Controlling the Power
"Jeff." A faint voice. A voice I had grown somewhat used to by now. Shine's soft voice tickled my ears.
"Mmh..." A sleepy mumble escaped my lips. My blurry vision remained buried beneath the blankets.
"Wake up." My body was shaken back and forth. My body was small enough to be easily jostled by the hands of a little girl.
My memories gradually grew clearer. I sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing down my messy hair. Shine caught my head as it drooped heavily. Leaning against her shoulder, I let out a long, lazy yawn.
"Nnngh..." I stretched, extending my short legs. My dangling feet lightly tapped against the side of the bed.
"My head hurts."
"Does it hurt a lot?" At my grumbled complaint, she gently stroked my head. The touch of a small girl. Feeling a subtle sense of discomfort, I pushed Shine's hand away.
"I'm fine now." A fragile, unstable smile. The girl reflected in Shine's eyes wore such a smile. I quickly touched the corners of my mouth. My small hands fumbled around, adjusting my expression. Since this body wasn't familiar to me yet, even forming facial expressions felt like a chore.
"Is everyone awake?" A voice from the middle of the living room drew my gaze. Amy, dressed in a black suit, was sitting on the plush sofa. It was the first time I had seen her in a suit. What did she feel like when I first met her? I had been so focused on the beam of light shooting from her fingertips that I hadn't paid any attention to her presence itself.
"Are we going somewhere today?" I hopped off the bed and asked Amy. At my question, she looked down at her clothes and nodded. Her pink hair fluttered with the movement.
"My work piled up quite a bit while I was busy taking care of you two." Are you going to commit another act of terror? I wanted to ask. Right then, the word terror that I swallowed back triggered a chain reaction of hazy memories. The static in my head grew louder, and my headache intensified. I frowned, clutching my head.
"What's for breakfast today?" Shine naturally slid over and clung to my side, intertwining her arm with mine. She had the high body temperature typical of a young child. Her warm skin pressed softly against mine. The static instantly subsided. The headache quickly vanished as well. Immediately after, the only thing on my mind was what we would be having for breakfast. Holding hands with Shine, I headed toward the dining area.
Walking ahead of us, Amy seemed completely preoccupied with checking her constantly buzzing phone. I kept a close eye on the device in her hand. The contents of a message appeared on the blurry screen. Though I couldn't make out the exact details, a few words flew out and lodged themselves in my mind.
Seizure
Amy's phone vanished from sight. I naturally averted my gaze. Shine looked at me with a strange expression from beside me, but I paid her no mind.
"Are you going to be away today, Amy?" Shine asked while we were eating. Amy, who had barely touched her food, looked up and replied with a small smile.
"That's right. I might not be able to come back for a few days."
Shine seemed to have taken quite a liking to Amy. "You have to come back." The static buzzing in my head stopped for a split second. Amy's eyes went blank. But it was only for a fleeting moment. She immediately returned to her usual self. "Of course I will," Amy said with a bright smile, patting Shine's head.
I quickly stood up from my seat. The spoon and chopsticks in my hand clattered loudly onto the floor. Shine's gaze shifted toward me. I looked at her, my face pale with shock. "You...!"
"Jeff?" My mouth snapped shut. Having stood up, I tried to quickly climb down from my chair... or at least, I wanted to. But the hand holding mine had no intention of letting go. Once again, the static buzzed in my ears.
"I think Jeff's hand hurts." I nodded blankly at Shine's words. It felt like my hand really did hurt. My right hand was trembling uncontrollably. It looked like I couldn't even hold my chopsticks properly.
"I think so, too," I replied to Amy, cradling my trembling hand. Amy, who had looked surprised, pulled a fresh set of utensils from the holder next to the table and handed them to me.
The meal was satisfying, as always. The high-pitched static gradually died down. Like the calming of waves, the noisy din filling my head subsided, and peace returned to my mind.
After finishing our meal, we headed to a massive auditorium. It was a vast, open space. Inside, dozens of mechanical devices were packed together. Even so, there seemed to be more than enough room to move around violently. The machines were somewhat familiar. Most of them were devices designed to measure and assist physical and supernatural abilities. I realized why Amy had brought us here.
"Are you going to take this off?" I raised my hand. The silver bracelet gleamed, showing itself off.
"So you know what that is, Jeff." Amy stroked my head. The sensation of her large hand pressing down and messing up my hair wasn't very pleasant. I quickly slipped away from her touch.
"There's no one here," Shine said, looking around. Just as she said, a space this large surely required many people to maintain it. Yet, there wasn't a single soul in sight besides us.
"Because today is a day off."
"A day off? The weekend?" At Amy's words, I realized I didn't even know what day of the week it was. The information a little girl's body could gather was far too limited. If I had at least a computer or a phone, things wouldn't be like this.
"It's fine, since we only need to use one thing anyway." Amy led us toward a device shaped like a large circular dome. Turning on the machine, she unlocked the bracelets wrapped around Shine's and my wrists. The restraint devices came off incredibly easily. As the cold silver bracelets were removed, they left faint marks on our wrists.
I was the first to step inside the device.
"Yes."
Releasing my power? I raised both of my hands. A ticklish sensation rushed back. The manifestation of my ability, which had felt so distant, returned. Blue currents of electricity surged at my fingertips. Crackle. Spark—
I spread my arms wide. Blue electricity erupted from my fully extended body. A sharp, crackling sound filled the entire space. A massive electromagnetic field formed around me. My white hair stood up in all directions. My feet, which had been planted on the floor, began to float.
"I'm perfectly fine."
I let go of my control over the power. As if to drown out the static filling my head, the electricity discharging from my body blanketed my vision. Blue light rained down everywhere. Zap— Boom! The light, which had started as mere sparks, transformed into blinding flashes. Boom! Crash! The blue light violently struck the massive dome. The bolts shot out in straight lines, accompanied by deafening explosions. My vision was dyed pure white. The sensation of freely unleashing the power I had been suppressing was incredibly intoxicating. A pleasant rhythm of movement followed.
An ability I couldn't normally use. I was always surrounded by countless mechanical devices. I couldn't even begin to estimate how much damage I would cause if I used my power in a place like that.
I felt a pang of regret at Amy's command to stop. I dispersed the electricity scattering from my fingertips. Five streaks of blue light shot out. I began to suppress the power flowing out of my body. My floating body slowly descended, and my fluttering hair settled back down. I gently moved my tongue, feeling the lingering tingle in my mouth.
My ability was the same as ever. Nothing had changed. It was just me who had changed. My altered body disrupted the flow of the electricity. It wasn't the familiar pathways, but newly formed ones. The current surging through those paths escaped my control. Like a rampaging bull that had broken free, it was incredibly wild. The scorch marks etched into the glass walls of the massive dome caught my eye.
I obediently followed Amy's instruction. My gaze remained fixed on my bare arms. Just before stepping out of the device, I paused. My eyes drifted to where Shine was standing. She was standing next to Amy, watching me. I raised my hand. As my emotions flared, blue sparks crackled between my fingers.
"Jeff." Shine wore a bright smile. I lowered my hand and smiled back. Looking at her smile, my anxiety vanished in an instant. With light, bouncy steps, I trotted over to Amy and Shine. Amy held out the bracelet to me. I accepted it with a reluctant expression. Putting on a power-suppressing device with my own hands was a deeply depressing affair. Once again, the bracelet was fastened around my arm.
"What is Jeff's ability?" Amy answered Shine's question.
"She was classified as a high-tier lightning-type. It's a rare and highly valuable ability. That also means bad people will target her for it."
Shine walked over and linked her arm with mine. A silver bracelet was fastened around her arm as well.
"Shall we head back, then?"
"Pardon?"
"What are you doing? Aren't you coming?" Amy turned and began to walk away. The documents in her hand contained information about Shine and me. Wait. Weren't we here to test our abilities? My confusion was short-lived. Shine slipped behind my back and wrapped her arms around me. A cozy warmth enveloped me. Her chin rested on my shoulder. A soft, whispering voice flowed into my ear.
"Jeff."
"Yeah..."
"Let's go back and eat some snacks."
I shook my head. I didn't want snacks. "Not snacks. I want to drink cola."
Giggle— A soft chuckle tickled my ear. Shine stroked my hair. At the touch of the small girl, I snuggled deeper into her embrace like a contented cat.
"You two really get along well," Amy said, watching us from ahead. I looked at Shine. Her eyes curved into a warm smile directed at me.
"Yes," I replied. We got along well. I agreed with Amy's words. I nodded a moment later. Shine, seemingly pleased with my answer, stepped forward and pulled my hand. The questions that had filled my head vanished. Right now, I just wanted to drink some cola. A cold, refreshing cola. With ice, of course. Together, we walked out of the auditorium.