Coloration
The hero has total control over the coloration and color transmitting abilities of any target substance, whether solid, liquid, or gaseous. That's all, folks.
Okay, this seems like the prime #1 Wimp Power of all time. Wrong, oh ye of little faith; read on and I'll tell you how dangerous this Power can be it is when possessed by a clever hero.
This Power enables the hero to alter basic physics and the chemical properties of any target. The Power operates in either of these 2 modes. In the first mode, the hero can consciously alter the frequency and intensity of light itself. He can change any frequency to any other frequency, including infrared, the visible spectrum, and ultraviolet. Like a prism, the Power can split apart white light into a rainbow or re-combine back into white. He can lower the intensity of light to create normal darkness, even in the midst of brilliant fight, though these shadows lack the opacity of those created by Shadowcasting. In game terms, consider this a -2CS form of both Shadowcasting and Shadowshaping.
Different frequencies of light have different properties. By altering the frequency of light, the hero can alter these properties. Infrared light causes objects to heat up. By converting normal light to infrared, the hero can cause a -2CS form of Heat Emission. Conversely, by converting Infrared light, the hero can prevent radiant heating; treat this as a -2CS Force Field vs. Heat. Ultraviolet light causes changes in pigmentation; effects can vary from the tanning of normal human skin to the rapid fading of printed material. It is also the key to photosynthesis. If the light is in a coherent form, like a laser beam, the effects of color become more dramatic. Red lasers carry more heat and do greater damage for the Intensity. Blue-green lasers can pass unhindered through water. Again, change the frequency of light and you change its effects.The 2nd operating mode for the Power is altering the physical coloration of the target material. The color of a object can have great importance both to the fickle aesthetic tastes of humans and to the impartiality of Moms Nature. Coloration determines the type and amount of energy that is either reflected or absorbed by the material in question. White and silvery surfaces reflect all light. Dark colors and black absorb all light. There is the matter of transparency. A perfectly clear substance lets light pass through. Examples include air, glass, and the lens in a human eye. Change the degree of transparency and you stop light from traveling though. A character with this Power can stop anything in its tracks if the target depends on vision to find its way around. Conversely, the Power can make an opaque target transparent. Uses for this vary from humane through mischievous to outright criminal. A humane use is curing those types of blindness that result from the loss of the eye's natural transparency. A mischievous use is turning someone's clothing transparent. A criminal use is turning concealing barriers transparent if the character is seeking information behind that barrier; this can be anything from reading the contents of an envelope or locked file cabinet to studying a lock's mechanism while cracking the combination.
Color conveys information. Change the color and you alter or even destroy the message. Consider the effect changing color has on things as varied as comic books, paintings, photographic film, traffic lights, feathers, furs, and human skin. Take the last one, for example. The reason why people get so freaked out by the Hulk is not his size or berserk rampages but that he is bright green! Give the Hulk a normal tan and he could work in Hollywood. On a more prosaic level, the ability to change the color of printed or written material can be have immense consequences in an Information Age society such as our own. The possibilities include both vandalism and creation.
When using this Power, the hero must make a Reason FEAT to determine how fine his degree of control is. A green FEAT permits him to change all of a target to a single color; think of the target getting a paint can dumped on it. A Yellow FEAT enables him to change the target to several colors. The effect is the same as being caught by a bunch of near-sighted graffiti artists, each with a different can of spray paint. A Red FEAT gives the hero fine control and the ability to alter tiny areas in specific ways; think of a talented artist with a very small brush. When the hero is covering an area, he only affects the exposed surface of any targets. For example, Colorizing a closed book would not harm the printed pages; Colorizing a cow purple wouldn't change the color of a steak later on. As for the question of affecting the eyes of a living target, the Judge and players should assume that the Power only affects the layer of tears that protect the eye. In effect, the target is momentarily blinded by colored water that quickly washes away. Eyes are such a small target that the character must make a specific red FEAT to do so.Note: this bending of the rules does not apply to the lenses of artificial eyes; cameras and robots are on their own.
This Power does not actually change the physical nature of a target. Elemental, molecular, and genetic structures remain unchanged except where light is concerned. A steel safe made glass-like is still as strong as ever. A pane of glass given a steel-like surface shatters just as before. The duration of the Power varies. The normal limit is 1-100 hours after the Coloration occurs. The hero can immediately reverse any Coloration if he chooses. Sometimes the hero wants an act of Coloration to be permanent, such as when he tries to cure an old man's cataracts. In that case, a red Power FEAT does the trick.
Optional Powers include Light Control.
Nemesis Powers are Radar or Sonar.
Range: Column A.