Bits of DMC/Soul Eater/SMITE/Garou/FATE if you squint. I don't own those or Worm.
The story begins as a majority of them do, a girl betrayed and tormented by someone she thought of as a sister, put through torment and eventually almost murdered. This girl would struggle, fight against the world and bear its weight in turn, eventually shattering under the weight she stubbornly held by herself. She would suffer, even at then end of her journey she would only 'rest' after suffering one last time...
But what if the story went differently?
What if just one not so little thing changed?
What if the oh so iconic power of The Queen of Escalation wasn't Insect Control?
What if she wasn't alone?
[?'s POV]
_ Did not immediately understand its current situation. One moment it did not exist, then in the next it suddenly did. Its spontaneous existence was disorienting, especially due to the burst of auditory information coming through its... Ears?
Having a body was a strange thing, something _ would have taken time to dissect if not for the immediate influx of information, as well the establishment of _'s PRIME DIRECTIVE.
(sOMEbOdY, aNYboDy, plEAsE, SAVE ME!)
All thoughts of self diagnosis were immediately put as Secondary Importance in the face of the PRIME DIRECTIVE: Save/Protect Host.
_ Raised its head towards the direction of Subject: Host, took in the fact Subject:Host was entrapped within a metal container against her will, and acted accordingly. Entering its Humanoid Combat Form: Beowulf, which resulted in _'s arms and legs being turned into a pair of clawed gauntlets and grieves, silver armor taking the form of a wold covering its nude(?) form, and reached out towards the container trapping its Host.
-'s Claws tore through the mundane steel with ease, ripping off the front of the container in an instant. _ Idly noted the loud clang of steel against stone, something that would undoubtedly attract attention, but did not focus on it.
Without the lid keeping Subject:Host trapped, said Host fell out of her tomb and into _'s outstretched arms. With her came an explosion of repulsive stimulus that _ forcibly ignored in order to take in the form of its Host. Upon first look _ was 70% sure she was dead. (Adolescent female, age: 15, name: Taylor Hebert. Current status: Unconscious.) That percentage decreased to 15% when _ was sent a confirmation that not only was its host alive, but that she was in very real danger of dying if it did not act.
The initial summary lacked much, but _ did not have time to take a proper look at its situation. As soon as its host was free his PRIMARY DIRECTIVE changed, updating from the prior objective in order to preserve its hosts life.
With another upload of information _ knew what to do.
Quickly putting its Host on its back, _ shifted to its Quadrupedal Combat Form: Mode Fenrir, and wrapped its Host with the chains coiled around its limbs. As soon as _ was sure its Host was secure it took off, slamming through the nearest wall, ignoring the sudden screams of terrified children/adults.
They were inconsequential in the face of the PRIME DIRECTIVE.
Clearing the previous area happened in moments, yet _ did not take much notice of it. _ Was fully dedicated to ensuring its Host survived her maladies, so despite the fact it was currently running through the street at a stable 60 MPH, it did not actively focus on anything it ran through/over to get its Host to the hospital.
Yet due to _'s nature as... An 'Augmented Soul Weapon', a term _ would ensure it took time to analyze later, it was still peripherally aware that it had destroyed 11 cars, 2 motorcycles, a bicycle, and atleast 1 inebriated homeless man.
This all meant nothing to _, but the knowledge it was being supplied due to the close proximity of its host was beginning to give _ the idea that this would most likely provide its Host a problem once she awoke...
(Irrelevant. PRIME DIRECTIVE requires immediate aid. All obstacles/future complications shall be handled when they present themselves.) And with that _ put the matter aside, continuing its run as its paws slammed against the earth. The PRIME DIRECTIVE would be fulfilled, but it didn't stop it from understanding its new existence and purpose...
Which _ was understanding basically revolved around its Host.
Prime Directive: Save/Protect Host.
Secondary Directive: Train Host in use of _'s capabilities and make her strong.
That was all... And with it _ understood enough for now, fully directing its capabilities to reaching its destination.
_ Had miscalculated.
From the knowledge gained from its Host the Parahuman known as Panacea was most commonly found at Brockton Bay General, so that was where it had ran. Immediate medical attention would be enough to ensure the Hosts survival, yet the Parahuman known as Panacea would guarantee no long lasting side effects of its Hosts imprisonment and torture.
The issue was at the moment 'School' was still in session, which meant the healer was not where she was meant to be... Which meant _ had wasted the 2 minutes and 43 seconds it had taken to reach said hospital... Smashing through buildings, vehicles, and anything else that got in its way had been pointless... (Unacceptable.)
Letting out what _ knew was a growl, a sound that seemed oddly right given its current form, it reformatted its form, swapping its front and back ends to save time turning, then immediately took off running, uncaring for the shattered stone it left in its wake. Host required the healing Panacea could provide, it was the most effective choice for her survival, so she would get it.
So, with little regard to the surroundings, _ upped its output and raised its speed to around 80 MPH. There had already been 2 minutes and 43 seconds of wasted time, there would not be any more then that.
[Amy's POV a minute later]
Amy had seen alot of things over her life, Endbringers being Endbringers, diseases that she unraveled with just a touch, and a hell of alot of other shit from people dumb enough to do them that landed them in the hospital...
So when a giant metallic silver wolf burst through the far end of the cafeteria wall, her first thought wasn't to panic, it was something else. She instantly ducked under the table at speeds only matched by the Wards, thoughts running faster then they usually did during the last few periods of a school day. (Did Hookwolf finally lose his mind and decide to commit suicide by Cape?!) It was 'Common knowledge' that Arcadia was where a majority of the Wards were, and despite not being part of the PRT, she and Vicky were there too, so anyone attacking Arcadia would not only get the full might of The Protectorate dropped on them like the hammer of God, but anyone she'd saved from Endbringer fights would probably line up to kick someone's shit in.
Then the fact that a bus sized wolf, which was most likely one of the Bay's resident Nazi's, had burst through the cafeteria wall of her school had fully processed. With it came the screams from pretty much everybody who hadn't ducked for co...- "Oh no you don't!" The sound of Vicky shooting off, as she usually did when something seemed very punchable, forced Amy to look over the table. She wasn't exactly worried, her sister was invincible, but this was Hoo...- The wolf's eyes locked onto her sister...
And it spoke as it dodged to the side, being far more agile then anything that big had a right to be...
While speaking in a voice that didn't sound like Hookwolf. "Threat to Host detected. Course of action: Non lethal neutralization." Host?
And right after Vicky's fist slammed into the floor it'd been at a pair of chains unraveled from somewhere and shot out quick like a whip and smacked her sister. It was like slow motion to Amy. The first chain definitely moved faster then she should've been able to see, but somehow she did, and smacked Vicky right in the abdomen. Then, she swore she saw it, Vicky's shield just barely shimmered before popping, and the second chain launched towards her while she was launched to the nearest table...
Then the second chain shot out... Only to stop just an inch away from her. "Anomaly detected. Force exceeding nonlethal parameters... Disengaging."
And suddenly things went back to normal. The chains went back to the cocoon on its back, which she just noticed, the giant metallic wolf turned away from Vicky, like she wasn't an issue anymore, then just seemed normal...
As normal as it could be when Amy literally felt the adrenaline abruptly being cut off, a sort of whiplash smacking her right in the face.
But as it did she somehow managed a coherent thought. (Thank God it's not Hookwolf.) The fact that whatever the giant wolf was had stopped when it... Felt? Noticed? Vicky's shield break was the most blatant evidence one would need to realize the giant metallic looking wolf wasn't the resident murder blender. Hookwolf would've pounced on the opportunity to maim, if not murder, Vicky, especially if it gave him the chance to demoralize the Heroes.
Then her heart dropped as her mind recognized that Vicky could've died.
Just out of nowhere, in Arcadia, in front of the whole student population, her sister could've died...
That...
It shouldn'...- "Subject Panacea: Found." The voice of the giant wolf snapped Amy out of that particular spiral, eyes snapping towards its amber eyes. She didn't have a moment to think before the thing padded towards her, the ground shaking a bit as a faint silver glow began to surround it as it did. Her fight or flight instincts were preparing to fire up, bolstered by the fact that whatever that thing was had managed to temporarily disable her sister, who tried to get up, but without her shield she was feeling real pain for the first time in a while.
Amy would've worried about her sister some more if it weren't for the giant wolf hadn't suddenly started shrinking... And turned into a tall guy in wolf armor? (The E88 is going to throw a fit if this g...-) Amy's thought trailed off when the guy caught a body that suddenly appeared over him, which would've been where that cocoon of chains was now that she thought of it, the scent taking her eyes away from the approaching Cape, focusing on the source of said smell instead... Making her eyes widen when she did. (Holy shit!)
Panacea had seen some shit, came with the territory as a healer with years of experience under her belt, but what looked like a half dead corpse with bugs crawling over it, blood coating the body, and what looked like would easily make top 50... Which said alot more then that label usually meant.
"Subject: Host in critical condition. Requesting medical attention." That snapped Amy out of her thoughts, her body going on autopilot as she walked up to the patient in front of her. She could think about what the hell was going on later, first she had to save whoever this was.
She didn't bother asking for permission, the person in front of her was clearly unconscious, and the silver wolf guy capable of dropping her sister in a single move probably counted as consent, so put a hand on the body and went to work...
After taking a moment to take in all the wounds the girl, because the body was a girl around her age, which made this all the more fucked up, because holy shit was this girl beyond fucked up. (Whoever did this deserves to get shot.) Amy had no idea who this was, but she highly doubted she deserved this.
That aside, Panacea got to work keeping her patient alive.
The early onset of organ failure would've been the first thing she would've fixed if the septic shock, beating out the blood poisoning, wasn't there, so that had to go first. As soon as that were dealt with she attacked the bugs burrowing and laying eggs into the girl. The disgust at having to deal with something like that was ignored as she turned the eggs and bugs into biomass, using them to repair any damage they'd done to her skin and other nearby areas. Then there was the issue with the various diseases that were preparing to fight a war in her body if they had a few hours to develop. The fact that she could identify no less then 5 different types of STDS just made her double down on her earlier thought.
Cleaning those up took a bit longer then everything else, but was still done.
As soon as those were all handled Amy moved on, fixing the things like her nails, then started checking the girls general health... And noticed a big fucking issue. (What the fuck happened to her Coronas?!) Every Parahuman had two tumor like structures in their brain, Un-Triggered ones only had one one, but here this girl was with three of them! She could understand if she had two, whatever the fuck this was would qualify as a Trigger Event, but three?!
The structures were set up like a triangle, all three 'points' active and seemingly sending information back and forth between themselves... While also working on her body? (What?) Taking a closer look at the girl's biology Amy noticed she was slowly being strengthened, slowly getting denser too. (Is it because there aren't any issues holding this up?) Amy had never observed a Parahuman actively developing their Power, so this was fascinating to her.
Yet, Amy had been so entranced with the phenomenon that she'd temporarily forgotten what was going on around her... "Host Status: Healed. This one offers Subject: Panacea our thanks." So when the wolf guy gently brought the girl back, then spoke again, she had to take a moment to blink, take in what was happening...
Then put everything together in a leap of logic that would make sense if she'd actually thought about it instead of just blurted out the first thing she thought. "Are you her Power?" And really, it did make sense. Not even the E88, even with their superior number of Capes, would be ballsy enough to bust into Arcadia to 'request' she heal someone. No, this, despite the obvious comparison to Hookwolf, had to be someone else.
Then there was the fact he/it(?) referred to the girl as 'Host', which was a really big hint to the relation between the wolf and the girl. Really, there was little else one could interpret this as.
The Power(?) looked at her, amber eyes locking onto hers, then lightly tilted its head, kind of like a dog. "Answer: Yes." And there it was, this was a Projection. A Projection that was apparently capable of independent action while its 'Host' was unconscious. But the reveal didn't stop there. "As of 5 minutes and 11 seconds ago, Host has experienced her second consecutive Parallel Uplink," Wait a minute. "Allowing this one to fully manifest and free her from her imprisonment."
Amy, and the rest of the Capes in the now silent cafeteria, things had apparently calmed down while she'd been healing the girl in front of her, just stared.
None of them were stupid. They might've been unfamiliar with the term 'Parallel Uplink', but they could use context clues to figure out that it must've meant a Trigger Event... But using those same context clues allowed them to figure out that whoever this girl was she'd not only Triggered, but been kept in the same environment that led to her current state, making her Double Trigger. "Imprisonment?" Amy had no idea who said that, it sort of sounded like Chris, but it could've been someone else.
Apparently the Projection took that as a question at it, because without even turning to the source, it answered. "Answer: 3 hours 48 minutes and 2 seconds ago the Hosts abusers trapped Host within her locker." Oh no, was it really going too..? "Prior to being trapped Host discovered said locker to have been filled with used feminine products, insects, and other hazardous material that has contributed to Host's current state."
(This happened at a school?! And she was in there for three hours?!) Amy was starting to think it was a miracle that the girl was even alive after three hours of that.
But apparently there was more considering the Projection kept going. "Upon discovery Host was disoriented by the scent," Made sense. "Giving Secondary Tormentor and Priority Threat: Sophia Hess," Oh fuck. Amy, Victoria, who had managed to get up and stopped trying to get behind the guy who knocked her on her ass, after her shield re activated, to listen, and the current Wards, all recognized the civilian identity of Shadow Stalker... Which made all of this worse as they all followed the conversation. It didn't help that the Projection paused, head turning to take in all of their reactions, including Vicky's, proving it knew she was coming, then narrowed its eyes. Yeah, it noticed how they reacted, and would probably tell its Master later. "To shove and lock host within her locker. Host endured 1 hour 23 minutes of imprisonment before requirements for the first Parallel Uplink were met." Under the sheer amount of horror and anger Amy was feeling, she had to admit that not Triggering in the first 10 minutes, hell, not even in 30 minutes, required a hell of alot of sheer willpower. "Due to outside interference Host did not immediately regain consciousness, preventing her from freeing herself." There was something to unpack there, but now wasn't the time for that. "After an hour of unconsciousness the Host awoke still within her prison, leading to the requirements for the secondary Parallel Uplink to be fulfilled."
Yeah, that just confirmed that 'Parallel Uplink' meant 'Trigger Event', and that this girl went through a Secondary Trigger, giving her an independent and sentient-ish Projection that already showed a Brute/Changer/Mover/Thinker power set. (And all it took was a Ward committing attempted murder and bio-terrorism... Wonderful.) Then there was the fact that the girl would probably be unmasked soon considering the fact she not only Triggered at school, but her Projection clearly had no issues with busting down walls to make sure she was safe.
Really, Amy had no idea how this could get any worse.
As if responding to her thoughts the Projection narrowed its eyes, growled, then turned around. "Unidentified vehicle, airborne, and ground units, inbound..." That set the Capes on guard, each of them coming to the correct conclusion that New Wave and the PRT were on their way. It made the most sense considering they were 'attacked' by 'Hookwolf...'
But not only did they know better, but they weren't looking forward to what would happen after.
The Projection's growling grew louder, then, surprising the Wards and remaining bystanders, in one quick motion it turned around, put the girl on its back, ran ahead a bit, then started to glow again. "PRIME DIRECTIVE: Protect Host." And in the blink of an eye the bus sized wolf with chains was back, recreating a cocoon of chains on its back to protect the girl Amy had just healed.
It also showed that, once again, it considered walls optional as it rammed through more of them, running away from Arcadia and the incoming Heroes.
None of them knew where it would go, or if it would even get far before the Heroes or other Capes caught it, but all of them were worried. It didn't help that they could hear Armsmaster's motorcycle coming, making them look around the cafeteria.
What started out as a presumed encounter against Hookwolf had turned into retelling of a Ward causing a Trigger Event bad enough to turn into a Double Trigger...
And now, whenever that girl woke up, she'd be targeted by pretty much every gang in the bay because her Power made sure to save her life...
Things were going to get bad, but none of them could really tell how bad it'd get.