If Dauntless had his powers for about a year and a half, 365 and 182, and he gains a charge everyday, he would have 547 charges, and if he charged a single item 15 times before moving on to the next, then he'll have about 36 Decent tools. If he charged them 30 times, then 18 Good tools, if he charged them 50 times, then 10 Great tools.
When talking about quality ranking, I'm not adhering to the common definitions, anything with more than 10 charges is already Amazing compared to it's uncharged counterpart, the ranking is for the special abilities the items gain after 15 charges, more or less depending on the size.
Now back to Dauntless, his gear is better than Great, and since I don't have any gear higher than 30, I haven't denoted an adjective for anything past Great. I'm going with Excellent for now and until I make an official chart, I'll call it Taylor's Official Top-Secret Tool Quality Rankings Chart (Do Not Read!) and I'll leave it under my bed, like an idiot.
If Dauntless charged a single item 100 times before moving on, then he'll have 5 Excellent tools, which is closer to his known amount of tools.
Now instead of guessing how many tools he has, let's guess how much he has charged them, 547 divided by 3 is 182, or if his armor is included, then divided by 4 which equals 136 charges, with three points in uncounted decimals.
A more logical allocation would be 150 charges in the Spear and Shield each, 75 for each boot and 97 charges to be distributed throughout the armor.
These numbers aren't completely accurate, a lot of it is guess work, his spear is obviously his main tool, it was probably favored, and I haven't seen how good his shield is, and supposedly his boots make him faster than most Movers in Brockton, his armor was definitely neglected once it became durable enough to use as actual armor and not just as a flashy costume.
Anymore math will just be speculating specific numbers.
It was also possible he kept some tools secret from the public, it would be dumb not to, maybe his helmet also allowed him to see in the dark, maybe he was keeping an impossibly sharp sword for emergencies.
Thinking about what he was hiding versus presenting, made me realize I don't know what I'm going to do.
What will I hide from the public?
What do I present to the public?
Let's take stock.
I've had my powers since January 6th, the day I became a Parahuman, which was 93 days ago.
On January 6th, I was subjected to a malicious 'prank gone wrong', by my bestie turned bully, Emma Barnes, and her friends. They've made my highschool experience terrible at every second, not that I can prove it or get anyone to corroborate with me. Their prank involved trapping me in my locker which they filled with filth over the winter break. I don't recall much, aside from the confusing realization that they weren't human, but they were, every human acted like they did, I was wrong in thinking humans were something good.
Then I woke up in the hospital, hours had gone by, I was still out of it when I spoke to my dad and the doctors, but when PRT agents came by I was very much awake. They explained it as some procedure to visit patients who experienced extreme situations, also known as Trigger Events, I gave them the answers they needed, and a false promise to call if I experienced anything odd.
I didn't tell them I felt like a current was running through my body and trying to sink into things that were touching my skin.
On January 9th, I was released from the hospital and returned home, I couldn't hold the current back anymore, so I drained the current into the black hoodie I was wearing. The next day I didn't bother blocking the current when it felt full, I just let it flow into the hoodie, which was now exponentially better in quality. On the 11th, I blocked the current until I felt it was ready, after that I poured it into my glasses, nothing of notice changed, so I decided to continue dumping the current into the hoodie.
January 13th, I was given a week off of school while my dad dealt with them. I visited the library, read up on some Parahumans and other related things and discovered Dauntless, noticing the similarities between our powers, he infuses power into objects to make them better, I felt like it was similar to my power, my hoodie felt brand new and expensive, so I read more about him.
Dauntless was easy to find Information on, he's been very public and upfront with his capabilities and equipment. He had the power to empower items until they developed their own abilities, it was apparently a slow and gradual process. He's on record saying he doesn't choose the abilities but he hasn't been surprised, and that his items can only be used by him, some old clips of his fights with a villain, Blackball, support his claim.
Although the public couldn't agree, the majority estimate he'll be Triumvirate level in a few years
He uses a spear called Arclance, which had the power to extend really far and very fast and tase people, appearing to be constructed out of white lightning. A shield named Svalinn, a small disk with rings of white lightning around the rim, it had the power to surround Dauntless in a forcefield. And his boots known as Talaria, appearing as cracking energy when worn and gave him super speed and flight. His Armor is only rumored about to be enhanced, and hasn't shown any abilities.
While I was still dealing with practically having a guide on how to use my power, if we shared the same power, which I won't know unless my hoodie shows signs of having a power. January 18th rolled around, and I returned to school, the days were calmer. My bullies backed off from doing anything that could draw attention to themselves, leaving gossip that was just a little too loud for a private conversation. It didn't bother me anymore, it was in their nature, they parroted phrases they heard and projected their insecurities on me, I doubt I was morbidly obese while simultaneously being anorexic thin.
Halfway through Friday, the 21st, the energy that was inside the hoodie changed, it settled, I didn't notice anything strange after that. I had assumed my hoodie had developed a power, but I couldn't figure out how to use it. It wasn't until Monday, the 24th, did I discover what it did. The school day started normal, but when I saw Sophia Hess, the new bestie to my old bestie, and a violent bully, I realized my grace period was over, back to being the punching bag, while I was consumed in my melancholic monologue I subconsciously put my hood up, and watched as Sophia walked right past me.
Further testing revealed I was unrecognizable to people if my hood was up, my test subject, Greg, a boy who needs to work on his social skills, couldn't describe or recall my face when asked, he also couldn't notice oddity of the situation, I was still recognized, but only as a being separate from Taylor.
When February came, my days were much smoother, I only had to take my hood off during attendance, but after that no one bugged me. There was a close call where a group of boys ambushed me on my way home, but they backed off when they failed to recognize me as Taylor, they muttered something about Sophia, and I put the pieces together, she was mad she couldn't get me so she 'hired' some boys to scare me. The good thing was that I realized I didn't have a way to defend myself, and if I ran I don't think I would have outpaced boys who looked like they did sports. I had to train, and I had dumped about thirty total charges into my hoodie, and I felt it settle even deeper, if I focused I could make my entire body unnoticeable.
Since my hoodie was doing a great Stranger impression, and I was going to work out, I needed a new item to charge, I selected a new bandage roll that was sitting unused in my bathroom. When I started running in the morning, my dad got me keychain pepper spray.
On the 26th of February, two days after the Simurgh was chased out of Canberra by Eidolon and Legend, my bandage roll had taken 15 charges and it settled, now when wrapped around a wound it accelerated recovery, useful for working out, I also asked dad to buy me some light weights. I continued to charge the bandage roll, and started thinking of what to charge next.
March, my most active month since gaining powers, my bandage roll had taken a total of 25 charges, it now numbed pain and relieved soreness, and I had chosen to charge my glasses next. I started my amateur hero career, which was just me walking around high crime areas and punching unsuspecting criminals in the liver, and for the more tough looking ones, I swung a wooden baseball bat across their backs or limbs. I only used pepper spray on the drugged ones, and since I didn't have a cellular phone and I probably couldn't tie down a fully grown man, I didn't bother calling the authorities.
While out on 'patrol' I bore witness to some cape fights, mainly the E88 and New Wave, sometimes a Protectorate hero would swoop by, I was constantly reminded by the world to not box outside my weight class.
By eavesdropping on loitering nazi's and other criminals, I heard about the Undersiders before I saw them, a group of thieves who made violent entrances and flashy exits, the day I saw them I fully understood what that entailed, monsters the size of vans, supposedly dogs, and a trail of rolling darkness. The darkness had to be some kind of cosmic mockery, because my glasses had just gained the ability to let me see in the dark, but couldn't help even a little when I was engulfed by the thick, deafening, darkness.
A few days later, I saw a new hero in an alleyway, he looked like a mild monster cape, and spoke in an indifferent tone to some criminals, I watched him fight for a moment before I continued my patrol. The rest of the month had no major events, aside from the occasional cape sightings.
A new Ward was announced on April 2nd, he was the boy I saw in March, going by Browbeat, I remember hearing from some Nazis that a new hero had lost against the Undersiders, maybe that was him, it would make sense. I couldn't imagine fighting those hulking beasts, he seemed like Brute so that meant they probably didn't go easy on him. Another thing that happened was the settling of energy in my new item, this time I chose to charge a pair of stockings, the energy didn't feel like it could be activated, testing around with it, left me with the conclusion they lessened the strain on my legs. I assumed it required more charges than a pair of glasses, which also gave me an idea. I started to charge a quarter, just to see if the size mattered and if it would gain a useful ability, on the fifth day of the experiment the energy settled. It took about an half an hour of fiddling with the now shiny coin before I figured out the ability it had developed, the coin can land on heads or tails, the outcome depending on my decision.
Today, April 9th, I decided to compare myself against Dauntless, but I got derailed into deducing his abilities and the noted idea to plan out my public relations.
Dauntless has three main tools: Arclance, Svalinn, and Talaria. A Spear, Shield and Boots.
I have four useful tools, tentatively named; Stealth Hoodie, Healing Bandage, Night Vision Glasses, Shock Absorbing Stockings, and a Trick Coin. A Cloak, Medicine, Goggles, Pants, Coin.
If I used the PRT classification, then it's:
Dauntless:
Spear/ Blaster, Striker.
Shield/ Brute, Shaker, Striker.
Boots/ Mover.
Taylor:
Hoodie/ Stranger.
Stockings/ Mover.
Glasses/ Thinker.
Bandage/ Striker.
Coin/ Striker.
If I describe it using capabilities.
Spear/ Attack: Melee, Ranged, Electric,
Shield/ Defense: Shield.
Boots/ Movement: Speed, Terrain.
Hoodie/ Movement: Stealth.
Stockings/ Movement: Speed.
Glasses/ Movement: Terrain.
Bandage/ Utility.
Coin/ Party Trick.
When I get down to it, I need something with a Blaster, Shaker, Brute or offensive Striker classification, I need some kind of Attack.
Maybe Master if I could charge a Doll until it came to life, but that would take too long, and might be better suited for puppet shows, not only do I already have my party trick, but I can think of one rogue who has capitalized the market on puppet shows.
Ranged or Melee? Do I take advantage of my stealth to take pot shots or to sneak up close and personal?
If it's a Blaster power, there's no rule about not getting up close before firing, the only danger would be collateral damage, but if it's that dangerous then I wouldn't be blasting it at a soft human. It sounds good, but maybe not yet, I still need to create my hero persona.
It was stupid to not have a plan, I've been putting it off a public debut until I had useable tools, but now what?
Do I announce I'm just a Genderbent Dauntless? It sounds dumb, but they say Dauntless will eventually be Triumvirate level. I can leech off that expectation and be respected without having to do anything, aside from showing off.
Sounds great, but no thanks, Dauntless will always be stronger than me, I'll be second fiddle, forever Dauntless Junior, and I don't plan on joining the Wards, so saying I'm going to be strong later is just inviting gangs to kidnap me while I'm still weak.
I can't hide my un-notice ability or the fact I can see in the dark, but I can obscure the fact they come from my hoodie and glasses. Right now my stockings only lessen the strain on my legs, it will become apparent I'm slightly a Mover if I charge them further,
My healing and coin trick won't be an issue as long as I don't bring any attention to them.
Let's imagine a scenario; A Criminal is doing crime things in an alley, when out of nowhere a figure appears, this figure doesn't appear entirely solid, has no face and can fight in the pitch black darkness.
What would the Criminal think? What would the public think? What would the heroes think?
I either moved there, teleportation or super speed, or I was always there, just out of perception, Mover or Stranger.
I'm obviously a Stranger, but Strangers aren't well liked by anyone, so I'm a Mover, obviously.
if I can spin it, I might be able to gaslight the public and mislead others to believe my power let's me move through the shadows, not only will no one question my lack of face or my ability to fight in the dark, in fact they will likely attribute it to my mystery shadow powers, but no one can say I lied about my powers. Later in my hero career when I develop stronger powers, ones that I can't hide, and someone eventually uncovers what my true power is, my record will remain clean.
If I make a name for myself before it's revealed I'm a Dauntless expy, then aside from a similar power, no one will care.
I know there's already a shadow cape in Brockton, Shadow Stalker, and if I remember correctly, her power is turning into a three-dimensional shadow, allowing her to travel through solid matter, I think she joined the Wards a few months ago. She used a crossbow, a poor man's blaster, so in order to hide my powers and separate myself from Shadow Stalker, which would have been a perfect name for my hero identity, I need a melee power.
Striker or Brute doesn't entirely matter as long as it's subtle, and since I would rather have easy access to my power, let's put the two charges I saved into my right glove.
Now I just need a name, it needs to be referencing shadows so the idea is in people's mind. After racking my brain, I decided on two candidates, Miss Umbra or Shade. The name will only be temporary, I'll probably have a different set of powers next year, and Miss Umbra sounds like an overly personal name, whereas Shade is probably super common and no one will bat an eye when I change my name. Shade it is, now I just have to introduce myself to the people I come across from now on.
The dryer went off with a loud 'Bzzt!' My clothes and superhero costume were done drying, my costume was just my enhanced hoodie, enhanced stockings, my healing bandage, one normal glove and one now double charged glove, and then whatever else I chose to wear that day. I think I'll wear a purple shirt and dark jeans while I am out as Shade.
I hopped off the washing machine I was sitting on and threw the calculator I had into a bin and then piled my now dry clothes on top, the trip out of the basement, and up to my room was easy, not that I ever struggled with normal sized loads, but after working out, it wasn't even a hassle.
After folding and stashing my non super-clothes I searched for and found a purple shirt, it had a big white star in front, and I decided I'll leave the hoodie zipper down to expose it when I'm out and about as Shade, a splash of white might be good for making me look heroic.
Since it was a Saturday, I had the choice of debuting anywhere and at any time during the day, so I had to choose what part of town I'll stake my claim in, there's three gangs in Brockton Bay:
The Azn Bad Boys, ABB, led by Lung, known online as a sleeping dragon, he's apparently really powerful, but hasn't made any big waves after taking control of the ABB, his right hand man is Oni Lee, some kind of teleporting cloner, their territory is the docks.
There's the Empire Eighty-Eighty, E88, Nazis, led by Kaiser, who can make swords burst out of any surface he can see, and he has a lot of Parahumans under his leadership, they stay near the nice part of town and mainly clash with New Wave.
And the Archer Bridge Merchants, apparently they've all but fallen apart, known only as the Merchants now, basically just drug dealers and crackheads with superpowers, they don't really have a territory, but they reside in places no one wants.
Minor Villains like Uber and Leet and the Undersiders don't really stay in one area, but they never stray too far into any territories, there's also some villains who pop up every now and then, but they don't seek out the spotlight. There's also Fautline's Crew, but they didn't care for territory, and they constantly left town for jobs.
I think I'll just rotate through the three territories, and just stop any crime I come across, but for now I need to make splash debut, the only place I'll definitely see any Cape action would have to be E88 territory, if I'm lucky I'll get to assist New Wave, and start a rapport, now I just have to practice my lines. I'm Shade, a girl who triggered not that long ago with the ability to move through shadows, now how do I convey that without explicitly saying that, what body language would sell that and what sentences can be misconstrued to mean that?
Before leaving to start my debut, I reread my finished homework assignments and studied my school notes. Since I was now undisturbed during classes and my work was no longer actively being sabotaged, I was able to focus on my education. My grades weren't suffering anymore.
I walked out the front door sometime past noon and started jogging down towards the nice part of town, with my zipper and hood up, becoming unnoticeable on sight. My bandage was wrapped around my chest, easing and relieving my lungs, heart and upper spine. My stockings made jogging a breeze, and my glasses never really had a reason to be off my face when I'm out. I brought my coin just because it felt better than leaving it. I also had a small tube of pepper spray in my pocket and I carried my wooden baseball bat in hand.
I arrived back home at 9:24 PM, I planned on washing my clothes again, taking a shower and eating, then I'll say goodnight to my dad when he comes home, and then I'll go back out. My debut was hardly dramatic, I reached the nice part of town in less than half an hour and barely did anything, I stopped a few muggings, but there wasn't a lot of crime happening in broad daylight. I had travelled through dark alleys and still didn't find any active crimes, aside from some nazi goons drinking and smoking. If I went to docks or the slums I probably would have found crime around every corner, but I wanted a splash. I should have realized the E88 territory was going to be relatively crime free, they treated the land nicely, which meant no graffiti and a low crime rate. When night falls that might change though, the villains will probably be more active.
Dad walked through the door a few minutes after I was done getting myself clean, we exchanged greetings, I told him I already ate and we said our goodnights, he left for his room while I watched television. When the clock struck midnight I was already out and about, the number of muggings rose dramatically in dark alleys, and people started getting into fist fights. My baseball bat was used quite often.
In an effort to separate myself from Shadow Stalker, I introduced myself as Shade with a cheery tone to fallen criminals and their victims, I fell back into an old habit of rambling out all the fun things that came to mind, like what I use to do with Emma. I asked the victims if they could call the cops for me, sometimes I would recommend the criminals to call an ambulance for themselves, if I had hit them especially hard. I'm pretty sure I made an impression on everyone I met, if not then I acted like a scatterbrained idiot for no reason.
Although I didn't fight the Empire or help New Wave, I did see some of them flying in the distance, I think my debut was going great.
The next morning I slept in for an extra hour, before going through my morning routine, then I went out to be a hero, this time in ABB territory, still didn't meet any other capes, but I got the hang of introducing myself. Around midday, I put the third charge into my glove. I made sure to be back an hour earlier than my dad, and then did my nighttime routine before going back out.
The night streets of the docks were oddly calm, it was just a few hours ago where every other alley was a crime scene, maybe all the gangsters were sleeping, or more likely they had gathered together for something.
Walking down street after street I finally saw gang activity, several Asians decked out in red and green were standing outside a building. I turned up the power in my hoodie so I could get closer without being caught, as I approached them, I noticed the atmosphere was serious, no one looked especially happy, some looked almost resigned. They all moved when a big guy with a metal mask exited the building, between his mask, his exposed tattoos and his general build, it wasn't hard to recognize him as Lung.
He spoke in a deep voice that left no room for arguing, it was odd in how quiet it was, or maybe it was his just his accent, either way I could tell he was bossing around his gang members, but not what he said, I could guess though. Some gangsters stood straighter and I saw one resting his hand on the handle of his exposed gun, then I noticed the others had holstered guns, and the younger looking ones just carried them in hand.
By the time I was less than fifteen feet in front of them, I was able to decipher what Lung was saying, "…the children, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice. They don't get a chance to be clever or lucky."
The gangsters muttered their agreements, some not looking Lung in the eyes.
This was weird, Lung was going to kill kids? I wasn't surprised, villains were worse than humans, after all.
The weird part was the fact this was going to make waves, Lung was definitely going to get a Kill Order if he goes around killing kids. Lung didn't seem like the type to kill kids for no reason, he mainly just defended his turf and didn't even start fights. Was the internet wrong? Something to think about later, right now I had to deal with Lung and his men.
That created the issue of how to deal with them. Lung grew in strength while fighting, he also healed and could shoot fire, and his men, around twenty, all had handguns.
Shade could probably play a game of cat and mouse until actual heroes came by, that would probably make her seem extra heroic if a little reckless, or I could try to fight them as myself.
If I take Lung down before he gets amped up, his goons will probably shoot at random before taking him to safety, which sounds nice.
Which one though?
While I was debating the pros and cons, three more people joined the group and then they all started walking away, I followed them, I didn't know how far the kids were, but I needed to act fast. I decided a game of cat and mouse with a flamethrower and twenty-five guns wasn't the best idea. So I have to take Lung down fast, I don't have the leverage to whack him in the head, my pepper spray would only irritate him, while I was contemplating the best strategy, I noticed one the gangster in front of me had holstered his gun in the back of his pants.
I could probably snatch a gun from someone closer to Lung and shoot him before I am noticed, and then I could just disappear into an alley, but where to shoot him, nowhere lethal obviously, wouldn't want to be known as a killer. If he's going to kill children, I doubt anyone would care if I crippled him, so his knee cap or spine, since he was wearing pants but was shirtless, I chose the spine. He'll probably heal up in a few days anyways.
I gently dropped my bat under a parked car and mentally went through the steps of my plan. Get behind Lung, grab a gun, make sure the safety was off, and shoot his spine. Other things to keep in mind, don't stand by someone with a gun in hand, do it by an alley, don't get surrounded.
I walked around the group and scanned the front. As long as I'm focused, I should be entirely unnoticeable, but that ends the moment I focus on anything else, like fighting or fleeing.
I wormed my way into position, and focused on executing my plan.
A wave of audible confusion moved through the people behind me, the guy whose gun I stole was startled, I didn't pay them any attention. The safety was already off before I stole the gun, so I just had to aim and fire, my night vision made aiming easy, and my enhanced glove made dealing with the recoil from the shot easy.
The adrenaline pumping through my system was making me very aware of what was happening, the sound of the gunshot had shocked me in place, and Lung fell forward, but as he fell, he twisted his torso and shot fire out the palm of his hand, towards me and his own guys.
I had brought my arms over my face and felt the burst of fire and hot air wash over me, my heart was pounding in my ears, my bandage made the feeling an odd one. I wanted to run, but no doubt some of his unlucky men had fallen over, I would probably trip over them, so I had to wait until I could see.
There was a big problem with my plan, it hinged on the assumption that Lung was going to stop shooting fire at me, but as the seconds grew and the air thinned, I realized he wasn't going to stop. I started scuttling backwards, my plan to escape unharmed ended when the force behind the fire grew, I was suddenly struggling to stay upright.
I took a desperate dive backwards, the force of the solid ground slamming into my back was dampened by my hoodie, but it still knocked the air out of me. I gasped for air and rolled over, I crawled away into the alleyway which was previously my escape plan.
I didn't notice the roaring of the flames until they stopped, and were replaced by the sound of heavy footsteps and snarling. I looked towards the entrance of the alley and saw the monster that was Lung, he was bigger and his skin was littered with silver scales, in his clawed hands he held fire, the most notable thing about him to me was the fact he was standing.
He was healed and angry.
I tried to stand, tried to run. I fell on my ass as he walked closer.
He stopped directly in front of me, I was trembling as I stared into the glowing eyes of death.
Lung grabbed my neck in one hand and lifted me into the air, then he started squeezing, my brain couldn't comprehend what sounds he was making. All I knew was that I was going to die.
For the first time in a while I saw darkness.