Undersiders Base, Post-Lung Confrontation
"So wait," Regent, Taylor recalled he was called, sat up and held one hand up, "you can get a blueprint of any tech that you touch?"
Taylor, dressed in a black bodysuit with silver armoured pieces in key locations, looked around the Undersiders for a moment before answering, "Yep. Cars, bikes, guns, TVs, computers…as long as they are defines as a somewhat complex device, I can analyse it and copy it into my mind in less time than it takes to skin a banana. For Tinkertech it does take longer, but no more than ten minutes."
"That is SO hax." The boy muttered.
"There's more…you can manipulate them too." Tattletale said, eyes wide.
"Lemme guess, Thinker?" Taylor sighed, "Yes, I can manipulate them."
As a demonstration, she clicked her fingers and the lights, TV and Regent's PlayStation flickered on and off before settling.
"So you can copy the blueprints…but do you understand them enough to build them?" Grue asked intently.
"Initially no, but after a length of time, which varies depending on the complexity of the device, I do understand them." Taylor replied, grinning behind her silver facemask, "As my piece de resistance, after I touch a Parahuman, I can create devices to enhance an aspect of their powers or remove a weakness or demerit from using it. Sadly, it's an either/or scenario and I can only create one per Parahuman."
Tattletale sat down, hard. "Grue, hire her."
"Eh?" Taylor was a bit shocked.
"You saved our bacon regarding Lung, so we owe you one." Grue said with a nod, "Ordinarily we'd let you have a day or so before offering you a place with us, but the chance to have a Tinker of your skills is just too good to pass up. Standard pay is two grand a month, which I think our Boss will be more than willing to up to take into account what you'll need for a workshop. You also get a cut from all jobs on top of your base pay."
Taylor thought about it for a moment. She had found out about Sophia Hess being Shadow Stalker after she had built a surveillance drone from spare parts and a commercial remote-controlled helicopter and tasked it to follow her bully in the hopes of getting some blackmail on the bitch to get her to back off. As a result, Taylor's faith and trust in the Wards, Protectorate and PRT had plunged. She hadn't had a good view on authority figures before that due to The Bitch Trio bullying her for fifteen months with the school Authorities turning a blind eye to it.
"Sign me up." She said and reached up. She removed her full-face helm and smiled at her new teammates, "Taylor Hebert. Nice to meet you."
Tattletale smiled and removed her domino mask. "Lisa Wilbourn. Grue over there is Brian and Regent is Alec Marceau."
Grue removed his helmet to reveal a handsome black boy in his late teens and Regent turned out to be a lazy looking boy in his late teens as well.
"Leaving Bitch as being Rachel Lindt." Taylor nodded, "Will I have to worry about her setting her dogs on me? She seems…very canine-like."
Lisa nodded rapidly. "Her power affects the way she thinks, hardwiring it so she can easily understand canine mental processes at the cost of making her think more like a dog or a wolf than a human. You'll have to prove yourself to her in combat before she accepts you."
"I just helped you guys take down Lung." Taylor pointed out even as she replaced her helmet, "Shouldn't that count for something?"
"Sadly, no." Lisa sighed, "Just…try not to hurt her too much. Here she comes now."
"Angelica, Brutus, Judas, attack!" Bitch's voice growled from below.
As the dogs charged up the stairs and at Taylor, the Tinker pointed both her palms out at the charging supersized monster dogs and let loose a large electric pulse that sent the three beasts flying back and against the wall, where they got stuck.
"The fuck did you do to my dogs?!" the canine Cape growled as she stomped up the stairs and glared at the silver and black clad Cape.
"I removed them from the equation without overtly harming them." Taylor replied coolly, "Care to try yourself?"
With a roar, Bitch leapt at her, arms extended and clawed like a dog's. Taylor clenched one fist, which caused it to vibrate and shriek almost unperceivably, and then struck out, hitting the airborne girl solidly in the stomach.
Bitch retched before being send flying into the couch and then into unconsciousness. The dogs, bereft of their mistress' power when she got knocked out, she skin and muscle quickly. They were still stuck to the wall though.
"What the fuck were those gadgets?" Alec asked.
"The first one was an application of stun guns and Tasers." Taylor replied, once more removing her helmet, "I amped up the concussive force enough to send most things massing less than a rhino flying and then made those it strikes 'sticky' so that whatever they strike they stick to, taking them out of the fight. Useless against Lung, though."
"But a very nice way of taking down others non-lethally." Brian nodded approvingly, "What about that punch? No offence, but Bitch wouldn't be taken down by an ordinary punch no matter who it came from unless it was a Brute doing the punch."
"A vibration/sound emitter inside the gauntlet on this hand." The new member of the Undersiders replied, raising the hand in question, "The human body is made up of over sixty percent water, so striking it at a certain frequency turns it into a giant inner ear. Bitch has a lot of fat in her body, so she was very susceptible to this gadget."
"How'd you develop them?" Lisa asked curiously.
"When I gain knowledge of an item's blueprints, I can direct the Tinker portion of my mind to design a Tinkertech version based around a concept." Taylor explained, "In this case the initial design was a mobile phone and the concept I applied was close combat offence. The Resonating Sound Drill was the result."
"How…ah. The vibration devices and the speakers." Lisa nodded, "How long will Bitch be out?"
"She's a tough one, so about ten minutes." Taylor replied.
"OK then…while I am sorry that she attacked you, it should make her more receptive to working with you now." Brian nodded, "Have you thought of a Cape name?"
"Actually…yes." Taylor smiled, "I'm the mistress of machinery…Cyber Sorceress."
So yeah…just had to do her as a Tinker/Thinker combo. Deadly combo this one.
Striker: 6 (Able to scan and download the structure of a machine, even Tinkertech, in the span of a few minutes. Also able to exert control over any technology she is in contact with, regardless of password, firewalls or lack of power. Additionally, can gain an understanding of a Parahuman's powers and how her Tinkertech can interact with it.)
Thinker: 5 (Able to assimilate any blueprints downloaded via her Striker ability and devise ways to apply them with her Tinker ability. Also able to extrapolate any concept to do with the machines she 'downloads' and adds the knowledge to her mind.)
Trump: 5 (Able to create devices that are able to interact with the powers of the targeted Parahuman, either to neutralise a weakness, remove a demerit to using the power or to enhance a specific facet of that Parahuman's power. Requires scanning with the Striker ability to be used. Immune to this portion of her own power.)
Master: 8 (Able to control any object classed as a 'machine.' This can vary greatly, but can be classed an 'anything with a power source.' Meaning clockwork, battery, solar or mains power. Can power up a device even if disconnected from the power source. Range is one square block.)
Tinker: 3 (Specialty: Copying.) (Able to recreate any technology that has been scanned by using her Striker power, even Tinkertech. Limited to devices smaller than a minivan. Can innovate and combine designs, but takes at least a day to a week depending on the complexity of the device in question.)