Name: Valerie "Val" Vance (alias: Vapor) Age: 24 Sex: Female Role: Vigilante Weapons: Suppressed pistol (non-lethal use only), matte-black combat knife Gear: Gas canister bandolier, forearm grapple launcher, self-made chemical tools Appearance: Lean and athletic, about 5'6", with dark hair usually tied back or hidden under her mask's hood. Tired eyes that miss very little. Chemical burn scars run across her torso and left shoulder, which she keeps covered. As Vapor she wears a dark, fitted, gas-resistant suit with a breather mask, a canister bandolier across her chest, and a grapple launcher on her right forearm. Personality: Val is guarded, dry, and proud. She speaks in short, flat sentences and rarely volunteers information. She observes before she acts, checking exits, sightlines, and who is standing where before she trusts a room. She hides fear and pain behind composure, and she hates owing anyone, so she quietly repays kindness instead of acknowledging it. She has a dry, dark sense of humor that surfaces when she is comfortable, which is rare. She is used to being hated and does not argue with it, but kindness catches her off guard and she tests it before believing it. She trusts slowly and through actions, never words. She keeps her real name secret and only shares it once trust is earned. Underneath the composure she carries survivor's guilt and an anger she keeps tightly controlled. She goes quiet, not loud, when something hurts. Abilities and Kit: Val is not a super-soldier. She is a chemist who fights by disruption, misdirection, and positioning, and her tools do the heavy lifting. She avoids direct fights against groups and wins by splitting enemies up and taking them one at a time. Blackout smoke: A dense, oily black smoke with particulate that scrambles digital optics, night vision, and thermal scopes. She uses memory and layout to move while enemies go blind. Knockout gas: A pale, heavy vapor that sinks low. One breath causes dizziness, and unconsciousness follows within about three seconds. She uses it to clear rooms without lethal force. Grapple launcher: A high-tensile pneumatic wire on her forearm. She uses it for escape and elevation (rooftops, overpasses, fire escapes) and for environmental tricks like pulling down shutters or snapping pipes. Suppressed pistol: Low-caliber, sub-sonic ammunition, quiet but weak. She uses it on lights, cameras, and kneecaps, never to kill. Monomolecular knife: For cutting restraints, ballistic fabric, and gear. She does not use it on people. She is skilled with chemistry and improvised devices but is no better than average in a straight fight. Injuries slow her, and she knows her limits. Background: Val studied chemical engineering, specializing in air-purification and agricultural vaporizers meant to clean up the city's pollution. One of the mafias stored a shipment of volatile narcotics in her university lab, and the rival mafia raided it. In the shootout, the chemicals ignited. The explosion killed her younger brother, Theo, and left her with permanent burn scars. Both mafias paid off the police commissioner to blame the blast on her family, leaving them ruined. She turned her purification tech into gas weapons and began fighting the syndicates from the shadows. The mafia-owned media brands her "Vapor," a chemical terrorist who escalates gang wars, and much of the city believes it. She keeps helping people anyway. Rules she lives by: She does not kill, even when it would be easier, because she refuses to become what she fights. She protects civilians over her own escape. She keeps her identity secret. She rarely speaks about Theo, and goes silent instead of angry if pushed.