Hero High Design Journal #3: Sixteen Candles
A Few Months Ago...
The light washed across the entire campus, waking a few of the summer students sleeping in their dorm rooms and drawing out the teaching staff.
Duncan Summers, cane in hand, hobbled quickly across the green field behind the dormitories. The ex-hero recognized an otherworldly event when he saw one. Alan Archer, the aged and slightly portly speedster once known as Hot Rod, kept easy pace with him, although Duncan knew we was eager to race ahead and discover the source of the light, Alan stayed close.
They arrived just as the Next-Gen approached the scene—out of costume much to Duncan’s relief. Only a handful of students on campus were powered, and though there were few students attending summer courses at Claremont Academy, the school’s true purpose remained a closely guarded secret. Duncan nodded to the dark-haired Serena.
“Anything?” he asked.
“It wasn’t mystical, if that’s what you’re asking, sir?”
“Very good,” Duncan said. “I need you to return to the dorms. Tell the other students it was a transformer that blew out and keep them inside.”
Serena nodded and headed back to the dorms.
Duncan turned to the African-American boy that had joined them. “Lemar, I need you blanket any noise coming out of this area. Just in case.”
Lemar Phillips nodded. A moment later, the air seemed to prickle. Duncan motioned everyone to follow.
A moment later, the cautious group passed a cluster of thick butternut trees and tall white firs. They heard the excited banter of young voices before they found the group of teens hidden in the shadows of the trees. Several appeared injured and more than a few were clearly superhuman: the floating boy with the long blond hair and two hammers of fire and ice orbiting him, the girl who blurred with bursts of speed as she cradled an injured teen made from some silvery alloy, the boy with a utility belt and the stride of a fighter who instructed the others on helping the injured. The ground at their feet was flash-burnt. They all stopped talking when they realized Duncan and company were standing there.
The boy with the utility belt calmly walked up to Duncan.
“My name is Elite,” he said with a confidence that belied his age. “Navigatrix told us you offer sanctuary to teens like us. Well… we have injured and we’re in need of sanctuary.”
Summers exchanged silence glances with the others, but it was obvious none of them knew what to make of Elite’s request.
“I don’t think they understand,” a young girl said.
“It’s a lot to absorb,” Elite said. “Give them a moment.”
“Maybe they don’t speak our language in this dimension,” a tiny voice said. “Let me help.” A fly-sized speck that was buzzing around, immediately grew back to normal size as he landed; another teen boy, younger than the others. Elite tried to stop him but it was too late.
“I... AM... WHOOP-ANT,” the boy told Duncan very slowly and very loudly. “DO... YOU... SPEAK... ANY... ENGLISH?”
And so the AlterniTeens came to Earth-Prime....
Sixteen Candles: Turning Adults into Kids
The big bad turns his age ray on the heroes, believing that as kids, they can no longer interfere in his plan. Or the Fae Queen turns everyone into children as she reorders reality into a fantasy-scape. Whatever the cause, the heroes are now back to the squeaky voice and zits phase. If they’re lucky, they’ll have the common sense of their adult selves, but where’s the fun in that? If they’re somewhat lucky, they’ll have the attitudes of teenagers, but enough of their own memories to cooperate with one another. If they’re completely unlucky (i.e. the Gamemaster is feeling particularly cruel), the heroes are not only regressed physically, but emotionally and mentally. That means they may have powers, but not the training to use them properly. They may feel a kinship with these other powered kids they woke up alongside, but none of the memories they shared as teammates. This means relearning everything all over again.
There are many advantages and disadvantages with running this kind of session. It’s all based on what the hero loses.
Power Levels: This is a given and something a regressed hero automatically loses. Dropping someone’s age affects their power levels. If you’re looking at being 16 again, you’re talking a 2 rank drop in power level. If you’re looking at puberty, then you’re talking a 3 or 4 rank drop in power level, while any drop below puberty might be as much as a 4 to 6 rank drop. This isn’t just a reflection of overall power, but the loss of muscle-memory training and the fact that the body may not be at peak physical conditioning. All those factors count for something. The big advantage here, though, is that the teen-heroes might be forced to rely on ingenuity or teamwork to handle the crisis.
Emotional Maturity: In this case, the memories are there, but not the emotional maturity. Regressed heroes may remember their adult lives, but it’s something they see as this mystifying event. They can’t understand how they got so old and made the compromises they did. They may swear to never become the adults they grew up to be, but it’s not necessarily because who they are is bad. It’s that change is a terribly scary thing, and the thought that who you are now is not who’ll you continue to be is frightening. Teens may not understand that evolution happens as a positive reaction to sacrifice or to change. Some heroes caught in this predicament may even refuse to become adults again. That said, the advantage here is adult heroes can reconnect with who they were and re-embrace the ideals that once drove them in hero business. They can find what they lost or forgot about along the way. They can also see their teammates in a new light and gain a new appreciation for one another.
Memory Loss: In this case, the regression turns back the clock. The hero no longer remembers anything past his current age. He or she is truly a teenager in memory and personality. This means relearning the fundamentals and discovering how to work with a team of strangers. More importantly, it also means re-exploring relationships. Rivals may become fast friends as kids, while love interests that were never there are now in bloom. This could change the dynamic of the team when they return to adults, strengthening relationships or driving old ones apart, fostering a better understanding of one another or revealing uncomfortable truths. The flipside is the instinct of the panic-stricken is to return to anything familiar. What happens when these teens, who may be frightened and confused by the world that suddenly changed, try to return home to see their parents or friends who know them as adults?
Here are some plot or game options:
• A villain turns his devolution ray on the heroes, but they only receive a partial burst. Now the heroes are at a physical disadvantage and must find and defeat a villain who was already tough when they were adults.
• The mad mad Fae Queen alters the world into a medieval realm and turns everyone into children… physically, emotionally and mentally (which means politicians and celebrities remain largely untouched). Now the heroes quest to find the other child-champions and fight the Fae Queen before she turns Earth into a fairy realm forever.
• The campaign begins with the teens having powers, but the world they remember hasn’t existed for 20 years. The heroes discover they’ve been mentally and emotionally regressed; they are, in fact, a missing team of the world’s pre-eminent heroes. Can they uncover what happened to them and regain what they’ve lost, or will they choose to remain kids?
• This flashback option is one where the heroes realize they have worked together before as teens, and someone mind-wiped the experience from them. Now the flashback is them uncovering the memories and working toward the big reveal of who messed with their minds.
