Editing Gray Boy (section)

==Abilities and Powers==
Gray Boy is able to form stationary time loops, and his power reverts any changes made to his body. A quirk of his power is that anything affected is heavily desaturated, giving him his namesake monochrome look. 

Gray Boy was the only one who could enter the loops.<ref>Gray Boy is the only person who may be able to touch her, but that doesn't mean Bonesaw can't give him a few things. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/interlude-26b/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 26b]]</ref> During these loops, the only changes to the victim to carry over are those he inflicts on them (such as a cut or burn) and in the progression of their thoughts. Pain inflicted on the victims is repeated over and over again.<ref name="List">Nicholas	Gray Boy	'''Can trap those around him in manipulable time loops of pain at will. Undoes any damage taken/negative effects applied via. his power.''' - [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pgn9rgYutpBqJg1lSBP3NHnq9WK4ToLq9K4ys_I4cRc/edit#gid=0 Parahuman List], bolded edit by Wildbow.</ref> Gray Boy can modify the time between loops, extending them to give victims time to speak full words or shortening them to more quickly repeat the initial burst of pain from a wound. However, he claimed to be unable to turn it off for anyone except himself.<ref name="26.6 eDetails" /> The powers of anyone trapped inside them were unable to reach out of the loop.<ref>The well trapped powers within.  Kayden's lasers wouldn't exit the area.  Crusader's duplicates wouldn't be able to wander beyond the well's limits. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/interlude-26a/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 26a]]</ref>

He claimed that victims would usually go insane after a few days, then work through that back to sanity, then crack again, in an endless cycle. He also claimed that they never grew used to the pain he inflicted.<ref name="26.6" />

According to Gray Boy's sources, a time loop that he creates will last until well after the sun goes out.<ref name="26.6 eDetails">“''Until well after the sun goes out, they think'',” Gray Boy said.  “''Speed of thought, can’t turn it off unless I’m using it on myself, and I don’t think anyone’s immune''.” - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/sting-26-6/ Excerpt] from [[Sting 26.6]]</ref> However, in truth it only lasts for around ten thousand years or so.<ref>“If that’s true, then I can’t kill you,” Foil said.  “I’ll have to trap you somewhere else, in another state.”<br><br>“Even Gray Boy’s famous bubbles will only last ten thousand years or so,” March said.  “I asked when we were working on the ways to break the time effects.  That’s like delaying  an eighty year marriage by two days.” - [[Heavens 12.x]]</ref><ref name="SB11">If it helps, Gray Boy's power doesn't really last forever. Or even until the sun runs out. After a few thousand years though, you have to wonder if it matters. - [http://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/13653258 Comment by Wildbow on Spacebattles]</ref>

Gray Boy can affect an area roughly 5 feet across and 8 feet high,<ref name="IRC-1">8:43 PM <soulpelt|> Hmmm<br>8:43 PM <soulpelt|> how large an area could Grey Boy affect, Wildbow?<br>8:43 PM <Howdy> I'm unconvinced Gray Boy would work on Endbringers.<br>8:43 PM <notes> And there's the argument for Taylor using Grey Boy's defense only being seriously underestimated.<br>8:43 PM <Howdy> Their rule seems to be "anything that could beat me doesn't work."<br>8:44 PM <El> She can still create an indestructible wall, right?<br>8:44 PM <•Wildbow> Roughly 5' across and 8' high<br>8:44 PM <soulpelt|> Hmmm<br>8:44 PM <El> Try caging one of them, or just use it as a forcefield<br>8:44 PM <Alathon> not very good for the city she's doing it in<br>8:44 PM <Howdy> Nothing is indestructible in Worm...<br>8:44 PM <Alathon> and better be hella careful about friendly fire<br>8:45 PM <soulpelt|> I thought stuff affected by the power was basically intangible.<br>8:45 PM <Alathon> hm<br>8:45 PM <Howdy> There are powers we don't see defeated but it defies credulity to believe that any power is absolute, when we know the genesis of powers.<br>8:45 PM <Alathon> I just remember the siberian seeming to touch one<br>8:46 PM <•Wildbow> Chances are good Gray Boy's power would bind one of the Endbringer's limbs, it would pull free, doing massive damage to itself.<br>8:46 PM <soulpelt|> Huh, okay<br>8:46 PM <•Wildbow> And it would likely stop holding back up until Gray Boy was dead<br>8:47 PM <soulpelt|> so it is tangible.<br>8:47 PM <soulpelt|> (then you have random bits of Endbringer flesh in the air.)<br>8:47 PM <Alathon> could gray boy go all the way in and out? or just reach in?<br>8:47 PM <•Wildbow> If you have multiple effects in place and you trap the whole Endbringer, it'll count as dead.<br>8:48 PM <•Wildbow> All the way in and out.<br>8:48 PM <Alathon> so he could step inside his bubble<br>8:48 PM <•Wildbow> Yeah<br>8:48 PM <soulpelt|> But not pull anyone out?<br>8:48 PM <Alathon> does his power go out from inside his bubble?<br>8:48 PM <Alathon> by rights.. he should be able to solo leviathan with that<br>8:48 PM <•Wildbow> No. - [https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/14919700/ Wildbow on the IRC, archived on Spacebattles]</ref> and was able to freeze a ten-foot-high "wall" of air on one occasion.<ref name="26a">[[Interlude 26b]]</ref> He claimed his power operated at the "speed of thought," and that he believed no one was immune to it.<ref name="26.6 eDetails" /> His power can obliquely act on objects charged by [[Foil]], allowing him to effectively freeze her darts in midair if he notices their approach.<ref>Foil threw darts. Gray Boy froze them in mid-air. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/interlude-26b/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 26b]]</ref>

His power also makes him effectively immortal, constantly restoring his body to the exact condition it was in when he first got his powers. This prevented him from aging or even getting dirty. He retained memories despite his constant reversion.<ref>The corpse flickered, and Gray Boy reappeared, sitting atop the forearm of the hand that had squashed him.  He hopped down.<br /><br />His time loop power protected him.  Any time he was hurt, any time he was debilitated, his power would kick in, taking him back as far as he needed, allowing him to maintain his position if he wanted.  He'd remain conscious, retain any recollection, and with his offensive power, he could shut down any threat. <br /><br /> It was that same power that kept him from aging.  Aging was a danger, change was a problem, so he continually retained his appearance from the very moment he'd triggered, reverting back several times an hour, or any time he even got dirty. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/interlude-26b/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 26b]]</ref> Any time he was hurt or debilitated, his power would take him back as far as he needed, allowing him to maintain his position if he wanted or move out of the way.<ref name="26.b e1">The D.T. officer had turned the containment foam onto Gray Boy.<br /><br />Except Gray Boy reappeared, out of the way of the stream.<br /><br />The containment foam froze in mid-air. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/interlude-26b/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 26b]]</ref>

Gray Boy knew Bonesaw's name before she told him, and she believed he - like [[Jack]] - was aware she planned to betray the Nine. It is unclear what aspect of his powers allowed this.<ref>“Bonesaw,” he said, voicing a name she hadn’t programmed into him.  His hand found hers, and he held it.  She felt a chill.  “We’ll be inseparable, I think.<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />”Gray Boy squeezed her hand.  She would have jumped, if her body language wasn’t in the system’s control.  She looked at him, and he winked.<br /><br />Her expression hadn’t wavered, she hadn’t allowed herself the slightest tell, but somehow he fell in the same category as Jack.<br /><br />He knew. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/interlude-25/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 25]]</ref> He had no special ability to aim his attacks, and didn't receive feedback from his power regarding what he'd hit.<ref name="26a" /><!-- The source for him having no special ability to aim his attacks is unclear. The current source for the line, 26b (previously listed as 26a), suggests that his aim is typically based on site (but it's not required). 

For the second half, just to elaborate, it seems this is based on how he didn't realize that Foil wasn't actually looped. 

Might want to expand on the text in the actual article a bit, include some of this. -->

===Vulnerabilities===
If Gray Boy dies while his power is effectively nullified (e.g., his connection to his [[shard]] is disrupted), he will be permanently killed. For example, [[Glaistig Uaine]] killed the original<ref>She’d taken down Gray Boy, had attacked the King’s Men and slain Athrwys, and then she’d turned herself in. - [[Interlude 27.x]]</ref> by claiming him as a shadow (i.e., co-opting his power behind-the-scenes<ref>Other cases of the network being in play include Teacher setting up his own temporary networks of a narrow niche of shard (thinker/tinker shards), or Glaistig Uaine co-opting other networks and making them subordinate (ripping out the entire package and making it a ghost she can load/unload). - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref><!-- https://redd.it/nt15eg -->) at the same time of his death.<ref>Another to duplicate capes.  Duplicating the telekinetic, in part.  But more focused on duplicating the third spirit Glaistig Uaine had made.<br><br>Gray Boys.<br><br>She’d gone through a phase, hunting down some of the scariest capes around, defeating them, claiming them.<br><br>This was one. - [[Extinction 27.5]]</ref> A headshot by [[Foil]]'s charged darts killed the clone by killing him at the same time as his shard connection being disrupted by the effects of her power.<ref name="26.b e2">She threw a handful of darts through the Siberian and Gray Boy’s head as his back was turned.<br><br>The Siberian flickered out of existence as Gray Boy collapsed.<br><br>Neither reappeared, healthy or otherwise. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/interlude-26b/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 26b]]</ref><ref>They were thrown, and they disrupted connections to two shards at once.  The projection disappeared, only to reappear a distance away.  The boy who had created the time distortions fell as well. - [[Interlude 26.x]]</ref>

[[King]]'s power can obliquely redirect Gray Boy's time loops away from him to other touched individuals.<ref name="SB1" /> [[Wildbow]] speculates that someone capable of disrupting their connection to reality, with weird relation to time, could theoretically escape a time loop.<ref>Blue Button - Little gadget by a time travel tinker.  Acts as an emergency button, disrupting one's connection to reality, kind of turning you into a Breaker, with weird relation to time.  Essentially lets you break free of some of the really nasty stuff (like, theoretically, a grey boy loop), and travel about 5-10 feet with no need to concern yourself about intervening hazards or power effects, before you return to normal.  Each use of the button makes it less efficient.  Each time it's used, it shaves off Xd6 years from the user's lifespan, where X is the number of uses, and has a cumulative 2% chance of misfiring, in which case it would shave off 6d6 and cause a time-based mutation.  No saying how many times it's been used, but they think it's only once or twice. - Comment by Wildbow on Discord</ref>

[[Jack Slash#Vulnerabilities|Without outside interference]], [[Jack Slash#Shard|Jack Slash's secondary power]] prevents Gray Boy from looping him.<ref name="reddit eBeat">'''ReekRhymesWithWeak:''' He still gets wrecked by trumps like citrine, and there are some capes that just completely destroy him such as The Siberian, Grey Boy, Number Man (can dodge Jack's attacks), and so on<br><br>'''Wildbow:''' Jack beats Citrine, Siberian, Grey Boy (until interfered with by outside sources), Number Man and arguably Contessa. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles</ref><!-- https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/19115968 -->

===Breaking a Time Loop===
A tuned Stilling attack, such as one from [[Scion]], can break a time loop.<ref>Scion equipped himself to be able to fight pretty much any threat. His big weapon is a very versatile 'stilling' ability, which lets him cancel out wavelengths, which can be applied in a variety of ways, defensive or offensive - it lets him counteract, manipulate, and cancel virtually any parahuman or human generated effect. He can cancel out heat, eliminate sound, break Grey Boy's ability, disintegrate molecular bonds, etc. He can do so with beams, thrown orbs/bullets, a light he emanates, and a personal forcefield, among a variety of other mechanisms. - Wildbow on Spacebattles</ref><!-- https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/15025980/ --> [[Jeanne Wynn]] was confident she could do the same, though she was not willing to do so after the risk assessment she and [[the Wardens]] did.<ref name="II11.4 e1" /> [[March]] outside of a time loop can break it,<ref name="26.6 eLoop">I’d already seen, in a sense.  I’d figured out what was behind the tarp back in Killington.  Gray Boy’s victim.  The only one, as far as I was aware, who was still alive. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/sting-26-6/ Excerpt] from [[Sting 26.6]]</ref><ref name="II12.2 eBroken">I beat her to the punch.  “March got to one of the time effects.  It was the Killington Mayor, in an area that was folded into Brockton Bay.”<br><br>“What happened?” Brandish asked.<br><br>“Broken trigger,” I said, my voice soft.  I could remember the last one I’d been present for.  The construction worker’s rally.  It had been bad.  This was apparently worse by orders of magnitude.  “It incapacitated everyone in the ruins of Brockton Bay and left them defenseless while the initial effects took place.  They’re calling it a Class-S problem.  Not a ''threat'', because that implies a consciousness, but…”<br><br>“Everyone on duty offworld and internationally has been pulled to assist,” Harbinger One said. - [[Heavens 12.2]]</ref> presumably with the help of specialized tinkertech that was used on a [[Bakuda]]-derived time bubble.<ref>A bubble sits suspended in the sky.  Some earth still clings to it, but the ground dropped and the bubble remained fixed to this point in space.  Off to the side, a scarab beetle is cast in bronze, the pedestal broken, the statue sitting askew on broken road.<br><br>March reaches into a pocket.  The second of her devices.  Courtesy of Cradle and Cradle’s back and forth with the Khonsu Fallen, who are led by time manipulators.<br><br>“Stand back.”<br><br>The device makes the bubble fragile, and March’s blade cuts into the skin of it.  It distorts, and it breaks. - [[Heavens 12.all]]</ref>

Gray Boy's victims are repeatedly trying to [[trigger]]; however, the [[shards]] are unable to establish a connection to those trapped inside despite their best efforts.<ref name="II12.none eConnection">The bubble popped.<br>[...]<br>There had been ten thousand times he’d snapped while in that bubble.  Ten thousand times he’d broken from reality, broken from memory, from hope, from everything.<br><br>And in those moments, he’d glimpsed something greater.  For longer, and longer, each time.  Each effort a vain attempt by his collaborator, his agent, to forge a connection and reach out.<br><br>But that wasn’t how this worked.  He didn’t get to have connections.  That hadn’t been the unspoken bargain he’d apparently struck.  He didn’t get the tools to better cut and cauterize wounds and save his son’s mother for nothing.<br><br>But it had tried, and as with the helmet and the rest of that crystallized effort, he felt it come due.   Connections.<br>[...]<br>The connection came, and the connection ''stayed''. - [[Heavens 12.none]]</ref> Because trigger events are a blind spot for the typical [[precognitive]],<ref>“We’ve heard of incidents where one person became a very large-scale effect.  The kind that would cover this whole colony, and then some,” I said.  “I think the catch is that most precogs and danger sensers can’t see triggers coming, even broken ones.” - [[Gleaming 9.12]]</ref> they cannot see the consequences of breaking a time loop with people inside.<ref name="II11.4 e2">It wasn’t Jeanne who answered.  Cinereal gave me my reply.  “Thinkers say no.  They’re either drawing blanks or they don’t like what they see.”<br><br>“Nothing specific?  No details?”<br><br>“No,” Cinereal said.  “But if you look at some of the other major thinker blind spots, you’re going to find yourself running into topics like Eidolon, Sleeper, the Endbringers, Valkyrie, the Island-state, the Pastor incident…”<br><br>“Concentrations of power,” I said.<br><br>Jeanne shook her head.  “''Complexity'' of power, most often.  Whatever thinker powers come into play, with these cases, there’s often too many variables to fully consider, thinkers report that their powers are fuzzy, inconsistent, or blacked out.”<br><br>“And it’s not just the time-stop bubbles in Brockton Bay that are an issue?” I asked.<br><br>Jeanne shook her head.  “But Brockton Bay is one of the largest collections.  Keep that in mind.” - [[Blinding 11.4]]</ref> What little they could indirectly see afterward looked "bad" to them.<ref>“March!” a hero bellowed.  He stood on a rooftop directly above her, looking up at her while she looked up at him.  Twenty feet separated them.<br><br>“Hallo!” she shouted.  The bent space captured her voice, made it resound in different ways.<br><br>“You can’t do this!  You can’t touch the time bubbles!  Every person with a power that looks at the future says the result is ''bad!''”<br><br>She laughed. - [[Interlude 12.z II]]</ref>

After much research, [[the Wardens]] initially believed it was too risky to free his victims,<ref name="II11.4 e1">“The Wardens were looking into those effects, as well as the ongoing Gray Boy loops,” Jeanne said.  “They researched it and decided no.  The same people who petitioned the Wardens then petitioned the government.  It crossed my desk, but I already had some faint knowledge of what it was about.  I considered, researched, and came to the decision that ''yes'', I know a way to undo the effect.  ''No'', I won’t actually do it.”<br><br>''Using her power'', I thought.  ''She could free people from perpetual torment and she says no''.<br><br>“Why no?” I asked. - [[Blinding 11.4]]</ref><ref name="II11.4 e3">“And you don’t know why?  The thinkers can’t shed any light on this?” I asked.<br><br>“Little.”<br><br>“You’re saying you checked, you’re saying no, risky for reasons you can’t disclose.  The Wardens checked, and ''they’re'' saying no, the thinkers think it’s volatile somehow…”<br><br>“Yes,” Cinereal said.  “Volatile is a good way to put it.  It might not explode.  It might be devastating.” - [[Blinding 11.4]]</ref> especially once they learned that freed victims would typically have a [[broken trigger]]<ref name="II12.all eWorms">“Careful, Withdrawal!” a woman shouts.  “She’s dangerous!  She set that thing off to the west!”<br><br>The west.  The mayor.  The first one from the time bubble.  The blackout that had followed had bought March the chance to slip away, take another angle of attack.  It was occupying a good portion of the defending forces.  Worms were crawling out of every crevice and hole, binding together into bigger things if not cut down fast enough. - [[Heavens 12.all]]</ref> after [[Scion]]'s death.<ref name="II12.2 eBroken" /><ref>Same as before.  That meant this wasn’t an isolated incident.  It was even possible that ''everyone'' who was released from time bubbles was going to trigger the instant they were released.  Possible that everyone who was released was going to be a ''broken'' trigger.<br><br>There was a whole group of people caught in a time effect in the scar.  Three at once?<br><br>I wasn’t going to rule out worst-case scenarios. - [[Heavens 12.2]]</ref> For example, when [[March]] broke a time loop<ref name="26.6 eLoop" /> containing the mayor of Killington, he became an [[S-Class]] problem<ref name="II12.2 eBroken" /><ref>“What’s happening?” Colt asked.<br><br>“March released something bad,” the Fallen boy said.  “They’re calling it Class S.  She’s going to release more.” - [[Interlude 12.e II]]</ref> that involved giant worms.<ref name="II12.all eWorms" /> However, after the [[Titans]] crumbled, the Wardens began efforts to let people out.<ref name="II20.e3 eCleanup" /> Still wary of broken triggers, they made sure to communicate with those they intended to keep alive in order to prepare them.<ref name="II20.e3 eChance" />

Although [[Titan Fortuna]] fixed the [[shard network]] so that [[broken trigger]]s are on a sharp decline,<ref name="II20.e3 eChance" /> freed individuals would [[trigger]] or [[second trigger]]<ref name="II20.e3 eCleanup">The fight against the Machine Army was seemingly endless, but they were making fractions of a percent of progress.  It was the same mentality that drove the cleaning up of the time bubbles and Grey Boy loops, taking pre-emptive action where possible.  If someone let any of those people out, they would trigger or second trigger, and they weren’t mentally fit.<br><br>Every week, it seemed like there were new initiatives.  New steps to get things under control. - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/04/18/last-20-e3/ Excerpt] from [[Last 20.e3]]</ref> as the [[shards]] are still trying to establish a connection.<ref name="II12.none eConnection" /> According to [[Limerick|Five]], breaking a time loop creates a 94.1% chance that any person inside will trigger or second trigger the instant they are released.<ref name="II20.e3 eChance">“Breaking time effects apparently creates a ninety-four point one percent chance that the person or people within trigger or second trigger the instant they’re out.  We’re not seeing many more broken triggers, but they’re still wary, still making sure they can communicate with the person on the other side and prepare them.” - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/04/18/last-20-e3/ Excerpt] from [[Last 20.e3]]</ref> However, it is possible to prevent an individual from triggering by immediately stabbing the released individual in a specific part of the brain,<ref>March is quick to move, helped by the three faces.  She lunges-<br>[...]<br>And the third- March’s blade impales his head, stabbing into a precise location of the brain.<br>[...]<br>She pulls her weapon free, and Ixnay is quick to catch the fallen Jotunn.<br><br>“Take care of your boy,” she tells him.  “We’ll make a run for it while they’re all distracted.  Same as the mayor.”<br>[...]<br>“All of ''this'' to give Ixnay the ability to bleed his cluster-mate out?” Tori asks.  “We just unleashed-” - [[Heavens  12.all]]</ref> or collapsing the time loop such that it kills the individual in the process.<ref>“They’re not inclined to let you out, Jacob.  They intend to collapse the effect and kill you in the process.  They’ve already started elsewhere.  You’re second to last, and at the rate they’re going, accounting for travel time, it will be another seven weeks, and three days.  In the meantime, you get your ruins.  You get your blood.  You get to be king of your own desolate little world.” - [https://www.parahumans.net/2020/04/18/last-20-e3/ Excerpt] from [[Last 20.e3]]</ref>

===Shard===
According to [[Scion]], Gray Boy's [[shard]] creates legitimate sinkholes of distorted time.<ref>A shard flared to life, and the entity saw an effect take hold around it.  It reached out and found a barrier it could not penetrate.<br><br>''Cell''.<br><br>Its hand was moved back to the previous position.  It was caught in a sinkhole of distorted time.  Over and over again, it moved in a steady loop.<br><br>''Snare''.<br><br>A trap. - [[Interlude 26.x]]</ref><ref>Its physical body continued to loop in time.  It didn’t matter. - [[Interlude 26.x]]</ref> Note that temporal powers are expensive for the [[Entities]] to use,<ref><Shemetz> [08:26] <Ridtom> Just... how does his power work with Entities? I mean, I get how most powers could (Vista and Legend could push them into FTL speeds, Aegis and Crawler apply better recovery and adaptions, all the thinker powers), but I stuggle to think of how Phir Se (or any time-power really) works on a survival level or on the Entities scale exactly. It seems like it'd solve a lot of<br><Shemetz> energy or redundancy issues for them.<br><Shemetz> [08:27] <Ridtom> *Issues that these two have in canon to be exact<br><Shemetz> [08:31] <@Wildbow> It doesn't solve energy or redundancy issues if it costs more than it preserves.<br><Shemetz> [08:31] <Ridtom> Ah<br><Shemetz> [08:32] <Ridtom> It's the engine problem I see<br><Shemetz> [08:33] <Ridtom> Have access to a new material/source of power, but the engine itself isn't proper for handling the source/material<br><Shemetz> [08:34] <@Wildbow> Most of the time they hobnob it with simulation/precognition and manifestation - Conversation with Wildbow on IRC, archived on Spacebattles</ref><!-- https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/19030432 --> and are thus extremely limited for them. Although Gray Boy's shard can create a time distortion effect that spans a few seconds between loops and affects everything in its localized area by holding them in a kind of drastic superposition, extending the time between loops to say a minute or a day is effectively not possible due to its sheer cost.<ref>The way I have it in my head, if you're working with a localized area or a span of a few seconds, you can hold everything in a kind of drastic superposition.<br>[...]<br>But if you extend that to a minute?  Or a day?  That's a lot of things to hold, say, copies of, or calculate around.<br>Similarly, if you're looking into the future, then you're only working with information.<br>Which can then be passed around and accounted for. - Comment by Wildbow on Discord, archived on Spacebattles</ref><!-- https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/92037354 -->