Chapter Text
Welcome to From Hated to Hero, my first worm fanfic! I wrote this during Covid, after rereading Worm and wanting some way to express all the excellent anxiety/depression coping mechanisms I was learning in therapy. At the time, I hadn't actually read any worm fics, nor was I familiar in the slightest with just how much some parts of the fandom have a raging hatred for Greg Veder, so naturally I saw nothing wrong with picking him as a protagonist. I just saw a lonely loser who barely mattered in the story, and flipped a coin between him and Bryce Kiley. Regardless of what some readers got from his actions later in canon, I'm not writing him as a sex pest or incel so much a lonely, sad, depressed loser with paper-thin self-esteem.
And really, that's going to be one of the biggest problems some readers probably face, based on the comments/feedback I've gotten over the years. Since this is my first wormfic, there's some fanon (looking at you, Dragon of Kyushu) and way too many characters, and the story has some difficulty figuring out what it wants to be. The first arc is sort of a comedy/drama with some action, second arc is a lot more focused on therapy and friendship while derailing canon, and the final arc was lots of philosophy and introspection as I tried to tie up all the loose ends. I also attempted to write the E88 out of the story (or at least display them as being "handled," but then dropped the ball later on by treating that as another loose end to tie up.
Probably one of the biggest lessons I learned from writing this was that you don't have to account for every possibility or use every single character. At least 100k words in here are just me trying to flesh out characters, adding in references to various things, or attempting to make stuff I set up a long while back eventually pay off. It was a learning experience above all else, and I'd like to think my writing has improved over the years, but...everyone has to start somewhere. Anyway, here are a few more warnings, before we get into it...
General Plot TLDR: Greg Veder triggers just before Winter Break in Dec 2010, gaining parahuman powers that he immediately realizes he would...probably misuse. He tries to balance his new temptations and overcome his problems, but makes several mistakes along the way. At a certain point, he starts to wonder if maybe he should try to fix Greg Veder before he starts trying to make a cape persona...and that’s when the real adventure begins.
Content Warning: I know that Worm is a world of abuse, fear, and hatred where society slowly slides towards the apocalypse as shadowy figures do shadowy stuff in the...shadows. There will be depression, anxiety, some self-loathing, and more than a few unhealthy thoughts as Greg and others fight to overcome...well, everything. Success is possible, but it’s not going to be easy and it won’t be fast. Still, it’s that much more meaningful when they finally get there.
Journal/Text Warning: The first story Arc has a little excerpt from the Journal Greg is keeping at the start of each chapter, setting a tone for the chapter itself and because he’s too afraid to ask for help. The second arc uses a chat conversation, since he now trusts one person. These are timeless, and are written separate from each actual chapter. Call them...food for thought.
Greg Warning: Greg starts this fic just as annoying, self-absorbed, and over-confident as he comes off in Worm canon (and fanon). This was on purpose, and I like to think the reasons he gives (hides behind self-deprecating humor, TMI, desperate for acknowledgement) were believable for someone who had been as desperate and lonely as he was. It may be annoying to read the first few chapters, even after my rewrites, but I had been trying to give him a believable learning curve. He does change, though, and for the better.
Powers: Though at first it may seem like he’s just delusional, Greg does indeed have powers. He is able to see individual powers in parahumans, even some they may be unaware of with regards to their granularity. He can copy a single, weaker version, although it comes with...limitations and side-effects. At the same time, he does have a unique ability with regards to these copies, but it takes him a bit to figure it out. By the end of Arc 1 it’s mostly all spelled out. Only downside is that he barely sees any parahumans until a few chapters in.
Main AU Parts: The E88 capes have jobs at Medhall. Kaiser/Max is spending more time in Boston lately for unknown reasons. Watchdog is working to undermine and gather info on the E88 and Medhall. Rather than pretend to ignore Taylor for a few weeks pre-Locker, Emma pretends to be sorry and re-friend her. Sophia is driven by a need to get stronger, not just “an asshole because her shard says so.” Terry Hess has a role in the story! The Protectorate and Wards actually interact with each other positively (sometimes). Finally, gave civilian names to those who lacked them, and threw a whole pile of Minor characters in for fun. I mean, yeah there are some OCs, but what about Snubnose, Nutcracker, and Dovetail?
With all that said...hit next and start enjoying Greg's exciting and thoughtful adventure!