East Coast Guardians (IC) Issue #3

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"That's weird, though it might explain why Pete's powers were completely different from mine when the Prof analyzed them. We were in the same accident, but I came out without a scratch and gravity powers, while he got some really nasty burns and can transform people with his mind."

[smuchmuch]

I am sorry to intrude but I have a question. If this is true, wouldn't that means that for every prooved powered individuals there is a high chance that the powers would be present, even in a latent state, in one or both parents ?

[JeminiZero]

Doc Atom

"It's entirely possible your powers are natural and whatever happened just kick-started them."

Oh! That explains a lot! Like why so many people get their powers from events that would otherwise kill a normal human ten times over. Doc Atom thinks as he quietly listens in on the exchange. But at the same time, it would mean that the best way to find out if you have superpowers is to do something really dumb. If this got out, all the fanatics out there will start putting themselves in danger, in bid to awaken powers which may or may not exist.

[UglyPanda]

"It's a possibility, but the genetics required for superpowers are incredibly complicated. Neither of my parents have powers, and Linda doesn't have any of Frank's abilities. And there are indeed processes for giving people powers artificially, but most of them are unpredictable or highly dangerous."

[JeminiZero]

Doc Atom

"Or maybe, she does. But she hasn't found out... yet." Doc Atom says with a grin.

Spoiler

Show

OOC: Who is Frank?

[UglyPanda]

"No, she doesn't. Frank put her through every possible kind of test and could never find a thing. The chip on her shoulder makes her f***ing unbearable."

OOC:
Frank's first appearance was in the first post of this thread.

[Obscurejones]

Alex begins to work over the heavy bag starting with jabs and throwing a heavier punch every few seconds.
"Who's got a chip on her what now?"

[JeminiZero]

Doc Atom

"You never know, maybe it takes more than just some test to awaken power. There is after all no substitute for a near-death situtation." Doc Atom continues, in a more contemplative manner.

[UglyPanda]

"Superpower tests are designed to give more false-positives, not the other way around. And we did the alternate universe test on her, none of her expies are powered."

[Obscurejones]

Alex laughs and switches to hitting the bag with his knees.
"Well that's a shame. So sad that she get's to be normal."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"Normality is overrated. Sure, in order to keep my powers in peak condition I have to exercise like a maniac while stuffing my face at the same time, but this life is certainly more interesting than having a superhero talk show, like I dreamed of doing in high school. A lot of supers talk about just wanting to be normal, and then they b*tch and moan about it the one in a million time they actually get to be normal."

Gravatar thinks about Pete "The Plastic Surgeon" Thompson, and what might happen if he got depowered. Sure, he could finally get his scars worked on, and maybe even regain his former handsomeness, but would he ever recover from the psychological scarring of both the accident and his subsequent villainy?

[Obscurejones]

Alex falls back from the heavy bag and wipes off his forehead.
"That's exactly the problem. This life's like an addiction. A little bit of power and a person becomes convinced they're the new Uber Mensch. Oh but a hero's got to be humble to!"
He chuckles.
"It's not healthy."
He returns to hitting the bag.
"And don't even get me started on the moral issues."

[UglyPanda]

"We're not going to become The VOX any time soon, so save your guilt trip for the bad guys, Godwin."

[Obscurejones]

Alex breaks into a grin. As he speaks he moves to exit the gym.
"Will do boss. Just one little question for Gravatar. What did Pete want to do before he became a nutter?"

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"Modelling, I think. I never talked to him much before the accident, and after the accident he spent most of the time babbling about how his life was completely ruined and if he couldn't be one of the beautiful people, no one else should be. He wanted his parents to sue Professor Lupka for everything he had, and I think his ego was REALLY bruised when his parents did the sensible thing and settled out of court."

[Obscurejones]

Alex nods.
"Powers bring out the worst in us. Narcissism may be unseemly but it rarely becomes violent. It makes us think we're entitled regardless of it mutilates or empowers us."
He blurs out of the gym and returns in a fresh costume.
"Who knows? If he hadn't been changed he might of made something of himself."
He shrugs.
"It's not all bad though. This group seems almost...sane."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"I think he should just grow a pair and stop whining. So he's not going to be a model. So what? He got f*cking SUPERPOWERS! How is that a bad tradeoff?"

[UglyPanda]

"Or he could have a serious neurological disorder."

"Guys with powers tend to slip through the cracks. If you keep ending up with a public defender, you might not get to take the insanity plea. And if he's been going untreated for years, he might be really far gone"

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"I've never really had a chance to talk to him after I went to work for Professor Lupka, and he started "uglifying" celebrities and models. He usually just yells the same stuff over and over, and then tries to slim me down before I can use my powers on him. I usually have to get physical when I fight him. One time he slimmed me back down to my pre-powered size. I could barely make a fork float at that size, but fortunately, he's a wimp physically. Doesn't know anything about hand-to-hand combat, and usually tries to use his powers to prevent people from getting close to him in the first place. I ended up punching his lights out that one time, and he kept screaming "NOT THE FACE! NOT THE FACE!" before he finally went unconcious and shut up."

[The_Reaper]

Impact watches all this silently and wanders over to what looks like a bench press/hydraulic press hybrid. "Okay...how do I use this thing?"

[UglyPanda]

"Wait, you mean you've never actually sent this guy to the cops? You've just been beating him up?"

The machine Impact is looking at has a simple set of instructions posted on the side. At the higher settings, the resistance is measured out in tons, with 100 tons being the limit on this particular machine.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"Oh no! The cops pick him up after I knock him unconcious. Like I said, he likes to use his powers to prevent people from getting close to him, so he does things like twist their insides into a pretzel, or fuse their limbs together. Last few cops he did that sort of stuff too are still in the hospital. But for some reason, he never pulls that kind of crap on me. Just slims me down to weaken me, and I can still run up to him and beat him into submission. I've wondered about it a few times. It's like he never uses his full strength when he's fighting me, especially since usually a few minutes into the fight I can't use my full strength."

[UglyPanda]

"Are you even sure that is his power? Maybe it's something like mass and matter manipulation, and your own powers slow it down."

"Or he really is crazy and is simply stalking you."

[Archpaladin Zousha]

"If it were matter manipulation, wouldn't he be able to get rid of his scars and be handsome again? He's tried using his powers on himself before and they've never worked. I can at least use my powers on myself to fly. Don't know why he'd stalk me though, instead of the Professor. The Prof's the one who "ruined his life," not me."

[UglyPanda]

"If it were just some plastic surgery ability, then he would still be able to do so. Maybe he [i[thinks[/i] the scars can't be removed, so his powers won't work on them from a subconscious level."

"And he might not be stalking you for revenge. He could think that you rejected him in some manner, or that you're spiting him somehow. I'm really surprised I've never heard of this guy, though."

"I'll see you guys later, I need a new labcoat."

Yet another goth girl portal opens up, and the man leaves.

The workouts in the gym are going fairly well, with the machines generating enough power to supply a small portion of the building's power.

[The_Reaper]

"Hundred tons? No, I need something bigger, I can lift that with one hand." He looks around for a bigger machine.

[UglyPanda]

There is an older-looking multi-use machine next to it that tops out at 4000 tons, but it starts at 50 tons, making it impossible to use for anyone not superhuman.

OOC:
I did the math, and your character's light load capacity is 68 tons.

[The_Reaper]

((what, a guy can't talk big in front of the ladies? ))

Impact sets the machine to 200 tons and gives it an experimental lift.

[JeminiZero]

Doc Atom

As Vulcan leaves, Doc Atom looks around for a suitable exercise machine. Lets see, I wonder if they have anything for a radiation controller...

[UglyPanda]

Sadly, there is nothing in the room to specifically boost the powers of energy users. There is a door to something called a "nullification room", which looks a bit like a steel sauna and is about twice the size. There happens to be a bench and set of free weights inside, but not much else.