Bellheroverse AU; The nature of Powers

 

Wasty: Phew, that's a lot of fun deep thinking questions. Of course, I love those. 

I think I've already established in a previous ask that almost all mammals with powers are born with them, and those that have powers thrust upon them by any sort of...well, scientific means, usually come with deleterious or often fatal drawbacks. (Think Chamelion and Duke Whizzleton, and to a lesser extent Rampage). Bleatdown is the only recorded 'success story' in terms of properly fusing powers to someone, which is why she is so sought after by the yet unnamed cabal. I would like to think that true superpowers, ones that defy physics, are metaphysical or supernatural in nature, space and time warping, that sort of thing are essentially akin to winning the lotto, or spotting a Unicorn...(Though there's probably at least one Unicorn themed equine superhero in the Bellheroverse.)

Though that doesn't mean I'd seal the door shut to the idea that there are lesser powers that can crop up that are more common. That could run the gamut of wild coloration, partial camouflage, being explicitly fire-proof, or being able to digest anything. This all would kind of run into a more...let's say exaggerated version of my rule of genetic evolution for my primary series of Bellwether fics. In my fics, at least I'm pretty sure its been hinted at in my fics as well as my asks so far...(I'm not sure, it's all starting to smear together.) Something happened around the dawn of the ice age that caused the course of evolution in mammals to basically start running double time. Only mammals who are almost entirely aquatic, or certain land mammal exceptions such as apes remained unaffected. 

This sped-up evolution causes a myriad of boons and setbacks, however. In the case of mammals like...say Cameron's co-worker Derrick Colton, old lingering DNA cropped up that ended up seeing him born with feral horse hoof hands, and it makes him technically disabled. On the opposite end, these mutations are what allows Dawn and Vernon to luck out and have a hybrid pup. (With a little splash of chemical Night Howler.) Naturally, the same process could be put on steroids in the Bellheroverse and basically cause an x-men (or x-mammal) effect, and that could manifest in a variety of ways, with varying levels of power. To end cap this, I'd say if a superhero with groundbreaking powers is about one in a million, then perhaps lesser-powereds could be anywhere between 10-50 in a million. That said, it could also run in bloodlines, and be passed down, so the numbers would rise as time went on.

In regards to your Beastboy question, I'd say that's a given. Though in terms of morphing into other sentient mammals, that would be more akin to Mistique. While the Beastboy equivalent would obviously run the gamut of non-mammalian species past and present. Of course, I don't really have any thoughts on characters I would use to fill roles like that, or if I'd craft up new ones should I expand the universe further. 

I would assume that tools and objects could exist that bestow powers upon the powerless. After all, this did happen with Nick. But that said, those sorts of things would be impossible to decipher and replicate, at least by those seeking to turn 'creating superheroes' into a sustainable business model. They are either a one-and-done item that is destroyed or disappears after sharing its power. Or they feature some sort of fundamental incomprehensible element that are simply beyond replication despite the efforts of the best and brightest. (Gotta have limiters am I right?)

As a general rule of thumb, I'm gonna say there's an 'awakening range'. I would say if it's an actual power and not just something appearance based, it's not something one is born being able to use. I feel like one could make it all the way to adulthood without even a hint of powers before they finally manifest, but I'd peg the general age range around puberty, as the body is already changing and under stress and all sorts of chemical imbalances. However, emotional or physical catalysts can bring them about earlier, or be what it takes to manifest at all (As I mentioned with Hopp Speed's origin.)

Finally, I think there could be one or two Hunters with powers, though nothing that's on the level of Invincibull or Mr. Mirage. I'm thinking perhaps Dorian has extremely high pain and physical tolerance, to the point where lower gauge firearms can't penetrate his hide, and he could probably lift a truck off someone. (Think Unbreakable here). But it would be a power Dorian keeps under his hat, both because he knows the kind of attention that sort of thing would bring him and his family. This trait is passed on to Vernon, which explains how he can take serious beatings fairly well and recovers quicker than average. Considering he's a Batman analog, he'd have the mental acuity of a prize fighter mixed with an ex-footballer player's body in short order without some resilience. Especially when Rampage nearly pummels him to death.

I'm also thinking Ada might have the ability to digest anything, which really is more of a parlor trick than a power. It's also annoyingly ironic for her considering her species. And perhaps, if I really wanted to stretch that 'rare' element of power distribution, Audrey could be an empath.

Like I said, I don't want to go too wild and have everyone who has a connection to be exceedingly super unless it's the use of powers that brings them together, so to keep it light and fluffy, I'll take a gentler hand with the Hunter Pack.

Thanks for the Ask!