Soonyoung ran his finger around the rim of his coffee cup solemnly, humming to the song playing over the speakers to sate his boredom. For a guy who was always running around tryna be on time for work, would it kill him to be punctual for their coffee date?

He sighed, pulling up the neck of his sweater to hide his chin.

He scanned around at the others in the shop, sitting around him, catching eyes with a group of girls who had been looking his way. They flashed a nervous smile before looking away… How sad. They probably thought he’d gotten stood up or something.

Damn, was he getting stood up?

As Soonyoung began to blow anxious bubbles into his coffee, from above his eyeline a man had walked into the room. Sitting down at his table with a sigh of air. He would add, with a raise of an eyebrow, that he was also dressed onoxiously.

He sighed. “You know, if you just wore normal people clothing sometimes, you wouldn’t have to wear sunglasses indoors like some kind of a douchebag.”

“I’d rather look like a douche than risk getting recognized.” Seungcheol sat back with a humph, wiping the sheen around his forehead with the back of his hand. Unbeknownst to his naïve friend, he’d managed to gather the attention of every single woman within their vicinity. Talk about a lack of subtlety…

“Did you run here?”

Seungcheol waved over the waitress with a blank expression, leaning back in his chair as she scampered over. “I know, I’m late. I came the second I finished up my shift, but- Hi, I’ll have an iced americano, thank you- But I got held up at the bank, and-“

“-I get it. So, what was it today? Bank robber? Aren’t you too high up on the ladder to be doing police work?”

He rubbed a finger against his temple, explaining in a hushed tone. “It was more complicated than robbery, Soonyoung… The necromantic had taken hostages at one of the biggest…” He sighed, “why are we talking about work?”

“The necromantic? I though that guy was behind bars already…”

“Will you keep you voice down?” he hushed. “Apparently, he slipped past security and escaped during a routine cell search a few nights back… I had to convince the head-ups to move him to higher security… Anyways, that’s why I was late, but let’s talk about something else. What’s up with you? It’s been a while since we touched base.”

Soonyoung chuckled. “You say you don’t wanna talk about work, but then you go and say like ‘touch base.’ This is a coffee date, not a mission report, Cheol.”

The waitress set Seungcheol’s glass down with a gentle shake of her wrists. Either Seungcheol looking like some kind of night-club bouncer intimidated her, or she was into it. He was betting on the latter.

“Anything else I can get for you two?”

“Nothing for me. Soonyoung?”

He smiled up at her. “I’m good, thanks.”

She scampered off with a pep in her step, leaving Seungcheol to gulp back his coffee. “So why did you invite me today?”

“What? I can’t invite my friend to coffee?”

He chuckled. “You know what I meant. You never invite me on work days. I thought there might be something important.”

Soonyoung skimmed the rim of his cup, resting his elbows on the table as he came forward. “You know that… the media has been going kind of nuts about you lately, right?”

He scoffed. “What else is new?”

He brought his voice down, leaning closer. “No-I mean-Yeah, the media is usually going on about you, but this time it’s different. There’s dating rumors going around about you and Eunha Hwang… Crazy allegations, like plans for marriage. Some are even saying she could be pregnant.”

“Why should that matter? They’re all rumors.”

Soonyoung gnawed his bottom lip for a moment, eyes shifting. “I know, but… I have a bad feeling about this. Not for you, but for that Eunha girl. You have a lot of enemies, Cheol. If these rumors keep growing, people are gonna start believing them. She’s already been targeted once before by the Vulcan... And since he’s still out there…I mean..”

Seungcheol left the straw between his lips, staring into the wood of the table. “I know. I’ve convinced HR to keep her under protection, but I don’t know what else I can do for her. The more I involve myself personally, the more dangerous it is for the both of us. There’s not much I can do except leave it up to the head-ups to take care of her…”

“That’s why… I have an idea.”

Soonyoung tapped Seungcheol’s knee under the table, slipping a device into his hand. Seungcheol shoved it into his pocket, raising an eyebrow in question.

“I got a tip from one of the guys in the technology division. They told me that the controversy from clap was how a bunch of our guys were escaping their current scandals. That’s got all the information they gave me on it.”

“Soonyoung, I-“

“I know..” He smirked, flicking Seungcheol in the knee before returning his hands to his drink. “You already refused to sign up. I know how much you’re against this project. I’m just saying… give it a look. As of now, it’s your best bet.”

Seungcheol scoffed. His best bet… Was to work with a criminal? How ing convenient.

“You know, Vernon already signed up for the project. I haven’t met his partner yet, but he says it isn’t as bad as he expected… They say the system will pair you up with someone you’d get along with, it wouldn’t be as horrible as you expect it to be.”

“The problem isn’t their personalities, Soonyoung… The problem is what they did. What I know they did.”

Soonyoung sighed. “If they’ve signed up for the project, it means they’re willing to rehabilitate. Doesn’t that count for something in your books?”

“Or. They just want to shorten their sentence.” Seungcheol slurped the last of his coffee, crossing his arms as he leaned back in the chair. He peered at Soonyoung through his sunglasses, clear black eyes with a ring of auburn, squinting dubiously. Every time Soonyoung was beginning to feel they may be getting closer… Seungcheol always knew just how to push him back behind the line. As much as he pitied him, it was starting to get irritating.

“Think what you want… Either way, you could use a new headline.” Soonyoung checked his watch, tossing a few bills on the table as he stood up. “Time for me to get back to work. Just give it a chance, okay? For me?”

“I’ll give it a look, but I’m not promising anything.”

Soonyoung smiled with a sigh, waving at the door as he left the shop. Seungcheol shoved his hands into his pocket to grab his wallet, feeling the device Soonyoung had slipped him with a swipe of his thumb.

It wasn’t his first choice… or his second, or third, or- Let’s just say if it was the only option he had in the barrel, he’d still hesitate to shoot. It felt like a nightmare to think that his best bet was partnering up with some deadbeat criminal… Although at this point, he really had to consider Eunha’s safety above all.

After all… It was partially his fault that this dating scandal had blown up. After he’d lost his temper like that over a shallow threat, anyone would think it was because he cared for her. Not that he didn’t, but… It wasn’t just the threat, it was the person who said it… Out of all the criminals he fought, why was it always him who managed to rile him up and get him out of character?

Usually he worked around it, and held onto his smile just long enough to get away from the cameras… But so quickly, that act had begun to unwind.

Seungcheol pulled his cash out onto the table, leaving a generous tip to the staff as he stood up to leave. He paid little mind to the eyes that followed him out the door.

With the Vulcan roaming the city, god knows when his next strike would be… And on who?

~

He hadn’t slept a wink last night… Not that that was unusual for Jihoon. Just, seeing as there was nothing for him to fill the time with recently, he was starting to become aware that this was a problem. Usually instead of tossing and turning, he’d be under the Vulcan working on repairs… But, right now there were no supplies… no Vulcan, and nothing for him to do, so he had no choice but to start realizing how horribly ed his sleeping schedule was.

Although it was hard for him to sleep peacefully anyways, with what was on him mind right now. Ever since his little heart to heart with doctor strange, his hands had been shaking by his pockets, anxiously dreading receiving signal to begin operation…

He hadn’t told anyone, certainly not Chan, about what had happened. After Jihoon and the doctor had discussed terms, he gave him a thick wad of cash as compensation for his injuries, drove him home in an inconspicuously cab-like car, and sent him on his merry little way. No date set for the start of this whole thing, no instructions… Just “go about your life until I call you.”

It’s been more than a month since then, and Jihoon was starting to wonder if that whole thing had just been some kind of fever dream.

He was uncharacteristically nervous. This was all just too out of character for him, not being able to tell the kids what was going on… For gods sake, he’s told more lies this month to them, than he had his whole life before. ‘Hyung, what the happened to your face?’ Gangers downtown, thought I looked weak. You should have see their faces! ‘Hyung, where’d you get all this money?’ Pickpocketed some pigmy of a ceo on mainstreet. Those guys hold onto crazy pocket-money ‘Hyung, why’s there a bald spot on your head?’ cause you keep asking me questions I can’t ing answer!

Jihoon wished nothing more than to let it all go and forget about his promise to the doctor… But he couldn’t. he absolutely wouldn’t do that to the kids. They all had futures ahead of them, and Jihoon wasn’t going to be the one to that up.

Jihoon rolled onto his side, staring into the analogue clock with a heavy-lidded stare. It was 4:37am… Chan must have left to get his usual head start to school. The other kids must still be asleep.

Jihoon’s eyes ran down to the phone laying beside the clock, sighing out.

((0 NOTIFICATIONS))

Just how long was this going to last?

Jihoon rubbed at tired eyes with his palms, sitting up.

Was it really too much to know even an estimate? All he wanted to know was how long they had left together… He shut his eyes tightly,

~

Seungcheol sat down at his desk, pulling off his face mask and suit jacket, tossing them haphazardly across the room… They landed against a far wall with a heavy whip... Sometimes at the end of a long day, Seungcheol tended to forget his own strength.

He rubbed his eyes, staring at the ticking hands of the clock across the room, chiming at the strike of a new hour. It was 5am, which was certainly not his usual time for clocking off, that’s for sure.

Seeing as he’d probably be called in for an early morning job in an hour or so… he supposed there was no point in sleeping. Seungcheol rested his eyes as he lounged back, ing his dress shirt with lazy fingers. He opened the front, sighing. Why did he have to wear so many ing layers to work?

Nevermind the aesthetic of his superhero persona… he goes out every goddamn day in a full suit, with a full body spandex superhero suit underneath! It was a miracle he wasn’t dead of heat exhaustion yet, really.

His hands trailed down to his belt, undoing it with ease. Pausing, he felt his pocket, peaking his eyes open with a remorseful breath of air.

Right… this thing Soonyoung had snuck him during lunch.

Seungcheol pulled the device out and scanned it over curiously. It was designed to look like a cellphone, but according to what Soonyoung had told him, it wasn’t anything more than a digital brochure, holding the details of project Clap. Supposedly… this little thing was going to change his mind regarding joining that dumb operation… Which, he highly doubted. Seungcheol pressed the button at the bottom, reading with dull eyes.

Please input retina identity for login access…

He leaned in close, holding one eye open wide as a dull green light flashed over his vision. The phone loaded for a brief moment, before lighting up with a cheery, electronic jingle.

Authorizing...

Welcome, Sergeant Coups.

Interesting that an informational brochure was connected to the superhero database… It was probably for the sake of confidentiality, he supposed.

Before we begin, it is required that you agree to the terms and conditions listed. Please be aware that agreeing to these terms is a direct contract, correlating with your employment at the mansae facilities. Failure to follow the listed terms will result in a DD level termination, and immediate severance of relevant memory.

Continue?

That’s just so like them to put a big warning like this over a tablet filled with information on a public operation. And to add it to his work contracts? What were they hiding in here, war plans?

Seungcheol sighed, pressing continue. Whatever.

The terms and conditions were long…. Like, 73 pages long. Whatever wrote that, expecting Seungcheol (who was running on exactly 0 hours of sleep) to read it… was an . He got through 3 pages of overcomplicated nonsense before flipping off the fake phone and swiping past all 73 pages in a brief show of wasted use of his super powers. At the end screen, there was an outline of a fingerprint in a little illuminated box. Manase’s usual method of signing contracts.

Scan to accept terms and conditions

Too exhausted, and too fed, to realize that the drop in his stomach was a tinge of uncertainty, Seungcheol pressed his thumb against the screen, watching with haze as a dull green light scanned across his skin, signaling completion with an electronic jingle.

Seungcheol rested his eyes as the loading screen did it’s thing.

Updating contract...

~

He jolted awake at the buzzing of his pacer, whipping his wrist up to stare at his watch. 7:37? … When had he fallen asleep?

He scanned his pacer quickly, identifying the job he’d been beckoned to. Regular level 3 villain terrorizing civilians at the metro, broken track line, approximately 700 civilians in danger. Seungcheol ripped off the remaining remnants of his outer-suit, slicking back his hair with quick fingers. From tip to roots, the black strands cascaded into an unnatural silver sheen. Feeling the power bubble up from within, he crouched down in preparation.

Seungcheol shot out from his office window in a flash of color, the air around him slicing past his fingertips as he soared effortlessly through crisp pre-dawn air.

A young girl, eyes red, pressed to her mother in terror, caught the pulsing blue light soaring in from above, pointing up with a shaky arm. “S-Sergeant Coups! Mama, he’s here!”

With just one hand, as the speeding train’s nose reached the break in the tracks, Seungcheol slowed it to a stall with an ear-piercing screech of the wheels. With a gentle push, the train reversed back onto the safety of the tracks. Seungcheol stayed hovering mid-air, as the onlooking press snapped photo’s of another victory. He smiled brilliantly into the front of the locomotive, right into the eyes of the infamous ‘dead man’s handle’. A class 3 villain, notoriously obsessed with trains. He had done numerous other shenanigans revolving around them in the past, but he was most infamous for breaking the emergency driving mechanisms on trains, sabotaging tracks, and sending people to their final destination.

“The train has reached it’s terminus, Handle. Time to de-board.” Seungcheol grinned against the mans defeated, sour expression, as the onlookers cheered. Now this…. This was what the job was all about.

Forget about that ‘teaming up with the villains,’ bull. His job was to save innocent lives, and throw scum like this in jail…There was no way he was joining that stupid program.

Seungcheol continued on to the press conference following, explaining civilian status, and what was to be done with DMH.

The device lay on Seungcheol’s home desk as it finished up the loading process. The screen lit up with an electronic jingle, signaling completion.

Thank you for joining project c.l.a.p. sergeant coups.

please await further orders.

~

Jihoon woke up at 8am this morning… which was honestly a record, compared to his usual schedule. He really had been trying to get himself on a healthier sleep schedule… just, it was hard. Chan had caught him trying to tinker with the useless junk in the workshop about 7 nights in a row. Each time he’d knock him over his drooping head with a sheet of metal, and force him back into bed.

Thanks to his constant scolding’s, he had managed to get into a bit of a habit. Yesterday he’d slept about 6 hours, and last night he’d fallen asleep around 4, so… 8 honestly wasn’t bad. He probably could have slept a bit longer.

It was his phone, which had startled him awake, vibrating violently at the input of a new call, playing an annoyingly cheerful ring tune, until it had buzzed itself off the bed-side table, and onto the floor.

Jihoon jumped into a sitting position at the crash, scrambling to pick the device up, and stare into the screen. His phone was ringing… Oh .

He kept the phone on ‘do not disturb’ for the most part, so like this wouldn’t happen. Only two numbers in his phone were dis-cluded from that feature, so he would hear them ring no matter what… Those were; Chan’s emergency cell number… and doctor Yoon’s.

His fingers trembled as he swiped the answer button across the screen, holding the phone to his ear, listening anxiously to the pumping of blood against his eardrum. The line came through with a buzz of static.

“It’s time, come to area 99 myeongdong hotel, room 48. Tell the front desk that you’re there to see Jung. Your name is Lee Kim. Make sure you’re alone.”

The line cut immediately, a lingering beeping noise ringing against his ear as Jihoon slowly lowered the phone to his lap, eyes shaking. It was the number the doctor had given him, but that definitely wasn’t his voice.

He took a deep breath, calming himself, before getting up to collect what he thought he might need. Which honestly… wasn’t much. His cell, his wallet, and the shirt on his back…. He quickly threw on a hooded sweater and a face mask, and stood before the exit.

Jihoon’s limp had become increasingly less debilitating, as he’d been essentially bedridden the past 7 weeks. He’d ripped off the fancy-shmancy cast he’d been gifted after a while, and despite his leg being essentially healed, he still felt adamant about leaning on it…

But in this case, he really had no choice.

Jihoon came through the opening into the sewer entrance, gaze hardening as he turned around, giving his home one final glance.

His chest ached, a tiny internal warning, shouting at him to forget about the promise, go back inside, and pretend he never even received that damn phone-call. Jihoon ignored the sting with all of his willpower, locking himself out before his assurance could fall.

The door shut behind him in a flash of metal, and Jihoon turned away, feeling his heart clench painfully. He wiped a rough sleeve over his eyes, before he began to walk.

~

The phone rang loudly. He jumped up from the sofa he’d been sitting on and held it to his ear anxiously.

“Hello, Mr. Jung? Somebody is here to see you.”

“Who is it?” He gulped, twining the phone cord around his fingers.

The voice paused for a moment, presumably to ask. “His name is Lee Kim. Shall I send him away?”

“No! No, Uh, I know him. Please, send him to my room.”

“Certainly. He will be up shortly.”

The phone line beeped dead. He dropped it to the bed without a second thought and ran to the bathroom. He splashed water over his tired face to perk himself up a bit, running wet hands through messy hair to tame his bed-head.

Catching his eye-circles under the bright overhead lights, and a yellow stain on his white T-shirt… he slouched, gripping the sides of the sink and staring into the water. Who was he kidding? No amounts of hotel sink water was going to make him look presentable. Geeze, couldn’t Yoon give him a little more of a heads up than that? It was 7am and all he gets is a “The operation is beginning! Run to the ing Myeongdong hotel the Vulcan will meet you there shortly..”

He nearly had a whole heart attack at 7am, ran out the door in his pajama’s carrying a -load of supplies… And promptly waited there for two hours! If he knew it was going to take this long, he would have at least put on something nice to wear!

He rummaged through the suitcase he had brought with him, feeling anxious. This leather jacket was the only ‘normal’ clothing he had… It would have to do. He pulled it over his stained shirt and zipped it up. , now he just looked like a disheveled mobster…

A knock at the door threw him out of his state of near-tears, rushing over to open the door…

His hand hesitated… On the other side of this door, was the Vulcan. His true identity. The supervillain he had been looking up to for years, his one and only idol in this world… Oh he wasn’t ready. He was a mess! This was the worst possible way for them to meet. He couldn’t do it, holy .

He jumped, as the knock came again, a bit louder this time. He breathed deeply as he undid the lock, holding in his doubts, and opening the door slowly.

He stared forward at empty space, swallowing in confusion. A cough of annoyance had his eyes trailing down, until he reached sharp brown eyes, peaking up beneath a black hood.

“Lee Kim?” His voice didn’t crack, thankfully. The boy nodded quietly, looking past him, and into the room, with a suspicious gaze.

“And who the are you?” the boy asked.

He looked away nervously, backing away to give him access into the room. “Uh, please, come in first.”

A bit adamantly, he walked forward into the room. The boy was dripping wet… It was pouring outside, did he walk here?

He shut the door behind him, locking it for safety. “Would you like anything? A warm cup of tea? A towel? Y-you could take a shower, or-”

“Just tell me who you are, and what the hell I’m supposed to be doing here.”

“Oh, right…” He extended out a hand, bowing. The boy, a bit flustered, gave his hand a gentle shake. “I am a colleague of the doctor, I’ll be helping you to build your new persona for the operation. Please, call me Seokmin.”

He peered up at him, shaking his hand graciously. His expression was… a bit pitiful, somehow. Seokmin directed him to the couch. “Please, take a seat… Are you sure you wouldn’t want to change clothes? You’re dripping.”

He sighed, looking away. “Just tell me what I should do.”

Seokmin swallowed, tugging at the tight neck of his jacket. The air between them was… kind of thick. He gave him a once-over again. “Okay, I guess let’s just get down to business.”

Seokmin sat beside him, a good distance away on the couch.

“I’ve been ordered to give you a new identity. It will be the name and appearance you will use for the duration of this operation. My job is mainly just on the aesthetic side of this, and once everything is in order, the doctor will handle entering your identity into the countries database, and getting your papers sorted.” He offered a small smile. “If you don’t have any questions, should we start right away?”

He stared at his lap, sighing. “Go ahead.”

“Then, follow me into the bathroom, please.”

The boy did so after a moment. He stood before seokmin, staring down at the tiled floor… Despite his stubborn attitude, he was shivering like a soaked cat. Seokmin pulled his hood off his hair to get a better look at him, staring into brown eyes with a tight feeling in his chest. The mask concealing his face was set aside as well, and Seokmin stopped, staring.

he was… so young.

Seokmin had never really had a clear “vision” in his mind when he’d imagined what the Vulcan looked like. But a combination of a giant robot suit, deep robotic voice, and quirky, wise personality, had made him think somehow, the Vulcan was a 30-something, muscular mechanic-type man.

Jeonghan had told him this guy was a force to be reckoned with… But, as Seokmin ped his muddy, baggy hoodie, and took a peak at the malnourished belly of the boy beneath, he was starting to feel a bit doubtful.

This child… took down a full grown man with just his hands? Smashed his head into the bricks and smiled when he saw blood? Those other body guards seemed terrified of him!

“Are you just going to fondle my ribs all day?”

Seokmin pulled his hand back, realizing suddenly that his hands had trailed up to touch while he’d been deep in thought. “I was just checking your physique! Uh, for fitting… Do you work out?”

“No, not really..”

Seokmin gulped. “Could you undress? I’m going to take your measurements.”

He rolled his eyes, pulling his shirt over his head without hesitation.

Seokmin grabbed his measuring tape off the counter, wrapping it around his waist, arms, legs, head. Anything that might have to be covered. He was petite, 164cm tall, and 120 pounds. He jotted down notes quickly.

“take a seat. Let’s start with some basic information.”

He looked around, taking a seat on the vanity stool set behind him, crossing his arms over his chest in a self-conscious manner.

“Before you can enter into the clap program as a detainee, you’re going to have to build a new supervillain persona. Unfortunately, if you were to be arrested as the Vulcan, you would be sent straight to maximum security, and therefore be illegible for the program. So… I’ll ask you a few things first.”

He nodded, saying nothing.

“Do you have a name you have been using as a disguise? Or a secret identity?”

“Lee Jihoon. I’ve never showed my face or said my name, so I think a fake name would be unnecessary. I just use Jihoon.”

Seokmin jotted it down quickly… Jihoon. It was a nice name. “And, what is your super power exactly?”

“I don’t have one.”

Seokmin stopped, looking up with surprise. “You don’t? I thought… I thought the Vulcan was a result of mechanical morphing… or, you had supernatural intelligence.”

“Nope. I’ve never had any powers. I’ve just been tinkering since I was a toddler. I guess you could say I have mechanical intuition, but it’s nothing supernatural.”

“That’s amazing…” Seokmin bit his tongue, writing down his notes quickly. He wished so badly, to just let go of the professional front and pull a full fanboy moment on this boy… But this was a job. Jeonghan would kill him if he blew this. Literally Kill him.”

~

The rest of the questions were basic information, stuff about his physical condition, his interests, his other skills. Then they moved on to the visual. Jihoon tried his best to keep his mind focused on this. If he allowed himself to wander, he’d end up losing face. Every time he broke out of his concentration, all he saw was his family, smiling faces, waiting for him at home…

He wondered, had Chan done well on his test today? Did he make dinner for everyone? Did Samuel take the bus home? Was Minnie back from his field trip? Did they wonder where he was?

…Were they going to be okay?

“Jihoon?” He shook himself out of thought, looking up into the mirror. “What do you think?”
The costume was ridiculous, frankly. Too much leather, and unnecessarily exposed skin. His face was covered with a strange, mechanical mask, like the medieval visor of a knights helmet. He wore tight faux leather on his torso, which cut at the waist like a leotard, exposing the skin around his hips. There was a belt around his waist, filled with loops and compartments, like a tool belt. His shorts were… both skimpy and boyish, cutting off right at the thigh, leading down to leather garter belts, and knee-length combat boots.

Jihoon took a breath, lowering his head in shame. “I look like a e…”

Seokmin chuckled. “No! No… You look cool! I just thought… considering your looks in mind, something like this would be suitable. Dangerous, but also young and…” he looked away, coughing into his sleeve. “S-y…”

“Why do I have to look y? I’m going to cause mayhem, get arrested, and that’s it. Can’t I wear something full-body? Wouldn’t that be easier for concealing my identity?”

Seokmin adjusted the strap around his waist. “Actually… Doctor Yoon gave me specific instructions to dress you in this style. He believes that if you dress in something full-body, people may put one and one together and assume you are the next generation of the Vulcan.”

Jihoon sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling a draft against the exposed skin. “Might I remind you that I don’t have any powers? Do you expect me to seduce my victims?”

“Well… yeah, you honestly could, but..” Seokmin turned around, opening a compartment of his suitcase. “Here, it’s a gift from the doctor. It’s fully functional, and equipped with everything you might need in both hand-to-hand, and long-distance combat… Of course, feel free to tinker with it as you wish.”

Jihoon reveled in the items given to him, examining it quickly. They were mechanical gauntlets, of sorts. He slipped them over his hands and stretched out his fingers. “How do I activate them?”

“Voice command... But, please be careful. I’ll have to pay for it if you blow up the hotel. Each function has a different voice code for activation. If you want the gun, the command is “hands where I can see ‘em”, electric charge feature is “en gaurde” and so on.”

Jihoon held his hands up, cringing. “That’s horrible. Can I change those?”

“Of course, make changes as you wish. But whatever you do must be done before morning tomorrow. I will provide to you any equipment or materials you need.”

“What’s tomorrow?”

Seokmin smirked. “Tomorrow, you’re going to take over the biggest bank in the city.”

Jihoon rotated his wrists, mind racing, a little spark of excitement he hadn’t felt in a long time… He could practically map out improvements to the design, additives, feeling a rush come at the implication of no limits to supply. “So, what am I calling myself now? Leather boy-toy? Metal fisty-cuffs?”

He scoffed. “Your new name is Pak Jihoon. You may pick your villain name, just as long as it has no relation to the Vulcan.”

“I can keep Jihoon?... Isn’t that a little risky?”

Seokmin began to gather his papers together, shoving them into his briefcase. “Your name won’t be released to the public, it’s just for the legal documents, so it won’t be a problem. Now.. I need to report back to the doctor. You may stay in this hotel room until we call you tomorrow. Before I go, is there anything I can get you?”

Jihoon hummed, looking up at Seokmin with a devilish smirk. “Yeah, a few things.”

~

The bank teller cleared away the information from the last customer with a few simple clicks, peering up with a professional smile as a shadow loomed over her desk. “Hello, how can I help…. You?”

Her smile dropped, catching a dark expression, shadowed by black hair. A scarf concealed everything below his eyes, and a long, black coat, covered everything below that. She felt her heart thud nervously, fingers hovering around the panic button on the underside of her desk. “A-are you a member of this bank?”

He answered back, in a voice much softer than she had been expecting, eyes curving into crescents behind heavy bangs. “Yes, I am.”

Her fingers halted, smile returning with a breath of air. “Oh, I see! What can I do for you, sir?”

“I’d like to make a withdrawal.”

“Okay, one moment.” She opened up the customer database with a quick series of tapping against the keyboard. “And what is your name?”

“My name?”

He leaned forward, eyes smiling. He lifted his hand very slowly, reaching up for the scarf around his face. She only noticed now, a strange ornament protruding from his sleeve, covered mostly by a glove. The scarf dropped to the floor in a bundle of fabric.

Wide-eyed, with a scream caught in , the bank teller quickly began to press the panic button, yelping as a shock of electricity rushed through the tips of her fingers.

The mask around his face was steaming through it’s metal slits. He lifted his hands, pulling off his gloves, to reveal metal hands beneath.

“S-security! Hel-!”

She struggled at the slap over her words, the hand over tightened against her jaw painfully. Between the cold press of metal joints, she felt a spark of electricity burn over her skin.

“I’m going to let go of you in a moment.” He spoke through the slits of his mask, voice echoing. His other hand began to morph before her eyes, metal clinking into place, until it’s shape had deformed into something like a gun, pressed between her eyes. “And when I do, you’re going to turn around and open the vault for me. Understand?”

Her eyes pricked with tears as she nodded, and the man dropped her to the floor not a moment later. Her legs were trembling as she came to her feet, walking carefully towards the vault.

She took a peak behind at the man with the mask, picking up her courage, before bolting towards the exit.

“What the hell is this!” A costumer yelped, stepping back as metal bars slammed to the floors around all the exits, trapping everybody within. The bank-teller froze on the spot, each ignorant customer and staff member from before turning around to the man, dropping his long coat to the floor. He pointed his metal hand towards the crowd, the second one rippling metal, morphing into a gun to match the first.

“Hello all bank-goers. You’ve all been selected to be my victims. I’ll be withdrawing all belongings, money, and video evidence. Just make sure when the cops come, they know who to file their cheques out to” He cocked both guns, watching with a smile as the fearful citizens flinched. “The name’s Paladin.”

A/N I finally have time to write y'all, and I can garantee the next chapter will have jicheol interaction lmaoo thanks for reading <3