Chương 2757: 5.4
After pumping out another set of healing potions I stacked them to the side for Armsmaster to analyse them. Apparently he and a board of other Tinkers had to make sure they were safe for consumption the same way he had to submit his weapon designs to ensure they weren't going to blow up. A nicked wire, a slightly out of place piece of metal could be disastrous. While it hadn't happened before, one of Hero's guns apparently was powerful enough to level a city if it was damaged in just the right way.
In other words all pieces of Tinker tech had to be vetted so that even if they did break, nothing too big would happen. Luckily I was a bit of an exception. My potions were all fairly uniform in how they ended up so once one of them was looked over, then technically all of the same kind had been analysed which was why I didn't have to keep sending them off to a Tinker board of some sort. Still, you could never be too careful which was why Armsmaster was buried in paperwork and surrounded by screens.
"Batch 1g is safe, estimate a 1% increase in effect from batch 1f." His naming convention could use a bit of work. Why not just call it a healing potion?
It may not have looked like I was working to get a better costume but I really was. Enhancing my Alchemy skill would eventually give me a sense of Elation which in theory could enhance my Smithing skill.
Problem being was that I was unsure how far I could take it.
"Vim." Armsmaster spoke up after pressing a few buttons. "If you're worried about your image, I can lend you one of my second hand armors… it would not be the first time I've done something like that."
"I don't want that." I told him. "Even if you customise it, made it look different it wouldn't be mine." I wanted to do this with my own power! He nodded in understanding. It's what I liked about the older hero, he never dug into my insecurities, he simply understood. "I'm pretty sure I can make some nice looking steel armor at this point, I'm just afraid that I'll look too much like Gallant."
"That's not exactly a bad thing." He told me, a stark contrast to what the other Taylor stated originally. "Having a more unified image can help you get recognized and at the very least shows that you're on the same side, a real team player if you will." The Tinker Tech machine that held my potions began whirring up, why did it take so long for it to start doing that?
"Think I can get away with getting rid of this stupid triangle?" I asked him.
"Maybe… but with only so much time until your debut I'm not sure if we can get that request through. I'll have my hands full trying to get whatever armor you want to replace your leather with." That made sense, which meant that it was all or nothing. "Once you get the steel armor be sure to show me so I can take some tests and get the process rolling."
I nodded. However, I had no such intentions. I was planning to make it come out of nowhere at the debut itself just like Clockblocker with his name . The PR folks wouldn't have any time to say no. I was going to grab the steel and 'fail' to make the armor in time, they'd think that I'd only have leather armor available. So when the debut happens I'd walk up on stage with my terrible outfit and use my Inventory to instantly change into my awesome steel costume! Flawless plan! I'd even distance myself from Gallant by producing the bow I got from the sports store!
Knights generally didn't use bows right? Well, I was sure that they historically did but the generic image of a knight was a guy with a sword and shield right? Hmmm, that was a thought.
"Hey Armsmaster?" I asked. "Remember when I asked if I could give everyone some of my Tinker Tech armor?"
"I recall this yes, I also I remember saying no."
"Yeah because PR stuff but you can't discount how useful it'd be right?"
"Of course not, armor that cannot break with no maintenance requirements would be invaluable."
"Well, what if I gave Gallant a shield? He's got the whole knight in shining armor look already, give him a steel shield and BAM! He's still a knight! No ruined PR image!"
"Personally I'd say yes but you'll want to submit it through the proper channels and ask Gallant if that's what he wants as well." Right, after all Gallant could shoot those blasts from BOTH hands. If he used a shield it might limit his offensive capabilities. Well, it's not like the shield would be glued to his hands, he could just put it down or something it he wanted to start blasting away.
"Gallant here!" He'd shout. "FULL AUTO ENGAGE!"
Then the bad guys would all start dropping.
*Insert machine gun sounds here*
"Uhh Vim, please stop that."
OH! I was making the machine gun sounds in real life! I felt my face get hot from that embarrassment. "Uhh… sorry."
*Ping!* The machine holding my potions sounded off interrupting whatever lecture Armsmaster was going to give.
"Seems like these potions are fine." He handed them back to me. "That's the last healing potion I believe."
"Actually, I have one more." Taking out another vial I passed it over to him. "It's a new kind, water breathing." He looked at the vial while stroking his beard.
"We'll have to submit this one properly, though I suppose there's nothing stopping me from doing the initial tests now." Placing it into the machine he pressed a few more buttons. "Depending how many different potions you have, we might have to revise your power rating."
Power ratings? I latched onto the phrase, it was another part of the whole 'Cape fantasy' people tended to have. Folks on the PHO always argued about those numbers and occasionally there would be fiction people would write. Power testing was always an element and so was power ratings. I always dreamt of having a power rating in the double digits.
"So what's my power ratings like?" I asked him. "Like, am I a Tinker ten or something?"
"No, your current Tinker rating is two." He told me flatly.
"How? Didn't you mention how great my healing potions were? The fact that my armor in indestructable?"
"It's physics Vim." He told me picking up a cup and placing an egg inside, a leftover from my alchemy session. He then covered the top and gave the cup a vigorous shake cracking the egg. The cup was of course unharmed but the insides were coated in yolk. I understood what he was saying instantly.
Just because my leather couldn't break, didn't mean that I couldn't be hurt while wearing it. It wasn't a perfect comparison but I knew what he meant. At the very least they would be a lot tougher.
"So why aren't my potions giving me a higher number then?"
"These are PRT threat ratings. A two on the scale means that someone with exceptional training and equipment can take you down, that's the brief summary at least." He began as he cleaned up the cup. "Your healing potions, while quite frankly game changing can't do much if they bring you down in one shot."
"But they can't, I mean, besides my armor I'm also a brute!"
"Correct, however this is only putting into account your Tinker abilities as a threat. It's generally why you see Parahumans with one kind of rating to have high numbers such as Vista with Shaker 9." He explained. "Shadow Stalker however only has Breaker 3, Stranger 2 and Mover 1, would you consider her an inferior hero because of that?"
I shook my head vigorously. Of course I wouldn't!
"What about people like Eidolon? He's like a 10 in everything isn't he?"
Armsmaster's mouth thinned at that. "It's more complicated than that but yes, he's very powerful, also an exception." He rested the side of his helmet against his fingers as if massaging his temple. "Besides, the whole system isn't a rule, it's a generalisation, a primer on what to expect, not a full dissection."
"So what ARE all my numbers then?"
Sighing in what sounded like resignation he turned his back on me. Before I could make my annoyance be known he turned back, producing a piece of paper from the desk. I wouldn't say that I scrambled to get them but I was very eager to see what the official word on my awesome powers were!
"It's not a conclusive document, even with the additional files that it refers to." He began. "We still need to do more tests to determine the nature and limits of your powers."
I shuddered at that.
Brief Summary of Vim's powers:
Mover 1
Delayed teleportation. (More testing required, refer to incident r4aa_ENE)
Shaker 2*
Able to remove and produce items from her 'Inventory' (Vim_ENE_C1) hypothetically can fill an entire room with materials or remove matter from reality (Vim_ENE_D8), is entirely subject to touch but due to it's nature is not classified as a Striker ability but rather Shaker (Flooding a room with marbles from her fingertips for example). Rating conditional upon what items the subject is able to access. Radioactive material can be transported safely within Inventory (Vim_ENE_DD8)
Striker Subrating 1
As above.
Brute 1
Has above average pain tolerance (Vim_ENE C3), unclear if it's due to subject's seemingly permanent Breaker state. Subject is also able to strike targets harder despite muscle mass and weapon statistics not supporting results. (VIM_ENE Gh9)
Breaker 1
All injuries sustained are spread evenly across both observable internal and external parts of the body (Scan reports 222B_Vim_ENE). In theory this means that it would be impossible to break and disable any specific part of Vim with an injury (Compare Aegis_ENE 5G). Despite this, bruising and cuts are still visible on impacted areas, such damage is cosmetic (Vim_ENE 54t). Is also able to rapidly regenerate using self produced orbs of yellow, bright energy.
Master 4
Subject is able to command groups of individuals to cease all aggressive actions. Limited in use, after one minute affected individuals are able to commence aggressive action. Additional use of this command has no effect. Unclear if previous targets gain an immunity as new test subjects were not permitted at time of testing. (Vim_ENE D27)Click to expand...
And there was still a section just for Tinker, stranger, blaster and striker! There was even sub ratings for my Tinker section! It struck me that I might have more powers than any of the Wards combined. I couldn't be bothered to read all this!
"Why does the Master part say D27?" I asked. "Does the D mean I've done this thing at least four lots of times?" Four times 27 meant over 100 tests! While it felt like an eternity at the time, I don't think I had actually done it that many times.
"It's just the formatting of the document it refers to." Armsmaster waved me off.
I quickly scanned the list.
"I didn't get any numbers over four? And why is the Master power the strongest thing here? It's so lame! My potions can save way more people than that!"
"Vim, do you know what Panacea's rating is?"
"Uhh no?"
"It's Striker 2." My jaw dropped at that.
"But.. but but she literally cures cancer!"
"And she can knock people out with a touch as anesthesia." He chuckled. "Point is, she's not a big threat. Tell me, if she became an independent villain tomorrow, how much damage do you think she'd do?"
Huh, when he put it that way it made sense.
"HANDS UP EVERYONE!" Panacea would yell pointing her hand out like a gun menacingly. "THIS IS A STICK UP! NOBODY MOVE OR THE FLU GETS IT!"
"Please Panacea!" The shopkeeper would tremble. "Just take the money! Don't do it!"
"I'm not Panacea! I'M THE CURE FOR A SICK WORLD! MWAHAHAHAHA!" She would then be tackled by someone in a full bio hazard suit.
Suddenly an alarm went off. Not the kind that warned of an attack but the kind that told you that you had school in ten minutes.
"The shipment of steel bars have arrived." He told me. "Let's see what we can do about that costume of yours."
"Yeah… about that." I began. "I have a feeling that making steel armor would take a bit longer than leather, just a feeling." He paused then and just stared at me. Did I lay it on too thick? Was I too obvious?
"Vim, on a completely unrelated note I feel that I should tell you two things." He began. "First, unless I'm testing Tinkertech, interrogating a villain etc I wouldn't generally be recording things in my helmet." Okay? Where was this going? "Second, I should mention that I have a lie detector built into my helmet."
Oh… oh well shit.
"Since the testing had concluded I have not been recording this conversation." Well then. Looks like I'd have to be careful on what I would be saying around him from now on. "On a completely unrelated note I should probably clean up my files in my database, it's good to stay on top of that even if I still have plenty of storage space left."
I nodded dumbly at that. What the hell just happened? After that we lapsed into silence again, only our footsteps kept us company as we made our way over to the shipping area where my steel bars would be kept. Everything was flown here, presumably by helicopter. Dad would have an aneurism if he heard about it. Getting the docks and the ferry opened up again was his dream. Sure we had smaller boats here and there for passenger travel but nothing significant enough to make a dent in the economy.
"I've been meaning to ask something." I piped up. "Why do you think the director wanted to.... Why did Piggot order Mr Williams make me look bad!"
He grumbled at that. "Sometimes heroes make themselves look less dangerous then they really are." He began. "To make you seem more friendly to the public and make the bad guys underestimate us."
Okay that made sense.
"I don't think that's the intention here." He continued. "At least, not completely." He tapped his helmet. If it were anyone else I'd assume it was just a gesture but coming from one of the best Tinkers in the world I assumed he just activated something. "The order for Mr Williams might've come from Emily Piggot but she wasn't the one who came up with the order in the first place, the original order came from higher up."
"What?" Who the hell did I piss off? "Why?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "I have theories but none of them match, the documents I have access to have redacted names, only the Director would know the source." We came face to face with the loading bay doors and before leaving he stopped. "There aren't many people who can give those orders, whatever the case I'm hoping they know what they're doing."
So the order came from someone high up and it was sooo secret that not even the leader of the local heroes had access to them? This was some tin foil hat levels of conspiracy! Opening the door to the loading bay any conversation that could be continued was drowned out by the helicopters outside.
Various crates were stacked but with no lifting equipment I was unsure how it was going to get inside. I approached the boxes and noted that they weren't just filled with steel bars. If the labels were right they contained batteries, emergency equipment, food and things labelled as 'Do not Drop!'. I assumed the last one was Tinkertech, maybe containment foam?
"Alright Vim, we're going to do another test with your Inventory power, let's see how much of this you can transport inside, I'll be providing directions." I groaned. "Don't worry, after this I'll show you which crates have your personal lab equipment."
"Personal lab equipment? I won't be working in yours?"
"It's very rare for Tinkers to work together, especially when their technology is so radically different." He grabbed a clipboard that had been passed to him. "Just because a battery can fit inside something doesn't mean it should."
That made sense I guess.
"So what sort of stuff do I have?"
"Mannequins for armor display, your own chemistry set, tables, chairs, a fixed anvil, grinding stone, display cases and various other cosmetic items."
"Cosmetic? I mean, not that I don't appreciate it but why would I need everything to look nice?"
"PR I assume." He scowled at that once more. "Your equipment is made instantly and quite frankly isn't all that dangerous." Hey! Swords were super dangerous. "If I'm to guess, I would say that they might let the public watch you work."
"Actually." A new voice stepped in. It was Triumph in his lion armor! I had no idea that he was on site! "It's to make the Wards more comfortable, let them customise their work space and such." Oh, that made sense.
"Really? We didn't need to do that with Kid Win." Armsmaster responded.
"Uhh I think that's why they want us to make them more comfortable now." Triumph responded slowly. Did Kid Win not feel comfortable on base? I hadn't really known him for long, hell I'd only met him once. He did seem nice though if a bit awkward though I assumed that came with the territory of being a teenage boy.
Armsmaster's mouth seemed to thin as he considered the other Cape's words.
"Regardless we'll need to get this shipment moving. Heavy machinery will be arriving in half an hour, until then we'll be having Vim carry any items she's able to." That I'm able to? Oh right, my Inventory didn't let me carry certain things like my bed, or that slide that I tried to light on fire.
"Won't that take too long? I mean I slow to a crawl when I carry too much and you can't put me in a car inside the base can you?" I mean, for all I knew we had some weird Tinker Tech that could make the hallways fold away into bigger hallways.
"Not a car no, we have this instead." Approaching another, slimmer crate Armsmaster reached inside and produced something with two wheels with handles. "This is your segway. I apologize for this, I know it clashes with.. everything. Please know that you don't have to use this in public. I understand that you're very sensitive about your image and to my understanding this-"
"OH MY GOD I LOVE IT!" Snatching the 'Segway' from Armsmaster I hopped in, pressed a few buttons and…. Nothing. I twisted what nobs I could see, flipped the switch and still nothing.
"Uhh, we need to have it charged first Vim." Oh… oh right.
"Uh sir?" Triumph piped up. "Is she… is she always like this?" Hey! I was standing right here! I glared at him to show my displeasure.
"Hmmm…." Armsmaster replied.
"That's not an answer sir."
"Hmmmmmmm…...…" I wasn't sure if I should be offended or not.
Extra:
Well, the segway should be recharged super quick, they have Tinker Tech stuff for it! Either that or Armsy is just gonna replace the battery whole sale with a super battery! Just imagine it! Armsmaster on his Tinker Tech bike and Vim on a Tinker Tech Segway.
Moving on.
Vim's threat rating! The only power rating she doesn't have is Changer! This is a very full version of her list of powers that Taylor couldn't be bothered reading (I mean, let's be honest. How many of us in Skyrim read EVERY single thing? I'm not just talking about the ingame books (LUSTY ARGONIAN!), I'm also talking about quest descriptions as well!)
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