The Gray

The alien race known as the Gray are conceived to be somewhat like Marvel’s mutants in that they are seemingly ordinary human beings that develop super powers. Additional sources of inspiration for them include modern day folklore, Marvel’s Eternals and Inhumans, as well as certain elements of White Wolf Game’s World of Darkness.

Unlike mutants, the powers that a Gray character can possess are restricted to those that he could have genetically inherited from his ancestors. A detailed list follows, but keep in mind: Ancient Gray (the Elders, Elder Gods) have all or most of these abilities, the newest generation of Gray will have only a few, if any.

The original Grays who crashed on Earth roughly 2000 years ago were monstrous creatures, completely inhuman (read something by H.P. Lovecraft to get an idea. Cthulu is what I’m talking about here). But as generations have passed, Grays have assimilated human DNA, becoming more and more human in appearance and mindset. Modern Grays are practically indistinguishable from humanity and can breed freely with ordinary people. Most of them probably aren’t even aware of the origin of their powers.

Although the average modern Gray appears completely human, this is not always the case. Occasionally, Grays are born with noticeable differences (a la Nightcrawler of the X-Men). The majority of Grays have a “preternatural quality” of some sort, although it is nothing quantifiable.

An ability that all Grays possess to varying degrees is the ability to be forgotten and ignored. A normal human that encounters a Gray will find his memories of the experience somewhat hazy afterwards. An unfortunate side effect of this is that Gray may find themselves stood up for their high school proms, left on hold for hours, or basically “lost in the shuffle.” This ability does not result in total memory loss and is not under the Gray’s voluntary control.

Grays have a much longer lifespan than ordinary people. A modern Gray may live for 150 to 200 years or so, while the Elders lifespans are measured in millennia. The original Grays landed a few thousand years ago and a few of them are still out there…

Energy Crystals: These are the Grays own peculiar analogue to Kryptonite. Exposure does not weaken them – it empowers them, temporarily. After a Gray has drained one of these crystals of its energy, it becomes inert and cannot be used again.

And now we get to the powers, the aspect of the Gray that truly sets them apart from humanity. Note that when a Gray uses his superhuman powers, he draws on his own life energies as a source of power. What this means is that a Gray capable of hurling energy bolts can’t hurl an infinite number of them. If he tried to, he would wind up dead eventually, or at least fall unconscious. The Gray’s life energies replenish after periods of rest, consumption of food, etc, just as ours do.

INNATE POWER CATEGORIES:
The super powers exhibited by Gray fall into five general categories: “Hex,” “Luminus,” “Metamorphosis,” “Pulsing,” and unique abilities.
I will explain each general category before getting into specifics.

HEX: With this power, the character can actually alter the nature of reality or an individual’s perception of it in a variety of subtle ways. In some cases the character may bend a subject’s will to his own. hex basically covers Magics and Psionics.

LUMINUS: The character is a living solar battery, capable of storing energy inside his body and using it to generate light and electricity. This one deals with most energy powers that involve visible effects.

METAMORPHOSIS: This power enables the character to transform either all or a portion of his body for a variety of effects. Self-explanatory,I think.

PULSING: Use of this power causes bursts of electromagnetic (EM) waves, which may be directed toward a variety of effects. One negative side effect of having this ability is that mechanical devices in frequent contact with the character’s body (e.g. a wristwatch) will tend to break down much more often than normal. Non-visible energy powers and some other stuff here.

UNIQUE ABILITIES: These are rare in the extreme. This is a catchall category to allow for truly unique abilities that writers may dream up. Please do not overuse this – a little bit of the unexplained is good for drama; too much of it and the reader will lose interest.

Also, feel free to "tweak" an individuals powers a bit. It is likely that the Gray will call his power by a different name than those listed here and that his powers will manifest certain differences (i.e. limitations, somewhat altered visual aspects, and so on).

COMPLETE LIST OF SPECIFIC POWERS THAT A GRAY MAY POSSESS:
(I may add to this in the future. E-mail me with your suggestions if you want. kueijin@hotmail.com)

(FYI: The powers that follow are based on my analysis of abilities that so-called extraterrestrials have exhibited during sitings that have supposably occurred in the real world. I don’t put much stock in that sort of thing, but I like the idea of incorporating a bit of genuine modern day mythology into AC’s universe.)

(Also: terms like “He” and “His” are used throughout these descriptions and refer to Gray of either sex. Political correctness notwithstanding, this is common practice for the English language.)

HEX
Basic Applications:

Aphase:
This is the power to cause others to lose their capacity to comprehend language. Its duration is usually for about ten minutes. What happens to the individual targeted is that anything he attempts to say will sound like complete nonsense, and to him so will anything anyone else says. If he tries to write messages, they will be unintelligible and if he tries to read he will see: "wextrydac jexaq al fequariw” and so on…

Calming Factor:
When the Gray uses this power, no one within his line of sight will be able to feel pain (although they may still be hurt) and they must possess a greater degree of willpower than the Gray in order to take any action that would result in harm to another. Additionally, those affected have a general feeling of peace and well being, although no specific affinity for the Gray in particular.

Channel:
This power enables the Gray to control the speech of another character within his line of sight. He must defeat the target in a contest of will, and then he will say whatever the Gray wishes him to say for a period of roughly ten minutes. The target may still take actions normally, only his speech is affected.

Imaginary Friend:
Like Lamont Cranston, the Gray has the power to cloud men’s (and women’s) minds so that they cannot see him, however children and animals are usually immune to this effect. If the Gray does something that makes his presence obvious – hits someone, picks something up, etc, people will become aware of him. The impression people will get isn’t that a man just suddenly appeared, however, more like “Why didn’t I notice that guy before?”

Mind Probe
The Gray may probe a character’s mind if his willpower exceeds the character’s own. Each time the Gray does so he can obtain one bit of information, such as “What was your plan?” or even “What’s your mother’s maiden name?”

Push
This power is a form of true mind control focused through a commanding voice and piercing stare. If the Gray can catch the eye of his target, he may attempt to control him. A single simple command of no more than five words can be given to the subject, per use of this power. The command may not be suicidal or self-destructive and must not violate the subject’s own moral code. The effects of this power wear off after 15 minutes, even if the subject has not finished carrying out his orders.

Selective Memory:
Each time the Gray uses this power, he can alter ten seconds of a persons memory in any way he wishes. Subjects with stronger wills that that of the Gray will tend to be able to successfully resist. Also, memories altered in this fashion can sometimes be restored through hypnotic regression and other similar means.

Subliminal Message:
When the Gray enacts this power he must specify a target within his line of sight and short message (5 words or less). The next time the target reads something, he will see the message in place of what is actually written. If the target blinks a few times or otherwise takes a second look at what he’s trying to read, he will see it as it actually is.

Intermediate Applications:

Ansible:
The Gray is able to communicate telepathically with any single character that is known to him, regardless of the distance between them. If the subject is unwilling, he may cut off contact at any time.

Enemy Mind:
To use this power the Gray must physically touch his intended victim. If successful, the target’s personality changes for a single hour, becoming similar to that of the Gray.

Fugue:
The Gray may cause an opponent to enter into a “fugue” by overcoming them in a battle of wills. While in a Fugue State, the subject continues to function normally, however, when the Fugue ends he will remember nothing that occurred during it. The state lasts for ten minutes per use of the power. Hypnotic regression and other similar techniques may be able to restore the subject’s memories of the lost time.

Fuzzy Logic:
This power may be used to make apparent logical inconsistencies seem to be logical. Anyone attempting to recognize them for what they are will need to be strong-willed and to have a particular interest in the logical inconsistency itself. This effect lasts for one day per use of the power and alters the nature of a specific paradox, dichotomy, or other apparent logical inconsistency (whether true or false is irrelevant). It does not cause others to be unable to perceive the affected paradox, merely to see nothing strange about it. Thus, if used on the fact that the character is an extraterrestrial being, for example, anyone who discovered this would view it as no more strange than if they had found out he was Italian. Note that when this power wears off, reality reverts to normal and others memories of the inconsistency are not erased.

Murphy’s Law:
Whatever can go wrong, the Gray can make go wrong through use of this power. This may be used to cause something negative that is within the realm of possibility to occur. For example, a gun could jam or a car could get a flat tire, but a loaded gun couldn’t suddenly become empty, a car couldn’t be made to run out of gas, etc. The effects of this power can never cause direct harm to another character (no aneurysms or heart attacks, for example), but may harm others indirectly. A parachute failing to open, for instance, is within the scope of this power.

Psychosis:
By overcoming an opponents will, the Gray may cause him to develop a temporary insanity of the Gray’s choice that lasts for about an hour. This could be anything from a fear of spiders to homicidal mania.

Advanced Applications:
Control:
Again, this is a matter of the Gray’s will being stronger than that of his target. The Gray may use this power to control the movements of a single individual within his line of sight. While doing so the Gray may not engage in complex actions—he could drink a cup of coffee or flip through TV channels, but couldn’t write a letter or juggle, as examples. The target continues to be able to speak freely, but may be made to do things that he ordinarily wouldn’t… such as jumping off of a building or attacking his best friend.

Trance
The Gray may cause a target to enter into a trance state, where he is nearly mindless and incapable of initiating any action, although he may walk, eat, etc if prodded. This trance can last anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, although its duration is not under the Gray’s control.

LUMINUS
Basic Applications:

Aurora Effect:
The Gray may cause an opponent to see strange blue tracers of light that are extremely distracting. Duration is about 10 minutes and these tracers are visible to others as well.

Bioluminescence:
Use of this power causes the Gray’s entire body to glow white for a period of about 10 minutes. This enables him and those around him to see normally in darkness, although a flashlight would be much less conspicuous. This power is also good for impressing people. (Hey, I’d be impressed if I saw it…)

Empower Self:
By enacting this power, the Gray temporarily gains super strength (sufficient to lift/press about 1 ton) and is surrounded by a visible aura of shimmering blue sparks. The duration of this is “one scene.” This means that if a Gray character uses this in a fight, he’ll be super strong until the end of the fight (unless it really really drags on) and if he uses it to perform a rescue, it will last until the rescue is completed.

Electroshock:
The Gray may instantly call forth a wreath of electricity about his hands that lasts for one scene. The Gray can then shock people by touching them. If an appropriate conductive medium connects the Gray’s hands to the target (i.e. the target is swimming and the Gray sticks his hands in the pool) this power may be used at range.

Flash:
The Gray is able to produce a sudden flash of light that blinds everyone looking in his direction for ten seconds. Any super-types who possess enhanced vision will be blinded for much longer (say an hour maybe).

Light Knife:
The Gray is able to form in his hand and throw a glowing purplish shard of pure energy. He can also choose to direct the knife’s movements mentally, depending on whether he’s a better thrower or thinker. An individual hit by the light knife will be paralyzed for about 15 seconds.

Intermediate Applications:
Pillar of Light:
The Gray is able to call into being a glowing shaft of yellow light that may be used to levitate him or others. The weight limit on this is proportionate to the Gray’s intelligence. The light column lasts for as long as the Gray concentrates, but may not be moved from its original location. It is not solid and those who wish to escape its effects need only step out of it. Movement of characters or objects through use of this power is limited to ascending and descending only, at a movement rate equivalent to a very slow walk.

Prism:
With this power the Gray creates a disc-shaped or triangular energy shield that hovers near his body and responds to his mental commands. This may be used to completely block a single attack directed at the Gray. It lasts until used or willed to vanish by the Gray who created it. If the prism itself is targeted and successfully hit, it will disappear.

Shimmer:
By touching an opponent and defeating him in a battle of wills, the Gray may cause him to fall asleep suddenly. The last thing the victim sees will be a flash of light, although this is not visible to others. This sleep lasts for a few hours or until it’s interrupted (e.g. someone wakes the sleeper up).

Super-energize:
Similar to “Empower Self” above, but the super strength is sufficient to lift/press about 10 tons.

Advanced applications:
Body of Light:
With a conscious mental exertion, the Gray is able to transform his body into pure energy. In this state he may take the form of a glowing sphere or remain essentially humanoid. He is able to travel insubstantially through the physical world and pass through solid objects, however he leaves faint luminous traces on anything he comes into contact with or passes through. He is unable to physically interact with his environment; all attacks directed at him pass harmlessly through his body. He may fly at about running speed and must concentrate to return to normal. It is important to note that a Gray using this power remains visible.

Tesseraction:
By Tesseracting the Gray is able to move from one point to another without passing through the intervening space. The Gray vanishes in a flash of light and reappears ten seconds later anywhere within a 25 foot radius of his original position. He may attempt to use this power to traverse greater distances, but this has about a 50% chance of causing the character to disappear forever. The further the distance between point of origin and destination, the longer it will take to appear there. This is left up to the writer’s discretion.

METAMORPHOSIS
Basic Applications:

Antennae:
Two long thin antennae extend from the Gray’s brow whenever he wishes them to. With them he can intercept radio signals, including those broadcast on military and police frequencies. Receiving a signal that has been scrambled or encrypted may be possible under certain circumstances, but will require more mental effort. This is left at the writer’s discretion.

Biostasis:
At will, the Gray can slow his metabolism and enter into a cataleptic state that is practically indistinguishable from actual death, although his body does not decay. While in Biostasis, he needs not breathe and is completely unaware of his surroundings. The Gray determines how long he wants to remain in Biostasis when he initially enters into it and may not wake up until the designated time period has elapsed.

Chameleon:
With this power, the Gray may alter the color of his skin to blend in with his environment. This takes a few seconds and enables the Gray to become invisible so long as he remains completely motionless. If he moves, observers will see him as a visible distortion moving through space. In one of those lapses in logic permissible in comics and necessary when you’re not allowed to show nudity – this power also affects the Gray’s clothing.

Sucker Pads:
The Gray may cause tiny sucker pads to sprout from his toes and fingertips. While unencumbered and not wearing shoes or gloves, he may use these to crawl up walls and even cling to ceilings. His movement rate while doing so is a bit slower than normal walking speed.

Talons:
The Gray can instantly cause long, razor-sharp talons to grow from his fingertips. When used in combat, these are capable of causing severe wounds and cutting through substances such as bone (with difficulty).

Third Eye:
When the Gray enacts this power, a pupil-less red eye appears in the center of his forehead. With this eye he can see in complete darkness (infravision) and perceive auras. This allows the Gray to determine certain things about people, such as their current emotional state, whether they are lying, what manner of creature they are (Gray, human, android, undead thing, etc), and so on.

Intermediate applications:

Body Double:
Using this power, the Gray may alter his appearance in order to impersonate a specific individual. This transformation takes a full minute and may only be accomplished by carefully looking at and concentrating on the physical form he wishes to imitate. The Gray may not impersonate a generic human – it must be a specific person, and he must view them in three dimensions, a photograph is insufficient. Once enacted the disguise lasts for as long as the Gray wishes up to a maximum of 24 hours.

Exoskeleton:
The Gray may cause his skin to harden and assume a silvery metallic quality, thus temporarily gaining extra toughness (although not “becoming “invulnerable”) that lasts for one scene. After this wears off, if the Gray has not been damaged to a degree that exceeds the extra toughness he gained, he is unharmed.

Kuanthropy:
Use of this power cause the Gray to transform into something that closely resembles a large black dog. This process requires a full ten seconds and may generally only be performed once per day. In this form the Gray is quicker, more ferocious, and gains increased stamina, as well as the ability to pass for a dog in the eyes of most individuals. A veterinarian or professional dog breeder would probably detect something strange about the “dog” if they looked closely. This power does not enable the Gray to communicate with actual dogs however, who will, in fact, find his presence highly disturbing.

Regeneration:
The Gray may use this ability to heal himself, even to the point of growing back severed limbs. Ordinary healing takes about a minute, while severe injuries (missing arm, 3rd degree burns covering entire body, etc) will take about five.

Advanced applications:

Body of Gray Smoke:
Through rigorous control of his physical form, the Gray may change partially or fully into an eerie cold Gray smoke. In the case of a partial transformation, the Gray retains the ability to manipulate his environment in a physical way and may be attacked normally. However, it is impossible to identify him and photographs will show only a pattern of smoke that seems to vaguely resemble a humanoid form. A partial transformation takes a full minute of concentration.
Transforming completely into smoke takes five minutes. In this state the Gray may move through any structure, provided that it is not airtight and is immune to physical attacks. He is also toxic, although not lethally so, and may attempt to envelop specific targets (if they lack appropriate protection, such as a gas mask). If successful, the target suffers from coughing fits, watery eyes, etc. The maximum amount of damage it is possible to inflict in this manner is incapacitation. Strong winds will cause a Gray in this form to dissipate, the stronger the wind, the longer it will take to reform (Up to the writer’s discretion). Returning to normal takes another five minutes of concentration.

War Form:
The Gray may change into a seven-foot tall reptilian form that looks like an advanced predatory dinosaur, similar to the velociraptors from Jurassic Park. In this form the Gray is stronger, gains extra stamina, and becomes more violent and reptilian in mind-set. He possesses Talons, a tough leathery hide (same effect as Exoskeleton), needlelike teeth that can cause some pretty severe damage, a thick tail that can be used as a whip, and the ability to leap up to 60 feet at one time. In his War Form, the Gray is quite likely to go berserk and attack everything he sees in a mindless frenzy that lasts until his opponents are dead.

PULSING
Basic Applications:

Airwalk:
The Gray may create a cushion of electromagnetic force that enables him to float several feet above the ground. He may move in this manner at normal walking speed, even over water, but may not fly or adjust his altitude. This power may be used on other characters or inanimate objects, up to the Gray’s own bodyweight, but it can’t normally be used to inflict significant damage. If Airwalk is used to break a fall, it is somewhat effective, depending on the willpower of the individual.

Erase:
The Gray may use this power to magnetically erase computer disks, videotapes, audiotapes, film, and so on. If the item in question is touched the effect is automatic, otherwise it requires a certain amount of mental effort on the Gray’s part.

Magnokinesis:
This ability enables the Gray to move ferrous metal objects with the power of his mind. By concentrating intently, the Gray can perform fine and delicate manipulations of objects within a 100-foot radius of his person. However, he may only manipulate objects the average human being can lift with one hand. Trivial uses of this power, such as bending spoons, changing the time on watches, or causing paper clips to float around are not particularly tiring. Nontrivial will drain the Gray’s energy rather quickly.

White Noise:
This power interferes with the functioning of machinery within the Gray’s line of sight. If he concentrates on only one specific machine, it will stop working completely under most circumstances. Otherwise the overall performance level of all machines in his area drops somewhat.

Intermediate Applications:

EMP
The Gray is able to emit an electromagnetic pulse that causes all electrically powered machines within a two-block radius to stop working completely. The effect lasts for about ten minutes per use of this power.

Forcefield:
The Gray is able to activate an almost invisible field of energy around his body that will vaporize incoming bullets, deflect punches, ward off flame, and generally defend against any sort of physical attack imaginable. The effect lasts for about ten seconds per use of this power and while it surrounds the Gray he may not perform delicate manipulations of his environment. As an example, he couldn’t pick a flower, but he could smash it.

Advanced Applications:

Disruption:
The Gray may cause cellular damage to living beings by assaulting them with harmful electromagnetic force. This damage is similar to the effects of radiation poisoning and is likely to persist for some time. Healing is twice as difficult as normal.

UNIQUE ABILITIES:
Here are a few examples…

Gift of Tongues:
The Gray possesses the miraculous ability to understand any language he hears spoken aloud. Additionally, when attempting to verbally communicate with another individual, it will seem to that person that the Gray is speaking in his native language with a flawless accent. Note, this power does not convey the ability to read or write foreign languages.

Incomprehensible Aura:
The aura that surrounds the Gray constantly shifts in an apparently random manner. Because of this, individuals able to see and interpret auras will not be able to gain any information by looking at the Gray’s aura.

Second Life:
If the Gray is slain, once (and only once) his body will heal itself and reanimate. A few minutes after the Gray’s death, the healing process begins, until it is finished, the Gray’s entire body glows with a brilliant light. This glow is extremely obvious. If the Gray ever dies again, this power won’t be of any help to him.