Three men, one hostage. Armed, by the looks of it, Alex thought.The red-headed girl crouched in the cover of the branches above, observing diligently as she watched the party set up their night camp below. Her bare body shivered slightly in the night breeze, but she didn't mind. She didn't plan on staying in human form for long, anyway.Her green eyes squinted as she made note of additional details from the makeshift camp. From what she could tell, the hostage was the daughter of a local politician, currently chained to the trunk of a large tree. One of the men – the leader, she assumed – stood to the side, fumbling with his cell phone, while the other two were standing guard around the girl with their guns drawn."Damn coverage. How the hell we s'posed to call in our demands if we ain't got no signal?" the boss yelled angrily, slapping the phone against his palm. "Shoulda gone with X-Mobile, boss," yapped one of the guards as the other chuckled."Shut your trap, Clint. You wanna get paid or not?" The boss was starting to get red in the face.She smirked. Clearly not professionals, she thought to herself.As the trio bickered around the campfire below, Alex decided this would be her opening. She shifted her body into position, making sure her grip on the branches and trunk were solid.Time to do your thing, slimeball, she thought to the alien ooze residing within her. Immediately, the pair of tattoos adorning her arms – each depicting a set of segmented, green claws – glowed in the darkness, followed by a growing mass of slick green tendrils that shot out and began enveloping the fair skin of her naked form.Alex had learned to enjoy the transformation process, smiling as she felt her body wrapped tightly by the living, rubbery substance. Through practice, she had even learned to speed it up by concentrating and embracing the changes as they altered her body, a useful skill despite her preference for taking her time and savoring her metamorphosis. The tendrils weaved in and out of her with increasing fervor, between cracks and around fingers and toes, until her body was nearly completely covered in the brilliant green substance.She loosened her fingers' grip on the branch as she felt the bone structure within cracking, giving way to the hardened exoskeleton that her skin was forming into. She felt the now-familiar sensation of her forearms thickening into barbed sleeves, her fingers melding into a single giant claw jointed at what was once her wrist. Instinctively, she smiled as she flexed her newly reformed limbs, the sharp points digging effortlessly into the branches to recover some of her lost stability.The skin on her legs followed suit as it thickened into a flexible yet sturdy carapace. The soft soles of her feet hardened as well, while her toes splayed and extended into segmented claws, giving her additional grip as they dug into the soft bark beneath. Behind her, an additional pair of insectoid legs sprouted from her back, while a majestic pair of veiny wings stretched out from her aft carapace, causing her to shudder as they instinctively fluttered in the still air. Her form, now somewhere between woman and bug, stretched gracefully as she readied herself for the last step of her transformation.Alex called upon the alien entity, signaling that she was ready. The green substance, which had been almost hesitant as it waited around her neck, flared to life, engulfing her head and her long, brilliant hair. She almost gagged as it entered her nose, her mouth, even her eyes, fusing with her flesh. As it merged, she felt her skull expanding, smoothing into an insectoid shell as she experienced 360-degrees of compounded vision emerge on either side of her head. Her lower jaw split into a pair of mandibles, and she stretched and rubbed them together to warm up her new facial anatomy. Finally, a long pair of antenna pushed outward, providing her with a range of smell and other senses far more capable than before.Her transformation finished, Alex wasted no time and leaped down from the branches, her wings fluttering to control her descent as landed straight on top of the man named Clint. As he collapsed, she wrapped her foot around his mouth, making sure to press in with the pointed tips of her toes to let him know not to try any funny business.Instinctively, the remaining guard pointed his gun up towards the new, green intruder, before slightly lowering it in shock at what he saw. "What...the...fuc...hey, boss man!" the man stammered, his eyes wide with shock. The leader looked over, his face soon sharing the same expression. Alex stood patiently, satisfied with the feeling of power and control as she felt Clint continuing to struggle below her clenched foot. She rested her claw joints on her hips, pushing her hips out in a show of sass as she made her demands."Alright boys, the show ends here. What you're going to do is untie that poor girl over there or Mr. Clint here-"Bang!The shot rang out from the guard's gun, hitting Alex in the shoulder, causing her to lose her breath but otherwise ricocheting harmlessly off her hardened carapace. An awkward silence followed as the three standing members took in what just happened. After a few seconds, Alex shook her bug-like head. "Well, I guess we do things the hard way then."She lifted her leg, letting Clint get a gasp of air before knocking him out with the side of her foot. With a green blur, she leaped to the remaining guard, whacking his head with the flat side of her arm blade before he could react. The boss, his face filled with terror, began making a run for it, his hand pulling his keys out as he made for the pickup parked nearby. Alex made sure the now-unconscious guard was still breathing, then flew towards the truck, landing on its roof just as the leader started the engine. The old vehicle lurched forward, briefly knocking the bug woman off balance before she steadied herself with her extra pair of arms. They quickly gained speed, the rough ride caused by the unpaved ground forcing her to dig into the metal with her claws and toes as she methodically made her way to the passenger cabin. The driving of the man became more and more frantic as he tried to shake her off. The truck caught air multiple times, coming down with a heavy thud as the suspension strained under the extreme loads. Alex's compound eyes noticed that they were coming up fast towards the river, and she tried without success to warn the panicking man inside.The truck once again bounced into the air, this time landing hard on its front left tire. The axle snapped, the truck spinning out of control until it flew over the edge into the water below. Alex managed to kick off of the vehicle, her wings keeping her in a steady hover as she observed the truck sinking beneath the river's depths. As she watched the man inside banging against the windows, she sighed to herself. As much as she hated it, she knew she had to save him. Gracefully, she landed on the cabin roof, and with a few swift slices, cut it open and peeled it off like the top of a sardine can.The man inside looked up at her, unsure what to do as the compartment rapidly filled with water. Alex decided not to give him the luxury of deciding for himself, as she whacked him with the side of her blade and lifted his unconscious body away from the sinking wreck. Grumbling to herself, she made her way back to the camp, the limp body of the boss secure in her claws.***Back at the campsite, Alex made sure to tie the three troublemakers up for the authorities to deal with. With that taken care of, she walked slowly to the hostage, a young girl who had remained stoically silent the entire time.Alex knelt down next to the girl, staring at her with her large, compound eyes. Surprisingly, the girl didn't seem frightened at all."You're not afraid of me?" Alex said, her mandibles rubbing against each other."No ma'am. Daddy always said that good people come in all different forms." The girl's voice was soft but unwavering."Well, your daddy is a wise man," Alex replied. She began to cut apart the young girl's bindings. "What's your name?""My name's Alexandra, but most people call me Alex.""Oh hey! That's my..." she stopped. "That's my friend's name, too.""Cool!" the young girl smiled as the last of the bindings were cut away. "What about you? What's your name?""My name...?" After a brief moment of thought, the bug woman replied, trying her best to form a smile with her mandibles. "My name...is Scythe." ***Alex flipped through the channels as she sat on her couch. The local news was abuzz about a mysterious vigilante in green who saved the senator's daughter a few days ago. One of the kidnappers' cell phones even managed to get some grainy footage, but the dim lighting and shaky hands failed to reveal her true altered form.She leaned back and kicked up her feet, taking a long, satisfying sip of her coffee. Eventually she settled on a channel playing '80s monster flicks, this time about a giant mutant praying mantis on the loose in Manhattan. She was about to settle in and watch when she heard a knock at the door.Begrudgingly, she jumped to her feet, walking to the front of her apartment. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a young woman with short, dark purple hair and lipstick, wearing tight jeans and a black hoodie. She stood facing slightly away, her hands buried in her jacket's pockets."Um, I'm sorry – and you are...?"The dark-haired woman looked up at her."The name's Violet, but...."She smiled and held out her hand. "...you can call me Nocturne."
