Zenith

An artificial compound with stimulant capability used as the main ingredient for the namesake drug. The compound is extremelly addictive, and both the creation and usage have been considered illegal in most countries around the world.
Most use the compound expecting the activation of natural powers, the augmentation of them or, in case of Humans, the activation of temporary superpowers. Drugs based on Zenith, however, have many side effects, including: headache, nose-bleed, desfiguration, kidney failure, liver failure, cardiac arrest and death. Regular use increase the chance of a fatal effect, and of new unpredicted outcomes.

Discovery and History

The creation of the compound is credited to Professor Monroe Barlona, in a research published in 1989 by University Center of Evolution and Biology. He was later hired to further the research, in 1891 by Marcel Enterprises to further his research in the search of application of the compound. Through corporate espionage, his work got stolen and many attempts to retro-engineer the process were made.
Barlona alledgedly created a stable drug based on Zenith suitable for human consumption in 1919, after Marcel sold an unstable drug to Emberly Army during the First World Campaign. The scientist left the company and the product was never produced. Shortly after his departure, in 1920, Marcel was attacked by an unknown group and ransacked, Barlona was found dead three weeks later in his house. His research and the recipe for his stable version were forever lost.
Students of Barlona were approached worldwide to attempt the continuation of his work before and after his death. Eventually, a more stable version than the one at market was created by Nationalist Despot Erderik Leeshman in 1927, but it still had many risks.

Use

At first, Zenith was a performance enhancement substance. And even that effect was already above all similarly natural drugs on market. It increase the candidates' stamina, strength, agility and endurance across the board, with more specific effects varying from individual - with cases of advanced sensorial capacities and temperature resistance.
As the research continued, this singular cases became more extreme. It appeared the substance had special effect on certain individuals, causing the manifestation of dormant genes and powers on them. One derived study, with only already manifested Supers, showed these uncommon effects were related to their powers.
Since then Zenith is considered a power-enhancer and activator first, and a performance enhancer later.

Military

Used by military all over the world during the World Campaigns. It is believed that the illegal drug was created by attempts to retro-engineer the military versions.

5th Regiment

During the Second World Campaign, as National Despost experimented and devoloped one of the strongest activators based on Zenith, Emberly and allied countries formed the 5th Regiment. The 5th Regiment was formed by volunteers soldiers from the Allied Coallition, that took a substance named Apex to mutate and empower their gene manifestation or activate pseudo-powers to fight the enemy.

Products Derived (Period of Availability)
Marcel Zen1 (1917 - 1920)
Unnamed Drug (1919)
Apsis (1927 - 1942)
Apex (1937 - 1941)
Marso Soda (1931 - 1961)
DrinkZ (1939 - 1961)
DreamZ (1974 - present day)

Type

Elemental / Molecular