Seventeen year old Jay Sasaki lives in a world where corporations spend millions of dollars to exploit superpowered children and the media defines good and evil. Cursed with the ability to steal souls, Jay leads a double life as both a normal high s...
When I got home, I flopped onto my bed, exhausted from a day of working and searching for magical elixirs. I wanted to sleep, but something kept me from drifting off into a dream. I was still being tormented with images of the Rose Valley Hospital falling to pieces, and even though they were already starting to rebuild it, I still thought that it was my fault.
I got out of bed, turned the lights back on, and looked around the room. There was nothing better to do if I couldn't fall asleep. Lying on the floor, there was the photo album that Mr. Russell had given me. I picked it up and began to flip through it.
I had visited Mr. Russell sporadically since I realized that he was my grandfather. He still didn't know about my superpowers, but it was great to finally get to know someone on my mom's side of the family, even if I still couldn't bring myself to call him anything other than "Mr. Russell." I hadn't opened the photo album before, however, and I wondered what was inside. Perhaps it could tell me more about my family.
I opened the album to the first page, and I found that it was nothing exciting. The first few pages were nothing but old black and white pictures of a much younger Mr. Russell. As I flipped through the book, I watched Mr. Russell grow from a child to a teenager to a young adult. I found pictures from his high school and college graduations, and finally, I found a whole section of photos from his wedding. I saw my grandmother walking down the aisle of a church a long, white dress, and I could see a few pieces of my own face in hers.
I flipped ahead a few pages, and I saw a few baby pictures of my mother. Like her father before her, I watched her grow, although in some sections of the album, I could find just as many pictures of corporate functions as pictures of my mother. I wondered just how much of my mom's life Mr. Russell missed to become the CEO of the San Urbano Times.
The strangest picture in the whole album was about two thirds of the way through it. My mother must have been around twelve or thirteen, and she was standing next to Mr. Russell, who had a slightly devious grin on his face. At first, it seemed like a normal family photo. However, when I looked closer, I saw that Mom wasn't standing on the ground.
This was proof that my mom was a superhuman.
It explained everything. I already knew that I must have gotten my powers from Mom's side, but I never had any idea that she herself was a superhuman. I had her to thank for my abilities - not that I ever wanted the power to steal souls, but that wasn't exactly her fault. This could even explain why Mr. Russell was donating to the Academy. Mom must have gone to the Academy if she was a superhuman.
I closed the photo album and threw it back onto the floor. I could always look through the rest of it after I had processed this new revelation. I wasn't sure what to do, however. It would be awkward to ask Mr. Russell about his daughter's superpowers - it would only raise questions about my own involvement in the world of superhumans. I would have to do a little bit more research myself.
