Thread: Out of the Blue (Mr. M & Adonia)

There have always been those who had powers and abilities far beyond the run of normal humans, and in this world, moreso than others, that fact is actual. In ancient times they were blessed by the gods the legends of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Hercules, the Monkey King, the Animal People, and many others were, in this world, based on actual people. Throughout history, there have been many examples of paranormal individuals the more extreme-looking ones might have been killed at birth, or burned as demons, or lived their lives in seclusion because of how they looked, but they were still there, nonetheless. It wasn't until the famous Great War aviator, Jackson Mayfield, a terribly young man who went by the name SkyBoy, used his innovatively-designed biplane to battle a crazed Prussian mad scientist, Herr Docktor Leopold VonZinzer, in a zeppelin over the towers of New York City that metahuman powers came full-force into the public eye. As the primitive movie cameras of the day watched, SkyBoy's plane was shot out from underneath him... and yet he kept flying, soaring in nothing but his flight suit and his bomber jacket, spiraling out of the line of fire from Docktor VonZinzer's holocaust guns, to board the zeppelin and fight the mad scientist as his craft smashed into the bay. SkyBoy is immortalized in a sculpture that stands at the feet of the Statute of Liberty, punching out the murderous Prussian, but his example had a more lasting effect. The first major demonstration of paranormal abilities was in defense of innocents, and it paved the way for others to allow their abilities to be known. Mostly, it took place in secret, with people donning masks and hiding their metahuman activities from their friends and family. And, inevitably, some began to use their abilities for personal gain at the expense of others, and that is how it started. Today, metahuman abilities are a known and recognized part of life. They are uncommon only 2 or 3 people in a million display any sort of paranormal capabilities, and of those, only a few such abilities have any sort of application, but they exist, and are known. Yes, super-criminals ply their trade, mostly keeping hidden until the display of their powers makes them evident, and super-heroes attempt to protect society against the conventional and the paranormal villains alike. But there are also those who employ their metahuman abilities in entirely conventional methodologies the top diagnostician at Cedar-Sinai has ultravision, and can glance at a patient to instantly get the same information an x-ray, CAT-scan, MRI, and microscopic examination of all possible blood and tissues would give him. The chief doctor at the Mayo Clinic, due to the power of generations of magical breeding, naturally exudes a mystic energy field that can, over time, cause a human body to reject damaged or cancerous tissue and spontaneously regenerate healthy tissue, even re-knitting nerve pathways. The top designer of the newest wave of all-electric automobile engines to come out of Detroit still compensates for her childhood spinal injuries with the robotic legs she built for herself at the age of ten. This world is largely the same as others, but there are small differences, both good and bad, that have been caused by the sheer proof of metahumanity. It seems the presence of metaphoric gods on Earth does not excuse humans from acting like humans, and when the gods arise from simple human stock, with all the flaws and foibles the flesh is heir to, well, feet of clay is hardly their worst problem. Still, modern culture being what it is, metahumans, when they are known, are celebrities and international figures. There are entire media channels devoted to investigating and following the 12,000-18,000 metahumans in the world. A properly-marketed personality can make a lot of money as a spokesperson, or lend their influence to charities, or simply become a media personality in their own right the former vigilante crime-fighter Jemma Jewel now hosts an internationally broadcast morning talk show, and oversees a media empire rivaling Oprah Winfrey's. And she's just one example. As with so many things, metahumans tend to congregate in cities, and of those, one of the major centers is New York City. Just as with arts and business and politics, NYC is a mecca for those with paranormal powers. The general rules holds true across all spectra of humanity if you want to make it rich, make it famous, or just make it, you can go to New York. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.