Gasp, actual communication in Worm instead of bottling everything up until it explodes violently? Being serious though, I am kind of surprised 'The Secret' is the clear leading pick. I've seen a lot of "Danny is stupid" in other fics, though I haven't read every fic in existence... In my opinion, Worm Fanon is one of the more confusing elements of Worm.
The fact "Just Go Home" got no traction is interesting, but basically that would have been the Option that involved Taylor not explaining anything and leaving Danny to stew in his worry until she finally decides to elaborate if ever. On one hand, that's probably the most Taylor Option, but this is also supposed to be a Post-Locker Taylor who isn't quite as jaded what with having an actual non-familial connection & being removed from the living hell that Emma cultivated.
Scheduled vote count started by Kkutlord on Feb 11, 2023 at 3:39 PM, finished with 15 posts and 11 votes.
A/N: Ah, the surprising option. Honestly, I did originally consider if I should have opened with Taylor already doing Hero Stuff, but I figured it would be more fun showing her reaching that point. Let us see where this goes, shall we?
[] Mention 'The Secret'.
- Was there a point trying to hide it anymore?
----
The easy option would have been to not say anything at all, I was used to doing that... but in hindsight, would things at Winslow have been better if I was actually honest with Dad? Even now, it still didn't make sense why Emma turned on me, Dad never said anything bad about the Barnes but well...
Though I may not have done the best job at showing it, I did want to keep my relationship with Dad. We were more like two people who coincidentally lived in the same home and occasionally carpooled. Intellectually, I knew he never stopped caring, but I understood I needed to be the one to reach out...
"Can we go to the car first? I want to talk about things privately." Getting an 'Of course' and following after Dad, what should I say? Obviously Dad would like to know what exactly happened today at school, that was easy. Too easy, Dad must have a rough idea already, despite not having the details of what I went through.
I... the 'Noise'... there was no denying it, I have some connection with the Nanites that changed the world, and I've had that for over three months now. I wasn't ready to be the New Panacea, but I couldn't keep convincing myself I was just some 'Ordinary Girl' anymore. That life had been gone for so long, maybe I should tell Dad...
It was an awkward few moments in the car, the both of us silent despite Dad's unspoken curiosity & concern. I didn't have to tell Dad I'm some kind of Super-EVO, I wasn't sure how it would change things between us. But it had to be better than letting him be surprised, he's my Dad but how you learn something makes a difference.
Taking a deep inhale, there was no going back now... "Dad, I have powers." That gets Dad to look at me, confusion evident on his face as he processed that statement. Slowly the passive expression bleeds into a more active one, the curiosity & confusion merely becoming focused rather than fade away.
"What... kind of powers?" Good question, hearing the sound of the Nanites and being able to command them was one thing, but I'm pretty sure there had to be some limitations. It would be way too easy to go 'All Nanites deactivate forever', there must be other things stopping me from going God-Empress of Mankind.
"I hear 'Noise', I wasn't sure what it was at first. What I did know is that it seems to be everywhere, to the point I can even sense movement by listening to that 'Noise.' I've been able to hear this 'Noise' ever since... I left Winslow." For a second Dad looked ashamed at the reminder, and I didn't like it either. But that's when it started...
"Does this 'Noise' do anything? I can give a good pep talk or two, but I'm not a therapist nor psychiatrist- please tell me this 'Noise' isn't telling you anything strange." Part of me wanted to get angry at the implication my mental health was in doubt, but on the other hand I think it might actually be preferable if I could understand it consistently.
"No, I think it might be some kind of language, but I don't think any of it has tried speaking to me. It can be hard to distinguish where the 'Noise' is coming from if too much of it is grouped together, and... I'm pretty certain I know what EVOlution sounds like." That gets a horrified expression to flash across Dad's face.
I didn't know what Dad was thinking, I-I didn't scare him right? I was tempted to shame myself, but how were we supposed to progress if I wasn't willing to admit scary things to him? Even so, I felt my dread mounting every second Dad didn't say something, I would have put up with anything...
"Why were you at the local ERT branch? D-did the EVO hurt you?" That got me frustrated, sure Dad didn't think I was outted, but I was perfectly fine! "Of course not, Beverly would never hurt me!" Sure, I got thrown into a wall, but I didn't feel any aches whatsoever. That was actually kind of weird, you'd think it would have been adrenaline numbing the pain...
Thoughts about that subject quickly faded away as I caught Dad's eyes slowly blinking in realization. "Your friend was the one who turned? I-I'm so sorry, is there something I can do?" Not unless Dad has a legal expert on speed-dial, not that I really want to deal with Uncle Alan right now. Though what was a Divorce Lawyer supposed to do?
"That's the... weird part Dad. Beverly is mostly fine, I wanted her to be and the 'Noise' did what I wanted. I tried to brush it off at first, but then I got the 'Noise' to make a barrier to protect us. Once is weird, twice is suspicious, right?" Dad sat in silence, head pointed downwards at the steering wheel but his mind somewhere else...
I didn't want to be afraid I did something wrong, if Dad wasn't going to be okay with my powers then who would? I had nowhere to go other than home, what was I supposed to do if things went wrong? Snapping out of my spiral as I felt Dad's hand on my shoulder, he smiled at me weakly.
"Let's go home, okay? We can sort things out later." Weakly nodding back, even as the car started moving I couldn't help but still feel uneased. Nothing about today was something I expected to happen, and despite having lived it things felt kind of unreal as well. I charged at an EVO, met multiple Heroes, and nearly... died protecting Beverly & Vicky.
I needed to do something with my powers, I had a better of what it is but hardly any clue on what I can actually do. I was flailing around and got lucky, I couldn't keep doing that if I wanted to protect myself and others from danger.
-- (What to do?)
[] What Else I Can 'Build'?
- Making shields is good and all, but I need more than that.
[] Who Were Those Mysterious Figures?
- They were definitely EVOs and Disruptors aren't easy to get.
[] Perhaps A Live Test?
- 'Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention', I try could fighting some crooks?
----
A/N: You know, I'm not entirely sure what I was doing with this one. Part of me was all "You've probably been writing Taylor too happy", which is kind of a hard balance to find between how Beaten Down she is at the Start of Canon compared to her having over 3 months in this Story to exist in an environment not actively trying to shatter her soul.
Apologies for these first two chapters of Arc 2, the actual Hero Stuff will start kicking off either next Update or the one after that. Regarding "Random EVOs", I got this nice idea in mind for Arc 2 but I am a bit worried if I should adhere strictly to Canon EVOs. Kind of feels weird I should, but I know there's a general category of people that get angry and/or annoyed with too much change in a Fanfic.
Oh, right, Danny- no worries, he's pretty much trying to process Taylor's claims about her powers. The ability to not only detect EVOlution but reverse it is huge. Danny can totally understand that's something he shouldn't handle lightly, cause if it is true? Hoo boy, miracle enough The World hasn't gone insane over Panacea.
You probably shouldn't worry too much about deviations from the canon - in a crossover with a full fusion of the two settings, this is virtually inevitable, and if we were looking for exact following of the canon, we would simply turn to the original works.
Oh man, what a struggle- should I have given this one more day? Being serious, I was not expecting such focus. A 'Live Test' basically would have just skipped to Taylor trying to find someone Sufficiently Bad to beat up, whereas 'Mysterious Figures' would have involved her putting all the pieces together regarding their possible identities.
You probably shouldn't worry too much about deviations from the canon - in a crossover with a full fusion of the two settings, this is virtually inevitable, and if we were looking for exact following of the canon, we would simply turn to the original works.
Honestly this was really eating me up, I have this cool idea regarding what are called 'Evokers' that would have a connection to the 'Cauldron Vials'- obviously there would be people out there trying to deliberately cause EVOlution and those who specifically want it on their terms. I have a lot of things I want to do with Evoker Unit 01- not sure what to do about 02, I already have artwork for 03 from a while back...
It won't be exactly like how Rex does it, mostly because I want to keep some degree of Skitter's 'Swarm' Powers. The next update should hopefully make things clear enough.
Scheduled vote count started by Kkutlord on Feb 12, 2023 at 3:07 PM, finished with 11 posts and 11 votes.
A/N: When I presented last Turn's vote options, I hadn't thought that deeply about it- I knew the Big Thing I wanted to do with 'Build', but beyond that I wasn't sure what else to do. It should be clear why soon enough.
[] What Else I Can 'Build'?
- Making shields is good and all, but I need more than that.
----
The safest and simplest option is just to get a better idea of what I could actually do with my powers. Trying to track down those Mysterious Figures that... used a Disrupter, probably would have been a complicated process. I would need to properly plan out how to handle that, I wasn't at all fit for dealing with the type of people most likely responsible.
I could try wandering around Brockton like some lost puppy, but despite the E88 & ABB it wasn't like there was a crime 24/7 everywhere one could feasibly get to. Maybe if I really push my sensory capabilities, I might have better odds of locating criminals? All I really have is a vague awareness of everything around me, that was useful enough but it could be more.
I should at least figure out if practice would work before throwing myself in front of armed thugs who didn't care who they hurt. The whole ride, there wasn't much noise- just two people struggling to make sense of things. Honestly, what was I even planning to do with my powers? It wasn't my responsibility to somehow save the world...
Getting home was a simple affair, judging by Dad's Nanites he turned his head over to me- probably wondering if I needed help getting out of the car. When it became clear I didn't, he focused on getting out himself. I let Dad go first, and I just felt exhausted when Dad didn't react meaningfully to the broken step. It was never a 'big deal', but it should have been concerning he didn't remember to skip it.
I was used to Dad not paying close attention to everything around him when in one of his 'moods', maybe that said something concerning about myself I'm simply tolerating my Dad's behavior? I'm not even an amateur therapist, I didn't know the first thing about how to fix my problems. Media really needs to better portray therapy...
Dad entering the house after me, thoughts started to whir in my mind- where exactly am I going to experiment with my powers and what would I be trying? I should try avoiding doing anything that'd grab attention from others, probably best to avoid any windows. Also shouldn't try anything particularly dangerous or disruptive...
"I'm... going to take a rest, Taylor. Sorry..." I could sense that Dad was looking at me, so I waved him off without looking. 'That's okay', that should have been simple enough, so why did it take Dad a few moments before looking away & walking upstairs? I wasn't trying to do anything negative...
I can worry about that later, the first thing I should try... other than myself, there's no EVOs nearby to try doing whatever I did to Beverly. Some kind of 'reformatting' maybe? Could I replicate creating a Barrier? What was going through my head at the time... "What I wanted most was something to protect Beverly, Vicki, and myself from that Disrupter Round."
Closing my eyes and listening to the Nanites, I tried my best to 'push out' my desire onto the Nanites. Slowly, a patch of the nanoscopic machines in front of me coalesced into a vaguely familiarly shaped wall-like structure. Opening my eyes merely confirmed my Nanite sensing wasn't wrong about what I would see.
Reaching out to touch the silver & blue mass, it felt solid and unmoving. "But I don't want it to be." Once more, I could hear the Nanites reacting to my desire, and soon my hand was pushing through the Nanite Barrier like it was made out of taffy. Couple more experiments of me getting it to move around, change shape, and run multiple constructs at once...
I would need to devote some serious time on my 'Builds' if I want more than simple structures, I could probably get the Nanites to create more complex forms. Wait, did this mean I would qualify as a Tinker? Great, being the 'Savior of Humanity' was already going to be a whole thing, but being able to form whatever I wanted whenever I wanted?
Now all I needed was to be a Human Master and/or a Bio-Tinker... wait, do Bio-Tinkers create EVOs? That was a confusing topic, and I've never met a Bio-Tinkered person or creation... I'm curious, but I'm not confident enough to try waltzing into Ellisburg. Where else was I going to find a conveniently available Bio-Tinker and/or those affected by their power?
Putting that aside, if I wanted to go out using my powers without people immediately recognizing me or at least giving them reasons to doubt their guess... I wished I figured this out sooner, getting a costume made is going to take forever. Slowly blinking, it hit me- "Couldn't I just tell the Nanites to make a suit for me?"
The telltale signs of the Nanites reacting to my desires reached my ears, silvery-blue metal creeping over my body from the tips of my fingers. Part of me felt panicked, intellectually I knew better, but... it looked so much like when Beverly turned EVO. Instinctively I closed my eyes, not wanting to see what I would become...
But after a few moments, that panicked part of me faded away, I didn't feel different at all. Sure, I was covered head-to-toe in blue & silver 'armor', but I still felt like me. How much do EVOs even understand of their own transformation? The worst depictions of EVOs tend to paint them as just mindless monsters...
The Empire is the biggest threat to EVOs in Brockton Bay, The Merchants were little more than drug addicts and the ABB... it was really more Lung's pet project, dude only cared if someone was 'Asian Enough'- which was weird for a variety of things I try not to remember, who actually cares about race when we live in a world where your neighbor could suddenly gain the ability to fire death rays from their eyes?
I wasn't sure I could take on a Cape, but my constructs can protect me from anyone that tries to use Disrupters. I could keep trying to get better first, but I don't know how I would do in a fight. There wasn't much point to training in secret for another three months if I'd just get defeated in combat anyways...
-- (What to do?)
[] Go Out Exploring
- What I got so far should be good enough.
[] Talk To Dad.
- Maybe I should tell him what I'm about to do...
[] Ask New Wave?
- All I really know are stories, but... Vicki made a good impression.
----
A/N: Apologies for this taking so long, and also for not going into more detail with Taylor's power experimentation. That was mainly because I couldn't think of much else interesting to write about. The basics is that Taylor can essentially create whatever she wants from the Nanites, but so far she can only manage simplistic structures because she honestly doesn't understand how to build Jet Engines and other things like that.
Her Desire is a key factor as well- Taylor can't maintain many constructs at once, because the moment her attention and/or interest drops that construct becomes much weaker. Similar for how fast they are; the Barrier against the Mysterious Figures was so fast cause "Threat" whereas it was much slower during her practice because she had no strong desire other than "Proving I can do the thing."
Really, I just didn't want to make things too complicated. Regarding her armor, hmm... yeah, something not too dissimilar to this. Not exactly like that, but basically Taylor's Super Suit covers her entirely in a silver/blue substance very similar to EVOlution. Yes, her hair does flow majestically and she could totally make Dramatic Wind to do the 'woosh' effect.
Regarding Danny, basically he's kind of struggling to process the fact his daughter has powers and whatnot. Taylor's already doing the "Creepy Inhuman Crap" by just knowing what's going on without actually looking. I'm not entirely sure how I'd do it, but I could see Danny probably being an Interlude Option for the End of Arc 2.
As for Taylor's interest in targeting the Empire first, it really is that simple- it really makes no sense the Empire would be (obviously) Neo-Nazis in a setting where skin/hair/eye color + etc have literally no impact on whether or not someone randomly transforms into some Mortal Deity capable of vomiting molten slag that melts light itself.
That and Taylor might have something of an unhealthy fixation with Beverly what with being the first real friend she's made post-Emma... not like I have any ideas for a hypothetical love interest for Taylor that isn't just me going "Fine she's totally a lesbian"; seriously, for someone that's supposed to be canonically straight, she really didn't have many options to pick from.
[X] Being able to run away better would be helpful....
-[X] Create some kind of powered Wheels on the Armour's Boots, not little wheels like Roller Blades though, Mountain Blades? Bowling Ball sized? Two wheels on each Boot. If this works, then I could make a single version on my Gauntlet that spins and has blades on it?
[O] Being able to run away better would be helpful....
-[O] Create some kind of powered Wheels on the Armour's Boots, not little wheels like Roller Blades though, Mountain Blades? Bowling Ball sized? Two wheels on each Boot. If this works, then I could make a single version on my Gauntlet that spins and has blades on it?
Yeah, let's think of the obvious things first, then see where we go from there.
EDIT: Changed vote after author post, I do not want Taylor going out alone this early.
[X] Being able to run away better would be helpful....
-[X] Create some kind of powered Wheels on the Armour's Boots, not little wheels like Roller Blades though, Mountain Blades? Bowling Ball sized? Two wheels on each Boot. If this works, then I could make a single version on my Gauntlet that spins and has blades on it?
I'm not fundamentally opposed to Write-Ins, the only reason I didn't include an official "Write-In" Vote is that most Quests I've been in rarely is anyone interested in doing something the QM hadn't already provided. It kind of bothers my friend, he was genuinely confused why nobody showed inquisitiveness about the Dream Realm and I pointed out he didn't provide any premade Easy-to-Understand Options.
Long story short, I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do with this. It'd make sense that Taylor would want some better mobility at the very least, Easier/Greater Traversal is incredibly useful. Are there any unsaid intentions I should be aware of? I don't think there's enough there to fill out a regular chapter, if this won I would probably treat it like a variant of "Go Out Exploring".
Also I'm curious about the reasoning behind this choice because I'd like to carry over as much of the OoC reasoning as possible. It should definitely be doable, all Taylor is really doing is including moving bits to get basic rotation. Honestly, I'm rather glad this wasn't something like "Here's how to create fully functioning wings"- Rex wasn't able to just instantly develop new highly complicated Builds.
I'm not fundamentally opposed to Write-Ins, the only reason I didn't include an official "Write-In" Vote is that most Quests I've been in rarely is anyone interested in doing something the QM hadn't already provided. It kind of bothers my friend, he was genuinely confused why nobody showed inquisitiveness about the Dream Realm and I pointed out he didn't provide any premade Easy-to-Understand Options.
Long story short, I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to do with this. It'd make sense that Taylor would want some better mobility at the very least, Easier/Greater Traversal is incredibly useful. Are there any unsaid intentions I should be aware of? I don't think there's enough there to fill out a regular chapter, if this won I would probably treat it like a variant of "Go Out Exploring".
Also I'm curious about the reasoning behind this choice because I'd like to carry over as much of the OoC reasoning as possible. It should definitely be doable, all Taylor is really doing is including moving bits to get basic rotation. Honestly, I'm rather glad this wasn't something like "Here's how to create fully functioning wings"- Rex wasn't able to just instantly develop new highly complicated Builds.
