If You Could Have Just One Superpower...

[Jean Valjean]

Yeah, Hyper Rarity is overthinking it. The idea of superpowers is fictional anyway, so you can apply any limits, or lack thereof, when answering the hypothetical question. I personally would like to assume that if I said that I hypothetically could stop time, then that would hypothetically mean that I could stop all of time. Though, if you wanted a complex action movie with action that fits together like a puzzle, then limiting time-stopping to a given area would be interesting. Your Honor,Emperor Kraggh

[Alex Humva]

Besides, stopping time in limited areas would have untold ramifications; assuming stopping time means stopping the kinetic energy until time is resumed, wherever time is frozen the rest of the Earth would smash into. Or worse, if you could stop the whole Earth but not the solar system, the Earth's orbit would be forever screwed up. It's got to be a universal thing, otherwise Newton has a few things to talk to you about.

[Jean Valjean]

I've thought about that and all the technicalities that go with it. The awesome thing here about BZPower is that I'm at home among nerds who also think of all the technicalities. Another thing that I always thought was that if you traveled back in time, time paradoxes are the least of your worries. If you're using the logic of the book The Time Traveler, you arrive in the same place that you started, so if you travel in time without traveling through space, you would actually end up in outer space, because a few seconds from now the Earth isn't going to be in the same position that it is now, and the sun isn't going to be in the same place either, so if you wanted to teleport to yesterday, you'd be countless miles off target. Of course, that technicality is easier to overlook than the time-stopping technicality, and when writing time-travel fantasy it's far easier to assume that it doesn't have to factor in when the means aren't necessarily scientific. Like, if someone has the personal power to time travel, I would assume that the power is organic enough to adapt to the technicalities. However, in sci-fi, I do often get frustrated by the technicality in most depictions. Although Back to the Future is an exception. Your Honor,Emperor Kraggh

[King Joe]

The above quotes are why I think control over energy would be best. With that, you could concieveably increase your speed to the point where time is practically stopped, without having to deal with paradoxes or the earth being destroyed or something like that.

[Padishah Mehmet II]

Oh come on guys, you're trying too hard to rule the world. The ability to give anyone a heart attack instantly would be sufficient IMO.-Dovydas

[Toa Zaz]

X-ray vision Just kidding... Probably clairvoyance. I'd be really interested in the future. The problem with seeing the future, though, is that it kinda ruins the present for you.

[Alex Humva]

The above quotes are why I think control over energy would be best. With that, you could concieveably increase your speed to the point where time is practically stopped, without having to deal with paradoxes or the earth being destroyed or something like that.

That brings up it's own problems; reason why it's impossible -or at least EXTREMELY hard- to get going the speed of light, as far as I'm aware, is that as you increase speed your mass increases. I have to look up the formula for it, but it's something like mass equals velocity times something. Or was that F=M*V. I dunno; I'll have to look it up. Or am I thinking of weight... really important and embarrassing mistake if I'm confusing mass with weight.. Back on point, your mass increases as your speed increases. So by the time you reach 99.9 C, your mass/weight has become the amount of a black hole and you implode on yourself, or if you're immune to that, the entire solar system is drawn to you, plus the surrounding space. So speeding up to slow down time is NOT a good idea in relativist terms.

[Jean Valjean]

I know, for far too many people power comes to mind. I just want a stable life. Because I guess that it might bring me peace and happiness. Which is why I favor simple invulnerability to harm. I'm typically have to mentally prepare myself whenever a nerd is asked what superpower they would have, because a good percentage will answer that they would like control over energy and work their way up from E=mc² to include control over basically everything. As a friend of mine once said, "Every power is really just a combination of other powers that makes it possible, so the only power that works is the one that can sufficiently get you everything else." I see his logic there...but it's just not fun. Your Honor,Emperor Kraggh

[Alex Humva]

EXCEPT the Zack Morris Time Out, as was discussed in After Hours on ******. (I can't mention the name here; forums and all) They were going the exact same thing we're doing here, and they decided that stopping time is the ultimate power in regards to no need for extra powers.

[Transcendence]

Does a Death Note count as a super power?

[Chibinuva]

Besides, stopping time in limited areas would have untold ramifications; assuming stopping time means stopping the kinetic energy until time is resumed, wherever time is frozen the rest of the Earth would smash into. Or worse, if you could stop the whole Earth but not the solar system, the Earth's orbit would be forever screwed up. It's got to be a universal thing, otherwise Newton has a few things to talk to you about.

Not necessarily. It's usually that moving variables are frozen in time, such as bullets flying in the air, a plat of food about to fall, or a person (or in one case, a person, minus his head for interrogation.) As such, it's not the entire room, but just the people and things moving in it.

I've thought about that and all the technicalities that go with it. The awesome thing here about BZPower is that I'm at home among nerds who also think of all the technicalities. Another thing that I always thought was that if you traveled back in time, time paradoxes are the least of your worries. If you're using the logic of the book The Time Traveler, you arrive in the same place that you started, so if you travel in time without traveling through space, you would actually end up in outer space, because a few seconds from now the Earth isn't going to be in the same position that it is now, and the sun isn't going to be in the same place either, so if you wanted to teleport to yesterday, you'd be countless miles off target. Of course, that technicality is easier to overlook than the time-stopping technicality, and when writing time-travel fantasy it's far easier to assume that it doesn't have to factor in when the means aren't necessarily scientific. Like, if someone has the personal power to time travel, I would assume that the power is organic enough to adapt to the technicalities. However, in sci-fi, I do often get frustrated by the technicality in most depictions. Although Back to the Future is an exception. Your Honor,Emperor Kraggh

That would be annoying, but like you said, depending of the way used to arrive there, you'd probably be fine (especially if you go back in time so many years to the nanosecond.) Or you know, just use magic and then it will work out fine. :PAlso, I just thought of another power I'd love, Chaos Powers. Think about it, if you're like Shadow the Hedgehog, you could have limited teleportation, the ability to shoot energy spears, the ability to acceleration quickly by manipulating space-time, the ability to create a blast of energy, the ability to quickly attack several enemies in succession, by quickly teleporting from one to the next (Chaos Snap,) plus if you collect at least one gem, the ability to teleport much farther (bringing objects with you,) the ability to create portals through both time and space if you find another person with Chaos Control (and an emerald,) and the ability to become freaking gold when all seven are collecting, being awesome-looking, invincible, and capable of flight, along with having upgraded powers such as Chaos Lance. I play too much Sonic, but you can't say that wouldn't be awesome. Also, Superman could time-travel by spinning the world backwards, and I think the Flash has also time-traveled by running really fast (though I believe he was using some sort of giant hamster wheel-powered machine.)

[Malevolence]

I'd say - after over-thinking this way too much. The ability to create and control my own pocket universe, and control all outcomes it has on the universe I live in. For example, let's say I've had a REALLY bad day due to a group of people. Normally, you'd scream, throw a fit, destroy a very hard-to-build MOC you spent a week on, or play violent video games pretending the monsters you're killing at aforementioned people. I could hop into my pocket universe, create a 'world' containing just those people who got me so riled up, spend some time gruesomely killing them, then when I'm all de-stressed, I can choose to NOT remember what happened, but for the stress-relief to still occur in the universe. Thus I'm no longer angry, no one gets killed, maimed, or broken into tiny pieces, and all is right with the world And as an example of the latter, I could pop into my pocket universe, create a gym 'world' with fitness trainers, all the top notch equipment, and stay in there for a month or so, lose some excess weight, maybe add a wee bit of muscle, get myself looking good, then pop out and be in the exact same day I was when I left. As a writer it's even better when I consider creating an actual universe inside the pocket universe, with multiple planets, sentient beings, etc. I can watch them naturally make their own story, pen it down, and BOOM best seller book written in the time of one hour. I could even film events in said universe, and just say it's CGI when it becomes a blockbuster hit.

[Kaleidoscope Tekulo]

Flight. I would choose flight. Why?Because flying is awesome and scary at the same time. ;D That way I wouldn't need a car and I could look at the world from different points of view. Yeah, it's my cup of tea. ^^

[King Joe]

The above quotes are why I think control over energy would be best. With that, you could concieveably increase your speed to the point where time is practically stopped, without having to deal with paradoxes or the earth being destroyed or something like that.

That brings up it's own problems; reason why it's impossible -or at least EXTREMELY hard- to get going the speed of light, as far as I'm aware, is that as you increase speed your mass increases. I have to look up the formula for it, but it's something like mass equals velocity times something. Or was that F=M*V. I dunno; I'll have to look it up. Or am I thinking of weight... really important and embarrassing mistake if I'm confusing mass with weight.. Back on point, your mass increases as your speed increases. So by the time you reach 99.9 C, your mass/weight has become the amount of a black hole and you implode on yourself, or if you're immune to that, the entire solar system is drawn to you, plus the surrounding space. So speeding up to slow down time is NOT a good idea in relativist terms.

Unless you're pure sentient energy when you're going said speed. Energy really has no mass or weight.

[Jean Valjean]

Regarding the sometimes wished that I could visit the things that I imagined and watch the events take place in genuine real time, or that I could genuinely create actors who really sort of were their characters, then create a world that was the set, and then we could have a jolly good time filming before taking a break and sitting down for a a coffee break inside the guts of the creature-planet Quarr. It would have been the ultimate filming-on-location experience. Now, I never quite thought of it as a power, but the point remains. I also liked the idea of pulling my friends into a universe that only I knew about, although every time I play this idea through I consider how unfair it would be if we got trapped in the universe and I knew the potential for that. Sure, we would get into an adventure, but I really sort of set it up, which is kind of manipuylative of me. Perhaps it would be better to simply have a fantasy universe that would be fun to explore, start an expedition team among my friends, and then go explore it. I can imagine going through some giant place like the Grand Canyon with a few sci-fi and fantasy twists. Floating islands, strange and fantastic creatures, et cetera. Maybe multiple moons, moons of special colors, a ring around the planet, nebulae in the nighttime sky, volcanoes, geysers, glaciers, mountains, a few gravity tricks, dragons, unicorns, mesmerizing caves, waterfalls, rapids, mile-high trees, dinosaurs, magic floating crystals, magic floating crystal Rubik's cubes, exotic villages, plant-people, haunted mansions, hidden castles, really shallow lakes, really deep lakes, really deep pits, underground rivers, magic shining orbs, lightstones, various elements reminiscent of MNOG, various elements reminiscent of TRON, kolhii tournaments, light-cycle tournaments, various other tournaments among sentient species we might come across, shape-shifting non-lethal rivals who take on your form, magic rainbows, cities of gold, Wampas, Rancors, and lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!). I think I would have fun exploring said world. Then when it's all done, instead of exploring a giant canyon, we could explore a world where it's nighttime all the time, the citizens are anthropomorphic wolves (but otherwise normal people), there are a lot of trains, a lot of mountains with valleys in between, a lot of mines, a lot of light stone, and some really nice villages. We could all go there for lazy vacations. I have a really fun time world-building. Your Honor,Emperor Kraggh

[Tattorack]

.0 control (pronounced "point zero", not to be confused with Einstein's zero point)...Its an ability I made up myself... but if that doesn't count:Esper, I'd like to be an Esper (you know, beings with extreme psychokinesis control,psychokinesis is not telekinesis)

Energy really has no mass or weight.

Hah! WRONG! Energy = mass, and vica-versa (E=mc2).

[Alex Humva]

Energy really has no mass or weight.

Hah! WRONG! Energy = mass' date=' and vica-versa (E=mc2).[/quote']...You don't know what you're talking about do you. Last time I checked, and I admit it could of changed, no energy besides light has mass; photons have mass, but even that's the source of dozens of arguments in the scientific community. However, simply because you can CONVERT the two does not mean they are the same. That is like saying a png and a jpg file are the same; sure, you can convert from one to the other, but they are not the same. If I'm wrong, my deepest apologizes.

[King Joe]

Energy really has no mass or weight.

Hah! WRONG! Energy = mass' date=' and vica-versa (E=mc2).[/quote']...You don't know what you're talking about do you. Last time I checked, and I admit it could of changed, no energy besides light has mass; photons have mass, but even that's the source of dozens of arguments in the scientific community. However, simply because you can CONVERT the two does not mean they are the same. That is like saying a png and a jpg file are the same; sure, you can convert from one to the other, but they are not the same. If I'm wrong, my deepest apologizes.

Agreed. Energy might equal Mass Converted to the second power, but it is not the same as mass. Energy is the same as Matter Converted.

Edited October 30, 2011 by King Joe

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

Should be noted that photons do not, in fact, have mass. As for the superpower I would want... Hmm. I think anything involving time-travel or immortality would prove to be more troublesome than it's worth. I'm going to have to go with complete immunity to disease. Never get the cold, or anything else again, and then just lay down and die when I get so old that there's nothing else to do.

[Tattorack]

Well, the whole mind boggling thing about the photon is that it has no mass:

The effects of this force are easily observable at both the microscopic and macroscopic level' date=' because the photon has no rest mass

A particle "at rest" is a particle in its natural state (i.e: for a photon; moving forward in a strait line).

The equation E = mc² indicates that energy always exhibits relativistic mass in whatever form the energy takes.

(just so you know: astrophysics is my favorite part of astronomy... besides looking for ET )

[Master Inika]

The power to throw people in waking dreams. It distracts them, and I can make it a good dream, or a terrible one. >

[ObfuscatedCubeEntity]

I would have the ability to make superpowers a reality.

[Vengent Spectre]

The power of Creation, i would love to be able create things

[Makuta DUSt]

Psychokinesis.I just hope that anything I pick up has a green aura around it. (Not that it will happen)

[Chibinuva]

Psychokinesis.I just hope that anything I pick up has a green aura around it. (Not that it will happen)

I'd so do that. Of course, I'd prefer the more general version of Psychokinesis then what Silver has as it generally refers to a wider scope of powers (though Silver does seem to have some stunning powers besides telekinesis.)

[Kothra]

Accelerator's 'vector change' ability.

[Katuko]

It's a tough choice between teleportation, telekinesis, invisibility, mind reading and time manipulation.Teleportation allows be to travel instantly everywhere, even places I couldn't normally reach very easily. It would be useful for when I'm late, or when I just don't feel like walking.Telekinesis can do a lot of things and is thus a very good contender.Invisibility would only really be useful for peeping at people, but it's still rather cool. Mind reading would be a lot more useful (and immoral, but why should I care when only I know? ).Time manipulation, however, may be the best, simply because it allows you to emulate the other powers in a slower fashion. Late for the bus, a meeting or other appointment? Slow down or stop time until you get there. Need to teleport to trick someone? Stop time instead and spend the next few minutes contemplating the best strategy. Stuck on a test or job-related question? Don't mind-read the answer, just "pop out" for a textbook without anyone ever noticing. Tired of the conversation? Time out, get a drink, watch TV, get back, time in, continue conversation. Got some time to kill but nothing to do? Fast forward. Need to sneak around without anyone noticing? Freeze time, again.So my final list in order of priority is:1) Full time manipulation2) Telekinesis3) Mind controlThere is one thing that I would that I think is less a "super-power" and more just a state of being, though: Perfect immortality. Forever young, don't really need to eat/drink/breathe/etc if you don't want to, nothing ever hurts you, and all that jazz.EDIT: After reading for a bit, mind control and whatever Creation entails could be very useful too, so I'll put that on my list.

Edited November 16, 2011 by Katuko

[Master Inika]

It's a tough choice between teleportation, telekinesis, invisibility, mind reading and time manipulation.Teleportation allows be to travel instantly everywhere, even places I couldn't normally reach very easily. It would be useful for when I'm late, or when I just don't feel like walking.Telekinesis can do a lot of things and is thus a very good contender.Invisibility would only really be useful for peeping at people, but it's still rather cool. Mind reading would be a lot more useful (and immoral, but why should I care when only I know? ).Time manipulation, however, may be the best, simply because it allows you to emulate the other powers in a slower fashion. Late for the bus, a meeting or other appointment? Slow down or stop time until you get there. Need to teleport to trick someone? Stop time instead and spend the next few minutes contemplating the best strategy. Stuck on a test or job-related question? Don't mind-read the answer, just "pop out" for a textbook without anyone ever noticing. Tired of the conversation? Time out, get a drink, watch TV, get back, time in, continue conversation. Got some time to kill but nothing to do? Fast forward. Need to sneak around without anyone noticing? Freeze time, again.So my final list in order of priority is:1) Full time manipulation2) Telekinesis3) Mind controlThere is one thing that I would that I think is less a "super-power" and more just a state of being, though: Perfect immortality. Forever young, don't really need to eat/drink/breathe/etc if you don't want to, nothing ever hurts you, and all that jazz.EDIT: After reading for a bit, mind control and whatever Creation entails could be very useful too, so I'll put that on my list.

I think controlling time would be a bit too much. I mean, we saw what happened when Tahu and Vakama tried it. But I wouldn't want immortality. What would I do for all eternity?

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

Control of other people's motor impulses.You want to take a jog 'round the block? Shame, I want you to do the Thriller.Matter of fact, I want all of you to do the Thriller. All seven billion minus one of you.

[Katuko]

I think controlling time would be a bit too much. I mean, we saw what happened when Tahu and Vakama tried it. But I wouldn't want immortality. What would I do for all eternity?

If we assume you actually got control (they didn't really, as they were struggling to keep their focus), then Time is an awesome power.I pondered the whole Immortality issue (What do you do after a while?), and I realized the answer was everything. Travel the world for a hundred years, and you've still not seen everything. Watch technology develop into new and exciting things as the years pass. Take any education and any job you'd like to try because you got all the time in the world to get there. Get so hilariously drunk you want without being hurt by it. Take a year-long walk at he bottom of the Pacific Ocean without drowning. Watch civilizations rise and fall, and new societies develop. When you're finally bored of Earth, take a trip into space. Travel the stars. Watch our colonies develop once we get that far.The only thing that could possibly stop you would be the end of all time, and honestly, that's a looong time in the future.

Matter of fact, I want all of you to do the Thriller. All seven billion minus one of you.

Congratulations, you just killed everyone currently undergoing surgery, and possibly those with osteoporosis. Do you feel good yet? Edited November 16, 2011 by Katuko

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

Can't hear your valid point about murdering people over the sound of everyone else doing the Thriller.

[Katuko]

Ah, so you do feel good about it. But that's fine, it's the Thriller, after all.

[Hukster]

Teleporting for me any day.WEEGEE

[Steelsheen]

Electric pulse sensing! *crickets chirp* OK, so that needs some explaining.All sharks have a specialized organ called an ampullae of Lorenzini in their snouts. It enables them to feel even the most minute elctrical pulses, particularly those given off by movement (creature or machine, both give off electronic signals). Some sharks can even detect a nine-volt battery over a mile away! They can differentiate between pulses, making it a sort of electronic radar. (e.g., they know it's a fish, not a boat) Being able to sense electrical movement would mean:A. No one can ever sneak up on you again, not even a super-Makuta wearing a Volitak.B. You not only know they're coming; you know who they are... So you can avoid the super-Makuta. Seriously, those guys are bad.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

You know how the sensitive hearing of bats and cetaceans can screw them up in the presence of loud noises? Or how animals with sensitive eyesight can get screwed up by flashlights?Your arch-nemesis would have a thing for Tesla Coils, mate.

[Toa Takiah, Toa of Space]

I wish I had super-intelligence and awesome mental speed (I have an IQ of 160, but I massively procrastinate. If I were truly intelligent, I wouldn't spend all my time loafing around, drinking beer, and playing videogames).With my genius, I could invent super powers via drugs and medicine, thus giving me the ability to choose which power I would want to use on any given day.As for more conventional powers, I wish I could control the physical atmosphere around me (air pressure, temperature, etc).I guess on second and third I would like to fly or teleport.

[Serpent of Fire]

I would take the ability to fly, but considering that this is the real world, and not a comic book, I would probably get shot down by F16s or anti-aircraft fire in a matter of minutes. So I think I'd take Telekinesis instead.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Serpent of Fire

[Alyska]

With regard to stopping time, couldn't you just have your own little time-bubble, rather than stopping all the time in the universe? As in, time passes for you inside the bubble, while no time passes for everything else. Of course, that raises questions about what happens when a person in the time-bubble interacts with an object outside it...I sort of agree about time powers being the most powerful/dangerous. I was planning on writing something involving two sisters, one of whom had the time powers, and the other having the "hammerspace" . But I decided that the former was too overpowered, so now they're both going to have access to hammerspace...Or maybe one could have hammerspace and the other could have HAMMERTIME!

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

I think I mentioned I just want nice simple superspeed before, but failing that, my second choice would be hyper-agility. It would take me longer to get to places, but I would look cooler doing it via parkour

[Malevolence]

Well, then, to all the people tampering with other's powers, especially time travel, how about this?The ability to time travel/tampering (As in selective slowing, speeding up, etc.) along with the power to reformulate the universe's construction to support said time-travel.I'm still sticking to my pocket universe idea. The possibility of doing heavy-duty exercise for a year, and returned to the real universe on the same day you 'left', or to spend decades studying languages in the course of a real universe hour is far too tempting.