Entry 04

DETHRONEMENT

T.E.A.M Tower, Korea
11 February, 14:00 KST

She shut the book in her hand with a resolute snap. Her fingers automatically came up, diverting slightly once she realized what she was doing and tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear instead of pinching the bridge of her nose. 

She glanced around, spotting Soojung, Ahreum, Ahri, and Hyelim playing a board game listlessly while the smell of brownies floated through the air - Jinju stress-baking again. 

The earlier conversation with her father and the press conference about the battle with the pink menace in Japan-

She swung her legs off of the footstool and stood in one smooth, powerful movement before walking. She passed by Dari's room where Miyoung - after all these hours - was still attempting to coax the girl out, her voice no longer audible, and then the lab where Jenny and Jinae were brooding, their brains turning with undeserved guilt that, in turn, intensified her own stab of uneasiness. 

She paused.

Tami. Byurae. Minjung.

They were gone. 

There was a knot in her stomach at the absolute defeat upon the girls' faces but if there was one thing politics had taught her, it was how to forge on even in the face of disguised adversity and, unlike politics, the opponent at this instance was clear. She merely had to help the Team overcome it. 

Sahara Desert, Libya
12 February, 01:35 EET

She didn't wait for the plane to fully touch down, opening the hatch and falling the remaining few feet to the ground. She tucked and rolled instinctively and then looked up to see who would follow.

Minjung by her own training.

Soojung by fire in her eyes, a twisted ankle for lack of technique.

Ahreum by turning into a wolf and allowing animal instincts to smugly save her. 

The rest waited until the plane touched down before disembarking. After another few seconds, the plane took off, deaf to the sounds of surprise from the girls who, once the vehicle was out of sight, turned their looks - a few upset, others confused, and even one curious and another understanding - to her. 

The sun burned the back of her neck; that was what hurt she lied silently. 

"We," she stated, stressing the pronoun, "are going to build a home."

"A home," Soojung repeated incredulously.

"A home," Minjung stated with more conviction, eyes alert and understanding; it was a common technique to break in (and break down) rookies. 

"One week every month, barring emergencies, we will travel to a random country and we will build a home," she instructed, watching their faces change. "Some days it will be all of us, other days it'll be half, perhaps only one or two of us present or missing. The ones who are at home will coordinate virtual attacks against the Tower for Byurae, Tami, Jinae, and Jenny to assimilate to."

"Seriously? A house? We're in the middle of nowhere. Where are we supposed to find the means to build a house?" Hyelim pointed out, crossing her arms. 

"That's your job," she answered firmly. "This is an exercise that you all must overcome, not me."

"So what are you doing here then?" Jinju snapped, eyes darting around the barren land. 

"Just supervising," she stated, shrugging in an act of casualness. She forced the next words out of . "I have to keep an eye on my investment after all."

"Excuse me?" Soojung fumed at the same time Jinju and Ahrem questioned "What?" loudly while Ahri and Miyoung frowned as Dari and Hyelim looked to her suspiciously and Minjung bit her bottom lip, eyes lit with understanding but disappointment. 

As expected. 

She waved a hand flippantly, knowing how the motion looked to the others. 

"Well then, get busy," she ordered, plastering on an arrogant smirk. "A home isn't liable to pop up on its own."

And even though she expected the expressions coming her way, it didn't make them any easier to swallow.

Suzu, Japan
19 February, 10:00 JST

Nine days. 

He had given the country nine days to recover from his first attack; he wasn't a villain after all, merely a future, unexpected ruler - a king who had ignorant subjects - but now he had returned and he wanted- 

No. The conviction was unbefitting of a ruler.

He knew that he would the country would see his way, having seen his powers first hand before. They would bow, kneel even, to please him since he was, in essence, their leader. It ran in his veins. 

He was about to address his subjects once more, mouth open, when he caught the tendrils of a thought (Now!) and he hooted with laughter, amused by the last resort battle sure to come.

He was a king!

He had a power befitting of a king!

Power mimicry at its finest, limited to the powers within his range of 50 feet!

And goodness, a teleporter just a yard away, avoiding the bullet was child's play. Such child's play and so unsophisticated. It was those same female heroes, those make-believers who would be much better if they were a part of his harem - he doubted he'd find prettier concubines - and goodness, their faces at his words, as if they didn't agree with him! 

If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that they-

A fist came flying at his face.

He teleported but it was still coming.

Oops.

Sahara Desert, Libya
19 February, 01:35 EET

She looked over the encampment that the girls had left, noting the proximity of the makeshift beds and the dying embers of the fire that were still giving off a soft trail of smoke.

Sloppy.

But a good beginning. 

Moments later, she entered the helicopter and buckled in, all traces of the bivouac gone. She was silent on the ride home, eyes dancing with images of the campfire - of the arguments that had been finished and gone unresolved, of the chores that had been split and grudgingly followed, of the roles that each found themselves falling in without acknowledgment. 

It was only when she returned back to the Tower and found them - the Team - clean but boneless in the living room that she finally allowed herself to smile, relief and pride lighting her face just long enough for indulgence before she slipped away. The girls deserved a treat.

Author's Note

Yay for teamwork! So, as explanation, the Kobi King has the power to borrow other people's powers. It's not written but the basic way they beat him is that Hyelim came up with a beautiful plan and they nailed him. (Long story short.) The "home-making" idea is just a way for the girls to bond but also learn how to get along in emergency situations without any resources. Explanation end.

I wrote this May of 2017? And didn't publish it? It's been two years! More than! Here! Take a chapter I didn't realize that I had! Why do I do this?