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 returned to work the next day, something seemed different. Vanessa was usually at Declan's desk quite frequently, but that day, it seemed like she constantly had a chair pulled up next to him. Although I was running around all day, fetching coffee for the reporters and doing other menial tasks, I did get some time to interact with the two of them. That afternoon, when I delivered Declan's coffee, I overheard Vanessa and Declan chatting.
"I can't believe that we've been dating for a year already," Vanessa said as she held Declan's hand.
"Me neither," Declan said, but he seemed distracted as he stared at his computer screen.
"We're still going to the beach tonight, right?" Vanessa said with a smile.
"Of course," Declan said.
I placed Declan's coffee on his desk and walked away as I realized what a great opportunity this was. If I could find a way to watch the date, I could figure out once and for all whether Declan really was Captain Fedora. Throughout the day, I continued to think about the idea, and it made sense. If Declan really was Captain Fedora, then he wouldn't pass up the opportunity to save a few innocent people. I just had to create some sort of disaster on the other end of town, and if Declan showed up late to his date with Vanessa because of it, then I could go back to Percy and tell him that I had solved the mystery. It was a simple plan, but it could solve everything.
Of course, it was all a little bit more complicated than that. It was nearly impossible to create a major disaster with my powers, but that wasn't too much of an issue. Ellen could just start a minor earthquake, and surely Captain Fedora would show up to help out. He wouldn't be able to resist something like that. The bigger problem was that Vanessa might notice that I was spying on her date.
I didn't mention my plan to Vanessa on the way back to the castle, but when we arrived, I ran into Ellen's office. When I got there, I explained the situation and asked, "Can you please start an earthquake for me? I need it to force Captain Fedora to show up."
"I'm sorry, Jay, but I'm retiring," Ellen said. "I'm not starting any more earthquakes."
"Won't you die if you don't use your powers?" I said.
"First of all, that's only a rumor," Ellen said. "Second, I'll start earthquakes occasionally just to keep myself alive for a little bit longer, but they'll be in remote areas and won't cause a lot of damage. Being a villain is exhausting work, and I'm not doing it anymore. If I have to use my powers, I'm not using them for evil."
Ellen did have a point. If I could avoid using my powers, I wouldn't use them either. "I guess I can understand that," I said. "I'll ask Percy instead."
