Quentin Taylor

“Quent”, “The Switcher”

Male

31

5’11

190lbs

Black

Brown

African-American

Standing at a rough height of about 5’11 and of an average (if moderately built) build, Quentin comes across as your average security contractor doing the daily or nightly rounds at the usual gigs. His face often possesses a somewhat analytic property, with a set of sharp brown eyes, a short-trimmed beard and a very close-cut head of dark hair.

More often than not, Quentin has a preference for wearing dark-coloured jackets with a t-shirt underneath (As a CCW holder it’s quite useful) whilst he tends to wear jeans or cargo pants, depending on whether or not he’s working a gig or not. He also has a preference for alternating between sneakers and boots, whichever’s practical for the occasion. Under his jacket he wears a shoulder-holster with a Glock 17 fitted inside.

Quentin is a relatively calm but outwardly pragmatic person by nature; he comes off as someone indifferent to most social trends and doesn’t seem particularly easy to anger. He’s no qualms in getting involved in activities of a legally (and to an extent, morally) dubious nature; the business he’s involved himself in necessitates getting his hands dirty. For the most part he keeps a level head and approaches most risky situations with a degree of caution, opting for the approach of avoiding tense situations where possible whilst dealing with unavoidable situations as cleanly and precisely as possible, as one would.

Likewise, he possesses a sense of morality that keeps him from going off the deep end as others would. For instance, he has a sense of sympathy for people who are born into poverty or are otherwise living in unfortunate circumstances and generally avoids unnecessarily doing harm where possible, occasionally going so far as to intervene in circumstances where he sees the vulnerable being picked apart by would-be opportunists.

Additionally, he avoids dealing with the likes of thugs belonging to gangs such as the Fiends, the Highway Stars or the Iron Cross - they’re too volatile to be trusted and likely to bring down negative attention on him, making them far more trouble than what they’re worth. Besides, he considers them far too extreme for his standards, crossing a number of lines that Quentin himself wouldn’t contemplate crossing. Additionally, his sense of morality also encompasses a sense of loyalty. He’s not a fan of turning on people and likewise sticks by those he considers close, doubly so for his family - despite the rather contentious nature of his relationship with the latter.

On that note, his calm, collected exterior is somewhat diffused when it comes to dealing with close friends or family and bringing up the topic of the latter (specifically his brother) is an easy way to irritate Quentin at best and at worst earn a black eye, all for a number of reasons. Similarly, the notion of being turned on by those he considers close is quite infuriating and another method of incurring his ire. Aside from this, he also seems to have a half-concealed sense of pride in himself for having gone from living in the poverty-stricken housing projects of Eagle-Rock Row to, in his own eyes, a self-made man - a point that puts him at odds with his brother (who he feels that he had a hand in raising).

Quentin doesn’t have many particular tastes in life; he finds modern music to be relatively dull and uninteresting whilst the same could be said for most TV shows that aren’t like Game of Thrones or the Walking Dead. Narcotics and alcohol are something he views with disgust in the case of the former and with disdain in the case of the latter as a consequence of having witnessed his mother’s self-destructive lifestyle first-hand. Surprisingly enough however, he enjoys a select few video games that catch his interest and also enjoys browsing the internet in his spare time when all else fails. Additionally albeit less surprisingly, Quentin also enjoys heading onto the range for some good old fashioned recreational shooting.

Quentin’s experiences on the streets have given him a degree of wisdom, wit and pragmatism that do well to assist him in his self-made ‘business’. He’s familiar with how things operate in Verthaven’s criminal underworld and does well to keep on top of the latest rumours and chunks of information where possible, if only to keep his own interests in mind if nothing else. That aside, he’s picked up a talent in the usage of firearms (pistols, shotguns and a few select assault weapons come to mind) from a combination of experience on the streets and within the security sector and likewise is capable of putting up a solid front in a fistfight for much of the same reasons.

A photo of his mother in her teenage years, prior to her descent into alcoholism.

”Everyone these days seems to have some kind of a sob story. At least I took my happy ending.”

Born in the early ‘80s on Eagle-Rock Row, Quentin and his little brother Reed were yet another story of kids born into crime and poverty to a single parent, surrounded by drugs, violence and the social tensions of the time. From early childhood, their mother quickly relied on a string of deadbeat boyfriends, minimum wage jobs and alcohol to pull the three of them through life and it took its toll on her from an early stage, often forcing her elder brother to step in to assist.
By the time he was ten years old, Quentin found himself involved with the local gangs and wound up working on street corners as another peddler for some smalltime dealer in hopes of earning a little cash for his family. It was through this, incidentally, that he wound up discovering his powers - what would’ve normally be an exchange of packages with a metahuman enforcer for the gang led to him unintentionally removing the man’s ability to generate and manipulate fire and setting alight the money moments later. As it happens, it was through this that he found himself another source of income for the family; exchanging and selling powers and getting a cut from the gang for his involvement.

For a while, things seemed to go well, all things considered. The cut he earned from the gang, whilst nowhere near the amount kicked up to his bosses, allowed him to pay off the family bills yet there was no mistake that he may as well have been their property and not the other way around. A few times he found himself at risk as a result of the people he worked for and by his teenage years he’d learned how to use a gun. In fact, if tragedy hadn’t struck Quentin’s life sooner then circumstances might not have turned out as well.

One day returning home, Quentin found his mother passed out on the couch with yet another empty bottle of liquor nearby. Attempts to rouse her with words failed, so instead he left her alone, only to find her in the same state when he woke up in the same morning, albeit this time she’d turned pale and felt cold to the touch. The coroner’s report indicated that she’d died of alcohol poisoning, something of little surprise given the fact she’d been unable to kick the habit for a long time.

Lacking any other family, Quentin and his little brother wound up living in the care of their Uncle Cassius, a Detective in the Verthaven Police Department and a good man who’d often done as best as he could to keep his sister on track. Under his Uncle’s care, Quentin was able to cut off ties to his old gang (who, by this point had become increasingly demanding) with the aid of this uncle’s connections to the VPD and opted to push on through school so he didn’t end up like his mother. That said, the experience had taught him a couple things.

While his brother opted to one day become a cop like their uncle, Quentin had something else in mind. Perhaps it was the idea of avoiding the same poverty that had cost him his childhood, or perhaps it was the concept of having control over his life for once. Whatever the case, he decided he’d use some of the things he’d learned to make a profit and moved onto the streets yet again, this time operating independently as a “Switcher”, exchanging powers with those interested in buying or selling on occasion. At times, the work wasn’t always the safest, but his time with the gang had taught him how to take care of himself. This aside, he decided to put himself through the security sector and within a few years began working as a contractor, working whatever gigs were out there.

As of more recent times, Quentin has been living in relative comfort; he’s living in a decent condo in Knightdale Rows and lives a steady life, with enough income to keep himself afloat. Relations with his family, however, are another story.

Helena Taylor - Mother (Deceased)
Reed Taylor - Half-Brother - VPD Detective
Cassius Richards - Maternal Uncle - VPD Detective

Cassius Richards | Good | Uncle | "The old man still hasn’t retired, figures. Glad he's still taking care of himself, at least." |
Reed Taylor | Ambivalent | Estranged Brother | "Time and time again he’s made the score clear, despite everything.." |

Essence

Power Transfer - Quentin is capable of transferring powers between other metahumans and himself, and vice versa, allowing use of said powers for his own intentions or keeping them in ‘storage’, so to speak. In effect, he’s a literal walking bank of powers.

First of all, Quentin’s specific powers are quite limited in their range. As he lacks the precise finesse that one generally acquires through training, he generally needs to make physical contact with someone in order to transfer their powers. It is possible for him to permanently strip someone of their powers, though the process is somewhat more taxing and all-but requires a willing subject.

Secondly, Quentin’s skill in utilising powers obtained from other metahumans can vary. Relatively simple actions such as channeling an electrical current come rather easily, whereas more complex actions such as healing a fatally wounded patient are rather difficult to perform and can often require a great deal of practice. In addition to this, extensive use of such powers can be quite taxing on a physical and mental level - particularly if he lacks skill in the use of a particular power.

Incidentally, Quentin's ability to utilise his powers varies on whether or not he's undergoing the effects of fatigue. Excessive use of a replicated power is likely to make him ash out if he pushes himself too far and consequently he's quite reluctant to do so, with good reason. Aside from this, he's quite clearly vulnerable to being injured like anyone else.

The 'business' he operates on his own also places him in a tricky situation; whilst he's able to make a nice chunk of side-cash from it which helps in his life of luxury, he also has to be extremely cautious of who he does business with - some of his so-called 'customers' might be far more trouble than what they're worth or otherwise interested in using him for their own ends and that's not to mention the fact that an organisation like NEST would highly disapprove of the idea of someone dealing in powers. In other words, Quentin has to carefully ensure that he leaves as minimal a footprint as possible when it comes to his 'side job'.

As a security contractor, Quentin holds a CCW permit and is registered as owning a Glock 17.

William “Bible Bill” Bryan

25

“Bible Bill”, as he is called, is a skinny and weak-looking Fiend who is known to frequent Fiend battlefields. He has long brown hair that is tangled and messy and comes down to his shoulders. Bible Bill is schizophrenic, and this causes him for some reason to believe that he is the second coming of Jesus. He runs around Fiend battlefields with a Gideon Bible that he stole from a hotel in one hand and a gun in the other, screaming about how people should follow him to paradise. His gas mask is grey.

Well if his claims of being the Messiah are true, then total Omnipotence. His claims of being the Messiah are not true.