Arc 1- Sunny Sky: Prologue
The boy stared up at the burning sky, wondering how it had all come to this. The last few months made everything that had come before seem so… petty. Then again, everything seems petty compared to the end of the world. A once beautiful blue sky was stained a permanent red, tainted by the ashes of billions. So many had died against the twin beings of light. If only they'd had more time, more coordination, if only they'd known the true and sinister nature of the creatures.
If only they hadn't lost so much fighting each other like a bunch of imbeciles…
His friend suddenly appeared next to him without so much as a whisper of sound. She'd abandoned her normal power armor long ago, the added protection absolutely useless against the Destroyers.
When you see the most powerful man on Earth turned to ashes, that tends to mean armor is more a hindrance than anything else.
"Is it time?" He asked quietly.
His friend nodded sadly. "It's time." She replied as she sat next to him on the cracked and barren earth.
Silence passed for a moment.
"I'm scared. For the first time ever, the timeline is closed to me. I can't see what's coming, what will happen. It's… How do you live like this? The uncertainty, the lack of clarity?" She asked with a frustrated sigh, kicking the ground.
He smiled slightly at her behavior. For all her power, his friend was still rather childish in some ways. He blamed her dad for that. "I suppose we just… do what we think is best and what makes the most sense. What we feel is right."
He stared up at the sky some more, the smokey scent pervading his nostrils, as it had ever since the Rampage had begun. What had set them off? They'd come as saviors, as powerful heroes, then one day everything began to simply burn with their fury.
"That's why we're doing this, your dad's last desperate gamble. What makes sense is trying to survive or to try and kill them in revenge, but… Our world is dying and instead we're doing our best to save as many others as we can. To give other worlds a chance, one that ours never did. That's why we can call ourselves heroes proudly."
She was silent a moment before letting out a short burst of laughter and leaning against his shoulder. "You're still you, even at the end of the world. Don't ever let that change."
"Right back at you. "
A silver light blossomed on the horizon.
"Here they come. Get to the lab. I'll hold them off as long as I can."
He pretended not to see the flash of despair on her face or the shine of unshed tears.
"Well then I'll see you soon."
He flashed her a grin. "See ya soon."
She hesitated a split second and then dashed forward, pressing her lips to his. "I should've done that a lot sooner." She whispered as she stepped back.
He let out a short bark of laughter. "You- No, we'll have all the time in the world when your dad's plan kicks in."
"Not 'if'?"
"When." He said firmly.
She smiled. "Give them hell."
And then she was gone.
He smiled and allowed his power to let itself loose. No restraints, not this time.The whole world, no, the whole multiverse depended on this moment.
A rainbow miasma of light and energy exploded forth from his skin. Not the pure silver or gold of the Destroyers, not as singular or focused or perfect. Their power was an inhuman light, something made cold and machine-like in its precision.
His light was that of humanity itself. A flickering aura of alternating colors. All different, all beautiful, and filled with chaos itself.
The light of the Storm.
More power than ever before filled his veins and the last hero stepped forward to meet his foes.
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"Crescent wrench."
The man passed his old friend one as requested, before the request was even finished.
"How much longer?"
"Not long. It's almost done. I still think your daughter should've been helping us with this though."
"No, it was necessary. She strengthened his resolve to hold off the Destroyers long enough for us to finish this project. The extra time he'll give us is more important than what little help she'd be here."
"Oh? So you're saying I'm smarter than her?"
"Of course you are, you have far more experience."
"Heh. Just needed to hear you say it."
The man rolled his eyes.
The girl appeared suddenly, eyes rimmed with red.
"He's fighting them off now."
"Good." The man approached his daughter and put a hand upon her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "His sacrifice shall not be in vain. None of them will."
"I hope you're right…"
"He's always right!" His friend cut in. "It's what makes him so damn annoying. Now get over here and help me finish this thing!"
They rambled off into techno speak that was leagues above his own understanding. The man sighed and sat down on a nearby workbench, lost in his own thoughts. Above him the ceiling continued to tremble and shake, despite the fact they were inside a damned mountain and miles away from the actual fight.
"Hey bud."
The man blinked and looked up, his old friend holding out a glass of amber liquid.
"Really? Now?"
"Why not now? End of the world man, seems appropriate. Besides, your girl is just finishing up some last touches."
The man accepted the glass, took a sip and nearly gagged. "You bastard. Apple bourbon, really?"
"Just reminding you of your mistakes." His friend cackled.
"I hate you so much." He finished the drink anyway. A reminder of dumber times perhaps, but also simpler and far more innocent.
"All those years wasted, fighting against each other…"
"Are you… Are you seriously quoting X-Men at me right now?"
"Damn right I am."
"... Fair enough. It's fitting I suppose, given the situation."
Comfortable silence filled the gap for several long moments.
The ceiling stopped shaking.
"Here it comes." The man sighed. He stood up and walked over to the machine.
"You sure you want to do this man? You know I'd be willing…"
"No. I'll do this myself." He cut in sharply. "I won't damn anyone else."
The girl blinked in confusion and the short argument. "What are you talking about…?"
The man sighed. "It's nothing. Just… an old argument. You have the serum?"
"Yeah." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the vile looking liquid. "It cost us so much just to get this… what if it doesn't work?"
The man smiled. "It will work my dear. Of all of us left, it will work only with one of us here."
"Why?"
"Something about the power of the Storm defies the Destroyers. They're incompatible in many ways and what we're about to do will only work because…" He downed the vial.
"Our powers are not born directly from the Storm."
Spiraling shapes, infinite crystalline labyrinths filled his vision as two beings of incredible mass danced around each other endlessly, shifting between dimensions in a neverending kaleidoscope of gold and silver.
The man hacked and coughed and nearly collapsed, only being caught by his daughter.
The ceiling melted as the two perfect beings descended from above, eyes staring cold and merciless, not a hint of anything behind them. Those empty, alien eyes…
The man grinned savagely as he held up his detonator tied to the device his daughter and friend had rushed to build during the dying days of their planet. "Come and have your Shard back, monsters."
The device was triggered and a world died in a flash of rainbow light.
All according to the Plan.
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The blow was not a true killing one, but the damage it did was enough to cause a series of cascading errors and failures. With a shard being infected with the strange energy wavelength, the Thinker became too enamored with its processes and crashed upon an errant plane of existence. Through sheer luck, it was slain and with its death, the fate of the world was shifted as a girl received a changed shard, one altered with the power of a cosmic storm and holding within itself the light of an entire world.
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A/N: Well hello SpaceBattles, my name is Tenron Lightvoid and this is my first posted piece of writing in about... 11 years and the only one you can find. Welcome to Light of the Storm, a Worm crossover with an original setting me and a couple of friends have been working on for over 5 years now (neither of whom have accounts here so I can't credit them unfortunately). I'm rusty as all hell when it comes to writing and have never posted on this site, so I hope you forgive any mistakes and errors you see. I was hoping to have a larger back log and more perfected... everything, but I need to get this out there and start accepting feedback and criticism. Basic premise is Taylor will be receiving an altered Queen Administrator that gives her very different powers. Gonna do my best not to make this an OC wankfest, my buddies and I have been pretty meticulous when it comes to scaling the powers of our various characters that we've all created and while some could absolutely do damage in the Wormverse, just as many are pretty weak compared to the monsters of Worm. Anyway, hope you enjoy, I'm going to log off and leave this alone for a while and see if this gets any attention while I'm gone.194Tenron LightvoidMay 25, 2022View discussionThreadmarks Sunny Sky: 1.1 View contentTenron LightvoidWannabe LoremasterMay 25, 2022#3Sunny Sky-1.1
Taylor Hebert screamed within her locker.
Her locker, stuffed full of rotting garbage and insects. They'd shoved her inside and locked the door, leaving her trapped with the stench and wriggling insects, in her own fucking vomit.
She screamed in horror. In rage. In betrayal.
Not a damn person did a thing about it. She screamed and cried and begged and nothing, not a single fucking person in all of Winslow cared enough to help.
Fuck them. Fuck all of them.
She kept screaming until her voice was raw and still nothing. Screams turned to pained sobs. She needed help. She needed…
A hero.
For an instant, a shard of something greater attempted to reach out and connect with the poor, suffering girl, intent on imbuing her with the power to command smaller creatures and bend them to her will.
Something else intervened.
A rainbow light exploded from the locker as something different infused Taylor with power.
With a burst of the same light a man appeared in front of the locker. He stood tall and almost imposing, but he cut a heroic figure with a blue bodysuit highlighted with a white lightning bolt, flowing cape behind him, a small mask covering his upper face, though it did nothing to hide his salt and pepper hair or light gray eyes. A warm, easy smile rested upon his face.
That smile quickly vanished as he heard Taylor's sobbing.
A single gloved hand reached out with lightning speed and ripped open the locker door.
Heedless of the filth, the hero picked up the poor girl and took the most convenient exit: Straight up through the ceiling. Taking flight and reaching through his newfound memories, the hero exploded into motion toward the nearest hospital, a sonic boom sounding behind him as he broke through the sound barrier. As fast as he took off, he deaccelerated and then landed gently at the door of the hospital, before striding in with Taylor still cradled in his arms, her body shaking from as she cried silently.
Walking up to the front desk, the hero gave a hard stare to the man sitting there, conveying the urgency of the situation. "This girl has been stuck in biohazardous waste for several hours. She needs to be seen by Panacea, immediately."
The front desk administrator took one look at Taylor and her current state, to the hero holding her and the firm look in his eyes, then nodded. "Take her to room 212, I'll call for Panacea."
The hero gave a curt nod before taking Taylor to the assigned room and stood vigil over her. After only about five minutes, a young woman wearing a white robe entered the room. Based on Taylor's memories, the hero was able to identify her as Panacea, the most powerful healer in the United States, perhaps even the world.
"Do I have permission to heal her?" Panacea asked brusquely as she walked in.
"While I'm not her parent or guardian, I think it's safe to say you do." The hero replied with a strained smile.
Panacea nodded before touching Taylor's hand. "Fuuuuck… whoever did this to her were some sick bastards. There are a lot of bad infections, not to mention all the scrapes and bruising." As the injuries began fading and Taylor's trembling stilled, Panacea shot a look toward the hero. "I've never seen you around Brockton before."
"New face. My name is Legacy." He gave a perfect smile. "Because I will leave a legacy of peace behind me."
Panacea gave him an odd look before focusing back on Taylor. "Damnit all, new trigger. Guess I shouldn't be surprised with the way you found her."
"Indeed." Legacy nodded. "I brought her here as soon as I found her."
"Huh, her Gemma is really weird. It's way bigger than normal and it's sort of… obscured. I can usually see brains, but not affect them, but hers… I can just tell it's there, but I can't really get a good look at it."
Legacy hummed thoughtfully. "Can you try using your power on me?"
"I mean… sure?" Panacea stepped away from Taylor's side, the girl now breathing softly and peacefully and approached Legacy, who carefully removed a glove and offered his hand to the healer. "Whoa! I mean- wow! You're perfect."
Legacy laughed good naturedly. "My wife and daughter would disagree with you."
"No, I mean all of your cells are in perfectly healthy condition. You look like you're in your early thirties maybe, but there should be signs of wear and tear in your muscles, bones, organs, even DNA, undeniable signs of aging, but your cells look fresh and new, healthy beyond belief. No imperfections whatsoever, no signs of cancer, nothing."
"And what if I told you I was actually in my fifties?"
Panacea laughed slightly. "Some people get all the luck with their powers." She frowned then. "But you… you don't have a Gemma. That's odd. And in your cells, there's something weird about them, something I've never seen before, an energy inside of them that I can't touch…"
"Part of my powers I assume. I'm an Alexandria package of sorts, though my powers have always been weird compared to others with similar abilities."
"I'm also sensing a lot of that same power in your head."
"I can shoot beams of energy from my eyes."
"Like that comic book guy Superman?"
Legacy let out a short chuckle. "Yeah, like Superman, though I'm not solar charged or nearly as powerful for that matter."
"Huh. Well, that was interesting." Panacea pulled her hand away. "See you around. And… thanks. Here in Brockton Bay, we can use all the help we can get. " Panacea walked out and back to her other patients.
Legacy sat quietly with Taylor until the girl began to awaken, as if from a nightmare, slowly uncurling and glancing cautiously around the hospital room. "So… that wasn't a dream?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Shit. Emma, she really… they… Why can't they just leave me alone?" Taylor began to choke back sobs as fresh tears sprang to her eyes. She felt a warm hand on her back begin to rub gentle circles while a box of tissues was placed on her lap.
"Breath, just breath. You're safe now. They will never hurt you again."
Taylor sniffled a bit, looking up at Legacy. "Who are you exactly?"
Legacy smiled sadly. "I am many things. I am a child of the Storm, a superhero, and an expression of your power, to name a few at least."
"My power? I'm a cape?"
"No Taylor, you're far more than that."
"You know who I am?"
"Indeed. When you summoned me, I gained access to all of your memories."
Taylor opened her mouth to reply, feeling some panic at a stranger being able to see her memories, but winced and clutched her head as pain ripped through it.
"Ah, you haven't fully acclimated yet. Keeping me around is probably straining your powers. Rest and try to summon me or another Super when you've recovered. You can experiment later, just don't push yourself. Oh and you can tell the Protectorate about me, but I wouldn't recommend telling them that I'm from your powers. They'll call you crazy at best, Overminded- I mean 'Mastered', at worst. Farewell for now." Legacy gave one last pat on the back before fading away in a burst of rainbow light.
Taylor sat there in silence for a while, trying to sort through what little information she'd been given, before a small knock came at the door. A red costumed man with a charming, boyish smile entered. Taylor recognized him immediately as Assault, a Protectorate hero. "Hi there! Hospital staff never got your name since a hero brought you in pretty suddenly, but I was contacted to speak to you and whoever it was that rescued you. I'm Assault." He offered his hand in greeting. After a moment of minor panic, Taylor took it.
"Taylor Hebert." She hoped he couldn't hear the awe or nervousness in her voice.
"Good to meet ya. So is your savior around?" He plopped into the chair by her bedside.
"He uh, said he had other work to get to."
Assault nodded sagely. "A hero's work is never done. Did he give you a name?"
"Legacy."
"Not an unheard of name I suppose. Bit of an optimistic one too. Well Ms. Hebert, would it be alright if I asked you a few questions? You have a right to ask for your parents to be present if you'd like."
"No, that's alright. Ask away."
Assault nodded happily and pulled a small notepad and pencil out from a belt pouch. "Alright, well first off, what did Legacy rescue you from?"
Taylor grimaced. "A locker stuffed with used tampons and rotting garbage."
Assault winced. "And what kind of sicko put you in there?"
Taylor bit her lip. "Some girls have been bullying me. It's Winslow, so no one really gives a crap. At first I tried to tell the teachers, but it was always my word against theirs' and there are three of them. Well three ringleaders, but they get their hanger-ons to mess with me too."
Assault tapped his knee with a pen. "Hmm… Well that does sound like a mess. Tell you what, you give me their names, and I'll see what I can do. I can't make any promises, but I will look into it."
Taylor flushed and looked away. "You've got more important things to do."
"Yeah." Assault admitted with a shrug. "But I still want to help if I can."
"Emma Barnes, Madison Clements, and Sophia Hess."
Assault took the time to write all the names down, even asking for a description of each. "Alright, well, I'll see what I can do. Also…" Assault reached into a different belt pouch and pulled out a card. "Here. What you went through, it- Well, capes are always born from trauma. What you went through may have awakened some kind of powers, so if
you did, then I'd strongly encourage joining the Wards."
Taylor looked at the card with vague discomfort. "And put up with more teenage bullcrap?"
Assault chuckled. "The Wards are all a lot more mature than you'd think. Well except Clockblocker, but… that's just him. Very little ordinary teenager drama."
"If I somehow get powers… then I'll think about it."
"That's all I'm asking. Statistics for new capes aren't good. They usually end up dead or press ganged into villainy. But do your own research before making any decisions." The red costumed hero suddenly stood. "Well I've got to get going before the Director sends out a search party. It was nice meeting you, Taylor. I hope we meet again, just not in a hospital."
Rather than take the door, Assault chose to go out the window, quickly bouncing away as if the asphalt was made of rubber. As Taylor watched him go, she actually felt a modicum of… hope. If Assault was being honest (and something told her he was), then she might finally get something done about the Trio. Winslow's administration could shrug off a lone, unpopular student, but a Protectorate Hero? They'd have to listen.