'We have clearance.' Mina announced as she walked into Jihyo's office, startling he girl who was staring at the screen of her laptop.

'You managed to speak to the president?' She asked.

'Yeah, he agreed to help us in any way that we need. Evacuation of the city will be commencing soon.' Sana confirmed and Jihyo nodded. 

'What should we do now?' Mina asked. 

'Now, we go to the meeting room and wait. Nayeon has left to bring Joohyun and antidotes over. She will brief us on how we should go about using it.' Jihyo said and shut her laptop. 

The trio made their way to the meeting room and found everyone already seated as well as Joohyun who had a silver briefcase on the table in front of her. 

'Great. Everyone is here. Let's start.' She said and the locks clicked open. In the case sat nine metal glass syringes in black foam. There were two rings attached to the flange and there was a ring at the top of the metal plunger as well. Within the glass barrel was a purplish liquid. 

There was a needle wrapped in a plastic packaging below each of the syringe. 

'Don't worry about breaking this glass; it's made of metallic glass which doesn't shatter unless you let an elephant stomp on it.' Joohyun carefully took out one of the syringes and held it upside down. 

'When you are ready to inject, just remove this cover from the tip and screw the needle on. You can keep in in your pocket no problem. This doesn't leak so it's absolutely safe.' She placed the syringe back and pushed the briefcase towards the centre of the table. 

'Do you guys have them too?' Nayeon asked as she picked up one of the syringe and examined it. 

'No. We have split up to go to different countries to aid the mutants.' Joohyun explained.

'So you're the only one that's staying here?' 

'Yes.' 

'Will you be helping us?' 

'Unfortunately I will not be much assistance to you but if you need any potions, I would certainly be able to help.' 

'That's alright. Just stay safe.' Jihyo smiled and nodded towards the older lady who stood up. 

'If that is all, I will be taking my leave.' 

'I'll send you.' Nayeon handed the syringe to Mina and walked out of the room with the alchemist.

'So we just inject this. Shouldn't be too hard.' Chaeyoung shrugged as she tapped the glass. 

'We'll never know. He could struggle like some wild animal for all we know.' Dahyun said. 

'Guess we'll have to find out how to deal with this on the spot when the time comes.' Mina furrowed her eyebrows. 

'We'll keep the case here for now. When the time comes, we'll take it with us so we wouldn't misplace any of it.' Jihyo said and closed the silver case, locking it. 

They dispersed to resume their training and preparations while Jihyo returned to her office.

D-3

'Please gather at the meeting room for a special announcement.' Jihyo's voice sounded over the speakers. 

'Since when did we even have a PA system?' Jeongyeon narrowed her eyes at the ceilings. 

'Meh.' 

The girls trickled into the meeting room where the silver briefcase was still placed at the centre. 

'Could you move that?' Jihyo asked as she walked in with two cardboard boxes in tow. Mina shifted it to the end of the table and Jihyo placed the boxes down in the middle of the meeting table. 

'What's that?' Tzuyu raised a questioning eyebrow at the sealed boxes. 

'I figured that if we're going to wage an all-out war, which could also be out last, we could use some uniforms.' Jihyo smirked. 

'No way.. Is that what I think it is?' Momo asked, rising from her seat. 

'Open up and you'll see.' Jihyo leaned over the table. 

In an instant, a box cutter was flying towards Momo who caught it in a fluid motion and sliced the duct tape on both boxes open. Lifting the flaps, everyone peered inside with curious and expectant eyes. 

'Awesome!' 'Cool!' 'Woah, now this is one decent uniform.' Were the exclamations of the members as they unpacked the contents of the boxes. It was a set of uniform, one for each of them. 

The sound of plastic sheets crinkling filled the room as they sorted out which set belonged to who. 

The black zip up jacket had gold shoulder epaulettes, silver tribal tattoos running down the sides of each sleeve and the academy's emblem in silver over the heart. On the right were their names printed on a small tag and there was a small pocket on the inside of the jacket. To match with the black top was a pair of black pants that had knee paddings and two extra pockets at the sides.

'Battle fashion?' Nayeon tapped her nails on the epaulettes.

'Got to keep things classy.' Jihyo gave a amused smile. 'The only special one is Jeongyeon's.'

'Mine?' The girl asked, a little confused as she held up her jacket. 

'Yea. Rather than the gold epaulettes on the shoulders, you have metal plates instead isn't it? There should be a band of metal on the pants too, around the shin area.' 

The geokinetic narrowed her eyes and examined her uniform.

'Sheets of metal?' 

'It consists of thin sheets of metal stacked up into one. You could use it as a weapon. Works just like how you do in practice. I'm sure you get what I mean.' Jihyo winked.

The older girl slid the jacket on and zipped it up, earning a couple of awestruck 'woah's. She raised her hands and locked her fingers straight, jerking them outwards and a sheet of metal dislodged from the shoulder pads. She jabbed her hands towards the wall and the two sheets embedded themselves into the concrete. 

'You can mould them to be sharper too.'

Jeongyeon nodded and tried them out, this time the metal went a little deeper into the concrete.

'Nice shot but I think the wooden boards are better targets.' Jihyo laughed and the slips of metal flew back to the geokinetic, securing themselves back on her shoulders. 

'These pockets are meant for the antidote so you can slip them in the keep it safe. Don't worry, the fabric is made of Kevlar, you know that indestructible fabric? Yeah that but it is also fireproof so this is basically the most comfortable armour we have.' Jihyo smiled. 

It was weird to say the least, that they were still a little carefree when impending doom was knocking at their doorstep. The weather had shifted overnight from a bright and sunny winter’s morning to a bleak and dark one.

The city area was currently being evacuated and they were scheduled to head down and help in a few hours. A long line of buses were waiting to pick up the city dwellers and move them to a safer location.

Seoul's Central Business District area would soon become a ghost town. The air was filled with tension now as everyone stayed on their toes. Mutants had to be extra careful to not raise the alarm on them since most people assumed that every mutant was going to be part of this battle. 

'Walk?' Sana asked, poking Mina's shoulder. The girl smiled and placed her uniform on the chair before following Sana out of the room. They made their way to the rooftop where they could see the city but now the sight was depressing. Dark clouds loomed over the skies, making it seem like it would rain. At least the sun hadn't turned dark yet. 

'You wanted to talk?' Mina asked as she leaned against the parapet and stuffer her hands into her jean pockets. 

'Well, yea.. Before things get disastrous, maybe we should sort out or feelings.' Sana said but it came out sounding more like a question than a statement. 

'You're afraid of losing me huh..' Mina started off awkwardly. 

'Yeah..' Sana looked down at her shoes. Her mind had drifted back to what Mina said in the alley back at Vienna and how unsure she had looked.

'How do you think I feel?' Mina looked at Sana who didn't look up. 

'No?' 

'No? You don't want to answer me?' Mina chuckled. 

'I mean no, you don't like me that way.' Sana sighed. 

'Says who?' 

'I don't know. You don't seem keen.' Sana rubbed her arm. 

'I do. I always did but I didn't want to admit it. I thought that it would be unprofessional but I realized that it was even worse if I kept avoiding the problem. It was even worse if my mind was just full of you when I tried to push my feelings aside.' Mina shifted her weight onto her left leg. 'What Pyralis said made me realize that maybe it's time for me to stop ignoring my feelings. I can't do this anymore. I can't live looking at you and pretend that we will be fine just being friends.' 

Sana was looking at Mina with her eyes wide open. 

'I loved you from the start and I think I will acknowledge that now. Life is too short for regrets right? At least we will have enjoyed our time together even if it isn't going to last for years like a normal relationship. But then again, we're not normal. What do we have to lose?' Mina chuckled and tears began to well up in Sana's eyes.

'Woah wait, what did I say? Did I say something wrong?' Mina panicked and placed her hands on Sana's arms. 

'No you didn't say anything wrong.' Sana rubbed her eyes and smiled. 'Everything was right. Unbelievably right.' 

Mina let out a breath of relief that turned into a puff of condensation as it left her lips. Sana stepped forward and leaned into Mina's open arms, relaxing in the girl's shoulders. After dreaming about this for so long, it was finally real. 

Dreams do come true, Sana thought as she felt Mina rub her back. 

'I'll strike a deal with you.' Mina said and Sana looked up, humming in question. 'If the world doesn't end and we manage to survive through the entire ordeal, I'll make you my girlfriend instantly. Deal?' Mina stuck out her pinkie. 

'Deal.' Sana hooked her pinkie around Mina's and pressed the pads of their thumbs together. 

'The government has plans to evacuate the business district and lure us there.'

'Then we shall start with the city. They can run but they can never avoid us forever. Regardless, they will fall.' Zafir twisted his skull ring around his thumb. 'Ricky, tame a couple of those hounds that accepted the serum and use them as our first line of defence.'

'Yes sir.' Ricky, the right hand man nodded. 

'Also, block off all entrances towards the city after they have rescued our slaves. No one should come in or out. Have the geokinetics to destroy bridges and roads, isolate the city. Whatever happens there will stay there.' 

'Anything else?' 

'I will notify you if more issues come to mind.' 

'Yes sir.' Ricky bowed before leaving the room. 

'Sir, the secret weapon is ready.' Another officer came in as Ricky left. 

'Excellent. Release it on doomsday.' 

'As you wish.' The officer turned and left. 

'I swear these are so cool. Totally gonna kick some with swag.' Dahyun patted the epaulettes and struck a pose, earning a couple of sniggers. 'There you two are! Where have you been?' She exclaimed as Mina and Sana walked back into the room. 

'On the roof looking over the city.’ Mina lied. ‘There's only a small patch of daylight far out above the edge of the city. Dark clouds are approaching fast but the sun isn't dark so that's the only good sign.' Mina said and sat down on her chair. 

'Have you tried yours on? Got to make sure it fits.' Jihyo asked with this smile that made Mina feel like the girl knew exactly what they were doing on the roof. 

'Oh right.' Mina pulled out the jacket and shrugged it on, zipping it up. She then put on the pants and stood up. 

'Ooo someone looks really cool.' Chaeyoung sang as Mina straightened the jacket. 

'Uhm.. I guess it fits?' Mina looked around and made eye contact with Sana who was staring at her.

'It does. Good.' Jihyo nodded. 'Now we'll discuss our plan.' She flipped the whiteboard over to reveal a huge map of the city area. 

'The troops will come in from the north, south, east and west and fight their way to the centre where Zafir will most likely be hiding. We will split into four groups and keep a look out to assist any location that needs help. There will be other mutants that would help out but we will meet in the city.'

'How many are there?' 

'Not more than fifty.' Jihyo said grimly.

'How would we ever stand a chance? There are necromancers, hell hounds, alchemist and a crazy overlord with two powers.' Jeongyeon knocked her head on the table.

'We'll have to find a way. Just need to stay optimistic. We have a whole army on our side which is an advantage if you ask me. If we stop him, his little divisions across the world will have no one to lead them so they'll probably stop and go into to hiding.'

'So it's all up to us?' Sana asked.

'Technically speaking, yes.' 

'Well that's great news.' Chaeyoung sunk into her seat. 

'Come on, we came so far. We can do this.' Nayeon spoke up and held her hand up towards the rest. They piled their hands up at the centre over Nayeon's hand.

'This is the time for us to prove to the world that we shouldn't be out casted and feared by the public. Let's show them what mutants really are.' Jihyo smiled and everyone nodded. 

'Let's do this!' 

'Yeah!' They shouted and pumped their hands down. What do they have to lose anyway?

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Mina pushed the door to Sana’s room open and she saw the girl taking down the swords that were hung on the wall.

‘Samurai Sana?’ Mina chuckled softly as she closed the door behind her.

‘Isn’t that cool?’ Sana turned towards Mina.

‘It’s badass.’

‘Not as badass as someone in our new uniform.’ Sana scoffed and Mina grinned. The pyrokinetic grabbed a hanger and hung up Sana’s uniform which was draped over a chair.

‘You’re using those?’ Mina asked as Sana dew the swords out of their sheaths.

‘It would be better than just using frost.’

‘Want to test them out?’

‘On you? No way!’

‘Not me!’ Mina laughed and slapped Sana’s shoulder. ‘I’m not sacrificing myself. We’ll use the dummies.’

‘Okay then. You should try using one.’ Sana offered one of the swords to Mina who took it by the hilt.

‘Let’s go hit some dummies.’

Mina leaned back as a dummy head flew by.

‘Nice shot!’ Mina sniggered and looked at the straw head as if it was a golf ball.

‘I missed my target!’ Sana called back and rolled her eyes.

‘Hey!’ Mina protested when she realized what the girl meant.

‘Come here! You’re supposed to be practicing with me.’ Sana waved her hand and Mina walked over. The younger girl looked at Sana’s blade which had turned white with frost and there were wisps of mist curling off the icy blade.

‘Make your badass fire sword!’ Sana clapped and Mina took a few steps back as the sword in Sana’s hand waved around as she clapped.

‘Are you trying to kill me?’ Mina asked with a hand raised in front of her face.

‘Sorry.’ The girl giggled.

Mina raised her sword and blue flames curled up the shiny blade from the handle.

‘Won’t the metal melt?’

‘Doubt so. It’s made of tungsten carbide so nothing should happen.’

‘Is there a name for this... Thing?’

‘Infusion?’

‘Yea that. Sounds cool.’ Mina waved the sword around and watched as it sliced through the air, flames at the blade.

‘Think fast!’ Sana said and tossed the straw head at Mina who sliced through the head, causing the straw to catch fire and it was instantly incinerated.

‘This is cool!’ Mina spun the sword in her hand.

‘You wanna keep one?’

‘Nah, your dad gave it to you. I would do fine without it.’ Mina smiled.

‘Sword fight?’ Sana suggested.

‘Sure.’

They stood at a distance and looked at each other as they moved in a circle. Sana was first to make her move, swinging her sword overhead and bringing it down with a clang onto Mina’s who had raised it in defence.

‘Well you have no mercy.’ Mina laughed as she tried to hit Sana from the side but was easily deflected. The sword was easily twisted out of Mina’s hand and it fell to the floor, glowing from the heat.

‘You’re good.’ Mina nodded in approval as she rubbed her wrist.

‘Is your wrist okay? Sorry.’ Sana pouted and took the girl’s hand, cupping her wrist and iced it. Her sword was discarded on the floor as she went over to help Mina.

‘How handy it must be whenever you twist something.’

Sana scoffed and smiled. The tips of their shoes were touching and they were standing in such close proximity that they could hear each other’s breathing. Sana was looking down slightly at Mina’s eyes and would have dipped down for a kiss if it wasn’t for Jihyo who entered.

‘Am I interrupting something?’ she asked as she looked between the partners.

‘Nope. What’s up?’ Mina replied.

‘Mind if I take Mina for a while?’ Jihyo asked.

‘Sure.’ Sana picked up the swords. ‘We’re kinda done anyway.’

‘Great. Come on emperor penguin. Let’s go for a walk.’ Jihyo said and the trio laughed.