I took a moment to gauge how the rest of the teenagers in the room were absorbing what Hoffman was saying. Everyone was listening with rapt attention like shareholders at a boardroom meeting.

"So what is 'Punch'?" said Hoffman, glancing at the bold red acronym projected beside him.

He thumbed a remote button and the words faded away to be replaced by a singular P.

"Protect society from powered individuals who use their powers maliciously," said Robert, reading out the scrawl of text which flowed out beside the large bold P.

Robert pointed with his remote holding hand once, twice, then a third time making sure to doff his hand to everyone sat listening to him.

"This is the stuff of super-heroes," said Robert, "Can you believe it? The world is going to fall into chaos if righteous super humans don't stand up and fight the good fight. For a while I'm sure the police and militaries of the world will keep the powered individuals of society in check but, if we follow the logical conclusion of how all this will work out, there will come a time when it will be up to the likes of everyone in this room to keep the peace. To protect not only your loved ones, your friends, your families, but also your country and the entire world."

Robert drew his hand back and shoved his other hand casually into his pocket.

"It sounds dangerous, I know," he said, "There will be casualties. It's inevitable. But the other option is to stand aside and let those who don't follow the rules, the good-for-nothings, to take over. I refuse to let that happen, which is why I am personally leading the British extension of the P.U.N.C.H program."

So it's international, I thought. I pictured in my mind's eye similar presentations being made elsewhere in Britain, America, and anywhere else the Pied Piper's Return act (or their local equivalents) were instituted.

Robert thumbed his remote and a bold letter U emerged onto the screen, followed swiftly by the next sentence.

"Use the abilities of powered individuals for the greater good," said Robert, reading it aloud.

His eyes scanned the room for a moment, and then he said, "This means to use your abilities for the greater good. In this context the greater good means the safety and keeping of the peace from the tyranny of powered individuals who refuse to obey the law."

"Simply put," said Robert, "Any powered individual in society must make themselves known and submit to the conditions of the MICE act, as well as the future acts which will be put into place for the safekeeping of society in the years ahead."

Robert thumbed the remote button again and the next letter emerged; a large N.

He read the next sentence which followed aloud, "Nurture scientific study of powered individuals."

He smiled, nodding as if agreeing with himself.

"Your time here at this facility has not been wasted. We have already learned a lot the nature of the power you all possess. For instance, a test was carried out at this facility which, we think, hints at the underlying nature of the power. Would you all like to know what it is we discovered?"

Half the room, including myself, nodded, wanting to know.

"Here we go," said Robert, thumping a button on the remote, the slide changed over to a picture of six teenagers, some familiar (such as Jay and Amar), as well as four others I vaguely recognised who weren't currently in the room. They were in a laboratory-like space which must have been somewhere on the second floor of the facility.

In the still image the teenagers present had their hands glowing bright like lightbulbs. Each teenager held a length of metal pipe each connected to thick cabling.

Robert played the clip, showing all six teenagers concentrating and holding the metal rods. The clip lasted several seconds before Robert paused it. It looked just like when I used my hands to bulb. A part of me felt let down bulbing was no longer unique to me. I wondered if they had gotten the idea for the experiment after seeing me bulb up my hands.

"In this experiment we asked our test subjects to create heat with their hands. The result, as you can see, is each test subject wielding an incredible amount of heat, save for some light sweating. But this isn't what is interesting about the experiment. What is interesting here is that, after several hours of renewed effort and practice, every test subject equally achieved a peak temperature of 450 degrees Farenheit."

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Robert let this information settle in for a moment. It immediately lodged into my mind what it must have meant.

"Yes," said Robert, smiling, revealing his upper row of teeth as he bit into his lower lip.

"This power you all share has an even distribution," he said, "When this test was run again a week later the test subject's new peak reached 455 degrees Farenheit."

"Which means," said Robert, raising his voice a little, "With each passing day you are all becoming stronger, growing into your powers at an even rate. This of course is a limited test and should not be considered conclusive. We haven't even begun to scratch the surface of understanding what this power is; together, with your continued cooperation, we can unravel its mysteries."

Before I could really take the time to digest this new information, Robert pressed on. He thumbed the remote in his hand and the next bold letter emerged, going back to the slowly building acronym: the letter which emerged onto the screen was of course; C.

"Create a positive public opinion of powered individuals," said Robert, reading out the sentence scrawl.

"Being powered doesn't make you evil. Nor does it make you good," said Robert, he then waved his hand as if smelling something foul, "Although the notion of good and evil is archaic, in the public sphere what matters is making sure society trusts powered individuals that serve their best interests. It will be up to all of you to change public opinion on powered individuals by setting a good example. Next!"

Finally, Robert clicked for the last letter to emerge, finishing the acronym: H.

"Handle threats foreign and domestic in global unity," said Robert.

He pocketed the remote and then folded his arms.

"It is not just powered individuals that will need to be kept in check. With your abilities you will have the responsibility of policing all ne'er-do-wells; powered or not. This will be an exercise in global unity for the betterment of mankind; those who resist change can't be allowed to hold back progress towards a better world."

I felt a headache coming on something fierce. I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment in an attempt to alleviate the ache at the front of my mind.

"Now," said Robert, "That's the acronym explained. Another thing I would like to mention is that this isn't all about violence. There is more at work here than making you super human police. That's small-time thinking."

Robert extended his arms wide.

"As you continue to prove your dedication towards the PUNCH program, we will use our considerable influence in the corporate and political sphere to place you in positions of influence. Some of you may have a knack for politics; that's if you want to bring about significant political progress; others may want to push forward in the world of business, or entertainment; as you work with us we will work tirelessly to help you reach your ultimate potential; quid pro quo."

Robert put his hands into his pockets and surveyed the carpet for a moment before looking up.

"This won't be the dynamic you have experienced at this facility. For a time we will need to heavily supervise your participation in the program, but only to facilitate your independence and growth as individuals. In time we want you to lead the way. Because you are our future."

And with that Robert took the remote out of his pocket and turned off the projector.

"That's it," he said, "That's the pitch. I'll take any questions you have now, please raise a hand if you have a question and Abigail will give you the go ahead."

For a moment nobody raised a hand. Then, to my surprise, Tiffany raised hers.

"Yes," said Abigail, giving Tiffany permission to speak.

"If we take part in this will we be able to see our families? Will we be able to support them?" she said.

Robert rolled his eyes.

"Of course!" he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, as if the promises made to us about two grand a week weren't reneged on, "At first you'll be given an ample salary, and over time the amount of money you'll earn through this program will cease to matter, because you'll have something even greater; leverage. You'll be able to call the shots and decide the terms of your involvement with the program. From the outset we will establish a safe location for regular family visits, as well as financial compensation to make sure you'll have peace of mind that your loved ones have everything they need to thrive; none of you should settle for anything less given the potential you all hold."

I felt tears stab at my eyes. The notion that I could be with my family again, there for them, financially providing for them, struck me deeply. I could see Tiffany nodding slowly, seemingly satisfied with having her question answered.

Michael Blayney raised his hand and was given the go ahead by Abigail.

"Thank you," said Micheal, "Will there be training?"

"Yes," said Robert, "You will receive the best military training in the world; given the best equipment; combined with your growing powers you will all become forces to be reckoned with. And this includes training in the political sphere if that is what you wish to navigate and have an aptitude for. It may seem far off now; the world will need new political leaders; we already have political personnel in place throughout the world in high positions of power; the very highest, even. This means you'll be learning from the very best in every facet of your journey."

"That is excellent, thank you," said Michael.

Robert gazed around the room for the next hand. Mine was raised.

"Yes," said Abigail, "Go ahead, Burgess."

"So," I said, my heart thumping madly in my chest, "Do you really think we're going to buy this crap?"