Flare Sci-Fi Forums: mutant powers

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Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :

If you couple have any 'superhero' power, what would you have? I would take telekinesis. I hate having to get up to pick up the remote and stuff. And it would really come in handy for turning on and off the lights. And just think of the great party tricks you could do.

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It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.

Posted by Teelie (Member # 280) on :

What's the one that gives you all the powers?

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Where's the bathroom on this ship?

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

There's always that one that with one wish likes to get unlimited wishes...

I would take Havok's unequaled plasma-bursts, Cannonball's blast-shield and flight, Wolvie's healing-factor and X-Man's old leather-jacket.

This is just from the top of my head.
Of course psi-powers are high up on the list but if I write that I want all Cable's psi-powers as well it get's a bit too powerful, y'know? Like starting Diablo with a full plate-mail, a bastard sword and an indestructible shield. It's not fair.

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Ready for the action now, Dangerboy
Ready if I'm ready for you, Dangerboy
Ready if I want it now, Dangerboy?
How dare you, dare you, Dangerboy?
How dare you, Dangerboy?
I dare you, dare you, Dangerboy...

�on Flux, "Thanatophobia"

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

fructose1: Have you read any marvel or have you just seen the movie?
Cuz you have quite a lot of powers to choose from, you know? And you choose to grab the remote, flick switches and do party-tricks????
*conneryspeak* "Not a fan of adventuring, are ya', old boy?"

In Uncanny X-Men of late, there's a puerto-rican doctor that can form a deflector shield around her body and protect her from incoming objects. She ignores her mutant-side though and neglects training.

But in a late edition, by reflex she flexes her shield in a fight, resulting in it breaking down in hundreds of plasma-darts, impaling the opponent. That bothered her, as she has sworn not to kill.
But that skill could be awesome if it were wielded by someone like Cable!!!
Muuch food for thought, how she will proceed.

Oh, and this should go to General Sci-Fi, like all other X-Men stuff. It needs the traffic.

�on Flux, "Thanatophobia"

[This message has been edited by Nimrod (edited August 31, 2000).]

Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :

Well, For my own storytelling purposes, I long ago created a character, "Sin," who was half-Demon (but a good guy), and could draw upon the "Dark Energies" for use as a weapon with extremely destructive potential, or a nearly impenatrable shield. He could fly, transmute from human to a more 'demonic' form (under duress), and was close to being invulnerable.

But... he was unstable, isolated, depressed, and had some VERY powerful enemies.

If I could have the powers but none of the downside (I'm already isolated and depressed quite enough, thankyou), I'd be him. Think of the good I could accomplish / the FUN I could have!

*changes to demon form, knocks on Pat Robertson's door at 2 AM*
BOOGA-BOOGA!!!

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"Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master

Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

*THUD*

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Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Nimrod: Actually, this is the right Forum. It doesn't say it's actually about the X-Men. You're the one who brought them up. :-)

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by Diane (Member # 53) on :

I'll settle for a pair of wings.

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--Lord Byron

Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :

I'd like to become an inanimate carbon rod. Nobody suspect the carbon rod.

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- Dave Barry

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

I thought it was the butterfly that no-one ever suspects... :-)

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by Vacuum robot lady from Spaceballs (Member # 239) on :

Well, I guess a carbon rod could have butterfly wings, but then you'd really be more like a 'bullet with butterfly wings', which of course everybody suspects

DAMN YOU SMASHING PUMPKINS, Billy Corgan and your little bald head...

Posted by Xentrick (Member # 64) on :

I'd like to have the power "Irresistability to Super Models."

On a more canonical level, probably the best powers would be those that could do the most with the least personal risk:

sure, you can lift a car over your head, but will that cure cancer?

You can fly, throw fireballs, whatever, but does that end the international heroin trade? You can stop maybe one or two bank robberies in your home town, but what about all the others?

If you could control peoples minds, turn them toward good and away from Prime Time TV, think of the good you could do. Maybe shapeshifting? Become a famous celebrity or politician, except with a brain andconscience. Inspire people, get things done.

And supermodels too.

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

And who watches the watcher?

Posted by Amadeus on :

I'd take the ability to charge random objects, hence making them explode on contact. I could make people's head's explode just by touching them.

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Posted by Dat (Member # 302) on :

Just don't touch yourself or you might explode.

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[Bart's looking for his dog.]
Groundskeeper Willy: Yeah, I bought your mutt - and I 'ate 'im! [Bart gasps.] I 'ate 'is little face, I 'ate 'is guts, and I 'ate the way 'e's always barkin'! So I gave 'im to the church.
Bart: Ohhh, I see... you HATE him, so you gave him to the church.
Groundskeeper Willy: Aye. I also 'ate the mess he left on me rug. [Bart stares.] Ya heard me!

Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :

If I could control people's minds.....

*Makes Pat Robertson freak out during taping of the 700 Club, declaring his romantic love for Boy George*

"Sir, I think I'll buy that Lambourghini for a dollar..."

*Gives Saddam Hussein a brain aneurysm*

Now, where WAS that Sorority house?

Who needs world peace, when you can have world piece?

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"Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master

Posted by Teelie (Member # 280) on :

*lol* PopMaze! Of course I probably thought up a different way of what you meant.

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Where's the bathroom on this ship?

Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :

Sorry--been gone for a while. I've read some marvel stuff but that was 10-15 years ago. I have no idea what's going on now days. I was just wondering what sort of things people wished they could do. I'm all about convience. I wasn't planning on saving the world or anything, just a little time in the day.

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It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.

Posted by SCSImperium (Member # 397) on :

quote:
telekinesis

Is it just my ignorant self, or did you get that from SS2? At least that's where I first heard it from.

As for superhuman powers, I'd like to have stellar manipulation. Make Earth stop to make the day longer or launch Mars into Jupiter for fireworks on the Fourth of July ...

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-Small Computer Systems Interface "Scuzzy" Emperor

Operator of the Goulag Hotel, maintainer of the workhouses.

Operator of Cargill Conglomerate Publications, http://www.cargillconglomerate.com

"Woman is deprived of rights from lack of education, and the lack of education results from the absence of rights. We must not forget that the subjection of women is so complete, and dates from such distant ages, that we are often unwilling to recognize the gulf that separates them from us."

Tolstoy, on a more objective note.

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

I think the concept of telekinesis is rather old, actually. Ancient, one might say.

Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :

Yeah, I knew what it was a long time ago.

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It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Telekinesis is a real word. "Tele" means "distance", such as "television" or "telephone". "Kinesis" is the noun form of "kinetic", as in "kinetic energy", which you may remember from physics or chemistry class to be energy of movement. Hence, "movement from a distance", or, in other words, you're moving things w/ your mind, w/o actually touching them.

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

Yes, and the "concept" has prolly been around longer than latin, in old stories/legends/myths of people who could move things with the mind, like shamans, witches, warlocks, gurus? Has there been any biblical event involving it?

�on Flux, "Thanatophobia"

Posted by AndrewR (Member # 44) on :

What is SS2?

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But all that came back was the tide..." 'I Will Not Forget You' Sarah McLachlan

Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :

Well, all miracles were done by God, or His proxies, and God isn't usually nearby, so...

But as for a specific instance, there's the whole thing with the stone in front of Christ's tomb moving, or the temple curtain tearing in two (assuming that wasn't metaphorical, but there's no reason to assume it was...), and that Philistine god Dagon falling over in the presence of the ark of the covenant...

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"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
- George Bernard Shaw

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Dagon was probably trying to get away.

"Augh! Yahweh people w/ relics! Get them away!"

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

I know this is the wrong thread, but I have to ask. What WAS the ark, anyway? Many illustrations has described it as a box of sorts, but what does it contain? Just God's Wrath, like in Indiana Jones? And is that word, ark, used anywhere else in english, other than as a boat?

Posted by Fructose (Member # 309) on :

The 'ark' you speak of, The Ark of the Covennant, was the container for the pieces of the tablets that the original Ten Commandments were written on. Moses smashed them when he came back down from the mountain and saw that his followers were 'misbehaving.' And and ark can generally mean a shelter or refuge (sp?). That's why the boat was called an ark, it sheltered the animals, Noah and his family.

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It doesn't matter if you don't know what you're doing as long as you look good doing it.

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

The Ark of the Covenant was the big box they kept various holy stuff in. The big thing in it was the tablets w/ the ten commandments on them. It was also supposed to be a symbol of Yahweh's presence. Originally, they carried it around w/ a couple poles (no-one but the priests could actually touch it; one guy did so Yahweh fried his ass right there), but later, after the Temple was built, the ark was stored in the "Holy of Holies", which was sort of an �bersanctuary where only the high priests could go.

If you want to know what the thing looked like, here's the description in the book of Exodus, chapter 25, verses 10-22, where Yahweh tells Moses how to have the Hebrews build it:

"They shall make an ark of acacia wood; two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, within and without shall you overlay it, and you shall make upon it a molding of gold round about. And you shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. Then you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel."

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

[This message has been edited by TSN (edited September 04, 2000).]

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Hey! Don't post while I'm making a more detailed response than yours! :-)

Oh, and I believe, after Moses busted up the first set of tablets, he got some news ones, and those went into the Ark, not the original bits.

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

There's something semi-interesting I want to say about the Ark, but it would veer this thread far too close to witnessing/flameboard territory, I fear.

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Posted by Fabrux (Member # 71) on :

I just find it funny that someone anti-religious like Tim would actually know where the description of the ark is and post it...

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Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

Well, if you're against something, it's always good to know everything you can about it.

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"I'd like to have a hard one, though..." - Fabrux

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

Well, I think I got my answers anyhoo. Just one more thing... Where could I buy some acacia? That's all I'm missing.

�on Flux, "Thanatophobia"

[This message has been edited by Nimrod (edited September 04, 2000).]

Posted by SCSImperium (Member # 397) on :

quote:
What is SS2?

System Shock 2.

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-Small Computer Systems Interface "Scuzzy" Emperor

Operator of the Goulag Hotel, maintainer of the workhouses.

Operator of Cargill Conglomerate Publications, http://www.cargillconglomerate.com

Tolstoy, on a more objective note.

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Fabrux: It's the religious part I don't like. The stories are still good for their mytho-historical aspects. Reading about Judaic mythology is not different than reading about Greek mythology, Norse mythology, Mesopotamian mythology, &c.

Besides, it wasn't that I knew where to find the description. I knew where to find an online version of the bible, and I just searched the book of Exodus for "ark", until I found it. :-)

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by Omega (Member # 91) on :

Yeah, it was the second set of tablets. And contrary to popular belief, the pot of mannah and Aaron's rod were not in there.

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"The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it."
- George Bernard Shaw

Posted by Sol System (Member # 30) on :

Though I remember some church-type people I knew who said that there was nothing in it at all (apart from the metaphysical). I wonder what Jewish tradition places inside it.

Posted by Michael Dracon (Member # 4) on :

I thought this was about mutant powers?

I myself like to have telekinesis as well, which seems to be the first choice with most people.

Other than telekinesis a set of wings would be nice, as someone else already mentioned. Or teleporting powers, that would be cool.

One thing I'd also like is that any mutant power I might have, it has to be easely controllable.

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[This message has been edited by Altair (edited September 05, 2000).]

Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :

Yes, if it's hard it's not worth it, eh? You have your remote and your bag of chips...Hey!! What if you could whack off hands-free? Then you're in Eden, baby!!!
Superheroes of 2000!!!

�on Flux, "Thanatophobia"

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Well, if you have very flexible legs and feet...

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

"At that time Yahweh said to me, `Hew two tables of stone like the first, and come up to me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.' So I made an ark of acacia wood, and hewed two tables of stone like the first, and went up the mountain with the two tables in my hand. And he wrote on the tables, as at the first writing, the ten commandments which Yahweh had spoken to you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and Yahweh gave them to me. Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as Yahweh commanded me." -Deuteronomy 10:1-5
"There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where Yahweh made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt." -I Kings 8:9
"There was nothing in the ark except the two tables which Moses put there at Horeb, where Yahweh made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of Egypt." -II Chronicles 5:10

I think it's safe to say there was supposed to be something in there... :-)

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"It's like the Star of David or something. But without the whole Judaism thing."
-Frank Gerratana, 17-Aug-2000

Posted by Gaseous Anomaly (Member # 114) on :

Veering dangerously close to the topic here, but am I the only one that's seen a new book (not a graphic novel) that actually tries to go some way to explain the origins of the X-Men's powers?

They venture into quantum mechanics, cold fusion, other dimensions and superstring theory, IIRC. Attempts are made to explain nearly all the X-Men's powers e.g. Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Professor X, Havoc, jean Grey (but no debate on Phoenix, as that wasn't a mutant power), Iceman, Beast, etc.

I saw it in Chicago.

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The howling wind and the driving rain,
Remember the gallant men who drowned
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Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :

I've seen it. "The Science of the X-Men" at Barnes & Noble.

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"Ed Gruberman, you fail to grasp Ty Kwan Leap. Approach me, that you might see." -- The Master