History Fanfic / ADevilAmongstWorms

* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Makima becomes this after [[spoiler: defeating Leviathan by sending him to Mercury]], quickly becoming the most beloved hero in the world as a result, and receiving enormous donations of money and support from all across the world, with Rachel noting that posters of her placed across pretty much every building in Brockton Bay. This backfires on Makima, as the resulting love and adoration severely weaken her, [[spoiler:to the point where she doubts she can defeat another Endbringer.]].

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: The Simurgh refrains from attacking Makima alongside Behemoth, despite Makima having been sufficiently weakened that she'd be easy prey for the both of them working together. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], in that Makima is shown to provide a veritable treasure trove of new information and concepts that the Simurgh hasn't encountered before and one of its primary functions is to gather and analyze information, thus making her hesitant to destroy Makima and thus depriving it of that information store, especially given that the amount of information she's deriving from Earth Bet has begun to plateau.

* HopelessBossFight: Despite Rachel's aggressive demeanor against Makima, the young villainess is fully aware she stands no chance against her in a real fight.

This fanfic can also be read [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14154018/1/A-Devil-Amongst-Worms here]] on Website/FanFictionDotNet and [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/43036152/chapters/108141177 here]] on Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn.

** Ditto for [[spoiler:Emma]], as while being reduced to LudicrousGibs while cowering alone in fear in your bedroom is definitely an awful fate, considering that she was a sadistic SmugSnake who betrayed her best friend [[spoiler: Taylor]], and went on a one-year-and-half long bullying campaign against her, including defiling the last memento of her deceased mother, and is also known to have [[BullyingTheDisabled bullied a disabled girl]], many readers would probably cheer at her death at Makima's hands.

* DevilInDisguise: Makima is quite literally this as in the manga, as she is the Control Devil and a SatanicArchetype who uses her beautiful human appearance to pretend to be one. Especially, as she has defeated an Endbringer leading most of Earth-Bet to view her as humanity's saviour.

* EvilRedHead: Makima, naturally.

* {{Manipulative B|astard}}itch: Makima true to form here. From making the masses dance her tune as their saviour to Alice [[spoiler:a.k.a Bakuda, her girlfriend.]]

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Several of the Protectorate heroes note that Leviathan is acting very differently than usual, as instead of sandbagging like the Endbringers typically do, he completely pulls out all the stops and flat out ignores many attacks that usually at least slow him down, and ignores many of the other capes to focus on Makima. This makes Alexandria very suspicious of the new EvilRedHead.

* UriahGambit: The Simurgh is confirmed to have [[spoiler:intentionally sent Leviathan to his doom against Makima]] in order to weaken her by counteracting her boost in power from fear through the adulation and praise she receives as the one who [[spoiler:defeated an Endbringer]].

* PestController: Makima tells Dragon she can control animals, [[spoiler:leaving out the part that she can human beings, as well.]]

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: Leviathan's ultimate fate, as not only is he trapped on Mercury with no way off, the fact that he can only sense things through water combined with the fact that Mercury and space, in general, have virtually no water, means he's effectively trapped forever while also being completely blind, deaf, etc]].

* AssholeVictim: While the [[BreakingSpeech verbal]] and [[CurbStompBattle physical]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beatdown]] that Lung receives from Makima is utterly horrifying, considering the fact that he's a confirmed [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil rapist]] who runs a [[SexSlave forced prostitution ring]], which often [[PaedoHunt preys on underage girls]], it's hard to feel much sympathy for him.
** Ditto for [[spoiler: Emma]], as while being reduced to LudicrousGibs while cowering alone in fear in your bedroom is definitely an awful fate, considering that she was a sadistic SmugSnake who betrayed her best friend [[spoiler: Taylor]], and went on a one-year-and-half long bullying campaign against her, including defiling the last memento of her deceased mother, and is also known to have [[BullyingTheDisabled bullied a disabled girl]], many readers would probably cheer at her death at Makima's hands.

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler: Makima actually manages to take Leviathan out of equation by blasting him into Mercury with no way to come back to earth]].

* FullFrontalAssault: Makima ends up doing this near the end of her fight with Leviathan, as a result of the massive amounts of ClothingDamage her outfits taken earlier.

* HeroWithBadPublicity: The PRT & the Protectorate end up becoming this after Leviathan is defeated, as a result of retreating and abandoning Brockton Bay near the end. When combined with their previous issues such as only really patrolling rich neighborhoods and not really doing anything about the gangs, their reputation ends up falling drastically, with Piggot noting that the gangs have been using this to increase their control.

* ManipulativeBastard: Makima true to form here. From making the masses dance her tune as their saviour to Alice [[spoiler:a.k.a Bakuda, her girlfriend.]]

--> ''Lung eyed the bodies and limbs that littered the floor as blood pooled with the rain. Their owners were killed in a variety of ways. [[OffWithHisHead Some were missing heads]], and [[AnArmAndALeg some had no legs]]. [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe Some were cut in half from head to groin, while others were cut from the waist]]. A couple was [[NotEnoughToBury just a puddle of blood]], as if a hammer had mashed them to the ground, leaving behind nothing but their bloodied clothing. [[LackOfEmpathy Lung showed nothing, not even a hint of fear or disgust]]. In contrast, [[StressVomit Canary turned green and rushed to the side to empty whatever remained in her stomach]].''

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: As detailed under HoistByHisOwnPetard, Piggot's policy of pretty much leaving the citizens of the Docks and the more run down areas of the Bay to their fate to placate the gangs ends up basically giftwrapping Makima a large and enthusiastic powerbase after [[spoiler: Leviathan's defeat]]. Furthermore, it gives Makima a perfect opportunity to further cement her reputation as their savior, while painting the PRT and Protectorate as incompetent and apathetic to the needs of the people.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Tattletale's power tells her Makima is 23-years-old, but she's MUCH older than that. You wouldn't guess her true age based on her youthful looks alone.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: InUniverse, [[spoiler: after Leviathan's defeat at Makima's hands]], when a couple of PHO commenters are somewhat disapproving of Makima [[spoiler: tearing Lung in half in the midst of fighting Leviathan]], several others dismiss their concerns by stating that Lung ran a [[SexSlave forced prostitution ring]] and as such, deserves NoSympathy, with some even hoping she killed him.

** Makima killing [[TheBully Emma ]] to kick start her HealingFactor can be seen as this.

* ShootTheDog: The Simurgh is confirmed to have [[spoiler:intentionally sent Leviathan to his doom against Makima ]] in order to weaken her by counteracting her boost in power from fear through the adulation and praise she receives as the one who [[spoiler: defeated an Endbringer]].
* SlaveToPR: After the Battle with Leviathan and Makima recreating the Bureau of Public Safety and doing much to help get Brockton Bay back on its feet, the PRT become much more aggressive in patrolling the Docks and the more rundown areas of the Bay in the hopes of turning the tide of public sentiment back in their favor. Unfortunately for them, many people can recognize it for what it is, with many noting it's too little, too late.

* TookALevelInBadass: Makima notes that her power has increased exponentially after arriving on Earth Bet, as a result of the fear of control being far greater on Earth Bet as a result of the Simurgh.

* PestController: Makima tells Dragon she can control animals, [[spoiler:leaving out the part that she can human beings, too.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: Defied with Makima our VillainProtagonist.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Several of the Protectorate heroes note that Leviathan is acting very differently than usual, as instead of sandbagging like the Endbringers typically do, he completely pulls out all the stops and flat out ignores many attacks that usually at least slow him down, and ignores many of the other capes to focus on Makima. This makes Alexandria very suspicious of the EvilRedHead.

* EvilVersusEvil: While the Simurgh opposes Makima's plans to gain control and create a WorldOfSilence, it does this purely so that it continues to sow conflict and suffering among humanity and ensure it has access to fresh streams of information.

** [[spoiler:Oni Lee]] dies in a car crash, which much more quicker and painless than being turned into Bonesaw's toys in canon.

* HopelessBossFight: Despite Rachel's aggressive demeanor against Makima, the young villain is fully aware she stands no chance against her in a real fight.

* HealingFactor: Even without her contract, Makima's regeneration is still pretty strong but needs blood to kickstart it.

* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler:Makima appears to have killed [[WhyAmITicking Emma]] in chapter 2, to drink her blood and re-kick start her HealingFactor]], as opposed to canon, where she's killed by Scion during Gold Morning.

* NamedByAdaptation: Bakuda is given the first name Alice in this story.

* AnArmAndALeg: Legend loses both of his legs in a fight against Leviathan.

* ExactWords: When questioned by Dragon and Watchdog regarding whether she can Master others, Makima states that her powers only work on "lower-lifeforms", leading them to assume she can only control animals, completely leaving out the fact that being the "Control Devil" her power applies to anything she considers "lower lifeforms", which includes humans.