Broodmother

The Xenopox Virus was created at MedUSA, a laboratory, in Oregon, though as a company, its facilities are spread across the globe. The base of the chemical concoction was the actual poison of the snake god, Ophion. In ancient times, anyone that Ophion bit would become snake people, reptilians. They would bite others, and the further away from Ophion’s original victim, the less human traits the victims would keep and the more of a reptile they would appear.

The original poison used had come from an ancient unearthed relic. Using the poison as a starting point, MedUSA began testing and tweaking the properties. The original idea of the board of directors and several of the scientists was to find a way to resurrect the snake god himself, perhaps by cloning. However, all attempts using the poison, failed. They then tested the poison on animals and people. By studying the effects on a microscopic level, they grew to understand the properties of the substance better. It caused mutations of varying types and degrees based on mixing with the DNA of different organisms.

One organism they tested was that of spiders. The mutations were commonly massive growth, but an adapting exoskeleton and musculature capable of supporting the arachnid. The spider’s venom also changed to inject a form of the Xenopox into its victims. The bitten animals would change mentally to become fully loyal to the brood and their eyes would become completely black. The animal itself did not matter, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals were tested, and even humans. Most spider specimens were euthanized after study, but one was allowed to mate. She grew enormous and was found capable of producing copious amounts of eggs. When Siri Solen destroyed the MedUSA lab, in the confusion and damage, the brood mother escaped.

She made her way into the Portland sewers, specifically an area known as the Big Pipe Project. She set about laying eggs and expanding in the winding tunnels and catacombs. Eventually her colony grew to the point that she needed them to hunt, and the giant spiders would bring back prey while the smaller (albeit still big for spiders) workers spent time setting up webs and caring for egg sacs. Eventually, humans were prey and most were used for food, but occasionally they would be bitten and used to help the colony grow. After her demise, many of the giant spiders died, but a few of the mutant humans remained to become known as ‘the black eyed people’.