As Erika sat, Mr. Thatcher looked from Pinpoint to her as his smile turned serious. “So, Ms. Sato, Pinpoint told me that you will be working as a superhero under her purview, however she hasn’t told me anything else. Not your powers, not your background or skill level. Nothing. Before we can begin dispatching for you, you will need to let us know your capabilities.”

  Erika shifted in her seat, off balance from the sudden seriousness from the seemingly friendly man. “Dispatch?”

  “Yes, dispatch. How much do you know about being a superhero?”

  “Don’t you just show up and fight supervillains and monsters?”

  Mr. Thatcher blinked a couple times as he processed her answer. “So the bare minimum. Let’s start from the beginning then,” he said, his accent and tone combining to make him sound like a college professor as he started to lecture. “Metas. Superheroes and supervillains. The God-touched. Fae. Heaven’s chosen. As many different names exist as there are cultures in our world, but they all mean the same thing. Those who have taken a step outside the bounds of what humanity is normally capable of. Such individuals are regulated broadly by the United Earth Alliance, which dictates certain rules on how nations might utilize those who awaken powers, and each individual nation handles things differently. In many Asian nations, such individuals are called Hunters and organized into private guilds regulated by the national governments. In many religious countries, such individuals are often part of the dominant church, joining knights’ orders or becoming priests or monks. Other nations induct their awakened into their militaries, though the UEA closely monitors awakened serving in a given nation’s military.” Mr. Thatcher paused for a moment to make sure Erika was following along before he continued.

  “Here in the United States, as in many other democratic nations, awakened individuals are treated as another citizen and are free to pursue private employment, or serve in the government as public employees and service members. But beyond those opportunities, the government also allows awakened individuals to register as potential superheroes and become pseudo first responders who receive a stipend funded by taxpayer dollars in exchange for serving in whatever capacity they feel they are best suited for. Dispatchers such as myself and those in this office are government employees that provide support to superheroes in the field, providing information and coordination between superheroes and public and private entities. However, while dispatchers such as myself are considered government employees, superheroes are explicitly not treated as such, limiting the liability of the government in the event something goes wrong. Do you have any questions?”

  Some of the information Mr. Thatcher shared wasn’t new to her, just more detailed than she’d ever learned before. It also sounded like though she registered, she wouldn’t be required to be a superhero if she didn’t want to be, and wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She said as much with her question. “It sounds like registering doesn’t mean you actually have to be a hero but you still get the stipend? I thought registering meant becoming a hero. How does that work?”

  “I’ll handle this one Thatcher,” Pinpoint said. “While register your awakening with the government is shaped to look like you’re agreeing to become a hero, the truth is that there’s no laws that actually require awakened people to become superheroes and the registration is meant more to have a database of people and powers. The stipends every registered hero receives is calculated based on their current power ranking and their potential, even if they don’t ever engage in superhero work, everyone who registers gets a stipend for one simple reason: control.”

  A cold shiver went down Erika’s spine at Pinpoint’s words. “...control?” she practically whispered, suddenly feeling like a rat trapped in a cage.

  “A soft control, but control all the same,” Pinpoint said with a nod. “Think about what actually causes people to commit crimes. What creates supervillains.”

  “Money and power?”

  “The lack of it, yes. Awakened individuals aren’t all that different from other people. Most people, if they are comfortable, won’t cause problems. A steady job, enough money that they don’t feel stuck and don’t have to worry about having a roof over their heads. For a lot of people, that’s enough. The stipends are meant to ensure that most awakened stay comfortable enough that they don’t put on a mask and start robbing convenience stores. The last thing the government wants is even more supervillains running around, and the sad truth is that as soon as someone feels like they have no choice but to commit crimes to survive, the gloves come off. Of course, not every supervillain is just some poor misunderstood awakened that had some bad luck. Some people are just bullies and assholes looking for any excuse to feel powerful or take what they want. Villains and heroes alike.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Erika immediately pictured John or Sergeant Brady with superpowers. Assholes and bullies both. She could easily see either one letting the power go to his head and becoming a villain.

  “Anyway, we’re not here to go into why people become heroes or villains,” Pinpoint said after a few seconds, motioning to Mr. Thatcher.

  “Indeed, we can always discuss the whys in more detail later. It is a fascinating area of sociology after all and well worth studying. Why just the other day I was reading a —”

  “Thatcher.”

  “—fascinating case study—”

  “Thatcher.”

  “—about twins—”

  “Edward!”

  “...oh, right. Pinpoint brought you here Ms. Sato, for two things. First, the items retrieved from the recent undead portal you’ve claimed have been assessed and requisitioned by the state,” he said, pulling out a manila file folder and reading from it. “Several crude coins composed of copper, silver, and gold, eight decorative steel chains, one decorative chain of unidentified alloy, five silver rings, two small mana imbued diamonds, three gold rings, and a single low grade artifact consisting of a wood and silver comb which appears to enhance any hair combed with it. All of the coins, jewelry, and gems have been assessed as not having any value beyond being mana imbued items. Compensation for the diamonds, gold, silver, copper, and steel items has been provided at market rate for moderately imbued materials. Compensation for the unidentified alloy has not yet been determined pending additional assessment into its material qualities. The low grade artifact has been assessed as being of limited value but has been seized for research into the production of artifacts from portals. Compensation in the form of a residual payment for any discoveries directly related to this artifact will be provided in the future. The details and a check for the assessed amount are in this folder,” Mr. Thatcher said as he handed the folder over to her.

  Holding her tongue and the feeling that the government stole her stuff, Erika looked at the folder’s contents, setting the check on the side as she quickly read the letter. It was exactly what Mr. Thatcher said, just with a table of figures and calculations showing the weights and compositions of the various items, but didn’t say how much the items were actually worth. Skipping past the table, she saw a paragraph about the comb that boiled down to she’d get what she’d get for it. It specifically said she’d get 0.5% of the estimated value of any scientific discoveries directly linked to the comb, but how much could a really good comb actually be worth? She didn’t have high hopes for it. Of the unidentified alloy, there was even less, just saying that the item was being sent to some lab on the mainland.

  Stomach sinking, Erika ignored the rest of the letter as she glanced at the check clipped to the inside of the folder and nearly leapt up as she saw the number written there. “What the fuck?!” she hissed.

  “I know it’s not much, but unfortunately the value of mana infused metals has been dropping lately due to a new mine type portal that’s appeared in Colorado,” Mr. Thatcher said apologetically.

  Not much?! Erika tried to control herself as she looked at the figure on the check again. $15,783.26. More than she made in six months at the cafe. Way more. That much money meant rent for the next six months, being able to eat something other than oatmeal or instant noodles, getting a better phone! Trying to keep a straight face, Erika closed the folder, her hands trembling slightly as she took a breath. “No, it’s fine,” she said, glancing at the late afternoon light streaming in through Mr. Thatcher’s office window. It took all her willpower not to jump up and rush to the bank immediately, the check feeling like it might vanish the longer she took to deposit it. Hopefully she could deposit it today. “Is that all?”

  “No, as I mentioned, there were two things we needed to discuss, that was the first thing. The second is relatively straightforward. Your registration paperwork indicates that you have GE powers, and your sponsor has informed us that your assessed combat capability should be sufficient to handle E ranked threats, the minimum standard to qualify for dispatch. As such, I am informing you that beginning the first of next month, you will begin receiving an E-Rank monthly stipend of $1,000, plus an additional $1,000 a month as a hero accepting public service requests. However, before you receive those stipends and can begin operating as a hero with dispatch support, we need to know if you would like to operate under your given name, have a preferred name already chosen, or would like one randomly assigned. Do you have a preference?”