3:15

9:45 : "Testing... one ... two... Is this thing even on? Okay, let's hope it is. My name is Jordan Woods. I am 23 years old. I am recording this, so people can know something extraordinary happened to me. Okay, this has been a secret for many years, but the world needs to know. I am a superhero. I am blessed with amazing skills. I have powers like Superman, like Batman."

9:50: "Every hero has a background story. I discovered my powers at the end of my adolescence. It was one of the greatest discoveries ever. I was different from all the others. And as a wise man says: with great power comes great responsibility."

9:58: "It is now 10:00 pm, and my stomach is grumbling. I need to heat the chicken up. My eyes are red, which means my laser-eyes abilities are kicking in. (buzzing noise). It is finally ready. YUM! Next time I should warm it up more. Day-old brownies were sitting in the refrigerator all alone. Not anymore. I am pumped and ready to fight some crime."

10:34: "Already, 10:30? I haven't received any signals to fight crime. Hmm, weird? Maybe I should wait? What's on television? Rick and Morty? My favourite show!"

11:43: "ALERT! You hear that? The TV gave me the signal. Finally. It's time to fight crime! I can feel my powers are charging. (rattling noise, beeping) I feel energized. My senses are tingling. If I don't save this woman, she'll vanish, forever. Whoever is listening to this, you're about to hear me go faster than The Flash. Such a bold statement, I know, but I am not messing around. Be ready."

12:17: "You won't believe it. I saved this beautiful lady. She was so grateful. You hear that? I am the best superhero ever. Are you tired? I’m tired. I guess I’m going to... (rattling noise)"

1:30: "Let me teach you something. It is THE number one lesson about being a superhero: superheroes were born in the minds of people desperate to be rescued. You need to believe in yourself. You need to keep saving people."

1:37: "I may have overused my laser-eyes. My vision is a little blurry. My eye drops are in here somewhere. What time is it? Let me get closer to my clock. It's 1:38 am. I need to use a mix of my X-Ray vision and telepathy to find my eye-drops. Did I mention, my ability to communicate with inanimate objects? I need to concentrate though. Shhh. (ruffling noise) There it is, in the drawer. My eyes are being filled with a special subst- Ouch! Those blue and red flashing colours blinded me. They have to watch where they are going."

2:13: "My hearing sense is kicking in, strong. I hear wailing from a distance. Could it be a baby? The paramedics? Hmm? I am turning invisible. I am off to see what is making that horrible high-pitched sound. I must save them."

2:57: (long silence, thumping sound, mumbling) “Just a false alarm. Just a false alarm."

3:00: (rattling noise) "They are all recharging at once. My head is pounding, uncontrollably, which means my telepathy skills are working. My eyes are redder than my blood. Yes! (rattling noise) My laser-eyes are finally working again. My super speed is at maximum level. I can hear my toaster and utensils. They’re planning something, something bad. I need to stop them."

3:15: “It has been a super long day. I'm feeling a bit tired but, my heroic tasks are finally done. Why is it freezing in here? Why is my heart racing so fast? It's probably because I ran too fast as I was saving people. No worries. It’ll be fine. Hold o---.”

"Memory full." (long beep)

2

Right when I got to the station that morning, I read over the transcript of the recording three times already. As I headed to my office, my secretary approached me with the case file for this new assignment. Something caught my eye: Jordan Woods, living at 56 Oak Street. That’s my neighbour. I took the file with my left hand, sipping coffee with the other and went towards my desk.

I had never formally met him before, but I saw him a couple of times in his backyard. Seemed pretty ordinary to me. I would never have thought.

Now the transcript made so much more sense.

My neighbour had suffered a drug overdose.