Worm

by John McCrae

  Defiant – A power-armor wearer who carries a long spear, a friend and partner to Dragon when she is in the field.

  Dimitri - One of Coil’s soldiers, a sniper.

  Dinah Alcott – A powerful clairvoyant, twelve years old, has straight brown hair.

  Doctor Mother – A dark-skinned, well spoken woman, well connected and knowledgeable about powers. Heads Cauldron.

  Doctor Q – The alias of an old, crotchety, thin-lipped doctor who works with criminals (Coil in particular) in Brockton Bay.

  Dragon – Widely viewed as the best tinker in the world, a member of the Guild and honorary member of the Protectorate, pilots massive dragon-themed battlesuits. Never really leaves her home in Vancouver.

  Echidna – A monstrosity with vague shape and a hodgepodge of features.

  Eidolon – Member of the Triumvirate and head of the Houston branch of the Protectorate. Viewed by many as one of the most powerful capes in the world, can manifest a handful of powers at a time, with virtually no restrictions, automatically gaining whatever abilities he needs to face a given crisis. Wears a green-white costume with a hood, and a glow emanating from both hood and sleeves.

  Emma Barnes - Taylor’s ex-best friend and present-day tormentor, red haired and attractive, a sometime model.

  Faultline – Leader of a mercenary team, Faultline wears a costume with body armor, a skirt and a welding-mask-like face-cover. Can destroy inorganic matter by touch.

  Fenja – Sister to Menja, blonde bodyguard to Kaiser. Styles herself as a valkyrie and carries a sword and shield, can grow to massive size, simultaneously growing more durable.

  Fish - Mercenary and a squad leader serving under Coil.

  Flashbang – Member of New Wave, Flashbang can create orbs of energy that bounce and explode with a measured degree of light and power.

  Flechette – Member of the New York Wards, Flechette carries a large arbalest. Her power lets her charge touched objects, rendering them immune to conventional physics. Tends to augment her ammunition in this way.

  Fog – Husband to Night, subordinate of Purity. Can turn himself into a living, sentient fog of varying solidity that causes catastrophic damage to anyone who inhales it.

  Gallant – Member of the Boston Bay Wards, wears a costume with pieces of power armor and medieval stylings. Can shoot out blasts of energy that cause little damage but inflict a concentration of whichever emotion he decides.

  Garotte -Inmate at the Parahuman Asylum, a living mass of tentacles with a lethal fight-or-flight reflex. Also goes by Sveta.

  Genesis – A member of the Travelers. Creates and projects a solid body with a form of her choosing.

  Gentle Giant – A monstrous member of the Wards in Houston.

  Glory Girl – Member of New Wave, a teenager with blonde hair and a white costume with gold trim. She has super strength, flight, and invulnerability, as well as the ability to generate an aura of awe around her, encouraging allies and intimidating foes.

  Grace – Member of the Chicago Wards, possessed of enhanced agility and a selective invulnerability that she can apply only to specific parts of her body at a time, with the added benefit of enhanced kinetic power applied to any impacts.

  Greg – A talkative, loudmouthed, socially maladept classmate of Taylor.

  Gregor the Snail – An obese, monstrous parahuman working under Faultline, can generate slime from his skin, with a composition and effect of his choosing.

  Grue – An Undersider, Grue can create clouds of sensory-depriving darkness. Wreaths himself in darkness, with a horrifying mask occasionally glimpsed in the midst of it.

  Gully – A monstrous parahuman based in San Diego, Gully has an overabundance of muscle, to the point that she hunches over, and a severe underbite. She can manipulate earth.

  Hadhayosh – Another name for Behemoth (see above)

  Hatchet Face - The bogeyman of the cape community and a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine, Hatchet Face is a large, strong, nearly-invulnerable cape who strips nearby capes of their powers, stalks them and chops them to pieces with his namesake axe.

  Heartbreaker – A Montreal-based cape with dark hair and European features, can affect emotions and has leveraged this to amass a harem of attractive women, and a small army of offspring, some of whom have powers.

  Hookwolf – A white supremacist in Brockton Bay, originally one of Kaiser’s lieutenants, Hookwolf can transform himself into a shifting mass of hooks, blades and other weapons.

  Hunch – A humpbacked cape and friend of Weld, member of Boston’s Wards team. A precognitive with somewhat iffy accuracy, possessed of other powers not yet detailed in full.

  Imp – Wearing a black bodysuit and a horned mask with black lenses, Imp’s power renders her eminently forgettable, even in the midst of a fight.

  Jack Slash – Leader of the Slaughterhouse Nine, can extend the cutting edge of any blade to nigh-infinite range. Sports a trimmed beard and casual clothing, with only a belt of knives and an icy stare to suggest he is anything but normal.

  Jaw – Mercenary and Minion of Coil. A slobby, heavyset figure who struggles to shake off the impression of being a soldier.

  Jessica Yamada – A therapist specializing in caring for parahumans, particularly parahumans under the age of eighteen.

  Jormungand / Jörmungandr - Another name for Leviathan (see below).

  Judas - A German Shepherd, one of the dogs in Bitch’s care.

  Kaiser – Head of Empire Eighty-Eight, a white supremacist and businessman capable of causing metal to sprout from any solid surface.

  Kid Win – A tinker serving in the Brockton Bay Wards, favors laser weapons and a flying skateboard, with red and gold body armor.

  Krieg – A lieutenant of Kaiser, capable of kinetic manipulation over a wide range.

  Labyrinth – A distant, disconnected individual, employed by Faultline. She possesses almost absolute control over her immediate environment. Sports a loose fitting robe with a maze covering the fabric.

  Lady Photon – Head of New Wave, flies, can create lasers and generate forcefields, known to some as Photon Mom. Wears a white bodysuit with a purple/indigo starburst featured as an emblem.

  Laserdream – Member of New Wave, daughter of Lady Photon. Flies, can create lasers and generates weak forcefields, though she is better at the former two than the latter. Wears a white bodysuit with a red/magenta comet icon.

  Leet – Partner to Über, is a tinker without limits, except that the more similar an object is to something he’s created before, the more likely it is to misfire.

  Leviathan - A thirty-foot tall monster with macrohydrokinesis and super speed, among other powers. Durable, strong, and relentless.

  Lucy – A dog in Bitch’s care.

  Lung – Head of the ABB, a gang of Asian-Americans. Tall, with dragon tattoos on his arms. Transforms and gains additional powers and capabilities as long as he’s in a fight.

  Madison – Emma’s friend and one of Taylor’s bullies.

  Mannequin – A tall (nine-foot) man encased in a sealed, protective suit, loaded out with various weaponry. Member of the Slaughterhouse Nine.

  Manpower – Member of New Wave, Lady Photon’s husband. A manipulator of electromagnetism, primarily at point-blank range. The ‘bruiser’ of the team.

  Marquis – A retired crime lord of Brockton Bay, an osteokinetic (a manipulator of bone) and gentleman.

  Matryoshka – A monster with hair and body etched in horizontal lines, can unfold herself into ribbons and consume others, taking on a share of their memories and traits, simultaneously diluting herself.

  Menja – Sister to Fenja, one of Kaiser’s bodyguards. Carries a spear, wears valkyrie-style armor and can alter herself to giant size, simultaneously growing more durable.

  Minor – A mercenary and squad captain serving under Coil.

  Miss Militia - A prominent member of Brockton Bay’s Protectorate branch, wears army fatigues with an American-flag scarf and sash, possesses a semisent
ient energy that can alter itself to take the form of various weapons.

  Mr. G / Mr. Gladly - One of Taylor’s teachers, popular with the popular kids, not so popular with Taylor.

  Mr. Quinlan – Taylor’s math teacher.

  Mrs. Knott – Taylor’s homeroom and computer science teacher.

  Mush – A member of the Merchants, capable of absorbing masses of loose material and debris to form a protective, shapeshifting shell of trash, dirt and other loose matter.

  Myrddin – Head of Chicago’s branch of the Protectorate. Styles himself as a wizard, maintains access to several sub-dimensions with varying effects.

  Narwhal - Head of the Guild and the Protectorate’s Toronto branch. A masterful forcefield user who can create forcefields that intersect (and thus cut) the bodies of nearby opponents. Appears nude, but covers herself in an intricate carpet of tiny forcefields, with a long horn of the same material.

  Newter – A monstrous parahuman with orange skin and dyed hair, has a prehensile tail, can climb on walls and his bodily fluids are potent hallucinogens.

  Night – Wife to Fog, dresses herself in a black cloak and heeled boots. Serves under Purity. When not directly observed, heals herself to pristine condition and becomes a durable monster with enhanced speed and strength.

  Noelle - A member of the Travelers, remains in secure containment.

  Number Man – Serves under Doctor Mother, and operates as a banker to criminal parahumans around the world. Powers not yet stated.

  Oliver – A member of the Travelers, a blond boy who takes a more backseat role on the team.

  Oni Lee – Subordinate to Lung, can teleport and leaves short-lived duplicates behind when he does. Wears a demon mask in the gang colors, and a bodysuit bearing various knives.

  Othala – A teenaged white supremacist supervillain, she wears a red bodysuit with a rune prominently displayed on her chest. Frequently pairs with Victor, using her power to grant others temporary superpowers with a touch.

  Othello – A member of the Ambassadors, a man in a black and white suit and mask. Described as a Stranger-class cape.

  Panacea – Also Amy Dallon, a member of New Wave, can heal or manipulate biology by touch.

  Parian - A rogue, or a parahuman who focuses more on civilian life than on heroics/villainy, an aspiring fashion designer, she uses her telekinesis to maintain animated cloth puppets.

  Piggot – Also known as Mrs. Piggy. Director of the PRT in Brockton Bay, managing the police who respond to parahuman threats, the local Protectorate and the local wards.

  Prism – A member of Legend’s Protectorate team in New York, Prism can split herself into three copies, and return those copies to herself for a burst in speed and strength.

  Pritt - One of Coil’s mercenaries, a former child soldier, strict.

  Purity – A white supremacist seen serving under Kaiser in Empire Eighty-Eight. Capable of flight, luminescence and energy blasts of devastating power.

  Raymancer – Member of the Chicago Wards, creates innumerable energy blasts and condenses them to devastating effect with a lens he projects and controls.

  Regent - Member of the Undersiders, wears a white mask and renaissance fair clothing, with a taser-scepter. Can inflict involuntary movements and trigger reflexes in individuals he can see.

  Rune – A powerful telekinetic and white supremacist, she can move nonliving objects she touches, each one potentially weighing several tons. Dresses up as a wizard.

  Sanguine – A red skinned, red-haired cape hailing from San Jose, powers not yet detailed.

  Scapegoat – A cape hailing from San Diego, Scapegoat wears robes and a goat mask with a circlet. Can accept the wounds of others and transfer them to touched foes, in a somewhat drawn-out process.

  Scion – Viewed by many as the most powerful parahuman in the world, golden skinned, with long hair and a beard. The first known parahuman.

  Scrub - Triggered in the midst of one of a grand melee/free for all fighting match provoked by the Merchants. White haired, with a glow emanating from each of his cavities, he generates explosions in his immediate surroundings, annihilating matter they come in contact with.

  Senegal – A mercenary employed by Coil. Predatory, especially around women.

  Shadow Stalker – A cape in the Brockton Bay Wards. She is capable of turning herself into a shadow state, where she passes through walls, is lightweight and ignores most incoming attacks. Somewhat bloodthirsty.

  Shamrock – A case-53 (typically monstrous parahumans, amnesiac, with a specific tattoo) with no monstrous features. Combines microtelekinesis and an unconscious precognition into an effective ‘luck’ manipulation, altering outcomes on a subtle level.

  Shatterbird – A silicakinetic, capable of moving and manipulating glass, or affecting whole cities with a glass-shattering scream. Drapes herself in a costume of colored glass shards, complete with a beak-mask. A member of the Slaughterhouse Nine.

  Shielder - A member of New Wave. Blue haired, wearing a white costume with a blue shield motif, he can fly, generate laser blasts and creates forcefields. Same powers as his mother and sister, but with an emphasis on shaping forcefields and stronger forcefields.

  Sierra Kiley – A girl with red dreads who took custody of her brother after her parents became ill. Sought help from the protagonist in getting him back after he was kidnapped.

  Simurgh - A creature that appears as a freakishly tall woman with a countless number of wings fanning out from her body, some fanning out from other wings. A precognitive, telekinetic, clairvoyant with a psychic scream.

  Sirius – One of Bitch’s dogs, a black lab.

  Skidmark – Leader of the Merchants, a foul-mouthed individual with the ability to create a deflector field, a force field that pushes things through itself or pushes them away.

  Skitter – The protagonist. A bug controller, she wears a black spidersilk costume with gray-black speckled armor panels. If you’ve forgotten who she is, you have a problem.

  Sophia Hess – Emma’s new best friend, one of Taylor’s bullies, more physical than the other two. She’s an athletic African-American girl with longer hair.

  Spitfire – A member of Faultline’s crew who once applied for the Undersiders and was scared off by Bitch. Capable of spitting a flammable chemical.

  Squealer – Described by others as a trashy skank, a Merchant and Skidmark’s girlfriend. A tinker capable of creating vehicles, she makes lumbering, haphazard constructions loaded down with everything she might think of.

  Stormtiger – A white supremacist and one of Hookwolf’s subordinates, once a member of parahuman fighting rings. Wears loose-fitting pants and a white tiger mask. An aerokinetic, his techniques include drawing sounds and smells to himself, or condensing air into hard ‘claws’ that he then releases in explosive blasts.

  Strider – A freelance hero who specializes in mass teleporting.

  Sundancer – A traveler, Sundancer wears a red and black costume with a sun motif. Her power lets her create a miniature sun, an intensely hot orb that can melt concrete and turn rock to ash.

  Tagg – PRT director, ex-military, a combative personality.

  Tattletale – Gifted with superhuman intuition, the ability to fill in gaps in her knowledge, Tattletale is a member of the Undersiders, their information specialist and one of their better tactical thinkers. Wears her blond hair straight, and has a lavender and black costume with a stylized eye on the chest.

  Tecton – A Chicago Ward, Tecton has power armor capable of shattering the earth, creating fissures, localized earthquakes and pits in his immediate surroundings.

  Theo Anders – The fifteen year old son of Kaiser, described as pudgy and withdrawn.

  Trainwreck - An unwashed, greasy man who wears a crude, steam powered suit. Essentially a homeless solo supervillain, he is initially based in Brockton Bay’s Trainyards.

  Triumph – Recent graduate from the Brockton Bay Wards as of the story’s start, he’s now a member of the cit
y’s Protectorate chapter instead. Gifted with natural strength, athleticism and durability by his powers, he is capable of delivering controlled concussive blasts with his voice.

  Ursa Aurora – A member of the New York Protectorate, Ursa Aurora creates animated forcefields in the rough shape of bears.

  Velocity – A member of the Brockton Bay Protectorate, Velocity has super speed at the expense of proportionately lowered strength and an inability to affect the world.

  Victor – A white supremacist and partner to Othala, Victor wears a black v-neck breastplate, red shirt and black slacks. His power allows him to steal people’s skills and talents, draining them temporarily or permanently (depending on the amount stolen) and giving it to himself on a permanent basis.

  Vista – A member of the Brockton Bay Wards, Vista is a young (thirteen year old) girl with a powerful ability – the ability to warp physical space. Blonde, she wears a green and blue dress with sculpted panels of body armor and a green visor.

  Wanton – A member of the Chicago Wards, Wanton can turn himself into a storm of telekinetic energy, picking up debris and loose items and having it all orbit a central point.

  Weld – A member of the Boston Wards, Weld is a metal-skinned boy, one of the case 53s (People who tend to have amnesia, a specific mark and monstrous features).

  Ziz – Another name for the Simurgh (see above).

  Cast (In Depth & Spoilerful)

  Spoiler warning! If you haven’t yet read the story up to the most current update, this page may give away story elements and surprises.

  For the regular Cast page, see above.

  Civilian Life

  Taylor Hebert, Skitter - A 16 year old native of Brockton Bay, Taylor gained the power to control arthropods and other simple lifeforms, sensing what they sense to varying degrees. With a wide range (spanning nine to fifteen hundred feet around her) and the power to individually control each insect, she relies on versatility and strategic thinking to seize the advantage in battle.Her powers manifested in January 2011, triggered by a bullying campaign by her former best friend and two other girls. She found a measure of escape with her dream of becoming a superhero, but things didn’t quite work out that way. She’s now one of the controlling powers in Brockton Bay, a villain warlord in charge of the Boardwalk, with a small contingent of followers working under her, and leader of the Undersiders.