I must admit to being perplexed by the specimen you brought me this week. It's basic physiology does conform to that of an African Locust however gene testing indicates it belongs to the family of Gryllidae of Crickets. If I had to hazard a guess I'd say that it was created from the genes of the European House Cricket. At least I believe it is an engineered specimen, nothing in my preparation has ever led me to believe that such a thing would be naturally possible. But then again the same could be said for Novas. Part of its DNA could be taken from a nova genome but it is hard to say and any conclusion drawn from that assumption may be erroneous. Then again the fact that this incident occurred in Africa could be an indication that this is an engineered organism and that you were the unlucky recipient of its first field test.
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The burnt out tumorous growth on its abdomen is the part I believe interests you. Since you claim that all the specimens had the same anomalous growth I think it's safe to say that whatever it contained is the source of this insect's strange power. The energy residuals are minuscule and as hard to interpret as any quantum residual. However, I have come up with a theory that is mostly based on the account you provided of the incident. So bear in mind that this has very little to do with my study of the specimen which was inconclusive.
I believe that this organ contains a small amount of quantum energy that when placed in contact with the quantum energy of an active nova produces a rapid decay of both energies. The process invariably proves fatal to the insect whose body acts as 'ground' for the quantum energies.
I hesitate to label it 'negative quantum' because we know so little about quantum to begin with and while the analogy holds in this one instance the mechanics behind the process are much more complex and involve radioactive decay rather than electric charge. So while it may be easier to understand as a sort of negative quantum energy for the layman such as yourself I beg you not to go around describing it in those terms as the scientific community would crucify me.
From your account the first power to desert you was your Fire Breath, followed closely by your power Flight. However your superhuman Strength never left you even when you were swarmed by the insects and that was what allowed you to escape the baseline militia you were 'escorting' to the border. I believe that this is a fair indication that some powers are fueled by differing energies and that those powers that suffered were those fueled by radiating or decaying energies. I postulate that your flight is fueled by a combination of radiant and electromagnetic energies which allowed you to stay airborne for a while longer whereas you strength is purely electromagnetic in origin. Then again perhaps your strength comes from control over gravitational forces, there is still much we don't know. We would need more incidents of this nature to prove or disprove this. Something I don't think too many Novas would be anxious to provide.
Based solely on your account there is not much that I can add to what you already know. However, and I emphasize that this is pure speculation, the fact that you first felt the rapid decay of your quantum energies when you attempted to burn the insects with your fire breath may indicate that they only need a conduit to your quantum matrix to be able to ground out those energies. While this is very exciting information for those of us who postulate the Superstring Theory it is bad news for those on the receiving end of this nasty plague. The fact that rapid decay of radioactive particles may be occurring over a conduit goes a long way to proving, or disapproving depending on how the data pans out, the existence of a unified field. It also means that these bugs can suck your quantum without even touching you. As long as the insects are in contact with some article attuned to you, or in any way able to make contact with your quantum matrix (such as when you extend your quantum matrix to produce fire in the area in front of your face) then the rapid decay can begin.
This makes these bugs very dangerous but since those quantum energies that don't depend on particle decay are safe from them then you should be safe as long as you're careful. One way to protect yourself would be to wear heavy clothing such as a biohazard containment suit which is not attuned to your quantum signature. Other than that all I can recommend is that you stay away from the critters and don't try to torch them.
System: The Nimue Locust drains one point of Quantum from the Novas Quantum Pool and then it dies. As each insect that touches the nova drains a point of Quantum and then dies, swarms of hundreds of these insects could easily reduce the Quantum Pools of large groups of Novas to nothing. The real danger is that the insects don't actually have to touch the nova to drain the Quantum. It only has to be within the effects of his Quantum Aura which means that anything the nova attunes can act as conduit. Also anything under the effect of one of the nova's quantum powers can also act as a conduit for the drain. Direct effects such as Quantum Bolt, Force Field and Telekinesis provide a direct conduit which will drain as much Quantum as there are Locust affected by the power. Indirect effects such as Shockwave, Thunderclap, Animal/Plant Mastery and Luck don't provide a conduit unless the expression of the individual's power would indicate otherwise.
The Nimue Locust is indeed an engineered organism courtesy of Dr. Michael Redford, A.K.A.
Dr. Destruction. The original idea was to base it on a locust species to use its swarming instinct for devastating effect. Dr. Destruction shot down that idea as a radioactive plague insect could just as easily decimate crops and human populations as it could inconvenience Novas in battle zones. Instead he chose a European species of Cricket notable for its docility. The insects are semi social but don't swarm unless released in tight concentrations where they tend to scatter quickly to die shortly after from the cancerous growth on their abdomen which houses the radioactive particles. They are all sterile and have no protection from the radiation produced by their own systems. Which leads to a very short life span which is measured in days mostly because they are insects and can survive with reduced capacities in all their major organs.
