I find it really fascinating what kind of people get stuck with more modified serums, they tend to be the kinda people use to experiment on in real life too. Personally I like that they themselves aren’t directly entangled with captain America. they have their own stories and themes and villains to deal with, they just have a bit of connective tissue in terms of backstory.
Personally I’m not a huge fan of taskmaster getting his powers exclusively through the serum but I don’t dislike that he has it. I just think his photographic reflexes should be something he was born with, was never tested for an x gene and got his memory fucked with when given the serum. Combining both backstories into one. I still believe he was originally supposed to be a mutant. You can also play with a lot more themes this way and if you wanna power creep, you can give him a secondary mutation similar to what he has in the ultimate universe.
Luke cage always feels like a generally steady character for me, and I enjoy that his arc has him go from a freelancer to mayor of New York. He makes a good foil for kingpin even if he’s more of an all arounder villain. Also I don’t really ever like this man in super suits of any kind, he’s a more grounded character even if he’s basically just a better captain America. It takes alot of personality away. More than anything though I like the contrast for him taking gunfire, it shows off his power very well, otherwise you can have it feeling like the suit is the thing that is bullet proof. It’s also just a good way to show character like how he doesn’t use his hero name “powerman “ very much at all.
I enjoy bob, sentry and void. They are very recent comics so there’s not much room for a ton of character telephone but I think how he’s been explored has always been fun. His narrative is almost a mystery in a way the difference between what is real and not make for so much fun opportunities. It’s a little unfortunate they can’t adapt everything thing from his mythos but I’m very happy with what we got.
It’s kind of cool that a through-line between these character is exploration of identity and how minorities are treated unfairly especially in the medical field. I don’t really ever see a universe where these characters are bunched together besides this interesting fact that they all had a super solider serum that was not “standard” but I enjoyed talking about them
show me your anxiety-riddled ocs I need them for science
Oh there are so so many XD
I'll keep it to 7 of my favorites, and do my best to keep these short but still give enough background.
Tw: nonhuman characters, mentions of burning and family death, learning disability related stress, lab rat content, and dehumanizing circumstance for nonhuman characters such as being owned or abused
Fear not, I threw in a little fluff
Among the ones I go after the most:
Rook - a scrapy fierce little creature, who's response to fear is anger. He's always afraid, always worried this fleeting period of freedom with his found family will end, or later on as he develops more self awareness, that they will get sick of him and abandon him. This manifests as him getting frustrated easier, snapping at people, and occasionally just going after them. Luckily his caretaker is an ex gladiator, and an ex hit woman, so she can take it.
Enzo - a member of the same cast as Rook. He came from very dehumanizing circumstance before he got sold off. He is a people pleaser because that's how he learned to survive. So at first he was pretty nervous around his rescuer/caretaker, but that wore off pretty quickly. He took to worry about her and the others in their found family, that they'd get hurt, or found (they're on the run) not to mention he harbors alot of insecurity, very low self worth. This is something the caretaker helps amend, as she doesn't want to see him get hurt or taken advantage of.
One of my favorite symbolic demonstrations of his healing over time is his singing. Hear me out. He's a siren type creature, so he loves to sing, he's meant to. But the people who own him before punish him for it for various reasons. The longer he spends with caretaker the stronger his voice gets, it starts out with gentle songs, and moves up to powerful rock lyrics and stuff depending on his mood.
Cam (or Rally, I'm having a hard time picking a name) - a fire elemental in a world where elementals are considered highly dangerous. His family helps him hide it, but one day a fire starts in his house (he believes he started it while he was sleeping). In his fear he accidentally makes it much worse, and his parents do not make it out. He's stuck in the house in a state of panic and fear and general mourning because he can't process that his fire is just what took his family, when his caretaker to be (another elemental named Rafiki/Rafi/Raf) runs in to save him. From then on he's deeply scared that he will hurt someone again, or worse.
Thing is, we learn that he wasn't the original cause of the fire. It was an agent of the government hoping to send him into a panic. When Cam discovers this, he goes after them, getting caught and put under the control of this mind control device called the halo (its a metal ring that is affixed to the head). Then, he is forced to go after his friends. He burns Rafiki severely enough that it even gives her trauma.
Rex - a post-wolf (meaning after wolf, not one who works with mail) supersoldier. Who develops high levels of anxiety around his technical studies when he struggles with reading due to dyslexia and adhd.
Static - a very sweet bean who is among the first humans to begin developing superpowers in one of my universes due to the presence of an alien virus on earth. He's in the army when he begins developing powers, the army that advocates for killing or catching such people. He is terrified that he will be the next one dragged off to some black ops base and pulled apart like some lab rat. He finds a group of others who are hiding their powers and they do a great job protecting and hiding each other.
But one day he comes crawling back to base to get the medic while having a broken leg. The medic tends to him, then runs off to rescue his friends. But this is about the time that the higherups have put together a few things. They show up and drag him off. It is his nightmare realized. And of course his friends find and save him, but he certainly had anxiety before, it is tripped after, he has a severe case of ptsd.
Taboo - is a scorpion humanoid, he named himself as such because he thought he was just unlucky when he was little and didn't realize people were afraid of him. He is an absolute cinnamon roll (who could kill you.) And the thought of people being scared of him makes him occasionally to nervous to act and really really sad (poor boi).
Flux - Flux does not remember what he used to be. He was sure he used to have flesh parts instead of metal ones but he doesn't anymore. He is a rescued lab rat, who was pulled apart and put back together so much his trauma response became appease. So even after rescue he constantly fears that he will do something wrong, and wind up back on that table. Thing is, he could never figure out what the criteria was that got him back there at the lab, and th le rules with these new people make even less sense!
A/N: Hello Readers! I hope you enjoy this little piece from my sleep deprived mind! Leave feedback!
It came in a whisper, the delicate touch of his calloused fingers across the hill of your rosy cheek. The first thing in the morning- not exactly the three words every girl wants to hear, but exactly what you needed.
“I want you.”
He prayed that you were stuck in deep sleep, fighting the growing lump in his throat with each groggy second. If asked why he chose those words and not the other important three he’d just shake his head and grin madly. No one needed to know. Just him and the light morning air.
Especially you.
God, he wouldn’t know what to do if you heard him.
Anxiety began to nag at his mind, fluttering irrational thoughts drawing a grey cloud.
What if you were awake?
What if you thought it was creepy?
What if you were expecting those three words?
He shook his head and ran another lazy finger over your skin, dipping into the small dimple that only he knows and over the raised scar that hides behind your ear.
You stir slightly and he pulls away, hissing underneath his breath. Last time he woke you up before ten o’clock on a weekend you chewed him out, admittedly he wouldn’t mind seeing the angry scrunch of your nose at the moment.
He refrains.
It’s slightly creepy to watch over you like this, and surely he could never live it down if Sam were to walk in and catch him. But, how can he not stare when you look so peaceful? So pure and untouched by trauma? Each worn line relaxed and glowing with rest.
God, he wants you.
Years ago he wouldn’t have dared to think about wanting something- nonetheless someone. Everything he’s owned, kept near and dear to his heart has been wrenched away and thrown just out of reach.
His arm instinctively pulls you closer, whirring quietly from the sudden action.
Yes, James Buchanan Barnes wants you.
He presses a light kiss to your forehead, nuzzling his nose into your hair and breathing in the intoxicating scent of strawberries and home.
You move closer, small hand wrapping around his metal bicep while the other rests on his flesh one.
“Morning.”
He smiles widely, faking a yawn and replying with faux exhaustion.
“Morning, doll.”
You hum in delight and bury your face into his neck, mumbling something only for your ears.
A/N: This is just mush! I have the rest of this fic already written out! But it is long, so it will be a series! The reader is also ex-HYDRA & has a metal arm like Bucky that replaced the one that was blown off in the gulf war. She was actually part of a division of shield that had funding cut & was taken over by HYDRA, except she wasn’t brainwashed like Bucky. As well as serum that is superior to Bucky’ & Steve’. This one is short and sweet.
Words:+600
Glaring at Sam in the early morning light that streamed in the common room, the metal armed woman couldn’t help but trace the metal plates that shifted quietly under the fingers of her left hand. A metal arm that mirrored Bucky’ perfectly but for the opposite side.
It was the last piece of pumpkin pie, the very pie SHE baked & saved for Bucky to eat this morning but of course Sam had to be an ass & eat the last piece. Sipping her coffee as said soldier emerged from the stairs after morning run, he sounded happy but not for long. Smirking into the mug as she turned to pour him a cup to hold it out into the hallway for him to take as he stepped around the corner.
“Morning,” his voice gritted, taking a sip to look at Sam & why Y/N was glaring so hard at the soldier.
“Oh, come on Sam! That was mine,” Bucky sighed out, rubbing flesh hand over sweaty face.
The men ignoring Y/N as she moved about, neither paying attention to the fact she downed the coffee & left the two to squabble, making a quick stop before plodding to her room. She hadn’t slept well, flexing out metal appendage as she entered the small room, shutting the door as the argument got louder. Stopping at the foot of her bed to fall face first into the mattress, only moving around to breath easier & drift off to sleep.
Several hours later a quiet knock brought her out of a troubled dream to mumble to the AI to let them in, not realizing what she had done & falling back to sleep. The shifting of the mattress making her wake for a second, a hot body next to hers, metal against metal as flesh hand soothed down tired spine.
“Tired doll,” a gravelly voice drawled out.
The only time they interacted like this was when no one else was on their floor, it was their secret to avoid the taunting of the group. HYDRA done enough of that over the years to both of them, though at different times & lives apart. Y/N only 40 but technically she hadn’t aged past 28 or so while he was a full century now.
Nodding lazily, slender metal arm shifting to find the metal hand at her side & lace them together. Flesh finding the hem of baggy shirt to move slowly up relaxing spine as he squeezed the metal in his grip.
“Thank you doll,” he breathed out, this time closer to her ear, watching tired form try to wake, but knew she hadn’t slept in a few days, allowing her the rest she so desperately wanted.
A weak nod acknowledging him as she shifted to her side to release metal hand so that he could shift around & cuddle against him.
“Gonna stay here today so you can rest, that OK,” he asked gently, the tired creature nodding.
“The others,” Y/N murmured so low he barley heard.
“They’ve been talkin’ for a while, lets just make it true,” he drawled relaxing to the bed.
“Thank you for the pie sweetheart. I brought it with me,” he hushed, curling metal arm around tired body that began to relax, her flesh hand pushing under his shirt to make contact with taught skin.
“No problem,” she admitted, tracing scars on his left shoulder as he ran flesh hand up her spine to hold the soldier tight, massaging the nape of tired neck.
They craved contact, positive contact, in ways that only the two of them understood. It was time they got to enjoy each other, Bucky settling in for a long stay with his little soldier that was doing more for him than anything Shuri could have ever done with all the technology in Wakanda. Filling Y/N curl into his chest tightly, breathing evening out as both finally relaxed for the first time in days.
Tw: language, war, there isn’t a whole lot of whump here it’s more of a set up and interaction between two serious powerhouse characters
"This is going to be simple. Iota's going to scout and report back where they're grouped up. Sigma, Beta, and Kappa will go handle the human units, and the inhumans will be up to me, Delta, and the twins. Once the human units are out of the way we all go at once and let all hell brake lose. There's more of them so they're more likely to have a hard time in the chaos. The chaos in which we will thrive. Any questions?" Alpha was quite proud of her plan. She wasn't usually in charge of the tactical side of things, and yet somehow it was always her fault if it failed. Well not this time! She would be the one in charge and the one to do it right. She knew their strengths and weaknesses, she knew how best to use her team. Like precise tools she would wield them in a way no other commander had, and all those lovely delusions of grandeur.
"Yeah, why the hell are we taking orders from you?" Delta asked, stepping right up to Alpha. She was potentially the only one bold enough to do so.
"Because the higher ups decided I'd earned my chance." She took everything in stride. Letting Delta ruffle her feathers would poke just the holes in her reasoning that the filthy scavenger would be looking for. The old Alpha would have let this get to her and she would have had it out right there in the dust. No this was the new Alpha, she was refined, she was a commander.
"Oh, so the higher ups know all? I don't remember you having so much faith in them the last couple of missions."
The old Alpha- RRRR! Why was Delta such a pain! "Listen here you waste of flesh. I've got my chance at leadership. You're not going to eff it up for me or I'll put you on your ass right here right now!" By the time she had finished she was showing more teeth than Delta had. She waited for retaliation, but when none came she just nodded curtly. As it should be. "If that's all, you know your roles. Go!" They scattered at a satisfyingly quick pace and she headed over to the corner of the predetermined battlefield she had chosen for herself.
It was the patch of the half ruined city that was overrun by the natural landscape. Giant mounds dug out by insects or animals littered this particular portion, tall enough not to be seen over unless one climbed them. This would do perfectly.
Alpha gazed over the mound as the blades rotated out on the usually solid iron of the spider limbs. A brief moment to shut her eyes, feel the programmed bloodlust rise to an exciting level in her stomach, and breathe out. She bounded up onto the hill and her eyes went wide as she dove back down swearing. "The hell is she doing here!!??" Alpha hissed, immediately turning her attention to locating her teammates. She needed to correct their tactics before Saturn blew them off the map!
Alpha spotted Iota first. He was held up among a set of crumbling walls, using his steel wings to block the barrage of fire that was concentrated on him. She couldn't get to him easily like this, and definitely couldn't have a conversation in that setting. She set her gaze on the nest of inexperienced gunmen shooting towards her teammate. That she could handle. She sunk the spines of her limbs into the ground, lifting her feet from the dirt, then raised her ironclad fists and sneered. "And they never saw it coming."
She was in and out of the soldiers' hold up in moments. They were mostly humans, and thus stood no chance. The few inhumans they had hiding there weren't any good with whatever abilities had been wrongly gifted to them and she dispatched them just as quickly. She scrambled back to the dilapidated structure, and Iota, through a mist of red.
"We have a problem."
"Great thing to hear in a situation like this. What the hell is it?"
She noted the abnormal amount of stress in his tone. She was tempted to smile and taunt, but she wanted to like him. That meant she had to get him to tolerate her as well, so she refrained. "Saturn's here."
"Shit! Well, commander, what are we going to do about it?"
"You're going to be a good little scout and go find the others. And you're going to tell them the new plan. No charging as a group. At least not yet."
"What, so there's a better time to charge as a group with that maniac out on the field?"
She liked his nervous sarcasm. "Yes." She would earn his confidence. "Give me one of your flair guns, that's the signal."
He dug the spare from his bag and handed it to her warily, like she was going to take his hand with it. "Don't die." he muttered, turning away and spreading the vicious looking mechanical mockery of bird wings. Too many joints, they bent enough, but the movements looked forced.
"You either." She returned, though she said it quiet enough that she rather hoped he hadn't heard it. It would diminish her carefully crafted persona's rep for not giving a shit. With that handled she turned back to where she had glimpsed the familiar form with reaper looking wings. "Alright Saturn, you and me." she muttered, trying to swallow the anxiety that name newly instilled in her. She crushed it back against her throat and snarled, she could not approach with fear! She would not approach with fear! Alpha was a weapon of war, slayer of all who stepped in her path. Saturn you're dead!
Alpha bounded out from her hiding place, running half with her legs and half with the augmentations built into her back. "Heeeey Saturn!" She howled. Alpha landed five feet in front of the titan... wait what? They had been close in height last time, now Saturn had to be just over seven feet!
As soon as Alpha had landed Saturn had charged her, not gonna me get the first strike in? Guess you've learned a bit. Alpha returned the gesture, unwilling to allow anything less than meeting in the middle. She led with two limbs up and armed with blades, and readied two more as she went to drive the first two down on her opponent. Saturn caught them. Not unexpected, now she just had to launch the next two into somewhere that would bring her down. However, as soon as Alpha started to raise the additional limbs she felt Saturn pushing her back and pulling her off the ground! Alpha locked those legs into place and held fast. This was not going to be as quick as she hoped.
"Hey Alpha. How's everyone?" Saturn was straining a bit, maybe?
"Delta's a bitch, and gunning for command but you know. Life as usual." Alpha doubled down on her strength, setting her feet against the ground. It wasn't much, but she was in a standoff with an Aether, anything was worth trying.
"You'd do well as a commander. You really know how to look after your people."
"Awe thanks. But it's all for the attention you know."
"I'm not so sure about that, I've seen how you watch them. You care."
"And you'll take that secret to your grave Saturn." Alpha's tone suddenly serious.
"Geez, if you're so worried about it, why are you still working for Grey? I know if you tried you'd have that place reduced to ashes in hours."
"Oh? And what would I do then? Run around like stray dogs, that's what you and your rebels are living like. I've seen the camps."
"So you would rather be running errands for guys in suits who watch war from the comfort of their recliners? Be honest with me Alpha, there's no one who would suit this life better!"
She didn't really want to answer this one. She wanted nothing less than to let Saturn know how right she was. Far more pressing than that thought, Alpha was starting to pant, she was trying in vain not to let Saturn see it. Saturn, herself, showed no signs of letting up, or even tiring. What is she fuckin made of? She'd need a different approach for this one. Maybe if she-
A sound that she swore she couldn't hear and Alpha's sense of balance completely imploded for a moment, her feet shuffling themselves beneath her until it all stopped spinning. Alpha really hoped she didn't look as worried as she felt right then. But still she looked up, and they for a heartbeat stayed eye to eye.
They were frozen in a moment that made the turning of the world stop. "Run Alpha, take them and retreat."
"I don't run Saturn." Alpha growled with sudden resolve. She was not scared of what this inhuman beast could do. Whatever Saturn could do Alpha was willing to do way worse, of this she was sure.
"Then this isn't my fault."
Alpha found herself thrown back several steps before looking up. Saturn's wings unfolded, but not quite to their full glory, tail almost waving behind her. Alpha found herself focused on Saturn's face. Scarred and spotted, framed with her almost blood red hair. The horns rose from her head like a set of crowns, one after the other, glinting in the dying light. Saturn stood before Alpha, an angel of war.
Shit, we've lost. Was the last coherent thought Alpha managed before tactile thunder threw her into something made of concrete just strong enough to knock the thought from her head.
***
It was dark when Alpha began to pull herself from the pile of concrete rubble she had lost consciousness in. She took stock of her functions first. Breathing? Good, mostly. Legs? Arms? Working, working, working, wo- NO! That one didn't. Still, two functional legs and one broken arm was tolerable. Augmentations? Her mechanical limbs rose from the crumbled structure around her. Two seemed to be damaged but one of them was still mostly functional. The other had been crushed between her and the wall. She'd need a trip to the repair techs when she got back.
Standing was a rollercoaster of pain. Just because her legs weren't broken didn't mean they were at a hundred percent, but she slowly took to walking. Now that she wasn't buried she could get to the next priority, where the hell was everyone? It took maybe half an hour of wandering until she reached the rendezvous point, and There was Kappa, waiting for her.
"Worried you might not come back, boss." He said, upon noticing her. She couldn't actually weigh the sincerity of his words on account of never having heard him say something sincere in all the time she had known him. Still, she took it to be mostly genuine.
"Bet Delta would have loved that. Lost and KIA."
He gave her a confused look, "We didn't lose."
"What?"
***
Saturn drifted among the numerous cots in the tents that had gone from general shelter to triage facilities. The air was heavy with blood and cries of pain. It was a sick and forsaken place, and she shook her head trying to prevent these images from becoming memories. She pushed on and eventually hit the very edge of the carnage touched crowd. After wandering through a few more rings of cots she found the one she was looking for.
Saturn found her place sitting on the ground next to the cot of a kid, no older than seventeen. Also with her on the ground was someone her own age, twenty-six or so, but his head wrapped in bandages. They blurred red on one side and Saturn took a special interest in it.
"It's bleeding again? How?"
"You know how."
"You said you wouldn't fight."
"I wasn't going to, but then Kappa showed up, I had no choice."
She looked up at the cot, her eyes lingering a second longer on the thick bandages on the teen's mid-drift, "and him?"
"Beta showed up too."
She sighed, "I thought us coming here was going to get us away from all this shit. I hadn't meant to bring us to the heart of it."
Roman set his hand on her shoulder, "It's a stepping stone. They let us help then they let us join their settlement."
She nodded but it was hollow. However her self pity wasn't given long enough to take. "Saturn? Roman? Where- are we?"
She got to her feet quickly, she had lost count the number of times his over excrement had led to popped stitches. "Don't sit up. We're in camp, Roman said you got roughed up by Beta."
"I took as much as I got," Aztec responded, carefully setting his hands behind his head in an air of confidence.
"I'm sure," she half smiled. She was seconds from changing the topic when the Sergeant walked by. "Sir! Sergeant Anderson!"
He turned on his heel and faced her. "Saturn. Astounding work out there today. We would have been much worse off without you. You have no idea how many lives you saved today."
"Of course Sergeant, happy to be of service. I was wondering when we could see about getting a tent or something? I smell rain, and I dunno, is there anything available?"
"For you, of course!" he announced.
"Great!" She reached down, offering Roman a hand up.
"They can't come with us, Saturn." He said it like it was something she already should have known.
"What? Why?" She froze mid movement and waited on his answer.
"Well they're not part of the troops here. They're going to have to leave by first light or be escorted out." It was so natural for him, and maybe that was what set her off.
"What!? You can't do that-!"
He held a hand up, cutting her off, "We can only afford medical care and food for so many. This isn't a charity, this is a rebellion. We could use a lab bred Aether like you, but a glitchy shield guy and an untrained child are not going to help us on the battlefield."
"Who are you calling child?-" Roman cut Aztec's rebellion short, and carefully pressed his head back down to the cot.
"Listen to reason. Roman can barely stand, Aztec can't at all. They were reduced to this because they were protecting your people. Don't you owe them anything for that?"
"No. That was their choice. Now are we going to find you a tent or not?"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"No. I'm staying with my friends."
"You're friends are leaving that's not-"
"You can't be this stupid."
"Look, I understand that you're close but it's policy. I can't keep them here. I know you want the best for them but don't you think if they were really your friends they'd want the best for you too?"
Her gaze turned dark, "Go to hell."
His eyes narrowed, "I see, then I'll expect you out of our camp by sun up." and with that he returned to his rounds.
"Gladly." Saturn growled, sitting back down. Her gaze eventually left the silhouette that was attempting to inspire his tin soldiers to fight on and returned to her friends. "What's that look?" she asked, noticing the matching guilt in their eyes.
"You didn't have to do that for us. You've had it just as hard, if you want to do this, we won't be mad at you." Roman was so genuine, it made her chest hurt. She looked to Aztec and he nodded, sick with heartache, but he nodded. She hated it!
"Screw that! Like it or not you guys are stuck with me! I wouldn't stay if they offered to make me queen of the known world." She snapped, "So, what's our next move?"
So I know I just generally post random shit that interests me...
But like I've had an idea for a while now so I’m just gonna scream it out into the void. Fair Waring with will be long I will try to insert one of those cut things some where but I do not have much hope that it will work, I am a tumbler baby.
It involves the idea of super soldiers, you know the ones that populate the Marvel universe. Which is honestly a cool idea except... there not really soldiers are they? Like they don’t follow orders worth a damn, there only like one of them and they NEVER EVER really work fully integrated with the wide military complex. and if they are, such as Captain America and his group they are organized with one super solider as the nucleolus for a unit composed of normal people, or more likely riff raff. they also go off on there own all the damn time because they can.
Also... wouldn't gaining super powers after like the age of 5 or 8 be super fucking traumatic and super hard to learn to deal with? Like seriously imagine going through your life, you have basically trained in gross and fine motor movement to suit your capacities and need your entire life and suddenly every limit you ever had sky rockets. YOU PROBABLY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO PROPER:Y GAUGE THE AMOUNT OF HAND STRENGTH YOU WOULD NEED TO PICK UP FRUIT.
seriously imagine going from skinny Steve rogers to CAPTAIN FRICKEN AMERICA. like you can breath now which will make a everything that easier but that pickle jar you used to have to reef on to open? yeah that’s gonna shatter in your hands now. not to mention,,, the people who get crazy strange super powers later in life.
Imagine one day waking up shooting mother trucking lightening! that would be horrifying and you probably cant control or modulate it worth a damn because that was not something that had to deal with. I don’t know about you guys but I have issues walking with out falling on my face some days and I have done that literally every day since I was a toddler. Learning a new skill like that or just the amount of control needed would be awful.
I though puberty growth spurts were bad, imagine gaining super powers.
So if they had super powers from birth... that issues would not exist and the complex that made you could reasonably be in charge of your socialization and your teamwork abilities, because if your gonna be desperate enough to make a super solider you may as well make it useful. (Like don’t get me wrong here guys I’m not arguing that any of this would be moral... i think the process of raising these super soldiers would be awful... but it would produce and actual super solider. one that would know how to use its powers, how to follow orders and how to work in a wider group to complete objectives.) Also you have there entire development to see if the super powers ( here im assuming that they used genetic manipulation to give them powers)
