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Introduction:
Throughout history, there have been people gifted with unique abilities. In the past, some have been accused of witchcraft and have suffered due to their powers. Before then, in the ancient world, such people were viewed as heroes and even worshipped as demigods.
In modern times, however, most of these Empowered individuals have opted to keep a low profile, hiding their abilities from the public and each other. For years, they have been able to hide in plain sight, living amongst the normal population without incident. This has served them well for some time, but now they face a new challenge.
Timothy Skye, one of the Empowered, and a wealthy businessman, was entrusted with a list containing names of others like himself. Two years ago, he realized that several names on the list had recently been killed, and began a search for the remaining members in order to protect them. He left behind his son, Daniel, to oversee construction of a facility that could shelter them from attack. As Timothy gathered members of the families on the list, he sent a few back to his son to help in establishing the new facility where they could train in the use of their abilities: Bridget, an even-tempered Geo-Magus warrior; Rachel, a Pyrokinetic who redefines the word "Firepower"; and Travis, a modestly Empowered young man with an enormous scientific brilliance.
The majority of those Timothy recruited he kept with himself in order to help speed along the search. A few months ago, though, Timothy and his group were discovered in the hold of the large cargo ship he had been using as a mobile base, massacred.
Now all that is left of the list which included hundreds of names is a group of four young heroes determined to find out who has killed off their colleagues, and rescue any others of the Empowered they may encounter.
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The Heroes
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Daniel Skye:
Daniel is capable of generating and directing winds with tremendous velocity which allow him to fly or hurl objects at incredible speeds. He can also use his abilities to generate fog and, with concentration, form storm clouds, although he has no control over weather aspects such as rainfall or lightning.
Daniel's great-great-grandfather began the business that would become Forever Skies, the company that finances the team. After generations of smart financial decisions, his family is currently worth billions of dollars. Although Daniel is listed as a VP within the company, his business responsibilities are few, allowing him to concentrate on finding and helping others with abilities, as well as providing resources for the team.
Although other members of his family also possess wind-generating abilities, none are capable of creating much more than a dust-devil. However, they are all aware that they share this trait and so support Daniel's role as financial backer for the team.
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Bridget Ceriolla:
Bridget has the ability to molecularly restructure most forms of rock. She typically uses this ability to craft weaponry, but can also generate seismic waves, causing localized earthquakes.
Her father, also a "Geo-Magus," enrolled Bridget in martial arts schools starting at the age of five. Her entire life has been structured around learning to use her skills in battle, and thus she is very skilled in strategy. Because of her intense training, she was the obvious choice to become the team's field commander.
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Rachel Byrne:
Rachel is capable of generating and controlling heat and fire. She can use these abilities to generate updrafts, which allow her to fly, as well as directing beams of intense heat during combat.
After spending a few years modeling, Rachel ended up becoming a fashion designer. Although her name isn't widely known, her designs for Forever Skies' clothing lines generate a fair amount of money for the company.
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Travis Hammer:
Travis has the power to fuse and separate molecular structures, although the larger the effect the more exhausting the process becomes, exponentially. But, because of his intrinsic understanding of how to manipulate molecules, he has become quite the inventor. Many of his creations have been patented through Forever Skies, and the money his gadgets have generated for the company is enough to comfortably finance the team without draining finances from other departments.
Some of Travis' inventions include a material for clothing which is astonishingly durable so that it won't wear out under the extreme conditions some members of the team produce. It is very expensive to generate, and so has not been publicly released, but is used in creating clothing for his teammates. He has also created a pair of pistols capable of generating concussive energy beams which he uses in combat. They are powered by tiny nuclear reactions that he causes within the energy chambers of the guns.
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Aurora "Rory" Bender:
Rory is a Psion, capable of Telepathic contact with others, as well as Telekinesis. Psionic powers are the most commonly experienced Super Powers throughout the world since all humans possess them to some degree. Most people, however, have no control over what they can do with their own Psionic abilities, and so write off many personal experiences with them as coincidental. But there are a few who recognize the skills for what they are, and can sometimes control how they use them. These people commonly use their skills as professional "Psychics"; the ones who read palms or Tarot Cards at fairs, or else charge fees to talk with people over the phone. Sometimes, an exceptionally strong Psionic develops Telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the mind.
Amongst true Psioncs, Rory is considered an exceptionally strong Telepath, capable not only of hearing a person's thoughts, but also able to probe deeper into their minds and discover memories they may not be thinking of.
Rory's father was also a gifted Psionic, although he was a Retrocog rather than a Telepath, able to see past events. He used his own skills to learn as much about Psychic phenomena as he could, and published several books on the subject matter. He also taught his daughter how best to control and focus her own skills.
There is one more skill Rory possesses, which is unique to her lineage alone: With physical contact, she is capable of bringing another person's consciousness into her own mind. Once there, Rory has full control over what the other person sees and experiences. This can be incredibly dangerous to the other person, however, so Rory has only very rarely utilized this ability.
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Alec Dean:
Alec is very secretive about his past. Even the validity of the name he has given to the rest of the team is in question. Although he has no notable accent, his thoughts are in a foreign language that Rory cannot understand, and so no one else even knows where he comes from.
Alec appears to have two distinct powers, the first being the ability to manipulate water molecules. He can generate fountains and waves from any open source of water, and can even manipulate currents in larger bodies, allowing him to create tidal waves. In addition, he can adjust the tension on the surface of water so that he can stand or walk on top of it.
He is also able to manipulate his body's own bio-electric field to create small electrical shocks (similar to static charges) which he uses to power up a small collection of weaponry he possess. Most commonly, he wields a retractable baton, comprised of interlocking magnetic chips, which can cause an energy discharge upon contact with an opponent that commonly stuns his adversaries.
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The Six
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Brighton Church:
Brighton is the son of Mary, one of the High Council, and older brother to London. He is considered to be, by far, the most powerful Psion on the planet. Both his Telepathic and Telekinetic gifts are unrivaled.
Even as a small child, he was easily able to read the thoughts of others around him. This caused him to become contemptuous of others, since the deepest secrets of anyone, excluding the members of the High Council, and his little brother, were readily available to him. Though he respects the members of the Council, simply because he considers them "unknowable", the only person he ever shows genuine affection for is London.
Because of his vast power, he was treated by the Family as the "Crown Prince" of his generation, and the most likely to become an Ascendant.
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Crystal Fielding:
A Daughter of Casper, one of the High Council, Crystal was given her name when her father sought out the aid of a Seer to determine what the infant child's ability would be. She is capable of restructuring the carbon alignments within precious gemstones, thereby changing their shape.
As a child, her abilities were considered fairly useless, but Crystal was determined to prove herself to be as worthy as Brighton and the other "notable" Children. At the age of seven, she convinced her father to have the Family business purchase a diamond mine. She went with Casper to inspect the new asset and snuck into the mine itself, coming out minutes later with an armful of raw diamonds which she took into a nearby tent. Shortly after, she emerged holding onto a virtually unbreakable diamond sword she had constructed from the unrefined rocks. She then convinced her father to send her to a series of martial arts Masters where she very studiously trained. She is now considered by various Masters to be amongst the most skilled fighters in the world.
Due to her combat training and her later studies of battle strategy, Crystal was not only appointed to The Six, but was given field command of the team. The other members were resentful toward her for a while, but most later realized she was very clearly the best tactician among them.
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Christopher Loughton:
Chris is the eldest son of James, the leader of the High Council. This distinction alone gives him much clout in the Family's hierarchy. He was raised from an early age to be able to manage the Family's large financial empire.
Chris is capable of producing bio-electrical energy through his body and releasing it in whichever direction he chooses, basically allowing him to shoot lightning. The energy does not travel as quickly as true lightning, but is much more accurate than actual electricity would be.
His power is not nearly as versatile as that of his brother, Nate, but Chris was still easily strong enough to be appointed to The Six. However, he is rarely utilized in actual combat situations, because of his role as business protégé, but is still given command of other teams to keep his leadership skills sharp.
Though he gets along with most of the other members of The Six, Chris is very jealous of the attention Brighton receives, and is wary of his power.
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Deborah Buck:
Debbie is the daughter of Elaine, a member of the High Council. She has the ability to create what she calls "Gravity Bombs". With a gesture, she is capable of distorting the gravitational field in a localized area so that nearby objects are either pulled closer, or flung away. The effect is very short-lived but highly intense. She most commonly uses her power to pull opponents to the ground or else hurl them across significant distances.
Though appointed as a member of The Six, Debbie lacks any real ambition other than to "have fun". She is often found in trendy dance clubs and bars "living the life".
Debbie is very sultry and enjoys playing the seductress. She also revels in the fact that she's a "Super Villain" with "a pretty kick-ass power".
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Nathan Loughton:
Nate is the son of James, the leader of the High Council, and is younger brother to Christopher. His power is the ability to solidify light particles into solid shapes, but with the limitation that he must remain in physical contact with whatever he creates, or else it will dissipate. He commonly uses his powers to create weaponry such as swords and quarterstaffs, but has been able to create other items such as hang-gliders and grappling hooks which he is able to use to travel.
His back-story can be summarized as "Second". He is considered to be the second most powerful Child of the Council behind Brighton, the second best physical fighter after Crystal, and as the second son of James, he watched from the background as Christopher was raised to become the heir of the financial empire the Family has built up.
Though seemingly content with his place within the hierarchy of the Family, Nate is secretly very frustrated and harbors deep resentment toward many of his companions.
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Diane Wells:
As a popular singer/songwriter, Diane is easily the most recognizable member of the Family, and so is very cautious when using her abilities in public places.
She is the daughter of Pavel, possessing sonic abilities that utilize her vocal talents. She is easily capable of shattering objects with her sonic waves, but is also capable of hypnotizing people and disorienting her opponents by messing with their inner ears.
Considered to be amongst the most versatile of her generation within the Family, she was appointed as a member of The Six but is rarely sent into combat because of her celebrity status.
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Other Children of the Council
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Kieran Post:
Grandson of Evelyn and great-grandson of Pavel, Kieran is what is referred to as a "Tactile Telepath." He requires physical contact in order to open up a psychic connection. Compared to normal Psions, he would be considered quite strong, but in the Family his abilities are quite negligible.
Pavel had arranged for Kieran to be his assistant in dealing with Politics, perhaps with an eye on entering Kieran into the political arena someday, but Kieran currently lies in a coma.
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London Church:
London is the son of Mary, and younger brother to Brighton. He is a highly gifted Psion like his brother, but rather than Telepathy and Telekinesis (two highly useful powers in combat), London possesses Precognitive and Retrocognitive powers. In olden days he would have been called a true "Seer", capable of witnessing events in both the past and future.
Though he sometimes gets Visions, wherein he goes into a trance and recites what Brighton jokingly calls "Prophetic Verse," his usual method of Seeing is through dreams.
London is often seemingly distracted, and has an air about him that others have described as "creepy." Thus he has very few real friends within the rest of the Family, other than his big brother, but seems to show affection toward Regan.
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Regan Lark:
Regan is a daughter of Pavel, and half-sister to Diane. She is a Tracker, able to trace and identify energy trails.
Originally a member of the Six (so there is likely more to her powers than just Tracking), the High Council decided to attach her to equipment which would help facilitate in their hunt for other Empowereds. This allowed room on the team for Crystal.
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Evelyn Barker:
Evie is the eldest living Child of any of the High Council. She is the daughter of Pavel, and mother to three Empowered Children (and grandmother to several more).
She is what is called a "Possessive Empath", capable of reading the emotions of others, but also able to influence them.
Evelyn was tasked with overseeing twin Children (Elizabeth and Elijah) but to what purpose is unknown. She was called away from her duties when Brighton was injured in the hope that she could assist him, but was unable to. Shortly thereafter, her grandson Kieran was injured as well, and she was recruited into taking his place in order to facilitate one of the Council's many plans. All this time away from the Twins has her worried, but it is uncertain why.
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The High Council
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Elaine Clausson:
Newest Immortal member of the High Council and mother of Debbie.
A Teleporter, she is capable of instantly transporting herself anywhere in the world. She is also capable of opening portals for others to travel through.
Elaine is a reluctant participant, but prefers working with the Council to the alternative. She possesses no amount of authority over the other members, but due to her highly desirable abilities, she is perhaps the most aware of everyone's individual plans.
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Casper:
An Animorph, capable of turning his body completely, or partially, into that of an animal. He also possess highly keen senses.
An Immortal Ascendant and member of the High Council. Father to several Children, including Crystal. Little else is known about him, including his real name.
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Pavel:
An Immortal member of the High Council and father of dozens of Children within the Family; including Diane, Regan and Evelyn.
Pavel seems to be in control of some of the Family's political plans, but what ultimate agenda he is working toward is unknown.
Little else is known about him at this time, including the extent of his powers.
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Tuketmeh:
An Immortal member of the High Council, but the only one with no Children. Little is known about him at this time, including his powers, or why his body is translucent.
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Mary Loughton:
Mary is the twin sister of Jamie and the unofficial "Queen" of the High Council, second only to her brother.
She is also mother to both Brighton and London. The first, as the most powerful Child produced by one of the Council, is a source of great pride for her. The other, for reasons unknown, she seems to resent.
At this time little else is known about her, including her powers.
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James Loughton:
Jamie, as he is often called this generation, is the Immortal leader of the High Council and would-be figurehead of the future Pantheon he hopes to establish, making him the de facto Ruler of Earth. He is also the father of Christopher and Nathan, as well as several others amongst the Empowered Children.
Little else is known about him at this time, including his powers, but the other members of the High Council must have agreed to make him their leader for a good reason.
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