"So how do these things work?" Brian LaBorne, otherwise known as Grue, asked as he picked up one stone from the pile in front of his newest teammate. They were sitting at the kitchenette's table and eating toast in between talking.

"Um, well…" Taylor said with a nervous worrying of her lip, "These won't work for you. I would have to make a new one for you specifically."

"Ok, so how do they work in general?" the leader of the Undersiders pressed slightly.

"You have to wear them, like a necklace, broach, pin or something." The brunette answered, "Once you do, you can tap into them in order to access the powers they grant."

"As simple as that?"

"Yup." Taylor nodded.

"Morning." Lisa, Tattletale, yawned as she entered the room. Taylor blushed due to the fact that the Thinker was only wearing a shirt and nothing else. Grue just looked resigned.

"Tats, but some damn pants on."

"Coffee…!" the blond whined.

Rolling his eyes, Brian got up and fixed her a cup of coffee to take back to her room and wake up properly.

"She gets like that after a near-death experience." He explained to Taylor, "Only happened once before, when a stray shot from a bodyguard almost clipped her head. Anyway, what do the colours mean?"

"Um…there are three kinds of gems." The new Cape said with a shrug, "Red gems grant Vanguard abilities, Blue carry Support abilities and Yellow Gems hold Rearguard abilities."

"Can you put that in a way I can understand it?" the boy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Basically, Vanguard abilities help in close in combat, like increased strength, speed or skin as hard as iron." Taylor explained, "Rearguard abilities are for those who stand off and attack from a distance, like always hitting your target, increased power to projectiles and the like. Support abilities are non-combat abilities, at least not abilities that fall into the other two categories anyway."

Lisa chose that moment to come back in, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and drinking deeply from the cup Brian had given her. She put it on the counter and smiled sheepishly at Taylor.

"Sorry about that." she apologised, "Mornings after I almost die are…well, you saw. So what're you two up to? Oh, these are…?"

"My gems." Taylor said, a little pride in her voice. There were about twenty gems on the kitchen worktop, ten blue and five each of red and yellow. They were about the size of an average walnut, but didn't look very valuable due to the large amount of impurities they held within them.

"How do you make them?" Lisa asked with a small frown.

"I use a stone as a base." Taylor answered with a shrug, "Any stone about this size or smaller seems to work, but they also have to be bigger than, say, the diamond studs you see on earrings. If they are small, my power makes them grow, although if they're too small, it just won't work."

"Does the type of stone matter?" Lisa frowned as she prodded one stone gingerly.

"I think so. Most of these-" Taylor gestured at the gems, "-are made of basic stones that you can pick up in a park or at the dockside. I have noticed that the skills they get are fairly weak, but the stronger ones are ones I picked up from rockeries and gravel paths. They have a bit of quartz in them."

Lisa tapped her chin with a finger. "So basically, you need materials to experiment with?"

"I would like to find out if the type of initial material can affect the type of powers that my gems can create." Taylor admitted, "But it isn't as if precious stones were just lying about. And the couple of times I bought some semiprecious stones, my power didn't work on them at all."

"Most of these stones had quartz in them." Lisa mused, "So it's likely that a reasonably pure quartz stone will work. Heh. I wonder what will happen if you use your power on a diamond, ruby, sapphire or agate?"

Later that Week…

Taylor gaped at the five stones in front of her. All of them were the kind that she had wanted to experiment on, but had known that the chance was slim to none that she would ever get her hands on them. A diamond, a ruby, a sapphire, an agate and a quartz crystal, all about the size of a golf ball, gleamed in the light.

"The boss pulled some strings, but took the price of them from your pay." Lisa informed her smugly, "Let's see your power in action."

"O…OK!" the brunette squeaked. She hesitantly reached out and picked up the quartz crystal before looking at Lisa questioningly, "Do you want me to create a gem for my use or for one of you?"

Lisa looked at Alec, Brian and Rachel before shrugging. "Let's see how your first attempt with one goes before we try that, 'Kay?"

"Sure." Taylor shrugged back before focussing on the stone in her hand. She cupped it in both hands and bowed her head. Unbeknownst to her, she whispered a word just before a rainbow glow flashed in her hands

"Sevens."

The light in her hands pulsated for a moment before being overcome by a red light that blazed for a moment before fading. When Taylor opened her hands, a gem the size of a golf ball rested there, sparkling red, the same colour as fresh blood.

"Whoa…" Taylor swayed for a moment before snapping back to attention, "Wow. That was a bit more draining that I expected. Lessee…"

As Taylor looked at the stone, something in her power told her what the skill within it was called and what it did.

"The ability this one grants is called [Shockwave Blow]. It allows you to send a shockwave at the enemy from a punch or from a close combat weapon of some sort."

"That's…a Blaster ability?" Brian asked with a raised eyebrow, "I thought long range attacks were a Rearguard ability, from your explanation a few days ago."

"The range is only a couple of metres." She shrugged, "And initially, the strength of the shockwave is only as strong as the medium used to transmit it."

"Meaning it's only as strong as your arm, perhaps with the strength of the weapon you use added onto it." Lisa extrapolated swiftly, "Wait, initially?"

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. Just like our powers get stronger with use, the skills in the gems get stronger the more you use them. Up to a point, anyway. The three gems I've been using most often are a lot stronger than when I first started using them."

"Sounds interesting. Let's go for it." Alec smirked. He sauntered forward. "What should I do, dork?"

Taylor bristled slightly at the nickname before forcing it down. She grabbed the diamond and held in in one hand. "Put your hand over the jewel and my power will do the rest."

Raising an eyebrow, Alec did as he was told. Taylor closed her eyes and whispered, "Sevens."

The rainbow glow of the activation of her power flashed and then turned red. When Alec removed his hand, a red Vanguard gem glittered in Taylor's hand and Taylor herself looked slightly drained.

"Yikes…" the bespectacled brunette panted, "That was even more draining than before. Let's see what we have here though…ah, this is a good one. The ability this one grants is called [Iron Fighter]."

"The fuck's with the lame name?"

"Hey, my power names them, not me." Taylor defended herself, "Anyway, do you wanna know what your new ability does or not?"

Taking Alec's silence as a confirmation, Taylor carried on, "[Iron Fighter] seems to be a composite skill. It hardens your skin to the same density as solid iron, as well as increasing your strength and speed slightly. Pretty damn good, I'd say."

"So I become a low-level Brute and Mover?" Alec cocked his head to one side with a smirk, "Oh, I like that."

"Brute 3 and Mover 1." Lisa said abruptly as she massaged her temples, "That's what I can tell it grants at the moment. I think it'll go up by maybe two points in the Brute section and one more point in the Mover section, but I can't be sure."

'Bloody Thinkers.' Taylor thought.

"Pretty damn good." Alec grinned, "Thanks dork."

He picked up the gem and examined it before backing off. The next one to come forward was Lisa.

"From the looks of it, the clear jewels become whatever colour that the user is best suited to having." Taylor mused aloud, "A Thinker power is quite like a Support ability anyway, so…let's see if we can go three for three on the Vanguard."

Grabbing the ruby, Taylor held it out on her hand to Lisa, who placed her hand over it.

"Sevens."

The red glow…didn't appear.

"Huh…looks like you're not suited for Vanguard abilities, Lisa." Taylor said with a frown.

"That's fine with me." The blond said with feeling, "How about you try me with the Rearguard skills?"

Shrugging, Taylor swapped out the ruby for the agate and they tried again.

"Sevens."

The yellow glow blazed forth like the birth of a small sun, almost blinding everyone. When it faded, Lisa withdrew her hand and gazed in awe at the glimmer of the sunshine-yellow gem sitting in Taylor's hand.

"Th-this is…!" she whispered.

"Wow. That took a lot out of me." Taylor shook her head, "This must have been a high-purity agate. Lessee…huh. [Projectile Duplication] is what this guy does."

"Say what?" Lisa cocked an eyebrow.

"Throw a throwing knife and you can make ten more appear in flight. Shoot an arrow, the same." Taylor explained, "I guess the same would apply to bullets fired from a gun, or throwing stars or bolas or anything you could class as a projectile. Hell, even a thrown stone would count."

"That's a Shaker power. Shaker 1 or 2, I'd say." Brian said with a frown.

"I'd say Shaker 5, but that's just me." Lisa retorted as she carefully picked up her gem.

"The powers are what they are." The brunette shrugged, "I have no control over what powers are generated when it's just me, and I'd think that the personality and powers of the people I make gems for have something to do with the end product."

"Whaddya mean?" Alec asked.

"Take Lisa as an example." Taylor said as she pushed her glasses up her nose, "As I said before, I equate most Thinker powers with the Support category, so the likelihood of her generating another Support ability is low. Lisa herself isn't fond of getting up-close and personal with her enemies, so in hindsight the Vanguard skills were never going to be her forte. That just leaves Rearguard skills."

"You," aforementioned girl said with narrowed eyes, "are a smart girl."

"…thanks?"

The next to try the ruby was Brian, but again it didn't work. He ended up with a Support gem that gave him the ability Taylor called [Special Analysis]. It allowed him to gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of his enemies, although there were restrictions on its use. The enemy had to be within ten metres of him and within line-of-sight as well. Still, it was very useful for a leader to possess. Lisa rated it as Thinker 3.

Rachel, when Lisa managed to persuade her to give it a try, got the Vanguard skill made from the ruby, which was very basic. It was called [Muscle Boost] and granted her increased physical strength and durability. Lisa rated it as Brute 2.

"So we're the only ones who can use these gems?" Brian asked as he held the blue gem up to the light.

"Well, yes." Taylor nodded, "And me. I can use all the gems I make, but if I make them especially for someone, they're the only person who can use them aside from me. Also, aside from me, people can only use one gem at a time. I can use one from each field. Shame most of mine are weak."

"Such as?" Brian asked.

Taylor pulled her stones out of her bag and spread them out over the table before picking one up, a blue Support gem. "This one has a skill called [Weight Down], which lowers the weight of my clothing and anything I carry via rucksack or in my arms by 20-30%. This one has an ability called [Sight] that sharpens my vision. This one is what I'll use to help you hide those gems better. It has a skill called [Shrink], which allows me to reduce the physical size of inanimate objects. This one has a skill called [Mind Guard]. It protects me from weak mental intrusion."

"Would that work against the Simurgh?" Lisa asked sharply.

"I have no desire to find out, but probably not." The brunette deadpanned, "The key word is weak mental intrusion. Something like the Simurgh's scream would not be blocked, merely mitigated by a small amount. Anyway, most of the Support gems I made are like this; small, weak effects. That might change once the skills grow and evolve."

"Evolve?" Brian asked.

"Yeah. My power tells me they grow twice and then evolve." Taylor nodded with certainty, "When they evolve, they gain either additions to the basic skill or a skill along the same line as the first skill, but different. For example, Rachael's [Muscle Boost] could gain [Boost Strength], the ability to double her physical strength. Or it could be [Iron Body], the ability to harden your muscles into the strength of steel. It depends on how the skills are used and the emotions she feels."

"How many times can that happen?" Lisa asked.

"Twice." Taylor answered, "The final evolution takes a long time to happen though."

"Fair enough." Lisa nodded, "Now…what should your Cape name be? We still have to get you a costume too."

"How about…Prima Materia?" Taylor smirked.

Ok, so. As you might have guessed, this little idea came from a Light Novel called Sevens. In that world, everyone has an inborn ability, known as a [Skill]. Jewels are items capable of storing skills down bloodlines. OK, it did just happen across family lines, but it is possible that they can be inherited by others. Without any proof, I'll go with that. As for the PRT ratings…I use them as an indicator of the strength of the abilities, as opposed to the PRT, who use them as an overall threat assessment. Like it or lump it.

Oh yeah. Please don't ask questions in Guest Reviews, because I have no way of answering them and have no intentions of answering them in another chapter.

Striker/Trump: 8 (Able to convert stones of all kinds into gems which then have powers bestowed upon them. She can use any gem that she creates, but if she creates one with someone else touching the stone, that person can use it as well. The gems are divided into three categories: Red Vanguard gems, Yellow Rearguard gems and Blue Support gems. The powers and personality of the person touching the stone have an influence on what stone is created, as well as what stone is used as a base material for the gem. The more impurities the stones possess, the weaker the power of the resulting gem. Additionally, clear jewels such as diamonds and quartz, can be converted into any of the stones, but coloured gems, such as sapphires, rubies and agate, can only make gems of their respective colours. The skills grow more powerful with use and can evolve twice with skills either branching out from the original skill or a skill similar to but different than the original one being learned. She can use one gem from each of the three categories, while other people are stuck using one gem at a time.)

Shaker: 1 (Can store the gems inside a hammerspace pocket)

Breaker: 2 (Can absorb one of each type of gem into her body to allow her to keep them concealed.)

Thinker: 3 (Able to draw out and compile information about each and every skill she bestows upon a gem. Perfect recall regarding these skills.)