Powerless

[CoreBrute]

Your character, is in the middle of an investigation of strange disappearences, runs into a small boy with short blond hair and green eyes, who says, "I wonder if your happy..." Before everything goes white.

 

When you awaken you find yourself in a house you don't recognise (and if you have physical deformities because of your powers a body you don't recognise).

 

As you investigate you find that you have a whole lifetime of memories that are vastly different from these fantasies of super powers. Instead of being a super strong brick, who pretends to be a mild mannered reporter, your just a reporter. Instead of the scientist who was altered by cosmic rays in space, you are a nobel prize winning physicist, but a lonely quiet person.

 

Magicians and sorcerers can't even do parlour tricks, super genius' come top of their classes in Oxford, but are no longer able to build time machines. The rich martial artist? He's just a business man no longer in top shape. And the worst part of it all? Your not the only one. Every super powered person or costumed vigilante is normal, but only you can remember it being any different.

 

How would your character respond to this sudden loss in powers? Rejoice? Anger? Desperation to be different? And what about the sudden return of loved ones who died in the other life? Would you want to lose them?

 

I'll be posting the responses of 3 of my own characters after this.

[Clonus]

Re: Powerless

 

So is the world mundane or just the character?

[CoreBrute]

Re: Powerless

 

Everybody is mundane. VIPER is a terrorist orginisation, but with guns instead of blasters,

No one has any super powers. But only your character remembers the super powered world, and even then faintly. Not enough to recreate a suit of armour but enough to write a book.

 

This was inspired by the Marvel Comic book series Powerless.

[Certified]

Re: Powerless

 

Apollyon (Mystic Brick): Damon Wright, a professor of philosophy at UCLA continues to work on his novel. Reading through the work the details of his paranormal investigator: William McNamara feel hauntingly real. The battle with his old coven, the pact made with the entity Abaddon they were not just words on a page. These were events he had lived, pains he had suffered. The price of for his life after betraying the coven it all came rushing back. The world around him was something surreal, disconnected from the ebb of the mystic currents Damon was mortal but in this strange altered landscape was the pact sill looming before him?

 

- - -

 

Keeping the knowledge of this other world and the child to himself Damon would attempt to contact Abaddon as he had in the past. Failing that he would place anonymous adds in papers across the country in cities he know other heroes resided.

 

"Strange Dreams? Feel like you're living a lie? Is there another world out there where this is the dream? We may be able to help. Contact us at..."

 

Taking a sabbatical, one really should keep up appearances since we don't know how long things will last, Damon will follow up the strongest leads personally doing what he can to piece together any information others may have and assembling those who may have the skills and talents to help. This is likely to include very lengthy discussions of the nature of the current world, and if it is more or less beneficial to attempt to correct this white event.

[Mendou]

Re: Powerless

 

Pyrie is probably going to feel relief at being able to touch things without burning them, but that relief will only last until she remembers that her father's cousin, the one with connections to organized crime, won't be dead in this world and will be trying to recruit her father, which means she's going to get kidnapped (or worse) again. So she'd probably spend the time tracking down people she remembers as superheroes and trying to convince them of what's happened before anything can happen to her family.

[Vulcan]

Re: Powerless

 

Vigil would be overjoyed. He got to live a normal life, grow up as a normal kid, his mother and grandparents were never killed because of his having powers...

 

His rat b@$t@rd father never showed up to destroy his life...

 

And if someone threatened to undo it he would fight - war to the knife, and the knife to the blade.

[Phoenix]

Re: Powerless

 

Angels of Darkness: Despite having wings she tries to live a “normal” life, and did a very good job at it in her early life (fishing on the Aegean Sea). Her first thought would be to head back to the top of Mount Olympus to see if this was some type of test from the Olympians. After that proved to be fruitless and assuming history before she decided to become a superhero remained the same, she would continue to raise her, now normal, son without fear of some of her more powerful enemies. She might go into some form of law enforcement/government security job.

 

That is until Apollyon’s add made it’s way to Greece.

[Lucius]

Re: Powerless

 

If it means his parents are still alive, Amphibian would be overjoyed.

 

If it means history was the same right up to when he gained his powers - including the boating accident that brought them out - Amphibian would be dead along with his parents, and had been for years.

 

Maybe I'll think about the other characters.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Pondering powerless palindromedaries.

[Tandem Esk]

Re: Powerless

 

"No more supervillains! My work is... OK not quite done. I don't have those gadgets, but I'm still a private eye, and one of the best. I'm not the ultra-wiz at deduction, but the people I'll be hunting aren't as smart either. Comes to about the same. Except I don't have the big name, so its back to hustling up biz. Did it before, can do it again."

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No longer exists, as a world w/o superpowers would never have - - - - - created - - - - - her, and cannot sustain her.

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Would not have come to Earth, would still be living on Stebbius. Just another arena warrioress, a life without honor or purpose. Probably kill herself soon.

[CoreBrute]

Re: Powerless

 

Any beings who were, for example, angels or demons are just normal people (albeit highly religious/immoral people) with no wings.

 

Aliens who come to this planet after gaining powers or because their planet was destroyer, instead finds themselves on their own home planet, with no powers uncommon for the race, with a loving family (If appropriate). They have probably never heard of earth.

 

Light speed technology if appropriate for your race (Like the Malvans) still exist.

 

Amphibian, your parents would be alive.

 

Tandem Esk, if your some kind of being composed of magic or something...you become a normal human but with weird memories. Your homeless, and have no birth records, or any records what so ever.

 

Olympus is no longer accesible from the human plane, nor is their a physical spot.

[CoreBrute]

Re: Powerless

 

Zero Core:

A paranormal hunter born from a cross between a human mother and one of the Nameless (See here for info: http://www.marvel.com/universe/Nameless) he was raised by his aunt before being joining an orginisation of paranormal hunters, who wanted to defend humanity, who worked covertly compared to normal super heroes.

 

Zero Core has enhanced physical capabilites, carries a lot of high tech equipment including dual pistols that fire a variety of weapons. His greatest weapon though is his glowing blue arm, which packs a huge punch and can stretch to large lengths (He's basically Nero from Devil May Cry 4, with a Marvel touch).

 

His love Kyris Dales is thought to be dead after a recent alien invasion, along with the rest of his orginisation.

 

After the White Flash...

 

Samual Mason

 

He lives with his mother, who never died in child birth who stopped being a prostitute soon after he was born. He doesn't who his dad is, but he knows he was human at least. He has two normal arms now, and when he was 14 he joined a street gang.

 

He stole money, got into gang wars, almost got caught by the police. he became a really good shot with a gun (not as good as when he had powers, but still skilled) and 'has a mean right hook'.

 

Then he met Kyris Dale, a smart beautiful girl who works for a group that gets gangs off the streets and reforms them. He joined first to be close to her, but soon became really interrested in actually helping his peeps get off the street.

 

With these memories of what life was like before, if he found out people were trying to change things back, he would be on Vigil's side, going to any lengths not to lose his perfect life.

 

That was my character Flux. 2 more coming soon.

[Clonus]

Re: Powerless

 

Riptide retired after he contracted a mild case of vampirism. He became a rock and roll singer and used his superhero celebrity status to leverage himself into a career as a singer and drummer. So now he's a former athlete who switched to music after medalling? That means he's rich, cured, fit and still living in a world where Viper blew up his mom. Time to commission some gadgets and design a crime-fighting costume. He just bets he knows where mundane Viper is holed up, the nest that in this history never got busted by him and and his compadres.

 

Hellfire: Misses her powers a bit. On the other hand she no longer bursts into flames when provoked. Enh. She'll live a quiet life. Take some self-defense classes because she feels a little vulnerable now.

 

The Wizard of Oz Incorporated: He never had any superpowers in the first place. He was just an engineer. He may have forgotten the really good stuff from the old history, but there's no real reason why he can't reinvent some of the more basic stuff he used to have

 

Poet: Heaves a sigh of relief. They're gone. Or if they aren't, he can't see them any more. Now he can settle down to being a strangely pretty escaped mental patient.

[Badger]

Re: Powerless

 

Badger- Deep depression. Given he lives like a hermit outside of town I do wonder what the "mundane life" of his would be like.

 

Frosty Bob- Hmm, since he doesnt really have superpowers, except for an inability to die. I guess he would be a run of the mill soldier (possibly special forces). Instead of being "Death Incarnate" . Anyhow, probably not much change, except for being mortal. He'd still go for the beer, guns, and women. Though, this might rush him to that grave.

[CoreBrute]

Re: Powerless

 

Riptide retired after he contracted a mild case of vampirism. He became a rock and roll singer and used his superhero celebrity status to leverage himself into a career as a singer and drummer. So now he's a former athlete who switched to music after medalling? That means he's rich, cured, fit and still living in a world where Viper blew up his mom. Time to commission some gadgets and design a crime-fighting costume. He just bets he knows where mundane Viper is holed up, the nest that in this history never got busted by him and and his compadres.

 

 

Actually two assumptions are unfounded there.

 

1. You said you used being super human to bounce you to new celebrity heights? Your not special. Your just an athlete, because why would you quit without ever contracting vampirism? Although with your new memories you might start, but not before the white event.

 

2. The VIPER nest you remember doesn't exist. VIPER doesn't have huge nests located in major cities in the 'real world'. It used to be a drug smuggling ring but that was uncovered by the police around the same time your comerades did in the super world. VIPER is still at large, but acts like the Dark Champions suggestion in the VIPER source book.

 

Keeping the knowledge of this other world and the child to himself Damon would attempt to contact Abaddon as he had in the past. Failing that he would place anonymous adds in papers across the country in cities he know other heroes resided.

 

"Strange Dreams? Feel like you're living a lie? Is there another world out there where this is the dream? We may be able to help. Contact us at..."

 

Who among you would go see Apollyon after reading the ad?

 

Damon Wright meet some people who are clearly crack pots, using references from outdated movies ("I've thought it over, and yes I want the red pill") but you do actually run into something unusual.

 

A cop from Los Angeles, Gary Martin begins describing being part of a team of people with 'unusual powers'. He said it was run by PRIMUS, but the last thing he remembers is finding a small boy who matches the one you remember.

 

His world is slightly different from the one you remember but it is clear he was once super human as well. He describes being part cyborg, being able to interface with technology.

 

At the end he has a request. "Please, stop trying to change it back. I can finally connect with my family again, there aren't super terrorists. No alien invaders or time travellers from an apolyptic future. We can finally live at ease. So I ask you, please don't look for the answers, and let me live again."

 

Whatever your answer he leaves the room and heads back to LA.

[Kal'El Wayne]

Re: Powerless

 

Sir Johnstone is going to suddenly be more like my original character concept: a butler working for a superhero team, who somehow knows almost everybody. Now he becomes: a butler working for a bunch of rich idiots who have decided that they should go fight crime, and who somehow knows almost everybody. He would scream in rage at the damnable creature responsible. Of course, being close friends with the incarnation of reality, a couple gods and other powerful beings means that this is less likely to happen to him than it might to other heroes. He has no powers/superscience/magic to lose.

 

StrangeIron, my Iron Man rip off, is suddenly a normal multibillionaire genius, so he attempts to put together a slightly lowtech equivalent of his suit/gadgets and hunt down the creature responsible. He has enough money to pick up: a rocket-pack (they do exist!), body armour, crash helmet with built in radio and a small oxygen supply (a one hour tank), a taser gun, a pair of pistols and spare ammo. He probably wouldn't be affected in the first place, because I specifically bought a power designed to stop people doing this whole 'it's a dream, you're really just a normal guy daydreaming' sort of thing. It really irritates me to be told "Make a superhero!" and then have him become a normal person. It's not that I don't like normal characters, I just don't like it when people get their 'Everyday Life' in my "Superhero Adventure!".)

 

New Leaf, my current character, is suddenly a normal police negotiator with a green thumb, a fetish for plants/plant related things/the colour green and a harem of ex-cops/ex-crooks. He stand right where he is and talks the mysterious being into reversing his plot, because New Leaf really was happy with the way things were.

[Clonus]

Re: Powerless

 

Actually two assumptions are unfounded there.

 

1. You said you used being super human to bounce you to new celebrity heights? Your not special. Your just an athlete, because why would you quit without ever contracting vampirism?

 

Riptide had a music career even before retiring as a superhero. It just only really took off once he could devote full time to pursuing it.

 

 

2. The VIPER nest you remember doesn't exist. VIPER doesn't have huge nests located in major cities in the 'real world'. It used to be a drug smuggling ring but that was uncovered by the police around the same time your comerades did in the super world. VIPER is still at large, but acts like the Dark Champions suggestion in the VIPER source book.

 

That just means Riptide bets wrong. But he'll still become an unpowered superhero chasing Viper. There's got to be something he knows from his superheroic career that will still be true. The only reason he stopped was because he was afraid he'd lose control of his bloodlust and become a real vampire.

[Tom]

Re: Powerless

 

Kodiak: Couldn't exist in a world where supers, etc, never existed. Assuming a plot device to allow his parents to exist in the first place, getting his parents back would be wonderful. Losing his wife, son and adopted daughter (among others) would be more than sufficient cause for him to start hunting for a way to reverse things back the way they belong. Never mind the fact his mindset would drive him to start looking in the first place (especially since he's been through a similar experience before)...

 

Speedzone: Losing his fiance (probably) would be a motivator to figure out what happened all by itself -- never mind having gotten caught up in temporal shenanigans previously. He'd be cursing Chronos' name under his breath and trying to figure out where the problem is and try to fix it...

 

Focus: Just a kid, and still new to this whole powers thing. Still, his powers are integral to his having met both his best friend and his girlfriend. He'd just be pretty lost on what to do about it...

 

Vagabond: Isn't really comfortable with being a 'hero', and he'd get his Dad back. It'd still cost him a lot of friends and 'family' though. Plus, as a mystic, his own curiosity would force him to look for what happened -- even if he didn't assume Loki had to be behind it somehow...

[Certified]

Re: Powerless

 

Maybe this is just my observation but it seems this storyline attracts characters with storylines where loss is a key element. One thing it makes me wonder is how would it affect the characters personalities? What would Bruce Wayne be like if his parents had lived kind of question. Would there be a motivation to effectively cause all the terrible things to happen again? Could you kill your parents?

 

One of the questions that remains unresolved, is this depowered world better or worse than the world the character came from? This is the reason for the ambiguity of my character Apollyon's response, locating other heroes, and possibly villains to discuss the best course of action. From an investigative point of view one might wonder if this is a mental construct or other type of illusion, a shift in the time stream or dimensions but as a hero it I believe the important question is not one of personal value but that of society as a whole? Are people safer, healthier, overall better off or is the world darker than the one they came from? This would be a major defining point for what the "right" course of action is.

 

Part of the problem in answering this question is each player is likely coming from a different campaign so the de-powered world may swing either way. One thing that CoreBrute's response to my first post indicates is that the de-powered world may contain heroes from various timelines/dimensions, etc. This further complicates the question of as a hero is it better or worse for everyone to return things to the previous norm.

 

This may make for an interesting convention game where each of the characters does come a different universe with varying shades of hope and morality. The characters can be brought together by various means but as they "uncover the mystery of the white event" the idea that the world they're going back to if they succeed may be better or worse than the one their currently in culminating with the choice at the end of what is the right decision?

 

Okay, maybe that's more than what one goes in for at a con game but I do think the story seed has a ton of potential from that angle.

[Hagadorn]

Re: Powerless

 

Radon: Would awaken in a his house in America, His wife beside him. His daughter would be living in australia married to an state Martial Artist champion and would love her father very much.

 

if anyone tries to bring back the 'old day's and radon found out, he'd kill them.

 

dead.

[Clonus]

Re: Powerless

 

Radon: Would awaken in a his house in America, His wife beside him. His daughter would be living in australia married to an state Martial Artist champion and would love her father very much.

 

if anyone tries to bring back the 'old day's and radon found out, he'd kill them.

 

dead.

 

Would he? In the source material Peter Parker was still bit by a radioactive spider. It just didn't give him any powers. Instead it gave him a lasting impairment. It's unlikely this change is going to bring anyone back to life.

[Hagadorn]

Re: Powerless

 

Hans Blicker liked his life before he got irriadiated. If anyone tries to take this second chance off of him. He'd kill them. He'd murder them dead.

 

He's happy, His wife is alive and his daughter loves him. Everyone else can go hang.

[Grimble]

Re: Powerless

 

Jack "Crash" Parker former mutant brick hollywood stuntman/superhero, now actor/stuntman would take a break before signing on to his next movie. After a quick plane ride and some money thrown at private investigator, he would pay a little visit to a Mr. Zerstroiten and give him the beating of his life.

Sure, the old man wouldn't have a clue who Crash was or why he was being beaten. Jack would know. Crash would be careful not to get caught by the authorities. He would probably track down other former supervillain banes of his former existance and give them a good thrashing,too.

He would also track down about half his superteam and see if any of them remember or can be made to remember.

 

*Question: What about immortals? Did they die of natural causes maybe centuries before my character had met them? What about Monster Island and other fantastic locals Crash knew of? Are they gone?

[Certified]

Re: Powerless

 

*Question: What about immortals? Did they die of natural causes maybe centuries before my character had met them? What about Monster Island and other fantastic locals Crash knew of? Are they gone?

 

Monster Island ... you mean the gila monster refuge?

[Kal'El Wayne]

Re: Powerless

 

Come to think about, it Batman did kill his parents. It has probably been retconned out of existence by now, but Superman once built a time machine and, as a birthday present to Bats, he went back to Crime Alley on that fateful night and stopped the mugger. Then when he got back to the present, there was no Batman and Bruce Wayne was happy, but a kind of spoilt brat. But because there was no Batman, Gotham was a sewer of violent crime, ten times as bad as it is with Batman. So Clark Kent visited Bruce Wayne, revealed his identity and told him about Batman. Even though this Bruce was just a spoilt brat/rich playboy, he was still (Bat)man enough to go back in time and hide in the shadows of

Crime Alley, then Shoot His Own Parents!!

[input.jack]

Re: Powerless

 

Come to think about' date=' it Batman [i']did [/i]kill his parents. It has probably been retconned out of existence by now, but Superman once built a time machine and, as a birthday present to Bats, he went back to Crime Alley on that fateful night and stopped the mugger. Then when he got back to the present, there was no Batman and Bruce Wayne was happy, but a kind of spoilt brat. But because there was no Batman, Gotham was a sewer of violent crime, ten times as bad as it is with Batman. So Clark Kent visited Bruce Wayne, revealed his identity and told him about Batman. Even though this Bruce was just a spoilt brat/rich playboy, he was still (Bat)man enough to go back in time and hide in the shadows of

Crime Alley, then Shoot His Own Parents!!

 

Wasnt that story run in the 60's? Before "continuity" was a real concept, and definately pre-Crisis? If so, it doesnt count (and should never have happened anyway)