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but…I suppose the police had the TV studio surrounded, right? That means that Paragon would have had to get past them in order to get into the studio. So you know what I’m thinking?”
    “What’s that?” his father asked.
    “Maybe Paragon was a cop. In his real life, I mean. Maybe they knew all about him.”
    “I doubt it, Colin. Even if he was, he wouldn’t have let anyone know that he was Paragon. The only heroes whose real names we knew were the Daltons. And that was only because they were already rich enough to protect themselves. All the others probably had ordinary lives.” Warren looked up at the television set. “Speaking of which…Only a few minutes to go before Max Dalton’s interview. Right, Colin—put the kettle on.”
    “It’s not my turn!”
    “It is if you want to stay up and find out what Max Dalton has to say for himself.”
    As Colin carried the mugs of tea into the sitting room, the specially extended edition of the ten o’clock news was coming to an end. It had already reported that Times Square in Manhattan was blocked with people. The news report showed a sea of banners and flags, cheering people dressed up as their favorite heroes and mounted policemen attempting to keep the crowds under control.
    The TV cut back to the female newsreader. “And after tonight’s exclusive interview with Max Dalton, we’ll be opening tomorrow’s poll: ‘If you had to be a superhuman, which one would you be?’ You can choose between Titan, Apex, Paragon or Max Dalton. We’ll have the results this time tomorrow night, with updates throughout the day.”
    The male newsreader chuckled. “Thanks, Diana. No Ragnarök on the list, then?”
    “Oh, I don’t think he’d get too many votes, Tom, do you?”
    “Guess not! You can vote by pressing the red button on your remote, through the website or by phone. Calls cost…”
    Colin’s father hit the mute button, then said, “So who would you choose, Colin?”
    “I don’t know,” Colin said. “Sometimes I’d like to be Thalamus, because he was the smartest man on the planet. But I kind of like Joshua Dalton too.”
    Colin’s mother asked, “Because he was rich and he’s had a string of supermodel girlfriends?”
    “Mostly because he has his own helicopter. I’d love to have a go in a helicopter.” Colin turned around to look at his father. “So why do you think that only The High Command survived?”
    “Maybe they all survived, Colin. Did you ever think of that? Maybe they all survived and decided that it was time to retire.”
    Colin laughed. “Oh yeah, sure. If you had the sort of power that Titan had, you’d never be able to just sit around when some disaster happened. You’d have to try and help. That’s what Titan was like.”
    “You don’t think that he could have just decided that he’d done enough?”
    “No. I mean, I wouldn’t. Titan was the most powerful man ever. He had a responsibility to use his powers to help everyone else.”
    All this talk about superheroes reminded Colin of his earlier conversation with Brian.
    “Dad…Remember what I was saying about how Danny saved Susie’s life?”
    “Yes…,” his father said cautiously.
    “Well, me and Brian were thinking about it. Danny was really, really fast. Maybe he’s a superhuman.”
    “How? How could he be? Apart from the Daltons, there aren’t any superhumans left anymore.”
    “But the way Danny moved…” Colin shook his head. “I saw it myself and I still can’t believe it.”
    “The mind can play tricks on you, Colin,” said his mother. “Especially under a stressful situation. It might just have seemed a lot faster than it was.”
    “I suppose…But, you see, I was thinking about this, right? Most of the superheroes got their powers when they were teenagers and Danny’s about the right age.”
    Warren grinned. “Are you seriously suggesting that your friend Danny Cooper has hidden powers?”
    “Well, it seems like it.”
    “Then let us know if