Yooni & Yani Story #1

Yooni and Yani are two siblings and children of the Cosmos sent to Bannica to be its protector. Yooni drew her powers from the stars and had the gift of flight and speed; she could run and fly so fast and even travel through planets. Yani had become an established moon fighter who could create her weapons from anything, including the thin air. Yani was the cool-headed, rational and responsible sister, while Yooni was the annoying, distractible and carefree sister. The Cosmos had decided that it would be best for them to spend time socializing and getting to know Bannacis before starting their duties, and for some reason, a foster home appeared to be the best fit, which was why the sisters spent their first couple of years at a foster home before setting out to live independently. While at the foster home, the kept their power hidden from the rest of the children, and, to make them blend well with the rest, they also went without their pet creatures – Yani has an owl while Yooni has a crocodile.

“Isn’t the night sky so beautiful. Just look at the stars.” Yooni said as she laid on her back on the roof the city mall. From there, they could see the entire town, including the just concluded giant edifice.

“The Moon is still more beautiful.” Yani responded.

“The Moon does not shine as often as the stars. I can’t even say I’m disappointed anymore, I’m used to your tediousness.”

Just then, Yooni’s crocodile squeaked.

“See? Even Pondy agrees.”

“Did you take the light beam we retrieved from the interstellar burglar back to the Star Tower like I told you to?”

“Oh! I, uhm, did not.”

“Then, did you at least turn it off?”

“Yeah… no, I didn’t.”

“If you didn’t take it to the Star Tower and you didn’t turn it off, did you put in a safe place, then?”

“Yeah, it’s safe. It’s in the house.”

“What!? Do you have any idea what could happen if the light beam continues to burn outside the Star Tower? The stars could lose their powers! You could lose your powers and die. You never get anything done completely. What’s with you?”

“Calm down, Yani. I’ll take care of it.” Yooni assured.

“You’d better.”

Yooni pouted and repeated what Yani had said, I mockery.

“By the way, have you heard anything concerning the giant edifice?”

Yani was clearly uninterested.

“Not much, just that it’s a big tech lab that just opened a new branch here. The opening is tomorrow morning.”

Yooni clapped gleefully.

“Oooohh, that means if we could sneak our way in, there’ll be lots of free food, right? I gotta go sort out my wardrobe tonight.”

“You can go. I’ll just watch it from home.”

“Like I needed your permission to begin with. You can suit yourself. Besides, no one needs a party pooper at their party.”

Yani clenched her fist out of anger but decided her sister was not worth the trouble.

“You do know that you could lose your powers if you continue to be so annoying, right?”

Yooni simply shrugged dismissively.

The following day, Yooni went to the venue of the opening ceremony disguised as a member of the protocol team. As soon as she got in, she got rid of her disguise and blended with the crowd. Back at home, Yani was watching the opening on the national television. Finally, the owner of the lab was introduced and called up to deliver his speech.

‘He looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?’ Yani thought deep within herself.

“Could it be…? No, it couldn’t possibly be him. Winston is not his last name. But he really does look like him. I’ll check him out.”

Yani picked up the phone and dialed a number. It rang for a couple of time before it was answered; the person on the other end of the phone coughed and sneezed before speaking.

“Rosalia Foster Home. How may I help you?”

“Hey, Agnes. It’s Yani.”

“Oh! Yani. What do you want?”

Yani gritted her teeth; Agnes had never been nice, the only person she sucked up to was Miss Rosemary, the Proprietor of the foster home, and her boss.

“I see you’re still as charming as ever. I actually called to ask about my old friend, Styles. It’s been so long and I’d like to link up with him, so I was hoping you could be of help.”

Agnes laughed hysterically.

“Yes, you guys were pretty close back then. But why is it now, of all times, that you are curious and want to pick up your friendship. Is it, perhaps, because you saw him on the TV realized he’s the now a tech billionaire?”

“So, it really is Styles?”

“Oops! My mouth is becoming loose these days. My brain and mouth must have decided not to work together anymore.” Agnes replied.

“Don’t worry Agnes. I’m not trying to get you in trouble or anything. And you’ve told me all I needed to know. Thank you for your time.”

Yani waited anxiously for Yooni to return to give her the full details of what she saw but she didn’t return until evening.

“What took you so long?” Yani asked in a calm voice.

“Relax, I was out for just a few hours. I haven’t had fun like that in ages. The food was totally out of this world, oh, did you know there was an after-party? Like after the launch was over and the news people left, a whole party started right then. There were lots of young billionaires and I even danced with some of them.” Yooni went on and on about how the party was great but suddenly stopped when she realized she had been talking to herself all the while.

“So, did you guys talk and catch up?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Styles! Did you meet with Styles?” Yani asked.

“Styles? Who’s Styles?”

“The owner of the company who’s opening party you attended today.”

“Why would I meet with him? Do I know him?”

It was at this point that Yani realized Yooni had no idea who Styles was.

“Are you kidding me? You don’t know who he is?”

“I mean, he looked a bit familiar when I saw him once but there was no way I could know a billionaire like that.”
“That billionaire is Styles! Styles from the foster home.”

Yooni paused for a moment, her jaws dropped in amazement.

“No way! Styles the science freak? Who would have thought that we’d meet like that after how many years. That’s unbelievable.”

“Yeah.”

“Wow! How did he get so rich so quickly?”

“Well, he was adopted by a very wealthy family. There’s something I find strange though.”

“What’s that?”

“Less than two years after he was adopted, his adopted father died and he took over the company. He completely changed the business of the company from what it was before and turned it around into a tech company. And in no time, he’s now one of the richest CEOs in the tech industry, at such a young age, can you imagine that.”

“And so?”

“Did you know how his father died? He was killed by Bryan.”

“Ok, that’s really shady. But how did you recognize him, and how do you know all this?”

“I called the foster home and Agnes unwittingly confirmed that he was the one hosting the party. Then I did a little research and found out the rest.”

Meanwhile, that same evening, Styles was seated in his office when his assistant came in.

“Sir, we’re done for today and your ride is waiting for you downstairs. You’re all set to retire for the day, sir.”

“No, I have old friends to catch up with tonight. You may leave, Stone, drop the keys on your way out.”

Later, Styles drove over to Yooni and Yani’s house and fortunately for him, they had not gone for their night prowl. The duo was preparing to have dinner when they heard a knock on their door.

“Who could it be. We’re not expecting visitors tonight.” Yani said.

“I’ll get the door.”

“Be careful, Yooni.”

“Just relax, ok?”

Yooni opened the door and met the greatest surprise of her life. Styles was standing at the door looking dapper.

“Uhm, Yani! You might want to come and see who our guest is.”

“Who could it b—” Yani was equally shocked when she saw Styles.

“Uhm do you guys want me to keep standing outside or are you going to welcome me.”

“Huh, sorry, our bad! Please, come in. Wow! Uhm, I don’t even know what to say.” Yooni was at a loss for words.

“How about ‘nice to see you again. How have you been?’ That wouldn’t be such a bad start, would it now?” Styles suggested with a smile.

“What brings you here, Styles? And how did you find us?” Yani asked calmly.

“Your voice still carries the same effect, Yani. My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I’m the owner of Unicorn lab. How long do you think it would take to find two people in a town as small as this, especially with technology at my disposal. I thought I saw Yooni at the party and I decided to look you up and come check on you.”

“Thank you, Styles. I see you really did well for yourself. Congratulations, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you Yooni. How would you like a tour of the new branch we just opened?”

The girls stared at each other for a moment. Yooni spoke on behalf of both of them.

“We’d love that.”

Styles was happy to hear that.

“Excellent! I’ll send a car to come pick you tomorrow afternoon.”

Yani forced a wry smile.

‘’I’ll take my leave then; I still have a meeting with the investors. See you guys tomorrow.

Styles took his leave immediately after he finished. On his way out, he put a call through to someone.

“Dr. Ross, please have everything prepared for tomorrow afternoon. The lab rats will be ready by tomorrow afternoon. We need to finish up by tomorrow and head back to HQ by the end of the week”

“Yes, sir.” A voice responded at the other end of the call.

The next day, Styles had Yani and Yooni over in his company.

“Welcome to my lab guys. I’ll be honest, a part of me thought you would cancel at the last minute, but I’m glad you didn’t. Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

“Whoa! You’ve got something big in here. This is gigantic” Yooni said as she could not hide the fact that she was amazed.

“Thank you. Susan, could you get my friends here cups of coffee, please. Thank you.” Styles said to his secretary who brought the duo in.

“I’m glad you like what you see here. I’d like to give you a personal tour of this place but there is something I’d like to discuss with you first.”

“Go ahead. What is it?” Yani asked.

“You see, ever since I was a kid, I’ve always dreamt of using my talent to help the world. Now, I know exactly how I’m going to do that; there’s just one little problem.”

“Wah What is it?” Yooni asked.

“I need something from you guys. I have a proposal, actually, that we become partners. You give me just a bit of your DNA for my scientists to work with and I’ll reward you greatly.”

“What exactly are you planning to do with our DNA?” Yooni asked.

“Well, we’re making an army. The first of its kind with superpowers. The unbeatable army.”

Styles noticed the look of shock and surprise on the face of the sisters.

“That’s right. I know you have powers, I’ve known for a very long time.”

Yani nodded.

“That explains your hostility towards us in the months before your adoption.

“Yea, you can imagine the disappointment when I realized I was friends with liars and betrayers. But that’s in the past. Now, to the matter at hand, what do you say?”

“Why do you need an army, and who’s going to lead this army?” Yani asked with suspicion. She could sense something was wrong.

“Me, of course! Who else?” Styles answered.

“Yooni get up, we’re leaving. This guy’s insane.”

“Leaving? Guys, we don’t have to fight over this. Come on, let’s not do this the hard way.” Styles said with a smirk.

“Yani’s right. Somehow, you want to control the world by using us as tools. This is insanity.”

“What makes you think you can leave so easily?” Styles asked.

Yooni and Yani stopped when they heard what Styles said.

“You know, we were going to invite you to dinner but now, we see that you’re already full of yourself.” Yani responded.

“Then how about we have some refreshments then? Susan, please bring in the coffee.” Styles said as he pressed the green button below his desk. Instantly, the entire office was locked down. Yooni tried to fly out quickly but could not due to the energy field barrier. Yani tried to form weapons from the things around her but found out she was get very weak quickly.

“You didn’t think I came unprepared, did you? I guess you still underestimate me.”

“What’s happening to us? Yooni asked faintly before passing out.

Hours later, Yani woke up and tried to wake Yooni.

“Yooni! Yooni! Wake up!”

“What happened? Where are we?”

Both of them were suspended in the air with chains. Yani’s hands were covered in metal which prevented her from being able to create any weapons.

“What happened to Styles? I can’t believe how much he’s changed”

“This is not the time to be emotional, Yooni. We have to find a way out of here.”

“How do we get out of here? There’s got to be a way out. Yooni, you’ve got to think.” Yooni said to herself like she always did whenever she was stressed. Just then, Styles entered with his scientist.

“Oh, great! Our friends are finally awake. It didn’t have to go down this way, you know.”

Yooni was frustrated.

“Why are you doing this, Styles? You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Oh, I do. I know exactly what I’m doing. Did you really think I came to knock on your door because I wanted to reunite with you two? Oh no! I know better than to be friends with backstabbers.”

“What are you talking about? Yea, sure, we denied having powers when you asked us, but we were acting under strict orders. But that doesn’t make us backstabbers. Is that why you’re doing this?”

“Shut up, Yani. You didn’t think I heard you back then? I trusted you guy! When other kids laughed at me for following you around and even asked me to be wary of you, I defended you because I thought you were my real friends. Turned out I was a fool. That afternoon when you asked me to teach you geometry and I said you should go wait for me, you didn’t know I heard you, Yani. I heard how you told Yooni that you wanted to exploit me and just use my talent to make toys for you. That was just before you admitted to having lied to me about not having powers. I heard you loud and clear.”

 

*** A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO ***

“Alright guys, settle down. We have two new additions with us this morning and I would not want them to feel unwelcome here. So, behave yourselves.” Miss Rosemary announced.

“Yes Miss Rosemary.” The guys echoed all at once.

“Very good. Now, I’ll introduce our latest additions in the foster home.” Miss Rosemary beckoned on Agnes, her assistant, to bring in the new kids.

“Guys, I’d like you to welcome Yooni and Yani as part of you.” Miss Rosemary said.

The teenagers all murmured their welcomes to the delight of Yooni and Yani’s nonchalance.

“Now that that’s done, shall we go back to our various chores?” Miss Rosemary dismissed them and handed Yooni and her sister over to Agnes.

“Please, take them to their rooms and get them updated on the activities in the foster home. By tomorrow morning, I want them ready to join the other kids properly in their activities.”

“Yes ma’am”

Miss Rosemary was on her way to her office when Agnes stopped her and whispered in her ear.

“Excuse me ma’am. How do we go about uhm… you know... their powers?” She asked, trembling.

“Agnes, I told you what to do before, didn’t I? Keep a close eye on the kids and report any abnormal behavior to me as soon as possible. Don’t make me say this again. Ok?”

‘’Yes ma’am.”

Months later, Yooni and Yani had settled well into their new home and got along quite well with the other kids; they even made a friend, Styles, whom was often referred to as a science freak because of his obsession with technology and innovation. Styles was always coming up with new inventions and showing them off to the sisters, usually because he wants to impress Yooni. On this particular day, Styles saw Yooni walking along the corridor of the dormitory and called out to her.

“Hey Yooni! Wanna see my latest invention?”

“What is it this time, Styles? You’re always making things that end up getting destroyed. Miss Rosemary won’t be happy if she sees it. You always make her scream at the top of her voice.”

“Well, I’ll bet even Rosemary will love this when she sees it.”

“What’s this one called? A speed boot, perhaps? Or laser googles, maybe?”

Yooni was being sarcastic; none of Styles’ inventions had ever impressed her, and she was sure this would be no different. Styles smiles and shook his head.

“It’s a surprise. First, we have to call Yani. Where is she?

Yooni groaned.

“Urgh! Did you have to mention the mood wrecker? I’m sure she’s probably somewhere practicing how to create a bomb with her mind or something.”

Yani, apparently standing behind them, replied with a cold voice, startling them.

“I heard that.”

Yooni was used to being startled by Yani, but Styles was not. Even though they had become friends, Styles couldn’t help but shriek each time he heard Yani’s cold voice unexpectedly.

“Yani! You’re here.”

“If you were here, you should have just come out and joined the conversation like a normal person would. Oh, I forgot, you’re not normal but I guess special needs people could also join in, right Styles?

Styles hated being dragged into any fight between the sisters. Yooni was the energetic one, always full of vibes and life, but has no sweet words for her sister who doesn’t talk much but gets annoyed pretty often by Yooni. Styles tried to change the topic to ease the tension.

“Can we just go and take a look at the surprise?”

The trio went to an abandoned basement in the foster home which Styles had turned into his lab. They saw an object covered with an old rag. Yani was the first to speak, much to Yooni’sirritation.

“So, I’m guessing that’s your newest baby?”

“Even the dumbest person would know that, Yani. Didn’t he tell us it was a surprise? What else looks like a surprise in here?”

“Yooni, I am trying very hard to be composed right now. I promise you the next time you get on my nerves, you’re going to get what you deserve.” Yani retorted.

Styles stepped in to calm the situation before Yooni could get her ass kicked.

“Hey guys, come on. Let’s deal with why we’re here before anyone gets anything, all right?”

He moved over and stood by the side of his newest invention with a big smile that said ‘I can’t wait to unveil this.’

“Now, guys, allow me to present to you my latest addition. I call this the glider. Ta-da!!”

The covering was finally removed and the sight of the glider made Yooni and Yani open their mouths and eyes wide in amazement. For the first time, Yooni was ecstatic.

“Whoa! It’s beautiful. Can I test it?”

Styles grinned.

"Well, yeah. Technically, it’s made for you but you have to be a bit careful with it.”

Yooni jumped in excitement.

“How do I get on?”

“One foot at a time and ensure you’re well balanced on the glider, else, you might fall off once I turn it on. One more thing, you can turn the glider into any direction of your choice once you’ve gained balance.”

“Let’s do this!”

A happy go lucky Yooni responded. Styles turned on the glider and gradually, it lifted from the ground. Yooni screamed with excitement.

“Whoa! It’s levitating. Incredible!”

Yani was concerned.

“Yooni, be careful. You don’t know how to control it yet. Be careful”

“Got it, Yani.”

Yooni answered her sister halfheartedly; she was having so much fun that she didn’t hear what her sister. Soon enough,Styles shouted out a warning, asking her to get off the glider. Apparently, the glider had developed a wiring issue and it could injure Yooni if she stayed on it any longer. Before long, the glider crashed and Yooni was down on the floor. Both Yani and Styles were relieved when she got up.

“Ouch! Guess it still needs one or two touches before it’s ready.”

Yani decided it was time to leave.

“I don’t mean to ruin the moment but we have to go back before someone realizes we’re missing. You both know what that means, right?”

The trio quickly packed things up and rushed to be with the other kids. After they left, Miss Rosemary got out from where she hid; she had been monitoring the sisters ever since they had been sent to her by the Cosmos and informed of their abilities and mission on Bannica. She kept a close eye on them to know if they would be a threat to the other kids but, so far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. If anything, to her, they were more ordinary than most kids in the foster home.

At dinner time, the girls went to the dining hall but could not find Styles.

“Have you seen Styles, Yani?”

“No, not since we got back from the basement this afternoon. Why?”

“It’s time for dinner but he’s nowhere to be found. If he doesn’t show up on time, those big for nothing gluttons will finish everything.”

“Let’s go find him.”

Yooni and Yani quickly went in search of Styles but he was not in any of the places he frequented in the premises. Rather, he was at the playground. He went to the playground each time he wanted a clearer picture of a new idea for his next invention. That evening, he had spent a long time on the playground and was lost in thought that he lost track of time. As soon as he checked his time, he was surprised at what time it was. Hequickly packed his notes, his drawing sheet and his pencils and ran straight to the dining hall. On his way, he met with Bryan and his minions — the ones no kid ever prayed to have an encounter with.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the science nerd. Watchu got there?”

As Bryan spoke, his minions stripped Styles off his bag and dropped everything in it. Styles pleaded as he was held in-between Bryan’s boys.

“Bryan, please just let me go. I don’t want any trouble this evening.”

“Are you saying I’m trouble? I don’t like the sound of that. Let’s see what you have here. Hmmmm, a sketch of your next invention, I see. And I’m guessing it’s for those two little demons. They really got you, Styles. Have you ever stopped to think they could be using your smart ass to their own advantage, huh? Think about it. They have powers and they’re hiding it from everyone, including you! Now imagine how powerful they’ll be with you as their pawn – technology plus superpowers.”

Styles wanted to challenge Bryan and ask how he knew that the sisters had superpowers when they’ve never done anything out of the ordinary, but he knew that would only earn him a good beating so he decided against it.

“Bryan, you don’t know what you’re saying. Yooni and Yani are my friends. They’d never exploit me for their gains. They’re not like you.”

Styles received a punch in his tummy for saying that.

“Please, just let me go.”

“Since I feel so generous tonight, I’ll let you go. But I tell you, you’re not safe with those two. You better watch your back. Let’s go guys.”

Styles packed his things and ran as fast as he could to the dining hall and he arrived just in time for the attendance. However, Styles could not shake-off what Bryan had told him about the girls, so one day, he decided to ask them, but they denied it, and he believed them.

Days rolled by and life went on as usual in the foster home, with Styles coming up with new inventions and giving tutorials to impress Yooni. One day, the trio had just finished geometry class but the whole lecture looked like gibberish to Yooni and Yani so they asked Styles for help. Yooni approached him.

“Would you mind teaching us again, Styles? I didn’t gain a thing from that class.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll meet you guys at the usual spot in a second. I just have to tidy up a few things before I leave the class.”

“Ok, we’ll be waiting.”

On their way to the usual spot, Yani sighted Bryan and,immediately, she held Yooni by the wrist and stopped her abruptly. Yooni was startled.

“Why? What happened?”

“I just remembered something important. Styles might be in trouble.”

Yooni looked around before speaking.

“Do you sense something?”

“I think Bryan is trying to manipulate him.”

“What made you say that?”

“I overheard Bryan two nights ago at the back of the dormitory. He was talking to his boys; to quote him, he said ‘Styles is such a big fool. He does not have what it takes to be smart and cunning like us. We’ll threaten him to make us some toys and if he refuses, we’ll make his life a living hell.’”

Yooni was livid.

“That halfwit!”

“Calm down, there’s something else. Remember when Styles asked us if we have superpowers?”

“Oh, I see where you’re going with this. But why did you want us to lie? We could have told him that we had powers and nothing would have happened.”

Just then, Styles showed up but his countenance had changed.

“Are you alright?” Yooni asked.

“Yeah, you don’t look good.” Yani added.

“Sorry guys, I can’t teach you anything now. I need to go.”

He ran out as soon as he finished speaking and didn’t wait to hear what they had to say.

 

*** BACK TO THE PRESENT***

“What the! It’s not what you think, Styles. If that’s why you’re doing this, you’re mistaken. It was Bryan!”

Yooni tried to explain, but Yani was not up for that.

“He’s not willing to listen, Yooni. His heart is clouded in vengeance.”

“You will really say anything to save your own neck, how disappointing. I know Bryan was an asshole, and he got what he deserved.”

“Let me guess, you framed him for killing your adopted father, and now he’s in prison where he’ll spend the rest of his life.”

Styles smiled.

“Not quite. He did kill my father, but only because I made him do it; the old man was so interested in running his company the old, redundant way and wasn’t interested in my vision. He had to go and dumb Bryan was the right man for the job; he was so obsessed with the money he was going to make after job done and didn’t notice it was a trap. I ended up killing two birds with one stone.”

“Wow! Looks like you’re the real backstabber.”

“You know, I only needed a small portion of your blood for my work, but now I’m going to harvest everything, from your nails to your hair, down to your organs and bone marrow. Everything!Dr Ross, the floor is yours.”

Dr Ross brought out a syringe and slowly approached the girls. Yooni tossed and struggled, trying to free herself. Suddenly, she heard a thud beside her; it was the sound of Yani hitting the ground after freeing herself.

“What just happened? How did that happen, Yani?”

“Been trying out some stuff lately. I thought I needed to take powers to the next level so I’ve been trying to create with not just my hands and mind but with my mind alone.”

“Yani, you’re a genius! I love you!”

Yani freed her sister while Styles just stood there, smiling. Yooniknocked out Dr Ross with one hit and the two sisters turned to face Styles.

“Last chance to end this, Styles, and maybe you can walk out of this unscathed. I’m giving you this warning for old time’s sake, and you’d be wise to heed.”

Styles laughed.

“Oh Yooni, you have no idea what’s about to happen. I’ve always imagined how this encounter would play out –technology against superpowers, and now it’s about to go down.”

Styles pressed the middle button on his suit and the suit changed to a heavily armed tech suit.

A fight ensued, with Styles having the upper hand; he was way too powerful with his suit. As fast as Yooni was, he could target hit her with precision. Yani, on the other hand, could not fly but was doing her best as a swordswoman. Unfortunately, their best was no match for Styles as he soon had them on the floor.

“Didn’t think you could beat me, did you? To be honest, I hoped you would put up more fight than you did; turns out you were overrated. Things could have ended differently if you’d just accepted my offer.”

Styles grabbed both Yooni and Yani by the neck. Yani saw her sister unconscious and it sparked off a rage within her.

“Yes, things could have been different... if you’d heeded Yooni’swarning.”

Styles’ suit began to shrink.

“What’s going on? What’s happening to my suit?”

“I’m only showing you why you were never going to win against us. All I need to defeat you is my mind; I can turn your suit into a weapon to defeat you. Now, should I crush you?”

Styles dropped the both of them as his suit was beginning to really choke him. Yani knew he would die if she didn’t stop shrinking the suit, so she made him pass out and called the authorities. Fortunately, one of the many security cameras in the lab had captured all of Styles’ confession, which was used to convict and imprison him. As for Yooni and Yani, they had recovered and went back to their normal lives.