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Mutants & Masterminds: The Magisterium - [Magisterium] DEHA-RSU Reference Database


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Except from DEHA Research and Science Unit’s Reference Database

Entry: Kytone

Written by: Dr. Samuel Chin, Dr. Angelia Oswald, Dr. Rajiv Shah

Date: August 29, 1955 [last updated: July 10, 2009]

Kytone is the wonder drug of our time. Its sedative powers allow us to handle mutants that would otherwise be beyond our control. Because we can control them, we can utilize their abilities rather than wasting them. The technological advances that we have seen since our grandfather’s time are truly thanks to this drug.

Kytone is a strong sedative, rapidly putting large animals unconscious. In addition to knocking out rhinos and tigers, it is effective at sedating mutants, overcoming their augmented physical endurances. While other sedatives had done the trick before, Kytone is the first drug to do so reliably. That reliability was key to the development of mutant research.

Brief History

Kytone was invented by Dr. Kevin Young in 1901. A biochemist at McGill University, the creation was largely unnoticed save by veterinarian and zookeepers. It was later in that year before Lt. James Wilkins of the US Army heard about the drug from his vet. He was assigned as a K-9 guard to an early mutant-hunting facility and happened to mention the drug to the mutant-killing team. Pre-DEHA, the MK teams were always looking for another tool and willing to try anything once. They took it on the next operation and were pleased by the result.

It took General Otis Redmeyer to realize that the drug’s full potential. In early 1902, he convinced the Joint Chiefs of Staff to allow him to capture a mutant using Kytone. This early test was successful, and Gen. Redmeyer was able to contain the mutant for a full thirty days. This was the proof that the Joint Chiefs of Staff needed and the decision to start the North Brother Island Containment Facility proceeded. By the end of 1902, renovations were complete and the facility housed six mutants, thanks to Kytone.

Dosages and Mediums

Kytone is traditionally administered via injection, though other mediums have been developed. In liquid form, Kytone is typically a pale blue color. When in gaseous form, it is a dark blue and expands rapidly. As a gas, it is somewhat less effective, in part because the dispersion doesn’t allow the drug time to work effectively. However, KD mines have not shown to be effective to date. Kytone is only rarely seen in its powder form, which is a pale blue, usually when mixed with other solid drugs in a capsule.

The typical dosage is 50 ccs. This is enough to put down most Prometheus class, though those with a resistance to drugs in general will resist Kytone better. A dart contains the 50 cc of the drug; larger darts will contain other drugs as needed.

Kytone also has medical uses. Mutants do occasionally need surgery and Kytone is the only drug that can reliably put them under for the duration of a surgery.

Kytone: Affliction Close Attack [Rank 10] Cumulative, Resisted by Fortitude, Hindered, Exhausted, Asleep. DC 20 (this is a standard dose, higher doses may have higher DCs)

Kytone Darts: Affliction Ranged Attack [Rank 10] Cumulative, Resisted by Fortitude, Hindered, Exhausted, Asleep. DC 20

Kytone Mines: Affliction Ranged Attack [Rank 7] Cumulative, Area Cloud 15’ radius, Resisted by Fortitude, Hindered, Exhausted, Asleep. DC 17

-linked to Damage [Rank 8] Area Burst DC 23

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Entry: Accelerated Mutant Performance Collar (AMP Collar)

Written by: Elijah Arstoy

Date: September 4, 1979

The AMP collar is an odd device. The collar was developed in two parts; the first was the special energies that empower mutants and the second was the collar itself, including the various armaments and fail-safes. Admittedly, the former is more important than the latter. The energies are produced by a machine called the High Frequency Emitter (HFE). The HFE is highly classified and this document is not allowed to go into detail about what it is, what it can do or how it’s constructed. The purpose of this document is to provide a comprehensive overview of the AMP Collar.

Brief History

The HFE was developed in North Dakota at the Sletten Lake Containment Center by a mutant codenamed Argent. She created the HFE in 1963, providing both the creation and test subject for the HFE. Regretfully, she immediately attempted escape and was killed in the attempt. The HFE was give to a team to develop more fully and they were the ones who fitted it to a collar and implanted explosives, as the test subjects invariably attempted to escape once fitted with the collar.

The AMP Collar was first used in the field successfully in 1965 and has become a mainstay of DEHA operations since. AMP Collars are sometimes deployed without the HFE charged, just to get the mutant wearing it incentive to behave.

Effects on Mutants

The collar has an empowering effect on mutants. Many have described wearing the collar as “being really happy, even if I wasn’t” or like a runner’s high. Even the knowledge that there are explosives in the collar, enough to kill, isn’t enough to deflate their good moods. Mutants are more likely to engage in risk-taking behavior or to allow more primitive instincts to dominate, making the use of the collar risky in some cases.

The collar enhances abilities the mutant already has; never has it granted a power that the mutant doesn’t have, or allowed them to surpass their own limits. Instead it enhances them to their peak, allowing the mutant to perform at the peak of their abilities.

AMP Collar: Damage [Rank 15], Penetrating 5

-contains 3 HP ‘charges’ to be used by the mutant as needed

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EBSsuit.jpgExcept from DEHA Research and Science Unit’s Reference Database

Entry: EBS Suit (Electrical, Boost Jump, Shielding)

Written by: James Washington

Date: May 9, 1995 [last updated: July 10, 2009]

The EBS Suit is the standard suit utilized by the Rapid Response teams. It has a number of properties that make it effective against mutants, even low-end Prometheus. This device can even the odds for a human fighting a mutant.

Brief History

The EBS suit was developed at the DEHA Arms Lab in Langley, Virginia. A number of technicians had a hand in it, and the work continues today. There are constant improvements and upgrades to the suits as field reports come into the lab.

Abilities

EBS suits are completely closed to outside environment, making it difficult to poison their operator. They have face masks and goggles which have a closed supply of air that lasts for three hours. Their goggles have night vision and infrared settings.

Offensively, the suits are wired with an electrical network that allows them to perform a number of functions. The foremost is the ability to generate an electrical screen that stops most attacks. They can also fire a blast of electricity or drop ‘electrical’ bombs by firing a small dart which has a massive energy build-up in it. The dart is consumed, burn out like a light bulb wire filament. The blast is called a ‘cannon’ and the bombs are called ‘drop bears’ by the RR.

The suit also generates an electrical discharge when Electrical Punch function is enabled and the knuckles of the fist strike a target. The boots of the suit are capable of throwing the operator into the air; the force field absorbs the damage from the landing.

RR - EBS suit - PL 10

Strength 6, Stamina 2, Agility 2, Dexterity 2, Fighting 5, Intellect 0, Awareness 2, Presence 0

Advantages

Accurate Attack, All-out Attack, Close Attack 3, Diehard, Equipment 13, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical: Electrical Punch: Damage 8, Improved Disarm, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Move-by Action, Power Attack, Precise Attack (All) 4, Prone Fighting, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 2, Set-up, Takedown, Teamwork

Skills

Acrobatics 3 (+5), Athletics 3 (+9), Close Combat: Knife 2 (+7), Intimidation 5 (+5), Perception 4 (+6), Ranged Combat: Electrical Cannon: Blast 8 2 (+4), Treatment 1 (+1)

Powers

Closed Suit (Removable)

. . Goggles: Senses 2 (Infravision, Low-light Vision)

. . Hazard Suit: Immunity 2 (Uncommon Descriptor: Chemicals)

. . Rebreathers: Immunity 10 (Disease, Enviromental Conditions (All), Poison, Starvation & Thirst, Suffocation (All))

. . Voice mic/Ear Bud: Radio Communication 2

Intergrated Electrical Output Network (Removable)

. . Boost Boots: Leaping 3 (Leap 60 feet at 16 miles/hour)

. . Electrical Bombs: Burst Area Blast 8 (DC 23; Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere)

. . Electrical Cannon: Blast 8 (DC 23)

. . Electrical Punch: Damage 8 (DC 23; Accurate 2: +4)

. . Force Field: Force Field 12 (+12 Toughness)

Equipment

Assault Rifle, Binoculars, Commlink, Flash Grenade, Fragmentation Grenade, Heavy Pistol, Knife, Shotgun

Offense

Initiative +2

Assault Rifle, +4 (DC 20)

Electrical Bombs: Burst Area Blast 8 (DC 23)

Electrical Cannon: Blast 8, +6 (DC 23)

Electrical Punch: Damage 8, +12 (DC 23)

Flash Grenade, +4 (DC Dog/Fort 14)

Fragmentation Grenade, +4 (DC Dog 15)

Grab, +8 (DC Spec 16)

Heavy Pistol, +4 (DC 19)

Knife, +10 (DC 22)

Shotgun, +4 (DC 20 )

Throw, +4 (DC 21)

Unarmed, +8 (DC 21)

Complications

Enemy

Motivation: Patriotism

Languages

Native Language

Defense

Dodge 2, Parry 5, Fortitude 2, Toughness 14, Will 2

Power Points

Abilities 38 + Powers 70 + Advantages 40 + Skills 10 (20 ranks) + Defenses 0 = 158

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r94supertank.jpgExcept from DEHA Research and Science Unit’s Reference Database

Entry: R-94 Super Tank

Written by: James Washington

Date: August 12, 1999 [last updated: July 10, 2009]

The R-94 Super Tank is the latest of a new generation of tanks which are designed to combat the mutant threat head-on and on equal footing.

Brief History

The R-94 was developed at the Groom Lake Heavy Armaments Laboratory in the mid-nineties. It did have a mutant who completed much of the work on it, including a way to reinforce normal titanium to be stronger and denser. The R-94 is the third in the line; the first one created in 1995 was the R-91, and it served for two years before being replaced in 1997 with the R-92. The R-93 never left the prototype stage due to some structural issues, and in 1998, the R-94 was unveiled and has remained the top-tank for mutant warfare.

Abilities

Tanks are strong and tough, and the R-94 is no exception. It is more agile than most tanks, but still has size issues that make it useful under certain circumstances and a hindrance in others. The tank is a little smaller than most, but still powerful. Its main turret puts out an explosive round of impressive power, while the secondary gun on the front is a machine gun. It has cameras and radios to aid their operators in warfare.

R-94 Super-tank - PL 10

Strength 8, Stamina 8, Agility 0, Dexterity 0, Fighting 6, Intellect 0, Awareness 2, Presence 2

Advantages

Diehard, Ranged Attack 5, Teamwork

Skills

Perception 7 (+9), Ranged Combat: Main Cannon: Blast 10 5 (+5)

Powers

Communication: Radio Communication 2

Main Cannon: Blast 10 (DC 25; Extended Range, Homing: 1 extra attempt, Penetrating 10)

Radar and Cameras: Senses 2 (Low-light Vision, Radio)

Secondary Gun: Blast 8 (DC 23; Multiattack)

Tank-Sized: Growth 4 (+4 STR, +4 STA, +2 Intimidate, -4 Stealth, -2 active defenses, +1 size category; Innate)

Titanium Plate: Protection 8 (+8 Toughness; Impervious, Innate)

Offense

Initiative +0

Grab, +6 (DC Spec 18)

Main Cannon: Blast 10, +10 (DC 25)

Secondary Gun: Blast 8, +5 (DC 23)

Throw, +5 (DC 23)

Unarmed, +6 (DC 23)

Languages

Native Language

Defense

Dodge -2, Parry 4, Fortitude 16, Toughness 16, Will 3

Power Points

Abilities 36 + Powers 92 + Advantages 7 + Skills 6 (12 ranks) + Defenses 9 = 150

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Except from DEHA Research and Science Unit’s Reference Database

Entry: Mutant Genetics

Written by: Dr. Melanie Walthers

Date: October 18, 2010

TOP SECRET CLASSIFIED

Note from Director Eugene Sterling: Dr. Walthers’ opinion in the following piece is considered to be her own. We have a censored version available to all agents with clearance SECRET and below, on a need to know basis only.

The field of mutant genetics remains an intriguing one. We know so little about what causes a mutant, on the genetic level. What is truly interesting is that there is less than .001% difference between a ‘human’ and a ‘mutant’. So what really makes us human and them a mutant? It is clearly the powers and mutations that draw a genetic line. Those mutations are the outward expression of a mere handful of genes. Clearly, mutants are almost human.

Research has made it clear that ‘the’ mutant gene is not actually one allele, but five alleles working in sequence. How these affect a human and make them a mutant is unclear. What complicates the issue is that all humans appear to carry at least one of these genes but all five must be present in order for a mutant to manifest. Additionally, similar to the way alleles with CTG affect victims of myotonic dystrophy, the more copies of the CTT sequence in their alleles present in the individual, the higher they will fall on the Wheeler Classification Scale. The more copies they possess also increase the likelihood that they will pass on the DNA for mutation to their offspring. Therefore a Titan, such as David Keir, is much more likely to father another mutant than an Orpheus, and his offspring is much more likely to possess more copies of those particular strings of DNA.

My research has created up three theories that are strongly supported by data, which have grave ramifications for DEHA and the challenges they will face in the future. I’m sure that some readers already recognize the issues I’m about to bring forth but I will still illustrate them, as well as the full impact I foresee arising.

Number of Mutants

The DEHA has actively been breeding more mutants since its formation in 1942. To date, that is almost seventy years of breeding selectively for more passive, controllable mutants. That is four generations, roughly (given some of the dangerous breeding policies various satellites of the DEHA have), which has only seen the most tentative of results in the latest generation. It is my belief that these children are not being bred for passivity, as that would be difficult in just four generations, but being trained to passivity. It is exceptionally dangerous to confuse the two.

Further, the lack of regard that various nation-branches of DEHA have to safety and health of the mutants they use to breed is extremely disturbing. One mutant whose name is listed only as ‘Lamia’ has been impregnated roughly seventy times since 1942; today, fifty-nine of her children still remain in various breeding programs around the globe. In some cases, half-siblings are being bred together to try to obtain certain characteristics of their mother. A daughter of hers named Wave aged twelve died giving birth to triplets. The babies survived and the report listed the mother’s death as ‘unfortunate’.

The population of so-called ‘free-range’ mutants is growing as well. These free-range mutants are just as powerful as their ‘captive’-bred brethren, suggesting that there is more affecting the ‘mutant epidemic’ than genetics. I theorize that some common pollutant has increased the number of mutants, particularly given that their greatest increase has occurred in the first world. Mutant populations in the third world have remained far more stable.

Power of Mutants

The DEHA is currently breeding for passivity, but they are actively trying to breed more mutants. Before the widespread use of Kytone following 1901, mutants usually breed with humans or not at all. Mutants were scarce and many hid, limiting their contact with one another. This created a population that was small, with the larger human population acting as genetic carriers for recessive mutants.

Prior to 1942, the focus of most mutant programs was control and scientific advancements. It varied from country to country, but most nations in the world were not trying to breed more mutants. After 1942, word of Hitler breeding programs got out. Then the DEHA explicitly allowed breeding programs in its guidelines, and created a database of mutants and lineage trackers that subliminally encouraged various nations to intentionally breed mutants. In 1986, any subtly was completely dropped when the DEHA announced its intention to breed a more docile mutant.

We currently live in a climate where mutants are bred on the basis of whether they will make a good pairing. The child is examined for ability, like a race horse or show dog. They are bred on whim but most distressingly, they are bred constantly. Whereas chance played a massive part in whether someone would be capable of expressing their mutant gene prior to 1942, now it is increasingly likely that a mutant would breed with another mutant.

The numbers of copies that mutants carry of the pertinent alleles are also increasing. Mutants resulting from mutant-to-mutant breeding, instead of the much more haphazard human-to-human breeding, have more and more copies of the genes. Mutants born within the program are showing the capacity to be stronger than their peers outside the program – though it must be noted that the most powerful known mutant, David Keir, was born outside the program. The DEHA program may not be successful in breeding a more docile mutant, but it will be very successful in creating more powerful mutants.

Deceptive Genetics

I have mentioned that there is another factor affecting mutants. This is likely a pollutant of the developed world, as I stated previously. There have been numerous papers documenting the numbers of mutants in America versus those in Africa. I will not continue to belabor the fact.

I have studied mutant genetics, comparing hundreds of samples, both modern and historical. One thing that has become increasingly clear in my studies is that mutants may manifest powers at a lower level than their genetics indicate that they should. That indicates that mutants can become more powerful over time. I have seen Prometheus with Titan-level CTT allele copies, which means that their potential is not fully expressed or the Wheeler Classification Scale is not nearly as accurate as we’d like to think. This data suggests that we should consider not only the Titan classes among us, but the potential Titan classes. As our industrialized nation continues to create whatever pollutant that is activating these alleles, we should consider what we’ll do when these powerful mutants fully manifest their powers.

Morality

No one in the DEHA likes to talk about this, but in my research, I have come to the conclusion that it is an intricate part of the problem. In my paper above, I have outlined the atrocities being committed on mutants. I cannot in all good conscience remain silent any longer. These powerful beings have been abused gravely by us, mistreated for decades. When the Prometheus and Gorgons among us become Titans, we are going to have to deal with that history.

Further, mutants are essentially the same as humans. We might call them ‘mutants’ to attempt to pretend that they aren’t our brothers and sisters. But they are. ‘Mutants’ and humans interbreed freely; their offspring are fertile and can breed with either parent ‘species’. It is clear to anyone wanting to see that we are abusing our relatives – brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers – with our solution to the ‘mutant problem’.

We have created the ‘mutant problem’ out of fear and bigotry. If we don’t correct our mistake – if we can anymore – then we are looking at a future where our children look back on us with shame. We will be compared with the Nazis and Inquisitors, and be seen as worse, because we should have known better. And we will pay the price for our fear someday.

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