The agents filed into the room, taking their seats at the decent sized table inside.
"Ladies, Gentlemen. Thank you for attending. As you are no doubt aware, I am Special Supervisory Agent Michael Burke. Allow me to begin this Special Briefing with one question. Do you all know the differences between each level of Controller?"
The people present murmured amongst themselves for a few seconds before growing quiet again.
"I'll explain for clarity's sake. At present, there are three main levels of Controller, noted as Level One to Level Three. The higher the number, the weaker the ability. Level Three is akin to an amplifier. They can increase the intensity of emotions and thoughts within a targeted individual. However, those thoughts must already be present." Burke said, as each of the agents looked through the files in front of them. "If the thought or emotion that the Controller wishes to affect is not present at the time, then that action cannot be taken. Most Level Threes pursue careers that allow them to use their powers to help things along. Lawyers, Doctors, etc. For example, a Lawyer with Level Three Controlling power can amplify the desire to be honest when speaking, or they could just as easily amplify the desire to lie."
"Level Two Controllers have the same skills as Level Threes, only with the key difference in that they don't merely amplify. They can insert thoughts, and feelings into their target, regardless of prior presence. For example, a Level Two Controller can take two people engaged in a quarrel and plant feelings of empathy towards the other party. In order to plant new thoughts and feelings into someone however, the recipient must be willing to receive them. This means that Level Twos usually tend to work in more people-centric roles. Councilors, Psychiatrists, sometimes Teachers." Burke explained.
"Level Ones are more challenging to regulate, but are still manageable. Level Ones can do everything Level Twos can do, to a greater degree. Level Ones can also introduce entire memories into their targets, with or without permission. The reason that Level Ones are subject to special regulations is that, to the people they affect, there are no known methods to tell where the Controller's influence begins and ends. To the target, everything the Controller has them do is perfectly natural, nothing out of the ordinary." Burke paused to note reactions, he could already see unease among the people gathered. "Something the public is largely unaware of is the Level One ability to reduce or even remove things from their target. For example, a Level One can grant a person the ability to speak perfect French, but in turn they could lose the ability to speak English. Regardless, the target will not notice anything strange because of this normalization effect. There are only two known means of pinpointing a Level One's changes. The first is for someone else to clear things up. Using the French example, an outside observer can reveal and prove to the target that they were incapable of speaking French prior to their meeting with a Level One, although the effects would still persist. The second method is to use another Level One to counteract the changes. This is not always a feasible option however, since a Level One Controller is already exceedingly rare going by current records. Now for the reason you're here. I'll give up the floor to my colleague, Professor Richards."
Burke sat down and a man in a brown suit stood up.
"First I would like everyone to look at page 15." Richards said. Everyone moved to the proper page as Richards turned the screen behind him on, showing a map along with a chart. "Yesterday, a new Level One Controller was identified, the first US Citizen in three years to receive that rating. The chart was his results, the ones that were used to identify him as such. Through the standard scans for psychic energy, we found that this young man, Jon Gibson, had suddenly skyrocketed in the energy he was putting out as of this morning."
The unease in the room intensified.
"The general consensus among the Lab staff is that Jon Gibson is the first Level Zero Controller. While we are currently unsure of how this level differs from those before it, there are a few hypotheses. The first is that his power does not have a specific range limit, although presumably it would be easier to affect someone if he's made contact first. The second is that the normalization effect that a Level One target experiences could potentially be changed to a... radiant effect." Richards said.
"So you're telling us that if he changes one person, everyone near that person is affected to not notice any changes?" Burke asked. Richards nodded.
"As far as this idea goes, we think so. We aren't yet sure if the effect is limited to those present at the time of insertion, or if the effect is constant. If it's the former, then only those present at the time of insertion that can't tell what's different. If it's constant, then everyone around a Level Zero Target becomes unable to notice any strange behavior as soon as they get close enough. Of course, that's assuming this is the case"
"Anything else?" Burke asked.
"Not at the moment." Richards replied.
"Right then people, assume the latter and let's begin working on a means of preventing Mr Gibson from effectively becoming a supervillain." Burke replied.
Jon grinned as he saw Sarah and Biff. He focused on the two of them...
