Iron Will
The hero has complete conscious control over his mind and body. By using his Iron Will, the hero can temporarily halt the damage done by mental or physical attacks; he can even postpone his own death.
Iron Will can be used in place of any lower-ranked Ability to determine Resistance to an attack. Any time the hero suffers damage from an attack, the Power can temporarily absorb it before it can affect any of the hero's Ability ranks. The maximum amount of damage Iron Will can absorb at one time is equal to its rank number. Absorbed damage does not affect the hero at that time. Damage exceeding that amount affects the hero in its normal manner. The hero can maintain his Iron Will indefinitely but will eventually have to relax his self-control in order to heal and renew his Power. Letting down his control causes him to immediately suffer a loss of Health points equal to 1/2 the amount of damage Iron Will had absorbed. Regardless of the original nature of the attack, it is always translated into lost Health points; this reflects the strain the Power places on the body. Once the translation occurs and the Iron Will has been purged of its burden, it is able to absorb new damage.
The cycle of absorption/purging/absorption can continue until the hero's Health drops to 0 or below.Note: The Power can still absorb damage, even if the conversion of that damage into Health points will result in the immediate death of the hero.
In such a case, the hero had best make sure he is already in an excellent Trauma Center when he relaxes his Power.
Example: Sunstone is battling the Marauders and not doing too well. He possesses In(40) Iron Will and has 100 Health points. Harpoon hits him with a Slayspear; this does 40 points of damage. Iron Will absorbs it all but immediately reconverts it to a loss of 20 Health points. Sabertooth slashes and gnaws Sunstone for 60 points. Iron Will only absorbs the first 40, then immediately converts it. Health now stands at 40 points. Malice attempts to Possess Sunstone; Iron Will fends off the mental attack but at a cost of another 38 points. Sunstone decides discretion is better than valor and flees. Scalphunter fires at the retreating figure and inflicts 30 more points of damage. Sunstone heads for the best-equipped hospital in the area. He manages to maintain his self-control until he is actually in the operating room, then he passes out as wounds suddenly appear across his body.
Range: None.