Chapter 22 - The Photo Album

Art by YinYangMyriad

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.

The next day, after work, I went to the castle with Vanessa. I knew that Dad would stop believing my excuses eventually, so I had to make the most of my time at Ellen's castle. As soon as we got there, Vanessa went to the break room, where Terry was lying on the couch and reading a book. "Where's Percy?" I asked.

"I have no idea," Terry said. "He left about half an hour ago, and he said that he was going on a date with someone. He wouldn't tell me who he was going out with though."

"Wow, I thought that Percy would never have a love life," Vanessa said with a chuckle. "I'm going to have to ask him about that when he gets back."

I nodded and then said, "Vanessa, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" Vanessa asked as Terry went back to reading his book.

"I don't think I ever told you this, but I found out last week that Mr. Russell is my grandfather," I said.

"Wait, what?" Vanessa said.

"That was my reaction at first too," I said. "I'm still not really sure what to think about it. He gave me this photo album, and I found an interesting picture in there." I took out the album, flipped to the photo of my mom flying, and showed it to Vanessa.

"What does this have to do with anything?" Vanessa asked. "It's just some random girl hanging out with Mr. Russell, although this must have been thirty years ago at least."

"That's not just some random girl," I said. "That's my mother."

"I still don't see how this is relevant," Vanessa said.

"I think that this is why Mr. Russell is funding the Academy," I said. "He had a superhuman daughter."

"Had?" Vanessa said.

"My mom passed away when I was two," I said.

"I'm sorry, Jay," Vanessa said.

"There's no need to apologize," I said. "I don't really remember her."

"I'm glad you've uncovered all of this information on Mr. Russell, but I don't think that he's funding the Academy because of your mom," Vanessa said. "That simply doesn't make sense. If he had a daughter who was in the Academy, then he wouldn't have wanted to fund them. He must have known what they were doing to the students."

"Maybe he didn't know," I said.

"Or maybe he didn't care," Terry said. "My parents knew exactly what was going on in the Academy - Aunt Ellen, Aunt Catherine, and Aunt Cheryl all went there - but they sent me there anyways."

"It still doesn't add up," Vanessa said.

"I agree," I said. "Mr. Russell doesn't seem like the sort of guy who would fund an organization who was experimenting on his daughter. There has to be a missing piece of the puzzle."

"I wish Percy was here," Vanessa said.

"Percy wouldn't help us," Terry said. "He would just be sitting here, reading TV Tropes."

"Just like you're sitting here, reading Great Expectations," Vanessa retorted. "You're not any different than he is. Jay, what was your mother's name?"

"Michele Sasaki, but her maiden name must have been Russell," I said.

"Thanks Jay," Vanessa said. "When Percy gets back, I'll tell him to hack into the Academy's records and search for Michele Russell. Maybe he'll be able to find more information on her."

"I hope so," I said. "We're definitely missing something here."

I took out the photo album one last time and flipped through the rest of it, but there was nothing new in there. There were only a few more pictures of my mother, and all of them were taken when she was an adult. There were no more pictures from her time at the Academy. I found one baby picture of me, but Mr. Russell seemed to have disappeared from my life after Mom's death. Why would he do such a thing? I wondered as I looked through the last few pages of the album, which were filled with recent pictures of Mr. Russell and my grandmother, who I still longed to meet someday. Why would a grandfather abandon his only grandson?

The photo album couldn't help me anymore. I put it aside and asked Vanessa and Terry, "What's been going on around here?"

"Not enough," Terry said, looking up from his book briefly.

"I'm immortal now, but I just don't know what to do with all of this time," Vanessa said. "I know that we have to take down the Academy. I just don't know how anymore."

"Didn't you have a forty page plan on how to do that?" I said.

"Yes, but not knowing where the Academy is has kind of ruined it," Vanessa said. "Maybe I'll just be stuck with Declan and my job at the San Urbano Times forever. I wouldn't mind that too much, but it will probably get a little boring after a while."

"I could never work at the San Urbano Times," Terry said. "Just knowing that you two are working for the man who funds the Academy sickens me."

"To answer your question, Jay, the most interesting thing that's happened since you last saw us is Percy's mysterious little date," Vanessa said. "Speaking of that, Terry, I'll bet you five dollars that Percy met his date on the Internet, and another five that it's going really badly right now."

"I'm not even going to take that bet, Vanessa," Terry said. "You're too likely to win."

"You guys are being awfully mean," I said.

"I've known Percy for five years," Vanessa said. "I have the right to tease him if I want to. Besides, he's not here."

I shrugged, and Terry said, "Do you guys want to go down to the training facility? I'm supposed to be working on developing my powers right now."

"I need to feed the Jersey Devils first," Vanessa said. "Jay, do you want to come with me?"

"Actually, I think I'll train with Terry today," I said. "Thanks for the offer though."

Vanessa went to the lab to feed the devils, while I followed Terry to the training facility. We spent the next hour or so working on using our powers, and just before I had to leave, Terry said, "Would you want to have a quick duel with me? It would be good for us to practice."

"Sure, why not?" I said. Terry was the first one to make a move. Strong winds blew throughout the training facility, knocking me off my feet. "How are you doing this?" I asked as I struggled to stand up again. "We're inside!"

"I've been training a lot lately," Terry said. "It's perfectly calm outside - the only place where it's this windy is inside the training facility."

"Impressive," I said as I transformed into a demon and flew against the winds. I darted towards Terry, but he turned invisible. I flew around the room, trying to find him, but it was impossible.

I transformed back into a human for a moment, and all of a sudden, I bumped into Terry. Now that I knew where he was, I turned back into a demon and lightly scratched at Terry. I had no intention of hurting him - he was my friend, after all.

I suddenly fell backwards, and my eyes closed as I drifted off into a deep sleep. I woke up only a few minutes later, with Terry standing over me and smiling. "You put a good fight, but I think I won," he said.

"Congratulations, Terry," I said as I got up off of the floor. "I should probably head home though."

"Goodbye, Jay," Terry said. "I'll see you again soon."

As I returned to the San Urbano Times building, I thought about the photo album again. Something was going on with my family, and I needed to figure it out. However, I didn't quite know who to ask or where to go next. For now, my strange, twisted family would remain a mystery.