"Oh, I'm actually surprised now, go ahead."

"They came from Scion, right?"

"Mmm, that's one theory, yeah. No one knows if Scion was just the first parahuman, or whether he was the origin of powers, or both, or neither, really. Scion himself doesn't seem to actually have all powers, though, unless he's holding back, which is reasonable—no hero or villain really shows all their cards. But my question is at a lower level—how does a person without powers get them?"

The other kid keeps her hand up.

"Mmhm?"

"They happen when something bad happens to you. Except not if you go doing dangerous things on purpose, then it doesn't work."

"Got it in one. Those moments are called trigger events, and no one really understands them. Now kid, I want you to suggest me a trigger event. Don't need to be specific or very detailed, something more general." The copies are congregating behind Glam and start disappearing there one by one, and the projector is blank again.

"Uh... car crash."

"Car crash, then. Now what's bad about it for you—is it the physical aspect, being hurt, or is it something more mental? Well, I presume everything's bad about it, but what would stand out, for you?"

"I... don't know? I've never been in a car crash."

"Hmm, yeah, fair enough. Let's go with mental, to keep things interesting. It's the fear, the anticipation that's the worst part. So, powers are related to trigger events. Physical trauma, physical power; mental trauma, mental power. Trumps tend to have trigger events related to other parahumans, tinkers tend to be working on long-term projects, masters tend to feel isolated, etc. So, let's see if we can come up with a power for that trigger event. Anyone has any suggestions?"

Several hands.

They pick one at random.

"Con...trolling traffic lights?" says the kid, seeming to realize halfway through the first word that this is a dumb power.

"That's promising! Shaker powers tend to come from more abstract environmental threats, so this would pit her," they gesture at the girl who suggested the car crash, "against the world, blaming the circumstances of traffic for the crash. Anyone want to expand and generalize on that, or perhaps suggest an alternative?"

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?"