Bound by Abilities

"Hey sis, what did you call me here for?" Gordon, clutching a cane, sat on the bed, while Gray sat beside him, holding his hand.

"I was worried about you, plus I don't trust hospitals much. Sometimes machines can lose to humans," Lily shrugged.

"Don't think that way. Technology has advanced," Gray said with a smile.

"Yeah, there's progress," Lily laughed. "Indeed, there has been progress. Since everything got replaced by AI, technology hasn't moved forward much."

"Anyway, whatever you called me here for, you can't be this kind-hearted," Gordon pointed at Lily.

"It's actually because Janice has something to say," Lily pointed at Janice who was watching TV.

"Check this out," Janice pulled out a photo.

Gray took the photo and passed it to Gordon. With just a glance, Gordon was stunned, and Lily leaned in to look, equally surprised.

The photo featured three people, or more precisely, three girls.

The one on the left looked a lot like Janice, no, actually identical! She was holding a glass, seemingly filled with red wine.

The girl in the middle was probably the silver-haired girl Lily had met. She was smiling at Janice, her expression full of the naive trust that only friends could have.

The girl on the right… looked exactly like Gray! She had her hands in her pockets, smiling at the other two with eyes filled with affection.

"... Are you guys friends?" Gordon got the point.

"Did you used to wear such sexy clothes before?" Lily missed the point.

"Can you please get the point?" Gray couldn't help but comment.

"Ugh, that's just how she is, carefree as ever. You'll get used to it," Janice sighed, "The truth is, we all met through the organization."

"SHADOW?" Gordon asked.

"Yes, we were their experiments," Janice paused after saying that, reminiscing about a bygone era.

***

Janice lazily stared at the ceiling, almost ready to fall asleep in that very moment.

"Hey, don't fall asleep. You!" a girl's voice came through the window.

"Oh, it's you again," Janice glared at the person standing by the window.

"Hehe, you're quite ruthless," Gray flashed an adorable smile, but that touch of mischief was unmistakable.

"Can you stop smiling like that? You make people want to smack you," Janice sat up straight.

"You too," Gray closed the window.

"Hey! I'm still outside!" a sharp voice of another girl suddenly pierced into their ears.

"Oops, sorry, Tana," Gray looked apologetic as he glanced out the window.

"You're definitely doing this on purpose," Tana turned her entire body into liquid, passed through the window, and then reformed inside.

"What are you two up to now? UNO? Chess? Monopoly? Ludo?" Janice used her eyes to express that she needed rest, but obviously, those two weren't taking the hint.

"UNO!" Tana pulled out several cards, each taped together due to obvious signs of wear and tear.

"Come on, I need to rest, don't bother me," Janice buried her head back into her pillow.

"Come on, don't be like this. Let's have some fun!" Gray persuaded, pulling Janice off the bed.

"Don't push it too far, you two."

Reluctantly, Janice played UNO with them, and it was obvious she won again.

***

"... Janice, are you okay?" Gordon pointed at the tears on her face.

"She's recalling some stuff," Gray explained.

"I don't remember any stuff that could make her cry like this, but looking at her, she probably can't talk properly," Lily patted Janice's head.

"Then let me help her speak." Gray handed Janice a tissue, "We grew up in SHADOW's experimental facility. Our abilities were given to us by their researchers. Hers is foreseeing the future. The girl named Tana can turn her whole body into water, and my ability is turning a word into a real thing, although for now, it's only limited to onomatopoeia."

"So, still in development?"

"Yeah."

"So, how do you guys use these abilities? Superpowers are supposed to be innate, not something regular people suddenly acquire."

"Uh... I'm not really clear on all the details, but it seems like it has something to do with this." Gray pointed at his brain.

"The brain?"

"We have implants with chips inside. The chips stimulate the sensory parts that allow us to use our abilities," Gray tapped his head. "And here, I need to correct one thing. It's not that Level 0 doesn't have abilities, it's that they can't use them, because the parts of the brain responsible for using these abilities aren't activated. That's why the chips are necessary."

"So, you guys are going through... that... human experiments?"

"Heh, this organization is truly despicable," Lily's words dripped with pity.

"Of course, that's not the main point. This is just a setup for what I'm about to say next," Janice wiped away her tears, stood up, and declared, "I'm going to meet Tana, the silver-haired girl. No matter what happens, you guys can't interfere!"