Everybody nervously looked around, trying to identify the source of the sound.  The vials of chemicals along the wall shook and clattered.  At first everybody wondered if something was trying to pound its way through the walls, but the beakers spat their fluids into the air.  The way the chemicals swam through the air and intermingled would have put the greatest waterworks displays in the world to shame.  The watery liquid coagulated into a syrupy, translucent soup.  That’s when its form started to shape.  A long transparent dress was the first thing to form from the strange goo.  From within the dress, what looked to be liquid muscle twisted around itself to form arms that could make a body builder blush.  Long curvy legs swelled from the bottom of the clear clothes.  The slick slime soon poured from where her shoulders should be until it connected to her legs, inflating into a well endowed torso.  Now almost complete, a fountain of slush poured from her neck until it gelled together into a head and face.

There was a surprising softness and gentleness to the monster.  Lines formed beneath her eyes giving the impression of a being far older than her actual presence on earth would suggest.  The very image of a kind, caring mother, if not for the ooze comprising her body, and the massive protrusion from her crotch the dress did nothing to hide.

“Poor little Reggie.  I’m so sorry our children gave you such a fright.  You don’t have to worry.  Soon, nobody will have to worry anymore.  Come to us, and all your human frailty and fear will melt away.  No need to be shy.”

Queen approached the stretcher.  But instead of standing near him or walking around him, Queen passed through the stretcher, capturing the poor beleaguered lab assistant on its path to the military assignment across the room.  It took less than half a second to digest Reggie.  His knowledge and experience coursed through Queen’s body, as the slight impression of a skull and crossbone tattoo embedded itself into its shoulder.  Few had ever seen the tattoo on Reggie, but soon everybody would come to know the tattoo as a symbol of humanity’s collective fate.

“As for you, from what we’ve observed, you all represent this place’s military, correct?  I have a proposition for you.”

Dr. Charter wasn’t having any of this, however.  She pulled a device from inside her lab coat and fired 3 rounds into Queen’s chin, which turned to ice on impact.  The newly frozen jaw slunk off her body and landed with a resounding clunk to the ground.

“Well. that was exciting.  You do realize we didn’t need that to talk, right?  We can still communicate with you even without moving our mouth.  That was more for your sake.”

It was a courtesy done more by muscle memory than anything else.  Even now, its upper lip moved as though a lower lip was sure to meet it.  GEN Kelver could taste his lunch returning from his stomach at the sight.  Ormin almost hit the floor as quickly as Queen’s jaw.  Queen talked, but the sound of her voice didn’t seem to reach the horrified humans.  Seeing her deformity would get her nowhere quickly in this negotiation, part of her shoulder slithered along what should have been veins up her neck until a new jawbone pooled into place.

“As we were saying,” she continued as though she hadn’t just deformed and reformed, “It seems you all have come on a matter of national security, are we correct?”

GEN Gripley stepped forward with a stare that could drop the temperature of a room ten degrees.  “Well, what of it?  State your intentions, alien!”

“My, my.  No need to be hostile.  We come to offer humanity the way forward.  You need not worry about strife and conflict.  After all, we can always reform ourselves from any confrontation.”

A large tendril lashed out at Dr. Charter.  Her wrist snapped backwards, sending the ice pistol flying backwards.  Her brief resistance drew to a close as the green slime slathered her face.  A smile of acceptance spread across her face as she turned slowly to nothing.  The missing chunk of shoulder that had become her jaw slowly reshaped.

The military was prepared for the fight of their life, but to their collective surprise, GEN Isaacson spoke up.  “And how exactly can we be sure if you can really provide America with the sort of collective unity you seem to be promising?  Surrender yourself to testing and we’ll consider your offer.”

Queen smiled.  “Consider it done.  Make sure you keep your promise, General.  The consequences of deceiving me can be… severe!”

With that, its form deteriorated back into a sludge, which sloshed into the old speaker for ease of transport.  Though at its current size, it was leaking a trail of slime.

Isaacson took charge.  “Alright team, get this thing into the transport and keep it cold.  And for the love of god, don’t touch the ooze!”

As goons in hazmat suits carted the monster away, Ormin stopped Isaacson.

“We can’t just bring this fucker to the base!  What if it gets loose?!?”

Isaacson picked up the frost gun from the ground.

“Simple.  We freeze it and shatter it.  We know its weakness, remember?  Besides, think of the applications for this thing.  Reducing entire battlefields to goo, gathering intelligence directly from the enemy’s mind, infiltrating enemy bases, the possibilities are endless.”

Ormin tried to protest, but Isaacson was already out the door.  Ormin looked back into the eerily empty containment room and, with a shudder, followed the rest of the generals out.