Delmitrium-157

First seen in 'It's All About Respect', Delmitrium-157 (also known as 'D-157' and colloquially called 'Flush' (this name is mainly used for the aerosol and liquid form; this is also it's 'street' name), is a synthetic biochemical agent that has the unique property of temporarily rendering all biological functions related in any fashion to metahuman activity within the human body totally inert, without harming the normal operating processes within the body in any fashion. Furthermore, in beings which need those metahuman processes in order to survive, the agent in effect supersedes those processes and rewrites the genetic/chromosomal codes in order to render the user into a normal human form. Finally, with beings who possess the ability to use mystical or metaphysical abilities and energies in order to simulate metahuman abilities, the agent causes a specific nullification of the body's ability to absorb such energies (which resembles the medical condition of being unable to absorb nutritional elements through foods, for some individuals); and in beings who need those energies to survive, the agent also suppresses the unique and specific areas of the brain and somatic nervous system that would allow the body to actively manipulate and use those energies. In basic terms - Delmitrium-157 renders beings with metahuman and mystically-derived abilities completely powerless.

First synthesized in 1964 at the USDA National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Illinois, (also known as the 'Northern Lab' - famous for being the place where where the first mass production of penicillin was developed), Delmitrium-157 (the meaning of the name is unknown) is the standard for metahuman power control worldwide. (There were other formulas created before Delmitrium-157 for the purpose of metahuman power dampening and of nullifying mystic abilities; D-157 was the first serum known to do both, to have no harmful side-effects or possess addictive qualities, and does not allow for the possibility of drug resistance to occur in even long-term users.) However, the U.S. Government has licensed two companies (one of them being Appleton Industries) to mass produce D-157 for use by individuals involved with Federal Service, the U.S. Military, Bowman Acts-signatory countries, and (limited) commercial use. In 2018, Quest Industries was also given a license to manufacture and distribute Delmitrium-157.

Delmitrium-157 can also purge the body of all foreign substances (drugs, toxins, poisons, etc., including Prinean Fluid), making it a highly-prized substance on the 'black market' as it is effectively a real-life version of the 'Wizarding World' item known as a 'bezoar', in that it can save the life of a person poisoned by almost any poisonous substance. Furthermore, the 'purging effect' continues for the duration of the dose's effect (if the user is using substances that would be purged by the drug; this leads to the diuretic effect that 'flush' is known for; see below).

In meta-active humans and other humanoid beings with superhuman abilities, D-157 not only dampens all metahuman abilities for a specific period of time, it also causes them to register as baseline-normal humans on scanners. (Obviously, it is prized by those who want to pass drug testing, and there is a small, exclusive market within the entertainment industry and worldwide celebrity circles for even short-duration versions of 'flush'.)

Delmitrium-157 is superior to other power-suppression compounds because of several factors:

The effect of the agent on the body is immediate (if ingested in liquid or mist form) or within five minutes (if taken in tablet form).

The agent has a very-specific time of effect within the human body depending upon the dose: it is marketed in one, four, eight, twelve, twenty-four and seventy-two hour suppression doses (in tablet, gel caplet and liquid-dose forms) as well as five, ten, fifteen twenty and thirty-minute aerosol-release formulas (intended for sporting, stress-related, security-oriented and emergency medical applications), and a one- and three-hour gel-application formula (a niche market for metahumans who wish to engage in physical intimacies without harming their partners). There is also very potent variants of the agent, which suppresses the user's powers for periods between thirty to 300 days. These variants come only in liquid form (for IV/injection usage, and must be applied in a hospital or clinic; only metahumans who have chosen to permanently suppress their powers and those in the criminal justice system - either as inmates or on probation/home confinement - are given these variants of D-157.
D-157 has no harmful side-effects on the human form in any way, and the body cannot develop a physical or psychological tolerance or immunity for the agent. However, some users have reported a 'placebo effect' of enhanced physical well-being after taking the drug; this can be attributed to fatigue toxins being removed from the body and is considered incidental to use of the agent, as it does not confer any actual (and unfair) physical benefits to the user.
D-157 does not build up in the human body over a period of time; it is broken down by the body's own natural processes and excreted through urination. (Some users have reported that D-157 does have a pronounced, albeit short-term diuretic effect in the first week of use, when the user is also using other medicines/drugs that could be purged due D-157's effect, or when used after a prolonged period of abstention from D-157 usage. This is part of the agent's secondary function of purging all foreign agents from the body; persons using D-157 and taking other medications are strongly advised to speak with a physician knowledgeable in D-157 suppression protocols in order to work out a schedule of usage to avoid problems that may arise. Because of the nature of D-157 and possible problems arising with individuals who want/need power suppression and also need other medications, a physician may eschew use of the drug in favor of a Mark 40 suppression band or a Mark 30/31 power augmenter (which also has suppression functions).

Delmitrium-157 is produced in liquid (for IV/injection usage) and tablet/pill forms, and as a nasal spray (the preferred form for meta-active individuals who use it for occasional power dampening, as very few others will take it accidentally). It is always manufactured with a pale blue color (for identification purposes). On the black market, ‘Flush’ can easily sell for up to $3,000 per five-ounce vial of nasal spray or from $250 (for the one-hour formula highly sought in the vast community of recreational-drug users, the military and in organized sports - anywhere random drug-testing is common) to $1000 per tablet (for the seventy-two hour suppression formula - a very big seller in vacation retreat communities frequented by metahumans). The nasal spray form is by direct order only, and one must identify themselves and be confirmed as a metahuman in order to receive a prescription. Because of the cost of the formula ($75 to $250 to individuals with prescriptions), several methods have been implemented allowing metahumans to afford the medication (including being available through the Veteran's Administration, through Medicare Part D, and as part of all military and Federal Service medical plans. In addition, Appleton Industries has a special program which allows metahumans very affordable pricing plans to receive prescriptions of the formula.

In 2017, worldwide sales of D-157 were estimated at 27.8 billion dollars.