A Powers And Abilities Guide To The Multiple AU Adventure, The Infinite Paths

by Rob Morris

Since it is unusual in an Star Trek setting for humanoid characters to possess permanent 'super-powers', I thought it a good idea to explain those abilities here.

Wesley Crusher - As revealed in 'Journey's End', the disgraced former cadet has the ability to manipulate time, like all The Travelers. By 2372, his relative time of entry into TIP, he can actually control it, which he tries to use in an abortive attempt to save the life of his reality's Captain Picard, who died on Veridian 3 in 2371. Obviously, time is no mere toy, and in his frustration, falls sideways, into several alternate realities. Under pressure from the situation and under the leadership of Peter Kirk, he learns to control his abilities to such an extent that he can freeze Peter, Saavik, Hawkeye Pierce, and Margaret Houlihan, all possessed of powers well beyond his. He is even able to hold down the nearly-omnipotent Anthony Fremont. Upon returning to his native universe, his feel for time and place is so pronounced, it is he who exposes the shapeshifter that has replaced his mother. When his training is done, he may just take Kirk up on his offer to reboard the E. Still, his abilities are hampered by his once-shattered confidence, which is probably a good thing for those around him.

Walter O'Reilly - Known as Benjamin T. Blake in his relative timeframe of 2004, he is Immortal. Once known as Radar, he served in the Korean War in the MASH 4077th. He has had many mentors : Henry Blake, Sherman Potter, Hawkeye Pierce, Sidney Freedman, Duncan Macleod, Connor Macleod, Methos, Cassandra, Amanda and others. Not all were Immortals, but he took something from each and is quite a bit tougher than most people realize. Besides a fair sword-arm (In 2004, he has only been actively in The Game for six years), he has other abilities. He is a telepath, the genesis of his old nickname. He can use this plus an eerie control over his Quickening to mask his presence from other Immortals. Lastly, when an Immortal dies without another present, Walter recieves their power. He is charged by this to such an extent that he can actually cast lightning from his hands, and draw another Immortal's Quickening right out of him/her, something he is very reluctant to do. Some things don't change, as Walter is still not entirely comfortable with sexual subjects. The situation with Will and Penny Robinson sticks right in his craw.

Blake Pierce - Fearful that forces within the government would attempt to steal any child of theirs, Patients Zero in the hideous Eugenics Wars--also known as Hawkeye and Margaret Pierce--delayed having children. Fearful that the fate of Samantha Mulder would befall their child, they waited until 1998, and the defeat of Project Immunita, the Consortium's second tier. In Tokyo, 1999, Margaret gave birth--just as Earth's giant monsters rose up under the control of aliens known as Kilaaks. Blake Pierce, named for fallen MASH CO Henry Blake, was literally born while her father fended off TWO versions of Godzilla--the Japanese and the American, who were battling near the hospital. Not long after birth, she showed that she already had abilities, perhaps exceeding those of her parents. In time, her powers began to resemble those of the Pre-Crisis Superboy of DC Comics, including X-Ray and Heat Vision, and dimension travel. Her parents found that they too had these abilities, but Blake's mind had fewer limits, and so discovered them more quickly. Cute, but quite willful, she frequents another dimensional-Earth called Japanimeopolis, where the characters of Japanese anime are quite real and interact--not always nicely. Blake is friends with Gohan from Dragonball Z, and they both took part in a revenge scheme against the joke-playing Sailor Scouts, who had lost focus after all their great battles were won. Keeping her under control is a super-chore, no pun intended.

Penny and Will Robinson - Natives of their universe's version of Alpha Centauri Four, the girl and boy later known as Penny Robinson and Will Robinson were rocketed to Earth in 1987, to escape the extermination of their world's population, possibly by a version of King Ghidorah, albeit one who may have been eventually destroyed in this universe before it could unbalance the cosmos. Penny and Will may have been hybrids between the humanoids of their world and Vulcanoid inhabitants of that universe. This is speculated because, allowing for chromosomes and multiversal genetic drift, they are a dead match, DNA-wise, for Peter Claudius Kirk and Saavik Brianna Kirk of The Ancient Destroyer Universe.

Upon reaching Earth, the toddler girl and the infant boy were recovered by NASA scientists John and Maureen Robinson, who were charged with studying their escape pod and raising the alien children. Badly traumatized, neither remembered after a short time that they were not the Robinsons' natural children, while elder sister Judy was ordered to keep silent about it. DNA tests were only able to confirm that the two were not genetic siblings. Except for very high intelligence and Esper ratings, neither child showed signs of superhuman potential.

In 1997, The Jupiter 2, using technology based on the escape pod that brought Will and Penny to Earth, took off for Alpha Centauri Four. While cryo enabled a potential 98-year mission, all involved hoped that the mission would reach its target in a much shorter time. The presence of stowaway and saboteur Doctor Zachary Smith changed all mission parameters, causing the ship to be declared lost. On Earth, the space programs of the world suffered almost universal elimination.

While on their long journey, the two younger Robinson children often stumbled into accidental contact with various and sundry alien beings of varying intent. They seemed to have a talent for it exceeded only by the continued bungling of Smith. Both had occasion to have dealings with non-corporeal entities on a level the rest of their family often did not. Once, Will was haunted by a fear-mongering entity that later was revealed as the trans-dimensional form of the vicious Anthony Fremont. Due to similarities in their powers and DNA, neither Will nor the Robinsons, protected unkowingly by Penny, were harmed by Fremont's power.

In 2007, after an arduous and draining ten-year journey not in cryo, the family reached Alpha Centauri Four. By this point, Smith had fallen victim to his own stupidity, while the Robot B9 was destroyed. ( Later, a timeline glitch would restore the Robot, but 'he', Will, and Penny still remembered the erased timeline ). Contacting Earth, the family wa sent supplies and two unused Jupiter-class ships. Using the alien artifact that had brought about Smith's demise, a sealable wormhole was opened between an area three solar systems away from Earth and the Alpha Centauri system.

With the family on the verge of breaking apart, John and Maureen took care of terraforming one continent, while daughter Judy and son-in-law Don West took another. The third was left to the two younger Robinson children, who each occupied an entire floor of the original Jupiter 2 craft. Perhaps the first evidence of their above-human abilities came from the tireless efforts to complete the terraforming--a ten-year task that took them only three. Sublimation may have also played a role, as it struck the now 23 and 26 year olds that a true adolesecence had passed them by entirely. With intense loneliness, a vast and deep resentment of their 'banishment', and a high comfort level existing between the two, they began a physical relationship. Not realizing that they were adopted, this caused the two intense emotional distress, while the relationship only deepened out of need and genuine affection. By the time they became part of a group of unwitting reality-travelers, Penny had become pregnant with Will's child. While on the journey, the full range of their abilities manifested. Perhaps the presence of their dimensional counterparts caused this. In short order, Penny displayed massive psycho-kinetic powers, enabling her to defeat easily nine high-level wielders known as the Sailor Scouts. Will's abilities were more subtle, and enabled him to easily trace the dimensional paths left by Wesley Crusher, and follow them to Penny. Also, he was able to block much of Anthony Fremont's power. Upon returning to their native universe, the pair learned of their true origins, and it seems likely that a thrown-off but supportive John Robinson, who is a licensed Minister, will agree to marry the two. Notably, Radar does not wish to be there. ( Oooh, ICK!)

King Ghidorah - The Ancient Destroyer Of Legend, varying through the Multiverse from bad movie prop to Eschatalogical Demon. In the form seen here mainly, the creature is the counterpart to the planet-killing Doomsday Machine. Both use energies from destroyed worlds and stars, and neither obeys the laws of physics as we know them, due to their creation in the universe that existed prior to this one. Ghidorah is capable of defending itself and attacking mainly by energy beams from its three heads. The Gold Head, or King, fires gravity beams billions of times stronger than any planet's natural gravity, erasing whatever it touches through pulverizing force. The Silver Mecha Head fires a red beam that disrupts machinery on a fundamental basis, such as a clock's main gear or spring. The true nature of the Grey-Black Lupine/Dragon like head called Death is only speculated on. The field it emits is not compatible with most life forms, and the head itself appears to be functional but biologically inert. Its weapon, a green beam, is the most powerful, and has been known to erase ships' shields and whole worlds instantly. However, Ghidorah must choose to charge this head, which takes a great deal of time and leaves it vulnerable.

Another limitation on Ghidorah's power is maintaining the megameter-plus form of The Ancient Destroyer. It is only in this form that it is nigh-invincible, and that form needs to be extremely large to hold its load. Ghidorah often chooses 'Local' forms, smaller versions of itself, to occupy while pursuing a smaller target. While useful, Ghidorah may only use each form once, due to the simplistic but effective genetic programming that created it.

Only one life-form posesses the power to stop Ghidorah, but in the 'Ancient Destroyer Universe', it destroyed that creature on Ancient Earth. It remains to be seen how it will be stopped.


Stories | Forward