May Spoiler QnA!

Why does Steel still continue/pursue a (false) romantic relationship with Step when he knows they’re manipulating him?

Does he know? Or does he deep down hope that the feelings might be real? Maybe real enough to pull Sidestep back from the brink? Is he maybe a romantic at heart? Maybe there's guilt involved? Maybe he thinks he's mistaken about the manipulation and feels bad for suspecting Sidestep of things they weren't guilty of, like so many years ago?

As you might have guessed by now, I'm not going to give any answers here. Situations might vary too much between Sidesteps.

What’s Argent’s relationship to her brothers like? Her parents?

It was a close and loving one, but she's cut off all contact. They don't even know she's alive.

In Retribution, we can silently dare Steel to kiss Sidestep. I was honestly expecting him to back off… what was running through his mind back then? Him actually going through with it was a bit of a shock to me.

Honestly? Steel has been around the block. He's not overt about it, but he's no stranger to romance, or to take the initiative. So it was mostly "oh, I guess I'm doing this, because Sidestep would never".

Can we donate to charity without lowering our Ruthless stat? Like picking our reasons for doing so. I’d like my Step to be very pragmatic and manipulative, donating not necessarily out of empathy (at least mostly), but rather because it lets them control how the public sees them/discourages heroes from prioritising taking down Step first/discourages villains from stealing back the money Sidestep stole, since it isn’t there anymore? Is it possible to add an empathetic edge to it? E.g. Donating because we truly do care, just a little bit, about alleviating other people’s pain/donating because we don’t want to create future villains, even if we’ll never admit it?

You just have to accept that hit to the ruthless stat, there are limits to the variable motives I will add for doing things. 

Will we be able to choose what sort of ‘job’ Sidestep was obligated to do back when they were still working for the Farm? 

You will be able to give more details about their service, yes.

What do you think the Rangers would be like if they were a Re-Gene on the run like Sidestep? How well would they fare going under the radar?

Argent and Steel would do well and keep under the radar, Herald would fail badly (probably trying to go public), and Ortega... hmmm... hiding in the spotlight daring people to find them out.

Why was Nocturne bullied? What was her family like?

Nocturne was very awkward, quiet, had no social skills and bad acne. Her mother was busy working two job to keep food on the table for the three kids, her mom did the best she could, but Nocturne was on her own most of the time. She aced her studies, but grew increasingly antisocial, and while she was successful in her IRS job, her personal life was dead. Over time she became downright agoraphobic, and worked from home as much as she could. 

How expensive was Sidestep back at the Farm?

Not very for a Re-Gene. The combat models were much more expensive.

How was HG doing before meeting Nocturne and Jake? What would his empire look like if they were never in the picture?

Honestly? I think HG might have been dead. They need a family, someone to ground them. On their own, things starts going weird.

What’s Captain Blaze’s fighting style? Can he do long range fights/attacks? Can he make explosions? 

Captain Blaze is normally medium range, Sidestep forced him into a corner. He can manipulate heat at a range of a few hundred yards, though precision and strength grow the closer he is to the source. He can't make explosions, however, if he heats up objects that can blow up (cars, gas tubes, boilers), they will. 

Why did HG kill Hood? Was he taking away their influence by helping the city recover? 

Spoilers.

Is it possible to do a body swap scenario with our RO(s)? Similar to a Freaky Friday situation? 

Not so far.

Comparing telepathy and the nanovores, which one would Argent have an easier time asserting control over?

Spoilers.

How… curious, would the Rangers be about the Farm and/or Re-Genes? Would they personally rather just stay away from the two topics if Step is revealed to be a Re-Gene, compacted with the gruesome rumours behind the Farm?

I think we can safely say all the Rangers would be curious in one way or another. From greatest to least: Ortega-Herald-Steel-Argent.

On that note, how curious are they about who Step is, and their past if they’re unrevealed, and haven’t talked about a life before the Rangers/Sidestep at all? What theories do they have based on what they know about them? 

Ahahaha okay that is BIG spoilers and you'll find that out in game.

Can we have the option of choosing Step’s ‘native’ language? In a similar vein to Ortega lapsing into Spanish, can we choose a multilingual Step that might lapse into a Re-Gene language, be it accidental or on purpose? 

While I do love this, I'm going to leave it to headcanons. That can entirely be a thing I might change my mind on in the future though...

How many Re-Gene languages exist in the Farm?

One main, but teams who stick together long tends to create their own dialects.

Hypothetical scenario. If Sidestep has Dissociative Identity Disorder, can they, with enough training, divide and split themselves and their alters so one could live in an empty body (e.g. Puppet) and the other can live in Step’s original body?

Spoilers, wait until book three. (yes I removed part of the  question)

Argent prefers not to have physical contact with people if she can help it. Do the nanovores not like being touched? Or is that a psychological issue for Argent? 

Psychological due to bad experiences after having bonded with her "friends". Touch is always a danger, especially if she's hungry.

Ok i'm so curious about this; what was going on in Ortega's head when Sidestep revealed it was their first time having sex? There was that line about Step knowing what Ortega might be feeling/thinking but i honestly have no clear idea lol. It was obvious they were surprised but I imagine that was a big giveaway that Sidestep does love them no?

Whatever goes on in Ortega's head stays in Ortega's head. But I think it is safe to say that whatever Sidestep thought Ortega was thinking might not have anything to do with the real thing. You are probably a better judge there than Sidestep.

We know regenes are referred to with "codes" at the Farm, but how are these codes constructed? Is it numbers, letters or a mix between both? Do they have a significance or are they assigned chronologically,  based on the order of decantation? And does sidestep have a "canon" code or is that up to the reader?

The code is a combination of letters and numbers. Currently they consists of between 2-4 letters, and 6-8 numbers. An early regene might have the code AL-004.516, while a very late one might have the code AyPb-0623.01257. There is a canonish Sidestep code, yeah.

Are the HG trio’s focus on the past, present, or the future?

HG: Present. Nocturne: Future. Jake: Present.

What kind of reputations do the HG trio have within the organization? How do each of them feel about their reputation if they have opinion on it?

HG is in a weird spot since most only see them as a shadowy kingpin, and even those that meet in person has a hard time remembering their face. Imagine those old comic book pages, where the face of the villain is always in shadow. HG likes cultivating their air of mystery, but they are also social and needs their trusted little circle of compatriots to be able to function. It would be easier if they could be more open, but that wouldn't be a sound tactical choice, which sucks.

Nocturne has two reputations. For most, she's the boss's girlfriend and arm-candy, and she draws the eyes of everyone who gets the privilege of a personal meeting. Everyone keeps looking at her, not the boss. For those in the know, she's feared and respected as the brains/moneymaker of the organization. She's helped craft her reputation, and is at peace with it with HG's help.

Jake is seen as a high-level enforcer by most. A trusted bodyguard for those who know more. And, for a select few, they strongly suspects he's sleeping with Nocturne and/or Hollow Ground themselves. But that is not something people dare to gossip openly about. Jake is very touchy when it comes to the last.

If Mia had been accepted as an asset like Mitchell considered they should do, what would that have entailed? How much would she have been aware of?

Hard to say, it would depend on how the conversation with HG themselves went. She could have been very useful and risen fast, that's for sure.

How would the HG trio describe their childhood as been like?

HG: Exciting. Felt loved.

Nocturne: Anxious. A lot of hard work.

Jake: Boring but nice.

What was Nocturne’s initial impression on HG when they first met?

Not what she expected at all. More pop star than suspected criminal. No wonder they can't handle their taxes, maybe this is all overblown and due to a mistake, and... wait a moment. Why am I smiling? This is bad. I like this person. I don't like people. And this was all over the phone. When they met in person finally she was very, very wary and skittish. But the first impression stuck.

If the HG trio had been public villains with an armor, how would they have dealt with any interviews? Would any of them have had fans? I assume Jake would have managed himself the best in fights, but what would Nocturne’s and HG’s strategies been if they ended up in any kind of fights (and how would they have managed themselves)? 

HG would never have removed their helmet, but would have teased about it all the time. Would have been outgoing and gregarious with the media, but ruthless in a fight. Relying on their armor (best that money could buy).

Nocturne would have had the most beautiful armor to help channel her powers, and she would have removed her helmet in interviews now and then. She would have preferred to assist the others, and wouldn't be above playing weaker than she was to make heroes hesitate to hurt her before she moved in for the kill.

Jake would have been very open with who he was, more at home in a fight than in interviews. Very short, unless he liked the interviewer. Most likely to have a favorite reporter, and ignore anybody else. Would try to draw out heroes to attack him in his civilian gear to shame them for losing anyway.

what would each of the HG trio consider a deal-breaker in a relationship?

Not sure. We'll see if we get there.

If Jake had to choose a codename, what codename would he reluctantly choose? What kind of codename would HG and Nocturne suggest for him?

Oh boy. Even that thought hurts. I really have no idea. Probably something very generic and bland like "Bodyguard". Something suggesting physical strength and durability, he prefers to keep the rest of his abilities as hidden as he can.

If HG had chosen a villain name more along the lines of their real powers, what name would they have gone with? 

Probably something bragging but still vague like "Mastermind".

What would HG’s father have thought of the plan to create a criminal empire? 

Good. It was what he was already trying to do.

What do Nocturne’s and Jake’s mindscapes look like?

Not sure, we'll see when we get there.

Besides each other, do the HG trio have anyone else they would consider themselves to have some kind of rapport or bond with (and would they consider the relationship friendship or business/professional)? 

Spoilers, but yes.

Could Argent absorb more ‘passengers’ into her body for more ‘material’ to work with? Could she absorb metal in the same way? Could she cut her hair and use it as scrap metal? 

The first one is still unclear, the latter two however are very unlikely.

Would the nanovores still have listened to Argent if Sidestep was never involved? What made them listen to her in the first place, as opposed to the other screaming victims they devoured? 

Yes, they would have. As to why, it's spoilers.

Is Chen in love with Ricardo? If he is, at what point did he realize he was? At what point in their relationship was he *actually* in love? 

At this point in the book? No. Not romantic love. Was there a point where it might have been called romantic love in the past? Yes, it straddled that line around the time they both joined the Rangers. Does he still love Ricardo as a friend? Yes, even with all the bullshit. Could what he feel be rekindled into romantic love in the future? Possibly, but it would require circumstances to change, and probably an outside force to provide impetus, because Chen buried that torch deep, a long time ago.

^^ Relating to the above, can we choose to break up with Steel because we don’t want our own heart broken? 

You can choose to break up with Steel for many reasons, but unless Sidestep is actively pushing for it, Ricardo is a past chapter Chen doesn't particularity want to revisit. Most people in the cast have had past loves and crushes, that's just life. I am not fond of the soulmate/one true love trope.

What was Joshua Sullivan like?

Popular. An athlete. A leader. Very much a driving force with a strong personality. Some might say slightly overbearing.

How does aging affect Argent? Does the fact that the vast majority of her body is metal affect that all?

Hard to say, she's still young. But, she's looked very similar in the pictures from her debut and her current incarnation.

How long did Charge and Step know each other before Step showed their face? Did it change their relationship at all-- eg, did Ortega decide to try and get closer to Step to try and find more out about HG, and then it turned into genuine friendship? Or were they already pretty close at this point and it didn't make too much of a difference?

They were already close at that point, it didn't make a difference, but it did make Ortega more protective of Step's privacy, especially towards the media.

I'm guessing there's some wiggle room from Step to Step, but what are the 'definite' characteristics of Sidesteps tattoos? I know they're orange, but pattern wise-- Intricate? Circuit-y? Geometric? I'm an artist and it's killing me to settle on a design while drawing my step!

I have refrained from settling on a pattern, just as I have avoided settling on a fixed look for anybody. They are orange, yes, and they are a pattern, not depicting anything in particular. The bar code is on the chest, but apart from that, go wild. I have seen many different cool patterns, there's no right answer here.

If we get revealed as the villain at the end of Retribution, will there be other opportunities later on to go to Tia Ortega's ranch? I need to recruit Snowball to my cause.

Most likely.

In the Void lore post IB mentioned that they have therapy available to help GV with his recovery, is Dr. Finch one of the therapists who helps people who are affiliated with the organization (or seen as valuable intel like GV)?  

No.

If Daniel’s brother had survived and had gone on to become a villain, how would Daniel have handled that?  Was his brother a strong enough influence over him that he’d have dragged him down that path with him?

Danny would not have handle it well. He might have reluctantly been pulled onto that path, until something happened and he'd snap back.

Could Argent's nanovores be reconfigured to only eat inorganic material, like Sidestep's?  If Sidestep's nanovores were to... rejoin Argent's swarm, would they be "different" in any way from the other nanovores? Would they go back to eating organic material only? 

Maybe you'll find out.

Are certain minds harder for HG to thread and hold onto than others? And does this difficulty increase whatever strain the threading puts on them? If yes, would Sidestep qualify as a difficult mind?

Oh yes, there is a great difference, just as some people are easier for Sidestep to read. Sidestep would definitely be a difficult mind, requiring a constant strain.

With her technopathy, would argent be capable of reprogramming the nanovores?  Has she ever tried? What does it take to reprogram them?

No. She uses things within their parameters, she doesn't change the parameters. That takes a lot of work, and some physical changes.

Since Ortega was born and raised in Texas until 14, does that mean they've got a bit of a twang? If it's disappeared over the years, does it ever slip out?

They probably have a hint of one, yeah, especially when talking to their mother or other people from the area. The media team is not fond of it, and Ortega occasionally plays it up to piss them off.

Could Argent's technopathy allow her to take control of someone's mods, even if they're internal?

It would be harder than unconnected tech, but yeah, at least influence.

Beyond the obvious healing / keeping her alive aspect, what does Argent "enjoy" and share with her nanovores? They seem to be a strain on her self-control and hunger and she is in constant pain, yet she seems to regard them as friends or pets and to trust them deeply. Compared to how Sidestep handles another example of "enemy within" kind of parasite (ie: their HB scar), her approach is quite... affectionate, I think? So, how did that trust build? Why does she feel like she can rely on them?

If there wasn't trust between them, they'd both be dead. It is a marriage of convenience, sure, but they've made the best of it. She has a hard time talking about what their connection is like, but she works hard at keeping it a positive one.

What's it like for argent when she regains cohesion after losing it? How does she feel? Does she remember what "she" did?

She doesn't remember. It all goes blank.

You’ve mentioned Sidestep didn’t have the “same handler” the second time around at the farm, but since they weren’t really going on missions and were more of a lab rat (correct me if I’m wrong?), what did being their “handler” entail?

Taking care of their physical well-being and keeping them in line.

Does Steps original handler have any opinions on them becoming a hero after their first escape? Did they ever see Step again after they were recaptured?

Spooooilers.

How do Sidestep's nanovores "feel" about Argent's nanovores? How do Argent's nanovores feel about Sidestep's nanovores? Did Argent recognise the nanovore technology in the glove, is she aware of them? Can she communicate with them? If yes, is that through her nanovores or her technopathy? 

Spoilers. We will get into that in the future.

Do the Rangers suspect Step still has the nanovores if they've been revealed as the villain?

I don't think anybody (apart from possibly Argent) suspects nanovores is how Sidestep does the disintegration thing.

Will the hidden doubt stats for the Rangers start having a impact in book 3 or book 4?

Book three for some, book four for others. It depends on path.

What exactly is hero hunter prepare them Step talking about when they go on about them not having much time left. 

*if prepare_them 

 You're running out of time.

*if prepare_them 

You have to admit that he's got more promise than you thought. If he had a few more years under his belt, he could be a great hero. 

He won't have a few years. Nobody will.

I am not going to tell you, you know that. I'm not about to reveal major plot points in a QnA. But I will give you one hint. Steel (and others) suspects what's up.

Did Locus and Ortega get along? Have the Rangers tried to go after Locus after her "disappearance", and if not—why not?

Locus and Ortega didn't interact much at all. They haven't investigated her disappearance much, it's not uncommon that heroes and vigilantes come and go, if anything they probably thought she had retired or taken a leave of absence since no villains were bragging about beating her.

Could the imposter have body-hopped to anyone, or were they confined to either Sidestep or the Puppet’s body

Spoilers.

Has Ace, when they were "alive" (pre-Shroud) ever been possessed by a Powerful Telepath? 

No.

Was there an effort made to experiment with, fuck with, or recalibrate Sidestep's memory during their second stay at the farm?

Most likely, the standard procedure would be to do a full wipe and reprogramming once they had gathered what they could.

What’s going on up in San Diego? Is there a kingpin there too? Who are they? Is there a big hero/villain scene? What is the general opinion of San Fran and Los Diabos, especially the squabbles/rivalry between HG and Ember? For those to whom the situation between those two matters/is interesting

There is probably a kingpin there too, but not one I have detailed. In general, in any city with a large boosted/modded villain populace there is either a Kingpin, or a turf war. San Diego is somewhat calm, so someone is probably keeping an eye on any upstarts. Both Hollow Ground and Lord Ember feel so secure in their own domains that they might see reason to expand their influence, and thus come into conflict with each other. It will probably end in open war sooner or later, and wise villains play it cool and skip town unless they fancy picking sides.

If the gates are inside your mind... Does that mean that what lies behind them is created by and belongs to your own mind too? 

What's in your mind is yours, right? Any memory caused by outside interference becomes yours once it is remembered.

Is there a system of how regenes are assigned to a handler? Are personality, work ethic, leadership style taken into account? Are there different handlers for groups v. individuals?

Like in any organization, that is the ideal, but rarely in practice.

What kind of evidence did Ortega have that convinced the other Rangers Step is the villain if they don't confess but have a high enough suspicion?

Not going into details, but it would vary depending on the Sidestep. But, in the end, trust in Ortega's judgment was probably the biggest argument.

The Anathema we see in Sidestep's dreams... Is that only Sidestep's subconscious acting out, or could there be even a SMIDGEN of Anathema's... I don't know, mind, essence, real self, in those apparitions?

Hard to say. What are memories? Is anything truly lost as long as it is remembered? Are memories of a telepath different than those from a normal person?

What did sidestep's physical therapy look like post HB if they received any?

Only the first steps of rehab, once the wipe and rewrite failed, physical therapy stopped. Not until they escaped and got the opportunity to try on their own.

Alpha? If it's known Step is the one who robbed the casino and Ortega is suspicious, what reasons did they think Step did it for given they think Step is working with/being forced by HG?

It did give them pause. Something was up there, but Ortega hadn't decided what yet. There was more to the auction than they thought there was.

If the puppet trains aikido, Ortega shows up in uniform with the black belt… did they lift that off somewhere, or have they been attending that gym for awhile to watch the puppet? — or does Ortega just train aikido for pleasure either way? 

Ortega has trained aikido for years, the joint techniques are very useful against stronger opponents. 

By the time Heartbreak happens, would Sidestep’s own telepathic abilities have been powerful enough to cause a HB-esque event of their own, or is that only after the experiments the Farm did 

Not at that time, no they wouldn't have. What cause the rise in power is still unclear.

Follow-up to this while I’m at it. Did Ortega even see HB?

Yes, Ortega is the only one with an unbiased view of what actually went on in the physical world.

Did the Heartbreak site already have a weird reputation or strange sitings, habits of the occupants, etc. BEFORE the Heartbreak Event itself.

Actually yes, that entire area has been weird for decades. Unexplained deaths. Strange sightings. Odd experiences of the inhabitants. Physical and mental problems.

And a Tech question—dampeners can suppress telepathic abilities, but is there any technology out there that can simulate, for lack of a better word, psychic damage to telepaths—or anyone, actually. Tech that could cause hallucinations? Mentally harm people/telepaths?

Not tech, but drugs could. Subsonic vibrations could also cause unease and heighten paranoia.

Does Mitchell have a file on HB (either the incident or the "villain")?

Yes.

Re: Marek’s team and their episode on the Void… blood is mentioned in the lore post. Did they try the Void’s blood? Does the episode document its effects? 

Not a bad guess.

Was the attack on lou carter's mansion a plot by lord ember?

Spoilers.

What do Nehal, Pelayo, Ward and ZaZa think of the Rangers and Mortum? Does any member of the crew have personal experience with anyone in the main cast?

None has personal experiences. Pelayo has been hired as a guard by Mortum once or twice, but that's it. We'll get into their opinions in game.

Okay… listen—the Heartbreak sequence—is the puppet gender setting Heartbreak’s gender just foreshadowing + hints of the imposter, and the imposter seeping into Sidestep’s brain, yes/no…

Remember back in the day when I said some variables were just red herrings?

☝️ Or is it the impostor now fucking with Sidestep’s memory and dreams retroactively, and the variable actually doesn’t have any bearing on HB’s gender? 

Wouldn't you like to know?

Also. Most importantly. When will Ward admit that Pelayo is a catch and take that beautiful man on a date? Sidestep can pay for the meal.

Oh, Ward is not the bigger issue here, Pelayo is.

Does argent's family know/suspect anything about what she's been up to or do they think she died in the nanosurge? 

They think she's dead.

I imagine it’s not cheap to set up Argent’s apartment as nanovore proof, and that a Ranger salary will have gone a long way to making that possible.  How did she cope when she was still a vigilante in San Francisco?  What was her home like there?

Oh dear, she's not gonna like it that I let this secret out. In fact, she lived in the sewers for security reasons. Yes, she was in fact the one with the sewer base.

Did the Farm ever experiment with their mind-transferring work on the dogs? We know they were the test dummies for a lot of things…

And may I psychically rehabilitate all those good boys and girls? 

The Farm did a lot of experiments on dogs, and if you go back, maybe you can do something about it.

Did Step discover their body-hopping ability before or after their 2nd escape?

Before.

Did Mortum have a cape?

No, but a very sweeping long coat and hood which served the same purpose.