Daniel Torres,[1] known publicly as Topsy, is the leader of a group of Middle Men who work for [2] the Folk, operating in Chicago.
Appearance[]
Topsy wears a mask with an upside-down face.[3]
Personality[]
Topsy is an enforcer, specializing in mediating between enemy gangs aiming to meet with each other. He deals with situations promptly, professionally[4] and efficiently; described as less happy than his jocular name would suggest. He could lose his temper easily, especially after a long working day.[5]
Has a lot of experience in his trade[4], paying his subordinates well as long as they meet his standards.[6]
Abilities and Powers[]
Daniel has the power to alter the direction but not magnitude of gravitational pull on or by himself, other people, and objects within his range. He applies his powers most offensively by hurling people or objects up and then reversing his power to let them fall.[5]
This environmental change allows him to do things like walk along the sides of buildings. Daniel is not strictly limited to shifting gravity ninety[7][8] or even a hundred eighty degrees but every degree in between.[9] It is unknown how controlled he can be with the effect or how localized it can be. He can only seem to manifest one gravitational change at a time.[10]
This power lets him weaponize loose objects. Being able to reverse gravity up sending them up into the air and then refocus gravity to send it towards his targets.[11] He can also use it to move large amnounts of objects around.[12] Securing oneself to the ground as well as other objects negates much of his offensive ability.[13] His power has an upper limit, when objects reach the treashold of his effect the object will be effectively weightless in the liminality of the effect and regular gravity.[14]
History[]
Background[]
Topsy worked at his job as a guarantor for the Folk on the edges of Chicago for more than a decade, becoming very wealthy in the process.[15]
Post-Echidna[]
When Chicago Protectorate members Campanile and Shuffle interfered with one of his deals, Topsy sent mercenaries to retaliate, breaking rules and becoming a wanted villain.[15]
Chicago Wards Weaver, Annex, Cuff, Tecton, and Grace subsequently executed a counterattack against Topsy's team by cutting off their communications and forcing them out of their hidding place. They got the Folk themselves to disavow him eventually leading to the PRT capturing Topsy, Watch, and Mockshow.[5]
Chapter Appearances[]
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References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Topsy: Daniel Torres - Private conversation with Wildbow, archived on Spacebattles
- ↑ Scarab 25.3
- ↑ Simply making sure we were in the right place at the right time, luring a local power into a fight, with a plan already in mind…
[...]
“Tecton,” I called out, as my eyes fell on a portrait of a supervillain with a mask of an upside-down face. An established power, located at the city’s edge for nearly ten years.
Too established? I didn’t want to set another ABB fiasco in motion. - Exerpt from Scarab 25.2 - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Topsy was tricky. Part of the reason for the surveillance had been to identify the other parahumans in his group. He hired mercenaries, paying well, and there was no sure way to tell who he had with him, short of seeing them in costume. Trouble was, his people were defaulting to heavier clothing over their costumes, due to the cold weather. Identities were doubly hard to discern, and Topsy wasn’t one to blab over the phone about who was working for him. - Excerpt from Scarab 25.3
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 “Get what you can and get the fuck out,” Topsy ordered, “Yeah, you too. I’m paying you, aren’t I? Go find the bitch.”
Not so cheery for a guy with a playful name like ‘Topsy’. Then again, I’d caught him at the end of his work day. By contrast, I’d woken up, donned my costume and started my stakeout. Eight hours, starting at four, watching and following as Topsy and his men conducted their business. He was more tired than I was, and he was both a little drunk and a little high.
It meant he was a little more likely to freak out when their outdoor clothing turned out to be festooned with stinging, biting insects, falling to pieces or too entangled in silk to use. - Excerpt from Scarab 25.3 - ↑ Wildbow: No limit. Originally, she had her creations as toys. Creations with keys turning in their backs, painted features, etc. Somewhat crude, in both senses of the word. Topsy made the job offer with a promise of good pay and the stipulation she cut out the kid stuff. - Conversation with Wildbow on the IRC, Archived on Spaccebattles.
- ↑ Gravity shifted again. Our backs slammed against the side of the building, the two of us grunting in unison. My metal box scraped against the metal of the fire escape to land beside me. We were now more or less lying down on the building’s face.
Watch and Topsy’s men were making their way along the side of the building, walking on it. - Excerpt from Scarab 25.3 - ↑ I lifted the box, as Watch and Topsy made their way up the snow-covered ramp to us, underlings following them. An adjustment of gravity removed the issues the slope posed. Watch was saying something I couldn’t make out over the rush of wind. Something about our location. We didn’t have long. - Excerpt from Scarab 25.3
- ↑ Cuff threw out a chain with an audible clatter, then caught the end, moving like she was winding it around the villain. She reconsidered as Topsy and his minions reacted to the noise of the collision and came after her. She was nearly at the far end of the street when Topsy used his power. He reoriented gravity, and she veered to one side, striking the wall beside the alleyway rather than disappearing inside. The tilt continued, and she turned away, moving with the tilt.
He leveraged his power further, only this time, it was his namesake topsy-turvy ‘up is down’ variant. It was his most offensive power, the ability to hurl large numbers of people or objects into the city’s skyline, then revoke his power to let them fall. - Exerpt from Scarab 25.2 - ↑ Scarab 25.3
- ↑ They wasted no time in putting it into action. Topsy used his power over a wide area, reversing gravity’s effect. Snow began to fly in the air, and was soon joined by a pair of cars. They reached the top of Topsy’s effect, caught between the two gravities, and began to rotate aimlessly in the weightless middle-ground between normal gravity and the area Topsy had altered.
Then he shifted gravity’s direction again. An attack, such as it was. The snow and cars fell in my direction. Were flung, for lack of a better term. I flew for cover, ungainly as I raised the insulated box as a shield, snow and ice slamming into the buildings around me, pinging off of the metal. I managed to duck out of sight. The cars, for their part, were only thrown into the street a block away.
It wasn’t an attack he’d aimed, but a scattershot approach, meant to scare, to allow the possibility that he’d get lucky.
And it had given them the chance to try and slip away. A few minutes, while I recouped and tried to get my sights on them in the midst of the stirring snow and limited visibility. - Exerpt from Scarab 25.2 - ↑ Once the majority of his underlings were out of the apartment, Topsy leveraged his power, reorienting gravity to shift the boxes and piles of stuff. They hit the wall, slid down the hallway, and finally tumbled through the open front door of the apartment in a heap. With money bands cut and bags chewed open, much of the merchandise in Topsy’s stock was scattered to the wind. My bugs could sense the clouds of powder filling the air. Evidence, if nothing else.
[...]
Topsy’s crew reached the first floor of the basement, which included the parking garage. Topsy followed right after with the piles of goods, abused by their rough tumble down a dozen flights of stairs. The packages of powder virtually floated in the air, with Topsy batting them in the direction of his people. - Exerpt from Scarab 25.2 - ↑ Topsy hit Golem and the truck with flipped gravity. Both moved, but neither lifted off the ground. Even before he started raising the wall, Golem would have used his power to hold his feet against the ground, to grab the truck’s axle. Tecton would be waiting inside, ready to leap out and break the hands if necessary. - Exerpt from Scarab 25.2
- ↑ I nearly droppd the box, slick as it was with the snow that had melted while it sat in the lobby. Cuff helped me catch it. A moment’s delay, but enough time for Topsy, Watch and the others to crest the top of the ramp that led from the basement level to the street.
As we ducked behind cover, taking our steps into the alley, the snow that had accumulated on the ground began to fall in reverse, in thick, wet clumps. I felt the same kind of lift that accompanied a use of my flight pack, and both Cuff and I were lifted off the ground as well.
The weightlessness ceased, and we fell. Only we fell up.
My flight pack kicked to life, and the wings unfolded so I could use the propulsion. I reached for Cuff with one free hand, nearly grabbing one of her braids, but found her wrist instead, felt her hand clasp my wrist in return. Snow and ice pummeled us as it broke free of the sidewalk and flew skyward. - Exerpt from Scarab 25.3 - ↑ 15.0 15.1 The apartment was one of many detours in an extended distribution chain that saw guns and drugs making their way to the Folk, one of the rare criminal organizations that predated capes and still functioned in more or less the same fashion today. Topsy and his underlings were guarantors, middlemen who made it possible for diehard enemies to do business. If a fight erupted, he and his minions would deal with the situation quickly, promptly and efficiently.
It was a simple job, and it was one he’d done for nearly a decade. In the process, he’d apparently grown exceedingly rich, and he had recently started to become more ambitious. Campanile and Shuffle had interfered with a deal, and Topsy had hired some mercenaries to seek out retaliation. If the escalation of the situation wasn’t bad enough, the mercenaries had crossed lines, and Topsy had been relocated to the heroes’ shit list as a consequence. He was an acceptable target.
The only thing that would make Campanile and Shuffle happier than us fucking up and giving them an excuse to step in would be a perfectly executed operation and a humiliating loss for Topsy. I’d do my best to oblige on that front. - Excerpt from Scarab 25.3
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| Leaders | Unidentified civilians |
|---|---|
| Sanctioned Mercs | Topsy • Mockshow • Watch |