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 ran into her lab, Carmen immediately spotted me. "What's going on, Jay?" she asked, placing some new invention of hers on the table next to her. "Is something going on?"
I took a deep breath, and at last, I managed to regain control over my powers. "I found out some new information about the man who's funding the Academy," I said.
"What did you find?" Carmen asked.
"He killed my mother," I said, barely able to say the words out loud.
"That's crazy," Carmen said.
"Technically, he ordered a team of superheroes to kill my mother, but it's all the same," I said. "Either way, my mother died, and it was all because of him."
Tears came to my eyes, and Carmen gave me a hug. "It's going to be fine, Jay," she said. "Aren't you kids trying to destroy the Academy anyways?"
"We tried and failed already," I said. "I doubt that any of Ellen's apprentices have the nerve to try again."
Carmen said something else, but I couldn't hear her. The fluorescent lights were already killing me, and before long, I was lost in another one of my nightmares.
Dr. Rosenberg was dragging me out of the Research Floor and down the absurdly long flight of stairs that led to Solitary Confinement. At first, I screamed and wailed, hoping that my protests would somehow convince him not to send me to Solitary Confinement, but about halfway down the staircase, I realized that tactic wouldn't work. No matter what I did, I would end up in Solitary Confinement. It was the Academy's twisted way of making me pay for my lack of control over my powers.
I silently marched down the rest of the stairs until Dr. Rosenberg shoved me into a cell and locked the door. Once the door was locked, I inspected my new surroundings. It was a small room, barely large enough for a single person, and it was almost completely empty. There was nothing to do except for stare at the gray brick walls.
After ten minutes of doing just that, boredom was beginning to drive me insane, so an idea popped into my mind. I decided to attempt to use my newfound superpowers to break the brick walls. Although I tried to replicate the sensation that had appeared when I stole Harper's soul, my powers refused to emerge again. What if it was just a fluke? I wondered. There was always the chance that whatever had happened with Harper was nothing more than a freak accident, and my powers didn't really work. That seemed far-fetched, however.
I looked up for a moment, and I saw a vial of bright green liquid hanging from the ceiling. The liquid was unmistakable. It was hydroglosseide, and that vial of liquid was the reason why I couldn't use my powers. As long as the hydroglosseide was in my cell, I would be breathing its fumes, and I would be unable to use my superpowers.
