Worm: A MHA powerset in Winslow's Court

The youngest and most graceful of those spread wings and waved limbs in time with internal music, the first stage of speech.

Dad pondered the notice. "I … see." He looked up at me. "They have offered to test you at Arcadia with independent proctors from the state."

"Yes." I nod. Adding more quietly. "It is a little pat, coincidental don't you think?"

Weighing it, Dad waves a piece of bacon like a baton. "On the one hand, they have been cleaning 'house' at Winslow. And the investigation has located a file of 'lost' assignments that you turned in but were graded under other student names. Several of the teachers have been shown to have gang ties. One of them was convinced you are Jewish and has been systematically downgrading you. Another was given evidence you had been the instigator of a beating given to some Asian students."

It clicked. "Miss Yow had turned cold to me at the midterms of the semester last year. Mr. Grisham had always been an old bastard but he took great pride in his death by a thousand points. Show too much work and he claimed you copied from the books. Show too little and he'd mark whole problems as unsolved. He was the one who refused to accept homework done as makeup for the homework they took and resubmitted under fake names."

He nodded. "The Phys Ed teachers were against you simply because you complained about their track star."

"She doesn't do state meets. They are invested in their cover story to keep a Ward at Winslow."

Dad raised an eyebrow. "I thought we should avoid that subject."

"Buckle San has assured me there are no wiretaps or recording devices in the area. From what he has said about it, his technology is something like three hundred years advanced over ours."

Dad whistled long at that. "I had not realized. How much of what he contains could be turned into patents, into equipment?"

"Not as much as you might imagine. There are a lot of things that are specific to heroic support gear, not nearly as much for civilian grade items. Some things will crossover to be useful in both but it will take time and a lot of the money to do it in any way that doesn't bring the government down on me –us really– while doing so."

"Is that why you've been eyeballing the engineering curriculum at Bay University?"

I hold my hand up, first finger and thumb just a smidge apart. "A bit."

********

The week was half over and the day of the exams drew near. I didn't go out as a cape during that time. I was multitasking in every way I could, with groups of bugs reading from books –or perhaps I was reading through them like having extra screens up all the time.

It was freeing really, since Mr. Grisham was pointedly not calling on me, I ignored his class and ran problems in books set up in the barely used library. Miss Yow had thawed against me when Yenna had words with her, but I still pretended to sleep while skimming history books.

On that morning, Dad took me downtown, parking in the lot for Arcadia. The place was bigger than it appeared, almost like a miniature university nestled downtown. A large portion of it was below ground, acting as additional space to the main Endbringer shelter.

We were ushered to the offices, made to wait along with a group of Arcadia hopefuls, students trying to get into the rolls of those transferring over. I was just another test taker to them.

The tests I took were not a breeze. They were just as thorough as the practice SAT tests. And I wasn't just taking the original set now. The morning was used on the assessment tests. That afternoon I was directed to the ROTC offices and a smaller group taking the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. This was an angle toward qualifying for a scholarship after graduation, a way to pay for school that did not lean into my cape generated funds.

It was a gamble since the military looked far closer for Thinker powers or with them than other groups. But while they might peg me as a parahuman, they would be unlikely to match me with an adult looking All Mighty. Dad had piped into my logic there, stating that if one group knew –the Protectorate, since Miss Militia had seen my reaction– it did not mean that the information would propagate to the others. He said they never gave each other anything and the cost of information that might have me move out of the Bay itself was very high. At least to the local Protectorate and PRT. And they would have no interest in passing it up to the national level just yet.

An Air Force sergeant proctored that test. He gave me an eyebrow raise considering most of the people here were boys, Clarendon and Arcadia teens. The single eyebrow changed to two lifted as he noted the watch with the added computation ring.

"I should probably invalidate your results just for having that on your wrist during the test, young lady." The grizzled sergeant was just a little overweight, but he looked like he'd spent his service time pushing things not paper.

I blinked. "If you didn't notice it until now, you also know that I didn't consult it, let alone move the ring. We both know you ignored the two guys checking the time on their phones and those at least have a true calculator function while this is a circular slide rule."

He chuckled a bit, reassessing me. "Legacy?"

"Not direct. The watch was passed down because I had flight time in the side seat. Might even be continuing the classes if I can drum up the scratch for it."

"You know the Air Force scholarships will cover flight school if you qualify…"

I shake my head a little sadly. "Part of why I am here is my grades fell from a prolonged social issue. Winslow."

"Winslow." He said it like a minor curse. "If you score well here and on the SAT, there are still some rides out there, even a few full rides. Combat pilot is a no go with glasses but there is a whole field of remote piloted vehicles opening up."

I smile. "I will keep it in mind."

**************

"I am going out!" I hollered after dinner was over.

Almost immediately Dad's voice came over my earbud. "Cape out or jogging out?"

"Jogging for the most part." I was dressed in sweats and rocking a pair of headphones connected to a positively ancient Walkman. The cassette in it dated from the eighties, I wasn't really listening to it anyway. There was a need to get out, just not do any major hero work. "Going to swing through the upper section of the Boardwalk across and back. Recon for later."

Dad hmmmed at me. "I suppose you can't really be hurt and all you'd need to do is hide for a second to change. I have to stay up for a couple hours to do paperwork but I want you back before eleven, you still have to attend school."

"Right." I did not roll my eyes, really.

I had multiple reasons for this. For one, I needed to do physical exercise to have a reason for the improvements to my physique. People would notice me running as long as I kept it up. For another I was scouting out bugs in the area. The Bay was typical of New England, but we had some odd hitchhikers that had made it their home. Not all of them exotic, but there were a few species that had an effect on human populations.

Lice, fleas, ticks, bed bugs and mosquitos.

Disease and despair trailed where the parasites thrived. Homeless people gathered in the docks in old warehouses and in the shantytown of shipping containers.

I was looking for concentrations of these parasites among other things, as clues to where people gathered. What I found would determine how I acted, but I was hoping that removing some of the issues they had from parasites might reduce the bleakness infecting the Bay.

Up ahead on the right was an old cannery building. It still had fencing around the property, though some pieces had been repaired by moving shipping containers to cover gaps. There were a lot of fleas and … worms?

No real sight from most of these bugs, but in my mind the placement relative to each other painted groupings that moved as shapes.

Dog.

They had to be dogs.

And the worms were right in the center of clusters of many of them. Heartworms.

There were very few of the worms not in bodies, right in the droppings.

I swerved to head that way, coming around to a boarded up entrance. I moved around the corner to a side door that had chains visibly there. It was recessed a little from the street, so I felt around with my insects and verified there was no one outside her to see. Inside I had flies locate the dogs and checking found that someone was aware of me being there. It was the woman, Bitch was her cape name. Three dogs were growing, the bodies of the dog staying the same but a growth over them filling out to the Horse sized things with armor. The dogs were piloting biological mecha.

I switched to All Mighty form, costume and visor in place, and then knocked.

The low sound of growling came from inside, and a deeper sound like "Whuff" from one of the grown things. The door opened about an inch, squealing slightly.

"What do you want?" Her voice came out calm but wary.

"I was in the neighborhood. I can sense the fleas, ticks and the worms in the dogs. I'd like to fix those problems."

Her one eye, visible in the opening, widened with surprise. "Worms?"

"Let me in. Not here to do anything to you or to the dogs directly. But I can get rid of all their parasites in about five minutes."

She looked past me, checking the street. "You alone?"

I stepped forward, close to the door. "I can come through the wall but you would have to rebuild it. Your grown dogs might be able to stop me if I wanted to force my way in. Why not just let me do it and go."

"They're mine. You're not taking them!"

I snort. "Didn't come looking for a dog or trouble for that matter." I point at a smaller dog, a one eyed dirty toy poodle visibly by her feet. Protective but not grown yet. "Her for instance. Eww. She has a worm hanging out her behind right now. Heartworm."

Bitch caught up the poodle and flipped her over. She seemed to growl as she looked and looked at me like I'd just kicked her.

"It's easier if they are all in range when I do this, preferably in the open yard someplace you don't mind a mess."

She did something with a latch that made the chain go slack. The solid looking ring it was run through lifted and slipped off the wall entirely, letting the chain drop. She opened the door and once more looked up and down the street. "Come in." She turned toward the back of the room where a door outside in the yard was.

I came in, closing the door behind me. There were hurt dogs on beds in this room. They watched warily, but few growled. One old fellow wagged a tail at me half heartedly.

The yard was broken up into sections by rudimentary chain link fencing run around plastic barrels filled with dirt.

"What do you need?"

"Bring her over her and hold her so her tail is over this pile." I'd picked a pile of shit with a shovel handy.

She came closer, more wary.

I started growing the worm just hanging out of the dog. It fell free by its own weight immediately, at which point I made it as big as a pig. There were whines of panic from multiple dogs, all of the ones that just felt a shift inside as the mass of all the worms within were pulled to this one. Hefting the shovel I smashed the edge through the worm. Two more times until it failed to register anymore.

"Now that it's dead." I let the energy come back to me. "All the worms in the dogs that it was made of are also dead. No viable eggs or worms like that within blocks of this location."

As she digested that I called a flea from the dog to jump to my hand. Growing it to something like a Shetland Pony made all the dogs flinch back and start barking. This one I took in hand, twisting the head off quickly. Also dead.

The body disappeared to almost nothing and she looked closely at the poodle's leg, where a flea was attached visibly but fell off dead once she touched it.

"They are all dead?"

"Every flea, every heartworm. I need a sample tick to cover that as well. You might want to keep track of which ones had ticks, they carry disease. So, that one and that really scruffy looking one."

Bitch let the poodle down and whistled, hand signals bringing the specified dogs over. While they came over the poodle stood up on two legs and yapped at me. As I kneeled down, she did a little circle and licked at me on the cheek.

"Angelica."

The little dog calmed down and ran to sit at her feet in a clear 'heel'.

I put a hand out, directing a tick to disconnect and fall free. I could feel it and I grew it to cat size.

Raised eyebrow, "That all of them?"

"Not as many, not as big." I was about to climb over or just hop the fence, but she whistled again and one of the grown dogs loped over.

"Brutus. Kill." She was pointing at the tick.

From above I heard a shout. "Watch out!" A swooping figure made to knock the dog thing aside, missing because he wasn't coming to me.

"Hold up!" I shouted. "Not attacking me."

Victoria Dallon looked at me, then at the pony thing stomping the mega tick flat. "Sorry. I saw there was an Affiliate in the area on my app here and swung in to see what was going on. I heard her command to kill…"

I chuckle, "The tick, Glory Girl, just doing some community service here."

"Say what?"

With her attention fully on me I see Bitch inching away into the darkness. "First off, this is her home so unwritten rules apply."

Vicky wincing and nodding got her listening and got the aura of fear I hadn't fully recognized to drop to nothing. Dogs that had flopped to the ground in fear, some covering their heads in paws, made her feel extra guilty.

"I can find the fleas and worms these guys had… And ticks I suppose." I gesture around. "So I came up under truce of sorts. Offered to kill all the fleas, worms and ticks on them."

She considered me. "Find? What is your range for sensing bugs then?"

I smile evenly. "Not something I will give out directly. But it does exceed a city block."

"Bitch, we will be leaving and I will see if I can make sure this place is still okay for your dogs."

Glory Girl leaned in a second. "I know she is a vill, but calling her a bitch?"

"It's her cape name, Durr." I tapped her on the forehead. "So how about this? You put on a blindfold and I will spin you around a few times then jump us out toward the Boardwalk. That will be enough of a 'reason' to not come back here and keep her from having to shift a bunch of injured dogs to a new location."

She frowned a moment. "Hurt dogs?"

I nod. "From raiding Hookwolf's dog fights. I read that on PHO by the way."

She gave me a look. "Like the tidbit on bees not being able to fly?"

I grin openly. "Never said I bee-lieved the statement."

Her hand visibly hit her forehead and dragged down lightly. "Walked right into that one." She brightened up. "Wait, My sister can help the dogs. Bitch, would you consider a truce with me and Panacea long enough for her to heal the injured dogs?"

Bitch stepped back out of the shadows into the light. I'd only really been able to keep track of her due to flies I put on her. "She can heal dogs?"

"Yep. And she should be ready for pickup anytime now."

Bitch considered. The strain of stringing together words was visible. Speech impediment maybe. "Un-un-written rules. This. My home."

I spoke up. "Neither of us are law enforcement officers."

"She is wanted for attempted murder…" Glory Girl noted.

"Have you been deputized?" I ask straight. At her shake of 'no', "So either as Affiliate or Sanctioned Vigilante we are allowed to intervene on a crime being committed in front of us. Not one that happened six years ago, when she was twelve. Buckle San, what is the status of the case against Bitch?"

Both girls stepped back as Buckle San joined the conversation. "Rachel Lindt, open cape known as Bitch, is wanted as a person of interest in the assault on Goodie Walters in Vermont. The warrant is lapsed, the office failing to renew after allegations of child abuse on children placed with Goodie Walters came to light one year ago. There are local allegations of involvement in crime in Brockton Bay, but no outstanding warrants in this state."

I catch Glory Girl's eye. "So, no reason to fight that you aren't engineering. Can you fetch your sister?" I guess those Civil Air Patrol leadership classes were taking as she saluted and flew off toward downtown.

"Can she b-be trusted?" Bitch asked.

I look around and note the darkness around the edge of the field that was solid. Raising my voice a little, "She can be trusted to get Panacea, who can be trusted to heal the dogs and leave. You all know I can be trusted, right Tattletale?"

The purple spandex wearing figure strode out from the side. "Your powers cheat."

"Pot." Point at her. "Kettle."

She grinned. "I am more of a dainty little frying pan, but I see your point." She turned. "No one goes hot. There is no fight here. Grue can keep out prying eyes."

************

Fifteen minutes later Glory Girl came back with a slightly miffed Panacea in her arms.

"It isn't bad enough I spend hours healing whiny gang members that Shadow Stalker is beating on, but now you want me to stay up late to heal some dogs?!"

I hold up my hands. "Dogs rescued from Hookwolf's dog fight rings. Innocent animals that the Empire hurt." I hold out a bill pulled from my wallet. "And not for free even. Despite the Hospitals getting paid to have you come heal for nothing, this isn't the hospital. These animals aren't going to veterinarians as they would require shots and paperwork and good homes to treat them."

Panacea sees the hundred-dollar bill, takes it and holds it up to the light. "And how did you earn this?"

I smile brightly. "I sold a spool of spider silk rope."

She looks thoughtful. "Where are they? Let's get to it."

Bitch led the way.

Ten injured dogs later, Panacea is much less prissy. Then she spots Angelica's missing eye. "That isn't new. Well bring her over."

Bitch carried Angelica close. Amy's hand touched her and a few moments later she looked at me. "You killed the heartworms, right?"

I nod. "And the fleas and ticks."

Angelica yipped as she looked around with two eyes.

"Did you charge her for the service?" She asked.

"Nope. Honestly, I plan to give her a couple bills to cover dog food."

"Ouch." Glory Girl winced at that.

I shake my head. "Not guilt tripping her over it. I found a way to make money with my power, I bet there are ways for her to do the same. You guys know who to come to if you have a beehive or roach incursion issue?"

Amy nodded. "I can take a hint. I may be hitting up your handle on PHO about ideas. But I am tired, so take me home. By way of McDonalds for shakes –my treat."

They were gone in moments.

"I have to get going too." I wave a finger at where Tattletale is still monitoring but not visible. "No snide comments from the peanut gallery!"

The smoke cleared, showing Regent holding a hand over Tattletale's mouth.

He deadpanned. "If I had not, she would have said sumptin to rile the Glorious one." Wow, heavy French accent bordering on cajun lilt.

She obviously licked his palm, making him pull it away. "I would not." Then her face screwed up and she was spitting and gagging.

His mask did not hide his smirk. "Petite just realized where that hand has been today."

"On that note. I will see you guys around. Keep it legal while I can see it and we can keep being friendly and all. Just remember, if there are bugs around I might be as well."

Grue finally spoke up as I crouched to jump away. "Of that you can be sure. All Mighty is watching."

It sounded just like the delivery of a joke about a parrot, a burglar and a Rottweiler.

I leaped toward the shore portion of the docks, brought out my dragonfly and made him big enough to help fly me close to home without being obvious. Costume set to stealthed there was very little that could track me, and nothing within the blocks comprising my range.