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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8114633" data-attributes="member: 30538">Dancer<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-XfK2TXG/0/3aeb7d99/S/1686919-rikki5-S.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />When one has the reputation of being one of the world's greatest detectives, and perhaps that of being at the top of that non-existent list, then a genuine mystery that one is unable to resolve is likely to provoke a variety of reactions. Frustration at the ambiguities of the situation will be one of those reactions, but not the only one. There's also likely to be a certain amount of fascination mixed into it as well, because someone who investigates mysteries is generally someone who enjoys investigating them. The hope that things can be resolved thus melds with the irritation when they can't be.Such is a fairly good description of Darkwing's opinions about another costumed crime fighter who began operating in the Chicago area two years ago, under the alias Dancer. He makes a point of investigating those who operate in the same area that he does, mostly because of the number of times they've turned out to be criminals-in-the making or criminals-running-a-scam. But those who don't fall into those categories are left to their own devices, since he's not some sort of monstrous megalomaniac who refers to Chicago as 'my city' in possessive terms. The ambiguities of Dancer's situation, however, concern him. On the surface, things seem ordinary enough. She has a fairly normal civilian life as a young woman named Nikki Purvis, who recently turned a position as a volunteer at the Brainerd Branch of the Chicago Public Library into a paid position there, and also makes a small sum doing menial labor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. Unlike Darkwing, she makes a clear distinction between her civilian life and her heroics, and never changes into her costume before the sun starts to set. She possesses clearly superhuman levels of balance and grace, spontaneously performing feats of movement that expert acrobats will attempt only after weeks or months of practice.Digging a bit will reveal some of those ambiguities, however. Purvis seems to have come from absolutely nowhere. Approximately seventeen years of age when she first appeared in 2018, she was not registered as a student at any of Chicago's high schools -- nor had she ever been a student at any of its middle or elementary schools, either. While it's possible that she came to the city from somewhere else, he hasn't been able to find any evidence of her existence before 2018. She resided (and resides) in an apartment which was, up until 2018, an Argus safehouse that was purchased by a holding company which also came into existence in 2018. The rent on that apartment, and its utilities, should be more than she is making from her various jobs, but she apparently has no difficulty keeping up her payments.Finally, there's her hair. This is probably nothing, but she has the power to alter her hair color, normally switching between a vibrant red in her identity as Dancer and a brown shade in her civilian life, but sometimes appearing with black, platinum or golden blonde, or any of a variety of apparently dyed colors. Generally, super-powers follow a particular theme, and how altering one's hair color is associated with superhuman agility is utterly baffling.Attempts to inveigle information about her background from her have met with failure. She deflects all inquiries about her past by referring to herself as 'an only child of the universe' -- which would probably seem profound if Darkwing wasn't passingly familiar with Fall Out Boy's music. She has a few casual friendships and no apparent intimates. Most bewilderingly, she has no online profile whatsoever.In terms of her heroics, she mostly fights street crime, though her library job resulted in her developing at least one enduring enemy in the person of 'Ronald Granger', the so-called Deatheater, who commits crimes based on a certain popular series of children's books. She has also fought several of Darkwing's foes, sometimes in conjunction with the man himself. In her first confrontation with Jack, he seemed to recognize something in her that drove him into a fury, which she answered with uncharacteristic violence of her own. Of course, the maniac isn't about to explain his actions to anyone, and she's not talking about that episode either.In light of it, however, Darkwing recently made a somewhat paradoxical decision to offer Dancer additional training and equipment, since she is clearly going to be running into heavy opposition henceforth. It's possible that he hopes this will lead him to discover more about her, but he might just be concerned for her welfare. Whether she has accepted this offer is still in question.Most of Darkwing's questions about her would be easily answered if he knew that she won't be born until 2023, that her parents haven't yet begun a relationship, and that she grew up hearing stories about the second age of heroes, which began to end with the debut of a young urban acrobat named Dancer, who died in 2024. But that would also produce more questions. Dancer -- PL 9Abilities:STR 2 | STA 3 | AGL 9 | DEX 4 | FGT 6 | INT 2 | AWE 3 | PRE 3Powers:Parkour: Movement 5 (environmental adaptation [urban], safe fall, sure-footed 2, wall-crawling 1), Limited to Moving in Urban Environments; Speed 2 (8 MPH) - 8 pointsPolychromatic Hair: Feature 1 (hair can change color) - 1 pointSituational Awareness: Senses 1 (danger sense) - 1 pointAdvantages:Agile Feint, All-out Attack, Benefit (cipher 2), Close Attack 3, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Equipment 5, Evasion 2, Grabbing Finesse, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Ranged Attack 4, Set-up, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics), Uncanny Dodge.Equipment:Utility Belt: Array (18 points) <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Explosives: Ranged Burst Area Damage 5, Triggered 2 - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Meta-Taser: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed, Stunned, Incapacitated) - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Stun Grenade: Ranged Cloud Area Affliction 6 (Resisted by Fortitude; Dazed and Visually Impaired, Stunned and Visually Disabled), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Techno-Bolos: Ranged Cumulative Affliction 6 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Damage; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobilized), Extra Condition, Limited Degree - 18 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Throwing Darts: Strength-based Ranged Multiattack Damage 4 (includes Strength 2), Accurate 2 - 1 point</li> </ul>Skills:Acrobatics 5 (+14), Athletics 6 (+8), Close Combat: Unarmed 3 (+9), Deception 5 (+8), Expertise: Streetwise 5 (+7), Investigation 8 (+10), Perception 8 (+11), Sleight of Hand 8 (+12), Stealth 4 (+13).Offense:Initiative +13Unarmed +12 (Close Damage 2)Meta-Taser +10 (Ranged Fortitude 6)Stun Grenade -- (Ranged Cloud Area Fortitude 6)Techno-Bolos +10 (Ranged Affliction 6, Resisted by Dodge)Throwing Darts +14 (Ranged Multiattack Damage 4)Defenses:Dodge 13, Parry 11, Fortitude 5, Toughness 5/3, Will 7Totals:Abilities 64 + Powers 10 + Advantages 29 + Skills 26 + Defenses 15 = 144 pointsComplications:Justice--Motivation. Enemy (Jack.) Responsibility (mundane life.) Secrets on Secrets. Note: For a version of Dancer who hasn't trained with Darkwing, remove her Equipment and Ranged Attack advantages, as well as two ranks of Acrobatics, Investigation, Perception, Sleight of Hand and Stealth.</blockquote>

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