Valerie
is a fanfiction of Worm by Here For Worm.
After having an affair with Theo Anders, Sophia Hess gets pregnant. She hides her pregnancy from the Protectorate and the Wards, right up until she goes into labor.
Meanwhile, Sophia's mom contacts Taylor Hebert, hoping the girl would help find the missing Sophia.
This fic has only four chapters and was last updated in 2020.
This fanfic contains examples of the following:
- Adaptational Badass: Theo Anders had Triggered earlier than in canon.
- Berserk Button:
- Sophia gets mad when someone suspects she's pregnant.
- Theo Anders gets outright homicidal when someone threatens Sophia and their baby.
- Black Gal on White Guy Drama: An African-American vigilante-turned-superheroine and the son of a Neo-Nazi supervillain have a romantic relationship that results in a baby girl. Said baby girl's paternity has to be hidden to prevent reprisal. When Hookwolf sees the couple together and makes an offensive "Jungle Fever" remark and a Shame If Something Happened threat, Theo is willing to go homicidal on the Empire in order to protect his family.
- Child by Rape: Sophia falsely claims her baby is this to protect her baby-daddy, Theo Anders, from reprisal.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Theo is a male example, considering he is the son of a Neo-Nazi supervillain and his love interest and baby-momma is black.
- Egg Sitting: Played for Drama- a variant with a sack of flour appears in the very first scene in chapter one. Sophia being uncharacteristically gentle with the flour sack is the first sign Taylor and Madison notice that she's being off.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Vista accuses Shadow Stalker accuses Shadow Stalker of being reckless, lagging behind, unable to concentrate, and fat- Aegis hears Vista's description, notices Stalker's hissing and gasping, puts two and two together, and promptly realizes that Sophia is pregnant and in early labor.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Although never stated outright, the first chapter gives a lot of heavy-handed hints that Sophia is expecting, up to and including Sophia hissing and gasping while having contractions (which Vista mistakes for normal frustrated grunts while taking off a costume), which isn't made explicit until after she gives birth at the end of the chapter.
- Heel Realization: At some point in chapter one, Sophia realized she was not a good person, and admits such to Armsmaster while she recovers from labor and delivery.
- Honorary Uncle: Armsmaster takes this role to Sophia's baby, even naming her Valerie.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Tina Hess is one towards her own daughter, judging by her willingness to ask Sophia's bullying victim for help in finding her.
- I Need to Go Iron My Dog: Theo claims he knows Brad because Brad teaches him polo. Sophia sees right through this excuse.
- Maternity Crisis: Sophia goes into labor right in the middle of the Wards common room, right after coming back from patrol. It is only because of Dragon noticing her water breaking and alerting Armsmaster that she is rushed to the hospital rather than giving birth in the PRT building.
- Missing Child: As far as Sophia's mom is concerned, Sophia is this- Sophia hasn't come home in months. She's so desperate that she asks Taylor of all people to help find her.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- Sophia is apparently in the middle of a pregnancy-induced Heel Realization in Chapter one (which Taylor notices when Sophia stops bullying her), and expresses this sentiment while immediately postpartum.
- Vista starts ranting about how Shadow Stalker is fat and distracted, while Sophia is going into labor. Her very next scene has her stumbling across Armsmaster with Sophia and baby Valerie in the hospital, feeling much more somber and introspective.
- My Secret Pregnancy: Sophia hides her pregnancy from everyone. Even the narrator doesn't state she's pregnant until after she gives birth.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Madison, Taylor, Dean, and Missy when they all realize that Sophia is acting unusually gentle and distracted.
- Sophia when she sees a flour sack in her locker and assumes someone knows she's pregnant.
- Aegis when he listens to Vista's rant and then realizes that Shadow Stalker is not only pregnant but going into labor.
- Director Piggot when Armsmaster expresses willingness to resign to help care for Sophia's child.
- Theo Anders when Kaiser finds out that Theo had a baby out of wedlock.
- Terry Hess when a woman heavily implied to be Tattletale gives him a gun and bullets, and asks him to shoot an unspecified target heavily implied to be his own sister.
- Taylor Hebert when Tina Hess, the mother of her worst bully, comes to her and asks for help finding her missing child.
- Theo Anders when Hookwolf makes a Shame If Something Happened threat towards him and Sophia. He then starts calmly plotting to murder Hookwolf to protect Sophia and Valerie from the Empire.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Madison, Taylor, Dean, and Missy can all tell something is off with Sophia Hess in Chapter 1, before they find out about the baby.
- Theo Anders, normally a submissive pushover, becomes an outright homicidal Papa Wolf willing to murder Hookwolf and Kaiser to protect Sophia and Valerie.
- Papa Wolf:
- Armsmaster becomes protective of Sophia after she gives birth, outright willing to resign from the Protectorate to be able to care for her.
- Theo Anders is willing to kill members of Empire 88 in order to protect his girlfriend and their baby. He's plotting to murder Hookwolf by the end of the fic and declares his intent to murder Kaiser to Sophia.
- Pregnant Badass: Since she was keeping her pregnancy a secret, Sophia had no qualms with going out on patrol as a Ward while full-term pregnant. Downplayed in that she was apparently taking it relatively easy (much to Vista's extreme displeasure), and was apparently in early labor (considering her gasping and hissing while taking off her costume sounds like reactions to contractions).
- Screaming Birth: Averted. In the Wards scene in chapter 1, Sophia is in early labor and hissing and gasping from contractions, which Vista doesn't recognize as a response to labor pains (thinking it's normal sounds from taking off her costume), but Aegis does. The rest of the birth happens off-screen.
- Shame If Something Happened: Hookwolf makes a threat like this when he sees Theo and Sophia together.
- Struggling Single Mother: Averted- Armsmaster flat-out refuses to let this trope happen to Shadow Stalker, and intervenes to care for her.
- Teen Pregnancy: Downplayed. Sophia Hess is a teen mom by the end of chapter one, though the pregnancy itself is not explicitly stated until after she gives birth.
- Tranquil Fury: Theo Anders starts calmly plotting to murder Hookwolf and Kaiser after being threatened in Chapter 4.
- Title Drop: Sophia's baby is the titular Valerie- Sophia didn't name the baby herself because she admits she's not a good person, and she gives Armsmaster the honor of naming the baby.
