Harry Dresden: "So. Care to tell me what the hell you were doing in my basement?"
Skitter: "Not really."
Skitter: "Not really."
— When Harry Met Skitter
It's 2011 and Skitter finds herself surrounded by darkness. She's cold, she's confused, and she's all alone. She's honestly handled worse situations for herself, but her experience as a supervillain doesn't apply to a talking skull and a wizard with a tendency towards accidental arson. Oh, and she's actually in 2007.
Things might be more complicated than she anticipated.
Double Cross
by Lackscreativity is a Worm and The Dresden Files crossover, with the protagonist Skitter arriving in Dresden's far more magical Chicago.
Can also be read on Sufficient Velocity.
Double Cross provides examples of:
- Action Girl: Skitter, of course. One of the most successful supervillains in her home universe, she's had more than her fair share of fights, often with the odds against her. Harry finds it easy to forget that she's a sixteen year old girl.
- Arbitrary Skepticism: Skitter initially has issues believing in Magic and that it's hidden from the normal populace so well. She encounters enough for her to accept the latter, but definitely not the former.
- Harry was initially disbelieving of a world full of superheroes and supervillains as well, but he was far more enthusiastic about accepting it.
- Armor Is Useless: Averted. Skitter's armored carapace takes a glancing blow from a Vampire, and while it still renders her feeling breathless, it prevents her ribs from being crushed.
- Bad Boss: The Alpha Wendigo bullies his fellow brethren to keep them in line.
- Becoming the Mask: Skitter still has to weigh her options when it comes to using her supervillain persona to get what she wants. Even Harry, who only gave her dorky superhero nicknames, calls her Skitter once she's in full regalia.
- Big Bad: Helmut von Molke. Strong enough that even with preparation, Skitter and Harry can't beat him in a fight while working together.
- Crossover: Between Worm and The Dresden Files.
- The Dreaded: Helmut von Molke. He even targeted other Vampires, regardless of Court, and has done so for over four hundred years.
- Escort Mission: Skitter having to haul Molly across Chicago while trying to escape Wendigos and figure out a way to free Harry from Police custody.
- Experienced Protagonist: Skitter has fought superheroes, supervillains, and unstoppable monsters of all kinds. As scary as Vampires are, she doesn't feel any real sense of danger from fighting one of them, compared to her old opponents.
- Eye Scream: Bugs to the eyes is a favored tactic of hers. Not so effective against the undead... until the holy water comes into play.
- Faster Than They Look: Skitter is constantly caught off guard by how fast supernatural people in the Dresden universe are. More than once she comments on Harry's surprising reflexes and how Vampires move.
- Wendigos aren't actually fast, but they have very good reach to cross distances. Under the illusion of looking like normal people, they do look like supernaturally fast humans.
- How Is That Even Possible?: Skitter's reaction to learning that Magic is unknown to the public at large despite existing for thousands of years, along with various supernatural threats taking lives.
- Humanoid Abomination: Wendigos and Black Court Vampires are horrifying to look at, their skin rotten and limbs too long.
- Improbable Weapon User: Skitter in a nutshell. She weaponized holy water by having her ants spit it out at vampires.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Harry is having fun asking questions about superheroes and supervillains, Skitter angrily points out that she's really not in the right mood nor situation to geek out about cultural differences.
- Large and in Charge: The Alpha Wendigo. It stands nearly twenty feet tall without it's illusions.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Skitter has no recollection of how she ended up in the Dresden Files universe. Only that the last thing she could remember was fighting Echidna.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Harry Dresden has a personal forcefield for his defense.
- Made of Iron: Played With. Harry Dresden, being a wizard, is generally stronger and tougher than normal men of his age and stature. He can still get banged up, but he has a better chance at walking it off. The same can't be said for Skitter, a sixteen year old girl with an injured leg, who has to rely on her spider-silk and chitin armor to handle heavy attacks.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Skitter not mentioning that Echidna can clone living creatures, and that she might have an evil clone running around as well, doesn't make her look good when it's revealed a man was attacked by killer bugs. Harry, for his part, tries to keep certain things about his Warden status a secret from Skitter, which furthers her distrust of him when she founds out.
- Non-Malicious Monster: Thomas, compared to the others Skitter has faced at least.
- No-Sell: Whoever or whatever is controlling the swarm inside of the school Harry and Skitter visited, they were able to easily override Skitter's swarm powers.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Skitter has a strong power, experience fighting some of the strongest capes her city had to offer, and is fairly creative in applying magical weaknesses to make her swarm even more effective. But she's not the strongest cape from her own universe either.
- Poor Communication Kills: The number of times Harry, Skitter, and Molly have gotten into arguments due to them keeping secrets from each other is astounding. It makes the times that they work well together all the more poignant.
- Power Misidentification: Skitter initially believes magic to just be a weird expression of superpowers. Harry and Bob initially believe her to be a prodigy in Thaumaturgy.
- Starfish Alien: The Shards that grant parahumans their powers.
- Trapped in Another World: Skitter from Worm's Brockton Bay waking up in 'Dresden Files'' Chicago.
- Zerg Rush: The default tactic for Skitter's swarm.
