Stewart felt like he was drifting. A faint, cold breeze brushed against his skin. Something was moving nearby. He didn’t know where he was.

His eyes were heavy, but he managed to crack them open. Still, his vision was blurry. It seemed like there was something covering his face, some sort of mesh bag or hood. He tried to focus on his limbs, on his skin. He seemed to be wearing very little clothing. This kind of focus helped him regain consciousness little by little. It was then that he realized he was being pushed in a wheelchair. When he tried to look around, he couldn't move his head. He felt paralyzed.

Was he still asleep? He couldn’t be. He had to focus. Wherever he was, he didn’t want to be here. Desperate, he tried to use his powers and access the vision of his mind’s eye. Yet, the vision failed him. His head throbbed with pain. His powers weren’t working. Someone had stopped them up.

He tried to open his mouth to speak, but he couldn’t make a sound. Not even a moan. He felt his fear grow.

Before he could come up with a new strategy, the wheelchair came to a stop. Through the mesh, he could make out someone approaching. The figure stopped in front of him. Seconds later, the bag was removed to reveal Agent Reynolds, with his signature smile on.

"Rise and shine, kiddo."

Stewart glared. This was the monster that had put him here. Reynolds had tricked him last time, but he wouldn’t have the satisfaction this time. Stewart tried to focus on his powers once more. Still, nothing. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything. He could only move his eyes.

He scanned his surroundings. He couldn’t see anything familiar to him. This felt, in many ways, like the worst case scenario.

Reynolds tilted his head to one side, taunting. "What's wrong? Lost for words?"

Then, he lifted Stewart's limp arm to show that he wore special restraint mitts over his hands. Stewart felt his anger bubbling.

"For your safety and ours, we had to make sure you weren’t a flight risk,” Reynolds said. He talked as though this was a completely normal and reasonable thing to do. “And even if you did, these shackles are tailor-made for repressing Seirei Jin powers, making it easier to capture. Quite effective, don’t you think?"

He dropped Stewart's arm, letting it fall limply to demonstrate the teen’s lack of control. Then, Reynolds signaled for the attendant to continue pushing Stewart down the hall. Within seconds, they arrived at a door labeled "Section 18.” Reynolds entered a code, and the door swung open.

Stewart recognized this new room. It was exactly what he’d seen when he read the Agent’s mind before. The large room was bustling with scientists. At its center focal point stood a tall cylindrical tower, wrapped in a copper inductor. The top of the tower resembled a transformer. Wires ran from it to four pods around the room, which were then linked to large overhead monitors. Flashing lights and bright sparks of electricity lit up the room every other second.

To Stewart’s horror, he wasn’t alone. Three of the pods contained what he could only assume were also half-breed Seirei Jins: two young adults—a male and female—and the teenage girl he’d seen captured days earlier. Their heads were shaved, and electrodes were attached to their temples and chests. The three appeared dazed, with droopy eyelids and a similar lack of control over their limbs. Reynolds and the attendant rolled Stewart to the empty fourth pod, and Stewart felt his panic rise to a fever. They were running experiments.

"Welcome to the Tank," Reynolds announced. His tone was completely nonchalant, as though he were merely showing Stewart this room, not imprisoning him in it. "Wanna know why you're here?"

Stewart wanting to roll his eyes at Reynolds question because he clearly couldn’t move his mouth to answer.

Reynolds gestured to the Jins. "These three are Class A Jin Half-Breeds. Psychic Types, just like you. In fact, you’ll be happy to know: they’re the ones who led me to you.”

Stewart was surprised but had no way to express it. There was so much he wanted to say, so many insults he wishes he could throw at the Agent. Yet, he couldn’t. The attendant from behind lifted him from the wheelchair, and he could do nothing. He was laid down inside the fourth pod, strapped in, and hooked up to the electrodes. Stewart could hardly even feel these things happening. His body was distant from him. Reynolds continued his monologue, as though the motionless teen actually wanted to hear it. "You see, kid, you are a part of what we call an Elite Class. I mean, the ability to control or change your destiny with just thoughts? I’m jealous. We all are. But thanks to our scientists here in Section 18, we’ve found a way to control realities. It was studying Jins like you that allowed us to figure it out."

Stewart's eyes widened. Knowing their intentions, with this kind of power in their hands, who knows what dystopian nightmare they can create.

Reynolds smiled, relishing in Stewart’s fear. "I was impressed we were able to manipulate your realities, so the events of this afternoon would draw us to you...well, you and our next target."

Stewart’s head was spinning. It made sense now, why he hadn’t felt like he had any choices this afternoon. These people had controlled his choices. They were the reason he couldn't escape. How was that even possible? He had to get out of here.

The attendant finished connecting Stewart to the machine just then. Reynolds’ evil smile seemed only to grow.

"Start it up," Reynolds called to the scientists at the control center nearby.

Within seconds, the copper conductor began to spin. Both the central machine and the pods hummed to life. The whole room seemed to creak and shake. Stewart looked around, desperate. He had to stop this.

Reynolds watched the teen closely. "Relax. It’s probably easiest to think of yourself as a human battery. This machine will use every ounce of your Jin powers. Say goodbye to your freedom, you are property of the government now."

Stewart tried to resist, but the humming sound of the machine seemed to be coursing through his very blood. His personality, thoughts, and feelings began to drift. He felt them grow farther and farther away from him. His surroundings, so shiny and colorful, faded from view. He felt himself begin to cry, but even that felt far away. Eventually, his vision faded to black.

When his vision returned, Stewart was standing inside a tube. He could hardly move in any direction. He was in a dark void, but he wasn't alone. The other three Seirei Jin were dressed in paper scrubs and standing inside identical tubes. The four tubes, each holding one Jin, were positioned in a circle on top of a massive circular computer hub. They seemed to all be linked together to a central connector, which was bright and metallic. Stewart glanced around at the other Jins, but they seemed even less conscious than he was. He attempted to move toward them, to wake them up, but the edges of his tube electrocuted him.

His heart was racing. He was truly trapped. Then, Stewart heard a machine activate above. He looked up in the direction of the whirring, only to see several large red eyes piercing what he’d thought was empty darkness. A massive, mechanical, jellyfish-like creature began to descend. It was clearly expensive technology, and Stewart tried to squint to see its parts. One of its tentacles latched onto the base of each of the tubes, and the rest of its tentacles connected to the center terminal. It was disconcerting, to see a mechanical creature hanging on to metal tubes like a real octopus would hang on rocks.

Stewart didn’t have much time to contemplate this. In seconds, he felt the energy start being siphoned from his body. He cried out, and so did the others.

Reynolds waited outside the void. Stewart's eyes adopted a blank, expressionless stare, his eyelids halfway open. A scientist removed the mitts unleashing the Jins’ powers, in order to further feed the pod. This was Reynolds’ favorite part, but unfortunately, he had other places to be.

"Activating reality inducer," a scientist announced behind him, initiating the program.

Reynolds stepped back, and for a moment, he watched the power travel from the pods to the central terminal. A virtual HUD that resembled a monitor screen formed in the air, showing static. Reynolds grinned.

"I knew you were special,” Reynolds said.