Exploiters

Description

An "Exploiter" is the collective designation given to all individuals who are able to utilize supernatural abilities. These abilities can vary in the intensity of their manifestation, with some Exploiters that have similar capabilities being able to outperform one another. Each Exploiter falls into at least one of twenty-seven categories, detailed below. All Exploiters are born with a certain affinity to their individual Exploits. While an Exploiter may be able to manifest their abilities at an early age, many are unable to accomplish this and consequently manifest their Exploits later in their lives following severe trauma or extreme euphoria. These events are officially recognized as Catalyst Events by the The Global Security Aliance, a term that has been colloquially adopted as well. It is not possible to acquire an Exploit should an individual not possess one, however exploited objects can be, and often are, utilized by mundane civilians.   While the vast majority of Exploiters are able to manifest and utilize a single Exploit, there are scant few who posses secondary, or even tertiary in the case of the Wonders, Exploits. These individuals are generally considered anomalous by the Organization's standard, as they deviate from baseline abnormality significantly. As of the writing of this document, the total number of Exploiters in the United States of America is approximately thirty-two million, roughly ten percent of the total population. Additionally, the subset of Exploiters with secondary Exploits is approximately three-hundred and fourteen thousand, or one percent of the total United States populace. As stated in their own documentation, the total number of Wonders is thirteen.   Beyond their paranormal capabilities, Exploiters do not deviate from the human standard. Unless their Exploit directly influences their biology, whether for the individual's benefit or deficit, Exploiters are subject to all of the positive and negative aspects of the human condition, including sharing an average lifespan with mundane human beings. Additionally, when interbreeding with mundane humans, there is a minute percent chance that their offspring will inherit an Exploit from the anomalous parent. Exploiters that breed among themselves will yield offspring that posses one or both of the parent's Exploits, although it is possible, and significantly more likely, for the offspring to be mundane as well. The exact intricacies of Exploit inheritance is currently under study by Organization biologists.   To date, all known superhero and supervillain teams consist of at least one Exploiter, although many have significantly more or are entirely comprised of Exploiters. Not every Exploiter will become a super hero or super villain, however. The vast majority of them are either independent agents with no clear political affiliation or have taken to utilizing their Exploits in their daily lives, work environments, or hobbies, such is the case with the various anomalous artist groups across the United States.  

Categorization

As previously mentioned, Exploiters are divided into twenty-seven different categories depending on their capabilities. The comprehensive list of Exploiter types has been attached below. The list is categorized by general capabilities, as well as rarity in descending order.  

Combat & Physical Exploits

Brutes – This type of Exploiter possesses enhanced strength, endurance, and tend to be physically dominant in hand-to-hand combat.

Strikers – This type of Exploiter excels in close-range melee combat, typically with a specific type of weapon, although they are well versed in hand-to-hand combat as well.

Movers – This type of Exploiter possesses enhanced speed and agility, as well as the mental capacity to think critically while utilizing their Exploit. Additionally, some Movers are able to teleport themselves or others.

Breakers – This type of Exploiter is able to deconstruct their bodies to assume another form, such as smoke or water, or become intangible.

Biological & Mutation Exploits

Changers – This type of Exploiter is capable of reconstructing their bodies to resemble another individual, or other bodily alterations.

Hybrids – This type of Exploiter often possesses physical traits of an animal, including primary and secondary characteristics. They are typically able to exert some control over animals related to the one they physically resemble. Others are capable of fully transforming into their animal counterpart.

Area & Battlefield Control

Shakers – This type of Exploiter is able to induce area-of-effect alterations and/or is capable of environmental alterations.

Architects – This type of Exploiter is able to create structures out of pre-existing materials, natural or artificial.

Mental & Perceptual Powers

Thinkers – This type of Exploiter excels in information gathering, providing insight, or even precognition.

Seers – This type of Exploiter possess the ability to make informed decisions based on vision-based or time-related insights.

Empaths – This type of Exploiter is able to manipulate the emotional state of other individuals, as well as sense their emotional state telepathically.

Illusionists – This type of Exploiter is capable of manipulating an individual's perception or sense of reality.

Creation & Technology

Tinkers – This type of Exploiter excels in creating inventions that are significantly technologically advanced.

Constructors – This type of Exploiter is capable of creating objects or simple minded constructs that obey basic commands out of various materials.

Artificers – This type of Exploiter is capable of utilizing thaumaturgical practices to create items or tools imbued with thaumaturgic residue.

Synths – This type of Exploiter is capable of synergizing and fusing technology and biological components together.

Energy & Elemental Powers

Blasters – This type of Exploiter is capable of creating ranged projectiles at fatal velocities.

Emitters – This type of Exploiter is capable of creating waves of energy and/or radiation from their bodies.

Surgers – This type of Exploiter is capable of transforming or absorbing existing energy and amplifying it to achieve their goals.

Manipulation & Control

Masters – This type of Exploiter is capable of exerting physiological control over animals or other individuals.

Puppeteers – Unlike Masters, this type of Exploiter is capable of complete mental control over animals or other individuals, rather than strong mental influence or physiological manipulation.

Enchanters – This type of Exploiter is capable of enhancing, or suppressing the effects of other Exploits.

Dominators – This type of Exploiter is capable of manipulating the minds of other individuals such that their identity is erased and become that of the Exploiter.

Meta & Unusual Exploits

Shiners – This type of Exploiter is capable of manipulating, or mimicking other Exploits.

Wildcards – This type of Exploiter is capable of reality-bending. Exploiters of this type are generally unpredictable in temperament and nature of their Exploit.

Echoes – This type of Exploiter is capable of creating and dispelling chronological loops. They are often also capable of memory manipulation.

Anomalies – Any Exploiter that does not fall within one of the previously mentioned categories is considered and Anomaly.

 

Power Ranking

The following is a comprehensive list of ranking in ascending order, as established in 1997 by Alty Empyrean prior to his reclassification as a supervillain.  

Knight

Baron

Count

Marquis

Duke

King

Emperor

Regent

Wonder

 

History

While Milly Brown was the first Wonder documented by the Organization in 1980, Exploiters have existed for significantly longer than that. First documented by an American farmer who's daughter was miraculously capable of flight, Exploiters have existed on record since 1945. The daughter, named Virginia Wolf, was captured and studied by the Organization in an attempt to maintain the then Veil of Normalcy, however not long after her initial containment, more Exploiters started to make themselves known. At first, the Organization attempted to contain all of these individuals, but as the number of Exploiters started to grow exponentially, it became financially unfeasible to contain every Exploiter.   The Organization would move to partially dispel the Veil of Normalcy to account for the rapidly growing number of Exploiters in the United States, as well as the rest of the globe. This included creating and disseminating informational media about Exploiters, their known types and how the Organization has categorized them. The official categorization for Exploiter types was adopted by the Global Security Alliance from Organization-created media.   As the number of Exploiters reached substantial amounts by 1954, many of them started to become politically aligned. As Exploiters joined super hero and super villain teams, gangs, and coalitions, the legal definition of "hero" and "villain" had to be changed to accommodate Exploiters.   Legally, despite being able to apply for superhero status, Exploiters faced severe discrimination from mundane individuals. The legal definitions for superheroes and supervillains, as defined by Congress in 1954 are as follows:  

For "Superheroes"

"The term "Superhero" shall denote any individual or persona possession metahuman, augmented, or extraordinary capabilities, who is duly recognized, registered, licensed, or otherwise sanctioned by an authoritative legal or governmental body for the purpose of engaging in acts of public protection, civil defense, or disaster response. Said individuals operate within the boundaries of applicable law, adhere to established codes of conduct or oversight, and may be granted legal immunity, operational privileges, or civil honors consistent with their recognized status." -HR 1240.1  

For "Supervillains"

"The term "Supervillain "shall refer to any individual, entity, or persona exhibiting similar or equivalent enhanced capabilities but who engage in activities that are unauthorized, extralegal, or in direct violation of local, national, or international law, but not limited to acts of terrorism, sabotage, larceny, extortion, or attempted global domination. Supervillains are considered unlawful actors, and no legal protections or recognitions shall be afforded to them." -HR 1240.2

For "Independent Contractors"

  "The term "Independent Contractor" shall refer to a person or entity who, while not classified as an employee, performs services or tasks under a contractual agreement and may or may not posses superhuman, enhanced, or otherwise extraordinary abilities—including but not limited to strength, speed, telepathy, energy manipulation, or advanced technological integration—that materially affect the nature, scope, or risk of the work performed. Such individuals operate with autonomy in the execution of duties and are not subject to direct control or daily supervision by the contracting party, though they may be bound by terms of service, confidentiality, liability, and public safety obligations as stipulated in applicable local, national, or interjurisdictional regulations." -HR 1240.3  

For "Vigilantes"

  "The term "Vigilante" shall refer to a person who, possessing extraordinary or non-human abilities beyond typical human capacity—whether derived from science, magic, mutation, technology, or other exceptional sources—engages in the prevention, investigation, or deterrence of criminal activity outside the scope of recognized law enforcement authority, often operating without formal legal sanction, oversight, or accountability." -HR 1240.4  

Discrimination and Segregation

Despite their legal recognition as superheroes and supervillains, Exploiters were still not recognized as United States citizens since their initial manifestations in 1945. Many laws were established that permitted the discrimination against Exploiters as well as people of color. During segregation, even registered superheroes were not permitted in non-Exploiter spaces. In an effort to bring an end to segregation and establish the integration of Exploiters into mundane civilian lives, a Civil Rights movement began, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.   Quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin or the nature of their Exploit but by the content of their character. "   Throughout the peaceful protests that took place from 1954 to 1968, the population of Exploiters took a significant loss to their total population due to the actions of biased individuals. The death total of Exploiters from the Civil Rights Movement was approximately fourteen thousand. When legal segregation came to an end in 1968, Exploiters were able to participate in mundane society without fear of discrimination. This didn't stop some individuals who refused to accept the new laws from exhibiting bias and bigotry toward Exploiters and those who supported them, however. Relations between Exploiters and the mundane would continue to worsen in the decades following the end of segregation until one supervillain, Melvin Jones took matters into his own hands.   From 1978 until 1985, Melvin Leary, alias; "Worldwide", attempted to purge all mundane individuals from the world through assimilation into a collective consciousness. Leary would utilize his Exploit to manipulate and control a group of approximately thirty people for two years. During this time, he would target and harass formerly Exploiter-exclusive business owners in an attempt to elicit an apology for their bigotry. He would then either assimilate the aforementioned business owners, or force them to pay exorbitant tithes to him and his collective. Leary's reign over New Glasford, New Jersey, would come to an abrupt end at the hand of Milly Brown, alias; "Mrs. Universe", in 1987.   After Leary's defeat, he was imprisoned in Tartarus, a super-jail constructed in 1985 after five years of fighting between Milly Brown and Miguel Black II, alias; "Black Star". Unable to use his powers due to the Exploit-inhibiting rays generated by the nanites within every prisoner's bloodstream, Leary instead had to rely on his charisma to survive in prison. As of the writing of this document, Leary and his followers are still within the walls of Tartartus.   In the years following Leary's imprisonment, Exploiters across the globe, particularly the Wonders, worked tirelessly to improve their perception by the mundane. Several informational panels were hosted by Exploiters wherein they explained what their names were, what they were capable of, and the origins of their Exploit. The Organization Council saw it fit to facilitate the dissemination of informational media about Exploiters in order to maintain the newly established Veil of Normalcy.   Relationships would only improve further after the Global Security Alliance would adopt and legally implement the Organization's categorization of Exploiters. This information was made publicly available across the United States of America, being taught in schools at all levels of education. As the general public grew more accepting of Exploiters as a facet of their lives, Exploiters were able to fully integrate into society in a number of ways.