"Because he doesn't work for us, or anyone at all really. He's just the high-end of Champion-Class Paras so the Cyber-Shaman here keeps trying to compare people to him. We actually don't have anyone on the muscly side of things in STB at the moment so you'll be a welcome addition."

The well dressed man turned back to the Native-American technopath. "If you don't mind Michael, help him get a lay of the land and bring him down to the Doctor for testing. I've got another appointment to attend to."

Ethan tapped his ear again. "Door to [Coordinates]" Another portal appeared and Ethan stepped through it.

>>To Apokryphal Apartments>>

Dane nodded and Director Sharpe's explanation, and then at his exit, turned to Mike. "To what type of testing is the Director referring?"

"Power-testing, find out your limits and how you're powers work, how much you can lift, how fast you can fly, things like that. It's a mix of physical evaluations and medical tests, mostly bloodwork and scans on the last one. Follow me, I'll give you a tour on the way."

Mike left the operations room into a long hallway, naming places as he lead the way to the lab. "Over there's the armory, it's got gadgets as well as weapons, some built by our people, some the Director has 'acquired' over his very long life. That way is the infirmary filled with bleeding-edge medical tech, and if we can't get you there in time, Director Sharpe has a 'niece' with healing powers he occasionally calls in for fieldwork. Barracks are down there, mess hall over that way."

Dane said, "Interesting. Frankly, I have zero idea how any of this works. I was a soldier, and this... power... came to me when I needed it to to save the lives of my men. My friends."

There was a pause, and he said, "I felt myself getting really, really pissed off. And there's more. I'm a little quicker to anger now than I was. Truth be told I'm starting to feel a little like the Hulk, except I don't turn into a big green killing machine."

He squared his shoulders. "I'm actually super interested to find out how all of this works. I'm not a scientist, but I can tell that lifting a locomotive should shatter my bones. But it doesn't. Honestly, I should be tearing my arm right out of my socket, but that doesn't happen. I find it all... confusing. So having some science behind this, or at least SOME sort of explanation, would be super helpful."

"Well I'm not one either but we've got someone here who is, and happens to be the foremost expert on parahuman physiology. " Mike stopped at a door which opened when he looked at it. Inside was a medical lab with a young woman sitting at a desk as she reviewed some papers. She looked up as the door opened.

"'Lo Mike, new subject for me? Guessing by the lack of cuffs this is a new recruit and not a prisoner." She wore a long white lab coat over a skirt-suit, had black hair she kept in a bun and green eyes framed by a pair of stylish glasses.

"You would be guessing right." Mike Replied. "This is Dane Sinclair, the Director just brought him in."

In reply to Cyber-Shaman (msg # 10):

Dane nodded. "Ma'am. Good to meet you. Can you explain the testing process?"

The woman smiled as she stood from her desk, indicating for Dane to sit on an examination table. "Well first is a standard battery of medical tests, there are certain physiological differences caused by different types of abilities that we look for. Then we have special machines for testing physical capabilities, we have what the technicians have dubbed "the bench tester" which is designed to produce pressure to simulate a variety of weights, we essentially start at a low weight and add more until you reach your maximum, things like that."

What followed were a series of tests similar to a very extensive physical. The doctor listened to Dane's heart and lungs, examined his ears, throat, and eyes, took blood and urine samples, and even subjected him to a  CAT scan.

In reply to Justice (msg # 12):

Dane was in remarkable physics shape. Lean, working muscle, built for speed and power. His heart was strong, his blood pressure and other measurables well above average. It was also clear from the his blood tests that he had the stamina of a triathlete.

Interestingly, there were few of the hallmarks of traditional super-strength in his test results. His skeleton was only slightly reinforced, his muscles were no more dense than the normal person, so his height and weight were normal for his age and general physical condition.

He said, after the tests were complete, "I get checked regularly so I assume my stats are still in tip-top shape. You see anything unusual?"

OOC: Edited to add content. I'm trying not to make this too much work for you.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:21, Mon 17 July 2017.

The woman looked over the results via the holo-display, typing in notes as she talked. "A few, some of it we'll need to wait for the tests to come back, but our equipment can have those done much quicker than a standard hospital. I should have everything done once you return from the physical testing, Mike will show you the way."

Cyber-Shaman lead Dane down the hall to a series of rooms filled with strange equipment. They had him use what appeared to be a mix of a weight bench and a hydraulic press, having him push against it and slowly adding weight till he could take no more. There was a large open room, where they strapped a strange device to his chest and had him fly around for a few minutes. Finally they had him stand on the end of what look liked a target range while a device oddly reminiscent of a baseball auto-pitcher fired objects of increasing force at him. Once he had finished he was greeted by a medical technician who explained Mike had been needed in ops and lead Dane back to the doctor.

It was curious.

As the weight increased, Dane felt no additional strain on his muscles. He was pushing with force, but with none of the accompanying fatigue a hard workout should entail. In fact, lifting a huge weight felt exactly as difficult as flying fast, which defied logic, once he began to think about it. He did not sweat, nor strain, but force was exerted and things were moved.

Curious, again.

During the drill where heavier and heavier objects began to strike him harder and harder, he noted, curiously, that the laws of physics seemed not to apply. He assuming the "equal and opposite reaction" law would have knocked him backwards, but it did not seem to be in play. He stood, flat-footed, and observed that although he should have been knocked backwards a country mile by the forces that were being sent against him, he remained comfortably upright, to the point where he could not even feel the push backwards.

He mentioned all of this to the Attending, and said, "This is all quite curious."

The attendant chuckled. "Sir, that just about sums up every day I come to work." The attendant dropped you off at the med bay, where the doctor was waiting at her desk. She gestured for Dane to seat himself. "Well the first thing I should tell you, is your not champion class."

In reply to Justice (msg # 16):

Dane furrowed his brow. "Hard to be disappointed when I don't know what that is. And, if I'm not that, what am I? Sounds like you're working on a theory?  Care to share?"

"Different powersets have different classifications, which are then given a level denoting strength of the abilities. Those with strength and durability based enhancements are Bruiser Class, those that can turn into a steel or rock form, those with personal density or gravity manipulation, or just plain old superhuman strength and durability, fall into this category. Blaster class are those able to manifest various types of energy or other ranged attack based powers. Defender class posses defense based abilities, force fields and the like. Thinker class posses mental based enhancements, those with hyper intelligence, psionic abilities, enhanced senses and/or reflexes, are all Thinker class abilities. Mobility class is fairly self explanatory it includes speedsters, teleporters, and those with superhuman agility and other movement based abilities. Manipulator class manipulate a particular element or energy field, telekinetics, gravity manipulators and the like. And champion class is usually a mix of Bruiser and Mobility class with sometimes additional abilities unique to the individual.

After going over the test results I've found that your body itself possesses no differences from an average human of your background and training. However upon reviewing your cat-scans and the results of your physical exam I noticed results similar to what we've seen in telekinetics we've viewed in the past. It appears you have a very specialized version of telekinesis, but instead of emanating a force at a distance, it instead responds to whatever you touch. In Laymans terms, while you must physically touch whatever you are lifting, you are lifting it with your mind and not your muscles."

In reply to Justice (msg # 18):

Dane considered this. "Well, that certainly is interesting, although... does that distinction make a difference? Are there limitations to this that are different that if it was actual muscular strength? Or, conversely, are there advantages to this? So far I've just lifted things."

"There are a few, for one your abilities are not static, but turn on and off based on what you intend to do and whether or not you are threatened. This can leave you vulnerable to surprise attacks, as well as anything that may interfere with your brain activity, such as drugs or psionic interference. However this also means your abilities are not at any set levels, but rather rely on your focus and strength of will. Essentially this makes you as physically strong as your are mentally. The greater your determination the greater your power.

The real significance with this however is not in the differences, but in it's uniqueness. We have one other 'specialized telekinetic' on file, an expert marksman able to manipulate an object or persons movement. The most common use of this ability was to change the force and trajectory of his bullets, but he was also capable of slowing down an enemy's movement, or speeding up his own.

But even while his abilities could fall under the mobility and blaster classes they still follow the basic tendency's we see in other telekinetics just in a more specialized form. An ability that appears to be another is something we have not encountered before."

Dane nodded, taking it all in. It was clear he was a fairly linear, logical thinker, working through the various potentials and pitfalls in his mind.

"Interesting. It'll take me a while to work through all of the questions in my mind, I think."

Then, he added, "Thanks, Doc. I appreciate the testing, the work up, and the information. Does the fact that I'm a telekinetic instead of a just a real strong guy diminish my usefulness to the team in any way? And, what now?"

"Not at all, while there are differences that you need to keep in mind there is no loss in functionality. Also, as the director likely explained members of strike team beta primarily operate solo, there are some exceptions like the Agents Pride, but for the most part you will be on your own in the field.

Now I put your data into the database, and when the Director returns from his meaning he will review the file then come to speak to you. In the meantime you can familiarize yourself with the base and those you'll be working with. I would also like to do some additional tests for study, but that would be your decision to participate or not. Due to the direct correlation between your physical strength and mental state I would suggest setting an appointment with a mental health proffesionall simply to monitor your mental health, but again that is your decision."

In reply to Justice (msg # 22):

Dane frowned slightly. "Well, it seems there are a few drawbacks. First, as you mentioned, telekinesis can be nullified. Strength, so far as I know, cannot. Second, if my mental state becomes compromised, my powers fade, and third, if I'm surprised, or asleep, I'm toast. Those seem like moderate significant disadvantages. And with not much in the way of positive trade-offs."

He shrugged., and then smiled. "Still, I got along just fine without them, so I'll just have to be mindful of the limitations. No beer for me."

He added, "I'm happy to participate in any tests you deem necessary. As for training, do you have any suggestions as to how I can train up an ability that no one else has? Or am I on my own?"

"For a civilian yes, those would be very significant drawbacks. To a soldier that has been trained to read his environment, evaluate threats, test ones food for tampering and sleep lightly, I would find them much more minor. The chance of being surprised is slight and the activation is instinctive meaning the threat needn't necessarily reach your concious brain. Your biggest worry would be snipers, which is one of the most effective ways for a human to eliminate a good 80% of paras, so it's something a good deal of our agents must deal with. One of our most effective agents possesses a personal force-field that absorbs and redirects kinetic energy. Many drawbacks can be overcome by those with the right training, and not training in the powers specifically but people like soldiers, covert operatives and martial artists.

For drugs you mainly have to worry about hallucinogens, heavy sedatives, and poisons. Which are things that one can encounter during covert ops, and again is a disadvantage shared by many agents. Your abilities being mental and nature also give you more protection against an enemy psychic than most, and we have devices designed for protecting our agents from psychic attacks.

I would also find strength only limited by ones determination and mental fortitude, especially in the hands of a soldier, to be a highly significant advantage. As long as you're strength of will holds, your physical strength will adapt to whatever you need it to be. Not only do you not have to worry about ripping doors off their hinges like most with enhanced strenght, but your abilities essentially have no limits. You can be as strong, fast, or durable, as you need to be, as long as your will is strong and your convictions stand."

The woman shook her head. "Not neccessary tests, simply for study. Parahuman biology is still a very new field, and while I am at the top of it there is still much to learn, and a unique ability like yours is a great opportunity for learning.

As for training we have some facilities here where you can learn fine control over your strength, I would also suggest meditation and confidence building exercises as well."

Dane repressed a smile, and said, "I was United States Special Forces, ma'am; confidence is not the problem. On the other hand, if my mind keys my abilities, then to be the best I can be, I have to train it like everything else."

Then his repressed smile became an actual smile, and he said, "I'm happy to assist your research, Doc. Let me know the time and place, and I'll be there."

A slight pause, and then he finished with, "Thank you for all of your help. This is been an eye-opening experience, to be sure."

Another glowing blue portal appeared and Director Sharpe stepped out of it. "Doctor Simmons, have you finished your examination?"

The blonde woman nodded and took Ethan to a separate part of the medlab to speak with him privately. A moment later the two of them returned.

"Agent Sinclair it seems you are fit for duty." The immortal spy said with a grin. "If you're willing to get right into things, I have a matter for you to look into."

In reply to Ethan Sharpe (msg # 26):

Dane stood in his usual, ramrod-stiff position, and nodded. "I am, sir. What do you have for me?"

"As you may or not be aware, when parahumans first began appearing, Antonio Bertelli began heavily recruiting them for his operations, this allowed for him to take sole control of the city's criminal activities. He was killed by a vigilante name Shadowstrike, his son briefly took control but is now serving a life sentence in a maximum security paraprison. After that his employees scattered, joining a variety of smaller criminal outfits and breaking the monopoly.

Lately we have received intel a criminal organization known as the Lavish Legion, has been somehow producing cybernetic footsoldiers. I need you to infiltrate their organization, find out how they're creating these cyborg criminals and stop their production."

Dane nodded. "Roger that. Observe, infiltrate, disrupt, report."

He chuffed a laugh. "The 'Lavish Legion,' eh? Who names these people?"

Then he shook his head, his brief amusement gone, back to all business.

"Any leads on where to start looking? Contacts on the street? Other resources?""

"We've assembled a file for you. It contains what we know about the Legion, known hangouts, prominent members, known activities. It will take a few days to assemble a cover identity for you, you can spend that time familiarizing yourself with your targets, I would also suggest taking some leisure time, as it will likely be the last you have for a while."