Novice 1.4

The trip to the PRT was a somewhat awkward one. Thomas wore the plain white mask he had been given, relaxing back in his seat, but unable to really relax with the trio of PRT troopers and Triumph watching him. They might not have been obvious about it, but he could tell they were keeping an eye on him. Then again, he was an unknown figure, and one that was waiting just confirmation of being a cape. He couldn't really fault them for having a little caution about the matter.

They had sat quietly for the time it took to get from the hospital to the PRT HQ. Stepping out, he followed Triumph inside the building while the troopers moved to park the car. He briefly wondered whether or not the PRT vans had an underground parking space nearby as he saw no open space around the actual HQ, but chose not to worry too much over that for now.

Still, thinking it over he was pretty sure the holding cells were supposed to be underground, as were the Wards, though those were likely to be buried deeper down, more like a bunker in case the PRT was attacked, a well protected space to protect the Wards in case of a direct attack against the PRT itself.

"Right this way," Triumph said leading him onwards till the two of them arrived to a laboratory space with a number of measuring devices around. He noted an older man in a white labcoat and fiddling with a touchpad computer nearby looking up at the two of them and then swiftly heading over towards them.

"This is our next client huh? I'm Doctor Namara, and I'll be taking care of the sensors and the readings. I understood that you may have a low level brute rating? We have a few things I would like to test then, for strength, agility, speed and endurance." He smiled amused at the two of them.

"Doctor Namara is a new addition to our staff, but rather good at his job. Though don't let him take a blood sample without insisting on a smaller needle," Triumph remarked in a joking manner.

"Bah! Big men scared of a needle, a little bigger needle gets things done so much faster. Optional, of course." The man in the labcoat tried to smile to Thomas reassuringly.

"Right. Well, let's get this started, and I'm not a big fan of needles but I'll consider it." He refused to give a consent for a blood test right away, but he did consider it an option if that was what it would take to make the authorities relax.

What followed was a rather ordinary seeming workout with weights at first, followed by a machine press that was restricted so that it could only move a little way back and forth vertically. Moving beneath the machine, he pushed the press up to the highest setting, before settling in place to hold it up.

The pressure began to build in a slow fashion, and the scientist watching him seemed to be observing him quietly. Making some notes on the tablet computer while sitting beside a terminal controlling the press, he watched quietly while Triumph had left sometime earlier.

He found himself tiring after a short while, the pressure getting a touch more difficult to handle. His hands were pushing against the metal as long as he could hold it, but eventually he found himself unable to hold the press up, the machine giving a loud click as it settled down.

"Splendid, take a couple of minutes, there's soda in the drinks machine if you need refreshments." The doctor was looking over the results while Thomas rubbed his wrists, finding his arms already recovering, the exertion not seeming to leave his muscles really sore but appearances ought to be maintained he thought to himself.

"That would be great if I had any change on my person." His comment earned a confused glance from the doctor who shrugged and dug in his pocket pulling out what seemed like a fist-sized little coin sorter of some sort, pulling off a few coins.

"Here you go, I prefer you to not be dehydrated when we continue." The man smiled while returning his attention back to the results.

Thomas hummed but took the offered coins, and then keyed in his choice after paying the fee for the soda bottle. Soon enough the machine let out a short whir and he could hear the sound of the plastic bottle dropping down. At least the device worked rather than acting like a bad cliche and refusing to release a bottle as it was intended to. He moved his mask up slightly, still covering his face but allowing him to drink.

Uncorking the bottle he took a short sip before lowering his mask in place again, and glancing at the man nearby. He took a better look around after seeing the man was entirely focused on his results, noticing a couple of discrete cameras present in the ceiling, looking more like smoke detectors or something similar but just glancing up at them he could tell they were more than that. Then again it wasn't a place requiring more discrete observation anyway.

"Right! The results are within human limits, but pretty much at the top of that range. Given you don't exactly look like a bundle of muscles I imagine we can confirm parahuman power at work here. Brute 1 or 2, but we got the other parts to check."

What followed was a run on a treadmill to start with, though that proved enough. He could run like an Olympian athlete if he worked up to it, but it took a bit to reach that speed, and it was still within human limits. Still, given his physical appearance it seemed to be another check on the brute list.

"No obvious signs of fatigue, maintaining the top speed for a fair length. I think it might get you a Mover rating under the Brute rating, but it would likely be just as low. Not bad overall, but I admit I was hoping to see more." The doctor didn't even try and soften the blow of his comment. Thomas was just grateful they were unaware of his actual abilities though, figuring these were perhaps tied to being a gamer, though he had expected to start from a more normal range and working up from there.

The array of tests he went through included a few other physical tests followed by mental ones, including a few logic puzzles that were timed, and questions about things he didn't know much about. It took some time, but eventually it was over.

"Here you go." He heard a voice nearby and looked up to see a figure in a silver and gunmetal power armor. A figure that was holding out a towel in one hand and a bottle of water in the other.

"Thanks, I didn't really sweat out there but I appreciate the drink." Thomas smiled and lifted his mask somewhat to take a sip of the water. He was also thinking back at who this was. He had recognized Triumph because his outfit stood out, but he wasn't so sure about wards. Aegis wore more red outfit, this was not a Clockblocker, too old for Kid Win definitely, and he doubted the guy was Browbeat. Unfortunately he didn't remember the name right away.

"Not sweating even after the tests, I think that would be a handy little trick to have." The young man spoke in a friendly manner, making him feel a bit more relaxed and trusting. The fact he was feeling this way all of a sudden gave him a reminder of who it was who he was forgetting.

"Gallant, right? Nice armor, it looks pretty cool. Mmh, haven't really thought about a proper name to use, figured I'd be going with 'Scholar'. I know it doesn't fit the brute thing, but I preferred reading and learning before, and I doubt I'm going to be getting active in the cape scene anyway."

Gallant appeared a bit amused but shook his head. "Thank you, although I am afraid I have some bad news about that. It seems unlikely the gangs are going to let you just walk around without picking sides, there's only so many parahumans in the city and most of them look towards either eliminating ones not on their side or unfit for their own recruitment, or making an offer that is not easy to decline." Gallant sounded entirely serious and regretful, but Thomas found himself frowning.

As far as trying to convince him to side with the PRT or Protectorate went, that was rather clumsy. He seemed to realize it too, given he seemed to notice he wasn't exactly pleased at the news. That was when he remembered his powers didn't just extend to inflicting emotions on another, but sensing them. Which meant the man was able to read him easily enough and realize he'd been caught pushing an agenda.

"I thank you for your concern, but I am more concerned about the current lack of funds and papers rather than the gangs." Thomas may have agreed to the power testing, but he was hoping to limit his involvement with the PRT and the Protectorate to what was necessary.

"Well I had to at least give you a warning about it. I really hope you don't end up getting in trouble with any of them again, you've already had one dose of bad luck in the city after all." Gallant's remark did serve as a nasty reminder he had been shot earlier. At least he had recovered quickly from that.

"I'll be careful out there. Is that all or was I supposed to sit down for a debriefing of some sort still?" Thomas narrowed his eyes behind the mask while looking at Gallant, a sign that the man did not miss.

"Right, please follow me and we'll take care of that." He smiled while leading Thomas further into the building.

It took a while, and repeating himself several times as well, but eventually Thomas walked out through the front doors of the PRT building. He had seen no signs of Armsmaster or Director Piggot and he didn't really mind. It seemed he wasn't important enough to warrant their attention and that suited him just fine for now at least.

As he walked away he held the mask in place on his face until he had made some distance and stepped over to a nearby alleyway, frowning slightly as he took off his mask. Looking around, he sighed and held the mask quietly in his hand, considering what lay ahead.

Once he could acquire enough power his magic would allow him to disguise himself more effectively, essentially setting up alternate identities if necessary, but that wouldn't change the fact that his civilian identity did not have papers, or any money either.

He might be able to get his hands on some cash if he acted against the gangs or managed to score some bounties, but both of those ideas would put him to a test. He wanted to be better prepared before starting that out, and while he had resisted the gunshots and recovered from them, that didn't change the fact they had hurt and had put him down for a time.

If he tried something risky he might get shot again and then finished as he lay on the ground, and he was pretty sure that his abilities couldn't reverse death. He was seriously doubtful he was lucky enough to have multiple lives despite being a gamer.

Thomas let out a short sigh as he then moved to sit down out of the way, choosing a set of boxes in that particular alleyway. His eyes closing, he focused. Feeling the warmth of the power he had felt once he woke up in the hospital bed, the power he had not had time to prepare earlier.

Holding his eyes shut and breathing slowly, he focused his attention on the powers in question, feeling the calm waters of those pools of power, a strange awareness of possibilities and of restrictions. He would begin with only the lowest level of effects, or spells if he wanted to annoy people like Armsmaster who would find the term ridiculous in the world of capes.

He had a fair sized library of possible powers in both pools, but only so many options could be picked for each day, and once picked, he would be unable to change them until he had a chance to rest and then focus upon them again. It was inconvenient, but the versatility certainly worked in his favor in this case.