SKILLS
Athletics - Competent Level
Stone is in prime physical condition but not expertly trained. He is proficient in most common physical skills -- climbing, tumbling, jumping, swimming, dodging, and so forth -- but he does not particularly stand out in this area.
Charisma - Competent Level
Stone has learned to be skilled at verbal and non-verbal non-telepathic communication, whether being charming, intimidating, or whatever else. His understanding of the "masks" people wear, the selves they put forth, has made him good at appealing to the emotions of others, even without his psychic abilities.
Detective - Competent Level
Logic and deduction come naturally to Stone, and he is skilled at putting the information provided by his psychic perceptions to practical use in order to make deductions or solve problems. His main limitation here is a lack of extensive professional knowledge or true expertise.
Skill: Knowledge - Competent Level
Having absorbed an array of human knowledge when he created his physical body, Stone has a somewhat varied but reasonably complete basic for human knowledge. Lacking the expertise of someone trained in a specific field, he does know a lot of this and that, including a reasonable understanding of history, culture, geography, and most other topics needed to integrate into society.
Skill: Martial Arts - Competent Level
Much as he absorbed raw knowledge, Stone also absorbed a reasonable amount of ambient knowledge of how to move in a human body. This includes a general ability for self-defense, but he lacks the experience to be a more advanced combatant. He is able to hold his own in a fight if he needs to.
Medicine - Basic Level
Stone's instant education included a basic understanding of first aid, and with a little more training he could probably qualify as an EMT. At the least, he has a pretty good idea how to generally take care of and basically treat simple human injuries, though he continues to explore the subject with great interest.
Mentalism - Expert Level
Before becoming humanoid, Stone was part of an Astral collective as a non-corporeal being for a nearly immeasurable length of time. He is at home in the physical world, but he is a native of the Astral Plane. This combination of aptitude and experience has made him exceptionally skilled at interacting with thoughts and minds, and he is extremely skilled at using all of his psychic abilities, at least within the bounds of each ability.
Skill: Science - Competent Level
As Stone has, in addition to tremendous intelligence, a fair sampling of broad human knowledge, he has a solid comprehension of scientific principles and a reasonable general level of knowledge to work from. He can use human technology and understands science in strong, general terms. Much as his other areas of knowledge derived from his initial contact on Earth, he has not yet developed any particular area of expertise.
Subterfuge - Competent Level
As one with an intuitive understanding of the mental plane who physically manifested his own body, Stone has had to learn physical communication from an odd, removed perspective. As a result, he is just as good at telling a lie as he is speaking the truth. To him, all verbal communication is a bit strange and less comfortable or intuitive as telepathy.
ABILITIES
Innate:: Alien Mind - Supreme Level
As a result of his dimensionally enhanced consciousness, Stone has a mind that is transcendent in terms of intellect, willpower, and mental resilience. His mental stamina and ability resist mental intrusion or attack, his resolve is unfaltering. He does not have "mental shields" that could be "breached," so much as his strength of will and mental complexity allow him to filter out unwanted influence and resist even potent mental attacks, be they of psychic, mystic, technological, or other origin. Further, reading his thoughts without his cooperation is exceptionally difficult for conventional intelligences due to the highly alien, extradimensional structure of his mind. In terms of mental potency and resilience, his mind is Supreme-level. As another result of his atypical mind, Stone's intelligence far exceeds the limits of normal human intellectual capacity. His cognition, calculation, memory, and general mental aptitude also rank as Supreme. This allows him to absorb information at great speed, as well as granting vastly enhanced memory and multitasking ability.
Innate:: Alien Physiology - Enhanced Level
Many of Stone's abilities stem from his alien nature. Because of his extradimensional origins, his mind is able to exist beyond the limitations of normal physical reality. In addition, he is able to draw on the energy of his native Astral Plane to fuel his various powers. His body has the capacity to genetically adapt, as he was initially only able to take physical form by copying genetic material from a human source. This is why Stone appears human, even to genetic scans. His form is essentially now stable, but despite appearing human he has various special abilities.
Because of his intrinsic link to the Astral Plane, his abilities are not secondary "powers," in the sense of a mutant or metahuman, that he acquired via an external source or from exposure to a particular energy type. As an innate part of him, they cannot be nullified, "stolen," or otherwise taken away. Of course, their effects can be countered in various ways by reasonable means.
Because of his unusual mind and its ability to influence his physiology, Stone can heal from nearly any injury, even regenerating his body from effective destruction, though this process could take weeks or months to complete. (This ability operates at the speed of Plot, allowing him to recover between stories or encounters, but is not active "regeneration" in the sense of heroes with especially high healing factors.) To kill him permanently, one would need to eliminate his Astral essence. While his nature renders him immune to being stripped of his powers or having his physical form directly altered against his will, it does not protect him from taking more conventional physical damage. (Basically, he cannot have his powered nullified, his DNA altered, his shape changed, etc., but he can be stabbed, blasted, pummeled, etc. in all the usual ways.)
Psionic: Astral Warping - Enhanced Level
Stone is able to physically enter the Astral Plane, phasing wholly or partially into it. Distance on this plane as much a matter of perception as of reality, and he is quite adept at navigating this dimension. Traveling in this manner, Stone can achieve a variety of spatial effects. Using this method, he allowing him to teleport people or objects across up to hundreds of miles. He can also alter the way he interacts with normal space in more exotic ways, so long as he has sufficient concentration and is operating within the range of this power. He may achieve effects such as interacting with objects as though they were closer than they are, moving faster than it would seem he should be able to, fitting objects into spaces where they otherwise should not, seeming to reach or pass through solid objects, or even appearing in multiple places at once.
With the right preparation, he can even create temporary spatial fragments, essentially microdimensions. At present, these realms can take the form of spheres up to about 100 yards in diameter. These exist on the Astral Plane, outside of normal space-time, and are basically realms where his thoughts govern the local reality. The more special features they require, such as being hospitable to non-Astral life, the more time they require to prepare and the more exhausting they are to maintain. Given sufficient time and focus, these fragments may become stable, at which point they become more rigidly defined and stable but require much more mental effort and focus to alter.
Psionic: Clairsentience - Enhanced Level
Range-Vivid awareness: immediate vicinity; clear awareness: line of sight; general awareness: within a few miles; beyond, limited to narrow focus or "visible" events.
Psionic: Influence - Basic Level
While the most fundamental aspect of telepathy might be reading minds, for many psychics exerting influence over other minds is equally important. This telepathic influence allows Stone to tell others' minds what to perceive and think; however, he has only developed this ability in limited ways. Due to his discomfort with the idea of directly robbing others of their free will, his ability to influence other minds against their will is limited to only affecting the very weak-willed, and he is very unlikely to do more than create simple illusions or create very basic impulses in even those cases.
More readily, he can conjure mental illusions by sharing his thoughts or extending thought constructs around him, but these are easily "disbelieved" by anyone and are not deceptive, merely illustrative. He could psychically conjure an image, but it would be more like consensually showing someone a picture or video, even a very immersive one, not imposing control over their perceptions. For Stone, this is a collaborative process based on sharing and connection, not a brutish or insidious means to impose his will on others or compromise their own.
Psionic: Mindscaping - Supreme Level
As a native of the Astral Plane who once shaped it around him by instinct merely by existing, Stone retains a very potent ability to influence what might be termed "the mindscape." As readily as some powered individuals an manipulate matter or energy in the physical world, Stone can affect the Astral Plane and alter it around those touching it or within it. This allows him to perform a variety of mental feats, such as shaping the appearance of the immediate psychic landscape, extending those energies as psychic attacks or defenses, mental healing or support, or creating Astral constructs that affect the Astral landscape and may even impact the use of psychic powers in particular ways.
For example, he could create localized astral barriers that would prevent someone from entering or leaving the Astral Plane, keeping them from utilizing Astral projection or travel; maze constructs that one would need to mentally navigate before they could move freely in the area; or create astral weaponry, execute astral attacks, and so forth. Effectively, this power functions quite like the energy manipulation of a Green Lantern's ring, save that it works primarily on the Astral Plane, where it does not affect the physical world. The direct affects on other minds may range from pleasure or pain to even serious psychic damage, or they can be used for healing or defense purposes.
Direct mental attacks and other direct effects can be highly effective against any mind with a psychic presence, but this ability can have a much greater array of impacts on those who inhabit or are linked to the Astral Plane, such as other psychics. The stronger the link a mind has to the Astral Plane, the stronger the effect of his manipulation of the Astral landscape might be on that mind, depending on how connected the mind is to the plane and how adept the intelligence behind it is at adapting to such changes. As such, those with no strong connection to the Astral Plane are usually no more inhibited by changes to the Astral landscape than they would be strands of cobwebs. However, these constructs are quite real, perhaps more real than solid objects would be, to spirits or physical beings existing on the Astral Plane, such as psychics.
With greater effort, Stone can phase Astral constructs onto the physical plane. The larger or farther away from himself these constructs are, the more difficult they are to maintain, but he can perform many feats not unlike traditional telekinesis by manifesting Astral constructs. The most effective way he can use this ability in a sustained manner is by creating a construct around himself, usually in the form of a body field that enhances his own strength and durability. Between this and his ability to move quickly via Astral Warping, he may at times appear to be more of a traditional "brick," especially since he has not yet become accustomed to maintaining large, complex, or distant constructs in the physical world.
Psionic: Mind Probe - Basic Level
In addition to reading surface thoughts, Stone can also look more deeply into the mind of the target, reading thought and memory. This is generally done consensually, as he has never developed any talent or inclination to attempt to violate the sanctity of another's mind against their will. Any shielded or especially disciplined mind could prevent him from doing so, but he is deeply uncomfortable with even attempting to force such a connection on another's mind. Once connected, he is able to view any thought or memory that the target wishes. This ability is most effective when performed via an existing telepathic connection. Otherwise, physical touch is required.
Psionic: Psychometry - Basic Level
Stone is able to sense echoes left by mental energies on the physical world. In its most direct sense, this might beam picking up on psychic "echoes" left on physical objects or suffusing certain locations. He has little specific control over these impressions, as they are much more anchored in the physical world than to his native Astral Plane. The only direct control he can exert is whether he chooses to open himself to these impressions. When he opens his mind to such information, it may flood his senses, allowing him to read the impressions, but they will wash over him as visions of whatever was imprinted. At present, he has little ability to scan or sift through these impressions, only to perceive what has been left behind.
Psionic: Telepathy - Enhanced Level
As a telepath, Stone is capable of communicating with other minds, both by reading thoughts and projecting thoughts to them. He can also "network" minds together to allow free communication between them. These links can be temporary or indefinite, but they require his conscious awareness to maintain them. The number of minds involved affects the strength of the bond, though Stone can maintain contact between several people across the nation without strain. More members or greater distances increase strain, but familiar minds are much easier for him. Full, lasting mental links can also be established. These must be consensual, and they extend the range greatly while reducing the effort required, but these also make it much harder for Stone to shut out those within them.
ADVANTAGES
Stable Fragment
Stone has carved out one small, stable spatial fragment that he can routinely travel to and use as a personal sanctuary. As it exists wholly on the Astral Plane, this realm is extraordinarily difficult for anyone but an Astral traveler to locate, let alone enter, without Stone's assistance. When opened, the portal to this realm resembles a glowing slash in space, which Stone is able to open at his location in the physical world. Once the door is closed, it vanishes; it's more like a bridge or corridor that must be created between the physical world and the realm than a true "door" that can be forced open. From within the realm, the door may be re-opened anywhere within one hundred miles of where it was previously opened in the physical world.
The realm itself is currently the size of a large apartment and essentially configured as one. It has comfortable furnishings, and with experimentation and practice, Stone has learned to effectively simulate amenities such as electricity and plumbing, even managing to devise a way to get a WiFi signal. By manipulating the physics in the realm, he can also simulate more advanced features of a personal headquarters, such as a healing effect that allows regeneration of even critical or extensive illness or injuries during rest. As he has continued to develop his home, it has become both a nice place to live and, thanks to his powers and remoteness from most others, quite a safe place.
WEAKNESSES
Astral Attunement
Stone is highly attuned to Astral energies, which can have a strong impact on him. This means that when something affects the Astral Plane, it affects him. Any event that causes a sudden shock to the Astral Plane will impact him in much the same way. For example, if a large group of people were to suddenly be harmed, he would feel it like a physical blow. The more people involved, the stronger the effect on him. In the case of truly large-scale violence, such as being in a war zone, where lives are being lost in large groups or in rapid succession, it would manifest as physical pain for him. If his mind is overwhelmed by these negative effects, such as under prolonged exposure, this pain will continue to worsen, he may be eventually overwhelmed and rendered unconscious for up to several hours.
Astral Beacon
Because of his transdimensional nature, Stone resonates quite prominently with psychic and mystic senses. Essentially, any creature sensitive to auras, dimensional emanations, or the Astral Plane can sense or locate him with fair ease, particularly when he makes active use of his powers. When it comes to his effect on the paranormal senses, he might as well walk along with a flashing alert icon above his head. This is not harmful or unpleasant to other sensitives, but it makes him easy for them to find.
Empathy
Astral attunement to Stone's degree carries its burdens as well as its privileges. The basis of his power is, as noted elsewhere, a strong connection to the Astral Plane. This also makes him highly sensitive to the feelings of others. He is conditioned against being swayed by the thoughts and feelings of others, so he does not risk losing himself in them. However, no measure of conditioning has prevented him from experiencing what they feel. The result is that causing others true suffering is at the minimum unpleasant and at the extreme highly painful, even potentially debilitating, for Stone.
Stone's strength of will is such that he can generally power through the need to do whatever he must do, but the measure of empathy he has for others makes it impossible for him to lightly use his powers to cause true harm to others. If he helps others with his powers, he feels it and it strengthens him as well. If he harms others, then he also to some degree harms himself. He has had to quickly learn that he cannot afford to be wanton or reckless with his power when it directly affects others. Consideration of others' needs and experiences is, for him, not a choice. It is an unavoidable fact.
Exile's Heart
As an outcast from his own society, Stone has become wary of forming personal attachments. He can become close to others, but it requires forming a deeper connection, and once that connection is formed, he treats it as something nearly sacred, willing to go to nearly any length for those he cares about.
Undocumented
Having manifested his own body, Stone was never "born" in the traditional sense and was never issued official documents for any nation or political body on Earth. As a result, he is very much an undocumented immigrant in the United States, and a lack of official papers, licenses, or other such things can be an inconvenience at times, especially with pushy governmental types.
Weirdness Magnet
Since transcending dimensions, Stone has picked up a strange and often inconvenient sort of personal magnetism. He seems almost to be a nexus for reality to bend weirdness around. In a crowd full of people, if something truly bizarre is going to happen to one of them, the odds are it will be Stone. He attracts strange happenings like a magnet does iron, and strange creatures seem to find him interesting. It has not yet proved to be quantifiable by either scientific or mystical understanding, but the whole thing can be quite a damned nuisance.
