A wave of air collided with a wave of fire and both elements dispersed. Another blast of blue flames were blocked off with a spike of air that shot straight through the centre of the blast. Mina stumbled back and blocked a shot of air that pushed her backwards to her original position.

 

She looked over to see how Sana was doing and caught sight of her partner freezing the tip of a water tentacle and shooting it back towards the hydrokinetic and taking a step forward. At least she was making more progress. 

 

Mina turned her attention back to Momo only to be hit in the face and knocked over by a jab to the side. The girl was sent rolling and she lay on the ground, limbs spread out in defeat. 

 

'You alright?' She heard Sana ask. 

 

'Yep.' The pyrokinetic did a kip up and blasted fire from her feet. She hovered above the ground and surfed over to Momo, dodging the barrage of air bullets and shot a few balls of flames. She did a matrix roll over a huge blast of air and flew straight into Momo, tackling the girl into the ground. A fire dagger appeared in her hand and she raised it to the helpless girl who used her hands to shield her face. 

 

Before she could declare victory, a tentacle of water wrapped around her waist and pulled her off Momo, flinging her gently off the girl and towards the walls. Before she could summon the flames to break her fall, a layer of ice formed on her wrist and pulled her towards Sana, making the girl stumble a little upon her wobbly landing. 

 

'You alright?' Sana asked again.

 

'Yeah, thanks.' Mina grinned.

 

'Duck.' 

 

'What?'

 

Sana pushed Mina to the ground by the shoulders as a jet of water and air passed over their heads. A shield of ice formed in front of them and they peeked over. 

 

'This shield ain't gonna last!' 

 

'Don't worry. On my count, let's just go straight for the kill.' Mina said. 'One, two, three!' 

 

The icy shield disintegrated as they rolled out from either sides and surfed on their elements towards the pair who clearly didn't expect this move. 

 

They lunged for their targets at the same time and knocked them to the ground. They pinned them down and looked at each other with a victory grin.

 

'Boy are you two synchronized.' Tzuyu propped herself up. 

 

'Better luck next time.' Sana shrugged playfully. 

 

Momo and Tzuyu stood up and dusted themselves off. 

 

'When do you think we'll get some action?' Tzuyu asked as they emerged from the stairwell. 

 

'I don't know. Half of me wants it to be soon but then again.. These guys don't seem like the kind that can be messed around with.' 

 

'Yeah. They tracked us down, ambushed us, left a threat at our doorstep. I feel like there's more to their... whatever it is than we think.'

 

'I agree. But hey, look at what happened. At least we're in tip top shape for combat. Those guys have nothing on us.' Momo tilted her head up and patted her chest in mock cockiness, throwing a few punches and ducking as if there was someone fighting with her. 

 

Mina cracked a smile but it didn't reach her eyes. For some reason she felt uneasy. Her thoughts drifted back to the dream she had, of the man in the mask. She would have forgotten about the dream if not for the ambush by the rebels. 

 

'Are you worrying again?' Sana asked softly. There was a hint of tease in her tone but Mina could see some worry in her eyes. 

 

'I..' the pyrokinetic looked into the girl's light brown orbs and blinked. It was a mistake making direct eye contact. Those big, innocent brown eyes were screaming at her to just leak everything and were totally ruining her plan of not worrying the girl. 'I'll tell you later.' She whispered and bit her lip. Sana nodded wordlessly and shifted her attention back to the pair that was pretending to fight each other. 

 

'You guys carry on with that. We'll be on our way. See ya.' Sana interrupted the pair that paused mid action, making Mina snort. Tzuyu had grabbed the older girl by the collar and was bringing her fist down to Momo's face in slow motion and the latter had both hands gripping Tzuyu's wrist with a terrified expression. Only their eyeballs moved to look at Sana when she interrupted. 

 

The older girl took Mina by the hand and pulled her away from the comical duo.

 

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

 

The door to Sana's room gently clicked shut and she took a seat on the edge of the bed. Mina sat down beside her and intertwined her fingers. 

 

'What were you thinking about?' Sana prompted gently. Turning her body to face Mina. She repositioned herself so she was sitting cross legged. Mina tilted slightly to rest her right leg on the bed, leaving her left leg to hang off the side. 

 

'Well.. I had this dream before the road trip. Ah, a few days before the road trip actually. Or a day.' Mina blinked. 'That isn't important anyway. It was a bizarre dream. I don't even think it's a dream, I'd consider it a bad dream. Not really a nightmare but not pleasant either.' 

 

Sana leaned forward a little and Mina's eyes widened.

 

'Sorry sorry, I'm rambling. Gah, I just dreamt about this.. this guy in a hooded cloak. It was too dark to see his face. The weird thing was that he seemed to have two affinities.'

 

'You mean like a main and sub?' 

 

'No, two different elements. He had attacked me with water first and cornered me. Then he lifted all the surrounding pieces of metal and moulded it into swords and knives with just the twist of a hand and flung them all at me. Then I woke up.' 

 

'Did you tell Jihyo?' Sana gripped Mina's arm, the girl's eyes were full of worry.

 

'Yeah but she said not to dwell on it. Or may or may not be a foreboding since there aren't any documented mutants that wield two elements at once.'

 

Sana stared at her lap and bit her lip. 'Just.. be careful okay?'

 

'Yeah.. Yeah I will.' Mina pressed her lips into a tight smile and gave Sana a hug. 

 

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

 

Mina was lying on her bed reading a book when she heard a knock on the door. 

 

'Come in.' 

 

Jihyo peeked her head in before slipping through the small gap.

 

'I have some news.' Jihyo started. Mina furrowed her eyebrows and placed her book down. 'I've tracked down who left the threat. It wasn't one but five people. They had plans to infiltrate the building but because of the force field they couldn't. They're currently camping out at a abandoned building overrun by nature. You could use that to your advantage to hide.'

 

'My advantage?'

 

'Yes. I'm sending you as a scout to spy on them. You will go with Nayeon in case anything goes wrong, she could teleport you back.' 

 

'I thought we were all going.' 

 

'No, it's too risky. Better to keep a low profile. Here, these are a little profile on the guys.' Jihyo handed a small slip of paper to Mina. 

 

'You seem like you're hiring a hitman.' Mina joked as she scanned the names and affinities listed down.

 

'This would be interesting. Never came across these powers before.' 

 

'Yes. You might not be prepared and these guys could be more powerful than we thought. Remember, the objective is to spy not fight. Try not to draw attention to yourselves and retreat if necessary. You can set off at dusk.' 

 

'Should Sana know about this?' 

 

'No. We don't want them to know and worry. This is not the official mission but a side. So keep this under wraps. You can tell her later.' 

 

'Understood.' Jihyo smiled and patted Mina's thigh before taking her leave. 'And Jihyo?' The girl turned around. 'Thanks.' 

 

'No problem. You should take a nap now for later.' Jihyo nodded and left. 

 

Mina crept down the stairs a few minutes after she heard the last room door close for the night and saw Nayeon waiting at the atrium for her with a small black sack.

 

'Just some stuff like food and some throwing knives.' Nayeon explained after catching Mina's curious eyes. 'Ready to go?' 

 

The pyrokinetic took a deep breath and nodded. Nayeon swiped her palm in front of them and a portal opened. Dried twigs and leaves snapped and crunched under her foot as she walked through. The woods were silent and only the sound of insects could be heard. The portal closed behind them as Nayeon joined her and they slowly walked around the wooded area. 

 

They made a few rounds but there didn't seem to be any sign of people except them. Mina grumbled and turned to her right, only to trip over a rock and fall down.

 

'Mina? You alright?' She heard Nayeon call out to her left.

 

'Yeah..' Mina stood up and dusted her jeans. There was a slight stinging sensation on her palm but it wasn’t serious. She looked down to find a small circle of rocks. That's odd. She brought her palm up and lit a small flame to help her see. It wasn't just a circle of rocks, it was a campfire. Or what was that of a campfire. There were blackened sticks and leaves. They must have been here. 

 

She poked the pile with her finger and sighed. There was no way to tell how long they had been gone since it was almost winter.  

 

'Nabongs, over here!' The pyrokinetic shouted. She heard some rustling and snapping of twigs before Nayeon emerged from the darkness. 

 

'Look. They must have been here.' 

 

'How do we know where they are now?' 

 

Mina looked around. There's no way they would find any trace of them in such a huge and dense forest. 

 

'Let's get back to Jihyo. Maybe she has an idea.' Mina sighed. 

 

'Alright.. Lollie?' Nayeon held out a blueberry flavoured lollipop. 

 

'Sure.' Mina chuckled and took it. Consider today's mission a fail.

 

 

---

 

Mina stepped out into the cool autumn air. It was the perfect weather for a walk through town and so she was going to do just that. 

 

She was passing by a alley when her shoelace came undone. Bending down to tie it, she heard some people talking in a hushed manner from down the alley. She would have brushed it off but she caught a few words that seemed suspicious. She looked around before ducking in, taking cover behind a large bin. 

 

'Could you hurry up?' A low voice hissed.

 

'A smoke break wouldn't kill. Besides, we already left the note yesterday. Just say we're out recruiting or something.' A gruff voice said. 

 

'Do you think they can track us?' 

 

'Doubt so. We went through the forest; it's too dense to find any trace of us ever being there.' 

 

'When are the others coming?'

 

Before one of them could answer, a phone rang.

 

'Hello. Yes. To where? When? Okay. I understand.' A pause. 'Change of plans. We need to go to Gwanghwamun plaza to help hand out the flyers.' The gruff voice said. He must be their leader.

 

'Alright. Let's move out. But wait..' 

 

'What is it?' The leader asked, sounding a little annoyed.

 

'I sense a presence.' He said. Mina froze. Her muscles tensed up as she prepared herself for a possible ambush. She should leave now but they could be looking in her direction.

 

'Could be a mutant in the area.' 

 

Mina saw them through the reflection on a beer bottle. They were looking away, now was her chance. She rolled out of the alley and scrambled to her feet. She began walking as normally as possible, looking down at her phone when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around and raised her fist.

 

'Woah woah, relax.' The boy said.

 

'How can I help you?' Mina asked, remembering his voice from back in the alley. He sounded way older than he looks. 

 

'Are you by any chance.. a mutant?' He asked.

 

'Yes.. a hydrokinetic.' Mina lied. She couldn't risk it after what Jihyo told her the day she arrived. 

 

'Oh cool. Would you like to join me and my friends? We're all mutants too. We're part of a huge gang of mutants.' 

 

'Really? It sounds interesting.' The pyrokinetic said, faking enthusiasm. 

 

'Yeah. We support each other since the normal human race seems to outcast us as freaks. But they don't know whose boss. They should be respecting us. We have powers that they don't have, we're superior.' The boy growled. 

 

'So tell me about this gang. It sounds interesting.' Mina asked. Maybe he could provide more information. 

 

'Yeah. It actually has a name. Orion's Order. It was created by the earilest mutants. The humans had always out casted them so they grouped together for thy found strength in numbers. They began to revolt, attempting to take over the government but it failed and many died because the government had mutants on their side. The leader thought that all mutants should stand together and that those under the government were traitors to our kind, hurting and killing their own brothers and sisters. This is why he placed a new rule; no mercy to those mutants. They aren't worthy of their powers.' 

 

Mina gulped. She had to get away from this. It was just one guy but he knew her now, she can't hurt him. She'd have to find another way out.

 

'I agree with them.. Mutants shouldn't hurt one another. They should support each other.' She said but kept her comments to herself. 

 

'So, you wanna join?' He stopped and looked into Mina's eyes. . 

 

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she fished it out. Jihyo. Perfect. 

 

'Hello?'

 

'Hey, where are you?' 

 

'What? Wait what happened?' 

 

'Wha? What do you mean what happened Mina are you-' 

 

'Mom? Mom calm down!'

 

'Mom? Wha-'

 

'Dad is what? Where are you? The hospital?' 

 

'Mina are you okay?' 

 

'Alright I'm on my way!' Mina hung up and turned to the boy. 

 

'Sorry, my dad had a heart attack and I really need to go.' 

 

'No worries. You should go.' 

 

Mina nodded and took off, running as far as her legs could carry and hailed a cab. She jumped in and gave some instructions to the driver. She'll have to thank Jihyo when she gets home.

 

 

 ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

 

'Mina?' 

 

'Jihyo thank god. I love you so much I can't even express it.' Mina said as she pulled Jihyo into a bone crushing hug. 

 

'What happened? What mom?' 

 

The younger girl shook her head. 

 

'Gather the others; we'll have a meeting in five.' She said and ran up to her room to get changed. 

 

Everyone was seated around the meeting table when she walked in.

 

'So what's the big news?' Chaeyoung asked.

 

'I chanced upon a few rebel mutants earlier when I was walking around town and found out a bit about them.' Mina explained. 'Turns out that they're not just responsible for what has been happening these few decades but also the events that have happened in the past including the very first revolt.' Mina paused letting the words sink in. 'They're part of some secret society that calls themselves the Orion's Order, after Orion the constellation of the hunter. Apparently it's because they plan to hunt down all the mutants who go against their cause and take them down. I heard that they will be having a rally soon where their great leader will be present to showcase his power of supposed powers to the members as well as their supporters.' 

 

'Power?' Dahyun asked.

 

'Yes. It is said he is able to be able to permanently remove the powers from a mutant and there is no way to retrieve it. Ever.'

 

'So.. That mutant will be like a normal human? Forever?' Jeongyeon asked, eyebrows knitted in worry and slight panic.

 

'Forever.' Mina confirmed.

 

'Woah woah wait. Let me get this straight.' Momo cut in and furrowed her eyebrows.

 

'Since when were you ever straight?' Dahyun sniggered in a attempt to lighten the atmosphere.

 

'Oh shut up. So there is this evil overlord that is the mastermind behind all these hellhounds and rebel mutants and they call themselves what now?' 

 

'Orion's Order.' Sana rolled her eyes.

 

'Yeah that, and they plan to wage an all-out war to eliminate the good mutants, us basically, that go against their cause.' Momo summarized. 

 

'That is correct.' Jihyo nodded, rubbing her chin.

 

'So.. what is their cause exactly?' 

 

'That is why we're going to the rally. To find out their true motive for striking the city with terror all these years.' 

 

'What if we get caught?' Tzuyu asked.

 

'We'll have to be careful. I say we split up into three groups and position ourselves at different places. We'll have to disguise ourselves too.' Sana suggested

 

'Good call. We'll go with that plan.' 

 

'If their supporters are invited, wouldn't there be some sort of invitation for a event of this magnitude? I mean they don't seem dumb enough to let anyone into a rally of this nature.' Nayeon pointed out.

 

'Where would it be held anyway?' Chaeyoung chimed in.

 

Mina frowned, the gears in her brain were spinning, trying to formulate a idea. Just then she remembered the phone call from the back alley, saying something about flyers being handed out to the supporters at-

 

'Gwanghwamun plaza! I overheard one of the rebels on the phone the earlier about someone handing out the invitation flyers there! If we find that guy, we might be able to get into the rally.' Mina snapped her fingers. 

 

'Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!' Dahyun jumped to her feet and they streamed out of the room, preparing to take a visit to the great statue of King Sejeong.