Ebb

[DAISHI]

Energized Blood Bullet - "EBB"

The one weapon the clandestine group SYNAI has in its war against superhumans. Emitting an energy upon a frequency than cancels out the powers of its targets, EBB is the one weapon they have against telekinetics, magnetizers and a host of superhuman criminals working to destroy the world.

[DAISHI]

Scratch the previous ideas. EBB still exists. So does SYNAI. But let's skip the end of the world stuff, that's stupid.

SYNAI's primary duties are to take down those people exhibiting powers and using them for ill purpose. Thieves with the ability to phase between walls. Murderers who can kill without laying a hand on people. Con artists with the gift of absolute charisma.

SYNAI is currently working on an entirely electronic based version of energy disruption that would negate villainous powers, but for now they're forced to rely on the constant cloning and use of Stella Cells, carried in a blood formula in the tips of their bullets. The energy exhibited makes them immune to interruption by various forms of powers such as telekinesis. Upon impact, the tip of the casing bursts apart, releasing the Stella Cells into the body and negating the villain's powers for up to several hours as the blood filters into their system. This allows enough time to put the culprits into specialized holding cells.

The walls of SYNAI throb with a constant stream of mass produced Stella Cells in order to suppress the use of superhuman abilities while within the walls of the facility.

[DAISHI]

Why can't agents use EBB suits if they can pump the stuff through the walls of SYNAI? Thus forming an immunity to these powers. I mean it's creepy to think of guys running around in suits that are pumping mutant blood but...

Maybe the blood needs an electrical charge that can't be feasibly provided on a long term basis?

Maybe that's one of the functions of their guns. The firing mechanism creates the electrical current necessary to oh-so briefly charge th blood in the tip of the bullet, thereby generating the bullet's anti-power properties.

And what about these Stella Cells? Who was Stella? A mutant too?

[DAISHI]

Stella Waters, born 1919, died 1934. At one time her blood was conceived as a potential cure for all people with superhuman abilities. At the time of her death, her very prolific cells were harvested for further usage using blood as a suspension and delivery method. Initially these cells were intended to counter the slow rise of mutant gifted people (See: woman pushing a penny with her mind) and the cells were allowed to propagate tens of billions of times, creating a vast reservoir from which to treat the superhuman population. Unfortunately, permanent grafting of the cells into individuals created a crisis in the body, creating numerous side effects. These began as signs of fatigue, lack of awareness, loss of coordination, loss of organ functions and eventually death. The transplating of Stella Cells into a superhuman in the population was considered a death penalty, but the temporary transfusion of Stella blood on a weekly basis suppressed various powers enough to keep the superhuman population operating on normal levels with the general population. This suppression was not always 100%, leading to a number of intellectual geniuses, uncanny politicians and unbelievable sports stars that the population simply thought were amazingly gifted. That they had powers was beyond comprehension. However, the number of reported cases began to multiply. The vast majority of individuals were able to be treated with blood transfusions, but as the numbers grew, so did the intensity of the powers. People were no longer simply slightly stronger or faster, no longer gifted with only genius or the occasional telekinetic or telepathic talent. Powers were now exhibited in individuals at heightened levels. Superhuman strength rose to tremendous proportions, telepathy became a real and projected danger that could see into people's minds from miles away.

Then the really dangerous powers began to manifest, and a classification system became necessary to track those in the population who were dangerous and who were not. A distinction was made between those with lethal and nonlethal powers, nonlethal including low levels of telekinetics, superhuman strength, regenerative capability, invisibility, teleporters, and the muddled concept of absolute charisma. These were called Deltas.

Then the class of lethals came into play in rising classifications of Gammas, Betas and Alphas. Mid level telepaths, telekinetics, and super strengthers typified the bottom tier of lethals. Higher were those with high degrees of telekineses, mind manipulation, and environmental manipulation. These could include those with the ability to manipulate nature and the surrounding environment, or alter their own body composition to some degree. At the highest levels were those rarely seen who could create energy waves, nuclear fission, portals, environment manipulation of extreme degree, total telekinesis or telepathy, and others.

Despite a century of research, EBB, loaded with Stella Cells, remains the one weapon effective 100% of the time across all classifications of super normals.

[Scnew]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

Stella Waters, born 1919, died 1934. At one time her blood was conceived as a potential cure for all people with superhuman abilities. At the time of her death, her very prolific cells were harvested for further usage using blood as a suspension and delivery method. Initially these cells were intended to counter the slow rise of mutant gifted people (See: woman pushing a penny with her mind) and the cells were allowed to propagate tens of billions of times, creating a vast reservoir from which to treat the superhuman population. Unfortunately, permanent grafting of the cells into individuals created a crisis in the body, creating numerous side effects. These began as signs of fatigue, lack of awareness, loss of coordination, loss of organ functions and eventually death. The transplating of Stella Cells into a superhuman in the population was considered a death penalty, but the temporary transfusion of Stella blood on a weekly basis suppressed various powers enough to keep the superhuman population operating on normal levels with the general population. This suppression was not always 100%, leading to a number of intellectual geniuses, uncanny politicians and unbelievable sports stars that the population simply thought were amazingly gifted. That they had powers was beyond comprehension. However, the number of reported cases began to multiply. The vast majority of individuals were able to be treated with blood transfusions, but as the numbers grew, so did the intensity of the powers. People were no longer simply slightly stronger or faster, no longer gifted with only genius or the occasional telekinetic or telepathic talent. Powers were now exhibited in individuals at heightened levels. Superhuman strength rose to tremendous proportions, telepathy became a real and projected danger that could see into people's minds from miles away.

Then the really dangerous powers began to manifest, and a classification system became necessary to track those in the population who were dangerous and who were not. A distinction was made between those with lethal and nonlethal powers, nonlethal including low levels of telekinetics, superhuman strength, regenerative capability, invisibility, teleporters, and the muddled concept of absolute charisma. These were called Deltas.

Then the class of lethals came into play in rising classifications of Gammas, Betas and Alphas. Mid level telepaths, telekinetics, and super strengthers typified the bottom tier of lethals. Higher were those with high degrees of telekineses, mind manipulation, and environmental manipulation. These could include those with the ability to manipulate nature and the surrounding environment, or alter their own body composition to some degree. At the highest levels were those rarely seen who could create energy waves, nuclear fission, portals, environment manipulation of extreme degree, total telekinesis or telepathy, and others.

Despite a century of research, EBB, loaded with Stella Cells, remains the one weapon effective 100% of the time across all classifications of super normals.

And then this happened?

[DAISHI]

Lol no. That world is too crazy. I hate X Men though.

[doodo!]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

Stella Waters, born 1919, died 1934. At one time her blood was conceived as a potential cure for all people with superhuman abilities. At the time of her death, her very prolific cells were harvested for further usage using blood as a suspension and delivery method. Initially these cells were intended to counter the slow rise of mutant gifted people (See: woman pushing a penny with her mind) and the cells were allowed to propagate tens of billions of times, creating a vast reservoir from which to treat the superhuman population. Unfortunately, permanent grafting of the cells into individuals created a crisis in the body, creating numerous side effects. These began as signs of fatigue, lack of awareness, loss of coordination, loss of organ functions and eventually death. The transplating of Stella Cells into a superhuman in the population was considered a death penalty, but the temporary transfusion of Stella blood on a weekly basis suppressed various powers enough to keep the superhuman population operating on normal levels with the general population. This suppression was not always 100%, leading to a number of intellectual geniuses, uncanny politicians and unbelievable sports stars that the population simply thought were amazingly gifted. That they had powers was beyond comprehension. However, the number of reported cases began to multiply. The vast majority of individuals were able to be treated with blood transfusions, but as the numbers grew, so did the intensity of the powers. People were no longer simply slightly stronger or faster, no longer gifted with only genius or the occasional telekinetic or telepathic talent. Powers were now exhibited in individuals at heightened levels. Superhuman strength rose to tremendous proportions, telepathy became a real and projected danger that could see into people's minds from miles away.

Then the really dangerous powers began to manifest, and a classification system became necessary to track those in the population who were dangerous and who were not. A distinction was made between those with lethal and nonlethal powers, nonlethal including low levels of telekinetics, superhuman strength, regenerative capability, invisibility, teleporters, and the muddled concept of absolute charisma. These were called Deltas.

Then the class of lethals came into play in rising classifications of Gammas, Betas and Alphas. Mid level telepaths, telekinetics, and super strengthers typified the bottom tier of lethals. Higher were those with high degrees of telekineses, mind manipulation, and environmental manipulation. These could include those with the ability to manipulate nature and the surrounding environment, or alter their own body composition to some degree. At the highest levels were those rarely seen who could create energy waves, nuclear fission, portals, environment manipulation of extreme degree, total telekinesis or telepathy, and others.

Despite a century of research, EBB, loaded with Stella Cells, remains the one weapon effective 100% of the time across all classifications of super normals.

Dude, where is all of that from ?

[WarpSpeed]

Originally Posted by DAISHI

Then the class of lethals came into play in rising classifications of Gammas, Betas and Alphas. Mid level telepaths, telekinetics, and super strengthers typified the bottom tier of lethals.

Did any of them change into giant lagomorphs destroying the city in search of corn dogs?

[Zeek]

Originally Posted by Scnew

Huh?! When did Beast become a Na'vi?

[DAISHI]

Originally Posted by doodo!

Dude, where is all of that from ?

Using this space as a creative scratch pad for a new story proposal.

[DAISHI]

Originally Posted by WarpSpeed

Did any of them change into giant lagomorphs destroying the city in search of corn dogs?

We can only hope this happens!

[DAISHI]

How and why SYNAI was started, nobody seems to know. Not a single agent in the agency knows who began SYNAI or even what it may stand for. Here is what is known.

SYNAI is an independent body funded almost entirely by the private donations of wealthy contributors. It acts in almost paramilitary fashion, scouring the United States in search of supernormals. Their motto: Versus Futurum. This said, it should be noted that some in the government are aware of its existence.

In their search they first make three determinations.
1.) Whether the subject is lethal or nonlethal
2.) If lethal, of what classification of supernormal are they.
3.) What procedure is appropriate for eliminating the potential threat, or of eliminating the threat of exposure to the general public in a way that would unveil the existence of supernormals.

The vast majority of nonlethal supernormals and low power, Gamma level lethal supernormals are approached through the same means. The target is obtained during sleep or some other activity in a way that agents can temporarily apprehend and subdue the subject, exposing them to Stella blood in a way that suppresses their powers. Via mental manipulation they are are brought to forget any awareness of potential superpowers. Further, they are led to believe they are of such illness that they will be required to check with doctors on a regular basis. The doctors they inevitably end up seeing are always members of SYNAI and always end up administering Stella Cells via transfusion or through prescribed pills. Should the target superhuman falter in their regular doctor attendance or pill use, they are then targeted for more invasive procedures. Regular interruptions via agents becomes necessary, and further mental manipulation, to induce a sort of hypochondria that will provoke the target into visiting their "doctors", becomes standard approach. Rehabilitation rates for these low powered individuals almost always approach 100%.

For higher level powers - most commonly Betas, as Alphas only surface every decade or so - direct intervention is required. Even under the strictest regiments, Betas seem to become aware of their powers. In response, SYNAI directly intervenes, bringing them within their facility through a variety of coercive means that usually require force. Education concerning the use of powers and training is provided should the target consent. Living on-facility is required for the first year of training. Jobs are provided upon the completion of this year, within SYNAI led businesses.

Before exposure to SYNAI education, complications often arise. Indeed, the vast majority of targets begin to utilize their powers in ways that make it difficult for agents to identify them. Robbers, murderers, con artists, all utilize their powers in ways that are subtle enough to avoid detection for a good deal of time. Once their actions bring them to the awareness of the agency, direct intervention is employed.

Upon apprehension, their choice is either to willingly submit to Stella blood transfusion and a life within the bounds of SYNAI's outline, or to be permanently restricted to SYNAI facilities.

It should be noted again that SYNAI is not an agency of the government and is not bound by any ensuing requirements.

Alphas, a rare breed, arise only rarely in the population. Most often they utilize their power for malevolent purposes and require swift interaction. It is not uncommon for a number of agents to be employed in the apprehension of an Alpha. Their treatment is approached with the same regulations as Betas except with heightened monitoring. It is not uncommon for agents to be placed covertly within the area of an Alpha's public life without their knowing. At the slightest hint of deviance from SYNAI regulation, intervention may become required. This is due to the intensity of an Alpha's power.

It should also be noted that, of all targets, Alphas are most often the most difficult to tame. Very few enlist in the program. Indeed, few are apprehended. Almost all are killed in the course of attempting to apprehend them, due to the necessities of circumstance. Alphas employ powers of such magnitude that lethal force is often required, and very often a large scale "cleanup" of the surrounding area is required in order to erase the memories of the event from local memory.

In the case of Betas and Alphas, SYNAI acts almost entirely as a supernormal police force. Almost all Betas and Alphas are prone to criminal acts utilizing their powers, and the most common actions for an agent are to apprehend or kill in the line of duty. While Betas have a higher rate of rehabilitation - aligned with a higher rate of apprehension due to less intense powers - Alphas are almost always killed due to the extreme use of force they employ.

[DAISHI]

"The Energized Blood Bullet, the single weapon an agent has in the war between humanity and the growing breed of supernormals. Now, don't get me wrong, nobody believes that supernormals have a better chance to rehabilitate than I do. Reality is though, there are plenty who choose to use their abilities to manipulate, to steal or to injure. The world is full of people looking for a chance to get ahead of everyone else. Well, that's what these powers are for them. A chance to get ahead at the expense of everyone else."

~~~

It looks just like any other round. Small enough, about the size of a .40 caliber bullet, nobody would be able to tell that the front tip of it is primed to come apart upon contact with another surface. Inside? Blood, loaded with Stella Cells. That may sound grim, but it was a necessity arrived upon after decades of research. True, there had been plenty of efforts to reform supernormals, to take different paths with them. At the end of the day, there were still plenty who rejected the offers made by the agency.

SYNAI. It was what it was, the last line of defense between the population of the United States and the supernormals that had slowly been surfacing over the last century. Since at least the early 1900s, their numbers had been growing. At first there had been maybe one in one hundred million that possessed a power. In the early days, it was easy enough to control these individuals. Times had changed, though. More and more, supernormals were proliferating. It had gone from one in one hundred million to one in ten million. Soon, it might be one in one million. What happened when it was one supernormal to one hundred thousand normals? Or one in one hundred?

That was an eventuality, a possibility that could not be contemplated. Imagine a world filled with people, normal humans with all the flaws and selfishness that the world possesses, and then give them a power. Give one flight, another speed. For one, give them telepathy, and to another super strength. Now give on the ability to control the weather, or to control fundamental energies of the universe.

It gets scary, thinking about it. It would be the end result if the genes of supernormals were allowed to rage throughout the population. It was the reason they had to be apprehended, rehabilitated, and their powers suppressed. When properly done, the mutant gene clusters that bestowed powers did not pass onto the next generation.

That was the primary purpose of SYNAI, to maintain order in a world that would fall into chaos if the supernormal genes were allowed to run rampant. This duty required diligence, force, and a unique type of person. Not just anybody could be an agent of SYNAI. Think about the average police officer, putting their life on the line to apprehend a thief, or a murderer. Now imagine if that thief or murderer could phase through walls or kill with telekinetic ability. Suddenly, the image is a bit darker, that much more grim. It wasn't easy to be an agent. It never had been, and the task would only become more difficult. The truth was, the situation with supernormals was only getting worse. It wasn't just that they were growing in number, no. The greater problem was that the gene was growing stronger and in turn, supernormals were gaining powers far more fantastic than they had ever possessed in the past. From super strength to the ability to manipulate nuclear energies, supernoral powers were growing frighteningly strong. It requires a forceful hand to deal with.

Agents worked against these individuals, fought them with the only weapon that remained effective: The EBB. Bullets tipped with blood capsules of Stella Cells, they produced an energetic effect that dampened and canceled supernormal powers. Telekinetics couldn't grab these bullets with their minds, and magnetists couldn't stop it from approaching using all the magnetic fields in the world. EBB was the single weapon that evened the playing field and, in the scheme of things, even it was pathetic in the fact of people who could fire bolts of energy from their hands or cause the earth to rupture. Rare cases, but they had existed nonetheless. In the end, EBB was only the tool. It required men and women with hearts of steel to properly use it.

[doodo!]

Oh, hey this sounds pretty cool. I like where you're going with this, you almost had me convinced you've became a real life paranormal source. This is good stuff.

[Scnew]

Originally Posted by Zeek

Huh?! When did Beast become a Na'vi?

When he was writing New X-Men, Grant Morrison decided it was important that Beast become a cat for some reason. It was mostly pointless and it was left with pretty much no explanation, requiring another writer on a different X-Men comic to pull one out of his ass.

[doodo!]

Now Rather Dashing needs his own thread TOO!

I got to make a joke, no hard feelings, love that guy.

He would be like Snape's blog.

He's a cynic! Well, maybe not, love him...

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by doodo!

He would be like Snape's blog.

I think Snape's blog would be a compilation of obscure dark magic and potions. And would have absolutely nothing personal about it.

[RetroVortex]

Originally Posted by Alcoremortis

I think Snape's blog would be a compilation of obscure dark magic and potions. And would have absolutely nothing personal about it.

I don't know.

I heard the man keeps a diary and thats not so far off... XD

[Alcoremortis]

Originally Posted by RetroVortex

I don't know.

I heard the man keeps a diary and thats not so far off... XD

That was hilarious. Also, I like buttons too.

[DAISHI]

Recruiting for SYNAI has traditionally been one of its biggest difficulties. There are two gaps to bridge before a candidate can be chosen for the program, and if the candidate can't cross both bridges then they can't join the organization. The first issue that arises among almost all potential candidates is their willingness to buy into a program dealing with supernormals. Many don't believe, at least not until they see a person's powers at work. Some do believe, whether because they're open to the thought of such events or because they have had personal encounters. Regardless, once they've been convinced, the issue becomes whether or not they have the internal fortitude to fight this sort of war. Even brave soldiers have their limits, and not everyone chosen because of their combat background wants to get into this type of fight. SYNAI, of course, has no problem allowing candidates to return to their r lives... after a gentle mindwipe has been performed, of course. No memory of the organization can be retained by those not in the organization. It would simply be an unnecessary liability.
Once a candidate believes in the threat and becomes willing to face it, they come up against another hurdle. Too often, the organization has found itself with prime physical specimens - former soldiers, special forces, or high performing police officers - that simply do not have the mentality for battling against supernormals. Some Betas scratch at the basement of Alpha level powers and become terrible threats. Putting a gun into a person's hand and asking them to fight these sort of beings isn't enough. Agents have to be able to outthink their opponent, to be one step ahead. An EBB isn't going to hit a target who tears up a piece of the ground to form a barrier, or who uses magnetic force to strip the weapon from an agent's hand. In the course of battle, smart decisions need to be made. Each supernormal needs to be approached with a tailored battle plan. You don't want to try and tackle a magnetist the same way you would a telepath, as both will approach the fight differently. So, agents are expected to not only be physically capable of enduring a drawn out fight, but of critical planning. This planning goes on before the fight even begins, and then requires smart decisions in the heat of battle.

The truth is, even if a candidate gets past the first barrier to joining SYNAI, they find it harder to get past the second. A great many of accepted agents are actually rather normal looking individuals. There are few who are incredible physical athletes. Of course, all are fit, able to fight, to pursue and to endure. However, it's a rare sight to see any that are built like mountains. Few have massive arms swelling with muscle or legs that look like they could kick through a signpost. The truth is, the typical agent is a late twenties to early thirties male, in good shape but nothing close to the image of a professional athlete or Olympian. The quality that defines them is always their cunning and ability to endure despite all odds. An agent cannot be a quitter. Indeed, the ability to endure is their greatest characteristic of all.

It is surprisingly difficult to find such people. All human beings, regardless of conditioning, have an in-built switch in their mind that alerts them to when they've reached their threshold. A few are able to push past this for a moderate time. Even fewer are able to push on when they've been past a typical threshold for extreme lengths of time. These are the men and women who fall seven times but always rise again, willing to reenter the fray. When ten miles of running has drained them, they keep on until they've hit fifteen. Then, they keep going until they've hit twenty, if they need to. There is no way to measure this sort of quality until a person has been under observation, until they have been tested. It is therefore no surprise that the physical testing for agents can be intense, requiring two weeks of constant physical performance on land and, in shorter durations, at sea. These tests require physical marches, exposure to all sorts of extreme weather elements, and require subjects to demonstrate they can survive under such conditions. Firing practice occurs daily at intervals, again requiring candidates to demonstrate their ability to be lethal even under the harshest conditions. Through all of this, their ability to plan and act intelligently under duress is also measured.
Not many pass through, and those that do are little different from many people in the general populace. None are bred killers or war lovers. Instead, they are generally normal individuals, good natured and friendly, who simply know they have a job to get done. There's no room in SYNAI for men and women looking for thrills, people who don't know when to withdraw because they've got the scent of blood so strongly in their nostrils that they don't know when to breathe fresh air. Intelligent risk taking is a necessity of the job. Thrill seeking, on the other hand, is a liability to an agent and their comrades. Those who love war too much often fall a bit too far toward the war loving side, and are usually weeded out. Those that manage to pass through often end up dead because of their own actions.

It's a narrow slice of the population that can meet all these requirements, but there has never been room for compromise in the organization. Open the doors too wide and you'll simply have dead bodies piling at the feet of supernormals. Substandard candidates can operate for a while dealing with lethals and Gammas, and occasionally Betas. The long lived Betas though, the experienced ones, and the Alphas always, have an easy time dealing with agents that lack.

To boil it down, an agent needed to be smart, and have an ability to endure. They also needed to be willing to coerce people that, sometimes, simply wanted to lead simple lives. Nonlethals and Gammas often fell into this range, but they had to be controlled. An agent had to be willing to set aside moral qualms in order to benefit the greater good. It wasn't always easy, but when done properly, these sorts of people could live relatively normal lives. Sure, they might need to visit the doctor more frequently than others, but that was preferable to being permanently confined. It was also for their own good. Low powered individuals had, occasionally, demonstrated an ability to 'mature' their abilities. Nonlethal powers grew lethal, and Gammas became Betas. While under treatment, their powers suppressed by Stella Cells, this had never happened.