Editing Brian Laborn (section)

==Abilities and Powers==
===Original===
Brian can generate clouds of smoke-like darkness that erase all light and mutes sounds.<ref name="3.7 e3">Grue used his power, and the room was plunged into darkness, the volume of the screams and wails dropping to utter silence in a matter of seconds. - [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/agitation-3-7/ Excerpt] from [[Agitation 3.7]]</ref><ref name="I3 e1"/><ref>We were only halfway down the length of the alley when there was a sound behind us, like the crack of a whip. It struck me as deeply wrong, since we shouldn't have been able to hear anything through Grue's darkness. - [[Shell 4.7]]</ref>

It also interferes with microwaves, radio frequencies, radiation,<ref name="24.x">The Endbringer glowed, and the swelling light was too intense to look at.<br><br>Just seeing it, there was no question of what he was doing.  ''A final act of spite.''  Turning himself into a bomb.<br><br>A stream of darkness poured from one of the helicopters, filling the street Behemoth lay in.  For an instant, the Endbringer was almost entirely obscured.<br><br>Scion fired one more beam, and the darkness was obliterated, swept away. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/06/22 Excerpt] from [[Interlude 24.x]]</ref> and certain Breaker powers such as those possessed by [[Shadow Stalker]] and [[Velocity]].<ref name="6.6">[[Tangle 6.6]]</ref><!--https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/8juvur/speculation_about_jacks_trigger_event/
Kyakam links a few pages about this breaker materials --> He does not actually 'see' this darkness, he is aware of its location and when it is affected but it does not obscure his vision in the least.<ref name="16.6">[[Monarch 16.6]]</ref>

His power nullified [[Shatterbird]]'s sound-based glass control,<ref name="13.6">Shatterbird, meanwhile, was drawing closer, using the glass-storm to bar Ballistic’s access to the crate of explosives.  Grue’s power was serving to counter hers, and any glass that entered the darkness seemed to drop straight down like rain, bereft of her abilities.  Momentum still carried, however, and any glass shards that entered at a high enough velocity seemed to exit at roughly the same speed. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/snare-13-6/ Excerpt] from [[Snare 13.6]]</ref> but [[Cricket]]'s sonar was able to function in his darkness.<ref name="7.8 e1">Then every bug in the area reacted to that sound I couldn’t make out, the one I’d heard when Cricket went after Coil’s soldier.  It was loud enough for them to hear through the darkness, but… entirely out of my range of hearing.<br><br>I couldn’t say for sure, but I got the impression the ones closer to Cricket had heard it a fraction of a second sooner.<br><br>“Grue!” I screamed into the oppressive shadow.  “Move!”<br><br>Cricket turned toward him and lunged in one motion, bringing both scythes down in an overhead swing.  Grue moved out of the way just in time.<br><br>“She has radar!” I shouted, my voice barely audible to myself.  Didn’t matter.  Grue could hear me. - [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/ Excerpt] from [[Buzz 7.8]]</ref>

His darkness offers some resistance, like pushing through water,<ref name="I3 e1">"Grue's power isn't just darkness. You can't hear in there either. And it feels strange too," [[Browbeat]] spoke, "There's resistance, like you're underwater, but not floating." - [[Interlude 3]]</ref> which can make it difficult to keep track of your position.<ref name=2.8e2>As my hands made contact with the railing, a pair of hands settled on my shoulders.  I wheeled around and knocked them away, my voice raised as I half-shouted, “Back off!”<br><br>Except the words barely reached ''me''.  The sound echoed as if from a distant place, and had a hollowness to it that made me think of someone shouting from the bottom of a deep well.  The darkness didn’t just block off the light.  It swallowed up noises as well.    I’d let go of the railing when I turned to face the other person in the darkness, and I had a moment’s panic when I realized I couldn’t tell where the stairs were anymore.  The texture of the darkness was inconsistent, making it hard to identify the full scope of my movements.  I was reminded of those times I had been underwater and lost track of which direction the surface was.  I could tell which way was up, sure, but that was about it.<br><br>Sensory deprivation.  When those two words came to my mind, I felt myself relax some.  Brian’s power mucked with your senses… Sight, hearing, touch.  I wasn’t limited to those three.  Reached out with my power, I identified where all of the bugs in the loft and the factory below were.  Using them to ground myself like a sailor might use the constellations, I figured out where the stairs should be and found the railing.  The hands hadn’t grabbed for me again, so I hurried down, down the stairs and out of the oppressive darkness. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/07/30 Excerpt] from [[Insinuation 2.8]]</ref> Grue's darkness produces something like a steady air current flowing from his skin when active.<ref>Grue was the first I ran into, and the easiest to identify. Some of my bugs had tiny hairs on their bodies that could sense air currents, and the steady output of darkness around Grue generated something like a steady air current around him. - [[Agitation 3.9]]</ref> This wipes away his scent whenever he uses his power.<ref name="7.7c1">His power wipes out his smell when it’s been freshly used/is in use. Taylor notes the distinction at another point in time. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/buzz-7-7/#comment-35462 Comment by Wildbow] on [[Buzz 7.7]]</ref> This makes it hard for those with an enhanced sense of smell compared to base line humans to track him.<ref name="I4">“Bitch, hold up,” speaks the scentless man.  Scentless man makes [[Brutus]] nervous because he is big but he has no smell.  But he is Master’s alpha so Master stops and listens.<br><br>“You’re going out?” the scentless man asks. - [[Interlude 4]]</ref><ref name="7.8 e2">"Darkness boy isn't around anymore or I'd be able to smell him."<br><br>He was <em>wrong</em>.  My bugs could feel Grue out there.  If the driver had been injured, that might account for why Grue had lagged behind.  But Stormtiger couldn't smell Grue? - [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/buzz-7-8/ Excerpt] from [[Buzz 7.8]]</ref> His power doesn't interfere with smelling other things that happen to be inside his darkness.<ref>To make our escape all the more terrifying, I knew the dog couldn’t see. She was following Brutus by scent, and Brutus was going by Grue’s directions. - [[Agitation 3.12]]</ref><ref>If you recall, after the bank robbery, the dogs were riding through the darkness with Grue piloting one, the other two following after, using the scent of the lead dog to guide them. (3.12) - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/buzz-7-7/#comment-866 Comment by Wildbow]</ref><ref name="7.8 e3">Stormtiger raised one hand in the direction he'd come and created a blast of wind to clear a path through Grue's darkness and reveal Hookwolf and Cricket.<br><br>[...]<br><br>"Stormtiger, find the others of her group." Hookwolf snarled, apparently not considering my words worth responding to.<br><br>"Can't," Stormtiger spoke, from where he stood above me.  "Not smelling them."<br><br>"You smelled <em>her</em>."<br><br>"And I smelled the two uniforms from the ambulance.  Other one's bleeding, sitting near the ambulance somewhere over there." - [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/buzz-7-8/ Excerpt] from [[Buzz 7.8]]</ref>

His darkness could be moved around by strong winds.<ref>As I looked for the source of the noise, I saw Grue's cloud of darkness shrinking. Debris began to slide towards the epicenter of the darkness, and the wind – the pull – began to increase in intensity. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/10/15/shell-4-7/ Excerpt] from [[Shell 4.7]]</ref><ref name="7.8 e3" /><ref>[[Monarch 16.1]]</ref>

A common tactic of his was to wreathe himself in his darkness<ref name="3.7 e4">He was using his power at a low degree over the entirety of his body. The darkness soaked into and through the porous leather of his costume, making him look like a living shadow. - [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/agitation-3-7/ Excerpt] from [[Agitation 3.7]]</ref> to distort his voice<ref name="3.7 e1" /> and distort where his body is. He can use this to make himself appear larger.<ref>Near Vista, a large figure staggered out of the darkness, shadows still clinging to him, bellowing and screaming incoherently about bugs. He thrashed for several moments, then collapsed into a heap a short distance from Vista. Someone that large could only be Browbeat. Vista apparently reached the same conclusion I did, because she took a few steps closer to him, looking around helplessly for a way to help him.<br><br>An instant after I realized that I didn't actually have bugs on Browbeat, the figure struck Vista across the side of the head, laying her flat. I saw the briefest glimpse of Grue's skull mask before he and Vista were covered by a fresh tide of his darkness. - [[Agitation 3.10]]</ref> He could form rough shapes out of his darkness, including a circular wall<ref>Tattletale murmured something to Grue, and he surrounded us with darkness, leaving a clearing so we could communicate. - [[Queen 18.7]]</ref>. He displays further versatility by making a body double,<ref name="4.9">[[Shell 4.9]]</ref> or several,<ref>[[Snare 13.6]]</ref> out of his darkness that was often convincing enough to distract an enemy. This tactic would later be borrowed and improved upon by his teammate [[Skitter]].

Grue is able to cause his darkness to dissipate at will,<ref name="14.3">[[Prey 14.3]]</ref><ref>We climbed down the far side, and Grue banished the darkness around us. - [[Shell 4.7]]</ref> and could selectively dissipate sections at a time.<ref name="3.7 e5">Grue swept his arms forward, and the darkness parted. [...] Some of Grue's darkness clung to the surfaces of the doors and the windows, but the room was otherwise clear in a matter of moments, lit only by the florescent lights. - [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/agitation-3-7/ Excerpt] from [[Agitation 3.7]]</ref> It naturally faded after about twenty minutes.<ref name="3.12 e1">Grue said his darkness faded after twenty minutes or so - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/09/17/agitation-3-12/ Excerpt] from [[Agitation 3.12]]</ref>

[[File:Grue by Zearoe.jpg|thumb|300px|[https://redd.it/bqa9i3  Grue in Action] by [https://www.reddit.com/user/zearoe/ Zearoe]]]

===Expansion===
<!-- <ref>[[Snare 13.9]]</ref>-->
After his second Trigger Event,<ref>[[Snare 13.9]]</ref> Brian's darkness became thicker, heavier, and came out less quickly, but grew exponentially. He also gained a [[Trump]] ability, that let him use the powers of other parahumans while they were in his darkness, suppressing their powers at the same time. He can only access one person's powers at a time,<ref name="19.5 c1">He steals one at a time. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/scourge-19-5/#comment-74957 Comment by Wildbow] on [[Scourge 19.5]]</ref> though he can rapidly switch between the abilities he uses.

While using these powers, he was essentially using them for the first time, lacking the experience and skill of previous users. He generally didn't receive the benefit of [[thinker]] powers, including secondary thinker powers used to handle the fine details of a power.<ref name="26.5 c1">He has stated he doesn’t get a lot out of thinker powers. Also, he doesn’t get the passenger assistance, so a lot of the administrative/coordinating stuff for the power isn’t acquired (ie. controlling where the power is applied). - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/07/30/sting-26-5/#comment-35182 Comment by Wildbow] on [[Sting 26.5]]</ref>

After the resurrection his power was adjusted by [[Valkyrie]], specifically by scaling down his trump aspect.<ref>“I’d need Valkyrie to undo the tweaks she did, and she’s gone,” he told us.<br><br>“What fucking tweaks?”<br><br>“It’s complicated.  Needed-[...]–To try something.  To try and shake the memories those new powers were attached to.  Didn’t work.” - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/03/15/last-20-6/ Excerpt] from [[Last 20.6]]</ref> Presumably, to avoid power interference between them.