Inspired by the abridged bleach movie Memories of Nobody and their jokes on relationship, basically: "we compromised." Originally it was just "compromise" but then I just found out that there's an AU fic by the same name so that was out. To be honest, I really like the fanfic "Manager" and the way powers were handled, I love it. I'm pretty sad it hasn't updated, getting a taste of my own medicine i guess. Any-who this a power-swap fic with my own spin on it. To be honest I posted this idea on reddit but no one responded to it, so I guess I get to keep it. As always, feel free to adopt/steal/ripoff this idea, just send me a link so I can read it. READ! ENJOY! And for the love of gawd, REVIEW! Oh and the cover art is a fractal by Polarissb on deviant art, so be sure to check him out!

I don't own worm, manager, or power theft fics, this is my take on power-swap fics.

Have fun.


"Sooooo," I began. Her brown eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses looked up to me with a surprised look, like she never expected anyone to talk to her. She said nothing for a while, so despite the whole class cavorting about and bragging about who did Honor, in our little bubble it was awkwardly silent. Her name, Taylor Hebert, um sounds like "hee" instead of "her"

"Sooooooo," She finally reciprocated in an awkward manner. I just about smiled, screw that I'm sure I was, she talked to me!

"Um, how are you d-?"

"I'm not in the mood, Greg." Shot down instantly, huh? Well, at least it was on the second sentence this time. I can take a hint. I moved up and went to my seat. It's not like it's my seat. There really isn't a standard seating chart or anything like in middle school or elementary. At least not in Winslow. Normally if there was an empty seat then you just go for it, it's just that no one wants to get caught in the crossfire between Hell's Angels and Taylor. What?

The three girls were pretty cute. Madison may not have big tits or an ass, but she had a cute petite figure and she definitely knew how to show off what she did have, not mention she was pretty easy to talk to...if you had muscles. Emma was practically Mary Jane, a sexy ginger and a lot of the guys speculate that if she ever went to a party, she'd be the first one to get drunk and start stripping. Sophia was a bit of hard chocolate to swallow, she was athletic, practically the star runner on the track team, had great legs and played the hot tomboy with long hair look pretty damn well.

I couldn't help but suppress a chuckle. Any of the girls would drag you to hell in a such a sinful manner and then like the banished devil himself, turn it into heaven. Pretty sure I was smiling about all the things I would to them. First I'd have them do a little strip show for me and-

"-eg!"

"Uh," I let out dumbly as I realized mister Gladly was looking at me with a taunting smile.

"Glad to have you back with us, Greg Vader," Veder actually and I'd give him kudos for trying to be cool but that was just lame, especially since this isn't the first time he tried it. "Mind telling the class what you were thinking about that had you grinning ear to ear."

"Um...would I-uh-you-know-um...get in trouble for it? It was pretty much heavy petting material," This is why I need a filter. Still though, I got a few laughs out of the class, even Gladly chuckled a bit.

"Perhaps it's best to keep it in your head then," Gladly said, getting off the desk he was sitting on, probably an attempt to look cool. I rolled my eyes at how forced that was. Dude, you're a teacher, not Clint Eastwood, hell you're barely man's best friend!

"Probably," I said, shaking my head at the man before me .

"Then I'll take that has a sign that I can start class," Gladly said as while writing something on the blackboard with chalk. "Today 'homies,'" oh god, don't do that Gladly, act and own up to your age! Please don't be hip, being yourself is cool too you know! "We will talk about capes," he said turning around with an expectant smile, probably prepared to hear a few cheers. It soured a bit when he realized he was getting any….Damn I wish I said that out loud! "Right then," he began loudly, "Who would like to start us off? … Anyone?"

"...Scion?" someone in the class offered.

"Ah yes, the Golden Homie!"

….This was stupid...Why the hell do I need to know this again? Cape history, yes we have a blue gay guy who can fly at the speed light and shoot deadly laser beams, a woman in a black suit, a very tight black suit if I may add, who can level a building in seconds, and a guy who has every single power imaginable, but can't choose which ones he gets. And then there's the guy in gold who's practically god in this world and does whatever he wants, usually saving people. What does any of this have to do with me? I can't do shit with this!

Honestly? I'm more of cowboy kind of guy, not the cattle drivers I mean the outlaws, the guys who live by the law of their guns. Yeah…that's awesome.

Besides I'm already a cape, what the fuck else do I need to know?


Class ended and it was time for lunch. Thank god. Leave it to an old man who thinks he's hip to suck the fun out of capes. I glanced back at her, at Taylor, and found that had already made herself scarce.

I don't know what the hell it is with those girls and Taylor. I'm...I'm not the smartest guy around but I'm not stupid either...not completely anyway...depends on who you ask. I know Taylor asked the teachers for help and nothing happened. Well, it's not like she has evidence or anything. But still, I figured the teachers would be more protective of her after what happened a few months ago with the locker. Everyone more or less suspects who did it, but there is no concrete evidence and no one wants to be right...not even me...what? I said they were hot and can make sinful heaven, not that I wanted them to be evil.

I shook my head as I got up and decided to leave the classroom. The good thing about Winslow is the one-hour lunch break. I hear that we're pretty much the only school in the bay with that much time to eat, hell even Arcadia, the school where the wards go, junior heroes in training, only have half an hour lunches!

So what do guys my age with pocket money to spare and an hour of lunch to do? Simple. Eat out!

Normally in high schools, I hear, only seniors (if that) can leave the school for lunch. But a lot of people from every age leaves and a lot end up showing late for class. Its why we get an hour in addition to the two fifteen minute breaks. I couldn't go somewhere like Fugly Bobs, too far away, but Mr. Smoothy was nearby and it's pretty much where everyone without a car hangs out, the ones with actual cars just head to Bojangles or something.

I quickly went to my locker, put away my valuables, books really, and then grab a black backpack and head out.

The walk wasn't long, like ten to fifteen minutes away from the school. Already you can see a bunch school kids outside sipping smoothies with a cheap burger and a side of fries or fish sticks. Hey, better than the Mystery Meat Winslow serves. The line was long but it moves pretty fast. Once I got to the front I just order the shake they have as well as some curly fries and I'm out in three minutes.

I grab my shit and walk out and looked around. Found him.

There was a guy sitting on a wooden table by the trees. He wore jeans, a long sleeve shirt that was well worn, a red and black beanie, and scraggly beard, you could hardly tell he was 19. By his leg was a black backpack. I sit next to him, placing "my" backpack next to his and my food on the table. For a while neither of us said anything.

"Were you followed," the man finally spoke before he sipped his smoothie.

"No sir," I replied. He didn't say anything, just nodded. I wonder if he got off on this cloak and dagger crap.

"Your cut's in the bag, front zipper, as usual. You remember where we meet up?"

"Yes sir, it's pretty hard to miss."

"Good," he nodded, "we got a gig going on this weekend." Gig?

"A job," I asked a bit too excitedly.

"Yeah, the boss is looking for some extra hands to move some stuff. Apparently the big bad dragon is hunting the little shits who robbed his casino." I think I heard of that. Some group of cape-thieves actually made a big score robbing the Ruby Dream Casino. Lung's casino. "Boss thinks their close to finding the shits and wants to get his merchandise the fuck out of dodge. The pay's good. If you got a car, bring it and raise your contribution. Understood?"

"Y-yeah definitely," I answered with a small smile. The weekend, huh? I guess I have nothing else going on.

"Keep this shit on the down-low, ya hear? I only told you cause you've been good so far" I just nodded. "Alright, that spot tomorrow morning." With that, he took "my" backpack and left.

I just nodded to myself and ate my fries.

After I was done, I grabbed what was left of my shake and grabbed "my new" backpack and headed back to school.

I'm not part of a gang. I wanted to make some cash and these days, unless it's at The Market where appearance matters, most places would rather hire an adult than a kid. Honestly it's a no-brainer. Look at it like this, either hire a scrawny kid hiding his laughable frame with long sleeve shirts who only wants to work part-time in order to get money to screw around ooooor a man who needs money to support a family and wants a full-time job? Yeah, no real choice there. Then Sparky, believe it or not, heard about my troubles with finding work and was able to hook me up with this gig.

Yeah I was shocked when I found out he was part of the Merchants, but then again it wasn't an entire surprise either, what with all his piercings and spiky hairstyle...how much gel do you need for that anyway?

Anywho, my job was simple. I wasn't a dealer nor was I in production or protection, my job was just to take stuff from point A to point B and not worry about what's inside. Not like I could if I wanted to with it having a lock on the zipper, not unless I wanted to make it obvious I was the culprit. So you see, I'm not a Merchant, I'm just a guy who can go through the day looking unimportant and boring enough not to get noticed who just happens to move stuff around for the Merchants.

Big difference!

For this particular package, it's a no-brainer. There's a backpack in my locker that isn't mine, the design doesn't matter as long as it's black, I take that bag to some guy with a similar bag (usually the same guy) at the joint and then I take his bag to a different locker and get my cut on Fridays for a week's worth of work. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy, right?

I threw away my empty cup and went to the locker on the second floor. Once there I opened the locker, took my pay, a hundred dollars in the form of tens and twenties. Not as much as I would've earned working part-time every day or just weekends but it was better than nothing for little work. After that I went to the boy's bathroom to wash my hands.

As I soaped my hands I checked myself over in the mirror. I was of average height I guess, short compared to Taylor, when she's not slouching. My hair was the typical blond, noticeable in the right way, sadly I pretty much had a bowl haircut shaped like bowl that cancels it out, still it was contrast compared to Taylor's long curly black strands, not particularly appealing but in my opinion I think it worked well with her face. My eyes were blue in contrast to her dark orbs. If I wanted to I could join Empire 88, I have the right base at least. I shook my head as I finished cleaning my hands.

After they were dry I walked out just in time to see Hell's Angels laughing as they headed down the stairs. I couldn't help but brood, figuring out what got them in such a jolly mood. I tighten my fist while I hate myself for a bit. I like Taylor, we both like reading, computers...we're not particularly social...we're losers I guess. I like her...yet I don't have the balls to stand up for her….

I walked to my locker, avoiding the abnormal amount of bugs that happened to be around. Well it's Winslow, I wouldn't be surprised if the foundation was basically made of cockroaches by now. I quickly grabbed my shit and headed to my next class, another one I share with Taylor.

The bell rang, the teacher not even bothering with attendance started class right away. Anyone serious enough started jotting down notes, everybody else just slaked off. So in other words, me. I look at where Taylor's supposed to sit. I chew on the insides of my bottom lip. She wasn't there.


I didn't see Taylor at school again. Whatever the girls did to her, it made her leave school in the middle of the day. I couldn't...didn't do anything about it. Taylor, she's smart...but she's also an idiot.

I think her and Emma were friends once. I mean she has a bunch of secrets she uses against Taylor so they must have been close once, at least that's my reasoning. So why doesn't she use those secrets herself? Tit for tat, right? She could also talk to Emma's parents. Hell she could even transfer schools or get home schooled, especially after what happened to her and the locker. In my mind, there are various ways to go about it...well it's not like I know what she tried but still, that parent one should have gotten this resolved, right? Right?

And yet she comes to school everyday, gets bullied everyday, and in the end, nothing changes. Taylor you're smarter than this, I thought to myself recalling Taylor's high school debut, it was obvious something was troubling her but it was revealed pretty quick that she was really bright. I'm certain that if she wanted to, she could probably test out of high school when she's sixteen.

Just what is your endgame? I thought to myself. You're not Mother Teresa, being bullied doesn't help you or anyone else, well unless you count Hell's Angels. You can't take being bullied for no reason. So what the hell are you trying to accomplish?

I just shook my head. Trying to understand her actions will get me nowhere. I kept walking down the sidewalk, it was pretty much dark outside, the sun's last rays lightly fighting the incoming night. I tuck on my hoodie to shield my face from the cold breeze. After a few more steps and I made it to my destination.

You could tell it was an old house. The white paint was chipped off, part of the front porch has broken rails, some of the visible roof tiles were cracked, and the three steps up the porch was missing a digit. I took a deep breath walked towards the house. I looked around as I walked to the door, there was an odd number of bugs around, like grasshoppers, ants and butterflies, but that wasn't the part that worried me. The bugs were...off. I didn't know what it was but they were off somehow.

I shook my head and let the force shake my hoodie off. It's not like it matters.

I walked up to the door and ring the doorbell. I realized I killed an ant and no sound came out. Huh? I wipe my finger on my pants and tried the doorbell a few more times. There was no sound. Was it broken? Alright, I'll knock then.

Just as I was about to knock, the door opened.

Taylor was behind the door and looked like she was about to kill someone.

"How do you know where I live," she demanded with a glare. I shriveled a bit.

"Um...you...you remember what...you know...last month," I didn't want to say it. Last month someone had made a post on doughslist with a Picture of Taylor, one that made it obvious she wasn't aware it was taken when she was on a morning run, and it included her home phone number and address. The post states that her name was "Puddy" and that she was selling her "time" and what they together in that time was well...basically it was a hooker post. I happened upon the post and memorized her address and phone number. Oh wow, I didn't mean it to sound like that.

She rubbed her forehead in frustration I think. She definitely didn't like being reminded of that. "What do you want?"

"Oh um," I pulled out a folded sheet of notebook paper from the pocket of my hoodie. "You-I didn't see you again after lunch. I figured you went home. I copied the assignments from the classes we have together. Sorry, I don't know about your other classes," I stick the paper in front of me. She eyed the paper before her glare softened and she accepted the paper.

"Thanks," she was about to close the door.

"UmTaylor," I quickly stop her. She eyes with mild curiosity I think. "I...I know now isn't, well, the best time I guess but...do you want to see, you know, see a movie with me?" She was silent for a bit, her eyes showing surprise but it's quickly suppressed. She finally spoke.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?" I perk up a little bit.

"Why?" That threw me off guard.

"What?"

"Why?" she repeated. I was confused until I realized what she meant. She probably thinks Emma put me up this.

"NO," I quickly yell. "This isn't-I'm not with them! I-I, I just want to-"

"Greg I know they didn't put you up this." I suck in air and sigh in relief, she seemed taken back a bit, maybe my sincerity threw her off? But she quickly steeled herself. "What," she shook her a hid a bit, finishing forming her thoughts maybe? "What I want to know is...what on earth makes you think I'll ever go on a date with you?" That felt like a gut punch. I...She already rejected me once but this time….

"We're similar," was the best I could come up with at the heat of the moment. Fuck. "We both, well, we're not social and well-"

"Greg, we're both losers, I know that." I saw a quick flash in her eyes like she didn't mean to say it like that but she shook her head and continued anyway, "I also know that you know I'm being bullied. You know what's happening to me. You came all the way here, you ask me out and expect me to say 'yes' when the entire time you never helped or stood up for me? And for what? Just because you thought giving me my homework was enough to like a poser like you?" I didn't know what to say. I kind of expected the conversation to go this way but….

I racked my mind at what I could say. I'll change? I'll be different? I could say it but it didn't sound good at this point but-IT HIT ME! POWERS! Show her your power! In this day and age capes are the way to go! It isn't much but if its Taylor then she'll know what to do with it!

When I was about to reveal it, to show her that I trust her, she quickly interrupted me.

"Greg," that stopped me from bringing my hand up. "Want to do me a favor?" I didn't know what to say but I was kind of dreading what her next line would be. "Well? Do you?" In the end, I just nodded a few times. "Good. Fuck off and leave me alone!"

She slammed the door in my face. I stood there for a while hearing her faint footsteps. I honestly didn't know what I'm supposed to do. I guess if my life was a poorly written fanfic I would burst into tears and run like the wind. If it was a novel I guess I would give up with dignity and go to the extreme and fight to win her affection. But honestly, the weirdest thing popped into my mind. I know why the bugs seemed off.

None of them were moving.

It was like they were all watching me for entertainment value. I stood there for a minute before I realized a fly landed on my shoulder and was buzzing loudly. I brushed it off, put my hoodie up and walked away.


I honestly just shambled about here and there. Walking around mindlessly. I headed up to Lord's street, to The Market. The boardwalk never failing to be teeming with life, be it day or night. I passed the stalls on the boardwalk that were being taken down and carried to the cars a fair distance away. Around this time you usually get a bunch of fire dancer and fire breather (mostly none capes), people playing music on the dirty beach below the boardwalk, pretty much anyone with a showy talent was putting up a show for anyone willing to give up loose change. And with shows like that you get food vendors as well.

They say money doesn't buy you happiness, but I'd rather be depressed on a full stomach than an empty one. So I walked around nibbling a quickly cooling corndog. I just kept walking north. Eventually, I came by one of the many abandoned warehouses near the rocky shore. Not an unusual sight in Brockton Bay. I make my way to the rocky shore and sit on a giant boulder.

I did nothing but eat my corndog.

I eventually I bit the stick, stood up, and started skipping stones on the water. Nothing to it really. Just pick a flat-ish stone, position it well between your thumb and index finger and toss it with a spin to make it skip on the surface of the water. Sadly there weren't that many flat stones around but I made due.

I'd pull my arm back, bend my body a bit, and then throw the stone underhand and watch it skip on the surface a few times. Fun fact, if you did it on ice it would sort of sound like birds chirping. I kept picking up suitable stones and skipping them on the sea, all the while having Taylor's words ringing around my head. That world she called me, poser? What was that? Pretending to be something your not? Trying to impress others?

I didn't feel too bad being called that, but what hurts was what I was about to do. Show her my powers and she'll like me? Why did I think that would have work? If anything that would prove her point or she'd mistake it as me forcing myself on her or something….jeez and worse of all. This power...this power!

After I skipped the last stone I quickly force my right hand back into a fist and "charge" the "line." I could feel it, it felt like a mixture of static from when you rub your clothes together and a warm soft blanket fresh out the dryer, collecting in the palm of my right hand, light radiating from the palm inside my fist. After a while of "charging" it, I throw my hand out, opening my fist, and "cast the line out". A bright pale light with a bluish tint shot out of my palm, creating a line around half an inch to an inch in diameter that stretched out to the horizon. After a few seconds, the light faded away almost instantly like a mist.

This is my power in its entirety.

I think it's blaster power. The longer I "charge" my power, the longer the "line I cast" extends. One day I charged it for ten minutes before I cast it, also at night and by the sea, and I could not see the end of it. It still only lasted a few seconds and the line may have gotten brighter but it didn't get any bigger err wider….That's it. That's all my power does.

I tried doing things with my powers. Shooting it at hobos from a distance or firing it at point blank on the people on the bus. At worst it sort of shocks them. I tried it on myself and it wasn't that different from a jolt you get from licking a battery or getting shocked by a joy buzzer. It's just a quick harmless jolt, more surprising than painful (if any). It didn't let me control them or get information. It didn't go through walls or extend my senses. It...didn't do a thing.

My power does nothing….it's just a glorified glow stick that lasted only a few seconds.

I finish my corndog and toss the stick. I headed home. I was already out late as it is and knowing mom, I was going to get an earful.

As I walked I couldn't help but imagine what Taylor would say about my power.

...I guess in Taylor's eyes, it'd probably be a shitty power for a shitty guy, wouldn't it?