Lost Boy (CofD)
A Lost Boy is a human who has been physically enhanced and augmented through experiments conducted by the Delta Protocol and possesses an addiction to their Serum.
Overview
Drawn from the ranks of national and private military organisations across the world, usually soldiers although there are occasional non-combatants, the Lost Boys are subjects of various experimental enhancement and augmentation procedures overseen by the mysterious Delta Protocol - a business entity of some form with international military connections. Subjects of the Delta Protocol are discharged from military service following their enhancement and allowed to live seemingly normal lives among the domestic populace, although many among them believe they are being constantly monitored and having their augmentations tested by the Delta Protocol in secrecy.
The Delta Protocol requires that its subjects perform regular infusions of a highly-addictive substance, known only as "Serum", in order to maintain biological stability. The bodies of the subjects will inevitably reject the enhancements after a period of time, with Serum assisting in allowing a subject to cope at the risk of dependency and withdrawal symptoms should they be unable to perform the infusion. While Lost Boys have been known to reproduce the effects of Serum through substitutes, these are more dangerous to infuse and less pure than the Protocol's original version.
Subjects deprived of the drugs find their augmentation inhibitors ceasing to function and allowing them to perform truly superhuman feats with no restrictions - at the cost of potential long-term harm to the body of the subject. This process is known as "overclocking".
Lost Boys gain their name from the Lost Boys Network; an online support group for subjects of the Delta Protocol, an evolved form of the more local and more separated support groups that arose when the Protocol first began. Many Lost Boys tend to find themselves, unwittingly, more exposed to the supernatural world following their augmentation and often make contact with either other paranormal investigators, or outright supernatural creatures such as vampires or werewolves. It is unknown whether the Protocol's augmentations are directly supernatural in nature.
The Protocol
Every level of the Serum, from Mk 1 to Mk 5, opens new potential augmentations, but also faster withdrawal effects, ranging from a period of a month to a period of six hours. Each application of stronger Serum requires extensive surgeries and operations. Most of these are committed on the Lost Boy secretively, while they sleep or are drugged and abducted.
Each Lost Boy has a Delta Protocol fixer who provides the Serum necessary to keep the Lost Boy's body from rejecting augmentations. The Lost Boy Network also can provide a substandard version of the Serum.
Augmentations
- Archangel System
: The Archangel System is a suite of nerve, muscular, and tissue enhancements which, when activated, push the subject’s body to its peak (and beyond). When active, the subject has a faint, reddish-gold glow from under their skin as if holding a flashlight under their palm. It doesn’t look inherently supernatural unless in a dark place. - Augmented Resilience
to : The subject's durability is enhanced. - Augmented Speed to : The subject's muscles and reflexes have been tightened, and their body structured to handle greater stress.
- Cloaking Device : The subject has thousands of subtle lenses, prisms, and mirrors carefully installed throughout their skin, which are activated by holding their breath. When active, these devices bend light around them, rendering them nearly invisible. Surveillance technology like cameras and motion sensors will simply fail to notice them. The technology also confounds thermal imaging and similar devices.
- Holdout Storage to : The subject has a hollowed-out space in their body to hold items. Often, this is used for weapons or hidden messages, but can extend to any object of the appropriate size. The concealment will fool a metal detector, a casual medical exam, or pat-down. X-ray technology will simply show a gap, not dissimilar from a malignant tumor, but it will not betray the object’s identity.
- Implanted Interface : The subject has a complex technological interface laced into their nervous system. Not only do they have full access to satellite Internet with a powerful antenna at all times, along with a personal interface installed in their sensory organs, they have the power of a modern higher-end computer available at the speed of thought. This interface can assist them in wirelessly accessing other technology. While this gives them no formal training in hacking, it does provide scripts to assist in the process; it is often installed in more technologically-inclined soldiers. Additionally, installing upgrades to avoid obsolescence is a simple, five-minute outpatient surgery.
- Jumper to : The subject's legs have been enhanced to improve their ability to jump, and to handle the landing.
- Last-Chance : The subject's body has been outfitted with a devastating last-ditch weapon. Usually, this takes the form of ball bearings or flechettes under the skin, which burst out at a moment’s notice to eliminate all nearby threats. This is often fatal for the subject.
- Pulse Generator to : The subject has a battery and wiring matrix in their skin which allows them to create a quick electrical pulse against anyone they touch. The discharge can also be used to destroy electrical systems.
- Strength Augmentation to : The subject has been outfitted with stronger musculature, and more efficient arteries.
- Sub-Dermal Armor or : The subject has materials laced beneath their skin which protect her internal tissues.
- Uncanny Perception to : The subject's senses have been honed to alarm-ing amounts.
- Voice Box : The subject can mimic any voice they've heard for a minute or more of active listening. This is effectively fool-proof on a technical level. However, they may have difficulty in emulating mannerisms, slang, or other identifying bits of the person’s speech.
Known Members
Gallery
Delta Protocol Surgery
References
- CofD: Hurt Locker, p. 96-100
