Over the last couple centuries people have been starting to notice those among them who could be considered abnormal in a way. Those who could bend spoons with their with their mind of seemingly control fire who had been passed off as con artists in the past. But what if they were actually able to do so? In fact, they are, as people have found out more recently after many outbreaks of people with superhuman abilities abusing these powers for their own gain, the masses have started to question what these people have done to deserve such impressive abilities.
A geneticist, Daniel Meyer, was the first to create what could be called a power shot under commission from the military who were looking for a way to create their own super soldiers. The first power shot and as such the most commonly found ability was electrokinesis, also known as the ability to manipulate electricity, the DNA for which came from his son Xavier Meyer. Over the next decade Meyer and his co-workers were able to stabilize the solution enough for people to sustain the ability for two to three hours and managed to create several more power shots, namely pyrokinesis, the ability to breathe underwater, aquakinesis and superhuman strength. Six years ago after the completion of the superhuman strength shot, Meyer and most of his co-workers were abducted by one of the mafia organisations and within the next six months powershots were all over the black market, selling for prices as impressive as what they were getting.
Over the next few years many more abilities started becoming available-- which was helped by the sudden rise in missing people, or more specifically, people with abilities. Most of which are presumed dead given that the mafia wants to make as much of their DNA as they can and create shots as fast as they can to sell. After police realised this they began to keep registers of those with abilities as part of the PCPA (Powered Citizen Protection Act) where they were to be treated like those under witness protection. About three years ago bootleged versions of the power shots, known as "Power Bites" began to circulate the markets and only highlighted fact many had overlooked due to the infrequency of people able to afford the power shots.
Power bites worked much like the power shots, a syringe of the super DNA is injected into the arm and for the next few hours you have powers. Unlike power shots, power bites were (and are) often laced with additional chemicals to get users addicted to them and watered down so they could get more out of them. This made the side effects much more prevalent than its more refined sister product. Those who constantly used and abused the power bites were seen to develop various mutations, some mild, such as the development of heterochromia or hair changing color and some not so mild, such as the user permanently obtaining abilities derived from the bites they'd been using (one man who'd been using telepathic reported that he was only able to see the future, but only a few seconds in advance). Effects are said to vary from person to person, but it's most commonly known for causing the development of mental disorders.
This, of course, slowed the market for a while until the media got involved. Media tycoon and suspected mafia boss, Samuel Knight, put out propaganda supporting the use of power shots, saying that power bites should be avoided where possible due to their addictive and unsafe nature, promoting power shots as the superior and safe alternative. After which the price of power shots came down and they became more available more commercially in the city though now laced with their own addictive agents. Despite this the black market is still swimming with bootleg power bites and the more common place to buy them from. It's been stated that overall the original five power shots (electrokinesis, pyrokinesis, breathing underwater, aquakinesis and super human strength are the most stable of the bunch and therefore the longest lasting in both power shots and power bites).
A few basic facts:
On average power shots will last two to five hours, with the original five lasting three to six hours
Power bites, however will last one to three hours, with the original five lasting about the same time as a standard power shot
Price wise power shots can run anywhere from $150 for a shot of the main five to around $2500 for a rare power, and power shots run from $35 for powers no-one else really wants to $500 for a rare power-- not that there's very many of them and these are probably the most dangerous bites, as they're the most watered down to make them last the longest
Subject: POWERS, SHOTS AND MAFIOSI 