Effect: Trait/Defense

Action: Reaction

Range: Personal

Duration: Continuous

Cost: 4 points per rank

You can absorb a particular type of damage and use its energy to improve a trait or heal yourself. Choose physical or energy damage. Subtract your Absorption rank from the damage bonus of the affected attack. If the remaining bonus is +0 or greater, make a normal Toughness save against the remaining damage bonus, otherwise you ignore the attack’s damage completely. Your Absorption rank counts as a bonus to your Toughness saves for power level purposes. After absorbing damage, as a reaction, you can immediately use Boost on a particular trait or Healing (see page 87) on yourself, at a rank equal to your Absorption rank or the absorbed attack’s damage bonus, whichever is less. Choose which effect you want during character creation; if you choose Boost, you must also determine what trait it will be applied to. Your Boost can increase a power you don’t normally have—such as Blast—granting you temporary use of that power. If an Absorption Healing attempt fails, you can try again the next time you absorb energy (rather than having to wait or spend a hero point like Healing normally requires). You can acquire the other effect of Absorption as an Alternate Power feat, but you can’t use both at the same time. So if you have the ability to Boost, you can acquire Healing as a power feat, but have to choose one effect or the other (Boost or Healing) each time you absorb energy. You can also acquire different forms of Boost as Alternate Powers, or apply Boost modifiers to your Absorption for a broader boosting effect. See Boost, page 77, for details.         

POWER FEATS
• Energy Conversion: You can convert absorbed energy from one type to another (sound into light, or kinetic energy into heat, for example). This allows you to absorb one type of energy and project another, if you have a Blast power (or if your Absorption Boost grants you a Blast power). 

• Slow Fade: This power feat reduces the rate at which your stored energy fades (see page 110).

EXTRAS

• Both Types (+1): You absorb physical and energy damage, not just
one or the other.

• Energy Storage (+1): You can “store” absorbed energy. Each attack gives you energy equal to the damage bonus your Absorption stops. You can have up to (rank × 10) energy points at once (excess energy dissipates harmlessly). Stored energy harmlessly “bleeds off” at a rate of 1 point per round. You can reduce this rate with the Slow Fade feat. You can use your stored energy points to fuel your other absorption effects (Boost or Healing) as desired on a 1 point per rank basis. The Progression feat (see page 110) increases your storage capacity
by one multiple per application (×11, ×12, and so forth). 

• Power Magnet (+1): You can absorb energy from suitable sources (such as bonfires, generators, speakers, and so forth) at a distance of (power rank × 100 feet) with a ranged attack roll. It takes a standard action to absorb energy in this way. Reduce the power source’s output that round by your power rank and gain energy equal to its rank or your power rank, whichever is less. This extra allows you to use Absorption to counter powers or the appropriate type at a distance and absorb their energy (see Countering Powers, page 70).

FLAWS
• Limited (–2): Your Absorption affects only a specific type of energy, such as cold, electricity, heat, radiation, and so forth.