Esper

ES-Force (Series)

*"Espers. Since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are espers the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way it is a historical fact: Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute."*

―Sayomi Nishima

**Espers** are a race of altered human beings who posses an anomaly in their DNA called the ESP Gene, which enables the development of superhuman powers, traits and abilities

## Origins

Thousands of years ago, an entity named Hela arrived on earth after her homeworld was annihilated by the Chitauri Empire. Seeking to exact her revenge upon the Chitauri, she began taking prehistoric humans and altered their genes, turning them into Espers with the intent on creating an army of enhanced soldiers to oppose the Chitauri. The Salamani Confederation, a faction of Chitauri operating on earth caught wind of this and conceived the Monolith as a means of wiping them out by transporting them across dimensions to another world. Hela and her followers fought against the Chitauri agents and defeated them. However, over the centuries, many ancient Espers began to grow fearful of her powers over the decades so much, that they banished her to the other world, but not before leaving a offspring hidden somewhere to carry on her mission. Hela's followers, believing her to be destined to rule the world, formed a secret society with the sole purpose to bring their leader back to Earth. The altered genes of the human test subjects were passed on through generations of their descendants. Over the course of generations, Espers were highly revered for their powers and were placed in many of what people believed to be legends and myths.

## Modern Day History

After the age of Gods had passed, Espers had become estranged from humanity after being persecuted by the Holy Church for many years. Being branded as Heretics, Espers had gone into hiding and have kept their powers and nature hidden from the rest of the world for centuries. Through out the modern era, Espers have managed to keep themselves hidden from the general populace, with no one knowing about their existence with the exception of organizations like G.H.Q and Die Walkure knowing about them, the former of which has experimented on Espers before. It was not until an incident in 2017 where the existence of Espers were revealed as the result of multiple Espers abilities manifesting at the same time, resulting in multiple towns and urban areas around the world being destroyed with an unknown number of casualties. Since then, Espers have become known around the world and because of their nature, they were persecuted once more. Goverment organizations around began to abduct people suspected of being espers and made attempts at using them as some kind of super soldiers for warfare. During the second American Civil War, the U.S had implanted Realizer chips in order to control Espers that were captured and had them fight on both sides.

## Esper Groups & Organizations

Years following the existence of Espers being revealed to the masses, Several groups and organizations have risen that were fully comprised of Espers and in rare cases, Humans. The Esper, Xanatos had traveled around Asia and Europe to assemble his army of Espers that would one day seek to overthrow the human race. This group eventually became known as the Legion of Espers, and had committed multiple terroristic acts in multiple countries during the mid-to late 2020s and had added more to their numbers by doing so. Additionally, Another group called ALCHOBATA was comprised of Espers and humans that also committed terrorist acts, only their cause was built around despair and as such, ALCHOBATA intended to kill off a majority of the earth's population bu unleashing a toxin that would cause those who inhale it to commit suicide. However, this plot was stopped by G.H.Q Task Force, Delta Force Zero, and Alchobata was completely disbanded in 2027. In Japan near the capital of Tokyo, there was another group of Espers called The ES-Force (Though not their official name) created by Headmaster Alexander Woodman of the Woodman Institute for Enhanced Children. Unlike the aforementioned groups, this group was initially much smaller and had not begun any notable operations until late 2027. The Institute was constructed for the sole purpose of training the enhanced how to use their abilities properly as well as to give them a home. The ES-Force Group is primarily comprised of students who live and train within the institute, fighting for the purpose of coexistence between humanity and Esperkind. As such, the group has encountered multiple organizations including The Legion of Espers, G.H.Q Antibodies, and even the secret society, ZODIAC.

## Characteristics

Esper powers range from physical to psychic or psyionic-based. The ESP gene can also cause physical traits and characteristics no humans possess, commonly having the skin or eyes being more animal-like than human. Any such attributes are not always controlled by the esper in question, as some cannot control their powers properly or at all, especially if their mutation affects their appearance. The ESP gene usually manifests at puberty, often at times of great stress, while some espers, could develop it beforehand if they also experience such levels of stress. There are even cases of espers developing their abilities from birth. Espers are ranked based on the output level or nature of their abilities.

Another trait Espers have is the ability to produce ESP Fields, a weak energy that is unconsciously emitted by espers. Similar to how living beings radiate body heat, this energy emanates from the esper's body into their surroundings, forming what is known as an ESP field. These fields produce tiny effects on the regions they cover. The form taken by an ESP Fields and the effects it creates will differ based on the ability of the esper producing it. For example, pyrokinesists produce heat, telekinesists exert pressure, electromasters release electromagnetic fields, etc.

When the ESP fields of espers with the same type of ability overlap, an ESP field resonance can occur, which augments the effects they have on the surrounding area. As the effects of the ESP fields are usually microscopic in scale, ESP fields cannot be detected by the five conventional senses. It can only be detected through the use of machines, precision measuring devices or by certain espers, either through resonance or specific abilities. However in some cases under normal circumstances, certain secondary effects resulting from the effects of the ESP fields on their surroundings can be observed.

## Esper Ability Classes

Because of the diversity found within the abilities possessed by Espers, enhanced persons are given an ability class by multiple groups and organizations around the world.

#### Safe

<Safe> Espers are those whose abilities and nature is easily defined and dealt with. This is due to the fact that said person's ability is researched well enough to not warrant any special means of dealing with their powers, or if the Esper's ability requires some kind of trigger in order to activate. This does not mean a <Safe> Esper does not pose a threat.

#### Euclid

<Euclid> class Espers are ability users whose abilities are more difficult to deal with or standard means of neutralizing or terminating the Esper is not always reliable. Usually this is because the Esper's powers is insufficiently understood or inherently unpredictable. <Euclid> is the Ability Class with the greatest scope, and it's usually a safe bet that an Esper will be this class if they do not easily fall into any of the other standard Ability Classes.

#### Keter

<Keter>class Espers are ability users that are exceedingly difficult to contain/destroy consistently or reliably, with methods often being extensive and complex. Most Organizations cannot deal these Espers well due to not having a solid understanding of the ability, or lacking the technology to properly contain or counter it. A <Keter> Esper does not always mean the ability is dangerous, just that it is simply very difficult or costly to combat.

#### Neutralized

<Neutralized> Espers are ability users that are no longer capable of using their power, either through having been intentionally or accidentally destroyed, or disabled in some manner. The Relationship between Espers and Magi have been complicated at best.