was beside himself. “I’m in control of myself.”

“It is good to have you back Doctor Banner.” Called out Thor, joining the group with Carol still hugging the man for support after her transition. Wrapping her wings around herself like a fire blanket, Carol’s face was a collage of guilt, shame, and horror. “It would seem the fog has returned us all to our better selves but trapped us these bodies.”

“I’m so sorry everyone.” Grimaced Reed. “it was the best I could come up with through my research.”

Helping his wife up to her feet and assisting her in supporting her added weight, Reed looked to the rest of the Avengers who now gathered around them. Free from Lilith’s control and their urges stabilized, the blue skinned creatures looked sheepishly back at the couple, still reeling from what had happened over the last few hours.

“Hey Thor.” Nodded Steve, still helping Tony up with the man’s arm draped over Cap’s shoulder. “That hammer wouldn’t happen to be able to make clothes for US… Would it?”

Before the tall Asgardian could answer, the entire team found themselves being clothed, their suits and costumes magically being conjured around them along with the aftereffect of red glowing runes fading around their bodies. Looking around them, even the other stray creatures caught in the blue mist were reclothed in generic clothing over their bodies, still stumbling about confused or still overwhelmed by the ordeal.

Looking up to the cause of all the new wardrobes they were all wearing, they found Scarlet Witch finishing her incantations and now fully clothed in her red costume, custom tailored to accommodate her added tail and fleshy cape, only now she had a hijab to wrap around her long tentacles behind her heavy crown of horns, almost as if she were embarrassed of them when she brought a hand up to check if they were still visible or not.

“I guess this will do.” Commented Jen, looking down at her green and purple one-piece suit and making a face to find it clashed horribly with her sky-blue skin. “Going to have to throw out my blue suits from now on, those weren’t cheap either.”

“Do any of you know where Lilith is?” Asked Tony, nodding to Steve that he could stand on his own feet again, clutching at his side. “We have to find and stop her before she escapes.”

“Yes, its imperative that we find and stop her before she manages to spread this across the country.”

Apprehensive, one by one the Avengers tried to remember what they had been through, the trauma still fresh as many of them looked squeamish over it all. Trading looks, Thor and Hulk nodded and looked back down at Reed.

“She… She WANTED something from us. Our powers.” Bruce answers, his eyes shifting as he tried to remember it all. “But not just using us as pawns, she did that, no… She wanted what we could do.”

Nodding, Carol separated from Thor, regaining her resolve, and trying to remember what happened. “Yes… I remember now. She took… Pieces of us… Consumed them… Said she was trying to reach something.”

“Uhm… Guys?” Johnny called out, waving everyone to see what he was seeing. “We STILL have a problem!”

Looking out from the rest of the property, the Avengers and Fantastic Four found themselves surrounded by the rest of the swarm. Hundreds of hissing and snarling creatures surround them, but also kept their distance, keeping up an aggressive front but never moving in for the kill. The rest of the blue skinned alien creatures huddled to join the heroic band, scared, and confused as to why they were still alive.

“What are they waiting for?”

“They’re penning us together; they don’t want us moving anywhere.”

“She KNOWS any exposure to us will convert them to our side.” Susan answered, seeing the swarms circle them. “She can see what the gene-trigger can do and how it can be transferred, she knows we’re dangerous now.”

“Oh God, PLEASE tell me I wasn’t rocking that look.” Shivered Tigra, eyeing one female creature who’s face looked like the open maw of a leech with rows of teeth and a barbed tongue.

Hugging herself more tightly, Carol looked up to Thor who diverted his eyes. “I… I think that was me for a bit.”

“LILITH!” Susan called out loud. “I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME THROUGH THE SWARM! SHOW YOURSELF. I KNOW YOU’RE STILL HERE! WHERE ARE YOU?”

A tremor could suddenly be heard from the still burning remains of the mansion, a tremor that was growing in intensity and could be felt through out the entire property. Th swarm then quickly backed away, giving room to whatever was coming. Smoldering wreckage shifted and creaked as something massive underneath began to move. Then the Earth began to crack, causing fire hydrants all around to burst and car alarms go off when a massive claw burst free from the ruins and slammed down on the ground, pulling the rest of itself free. Another claw reached out as the mansion foundation caved in and fell through a widening crater, then another claw and another reached out, followed by the deep rumbling of crumbling stone and groaning metal.

A mass of chitin and tentacles freed itself from the mansion, coiling and slithering out like a serpent with its many limbs and tentacles. Looking up at the gigantic creature as it freed itself from the wreckage, Susan gasped up at the sight, slowly tuning to trade a look with her frightened husband and back up at the leviathan that now stood 50 feet high and roughly 200 feet long. A hideous amalgamation of cephalopod, centipede and serpent, the creature finally pulled itself free and looked down with three serpentine heads, their forked tongues hissing between their teeth while their many eyes, three sets per head blinked and glaring down at the blue skinned species cornered by her swarms.

Staring up at her nightmare made flesh, Susan could only whisper out a question in total shock. “Lilith?”

“Hello… Mother…”