Because of the War is a Worm and XCOM 2 crossover written by Shadows of Vanity, author of Seraphim (Worm), Nothing Is True, and Herald (Worm).
Official Summary: August 31st, 2010, 19:00 hours, Brockton Bay, Approximately Fifteen Minutes at a walk from Brockton Bay Cinemas. The precise time and place that Taylor Hebert was fatally wounded whilst caught in the crossfire between the ABB and the E88. The precise time and place that made Taylor The Commander of XCOM. The Avatar of Justice and Protection, destined to bring peace and safety to the people of Earth Bet through superior firepower. To her noble warriors, she is simply The Commander. To the rest of the world, she is that which was born because of the war. She is...Vegnagun.
Can be found on SpaceBattles
, Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, and Questionable Questing.
This work contains examples of:
- Adaptation Deviation: The story is rather AU at the beginning, and only becomes more so thanks to the trickle down/waterfall effect.
- Adaptation Personality Change: Several characters, due mostly to events happening in the past, though of course as the AU extends this will come into effect more and more as events take place (or don't) that created/will create the characters as they were/will be. Of note is Danny Hebert and the DWA, who decided to prove the old adage of not fucking with a sailor by becoming one of the major factions in the city, albeit in a purely defensive manner. Other characters remark that they have similarities with The Mafia or a militia for their cohesion, behaviors, and loyalties.
- Emma does not gain her worst canon traits, as Taylor facing off with her to find the truth just two months after being attacked ensures they rebuild their friendship.
- Sophia Hess is nowhere near as bad as she is in canon, and showing up at Emma's house to confront her actually earns Taylor her respect, which Taylor reinforces by revealing she's worked out her Cape Identity, others will likely do the same and Sofia needs to do something about it fast.
- Adaptational Badass:
- Danny Hebert and the DWA take a more direct approach to helping the city by turning the Docks into their own territory and driving off the gangs from there.
- Emma becomes a Thinker with the power to find anything by dowsing.
- Adaptational Sexuality: A few female characters who in canon never showed any interest in women do in this fic. They include Taylor, Lisa (Tattletale), Paige (Canary), and Sophia (Shadow Stalker).
- Amazon Brigade: With the exceptions of Bradford and Tygan, the entirety of XCOM is women. Apparently it's psychological and more men will show up in the future.
- Ascended Extra: Several characters, most prominently (thus far) Paige Mcabee AKA Canary, and her boyfriend (known in the story as Eugene Baker).
- Asshole Victim: Paige's ex-boyfriend Eugene makes a very brief enemy of The Slaughterhouse Nine before William Manton nonchelantly runs him over and he ends up in Bonesaw's clutches.
- Badass Army: XCOM, of course.
- Canon Welding: The menace that erupts from the ocean floor in the stinger of XCOM 2 (presumably the same one that The Ethereals have been running from and The Templars have been trying to warn everyone else about and preparing to fight)? It's The Entities.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Taylor triggers at a 50 on 50 street-gang battle. XCOM deploys a squad of 6. The aftermath is 100 dead gangers and no injured XCOM.
- Elite Army: XCOM, again. In all their deployments, they have overwhelmingly defeated, if not outright destroyed, their opponents, with squad-sized groups taking on as many as 15-to-1 odds.
- Meaningful Name: Taylor is referred to as “Vegnagun,” which translates roughly to “because of [the] war.” in the author comments. This is not only a Title Drop, but is likely also a reference to the events that resulted in her Triggering: a skirmish in the war between the gangs vying for control of the city.
- Meet Cute: Taylor and Paige quite literally run into each other whilst out jogging one night, leading to a a conversation and bonding experience between them.
- Named by the Adaptation:
- Canary's boyfriend is called Eugene Baker.
- Miss Militia's full name is Hannah Washington.
- Clockblocker's full name is Dennis Charleston.
- Aegis' full name is Carlos Dorent.
- Kid Win's full name is Chris Easton.
- Flechette's full name is Lily Hikari.
- Othala's first name is Ariana.
- Polyamory: Taylor will eventually wind up with Amy, Lisa, and Paige.
- Poor Communication Kills: Sophia's canon beliefs in a nutshell. Her belief in only helping those who fight back against their oppressors is based on the belief that those who don't are likely to end up dead anyway the moment she isn't there to hold their hand, a waste of time and effort that she could be using to save someone with some long term prospects. Her vigilantism is because she feels the PRT is too bogged down in realpolitik to properly police the villains, and that some truly bad eggs need to die to save many more innocents in the future, and if the law stops you doing that then the law is wrong and should be ignored. Taylor on some level agrees with her, but still sees her as teetering dangerously close to a Face–Heel Turn.
- Power Perversion Potential: Contessa once used her Path To Victory to go clubbing and seduce whoever was "the best person to go home with".
- Praetorian Guard: In a manner of speaking, given that Taylor quite literally has an entire army (and their base) sitting inside of her head waiting to be made manifest. In a very real sense this is how XCOM is introduced to the story, as they manifest for the first time to save Taylor's life and Paige's freedom.
- Promoted to Love Interest: Given the nature of the pairings in this story, this has an overwhelming presence Examples include:
- Miss Militia for Danny Hebert, though they haven't quite gotten there yet.
- Paige (Canary) for Taylor, though they’re dancing around the subject with impressive dorkiness as only teenagers can.
- Psychic Powers: As can be expected from an XCOM story. This is in fact the basis of Taylor's powers, powers arranged for by Asaru, an Ethereal, and by chapter 9, she is learning to manifest the Templars psionic blades.
- Redshirt Army: The gangs of Brockton Bay, who get practically slaughtered by XCOM in their hundreds.
- Shout-Out: Many and more to choose from, including Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs General Tom Waverly (White Christmas), the title/cape name of Vegnagun (Final Fantasy X-2), Ultimate Dowsing (historical, though primarily inspired by Lyserg in Shaman King) or Ziva David (NCIS, which also acts as an In-Universe Shout-Out, since Taylor based her on the character).
- Unscrupulous Hero: XCOM doesn't care about trial by jury and due process. You hurt innocents, you get filled full of holes. Simple as.
