When Yujin's eyes flutter open, she finds herself in a glass enclosure within an unfamiliar room. Her vision was a bit murky, but she managed to see lab equipment strewn everywhere from racks of vials of varying colors to advanced microscopes to other metal tools she couldn't even name. Aside from that though, there was just something off about the place.
Where am I? She thinks while stretching out her hand to touch the glass only to notice how the action felt slower than normal. It was as if she were moving through molasses.
Huh...? She tried to move her whole body this time, but a similar effect persisted.
"I see that you're finally awake, Ahn Yujin." A female voice cuts through the silence. It's a bit warbled though, as if the noise was being distorted as it entered her cell.
"Please don't bother talking. I won't be able to hear you anyway." The woman is now in Yujin's line of sight. She had dark hair and was wearing a white lab coat with thick framed glasses. "Just stay still while I run some tests."
Yujin watches as the woman walks up to a monitor and presses a button. Suddenly, Yujin's cell turns a shade of blue, and that's when she realizes why her movements were so slow- she was trapped in some kind of jello.
Jello has liquid in it though. Maybe I can control it. Yujin thinks, trying to shift the material around to no avail. Instead, the more she tries to control it, the more it constricts her. A couple seconds ago, she could at least move around, but now, her body was frozen in place.
"Hmm? If you're trying to use your little water trick you have, don't bother. It's a new invention we whipped up." The scientist says, typing something into the computer before grabbing one of the vials and walking up to the cell.
"Can you try controlling this for me instead?" The woman asks. Yujin would've been glad to oblige, but whatever substance was in the vial wasn't reacting to her pull either. What's odd though is that from her view, it appeared to just be regular water.
"Nothing? Good. That means you won't be a roadblock to our plans." The scientist says with a look of satisfaction.
What does that even mean? Yujin thinks to herself before the woman presses another button on the side. Slowly but surely, Yujin feels her surroundings becoming chilly until her cell starts to freeze. As much as she wanted to fight and break free, the liquid in the room just wouldn't respond to her call. It was honestly scary, not having her power to use.
"I'll be back in a couple hours to run some more tests." The scientist says with a laugh before walking away. "Make yourself at home."
Wonyoung... Wherever you are... Please come find me... Yujin thinks before completely freezing over.
~~~~
"Wait, unnie, stop here!" Hitomi says in Chaeyeon's ear as they zoomed deeper into the forest.
"What is it? Do you sense something?" The older girl asks. Hitomi nods before getting off Chaeyeon's shoulders and walking towards a grove of pine trees.
"The trees are angry..." Hitomi says as she places a hand on one. "Something is blocking off the water in the area. Their roots are feeling dry."
"Water? But, I can definitely hear a river nearby." Chaeyeon decides to scan the surrounding area until her gaze stops at something in the distance that looks out of place- a tall concrete wall. Chaeyeon slowly walks towards it, and with all her focus diverted, she almost loses her footing and falls into a ditch. Luckily, Hitomi had caught her shoulder before she did. Looking down now, the two realized it wasn't just a ditch, but an empty river bank.
YOU ARE READING
Project IZ*ONE III
Action*IZ*ONE superhero AU* Six months have gone by without any big trouble for IZ*ONE. The girls, along with their new members from IVE and Le Sserafim, have been going about their daily lives, but continued to train in anticipation of a looming threat...
