The agents gave them the rest of the day off, feeling that they needed time to come to terms with their true identities and the confession video of the previous day.

Yixing wasn’t as grateful of the free time they were given. Even if the group tried to keep the ambient calm and comfortable by chatting and hanging around, Yixing could feel their restlessness. It wasn’t their fault but the effect of the elixir that was starting to act up. The last passive days had accumulated extra energy in their systems, making them quite fidgety –especially Jongdae who didn’t seem to keep a single hair on his body still. That boy would run in circles to try to lose some of the pent up energy, which wasn’t working well. In fact, each member would look for any excuse to move around or use their abilities to spend some energy. Even the ever lethargic Yifan was starting to lose his cool.

Yixing’s solution was to induce analgesic effects, calm them all into a state of languidness that ended up with everyone falling asleep wherever they were standing. Even the agents guarding the entrance had fallen from the strong pheromones.

Yifan, Yixing, Zitao and Sehun were the lucky ones who were already sitting on the couches when the effect happened. Kyungsoo didn’t manage to reach the couch in time and fell asleep on the floor. Minseok and Jongin found rest on the kitchen floor. Chanyeol somehow ended up sleeping on top of the table. Junmyeon had been the unlucky one who happened to be inside the bathroom when suddenly his body gave in, making him fall asleep inside the bathtub. Baekhyun lay on the floor of the hall next to Lu Han -unfortunately the effects were not strong enough to make Baekhyun shut up. Jongdae was the only lucky bastard able to walk around. His fast metabolism made the soporific effect subdue within some minutes.

“Jongdae,” Baekhyun called from the hall. “Jongdae help me up, damn it! The floor is cold,” he whined.

“You’re too heavy,” Jongdae lamely excused as he walked towards the kitchen to search for something to eat.

“Jongdae! Come back,” Baekhyun yelled. “It’s an order! I’m your hyung!”

“We were born the same year so it doesn’t count,” Jongdae childishly yelled back.

“Yah! Jongdae, you brat,” Baekhyun barked. “Help me!”

“No.”

 

The next morning the early risers had breakfast around Chanyeol’s sleeping body -clearly they were too lazy to move him off the kitchen table. Tea and milk for now, as Zitao rummaged for something to eat.

“You really need to control that ,” Minseok said annoyed as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

“Sorry,” Yixing said sleepily as he helped massage the elder’s cramped muscle. “I went a little overboard.”

“I didn’t think you’d be able to develop it so quickly,” Lu Han commented as he pushed Chanyeol’s foot aside to set down his mug.

“It’s what I’ve always done individually, but now, woosh,” Yixing spread his fingers outward imitating a small explosion.

“Was it necessary?” Minseok asked.

“You guys were restless,” he excused. “Too much energy inside.”

“Looks like you had too much energy when you made us fall asleep,” Lu Han muttered as he tapped his finger against the ceramic mug.

“That bastard,” Zitao loudly closed the refrigerator door. “He ate everything,” he exasperated.

“Who?”

“Jongdae of course. Who else has a freaking black hole as a stomach?” Tao sardonically said. “Where is he?” he asked Lu Han.

“Sleeping in the on call room closest to the entrance of the hall,” the other immediately answered. “Baekhyun’s in there too.”

“Why the hell did they get to fall asleep on a bed?” Zitao complained as he stormed out of the kitchen.

“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Kyungsoo’s croaky voice said.

He had walked in right after the silver haired boy left –locks of black hair stuck upwards and face puffy, clearly showing he did not have a comfortable night. He looked disorientated as he sluggishly entered the kitchen while scratching his ear. He squinted his eyes as he tried to understand the scene before him.

“Is that Chanyeol?” he pointed at the table.

“Hmm, let me check,” Lu Han stood to take a better sight of Chanyeol’s sleeping face –mouth slightly open as soft snores rippled the quiet room. “Yeah, it’s Chanyeol.”

Kyungsoo looked like he wanted to keep asking, but he refrained from doing so.

“Want some tea?” Yixing offered at he got up to search for another mug.

“Yes please,” Kyungsoo searched for a seat, only to stop half way as he noticed Jongin’s body sprawled on the kitchen floor. “Jongin? Why didn’t you guys wake him up?” he looked at them with a questioning gaze.

Yixing busied himself with preparing tea, so he didn’t answer. Lu Han loudly sipped his warm beverage. Minseok gave a blank face as he shrugged his shoulders. Kyungsoo gave an incredulous look and then crouched down as he tried to wake the other boy up.

They heard noises coming from the living room.

“Okay, okay. I’ll tell them,” Jongdae exasperated. “I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?”

“Get me food,” Zitao deadpanned.

“I will, stop hitting me,” Jongdae complained.

Baekhyun walked into the kitchen, his purple hair was a mess but at least he looked well rested. Yixing looked for another mug for the boy.

“Good luck with that,” Baekhyun said as he passed by Kyungsoo. “Are we having Chanyeol for breakfast?” he jokingly asked as he sat down by Minseok, close to Chanyeol’s left arm and face. He started poking the sleeping guy’s face.

“I give up,” Kyungsoo said tiredly as he stood up.

Yixing turned to offer Kyungsoo some tea. He swore he saw Chanyeol’s face twitch –probably because of Baekhyun.

“Stupid Jongin,” Kyungsoo muttered as he lightly kicked the other’s side.

“Here,” Yixing handed him his mug and the younger went to sit beside Lu Han.

“Do you think he’ll taste like chicken?” Baekhyun asked as he poked Chanyeol’s cheek.

“Of course not,” Minseok gave him an odd look.

“How do you know hyung?” Baekhyun faked innocence. “Have you tasted him already?” he teased while wiggling his eyebrows.

Minseok made a confused look, while Lu Han choked on his tea –Kyungsoo patted his back.

“No. I wouldn’t eat Chanyeol,” Minseok feigned distaste by scrunching his nose.

“Good,” Baekhyun smirked as he grabbed Chanyeol’s arm. “More for me,” he said before biting the other’s limb.

“Ah!” Chanyeol jumped awake screaming.

His loud outburst scared them all, making them scream in fright.

“Holy !” Minseok screamed as he brought his hand to his chest.

Yixing yelped and stepped backwards against the counter. Jongin woke up from the noise, looking awfully confused.

Baekhyun laughed out loud. “That was so great,” he cheered as he high fived Chanyeol, who was also laughing loudly. “You should’ve seen your faces,” he said pointing towards Lu Han and Kyungsoo.

“Idiots,” Lu Han muttered annoyed as he realized it was all a joke.

“That wasn’t funny,” Yixing said disapprovingly.

“What the hell happened?” Jongin asked, clearly feeling out of context.

“Your eyes looked like they were going to pop out,” Chanyeol giggled as he pointed at dumbstruck Kyungsoo.

“My heart almost popped out,” Minseok commented bitterly.

“They went like this,” Chanyeol pulled his eyelids with his fingers to widen his eyes.

Kyungsoo glared and smacked Chanyeol’s leg, receiving an exaggerated reaction from the taller boy, whom backed away while hugging his shin.

“Ah! My leg,” he cried out.

“Oh ,” Baekhyun cursed, standing up to hold Chanyeol’s side.

“, sorry,” Kyungsoo stood up in panic as he reached forward –only to stop his action, fearing that his touch could hurt the other even further. “I didn’t mean to hit you.”

The mood in the kitchen flipped as they all thought the same, that Kyungsoo might have broken Chanyeol’s bone –all but Lu Han.

“Let me see,” Yixing quickly pushed Baekhyun away to check on the other.

“You idiot,” Lu Han reprimanded, frowning at Chanyeol.

“Wait,” Chanyeol said realizing his mistake. “No, no. I’m okay,” he removed Yixing hands.

“What?” Kyungsoo asked perplexed.

“I was just kidding, it didn’t hurt,” Chanyeol clarified, regret messily scribbled on his face.

Kyungsoo looked down at his leg, brows knotted together. “It didn’t. It didn’t hurt,” he incredulously repeated to himself as if those words were foreign to him.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Chanyeol insisted as he scooted closer to the other.

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin called as he placed his hand on the smaller boy’s shoulder.

Yixing felt a little uneasy –more like confused, as a smile spread through Kyungsoo’s lips.

“It didn’t hurt,” he said again with a malicious smile.

“Yeah, it didn’t,” Chanyeol confirmed a little hesitant.

“You sure?” Kyungsoo lifted his fist threatening to hit the other. Chanyeol quickly coward away, hopping off the table but Kyungsoo chased after him, running towards the living room while laughing like a maniac.

“Should we help Chanyeol?” Baekhyun asked.

“Help!” they heard.

“Nah,” Minseok shrugged.

“He’ll be okay,” Jongin said as he lazily sat down.

“Help!”

“Are you sure about that?” Baekhyun asked worried.

“Kyungsoo can’t hurt him,” Yixing assured, placing a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder -the small jump the other made went unnoticed.

“Ah!”

“Well, not too much,” Minseok added.

“I don’t understand,” Baekhyun rubbed his head.

“Kyungsoo won’t have to ever worry about hurting someone again,” Lu Han explained. “He’s lost his strength, now he’s, well not strong.”

“Oh, right,” Baekhyun realized –his tone a little blue.

“Maybe it’s for the best,” Jongin commented with a small smile as he looked towards the living room, where Kyungsoo was laughing as he had Chanyeol trapped in a headlock.

“What’s with those two?” Zitao asked as he entered the kitchen, jabbing his thumb towards the living room.

“Just a stupid prank,” Lu Han answered.

“It was a brilliant prank,” Baekhyun said proudly, pushing Yixing’s hand away to take a step forward without spring him a glance.

Yixing frowned at him. “No tea for you,” he mumbled and handed Baekhyun’s mug to Jongin.

“Hey,” Baekhyun complained.

“Kai I need your help,” Zitao said.

“I just woke up,” the other drowsily replied, holding the warm mug close.

“I really need your help,” Zitao insisted. “I need to use the bathroom but it’s locked from the inside.”

“Then someone’s inside,” Jongin pointed out.

“Obviously I thought that,” he sassed. “But no one answers inside.”

“Suho’s inside. I mean, Junmyeon’s inside,” Lu Han corrected himself.

“Well Junmyeon hyung isn’t answering,” Zitao placed his hand on his hip.

Lu Han hummed whilst drinking some tea. “Cos he’s asleep,” Lu Han explained.

“Come on Jongin,” Zitao whined as he pulled Jongin’s arm. “Just open the freaking door.”

“Alright, alright,” the other agreed and followed Zitao out of the kitchen.

The kitchen went silent –only muffled whines and laughter was heard from the living room.

“I wonder if Junmyeon’s in there,” Baekhyun spoke aloud earning a whack in the head from Minseok. “Ouch! Hyung,” he whined.

Yixing laughed at the other’s silliness.

 

Today’s breakfast was different, and it wasn’t because of Sehun clinging onto his side to avoid Lu Han. Jongdae had gone to inform the agents the lack of food, because of obvious reasons, and came back with the Chief, Agent Choi and Agent Max. While they ate the agents informed them about their plans. After breakfast they would do an evaluation with the medical and psychological team to check up on the boys and at night they will be transferred to a safe home –previously an office building used as an intelligence base that they have been renovating for the boys to stay in.

“Once you get settled in, I don’t think we’ll see each other quite often,” the Chief spoke with a content smile. “I already have my team working on finding the whereabouts of Kim Chulsoo and Colonel Kim Yungjae. And with help of Agent Bang’s office we’re in the progress of searching the location of every unit of the EX’ACT Company. We already now it’s headquarters is in China, so we’ve got a good start.” He paused for a moment, giving a glance at each of the members of the group. “Once you guys are comfortable in your new home I’ll be off to work with my team.”

“Thank you Chief, for all that you’ve done for us,” Junmyeon said politely with a gracious bow.

“Oh, no need for goodbyes,” the Chief laughed and waved off. “We’re not finished yet. I just wanted to keep you all informed.”

“But still, we are grateful for your help,” Junmyeon insisted. The group agreed.

“It’s been a pleasure kids,” Chief Park smiled. “Ever since we stepped into the collapsed dome, I knew we were going to be part of something unbelievable.”

“Now that we’re done, let’s head to the medical wing,” Agent Choi said.

“It’d be great if you could help us out Yixing,” Agent Max smiled.

Yixing immediately nodded as was about to walk with the agent but he was held back by Yifan.

“Lay,” Yixing let himself be pulled back by the shoulder. “Be smart about it,” Yifan discreetly said.

Yixing slightly furrowed his brows as he tried to understand the other’s defensive state. “I thought we could trust them?” he spoke softly.

“We can, but,” Yifan paused, looking over Yixing’s height at where Agent Max stood –far enough to not intrude their conversation. “Mama didn’t give them all her data,” he whispered, diminishing the distance between their faces, “I think it’s wise to not give away too much detail. Alright?”

“You trust Mama now?” Yixing leaned away to be able to see Yifan’s face.

“Strangely, I do.” Yifan looked at him directly in the eyes.

Yifan had a point. Mama didn’t want to expose her methods so other people wouldn’t go around experimenting like she had. She wouldn’t trust the agents with her data, but she trusted them to take care of the group –and part of their protection meant to keep their genesis unknown. Yixing would have to discriminate how much information would be safe enough to give them, even though he exposed much about Junmyeon already. He had to avoid speaking too much, well, of what he was capable of explaining. Even if he understood the inner mechanics of each member’s physiology by now, didn’t mean he understood how Mama managed to create their mutations. Her success has always been a mystery to him.

“Lay?” Yifan’s long hand cupped the side of his face so he would pay attention. He expected an answer.

Yixing nodded. “I’ll be careful,” he said.

Yifan gave him one more look with his sharp eyes, before letting him leave the common area. Yifan went to speak with Lu Han.

“You two seem close,” Agent Max commented with a small grin that Yixing didn’t identify.

“I’m close with everyone,” he naively said.

“That’s not what I meant,” Agent Max said discreetly.

Yixing looked at him oddly, not sure of what Agent Max was talking about. The elder realized how lost he was.

“Never mind,” he waved off. “During the examinations I would like you to help explain the adaptations you and your group have,” he changed the subject. “That way we can have a better understanding of your abilities, your needs and, well, some sort of plan for your protection and wellbeing.”

“Understanding our abilities so you can provide better help?”

“Exactly,” Agent Max nodded.

 

The medical wing was spacious, the private rooms were down three halls but they were in the Immediate Response Room –similar to an E.R. The agents had cleared up the place, leaving only six medical beds with the basic monitors and equipment. They had some exercising equipment installed inside as well.

“We’ve settled this place up yesterday. There was a lot of equipment to move,” Chief Park commented. “Boys, this is Doctor Lee Yeonseok and his medical team.”

“Good morning,” Dr. Lee greeted.

“And Doctor Song Soojin, our psychiatric specialist,” the Chief indicated towards a woman dressed in an elegant suit. “She’ll be watching what we do and then will hold a private consult with each of you,” he informed.

“Good day,” she said, holding onto a moleskin notebook.

“We’re going to evaluate all of you together, so you’ll feel more comfortable.” Dr. Lee said pocketing his hands in his lab cost. “I think you guys are used to tests by now.”

“Yeah,” they dully answered.

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep things simple,” the doctor said with a kind smile. “If there’s something you’re not comfortable with, just let us know and we won’t proceed with it,” he assured. “We’re here to know how healthy you are and we’d like to understand more about your abilities to provide the best help possible, for each of you.”

“We’ll do most of it but samples,” Yifan spoke up. “We can’t risk anyone having any sample of our DNA.”

The doctor gave an alarmed look towards Chief Park.

“It’s alright. We don’t need their DNA, so won’t proceed with any samples,” the Chief took command.

“But we need at least blood samples to make sure they’re fine. What if some of them have complications like anemia, high cholesterol or diabetes?” he said. “Maybe some hormonal problem? We need blood to rule all anomalies out.”

“We don’t,” Yixing answered for him. “We are all healthy within the normal range for our age and body weight.”

The doctor looked at him perplexed.

“Believe him,” Agent Max sided with Yixing. “He knows what he’s talking about. If he says they are perfectly healthy, then they are.”

The doctor seemed uncertain, but eventually agreed. “Very well, Then first will do a basic physical examination. We need six pairs,” the doctor said indicating towards the bed.

Yixing felt someone hold his hand; it was Sehun who looked a little nervous. They walked towards a medical bed. The other pairs formed were Yifan and Kyungsoo, Minseok and Jongin, Jongdae and Lu Han, Chanyeol and Zitao, Junmyeon and Baekhyun.

Yixing sat on the bed fist, Sehun stood beside him as a female doctor stood before them. As he was the member with ability towards biological manipulation, Yixing had spent most of his first trials in the biology and medical lab. He was always surrounded by lab scientist, doctors and nurses, but he had never seen their faces. In the NAMU facility they always covered their faces with safety masks, sometimes with lab goggles too, even if there never was a threat or reason to use them. Yixing guessed the only real reason they used them was to keep their identities hidden. There was only one medic who showed his face, but he rarely worked with that man.

Now it was different. The doctor before him didn’t even wear a face mask to cover . He could look into the woman’s eyes and know she held no harmful intentions.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Cho. Can you please tell me your names,” she asked with a sweet voice.

“Lay,” he answered.

“No, it’s Zhang Yixing,” Sehun chuckled.

“Oh, right,” Yixing smiled.

“And I’m Oh Sehun,” the other replied.

“Alright,” the doctor smiled as she wrote their names on the medical chart she was using.

“First I’ll ask a few questions before we proceed,” Dr. Lee said holding up a chart, just like the rest of the evaluating doctors. “We studied your medical history provided by Agent Maxwell, but I believe it is irrelevant considering the circumstances.”

“Most likely,” Agent Max agreed.

“So first question. Do you have any known allergies?”

Yixing shared a look with Sehun –neither were sure what to answer. Considering how little their culinary experience has been, they couldn’t quite answer fully. Other than food, there wasn’t anything that had provoked an allergic reaction to any of them. And Yixing was certain they had no allergies towards medication.

“No,” Yixing replied. “None of us.”

“Seriously?” Dr. Cho said surprised. “Not even simple things like pollen, grass, cat or dog hair? Peanuts?”

“Pollen and grass no,” Yixing said.

“Wait, but Jongdae sneezed when I was playing with pollen,” Sehun remembered.

“That was because of a the gust flowing in the air, he doesn’t have allergy,” Yixing reasoned.

“Oh,” Sehun compressed his lip thoughtfully.

“What about towards medication?”  she asked.

“No.”

“Okay, so no known allergies,” she wrote down.

“Second question. Lifestyle,” Doctor Lee read out.

“Do you exercise a lot?” Dr. Cho asked.

“Umm, not much lately,” Sehun considered. “We used to exercise daily and vigorously.”

“Alright,” she took note. “Any bad habits? Do you smoke?”

“Smoke?” Sehun asked.

“I’ll take that as a no,” she wrote down. “Do you drink alcohol?”

“Why would anyone drink alcohol?” Yixing asked confused. “It’s dangerous.”

“Oh, not pure alcohol. I don’t mean grabbing a jar of methanol and chugging it down,” she explained. “There are alcoholic beverages made through distillation and they have a degree of ethanol in it. Informally we call ethanol as alcohol,” she clarified.

“Oh,” Yixing hummed. Ethanol in small amounts wasn’t lethal -bad, but not lethal.  

“No,” Sehun answered.

“Any drug addiction?” she asked. “Probably not, right?”

Sehun gave an uncertain look towards Yixing.

“No, no addictions,” Yixing quickly replied.

“Didn’t think so,” she said as she took note.

“Any past surgeries?”

Sehun shared an uncomfortable look with Yixing.

“Many,” he answered.

“Oh,” Dr. Cho looked up from her chart. “Any procedure concerning health problems and not, well…” she tried to a suiting word.

“Experiments,” Yixing said bluntly. “We, well the group has had minor to mild injuries throughout the trials, but none required surgery,” he answered, recalling the time before he joined the group.

“Alright,” she nodded. “Do you take any medication?”

Sehun shook his head.

“Well, not medication per se,” Yixing started. “Tao struggles with insomnia, so I prepare herbal infusions to help him sleep.”

“Really?” she said impressed.

“Yeah, with passion flower, Californian poppy and lavender,” he answered. “Sometimes with valerian if we find some. Though out here there seems to be more of those.”

“That’s strange, most of those plants are introduced,” the doctor commented.

“The underground facility was different,” Yixing said.

“It really was,” Agent Max agreed as he walked into their conversation. “The flora and fauna down there was different, my guess is that you guys weren’t meant to know where you were at.”

“To keep their location secret?” Dr. Cho asked.

“We wouldn’t have been able to recognize a flower anyway,” Sehun frowned.

“You sure?” Agent Max said, tilting his head towards Kyungsoo and Yifan.

Yixing understood that the agent was referring to Kyungsoo, the one who owned the memories and had a chance to live outside before being part of the trials -even if he ended up cloned in the end, just like the rest of them. Agent Max was smart -too smart.

“A picnic,” Sehun said to him in a small voice.

Yixing nodded, remembering the fictitious memory of a picnic with Mama. He remembered he plucked flowers for her but the image was faded, it was only an idea rather than a clear image.

“I can’t remember the flowers though,” Yixing commented to the younger.

“Me neither,” Sehun said. “But there were some. Maybe he remembers,” he pointed at Kyungsoo.

“Even if he did. Why make the place down there so different?” Yixing said.

“There were surveillance cameras,” Agent Max commented. “If something unplanned would’ve happened and those videos got out, then the surroundings wouldn’t lead to our country.” The agent rubbed his mouth pensively, “there was a mixture of foliage down there. It would’ve been hard to pinpoint an exact location.”

Yixing started back amazed at those hazel eyes behind the thick red frames of Agent Max’s glasses. The astute man was beyond too smart, he was more close to being a genius -and Yixing wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, for his past experience with a genius was a horribly twisted one. He never had a reason to distrust Agent Max, in fact they got along quite well, but sometimes the man’s intelligence creeped him out.

“It makes sense,” Sehun commented with a straight face as he crossed his arms over his chest, leaning his hip against the bed.

Agent Max merely shrugged his shoulders. “So you make infusions for insomnia?” his attention was now on Yixing, resuming the previous topic.

“Yes. For severe insomnia.”

“But, how?” Dr. Cho asked. “I mean, don’t you have to extract all the components into tinctures to make it more effective. I doubt infusions help much,” she said.

“Well, as long as the plant is alive I can modify its chemical concentration making their effects much more potent,” Yixing explained.

Dr. Cho blinked a couple of times, trying to believe what she just heard. “You can manipulate a plant’s internal chemical levels?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

hung open in surprised. “Then, then you can do the same with any living creature?” she asked excitedly.

Yixing nodded. Agent Max chuckled.

She clasped a hand over for a moment. Her amazement was evident in her eyes. “You’re the one with biological manipulation?” she asked expectantly.

Yixing looked at Sehun, who was stifling a laugh, before replying with a simple yes.

She covered again out of surprise. “I’m sorry, I just,” she said flustered. “Ever since I heard of you, I imagined all the amazing things that could be possible with that ability. I mean, it’s amazing. It’s bending the laws of science into a biological expression, manipulating the organism in a way only a doctor could dream of.”

“He is amazing,” Sehun said proudly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“He sure is,” Agent Max winked.

Yixing scratched his head embarrassed.

“Just imagine all the biomedical advances we could achieve using your ability,” she said with bright eyes.

“Dr. Cho, that’s not the focus here,” Agent Max stepped in. “We’re here to help them out, not use them for our personal gain.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m being completely unprofessional. Pardon me,” she said with a small bow.

“It’s fine,” Yixing waved off.

“Then, let’s continue,” she checked her chart. “Lay down please.”

Yixing did as instructed. The physician began to palpate his abdomen with her hands, checking on his internal organs while trying to maintain a straight face as opposed to her previous blatant admiration. It felt strange to have someone touch him like that –normally it was him who’d do the examination to find any internal problems. Yixing really wasn’t used to being a patient.

“Ah!” a man yelped.

Yixing propped himself up onto his elbows and looked towards his right. The physician checking on Jongdae was rubbing his sore hand.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean that to happen,” Jongdae quickly apologized.

“What happened?” Dr. Lee asked as he approached Jongdae and Lu Han’s physician, and checked on his colleague's hand.

“I got shocked,” the physician said.

“It was an accident,” Lu Han quickly added.

“How?” Agent Choi asked as he stepped in with Chief Park.

“Electric potential difference,” Jongdae answered.

“Is he dangerous?” Dr. Lee asked, holding the clipboard closer to his body.

“No,” Lu Han frowned.

“Excuse me,” Yixing hopped off the bed to get to them with Agent Max following suit.

“I didn’t mean to pass current to him. I just have trouble controlling it,” Jongdae explained nervously. “That’s why I use these gloves,” he lifted his hands to show.

“That’s not good,” Chief Park commented.

“This is just a side effect of the elixir,” Yixing said.

“Yeah,” Jongdae said more confidently. “I used to be able to control it. But ever since the elixir I just can’t hold in all the energy inside.”

“What elixir?” Dr. Lee asked.  

“It’s a drug they were given that gives them more energy,” Agent Max quickly briefed.

“Just use gloves if you’re going to keep examining him,” Lu Han dryly suggested to the medic.

The medic searched in a stand for gloves.

“Would you be able to learn to control it?” Agent Choi asked concerned. “It’ll be difficult to let you interact with civilians if you could accidentally hurt them,” he explained.

Jongdae’s face visibly sullen.

“It’s not that we would confine you because of it,” Agent Choi quickly said. “We want you boys to have as tranquile of a life as possible and we wouldn’t want you to be exposed because of an accident. Nor would we want someone to result injured.”

“We need both sides to work, so we’ve got to find a way to help you. Alright?” Chief Park said with a reassuring smile.

Jongdae nodded with a small smile.

“How does his ability work?” Agent Max asked Yixing.

The healer bit the inside of his cheeks to avoid answering immediately without prior thought. Yifan’s words hung in the back of his head warning him to not give away too much information no matter how much he trusted Agent Max.

“It’s hard to explain,” he replied instead. “It goes all the way to quantum biology and I really don’t want to try to explain it.”

Agent Max hummed as he nodded.

“He, um, his cells are different. They accumulate energy like a capacitor and is able to discharge out of his body through electrical currents,” he explained.

“He’s a little battery,” Agent Max said with a kind smile. “You’re able to move charge around, correct?”

“Yeah,” Jongdae nodded.

“How’s your affinity with the magnetic part? You know electricity and magnetism go hand in hand, right?” the agent said.

“I manage pretty well,” Jongdae said proudly. “I use electromagnetic fields to-” Jongdae suddenly fidgeted to the side as if someone poked his side -though no one did. “To sense my surroundings,” Jongdae quickly said.

Yixing looked at Lu Han and knew that the other was warning Jongdae to be smart about what he’d say. Just like Yifan asked.  

“So you can manage to use the magnetic fields generated by the electrical current inside you to your advantage?” Agent Max asked to confirm.

“Yes,” Jongdae said.

“Alright, then have you ever heard of Penning trap?” Jongdae’s eyes widened in surprise. “It’s a bit complex but I believe we could base off that technique to help you contain the charge inside and avoid accidental shocks,” Agent Max suggested.

“Actually, that’s what I do. That’s what Mama taught me,” Jongdae said a little dazed.

“Really?” the agent said surprised.

Lu Han gave an odd look towards Yixing -the other didn’t quite get why.

“It’s just that since the elixir it’s been hard to keep all the energy under control,” Jongdae shrugged.

“It’s only been nearly three weeks since the elixir,” Yixing nodded. “I know he’ll be able to control his ability with time.”

“Alright,” Chief Park nodded. “We’ll keep a special focus on you to make sure that you’ll be able to learn to keep things in check,” he pointed at Jongdae.

“Yes, sir,” Jongdae said while nodding furiously.

 

They continued with the physical examination. Yixing playfully stopped his heart beats when Dr. Cho tried to listen with her stethoscope -scaring the poor woman.

Minseok was found to have a body temperature below average, while Chanyeol lived with a constant mortal fever. Yifan’s eyesight was six times sharper than the average human. Both Yifan and Junmyeon had a pseudo nictitating membrane in the eye; a transparent tissue that swipes over the eye like a lens to protect from wind and water. Jongdae and Baekhyun’s reflexes were quite fast -not the speed of light, but impressive nonetheless. They found that Kyungsoo was very sensitive towards vibrations and was able to detect them from distance. Junmyeon’s lateral lines were sensitive to pressure, so he disliked being touched and prodded. Everyone else was in excellent condition, though Sehun was found to be little underweight for his stature.

Junmyeon and Yifan were taken to an image room to see inside their bodies, since the physicians attending them palpated more organs than normal. Yifan’s CAT scan showed the 14 additional air sacs of his avian respiratory system.

“This is unbelievable,” Dr. Lee said as he stared in awe at the images.

His colleagues were all surrounding the screen that displayed the inside of Yifan’s chest, amazed at the novelty.

“As you can see, Yifan’s lungs aren’t the correct size for his long frame,” Yixing explained to the medics. “This is because of the extra bronchial ramifications towards the additional air sacs that have to share the same chest area. As any other human, Yifan’s diaphragm and intercostal muscles cause the aspiration, but the air flow is different. It’s unidirectional instead of bidirectional as a normal human.”

“He’s like a bird,” Dr. Cho noted.

“Yes. To simplify how his lungs work, let’s say there is absolutely no air inside him. The first breath causes the air to flow towards the posterior air sacs,” he pointed towards the lower lobes of Yifan’s lungs, where eight small air sacs were distributed, four to each side. “From the trachea, specifically the carina of the trachea, there are four out branches of the main bronchi, instead of two. The inferior pair takes the first aspiration of air towards the lower air sacs, all connected with lobar bronchus -though these air sacs do not participate in the gas exchange with the circulatory system. Their only function is to keep the air clean through a unidirectional flow.”

“So in the lungs the air is assimilated by the alveoli and diffused in the gas exchange with the blood?” a medic asked.

“Correct,” Yixing nodded “Only the lungs are irrigated for the exchange. The air sacs could be considered as a pathway, rather than a miniature lung,” he opined. “From the posterior air sacs the air is pushed into the lungs by the first exhalation. As you can see here, the lobar bronchus connects through the lower part of the lungs and branches out into bronchioles throughout the whole extension of the lungs,” he indicated the direction of the air flow with his finger. “This way all the air in the lungs is fresh and the alveoli are able to process oxygen to its 100%, instead of 70% as normal humans, were some of the unoxyginated air remains inside the body.”

“Or when the volume of air occupying the dead space doesn’t permit the lungs to refresh all the air it could be capable of,” Dr. Lee commented.

“Right,” Yixing agreed. “When the second inhalation occurs, the anterior air sacs receive the deoxygenated air from the lungs,” he pointed towards the superior lobes of his lungs, above them rested six air sacs, three to each side. “And the posterior air sacs inflate again,” he pointed down. “During the second exhalation, the used air in the anterior sacs leave the body through the trachea, while the fresh air in the posterior air sacs is pushed into the lungs. And that would conclude a whole cycle,” he concluded while motioning with his finger the whole direction of the air flow on the screen. Down to the air sacs, up to the lungs, up to the top air sacs, then out of the body, then down again.

“He’s literally an avian hybrid,” a doctor commented.

Yixing shrugged his shoulders in response.

“It’s brilliant, this kid has the best air way and can breathe at high altitude with these modification,” another doctor commented quite hyped. “How did Lu Mei managed to make these transformations?” he asked.

Yixing shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.

In all honesty, he had no idea how the hell Mama managed to create them.

“What about Kim Junmyeon’s CAT scans?” Dr. Lee asked.

“Well, if Yifan’s a hybrid bird, then Junmyeon’s a hybrid fish,” Yixing commented as he looked at the next screen image of Junmyeon’s abdomen.

“Those are swimming bladders,” Dr. Cho said, though it sounded more as a question, as she pointed at the two long organs that were situated under the abdominal muscles and over the intestines.

“Yes,” Yixing confirmed. “Swimming bladders for underwater floatation. These oblong sacs are actually connected to his lungs,” Yixing circled around the elongated sacs, one on each side of his abdomen -situated in the same position as the abdominal muscles. “They’re connected by a flexible filament analogous to the bronchi and by circulatory irrigation. That way he can either directly fill the sacs with air from the lungs or slowly through diffusion. The second way is to regulate the air volume inside while his lungs are already filled with water.”

“So he takes the oxygen from the water to fill the swimming bladders?”

“Correct. That way he controls the depth of his submersion. The more air inside, the more he floats and the closer he is to the surface of the water,” Yixing concluded.

 

The next thing they did was a stamina test, to see how well their physical state was. That’s when things became competitive.

They were all assigned to a treadmill with monitors to check on their levels. All they were meant to do was jog at a comfortable pace as long as they could. The set speed was 5km per hour, a fast walking pace, as they began to settle with the explanations.

“Use the upper arrow to accelerate the speed,” Dr. Lee instructed. “Once we say start and start the chronometer, you guys can run up to a comfortable speed and resist as long as you can.”

“This could take a couple of hours,” Zitao commented.

“Ready,” Dr. Lee said.

“How fast can this thing go?” Jongdae asked.

“Start!”

Yixing pressed the upper arrow on the console multiple times, moving his legs faster as the speed incremented. He set the speed to 11, feeling it was fast enough to get pumped yet not too fast to tire too quickly.

All he could hear were feet stomping against the moving belts, until he heard Jongdae’s characteristic yelp and a body tumbling to the floor. Yixing quickly pressed the emergency stop button to get off the treadmill.

“What happened?” he asked as he lightly pushed a doctor to get closer to his friend.

“I fell on my ,” Jongdae said painfully as rubbed the side of his upper gluteus.

Yixing couldn’t help but laugh at the other -he wasn’t the only one as the members were also laughing at Jongdae’s misfortune.

“It’s not funny. It hurts,” he said on the verge of tears.

“We need to check if he has any sprain, pulled muscle or possibly a bone fissure,” a concerned medic said.

“It’s okay,” Yixing said as he and Baekhyun helped Jongdae stand.

“How did you fall?” Baekhyun asked as Yixing examined the younger.

Nothing was broken, just a bad swore and internal hematoma. Simple but still painful. He rubbed the sore spot as Jongdae explained.

“I put the highest speed,” he sniffled. “But it was too slow. I ran into the console thingy and fell. The stupid belt nearly sent me flying,” he didn’t sound in pain anymore.

“How are you feeling?” Yixing asked.

“Better, thanks,” Jongdae smiled brightly, as if nothing ever happened.

“You ran too fast?” Agent Choi asked astounded.

“Yeah. What does 16 mean?” he asked instead.

“It’s 16mph, which is around 25km per hour,” Dr.Lee answered.

“25? Just 25?” Jongdae exasperated. “No wonder I crashed. This thing is too slow.”

“How fast can you run?” Agent Max asked curiously.

“I don’t know. Pretty fast,” Jongdae replied.

“Maybe you should take a break as the other’s continue,” Dr. Lee told him.

“What? No, I’m perfectly fine now that Yixing worked his magic,” Jongdae said excited as he hopped on the treadmill again. “Let’s do this,” he beamed.

Yixing made his way to his respective treadmill and got ready for the restart. This time everything started well, no one fell nor outran the machine. But the dullness of the repetitive exercise was beginning to show after the first hour. Between the members they began to bet against each other, provoking themselves to step up their game and compete. Jongdae kept complaining that he couldn’t run faster because of the machine, that he would’ve won immediately otherwise. But Jongin refuted, remembering him that the test wasn’t of speed but resistance. They decided that the one who lasted longest wouldn’t be in charge of cleaning dishes for a whole month.

That’s when the test, that was meant to last an hour or two, ended up lasting nearly six.

“Give up already. I know you’re tired,” Jongdae said to Yixing -they were the only one’s left.

He was feeling tired. Yes they all had accumulated energy for days, which was the main reason the competition had lasted for so long, but he sure was spending most of it running on the treadmill. But he didn’t need to worry, he just needed to manipulate his body to pump out more energy. Yixing wiped the sweat off his forehead and along with that he freshened his looks, taking the red tint from his face, the sweat nearly gone and expression calm -as if he hadn’t been running for over five hours straight.

“That’s not fair,” Jongdae complained, body drenched in sweat as opposed to his competition.

“I’m not stopping,” Yixing teased.

“Well me neither,” Jongdae barked back. “You know that as long as I’m moving, I'm charging, so I haven’t spent an ounce of energy yet,” Jongdae bragged. “It’s only a matter of time for me to win.”

“I can do this all day,” Yixing countered.

“I can do this all night,” Jongdae bickered back.

“I can go on without water.”

“I can go on without food.”

“I can go on for days.”

“I can for weeks.”

“Just give up already.”

“I don’t want to do the dishes,” Jongdae exasperated.

“Me neither,” Yixing said back.

“Hyung,” Jongdae whined.

“Oh for crying out loud, just stop!” Zitao yelled, having enough of them as he returned all freshen up. “It’s a tie, both win, End of discussion.”

“Seriously?” Jongdae asked.

“Yes, yes. Just stop this madness,” Zitao said rubbing his forehead.

“Alright,” Jongdae agreed and looked at Yixing. “On the count of three we turn these things off. Okay?” Yixing nodded. “One, two, three!”

Both boys pressed the emergency stop button at the same time. Yixing walked off the treadmill and felt his legs moved weirdly. Each step he took felt faster than normal, and wobbly, as if the floor was moving.

“Holy ,” Jongdae cursed as he nearly fell down for a second time.

“I know,” Zitao said with a grin. “It feels weird.”

“Like jelly,” Jongdae commented.

“Yeah,” Zitao laughed.

“Help me walk,” Jongdae asked.

“No way in hell, you’re drenched in smelly sweat,” Zitao refused and walked away.

Yixing, although feeling as insecure of his steps, went to Jongdae’s side and they both went to the shower room to freshen up and change.

 

“These kids are insane,” Dr. Lee said as he read their stamina results.

“And we haven’t seen it all yet,” Chief Park said.

They were gathered back at the medical wing, but with armchairs to sit at. The last part of their tests was to show off a little of their abilities, so the agents would understand the extent of their powers and be prepared for any incident.

Minseok froze everything they gave him and slowed a tennis ball thrown towards him, by slowing its kinetic movement. Lu Han didn’t seem keen on showing his abilities. He exposed a few thoughts among the medical team, moved and crushed objects. Yifan levitated off the grown. Junmyeon levitated water and swirled it around. Baekhyun melted a can with laser. Jongdae induced a current and made a light bulb explode. Chanyeol burned some wood from distance. Jongin teleported inside the medical wing and phased through objects. Sehun whacked everyone with some wind.

“I really can’t show what I do,” Zitao said. “Manipulating time feels like nothing changes to you guys.”

It was an excuse as they knew Zitao could keep a group unaffected and view the world under his time control; but he was too lazy to go through the effort.

“I’ll stop time and grab the pen over there, then restart,” Zitao said. “It’ll look like I teleported, since it happens in a fraction of a second.

True to his words, he appeared at the other side of the room in an instant.

“You all know I can heal,” Yixing sain in his turn. “Do you want me to hurt myself to demonstrate?” he genuinely asked.

“No, no, no,” Chief Park quickly said. “It’s not necessary at all. We believe you and your abilities.”

“But it doesn’t hurt,” Yixing insisted.

“Don’t do it. Seriously, it’s alright,” the Chief said.

“Alright.”

When it was Kyungsoo’s turn, things got awkward.

“I can’t do anything,” he stoically said.

“What?” Agent Choi asked.

“My ability was to summon strength,” he said.

“Was?” Agent Max remarked.

“I lost it,” Kyungsoo shrugged.

“How?” the agent asked.

“It’s my fault,” Yixing spoke up, causing everyone’s surprised attention to look at him. “Kyungsoo had a brain injury and I healed him,” Yixing explained. “But I hadn’t had the chance to understand that Kyungsoo’s neurons are different, especially his motor neurons. I had to act fast and I healed him as if his brain cells were normal,” he revealed, looking straight at Kyungsoo’s solemn face.

The younger didn’t seem sad or angry about it at all.

“Can’t you just revert the effect?” Agent Max asked.

Yixing shook his head. “I can’t fix something that isn’t wrong. There’s nothing to heal, he’s healthy.”

“But if you look for a neuron that hasn't been affected or the genetic sequence to his ability,” Agent Max thought aloud, sounding quiet interested in trying to come up with a solution. “Maybe you could change him back.”

“It’s not that simple,” Yixing cut off. “Not with neurons.”

“But-”

“Agent Maxwell, that’s enough,” the Chief reprimanded. “You’re losing focus.”

“You’re right, sir. I apologize,” Agent Max backed off.

“Don’t worry Kyungsoo, we don’t need you to try to display any ability. It’s alright,” the Chief said kindly. “Alright,” he clapped his hands. “Now that we’re done here, let’s quickly have a small consult with Dr. Song so we can leave this evening to the safehouse.”

 

They were now in a waiting room as Junmyeon was in Dr. Song’s office, after Lu Han had been the first called in. A short personal consult with each and soon they’ll be able to leave to a new home and rest.

“Yixing,” Sehun held his arm to get the healer attention. “Is Agent Max right? Could you help Kyungsoo gain his abilities back?”

“I don’t know Sehunnie,” Yixing smiled sadly. “In theory it’s possible, but it’s not easy to find. It would take a while for me to come up with some solution. And it’s not just that,” he sighed, “there’s a psychological block too.”

“What do you mean?”

“That Kyungsoo’s mind isn’t towards wanting to heal itself. It’s psychosomatic,” he explained.

“Kyungsoo could heal his own brain?” Sehun asked amazed.

“No,” Yixing chuckled. “The gene expression for his abilities is blocked. I don’t know why and it’s the reason I can’t find it.  I can’t sense it,” he clarified.

“Mhm,” Sehun hummed.

“But,” Yixing shook his head.

“But what?”

“Wouldn’t Kyungsoo be better off without his strength,” Yixing asked.

“What? Why?”

“He would be normal,” Yixing said. “It would be easier for him to adapt to a normal life without his main ability.”

Sehun remained quiet, pressing his lips together in thought.

“Nevermind, it was just a thought,” Yixing quickly excused.

“Hyung.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think Agent Max knows too much?”

“What?” he looked at the younger confused.

“I know he’s smart and all, but he seems a little too interested in us and our abilities, and… I don’t know. It kind of throws me off,” Sehun shrugged.

“You should ask Lu Han about him.”

Sehun pushed his arm. “You know I don’t want to speak to him,” Sehun mumbled.

“You want me to go?” Yixing asked, even though he already stood up.

“Please?” Sehun asked.

 

“Ah, Yixing seriously, I don’t want to talk about Sehun and I right now,” Lu Han complained once he noticed him approaching.

“It’s about Agent Max,” Yixing disclosed.

Lu Han frowned. “What about him?”

“What do you think about him?” he asked as he sat beside Lu Han.

“Dude’s smart,” Lu Han shrugged.

“Do you think he’s trustworthy?”

Lu Han looked at him oddly. “I thought you already trusted that guy.”

“I do, Sehun doesn’t.”

“Oh,” he nodded. “Well, he’s really smart and believable. But there’s something about him that sort of rubs me wrong.” Yixing was confused. “There’s nothing he’s done that would make me suspect him,” Lu Han clarified, “It’s just that, he knows so much and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

“So he’s just too interested in us and everything related?” Yixing asked.

“Yeah,” Lu Han said. “I’ll keep an eye on him, but it’s pretty much that. Too curious, too smart and too interested.” Luhan nodded and then gave off an odd look, “He’s very interested in you.”

“What do you mean?” Yixing looked at him.

“I’m saying that despite his obvious fascination towards us, he might like what you are a little too much,” he shrugged. “Y’know, your ability.”

“Oh,” he dumbly said, unsure of what to think about being the agent’s favorite.

He went back to Sehun to tell him what he knew. There really was no reason to suspect Agent Max, who had worked with them and helped them out all this time.

“So I was just being a bit paranoid?” Sehun said.

“Yeah.”

“Anything else” Sehun asked expectantly.

“No, nothing,” Yixing replied.

“Yixing it’s your turn,” Junmyeon said as he came out of the consult.

“Okay.”

 

 

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