Fanfic #63 Here Comes The New Boss (Nothing Like The Old Boss) by HowlingGuardian(worm)

This fanfic is an au that follows Taylor with the powers of the butcher. I really like that everything that happens in this fanfic makes sense in the context of worm. Like even Taylor becoming the butcher makes sense with how things turned out in the story. Plus it doesn't just follow the stations of canon.

Synopsis: Taylor Hebert has some big, horrible boots to fill. But she's going to walk her own way.

(Butcher Taylor AU)

Rated: M

words: 150k

https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/here-comes-the-new-boss-nothing-like-the-old-boss-worm-au.853195/reader/

Here's the first chapter:

Monday January 17th​, Arcadia High School

"Alright, you've got your lunch?"

"Check."

"Paperwork?"

"Yup.

"Pepper spray?"

I shook the little black cylinder clipped to my keyring. "Present." I was still surprised that Dad had bought it for me- Arcadia was in a much better part of town than Winslow. Nevertheless, I appreciated the gesture.

Pepper spray, a man's raspy voice sneered; fuckin' useless shit. Get a knife or something-

I pushed the voice back down into the darkness, as easily as turning down the volume on the radio. By this point I could do it without showing it on my face.

Dad reached across to put his hand on my shoulder. "Hey," he said gently, "it's gonna be okay, kiddo."

I just nodded, unsure of what to say. The better part of two weeks at home and away from the bitches had given me a chance to actually talk and rebuild our relationship, but things were still stilted between us- like we were actors who'd forgotten half their lines.

Dad took his hand away after a second and opened his door. I grabbed my bag and followed him out into the cold January air. There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, not enough to be anything other than a vague annoyance.

"Christ, we used to get a couple of inches back in the day," a fluting male voice said. "Global warming in action."

I left the voice alone- he wasn't saying anything bad at the moment- and crossed the street with Dad.

I knew Arcadia was a good school- not just good compared to Winslow, because that was a low bar to clear, but an actually good school. Still, even after filling out the paperwork for my transfer and reading through all the pamphlets and guides, seeing it in person was getting the message across.

Four stories of red brick- no graffiti on the walls, no dirt on the windows. Even the grass we walked across was better than the scraggly weed-filled mess at Winslow.

"Eyes up," a firm tone chided. "Look out for the other students- the Wards go here, remember? They're the biggest threat to you right now."

"Stop giving her fucking advice, Tac!" a woman screamed, smooth voice made rough by fury. In fairness, she did have good reason to hate me. I pushed her into the darkness as well, but I kept Tactical up.

He was right about the Wards- whoever they were, they were the ones most likely to puzzle out my identity. I didn't want to figure them out though- better for all of us if I didn't know. I would just have to be careful with everyone.

There were a few groups of people standing around outside in coats and hats, chatting before classes started, breath fogging in the air. I glanced vaguely at them as Dad and I approached the front doors, then turned my eyes forward.

I flickered my sight for a second- silhouettes of people jumped into my vision, swirling red patterns that glowed through the walls. I could make out other kids standing in the halls, and adults in some of the classrooms.

Mistake. I blinked hard, washing the bloodsight from my eyes. I was trying not to use my powers at school, and I'd slipped up not five minutes into the first day.

Dad glanced at me as he grabbed the door handle, a faint look of concern on his face. "Taylor, are you alright?"

I nodded quickly, even as he flickered red in my vision again. I forced the power down, and Vladimir along with it, even as he cackled at my slipup. "Just nerves," I said simply.

Dad nodded back, then pulled the door open. A rush of warmer air breezed past us as we stepped through.

The inside was nice-looking too- the posters didn't have dicks drawn on them, the lights didn't flicker. There were more kids inside as well, clustered into little groups, but not with gang colours.

"Oh, they're in here. Fuckers just know how to hide it better," an angry woman interjected. I pushed her down enough to ignore her. She was right, but I didn't need to think about that right now.

After a few minutes of walking, Dad knocked on a door with 'Office' on the front. Once a muffled voice answered, he opened the door.

There were several desks in the room, and doors at the far end leading off to more rooms. The desk nearest the door was occupied by a handsome Asian woman who glanced up from her computer as we walked in.

"You must be the Heberts," she said warmly, standing up to shake our hands. "I'm Ms Fincher, I'm the school registrar. Basically, I do most of the paperwork here." She scooped up a cardboard folder and passed it to me. "Here's your class schedule, map of the school, and some information on clubs and after-school activities."

I flipped the folder open and started sorting through it as she retrieved a stack of books from a shelf behind her with a grunt and set them on the desk. "Here's all your textbooks, brand new, delivered just yesterday, I'll just need you to sign for them here," she held out a sheet, I read and signed, she dropped it into another folder, " Great! You've got homeroom with Mrs Williams and then a free period to get settled in! After that it's right into the swing of things. Any questions?"

I had several, but I wasn't sure how to respond to such relentless peppiness. "Uhm… No- Wait, yes." I gestured to the pile of textbooks in front of me. "Where do I put these?"

Ms Fincher tapped her forehead with a finger. "Knew I forgot something." She swung back down into her seat and clicked a few things. "Okay, Taylor Hebert, locker number is 434, that's just left from here and hang a right, and your combination is here-" she scribbled something on a sticky note and passed it to me. "Okay, that should be everything, really this time."

I already had a vague outline of the school in my head- a few points of light under the ceiling tiles in that corridor twitched at my thought. Reluctantly, I broke my no-powers rule for the second time today- as much as I wanted to avoid anyone seeing this power in particular, I couldn't shake that little bit of fear of the unknown.

I stuck the note on the folder, put that on top of the books, and then faked a grunt of strain in what I hoped was a convincing manner as I lifted the stack into my arms.

"Laying it on a little thick there, four-eyes?" a young woman taunted. I shoved her down in a burst of anger- it must have showed on my face, because Dad stretched a hand out with a worried look.

"You want me to hold those, kiddo?" I shook my head, even as I cursed myself for worrying him again. I shoved all the voices a little away from me to clear my head a little.

"I think I can manage. Thanks though."

Ms Fincher waved as we headed back out and down the hall; Dad cast a glance back at the door.

"Geez," he muttered, "how much coffee does she drink?"

"School with multiple capes attending, I'm guessing a lot," I replied, shifting the books in my hands. Dad nodded thoughtfully.

"The New Wave kids go here, don't they?" he asked as we finally stopped in front of locker 434. I put the books down to grab the combination note, taking the opportunity to sneak a fly down the wall and inside the locker. All it picked up was metal and cleaning products.

I checked the note, set my hand on the dial, and ran through the combination, and then again just to double check.

I'd have to open it to put my books away, instead of hauling them around all day.

I couldn't just keep standing here.

I needed to open it but I really didn't want to I really didn't want to-

Dad put his hand on my shoulder again. "I can open it if you want," he offered awkwardly.

I seriously considered it. I knew full well that this locker was empty and clean, that the bitches weren't anywhere near here, and that I could fight my way clear of anyone who wasn't a particularly strong cape.

"Fear like that doesn't go away easily," said a stern woman in clipped tones. I still had trouble telling if she was lecturing me or sympathizing with me. "That does not mean you can let fear win."

I clenched my teeth for a second, then spun the dial left-right-left-left-right, twisted the handle and stepped sharply to the side as I swung it open.

Nothing but bare metal, and the fly I'd sneaked in, hiding on the underside of the shelf near the top. I quickly picked up my books, picked out the ones I needed for today, dumped the rest inside, and very deliberately did not slam the door shut.

Dad shuffled his feet as I slung my bag over my shoulder. "I'll see you after school," he said eventually. "Hope everything goes well." I mumbled something vaguely affirmative.

Dad took a couple of steps down the hallway, then suddenly paused. I was about to ask if something was wrong when he turned back and gave me a slightly stiff hug. "Have a good day, Taylor," he murmured into my hair. I tentatively hugged him back, enjoying this quiet moment.

Finally he let go, and headed back down the corridor without looking back. I pulled out my schedule and started walking, sorting through my thoughts. Idly, I picked out a few hundred more bugs in my range and sent them crawling inside the walls of the school, outlining the building in my mind's eye.

I made it to homeroom a few minutes before the bell, picked a seat near the back, and sat down. I tried to occupy myself by checking the school map and my schedule. By now I had bugs along the edges and corners of most of the building, giving me a decent map in my head. I was trying to use that to figure out where I needed to go, but I kept glancing up as people filed in, sitting with their friends or typing on their phones. More than a few of them gave me curious glances, but thankfully none of them tried to talk with me.

Mrs Williams turned out to be a short woman with gray hair and a cardigan that looked thick enough to stop a bullet. She walked in and clapped her hands for attention just before the bell rang.

"Okay, everyone!" she called briskly. "A few things for today, the yearbook committee needs volunteers-"

There were a couple of other announcements of things I either didn't know or didn't care about before she picked up the register and a pen. Something in there made her frown for a second before she scanned the room, until her eyes landed on me.

"Ah, that's right." She raised her voice. "Everyone, we've got a new student starting today, I want you all to make her feel welcome. Taylor Hebert? -" She pronounced it Heb-hurt- "Stand up now, dear."

I suddenly disliked Mrs Williams intensely for putting me on the spot. Nevertheless, I stood up, conscious of everyone in the room staring at me.

"Tell us a little about yourself," Mrs Williams said insistently, as if there was no possibility of a teenage girl preferring not to speak in front of a whole roomful of strangers. I just wanted to sit down and blend in and have people stop looking at me.

Best to get it over with quickly. I took a deep breath and blurted "My name's Taylor, I transferred from Winslow, I like reading the classics and-" I stalled, scrabbling for something else to say while everyone waited on me.

"…no, that's it," I finished lamely, flopping back into my seat, burning with embarrassment as a few people snickered. Mrs Williams gave me an unamused look, like I'd just bullshitted my way through a presentation, and she was about to give me a low grade.

'Up yours', I thought spitefully, glaring back at her; 'If you hadn't put me on the spot we could have avoided this.'

I pushed down the voices that were suggesting more open forms of payback, like throwing a pencil through her eye, and tuned out everyone else while Mrs Williams took attendance, half-heartedly answering when she called my name.

Finally, homeroom ended, and everyone made for the door; I hung back a little, avoiding the crush at the door. Then I noticed a couple of kids heading toward me.

"Hi, Taylor, right?" a blonde girl chirped- really chirped. One of the voices imagined little birds flying around her head. "Just wanted to say hi, welcome to Arcadia, all that. Well, that and-"

"Why'd you transfer in?" the boy next to her cut in, leaning forward eagerly. "Was it 'cause of the Teeth?"

I went still, even as the blonde smacked him in the shoulder. "Christ, Jason! Have some fucking tact!" The boy rubbed his arm, not looking even a little cowed. The look of ignorant eagerness on his face stirred something dark and bitter in the pit of my stomach as my head filled with memories of screaming and gunfire.

"Oh come on, I just wanna know! The Butcher's been gone two weeks now, none of them have ever taken so long to show themselves! Hey," he turned back to me eagerly, "how close were they to Winslow? Like, did you see them or anything?"

The voices started shouting all at once at that, roaring, jeering, mocking the horror I felt from remembering, urging me to hurt him. I didn't realise I'd clenched my hands into fists until the knuckles popped. "No," I ground out, "I didn't see them, because I'm pretty sure if they'd got that close I'd be dead."

Blonde Birdie smacked him in the shoulder again, but Jason was apparently immune to hints. "How about the Swarm? I heard people could see it from like, a block away-"

I jerked towards him, and he flinched so hard he almost fell over. "Listen," I hissed, jamming my hands into my pockets before I could give in to the longing to crush his skull, "I really don't want to talk about it, so either back off right now or I will feed you your own teeth."

The voices laughed approvingly as Jason stepped back with a spooked expression. The others were looking similarly scared; the blonde raised her hands apologetically.

"I'm so sorry about Jason, he's just, he's an idiot-"

"Then what does it say about you, if you're friends with him?" I snapped. She winced, but didn't reply. I grabbed my bag and strode for the door.

Mrs Williams caught me just as I grabbed the door handle. "Taylor, there's no need to get angry like that," she scolded. "I appreciate that Jason was being insensitive, but threats aren't necessary."

I bit back the first dozen remarks that came to mind. It was always hardest to resist when the voices and I were actually in agreement about something, and we all agreed that Mrs Williams was a pain in my ass. The trouble was that their suggestions for knocking that judgmental look off her face were sounding really tempting…

Instead I started running some cockroaches down in what I thought was the boiler room in circles, while I took another step toward the door. "It's either that or actually hit him- which would you prefer?"

I spun on my heel without waiting for a response and bolted into the hallway, throwing the door shut behind me. Maybe she'd blame me for acting out or think that I was a troublemaker, like the teachers back in Winslow. I didn't care. I just wanted people to leave me alone, for their own sake.

Ever since I got powers, I'd felt- skinless, it felt like. As if everything touching me, every little thing people said to me, grated against raw nerves, like salt in a wound.

It certainly didn't help that I had the voices constantly yelling and screaming, threatening and insulting, suggesting and demanding, and advocating every dark impulse I had 24/7.

"You know you want to go back and hit that little shit," the oldest and foulest voice growled. "Stop pretending to be so fucking civilized and go hurt-"

I shoved Butcher down as hard as I could and kept walking through the halls. The rest took the hint and subsided to low mutterings in the back of my skull.

Less than an hour in, and it already felt like a long day.