Special abilities

“There are no mistakes, only opportunities.” —Tina Fey

“So you’re telling me that you have superpowers?”

Hoshi sighs in exasperation.

“For the fourth time, I DO NOT HAVE SUPERPOWERS!”

“Then what are those?” Kibo points to her party cones.

“Ordinary party cones with a little modification. When the hearts on it are glowing they block any signal, including the one from these arm bandanas. They also stop any objects that use electricity.”

The young girl remembers their talk from yesterday.

“As I said, don’t worry! I’ve got my ways!”

“Including surveillance cameras!” Kibo says after a while.

“Yes! You finally understand! The thing is that I can only use them once a day and on a certain number of persons. I haven’t tried on many so I don’t know the exact limit.”

“You do have superpowers! You’re so cool!” She says with admiration.

“FOR THE FIFTH TIME, I DO NOT HAVE-“

*knock*

*knock*

*knock*

Hoshi gives Kibo a killing look and walks to the doors of her office.

“This must be Mieko. He's the only one who knocks so gently.”

She was right. A pretty handsome guy enters the room and bows in respect. He was so much taller than Hoshi.

Is this some kind of universe for giants? Kibo didn’t see a lot of short people.

He was covered in red. What emotion was associated with red again?

Love? No, that’s not one of the basic feelings.

“Anger... ” She whispers, but the other two heard.

The boy turns his gaze on her. She was new. She didn’t have bandanas or a specific color. She was wearing many shades of blue.

“I do work at Anger Department. The next floor is where I come from.” He says and makes himself comfortable on an armchair.

Hoshi’s cones have been on for a while. She was watching with interest every movement of the boy. Also, she didn’t bother to say anything and waited for her guests to interact.

As expected, the silence builds up almost instantly.

Kibo’s attention was all over the guy. He had two circular scars around his neck. She was analyzing the moment and in no time she understood who he was.

Meiko was staring at the ceiling. If his eyes weren’t open he would have looked asleep.

“Very talkative, aren’t we?” The nagging voice of Hoshi breaks the ice.

The other two focused on the girl staying at the desk.

“Kibo, as you already figured out, he is Meiko. Meiko, you already know her.”

“Are you a couple?” Kibo asks expecting an affirmative answer.

Unexpectedly, Meiko gives her a disgusted look and Hoshi starts laughing.

“I don’t have a death wish!” He mumbles.

“It’s not like I expect you to have good taste anyway!” The yellow girl replies with a smile.

“Please, I’m not that desperate to lower my standers!”

“It’s been 3 years and you still didn’t change. “

It’s been 3 years since what?

The boy’s eyes were filling with sadness and regret while the past keeps on playing in his mind.

“Don’t overthink it.” Hoshi interrupts his trance.

“It’s not my place to ask about what happened.” Kibo thought. “They seem close. Their friendship is unique without a doubt!”

“Kibo, guess what!” The yellow girl suddenly says.

“What?”

“He also has superpowers!” She drops the news with a devilish smile.

“I have what?” The boy was confused.

Now if she concentrates on the conversation, Meiko has a little bit of an Australian accent. So in her world, he must be from Australia. Interesting!

“Stop lying to her-“

“Shut it loser!” She cuts him off quickly. “He has a key tattoo on his right arm. What it glows he can unlock everything, from drawers to doors and cells. Our powers are somehow connected. The lope of the key has a heart shape.”

“Why would you tell her that-“

“Shut it, will you? He just has to touch what he wants to unlock, but he also has some after-effects. If he uses his power on something small like a box or a drawer, he won’t be able to use it for a day. If he uses his power on something like a room, he won’t be able to use it for three days.”

“The biggest the thing he unlocks, the longer it takes to use the key again.” He resumes everything up.

“That is incredible! You both are so lucky!”

Seeing that they have a fan, Meiko and Hoshi exchanged proud smiles. It felt good to be appreciated.

“But I still don’t understand something.”

The duo looks at her with curious eyes.

“Why do you need me?”

Right. She was called there for a reason, not to make friends.

“You see, there are six special objects which offer the owner the ability to do something. Having all them together should give us hope and bring this factory down.”

“You want answers and change?”

They both nod.

“Also freedom.”

They share the same goal as Haru! What a relief! Maybe they will become a team in the future…

“We know half of the objects and we suspect that the fourth is with you.”

If they know half this means there is one more person that Kibo doesn’t know about.

“Who is the third owner?” She questions ignoring the red boy’s words.

“A doctor who works for Disgust Department. Meiko knows him better than me. They cooperated in the past.”

“Let’s say that he has other objectives than us and is not interested in a team of youngsters.”

“Youngsters? I thought you were older.”

“We are older than you, that’s for sure. I’m 23, almost 24.” Hoshi says.

“I’m 26.” Meiko answers casually. “The doctor we talked about is 32.”

“But we are friends now so you don’t have to use any formalities!”

“I approve! I swear if I hear another teen call me mister I’m gonna lose it!” He throws his hand in the air.

The girls giggle.

“You would look much younger if you’d sleep more. Your eye bags are deeper than the ocean, dear!”

“Don’t say that!”

“Thanks, Aiko-“

“His eye bags are deeper than the word itself!”

“Ah! Another bully! That’s not how you’re supposed to speak to your senior, you know?”

They laugh at his pouting face.

“It’s not funny!”

He is ignored and the laughing keeps ongoing.

“You two are worse than those kids who call me mister!” Meiko complains ready to give up on his will to live.

After some agonizing minutes, they calm down and enjoy each other presence in silence.

“They are good persons!” Kibo thoughts.

“Aiko, do you usually feel a déjà-vu?”

“I rarely have one.”

“Then do you hear other thoughts, read their heart, or hear more than a normal person?”

“Is this the ability you get from one of the objects?”

“Yes. This is unique because it is a human heart, not any insignificant thing. Since is connected to the owner’s body, you can use it every time you please.”

“But I don’t think a sane person will use it often. It gives you horrible pain in the years, heart or head.”

“Don’t forget about the eyes! I counted on you to correct me. You can also see more than a normal eye can!”

“If you ask me, this is the coolest, yet dangerous power.”

“I’m sorry, but you got the wrong person. I have never experienced such sensations!”

“It’s impossible! The doctor said that the owner is someone different with high aspirations! Hoshi, she doesn’t even have bandanas, what could be more distinctive than this?”

“I don’t know.”

“It can be a morality trait. You know, what makes an individual different from others is his personality.”

“Do you have someone in mind?”

“I do actually!”