Now I know this isn't either of my stories and I'm sorry for not updating them. I've just lost my muse when it comes to them, this however is my favorite fandom. I know Worm is fairly niche and as such this story may not gain incredible traction, but I am really motivated for this story and am actually invested in it. Please enjoy.
Destruction, pure unadulterated destruction. Crumbling buildings, screaming civilians, and dead bodies litter the streets. A young boy shivers and covers his ears, the screams seeming to pierce through his very body. He slowly rocks back and forth hoping and praying for the carnage to stop. His parents quickly snuck him into a nearby house. The man is fairly tall with hair that should be a vibrant blonde but was currently matted with blood. If not for the grime currently coating her body the woman would be incredibly beautiful. They quickly sneak the young boy into the back of the house and pulling up a few floorboards revealing a tunnel. The man hands the young boy a flashlight and pulls the boy into a tight hug. "Matthew I love you. You're my only son and I wish I could do more for you. I am sorry, I should have moved us after the Leviathan attack but I foolishly thought we would be fine. This tunnel leads out of the town and to safety, don't look back no matter what you hear."
The woman then pulls the boy into an even tighter hug, tears pouring out of her eyes. She shudders and pulls back kissing her son on the forehead. She looks him in the eyes "My sweet baby, I love you more than anything else. Please be strong for Mommy, I need you to listen to your father and escape Seattle. Remember to eat well and find yourself a good woman one day who makes you happy."
With one more quick kiss she smuggles the ten year old under the floorboards and with a small amount of concentration she uses her powers to seal the floorboards so that they were like new. You couldn't even tell that the boards could be moved and at this point they couldn't. Her power over wood perfectly sealing the exit. Matthew quickly did as his parents asked silent tears falling from his eyes and after a few moments he heard a female scream and then silence. Immediately after the tunnel caves in behind him making it impossible for him to turn back. His tears are no longer silent as he lies down and drowns in his own sorrow.
Six years later
A loud groan leaves Matt's lips as he slams his hand down on his alarm clock. Irritation at the blaring noise clearly evident on his face. He lethargically swings his legs over the side of the bed, cursing softly under his breath when his feet hit the cold floorboards. He yawns as he slowly makes his way down the hallway and to the bathroom. He turns on the shower taking a moment to allow the water to warm up before stepping in. Matt was far from a morning person but the hot shower is well worth it to him. It's almost tranquil in his mind and one of the few places he truly feels at peace.
It only takes him a few minutes however before he steps out, out of necessity not because he wished to. He quickly dries himself off and wraps the towel around him before stepping in front of the mirror. Staring back at him is a tall young man, dirty blonde hair that hangs down to his shoulders, striking blue eyes, and a slightly rounded face. He looks down slightly and nods once appreciating his rather athletic build. He takes a few minutes to brush his teeth and shave the slight amount of stubble accumulating on his face. A smirk appears on his face allowing a bit of vanity to shine through. He slaps his face a couple of times before quickly heading back to his room and gets dressed. A simple button down shirt with a pair a jeans and once he's dressed he quickly makes his way out of his apartment making sure to lock the door behind him.
Brockton Bay, an absolute shithole of a city if he were being completely honest. The city is currently being split by three major gangs. The Empire 88, a white supremacist hate group led by Kaiser. The Azn Bad Boys, an Asian supremacist hate group led by Lung. And the Merchants, the drug smugglers of the city led by Skidmark. Not to mention the several smaller villain organizations, and all of this is occurring with two major hero organizations also in the city. The Protectorate/Parahuman Response Team and the New Wave.
Matt chuckles to himself, the incompetence of the heroes of this city is absolutely astounding. The Protectorate does their best but they are bound by the bureaucratic bullshit from the PRT keeps them from doing more. As for the New Wave, they rarely leave their own section of the city. Well Panacea is completely exempt from the New Wave's incompetence, as the world's foremost healer she used those powers for good constantly putting in volunteer hours in at the hospital. She's one of the few heroes in the city that he actually respects.
As Matt walks his surroundings become much worse, rundown buildings, drug dealers, prostitutes. The whole works but that doesn't disrupt his thinking. He knows that he is a cape and he knows his powers, but what he doesn't know is what his next step will be. The Wards is an obvious option, the child section of the Protectorate. However he would then be bound by the regulations of the PRT. It would be his safest option however. He would be given resources, training, and teammates there is strength in numbers after all. He filed that information into the back of his mind not completely dismissing it. There was the villain route, which is something that he refuses to do but it would be the most profitable. Also, with his physical features the Empire would probably try to recruit him. Finally there is the independent route, which is by far the most difficult route. No support but also no bureaucracy. Ideally this is his favored option but he knows that his life expectancy would be greatly shortened if he couldn't find people to join him.
A sigh leaves his lips as he enters Winslow High, of the two high schools in the city this was by far the inferior. It looked rundown and you could even see a couple of Merchants down the street peddling their drugs. He strolls into the front office getting his schedule, he then looks at the school map on the back and makes his way to his homeroom. He sits in the back of the classroom partially ignoring the rest of his classmates but answering a few questions that are thrown his way.
When the bell rings he makes his way to his first period class World Issues, apparently taught by a Mr. Gladly. He shrugs to himself as he walks into class. The chattering stops as he enters replaced by everyone's eyes on him. Matt rubs the back of his head "Is this the World Issues class? Sorry if I'm late today is my first day here so I'm not completely familiar with the school."
A short and young looking man walks up to him, he barely looks older than Matt "Oh you must be Matthew. Principle O'Malley told me you would be joining today. You can take any open seat"
Matt nods once and takes a moment to look over the class. Immediately he notices a student was isolated by the rest of the class. It was a young girl wearing baggy clothing, the thing that stood out the most to him is her hair. It is absolutely stunning, he ignores the few open seats left with the rest of the students and sat down in the seat beside the girl. At the sound of the chair moving the girl jumped completely startled and surprised that he chose to sit beside her. A soft smile appears on his face as he offers her his hand. "My name is Matthew but my friends call me Matt."
He could see the faintest hint of a blush appear on her face as she daintily shakes his hand and barely whispers out "I'm Taylor. It's nice to meet you." She quickly retracts her hand and the two sit silent as they take notes for class. He does sneak a few peaks at the girl to his right, while not being drop dead gorgeous she is rather easy on the eyes. He allows a sigh to leave his lips when the bell rings before standing up. He smiles as he looks towards Taylor again "It was nice meeting you. I hope we have other classes together or maybe the same lunch period."
Taylor nods once quickly a smile briefly appearing on her face which is quickly covered by her hair. She quickly shakes his hand before leaving the classroom in a rush seeming to want to be away from the classroom as quickly as possible. Matt shrugs once before slinging his bag over his shoulder and he makes his way towards the door but is approached by three girls. In the center was a very athletic black woman. He could just tell that she is a cape, no normal teenager has a build like that. Flanking either side of her was two beautiful girls, he'd even go as far to say that they could be models. The girl in the center sizes him up probably coming to the same conclusion about him that he came to about her, but thanks to the unwritten rules she made no comments on it but a nearly vicious smirk appears on her face "I know you're new here but I'd stay away from Hebert"
It took Matt a couple of moments to put the clues together, gather that Hebert must be Taylor's last name. He shrugs once not really caring what she has to say "She seems nice enough and I'm new to town might as well make friends while I'm here"
A barely audible growl leaves her lips as the redheaded beauty steps in front of the nearly seething girl "I'm sorry about that. I'm Emma Barnes" She points to the black girl "This is Sophia Hess" she then points to the other girl "and this is Madison Clements. What Soph is saying is that Taylor has a bit of a reputation around school and I'm sure that an attractive guy such as yourself wouldn't want to ruin yours"
Matt quickly hides the frown that comes to his face, Sophia notices it but the other two seem none the wiser, he quickly replaces it with a nonchalant grin "I've never really cared about my reputation that much. I don't need other people to validate myself. She seems nice and as such I'll continue to talk with her until she gives me a reason not to. Now if you will I've got to get to my next class before I'm late" Matt quickly walks past them not noticing the glares they were giving him.
Matt never got the chance to see Taylor again that day which was unfortunate their schedules must not have aligned with each other. It was not that big of a deal however, he knew that he'd see her again when they had World Issues together. Now Matt was making his way downtown to make it to the PRT office. He knew that no matter which option he chose, Wards or Independent, he would have to officially register as a cape. He nearly smacks himself once he makes it to the office. He forgot to suit up. He didn't want to out his civilian identity, he enjoyed having the freedom of anonymity. He goes to an alleyway and takes a quick look of his surroundings before getting into a rather shabby costume. It was obviously homemade but it got the job done. Black hoodie, domino mask, black gloves and black shoes.
He stuffs his clothes into his bag before making his way into the office. He looks around and notices that the security immediately went on guard once he walked in, but he generally ignores this knowing that as long as he doesn't act hostile he will be safe. Matt goes to the front desk and looks towards the receptionist. "I'm here to register as a parahuman"
The woman nods not even bothering to speak with the young adult before having him take a seat. Matt waits for a few minutes before a tall woman dressed in stylized army fatigues with a bandanna covering her face walks in. She points to Matt and motions for him to follow her they walk through the halls and enter a room. It was utilitarian, gray walls a single table and two chairs. Matt noticed a security camera in the corner but sits down across from the woman.
"I am Miss Militia, a senior member of the Protectorate here in Brockton Bay. I hear you are here to register as a cape. Are you a recent trigger?" Miss Militia wastes no time in getting to work not bothering with any pleasantries which Matt appreciated
"Yes I am here to register as a cape and no I'm not a recent trigger. I triggered during the Slaughterhouse Nine attack on Seattle." Matt's hands clenched into fists as he tries to level his breathing. Which Miss Militia seemed to notice and you could tell she was at least slightly sympathetic for the teen sitting across from her.
However she doesn't allow that to break her professionalism "What's your cape name and your age?"
Matt takes a few breaths to calm himself before meeting Miss Militia's gaze once again "I currently do not have a cape name. I've tried living a normal life up to now but it seems like that isn't really possible. I am currently sixteen years old."
Miss Militia nods once "You do not have to answer this but I am required to ask it in order to further our understand on triggers. What caused you to trigger?"
Matt stiffens as he tries to will his shaking hands to stop and after a few moments he responds tersely "Slaughterhouse Nine killed my parents as they used their powers to help me escape Seattle. I'm not willing to go any further than that"
Miss Militia nods "That is more than satisfactory. What are your powers?"
Matt takes a breath "I am actually worried about this question. I don't want to be treated like a prisoner for trying to follow the rules."
Miss Militia's eyes narrow "Is it a Master power? If not then there is no need to worry about anything. If it is we will need to go through Master/Stranger protocols to make sure you aren't actively using your power."
Matt shakes his head "No, I think it would be classified as a Trump power"
Miss Militia doesn't allow this to faze her "What sort of Trump power is it?"
Matt wills his shaking to stop as he continues the conversation "I can turn off other cape powers and copy them. I can only turn off one power at a time though." Matt stays silent trying to gauge her reaction, and to his surprise Miss Militia didn't seem to show any signs of negativity to that.
The military woman stands up her eyes not leaving Matt's as she speaks "Someone with your abilities could do a lot of good by joining the Wards. You would have access to all of our facilities, a salary, and completely free access to a parahuman therapist."
A small amount of shock goes through Matt when he hears the last part of her spiel. He had absolutely no idea that the Ward program also provided therapy to its members. In hindsight it should have honestly been obvious that they would. They are preparing emotionally vulnerable teens to fight crime, so obviously the mental state of every Ward would be paramount. Matt takes a moment to gather his thoughts "I'm not completely sure if being a Ward is for me. I'm a fairly independent person and being a Ward would hinder that. It would potentially restrict my ability to help as many people as possible because I would have to wait to be deployed."
It seems as if Miss Militia was ready for a response like this and if not for the bandanna covering her mouth a smirk would be clearly visible "We do not restrict our Wards from participating in hero activities should the situation present itself. All you would have to do is call headquarters and backup will be sent to the scene."
"However I would not be given full reign on how to handle situations. There is a protocol and I would be forced to follow orders or risk punishment." Matt fires back respectfully to which Miss Militia could only nod.
"That is true but why don't you take the time to at least meet with the rest of the Wards and getting a first hand report on how the experience really is." Miss Militia motions for Matt to follow her deeper into the office. They walk past the rest of the interview rooms and Miss Militia starts typing into a keypad causing a red light to turn on outside of a door. After a few moments the light turns off and the two walk through a tunnel which connects to a separate building. This is the housing for the Wards. Not every Ward is required to live on premises but the majority of them do.
The room they are standing in is much like a commons area in a college dorm. A couple of couches, a television, and a coffee maker set off to the side. There are currently only two people in the room besides Matt and Miss Militia. They are both wearing casual clothes with their masks. A hispanic looking teen steps towards him and extends his hand "Hello I'm Aegis, the current team leader of the Wards here in Brockton Bay."
Matt smiles and shakes hands with Aegis rather firmly "Nice to meet you Aegis I currently have no cape name but why not call me Eraser tentatively. It's a rather big decision and I'd rather not be stuck with a stupid name"
A white kid steps up and shakes hands with Matt as well "I'm Clockblocker it's good to have you on the team."
Matt chuckles and shakes his head "I haven't made the decision yet. Miss Militia wanted to show me around before I flat out rejected the offer." The two Wards in front of him nod in understanding.
"Well you'll certainly get a better costume should you join the Wards" Clockblocker chuckles at his slight jab at Matt's appearance.
Matt laughs alongside him not taking what he said to heart "I must admit I would rather a more presentable costume. This one was thrown together last minute. Hell I almost forgot to put it on before coming into the building."
Miss Militia takes a step inwards stepping between Matt and the two young wards "I hate to cut this short but this was just meant to be an introduction. We do have to get to your power testing now."
Aegis and Clockblocker both seem to perk up at this, the wards captain looks towards the blonde haired teen "Oh what are your powers if you don't mind me asking"
A smirk crosses Matt's face "Power nullification and copying". From behind his mask Clockblocker's eyes roll as a loud groan leaves his lips "That is complete and utter bullshit. Powers are dumb."
A loud laugh leaves Matt's lips he bends over laughing causing the room to look at him. After a few moments he stands upright once again wiping a tear out of his eye. "Sorry about that. It's just been a long time since I've been around someone so amusing."
"Well if you join the team we will get to have far more fun together" Clockblocker chuckles causing the rest of the room to shudder. They could barely handle one Clockblocker what if they had another?
"You drive a hard bargain there Blocker, I'll definitely take that into consideration. Anyways Miss Militia let's get going to power testing. I'd like to see the limits of my powers myself." Matt turns to the elder parahuman and receives a nod in assent.