Ascending Consciousness (Worm SI-OC)

[iTzMMV]

/*AN

Hi everyone, this new fic came through a recent plot bunny of mine. I have no idea if I will ever finish it, but I will write it when I feel like it. As for my other fic, don't worry, I haven't abandoned it. I am just busy and will resume writing it soon enough.

AN*/

My bones ached, a dull and constant pain that had steadily been increasing and spreading for the last two years. Each step brought a small burst of pain as if pressing a wound. But through the pain I persevered, refusing to stop until I had reached the bench, releasing a weary breath as I sat on its uneven wood. Looking around, I saw the surrounding park that seemed so much greyer and darker than the one in my memories. My mood couldn't help but drop further. The park, like me, had been decaying it seemed. I couldn't help but reminisce about the last few years.

Cancer, already at a very advanced stage, the doctor had diagnosed. I stayed on chemo for the better part of the first year, until it was clear it wasn't having any effect besides making my body even weaker. My parents were devastated after knowing that there was no curing me. At first, they frequently visited and supported me, but as my physical and mental health deteriorated they slowly distanced themselves, or rather, I did. How could I bear their looks of pain and resignation as they looked at me? The forced smiles, the pitying stares, the feeling of being a burden. I hated it. I hated my condition. I hated the burden I had become, never letting them move on or let go, a dead man walking, a constant reminder of their son's incoming death.

Now here I was, sitting on a dilapidated bench in a deserted park with a gun in my hand. I couldn't help but notice the irony. The park that I am so fond of, which used to be so well-cared for and so full of life, now is abandoned together with most of the city. Like me, it was decaying, barely a shadow of its former self. While I was being eaten away from the inside by my own body, the park was slowly being run down by the elements as no one cared for it over the years.

For too long I have felt like a consciousness trapped in a prison of flesh. Would this free me? Free me of the pain, free me of the guilt or the suffering. I looked at the gun in my hand. No matter, I had already decided, I didn't have long to live and I'd rather go out on my own terms rather than alone on a hospital bed drugged out of my mind. Mechanically I brought the gun up and pressed it against the roof of my mouth. The coldness of the metal almost made me second guess myself, but a familiar dull throb in my bones sharpened my resolve.

Slowly, I closed my eyes. Then I pulled the trigger.

...

Disorientation hit me when I opened my eyes. Surrounding me were countless shapes and forms of bizarre colors that seemed to move and transform in impossible patterns. These fractal-like shapes were enthralling, I couldn't bring myself to look away even though my head was beginning to hurt.

"Hello Mark," I heard a deep and ancient-sounding voice.

Immediately, all my focus turned to a figure that seemed to have just popped out of nowhere in front of my vision. It was a man-no, a being made of light, vaguely in the shape of a man. The light coming from him seemed to encompass all the colors of the light spectrum, maybe even beyond it since I had a hard time distinguishing many of them.

"Are you God?" I asked, starting to reconsider all my atheistic views.

"I can be considered a God, I suppose," the being said somehow managing to express an expression of pondering through his featureless face of light.

"Am I in the afterlife?" I asked tentatively.

"No, I have brought you here for a mission," he spoke solemnly.

"What mission?"

"ENTERTAIN ME," he declared, his voice suddenly gaining an unbearable air of authority that had me drop to my knees.

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The space surrounding me feeling as if ready to swallow me. Looking at the now gigantic being in front of me I finally understood what it felt to be face to face with a God. His whole presence seemed to focus on me and I felt like it found me wanting. Suddenly, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. But now I knew, whatever this being wanted I would give it to him, I had no choice.

"A-and how am I su-supposed to Entertain you?" I asked still shaking from the shock.

"I will send you to the universe of Worm, to Earth Bet specifically"

The moment I processed his words, I began to feel a sinking feeling in my gut. If this is the Worm that I'm thinking about, then I am fucked.

"B-But how will I entertain you there? I would most likely die there without achieving anything significant," I asked while slowly standing up.

"I have seen your life. In your last year, you read quite a lot of fiction about this universe. So I will give you something you are familiar with. Something you desired even," he said, his tone turning mocking at the end.

Just as he finished speaking, a floating screen appeared in front of me. At the very top of the screen, I saw something I was painfully familiar with. When the medications stopped being enough to escape the pain, I turned to escapism fiction as a form of reprieve, many of them featuring the infamous CYOAs. They were a form of self-indulging escapism where people imagined themselves choosing a world and powers to go on an adventure. I began to examine the screen. Although the sinking feeling in my gut didn't seem to go away, at least I gained a shred of hope.

Ȩ̶̨̛̥̮̖̘̙͇̫͎͓̖̽̈́̒̆͊͒̾̒̊͊̓̋̕͝ḉ̸̢̡͚̖͔̬̦͎̤̝̺̝̙̰̙͓̂̍̀̀͊̂̊͑̕͜͜ͅȁ̸̡̨̰̬͍̩̣͇͍̤̺͔͎̪͑̌̓̈́̾̓̅͆͐͝͝͠͠ŗ̶̧̣̥͍̝͎̞͎̹̼̹̗̠̣̇̆̓̆͒͐́̑̃͐̆̋̄̂̊͑̓ͅi̴̡̩͖͎̰̓ǒ̶̢̟͉͚̟̠̤̰̙͕͔͙̙͚̬̾̐̂̊̈́́s̴̛͕͖̫̝̺̺̗̟͆̓̑̽͌̀̃̽̎̋͘͝ Worm CYOA


Points: 0
Difficulty | Scenario | Perks | Drawbacks | Shards | Missions
​

The first thing I noticed was the broken and distorted word that I assume was the name of the being who is in front of me. I couldn't quite decipher what was written, giving me the impression that it was too complex for me to comprehend it. Next, I looked through the layout. It was quite normal, having categories that are common among many CYOAs. What concerned me the most though, was that I started with zero points considering CYOAs usually give a starting amount.

Deciding to begin filling the CYOA, I gingerly lifted my arm and pressed on the first category.

Difficulty
Points: 0

| Mundane (- 500 pts) |
[LOCKED]
The overall power level of the world is reduced, Scion is dead, and the world is much less Grimdark.

| Easy (- 100 pts) |
[LOCKED]
Scion is much weaker, and the world is significantly less Grimdark.

| Normal (+ 20 pts) |
The world is the same as canon.

| Hard (+ 100 pts) |
Scion is no longer depressed, and the world is significantly more Grimdark.

| Impossible (+ 500 pts) |
The overall power level of the world is increased, Scion is no longer depressed and Eden is still alive, and the world is much more Grimdark.​

After reading through the options, I couldn't help but notice how mundane and easy were locked. I sneak a glance at the being a few meters in front of me, and can't help but feel the dark amusement emanating from him.

"There is no fun on an easy journey is there? The fun lies in conflict, in struggle. And struggle you will," I heard him speak. His tone became more and more ominous with each word.

I can feel the dread building in my chest. Looking back at the screen I quickly select the normal difficulty. Worm was already a horrible and grimdark world on the verge of destruction, no number of points would justify making it worse. I don't have an exact idea of the worth of points yet, but if they do turn out to be worth it, I can go back and change my selection. Next, I pressed the Scenario tab.

Scenario
Points: 20

( ...... )
| Scion first appearance (- 50 pts) |
May 19th, 1982

| Formation of the protectorate (- 20 pts) |
May 1st, 1988

| Apearance of the Simurgh (- 10 pts) |
December 30th, 2002

| The day Taylor triggered (+ 20 pts) |
January 3rd, 2011

| Gold Morning (+ 50 pts) |
20 June 2013
( ...... )​

Looking through the scenarios, I only found five of them which weren't locked. The first three were a no-go, entering the world too early would completely derail canon and I didn't have a good idea of how the world was before the start of the story, which was dangerous. The last one would bring me straight to the day Scion's rampage began, which gave me no time to prepare. It would only be worth it if the powers I choose don't need any time for growth or preparation. For now, I selected the safe option, the day Taylor triggered. It was a few months before the start of the story, giving me some more time to prepare where my knowledge of the world would still be useful. Then I went to the Perks tab.

Perks
Points: 40
[You may choose up to 5 perks]

( ...... )
| Peak Condition (- 10 pts) |
Your body starts in its peak condition and tends to maintain this state. This results in a small resistance to diseases, mutations, and other negative effects.

| Superhuman Condition (- 20 pts) |
[Requires Peak Condition]
Your body gains a low-level Brute/Thinker rating improving all of its aspects. This results in moderate resistance to diseases, mutations, and other negative effects.

| Blind Spot (- 50 pts) |
You are invisible to all forms of information gathering, precognition, sensing, and surveillance.

| Inviolate mind (- 50 pts) |
You are immune to all forms of control, manipulation, Master effects, and influence.

| Trumped the Trump (- 50 pts) |
You are immune to all Trump effects, and any outside influence on your powers

| Iron will (- 10 pts) |
You have a will of iron. This gives a small resistance to all negative mental effects. It will help you survive this harsh world.

| Pseudo-Shard (- 100 pts) |
Your shard is part of you and resides within your soul, giving a moderate boost to shard-host compatibility. Results in immunity to precognition and Master/Trump effects that affect your shard directly. Be warned, precognition and Master/Trump effects that don't rely upon or affect your shard directly will still work normally against you.

| Papers, Please (- 5 pts) |
You enter this world with an identity and all the documents you will need. However, if anyone searches for your past they won't find anything, as if you popped out of nowhere, little do they know...
( ...... )​

The perk list is the largest so far, having dozens of perks. Out of all of them, there were three that were crucial: Blind Spot, Inviolate Mind, and Trumped the Trump. In Worm CYOAs they were a requirement. Without invisibility to precognition, you placed your fate in the hands of the likes of Coil and Contessa. Without Master resistance you would become the puppet of the first powerful Master that appeared, losing all free will. Without immunity to Trump's powers, you would eventually get blindsided by some Trump effect and possibly die.

The problem, however, is that I only had 40 points and I could only gain so many from the drawbacks. That's not even considering how much I would have to spend on choosing my shard. Fortunately among the list, I found the Pseudo-Shard perk, which gave a limited effect of the other three perks together with some other benefits. It's not perfect, I would need to somehow find a way to shore up its weaknesses like emotional and biological Mastering, or analysis-based Thinkers like Tattletale, all of which don't affect my shard directly. However, it would help me save 50 points. Peak Condition, Iron Will, and Papers, Please were nice-to-haves but with the way I had already blown my budget, it was better to leave them for now. Quickly I selected Pseudo-Shard and then moved to the Drawbacks tab.

Before looking at the tab, I glanced again at the being that brought me here. The being stood there, unmovingly staring at me. I could already feel the sweat beginning to form on my back. He had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to see me struggle and, considering the amount of points I got so far and how expensive the perks were, I was bound to take a lot of drawbacks. I could only hope they wouldn't too bad.

Drawbacks
Points: -60
[You may choose up to 10 drawbacks]

( ...... )
| Weak body (+ 5 pts) |
Your body is weak and frail. You are malnourished and your body is underdeveloped. This drawback cannot be picked if the user's powers or perks directly negate its effects.

| Sickly (+ 5 pts) |
Your immune system is somewhat compromised. You easily get sick and the time it takes you to heal is longer. This drawback cannot be picked if the user's powers or perks directly negate its effects.

| Terminal Illness (+ 15 pts) |
You are terminally ill. Choose a terminal illness to have. This drawback cannot be picked if the user's powers or perks directly negate its effects.

| Locally Wanted (+ 5 pts) |
[Can be picked multiple times]
As soon as they know about you, they will want to either try to kill or recruit you. (E88, ABB, Coil, Merchants)

| Globally Wanted (+ 10 pts) |
[Can be picked up to 3 times]
As soon as they know about you, they will want to either try to kill or recruit you. (PRT, Gesellschaft, Cauldron)

| Sink or Swim (+ 10 pts) |
[Synergises with Natural Trigger]
You enter this world with a rough start. Good luck surviving.

| Natural Trigger (+ 10 pts) |
[Synergises with Sink or Swim]
You are not special, you have to trigger like everyone else.

| Conflict Drive (+ 10 pts) |
Your shard makes you feel attracted to conflict, especially involving capes.
( ...... )
​

There were even more options for drawbacks than there were on the perks tab. However, most of the drawbacks were absolutely brutal. The only ones that were anywhere near acceptable were the ones that gave the least points. If I could I would have picked none of them, but I was 60 points in debt and I still needed more to get a proper shard. In the end, I picked Weak Body, Locally Wanted by E88, ABB and Merchants, Sickly, Terminal Illness, Globally Wanted by the PRT, Sink or Swim, Natural Trigger, and Conflict Drive. The easiest choice was Terminal illness, it gave 15 points and I was already terminally ill, even now I could still feel the dull ache of my bones. Natural Trigger and Sink or Swim were the real hard choices. They highly increased my risk of dying at the start but if you picked one the other may as well be free. As for the local powers, I choose all except Coil because I didn't think I would be completely invisible to his power.

Even after picking the maximum number of drawbacks, I only had 20 points. The shards needed to be cheap or else I might really have to go back and pick even worse drawbacks. I still had to create a power that would allow me to shore up the limitations of Pseudo-Shard, and because of my terminal illness and the Weak Body and Sickly drawbacks, I was basically shoehorned into taking some form of Tinker power that could cure me indirectly since they couldn't be taken otherwise. Full of dread, I went to the next tab.

Shards
Points: 20
Shard Ranking | Shard Choice | Customization | Packages​

This tab was different, it had many subcategories. Curious, I pressed the first.

Shards > Shard Ranking
Points: 20

| Normal (- 50 pts) |
(Low Potential)
This shard is not considered an important shard for the Entity.

| Vital (- 100 pts) |
(Medium Potential)
This shard is considered an important shard for the Entity, and so it will not discard it lightly.

| Noble (- 200 pts) |
(High Potential)
The lack of this shard will severely hinder the Entity.​

My heart dropped after I looked at the prices. If I wanted to have an actual chance of surviving through Gold Morning I needed to have a noble shard, but I couldn't even afford a Normal one. I clenched my teeth as I thought of how the being brought me here from a peaceful death to this mockery of a game, not even giving me a chance to succeed. However, a single frown from the entity froze the anger that had begun to simmer in my chest. I already suspected it, but the being seemed to be able to read my mind or my emotions, which was unsurprising in hindsight.

"You can refuse you know? You would simply die as you were supposed to and your soul would return to the void, to simply fade away. But I know you won't, you can call me unfair all you want, but in the end, I chose you for a reason," the being spoke condescendingly.

I could feel the mockery in his tone, it angered me, but deep down, I knew he spoke the truth. Despite all the anger, and all my complaints, I still would choose to go through this. Because I wanted to see the world of Worm, because I desired to have superpowers, and most of all, because I wanted to live. And if I had to make a deal with the devil, so be it. Resignedly I picked the noble shard, I needed it to survive, If the points really weren't enough I would look again through the drawbacks. A sigh escaped my mouth as I pressed the next tab.

Shards > Shard Choice
Points: -180

( ...... )
| Queen Administrator |
This shard determines and rearranges the configurations of the shards in an Entity.

| The Shaper |
This shard is responsible for the clean-up of all the lifeforms at the end of the cycle.

| The Observer |
This shard ensures that the actions of the Entity are successful.

| Coruscant Knave |
This shard is used for the travel of the Entity through Space.

| Ascending Consciousness |
This shard is used to coordinate the components that form the consciousness of the entity.
( ...... )​

This tab has the longest list so far, there are hundreds of options. I even managed to find Taylor's shard, Queen Administrator. But, while scrolling through the long list of shards, I found one whose name resonated with me, Ascending Consciousness. It brought me back to one of my last thoughts before pulling the trigger, of how I felt like a consciousness trapped inside my ailing body. I took a better look at the description and, even though it was vague, ideas already began to form in my head. I needed to have a Tinker power that would let me indirectly heal myself, and I also needed to shore up my defenses against biological Masters and Analytical precogs. Quickly I selected Ascending Consciousness and went to the next tab.

Shards > Customization
Points: -180
Potential: 200
Mover | Shaker | Brute | Breaker | Master | Tinker | Blaster | Thinker | Striker | Changer | Trump | Stranger​

Due to your choice of a Noble shard, your power will be allowed to directly branch into three of the power classifications. The price in points of the shard will be converted into Potential for you to spend.

Classifications

(100 max pot)
Main (0 pot): Not Selected.

(70 max pot)
Auxiliary (0 pot): Not Selected.

(30 max pot)
Minor (0 pot): Not Selected.


| Specializing (+15 pts | - 15 pot) |
[3 maximum specializations for Main, 2 for Auxiliary, and 1 for Minor Classifications]
You specialize the power of a classification to a single field, exchanging potential for points.

| Limiting (+? pts | - ? pot) |
[One maximum limitation for each Classification]
You limit the power of a single classification, exchanging potential for points.​

Looking at this tab my hope returned. If I Specialized and limited my powers properly I should be able to reduce my debt to a manageable level. The problem would be finding a compromise between the strength of the power and my budget.

I selected the Main classification and, quickly noticed that all classification options except for Tinker, Thinker, and Master had greyed out. It seemed the purpose of the shard influenced which classifications the power would fall on. One by one, I accessed the available classifications and began to look at them. Each offered more subcategories and the option to choose a power.

After probably hours of messing around with the creation of my power, I finally looked at the Customization menu again.

Shards > Customization
Points: -80
Potential: 0

Classifications

(100 max pot)
Main (45 pot): Tinker

• Hyperspecialist Tinker(AI) (+ 50) [Biological Specialization] (- 15)
• Magi Tinker(Nanotech) (+ 50) [Biological Specialization] (- 15)

Limitation: Has to use tissues/materials from your own body (- 25)

(70 max pot)
Auxiliary (40 pot): Thinker

• Proficiency Thinker(Coordination) (+ 35) [AI Specialization] (- 15)
• Proficiency Thinker(Efficiency) (+ 35) [AI Specialization] (- 15)

(30 max pot)
Minor (15 pot): Master​

• Self-Control Master(Neurons) (+ 30) [Nanobots Specialization] (- 15)​

In the end, I managed to remove 100 points of debt, placing any more limitations would break the build I was going for. After looking at all the options I had available, I realized the best way to make the most of my build was to mix AI with nanotech. My Tinker powers would let me build biological computers and nanobots with my own tissues. As for my Thinker powers, they would let me coordinate and improve the efficiency of my neurons, letting my brain work like an AI. Finally, my Master power would let me control all my neurons. Since all my nanobots and computers would be made of my own tissues, they would fall under the effect of my Thinker and Master powers. Thus, creating a powerful synergy.

The problem, as with every Tinker, was that my power had a very steep power curve. I would start very vulnerable, but if I managed to survive long enough to cure myself and see through Gold Morning, I might be S-class by then. This powerset had the added benefit of protecting me against biological masters since I would already be mastering my own neurons.

After finishing my build, I selected the Packages tab. It basically listed pre-made builds of the characters from Worm. Since I was already satisfied with mine, I mostly skimmed it out of curiosity. Skitter's powers cost was 120 points, Alexandria's was 150, Panacea's was 180, and Eidolon's was 200. For some reason, there was also a Scion package costing 5000, and I was pretty sure it was impossible to accumulate this many points. What looking at the packages showed me though, was that the cost of the package wasn't necessarily proportional to its effectiveness. My own build was an example, being extremely min-maxed, all powers tailored to create a very specific synergy, it probably could punch above its weight.

Satisfied as I may have been with my build, I was still 80 points in debt. Before going back to the drawbacks, I decided to at least check out the Missions tab first. So I opened the tab.

Missions
Points: -80
[You may choose up to 5 Missions]

( ...... )
| Ender of the End (+ 30 pts) |
You must directly or indirectly cause the death of an Endbringer. Failure means death.

| Warlord (+ 15 pts) |
[Can be picked up to 3 times]
You must directly or indirectly cause the destruction of a minor power (E88, ABB, Coil, Merchants). Failure means death.

| Diverging Paths (+ 5 pts) |
You must directly change a canon event. Failure means death.
( ...... )​

Relief washed over me as I realized that the missions also gave points. I already had picked the maximum number of drawbacks, and even though I could change some of them, the other options were horrifying. What made me hesitate, however, was the warning in all missions that failure meant death. But, after thinking it through, I would most likely die anyway if I couldn't afford my power, and some missions seemed feasible enough. So after some deliberation, I picked Ender of the End, Warlord (E88, ABB, Merchants), and Diverging Paths. Leviathan was likely going to die already, due to the drawbacks I would have a conflict with those three gangs anyway, if you could even count the Merchants as one, and Diverging Paths was basically free points.

Luckily, I just barely managed to bring my point balance to 0. I had to take the maximum number of drawbacks and missions and min-max my powers to the limit, just to have a chance at surviving. Still, I went back to look through the CYOA for anything I might have missed. But just as I start going back through the menus, I am interrupted.

"Enough. You already made your choices," declared the being.

I was about to protest, but it died in my throat when I considered that it would be best not to anger a God.

"Okay, but what happens now?" I asked.

"Now it begins, your adventure," he responded in a fake cheery tone.

The being raised one of his arms and snapped his fingers. Soon after, my vision was consumed by darkness.

/*AN

I'm open to constructive criticism, suggestions, and even your opinion on what you like or dislike about the story and why. Just don't be an ass, please.

AN*/

 

[Alchto]

First time I actually felt compelled to read an meeting the Rob first chapter and doing the CYOA, the options "Ecarios" gave you are really brutal. Hope you write more of this.

 

[BJJPanda]

There isn't enough story to comment, the grammar is good. Try in the future to either pair another chapter with the rob chapter or skip it and include the details throughout the story as right now we haven't really gotten anything, the mc hasn't even gotten to worm

 

[noctev242]

Can we get like a tldr of his build?

 

[Jao]

immunity to Trump's powers,

Click to shrink...

Immunity to a Trump's powers*

Or

Immunity to Trump Powers.*

 

[iTzMMV]

First time I actually felt compelled to read an meeting the Rob first chapter and doing the CYOA, the options "Ecarios" gave you are really brutal. Hope you write more of this.

Click to shrink...

Thank you! I really appreciate the feeling.

There isn't enough story to comment, the grammar is good. Try in the future to either pair another chapter with the rob chapter or skip it and include the details throughout the story as right now we haven't really gotten anything, the mc hasn't even gotten to worm

Click to shrink...

True enough. I could have started with an In Medias Res, but I didn't really feel like it. As for the second chapter, I could post it together but it wouldn't be that good for long-term engagement.

Can we get like a tldr of his build?

Click to shrink...

Sure.

Spoiler

Name: Mark
Age: 28
Shard: Ascending Consciousness
Story: Had been fighting against a form of bone cancer for a few years, but had no hope of curing himself. This situation made him drift away from friends and family, together with greatly affecting his mental health. He decided to end things on his own terms before his disease progressed to the point where he got stranded on his deathbed. After killing himself, he is brought back from death and made to play through a twisted CYOA made by some cruel god-like being who sends him to Worm for his own amusement.
Powers: He can create biological AI-related Tinker-tech, and he can also create biological nanotech (All his creations must use his tissues as material). He has Thinker powers that make his brain work like an AI enhancing its efficiency and coordination. He also has a minor self-mastering ability where he has limited control of his neurons, and indirectly his tinker-tech. Very low starting powers, with a steep power curve, but will be able to get very strong eventually (not OP).

Difficulty:
- Normal: The world is the same as canon

Scenario:
- The day Taylor triggered: When he arrives on Earth Bet

Perks:
- Pseudo-Shard: His shard is his own, moderate boost to shard-host compatibility. Limited immunity to Precog/Trump/Master powers that affect his shard directly. (Basically a heavily nerfed Blank/Trumped the Trump/Master immunity)

Drawbacks:
- Weak Body: His body is weak and frail. Can't be fixed directly by his perks/powers.
- Sickly: He gets sick easily and his immune system is somewhat compromised. Can't be fixed directly by his perks/powers.
- Terminal Illness: He has terminal cancer already, so it was chosen for free points basically.
- Locally Wanted (x 3): E88, ABB, and Merchants will try to recruit or kill him. (Yes I know the Merchants aren't in the same league as the other two. He did not choose Coil as well due to his protection against precogs being limited)
- Globally Wanted: PRT will try to recruit or kill him. (It's the PRT, so they won't place a kill order on him lightly)
- Sink or Swim: His arrival on Earth Bet is quite the rough one. Possibly in a deadly way.
- Natural Trigger: He has to trigger naturally. (Synergy with Sink or Swim)
- Conflict Drive: His shard has a conflict drive that makes him more inclined to seek conflict, especially with capes.

Shards:
> Shard Choice:
- Ascending Consciousness.

> Customization:
- Tinker:
Hyperspecialist Tinker(AI) [Biological Specialization]
Magi Tinker(Nanotech) [Biological Specialization]
Limitation: Has to use tissues/materials from your own body
- Thinker:
Proficiency Thinker(Coordination) [AI Specialization]
Proficiency Thinker(Efficiency) [AI Specialization]
- Master:
Self-Control Master(Neurons) [Nanobots Specialization]

Missions:
- Ender of the End: He has to directly or indirectly cause the death of an Endbringer
- Warlord (x 3): He has to directly or indirectly cause the destruction of E88/ABB/Merchants
- Diverging Paths: He has to directly change a canon event.

 

[iTzMMV]

/*AN

Thank you, everyone. I'm getting a lot of engagement with this fic, and that really motivates me to write.

Recently I've begun to re-read Worm since I'm writing a fic about it. The last time I read it was years ago and my memories of it are spotty, and most likely somewhat tainted by fanon. What I had forgotten though, was just how long Worm is. It will probably take me a few weeks of reading before I finish it, but this will hopefully help prevent any major mischaracterization or fanon from seeping into the fic.

This chapter will be a rough one for the MC, he is going to trigger, naturally at that. So keep in mind the fic won't be like this all the time. I don't want to turn this into misery porn, after all. But this is Worm, which is grimdark at its core, and I won't shy away from it.

AN*/

As my sight returned to me, I found myself in what seemed to be a dirty alley. The sky was dark, and the air was uncomfortably moist. The mix of moisture with the smell of the trash that littered the alley walls made me a little nauseous. However, the sharp prickling I felt in my bones took away my attention. Whatever that God had made to send me here removed the pain medication from my blood, because the pain I was feeling was a lot worse than usual. As my attention shifted to my body, I began to notice the differences. If my arms before were thin from years of battling a terminal illness, now they were almost skeletal. I also noticed how my line of sight seemed slightly off, and realized I had got an inch or two shorter. Quickly I remembered about the drawbacks I chose, Weak Body and Sickly, it seemed they were responsible for these changes.

I almost began to regret my choices, but I steeled my resolve instead. My choices were already made, and they were made for a good reason, I should focus on using my powers to heal myself instead. While thinking about my powers I realized another problem. I couldn't feel them. This brought me back to my choices of drawbacks, Sink or Swim, and Natural Trigger. My anxiety spiked. At any moment now I would go through a life-or-death situation traumatic enough to make me trigger, and I was dreading it. As if the world was listening to my thoughts, I began to hear approaching footsteps and increasing voices coming from one of the sides of the alley. My body froze and, as if in slow motion, I began to see three figures appearing on the side of the alley I was closest to.

The three of them wore all black, with leather jackets and shaved heads, all looking to be somewhere around their late twenties to mid-thirties. As the one with a stylized 88 tattooed on the side of his head saw me, he turned to one of the other two men.

"Hey Marv, look at that bum ova'there. Fucker looks as if he came straight out of a concentration camp," he said with a slight slur in his voice.

"Looks like just another junkie to me," the tallest one responded with contempt.

"Hey, why don't we rough him up a bit? Don't want the thrash to think they can just keep lounging around, polluting our turf, do we?" Said the last one. He had a vicious smile on his face, one that showed too many teeth.

"Sure. Been a while since we had some fun," answered the one with a head tattoo.

"Both of you can go, I'll have a smoke," said the tall one as he leaned against the wall and took out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket.

Soon, the two men began to walk toward me. My mind began to race a mile a minute, If I understood the drawbacks correctly, this event could turn out to be very much lethal. Noticing how the man with a tattoo was staggering slightly and remembering his somewhat slurred speech, I assumed they had been drinking before. Taking the alcohol in their systems into consideration, I assumed I could probably run from them. So I turned to the other end of the alley and began to run, being followed soon after by the two men.

"Oh, he's a runna huh"

"C'mon, let's get him!"

The moment I left the alley, I slowed my run. I had no idea where I was, the street that greeted me felt wholly unfamiliar. Unsure of where to go, I just picked a random direction and continued to run. However, I had forgotten to take my body into account, and with the drawbacks, I was even weaker than before. I had barely ran a few blocks before I began to slow down. My lungs burned while I heaved and my legs screamed from the pain, each step sending jolts of pain through my bones. After running one more block, I tripped, scrapping my elbows and my knees on the pavement while trying to break my fall. Tears threatened to leave my eyes as I felt untold pain irradiating from the bones of my elbows and knees, but I couldn't stop, I had to keep going. Just as I was trying to stand back up, I was brought back to the ground with a kick to my chest that left me completely winded.

"Damn, the fucker can run for someone who looks like a corpse," said the tattoed man.

"He sure can," the other man responded before turning to me, "I was just gonna rough you up a little, but now that you made me run all the way over here, I've changed my mind."

I tried to crawl away, but I was met with another kick. Before I realized it, I was hunched on the ground being kicked by both men. When one of the kicks landed in a place where my cancer was more developed, I screamed from the pain. They just kept kicking me, every time I tried to protect one place with my arms or legs, they would just kick somewhere else that I wasn't covering. The beating seemed to drag for what felt like hours, but eventually, the kicks stopped coming.

"It's no fun, he is not even moving anymore"

"Whatever, let's go back before Marvin gets annoyed"

They turned around and began to leave, as if they hadn't almost beaten a man to death. As they left, I kept shaking on the ground, the pain now covering most of my body. With the adrenaline gone, I felt drained, I could barely move. But slowly, I began to feel cold, my extremities stiff and numb as if they had almost been frozen. Understanding the direness of my situation, I forced myself towards another alley, where I crawled over to a pile of garbage bags and brought myself to the middle of them. Garbage bags weren't the best of insulators and they had a horrible smell, but I didn't have much choice if I didn't want to die of hypothermia on the street, so I covered myself with them.

While I was lying there, I was desperately hoping that someone would appear so I could get help. My body was cold and hurting, and I was pretty sure that I had either broken or bruised ribs from the beating I got. It was surprising how much I was afraid of dying now that I knew I could be cured considering I was the one who ended my last life. It was dark, and this place didn't seem to be considered safe, so barely any people passed through there. The few people that did were either too far to get their attention or ignored me when I tried to call for help, probably thinking I was begging or trying to mugg them. So when a middle-aged woman actually stopped at the entrance of the alley, my hope reignited.

"Hey there! Please, I need help!" I pleaded to her, my voice coming out weak and hoarse from constantly calling for help.

"What is it? I don't have any change," she said while giving me a guarded look.

"I need to go to the hospital, could you call an ambulance? I just got jumped by a few thugs, I think they were from the Empire," I asked.

The moment I mentioned the Empire her posture immediately became alert. She looked around as if a monster could appear out of any corner before she turned to look at me. She flashed a conflicted look for a moment before her expression returned to being guarded, then she turned around and began to briskly walk away from the alley. My heart sank, the street had become more and more deserted and it was unlikely someone else would appear, and even if they did, with the state of my throat I wouldn't be able to call for help again.

"Wait, Please! Come back!" I tried to shout, but my throat was so raw from all the shouting for help that what left my mouth was barely more than a whisper.

After around half an hour of resigned silence, I began to think about my life post-diagnosis, about how the disease slowly took everything away from me. First, it took away my ability to move, letting me only walk short distances before the pain became too much. Then, it took away my hope when the treatments proved ineffective. After, it took away my family, slowly driving me apart from them. Finally, it took away my will to live when it became too much to bear. And even now, after I had come back to life, it still kept taking from me. The thought filled me with rage, I felt like a furnace against the cold air surrounding me. I hated the unfairness of it all, I hated the being who brought me here, I hated the men who beat me, I hated the woman who just abandoned me, I hated myself for deciding to go here by my own choice, and I hated how my body fought against me each step of the way.

In the middle of that torrent of anger and helplessness at my situation, I felt something crack at the back of my mind. Immediately, the world seemed to shift. Everything seemed clearer, sharper, as if suddenly everything was more than before. Together with the clarity, I began to feel overwhelmed by the sudden explosion of information that I was receiving, suddenly I could feel every neuron and nerve in my body. My nervous system looked like a phantom limb or a new sense that I had just discovered. In my mind's eye, I could almost see it, looking like a bulb with roots sprouting out of it and branching all over my body. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony, a hoarse, bitter laugh. I wanted to trigger to get my powers and eventually cure myself, but now that I had triggered, I was going to die in an alley surrounded by garbage.

The trigger was the last straw, my energy was finally exhausted. I was cold, tired, everything hurt, and now I was seeing the sides of my vision darkening. As I felt myself losing consciousness, I could almost hear the distorted sounds of what seemed like a muffled voice. The last thing I felt before the darkness greeted me was a pair of hands pulling me from the garbage bags and placing me over something.

...

I woke up startled, almost disbelieving that I was still alive. As I examined my surroundings I found myself in what seemed like a makeshift hospital bed while wearing a medical gown. The bed looked cheap and put together with only functionality in mind, to my side there were two other beds, both of them empty. When I tried to lift myself, I felt a sharp pain in my chest and couldn't help but let out a hiss of pain. Soon after, I heard a pair of hurried footsteps. A few moments later the door to the room I was in opened and from it came out a scruffy middle-aged man with a thinning hairline and wearing a doctor's coat over what seemed to be a set of old and worn casual clothes. He looked somewhat surprised seeing me awake, but slowly his expression turned to a tired one.

"Don't move, you have two broken ribs and a few more bruised ones," he said while entering the room.

"Sorry, I won't try to move again. But how did I end up here? The last thing I remember was lying injured in an alley," I asked cautiously.

As much as it seemed like he was helping me, this was clearly not an official hospital, he could just as easily be trying to sell my organs. This is Worm, after all.

"My wife called and told me a man was dying in an alley, after she told me the address I drove there and pulled you into the car and brought you here," the man said with clear frustration when mentioning the incident.

"And where would here be? I don't want to sound rude, but this doesn't seem like a licensed clinic to me."

He gave me an appraising look for a few moments, before seeming to come to a decision.

"This clinic I run is not licensed, but the work I do here is no less important. The usual patients tend to be the kind who can't go to a proper hospital, if you get what I mean," he spoke slowly but firmly.

"I understand. Not everyone can afford it, and some just want to avoid having to answer uncomfortable questions."

"Thank you for your understanding. But I have something I need to tell you. While I did an x-ray of your ribs, I found the results quite concerning," he said hesitatingly.

"I have cancer, I'm aware," I replied resignedly.

The man seemed to relax minutely after hearing that.

"I'm sorry for your situation"

"It's okay. But now that you helped me, I can't help but wonder how much your treatment of me so far will cost. The men who jumped me took all the money I had..." I lied.

When I arrived in this world I had nothing with me except for the clothes on my back, so it was safer to lie than to explain how a man without identity or money popped up at Brockton Bay out of nowhere.

"It's fine, considering your situation I won't charge you. As for your ribs, they should heal in a month or two, just take some painkillers and make sure not no move your chest too much. Besides that, you are pretty much free to go home."

"I don't have a home... Not anymore, at least... I spent all my savings on cancer treatment and couldn't afford rent anymore. After getting jumped, I lost the last of what I had," I said trying to garner as much sympathy from the man as I could.

I felt bad lying so much to a man who had practically saved me from death's doors, but I had nowhere to go and I was still terminally ill. If I managed to convince him to let me sleep here or maybe even let me work as a helper or a handyman everything would be much easier. I would have time to begin exploring my powers and begin trying to cure myself. My doctor had estimated that I had only a few months left to live before I decided to end things on my own. The earlier that I could find a place to sleep and money for my tinkering, the more time I'd have to find a way to save myself. If everything failed I could still try to find Panacea, however, with the way her powers worked, I would out myself as a parahuman the moment she touched me.

"I'm sorry for your situation, truly. If you need you can stay here until tomorrow at least."

"Do you need any help? I could be a helper or a handyman. As long as you offer food and a place to sleep I would be willing to work for you."

"I. Um. I'm sorry, I don't need much help around here and we don't have a lot of food going around. But if you need, there should be a homeless shelter cl-"

"Please, I don't even need the food if you don't have it. I'm already dying, so I don't have long to live. Just let me stay here for a month or two, I could even sleep in a spare room or a closet. If I'm left on the streets I won't last a week!" I pleaded.

The man seemed very uncomfortable. He firmed his expression for a moment, making me think he would refuse. However, his expression soon softened to one of deep tiredness.

"If you just need a place to sleep for a month or two, I do have a Spare room you could use at the clinic. I will give you a blanket, but you will have to find a bed for yourself. Just don't bother my work or the patients, or I will kick you out."

"Thank you! I promise I won't cause any trouble, I just need a place to sleep. Oh, and I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mark."

"I'm David. Now, stay still while I remove the IV."

After removing the needle connecting a half-empty IV bag filled with saline solution from my arm, David showed the overall layout of the clinic. He showed me where I could go, where I couldn't, and finally, where I was going to sleep. It was an old and dusty broom closet, just barely large enough to fit me lying on the floor. After he gave me my now-washed clothes, I thanked him one last time before he left. Soon after he left, I sat down and I began to explore my powers.

When I triggered, everything seemed clear, as if a fog had been lifted from my mind, but now I didn't feel that anymore. So I concentrated on the feeling in the back of my mind, and suddenly everything became clear again. I could instinctively change the way my neurons connected, I could make the synapses faster, and more efficient. Whole sections of my brain, like my frontal lobe and my cerebellum, began to work in tandem, like coordinating independent AIs. Each moment that passed my senses improved and my thoughts cleared as my brain had more time to absorb and associate information. However, I was already feeling an intuitive limitation. After my brain adapted and absorbed enough information, its improvement would stagnate. What I got from my power roughly translated to: No matter how good the software, if the hardware is not enough it will bottleneck. As it was, this would leave most functions of my brain at a barely superhuman level, just extrapolating my ordinary brain's capabilities to its biological limits.

Soon after, I tried to control my neurons. My Master power was a minor one, and I even had added a specialization on top of that so, unsurprisingly, my control was rather weak. The nanobot specialty should allow much finer control when it came to using the nanobots I would make, but I felt my range limited to an inch outside of my body, adding another large limitation. At least I had gained an intuitive understanding of my neurons, I could even somewhat control them like dampening their reception of pain. After a while of experimenting, I dampened the pain receptors around my cancerous tissues and injuries just enough so they would be bearable.

Finished with testing the Thinker and Master aspects of my power, I decided to finally test its main one. As I focused more and more on the feeling in my mind, knowledge of biology that I vaguely remembered from High-school before began to feel trivial. Information that I knew began to be instinctively connected and expanded upon. Wild Ideas began to sprout in my head, from things like making a computer that was basically a brain on a jar made to run AI, to nanobots made of small clusters of neurons supported by calcified structures. But before I could lose myself in daydreaming about possible tinker tech, I focused on my main problem, materials.

All the ideas I had used exclusively my tissue, my cells, and so I began to think of how to cultivate my own tissues. While focusing on this line of thinking, soon ideas began to sprout in my mind, and before long, I found a feasible one, stem cell cultures. I could extract stem cells from my bone marrow, then create cultures for it, and using those cultures with the right equipment, I would be able to grow my tinker tech inside vats. Another problem that I would have is food, without ATP or organically generated energy from food, I wouldn't be able to grow my cell cultures. I'm also pretty sure that the current knowledge of biology doesn't support those ideas, but I had a feeling that most problems I ran through, my shard would help me find a solution or a workaround.

My stomach began to rumble, which reminded me that I probably haven't eaten anything for the best part of the day considering it seemed to be around noon already. There was a small problem, however, I had no money. In my mind, I began to create objectives for me to achieve. They ranged from my immediate ones, like getting food to eat, all the way to surviving Gold Morning. After thinking for a while, I listed the main objectives in my mind. I may not have formed a plan, and the objectives were admittedly vague, but now I had an idea of what to do.

First I would have to get food, which shouldn't be too difficult. With the current state of my body, I was more likely to get change If I begged. Also, by my understanding of my powers, I should be able to learn how to steal food or pickpocket rather quickly with my improved brain functions. If push came to shove, I could ask David for help, but I'd rather not considering the amount of help the man already gave me. I'd prefer to work for money, but I was too weak to do any physical labor and those jobs were the only ones I qualified for while not having any documents or residence.

Thinking about my options I decided to steal. Begging would be too reliant on the goodwill of the people of Brockton Bay, that's not even considering how the homeless could get quite territorial about begging spots. As for pickpocketing, If I got caught, I would be at the mercy of the whims of the person I was trying to steal from considering the state of my body. Finally, stealing food from rich areas like downtown would at worst get me a beating from the security. Stealing food was too lowly of a crime to call the PRT for, and I was pretty sure that would be the way that would give me the most food with acceptable risk.

Having made up my mind, I get out of the medical gown and put on my washed clothes. They were not expensive, but with them, I wouldn't look like a hobo anymore, which was essential for stealing. If I looked too poor or suspicious, I would be either watched carefully or kicked out depending on how bad I looked. After thinking for a while, I decided to go to the boardwalk. From what I remembered from reading Worm, the boardwalk was a relatively safe touristic place that sold overpriced merchandise to tourists. Considering this, the boardwalk was the best place to go since it was likely to have many food stalls and cafes.

The only problem now was getting there. David had told me that this clinic was located at the docks, so it shouldn't be too far from the boardwalk. With this in mind, I went to ask David for directions. He did give me a weird look when I said I wanted to go to the boardwalk, even warning me that they would kick me out if I begged. However, I quickly denied any intent to beg and lied to him instead, telling him that I had an old friend that worked there that could give me some food. I hated having to lie to him again and again, but I wasn't sure he would let me stay here if he knew I was stealing.

Now, after a short explanation and with a vague and hastily drawn map in my hand, I left the clinic and went toward the bay.

/*AN

Coming up with a trigger that ticked off all the boxes for Tinker, Thinker, and Master triggers in a way that made sense for Mark as a character was hard. His disease was a long-term problem that culminated in a main Tinker trigger, his burst of emotions like anger at that moment should cover the Thinker trigger, and the isolation together with the perceived betrayal by that woman in the alley should do for the minor Master trigger. As for the beating that he got, I won't consider that reason for a Brute trigger because it was just one more event that helped build up to his breaking point and not the breaking point itself, where he actually triggered.

As of now, with his power, he would receive only a Thinker 1 or 2 threat rating from the PRT. But, after he finds a way to successfully cultivate materials and begins to build his tinker tech, his threat rating will grow. While his build has rather slow growth, as long as he finds new ways to work around his limitations and has time and materials to prepare, the sky is the limit. Although, if he will ever reach it is still in question.

I didn't have Mark go through a trigger vision because his shard didn't come from an Entity and their main purpose in Worm was for dropping foreshadowing about the Entities. If I feel it is necessary, I can come back and add one.

I'm open to constructive criticism, suggestions, and even your opinion on what you like or dislike about the story and why. In fact, I enjoy discussing and explaining things. Just don't be an ass, please.

AN*/

 

[ProtoSovereign]

Can't he use the cancer cells for tinkering ?

 

[Brian the dor]

It's so very hard to believe that a sickly and cancer ridden man choose to become a more sickly and cancer ridden man that has to go through a natural trigger, mc is a retard and author cant think about realistic situations, excited for a worm si that isn't a Taylor AU tho

 

[Despacitoleo]

This is pretty cool man
feels a bit short but thats proably cause I read like 100,000 word 100 chapter long sections from fanfics I read though i have a question would the cancer cells work as biological material for the bio-tinkering cause they are op

I.e a small sample has been alive for nearly hundred years

And they evolve i.e a " Disease" that affects dogs are cancer cells that are biologically dog tissue infects and transfers to other dogs like a virus.

 

[Despacitoleo]

It's so very hard to believe that a sickly and cancer ridden man choose to become a more sickly and cancer ridden man that has to go through a natural trigger, mc is a retard and author cant think about realistic situations, excited for a worm si that isn't a Taylor AU tho

Click to shrink...

Your thinking logically someone who just killed themselves and is now forced into a new life just to suffer for a god that's a asshole would be pretty jarring
(also he just killed himself so he's not right in the head right now)

Also he's trying to fix up a new life so he doesn't die in three seconds after being "given" a new life, so be quiet and actually give criticism instead of posting garbage that prevents good authors like this, make wonderful stories like the one currently above us.

 

[Brian the dor]

Your thinking logically someone who just killed themselves and is now forced into a new life just to suffer for a god that's a asshole would be pretty jarring
(also he just killed himself so he's not right in the head right now)

Also he's trying to fix up a new life so he doesn't die in three seconds after being "given" a new life, so be quiet and actually give criticism instead of posting garbage that prevents good authors like this, make wonderful stories like the one currently above us.

Click to shrink...

Trying to fix his life? He chose to become even more sickly

 

[Despacitoleo]

Trying to fix his life? He chose to become even more sickly

Click to shrink...

Okay he was forced to, to idk survive in a death game he whole ass did not care about being sick in the next life cause he had to survive.

Had to grasp on every advantage he had to get in a mini-warhammer-deathworld-lite

 

[eliteman56]

An interesting story. The way you made his build and the limitations upon it is pretty good.

The trigger part of this chap feels... I don't know. It's not bad, but its not good either? I don't have a specific reason why I feel like that but that's just me. Cool story though, hope you continue. Definitely watched.