Marks caught a few villians in his day, and one thing they always seem to have in common is they never shut up.
He's learned how to conversationally 'push their buttons' and make them talk.
So far, the most reliable way has been to talk about himself, to instigate their inevitable sense of competition.
It takes constant conversation, so when Mark mentions his relavent truths, their target does too.
Preferably in the form of a back and forth gloating/determination sort of thing.
Examples:
"I'm Mark Collins, fighter of injustice, protector of the weak. I'm here to stop you! " (flexes in superhero pose)
"It's too late, Mark!" (laughs maniacally) "You'll never find the bombs in time!" (Shows him live feed of the city.) "Watch your public failure with me! The world will know my name! ZOXOB!"
"If you have to look along the shaft of an arrow from the wrong end, if a man has you entirely at his mercy, then hope like hell that man is an evil man. Because the evil like power, power over people, and they want to see you in fear. They want you to know you're going to die. So they'll talk. They'll gloat. They'll watch you squirm. They'll put off the moment of murder like another man will put off a good cigar. So hope like hell your captor is an evil man. A good man will kill you with hardly a word."
Terry Pratchett
Exert your Mind (unless The target thinks they have the upper hand) and spend one minute to activate. Select a Sapient target within arm's reach. You must continuously interact with the individual in question in order to gather any information. At the end of your investigation, roll Brawn + Influence at Difficulty 6.
You learn all the following information about your target:
The quality and specificity of information gained depends on your Outcome. For any information you learn about your target, the corresponding information about you is shared with them.
Any information you gather is A spoken conversation and made publicly available. This also includes any information the target learns about you.
You have a natural intuition for resonance, and can semi-reliably modulate your banshee scream to shatter an object like glass.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Non-Sapient Object or piece of an Object or structure within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Roll Charisma + Performance Difficulty 6.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.
The Assimilator crawls into one of their target's open orifices before beginning their work, something near imperceivably wriggling underneath the target's skin.
The Assimilator crawls into one of their target's open orifices before beginning their work, something near imperceivably wriggling underneath the target's skin. Of course, that wasn't all it was doing in there...
Spend an Action. Select a Living target within arm's reach. The target can easily Resist.
You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Trauma and can have exactly one of the following Effects:
The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.
You may end this Effect prematurely as a Free Action.
Anyone who witnesses you during this Effect's activation will almost certainly be disturbed to see a giant alien centipede-like creature enter their target before their target's skin crawls with every change.
This Gift cannot have more than 3 Drawbacks, and its Gift Cost is capped at 2.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: Sensitive Skin - Your species is not suited to exposure to sunlight. (You suffer from 1 penalty when exposed to sunlight).
Your alteration "heals" over the course of the next month, after which it is fully cured.
Possession of this Power grants the following Trauma at all times: Pyrophobia - You have an intense and violent reaction to fire. (Whenever you would be subjected to fire or extreme heat, you must roll Self Control or go into fight or flight, likely resulting in a transformation.).
"...Come close, my brethren! Bask in the rainbow glow of the cosmos! Feel its energy radiate from your very mind, and feel its influence! Its power! That power which only *I* can bestow! Step forward, and be born anew! Stand with me, and bear the weight of the universe!..."
[Brain Hacks]: The boon provided has no physical marring and only weighs heavily on the afflicted's mind, not being actively harmful and merely taking up space. Its presence can always be felt, but is only a threat if the bearer already has too much on their mind.
[Critical Failure]: Serq is clumsily molding the power of the universe into the shape they see fit, fully aware of the consequences it might bring. Their link to The Mother protects them somewhat, but they are still susceptible to the psionic backlash created by pulling the wrong dimensional thread.
~~~
Cosmic Blessing: Specialized
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, receiving +2 dice to [_____].)
Cosmic Blessing: Environmental Adaptation
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, suffering no harm from heat, cold, pressure, or lack of oxygen while in [_____] - provided that challenge normally exists in that environment.)
Cosmic Blessing: Implanted Tool
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, being able to act as if you always have a fully-functional [_____] on-hand.)
Cosmic Blessing: Armor
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, gaining 2 Armor at all times.)
Cosmic Blessing: Pouch
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, being granted a small dimensional portal somewhere inside your body that can hold no more than a briefcase (15 liters). Items stored in this space can still be detected by any means that would find them were they held in a physical pocket.)
Cosmic Blessing: Zippy
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, gaining +10 feet of Free Movement.)
Cosmic Blessing: Maws and Claws
(You are enhanced by the power of the cosmos, dealing +2 Weapon damage with unarmed attacks instead of -1.)
Exert your Mind and spend 30 minutes. Select a Living target within arm's reach. Roll a single D10 as a critical failure check. If you roll a 1, the Effect fails, and you immediately receive 4 points of mind damage that cannot be prevented, reduced, or recovered via any means other than restful sleep. The target can easily Resist.
You may add one augmentation to your target. Each augmentation counts as a Trauma and can have exactly one of the following Effects:
The augmentations you provide are not outwardly visible nor obvious.
Ulysses’s legs have become extra muscular, preparing for the day his wings will one day emerge. Tensing his body, he can leap high into the air
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location which is at most 60 feet away horizontally or 15 feet away vertically.
You jump to the chosen location. If jumping blind or landing precariously, must roll Dexterity + Athletics to land safely. You will never take fall Damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.
You may opt to trade your free movement for a Super Leap if you are jumping less than 50 feet or if you are closing a gap to an opponent and spend your Action on an attack.
Runa wills into existence a ball of electrical energy floating around her or in her hand or the tip of her tail. Electrical energy arcs over her body while she does this.
Electricity flows over me and around me It is mine to use as I please.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location no further than 40 feet from you and in your line of sight. The area within 25 feet of the chosen Location immediately and obviously becomes imminently dangerous. Roll Intellect + Occult at Difficulty 6. Targets inside the radius may attempt an appropriate Reaction at GM’s discretion. Finding a physical barrier to use as cover will cut total Damage taken in half (applies after Reaction roll but before Armor).
If the Outcome is positive, your blast hits everything within 25 feet of the chosen Location with Damage equal to your Outcome + 4.
Possession of this Power grants the following Battle Scar: second fox tail social rolls are +1 difficulty.
The Toon performs some sort of cartoonish act of violence. This may be handing someone a bomb, hitting someone with a cartoon mallet, burping a burp that is so noxious it melts flesh, or anything else as long as it is cartoonish.
The attack is more of a throwaway gag than a plot element, so any props or properties of the attack are incidental and disappear immediately. Animated mallets evaporate in a puff of smoke, fire does not spread, and electricity cannot power devices.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a target within 45 feet. Roll Charisma + Performance Difficulty 6. The target may contest by rolling to Dodge or Defend as a Reaction, Difficulty 6.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the target takes that much Damage plus 4. Armor is fully effective against this damage.
While transformed, the Werewolf can leap great distances, climbing structures and closing the gap to their prey.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location which is at most 60 feet away horizontally or 15 feet away vertically. This Effect cannot be used unless you are in werewolf form.
You jump to the chosen location. If jumping blind or landing precariously, must roll Dexterity + Athletics to land safely. You will never take fall Damage from successfully landing a jump made with this Effect.
You may opt to trade your free movement for a Super Leap if you are jumping less than 50 feet or if you are closing a gap to an opponent and spend your Action on an attack.
The detective pulls out their magnifying glass and investigates the area, learning details about any nearby structures and picking up details on what sorts of beings have passed through and when.
Exert your Mind and spend a minute. Investigate an area with a radius of up to 100 feet You must actively and obviously use a magnifying glass to activate this Effect. At the end of your investigation, roll Perception + Investigation at Difficulty 6.
You learn the following information about the area:
You cannot investigate the same area more than once per day.
The De-Neuralizer is a small silver device that can emanate a bright flash of light. Any being that looks into it with uncovered eyes has their most recent period of the their memory set into a highly over-writable state for a moment. While in this state, their memories may be overwritten at will.
Exert your Mind and spend an Action. Select a Location within within arm's reach. All Sapient targets within 20 feet are affected. This Effect cannot be used unless the target is looking directly into the device with uncovered eyes. Roll Charisma + Influence at Difficulty 6. The target may resist by rolling Mind at Difficulty 7.
If the contested Outcome is positive, the most recent 1 hour from your target’s memory is either replaced with new memories or forgotten entirely. This is recorded as a Condition. The level of detail and completeness of the alteration depends on your Outcome. If you fail, the target realizes that you are attempting to alter their memories.
The period is chosen either by time (i.e. “last Friday night”) or by reference to a specific event (i.e. “when the murder occurred”).
Dazzle Glasses are advanced "black-tech" espionage gear. They can be styled as any sort sunglasses. When the wearer is recorded, they will quickly flash a non-visible laser into the recording device, destroying it after only a moment of footage is taken.
This Effect activates whenever you are recorded. It does not require an Action or Exertion. Select a Non-Sapient Object within 20 feet no larger than a duffel bag (35 liters). Your target should be intuitively based on the triggering event. Roll Perception + Culture Difficulty 6.
If your Outcome is 4 or higher, the target will be completely destroyed and can no longer function, though it may still be repaired. If your Outcome is less than 4, the target will be partially damaged, and any attempts to use it will suffer a dice penalty equal to your Outcome.