There were two seconds when Nayeon’s whole body went into shock. It didn’t make sense. They’d saved the day, beaten the bad guy, so now it was supposed to be smooth sailing, right? So then why was Sana crumpled on the ground?

Then it truly hit her that Sana was crumpled on the ground, and she immediately fell to her knees beside her.

“Someone call a doctor!” Nayeon screamed, cradling Sana in her arms. “My girlfriend just collapsed! Please, help!”

There was a whooshing sound, and suddenly Momo was right next to her.

“Put her down!” Momo yelled. “She needs to be her side!”

“What?” Nayeon gently lowered Sana to the ground. “What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s anaemic.” Momo grabbed Sana’s arms and crossed them, Mina arrived behind her, grabbing Sana’s leg and raising it in the air. “She’s breathing. That’s good. Has she been getting enough iron?”

“I…I don’t…” Nayeon stuttered, her mind spinning. “I don’t know. I wasn’t keeping track. I didn’t realise…”

“Aren’t you two supposed to be in love?” Momo’s face was full of scorn, and Nayeon felt her anger surge. “What kind of soulmate girlfriend are you if you didn’t even know-”

“Momo.” Mina said warningly.

Nayeon stood up and shoved Momo, her blood boiling. Mina stopped fussing with Sana’s jacket and watched them, concerned.

“Just go away, ok?” Nayeon snapped. “I can handle this. I don’t need you standing around sneering at me.”

“As if I’m going to leave my best friend alone with you.” Momo pushed right back. “You obviously have no idea what you’re doing here, so let us help Sana. If you want to be useful go find a doctor.”

“Like I’m going to let you take care of her.” Nayeon snarled. “You go get the doctor. Someone she trusts should stay with her.”

“You really want to talk trust?”

“Momo.” Mina interrupted again. “You’re the fastest. Go find a doctor.”

Momo looked tempted to shove Nayeon again, but Mina gave her a warning glare and she took off. Nayeon squatted back down, keeping her eyes on the steady rise and fall of Sana’s chest. She grabbed Sana’s leg, trying to nudge Mina away.

“You can go now Mina. I’ve got this under control.”

“You don’t have to prove anything to us.” Mina’s voice was far too understanding. “But if you really love Sana, and I know you do, you won’t risk her getting hurt for the sake of your wounded pride. Let me help.”

Nayeon wanted to argue, but Mina had the same face Jihyo wore every time she knew she was right and Nayeon was wrong. So, she sighed, and let Mina hold the leg while she kept Sana her side.

“I think that was the most we’ve ever talked.” she joked half-heartedly. “I must have been seriously freaking out to get you to speak so much.”

Mina smiled, and Nayeon relaxed a little. She may be Momo’s girlfriend and Sana’s former crush, but Nayeon actually liked Mina. She reminded Nayeon a bit of Jihyo, only with superpowers and a lot less noisy.

There was a whooshing sound Nayeon was growing to hate, and then Momo dumped a very confused doctor onto the ground next to them. Mina gave the poor man a sympathetic smile.

“Our friend has just fainted. We think it’s due to her anaemia. Is it possible you could take a look at her?”

The doctor looked at all the anxious faces staring expectantly at him, then down at Sana’s unmoving body. He sighed reluctantly.

“Follow me. The latest supervillain attack has thrown everything into chaos around here, but I’ll find her a room.” He paused to squint suspiciously at Nayeon. “Aren’t you a supervillain? You weren’t behind this, were you?”

“Wow.” Nayeon scoffed. “As if I’d ever do something as evil as attack a hospital. For your information, I helped save the day.”

“Actually, we both failed.” Momo grumbled. “Tzuyu was the only one that did any damage, and Mina saved everyone from the mind control.”

“Oh, are you friends of the Hulk?” The doctor surprised them all with a bright smile. “In that case, I’ll get some nurses to help here immediately!”

He hit his pager, and stopped a nurse with an empty bed as it was wheeled by. Together the nurse, Nayeon and Momo lifted Sana carefully onto the bed, and then began to push it down the corridor, following the doctor’s directions.

“Wait, you think Tzuyu and I are friends?” Nayeon laughed, then froze at the twin glares Momo and Mina were sending her. “You are… absolutely correct! We’re besties, Hulk and I. I’m going to be maid of honour at her wedding and everything.”

“The Hulk’s getting married?” The doctor gasped.

“Maybe.” Nayeon winked. “Help my friend, and I’ll drop a few more secrets.”

Momo did not look impressed, but Nayeon’s persuasion proved effective. Within five minutes Sana had two nurses and another doctor at her bedside. The three girls were ushered out of the room, with a promise to let them back in as soon as Sana was ready for visitors. Part of Nayeon wanted to fight them in order to stay by her girlfriend’s side, but a part of her was glad for this alone time with Sana’s friends.

They had things to hash out.

“Alright.” Nayeon squared her shoulders and glared straight at Momo. “You and I are going to talk, and when Sana wakes up there won’t be any problems left between us.”

“Fine by me.” Momo shrugged.

“Great. Also, we need a mediator.”

“What? Why?”

“Because Sana’s the one that matters here, so I want to do this right. It’s not going to be us yelling at each other for ten minutes then storming out. We’re going to fix this .”

“Fine.” Momo rolled her eyes. “Mina can mediate.”

“Mina can definitely be here for this, but we need someone who’s actually unbiased.”

“What?” Momo scoffed. “How is Mina biased?”

“…She’s your girlfriend.”

“Huh.” Momo looked over to Mina, who shrugged and nodded. “You do have a point there.”

Nayeon tried not to regret this. She played dumb all the time to irritate people, but Momo seemed worryingly sincere, like she genuinely hadn’t realized that Mina being her girlfriend would cause her to be biased.

“So, I suggest we get Jihyo to mediate.”

“Your friend? No way! How is that any better than Mina?”

“She’s pretty mad at me right now, so I doubt she’ll take my side unless she really thinks I’m right.”

“She’s still too close.” Momo shook her head. “If you really want a mediator, we need someone who isn’t close to either of us.”

“How about Chaeyoung or Tzuyu?” Nayeon suggested.

“Aren’t they your friends?”

“Tzuyu is the opposite of a friend! She’s my archnemesis!” Nayeon protested, but then she paused, thinking hard. “You’re kind of right though, that would make her biased. Chaeyoung is the better bet. I talk to her a lot during kidnappings, and she might even consider me a friend, but with all the things I’ve done to her she definitely won’t be biased.”

Momo and Mina still looked sceptical, but Nayeon wasn’t about to drag a random stranger into this. She took off back down the corridor to try and find Chaeyoung, then skidded to a halt when she finally saw her.

“What?” Momo bumped into her at her sudden stop. “Why aren’t you talking to her?”

“Do you want to be the one to try and tear those two away from each other?”

Momo looked over at Chaeyoung, who was curled in Tzuyu’s lap on the floor, pouting as her girlfriend fussed over her cut lip. Then she looked to the right, where a Chanmi shaped hole in the wall was still visible. Nayeon heard her gulp, and knew her point had been made.

“So what now?” Momo sighed. “Who else can we get?”

Nayeon looked down to the end of the corridor, where people were still milling around inside Chungha’s room. A flash of strawberry blonde hair caught her eye, and she grinned.

“I know just who we need.”

Ignoring Momo and Mina’s confusion, she took off towards the room. Inside, she elbowed past three people, almost freaked out when she realised she’d bumped into the famous idol Sunmi (seriously, what the heck was she doing here?), and then resisted the urge to ask for an autograph. Finally, she laid eyes on her target, who was gently poking a sleeping Chungha’s cheek with the end of a pen.

“Dahyun.”

Dahyun jumped and dropped the pen, scrambling away from the bed.

“Oh hey Nayeon! I wasn’t-”

“Come with me. I need you.”

Dahyun’s expression quickly switched from guilty to concerned. She let Nayeon grab her arm and pull her out of the room.

“What’s wrong? Are Chaeyoung and Tzuyu ok?”

“They’re fine.”

Dahyun suddenly stopped walking, causing Nayeon to stumble.

“You’re not kidnapping me again, are you?”

“No Dahyun.” Nayeon tried to make her smile seem reassuring, but judging by how Dahyun stepped back it didn’t work. “I’m not here to kidnap you. I just need you for something very, very important.”

Five minutes later, Dahyun stood awkwardly in the centre of a private waiting room. Nayeon sat on the left, Momo and Mina on the right. Outside, the hustle and bustle of the hospital could be heard, doctors and nurses walking by, family’s chattering about the wild attack. But inside the waiting room, the atmosphere was positively icy.

To be fair, the air conditioning in this waiting room appeared to be malfunctioning, so the cold they felt wasn’t just from the tension between Nayeon and Momo.

Tension that wasn’t going to exist for much longer, because Sana deserved better and Nayeon was determined to give it to her.

“Ok.” She took a breath, trying to reign in her anger. “Let me start by asking you this. What is your problem? I get that I’m a supervillain, but you don’t even know me!”

“I don’t need to know you! You’re a supervillain!” Momo yelled back. “The stuff bothering Sana could have been worked out among the three of us, but then you came along and now… Now she’s like a whole different person!”

“I don’t believe you.” Nayeon said flatly. “You’re Sana’s best friend, but just because she fell for me suddenly you can’t recognise her? That’s bull.”

“Nayeon’s got a point.” Dahyun declared, causing Momo to glare indignantly at her.

 “Objection!” Momo stuck her hand in the air. “Nayeon’s mediator is clearly biased!”

“Uh… I don’t think this is a court. Is this a court?” Dahyun looked over at Nayeon, who shook her head. “And anyway, I’m not biased, she just said something true. So, uh… overruled? I guess?”

Momo sighed, and Nayeon stuck her tongue out. Mina looked like she was screaming internally even more than she usually did.

“Fine, she’s still Sana, but if this thing between you two is serious then it makes no sense to me. The three of us put people like you in jail for years and suddenly Sana’s cool with being a criminal? So Sana’s either just blowing off steam, or she’s seriously in love with you and willing to ignore her morals for it. I’m pretty sure she’s not really serious, but both options .”

“Wow.” Nayeon laughed, trying not to show how hurt she felt. “It’s really that hard for you to believe Sana loves me, huh? You superheroes and your rigid moral codes. The world isn’t as black and white as you want it to be. Sana’s the one who robbed the bank when we met, she’s the one that instigated every burglary and kidnapping we’ve done together. You can pretend I’m the bad girl who she fell in with for a rebellious phase, but no one else believes you. Isn’t that right, Mina?”

Mina looked like a deer in the headlights, but when Momo looked back at her, she shook her head sadly.

“I’m sorry Momoring, but I don’t think it’s Nayeon’s fault Sana did any of this.”

The look of raw hurt on Momo’s face made Nayeon wince, even though she was still mad at her. Nayeon expected Momo to fight back, so she was surprised when Momo’s face crumpled.

“I know.” Momo whispered. “It’s my fault, isn’t it? I drove her away, and now she’s gone.”

“Hey now, calm down with the dramatics.” Nayeon waved her arms, unsure of how exactly to comfort the crying girl. “Sana’s not gone forever, she’s just down the hall. You’ll probably see her really soon.”

“But she won’t be coming back with us, will she?” Momo asked, trembling so badly that Mina wrapped her arms around her. “She’s a villain now, and she doesn’t want to change, does she? We’re enemies now.”

“It doesn’t have to be that serious.” Nayeon had no idea how she’d gone from yelling at Momo to reassuring her, but it felt very weird. “Tzuyu’s a superhero and I’m her worst enemy, but we still have the same friends and hang out at least once a month at Jihyo’s. Heroes and villains don’t have to hate each other, I mean it’s not like Sana is truly evil or anything.”

“It’s true.” Dahyun piped up. “Nayeon and Tzuyu love each other.”

“Well now I wouldn’t go that far.”

“They just banter a lot because of the whole hero and villain thing. It’s a weird kind of friendship, and none of us really understand it to be honest, but it works for them. Trust me, there’s no actual hatred there.”

“Come on, there’s definitely a little hatred. I’ve worked so hard for it!”

“Nayeon.” Dahyun smiled at her with all the patience of a woman dealing with her incredibly cantankerous grandma. “Could you just shut up for two seconds please? I’m trying to let Momo know that she doesn’t have to worry about her friendship with Sana.”

“Well that’s obvious.” Nayeon rolled her eyes. “I’ve only known Sana a few days, and it’s obvious she loves you both so very much. You can be heroes and we can be villains, and except for a few lies to the media, nothing will change. Villains don’t have to be evil, despicable people, case in point.”

Dahyun coughed something that sounded like ‘debatable’, but Nayeon ignored her, keeping her eyes on Momo. She wasn’t crying anymore, and she gave Nayeon a watery smile.

“I’m sorry.” Momo mumbled. “This fight with Sana is so messy and scary, I’m not dealing very well.”

“Eh.” Nayeon shrugged. “We all have bad days.”

“I guess… I’ve just never met a supervillain that doesn’t want to hurt us.” Momo sighed. “When we found out what Sana was doing here I kind of blamed you for everything, because that was easier then looking at what was wrong with Sana and me. I’m sorry Nayeon. For a supervillain you’re… kind of ok.”

“I’m amazing.” Nayeon informed her. “And don’t worry about it. Whatever happens, you and Sana will be fine.”

Momo’s smile became a little brighter, and the tension in the room slowly faded away. After a moment of peaceful silence, Dahyun coughed awkwardly.

“So… can I go now?”

“I think we’re done here.” Nayeon looked at Momo and Mina, who nodded. “Thank you Dahyun. You were surprisingly helpful.”

“That was almost a compliment. I’m touched.” Dahyun opened the door. “You know, I still have that photo of you and Tzuyu curled up asleep together. I bet the press would love that.”

“Try it and you’re dead.” At the alarmed looks from Momo and Mina, Nayeon frantically waved her hands. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding! The worst thing I ever did to her was fill her apartment up with foam.”

“You still haven’t paid the cleaning bills for that by the way.” Dahyun called as she left.

Nayeon was about to yell a reply, but a nurse stepped into the waiting room with a smile on her face.

“You’re waiting to see Minatozaki Sana, yes?”

All three of them nodded.

“She’s awake now. One visitor at a time please.”

They all looked at each other. Mina nudged Momo, and Momo nodded, gesturing towards the door.

“Nayeon, do you want to go first?”

“Are you sure?” Nayeon asked, surprised by the unexpectedly quick rise in friendliness.

“Yeah.” Momo slipped her hand into Mina’s. “I think we need to talk about things before we talk to her, and I’m pretty sure she’d want you to be the first one.”

“Cool.” Nayeon tried to control her wide grin. “Cool cool cool.”

Sana’s was asleep when Nayeon sat down next to the bed. She gently took her girlfriend’s hand, smiling when Sana’s eyes fluttered open.

Sana smiled back, squeezing Nayeon’s hand.

“I was hoping it would be you.”

Nayeon didn’t really have a good response to that. She just brought Sana’s hand up so she could kiss it, and then kept holding on to it as Sana slowly got her bearings.

“So,” Sana said, once she’d taken a good look around the hospital room. “What did I miss?”

Nayeon opened , closed it, and then smiled.

“Nothing much. A little bit of panic, a lot of waiting around and talking. I managed to convince Momo that I wasn’t an evil demon intent on luring you to the dark side.”

“That’s good.” Sana snuggled into her pillow. “I think they gave me drugs or something. I’m so sleepy.”

“You can sleep if you want.” Nayeon rubbed circles into the back of Sana’s hand. “I don’t mind just sitting here. It’s been a long day.”

“Very long.” Sana agreed with a yawn. “We’ll talk later, yeah? Sleep now.”

“Sleep now.” Nayeon agreed, reaching up to smooth Sana’s hair back off her face. “I’ll protect you in case there’s another supervillain attack, or if a nurse tries to give you a shot or something.”

“No needles.” Sana mumbled, her face almost completely buried in the pillow. “Night night, Nayeon. Love you.”

“Yeah.” Nayeon forced herself to sound casual despite the lump in , overwhelmed by just how much she felt for this girl. “Love you too.”