From Season 1 Episode 2
Upbeat music plays to a montage of video clips of plants or animals doing something unexpected, electric sparks, chemical reactions mixed with machinery working, and a scale model of a rocket taking off. Then a white screen with yellow and black striped letters that says DANGER ZONE!
"Hi everyone! Justinius Danger is here with you again for another fun-filled excursion into the DANGER ZONE!" A six-year-old in a lab coat announces to the viewer.
"Today's topic is about the source of superpowers. While some would refer back to more recent events we are going back all the way to July 21st, 1922! That was when Dr. Sir Calvin Hammersmith experimented with what he termed Telluric energy!
"Dr. Hammersmith discovered what he called the energy hidden in the space between spaces. I know that sounds confusing but here is a way to think about it. Okay, imagine a piece of glass with hundreds of droplets of water on it. Each of those water drops is an entire universe with stars, planets and everything much like our own. Dr. Hammersmith was talking about the area outside those drops, the air between them.
"Sadly for Dr. Hammersmith, he didn't follow rigid enough safety protocols. Rather than lose an eye or get burned, however, poor Dr. Hammersmith died. His Telluric Engine drew in far more power than he realized was possible and it blew up. That hurt a lot of people. Some even died like Dr. Hammersmith. The survivors found they had gained strange abilities. Soon, others like them started showing up all over the world.
"Later tests showed one of Dr. Hammersmith's problems was that what he thought of as a single form of energy was in fact three. The 'Telluric Triad' as they are sometimes called. The first of these energies is called Quantum, the second is called Noetic, and the third is called Flux.
"These energies exist in a balance. In the most simple description, returning to our water drop analogy, Quantum pulls and Noetic pushes things across the space between those water drops. That can pull universes closer to our own and exchanges of energy or even matter can take place. This was what historians call the High Telluric Age; a few decades after the Hammersmith explosion. This was when odd places or beings would randomly appear all over the globe.
"But, Justinius, you ask, you said there were three energies! Yes, I did and that brings us to the mysterious power of Flux! Now, if Quantum pulls and Noetic pushes what does Flux do? Flux opens and closes the barrier; it's like the water tension that is the skin of those droplets. It limits what gets in and out and makes sure when stuff does both drops are safe after the transfer.
What does all that have to do with superpowers? Well, after that explosion those who survived gained unusual abilities. Soon 'Inspired' Heroes showed up the world over. They could be classified into three categories - the mighty Stalwarts, the unusual Mesmerists, and the lucky Daredevils.
Sound a bit familiar? Well, it should! The Stalwarts manipulated Quantum, the Mesmerists used Noetic and the Daredevils harnessed Flux. With these powers, the Stalwarts could manipulate the building blocks of the universe itself. It made them stronger, faster, and better. While the Mesmerists were able to harness the power of the mind. they could conduct remarkable feats of mental perception and emotional resonance. Finally, the Daredevils found the odds were always on their side with uncanny luck that seemed to alter probability itself!
In time the power surge of the Hammersmith explosion started to fade and the day of the Inspired Heroes started to close. A few people tried experiments in creating more Telluric shockwaves. They hoped to empower new Inspired Heroes. They had only limited success. Those efforts were canceled in the nineteen seventies.
However, on March 23, 2018, an accident happened aboard the space station Galatea. The entire station exploded with a shockwave of nearly pure Quantum energy. I'll bet you've heard of that one! That's right, N-Day! When people all over the world erupted with power. Those so gifted gained abilities like the Stalwarts. The new powers were far stronger and more advanced. These heroes were so different rather than being called Inspired Heroes they were termed superheroes.
"So impressive were these powers that people compared them to a supernova. That's a bit much but I think we can all agree, superheroes are pretty impressive. Sadly some people don't live up to the best they can be. Just like there are bad people among those without powers. As more people gained powers more bad folks managed to as well. All villains whether the everyday sort or Super are bad news.
"When we get back from our break we'll be talking to the police. They are everyday heroes who help keep villains in line!"