100%.

“System Down,” a programmed computerized female voice announced as the power in the laboratory shut down.

The sudden silence inside the room deafened Hyerin as she squinted in the darkness. “Dad?”

“Hyerin, I’m here. I’ll go turn on back-up for a sec,” he said. She heard footsteps as his father made his way to the generator. In an instant, the lights came back on and the both of them could finally see clearly.

“What happened?” Hyerin asked, walking towards the machines when Myungjae stopped her.

“It was too much for our power source so it broke down. But no worries, it has been completed,” he said as he walked over to the computer.

“Stay back,” he said, slamming his palm on the same red button.

The glass surface of the machines lifted itself up, thick mist emerging from inside. Hyerin stood back as she anticipated what was going to happen next.

“Boys?” Agent M called. “Can you get up?”

“Are they even conscious?” Hyerin asked, squinting to see anything but the smoke was in the way.

“They should be,” he said, frowning. “Is anyone awake?” he called. Silence.

 “Is this normal?” she asked, worriedly looking over to her father.

In return, he helplessly shrugged. “I’m not quite sure, but I was certainly expecting a different reaction.” He went over to his other desk full of files and important documents. He reached out for a thick folder and frantically skimmed through it.

“Usually it is a more explosive response, not this…” he trailed off.

Hyerin gulped. “C’mon, you guys. Get out of there,” she whispered, staring hopefully at the mess of smoke before her.

“Urgh.”

As if answering her silent prayer, a shadow made its way towards her direction. She tried to make out something from the figure, only to see that it was Baekhyun, struggling on his feet and clutching his head between his hands.

“H-Hurts...” he mumbled before collapsing ahead.

Just when he was about to hit the ground, Hyerin caught him just in time. “Hey! Hey, are you okay?” She firmly held the back of his shirt to prevent his body from lurching forward and making both of them fall down.

He weakly rested his forehead on her shoulder. “It hurts. My head.”

“Ergh. What’s going on?” Chanyeol came out of the machine and sluggishly walked towards their direction.

“What happened? I’m having a headache.” Sehun materialized from the fog as well, pinching the bridge of his nose and squinting at them as if he just woke up.

One by one, the boys showed up with different reactions—some felt weak and groggy, some were in pain, and the rest felt completely normal. Myungjae went over to them, helping Tao and Kris stand up. “Good, you’re all conscious. How are you doing?”

“A little dizzy and weak,” Kai mumbled, holding onto Luhan’s shoulder for support.

“Perfectly fine.” Lay shrugged, clutching Suho’s arm to steady him.

“I feel like ,” Sehun muttered. “It’s as if someone’s stabbing my stoma–urmph!” His body lurched forward. Sehun covered his mouth with both hands.

“Oh god, he’s going to barf.” Kyungsoo's nose scrunched up in disgust.

“Oh no, no, no. Not here Sehun! If you could please him to the bathroom, Xiumin?” Myungjae asked to which the boy nodded. He draped the younger one’s arm around his shoulder and headed out to find a bathroom.

“Why is this happening? I feel weak,” Kris grumbled, beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face.

Myungjae helped him to a chair. “Your bodies react differently to the chemicals but I can assure you this is normal. It will only last for several minutes and you should be fine,” he said. “Now let me ask who-”

“Woah!” Chanyeol suddenly cried, catching the others’ attention.

Everyone gasped as they watched the boy hold a ball of fire in his hand, looking as devastated as they were.

“Holy crap! How did you do that!?” Kyungsoo asked, walking closer to him. Chanyeol whipped around to face the boy too quickly that he almost burned Kyungsoo's face with the fire ball from the proximity between them.

“What the hell, man! Be careful!” he scoffed, pushing Chanyeol away with accidentally too much force.

Chanyeol’s body flew to the other side of the room, crashing into a desk of papers.

Kyungsoo's eyes widened. “O-Oops?”

Xiumin and Sehun came back inside the laboratory along with Agent Zero.

“How did the experiment go? And what in the world happened here?” Agent Zero asked, eyeing Chanyeol who was slowly getting up from the now broken table.

 “This is remarkable!” Myungjae exclaimed. “The results are showing faster than I thought! Chanyeol, do it again and show Agent Zero,” he said.

Chanyeol rubbed his back in pain. “Ugh, that hurt. Okay, but I’m not sure how I did it.” He held up his right hand and glared at it intently. In less than a few seconds, the ball of fire re-appeared.

Myungjae laughed, clapping his hands in amazement. “Excellent! Now who else other than Chanyeol and D.O. have adapted?”

Chen stepped up from the forming crowd and shot a hand upward. Almost instantly, lightning appeared, but unlike before where he could only produce tiny jagged lines, his arm was now emitting bright powerful electricity.

At the same time, Xiumin was sitting down, his hands gripping the armchair tightly. He watched in amazement as Chen showed off his power, not noticing what he was doing himself.

Kris did a double take. “Uh, I don’t know if I’m hallucinating but Xiumin, did you just freeze your chair?”

“Huh?” The boy looked down and was surprised to see his chair completely covered in thick ice. He shot up from his seat. “Holy ! I did that!?”

“Seems like it.”

“Astounding,” Zero breathed incredulously. “This is phenomenal, Agent M. These kids...” he trailed off. “They’re definitely more than kids. This is spectacular!”

“Oh it is, agent.” He nodded. “Now, I know that not all of you have adjusted to your powers but I have a little something for you.” Myungjae went over to his desk and opened the drawer, taking out a rectangular velvet box.

He opened it slowly, revealing a set of uniquely designed rings.

“Wow,” Kai muttered under his breath, trying to stand up.

“Just a little bonus for you guys. It’s kind of cheesy, but these are the symbols that represent who you are from now on. This is a reminder of what you are capable of – a reminder of your purpose in life.”

He took one ring and stepped forward. “Suho—ability to control water.”

The boy’s eyes widened as he received his token. “Water? I can control water?”             

“Yes,” Myungjae said, moving on to the next person. “Kris, flight.”

It continued on with Agent M giving out the rings and revealing their powers. They were all shocked and astounded to hear what they were truly capable of doing from now on. Not only was it overwhelming, but it also scared them as to how they’d control it in the future.

Finally, it came down to the last one. “And don’t think I forgot my own daughter,” Myungjae chuckled, closing the velvet box. He dug inside his lab coat pocket and took out a small ring.

“What I said earlier applies to you as well, Hyerin. Although you don’t have powers, I know what you are capable of and you must be responsible for it.” He slid the jewelry on her ring finger.

“You are so special,” he whispered, planting a kiss on his daughter’s forehead.

“This day marks the start of your new lives, everyone,” Myungjae said, clasping his hands together. “I expect your full cooperation from now on.”

- - -

Hyerin sighed and rubbed her hands together to keep warm. Myungjae, the boys, Hyerin, and some staff were outside in front of the M-LX main building, waiting for their car ride home seeing that it was already eight in the evening.

Hyerin crossed her arms against her chest, shifting from one foot to another. She could never understand how weather could change so fast.

“You cold?”

Hyerin lifted her head up. Suho was making his way towards her.

“Kind of. The school blazer has pretty crappy quality despite it being such a rich school.” She shrugged. “Oh, but no offense, though, since you’re president and all that.”

Suho chuckled, taking off his jacket. “No worries, I think it too. Here, take mine.”

“What? No, it’s fine. I can survive.”

“Just take it. I would feel bad if you didn’t.”

“No, it’s fine-”

“Take it, Hyerin.” He grinned, pushing it further into her hands.

Sighing, she obliged, wrapping the jacket around her shoulders. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

Suho nodded then looked down on the ground, tucking his hands inside his pockets. “Um, Hyerin I-” he paused, glancing up at her. “I just wanted to say that I really am sorry. For everything we’ve done to trouble you. Really.”

“Hey, I thought we were done with that? We’re all good now remember?” she reminded, looking up at him. “How you guys reacted was perfectly normal and I was being a jerk about it. So you shouldn’t be apologizing.”

“You’re really not upset anymore?” he asked warily.

She shrugged, giving him a small smile. “Yeah.”

“Because I really don’t want any discomfort between us.” He bashfully rubbed the back of his neck. “I really want to be friends, Hyerin. You know, now that we’ll all be seeing each other frequently.”

Hyerin couldn’t help but smile at his sincerity. “Seriously, Suho, don’t worry about it! We’re good.” She nudged his arm casually. “And of course we can be friends.”

Suho chuckled. “Thanks, Hyerin.”

“Although I don’t know if you’re really being serious about that. You know, since you’re the president and all, I don’t think you would want anything to do with a nobody like me,” she teased, putting up a blank face.

“What? N-No, of course not!” he stammered. “My status as president has nothing to do with, you know, I mean, it’s just that, I want to have, I’m just-” He flailed his arms around as he tried to explain, making Hyerin chuckle.

All of a sudden, the puddle next to Suho lifted from the concrete, following the movement of his hands. It flew up above his arm, making the boy stop talking and stare incredulously at what he just did.

The water shaped into irregular forms as he moved his fingers. “W-Wah!” Suho exclaimed out of fear, tossing it to the side and accidentally hitting Kyungsoo's back.

“What the hell!?” The boy turned around, taking off his wet blazer. “Who did that!?”

Hyerin let out a low whistle, eyebrows raised. “I guess you finally controlled your power," she mumbled. "Well...something like that.”