Modernized Toa

Modernized toa, or, in layman's terms, half-toa, are toa with certain parts and abilities unlike those of the majority of other toa and only recently used.

Creation
Modernized toa are created when a mutated matoran, usually of psionics, metal, neon, or toxins, enter a pool of energized protodermis, much like the toa mata's transformation into toa nuva. One of the matoran's mutations must be turaga-level element control. When this mutation is discovered, the matoran, usually accompanied by others, is sent to find a pool of energizied protodermis, and, once transformed, return to were he/she was sent from. If he/she enters a pool of disguised antidermis, however, he/she becomes a makuta.

The first modernized toa was Karavo, toa of neon. His weapons were the grapple gun and the neon buzz saw/blaster, both made out of protosteel. He also possessed a wing pack that used concentrated jets of neon gas.

Abilities
Modernized toa have advanced control of their element. This grants them abilities other toa do not; a modernized toa of metal, for example, would be able to create non-elemental clones of himself. All modernized toa, with practice, are able to create nova blasts that are somewhat less powerful than that of a creature under the control of Makuta Teridax.

They are also completely unaffected by their element; for example, a toa of light cannot be blinded or cut by lasers, and a toa of earth can fall from incredible heights unharmed. This ability has helped during battle on several occasions.

After the transformation, kanohi are mutated so that they maintain their shape, but gain new abilities. These new abilities are in accordance with the mask's original power; for example, a kanohi pakari, a mask of strength, becomes a kanohi phazo, a mask of mimicking.

Modernized toa, much to their convenience, are able to morph their weaponry into, or, in some cases, in the place of, their hands. This can affect the shape of their arms. Karavo's grapple gun, for example, greatly decreased the length of his arm, and changed his hand into something resembling the shape of the island Mata Nui.

The Origin of the Mutations
During the war for the core of Spherus Magna, a massive protodermis reserve was found by the people of the Toxin village. As a form of security, they put large amounts of radiation in it, so that only they could use it, because when toxic protodermis is used, the radiation is released, and only the people of the Toxin village were able to withstand it. During the separation of the planet and the creation of its two moons, however, the energy burst created incinerated all of the reserve. All of the radiation released at once came out in a powerful burst, reaching out far enough to cause mutations in some of the matoran of Aqua Magna.