Beginning notes: Worm / Parahumans is property of Wildbow. I'm using his stuff because I'm not that creative. Some stuff is also inspired by Destiny 2; suck it, Activision. Spoilers for Worm but NOT Ward.

Chapter 1: Let's be bad guys...

The convention center wasn't hard to find. Although I'd never had want or reason to visit it before now, the sprawling, multi-block building was often on the news for the Protectorate meet-and-greet conventions they hosted every couple years, and it was one of the cornerstones of the southern part of downtown Chicago.

That being said, I couldn't say I enjoyed having the place in the city. It wasn't somewhere the average joe typically visited, except if they wanted to pay the $200 to $300 entry fee and the additional $60 parking permit for a day pass. The traffic around the place seriously sucked, too.

I sneered and adjusted the laptop satchel on my shoulder, pushing past the people in line for the convention, and headed for the car park that was around the corner. The security lingering outside and the various twenty-to-thirty-something reporters in the queue didn't pay me any mind as I went.

That was good. I didn't want to be noticed here; I wanted everyone to see me as just another reporter looking to get the latest on the FCC's chairman, who was hosting a two-hour talk on his anti-encryption policies that he hoped would go through in the fall so that government agencies like his and the FBI could more easily access suspects phones and computers.

The guy was honestly scum, but he was selling his platform on national security, and it was very hard to argue against that — he'd been on some of the local radio shows last week debating listeners who called in.

FCC Chairman Alan Pulaski had only just recently pushed through bills that dismantled net neutrality and the goddamn thing passed. I hadn't noticed any significant difference yet, but the guy was clearly taking some kind of compensation from the ISPs and a lot of us online were pretty pissed about it.

And that's sort of why I'm here, now. Because the guy is scum and I had been looking for some kind of justification to finally use my powers — that wasn't just straight-up crime — since I had triggered last month.

I rounded the corner and headed up the ramp to the secure parking garage, when I eyed the security guard who was sitting in the little telephone-booth-sized toll booth. My heart started throbbing behind my eyes. Oh...

Oh god, don't pass out…

Why hadn't I checked to see if there'd be someone watching the exit ramp? Of course there would be. Oh god oh god ohgodohgod.

"Uh, Ma'am?" the uniformed guard sighed, laxidasilly stepping out of the booth and holding up his hand. "This is the parking exit only; visitors have to enter through the security gate around the corner," he pointed back the way I had come.

I eyed his hip out of instinct, but didn't see a gun. I was still frozen in place, though. What do I do? Do I make a jump now? My eyes widened at the thought.

Oh god, he can see my face.

Some cape I was. I didn't even consider encountering anyone. Stupid. Stupid!

"Uh…" I croaked, swaying. This was such a bad idea. "I was…"

"Hey," he frowned, his look of boredom melting into one of concern. His eyes flashed down my form, looking for a gun or for an injury, I couldn't tell. "Are you okay, miss? Do you need help?"

Mouth dry, I turned to run. I couldn't do this. I didn't want to do something this crazy anymore if it meant my face would get out. I stumbled on the uneven surface and staggered back down the ramp and toward the sidewalk, my heart still racing.

And then something grabbed me and I shrieked, flinching away. Flinching far away.

My ears popped and the breezy, warm Chicago air dissipated in a flare of light, leaving me stumbling to my knees on the jagged edge where the concrete parking ramp met the sidewalk — or, would have met the sidewalk.

The dark and unending abyss yawned out far and below the ledge of the floating piece of ramp I had brought with me to the other side, chunks and pieces that had crumbled away in the crossover event, floating and drifting lazily away from the platform as though we were in outer space. The majority of the yellow-and-black 'arm' that usually raised once a person had paid the parking fee flipped end over end as it spun slowly away from me.

"W-what the fuck!" the guard's voice shrieked, seeming to echo against the darkness like it might inside of a cave and not the endless nothing it really was.

I scrambled to my feet and spun around, putting my heels on the edge of the ramp. The guard was wide eyed, blinking and breathing rapidly as he had scrambled back to the other side of my newest platform — about 3 meters in diameter. Luckily, part of the booth he had been occupying had come along for the ride, and he had his back braced against the cracked glass of the side of it that had been caught in the radius of effect.

"Oh no…" I ducked my head down, grasping at my hoodie and pulling it up to my nose like I smelled something awful. I definitely didn't want him remembering my face after this — if he already didn't have it seared into his brain. Why hadn't I brought some kind of mask?

"Is this…"? The man was digging his hand into the jagged edge of the glass behind him, but he didn't seem to notice. "I'm dead, aren't I? Oh Jesus…" he curled his knees up to his chin and shook, shifting his head this way and that.

"Uh, dude?" I called, stepping closer; being in the void seemed to restore some of my confidence; he couldn't do much to me here. It was extremely likely that someone had noticed the gaping pit in the exit ramp of the parking garage by now, though, so I needed to jump the two of us back and continue up if I didn't want to get caught by the cops or the PRT.

"Who's there? Y-you're a cape!? You...what did you do to me? Where am I?" he snapped his head around to look off to my right and reached for his belt, probably for a gun that wasn't there; he struggled to stand, cutting his hand even deeper on the glass. He winced in pain and released his hold, ducking his head.

Well, here goes nothing…

I lurched forward and charged at the man, closing the two meter gap between us in a second. He didn't have time to react, and by the time I had crashed into him and gripped his shoulders, I was already jumping us back to the real world — this time careful not to take any of the debris with me.

He was stunned by the flash...and also by his head smashing against the tollbooth glass from my shove, but only for a moment. He must have been a cop in another life, because two seconds later I'm dazed, laying on my back, from a sucker punch to the left eye.

Thankfully, he seemed much more interested in getting the hell away from me, as I heard him screaming and cussing as he fell into the two-meter crater the rift had taken with us as he tried to escape down the ramp. I palmed my throbbing eye and pulled myself to my feet. Huh. I was inside the toll booth now.

C'mon, he's trapped. I can finish this and jump out of here.

"Help! Help me!" the guard started screaming. "Somebody!"

I stepped out of the sliding side door of the booth and bolted for the stairs, wobbling a bit as I had to run with one eye closed, and headed up one flight of stairs. I staggered out onto the second level, which was completely full, and had to steady myself against the 3-foot-tall yellow parking pillar from the ringing in my ear. I felt like I was going to black out.

I really should have checked to see if his car was on the first level first…

I ran, not wanting to second guess myself, bent over and squinting at each and every car, looking for that obnoxious red one I had burned into my memory. It wasn't here. I rounded the bend and sprinted back, gasping for air as I climbed to the third level. I half considered throwing my laptop away to speed myself up, but knew when the PRT showed up they'd be able to crack it and figure out who I am.

That is, if the guard didn't identify me or go to one of those sketch artists. Fuck me sideways.

I was nearing the end of the third level when I caught it: government plates on a bright red Dodge Viper, parked right by the elevators. I doubled over and coughed out a laugh, taking a moment to catch my breath.

The approaching sirens and squealing tires forced me into action, though. I approached the car and put my hands on the trunk, letting my power loose. A flickering, dark film rippled out from my hands and out into a sphere of dark black smoke. I mentally molded it so it surrounded the entire car with plenty of room to spare. I could go bigger, but doing so would take out some of the other cars too, and I was only after his car.

The film started to dissipate and I could see into the void from my position inside my bubble of whatever the hell my power was. This was important.

The translucent mirage of the black-and-white void changed and flickered into what I'd started building as my home base, from parts of the docks, abandoned buildings, and what have you. It wasn't much more than floating clumps of concrete, sand, and wood, but it was exactly where I wanted it.

"Attention unknown parahuman!" a loudspeaker from somewhere on the ground level boomed out. "The PRT has the block surrounded and the Protectorate is enroute; do not attempt to flee."

I took a breath and pushed.

End notes: I've been super duper inspired by all the fanfics on here and on AO3 and just had to start writing one of my own, especially since I'm also addicted to Gambit on D2. Just a heads up: I've not read Ward yet (I know) so you can be assured this will be spoiler free! The Worm universe is one of my favorites for world-building, so I am looking forward to what my brain pukes up. Transmat firing!