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Worm's Finest: Darkness Rising (Worm/DC fusion; Bat!Grue)

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Cyclone said:
I cite to you the example of Clockblocker's father. Canon precedent shows that, no, parahuman healers aren't readily available to the PRT except during Endbringer fights.
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But it is possible. Sure Nora might end up on a waiting list a mile and a half long (especially considering her cryostasis) but I really don't get why being related to a cape makes you less likely to be healed. Not any more likely sure, but less likely?
 
My impression is thatClockblockers father had his ups and downs, only near canon was parahuman intervention deemed necessary and well worm canon had so much happening to so many people that he slipped to the cracks.

While for Freeze he could sell some inventions to Toybox or the PRT and buy the services to rogue healers (they exist though a tad more difficult to access then Paneaca.)
 
MarkAren said:
But it is possible. Sure Nora might end up on a waiting list a mile and a half long (especially considering her cryostasis) but I really don't get why being related to a cape makes you less likely to be healed. Not any more likely sure, but less likely?
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Problem is, she's dying, despite the cryotube. So being on a waiting list doesn't guarantee she gets treatment.
 
Seems pretty simple.

Make one of Victor's terms a gurantee that Nora gets healed Immediately, no waiting list whatsoever
 
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Shade 2.5
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    • (Shade 2.4 | Shade 2.5 | Interlude 2A - Sophia)

    Worm's Finest: Darkness Rising
    Shade 2.5​

    I did not start this night expecting to fight a giant bladed wolf thing.

    Still, I had been focusing on the Empire for a while, and it was inevitable that I was going to run into one of their capes eventually, so I was still prepared. Or at least as prepared as I could be.

    "Fries, get out of here!" I ordered, pushing Fries away from Hookwolf as I spread my darkness. I refrained from filling the room in order to let Fries see, instead restricting it to the area immediately around Hookwolf. The Empire cape wasn't fully transformed -- arrogance, maybe? -- so as he continued his now-blind charge, I smashed my fist into one of the few fleshy gaps in the metal with a left hook that bruised my knuckles even through my gauntlet. The Changer/Brute stumbled only momentarily before lashing out with a hooked claw.

    I jumped back, stepping out of range of the wild swing, then unclipped a canister of mace from my utility belt, spraying his head with it.

    No effect. I ducked under a reckless lunge and used his momentum to flip him over, sending him skidding and scraping across the floor before he dug his claws in to arrest his motion.

    While he was busy with that, I affixed the rebreather in place and extracted another tinkertech gadget, this one a knockout gas grenade, and armed it, tossing it toward him.

    Hookwolf ignored the gas as he walked in my general direction. The metal cabinet doors screeched as he dragged a claw through them. His hand dipped down, and he picked up a microscope, hurling it in my general direction.

    It was nowhere near me; instead, it flew past and struck some other equipment, but I had other things to worry about.

    "NORA!"

    "Fries!" I snapped, but he didn't listen, instead rushing to his wife's capsule. I turned my attention back to Hookwolf, jerking my head back as he struck at my face, one of his hooks grazing my cheek.

    I backpedaled. This wasn't working, but Hookwolf seemed focused on me. If I couldn't win this fight quickly, I had to at least get Fries out of the line of fire, but he obviously wasn't going to leave the lab.

    Well, if you can't bring Mohammed to the mountain...

    I pulled my darkness back enough to let Hookwolf see me as I dove for the door, and he took the bait. Flooding the area with my darkness, I extracted another tinkertech gadget and hurled it at Hookwolf.

    I hadn't used this one earlier because of his metallic biology. I couldn't predict what it would do. For all I knew, it would kill him, and that was a line wouldn't cross if I could avoid it.

    The electrified batarang struck Hookwolf, sending a hundred thousand volts of electricity into his system, and I could smell his flesh singeing before he pulled it off and hurled it aside. He roared and charged in my general direction.

    I dove out of the way. For all that Hookwolf was an experienced pit fighter, he still needed to see, and for a while, we danced around the hallway like a bull and a matador. Well, a blinded giant metal bull made of knives and a matador without a sword, anyway.

    I tried a set of bolas next, but despite its impressive tensile strength, it didn't last long against Hookwolf's combination of strength and sharp edges. Still, it gave me enough time to catch my breath.

    I was glad that, despite his cape name and the appearance of his favorite form, Hookwolf didn't actually have wolf senses. That probably would have ended messily.

    As it was, he was standing stock still. Listening.

    He took a deliberate step in my direction, tentatively swiping a razor-edged claw through the air.

    I looked around. The only thing I'd tried that seemed to work at all was my electric batarang, and I was rapidly running out of tricks.

    Palming a cylindrical capsule, I underhanded it toward him. It rolled across the floor and bumped against his foot, and he immediately leaped over it, allowing it to spray its adhesive goo harmlessly on the ground behind him. Pity. It wasn't as good as containment foam -- something that good was too bulky -- but it might have worked if it had hit.

    I hurled myself to the side, smashing a door open into another lab, but with his arms outstretched, he still managed to tag my arm, putting a shallow gash along it. Clutching my arm, I stumbled against the lab island, then circled around it.

    Hookwolf followed, stopping in the doorway as he tried futilely to see through my darkness.

    "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he sang with a guttural growl. "Come on, Batman. I heard a lot about you, but what do I find? A coward who hides in the shadows."

    He stepped forward, lashing out and taking the top off the faucet in the lab island's sink.

    "Hookwolf!" I heard Fries call out from the hallway. "Are you here for Batman or for me?"

    Hookwolf turned and stepped back out into the hallway. "Kaiser sent me to check up on you," he snarled. "See if you needed help... or if you were turning on us."

    "That's all I needed to hear," Fries said coldly. A blue-white beam lanced out and struck the Empire cape, and within seconds, he was covered in ice.

    I pulled my darkness mostly in and stepped out of the lab, giving Hookwolf as wide a berth as I could. "Fries?"

    "Batman," he said. He held up the obviously cobbled-together tinkertech gun in his hands. "I put this together from the cryogenic inducer you brought back."

    "Your wife," I said. "Is she...?"

    "Deep stasis," he answered. "Too deep. I... don't know if I can bring her out of it without brain damage."

    Damn it.

    I heard something cracking and turned. The ice around Hookwolf was beginning to break apart. I released my darkness again.

    "Go, Fries!" I ordered. "Get out of here!"

    This time, he went.

    * * *​

    A/N: A short chapter this time, but you get it a bit earlier than usual. Also, I hate writing fight scenes.

    (Shade 2.4 | Shade 2.5 | Interlude 2A - Sophia)​
     
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    • Just got caught up on this. Excellent story and I really hope Victor joins Team Batman :)

    I love the bits from Batman Beyond (at least that's where I think the people Brian meets out of costume are from), and I really enjoyed Diggle showing up too.
     
    Shatterbird can easily be compared to Talia al-Ghul (daughter of wealthy Middle Eastern person, turns to villainy after a tragedy). Superman here could be the Triumvirate (Legend for the blaster power, look and general personality, Alexandria for the super strength and durability and Eidolon for having the right power as the plot demands) or even Scion - if he was a multidimensional space worm.
     
    Interlude 2A - Sophia
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    • (Shade 2.5 | Interlude 2A - Sophia | Interlude 2B - Hannah)

    Worm's Finest: Darkness Rising
    Interlude 2A - Sophia​

    In the end, she had run.

    For that, she never quite forgave herself. She couldn't. Despite... everything, every possible motivation, despite promising herself she'd kill the fucking bastard the next time he-

    But when the time came, she had chosen to run. She had retreated to her room -- that flimsy little fortress -- with her proverbial tail between her legs. She had curled up on her bed like a coward, knowing as he heard his laughter through the thin walls of the house that he let her go, knowing -- worse yet -- that she was so insignificant to him that, despite tearing her to shreds with just a few words, he had probably forgotten about her the moment she was out of sight. That was when she realized Steven was right. She was worthless.

    She deserved it. If she didn't care enough to stand up for herself, for something so important to her and so insignificant to him... why would anyone else?

    She cried herself to sleep that night.

    * * *​

    Batman.

    The city was ablaze with speculation, but no one had much on him: not the news, not the police, not even the verified PRT agents or the so-called "guys in the know" on PHO. No one even knew what he looked like. It was obvious, however, that Batman was making a difference. He wasn't like the Protectorate or the Wards; he didn't waste time supporting the status quo. He went out and busted heads. He preyed on the non-parahuman gang members, and stripped of the protection of their capes, they were now running scared.

    Batman was strong. He mattered.

    When she woke up with powers, she didn't know what to do with them. The Wards... no. She had no interest in getting more people telling her what to do, giving more people power over her.

    But maybe... maybe she could at least do something that mattered.

    * * *​

    She had a good power to do what Batman did. She could phase in, engage the non-parahumans, then phase out and disengage if any capes showed up. But even a non-parahuman gangbanger was a lot bigger and stronger than her. She needed to level the playing field somehow.

    She'd heard good things about Grant's Gym. He even taught a few classes for free. It was a good first step.

    One of the first things she learned from Mr. Grant -- or, more accurately, from Brian -- was that once someone stronger than her got a firm grip on her, she'd already lost. She needed something else. A weapon, something with which she could reach out and touch someone.

    The sporting goods store wasn't far from Grant's Gym, and it had quite the selection of weapons. Her gaze swept quickly across the rifles and shotguns lining the back wall before she dismissed them. No way someone like her could get one, even if she could afford it, and they all looked positively gigantic anyway. The bows...

    "Have you ever done any archery before?"

    Sophia started in surprise. An Asian woman in a wheelchair was looking at her curiously.

    "I, um, I was just looking," she said, hurriedly putting the bow she had been examining back on the shelf.

    "Well, for your first bow, you'll want to start with something that has a lighter pull," the woman said, gesturing toward the smaller bows. "It takes a great deal of practice to use a bow properly, however, so keep that in mind."

    Sophia tried to hide her disappointment at that, but she obviously wasn't very successful.

    "You might try a crossbow," the woman suggested. "They're easier to learn."

    Sophia's gaze swept over to the crossbows, gravitating to a pistol crossbow. It was about the right price; she'd been saving up for a while. She picked it up. It felt... right in her hands. She doubted it had much power, but maybe if she used her power on the bolt...

    She smiled and looked over at the woman. "Thanks for the advice, Ms., uh..."

    "Nguyen," the woman answered. "Paula Nguyen."

    * * *​

    She still hadn't come up with a name yet when she went out, but she was ready. She hoped.

    She ran across the rooftops. It had taken surprisingly little practice to use her power to ghost along between rooftops. It was her third night out, and the adrenaline rush alone felt awesome.

    Then she heard a scream. Sophia steeled her self and charged toward the scream.

    It was a couple, backed against the wall of the alleyway, trapped between three gangbangers. The gangbangers were wearing red and white, the colors of the Rising Sons. One of them was leaning against the wall himself, making suggestive motions toward the woman.

    She fired. The smoky crossbow bolt rematerialized halfway in the lecherous gangbanger's shoulder, halfway in the wall, and at his cry of pain, she leapted down into the alley.

    Sophia froze in indecision as a tire iron swung toward her before flashing into her shadow state. The improved weapon passed harmlessly through her, and the gangbanger stepped back, fear written on his face.

    She smiled.

    He's afraid of me.

    * * *​

    It wasn't just the adrenaline that felt good. There was just something liberating about running across rooftops in costume. There came with it a feeling of... not invincibility, per se, but more a sense that, whatever happened, she was as ready for it as she ever could be.

    As she swooped down and began taking out skinheads, she reveled in that feeling. Her heart pounded as she turned to the last Empire thug, her crossbow and his handgun racing to see which would level out first.

    Only for a third party to pull a surprise win.

    Sophia's breath caught in her throat. It's him! And I still don't have a name yet!

    * * *

    Why am I doing this? she asked herself as she returned home. Batman's question had blindsided her. There were two people in the world, those who mattered and those who didn't. The strong and the weak. And she was strong. She had to be. She couldn't be weak again. She promised herself that she wouldn't be.

    Because if she ever let herself be weak again, that meant Steven won, and she wouldn't let that happen.

    But... maybe she'd been looking at it wrong.

    Power... and purpose, huh? she mused. It was something to think about.

    * * *​

    Sophia ducked and weaved, lashing out with another aggressive combo. It was just the two of them there tonight, since she'd promised Batman she wouldn't go out until they met again the following night. She knew Mr. Grant was going easy on her; just seeing him sparring with Brian was proof enough of that. He may be old, but with that age came a level of experience and skill she couldn't help but respect.

    Once he'd again demolished her defenses, she slumped against the ropes around the ring and looked at him. "Mister Grant?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Why do you do this?" she asked. "I mean, the whole... gym thing. I mean, you're strong, a good fighter. You could make a lot of money, with the gangs or fighting pro."

    He paused, letting his towel hang from his neck. "I do this because it's what I love," he said simply. "I used to fight pro, long ago, but... my time's passed. But you? You've got a fire in you, kid, and I don't want to see it cut short."

    "But what's the point?" she asked. "What's the purpose?"

    Mr. Grant took a swig from his water bottle and leaned against the corner post. "I guess... it's to help the next generation," he said finally. "Better tomorrow and all that rot."

    "Huh?"

    "Every kid like you who walks in that door is a piece of this city's future. I guess I'm just doing my part to make it better."

    There it was again. Power and purpose... a purpose in giving the city a better future.

    * * *​

    Sophia fumed.

    Who the hell does he think he is? she snarled silently. Something about the night she'd spent patrolling with Batman had been nagging at her as they parted ways, but she was already home before she figured it out.

    It was when he'd called her "skinny." Just like Brian called her "shorty." Coupled with the way he moved, the way he fought -- they'd sparred so many times over the past few months -- and his height and build...

    Brian was the goddamn Batman. Well, maybe. She wasn't sure, but if he was... suddenly, the lecture took on a whole new context that just pissed her off. She'd thought Batman was older, a man who actually knew what the fuck he was talking about, not a guy barely a few years older than her!

    "Hey, Sophia!" That was her brother, hollering from the living room.

    She opened her bedroom door and stuck her head out. "What, Terry?!" she snapped.

    "Just thought you'd like to know, the PRT's about to take down Batman. I know you're a big fan."

    Take down... Batman? she wondered. Why?

    With a sigh, she stepped out and joined him in front of the living room TV, where Armsmaster was speaking.

    "-assure you, Ms. Vale, we only wish to bring Batman in to answer a few questions regarding some brutal crossbow attacks over the past few weeks-"

    Sophia's eyes widened. Batman didn't use a crossbow. She did.

    "If we won't hold ourselves accountable, the PRT will. Or if they can't, we become just another villain gang, no different from the Empire or the Rising Sons."​

    That's what Batman had said earlier tonight. Not two minutes ago, she'd dismissed it. He clearly already had some connection to the PRT, but now...

    "If I joined the Protectorate, they'd restrict my actions, impose limits, push me into the light. But so long as I'm independent, in the shadows, I can make a difference in this city, because to them... to them, Batman has no limits."​

    Batman was making a difference. But if they caught him, if they stopped him...

    And it'd be my fault.

    She had to fix this.

    * * *​

    A/N: I was originally going to hold off on doing a Sophia interlude until much later, but it just seemed to fit better here after all. Two more interludes before we get back to Brian. I'm finding the first person limited perspective doesn't work quite so well for Batman stories.

    (Shade 2.5 | Interlude 2A - Sophia | Interlude 2B - Hannah)​
     
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    • Sophia becoming a half decent person more of less of her own accord? I apparently missed the 'You are now entering The Twilight Zone' sign at the last intersection.
     
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