*Three Days Later*

Three days past and Nova had made a surprise appearance on the news, but it wasn’t a positive report at all. It seemed that footage of her entering the Hyde property was found and moments later, the property was blown to kingdom come. According to the reporters, the entire property was obliterated and Hyde had to make a public announcement about it. “Does this confirm the previous sightings about a masked vigilante in our city?” Reporters asked.

“Yes, I’m sorry to inform you all that I and the entire police department had known about this vigilante for a while, but her first few deeds were valiant, so we had let her be for the meantime. She had shut down multiple known Blazer hotspots and lowered street crimes significantly. However, due to recent events, it has become clear that she wasn’t a hero in the shadows, but merely a terrorist trying to overrun this precious city.” Hyde explained.

“What are you and the police doing about this? What actions are being taken?” Another reporter questioned.

“I cannot specify the exact actions at this time, but I assure you they are being taken. I do, however, have a message to the masked vigilante. Nova, I know you’re watching this, I know you wish to spread fear amongst the people of this grand city, but I’m here to tell you that will not stand. You cannot terrorize this fair city because we are stronger than you believe! We will find you and bring you to justice. There will be no negotiations because we do not tolerate terrorism in America.” Hyde concluded.

The entire crew was watching this unfold on the television and it obviously left many questions to be asked. “What is he planning here?” Taeya asked.

“I wanted to send fear into those who walked into the darkness. I was supposed to send fear into the criminals of this city…” Stephanie started.

“But he’s flipped it, now the people you’re trying to protect…” Jessica cut in.

“Fear me.” Stephanie finished.

“Why would he bother to do this?” Jessica questioned.

“He’s not trying to beat me physically, he’s trying to beat my spirit. Ripping away what I've worked for, to let the innocent walk at night with no fear.” Stephanie answered.

“Crime rates are still down though, Blazers haven’t even been sighted since the last time we fought with them,” Taeya responded. “Not to mention, you never started this for the public to like you, Stephie. It was about sending the fear to the right place.” Taeya added.
“Being a public enemy doesn’t really help though. Not only do I have to worry about the bad guys, but also the police.” Stephanie retorted.
“At least you’re bulletproof.” Jessica scoffed.
“Wait, how did crime scene investigations not see the underground lab? Or any of the operation? Sure it would have been blown up, but not to the extent that it wouldn't have left questions for the police department to investigate?” Taeya questioned.
“Pretty obvious to me, Hyde’s filling their pockets up to keep quiet. Who knows how many people he has on his payroll.” Jessica suggested.

“It means we can’t trust anyone. All we have is each other.” Stephanie concluded.

Stephanie hoped that if she persisted in the next few weeks that a plan would fall into place. She hoped that direction would finally reveal itself to her and the team, but the path remained dark for the crew. Stephanie had begun training Jessica with the help of Bora in a special dimension known as a pocket dimension. The Novians had created the technology to tap into interdimensional pockets in reality using a dimensional breach key. This technology was still relatively new as it was one of the possible solutions to saving their population, but it was deemed too small to truly benefit their entire planet's populations. The technology was however used to store weapons, and have intense training that could be destructive to their normal environment. With powers like Jessica’s, it was fortunate that Bora had one of these breach keys, it was the only safe place to train her.

*Two Weeks Later*       

The first few sessions with Jessica were promising, to Stephanie’s delight Jessica had managed to maintain calmness and even managed to project a few light and frost blasts with reasonable accuracy. However, the longer they continued the more apparent it was that Taeya had been right all along. Jessica could learn to release her powers, to aim and blast them at will, but controlling which side of her would erupt from her palms was virtually impossible. In the midst of her palms releasing fiery streaks of light, it would transform to icy shards on its own whim which would be too unpredictable to use properly. Particularly if they needed a specific power for a particular job, they couldn’t rely on Jessica’s powers from remaining Novian or Cryogen to properly use them. Stephanie was patient, she wanted nothing more than for Jessica to master this power because if they could achieve this, Hyde would never be able to defend against it. Stephanie wouldn’t need the fist and they would thwart Hyde’s plan completely, but as it stood, Jessica knew they weren’t making progress anymore. She knew that Stephanie had begun praying for miracles instead of truly strategizing for their victory. Jessica’s own patience was wearing thin, it was clear that she wouldn’t learn to control her mutation, she was merely a freak with the power to destroy the world. This didn’t only mean that she couldn’t defeat Hyde, but also her beloved would never be saved by her. She wanted to have faith in Stephanie, that maybe they could find a way to work together, but that night Stephanie and Taeya were simply hanging out and laughing together was Jessica’s final straw. She grabbed her phone with fury and it lit up like a firework in her palms and threw it violently at the television to silence it once and for all. Stephanie and Taeya both looked over, alarmed at what could have caused Jessica’s rage. Stephanie quickly rushed over and put the flames out. “Jessica, what the was that?” She questioned.

“Sorry, didn’t think you would notice. Thought you seemed a bit too preoccupied.” Jessica said nonchalantly.

“What are you talking about?” Stephanie questioned.
“While you and Taeya are having your merry old time, Hyde is out there working on his plan, Sooyoung is out there being experimented on and you just don’t seem to give a !” Jessica burst and when she bursts, so did many streaks of flames.

“Jessica, I’m working on it.” Stephanie scoffed.
“DON’T LIE TO ME!!” Jessica sent violent waves of light across the room, leaving various burn marks all over the walls, Taeya narrowly managed to dodge a streak as she ducked behind the kitchen counter.

“Geez Jess, calm down. I’m working on it the best I can, you’re the only hope we have…”

“Me? You and I both know that we haven’t been making any progress for the past sessions.” Jessica retorted.
“Sure we have, your aim has gotten a lot better since…”
“I’m not talking about my aim. You and I both know I can’t control how my powers change, it's in my genes, the fluctuations isn’t controlled by me. Even if I stayed calm it only delays the change. It still changes on its own, what use is that?? I’m not the one who’s going to end this Stephanie, so if you’re holding back creating a plan because of me then stop and just ing make another plan.” Jessica sulked. “But that’s not it… is it? You don’t have a plan, you’re just too much of a coward to admit it.”

“I’m trying the best I can Jess!” Stephanie snapped. “I’m doing everything I can…” She teared up. She couldn’t deny Jessica’s accusations, they were completely true. Every piece of hope Stephanie had was left into Jessica's powers, but no matter what they did, controlling her genetic fluctuations was out of the question. It could have been possible with time, but time was not a luxury their team had. “I know Steph… I know you’ve been trying, but there’s nothing left for me to do. I can’t continue watching as you cling on to me as your beacon of hope. I can’t just watch and know Sooyoung will never be saved. Every single moment wasted as you look at me to save her stabs at my heart… without her… I’m lost.” Jessica cried. “I can’t do this without her, I can’t do this alone.”

“You’re not alone, you have us,” Taeya assured.

“You know what I mean, I love you guys… but without Soo I… I’ve lost a piece of what makes me whole. We’ve been together since high school, we’ve become successful together, every step in progress we made we had each other's back. That space… that void isn’t something you guys can just fill.” Jessica sobbed and made a break for her room. She furiously ripped her clothes off the hangars and shoved them violently into a duffle bag. “What are you doing?” Stephanie questioned worriedly.
“Leaving.” Jessica huffed.

“What? You’ve can’t leave. Your powers are too dangerous, you haven’t even gone back to work because of them. You can’t just leave!” Stephanie argued.

“AND I CAN’T JUST STAY HERE AND REMEMBER SOOYOUNG EVERY SINGLE TIME I LOOK AROUND THE APARTMENT!!!” Jessica yelled. Sparks didn’t fly out of Jessica, this time it was flakes of snow flowing around the room as well as frost that begun to cover the walls. “I know my powers are dangerous, but please understand Steph… I’m lost, I feel empty and I… I have nothing left to offer this team. I’m not going to be the one to get Soo back, but I do believe you will, Steph.”
“Where are you going to go in the meantime then??” Taeya questioned.

“Going to New York, I’m going to stay with my sister for a while. She… she’s the only one who might be able to bring me back up. The only one who might make me feel whole again.” Jessica stated as she wiped the frosted tears from her eyes. “Don’t call me until you have her… until she's really saved...”
“Jessica wait!” but it was too late, she had already stepped outside of the apartment and slammed the door behind her. Stephanie wanted to go after her, to bring her friend back home, but she knew deep down that it was for the best. Jessica had been trying her hardest to cover her misery without Sooyoung, but it was only a matter of time until it would finally overwhelm her and having the pressure to be Sooyoung’s only hope didn't make it any easier. Knowing that they would never be able to control them any time soon made it only harder for Jessica. She had to be reminded every day that the reason Sooyoung wasn’t already back in her arms was her inability to control her abilities. Stephanie had released all her tensed muscles and slowly walked towards the front window. She could see Jessica on the ground floor stuffing her bag in the cab trunk and entering the back seat. “Stephie, you know this is probably for the best, right?” Taeya asked.

“I keep failing them, Taeya.” Stephanie teared up. “How many more friends will I fail?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Taeya smiled. “We’re going to work this out. We tried it your way, to win through Jessica’s powers, now we’re going to do it my way.”

“You have a plan?” Stephanie asked surprisingly.

“Hmm, not so much a plan, but a hunch and at this moment that’s the best thing we have.” Taeya admitted.

“Alright, let’s get started then.”

*Three weeks later*

Taeya had been thinking a lot about Hyde and his abilities. It was clear that he was able to predict the future, but how he did it was still a mystery. He had stated it was a blessing from the Oracle, a fourth Creator and whether or not that was fact, still didn’t explain how the powers actually worked. One thing was certain though, he was an ultimate strategist because of his predictions and he also had robotically enhanced strength, but his skills ended there. He needed Dr. Kim to create his body when he was first stranded here, he needed the Blazers to become his secret little empire to rule the streets and earn a fortune, so it was safe to say he wasn’t working solely on his own for his operations. There would be a handful of people who would know their hidden lab’s location: Hyde, Dr. Kim and the architect that designed his secret lab. Hyde wouldn’t need a crew to assemble his Lab, he was strong enough to do that himself, but to create one properly would take a knowledgeable architect.

Taeya and Stephanie had been looking into the most successful architects in Los Angeles and it was hard to find discrepancies in their logs since all their projects would pay random amounts depending on the scale and the investors paying them. However, given Stephanie’s and Taeya’s prior knowledge of Hyde, they noticed one of the architects was being paid by an investor signed off with the initials “J.H.”. It was possible this was a coincidence but Taeya didn’t seem to believe it was.

Stephanie was preparing for their simple extraction mission. The architect was currently working at his firm and all Stephanie had to do was go there and snatch him. This kidnapping wouldn’t exactly help Stephanie’s terrorist image that the news had built, but it was the only way. She couldn’t risk interrogating him at his office, it was possible that Hyde could interfere right when they were about to get some answers. Once Stephanie had seized the architect, she would return to the apartment and they would put him into the pocket dimension where they wouldn’t be disturbed by anyone. Where she could get her answers in… anyway… necessary. However, Taeya also seemed to be preparing and that worried Stephanie, this was a simple mission, if both of them were to be seen, the news could brandTaeya as a terrorist too. She didn’t have the ability to hide her shimmering silver her and she didn’t wear a mask because it would obstruct her vision too much she didn't have much when it came to disguises. “Taeya, you don’t need to come you know? This is gonna be a quick trip.” Stephanie argued.
“If it’ll be quick then there won’t be any harm having a plus one.”