The Lie:
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As far as the public and most intelligence organisations are concerned, Daniel Tracer was born in Surrey, England in the year 1990 - no notion as to his real family - and raised in a foster home. He attended military school and transitioned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy in his late-teens. He proved a model agent-in-training, and kept his mutant heritage a closely guarded secret - until he was selected for special tactics training.
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The Truth:
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Tracer was conceived during the late 1940s. Due to complications, the embryo was frozen until such a time when Tracer's mother felt ready to raise a child. That day never came. In a terrorist attack, the facility where the embryo was being preserved was destroyed - presumably taking the embryo with it.
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This was not the case.
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A clandestine organisation retrieved it along with many others, and conducted tests upon them all. In the 1990s, a surrogate mother was selected to bring the child to term, and he was then placed in foster care. Tracer's 'parents' knew he possessed the X-gene from before he was born, and thanks to the experiments the gene manifested at an early age for him. They also groomed him to be a model agent/spy and inserted him into S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to get close to a certain target.
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Steps were taken to try and keep Tracer from finding out who his real parents were/are, but he found ways around them. Now, he is an Agent of SHIELD, but also a double-agent for another organisation. Little do they all know, he has an agenda of his own as well…
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Psychometry
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Tracer has the ability to read residual psychic impressions from objects he physically touches. Not every object carries a trace he can read - and some radiate so many different, conflicting emotions and images that it becomes overwhelming (for one thing) and difficult to filter through the input for specifics.
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How much (if anything) Tracer reads depends on the intensity of the events, the people and the emotions surrounding the object (i.e. if he were to pick up a vintage WWII rifle, he would likely receive very powerful impressions - even despite the rifle's age). In contrast, if he held a brand new item of some kind, he would likely sense nothing.
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One can leave messages for Tracer, by holding an object and concentrating intently upon a simple sentence. It is not easy to do, but serves as a means of secure communication with him. It is possible to learn some new skills via Psychometry - such as how to use a particular gun (Tracer observes, through his mind's eye, how the gun was used by previous owners, and then simply does what they did). However, this is not a fit substitute for proper study and training. Psychometry only translates into Post-Cognition (seeing past events). Tracer cannot see the future.
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Tactile Telepathy
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When it comes to reading people, Tracer's powers function a little differently (compared to his Psychometry when dealing with objects). If he makes skin-on-skin contact with another person, he can share thoughts directly with them, as well as delve into their minds, learn details of their past or even general health.
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This, in some ways, is harder to do than reading an object as there are plenty of 'psychic firewalls' in a living mind - objects have none. It is also possible to become overwhelmed with information, therefore, Tracer is careful in practicing his abilities.
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Combat
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Danny Tracer is trained in a variety of combat techniques, mixed martial arts primarily, although he favours the sword - the cane-sword, in particular. He is also a marksman with most firearms, and has learned to incorporate his powers into his fighting style (if he fights barehanded - he can use his Tactile Telepathy to read his opponent).
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Chameleon
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Disguise, Deception, Infiltration, Sabotage…these are some of the fields in which Danny Tracer is trained. He is, above all else, meant to adapt. That means turning his environment to his advantage, using whatever is handy, 'making do' in order to complete his mission. If he does not wish to be seen, he generally won't be. If he needs to disguise himself (which includes mimicking other voices and mannerisms), he can with ease.
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Linguistics
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Tracer is fluent in a variety of tongues and dialects, including English, German, Farsi and Russian (this is partly due to his powers, as well as his training).
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Pilot
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Tracer will 'get behind the wheel' of anything, if only just to try it. He is qualified to fly the quinjets of SHIELD, as well as a variety of other vehicles, as required. His preference is the jet and motorcycle.
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Musician
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Danny plays saxophone and piano, favouring jazz more than most other genres. He tends to pick up other instruments thanks to his mutant abilities, but these two are his favourites.
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S.H.I.E.L.D.
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Danny is an Agent of SHIELD and thus has access to whatever resources an agent of his level would (he is only just starting out as a field agent, so his security clearance is mid-range). Weapons, uniforms, vehicles, safe-houses… all at his disposal on a need-to-know basis.
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The Organisation
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Whoever they are, Danny can call upon the people who inserted him into SHIELD as a double agent for intel and resources if need be - but to do so would put his mission in great jeopardy. He has knowledge of dead-drops and safe-houses not on SHIELD's radar, should he ever need them.
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Weapons of Choice
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- Telescopic Sword-Cane - Tracer's 'cane' uses molecular compression to shrink to the size of a small rod (about 4" long). Once extended, the blade can be drawn from it. The cane is made from titanium, and implanted with a homing beacon. Both the far tip of the scabbard and the pommel conceal taser nodules - which will activate on command or if someone else attempts to extend the cane.
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- I.C.E.R. - Short for Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting Railguns, I.C.E.R.S. are standard, Dendrotoxin-based stun-weapons used be agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for non-lethal take-downs. A single shot will knock out a large human for a hour or so. Multiple shots might be required to incapacitate stronger individuals (and there are others who would be completely immune).
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- Walther PPK - A compact, powerful handgun, this is Tracer's choice for back-up weapon, and lethal take-down. He would rather use this than the I.C.E.R., but sometimes 'orders are orders'.
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- Throwing Knives - Tracer generally has a pair of these blades somewhere on his person at any given time.
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Danny Tracer is a many of many faces. Nothing is what it appears to be with him. He has been raised by 'spooks' (spies) to be a spook, and that is how he thinks. Every face he wears is a mask; there is no 'core', only 'more layers'. That said, he is a man with a hole in his heart.
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Tracer has his own reasons for doing what he does. He enjoys 'playing spy', but he also wants to know who he really is, where he really comes from, and what he truly believes (about himself, the world - everything - as opposed to what he has been told). To that end, he wants to go everywhere, see everything, do everything and work out what it means to be 'Danny Tracer'.
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As for how he feels about the state of the world now… he sees it as fundamentally flawed - in need of a drastic overhaul. He is aware of the existence of other mutants, and how they are generally treated. For reasons he does not entirely understand (they were not part of his indoctrination) he is especially passionate about chivalry and respect for all.
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Too Many Masks
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Tracer has spent his life living 'alias to alias'. When he becomes someone else, he BECOMES someone else. Of course, this makes him a talented spy - but it also means that he LOSES himself in the layers he wears, forgetting who he really is. On a deep level within him, this bothers him. Who is the real Danny Tracer?
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The Organisation
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At present, the group responsible for inserting Tracer into SHIELD are unknown. It could be HYDRA - but then again it could be anything/anyone. Whomever they are, they are up to no good - and should they decide that Tracer is not acting perfectly within the scope of their interests… they would not hesitate to kill him. Furthermore, if SHIELD found out who Tracer really is… THEY might try to kill him (or incarcerate him).
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Keep the Gloves On
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When Danny uses his Psychometry powers, there is always a high risk of 'sensing too much'. Emotions can be very powerful, and thoughts can be completely jumbled. Furthermore, Danny may not know which objects have the most 'resonance' in a room, if the room itself is 'psychically charged'. He could pick up an object with his bare hands and suffer major backlash.
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For this reason, Danny wears gloves almost all the time. Psychic backlash can cause him to suffer headaches, nosebleeds, even unconsciousness.
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Filling in the Blanks
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The truth of Danny's past has largely been kept from him. He knows a little - more than his superiors realise - but not enough. He would give anything to fill in those blanks and maybe carve out a new life for himself as a result.
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It Rubs Off
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Danny tends to briefly take on personality traits of people who 'feature' in the psychic impressions left on objects (i.e. if a particularly emo person charged an object with psychic energy, and Tracer picks it up, he might stick his hands in his pockets and hunch his shoulders for a while afterward). This also applies to his Tactile Telepathy (i.e. if he touches someone who loves cigars, he may walk away craving one).
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