Ascendant/Xenonite

From Unofficial Handbook of the Virtue Universe

Xenonite is an extremely rare alternative element which is usually created in the wake of catastrophic events, such as supernovas or dimensional implosions. It emits a radiation largely harmless to humans, but fatal to certain extra-dimensioal beings, most famously, the costumed superhero, Ascendant. While Xenonite is considered mostly harmless in limited exposure, it poses significant mutagenic threats to people in close proximity to it for more than a few hours, especially those who have made the mistake of ingesting more than a small amount of it within a 24 hour period.

Xenonite occupies the spot on the Periodic Table traditionally reserved for the synthetic element, Ununoctium. Unlike other isotopes with an atomic number above 82 (including the rare instances Ununoctium has been observed), Xenonite appears to be stable and has a half life of approximately 300 years. As such, it does not qualify as a Transuranic element, but it does appear to have many of the the qualities of a Noble Gas. Interestingly, Xenonite melts at around 12000 K, but appears to have no determinable boiling point thus far.

Scientists are so far at a loss to explain the element's existence when another (albeit even more rare) element occupies the same space on the Periodic Chart but with different (but predictable) qualities. The current prevailing opinion is that Xenonite is an element "out of sync" with the known universe, and can only exist here because its extremely heavy electron count of 118 renders its local mass so heavy that it "bends" local probability to a point where it can exist. This theory seems to be validated by the fact that there are no known naturally occurring Xenonite sources; indeed, thus far, all sources of the rare 'psuedoelement' seem to come from dimensions with an adherence to a wildly different model of known physics.