Zero for Hire
From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe
| |
| Justice with a Vengeance | |
| Zero for Hire | |
| Player: @Starflier | |
| Origin: | Natural |
|---|---|
| Archetype: | Brute |
| Security Level: | 1 |
| Personal Data | |
| Real Name: | Daniel Smith |
| Known Aliases: | Danny, Danny Boy, Zero |
| Species: | Hero |
| Age: | 32 |
| Height: | 6'4" |
| Weight: | 265 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Green |
| Hair Color: | Brown |
| Biographical Data | |
| Nationality: | American |
| Occupation: | Private Investigator |
| Place of Birth: | Des Moines, Iowa |
| Base of Operations: | Paragon City, Rhode Island |
| Marital Status: | Single (Divorced) |
| Known Relatives: | Roger Novack (uncle) |
| Known Powers | |
| None, Prescience? | |
| Known Abilities | |
| Expert in Hand-to-Hand Combat, Stealth, Demolitions, Reconnaissance | |
| Equipment | |
| Prototype Body Armor, PPD issue equipment | |
| ' | |
((Just the in-game bio for now. The character is currently a level 25 Corruptor, but will be remade as a StJ/Inv Brute once Street Justice is available. This page will likely be a giant mess for quite a while for a number of reasons, but I'll try to add things as they come.))
Contents |
In-Game Information
"And don't come back ya bum!"
Daniel walked down the street ignoring the insults that followed. Fired for drinking on the job, he wondered what he would do next. Before this he had lost his job with the PPD for excessive violence. How far could he fall?
Daniel Smith, I need your help.
He stopped walking. Was that? Yes. That voice was in his head.
"Great. Now I'm going crazy; hearing voices."
No Daniel, I'm a real person. A telepath. I need your help saving a girl.
"Do it yourself, you seem capable. And while you're at it, get out of my head."
I can't do it myself, that's why I need your help. Please! She's only four years old and so scared.
Daniel may have been a drunken ass, but he wasn't heartless. He followed the instructions the voice gave him. He found the girl and used his military and police training to punish her captors.
He felt good. His skills, the Voice's knowledge; they made a great team. An unlikely pair in a dark city.
Growing Up
Des Moines, Iowa is not exactly what most people would consider a hot point for superpowered action. Or regular action. A smaller city, it mostly avoided the organized criminal activity drawn to bigger cities, and the devastation wrought by Rikti invaders, although the latter was after Daniel had already left for the military.
Born June 13, 1979 Daniel Evan Smith grew up in a single parent home, his father having abandoned his pregnant girlfriend and heading for California. His mother, Anne, did her best on a waitress salary, but times were hard for both of them. Daniel struggled through school, but passed. He played baseball and football, although he wasn't good enough at either to pursue them beyond high school.
Fighting was what Daniel was known for. A natural brawler, the boy developed a reputation as being the toughest and meanest fighter among the school kids. As such, he was often challenged by everyone that wanted to disprove that. He never lost, even when fighting more than one opponent. These fights sometimes spilled into his school life, with one Phys Ed teacher commenting that the school should have started a boxing team just so they could be state champions at something.
Anne had troubles of her own: first money, then alcohol. 'Driven to drink', she would claim, by the hardships of her life. Angry and moody, home life became stressful and strained for both mother and son. Daniel did his best to help, with part-time jobs bringing in money, but the alcohol never went away. After graduating from high school, Daniel enlisted and began sending back much of his wages to his mother in hopes that the money would help. It didn't.
Professional Life
Daniel thrived in the ordered military life. The boy quickly became a man, hardened by months of training, and eventually combat. Always busy, he was finally able to get his mind settled and away from the problems back home. Daniel was 'lucky', finding his way into combat at every opportunity; his unit seeing more combat than most.
Daniel quickly established himself as a cut-above the average recruit, earning promotions and further training. Eventually he was selected to join the Special Forces and eagerly began his new training and responsibilities. Most of his missions with the Green Berets are classified, and he is reluctant to discuss these things with most people. Daniel went on to become an instructor in hand-to-hand combat, teaching other special forces members, CIA, FBI, and Army personnel.
Shortly before his 29th birthday he put in his papers and left the military for a position with the Paragon City Police Department (PPD). Why he chose to leave the military, where he had experienced so much success, was a topic of some discussion among his Army buddies, but no one ever really found out.
It was not long after he moved to Paragon City that word reached him, via his uncle, that his mother was sick with pneumonia. While he was en route back to Des Moines, Anne died in her sleep at the age of 52. Initially it seemed that he took the news as well as could be hoped, but those who witnessed the destructive lifestyle he developed in the following years are not so sure.
Initially he seemed to be a good fit for the police department in a city populated with criminals and super villains. As time wore on, it became evident that Daniel was having trouble adjusting to civilian life. Alcohol became a problem, and complaints were filed. Showing up hungover, and even still drunk on occasion, became the norm. It wasn't the drinking that cost him the job, but an encounter with a known pedophile. 'Excessive force' came up during the civil suits and internal investigations. Millions in settlements later, and Daniel was dismissed from his position with the PPD.
Disgraced, he took a job as a security guard at a factory in Independence Port. He managed to control the drinking for a time, but just six months ago he was fired when his supervisor caught him with an open bottle on the job.
His life spiralling out of control, he was finally rescued by an old military friend who had moved to Paragon City and set up shop as a private investigator. Taking Daniel on as a partner was a risk, but without interaction with clients, there was little room for Daniel to mess it up. AA meetings are a condition of his current employment, and use up what little time he has. He still drinks, but has managed to get it under control for the most part.
Powers and Abilities
Classification of Daniel as a 'natural' hero is tricky. On one hand, he possesses no superhuman abilities or gadgets, simply years of combat training and a willingness to act. On the other hand is the Voice: a powerful telepath who feeds Daniel information continuously regarding enemy intentions, moral, strategies, skill, and the like. The effect of one, acting in concert with the other, turns a dangerous combatant into someone capable of taking down even superpowered threats (within reason).
Against humanoid, biological enemies, Daniel is a savage opponent, beating his foes down with a combination of speed, strength, and training resulting from years of training and experience. Growing up in Des Moines, Daniel was no stranger to school yard brawls and back alley scraps. During his 10 years in the Army, he excelled in brutal hand-to-hand combat techniques, even serving as an instructor for other special forces units. Transitioning from the military to police, and eventually security guard, did little to expand his repertoire of skills, but kept him in practice against Paragon City's more vicious criminals.
While hand-to-hand was his area of expertise, Daniel was also trained in all areas expected of the Green Berets. Marksmanship, stealth, and demolition are all skills he picked up, although he makes less use of these in his current work as a private investigator and hero. His choice to stick to hand-to-hand combat removes a lot of the 'debate' over gun violence among heroes, and gives him an edge against those that underestimate an unarmed combatant.
Equipment
Daniel's body armor is a prototype provided by an old friend from the army, now working for a defence contractor. Production combines a cutting edge manufacturing and assembly process with brand new materials. The armor provides surprising flexibility, and shocking resistant to physical trauma, as well as impact/shock absorption properties. Standing up to close range fire from assault rifles, knives, and grenade shrapnel, the armor is expected to hit the private market soon, with military demand limited to some VIPs and special forces units, mostly due to the prohibitive cost. The gloves he wears are a one-off using the same materials, provided by the same contact, which allow Daniel to deliver much heavier-than-normal blows while avoiding injury. There are no plans to produce the gloves for sale to the public.
Most of Daniel's other gear is standard issue for PPD officers. While he has substituted newer, upgraded items where funds allowed, he has chosen not to fiddle with an assortment he came to appreciate during his three years on the force.
As Daniel is fed information regarding enemies by the Voice, he is often able to better prepare for unique challenges. Special weapons and equipment often catch enemies by surprise as the masked vigilante makes short work of an opponent suddenly stripped of their combat advantage. Extensive military, police, and industry contacts allow Daniel to acquire all manner of cutting edge, and occasionally illegal, weapons and technology.
Trivia
Similar in size to actor Dwayne Johnson
Theme Song: Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd
