Myriad

Myriad was one of the last drafts written before J.C. McCrae started writing Worm. Closest draft to the final product yet with several missing elements and mixed around pieces.<ref name="S:BW"> Myriad (2010) – Worm, second or third draft.

Oh, man, did I ever write a lot of drafts of Worm, covering a lot of bases. Oh man, do they not feel right, rereading them. This is going to feel really redundant, but hey. I’ve alluded to this before, but I started off trying to emulate other serials, and I was writing too little (600-900 word entries), and it really hurts the flow. I was still finding a voice and an identity for characters at this point. Eight or nine drafts followed this over the months, as I searched for those voices, tried to figure out where to start my story, and struggled to find my stride. Then I started Worm. - Snippets: Before Worm</ref> Myriad can be read here.

Synopsis

Myriad 1.1 - Debut

Three months after her trigger event, Taylor goes out in her homemade costume, ready to make her debut as a hero. She hears sirens and comes across the SRT (Superhuman Response Team) barricading the CDCD bank. After changing into her costume, Taylor surrounds herself with her bugs and approaches the police barricade to speak with the police chief and an SRT officer. They react badly, immediately training their guns on Taylor. Taylor is caught flatfooted, not having considered this scenario beforehand.

Myriad 1.2 - Squashed

The standoff between Taylor and the officers is interrupted by the arrival of a hero team. Taylor is immediately assaulted by Glory Girl, who takes Taylor to be a villain. Glory Girl swiftly and brutally defeats Taylor, breaking at least one of her ribs in the process. As Glory Girl prepares to deliver Taylor to the SRT for unmasking and containment, Taylor panics and attacks Glory Girl with her bugs. The attack is unsuccessful at first, her bugs failing to penetrate Glory Girl's forcefield, but the forcefield abruptly disappears, allowing the bugs to bite and sting Glory Girl in earnest. Glory Girl drops her and Taylor falls a long way to the ground. As Taylor is about to black out, she is gently lifted up and carried off.

Myriad 1.3 - The Gang

Taylor regains consciousness in a bed inside the Undersiders' hideout. She is watched over by Regent and Grue, who greet her upon her waking up. Taylor asks whether she's a hostage, to which the other two deny. Grue begins to explain the situation but is interrupted when Bitch enters the room, who informs the others of the payout from the bank job and how it'll be divided. Grue asks Bitch to attend to Taylor's bandages. To Taylor's shock, they refer to her as their "newest member."

Myriad 1.4 - The Gang II

As Bitch prepares to check over Taylor, Taylor protests and insists that she won't join their group. Bitch responds by jabbing at Taylor's injury, shutting her up. Bitch begins unwrapping Taylor's bandages around her chest, to which Taylor expresses concern regarding her modesty. Regent and Grue leave the room, though not without an inappropriate comment from Regent. Bitch inspects Taylor's wounds and gives her advice on recovering from them. Deduce enters the room, greeting Taylor. She tells Taylor about the group and Coil, their recruiter, giving Taylor a recruitment pitch. Taylor declines. Deduce shrugs this off and tells Taylor that she's taking her home.

Myriad 1.5 - The Den

After Deduce helps Taylor dress, Taylor enters the main room of the loft that the Undersiders live in. Grue approaches Taylor, giving her the address for the warehouse they're in and consoling her about Glory Girl. It is here that Taylor finds out that she managed to hurt Glory Girl with her bugs, taking her out of commission for at least a week. Taylor has mixed feelings on the matter. Eventually Deduce finishes changing, leading Taylor out of the warehouse.

Myriad 1.6 - Ideologies

Taylor and Deduce walk to the nearest bus stop. As they walk, Deduce introduces Taylor to her own perspective on the idea of heroes and villains. On the bus, Deduce gives Taylor a general run down on the Undersiders as a group. As the bus ride goes on, Taylor becomes drowsy and eventually falls asleep for a short nap.

Myriad 1.7 - Alibi

The two get off the bus a block away from Taylor's house. On the way, Taylor asks how Deduce knows so many hero identities. They then discuss Dragon, who confounds Deduce's powers, and talk about what Dragon's true identity could be. They arrive at Taylor's house and confront Taylor's parents. Deduce introduces herself as "Amara." Taylor's mother is initially upset at Taylor for her absence, but quickly becomes sympathetic when Amara explains that Taylor was injured due to a nearby bank robbery. Amara leaves, promising to see Taylor at school on Monday.

Myriad 2.1 - Dregs

Taylor ruminates over the gangs of Winslow, including the Asian Bad Boyz, a gang including Asian ethnic groups, the Beaters and Skels, which were the two biggest unpowered gangs, and the Minions, unpowered people who hired themselves out as henchmen to supervillains. Taylor enters her classroom and goes to her desk, only to find it dripping wet with a sticky, caustic substance. The likely culprits, Emma, Madison and Sophia, enter the classroom, who are the girls who have been tormenting Taylor for months.

Myriad 2.2 - Infiltration

Taylor is approached by Amara during lunch, much to Taylor's displeasure. Amara tries to chat with Taylor to limited success, but is rejected when she offers to hang out with Taylor in the loft. After Amara leaves, Taylor eventually comes to a decision, resolving to meet up with the heroes and tell them everything she knows about the Undersiders.

Myriad 2.3 - Deliberation

Taylor goes over the various hero groups of Brockton Bay in her head, weighing the pros and cons of each one. She rules out New Wave due to her prior run-in with Glory Girl. She rules out the Protectorate as well, as she doesn't want to be arrested on the spot. This leaves her with the Wards, who she contacts via phone call and arranges a meeting with after promising to explain her bad first impressions at the bank.

Myriad 2.4 - Exposure

Taylor arrives at the Wards HQ in costume. After going through an elevator, she comes face to face with three of the Wards: Aegis, Clockblocker and Vista. Taylor begins to reveal information about the Undersiders to the Wards, but is interrupted by the entrance of Shadow Stalker, who had just come out of the shower. Through Shadow Stalker's body features and the dust mites on her skin, Taylor matches Shadow Stalker's identity to one of her bullies, Sophia. Taylor is stunned by the revelation and loses her nerve, taking the elevator out of the building.

Myriad 2.5 - Retreat

Taylor leaves the Wards HQ in a daze, sitting down at a bus stop and pondering her situation. Her resentment toward the heroes grows, having been wronged by both Glory Girl and Shadow Stalker now. Taylor gets on the bus but doesn't get off when passing her house. She gets off at the docks, setting for Redmond Rivets, the warehouse that the Undersiders reside in. Taylor enters, where she encounters Grue, Regent and Deduce. Taylor apologizes to Amara for her rejection at lunch and asks if she can stay for a while.

Myriad 2.6 - Elaboration

Taylor commiserates with Grue over their individual conflicts with Sophia/Shadow Stalker. Taylor explains to the Undersiders her situation at school and how it came to be. She details the various pranks that her three bullies tormented her with, then tells the Undersiders about how she got her powers, when she was shoved in a locker full of rotting sanitary napkins. Amara explains to Taylor that this was her trigger event, explaining trigger events in general and how they occur. The conversation shifts to lighter topics, and eventually Taylor leaves for home in good spirits.

Myriad 3.1 - Impending Doom

Two weeks pass. In this time, Amara begins eating lunch with Taylor and spending time with her during class, doing groupwork and homework together. Taylor is happy to finally have a friend again, but is conflicted over the morality of associating with supervillains. In the present, Amara and Taylor eat lunch together in the rain. Taylor relaxes, feeling the bugs around her with her powers. Suddenly, Taylor feels vibrations from all around: air raid sirens. Taylor asks Amara whether it's bombs. Amara shakes her head and says it's an Endbringer.

Introduced Concepts

• Taylor as the main protagonist
  • Wanted to be a hero but ended up as a villain
  • Trigger event largely the same
• The Maggie Holt series. Maggie Holt is a character in Pact, Wildbow's second web serial after Worm. The Maggie Holt series is also referenced in Worm by various characters.

Groups

• The Undersiders
  • Not actually named in Myriad.
• Superhuman Response Team
  • Similar to the Parahuman Response Team from Worm.
• The Abbots
  • Taylor's family.
  • Lives farther from the Docks than in Worm.
  • Danny and Annette are unnamed, but both are alive and well.
• Asian Bad Boyz
  • Named differently from Worm, being the "Asian Bad Boyz" rather than the "Azn Bad Boys."
  • Had a presence in Winslow.
• The Beaters and the Skels
  • The two major unpowered gangs in Brockton Bay.
  • The Beaters wore green while the Skels wore white.
  • Had a presence in Winslow.
• The Minions
  • Group of unpowered henchmen that hired themselves out to supervillains.
  • Had a relatively small presence in Winslow.

Characters

The Undersiders (unnamed)

• Deduce - An early incarnation of Tattletale. Enrolls in Winslow High after meeting Taylor. Has blonde, curly hair. Gives her first name as Amara.
• Bitch - More socially adroit but still rough in demeanor. Looks to be in her mid-twenties, with a square jaw and shaggy hair dyed in a clashing mix of violet, light blue and orange. Dresses in a punk style, with a plaid skirt, torn up dress shirt, boots and spiked collar. Training in a school to be a veterinarian. Her power is slightly different, permanently transforming her dogs into monsters that resemble a cross between a lizard and a rat. One of her dogs was once a chihuahua.
• Regent - His real power is already known to the Undersiders. Mostly uses his powers to disorient people, slow their reflexes and give them headaches.
• Grue - Was described as looking "tanned or Hispanic" by Taylor, as opposed to being African-American in Worm.

The Abbots

• Taylor Jane Abbot - An early incarnation of Taylor Hebert. Her cape name is Myriad. Both of her parents are alive. School situation is similar to that of Worm. She can sense dust mites, unlike her canon counterpart.

The Trio

• Emma - Went to a sailing camp with Taylor over the summer after middle school. A week into high school, she abruptly betrayed Taylor and began hanging out with Sophia and Madison.
• Sophia - Unchanged from Worm.
• Madison - Unchanged from Worm.

The Wards

• Aegis - Is female as opposed to being male in Worm. She wears a red and gray costume similar to her Worm incarnation, but with a skirt instead. Has auburn hair.
• Clockblocker - Fairly new to the Wards. Costume is unchanged from Worm.
• Vista - Unchanged from Worm.
• Shadow Stalker - Unchanged from Worm.

New Wave

• Glory Girl - Acts recklessly. Described as wearing armor of some kind.
• Laserdream - Mentioned.
• Shieldbearer - Mentioned. Is most likely an early incarnation of Shielder.

Independent

• Dragon - Mentioned. Deduced to be six years old by Deduce.

References

<references/>