Nobody is quite sure what Glam means.

"Powers seem to depend on what your trigger event was like to you and on who you are, in a way, not just on what actually happened. There's, of course, a lot of speculation, especially because us parahumans tend to like our masks," they say, tapping the glass of theirs. "Controlling traffic lights isn't exactly a power in itself, since powers tend to be much more general than parahumans let on or believe they are. What kind of power could have controlling traffic lights as a subpart? Controlling electronics, perhaps? Controlling the flow of information, controlling light..." they trail off invitingly.

"Getting stuff out of your way," somebody calls out.

"Ooh, that sounds potentially interesting, can you elaborate?"

"Like traffic lights and locked doors and - stuff."

"The perfect lockpick, nothing can stand in her way, not even people! If she goes somewhere, the person will find themself suddenly diverted for some reason they can't quite remember; locks unlock, barriers dissolve, nothing stands in her way. But there's a catch!"

The audience blinks.

"There's always a catch," they say, shrugging a bit helplessly. "So. She has to concentrate, actively, in order to not use her power. Otherwise it's always on, clicking locks and giving people she crosses paths with the strangest feeling of déjà vu."

"Whoa like what if she sleepwalked," mutters somebody softly to her neighbor.

"So she triggers, this mysterious little organ inside her brain called corona pollentia, bafflingly identical in functionality if not in size and location to an equivalent one in the brains of every other parahuman, is activated, and she has powers." They look directly at her, still sitting cross-legged in the air. "What do you do? Do you hide your powers? Do you join the Protectorate? Do you strike solo as an independent hero, or perhaps a rogue? Maybe, even, a villain?"

"Um, I don't know," she says. "You made them kind of hard to hide."

"Which is incentive to join the Protectorate! After all, they can help cover any slip-ups. Or, perhaps, go into a life of villaining, unable to keep a secret identity for any extended length of time. Being a rogue, out with your power, could be a possibility, but there's quite a risk from people who would like to use you—a bit like the way tinkers are treated. That's not fair, but we don't really choose our powers when we trigger, and we're often dealt similarly unfair hands. Parahumans who look like they have no weaknesses are certainly hiding them, and fighting other parahumans is as much an exercise in information-gathering as in tactical and technical skills."

"More of an unregistered independent hero, but yes."

"Why'd you stop?"

"Honestly, being unregistered and independent's not really worth it. There's stigma, heroes and villains don't like you much, you don't really get anything out of it—I used to have a part-time job, now I have a fairly generous allowance. I could've merc'd it but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work out, not to mention that it's technically illegal." Shrug. "Now I got the weight of the Protectorate behind me, all their resources, and my fa—emoji is in posters and T-shirts, making daring poses." They stand up and look into the distance in a superman pose.

"How come you weren't a Ward to start with then?"

"'Cause there are a few drawbacks—having to patrol according to strict schedules and having someone else in charge of my image being some of the chief ones—and I was weighing them too heavily. I guess I could say I was scared of, sorta, losing freedom, in a way?"

"Well, yeah, naturally, I do have to patrol, and my image does have to go through PR and Branding, but if I didn't think the tradeoff was worth it I wouldn't be floating here, talking to you."

Nobody calls out another question at this time.

"We-ell, I had some vague plans about asking y'all about trigger events and powers and maybe conjure some copies with those powers, but we're running out of time." They sit cross-legged in the air again. "My goal here was trying to teach you-all a bit about how capes start their careers and what's involved and the psychology, and maybe tempt some of you into research to figure out what the heck's going on. I do hope I've achieved it, but I also hope you enjoyed it. Weeee have time for more questions if you have them, or perhaps one more create-a-power session if we're quick about it. What do you prefer?"

Hands!

They pick a hand!

"Do you think all of the capes that there are definitely have secret weaknesses or just most of them?"