Rose wasn't quite as excited for fourth grade as she had been for kindergarten.
In fact, she dreaded school. The teachers hated her. Every single one of them.
Thankfully, the children took a completely different view.
Lana came up next to her, and the two immediately started talking. Eric, who still stayed with her no matter where she went, made himself shrink into the background. He knew when his opinions were wanted. He'd never had as many friends as Rose did; in fact, Rose was his only friend.
They all sat down next to each other, Eric moving his desk a little closer to his twin. When the bell finally rang, a woman with thick glasses and heavy lipstick went to the front of the class.
"Hello, everyone."
"Good morning, Ms. Seron." The class replied in unison.
Dorothy Seron smiled at them all. "Today is a very special day. Do any of you know why?"
A few nodded, their excitement tainting the air. Others stared at her, completely clueless. Rose was one of those that stared, but Eric was not. He'd been looking forward to this day for years.
Her smile widened. "I know quite a few of you don't have your abilities yet. Well, today will change that. There is going to be a complete solar eclipse. Everyone will be going outside to watch, and some to gain your abilities."
A few of them cheered. Rose looked at her twin, and he smiled back at her. Excitement penetrated through the air; it was infectious. Even those who already had their abilities were throwing around congratulations, smiling and laughing with their friends.
Dorothy Seron shot a nasty smile in Rose and Eric's direction. Eric's heart missed a beat; he didn't particularly like that look.
And so it happened. At one o'clock that afternoon, everyone went outside.
"Now, those with abilities may experience a brief moment without them." Ms. Seron explained. "Don't worry; it is only temporary. It will go away after the eclipse is over."
The eclipse was an amazing sight. Eric squinted, looking directly at it, knowing it would probably severely damage his eyes.
"I want to be a regenerist." His sister confided in him. "What about you?"
"Pyrokenist." He told her, not taking his eyes off of the darkness that began to cover the sun.
She gripped his hand tightly. "Here's hoping."
As the disk passed over the bright light, strange things began to happen. Children cheered as ice spread across the ground. One of their classmates had scars from an old accident that began to heal. Another lit on fire.
Jack, however, just looked down. He closed his eyes.
Rose looked at him worriedly. Everyone knew about Jack's father; he was a 'Sylar', a person who took abilities by killing someone. Thankfully, he was one of those that refused to kill, no matter how badly they wanted to. It was a decision that kept him alive. "He must have gotten the same ability as his father." Rose whispered, pointing towards Jack.
Indeed, the teachers were all coming over to him, reassuring him, helping him, stopping him from hurting others.
But Rose and Eric kept waiting. They stared at the eclipse.
"What are your abilities?" Lana asked.
"Dunno yet." Rose replied.
The disk began to move away from the sun once more. Light returned to the school, and everyone started to go back inside.
It was only when they had sat down again, and the teacher smiled nastily at them again, that Eric knew that something was wrong. He raised a wary hand.
"Yes?" The teacher called on him immediately; a very rare occurrence.
"We… I don't feel any different."
A strange silence passed over the class.
Ms. Seron smiled again, but tried to hide it. She looked at his twin. "What about you, Rose?"
She shook her head. "I don't feel different, either."
The smile would not be held back. "Well, now." She said. "I believe I have your explanation. You have no abilities. And you never will."
Rose felt sick as she walked into the house. She didn't even stay to talk to her parents. She just walked to her room.
They didn't try to stop her. Eric was about to go with her, but decided against it, instead turning to his parents.
"We're human, aren't we?"
Tom and Sara exchanged a look, somewhat surprised that he'd caught on this quickly. Even if they didn't have abilities, there must be a different explanation they could use, something that could explain it.
Sara shook her head at her husband, but he didn't listen.
Tom nodded towards his son.
Eric thought about this for a moment. "Well, all right, then." He shrugged, and followed his sister into her room.
Tom smiled, and Sara stared in shock.
Eric closed the door behind him. Rose was sitting on her bed, staring into space.
"It's not so bad." Eric said, sitting next to her. "If you think about it, we're kind of special."
"Special?" Rose demanded. "We're not special. We're freaks! We don't have our abilities, don't you get it? You're never going to be pyrokenetic. I'm never going to be a regenerist. We're never going to be different! We'll be just as bad as…" Her face paled. "Humans."
"But we are human…" Eric tried to say, but Rose cut him off.
"NO!" She shrieked. "I'm not human! I can't be human, I CAN'T!"
The next day was the worst of Rose's life.
Eric didn't seem to think that there was anything different from today and every other day. He just walked next to Rose, as though he hadn't just realized he was human.
Whispers followed them wherever they went. The story of two children without abilities had traveled quickly across the school.
"Lana!" Rose called, relieved to see that her friend was there.
Lana walked up to her cautiously. "H-Hi, Rose."
Rose looked at her, the smile fading from her features. "Lana, it's just me."
"I know that."
She sighed. "Look. Just because I don't have any abilities…"
"My mom says I can't be friends with you anymore." Lana blurted out, cutting Rose off. "She says you're human, and it's too dangerous."
Rose stared at Lana as though she'd been slapped. Her mouth gaped open.
Lana looked at her, on the verge of tears. "Are you human, Rose?"
Rose shook her head fiercely. "No! I'm not human! I'm not!"
Lana looked away. "My mom says you are."
She started walking in another direction, but her steps were hurried now, as though Rose would destroy her for saying a single bad thing to her.
Tears streaked down the human child's face. Eric placed an arm on his sister's shoulder. He'd seen the whole thing; he saw most of what happened in her life.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
Rose just kept crying.
Lana was not the only person who held this view, and by the end of the day, the scene had repeated itself many times. Some of her 'friends' had to come in groups, as though one burst of Rose's all-too-human rage would destroy them all. They would speak shakily; deathly afraid of the person they'd once called their friend.
Even Jack wouldn't come near them, even though it would help with his ability. He was having a hard time keeping himself from hurting the other students, a problem which could have been helped by being around the two people he'd never have a reason to kill.
Rose watched them all enviously. They didn't know what being so powerless was like…
"We cannot allow those creatures to attend this school!"
Many parents clapped and murmured their agreement. The teachers were smiling smugly at Tom and Sara.
The meeting was long overdue in the eyes of many of these parents. And every single one of them had come when it was called.
"My children are not creatures!" Tom snapped.
"They're human!" Someone else shouted. "They can't be trusted! You know what human nature is like! They're all liars and killers!"
More mutters and a few cheers responded to this.
Sara looked like she would cry, but Tom glared at all of the heroes. "What if your children had been born human?" He demanded. "WHAT THEN?"
For a moment, all was silent.
"Except you knew, didn't you?" John Black's voice was deathly quiet. "Before they were born. You knew that they were human. You didn't take the blood test, you couldn't wait that long. You could have destroyed them then."
Outrage sounded through the hall.
"THEY WERE MY CHILDREN!" Tom roared. "Unborn or not! Some people may actually have different morals from you, John! Some people would say that is wrong!"
"It's for the greater cause!" Another parent shouted.
"Greater cause? GREATER CAUSE?" Tom whirled to face her. "Tell me, what 'greater cause' are you talking about? When has either of my children hurt any one of yours? Answer me that!"
"It will happen eventually!" Another protested. "They're human! It's in their very genes to hate and kill! THEY'RE ALL MONSTERS!"
"They're children!" Sara spoke up at last. "They aren't mindless, brainless monsters!"
"Who says? Not history!" Another shouted her down. "Our very past tells us about the wars!"
"And there was never one good human?" Tom demanded. "Never?"
"How could there be?" Someone cried out.
"Well, let's see." Tom said through clenched teeth. "Aren't there bad heroes out there? The exception to the rule? Heroes like Sylar?"
For a moment, silence fell.
And then John spoke again. "Sylar was forced by his ability to kill, Tom! We all know that!"
"So he was naturally good, was he?" Tom asked.
"Perhaps he was. After all, he was very different before he became a hero. He just made a wrong choice."
"A wrong choice? A wrong choice? He murdered countless times, killed, over and over and over again! How can you say that that's just 'a wrong choice', while my children are monsters by their very nature?"
"BECAUSE THEY'RE HUMAN!" Someone protested. Shouting broke out, and Tom was left to defend his children against them all. Eventually, the statements grew more hostile.
ENOUGH!
Kayla's booming telepathic voice rang through their minds. They turned to face her.
She looked around at all of them. "I agree with Tom."
The words were whisper-soft, yet they carried across the room.
"And if you are too close-minded to see that a child is a child and nothing more than a child," she continued. "Then so help me, I will teach them myself. Until they reach high school age. Then I can do nothing more."
Tom nodded at her gratefully.
"This isn't just about the school!" One protested. "Those things should be destroyed, before they can hurt any of our children."
More cheers of agreement sounded out.
"Those creatures don't have the right to live! They never had the right to…"
"FINISH THAT STATEMENT AND I WILL RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!" Tom snapped, telekinetic energy wrapping around his hands as he advanced towards the hero. Kayla and Sara held him back.
I SAID ENOUGH! Kayla's voice rang through their minds once more.
Silence fell again.
"Now. Rose and Eric can come to school tomorrow to pick up anything they've left here, and say goodbye to anyone who's still talking to them." Kayla's voice was clipped and professional as she worked out the details. "I'll meet them at your house, and we'll do their schoolwork there."
Tom nodded.
"Thank you." Sara said gratefully. "Thank you…"
Kayla nodded back, then turned to the others. "Does anyone have a problem with that?" She demanded, her tone indicating that she would accept no argument.
No one said a word.
"All right, then." Kayla nodded once, and, just like that, the meeting ended.
John wasn't particularly happy with how the meeting had ended.
Which was why he was here now, toying with the phone in his hands, trying to figure out how he was going to phrase his words.
Finally, he punched in the number.
"Andy? It's John."
"John! Hey, how are you?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." John waved off the question with an airy hand. "Listen, I think I have a story for you that might just take you to the top…"
"Rose! Eric! Over here!"
Rose shrunk behind her brother. He stood, tall and proud, refusing to look at the journalists who were following them. Cameras were pointed at them, zeroing in on their faces.
"When did you find out you were human?"
"How do you feel about not having abilities?"
"Do you really hate heroes?"
"Is it true you wanted to be a pyrokenist and a regenerist?"
"What did you feel when the eclipse had passed and you were left powerless?"
The twins disappeared into a classroom, but it was just as bad in there. Students and teacher alike were glowering at them.
Rose tried to disappear, but Eric still stood tall. He walked in front of her, being brave so that she didn't have to.
They picked up their books and pencils, then walked back to the door.
"Eric! Rose! What is it like, being human?"
"If you did have abilities, do you know what they would be?"
Eric closed the door behind him, journalists swarming around him and Rose.
"Rose!" One of them grabbed her arm. She cringed and tried to pull it away, but he held on tightly. "Answer our questions, please!"
"Get off her!" Eric protested. He pulled the hero's hand off of Rose's arm. There was a small burn mark where it had been, and tears were streaming down her face.
The heroes gasped and backed away hurriedly. Eric glowered at them.
"Just leave us alone!" He snapped. He walked with his sister to the drinking fountain, pouring cold water on the burn.
"There you have it." He heard one say. "It seems that humans really do have the anger issues we've all been told about. The question is, what happens when they get angry?"
Eric bit back a sharp retort, and slowly helped his sister to the next classroom. Tears rolled silently down her face.
"Eric!" Another journalist appeared in front of them. "Do you care to comment on your recent outburst?"
"If you had the chance, what would you have done to the man you were angry at?" He insisted as Eric walked around him.
He grabbed the back of Rose's shirt. "Answer me, human!"
Eric whirled around, fury blazing in his eyes. "Just leave her alone, get it?"
But now the journalists were swarming again. Rose was pushed aside; the human they wanted was the one with 'anger issues.' Rose collapsed to the ground, and was kicked in the head more than once as the heroes stampeded.
"BACK OFF!" Eric shouted. They did as told, suddenly seeming to realize that there was another human right beneath their feet. They hurriedly stumbled backwards.
Eric knelt down next to his sister. Rose was sobbing by this point, unable to mask it in any way.
"I just care!" Eric snapped at the journalists. "Any one of you would have done that for your sister! Any one of you!"
"'You'?" One of the braver ones asked. "So you're not denying that you think of yourself as different from the rest of us? Maybe even better than us?"
Eric wasn't thrown. "You set the distinction. Not me. I don't think I'm better than anyone. Different? Maybe. Better? No."
He helped his sister to her feet, and the questions began again.
