Eight

 

 

The mere thought of a rebellion, of actually fighting back against the government, made my skin crawl a little. It wasn’t so much a fear of dying - no, I wasn’t so scared of that - but rather, the potential torture that they could put us through if we weren’t successful and got caught. What would they do to us? What would they make us do? Brain wash us to become their ‘super army’?   However, Dr. Lee picked right back up where he had left off, and didn’t give us much time to think anymore dreadful and morbid thoughts.   “Of course, we are not the only ones who feel this way,” he said, rummaging through back drawers. “I have acquaintances, all over the place mind you, of all sorts who’d like to see the National Party go down.”   “There are others?” Kyungsoo repeated, surprised.    “Many of them are like you actually, Kyungsoo, and they also know all about the horrible things that the government has been involved in. I can try to get a hold of them, although it won’t be easy to track them all down, so you kids will have to give me a few weeks.”   Kyungsoo nodded. “Of course. I also have a couple of historian friends who could help put together some video evidence showcasing the government’s wrongdoings. We will have a way of making the video’s creators untraceable, right?”   “Of course,” Dr Lee smiled. For a moment, I couldn’t even believe that he’d been adamantly refusing to let us do this just minutes ago.   “So cutting to the point, how’s this training thing going to work?” Jongin asked abruptly.“I’d kind of like to know what I’ve signed up for.”   “Well for one, as one of the original scientists, I can give you guys a simplified, run-down version of roughly how your powers work,” Dr. Lee said. “We tested  many babies for a specific gene buildup, one that would facilitate the DNA manipulation that you were subjected to. Most DNA were not compatible with the hormone, but you thirteen, for some reason, had the --.  ”    “Others were tested? But why were we the only ones captured?” Sehun asked. A look of horror dawned over his face. “You don’t mean - ”   “Yes.” Dr Lee looked liked he was personally sorry for all of this, and he probably was. “They all died within the first month after the hormone injections. You guys were the only ones whose DNAs stabilized after a week. The thing about your powers is that, they have now become almost like... a talent. The effect of the mutated DNA within you differs, depending on your own unique genetic makeup. Min and Moonkyu have similar ones because their genes are similar. Some of you have already reached the full potential of your powers, while others’ powers can be enhanced with training.”   Tao looked extremely excited at the prospect of training his power, and Jongin just looked extremely bored by the entire conversation. If his girlfriend and family hadn’t forgotten him and he didn’t want revenge on the government, I doubted that he would even still be here right now. He seemed like a drifter, after all.    “Anyway, when do we start training?” Tao chirruped, sounding way too pleased for the situation. Even Kris looked a little brighter for some reason. “I’d love to kick some as soon as possible.”   Dr Lee smiled and wordlessly stood up before directing his arm down a hallway behind me. “For today, just get some rest,” he said, standing up. “I’m going to try to get in touch with some of my colleagues. Moonkyu will show you guys to your rooms. Kyungsoo, stay with me, and we’ll see if we can contact some of your old friends as well.”   “Min?”    I blinked up at my brother before realizing that I was still clutching his arm, just happy to see him alive.    “Sorry,” I muttered, letting go hastily. I stepped next to Yixing instead, and together, we all followed Moonkyu up stairs.            When Dr. Lee told Tao what he wouldn’t be needing any training, I thought Tao was going to take his head off.    “There’s a reason for it,” Kris added quickly, taking a step in front of the poor doctor.    Tao glared at the rest of us in the room moodily.    “For some of you, your powers are already fully developed. There is not much more to gain from training you, Tao, or Yixing, Min, Moonkyu, and Baekhyun. I was told that Tao here knows a good deal about wushu. I think it would be good for him you guys some self defence, because I don’t want us completely relying on our powers.”   “Self-defense?” Yixing repeated, looking skeptical. While my brother looked excited, Yixing looked like he didn’t want to learn how to hurt people.    “I can do that,” Tao replied, looking much more happier upon learning his new task.    “What about the rest of us?” Jongin asked impatiently.    “Joonmyun and I have found an isolated place that is more or less in the middle of nowhere. Jongin will teleport Sehun, Jongdae, Kris, Chanyeol, Kyungsoo, and Joonmyun there. You guys can do some real damage there and completely unleash and test your powers.”   “Am I not going with them?” Lu Han asked, confused.   Dr. Lee coughed, shaking his head. “For you, Lu Han, we’re going to focus on control instead of strength. Your training is...different.”    Lu Han’s happiness at having a “different” training program was quickly gone by the next morning, when he was asked to make breakfast for everyone.    “Without touching anything,” Dr. Lee added. “Minseok is going to watch you, so don’t try to cheat.”   “Am I a housekeeper now?” Lu Han grumbled. With a flick of his fingers, he the stove. With the other hand, he carefully guided a pan across the room. “This would be so much faster if - ”   “That’s not the point,” Minseok interrupted. “Careful with that - CAREFUL!”    Lu Han had lost concentration on pouring the oil, which had ended up on the counter instead of the pan.   I heard him let out a colorful cuss word, and decided to remove myself from the room. Kyungsoo was in the study, worki