Controlling the Current

Controlling my power.

I floated some ice in my cola and popped a straw inside. The large plastic cup filled both of my hands. The cola inside fizzed with refreshing carbonation.

"Is it good?" Shine asked.

I nodded in response. A happy smile spread across my face as the ice-cold cola washed down my throat.

Amy led us into a spacious gymnasium. "Are these the kids?" Standing deep inside the gym was a disheveled-looking man who seemed to lack any shred of motivation. Appearing to be in his late twenties, he ran a hand through his messy hair as he approached Amy.

Amy handed him a set of documents. I caught a glimpse of the papers and scanned the contents. It was a file with my name and photo attached. Below that, a brief description of my ability was written.

At that moment, the hand Shine was holding tightened its grip. Startled, I spun around to look at her. Red veins bulged around Shine's eyes. The strain of the veins popping on her forehead distorted her otherwise lovely face. Her gaze remained locked onto the man, refusing to budge. A faint ringing in my ears began to grow louder.

"Shine?" I called out, anxiety creeping into my voice. But she didn't answer. The ringing in my ears kept swelling. With a sharp screeech, a sudden pop echoed in my mind.

"Hmm..." The man shook his head slightly as he read the papers. He even frowned, rubbing his forehead as if hit by a sudden headache. "Are you Jeff?" He looked up from the documents and addressed me. I nodded.

"And this one must be Shine..." He checked Shine's file. For a split second, his eyes went completely blank. "I guess twins really do take after each other. You're both electric-types?"

"It seems so," Amy replied.

Hearing their conversation, I turned to Shine with a bewildered expression. Her ability wasn't electric. How could this be? I distinctly remembered testing our abilities with Amy...

A hazy fog rolled into my mind, shrouding the rising memory. A delayed static noise began to grow louder in its wake.

Drip.

A tiny sound snapped me out of my daze. Shine, standing right beside me, had begun to bleed from her nose. Crimson blood trickled down.

"Shine!"

At my urgent cry, Amy quickly pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it against Shine's nose. The white cloth rapidly stained red.

"I'm fine," Shine muttered, frowning as she pulled away from Amy's touch.

"Shine looks exhausted, so let's have her skip the test for today," Amy decided. Ultimately, Shine was sent to rest on a small metal chair nearby. When I cast an anxious look her way, she managed to squeeze out a small, reassuring smile.

"Well, I'll be off then. Send them back to their room once the test is over, and make sure they're well-fed." Amy instructed the man to look after us. The man glanced at us with a look of pure annoyance, then nodded with a soft sigh. "Got it."

Apparently dissatisfied with his half-hearted response, Amy leaned down and whispered softly in my ear, "If that mister tries anything weird, you tell me right away, okay?"

"What if you're not around?"

"Then scream as loud as you can."

"Is he a weird person?"

At my question, Amy's expression twisted into a strange grimace. She seemed to ponder it for a moment before nodding. "Yes, he is definitely a weird one."

Amy pulled me into a hug and stroked my hair. Being held in her broad, warm embrace didn't feel half bad. But the moment I felt Shine's burning gaze piercing my back, I hastily wriggled out of Amy's arms.

"I'll be back," Amy said, finally leaving the gym.

"Well then..." A smile crept onto the man's face. He scanned his surroundings, then threw himself onto a nearby mat. "Let's take a quick break."

I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. Sensing my gaze, the man cracked one eye open. "It's not going to take long anyway, so go play with a ball or something nearby."

I toyed with the cup in my hands. The cola was already practically gone. As the melted ice turned to water, the straw in my mouth began to make a racket. I intentionally walked over, sat down right next to him, and slurped loudly. The man, who had his eyes closed, grimaced at the noise I was making.

Slurrrp— Slurrrrrrrp—

"You're doing that on purpose, aren't you?" The man still didn't open his eyes. He questioned me in a quiet, level voice. Instead of answering, I made the noise once more.

Slurrrp—

The man's closed eyes finally snapped open. His lowered gaze locked onto me, dripping with sheer annoyance. Sighing deeply, he pushed himself up.

"Fine, fine."

I set my cup down on the floor. I didn't know exactly what we were doing, but I figured I'd only be allowed back to my room once this was over.

"It's just a simple test, so it'll be over in a flash." Saying so, the man pulled several small bracelets out of his pocket. "You can't use your ability at all right now, correct?" I nodded, touching the bracelet currently on my wrist. I didn't like its cold, metallic sensation.

"Alright, let's see..." The man approached and unlocked the bracelet. Instantly, the suffocating restriction lifted. My heavily suppressed energy began to run wild. Blue currents of electricity crackled at the tips of my fingers.

Click—

But the power was immediately suppressed once more. A new bracelet had been snapped onto my wrist. Unlike the silver ones, this one had a faint blue tint—a device I had never even seen back at the laboratory.

"What is this?" Blue sparks still crackled at my fingertips. But that was it. I couldn't draw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out any more power than that.

"Fascinating, isn't it?"

It really was a strange sensation. The restriction was still there, but it felt like a tiny breathing hole had been opened. I pointed my finger and shot a tiny spark of electricity. A flash of light flickered, leaving a small singe mark on the floor. Watching my actions, he began writing something down on his papers. "Any discomfort?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head.

As I did, I quickly scanned our surroundings. The gym was massive. But just as expected, there wasn't a single window in sight. It was structured so that one couldn't see the outside from within, nor the inside from without.

"What are you looking around for? Is the place that interesting?" he asked, noticing my darting eyes. His question left me tongue-tied. Why was I scanning every nook and cranny of this gymnasium so thoroughly? I couldn't think of a reason. It just felt like... something I had to do.

"I guess so," I nodded, playing along with his assumption.

He scratched his cheek with his pen, then held out the next bracelet. Once again, the bracelet on my arm was removed. The moment it came off, my fully unleashed power began to rage like a wild bull. Just as the sharp crackle of electricity filled the air, the man swiftly snapped another bracelet onto my wrist. The power subsided once more. This time, it felt remarkably comfortable. I stared at him with wide, curious eyes.

"What is this one?"

"It's to check how well you can control your power at different suppression levels."

I nodded and toyed with the bracelet. Ah, so that's it. Right now, I'm in a state where I can't control my own power.

"See that target over there? Try shooting at it." The man pointed ahead with his pen. Just as he said, a large target was hanging on the far wall. Following his instruction, I extended my hand and unleashed a bolt of electricity. A blue flash tore through the air ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with a sharp crackle. The scent of ozone and burning filled the room. The center of the target was scorched black, emitting a thin trail of smoke.

"Have you ever been trained somewhere before?"

I sifted through my hazy memories. Then, it came to me. Dr. Hebrum had tested my abilities once. During that test, I had failed to control my power properly and ended up destroying the laboratory's equipment. To prevent that from happening again, they had put me through separate training sessions inside the facility.

"I received training at the laboratory," I answered.

At my response, the man fell silent. A dark shadow cast over his face.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Huh?"

"So you two were the kids rescued from that laboratory." The man offered a bitter smile as he continued writing on his clipboard. I sat quietly beside him, waiting. Yet, my eyes remained busy. An optimal escape route began to map itself out in my head. However, I still couldn't locate the most crucial element: the main exit.

"Mister."

"I'm not 'mister.' Call me Victor."

Only then did I finally learn his name.

"Victor."

"Yeah?"

"I want to see Shine's file."

"Shine's?"

At my request, Victor rustled through his papers. He then pulled out a single sheet and handed it to me. "This one?" I quickly took the document.

The details about Shine were written across the white paper. I glanced over to check on her. She was nodding off with her eyes closed, looking exhausted. It was a document containing only basic information like her name and estimated age. A photo of a face identical to mine was attached to it. My eyes quickly scanned the text. But the most important section—the one regarding her ability—was a complete blank.

"This..." I pointed at the empty section, holding the paper out to Victor. "Isn't this a mistake?"

Shine had definitely undergone the ability evaluation with me. Inside that massive dome. Amy had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there too, so my memory wasn't playing tricks on me. Yet, I couldn't recall seeing what kind of ability Shine had used in there. Had I dozed off for a moment?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Screeech—

The ringing returned to my ears. My vision blurred. I slowly turned my head.

"Shine..."

Shine, who had been sitting on the chair with her eyes closed, was suddenly standing right next to me. When had she approached? I hadn't heard a single footstep.

"Jeff."

"Yeah..."

Shine held out her hand. Naturally, I handed the document over to her.

"Jeff. This isn't a mistake."

"Okay..."

Shine's face contorted. She was panting heavily, as if enduring immense strain. Worried about her, I reached out. Our small hands intertwined. A gentle, soothing warmth wrapped around my palm.

"Give it back to Victor."

I nodded. Taking the document back from Shine, I handed it to Victor. Without a word, Victor blankly accepted the paper and began writing something down. The blank section under her ability began to fill up with Victor's handwriting.

Having finished writing, Victor suddenly slammed his head onto the desk. The pen in his hand clattered to the floor. Startled by the sudden noise, I jumped up from my seat.

"Victor?"

"He must be tired," Shine's voice drifted from behind me.

"Shine?"

She reached out and wrapped her arms around me, her soft hands slipping under my armpits.

"Shine, when did you wake up?"

"Just now."

I flinched at the warm breath brushing against the back of my neck. Shine had gently blown on my skin.

"That tickles."

I heard Shine's soft giggle. I squirmed and wriggled out of her embrace. My eyes remained glued to Victor, who was still face-down on the desk. Looking at him, a sudden impulse washed over me. I decided to give in to it. Picking up the fallen pen from the floor, I crept toward Victor.

"What are you doing?"

At Shine's question, I replied with a mischievous grin. "I want to draw a picture."

I moved the pen, doodling a little drawing on Victor's face. But I quickly grew tired of it. Placing the pen back on the desk, I lay down on the mat. It felt firm yet comfortably padded. Shine looked down at me for a moment before lying down right by my side. We turned to face each other and laughed.