Powers in the Elsaverse



Powers in the Elsaverse are defined as the mental and sensorial unnatural abilities some characters have in this fictional universe. These powers are originated in the Elsaverse's parallel universe, where they are more or less common and perfectly known by the population, and were slowly leaked into Sangrive for years, through the interdimensional portal Morland kept open in his mansion's dungeon. Despite being aware of powers' existence for some time now, authorities are covertly working to avoid powers becoming public knowledge in Sangrive's world.

Origins and Nature
Few details about powers' real origin and nature are provided, beyond the fact that they come from the parallel universe and seem to consist in enhanced mental abilities and sensorial-related skills. No examples of classical fictional powers, like flying abilities, have been depicted so far, and many of them actually result in the subject being able to influence or trick other people's senses and awareness. It's not clear whether these powers are innate in the parallel world or a result of some kind of personal development of the subjects, although a genetic factor seems to be involved, as children from parents with powers tend to have powers too, albeit different ones.

In Sangrive, though, all documented cases follow a similar pattern: they are people raised in the city, with a very distinctive character trait since their childhood, or who extensively trained or practiced a specific skill from a very young age, and who experienced that trait or skill turning into a real power when they reached college age. The canon explanation given in Saving Chloe (2018) is that those powers were slowly leaking into town through the interdimensional portal Morland kept open in his mansion; this seems to indicate that powers are kind of an infection that only unleashes all its potential on very specific individuals. No Sangrive local who was already born when the portal was open, more than 30 years ago, presents any power, which means that only some children are effectively affected by that power leak. But, again, it's not clear whether these kids' distinctive traits during their childhood were innate to them or are also a result of the power leak: Alexis, who only moved to Sangrive in sixth grade but still developed a power, could prove that traits are innate and later enhanced by the power leak, but Joel Dresden's power hardly fits in that explanation, as it's quite difficult to imagine what innate human trait could be enhanced to let him communicate with the dead.

Activation and Performance
Powers' first activation seems to take place during college years, around 18-20, but the actual signs of their presence are completely different depending on the specific power. Some of them are easily detected by subjects, like Paul's ability to track Chloe, as they experience a noticeable change in their ordinary senses. Other powers are more subtle and can go unnoticed by their bearers for a long time, as they may seem no different from these people's innate but still human traits until a certain event shows their real, unnatural dimension. This means that some people who are still unaware of their powers are probably using them unconsciously, and the realization can come in a very traumatic way, as in Jessica Springfield's or Sarah Murray's cases.

Usually, the person with a power can train that skill to master their control over it, improving their performance. As it's explicitly stated several times throughout the whole saga, most powers can be turned on and off at will and even focused on specific targets, but their intensity can rarely be graduated: the only explicit mention of such behavior is when Anastasia Bertradino, who usually uses her power to go totally unnoticed, explains in AAA (2018-2019) that, in order to avoid accidents, she can make her car to be noticed but not consciously registered by bystanders. Sarah Murray's power could also have different intensity levels, but she's only used it once, amped up to the max.

When used, different powers can produce similar effects: taking Anastasia as an example again, she can make herself invisible to others, while Crow can perform a wide array of optical illusions, including that of becoming invisible. There's also a whole bunch of powers that can alter people's mood using different approaches, like Jessica's singing or Amanda Reid's telepathy; while other people like Alexis, Candace, and Tatiana Blackhawk can read emotions thanks to different powers. Obviously, those powers being different means that each one of them is more suited than others on specific occasions or environments.

Their impact on others also varies greatly depending on the power: some of them have almost no limits to their effectiveness, as they can be used to influence large crowds at once (like Jessica's) and can even be lethal (Sarah Murray's), while others have a limited range (Paul's), or only work individually (Amanda's), or with people from the parallel universe (Paul's, again). In addition, some of these powers can be blocked by partial or total immunity, even by ordinary humans (Jessica's); and there is also a specific power that consists in suppressing other people's powers (Charles Reyes'), while another one amplifies them (Anton Blackhawk's).

Side Effects
One of the most interesting aspects of how powers are portrayed in the Elsaverse saga is the way those powers affect their bearers' daily life and even mental health. The most obvious example of this would be Jessica Springfield, who was dragged down into a self-destructive spiral partly due to the thought that her closest friends' feelings for her may not be real but involuntarily induced by her power. The fact that the power's first manifestation sometimes occurs tragically, like Jessica's realization of her powers, or Sarah Murray's own experience in Darkness Falls (2018-2019), can also hit hard, and the storytelling tends to put stress on those emotional situations.

But, in most cases, the main problem these people face is that they all think they are alone in this and that their power is a singular case in the world. Afraid of standing out from the norm and being outed as "freaks", they use to keep their abilities secret even from their closest ones, to the point that a vast majority of the people with powers are depicted as lonely individuals who have distanced themselves from others. This palpable fear of a negative social reaction if powers ever come out to light also makes those who use theirs for a greater good demanding secrecy and confidentiality from people in the know to not be publicly signaled and maybe even chased due to their condition (Lara's intriguing link with top-level authorities doesn't help with that). And even those who can share that secret with others like them, like AAA protagonists, are so used to thinking they are unique that never even imagined that there could be other people with powers too. Paul's first meeting with Xara's Angels in Saving Chloe and Jessica's role in that group are pretty explanatory of this mental burden: even though most of these people are already aware they have a power, Xara still needs Jessica to calm them down when raising the topic to them, as they feel exposed and threatened after realizing someone else knows about their unnatural ability.

Whether they do it consciously or not, most people use their powers to their own benefit, making a career thanks to those secret and extremely refined abilities. But there are other minor, negative side effects that some people experience, especially when they rely a bit too much on their power. For instance, Alexis, who can read people's emotions just by looking at them, seems to have a really hard time understanding people's tones and intentions in written exchanges, when she can't see her counterpart. In other cases, like Joel's empathy and ability to see the human side of stories, subjects develop a secondary trait as a byproduct of their original power, which can mislead them about their real ability. Other side effects are of a more physiological nature, like Beth's "jumpy" condition after coming back from a traumatic period in the desert in which she was using her power almost permanently, or the progressive tiredness Brandon Henderson experiences when he repeatedly uses his power again and again in a short period, this slowly decreasing its effectiveness; not to mention the physical pain Emily is forced to bear whenever she heals another person's injuries. Theresa, on the other hand, seems to have learned from the liars she detects to become an extremely convincing liar herself.

Confirmed Cases
Here's a list of Elsaverse's characters with confirmed powers, sorted by their first appearance in the saga (even though their powers may have been unveiled later on).

Likely Cases
Some characters seem to have special abilities which are very likely to be an actual power, but the real nature and extent of this power have not been disclosed yet.

Controversial Cases
There are other characters with special abilities that could be labeled as powers, but those skills may have other possible origins or are explicitly said not to be powers: