"Why do you have to be like that with Rebecca?"

Kyungsoo looked up from her dinner at Taemin, who had come and sat down across from her with his own food. "Because it is not her place."

"You can't be such a hardass."

"Perhaps they don't understand what it means for me to be a hardass." She replied evenly.

"Soo, please. I can't have you making an enemy of the research staff."

"I don't plan on making enemies. That doesn't help me any, especially on beta shift. I need them to be competent enough to care for them during the hours I'm not there to make sure it happens and I can't have someone like Rebecca punishing them - without acknowledging it in report, I add - because she whimsically feels like it. It's not good for the subjects and is therefore detrimental to the research and your job."

"Kyungsoo-"

"Taemin." She countered, just as hard, meeting his gaze. "You're the director of this project. It's up to you, ultimately, what happens and who gets away with what. If I don't take care of this within the parameters of your liking, you can appoint someone else the Research Lead. I won't take offence and will accept it quietly and professionally. But-" She took his hand. "-I will not have them treated unnecessarily poorly. It enough already being a subject."

Taemin sighed. "Fine. But I'll hold you to that. I can't have you going sideways on me in this, Kyungsoo."

"I won't." She went back to eating.

"Can I ask you about something else?"

"Sure.'

"Where do we stand?"

"What do you mean?"

"We need to decide whether this paper-thin facade of a relationship is worth propping up or if we're going to go our separate ways."

She stopped eating again and met his stare head-on. "You're my only friend in this facility, the only person I would ever think of confiding in or being this honest with. If that kind of connection is best suited to a friendship, then so be it. If you would like to remain in a romantic relationship with me, then we stay together. I don't really mind either way."

"If you don't mind, then I think we're best as friends."

"I guess we are."

"For the record, Soo, despite being an , I still really like you. You're so lovely."

"I like you too, Taemin. You mean a lot to me."

He ducked his head and stood. "Well, good luck wrangling your staff. I leave it in your capable hands."

"Good luck, Taemin. I'll see you soon, likely." She offered him a closed-lipped smile and he did the same in kind, turning and walking away.

Kyungsoo's shift had ended two hours ago and she knew that most of the researchers would be off doing their own jobs right about now. However, that said, this was the time when she would catch the possible crooked people in beta shift being crooked. After all, she had ordered all eleven of her charges to strip down to the skin and spin, makign sure that she could see every possible intersection of their skin so she knew exactly what kind of condition they were in before anyone else got to them. 

Rebecca was the only one in the room and the cells were in their circular position. She was standing in the middle of it holding the tablet. 

"Who the hell do you think you are? Do you that just because that is ing Taemin and protects you during the day that she'll be your ing saviour? You're rats, the lot of you. You're nothing more than reactive flesh. There are dogs worth more than all of you combined."

A weak, but pained gasp that sounded like Baekhyun echoed out from the silence. A sharper moan came from Sehun and just for effect, a sharp cry from Chanyeol.

"You think you can embarrass me without consequence? You think you have the rights to say anything? You're worthless. I'm sure if we weren't all so afraid of getting some terrible disease from you, you'd all be toys to be enjoyed to the fullest in this hell-hole."

"For someone else with a , I'm surprised you'd even say something like that to them." That sounded like Luhan. "After all, if they'd be easy material, then you must be real easy even by willing standards."

"And pretty boys like you? I know a couple of brutes down in engineering who would love to break in that tight little of yours."

"So I take it you didn't like what Scientist Lee had to say."

Rebecca spun around to find Kyungsoo, in all black and flat-footed running shoes, standing in the doorway.

"Researcher Do!" She cancelled the power to the punishment installations. Kyungsoo made an acknowledging noise and stepped behind the desk, clicking on the intercom. 

"All researchers of Ward Epsilon's beta shift, report back to holding chambers immediately." Kyungsoo called out. She walked back around the desk and blocked Rebecca's exit. Within minutes, the rest of the on-duty staff sheepishly returned to the containment chamber, looking between Kyungsoo and Rebecca curiously. Once assembled, Kyungsoo walked forwards, guiding Rebecca into the middle of the room. 

"What's this all about?" The beta shift manager asked. Amber was a decent woman and Kyungsoo didn't like to put her in this position, but this was more a warning to the staff she didn't directly control.

"It seems I've been too lax in asserting my authority on this shift." Kyungsoo said, voice deep and timbre intimidating. "Most of you know who I am, but as little more than a name. A fault in my leadership perhaps, but I do not intend to let it continue." She turned back to Rebecca, who's eyes were wide. "Care to repeat your lovely soliloquy? I'm sure your coworkers would love to hear your performance."

"I-I wasn't doing anything."

Kyungsoo clicked her tongue. "Amber, would you mind going to the main console and replaying the audio-video of the last, say, five minutes?"

Amber did as she was told without a word, hand coming up to cover as the audio of Rebecca's threats to Baekhyun, Sehun and Luhan played over the loudspeakers. 

"As I said, perhaps I wasn't clear enough on who's in charge." Kyungsoo took the tablet from Rebecca's hands, stepping out of the chamber and entering a code command. The entire hallway lit up in an electrified field, freezing Rebecca in excruciating pain for twenty seconds before shutting off. She dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Kyungsoo tossed the tablet to Amber, who nearly dropped it. "You are here for a job. If you cannot perform that job in a timely, professional manner, then you will be disciplined and dismissed. The subjects are subjects, but they do not belong to you and are not toys for you to batter. If I catch wind of their treatment being poor, I will personally see to your punishment. Ward Epsilon is my domain and these are my subjects. Treat them with respect and the proper care or I will make you regret it."

Like schoolchildren, the nine researchers in front of her nodded rapidly in understanding. 

"That said, I hold no one but Rebecca responsible for the events of tonight." Kyungsoo's voice was back to normal and she was back to being the very short lead researcher. "That would be unjust and unfair. You are free to continue in your activities and finish your work." 

The researchers filed out, two brvae souls getting a stretcher and removing Rebecca to the infirmary, but Amber stood frozen behind the desk, like she knew she wanted to talk to her.

"I'm so sorry, Kyungsoo." Amber said immediately once the room was empty (well, free of researchers). 

"I accept your apology, but now you must do better. I want them monitored until they prove to be no threat to the subjects."

"Count on it. I promise."

"Good. I suggest you go and brief your team, calm their fears. The last thing I want to do is lay an unjust punishment."

"I understand. You'll have my report in full tomorrow and I'll leave notes on the briefing."

"Thank you. I appreciate it. Go join them."

Amber left the room in a hurry and Kyungsoo walked back into the middle of the circular room, meeting the wide-eyed gazes of her charges.

"Wow." Yifan breathed and it broke the tension. Baekhyun and Sehun, even from the floor and in pain, cheered.

"God, I hated that woman." Baekhyun wheezed, slumping to the floor once more.

"What did you even do to her?" Luhan asked, pressed right against the glass.

Kyungsoo's lips quirked. "There's a command code given to each lead of a department. What it does is electrifies exist and passageways for a twenty second interval with a high-voltage field. She won't be able to move for the next week, she'll be so sore. The shock is relatively harmless, but is very good for rending the targets immobile, which is why we use it. It's a precaution for escapees."

"Neat." Jongdae piped up. "So, will she be working the beta shift anymore?"

"Absolutely not. She'll be lucky to be made a secretary and not stuck down in engineering, cleaning pipes."

Zitao's smirk was sharp and smug as he looked down at the she-witch unconscius on the floor. "Good riddance. I hated her more than I can tell you."

Kyungsoo nodded, placing the tablet down on the stool of hers which no one seemed to have moved. She went back behind the desk and returned with jars and wrappings. "Down to the skivvies. I need to see who's been injured."

"All of us?" Jongin asked, shyly. 

"Yes. You might try to hide something from me and after all of this trouble, I'll not have you nurse your own wounds."

All told, Sehun, Baekhyun, Luhan, Chanyeol and Junmyeon (presumably because she stood up for her cellmates) were the ones that took damage. 

"So what's the protocol for this? You pass the jars through a littl ehole or something?" Baekhyun asked.

"No. Place your hands on the two indicators on the back wall." Kyungsoo replied. Baekhyun did as she was told and some sort of field activated. trapping them there.

"Woah! What's this?" Baekhyun squealed when she felt slender warmth on her back and suddenly, Kyungsoo's face popping up right in front of her. "Hey, wait-!"

"There's no way to have a robot do it and the facility doesn't trust any subejcts to self-medicate, even for something comparatively tame, like this. That means the next best option is restraint. Now, because you all have your limbs and no mutations, we can use a simple trap field to restrain your hands and once restrained, we can enter and apply medical care." Kyungsoo's face disappeared and Baekhyun felt a warm glob of something hit her skin. "This is aloe vera extract with a mixed in skin cell stimulant. What that means, is a topical burn like this will be cooled by the aloe vera and swelling with dissipate. The stimulant will kick-start and increase skin cell production, meaning your skin will heal faster."

"Holy hell." Baekhyun murmured, almost arching into the gentle, soothing of Kyungsoo's hand. "How long will you have to do this?"

""I'll do it now and when I return for alpha shift, I'll do it again. From there, I will do it at the beginning of my shift until such time as it is unnecessary."

"Your clinical explanations are unbelievably y." Baekhyun moaned. 

Kyungsoo smirked. "Only because I'm the first person to touch your skin in six years doesn't mean you find me y."

"Oh hell yes it does."

"Baekhyun is biual." Chanyeol noted. "Good to know."

Jongdae snorted. "Who were you planning on having a with?"

"H-Hey! I didn't say that!"

"You didn't have to." Minseok deadpanned, raising an eyebrow at him. "You're not getting me."

"I wasn't thinking of you."

"Who were you thinking of?"

"Who's to say?" Chanyeol retreated back into his cell. Zitao laughed at him.

"Smooth, man. Smooth." 

"Shut up, fetus!"

Kyungsoo finished with Baekhyun, the trap field releasing when the glass door sealed once more. She did Sehun next, amongst all the lewd comments and Sehun's moans of pleasure-pain when Kyungsoo would pass over a knot in her shoulders or back or thighs. Perhaps Sehun had more problems sleeping than she had given her credit for. 

She did Luhan third and on his fourth pass at her, she slapped his hard enough to leave a mark. The pain coupled with the very public embarrassment was enough to shut him up. Chanyeol was very gracious about her application of the salve. He only flinched when she pressed something too tender or on something too hard. She did Junmyeon last because she knew the woman was the selfless sort and it wouldn't sit well with her to be treated before the others. No one made comments about Junmyeon. She really hadn't been lying about having the best abs.

Kyungsoo went and replaced the salve and bandages in the storage area. It had taken her about two hours to go through them all and she was feeling the effects of missing her schedule more than ever now. "Okay guys. That's all for tonight. Please try and get some sleep before I come back for alpha, though you're more than welcome to sleep through almost all of that as well."

Sehun pressed her hand gently to the glass as Kyungsoo was leaving. "Thank you, unnie."

Kyungsoo actually smiled and winked at her. "Don't mention it, maknae. Get some rest." She put the tablet back in place, cutting the lights down to 45%. "See you tomorrow."