The existence of Ing-possessed Dark Metroids in Echoes does bother me a little, because this is a game that came out after Fusion, and with Fusion we know the Metroids have an insane immune system; They were designed to fight the X, and are probably the only living thing unable to be infected by them... Except maybe the Dachoras and Etecoons, it's ambiguous. Regardless, Metroids are the ultimate bioweapon, and can drain energy. So it does bother me a little that an Ing can possess a Metroid without being consumed in the process; The series is named after these things, they deserve more narrative respect than just being another killable enemy!
But I am reminded of a log scan where it's revealed that the Ing fight for the privilege to possess the Space Pirate Commandos; Only Hunter Ing are even considered viable for this. So the Ing have a constructed social hierarchy in which they compete for better, stronger hosts... Okay. Given what I've mentioned about Metroids being the titular monsters of the series and galactic-scale threats, let's play with this in regards to a hypothetical Metroid series; Like it or not, Dark Metroids are enemies from the game, and a variant of THE titular creatures, so they should be adapted regardless.
So consider a scene: Samus is exploring Dark Aether when she comes across some commotion. She checks it out, watching from behind a corner; It's a whole congregation of Ing at an arena, and at the center is a cage in which a lone Metroid is angrily clawing at its containment. It's hungry, eager to devour the Ing on the other side; But the holes are too small for it to squeeze through. Surrounding the cage are a couple of Hunter Ing.
There's clearly some sort of ritual going on; One of the Hunter Ing slips through the cage from the other side of where the Metroid is. The Metroid notices, screeches, and lunges for the Ing. The Ing maneuvers around the Metroid, then lashes out with its tendrils; They enter the Metroid from its sides, as the Hunter Ing possesses the Ultimate Warrior.
The Metroid screeches, darting around as its body clouds into an Ing color. It falls to the floor, scraping its claws across and leaving marks; There's a clear battle of wills here. But in the end the Metroid wins out; Its nuclei flash red and the Ing coloration disappears as it drains energy, devouring the shadow. Watching from all sides, the Ing murmur, unimpressed and disappointed.
Cue the next challenger; This Hunter Ing watches as the Metroid rises back into the air, and then latches onto the nearest wall, still insatiable and hungering for the prey on the other side. This Ing circles around the cage, until it's sure the Metroid has singled it out.
Without any hesitation, the Ing launches through the cage the Metroid is latched onto, right into its mouth; The force sends the Metroid flying back from the cage. The Metroid absorbs the Ing, same scenario as before, same struggle. Only this time, the outcome is different; The Metroid's nuclei flash amber, and then its body undergoes a transformation as it struggles, darkening into blackest shadow as it's enveloped, the shape changing. Its voice deepens and becomes more Ing-like.
Finally, a single glowing eye emerges from the Metroid; The black coloration clears to reveal a new, Ing-possessed Dark Metroid. It rises into the air, triumphantly screeching as the Ing around it chant in celebration. Samus watches, deeply perturbed; The Metroids are the ultimate weapon, held back by their lack of strategy and inability to be tamed; This latter issue was how the Space Pirates were defeated the first time, because they lost handler Mother Brain. For the Ing to be able to control one...!
At this point, the Dark Metroid stops and notices; And then its eye looks up, directly at Samus. Metroids can sense energy signatures, down to those of individuals; It's how they can distinguish X mimics from the real deal, and track them down. By possessing a Metroid, the Hunter Ing has inherited the same abilities, and can sense Samus through the walls. It screeches, alerting the horde as all of the Ing turn and head towards the intruder.
Samus is forced to flee, and probably eventually fights this Dark Metroid. With a small army of Ing allies cooperating alongside it, this makes the Dark Metroid much more difficult to handle than a regular one; In particular, any energy it drains from Samus or even a lower Warrior Ing, it can transfer to one of its allies to heal them. Said allies will even take an Ice Beam or Missile blow for the Dark Metroid, to protect it.
The stakes are raised further; If the Ing take all of Aether's energy, Dark Aether will take its place within the dimensional plane. And if it does, who's to say the Ing won't colonize other worlds as well, because of their Emperor's greed and selfish hunger? With the ability to control and essentially BE Metroids, the Ing could start their own breeding program, and succeed where the Space Pirates had failed in using the Ultimate Warrior; There's no single, load-bearing controller for Samus to destroy, as there was with Mother Brain! A second Metroid crisis could be on the horizon... At the very least, Metroids are efficient trackers and weapons, so the Ing's chances of winning the war on Aether, and defeating Samus, have just risen significantly. Pair them up with some Dark Pirate Commandos and it’s like it’s Dark Zebes.
This ritual differentiates itself with the competition to possess Space Pirate Commandos; With those, a possession is guaranteed, so the distinguishing criteria is for Hunter Ing to fight each other to earn the privilege of that host. But for a Metroid, they don't need to fight one another. Instead, a Hunter Ing will prove itself worthy of possessing a Metroid, by actually being able to possess it to begin with; The only other outcome is to be destroyed by their attempted host. Thus, Hunter Ing don't need to fight one another directly for that honor, they can skip that formality to answer directly if an individual Ing is even capable of controlling a Metroid at all. And not all of them, not even all Hunter Ing, can pull off a Metroid possession.
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