Everybody thought that superheroes were a myth, just stories about people in questionable spandex that Hollywood used to make money. When they became real, everybody was excited.

Everybody thought that superheroes would be like gods, able to violate the laws of physics with impunity. They thought that they would be paragons of virtue determined to save anyone in need. That they would be invincible beacons to humanity.

The truth is, they don't violate the laws of physics. They just... move them around a little.

The truth is, they're just like everyone else. Getting superpowers doesn't change that, or magically make people heroic.

The truth is, they die like everybody else.

Chapter 1

The news presenter is dressed in a dark blue suit, with a pale blue silk tie over a white dress shirt. His hair is neatly combed and he is wearing an expression of sombre neutrality as he reads out the news.

"In a tragic turn of events, residents of the El Sereno neighbourhood in Los Angeles were shocked earlier this morning to discover the body of a currently unidentified man in the road. An ambulance was called but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Coroners have confirmed that the man's death occurred at the scene of the incident, was caused by falling from a great height, and that he was dead on impact. The death occurred at about 7:45 am.

"It is unknown how the fall occurred, as no aircraft were registered over the neighborhood at the time of death, and there were no witnesses to the fall itself. Police are urging anybody with possible information on the incident to come forth. More news to follow as we receive updates."

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The television presenter is dressed in a pale cream suit over a lilac dress shirt. Her hair and make-up are immaculate and she smiles to the camera as she reads out the news.

"Police were called out in force last night as a number of residents of Bexley reported gunshots. The Armed Response Unit was alerted by several different phonecalls about possible gunshots within minutes of each other. Later, as bright, multi-coloured flashes were observed, it was believed to be caused by fireworks.

"Police investigated the source of the noise and interrupted a party being held by several residents of the neighbourhood.

"The party-goers denied using fireworks, and despite a thorough search of the property police were unable to locate any. The party was issued with a request to keep the noise level down as the police left the premises."

The presenter dutifully chuckles at the camera.

"Sounds like a good party trick, whoever was doing it. And now, here's Barry with sports."

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In matching charcoal shirts, the male and female presenters sit next to each other, taking turns to read out the news, and smiling obediently at the lines they are given on the teleprompter.

"Unusual news from Frankfurt, Germany today, as a large, multi-vehicle pile-up occurred. The pile-up happened on a quiet road on the outskirts of the city, but what really makes it unusual is that many people claimed to witness cars flying through air and even rolling uphill."

The woman rolls her eyes at this.

"Three people were taken to hospital with minor injuries and a couple of broken bones, but there were no fatalities and nobody was seriously injured So far, drug tests for the witnesses are yet to be announced, although I can't imagine that they are far away given the fantastical events supposedly witnessed."

The man laughs.

"I can't wait to see what the blood-alcohol level was for this group. Now I'm no expert, but I think it's safe to say it will be very high."

"I believe the technical term is 'completely sloshed'," the woman observes drily, raising an eyebrow. "And if their blood-alcohol level wasn't high then someone certainly was."

The two of them laugh as they move on to the next news item for the day.

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The rain seethed down through the air, spat out of the iron-grey clouds overhead to lash the pavement and road. Gusts of wind would periodically send a particularly furious wave of raindrops almost sideways to hammer on the windows of cars and buses.

Naomi hurried along, her hood raised in a somewhat futile attempt to stave off the wet and cold, her hands shoved deep in her pockets and arms tucked tight against her side.

Icy water seeped into her footwear as she half-ran, her breath pluming out in front of her for a brief second before the wind snatched it away.

It was with some measure of relief that she came under an overpass and found respite from the elements. She took a second to massage her head and rub her eyes, groaning slightly as she thought of the distance she still had to travel. Why did she have to catch a cold on a day like this?

She groaned as she emerged from the other side of the overpass and once more came under assault. She felt like the entire sky around her was buffeting her, none-too-gently, and each raindrop was like a hailstone against her, drumming a ceaseless rhythm that only seemed to feed her headache.

She blinked repeatedly, trying to clear her head from the noise.

Actually, it wasn't the noise that was bothering her. It was the constant jolting.

Her shoes seemed to have metal soles, and each step sent a reverberation up her legs. She felt like she could feel each individual drop of water hitting her like a lead pellet, only to vanish after impact.

Naomi shook her head, a yawn cracking her jaws apart, and ducked under the next overpass, relaxing at the comparative quiet. The air was almost still and quiet, and she no longer felt the rain thrumming against the concrete all around her, a relentless staccato beat that turned into an almost-silent, sluggish river an inch deep, that flowed along the pavement and choked the drains.

She paused before she came out the other side, reluctant to leave the peace and shelter behind, but knowing she had to if she wanted to avoid being late for work.

Grumbling to herself, Naomi hunched over once more and forced herself out into the unusually heavy rain, her eyes slitted against the chill wind.

She was leaning forwards, weaving slightly to maintain her balance in the stronger wind gusts, when she felt more than heard the car approaching. It seemed to be forcing its way through the downpour as much as she was, and it was Naomi's bad luck that she happened to be next to a puddle as it passed.

She had half a second to realise what was happening before the sheet of icy water struck her, and then the car was gone, a pair of fading red lights in the rain, leaving her standing there, swearing foully and hurling invective at the driver.

With a growl she started moving again, as the water seeped through her clothes and leeched all the warmth from her skin, leaving her frozen and almost numb, shivering in the bitter wind.

She sped up, thinking longingly of the dry office ahead of her with its heaters just waiting to be turned on. She didn't bother pausing underneath the next overpass, as much as the comparative peace seemed to promise relaxation, eager to find warmth again.

It was the scream of tortured rubber that shook her out of her miserable reverie, just after she emerged back into the rain.

She looked up in time to see an open-backed truck slam sideways into the concrete barrier on the edge of the overpass with almost visible force, the drivers head rebounding from the window and leaving a spider web of cracks shooting out from the point of impact.

The metal containers of whatever the truck was transporting juddered from the impact, one of them breaking loose. Naomi would never know if it was due to the crate being poorly secured or just plain bad luck, but the loose container rolled as it struck the barrier, seeming to flip over the concrete as it soared through the air, spinning as it went.

Naomi stared at the container as it approached, one part of her mind dimly noting that it was a dull yellow colour, while another, rather more insistent, part of her mind observed that it was moving with quite a lot of force, all which was coming directly at her.

During this curiously drawn out moment of time, during which her thoughts seemed to be stuck in treacle and moving at hyper-speed at the same time, it suddenly occurred to Naomi that things would go rather better if all the force behind the container was aimed somewhere else.

She didn't have time to ponder the strange nature of such a thought, as it was that moment that time seemed to revert to normal. Without thinking her hands lashed out as the container flew towards her, and Naomi reflexively thought 'that way', and suddenly the dirty yellow container was flying away from her. It left a trail of empty space through the motionless drops of water as it shot under the overpass, bouncing and rolling with a loud clatter, somehow remaining unbroken.

The cold suddenly seemed to redouble in intensity, and Naomi gasped in shock at the painfully cold air. Then the suspended drops of rain, hanging like liquid diamonds in a charcoal sky, all fell at once in an icy deluge, and for the second time in as many minutes, Naomi found herself soaked to the skin and shivering.

She stood there, staring at the container on the ground, her mind trying to piece together the events that had just transpired.

Eventually she became aware of raised voices. Looking over, she saw several people, two men and a woman, approaching in a hurry, concern written on their faces.

"Are you okay?" the first man asked, face flushed and slightly out of breath.

Naomi nodded absently. "I'm fine," she assured him, eyes returning to the yellow container.

"That thing looked like it was going to smash right into you," the second man said, following her gaze.

Naomi spluttered a brief laugh. "It almost did," she admitted, her mind feeling strangely numb and her thoughts moving sluggishly through her brain.

"Well, it looks like today's your lucky day," the first man added, looking relieved to find her unharmed. "Can't say the same for that driver, though. Bloody idiot's lucky not to have a concussion, losing control like that."

"I think he slipped on some ice or something," the woman said, glancing back up at the motionless truck above them and frowning. "He suddenly shot to the side and hit the barrier. Looked like he'd been hit with a wrecking ball, it was so sudden."

"Jesus, miss, you look frozen half to death," the first man said suddenly, spotting the water-logged condition of Naomi's clothes.

"Oh, yeah," Naomi said vaguely, distantly aware of the biting cold slowly sinking down into her bones. "I should… get going. To work."

The three of them were all looking at her, expressions of worry on their faces.

"Are you sure you don't need a jacket or something?"

She shook her head, the action sending a small stream of rainwater down the back of her neck. She barely felt it.

"No. No, I'm fine. I need to get going. To work. I'll warm up there. Get a hot drink."

Her voice was shaking with the chattering of her teeth, and the three people didn't seem entirely convinced by her assurances.

Naomi realised that if she wanted to get to work she would need to move, and she lurched around and started walking, stumbling slightly on feet that felt like blocks of ice.

The air seemed to warm up slightly as she moved away, and she managed to arrive at work a few minutes later without falling over.

After several attempts she managed to open the door, and the sudden blast of warmth from the heated building seemed ferociously hot compared to outside, almost bringing tears to her eyes.

A few people looked over with a scowl at the cold wind that followed her inside, but any complaints died away as they caught sight of her condition.

She brushed aside their questions and practically fell into the cafeteria, making her way over to the hot tap and reaching a shaking hand over to the cups.

"I'll handle that," a voice cut into her thoughts, and Naomi looked over as another woman deftly started making a hot chocolate.

Taking the hot chocolate in one hand and Naomi in the other, the woman, Jess, led her over to a busy table and sat her down directly in front of the heater, shooing a couple of people out the way to do so.

Naomi sat there, shivering, while Jess took her jacket off and hung it on the back of the chair, then fetched a towel and began to pat her dry. Her fingers wrapped around the hot cup, feelings slowly began to burn their way across her skin as sensation returned to her.

"What on earth happened to you?" Jess asked, looking critically at her friend's bedraggled state.

"Car," Naomi said shortly, raising the hot drink to her lips and inhaling the sweet smell as she drank. "Got soaked. Then got delayed. Car accident."

She sighed as the liquid began to warm her from the inside just as the heater did from the outside.

"Was anyone hurt?" Jess asked, but Naomi shook her head.

"Almost got hit, and I had a few people come check on me. The driver got a bad knock on the head, but nothing serious. No-one else was hurt."

"That's a relief," Jess muttered. "There's been a whole bunch of shit like this happening of late, and the last thing I need is to have you get yourself run over."

She looked critically down at Naomi.

"You stay here for a few more minutes. At least until you can function properly. I'll tell Frank you'll be a few minutes late. He'll understand."

Naomi smiled her gratitude at this and took another mouthful of hot chocolate. As Jess bustled off and the others gradually left for their cubicles, one thought began to chase itself in circles, round and round through her brain.

Well, two thoughts if she counted the voice in the back of her mind repeatedly asking 'have I gone insane?'

Her breathing gradually deepened, and Naomi relaxed as a flush worked across her features. Her eyes were unfocused, gazing back to the time when the container abruptly changed direction before hitting her, and she wondered to herself.

What the hell happened back there?