A/N: This is the original power rating document as of the end of Arc 2. I will be updating the Spacebattles version as new powers are discovered by the PRT, but this version will remain here, unedited. Instead, I'll be adding footnotes if a change is made from here on.
[CLASSIFIED]
File opened November 26th, 2010, under name 'Materia'
Full name: Michael Bryan Vanderbilt
Alias: Mandala
DOB: April 9th, 2002
Trigger Date: November 20th, 2010
Rating: Shaker 12 (Stranger 5), Blaster/Shaker 7(Mover 2, Striker 2), Thinker 4
Special notes: 'Noctis' parahuman
Mandala is a Ward under the jurisdiction of the Parahuman Response Teams East-Northeast branch.
Psychological and historical summary (Full history and Trigger details in psych profile):
He has no prior criminal activity, pre- or post-trigger event.
He has no prior cape identity pre-Wards. His original codename, Materia, was never widely used outside the PRT.
Mandla's basic psych profile indicates that he believes those with power should use it for the betterment of others., a classic 'hero's duty' mindset.
He is unlikely to become a threat to the PRT, but does pose extreme danger should it occur.
He suffers from multiple mental disorders:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - Standard symptoms include restlessness and lack of focus, especially when the subject is not interesting.
Severe Depression - Mandala suffered from suicidal depression before joining the Wards. He continues therapy treatment for his depression on a regular basis, and his therapist has expressed the opinion that he is not suicidal, but has given no evidence due to doctor-patient confidentiality.
Low Auditory Processing Disorder - Manifests as a difficulty remembering correct wording even shortly after hearing or reading words, while fully understanding intent, and mildly impaired communication speed, especially in creative formats.
Anxiety - mostly related to stressors such as school, interaction, and since his trigger, has professed anxiety over his escapist fantasies.
Muteness - All indicators point to this being a side effect of his powers.
Despite these inhibitors, he is above average intelligence, especially for the age of 8. He expresses a distinct desire to learn, and his reading speed is above average for an adult.
He has little experience with confrontation, verbal or physical. He tends towards careful decisions over decisive or impulsive behavior, but can occasionally seem impulsive due to his inability to speak and ADHD.
He has been eager to test any new aspects of his powers as they have appeared, in detail, and with no complaints on repetition.
Mandala is an incredibly powerful parahuman, and should not be underestimated based on appearance. His powers are versatile and wide in scope, and every indication says he will be an exemplary asset to the Wards program and Protectorate.
Shaker 12 and Subratings
Mandala has access to an undefined number of "Dream Worlds", described by him as indescribably beautiful and unique jewels, which normally stay just out of sight for himself. This appears to be an illusion only he can see. The 'jewels' can either exert a 'pull' on him, or be 'pushed' by him, but neither state locks the other option.
When he allows himself to be 'pulled' he becomes completely unresponsive to any outside force. All mental functions are projected into the world he has chosen, receiving no outside input, and he is able to explore and use all of his powers freely without his outside body reacting beyond very reduced emotional response.
Upon 'pushing' a world, he describes a large shift in his illusory interface, with the jewels swinging into 'view' in a ring, and the chosen world taking a spot just beneath his point of view, with a point indicating where on his world they are, which can be moved freely. None of these illusions hamper his sight. Simultaneously, he becomes aware of three metrics: his maximum range, his current affected range, and a tactile sense of everything created by his effect, as well as the terrain immediately around the effect.
Maximum range - Mandala has a relatively small starting range of about 20' in diameter, but it increases at a steady rate the longer he has been in a general area. Its rate of growth has been reported to vary between a half-inch and an inch per second on its radius.
During power testing, Mandala was in a gymnasium for several hours on end before this power was tested. His maximum range was not fully tested at this time, as it easily encompassed not only the gymnasium, but most of the base surrounding it: see file Prot_ENE/Headquarters
Effect - Inside his maximum range, Mandala may choose to affect any area he chooses, although the center point must first be set by his activation of the power. Any area affected 'grows' features of the world chosen at a rapid pace, until they are fully formed. Mandala can, both during and after the initial spread, create structures out of materials themed after the local effect's environment, although this power is much slower once the effect finishes 'growing' in that area.
This power can also be projected onto surfaces, allowing others to see and enter the worlds. The person or object encounters an invisible wall at Mandala's maximum range,, but is otherwise free to move within the spherical area.
The person(s) or objects that travel into his worlds this way can travel past all barriers within his maximum range completely undetected. To get back, however, Mandala must shut his power off, and anything that intersects a real-world solid will have an even chance of one of the objects being destroyed in favor of the other, or both combining into a single material, when he does so. He has no Manton limit on this aspect of his power, making it excessively dangerous to use. This power grants him a Stranger 5 subrating, to be upgraded if he determines a way to reliably keep the intruder intact.
Mandala can erase structural features with his powers, but the affected structure shows no sign of alteration or strain.
Mandala is able to project a hole by moving his 'point' above the surface of any world. Best guesses are that he can move this point anywhere there is atmosphere to fill the majority of the volume, but it is possible, if unlikely, that he could fill his area with water, rock, or even mantle, all three of which have understandably not been tested.
Mandala's worlds are not all Earthlike- expect extreme variations on the laws of physics, seemingly impossible terrains, and possibly hostile or poisonous plant life. A list of worlds would be pointless for this same reason; any list would be entirely useless, due to the sheer variability of his power.
The worlds have a notable lack of any animal life. If any worlds with animals, especially ones unlike Earth's fauna, are found, a Master subrating may be added.
Mandala has a tactile sense of his effect, allowing him to alter the inside terrain as needed without retaining eye contact. He has displayed no more multitasking ability than average, instead relying on his power to extrapolate his volition for any changes he wishes to make.
This effect is not a projection; although the rules are not clearly known, material has been brought back and persisted long after his effect ended.
Mandala's Manton limit for this power appears to be based around 'environment', since he does not replace clothing or armor. This may be a conceptual limitation, however, and is not to be relied upon in confrontation.
Mandala's main Shaker power is also assisted by his hybrid Blaster/Shaker powers, and the Shaker aspects of those are reflected in his Shaker Rating. His total threat rating for his Shaker powers comes out to 12+, a rating reserved for extreme cases.
Blaster/Shaker 7 and Subratings
Mandala has full, non-Manton-limited control of all four classical elements: 'air', 'water', 'earth' and 'fire' These are in quotations due to the fact that these are unspecific categories, and are further extrapolated upon below. Mandala controls these elements through gestures and movements, mostly associated with various martial arts, and must be aware of the element in order to affect it.
This is assisted by an extra set of senses, which allow him to 'hear' the elements as a sort of music, which increases in clarity as he focuses on the senses. All of these elements gain finer control as they get closer to Mandala, and Mandala can gain still finer control and sensing abilities by calming the mind and focusing on his 'music'. As this ability has no effect on his threat potential, it has been determined that it does not warrant a Thinker subrating.
Air- Control of gasses; able to distinguish and separate gasses, but only with some focus. Can generate or reduce pressure, create whirlwinds and other major winds, and has even used 'wind armor' to some effect in sparring. Martial arts used primarily focus on movement and avoidance of attacks.
He can naturally channel air around himself to make himself a minor Mover, able to run and jump several times faster and higher than a normal human, and boost his movements as well.
He is able to literally pull the air from someone's lungs, as he has no Manton Limit. He has never demonstrated this ability in combat, and professed mild horror at the idea as more than an emergency knockout maneuver.
Water- Control of water and any mixture containing it, although the greater the impurity, the harder it is to sense. Able to make water change states, from liquid to solid or gas, and control of all three states. Martial arts involved focus on redirection of motion and working around your opponent's attacks.
Can control bodily fluids, although it requires intense concentration to detect anything but urine or saliva. Control of blood, CSF, or cellular fluids is both unfeasible due to how much concentration is needed, and extremely dangerous, most likely resulting in the death of the victim. Master 9 pre-approved if Mandala ever finds a way around the need for meditation to sense and control these fluids.
Able to control the water in plants to control them, or even just tear the water out of the plants. No special affinity for plants beyond this.
Can sort impurities out of water, given time to do so.
Earth- Control of minerals and soils. Easily the most diverse power of the bunch in terms of materials affected, but limits are not currently very well-defined; further testing is needed. Martial arts used are primarily based around powerful strikes and strong stances.
As stated above, more testing is needed. Not much has been tested with this aspect of his powers, due to its extreme reliance on non-manmade terrain. Much of the Shaker part of this hybrid rating is based on this category, based on the extreme versatility shown by his range of materials; expect anything based around some form of rock, soil, mineral, or other ground material to be affected.
Fire- Full thermokinesis, fire generation, control. Possibly control over extremely strong electrical currents, but this is understandably hard to test safely. Able to heat, or direct heat away from, materials. Martial arts used mostly derive from kung fu and kickboxing, styles that rely mostly on efficient series of attacks, although some abilities notably rely more on other, less hostile disciplines.
Striker subclass is based off of the fact that Mandala can significantly heat an object without producing fire if it is very close to him, a sort of 'melting touch'.
Notably has very little resistance to extremes of temperature; can withstand minor heat and cold more than average, but can also be burned fairly easily.
All fire generated appears within a few inches of his skin, but once created it can be maintained only through direct control or attachment to a flammable surface, and has no special properties.
Strong electrical currents can be felt, but attempts to produce or direct them met with failure. Only remaining idea was to provide a very strong shock to Mandala, and this was summarily denied by all sides as a feasible solution. If high-intensity electricity generation is achieved, Blaster 8 is approved upon testing.
Again, all of the above abilities are not Manton-limited. Engagement is not advised without proper planning. The rating of 7 may seem low for such versatility, but this is because the battlefield control aspects of his power are already folded into his Shaker rating. He is functionally a Blaster 7, with two extremely versatile and complementary Shaker powers that rate 12 together.
Thinker 4
Mandala has the ability to perfectly copy any combat-related motion he has seen before, including through visual media. This power includes most movements that are related to movements related to combat, as well. He is impeded by the fact that his body is far from the correct size for these movements, and his power is too perfect, copying the viewed movement exactly without regard for figure. Thus, he has a dramatically reduced learning curve, but must practice the move, to alter it for his particular build, and to build actual muscle memory.
This power is extremely complimentary to his Blaster/Shaker powers, allowing him to learn the fighting styles he needs in order to utilize them. It also means that, despite his outward appearance, he is quickly becoming one of the most highly trained combat capes in the Protectorate, alongside his instructor, Miss Militia. His physical deficiencies are compensated for by his Mover subrating, but in a fight relying solely on hand-to-hand, with no power assistance, he will still be a fairly dangerous opponent to even a single trained adult, or a group of untrained, inexperienced adults.
These are clear indicators for a Thinker rating of 4. Those coming into contact with him should be made aware that any trick they have will probably be used against them once they've used it, and that it may not be effective anyway.
Recommended Actions if Hostile
If at all possible or acceptable, recommended action is to talk him down. Mandala is an intelligent individual, and despite his age, he responds well to logic and reason. Those talking to him should be aware of the events surrounding his trigger event, to best avoid potentially disastrous topics or mannerisms. Extreme care should be taken, and negotiations may have to be met. This course of action is highly recommended by WEDGDG and supported by other Protectorate Thinkers as the most effective solution for most situations.
Mandala is likely to hold back if brought to confrontation, but even so, he is a dangerous opponent. Unpowered humans, even highly trained ones, will have extreme difficulty in close combat, as will many parahumans. Mandala will learn any move he sees, and be faster, stronger, and lighter on his feet than any normal child. His combat style will likely shift moment to moment, and he should be expected to utilize his environment far beyond what any other combatant could, even when his Shaker power is not in play. If his Shaker power does come into play, expect the environment to betray and actively hinder anyone not allied with Mandala, and don't trust areas bordering his effect.
• Mandala is not able to be contained in the Birdcage. Mobile restraining methods may not work either; his minimum range means he might be able to escape any restraints, even if he is kept moving at high speed. Thus, a kill order is pre-authorized should he commit any major crimes.
In the event of a kill order, irreconcilable hostility, Simurgh influence, or S-Class status, recommended action is sniper fire from outside his maximum area of effect, or, if that fails, a missile strike on his location. Due to his lack of a Brute rating, these methods should be effective and suffer minimal casualties. Anything, living or machine, that requires air or water-based liquids to function is not to be allowed within a quarter mile of him. Expect the unexpected, especially if the maximum radius cannot be confirmed - an extremely likely event, as he need not fill his entire radius. If at all possible, action should be taken while his area is small; it is entirely possible for him to survive a siege indefinitely, and the larger his area, the greater his ability to do so.
• Protectorate Thinkers have assigned an all-out attack on Mandala as a highly dangerous event, beyond what his abilities so far have shown - it is entirely possible he, and by extension the PRT, are unaware of his full scope of power.
Other options should these fail include:
• Attacks using High-level Trump-classed heroes such as Eidolon, or Breakers such as Legend who can withstand extreme conditions, or extreme examples of Case 53 heroes to attack him; specifically, those parahumans that may not be dependent on air, water, minerals, or heat to function - risk of major injury, decent chance of success. Recommended backup plan, should a missile strike fail.
• Having a teleporter drop him into a vacuum, or a room filled with only poisonous gasses - extremely low recommendation. Likely that Mandala is capable of using his powers to remove the problems of cold, breathable air, and sustenance, and fairly likely that any Mover strong enough to do so will die in the attempt. Unlikely to succeed, but less likely to cause mass devastation than other options.
• Teleporting him to an S-class threat, save those that are actively hostile, in the hopes one will destroy the other - extremely low recommendation. Reasonable possibility that this will hurt or kill the teleporter, and may agitate the threat in question, but likely to deal with the threat Mandala poses.
Any plans that fall outside the purview of these contingencies should be reported to WEDGDG or a similar organization for approval before being enacted.
In summation, Mandala is an excessively powerful parahuman, one who has potential to be a great asset to the PRT, but easily capable of immense devastation if he is given reason to. Unfortunately, any hostile action must either end on terms he finds amenable, or be met with lethal force.