Like Orion & Spark

4: The Raddest Man in Town

Now, kid, Astral City wasn't always filled to the brim with heroes and villains. There was a time when it used to have a lower population. A time where the craze of genetics and superpowers hadn't yet extended that far. The idea of having powers used to be fairly distant; I often felt as if it could never happen to me.

Therefore, I wasn't convinced that the power outage was my fault. I eventually decided to visit the clinic a few days later, but only because I wanted to prove myself wrong.

I tapped my fingers against my knee, waiting for my name to be called. It had been a few days since Trevor cornered me, but I hadn't stopped thinking about it. As much as I dreaded dragging myself to an appointment on my day off, I had to satiate my curiosity somehow.

While I waited, I had already read the informational signs plastered on the walls of the clinic. One poster, illustrated with a picture of Astral City's hero, Rad-Man (we'll get back to him later), started by stating: Did you know you could be the next greatest hero?

Underneath that were a few brief paragraphs explaining the gene which caused powers. They called it EVE-1, after Emika Mai and Evan Young, the two scientists who discovered it, and Violet Galactic, the superhero who volunteered herself for testing.

Most cities had experienced a surge in cases of EVE-1 in recent years. Astral City, on the other hand, had never only ever produced one local hero. His name was Rad-Man, and he was anything but rad. A hero who could shoot lasers and see infrared light was practically useless as a tourist attraction. He only had two claims to fame. The first was the time he fought a villain on a plane ride and burnt a hole through the wings, endangering its passengers in the process. The second was the time he rescued a child from underneath a collapsed building, and in an attempt to use his power to break through the rubble, aimed for a mirror instead, and ended up shooting himself in the chest.

So, if I really was Astral City's next hero, I would simply have to move to a desolate cottage in the forest and live the rest of my days in shame.

"Comeau?" a voice called, jolting me from my thoughts. I pried myself from my seat and followed the nurse through the revolving door, into the adjacent hall. She pointed me into a room within the clinic, and I shuffled inside. Another few minutes of waiting around followed.

I'd visited the same clinic since we moved here. Dr. Johnson was one of the first few people I told about my sexuality, shortly after Halley figured it out. It was a simple room, containing more posters, framed certificates and degrees, and an examination table covered in stickers. For a second, it seemed strange to be there without the rest of my family in the waiting room, without Halley begging me to get her a lollipop.

Dr. Johnson entered the room. She took a seat at her desk and propped a clipboard on her knee. "It's great to see you again, Riley. How have you been? What brings you into my office this morning?"

I leaned back in my chair, my gaze bouncing around, my thumb distractedly tracing circles on my index finger. "Well, you remember those tests we did a few years back? And all that stuff I said about powers? It's... sort of been happening again, and I guess I wanted to make sure..."

She nodded, carefully leaned forward and replied, "Now, listen to me. Since you were here last, a new hospital opened a couple of hours away from here. One of its main specialties is testing for EVE-1. Even though the scans of your body seemed normal enough, this test would be the way to make sure. So, tell me, what exactly do you think you can do?"

I explained as much as I could, starting with the strange glow. "There are these two toasters in the cafeteria. When I first used them, somehow I knew which one was better. It was like I could sense it or something," I concluded.