The girls got out of the car and surveyed the area. 

 

'Split up and walk around. We should find them here.' Jihyo instructed and they dispersed. 

 

'Orion's Order is killing good mutants? This is like mutant genocide! They can't just kill people who don't want to join.' Chaeyoung scowled. 

 

'The world is a messed up place Chaeng. Either you join them or fight them. There are many things that are made to become unnecessary choices. People just choose to make things difficult sometimes.' Jeongyeon shrugged.

 

They sat down on a bench and looked around. They could see the rest wandering around, pretending to be waiting for a friend. 

 

Nothing seemed suspicious until a group of people came out of a black car, carrying a bag each and walking to the front of the statue. They gathered around and seemed to be discussing something before breaking away. 

 

'Come and join our family today!' One of the boys shouted, waving a stack of flyers in the air. This must be them. She looked around to see if the rest of them noticed and made eye contact with Jihyo who nodded. 

 

They had attracted the attention of the passer-by’s who stopped to look at them.

 

'Are you tired of the government reign? Tired of paying your taxes? Tired of not earning more? Join us in the revolution! We will strive to bring justice and equality to all!' He yelled and the other boys whooped and cheered. 'If you don't believe we are capable of such a big change, then you are right!' 

 

Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung raised an eyebrow and exchanged glances. 

 

'We find strength in numbers! We can only do as such if you will join us and give us your support! What are you waiting for? Join us now! Our leader will show you what he is capable of!' 

 

'Let's go.' The geokinetic nudged Chaeyoung's knee and they stood up. They could see people approaching the boys with flyers and they joined in the crowd. 

 

'Got two. Let's get outta here.' Chaeyoung whispered and linked arms with Jeongyeon. The taller girl looked around and saw Momo who nodded towards the direction they came from.

 

They piled into the car and Nayeon drove off. 

 

'Join the revolution. Say no to governance.' Jihyo read off the flyer. 

 

'We strive to unite all and create a poverty free nation. By joining the Orion's Order, you will receive full protection and backing of the organization.' Tzuyu added.

 

'They're planning to overthrow the government? That's impossible. The military would shut them down.' Momo deadpanned. 

 

'Not if they have everyone supporting them. The less fortunate would definitely join them no doubt about that. Along with the low wage workers and those anti-mutants and-' 'Yeah I think we get it.' Sana grimaced, cutting Dahyun off. 

 

'You mentioned something about power?' Jihyo asked Mina. 

 

'Yeah. I guess we'll see if that's legit at this rally. Also, the guy probably recognizes me so I'll split off from you guys. Actually, everyone should go in pairs. I'll wander alone in case he sees me. Don't want to drag you guys into hot soup.' 

 

'But-' 'Don't worry, I can handle it.' Mina patted Sana's knee and the girl kept quiet but a frown remained on her face.

 

'Before we can do any of that I think we have a problem.' Jeongyeon said.

 

'What?' 

 

'There isn't a location stated for the rally. How do we find them?' 

 

Chaeyoung scanned through the flyer once more. Mina too looked through. Impossible. There has to be some location somewhere. The back of the flyer was blank which means it has to be on the front. Maybe it's coded or like a riddle.

 

There were only a few alphabets that were capitalized. 

 

'Tired.. By.. Government.. Will. TBGW.' Mina muttered and leaned back in her seat, looking up to the roof of the car. What could it mean? It had to be the initials for something.. Locations. She dug her phone out and searched up a list of Korean cities. 

 

'That's it! Look!' Mina exclaimed, making some of them jump in their seat. 'TBGW!' 

 

'What? What's that?' Nayeon asked pulling up to the side of the road. 

 

'Tae baek in Gangwon-do! That must be where the rally is held! It's pretty high up as compared to other cities isn't it? They can't have a large scale meeting in the city or they'd all be busted so low profiles in the mountains are perfect!' 

 

'But where? The province is huge..' 

 

'This must be it.' Mina circled the blurry background of the flyer. 

 

'Let me look for it.' Tzuyu offered and began tapping on her phone. 

 

'The rally is tomorrow night. We have more than enough time to prepare.'

 

'It's about a three to four hours’ drive so we could leave after lunch. It starts at eight anyway.' Nayeon said, flipping the blinkers and turning back onto the road.

 

'What a bright cookie.' Sana beamed and hugged Mina's arm, resting her head on the girl's shoulder. 

 

'I used to play lots of problem solving video games. Guess that sure helped. Proves those sayings about video games being a waste of time wrong.' Mina stuck her tongue out. 

 

 

---

 
'Ready to go?' Dahyun asked as she swung a duffle over her shoulder.

 

They piled into the car and began their journey to Taebaek. 

 

'It's the Jangseong coal mine. Apparently it's owned by their early mutants. The geokinetics must have worked there.' Tzuyu said. 

 

'Coal mine. It must be in their warehouse.' Sana suggested. 

 

'We'll find out when we get there.' 

 

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

 

The pebbles on the dirt road crunched as the car came to a stop. The sky was dark with rain clouds and the atmosphere was eerie.

 

'Good thing I didn't wash the car.' Nayeon looked at the mud and dust stains on the sides and wheels. 

 

'Let's split up and enter at different timings. If anything happens, just run for the car and get out of here. Stay safe, avoid confrontations and act normal.' The leader instructed. 

 

Mina pulled her scarf higher to cover and walked around the perimeter of the mine, scouting the area to familiarize herself with the layout. When she arrived back at the car, it was deserted so she headed in.

 

'Invitation.' The burly guard said in a rough manner. Mina was unfazed and calmly pulled out the folded flyer from her pocket.  He took a look at it and waved for her to enter. 

 

She stepped into the dark corridor which was lit by the single door straight ahead. She looked around to see if there was another exit and spotted a staircase. Mina looked back only to realize that the guard had closed the door. She quickly climbed up, the sound of her footsteps on the metal stairs echoing in her ears.

 

Pushing the door which creaked open, she stepped out onto a balcony which overlooked the entire warehouse. She did not expect this. 

 

There was a temporary stage set up at the front of the warehouse and the spotlights around the walls were all pointing towards the stage. To say it was packed was an understatement. There were at least hundreds if not a thousand or two people down there. How did they get so many supporters? Why would they even support such a organization with a crazy ideology?

 

She could see a couple of guards standing by the exits which meant their only way out were by the main doors. Then Mina spotted a few windows on the roof. Another way out. Hopefully there aren't many aerokinetics or they'll be doomed. 

 

The pyrokinetic quickly kneeled down as she saw one of the guards looking up. Good thing she was in an all-black outfit. 

 

'Test.' A voice boomed from the speakers. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the spectacular powers of our leader, Zafir!' 

 

The centre platform must have descended when Mina wasn't looking because the leader, along with two guards flanking his sides rose onto the stage. Every muscle in Mina's body tensed up and she felt a chill down her spine. The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up as her eyes widened at Zafir. 

 

It was him. The guy from that chilling nightmare.

 

A mic was lowered from the stage ceiling and he pulled it towards his mouth.

 

'Supporters and members of the Orion's Order, a warm welcome to all my brothers and sisters. I am pleased to see so many of you gathered here today.' He paused and the crowd whooped and cheered. Zafir raised his hand and the wolf howls died down. 

 

'However, I'm sure that there are some here that find the powers and abilities that I possess a little.. Dubious. This is why I plan to show it to you, to prove that those aren’t just rumours that you heard off the street. To prove that I am a worthy leader. To prove that we, as a whole, can lead the country into a new era; an era where mutants rise, and humans fall.' His voice dropping to a guttural, menacing tone. Zafir turned and gestured something towards the guard on his right, who nodded and jogged to the edge of stage and talked to another rebel on the ground. 

 

A group of five boys and girls bound in shackles were shoved onto the stage. Mina didn't need to get close enough to know that a terrified expression was painted on their faces. The guards unlocked the cuffs of the first boy and shoved him roughly towards Zafir. 

 

'I'm feeling generous today. I'll give you a chance to fight for your freedom. If you win, you can walk away a free man. If you don't, you will likewise walk away, only with your powers gone and soul crushed.' The leader's foghorn voice boomed. 

 

The boy wasted no time in lunging forward only to vanish and appear behind Zafir, aiming a hook punch for his head. The leader side stepped and the boy went flying. Mina gripped the bars and watched as the teleporter attempted to land several more strikes which only ended up in failure.

 

Eventually, Zafir must have gotten bored as he tripped the charging teleporter and sent him rolling to the ground with a loud thud. With each step the man took towards the boy, the pounding in Mina's ears got louder. She watched as Zafir placed his index finger on the boy's chest and his thumb on his forehead. For a moment nothing happened but when he removed his fingers, the boy collapsed to the ground, unmoving. 

 

'Come on, teleport away.' Zafir taunted as two men hoisted the weak boy up. He couldn't teleport anymore. 

 

The next girl was a photokinetic. She had tried blinding Zahir by blocking the light from reaching his eyes and shooting a beam into his eyes but both seemed futile as he still avoided her attacks. She met the same fate as the crowd watched as the ray of light that shot from her palm slowly flickered and disappeared, darkness consuming the girl. 

 

By the time the next girl was shoved out to the stage which became a fighting ring for entertainment, Mina decided she had enough. She spun on her heel and burst through the door, clambering down the stairs. The door to the huge crowd was closed as well as the main door so she bolted into the corridor on the right which had a open door. 

 

She reached the end of the hallway and realized she must be in the generator room.

 

'Hey what are you doing here?' A guard in thick armour shouted and pointed at her. Her eyes widened and she took off once more down the opposite side. Mina could hear the guard radioing for backup. She spotted a flight of stairs and raced up, guard still hot on her heels. 

 

She scowled and bit back a curse. The guard was a normal human but she had to listen to Jihyo, avoid confrontation. 

 

Kicking the door open, she raced out only to realize she was on the roof. 

 

'Nowhere to run now little girl.' He snarled as he emerged from the door, slightly panting. The stamina of mutants have always been better than humans so Mina decided to use that to her advantage. 

 

'Tired already? I'm just getting started!' She laughed and jumped onto the ledge. 

 

'Get back here you brat!' The guard pulled out two batons and swung it in front of him in an attempt to intimidate the girl. 

 

'Come get me.' Mina smirked and ran along the ledge, the guard giving chase. She could outrun him without a problem but she needed to warn the others and get them out of here, but she was sure that there was one last mutant that was about to get her power taken for good. She had to save her. One is better than nothing. 

 

She gracefully leapt off the edge and landed on the roof. She slid down the tiles and flipped onto another building, pumping her legs to go faster. She glanced back and saw that she had created a good distance between the guard and she turned a corner, blasting herself off and flying to the warehouse. 

 

She landed on the roof and spotted a ladder. Gripping the sides, she swung her weight over onto the first step and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before placing her right foot on the side bar and then the left, sliding down.

 

'Surrender!' A voice boomed when she landed on the gravel. Mina was surrounded. The rebels were all wielding a baton and there was no way to guess which was a mutant or human. 

 

She clenched her fist and brought them up to her chest, preparing to fight. Narrowing her eyes, she looked past them to see if there was any way out. Luck was on her side as two rebels had carelessly left a bigger gap and she faked a lung at one before twisting her body and sliding on the floor out of the circle. 

 

She ran into the small door and shut it, barricading it with a table and the metal lock. Mina brought a small flame up and realized she was in the coal mine. How would she get back now? Looking around, she spotted a floor plan. How handy. 

 

It seems that there was a tunnel connecting the mine to the warehouse. Perfect. If she flew she should be able yo make it there in time. Mina began to sprint and eventually lifted herself off with flames into the mine, shooting balls of fire to help her see. 

 

She reached the end of the tunnel and did a roundhouse kick, breaking the upper door to the engine room down. Mina was no engineer but the levers and switches were simple enough when you wanted to do some destruction. She pulled the sleeve of her jacket down to cover her hands before turning every wheel on the pipes to release the fog into the warehouse from the vents and slammed her palm down on the red button. She had no idea what it does but red buttons were never a good thing. 

 

She blew a hole through the thin wall and saw that the area where the crowd was covered in a white fog and people were screaming and shouting. The last hostage was still bound but Zafir was nowhere to be seen but that was the least of her concerns. 

 

She jumped to the ground and rolled, breaking her fall before pushing past the crowd, making her way to the stage. 

 

'Everyone, get back to the vehicle immediately.' She heard Jihyo's voice in her head.

 

'Jihyo!' Mina screamed as she pushed a boy out of her way.

 

'Mina? Where are you?'

 

'I'm in the warehouse! I'm taking the last hostage with me!' 

 

There was a slight pause of hesitation before Jihyo spoke.

 

'Be careful.' 

 

Mina jumped and grabbed onto the podium, pulling herself up. She slid on her knees towards the girl and placed a firm hand on the girl's shoulder, brushing her brown locks out of her face. 

 

'Let's get you out of here.' Mina said and looked around. She extended two fingers and formed a hot blue flame like a blowtorch. 'Don't worry, it won't hurt you.' Mina said when she saw the girl's eyes widen. 

 

She inserted the flames directly into the keyhole and held it. 

 

'C'mon.. C'mon..' 

 

The lock began to glow and Mina pulled away, using her fist to smash the lock which broke away, letting the chains fall to the ground along with it. 

 

Mina took the girl by the hand and pulled her along. 

 

'Hug me and hold tight.' Mina said and wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. Taking cover behind the curtain, she blasted off and broke through the roof, flying towards the direction of the car. She could see the lack SUV driving away and out onto the dirt road. 

 

Diving down, she kept a constant speed beside the car and the window rolled down. 

 

'Seems like you don't need a ride.' Dahyun smirked. She opened the door and Mina passed the girl in before squeezing in herself and shutting the door.

 

'Who's this?' Dahyun asked. 

 

'One of the hostages.' Mina turned to the girl who looked a little dazed. 'You alright?' 

 

'Yeah.. I guess.. Thank you..' 

 

'Don't worry about it. What's your name?' 

 

'Soojung. Jung Soojung.' 

 

'Jung Soojung? Sooyeon's sister?' Jihyo asked from the front.

 

'Yes.. How do you know my sister?'

 

'We.. Our academy has close relations with another academy in the next area. I heard from their leader that her girlfriend's sister was taken by the rebels.. what a coincidence. I can inform your sister that you are safe if you'd like. You should stay the night too, we'll send you back tomorrow morning.' 

 

'Yes that would be good thank you. Would I be of trouble?' 

 

'Certainly not. Don't worry, we have a guest room that you could use.' Jihyo smiled and the girl seemed to be assured. 

 

'Glad you're okay.' Mina wrapped her arms around Sana's waist from behind. Sana had ended up on Mina's lap in the back due to the lack of space. 

 

'Yeah. Glad you did too. I was worried.. What happened?' Sana leaned back.

 

'To summarize, I got ambushed, ran around, busted into the engine room, created chaos and got the hell outta there.' Mina laughed. 

 

'Talk about an adventure. Your hand is bleeding.' Sana said and took Mina's right hand, holding it up. There was a gash running diagonally across her palm with a little bit of blood smudged around.

 

'It's okay, just a little scratch. Chaeng?' 

 

Chaeyoung turned to the back and waved her hand over Mina's open palm, closing the wound and stopping the bleeding. 

 

'Thanks.' Mina rubbed her hand on her jeans. 'So.. Soojung right? What affinity do you wield?' 

 

'Frost.' 

 

'Really? So is Sana.' Mina pointed at the girl on her lap who extended her hand.

 

'It's nice to meet a fellow cyrokinetic.' Sana smiled as Soojung took her hand and gave it a firm shake.

 

'My sister is a cyrokinetic too.'

 

Sana's eyes widened and she nodded, looking pleased to hear about it. 

 

The conversation died down and most of the mutants fell asleep from the sleep inducing rocking of the vehicle. 

 

It was a shorter ride home since the roads were mostly empty. 

 

'Could you help me out a little?' Mina whispered to Nayeon who smiled and closed the door as gently as she could. The older girl opened the door and took Sana from Mina's lap, letting the girl get out and stretch.

 

'Thanks.' Mina mouthed and bent her knees so Nayeon could place the girl on her back. With her arms placed firmly under Sana's knees and the latter's arms draped over Mina's shoulders, they walked into the building in silence. Mina didn't want to disturb the girl so she decided a little piggyback ride wouldn't hurt. 

 

Mina flipped the covers off and placed the girl on her bed, slipping her shoes and socks off, removing her coat and scarf and hung them on the rack before draping the covers over the girl. She was going to take a long hot shower to relax her muscles which were certainly going to be aching tomorrow morning when she felt something brush down on her hand.

 

Mina turned around to see the sleeping girl's hand drooping off the bed and she had one eye half open. 

 

'Sleep.. with me?' she muttered softly in her drowsy state. 

 

Mina smiled and kneeled beside her, her head. 

 

'I'll take a shower first okay?' 

 

Sana nodded and Mina patted her head before leaving. 

 

After a long relaxing soak in the bathtub, Mina felt rejuvenated. 

 

She slipped into Sana's room and slowly eased herself into the bed. 

 

'I thought.. you drowned yourself in there.' Sana whispered, voice slightly cracking. The girl had changed into a tee and shorts so Mina assumed Sana must have went to wash up while she was gone. 

 

'Nah. I’m an excellent swimmer y’know.' Mina chuckled softly and s her arm around the girl's waist. 

 

 

---

 

They were awoken by a urgent knocking on the door.

 

Mina, fearing something bad had happened, sprung out of bed in a half awake manner and quickly opened the door.

 

'Is- Oh.' Jeongyeon let out a relieved sigh. 

 

'What? What happened?' Mina asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

 

'We couldn't find you so we thought something happened to you.' Jeongyeon scratched her head. 'Isn't this Sana's room?' 

 

'Yes, it's my room.' Sana yawned and appeared behind Mina.

 

The blondie looked at the two in a strange way. 

 

'What's going on with you two?' 

 

'What do you mean? We were sleeping?' Mina replied, not quite understanding the question. Sana's face flushed and she suddenly felt very awake. 

 

'Nothing of that sort. Just.. like a sleepover.' Sana explained. 'Don't think of funny things.' 

 

'Alright alright, if that's what you say.' Jeongyeon raised her hands in defeat and turned to walk away, hands still in raised. 

 

'What?' Mina asked, seriously confused.

 

'Nothing you should be worried about so early in the morning. Come, let's go freshen up.' Sana said and dragged the dazed girl back inside.

 

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

 

Soojung was already seated at the breakfast table when the Nayeon strolled in.

 

'Morning.' She said and almost immediately slumped on the table.

 

'Uhm..'

 

'She's just not a very.. morning person. Eggs?' Jihyo asked as she walked towards the table with a frying pan. 

 

'Sure. Thanks.' Soojung smiled as a sunny side up slid off the pan and onto her plate.

 

'I sent a message to your sister. They were very relieved and invited us to lunch with them.' 

 

'Free food? I like them even more now.' Momo grinned and Jeongyeon shook her head. 

 

'You would be the easiest person to kidnap.' 

 

'No I'm not. I don't follow random people who offer me free food.' Momo protested with a frown.

 

'Anyway, how did you get captured?' Sana asked amidst the pointless bickering.

 

'I was on a mission, to spy on another one of their meetings. I managed to get in and boy are they messed up. They have a secret dungeon under their base of operation full of mutants like us. Those that try to spy, take them down, traitors.. You get the point.'

 

'So, they just lock them up?' Mina asked.

 

'No. I was only there for a couple of days but I think I seen enough. That guy, their leader, is an energy manipulator. That's how he is able to remove the powers from a mutant. There's a team of alchemist experimenting on all sorts of potions. Power enhancing, inducing, self-healing..' 

 

'Power inducing? Is that what I think it is?' Jihyo asked, realization dawning on her.

 

'Yes.' 

 

'Wait, what's that?' Tzuyu suddenly asked after listening quietly for the past few minutes. 

 

'If you ingest it, it gives you the ability to wield two different powers at once. Not sub-manipulation but completely different powers. Like fire and ice or water and earth.' Jihyo explained.

 

'Is that even possible?' 

 

'With dark magic yes, but it’s against the rules of alchemy. You see, it was because of one power hungry mutant that used these potions to try to rule the world in the early 1800s that caused the mutant war. Who helped in the mass killing of humans? Alchemist. It was after the end of that mutant war that the rules were created and placed down by the elders. No more dark magic and no more power related potions. They confiscated every book there was related to these set of potions and locked them away. Somehow these guys must have either had a copy of it that was well hidden and passed down or they stole it back. Whichever it is, it's both equally bad.' 

 

'Is there any way to stop them?'

 

'Thankfully yes. A counter potion.'

 

'Wouldn't we need an alchemist for that?' 

 

'One of my sister's friend is an alchemist. A very skilled and knowledgeable one in fact.'

 

'Joohyun. Indeed, she could help.'

 

'Then we better get moving, no time to lose.' Tzuyu said thoughtfully as she forked her scrambled egg into .