I don't own the Fallout series

AN: Super Mutants this time folks, shouldn't be too hard. They only have what? 210+ years of a long, lucrative and lovingly detailed history in every Fallout game ever? Hoo boy.

Super Mutants

Big, green, muscles on muscles. An accurate, if simplified description of a Super Mutants. Humanoid mutants that were created by exposing relative unmutated humans to the Forced Evolutionary Virus (FEV), Super Mutants have a long, unfortunately bloody, history in Post-War America. With reports dating back to less than 25 years after the Great War, there have been records of Super Mutants terrorizing the Wasteland, from locations as distant as New California and the East Coast. The largest and most successful of these Mutant threats was of course the Master's Super Mutant Army that operated in New California during the Unity Crisis, before he, his base of operations in the Angels' Boneyard, and the source of the FEV in the Mariposa Military Base were all destroyed by The Vault Dweller in 2158 with the aid of organizations such as the Followers of the Apocalypse and the Brotherhood of Steel.

While the individual affects of the FEV virus (notably how it affects the brain) vary wildly depending on a number of factors such as genome sequence, virus strain, and the gene-purity of the human victim, there are a number of traits that are shared by all Super Mutants. The most consistent of these traits are increased height, musculature, endurance, degradation of sexual organs and identifiers, various shades of green pigmentation in the skin, and an innate resistance to disease, radiation and even aging.

Variants

· Mariposa Mutants (First Generation): After the Master took control of the vats of FEV in Mariposa, he began kidnapping wastelanders and exposing them to the virus, creating the First Generation of Mariposa Super Mutants. This particular strain of FEV, identified by West-Tec as FEV-II, either created the ideal super soldiers who were stronger, tougher and smarter than their unmutated counterparts, or dumb as rock grunts who could barely spell their own name, depending on whether the human used to create the mutant had been exposed to the aerial strain of FEV released from the Glow or not. After The Master's destruction at the hands of The Vault Dweller, most First Gen Mutants surrendered peacefully and integrated into society to mixed success, finding homes in towns like Broken Hills or Jacobstown. Some, however, couldn't let go and traveled east in hopes of building a new army, again to mixed success. These mutants have a more grayish or olive drab skin and some even have hair. It is also interesting to note, that while some retain higher mental faculties, they're physical structure is lacking, with some requiring severe cybernetics to stabilize them.

· Mariposa Mutants (First Generation, Nightkin): The Nightkin, as they are commonly referred to, were officers and elite soldiers in The Master's Army, acting as field commanders and guards to high priority locations such as The Cathedral and Mariposa. They were granted higher tech equipment such as Gatling Lasers, Plasma Casters, and most importantly Stealth Boys. Unfortunately, possibly due to the FEV Virus, the Stealth Boys cause severe mental degradation, causing many Nightkin to suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and at least two recorded cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder. It also causes their skin to turn a purplish-indigo color. Thankfully, as of 2290, a cure for the Stealth Boy addiction the Nightkin suffer from has been developed and it being distributed from Jacobstown in the Mojave Wasteland.

· Mariposa Mutants (Second Generation): On July 26th, 2263, Enclave forces re-discovered the ruins of the Mariposa Military Base. Wanting to study the effects of FEV for their own ends, the Enclave conscripted captured Wastelanders from Redding into excavating the ruins. Eventually, FEV residue was discovered, and the slaves were exposed. Due to the presence of an aerosolized mutated FEV strain that was exposed due to the same ICBM that turned the West-Tec research facility into The Glow as well as the degradation of the Mariposa FEV, the Wastelanders became second generation of Mariposa Super Mutants. The Second Gens, or Gen2 Mutants were physically identical to the Gen1s, save for being more physically stable, but they're mental faculties suffered greatly, mostly in the form of learning disabilities. Now most Gen2 Mutants need the older Gen1s to keep them from hurting themselves and any one around them by accident.

· Vault 87 Mutants: Unfortunately, West-Tec wasn't the only Pre-War company to have access to FEV. In what was once the Columbian Commonwealth, Vault-Tec was given access to the FEV by the Enclave and built Vault 87 in the Little Lamplight Activity Center. There, they exposed Vault Dwellers to an aerosolized modified FEV strain. However, unlike the Mariposa Mutants, the effects of Vault-Tec's strain were far more severe. Not only causing muscle and skeletal deformation, but it also degraded the brain so heavily that even hard thinking caused physical pain. This FEV strain is also one of the few strains that continues modifying cells even after the subject is fully transformed, causing them to become larger and stronger until they are the 20ft Behemoths. Fortunately, the FEV supply ran out by 2277 and by 2287 the Super Mutants of the Capital Wasteland were all but extinct. The Vault 87 Mutants were deformed, even by FEV standards, with huge upper bodies, yellow skin that strained against their muscles, exposed trachea and faces twisted in permanent snarls, the term "Frankenstein" was incredibly accurate.

· Institute Mutants: In the ruins of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the enigmatic Institute somehow managed to acquire FEV. Due to their isolationist nature, they required a means of agency on the surface that minimized the loss of their own. Their early attempts were at creating dispensable mutant super soldiers, just as West-Tec before them had done. However, the Mutants they produced were violent, rebellious, and saw humans as inferior and every failure was teleported to the surface, with the very oldest of experiments become the towering Behemoths. There, they began terrorizing the human settlers for food and sport alike. Despite the total failure of the FEV project, it wasn't until sometime between 2278 and 2287 that the FEV labs were destroyed against the wishes of the Board of Directors. The Institute Mutants aren't as deformed as their Vault 87 counterparts, being much more naturally proportioned in muscle structure, are bald, and have an algae green like skin color. Their much more mentally stable than the Vault 87 mutants as well, and while not nearly less intelligent than the Gen1 Mariposa mutants, are far more intelligent than the Gen2s.

· Appalachian Mutants: In Huntersville, West Virginia; West-Tec continued its studies into FEV, culminating in dosing the entire water reservoir with the virus, effectively exposing the entirety of the town to it. The entire town was quarantined and studied until the Great War erupted. Then, the FEV vats in the research facility were dosed with a neutralizing agent, rendering them useless. However, the mutants in captivity broke out and took over both the facility and the town. The mutants became such a threat that in 2086, the town was wiped out by the combined efforts of the Paladin Taggerty's Brotherhood of Steel and The Responders. Tragically, this did not stop the Mutants, as the town's water was still infected. The mutants restored their numbers in less than 5 years. Thankfully, the water was eventually sterilized and by 2290, only a handful of mutants remain, now forced to peacefully coexist with humans and ghouls alike.

Interview

The following transcript details an interview undertaken by the Followers of the Apocalypse in an effort to better understand the Super Mutant mind and document the story of an individual mutant following the end of the Unity Crisis.

Archived Transcript of Interview #22, generously donated by the Adytum Medical Center, New California. Interview performed by Dr. Harriet Suyong on December 12th, 2215. Subject is Gordon, Mariposa Super Mutant, First Generation, caravan guard under the employment of the Far Go Traders, age 58.

Dr. Suyong: Alright then, the holo-recorder is working, we can begin now, Mr. Gordon.

Gordon: Oh? Well… well alright then, Doctor.

Dr. Suyong: Let's begin with some light questions, alright? You are a Super Mutant from Mariposa of 58 years, formerly a Sergeant in the army, correct?

Gordon: Yeah, yeah that right, Doctor.

Dr. Suyong: Very good, now, Gordon, if you could, describe your time in the army for me.

Gordon: Right. Well, well it started some time after I… I guess 'woke up' would be the best way to describe it. It was simple grunt work at first, guard duty, patrols, that sort of thing and well, as time went on, I climbed up the ranks and started getting more important jobs: intel runs between Mariposa and the Cathedral, hunting for unopened vaults… snatch jobs.

Dr. Suyong: Capturing caravanners and wastelanders for Mariposa, yes?

Gordon: Yeah.

Dr. Suyong: You were stationed at Mariposa during the Unity Crisis, is that correct?

Gordon: Yeah, we were assigned to guard the roads leading to the base and keep an eye out for conscripts.

Dr. Suyong: Did you encounter the Vault Dweller at this time?

Gordon: No. No, I was out on patrol, he slipped right past us and when I tried reporting in, all I got was static and when I got back to the base, it was… It was all gone. The Lieutenant, the FEV, everything.

Dr. Suyong: And after did you try to make contact with the Cathedral back in the Angel's Boneyard?

Gordon: No. I knew there was no point. I knew, that if I got there, it would be gone. It was over. It was all over after that.

Dr. Suyong: You 'knew' that the Cathedral was gone? How did you figure that?

Gordon: I couldn't hear the Voice anymore. I couldn't feel Him, his Presence, in my mind.

Dr. Suyong: The Master.

Gordon: Yeah. For the first time since I woke up, my mind, it was quiet. Empty. I was alone.

Dr. Suyong: 'Woke up.' That's the second time you used that particular phrase, could you explain?

Gordon: …

Dr. Suyong: You don't have to, if you don't want to, Gordon. We can stop whenever you wish.

Gordon: No, no, it's fine, Doctor. I don't really remember that time, it all sort of blurs together, like…like a radio or tv signal going in and out, just scraps of sounds and images fading in a swarm of static.

Dr. Suyong: And this lasted for how long?

Gordon: I don't know for sure, it could've been days, or maybe just a few hours, all I know is that everything just… stopped, in an instant and… and I heard a voice say my name. 'Gordon. Gordon. It's time to wake up, Gordon. Time to wake up… and be complete.'

Dr. Suyong: This voice, this was the Master, yes? Could you describe to me what it sounded like, how you felt when you heard it?

Gordon: The Voice, it was everything for the longest time. When I heard him, it was like a well of voices and thoughts, speaking to me. I could hear men, women, young and old, some didn't even sound human, but… but when I heard it, it was as if I was a part of it, like it was always there, helping me part of something that was greater than I was.

Dr. Suyong: And when the Voice was gone? When the Master was killed? What did you do after?

Gordon: Not much for a while. I just wandered, alone, through the Wasteland, always keeping away from any human settlements, hunting for food and finding what water I could. I had a nice laser carbine for a while, but I ran out of ammo for that quick, started using a club I made out of an old Joshua tree after that.

Dr. Suyong: And yet now you are employed by the Far Go Traders, yes? You work for and alongside humans, you have a home here in Adytum now, what changed?

Gordon: I couldn't tell you what changed, Doctor. It could've been me, or it could've been everyone else. All I know is that one day, maybe 5…6 years after Mariposa, I was looking for a place to rest for the night, ended up stumbling upon a Jackal den in an old train station. Well, they started shooting of course, and I killed them obviously. Except, except, I found a man in the back, tied up and black and blue. Don't know why I did what I did, but I untied him, and he ran out of there.

Dr. Suyong: An attack of the conscience perhaps?

Gordon: Maybe, like I said, I couldn't tell you why I did it. All I know is that the next morning, there was a knock on the door. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I saw that man from the night before standing there. Told me his name was Joey and that he was a caravanner working for the Far Go Traders, said he we wanted to thank me for dealing with those raiders and letting him go. We started talking for a while, and then Joey offered to let me go with him back to the Hub, said he'd help me get work.

Dr. Suyong: It would appear that Joey kept his promise, wouldn't it?

Gordon: That he did, that he did. True enough, he led me back to New California, back to the Hub, stood up for me when the HPD wanted me shot. After that, well that's the end of it, really. Started working as a guard for the Far Goers, made a life for myself there before settling down here in the Boneyard. Hell, when Joey got married to this pretty little Razor he met in Adytum, he asked me to be the best man at his wedding and later on the godfather to his little boy.

Dr. Suyong: It goes to show how far a single act of kindness can go, doesn't it?

Gordon: It does, doesn't it? Sure as hell not how I saw my life going.

Dr. Suyong: Now, Gordon, I have only a single question left to ask. What, if anything, do you remember from your life before the Master? Do you remember where you were from? What you looked like? If your name was Gordon before the FEV?

Gordon: …

Dr. Suyong: Gordon?

Gordon: I'd like to stop now, Doctor.

Dr. Suyong: Oh, oh yes, of course, if that's how you feel. I apologize if I overstep-

Gordon: It's fine, Doctor. Thank you.

Super Mutant Trivia

· Unfortunately, Mariposa Mutants are subject to heavy bigotry in New California, with some politicians building their careers off mutant prejudice. This bigotry, combined with a feeling of responsibility over their simple mind brethren has led many Gen1 Mariposa Mutants to leave New California entirely and establish isolated settlements elsewhere.

· Still, mutants in New California have found employment in Law Enforcement, mercenary work, bounty hunting, and some have even enlisted in the army.

· Despite there being no evidence of FEV, there is a fairly large mutant presence on Mt. Desert Island. The Mutants are completely identical to the ones that plague The Commonwealth. How they managed get to The Island, as it is referred to by locals, is a mystery. The Island is 283 miles from the Boston Ruins and completely ocean-locked. The most likely explanation is that The Institute teleported their FEV rejects randomly, and a sizeable number ended up on The Island instead of Boston.

· The number of peaceful mutants on the West Coast is far larger than on the East. This is due to a combination of the East Coast mutants having less intelligence, a lack of unity, and the lack of developing governments on the East Coast to force them to adapt.

· Institute and Huntersville Mutants live in sporadic, loosely organized camps that are governed by the strongest mutant around. These camps are ruled under a communal society, with the spoils of every victory shared equally among the brothers, and the concept of personal property seems to be foreign to them.

· Vault 87 mutants, for the most part, lacked the sense of comradery their northern and western counter parts had, in-fighting was common and often resulted in death. Despite this, the Vault 87 mutants still had some sense of self-preservation, as when the vault's FEV stores were drained, they combed the DC ruins for more. When it became apparent their extinction was at hand, one mutant named Shephard tried to unify them into a single army to destroy the Brotherhood of Steel. He was supposedly killed by Arthur Maxson sometime before he became Elder, though this is highly doubtful.

· There are only two recorded cases of non-hostile Vault 87 mutants. One, who called himself 'Uncle Leo' after a book character, wandered the Capital Wasteland alone. Another, named Fawkes, was imprisoned by his fellow mutants for not being a human hating killer. He was liberated from his prison in 2278, but as of 2287, no sign of Fawkes or his mysterious liberator has been seen in the Capital Wastes.