Santa: Wow, Shell, look at this!
Shell: What, what? You sound pretty excited.
Santa: I am! You’ll be too. Get this. So, here, Jane’s been working on this book —
Shell: —Because Of The Red Fox. Yeah, yeah, you’d think that maybe we’d know something about it!
Annie: –because we’re the main characters!
Santa: Right, right. But here’s the strange thing. While Jane’s been writing this book–
Shell: –for a really long time–
Santa (ignoring the interruption):–she’s been finding that some of it has been coming true.
Annie: Of course the story’s true!
Santa: Coming true, I said! And this is one big way that it’s coming true. You know how Uncle Paul is a superhero–
Annie: Sshh! We need to keep that a secret!
Santa: –and all the others, Ancestor Man, Otter Woman, and the rest of the folks who showed up at the Ordered Council–
Shell (impatient): Yes, yes–Animal Force.
Santa: Well, here’s the deal. There really are superheroes now in Seattle, fighting crime. They’re part of the Rain City Superhero Movement, and you can read all about them right here:
Phoenix Jones and the Rain City Superhero Movement
Shell: Wow!
Annie: See? We are real!
Santa: That’s rather a leap–
Shell: –in a single bound!
Santa: Let’s not jump to conclusions!
Shell: Why not? The alternative isn’t very attractive.
Annie: Wh-what alternative?
Shell: That we’re figments of someone’s imagination.
Santa, Annie, and Shell: Naaahhhh!
Santa (sagely): After all, life is just one big storybook anyway, right?
Shell: Very wise, oh older cousin.
Santa: Right! …. Hey, are you making fun of me?
Shell: Moi??? By the way, have I shown you myself as a superhero? Myself when I’m a bit older anyway. I created it at Hero Machine. Here it is:
Santa: Pretty fancy, Shell. But what kind of superhero name is “Veriditas”?
Shell: You know, a weird one!
Annie: I wonder what kind of superhero I’d be? Can superheroes just serve tea?
Shell: I’m sure you can be any kind of superhero you want. Serving cups of Peace tea sounds like the perfect way for you to combat crime!
Santa (choking): Mnrf, snort!
Shell: I’m serious!
Santa (recovering): Anyway — that’s all I had to share for this week. By for now, everyone!
Shell and Annie: Bye!