Hiding {Shadow X Reader}

Xenomorph File {Part 2}

~Vulnerabilities~

Xenomorphs, in all stages of their life cycles, have been said to have vulnerabilities to heat. The only way to effectively drive off the Alien is with the use of molotovs and the flamethrower, however this causes it no actual damage, and simply causes it to flee in a fearful panic.

The only Xenomorph not vulnerable to fire is the Predalien. It secretes a layer over their body. That layer cannot be ignited, though they are visibly pained by temperature extremes such as liquid nitrogen.

A rapid succession of extremes in both high and low temperatures apparently causes a thermal shock effect on a Xenomorph's exoskeleton. Xenomorphs are capable of adapting themselves to cold environments with little discomfort. The alien queen is extremely vulnerable to fire, for unknown reasons.

Xenomorphs are shown to be both invulnerable and vulnerable to small firearms, ranging from 9mm to 5.56mm. High-energy beam weapons, such as the plasma weapons, appear to be the best way to kill the Xenomorphs.

They are not invulnerable to melee weapons, although such equipment is likely to be destroyed upon contact with their acid blood.

~Cocooning~

Cocooning is a trait used by Xenomorphs to reproduce quickly. A human, or any other creature, if dragged away, would have a cocoon of saliva and resin placed over them (their face left free), usually in an area where the Queen has produced a large quantity of eggs, so that the Facehuggers are able to latch onto them easily and deposit a Xenomorph larva in their chest. 

The Xenomorph Queen can lay specialized eggs that are bigger (like queen egg cells in bees which are bigger than drone cells) that upon hatching can carry on the species through making other hives after the new female cocoons into a queen.

~Life Cycle~

<Egg>

The Xenomorph is born in egg form, laid in place by the hive's Queen, through the use of a detachable ovipositor. The egg is thick and gelatinous, usually with several membranes attached to the outer layers. It can take nutrients from the ground to support the creature inside. The egg has vein-like structures running through it, hinting that it is actually a living creature (sometimes known as an Ovomorph).

The Xenomorph hatchling - called a Facehugger - is protected by a thick fleshy layer at the top of the egg, where the "shell" peels open when the Facehugger senses creatures nearby. The sense that detects nearby, suitable organisms has to be very specific in what it chooses to respond to. Perhaps this is why it takes so long to open: various sensory organs study the approaching organism

<Alien facehugger>

After the egg opens, the Facehugger emerges and seeks out a nearby life form, latching onto its face, wrapping its tail around its airway, and implanting the Xenomorph embryo(s) by sticking a tube down the host's throat.

It will coil its tail tighter around the airway to prevent premature removal, and an attempt to sever the fingers found that Facehuggers possess the same acidic blood as a Xenomorph. The Facehugger supplies oxygen to keep the host alive during the impregnating process. Once the embryo(s) has been implanted, the Facehugger falls off, curls up, and dies.

Hosts usually fall into a short coma and wake up ravenously hungry. This can be explained as the embryo needing an immediate source of nutrients needed for its progression into the next stage of its life. Hours might pass between the host waking and their time of death. Predators live the longest as a result of an extended incubation period. The reason for this is likely due to the genetic complexity of the host. The incubating chestburster requires more time for mitosis and cytokinesis due to the morphology of the Predalien.

However, in some cases, the hosts will awake not gradually but suddenly - just in time to be conscious for the Chestburster's push out into the world. Their state of normalcy will last only seconds or minutes.

<Alien Chestburster>

After attaching itself to a vein and gestating in the chest cavity, Xenomorph infants - called Chestbursters - push and chew through the host's chest, causing severe pain, blood loss, shock and death. The host's rib cage is cracked open, bones bent outward. No one has survived this process.

It is suggested that removal of the Chestburster would still lead to the death of the host due to the remaining Alien tissue acting like a malignant tumor, in effect developing into a fatal cancerous growth.

At this stage, the Xenomorph is small, limbless, and very vulnerable. Among other possibilities, its neck can be snapped. It needs to get to a safe area so it can reach its next life stage. It moves with its long tail, and can coil up and jump. It cannot climb on walls or ceilings, but despite these drawbacks it can traverse an area with astonishing speed.

They turn into a cocoon (though this could be a subspecies). The common assumption is that the alien molts, grows legs, and develops much like a tadpole turning into a frog. Another common theory (the most accepted one) is that Chestbursters shed their skin upon growing.

At very rare times the chestburster emerges after the host has already died. 

<Alien Adult>

Little is known about the transformation that occurs between the Chestburster and Adult phases.

The Xenomorph appears to moult before reaching maturity. Maturity is reached in a few hours, and involves a dozen-fold increase in mass, which would presumably require some form of nourishment.

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Word Count ~ 925

Listening To ~ Run Boy Run (Woodkid)

{Edited}