Genesis 1.10c

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"MOVE!"

Screaming his warning, Zeke leapt away from the rest of his team as the huge lightning bolt came down just in front of them with a flash of light and an explosive burst of heat, the blast nearly engulfing the gathered teens. Already mid-leap much like Robin and Kid Flash, the shockwave from it only worked to propel Zeke forward and away from the epicenter of the strike, sending him flying once more.

-11

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The boy slammed into the ground with a grunt, repeating the sound as he tumbled across the grass. He had curled up as tight as he could mid-roll, but even that wasn't enough to ease the pain, his body hurting all over as his jumpsuit scraped across the grass.

Abilities Gained!

Acrobatics Lv 1

Basically a flip kick, but without the kick part.

An ability that enables you to pull off backflips, frontflips and any manner of jumping-based ground-movement technique with greater ease.

Reflexes Lv 2

DODGE!

Decreases innate reaction time by 10% per level. (20%)

Grunting slightly, Zeke pulled himself back to his feet, doing his best to ignore the many cuts and scrapes he could feel all over his skin. The bruising didn't even deserve a mention. Standing up, he glanced around for his team, a trickle of worry entering his thoughts.

They're all down. I told them to move! This guy controls lightning! Lightning! People die from lightning! A villain that controls lightning! We're dead! We're so freaking dead!

His breath came in short quick pants for a few seconds. After that, it began dying away to something much calmer as Zeke was suddenly forced back into focus, a veritable ocean of calm washing over him.

[Paralyzing Fear] negated by Gamer's Mind.

So much better. The boy shuddered slightly, stepping back as he shook his head. II swear I'm gonna get addicted to that feeling. Shaking his head again, he glanced back around himself. At least I can think without freaking out now.

Panicked or not, Zeke's previous thoughts were at least partially correct. The team had been rendered mostly insensate by the large thunderbolt Mister Twister had hurled down on them but the entire group wasn't out for the count. Miss Martian, Kid Flash and Aqualad had been thrown clear from the explosion by the force of the shockwave, the three of them obviously in no shape to get up by the looks of them. On the other hand, both Robin and Superboy were still standing after the massive blast, the latter in far better shape that the former even despite being at ground zero when it touched down.

Truth be told, apart from the now-tattered brown jacket Superboy had on, his clothes weren't even damaged much, apart from some slight tears and singed fabric. The clone tore the remnants of his jacket without even looking down, facing the robot in the sky with a face full of rage.

Zeke's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. "Superboy, don-"

The words had barely left his lips when the half-Kryptonian surged into the sky with a grunt, fist drawn back as he once more tried to punch the weather-controlling android.

With a raised hand, Twister launched forth twin bolts of lightning, these admittedly much smaller than the previous one had been but impressive nonetheless. The bolts struck home, slamming directly into Superboy's torso with a sound like a thunderclap and sending him rocketing towards the ground like a meteor.

Superboy crashed into the ground with such speed and force that his body dug a long ditch from the point of impact to the point where he finally came to a stop, a mountain of dirt pushed aside by his momentum serving as a resting place for his prone form.

"Predictable and pointless once again," Twister announced, lightning crackling around his fingers.

Zeke found himself gulping, his mouth feeling uncomfortably dry as he regained his balance from Superboy's earth-shaking landing. That would have torn right through me… killed me. Holy…

Zeke gulped again, glancing back at his team with a panicked expression. With Superboy still down, that only left Robin in any position to do something. "Robin?!What do we do?"

"I… I…" The other thirteen year old grit his teeth as he rapidly glanced between Twister and his fallen teammates. "Pick up M'gann and run! I'll get Wally!"

Zeke couldn't help a frown of his own, glancing at the two left unmentioned. "But Aqualad and Supe-"

"They're the toughest out of all of us!" Robin interrupted, quickly shouting down Zeke's complaint. "They… they'll be fine! JUST GO!"

Zeke nodded rapidly, following the Boy Wonder's instructions as he ran to the Martian girl's side. Bending over, he tried to copy what Robin had just done with Kid Flash and grabbed Miss Martian by both arms, trying to hoist her over his shoulder in his best approximation of a fireman's carry.

"Ngggh… what the…" Zeke found himself straining to lift more than the girl's torso above the ground, her small frame hiding an incredible amount of weight. "Come on!"

"Zeke!" Robin called out, a mix of frustration and fear audible in his voice. The dark-skinned boy snapped his head around to see Robin just a few meters away, nearly to the closest treeline with Kid Flash on his back. "Move it already!"

"I can't!" He called back, desperately trying to haul M'gann up to her feet. "She's too heavy!"

"What?!"

Rather than answer back, Zeke just gave up on lifting the green girl, instead attempting to pull her across the ground. After a few pointless tugs, he was forced to quit even that as he was barely able to drag her more than a few feet through the grass and dirt as the wind whipped violently at his face. The sky rumbled with thunder, the sound enough to cause Zeke's heart to drop into his stomach as he glanced up at Twister.

"Rather than prolong this pointless back and forth," Twister began as he raised his hands up once more, "I propose we put an end to this before you get a chance to irritate me any further." Once more, lightning beginning to crackle around the villain's mammoth palms, not as intensely as they had the first time but still an undoubtedly terrifying sight to behold.

"Zeke! Just run!"

No, I can't… Zeke shook his head rapidly at Robin's words, trying to deny the boy's advice. His body seemed to disagree with his thoughts, his fingers shaking as M'gann's arms fell from his grip, his legs taking several trembling steps back. I can't... I can't run. The mantra repeated in the boy's head as his gaze snapped down to the unconscious girl at his feet, quickly turning to Aqualad's unmoving form before falling on Superboy, the clone immobile with his back to a small mountain of dirt. I can't… I can't...

His hands flew to the side of his head, the young boy shutting his eyes as he tried to just think for a single moment. I...

[Paralyzing Fear] negated by Gamer's Mind.

I CAN'T RUN!

Hazel eyes opened again, fear replaced by determination and unshakeable focus. I can't just leave them to die!

His hands curled into claws at his side, the boy staring at his palms as if they held the answer. Shaking his head again, he took in a deep breath, desperately hoping he wasn't about to kill himself with a stupid idea. Please work. Please.

His hands glowed with blue energy, his mana thrumming under his skin again as he called on it, ready to be used for a purpose. Releasing the breath, Zeke thrust his hands straight up in the air, his mind focused on what he needed more than anything else. Just give me something! Anything! Protect me.

The glow around his hands brightened further, his hands shining like a searchlight as Zeke actively pulsed mana with a single goal in mind. Protect me.

With slow measured movements, Twister lowered his hands, the lightning in the sky shifting for a moment as it began to coalesce to a point directly in front of the villain's open palms.

Zeke refused to blink as he stared up at Twister, his mind still focused with the calmness of Gamer's Mind keeping away any fear. He could feel the energy responding as he pulled at it, both arms tingling pleasantly as he circulated more and more mana through them.

PROTECT.

Something rippled in the air in front of Zeke's eyes, his hands glowing brighter as the ripple seemed to spread further outwards as he watched. Out of nowhere, the ripple in the air was replaced by a flat plane of glowing blue light the same cobalt shade as the energy in Zeke's hands.

Skill Created!

Mana Shield

Shields at 20% and holding!

A protective construct formed from the desire for protection and made from an energy of an unspecified nature. Drains 1 MP for every point of damage blocked. Shatters if more than 20% of MP is drained by a single blow.

Ignores damage up to 1% of INT x VIT x Skill Level.

Minimum Cost: 5 Mana Awareness: Mana Lvl Up!

12→14

There was a gasp from both Zeke and Robin, the former an expression of excitement while the latter was borne of shock. Both emotions were short-lived, neither boy able to focus on the moment in front of them as the sky crackled again and Twister let loose with a blast of lightning that lit up the sky.

"Duck!"

His scream to Robin quickly turned into a grunt of pain as the burst of lightning shot forth from Twister's hands, the light alone enough to blind him. The boy let out another groan, this one shifting into a full-bore scream as the blast struck home.

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Spoiler: STATUS Ezekiel Patrick Armstrong Age: 13 Level 1 Experience 50/250 Health 42/110* [340] Mana 0/90 Willpower 105/105 STR 25 (-30%) SPD 31 (-30%) VIT 24* INT 18 WIS 9 CHA 11 Stat Points: 2 Cash: $375 Traits

Malnourished: Too little to eat for too long has weakened your body, drained you of vitality and made you more susceptible to bumps and bruises. (-30% to STR & SPD, Health does not gain VIT bonus, Health/Will recovery is slowed by 50%, and Will-based skills cost twice as much)

Bright Kid: While you're no genius or some prodigy, you're obviously brighter than most kids. By the time you're an adult, however, no one will care. (Before the age of 18: +75% to INT gain and +25% to speed of learning Mana-based skills/abilities) Perks: None

Skills

Mana Burst Lv 2

Pew-pew! Pew-pew-pew!

A hastily-formed burst of energy with an unspecified nature.

Max Damage: 10% of INT x Skill Level

Minimum Cost: 5 Mana

Mana Shield Lv 1

Shields at 20% and holding!

A protective construct formed from the desire for protection and made from an energy of an unspecified nature. Drains 1 MP for every point of damage blocked. Shatters if more than 20% of MP is drained by a single blow. Ignores damage up to 1 % of INT x VIT.

Minimum Cost: 5 Mana

Observe Lv. 9

Kinda like a scouter, but less cool somehow.

Allows you to view the status or qualities of anyone or anything, allowing you to learn information about them.

Cost: 1 MP

Power Sprint Lv 10

You'll never be the Flash relying on this alone. Still, we've all gotta start somewhere.

While active, your running speed increases by 5% per level. (50%)

Cost: 1 Will/s

Power Strike Lv 5

Not exactly a heavy hitter quite yet.

Increases the STR value and knockback of your punches/kicks by 10% per level. (50%)

Cost: 5 Will

Abilities

Gamer's Body Lv. MAX

Allows your body to exist in a similar standard to that of a video game character.

Sleeping restores HP, MP, Will and removes most negative status effects. Health, Will, and Mana regenerate at a base of 1 point every 30 seconds. Food and drink items can accelerate recovery.

Gamer's Mind Lv. MAX

Allows your mind to exist in a similar standard to that of a video game character.

Grants immunity to mental status effects, emotional trauma and severely damaging emotional states. Grants immunity to forceful/unwanted mental intrusion.

Acrobatics Lv 1

Basically a flip kick, but without the kick part.

An ability that enables you to pull off backflips, frontflips and any manner of jumping-based ground-movement technique with greater ease.

Awareness: Mana Lv 16

Mana, magic energy, magicka, prana, ether, spirit energy, magatsuhi or even chakra… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.

You have gained awareness of Mana, the spiritual energy found within the human mind and soul. Gaining awareness of your magical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.

Awareness: Willpower Lv 5

Willpower, ki, chi, qi, stamina, aura, mantra, physical energy, life energy, od, or even hamon… Call it what you want. It's all the same in the end.

You have gained awareness of your Willpower, the physical energy found within all living organisms. Gaining awareness of your physical energy has given you some semblance of control over it.

Basic Martial Arts Lv 3

Heroes prefer fists. Apparently, so do sidekicks.

This ability measures your skill and intuition in bare-handed combat, allowing for rapid growth and adaptation in martial arts.

Breathing Control Lv 7

Batman can breathe in space. Why can't you?

The ability to use oxygen efficiently, enabling you to hold your breath for extended periods of time. Increases by 1 minute every level. (2 minutes)

Meditation Lv 5

When the mind is enlightened, the spirit is freed and the body matters not.

The ability to train your mind in order to achieve a state of oneness with your spiritual essence and life force, as well your mind and body.

Reflexes Lv 2

DODGE!

Decreases innate reaction time and increases innate perception speed by 10% per level. (20%)

Resistance: Blunt Force Lv 18

A little pain never hurt anyone.

Reduce all blunt force damage from attacks less than 100% of your health. Increases 1% by level. (18%)