The back door quickly swings open, smacking the wall next to it. An older woman, who could be someone’s tough grandma, is wearing the same uniform as Ena and holding a broom as if she’s ready to fight, peeks out of the door entrance. She scans the scene, looking at Ena then Eilo and back to Ena.

“Kano. Are you okay?” She asks. “You’ve been out here for a while?”

“Oh yeah, sorry.” Ena says as she puts her hands in front of her, trying to put the older woman at ease. “I’m fine. This guy fell off the roof and I was just making sure he was okay.”

The woman lowers the broom. “Alright then. Well, finish this up. You still got work.”

“Yes, of course. I’m sorry.”

The woman glares at Elio as she closes the door and walks back inside.

As the door closes, Elio looks at the door then Ena. “She’s not going to ask why I was on the roof or anything?”

“She’s good at reading situations and probably figured it wasn’t worth asking. She’s my favorite manager.”

“Huh, I see.”

“I should get back to work.”

“Yeah and I gotta go catch that bird. But before that, can you give me your phone info? I wanna use your Bounce again. Doing jobs without abilities is more of a pain than I thought.”

“Wait, you want to use my ability to catch the bird?

"Call it bounce, and yes, it’s a bit small but it’ll do.”

“I don’t see how it can be useful.”

“It can be very useful. I already have a few ideas on how to use it.”

“Useful?” Ena lets out a soft smile. “How does your Alter work with using an ability? Like is there a time limit or can you use it wherever or whenever after you Alter it?”

“There isn’t a time limit. My Alter locks in that altered ability, so as long as I don’t release it I can keep using it. However, when I do have an ability locked in, I can’t locate or identify other abilities. I can't Alter the ability that’s locked in. If I want to make a different Alter to the same ability, I have to undue the current Alter and make a new one. And if you are not in my range when it’s undone, I can't make a new Alter and then I would be in trouble.” Elio laughs.

“Range?” Ena remembers Elio touching her face. “Is it not physical? Did you have to touch my face to read my ability?”

“Locate, the first phase of my Alter. I can locate by touch or with my own little radar that lets me search at a distance. However, I have to activate it but if I just touch someone, I can tell if they have an ability right away.”

“So, you could have just scanned my ability?”

“Uh, well think of it like this. It’s like Wi-Fi vs a cable connection. When I use Wi-fi mode, I don’t need touch but it takes longer to do all the phases of my Alter. But with touch, it’s much faster and I can even sense if someone has just a bud of an ability. When you helped me up, that’s when I felt your Bounce. Then I wanted to get a good read.”

 “I guess that makes sense but you couldn't have just shaken my hand instead of my head?” Ena says as she pulls out her phone.

Elio takes out his Phone. “The head is the best place to read abilities.”

“Really?”

 Elio shakes his head. “No. Do you have that code thingy that exchanges phone numbers?”

“Of course.” 

The two tilts their phones towards each other but Ena glances at her phone then Elio. Debating if she really wants to give her info to this strange man but her curiosity about abilities is too strong and she doesn’t want to lose this chance.

Eilo notices Ena’s pausing,  “Uh, give me your info please. I want to use your Bounce.”

“Let’s make a deal.”

Elio looks bewildered but excited. “What kind of deal? I don’t have money.”

“I don’t want money. You seem to know a lot about these abilities. I will let you use mine but in exchange, you must help me control it.”

Eilo gleams with joy. “Oh, that’s what you want? You want to strengthen your ability. I can see its potential. Yeah, I can do that.”

“I don’t want to strengthen it. I just want to control it better so I don’t accidentally use it again.”

“Again? Well, you need to strengthen it to get better control of it.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Elio looks up at the sky. “If you’re holding a ball with outstretched arms but your arms keep getting tired and you keep dropping the ball. You gotta strengthen those arms to stop dropping the ball. You get it?”

Ena thinks about it. “I guess, as long as you help me with my ability. I go along with it.”

The two finish exchanging numbers.

Elio looks at his phone, “Good.” he looks at Ena with a mischievous smile. “Your first task is to help me get that bird.”

“What? No. I can’t help with getting a bird.”

Elio puts his hands on Ena’s shoulders. “Trust me, it will. You just need to talk to the old man while I get the bird. You don’t even need to use your Bounce.”

Ena looks worried. “I don’t have to use my ability. I just have to talk to an old man. How does that help me with my ability?”

“I have to get a good feel of it. The best way to do that is out on the field. So while I sneak in the back, you talk to him in the front.”

 “You want me to.” “Ena pauses.” Help you break into a guy’s house?”

“Break in? No, it’s a bird retrieval. We’re allowed to enter his place for such a noble reason. Also, if you help, I’ll give you some of the cut.”

Ena lets out a sigh. “Not breaking in, huh. Feels like I shouldn’t ask more. I just have to talk to him and you’ll help me with my ability.”

“Bounce.”

“Yes, Bounce but that’s all I gotta do?”

“Yes. Easy, right?”

Ena lets out another sigh. “Fine, as long as you help me with my… Bounce, I’ll help you but I’m not doing anything illegal.”

“Yes!” Elio pumps his fist. “And don’t worry, you won’t have to do anything illegal.”

“Alright, I get off in about an hour, text me then.”

 “This is gonna be fun.”

Ena opens the back door and waves to Elio as she goes inside. When the door closes, she lets out a sigh and leans against the door. “What am I doing?”