There could be no more denying it. Neil Wallace Watts was dying. When the doctor broke the news to Neil he took it passively, nodding in confirmation that he had, indeed, understood what was said. He left Neil with some brochures and pamphlets-resources, places he could go for support and comfort as they moved through the process, his options for care.

His parents were crying. Neil was eighteen, ready to graduate, already being offered full rides for his grades. Now he'd likely be buried before he could visit any of those campuses. He might not even get to hang out with his friends in the corner of the dance floor at prom.

He looked at them.

"I'm going to take a walk," Neil said.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, walking out of the room. For some reason it felt...wrong to get upset with them there. Neil was dying; their son was dying. Neither of them had the energy to deal with the other's pain right now.

His fist pressed against his forehead and Neil leaned against the wall before he got a call on his phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Neil."

"Eva, hey, what?"

"I just wanted to ask you if you're going to be able to get your half of the lab report done."

"Oh. Oh yeah, sure."

"You okay? You sound upset."

Neil didn't answer right away.

"You're at a doctor's appointment, right? Something happen?"

Neil blinked. "Yeah, yeah. Something happened."

He didn't know how it was possible for him to feel the tension in a house on the other side of town, but he did. He could almost see Eva tightening the phone, voice constricting.

"Oh my God, Neil, are you alright?"

Neil's fingers tightened around his phone.

"...No," he finally said thickly, "they said I am freaking out of shape and I should start running. You know hate running."

Like air leaking out of a balloon, he could hear Eva's voice lighten. "Neil, you corn-on-the-cob, don't scare me like that! It's not funny!"

He brushed his bangs out of his eyes with one hand. "It was pretty funny."

"Shut up. You better get that homework done."

"Aye-aye, Captain."

They hung up. Neil walked back into the examination room. He grabbed a pamphlet for 'end of life services.'

"I am not going to die," Neil announced to his parents. His mother managed to speak first.

"Neil-"

"No. I'm not dying." He crumpled the pamphlet in his fist. "I am not going to die."

He would get better, or die trying-but he was not going to die from this.

Eva stomped through the hallway. She hoped that Neil would hear the stomping and come out of hiding himself. When he didn't Eva rolled her eyes.

"Neil, where are you? Come on! You're missing it! If you make me go into the boy's bathroom just to find you-"

"I'm coming I'm coming!"

Neil walked out. Eva crossed her arms.

"You're missing the presentation," Eva said again.

"Why do you care if I'm there or not?"

"Because you said we'd do it together! I thought you wanted to!"

"I never agreed to that. I said it sounded better than being stuck in an office all day."

Eva pouted. "Well that sounds like you want to do it."

"Not necessarily. It also sounds more deadly. I don't want to risk this pretty face."

"Come on!"

"Alright, alright."

Eva grabbed Neil by the hand and pulled him faster. "If we hurry we might not miss the beginning!"

They snuck back into the auditorium, hiding in the back. On stage, standing in front of a green screen, a man and a woman were wearing white lab coats.

"Alright, let's get this started!" The woman, blonde with hair pulled back into a bun, grinned broadly with startlingly white teeth.

"Not much older than us by the looks of it, think I'd have a shot?" Neil whispered.

"Neil, gross."

"Just making conversation!"

"My name is Doctor Roxanne Winters," the presenter began, "and this is my colleague Robert Lin."

The other man smiled, nodding stoically. Roxanne leaned in to put an arm around him, so far over that she had to lift one foot in the air.

"But when we work we are...Frozen Fire!"

Roxanne struck a pose. She slid her palms together, almost like striking a match against flint, and they burst into flames. Everyone in the auditorium gasped. Roxanne grinned.

"As you can see, my power is pyrokinesis-oof!"

A snowball collided with her head and melted, dripping onto the stage.

"...And my power is controlling ice and snow," Robert finished, smirking a little.

"Anyway," Roxanne huffed, "today we want to talk to you all a little bit about where our powers come from."

"As well as some opportunities for you if you ever find that you have them, too," her partner finished.

"Geez, is this rehearsed," Neil groaned. Eva put a finger to her lips.

"Neil, shhhhh."

Roxanne and Robert stepped aside. The projector started to play a video. The screen was in grainy black and white, intentionally made to look like an old movie.

What are meta-humans?

Hello! So, you want to learn about where superpowers come from?

(There was a huge question mark in the middle of the screen.)

That is an excellent question! Answering it requires us to go back many years ago…

There was an animation that looked like a timeline, and an arrow going backwards.

In 2025, Sigmund's Comet passed through earth's orbit, close enough for the eye to see.

There was an animation of a comet flying across the screen.

This comet blasted our atmosphere with radioactive energy! This radioactivity, dubbed meta-energy, is the source of superpowers to this very day!

Neil leaned back in his seat. The science was the part that was actually at least somewhat interesting to him.

This meta-energy caused immediate and incredible side effects on a portion of the population, with new and extraordinary abilities never seen before in the human race.

Three identical people were shown on the screen, only for one to suddenly glow and begin flexing.

And, just as normal nuclear energy can cause side effects generations after the initial fallout...so too has meta-energy continued to cause the spontaneous generation of superhuman abilities! One in one hundred thousand people are now believed to have abilities related to exposure to residual meta-energy still present in our atmosphere. In the fifteen years since Sigmund's Comet changed the world as we knew it, the question still remains: for those given these powers-

"If they say something to the effect of 'with great power comes great responsibility' I swear, Eva, I'm gonna walk out."

"Neil, shut up."

-should they try to live a normal life, as some suggest? Or is there something else-something greater? Taima and Willis McMillan thought so, and-SIGMUND CORPORATION WAS CREATED.

'SIG CORP' was emblazoned across the screen in big, bold comic book style lettering. Neil couldn't help but smile a little at Eva. Her hands were folded tightly in her lap, entire body leaning forward, mouth slightly open as she listened intently to every word.

Sigmund Corporation was founded to tap into the potential of these new meta-humans. Whether our members are helping a cat down from a tree, or saving lives in the wake of catastrophe, every member of SigmundCorp dedicates their lives to bettering their homes, their communities, and the world.

SigmundCorp: Because human potential is limitless.

The video ended. Roxanne started clapping loudly.

"Alright! So. That is the history of meta-humans and our SigmundCorp. The whole point of the entire presentation is...that it's totally possible that some of you have powers already or that you're gonna get them in the future! Rob, remember when ours started to show up? Wasn't it cool?"

Rob cleared his throat. "What my colleague Doctor Winters is trying to say is...our researchers at SigCorp find that highschool is the average age that powers tend to manifest for metahumans so...if you think you might be, we encourage you to look at SigCorp as a career path. Whatever your abilities are, we'll find a place for you."

"And we'll be here all day to answer any of your questions! Thank you for coming to our presentation!"

The student body was dismissed. Eva stood up, hanging near the back while everyone else left.

"Neil, you coming?"

"You still want to do this after that lame presentation?"

"I am doing this and you are coming with me."

She grabbed Neil's hand and practically yanked him away. Roxanne and Rob was leaning against the stage, chatting with each other.

"I thought it went well," Rob said.

"Did you really have to do the snowball thing though?"

"You lay the 'superhero' thing on so thick you could cut it with a knife, and I can't have any fun?" He shook his head. Rob grabbed a can of soda he left at the edge of the stage, taking a sip. "Not fair, Rox-"

"Excuse me?"

They both stopped. They looked at Eva.

"Hey, do you and your friend have any questions?" Roxanne asked.

Eva's brow furrowed a little at the way she said 'friend,' until she realized that she was still holding Neil's hand. She let go, wrinkling her nose. Neil looked slightly offended but didn't say anything.

"Hello. My name is Eva Rosalene, and this is my friend-"

"Matterhorn. Lorenzo von Matterhorn."

"-Neil Watts. Sorry. His IQ drops at least ten points when he's nervous."

"I'm not nervous, you're nervous!" He protested.

"The point is...we're kind of...well I really respect Sigmund Corp and I-"

"We're freaks like you," Neil finished bluntly.

"NEIL."

"You were taking forever!"

"You're blowing this for us!" Eva shouted, stomping her foot and getting in Neil's face.

"Whoa, whoa guys," Rob said gently, "uh, please don't fight each other."

"You're both metahumans?" Roxanne asked. Eva cleared her throat and looked at them again.

"Uh, yes. Our powers manifested a few months ago."

"Oh, that's wonderful! Can we see?"

"Roxie, we need to wait until we're at headquarters-"

"Headquarters-shmedquaters, Rob! We're experienced enough to make sure nothing happens, and everyone else has left. I wanna see."

Rob ran a hand through his hair. "Well...fine," he said gruffly. "Uh, which of you wants to go first?"

"Oooooh, oooh!" Neil raised his hand. "Eva does!"

"Wait, what? Me?"

Neil casually strolled over to the stage.

"Sure Eva. I mean-THINK FAST!"

He grabbed Rob's soda, spinning around and throwing it at Eva's face. Eva yelped, holding her hands up protectively. There was a spark, and then a semi-transparent, blue barrier appeared to protect her. The soda hit it and then fell to the ground, liquid spilling all over the carpet. The barrier disappeared and Eva blinked.

"Seriously, Neil?"

"Come on Eva, that looked cool!"

"So you use forcefields?" Roxanne asked, "That's so cool!"

"That was my soda…"

"We'll get you another Rob. Neil, what about you?"

Neil grinned. "I am glad you asked."

He grabbed Roxie, picking her up bridal style.

"Hup!"

Neil then raised his arm and managed to hold her above his head with one hand, not breaking a sweat.

"You have super strength?"

"Hey, Rob, don't sound so surprised." He put Roxanne down. Eva watched them nervously.

"So...could we join SigCorp? Maybe?"

Roxanne and Rob looked at each other. Roxanne put a hand in front of her mouth to block their conversation as they whispered to each other animatedly.

"Do you think they'll let us down gently?" Neil whispered to Eva.

"If they say no it's your fault for being a cucumber!" Eva mumbled back.

"Eva, you're literally the only one who understands what being a 'cucumber' is supposed to mean. I choose to believe 'cucumber' is your way of saying handsome."

"I don't even use it as an adjective!"

"Stud, then?"

Eva crossed her arms in a huff and looked away from him. Finally, Roxanne and Rob turned back to them. The woman help out her hand and Eva shook it-her hand felt pleasantly warm.

"First off, call me Roxie, no 'Roxanne' or 'Doctor Winters' stuff," she said. She grinned. "And secondly, you should totally come to SigCorp!"

Eva wasn't prepared.

She never felt prepared.

But at this moment she especially didn't feel prepared.

Eva was sitting inside of the SigCorp building, waiting for the ceremony to start, her graduation cap slipping down her head. She was sitting against the wall, taking deep, nervous breaths.

"You getting ready, Valedictorian?"

Eva looked up. "I'm not the Valedictorian," she said.

Neil shrugged. He sat down next to her and passed her a flask.

"If you're nervous this might help."

Eva frowned and pushed his hand away. "I'm not getting drunk."

"Not drunk. Buzzed. Come on, a few sips of my grandpa's favorite whiskey and you won't even remember making a speech."

"It's not really the speech I'm nervous about," she answered. Neil frowned.

"Well come on then, spill it. I only have so much energy to waste on empathy."

Eva twisted her hands in her lap. She knew Neil wasn't being serious. She didn't tell him about her problems often, but when she did he listened-rolled his eyes and complained about being forced to, but listened.

"Neil, do you think we made the right decision?"

"What do you mean?"

"We skipped college to go right into the SigCorp program," Eva said. "This is what I've always wanted. I put all my eggs in this basket. If it doesn't work out...what if it doesn't work out? Neil, you turned down full rides to college to do this with me."

Neil took a swig from his flask. "Okay, first of all, don't worry about me," he said, "I didn't do this just for you, I did this because I wanna be a superhero. I mean who wouldn't? You think I would have been happier sitting at a computer all day? Don't flatter yourself."

Eva raised her eyebrows slightly but said nothing.

"Second," Neil continued, "Eva, we're twenty. College takes, what, four years? We've got time to do something else if this doesn't work out. You got to stop worrying about it. You're at the top of the program. You'll be great."

Eva still had doubt tickling at the back of her mind, but she'd never admit it.

"Yeah, but I'm paired up with you. There's only so much slack I can pick up."

"You can't forcefield a bus off the edge of a cliff, Miss I-Can-Do-This-By-Myself." He stretched his legs out. "You ready to go, or what?"

Eva narrowed her eyes. "...Give me that flask."

Neil grinned and passed it over. Eva took a swig and her eyes widened the moment the liquid hit her tongue.

"This isn't whiskey, this is coffee!"

"...Yeah," Neil admitted, "Grandpa just thought the flask made me look cooler."

Eva dropped it and got up. "Let's go, the graduation ceremony is starting."

"I'll be there. And Eva, we're superheroes. What's the worst that can happen?"

Eva smiled at him as she left. Neil frowned, feeling a sharp pain, and he grabbed a bottle from his pocket.

Neil swallowed a handful of pills, took a sip of coffee to wash it down, and went outside to watch Eva make her graduation speech.