It's a chill late winter day in Brockton Bay, the wind lowering the temperature a little more than I'm comfortable with but I get ready to head out for my morning jog anyway. This is a new me, I'm a cape now and that means a little cold isn't going to stop me. Armsmaster ,the head of the local Protectorate branch, wouldn't back down from a little cold, no he'd face it head on. Of course Armsmaster is brave and heroic and much cooler than I'd ever be, and also has a useful power, and people like him.

Damn traitorous thoughts already getting me down today. Yes it may be to early to compare myself to Armsmaster but I've put up with to much shit the past year and a half to let a little cold get me down. Get a grip Taylor.

With a sub-par pep talk out of the way I head out the door with thoughts of how my costume will look and how awesome I'll be and make for the sidewalk. I stretch a little then get ready to start my jog- "Hey you smell nice."

"Holy Fuck!" I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear a voice behind me and whip around to see who it is. There's just a blonde girl standing there in a pink hoodie and denim jeans with sneakers. She looks to be around 19 and pretty cute, No bad thoughts, she just scared the hell out of me. Where'd she come from anyway there was no one else out when I left the house. I start to get a few bugs together in case I would need them but keep them out of sight.

"D-don't sneak up on people like that." I reprimand her "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry I just got excited, you're the first person I've seen this morning so I wanted to come say hi, but then I got closer and you smelled nice so I wanted to tell you." The sneaky blonde babbles out. She seems to be way to perky this early in the morning.

What is she doing out so early by her self anyway, well that's a pretty good question so I voice it.

"I'm just out sightseeing and looking for fun stuff to do, what are you doing?" She looks at me with excitement dancing in her blue eyes.

"Getting ready ready for my morning jog-" "Oh oh oh, can I come with?" Her entire body is now almost vibrating with energy, her face looks like how a little kid looks at seeing their presents on Christmas morning. It seems odd, fishy even, and with that thought I try to deflect. I move the tiny swarm closer.

"I usually jog by myself, and it probably wouldn't be a good idea to go with a complete stranger." Hopefully she listens to reason. In fact after I say that she visibly deflates and I start to feel a little bad about shooting her down, but then she lights back up.

"Hi, I'm Owl nice to meet you what's your name." She shoots off rapidly then sticks out her hand. I'm flabbergasted at that sudden about face and not wanting to be rude, and a little stunned, I shake her hand and tell her my name. "Cool, I'll call you Tay Tay, see not strangers any more, we're basically best friends now."

This has to be a scheme by Emma and her sycophants, no one could be this air headed and still want to go anywhere with me. "Oh my god, look a bird!" Owl then points at a seagull flying over head and looks completely mesmerized. Well shit, maybe she is just air headed and against my better judgement I say okay. She jumps up and claps a little and tell me to lead the way and we go.

My morning jog goes well and me and Owl have a pretty good time. We talked, okay Owl talked constantly and I listened. She talks about how many animals she saw the other day and that grey squirrels are her favorite. About how she likes Indian food and that its been a while since she was able to have any, and she kept up with me just fine. At one point she just did cartwheels for an entire block showing me that she is in much better shape than me and giggled the whole time. I eventually felt safe enough to let the swarm go and we rounded the block and came up to the home stretch.

"Hey Owl this was fun but that's it for my jog today, I have to go in to get ready for school." She looks a little down but then perks right back up.

"Do you think I could join you tomorrow as well Tay Tay." She says that and looks a little nervous, like she afraid of me saying no and shuffles her feet a little.

I feel pretty good right now so I tell her "Sure Owl, you can join me tomorrow." She then beams at me and lunges forward and gives me a hug that lifts me off the ground and makes it a little hard to breathe then lets me go and says goodbye and that she'd see me tomorrow then turns around and starts running off. What a weird girl. I had fun but its time to head inside and make breakfast. This is the first time in a while I've started the day and felt really good. A very long time. I start looking forward to tomorrow despite the small part of me that is still paranoid that this is so elaborate scheme.

And that thought kills my mood a little but I'm still riding high and get on with my day.

The next day when I'm about to head out I sense someone standing on the sidewalk in front of my house with my bugs. I take a peek out the window and see Owl standing there kicking around an old soda can and looking like she's enjoying herself. To be honest I'm a little surprised to see that she came back and I'm a tiny bit jealous that she seems to be so carefree, but I push that feeling down and finish getting ready. I open the door and go to greet her.

"Hey Owl" She whips around to face me and her whole body lights up with excitement. "Tay! Are you ready for the best jog ever."

I laugh to myself a little and tell her I'm ready.

We both head out and and Owl starts telling stories about everything that happened to her yesterday and some other times through her life like how she likes riding motorcycles, and that she swears she knows kung-fu and then does some karate chops and kicks with her own sound effects. She then starts telling me that she met Armsmaster.

"Wait you've met him before, did you manage to get his autograph." I ask now fully invested in the story, so I'm a little bit of a cape geek, sue me.

"Well I wanted to" She starts to explain "But he seemed to busy, swinging his stabby stick everywhere."

"It's a halberd Owl and you saw him while he was fighting" I asked her excitedly.

She nods and ignores my correction of stabby stick "Ya it was so cool, he was all like woosh woosh slizice with his stick and his armor was all shiny and stuff."

"That's awesome!" I, sadly, seem to have been second hand star struck for a second but cough a bit and regain my composure. "I mean that's pretty cool I guess." Smooth recovery Taylor, she'll never see through that.

She then gives me a sideways glance and grin. Damn it, I may as well be made of glass, see saw right through that. I quickly change the subject and we carry on with our morning exercise.

The rest of the week carries on the same way, I have a fun morning with Owl, then go to school for the day and go through hell. Friday starts off fun with Owl but after we finish our jog we part ways for the day and I head to school, and I'm dreading it the entire way.

The day just seems like a normal horrible day until it escalates during lunch. I go to the bathroom to eat my lunch in peace, one of the last safe spaces I have left to eat my lunch and not be picked on and lock myself in the stall to eat. Just as I'm getting ready to dig in to my sad lunch I hear the door to the bathroom open and close and the sound of hushed voices near my stall. They go quiet for a moment, then I hear a shuffling noise and I'm suddenly covered in juice from above. I look up to see the faces of the three bitches that are the main players of the people at school trying to ruin my life. Emma Barnes, my ex best friend who randomly turned on me, Sophia Hess, the track star who's the one that physically bullies me the most, and Madison Clements, the useless girl that backs up the other two. They start giggling and taunt me.

"Oh look poor Taylor made a mess again, so sad." "Ya she can't even take care of herself." and other assorted taunts as they lower themselves from the sides of the stall and leave the bathroom laughing. I leave my stall and wipe off my glasses and look at myself in the mirror. I'm covered in juice, I'm sticky all over, my backpack is covered in juice, all the paperwork inside is ruined.

I'm pissed.

I'm furious.

I'm seething.

I feel all the insects in the school, Winslow is a disgusting pit so I have a hold over many, many bugs.

I could kill them now, swarm them in bugs, eat them alive and torture them to death. Burrow the roaches under their skin and gather wasps and bees to sting their eyes out, I could pay them back for the past year and a half of bullying. Hurt everyone else that just stood by and let them bully me. Make the locker they shoved me into look like a cozy place to be.

No.

But it would be so easy.

Taylor you said you wanted to be a hero.

Wouldn't it be heroic though, getting justice for myself for all the pain they've caused me. Surely I'd be justified.

What would Owl think if I butchered everyone in the school. Finding out that just because I had an especially bad day that I'd kill them all.

The thought that such a cheerful girl would be horrified to see me, her being disappointed in me, it an incredibly sobering thought.

I come back down from the anger and realize I'm covered in bugs, like some form of living shield, and disperse them with a thought.

I'm still covered in juice, my backpack is still ruined, my cape notes are ruined.

I won't go crazy today, but fuck them I'm going home. I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me like this for the rest of the day.

Shit, my cape notes. It might be jumping the gun a bit but screw it. I'm going to finish my cape costume, and I'm going on patrol this weekend and I'll be the best god damned hero ever seen just to spite those stupid cunts.

It's a foolproof plan, what could go wrong.

AN/ Although I've been on this site for many years and have had tons of half assed story ideas kick around in my head this is the first time I've ever put one of them out there. I love Worm and that's one of the reasons I was able to man up and put out a story. I know it kind of sucks but it's been in my head for months now and I just had to put it out there. Reviews are welcome just so I can see where I could improve and expand my story. And hey even if you don't review it and just drop it now, thanks for at least checking it out.

-Killa