Every power is different. It's no surprise the futile attempt to categorize them is one still being undertaken. From paragons, elementalists, speedsters, geniuses, tinkers, augmenters, and more. The list is everchanging, interchangeable, and always growing. Years from now, I'm sure it will be no different.

- Famous Excerpt on Metahuman Powers, Genius Collective

The whip-crack noise of lightning sent the column of cans clattering against the wall. A young man stood there in the dimness of Newhold's metro. His eyes were a clear green, memorable. The type that evoked images of jade or emerald. But what drew the gaze was the lightning racing up and down his hand.

“Holy shit.” He gasped. “There it is.” He fist-pumped the air, sending buzzing tendrils in every direction.

He finally intuited how to get a basic ranged spell going. It was just a matter of… well a lot of things. Magic, as it turned out, wasn’t so easy. [Lightning Magic] and [Lightning Touched] had tangible effects on his aptitude. It came to him in sudden insights and bouts of inspiration.

Not only that, navigating through the tunnels of South Hold’s subway was much easier. The regular gates and access points he had to climb or wiggle through were made easier by the [Acrobatics] Skill. He hadn’t really considered its effects on regular movement but it was clear he made a good choice.

It was like his body was new. His feet found their place easier and he moved with a fluidity unmatched by any feeling he’d ever felt. He was nimble, flexible. He doubted he could do a backflip but the idea wasn’t out the window. He could probably puzzle it out in less than an hour if he was inclined.

It was a large janitorial area that he had finally settled on. Unused and abandoned like most of the metro. The underground tunnels were taken care of by maintenance bots and therefore void of human activity. It was the perfect place to experiment.

“Hmm.” He muttered, lifting his hand up to watch the electricity. Something about it was just mesmerizing. It was like watching a dream, having real confirmation that he was a super. “That’s as close to a lightning bolt as I can get I suppose.” He said. He’d been trying to mimic the iconic spell.

He set up the cans again. It was easier to home in on targets where he could form a potential difference. It wasn’t so much as throwing lightning than it was ‘connecting’ two points and pouring his magic through it.

The crackle of lightning didn’t echo through the tunnels. It was a loud, sharp noise, but it didn’t go further than the janitorial area. There were shelves upon shelves of unused supplies. Parts and pieces that might be needed to repair any part of the metro, gone unused for years. Ludus had cleared most of the area but still considered it soundproof.

It was in the satisfying silence after the lightning bolt that he heard something else clatter. He reacted faster than normal, feeling the effects of his powers kick in. His reflexes were sharp.

It was only a maintenance bot. Ludus relaxed, watching it meander over to the shelves, plucking spare parts from the selection. The maintenance bots, despite their ubiquity, were state of the art. Stealing one, breaking one, or taking one apart, was a crime. They erased their film records periodically so as to not break any privacy laws. However, in the event of a failure, their records could be accessed.

So if you were to mess with them, you’d find yourself arrested fairly quickly. Ludus, understandably, kept his distance.

That was when the rathound appeared. It stalked into the room almost as an afterthought. Like a shadow, chancing by both Ludus and the bot. But its eyes were piercing, staring at the bot as it picked through parts.

Ludus found that odd. Rathounds weren’t aggressive, especially not to the maintenance bots. Both were regular denizens of the metro. For a moment, Ludus thought he was right, that the creature was going to turn.

He was wrong.

It snarled and leapt, landing heavily against the bot and throwing it off balance. The robot got back to its feet and engaged one of its drills. These bots were well equipped with handling the Wild’s local fauna.

Ludus steered clear, wincing as the rathound squealed in response to the descending drill. He watched with morbid curiosity.

It became clear that the caked dirt on the bot’s chassis was indeed not mud or dirt but blood. It picked up the body to dispose of presumably, then dropped it near immediately upon registering newcomers.

Ludus scrambled, quietly, for cover.

Three more rathounds. Where one failed, many succeeded. They ripped apart the bot’s circuitry in less than a minute, suffering only superficial injuries. Normally, rathounds didn’t enjoy direct confrontation, but riding on the high of their success, their whiskers twitched and their tails flicked.

Then one of their gazes landed on him. He cursed, wide-eyed.

It wasn’t the first time a rathound had attacked him. It was the first time that three had done so at once. A short bark and they shifted their attention to him, immediately attacking.

Somehow he was ready for them.

He sidestepped the first launching form out of pure instinct. Pure impulse. It barreled into the shelf behind him, hopefully concussed. The next one kept to the ground and stayed on him, snapping at his heels. Ludus frantically scrambled around its sharp teeth. His feet somehow maneuvering around the equipment strewn across the floor with relative ease. The rathound leapt and Ludus reacted instantly, shoving its airborne form into the shelf. The third one shot right for his arm and he contorted, bending at an odd angle, before slapping an electrically charged hand onto the creature.

It spasmed and jerked as its muscles locked, crashing into the floor.

Ludus stepped back, breathing hard. He stared at his hand more surprised than the rathounds of what he’d just done. It had all taken less than a handful of seconds. The corpse was smoking. He’d seen rathounds being exterminated before, even did it himself a few times, but never in a way so personal.

The other two shook off the bruises and kept their bellies to the floor. Beady eyes darted to each other, demonstrating a modicum of communication and intelligence. Then they locked onto Ludus, barking shortly, tails flicking.

They wanted him dead. Ludus reached into his inventory on instinct. The [Wildwood Wand] appeared in his hand just in time for his grip to form, perfectly fitting to his palm. He gave it a moment's glance, he’d forgotten to practice with it but he needed every edge right now.

A surge of power ran through the wand.

Electricity crackled and he wasted no time shooting the foremost rathound with a lightning bolt escaping the tip of his wand like an instant missile. It squealed and whimpered, locked in place by the sudden charge of lightning, smoking, dying. The last rathound scrambled away in fear but Ludus’ lightning caught it in the chest and its form crashed against the wall in its mad scramble to escape. Its death throes were quick, spasming limbs sending janitorial equipment flying in every direction.

He slumped against the brickwork wall staring at the wand. The spell felt better when he’d cast it from the focus. He looked at the smoking corpses around him. “And more powerful.”

He noted, both excitedly and tiredly, the messages that had come up at the conclusion of the fight.

“Not exactly how I wanted to experiment.” He gave a dry chuckle. Actually, he wondered if…

Quest: [Rats of South Hold] (Unusual)

Newhold is home to many oddities, among them the pesky rathounds of the Wilds. As prolific as their regular counterparts, with all the durability and hardiness of cockroaches, while simultaneously matching the size of medium dogs. A colony lives somewhere in South Hold, eliminate or sufficiently cull its numbers.

Colony destroyed: 0/1

Rathounds killed: 3/500

Rewards: Random Unusual Item

“Three out of five hundred, woohoo.” He said flatly.

He eyed the bodies. “I wonder why they were so aggressive. The maintenance bots don’t actively hunt them down. They should be leaving the bots alone, they aren’t food or anything.”

He realized he was breathing hard. Hyperventilating. His body had been moving on pure instinct and will to survive. He’d barely thought about what he was doing before his body had just moved.

“Holy shit.” He exhaled unsteadily, realizing the state he was in. “I g-guess my reflexes and reaction are p-pretty good.” He joked weakly.

He realized he was in shock, which would’ve been funny. If he wasn’t in shock.

His hands were shaking. The grip on his wand was loose and he found himself eyeing the corridors into the tunnels. Suddenly everything felt claustrophobic. The walls were pressing in and his chest constricted.

He took ten, maybe twenty minutes to relax. Danger was a staple in South Hold, especially if you weren’t familiar with the territory. Dying though? He knew a handful died to rathounds every year. He didn’t want to be another statistic.

He managed to fend off three at once. That was a miracle for a mundane. “But I guess I’m anything but anymore.” He grinned weakly, holding up an electrified fist. The air smelled like ozone, sharp and buzzing. Comforting, in a newfound way.

He calmed himself.

Moving around in the tunnels was only a risk he took knowing he and the rathounds had no interest in each other. Now, he was less sure. He needed a weapon. His [Wildwood Wand] and his magic alone wouldn’t cut it.

There was a reason people didn’t frequent the metro. It wasn’t exactly safe.

He picked around the shelves until he came across a decently hefty pipe. He was content with that until his eyes found something else. Another pipe incidentally, just… better. In his eyes, the difference was obvious.

Item: [Steel Pipe] (Common)

A long metal pipe intended as a replacement for some part of Newhold’s metro. It doubles handily as a blunt weapon.

- 2% increase in blunt weapon efficacy

“Huh. Sure, why not.” Ludus dropped the other pipe and picked up this one.

It was an Article. That was to say anything that his power recognized. In this case, an Item. At a Common Rarity it was only slightly better than a regular pipe.

He held it in his right hand. The heft was nice and the length of steel felt good in his grip, reassuring. With a full swing, he could probably chip into the brickwork. He was surprised that he could just chance upon Items like this. Though he supposed if at all, it made sense it was a Common Article.

“Speaking of Rarity. I really did luck out.” He spoke to himself. “The [Lightning Touched] Trait was a huge boon. Since Rarity is on an exponential scale… well it's unlikely I’ll get another Trait like that.”

He took an ironically charged moment to consider how lucky he was to get electrocuted the moment he originated. He’d thought that the power surge was a catalyst to his origination but his instinct told him it wasn’t. The nearly dying part was. He’d just got insanely lucky that his power recognized electrocution as deserving of a Trait. He shivered.

The accompanying Skill, [Lightning Magic] was no small fortune either. His power conveniently informed him of the rarity system.

The order went like this: Common, Uncommon, Unusual, Scarce, Rare, Epic, Mythic, Legendary, Relic, Ancient, Unique, and Scaling. With the last two being their own categories. The jump from Common to Uncommon and every other rank forward was exponential. As the rank increased, so did the number of benefits and power. In short summary, a higher rank equated to better Articles.

“And apparently, I can find Articles just lying around.” He commented, turning over the [Steel Pipe]. “It looks entirely like a normal pipe.” He said, scrutinizing the weapon.

The world referred to objects affected by a super’s power as artifacts. Looking at the pipe, it was about the last thing Ludus would expect to be one.

The blunt weapon efficacy was something he couldn’t feel at all. He swung the [Steel Pipe] around and then followed it with the regular counterpart. There was no detectable difference. With his [Wildwood Wand], the efficacy was obvious. He wondered if he just noticed it more because of his [Lightning Magic] Skill.

He shrugged, looking around. On a hunch born from the nature of his power, he approached the rathound corpses.

“There’s always loot in video games, right?” He shrugged, scrunching his face at the bodies. “Maybe there’s—huh.”

It was a floating screen that appeared in the middle of the room. Centered over the three bodies.

New Item: [Ratbane Bracelet] (Common)

A braided length of cord made from rat-whisker and fur. By the thickness of the cord, a large number of rats had to die to make it.

- 10% increase in damage against rat-aligned enemies

It ‘dropped’ into his inventory and Ludus wasted no time equipping it. Rat-aligned likely included rathounds.

“That’ll be useful.” He said to himself, eyeing the new grey bracelet. Again, there was no telling that it was actually an artifact.

Then he considered the scene of the fight. “I wonder if there’ll be rewards for every fight I’m in.” He hummed, looking over the area, before his eyes alighted on the maintenance bot.

He walked over and picked at the bot curiously. He made sure to steer clear from its camera, just in case. The section it had been picking through contained mostly wooden planks and metal bars. The type of materials for patching areas of the metro up where the Wild ate away at it.

“And if the rathounds were actively hunting the maintenance bot…” He trailed off.

There was a point of interest in his minimap. One of the ?’s that could denote anything. It was in a part of the metro that he’d never been to before, signified by a black nothingness. Curiously, it was also roughly the direction the rathounds came from.

There were a lot of reasons he shouldn’t go. Many many more than there were in favor. Unfortunately, new supers, without fail, loved to explore their power. Ludus found he was not unique in that regard.

He wasn’t stupid though. He’d almost died. Yes, he wanted to explore. That was a burning curiosity he was sure every freshly originated felt, but the desire to not die burned like the sun compared to a campfire. Instinct won out and so Ludus didn’t foolheartedly dive into the metro, following the trail of strangely aggressive rathounds.

Instead, he marked the spot on his minimap, something he just learned he could do, promising to return.

He’d finished what he’d set out to do, more considering he’d actually conducted a real test run of his power. That wasn’t exactly part of the plan but he was thankful for the experience. It was a stark reminder that he was still mortal.

His [Lightning Magic] proved itself a powerful boon. He had offensive options for both medium and short ranges, his strength being tied to the sheer power of lightning. His [Acrobatics] Skill actually had a tangible impact on the quick fight. His body was more fluid and intuitive. There was an ease in his movements he’d never experienced before. It wasn’t superhuman, not nearly, it was just that living his life in the prior slowness almost made it seem so. His reactions, on the other hand, were impressive. It was probably what had the highest impact on the fight, the ability to quickly react against pack-hunting predators that functioned on pure instinct, if he hadn’t been able to match that he might’ve truly died.

He took a winding path through the tunnels. The [Steel Pipe] was a welcome security in the close space. His nervousness presented itself as a tightened grip. So far he only ran into a single rathound that thankfully fled immediately upon seeing him.

The tunnels were an encompassing quiet punctuated by the deep vibrating tremor of passing trains muffled by a few feet of concrete. The access tunnels ran between tracks. Vines sprawled across the close walls, sucking up whatever moisture was available. Small weeds and plants broke through the tunnel in places, cracking concrete. The Wild’s effects were felt all across South Hold, even down here.

Eventually, he found the access ladder back to the surface. It delivered him into an abandoned trainyard in the middle of the city. Ludus was intimately familiar with the back alleys and abandoned buildings of the area, always having had a penchant for exploring.

It was a large building that could house a number of train engines for repairs or maintenance. There were a few abandoned train heads here still lingering. The regular tracks were still used on occasion for logistical purposes but, like the metro below, it was void of human activity.

He could’ve used this place to experiment with his power too but he felt more comfortable away from potential eyes. Experimenting below reduced that risk. He walked through the trainyard, the gravel under his feet the only noise in the area.

He stepped through the large open doors. They had never closed them, leaving the entire place open to the elements. And animals. He spotted what he thought were initially more rathounds. Instead, he found a family of large bunnies tucked away under one of the engines nearest to the walls.

He smiled at the little family, knowing there was some off chance that they were smarter than regular wildlife. He started examining the side of the building. In a few moments, he found a plausible path upwards.

With a running start, he grabbed onto a handful of vines and hauled himself up. A few more artificial handholds and he was at the top of the roof. That normally would’ve taken him longer and he’d have to be more careful, but he was more sure of himself and his footholds.

It wasn’t the tallest building but it was close enough to the neighboring ones that he could cross over. It also happened to be a great vantage point.

From here, he could see the skyscrapers marking the center of Newhold. Of course, a decent elevation wasn’t a requirement to see them, they could be spotted from many parts of the city. The city got taller towards its center.

He directed his gaze south and found trees rising to the sky, shading entire buildings, and threatening to reach higher. South Hold was pockmarked with those large trees, the greatest and most obvious signs of the PAT affecting the area. They were magnificent, sprawling things. Green and verdant, they’d been speculated as some crucial part of Wildgrowth’s power, seeing as the area around them experienced constant growth. The city kept those areas clear of development, allowing the citizens to pluck from the fruit trees or anything else growing there.

“Can’t ever get tired of seeing that.”

New Quest: [The Great Trees] (Epic)

The largest trees of the Wilds are beacons of growth. They support thousands of lives through the simple act of existing. They are immense organisms conducive to the namesake of their progenitor; wildgrowth. Nature’s bounty rewards twice, more so when life flourishes.

Clear the [Wildwood]: 0/1

Reward: Epic Companion

Ludus blinked as a Dungeon appeared on his minimap. Right at the base of one of the largest trees in South Hold. “No.” He corrected himself slowly. “At all of them.”

The symbol was a small tree with a doorway in its center. The portal, in any form, was indicative of a Dungeon. An area of greater dangers and greater rewards that he could attempt.

He exhaled. “Another Epic Article. I’m beginning to think this isn’t normal.” He paused a moment, considering. “I suppose living between four PATs isn’t exactly a normal setting though. If I’d been in a regular city, it’d probably be a little tamer.”

Going by the Rarity, he doubted clearing the [Wildwood] was at all possible. Like his other Quest, [Lightning Born], he shelved it. Incredibly, he had a higher chance of clearing the [Rats of South Hold] than any other Quest he had right now.

He hadn’t even been offered a nice, simple, Common Quest yet!

His stomach rumbled as he checked his minimap, searching, perhaps, for something to do. The sun was on a trajectory for the horizon but he didn’t mind being out late. Glancing around, he quickly spotted a few edible mushrooms growing on the roof. A few dry shrubs and he had a small fire going.

It always elicited a small chuckle at how natural camping became inside the city. Especially if he was in abandoned areas like the trainyard. Where else could one forage for food atop a building and start a fire to cook it?

Not many places but South Hold, he imagined.

He was staring at his minimap, particularly interested in a shopping cart icon, when a stylized Q appeared not far from him. It popped into existence as he watched the minimap and surprised him. He immediately traced the path he might take as he chewed on a mushroom. He might as well check it out. He could stick to the roofs and get there fairly quickly without really going out of his way.

He munched down on the leftovers, kicked the fire out, put out the embers, and then he was running. If the Quest could appear like that, then it could wink out of existence just as easily. He wasted no time getting a move on.

He leaped a good four feet to the next roof, clearing the multiple story drop without a trace of hesitance. He crossed over to the next one using the branches of a thick tree as a bridge. He crossed six more buildings before he perched over a small clearing between buildings.

A small tree, a regular-sized one, shaded the area. To any other city-born person, the sight of grass and soil, healthy and green in the middle of the city would’ve given pause. To Ludus, the occasional shift to forested scenery was routine. Instead, it was the voices that slowed his approach.

With more grace than he should’ve had, he jumped silently into the tree from the roof, taking a spot in its boughs.

“Do me a favor, miss? Hand over the bag so I don’t have to hurt you. I’d hate for you to ruin my day. Let’s end it on a peaceful note, shall we?”

The man was bulky. He had the shaggy appearance of someone desperate, with the glint in his eyes to match it. The woman was wide-eyed, fearful, and glancing around for an out. Unfortunately, the small clearing had only one obvious exit. And the man was standing in it.

“Come on now, easy does it.”

The woman’s grip on her purse tightened. “I-I can’t.”

“Sure you can.” The man smiled, walking over unhurriedly.

New Quest: [Stop the Robber] (Common)

Newhold is a large city and where there are large population centers crime almost certainly follows. A man intends to rob a woman of her purse. Stop him.

Defeat the robber: 0/1

Reward: 15 Credits, Common Item

Ludus frowned, thinking. This certainly qualified as a mundane task, but it was still risky. He doubted he could handle the man without using his powers. Doing that, however, would potentially expose him.

Unless he caught him by surprise.

He dropped from the tree silently, finger to his lips as the lady’s eyes darted to him.

“You’re not going anywhere, miss.” Ludus could hear the man say.

He gripped the pipe tightly, tensing. He hadn’t noticed him. Ludus took a breath.

A metal pipe slammed into the back of the man’s head. The man keeled over, falling over like a ragdoll. The woman gave one glance at Ludus and started running out of the clearing.

His breathing was accelerated but he was fine. Adrenaline rushed through him, but it was nowhere near the same surge that came from fighting the rathounds.

Quest Complete: [Stop the Robber] (Common)

Newhold is a large city and where there are large population centers crime almost certainly follows. A man intends to rob a woman of her purse. Stop him.

Defeat the robber: 1/1

Reward: 15 Credits, Common Item

He checked his inventory. There was a slot reserved specifically for currency it seemed. He examined the ephemeral-looking coin.

Currency: Credit

Credits can be used for a variety of purposes. They can be spent in Shops scattered around the world to buy a variety of Articles and other items.

“Hm.” He said, glancing at his minimap. “That’s gotta be the shopping cart icon.”

Something else appeared in his inventory.

New Item: [Weak Healing Vial] (Common)

A small vial of diluted healing liquid that can recover small injuries or staunch larger ones. It may be imbibed for a general effect or applied for localized healing.

- Recovers 3% of max health

Ludus’ eyes gleamed as he kept the new Item in his inventory. A healing item. Healing powers by themselves were rare, especially healing artifacts. If his power could generate them, then by extension, he was a healer. If unreliably.

He gave an anonymous call to the police and one last glance to the unconscious man before leaving the scene. He checked to make sure the guy was breathing. He was.

As it was already getting dark, he kept to the lit streets. There was no use navigating the roofs in pitch blackness. He was already in the nicer part of South Hold so he didn’t mind.

A small TV in the corner of a convenience store was covering the news. He stepped inside, looking at the snacks, he’d built up an appetite. He listened as he browsed, eventually getting into line.

“VHA has dispatched a super to South Hold to deal with the damages.” It was saying. “Repair is a super capable of restoring damaged objects to their original state. He’ll be on the scene shortly, visiting areas with the highest priority first.”

Ludus was watching with a few other people.

“It’s about time they sent someone.”

“Shouldn’t they just send him straight to the power plant?”

“Nah, I hear the entire plant is off-limits. Something happened there the VHA doesn’t want us to know. They’ve got VHA officers all over the place like ants, so I hear.”

“If it’s anything super I don’t want anything to do with it. Let the suits handle that one.”

Ludus listened, interested. It wasn’t uncommon for the VHA to cover areas like that. Most of the populace just assumed it had something to do with new supers. In light of the power surge, Ludus was leaning towards that as well.

Eventually, he made it home. He’d visit the shopping cart icon tomorrow. He made sure to report the damages to his own home. He might even be able to get a refund on his console considering that a super origination was involved.

He fell asleep, dreaming, perhaps fittingly, of Reality Tech’s newest VR game.

Repair, the super fixing South Hold’s damages, died that night.