SupraNormal Type: MetaHumans, Bang Babies, and The Meta-Gene [Concept]

MetaHumans make up a significant portion of Earth's Super-Hero and Villain Community. MetaHumans possess an Extra Gene in their Biological Structure, which is commonly responsible for The Genesis of Latent Super-Powers.

The Meta-Gene (Also Spelled "Metagene") is a Unit of Heredity found in Approximately 12% of Living Human Populations and a "Biological Variant" of The X-Gene. It is generally Dormant and defines whether or not an Individual has The Potential to Develop Super Human Abilities in response to a Traumatic Incident. Once Activated, Usually in an instant of Extraordinary Physical and Emotional Stress, A Spontaneous Chromosomal Combustion then takes The Source of The Biostress - - be it Chemical, Radioactive, Electrical, Etc - - and turns The Potential Catastrophe into a Catalyst for Profound Genetic Change.

Possession of The Meta-Gene does not automatically equate to an individual being gifted with super-powers. However, It does sometimes enable Human Beings to endure and survive what would otherwise be considered fatal circumstances or catastrophic physical trauma, thereby allowing External Forces to prompt a Physiological Change which may generate new abilities - i.e. super powers. The Meta-Gene is opportunistic in nature, taking advantage of pre-existing factors in The Subject's System.

The Meta-Gene like The Mutant X-Gene has Extraterrestrial and Terrestrial Sources as well and can produce incredible and sometimes incomprehensible Powers and Abilities. There are Roughly 1.3 Million MetaHumans currently on Earth, 99.5% of which are considered "Nuisance-Level."

The Meta-Gene is less stable than The X-Gene and can Activate Spontaneously and without prior appearance in The Subject's Ancestry. Examples of Powers shared by many individuals include Telepathy, Telekinesis, Flight, The Ability to Manipulate and/or Project one or more Types of Energy, Accelerated Healing, and/or Enhanced Physical Capabilities just to name a few - All to variable limits and may or may not include minor to radical alterations in their physical appearance.

Bang Babies:

Bang Babies are the most well known example of MetaHumans and were created during The Events of The "Big Bang," an Event Common to at least 5 Parallel Earth Universes.

Gangs were commonplace, and turf wars a regular occurrence in Paris Island, The Poorest and Most Crime-Infested Neighborhood of Dakota City, South Carolina. So much so that in 1993 The Leaders of each of The Three Major Gangs decided to settle their Grievances once and for all, at the intersection of The Three Gangs' Territories, a spot that would come to be known as "Ground Zero" in a Massive Confrontation Dubbed The "Big Bang."

The "Big Bang" was far from secret, So when more than Five Hundred Gang Members converged that night, armed and ready, everyone in the area, police included, knew what was going down. Even Dakota's Mayor Thomasina Jefferson, knew about it. Mayor Jefferson decided to take advantage of the unique situation by marking herself as a "Tough On Crime" Candidate for the upcoming Mayoral Election, hoping to boost her reputation. Once The Big Bang began, she ordered The Police to release a Special Experimental Tear Gas containing a Supposedly Harmless Radioactive Marker, which would allow them to track any of the Gang Members who got away for days afterwards. Then, The Police would move in on The Gangs in **** and apprehend as many of them as they could. By morning, the vast majority would be incarcerated, and the stragglers could be chased down and picked up over the next few days.

However, What no one knew including The Mayor who ordered the use of The Gas to quell The **** and facilitate the large scale arrests of Gang Members who managed to escape the crackdown, was that it was unknowingly contaminated with a Unique Form of Dequantified Quantum Plasma, a chemical which has since been found to selectively imbue those exposed to it with Superhuman Abilities by aggressively activating their Latent Meta-Gene or causing the spontaneous generation of a Meta-Gene in those with a certain Genetic Predisposition, while killing the rest, leading to The Creation of Hundreds of MetaHumans.

Things went terribly wrong. The resulting Chaos ended up turning into a Massive Genocide as The Gas quickly overcame The Surprised Police, Gangbangers, and Innocent Bystanders, killing over 90% of The People exposed to it - Police included - who died on the spot, with the survivors either being Hideously Deformed or Mutated into Monstrous Forms or endowed with Superhuman Powers. Those Survivors became known as "Bang Babies;" to The World at large. The Deaths were attributed to Gang ****.

Others not personally involved in the conflict also became mutated as well. The Mayor disavowed any involvement. The survivors went on to become Superheroes and Supervillains that continued to roam The City of Dakota for years to come. The Survivors of of the two remaining Gangs - The Paris Bloods and **** Syndicate - formed the core of The Blood Syndicate, a Gang of Bang Babies who claimed Paris Island as their turf. The citizens of Dakota demanded The Mayor to solve The Bang Babies problem and demanded to know where The Gas came from; However, The Mayor was obviously unwilling to give them a straight answer due to her own involvement in the resulting tragedy. During The Big Bang, The Bridge to Paris Island was Destroyed, isolating it's inhabitants from the rest of The United States.

The Existence of Quantum Plasma was first theorized by renowned Quantum Physicist Dr. Nathan Flack, but lack of proper funding prevented him from conclusively proving it's existence, that is until The Big Bang occurred.

Dr. Flack determined that Quantum Plasma is created by a Two-Stage Process. The First Stage is acquiring and preparing certain Radioactive Materials whose exact nature is classified. These materials are found at only Three Fusion Reactors on Earth: Benterai Research Center (Tokyo, Japan), The Einstein Institute (Tel Aviv, Israel), and L'institut Des Recherches Atomiques (Paris, France). The second stage is using a Superconducting Super Collider in a complex procedure that processes the radioactive materials into Quantum Plasma. The resulting Quantum Plasma is unusually cold for a Plasma (In Physics, Plasma is The Coherent High-Energy Super-Heated Gas-Like 4th State of Matter whose Particles are Partially Ionized. Stars and Lightning are examples of Plasma) with an Average Temperature around 73 Degrees Fahrenheit. When released into The Atmosphere, The Quantum Plasma resembles a Purple Mist or Gas. Due to the enormous expense and resources involved, Quantum Plasma is generally only produced by Governments or Well-Funded Private Organizations.

When a person inhales Quantum Plasma, one of two effects will occur. In most cases, the person dies almost instantly. If a person survives exposure, he or she enters a state called "Quantum Grace," in which the Quantum Plasma will trigger Genetic Mutations often influenced by his or her subconscious desires or external stimuli. Hence, MetaHuman named Static developed electromagnetic powers due to his secret desire to be a superhero like those he read about in comic books. In some cases, Quantum Plasma will grant a person a non-human appearance along with MetaHuman abilities. An **** example of this is Brickhouse, whose brick-like skin is due to the Plasma merging her DNA with the molecules of the wall she was touching at the time of exposure. Because Quantum Plasma responds to subconscious desires, it has been speculated that the substance is lethal only because many exposed to it expect that result.

In very rare cases, Quantum Plasma has mutated animals such as the canine Dogg, who gained human level intelligence and the ability to speak. Why this occurs is a mystery since animals are not considered sapient and thus would by definition, lack the subconscious desires that would trigger such Mutations.

This Plasma is called Dequantified because it works by randomizing Planck's Constant, The Physical Constant of Any Interaction of Matter or Energy at The Quantum Level. Thus, Quantum Plasma can warp The Laws of Physics to induce Rapid Genetic Mutations in The Living Tissue of Humans and Animals, who then Develop MetaHuman Abilities, giving it properties in common with a number of Radioactive Adaptogenic DNA Mutagens.

Since its Discovery, Quantum Plasma has too often been employed by those with criminal or unethical motives.

Bang Babies experience a major increase in their MetaHuman abilities if they survive a second exposure to The Mutagen. In certain cases, additional exposure to Quantum Plasma will cause a Bang Baby to develop new powers.

There is no known means of permanently reversing Mutations caused by Quantum Plasma. However, legendary hero turned criminal mastermind John Tower did create weapons called energy staves that could depower a targeted Bang Baby by re-establishing Planck's constant in his or her body. However, the effects of the staves would eventually wear off, causing the Bang Babies to revert to their mutated forms.