Superb!

Part One

Prologue: "Hello, Mr. Koslowski"

...

"Hello, Mr. Koslowski," came a voice opposite of me, "How are you today?"

Silence. For a solid minute, that was all that escaped from my tightly sealed lips as I took a seat. Absolute silence. From the looks of it, though, Dr. Hill seemed perfectly content to just wait, his finely tuned patience hard at work. Finally, with a cough, I answered what was probably the hardest question anyone had ever asked of me.

"Um… fine, I suppose?" I spoke, unsure of my own words.

"I see," was all he said in return.

We sat there for a little while longer, his gaze never leaving mine, even if my eyes were permanently fixed on the hardwood floor.

He took a second to write something down on his notepad he kept in his left hand, only to look back at me with a comforting smile.

"So, let's get down to business, shall we? Why are you here?" His words rang like chimes in my ears, and it amazed me how such a simple question like that could topple my entire consciousness so easily.

Where to even begin?

"Um, I'll be honest Dr. Hill," I tried to keep my voice even, but like always it came out more monotone than anything, "I have no idea where to start."

It was the truth, I truly had no clue. The fact that I had no experience in story telling didn't exactly help, nor did my anxiety. The only reason I hadn't broken down into tears at this point was because I was used to putting up a generally expressionless facade in order to mask my otherwise meek personally. You couldn't really get far in this world without at least some backbone, even if it was as phony as those breasts I saw stapled on that otherwise petite receptionist back at the office.

Of course, it was that same backbone that was responsible for this whole mess I was in. Well, partly anyway.

"That's alright, Mr. Koslowski," he said, "Let me be a little more specific."

He shifted his weight a little, dropping his notepad onto the ground beneath him.

"Why don't you start by introducing yourself fully? I'm sure everyone here would like to know at least a little about our newest member."

At last, I finally turned to face the rest of the group. We all sat in a loose circle, facing each other. To say I looked a little out of place was quite the understatement, due to how the majority of the group dressed. Some came in casual wear, but most decided to come in their "work clothes", a combination colorful costumes that fit their own motifs and an assortment of gadgets and gizmos that aligned well with their "special gifts".

Yep, one look at them and the word supers instantly stood prominent on any onlooker's mind. He, the doctor, and the few who decided to forgo the usual getup looked incredibly mismatched among the throng of supes, all of whom sat patiently waiting for me to speak.

I slowly stood up from my chair with half a mind to just hurriedly walk away from all this, but I thought better of it, since that would make our meetings at the office more awkward than they already were. As so, I spoke

"...hello, my name's Darren. Darren Koslowski."

"Hello Darren," they all droned in sync, probably used to these greetings.

"Um, I'm new here," Obviously, I thought to myself, "and I was told to attend at least one of these, um, counselor meetings in order to get to know everyone, since we're all gonna eventually work together at some point, I guess, so… here I am."

The word unimpressed sprang to mind, judging from the look everyone gave me, but at least they weren't hostile like I thought they'd be. Which was a plus.

"Indeed," Dr. Hill agreed, "Although, there are other reasons why we all get together every now and then. Venting our troubles is one. Learning to control our urges and reigning in our anger is another."

I'm fairly sure that last one referred to the few people I recognized as "reformed" villains, all of which served time at one point or another. Not that I was one to judge. We all have moments of weakness; it's just that most weren't capable of leveling a city with the same effort a normal person would use to swat a fly out of the air. I also spotted a couple of washed up heroes, no doubt kicked out of their respected super groups for one reason or another. I didn't recognize anyone else here, so they were either too obscure for my little knowledge, or unrecognizable out of their getups.

"Now," Hill clapped his hands together, effectively gaining everyone's attention, "Why don't we continue your introduction with the one thing we all share."

There was no need to point out the obvious, so I just sighed a little and went on with my intro.

"Well," I began, noticing the expected looks they all gave me, daring me to pique their interest, "I can use telekinesis to move… just about anything, no matter how big or heavy, and I'm pretty good at moving multiple things at once. Um… and..."

I trailed off, unsure how everyone would react to what I was about to admit.

"...I can also… read minds… though mostly just surface stuff. I don't usually dig much deeper than that."

It seemed the effort I had put into cushioning the blow was for not. Wow, their eyes seemed to say, how original. Some seemed genuinely interested though, since only one other psychic type worked for the company. While a little clichéd, a psychic was a real asset to have during a mission, depending on their expertise. Some were known better for their combat, since being able to throw entire buildings with but a thought was useful to say the least, while others were more well-known for their intel gathering and interrogation prowess, due to their mind reading. Not that our company did either of those.

Remarkably, no one looked the least bit upset at this revelation. I guess since everyone's identity was out in the open, no one really cared if someone rooted around their head every so often. Although, I couldn't help but feel the heated gaze of the person sitting just to the left of Dr. Hill. The girl was one of the few casually dressed, yet her well-toned body spoke volumes. My eyes locked with hers, and while I could see her face under that gray hood, I got the overall message. Didn't even have to read her mind.

Take one look in here, and you're dead.

I looked away. Message received.

"Yes, your file said as much, Mr. Koslowski," came Hill's voice, bringing out a beige file with my name written on it out of his satchel, "However, it says here your powers and abilities aren't as easily definable as other psychics. It seems you've been able to pull off incredible feet's, some of which are typically closed off to other psychically inclined meta's."

"Um… I guess," that was definitely one way to put it.

As soon as Hill mentioned that, a few of the uninterested looked back at me with a slight gleam in their eye, hoping I could shed some light on the doctor's proclamation.

"I truly have no idea how my powers work." I admitted, rubbing the back of my head out of habit, "I've never shown them to anyone till recently, so I-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop right there," came a new voice to my right, "Are you tellin' me you've been hidin' em powers of yours your whole frickin' life, with no one the wiser?"

I looked to see who interrupted me and gulped. The younger man just had to be a former villain, and while I didn't recognize him, judging by his bluish-white skin and the (more importantly) sheets of ice coating his entire body, it was safe to assume what his "gift" was. Still, it was rude to leave a question hanging.

"Pretty much," I stated, before adding matter of factly, "except my parents and my siblings, but I'm pretty sure they never ratted me out so..."

It took me a while, but eventually I noticed something kinda unnerving. All the room's current occupants were currently staring at me in utter shock and awe. Sure, most of them recovered quickly, but a few still stared in bewilderment.

I stood there, stock still, unsure of myself. For a moment, I was worried I had just inadvertently committed some sort of faux pas against every super in the room by merely mentioning my parents. Family problems were a common trait shared amongst most supers, no matter which end of the spectrum they resided in. I'm sure everyone here had a story to tell when it came to their familia, and bringing up mine no doubt brought certain memories to the forefront of their minds. Not that I'd dare take a peak. They may all be reformed in some way or another, but I wasn't gonna chance it.

Apparently though, that wasn't what everyone had issues with.

"Bull. Shit." came the voice of the person who practically pierced me with their gaze not a minute ago.

"Huh?" I muttered in confusion, pointing myself at the person in question, "What do you mean?"

"You heard me, beansprout," she spat, though I didn't really feel anger coming off her, just puzzlement, "You really expect me to believe some choad from Milwaukee, of all fuckin' places, managed to hide their powers from a bunch of paranoid fucks who make a living off of hunting meta's like you? Nuh uh, not buying it."

"Um… okay?" was all I said back, before sitting back down.

From the confounded look in her eyes, I realized, too late, that her words had, in fact, been her invitation to explain myself; to try and somehow prove her wrong. Like a dweeb, though, I hadn't taken the bait, so the conversation ended limply then and there.

Silence once again filled the room, this time lasting around a few minutes. It felt like years before anyone talked, but it seemed Dr. Hill was a cut above the rest of us, because he decided to end the silence with a slight cough.

"Darren," he said, a small smirk of amusement crossing his lips, "Since it seems to be a little… out of the ordinary, why don't you go ahead and tell us your story? I think I speak for all of us when I say that your tale may be quite… interesting to hear. We don't get many unique backgrounds around here anymore. At the very least, it'll be a great way for you to connect with your work mates."

I looked at him incredulously. Was he serious?

"Are you serious," I found myself asking aloud.

He nodded, and then motioned towards the rest of the group. Sure enough, they all started scooting their seats in a little closer to mine, waiting patiently for me to start spilling. Some seemed to even pull out snacks out of nowhere.

Well shit, I thought. I guess there was no way out of it for me, was there?

So, resigning to my fate, I thought back to where it all began, took a deep breath, and spoke…

"Well, if I had to pick, it all started with me and my dad's Lego replica of the Millennium Falcon."

To Be Continued…

Prologue done.

Now, as far as adventures with Superheroes and pairings go, I've got a few ideas, but I'm willing to hear your guys suggestions. I love DC Comics, but I'm not completely aware of every single character and story arc out there.

Besides that, I plan on focusing all my attention to this, if that's worth anything, so I will be updating this here and there, if not regularly.

If you guys have any questions, feel free to PM me, or if you have some criticism, go ahead and leave a review.

Don't forget to Favorite and/or Follow if you happen to like my story, and I'll see you all next time.