Molecular Combustion





Molecular Combustion (usually referred to on the show as blasting or blowing up) is the power to speed up molecules to the point that they explode. It is an outgrowth of Piper Halliwell's original Warren-witch power of molecular immobilization. ("Exit Strategy") It is an extremely rare power, and the strongest offensive power possessed by the Charmed Ones. Piper picked up this power shortly before Prue's death, paving the way for her to become the most powerful of the Charmed Ones.



Piper channeled this power by throwing out her hands in the same manner she triggered her freezing power. Originally, she triggered it through anger or frustration and she lacked any precision or control. However, it gradually became Piper's primary offensive power. Initially, Piper was afraid to use this power, as she never knew when she'd freeze something or blow it up. When first learning to master this power, Piper was

tempted to isolate herself and through meditation was able to calm down. Piper initally used this power to blow up the demon Tarkin, but she did this by accident after numerous attempts to freeze him.

Later, when they weren't sure how to destroy the Banshee, Leo suggested Piper take it out with her new power, but she wasn't sure she could. Ultimatly she did, her first conciously controlled use of this power. She was later able to use it on Shax, but he was too powerful to be vanquished by it and was merely chased away. ("Look Who's Barking", "All Hell Breaks Loose")

It could be said that she sends people and projectiles flying as if she had telekinesis, although she doesn't. She does this by controlling her Molecular Combustion power. Unlike her freezing power, it is not clarified whether good witches are immune to molecular combustion. Piper does at one time knock Christy out of the way with this power, but it isn't known if Christy's morality had anything to do with her partial immunity. ("The Torn Identity"). We see though that she also projects Billie back a couple of feet because she was trying not to hurt her. This shows that this power can be used against good witches. However, Billie had had part demon in her when Piper blasted her, thus making her more susceptible to being knocked down. As evidenced, when the Source took the Charmed One's powers in Charmed and Dangerous, he never attempted to blow up the Charmed Ones but tried to kill them with a fireball. Since Piper's combustion and immobilization powers work off of manipulating molecules, it is possible that she could receive a possible future power advancement and gain the power of Molecular Manipulation, if so she would be able to create and control all forms of matter and energy and could also be used to simulate virtually any power and ability.

Piper seems to access this power easier, perhaps due to it's more intricate ties to her emotions, than her immobilization power. At one point when Piper became extremely angered by Leo she was able to blow up an entire door and part of a wall in the manor. ("Cat House")

This is the last power used to vanquish a demon on the series: Piper uses it to blow up past and present Dumain, vanquishing both with one hit each.

Strength
After Prue died, Piper's combustion power began to unpredictably alternate with her freezing power, but also proved to be a formidable magical weapon. As she gained more control over this power, Piper relied less on her frustration to fuel the ability and grew more confident to the point of being able to select the object that she wanted to blow up. She could also use it to blow up projectiles aimed at her, or selectively blow individual body parts off a demon or warlock. ("Charmed Again", "Centennial Charmed") She also learned to channel it with one hand, rather than two and blow up more than one demon at a time.

Piper suspected early on that her new power could take out powerful adversaries even when she first got it. When she and her sisters tracked Cole in hopes of keeping him from giving in to evil and killing a witch protecting an amulet, Piper was wary of trying to freeze him, fearing she might blow him up instead. Her accidental vanquishing of Tarkin appeared to confirm this, as Tarkin was almost as powerful as Cole's demon form, Belthazor. He previously could only be taken out with a potion from either his flesh or that of one of his compatriots in the Brotherhood of The Thorn.

Eventually, this power grew to the point that Piper could destroy upper-level demons that were thought to be practically unvanquishable. For instance, Piper used it to destroy Jeric, a powerful ancient Egyptian demon. Jeric was so strong that his foes could only mummify him, but Piper took him out with one hit. However, some upper-level demons and warlocks are partially immune to it in the beginning. These beings would either only be blown back a few feet, only have parts of them blown up, or manage to reconstitute themselves--such as The Source of All Evil, Kurzon or Cole (after he returned from the Demonic Wasteland). In these cases, their bodies exploded and the fragments reconstituted after a couple of seconds. ("Charmed and Dangerous")

However, by season 8 Piper had grown powerful enough that she was able to blow up Baliel, a member of the Triad, by hitting him three times in the chest. Previously the Triad had been thought to be practically unvanquishable by witchcraft. This proves that the ability has become strong enough that no demon can withstand it, and cemented Piper's reputation as one of the most powerful witches in history.

Control
This ability isn't easy to control and takes much concentration to use as it is one of the most powerful. This is shown prominently when Piper and Leo switch powers during the attacks of the Siren. Leo couldn't control this power and didn't even seem to try Piper's freezing ability. Similarily, Piper was able to control orbing easily, but healing and sensing were much harder for her. During the battle with the Siren, Leo, the only one with an offensive power, was forced to battle the Siren and he had a hard time trying to even hit her with it. With much concentration and effort, Leo finally managed to hit the Siren, blowing her up and vanquishing her. Leo and Piper's powers were later switched back. This was underscored when the evil witch Mabel Stillman stole Piper's powers. Although she was a low-level witch trying to use an upper-level witch's powers, Mabel quickly figured out how to use this power, even using only one hand to channel it. However, her aim was terrible; in contrast, by this time Piper almost never missed.

Piper has also used this power to deviate attacks, like when a demon threw a fireball at her or when Imara, as Phoebe, threw a fireball at her and she directed it back. In "Chris-Crossed" we see Piper use her power to blow up an energy ball in an attempt to kill Bianca. Piper can also use this power to create ripples when she wants to. She used this in Season 7 when a demon threw an energy ball at the Charmed Ones and she deflected it by controlling her power and creating ripples that thrust the demon backwards. She also seems to be able to use this power as a type of telekinesis for example in the Season 8 episode 'Still Charmed and Kicking' when disguised as Wyatt she blows up half an energy ball ,and by continuously combusting the air around it, guides it into another demon. She also was able to vanquish the demon that threw it by freezing another energy ball and then blasting him at a certain angle, causing him to fly into his own energy ball and be vanquished. Piper also can control how strong she wishes her power to be when she uses it. She can throw people and demons flying across the room without hurting them, like when she flings an Avatar in "Charmageddon." But this might be moreso due to the fact that the more powerful a demon is the more like Piper isn't able to blow them up, only push them away in a bit.

List of users

 * Piper Halliwell - An advancement from molecular immobilization. ("Exit Strategy" - "Forever Charmed")
 * Leo Wyatt - Switched powers with Piper. ("Siren Song")
 * The Source - Stole Piper's powers. ("Charmed and Dangerous")
 * Mabel Stillman - Temporarily stole Piper's powers. ("The Power of Three Blondes")
 * Pilar - Copied Piper's powers. ("Repo Manor")
 * Zankou - Stole Piper's power's. ("Something Wicca This Way Goes")
 * Denise - Absorbed Piper's powers. ("Ordinary Witches")
 * Tuatha - Through her wand
 * Kyle Gwydion - Through Tuatha's wand
 * Evil Piper (not seen but definitely had this power)