“AVA! What. Have. You. Done?!!!!” My co-worker Jane’s horrified question broke me out of my mid day stupor. I looked up from my computer, completely confused.
“Umm… eating lunch?” I half heartedly gestured with the Power Bar I had been snacking on while answering e-mails.
“No, not your weird protein bar meal!!!” Jane grabbed it out of my hand, throwing it into the trash.
“IT’S NOT IMPORTANT NOW!” She threw her hands up. “Where is Captain Gold’s prophecy?!!!”
Again, I found myself staring at her with stunned incomprehension. “Captain Gold?”
“How on earth do you work in the Department of Hero and Villain Management and don’t know about the most FAMOUS hero in the country?”
“…” I thought it over a few more moments. “Is that the one you have pictures of all over your cubicle?”
“NOW we’re getting somewhere!” Jane sat down, rubbing her temples. “Yes, it’s the incredibly handsome powerful hero that I have posters of and just so happen to be secretary of the Official Captain Gold Fan Club… but we’re getting off topic. Where’s his prophecy?”
I shook my head. Jane and I worked in the Prophecy Sector of the Department of Hero and Villain Management, the least popular and most mocked sector of the DHVM. We dealt with the prophecies given to us by individuals with Oracle abilities. Each one was tagged with a date and a hero or villain ID number, depending on who the prophecy was meant for. It was a job fraught with difficulties. Most people did not like the prophecies they were given, some argued that the mere act of giving someone the prophecy could invalidate it, and most felt that “predicting the future” wasn’t even a real ability. Our sector came under review each quarter for dismissal, but for whatever reason, (the majority believe that the director has received a prophecy warning him to keep it going) we were allowed to continue our work despite resistance.
We handed off several prophecies a day, most of them fairly unimportant, given the recipients reaction. I thought through the three hand offs I had performed during the morning, trying to think of what I could have done to make Jane so angry.
“All of my appointments showed up this morning, I’m not sure…”
“Then why did Captain Gold just show up to our supervisor’s office complaining that he didn’t get his prophecy?!”
I shrugged. “Did he miss his appointment?”
“Well,” Jane looked slightly embarrassed. “Apparently he was supposed to come in this morning, but go busy, and just arrived. He was stopping crime, Ava, like a hero!”
“Yeah, yeah… let me check his identification number against my drop offs.”
Turning back to my computer, I brought up his profile. Ignoring the picture of the brightly smiling gentleman dressed all in gold, I crosschecked his ID.
Jane leaned forward, “What is it?”
“Well, it looks like one of your appointments came to my office by mistake, and his ID number is only one digit off of Captain Gold’s… “
“So you gave him the wrong prophecy?!!!” Jane’s mouth hung open. “That’s… that’s not good! Who’d you give it to? A sidekick? A minor hero?”
I pulled up the ID. A picture of a frowning young man dressed in dark robes looked back at me. I felt the blood drain from my face as I read his profile, turning back to Jane with a horrified expression.
“What? Who’d you give it to?!”
We stared at each other in silence for a few moments, before she let out a horrified scream.
“A VILLAIN?! YOU GAVE A HERO PROPHECY TO A VILLAIN?!!”
