I have a setting where people with a certain genetic trait get superpowers in reaction to childhood trauma (as a survival mechanism). These superpowers show up in adolescence. However, that origin would suggest superpowers have been around a long time, but the kind of setting I want would only work with them being a new and mysterious thing. So I decided someone long ago made a powerful amulet that suppressed the development of superpowers for everyone in the world, and just recently the amulet got destroyed. About five years later, the first superpowered kids showed up. Problem is, I'm not sure how to reveal that. My protagonist, along with his mildly autistic younger brother, were physically abused by their father, until social services found out and they ended up in foster care. Throughout this time, he's stuck by his little brother and protected him, often taking beatings for him. Once he ended up in foster care (with a good foster family) he shifted to protecting bullying victims at school. Just recently, he's developed superstrength and near-invulnerability, and decided to become a superhero. He's going to gradually realize that every single superpowered person he's met underwent serious trauma, and go through an emotional crisis about the thought that something he likes came out of the bad stuff that happened. Around the same time, his little brother will manifest his own powers - he got invisibility and intangibility because he always coped by hiding and avoiding attention. Anyway, I'm pretty sure readers will notice the same thing I did - that this origin doesn't explain sudden appearance of powers - but how do I reveal that it's not just a plot hole? I could maybe write another story in which this amulet's destruction is described, or I could figure out some way for my protagonist to find out. Or maybe just plunk a prologue on it that tells the reader about the amulet even though none of the characters know about it, but that feels like cheating.
You could have a prologue that tells the readers about this amulet, so they know from the beginning and then, as your story progresses have your main character find out about it. If it's a person that destroyes the amulet, that person could try to or even be manipulating your main character and have him figure it out or see/hear something that he shouldn't have. The prologue could be about the amulets effects and how it was destroyed and when your character learns of it, goes looking for more information to why it was created and who created it. I hope that helps!
You could have a prologue that tells the readers about this amulet, so they know from the beginning and then, as your story progresses have your main character find out about it. If it's a person that destroyes the amulet, that person could try to or even be manipulating your main character and have him figure it out or see/hear something that he shouldn't have. The prologue could be about the amulets effects and how it was destroyed and when your character learns of it, goes looking for more information to why it was created and who created it. I hope that helps! [Double post... keeps doing that today!]
