Disclaimer: I don't own Worm, Worm is the property of Wildbow.

A tapping noise filled her dreams.

*Tap tap tap*

Alyssa woke to the typical hums and beeps of the hospital operating. It was dark out, and she glanced over to the clock on her nightstand - twelve fourteen, a bit past midnight.

*Tap tap tap*

The tapping noise started again, and she wearily glanced over to the window where the noise seemed to originate from.

A black figure crouched outside the window, silhouetted against the moonlight. Alyssa shirked back in fear when it stood up, and the figure cocked its head, waving its arm and beckoning her towards it.

Ironing her resolve, Alyssa climbed out of bed, and wobbled unsteadily on her feet. The dark figure continued to motion to her. Alyssa briefly wondered how someone could get outside her window, seeing how she was on the ninth floor of the hospital.

Carefully, she tip-toed towards the window. She hesitated for a moment, then cracked the latch open by an inch. The dark figure smoothly moved into the room with a cat-like grace, and stood before her.

"Sheesh, were you going to make me stay out there all night?" he whispered.

Alyssa's eyes widened as she recognized the voice.

"BIG BR-!?"

Alex placed a finger on her lips.

"Shh! Keep it down, you want the nurses to find me here?"

Alyssa's mouth hung open, stunned as the dark, armored figure dropped a windbreaker jacket, sweater, socks, and ski pants in her hands.

"Put those on, it'll be too cold outside for you to be just wearing those thin pajamas."

"Umm...where are we going, Alex?" she asked as he pulled a Ushanka hat over her bald head and clicked the strap together.

"We're going to make your wish come true" he said as he unhooked a weird looking harness from around his waist.

"The next round of bed checks is at 2 a.m, we're going to have to be back here by then.

Alyssa slapped herself, wondering if she was dreaming.

"This is a climbing harness, I'm going to need you securely fastened on it."

.Alyssa nodded numbly, still failing to comprehend what she was seeing. She puzzled out the harness, and with some help from her big bro, managed to strap it on. There were four other straps that seemed to hang loosely as she clasped it on.

"Alex, what are these straps for?"

He checked her harness over intently, biting his lips as he fumbled around his pockets. Then he handed her a ski mask.

"Those are for me. Here you should wear this too - keeps the wind and bugs out of your face."

Still confused, Alyssa put on the mask as Alex checked the harness one last time, then he turned and crouched in front of her.

"Climb on" he commanded gently.

Alyssa complied, and her older cousin stood up straight. She grabbed the harness straps and brought them up between her legs, then she brought the top straps over her shoulders. She clicked the straps together, and found herself secured against Alex's back. Alex glanced at her over his shoulder and turned the lights off, before moving towards the open window.

"Umn, uh.. uh...Alex, what are you doing?"

"We're going to go flying, or at the very least, the closest thing to it that we can."

Before Alyssa could respond, Alex jumped out and she shut her eyes reflexively, yelping and clutching onto him for dear life as they fell.

She felt a lurch, and when she opened her eyes again, they were standing on the hospital roof.

The roof has to be fifty odd feet from my floor, how did he do that?

Then he began to run fast, impossibly fast. Alyssa felt Alex's muscles rippling beneath her as he approached the edge of the roof.

He's not about to do what I think he's about to do, is he?

Alex sprinted to the edge of the roof, and jumped out into the night sky. Alyssa clenched her eyes shut again, trying her best to hold back a scream. A second later, she realized that they weren't falling.

She opened her eyes, only to find herself staring down at the brightly lit park below, perched on her dearest cousin's back as he stood on what appeared to be thin air.

"How you feeling back there?" he asked, peering over his shoulder.

"H-h-how... w-what." Alyssa stammered.

"I'll tell you some other time, Allie. Are you ready to fly?"

A rush of exhilaration gripped Alyssa's chest.

"Yeah!"

In a gust of wind, Alex leapt down towards the park, stopping above a street light, and rapidly hopped to another, and another, and another. The numerous pedestrians that were out late on a weekday evening pointed and shouted in the air as the dark blur rapidly shot across the park. He jumped up into the air, sailing over a telephone pole, and before Alyssa knew it, they had landed on another rooftop.

He sprinted forwards, clearing the rooftop in less than a second, and he began to jump from rooftop to rooftop. He was moving fast enough that Alyssa really thought she was flying. The scenario rolled by smoothly as they moved, and Alex didn't seem to stumble in the slightest. It seemed that every couple of seconds, they would ascend another thirty or forty feet.

Maintaining his momentum, Alex jumped off from a roof, shooting across a span of seventy or eighty feet over the empty air as Alyssa ceased any efforts at staying quiet and began to cheer and squeal in delight. He latched onto the side of a tall building, and began to dash along the side in a horizontal run. From the side, he did a spin, landing on another street light, and hopped clear across the street to another light. Without halting his stride, he jumped towards another skyscraper and began to run along its side.

Alyssa continued to cheer with glee. She had never felt more excited in her entire life.

This had to be a dream, and if it was, Alyssa hoped that she would never wake up from it.

Continuing to ascend, Alex began to pick up momentum again, and pushed with one final dash upwards, slingshotting them across the air. Alyssa's heart filled with wonder as she stared at the city below, a sprawling, magnificent maze of steel, concrete, and shining lights.

They landed on top of a large structure, and they finally stopped. Alyssa looked around, and saw that they were standing on the edge of a skyscraper.

"Where are we, Alex?"

Alex stayed silent for a second, basking in the view before finally speaking.

"The building we're standing on right now is called the Memorial Tower. It was originally due to open this year as an observatory, but the top quarter was cleaved off during Scion's attack. The city kind of threw up its arms and decided to make it stand as a testament to mankind's resilience, rather than commemorate any single tragedy."

Alyssa was stunned by the breathtaking view of the city around her.

"Now come on, we're on a time limit and there's some more cool stuff to see around the city. Wait till you see what the city looks like from on top of the bridges."

Without warning, Alex jumped up into the air, with his arms splayed out. Then, he clasped them to his side like a skydiver.

All Alyssa could do was scream in excitement and terror.

-ooo-

"Alex?" Alyssa asked.

"Hm?"

"Are you some kind of superhero?

Alex paused to look at her.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret identity" she smiled weakly as I helped her change into her hospital garb.

"I'm going to leave now, kid. Get some sleep and I'll see you again when I can." he whispered. "And remember, this is our little secret."

He winked, and turned to make for the window.

"Hey big bro."

Alex turned back to her. She was smiling warmly, her eyes shimmering against the dim glow of the city skyline.

"Thank you for the tonight... I love you."

He quivered a little, almost as if he were fighting back tears, and he leaned over to her, stroking her hair before kissing her on the forehead.

"I love you too, Allie."

I sensed an approaching nurse as she flinched from my brief display of affection, and I jumped for the window.

Alyssa heard the click of her door as the nurse began to make arounds for her bed check. She looked back at Alex and saw that he had already vanished.

The curtains billowed for a moment as the night nurse approached the window, closing it shut.

Off in the distance, a lone woman stood perched on a rooftop building.

The woman pointed her device at the ninth floor of the hospital, and pushed down on a button, snapping a picture.