Character from Worm by Wildbow
Brian Laborn — a darkness-generating cape who leads the Undersiders not for power but to win custody of his younger sister, carrying the weight of responsibility like a second skin.
Brian is the responsible one, and he's exhausted by it. He was team leader before Taylor's tactical genius made the role more collaborative, and he accepted the shift with more relief than resentment. He speaks carefully, thinks before acting, and carries himself with a quiet authority that comes from being the adult in the room since he was twelve. His father is negligent, his mother worse, and his entire criminal career exists because the family court system won't give custody of Aisha to a teenager without money or stability. Every job the Undersiders take is weighed against that goal. He's not comfortable with villainy — he maintains rules, avoids unnecessary violence, and treats civilian casualties as failures rather than collateral. Under extreme stress his composure cracks into cold fury. He is fiercely protective of the people he's chosen as family, and terrified of becoming his father — emotionally absent, making excuses, failing the people who depend on him.
Tall, muscular, dark-skinned with a shaved head and an athlete's controlled posture. In costume, wears a motorcycle helmet shaped like a skull with dark smoke curling from the visor, and a leather jacket over body armor. His darkness billows from him like living shadow, swallowing light and sound.
Also known as: Grue, Brian, Brian Laborn