Things have been getting intense during the training sessions leading up to the first test. Everyone wanted to make an impression on the trainers to be able to make the final team. 96 trainees had been assigned here, but only 12 would be recruited. Though everyone had their reasons, the prize at the end was still the same. It'd be like a dog-fight.

Yena was alone in her dorm thinking about her observations the past few days. Is my motivation enough to get me through this? She thinks to herself doubtfully. Underneath the energetic and electrifying persona Yena had was a nervous and scared wreck. Being loud and sociable was like her coping mechanism for her fears. She didn't think she was a natural like Yujin in that regard, being able to say things with real confidence instead of putting up an act. She was always so hard on herself, but in times like these, she felt like she needed to be. No one else here is going to care about if she makes it or not. They see each other as competitors. It was clear as day to her from the times she'd try to make friends with people outside her dorm. This included even Sihyeon and Yiren who she came here with. They hadn't really known each other for so long. Was I just feeling close with them? As she gets lost in her thoughts, she dismisses the noise of the door opening and someone entering. Probably Goeun or Juri. She thinks.

"Hmm? What's with the brooding look over there Yena-unnie?" She freezes at the familiar husky voice.

"Oh, uh, hi Yuri! Nothing much, ha-ha. Don't worry about it." Yena tries to play it cool, but the look on Yuri's face shows she clearly didn't believe her.

"Don't play dumb with me, unnie. Even I can tell something's off. C'mon, we're roommates, why do you act so differently around me?" The question catches Yena off guard. Was she really that obvious?

The hesitation and pause from her makes Yuri continue. "Whenever I see you from afar, you're always so jumpy and fun, but once I show up, your whole demeanor changes. Did I do something to you in our past lives?"

"Uhm, No, no. You've done nothing wrong. It's just that I get nervous around new people" Yena mumbles

"Really? Don't go telling me you know everyone here, almost half of them are from another country for crying out loud. What is it really?" Yuri says as she rolls her eyes continuing to pester her.

"Fine, I guess it's because of your power, the whole charm-speak thing. Maybe I was nervous that you'd make me do something silly if I upset you." Yuri considers this for a second, nodding to herself. Yena let's go of the breath she'd been holding, her lie seeming to do its job.

"You already do silly things as it is." Yuri says flatly, but before Yena could respond, she keeps going on saying, "I guess we got off on the wrong foot. I don't really use my power unless I absolutely need to. I didn't even force you to tell me that. Hmm, I guess people would be wary if they knew someone like me." Yena nods along listening intently to her.

"If that's the case, maybe we should get to know each other, we may end up being teammates one day. Who knows?" Yuri says with a slight giggle.

"I'll start. My name is Jo Yuri, and I'm from Busan, but you probably already guessed that from the accent. I was brought up and raised there, and things were going great, to be honest. But I guess that's when I started to realize I had powers. Things were going too well." Yena had been captured by the girl's interesting background but was curious as to why she just stopped.

"Are you not going to continue?" Yena asks.

"Where's the fun in that? If you want more, you're gonna have to say something about yourself. It's your turn now." Yuri responds cheerfully.

"Oh okay, fine. My name's Choi Yena. I guess you could say my life had an interesting beginning. I was actually born with a type of cancer. I shouldn't even be here to be honest." Yuri's eyes widen at the girl's statement. "My parents really worked hard to get me treatment while I was young. We weren't exactly the most well-off family, so it was tough. Things only got worse for them when my powers showed up. They tried to hide it from the neighbors for so long that I was the cause of a power outage, and not just a simple wiring accident..." Yena concludes. "Your turn again."

Yuri was still processing what she'd just heard, but continued with her story. "So...I said things were going 'too' well, right? I sat down and thought about it one time because people seemingly complied with whatever I asked. I thought I just had really good friends and parents, but things went too far. I tested it out at a restaurant once, telling the waiter to let us eat for free, and they let us go without a second thought. My parents were shocked, and so, I explained to them on the car ride home what happened. I really regretted that." Yuri then smiles as she cuts herself short. "Your turn" She says.

"Oh, you're kidding me! It was just getting good! What's the point of telling me this if you're still hiding things?" Yena whines. She really enjoys talking to Yuri, it's easy and the air isn't hostile like it is with others Yena had tried to talk to. "Rules are rules, duck-face" Yuri teases.

"Did you really call me that? Aish, I thought I was gonna leave that nickname behind."

"Really? I just thought about it because your-"

"Lips are shaped like a duck's. Yes, I know. I've been told that for many years."

"What's wrong? I think it's cute." Yuri says with a laugh. "Duck-faced Yena"

Yena's cheeks redden a little at what Yuri had said. "That's a lot of teasing for someone who's face looks like a hamster." Yena says playfully.

"Aish, you really went there. Fine, it looks like you won't be hearing any more stories from me." Yuri turns around with a huff, arms crossed.

"Agh, really, Yuri? Fine, I'm sorryyyy!" Yuri just huffs again and keeps her gaze directed elsewhere.

"Fine, uhh, you know, I can actually do a really good duck impersonation!" I can't believe I'm bringing this one out again. She thinks to herself regretfully.

Yuri turns at this. "Hmm? Really? Let's see it then."

Ugh, I'm really doing this. Okay, here I go. Yena then proceeds to do her duck impersonation, covering slightly to make a perfect quack noise, which gets Yuri laughing hard, wiping a tear from her eye.

"God, really? It wasn't that funny."

"It really was though." Yuri says only now starting to settle down. "Well, I'll count that as a turn for you."

"So, you were saying?" Yena asks curiously.

"Well~ you're going to have to wait till some other time, the others are getting back soon." Yuri whispers to her. "For now, I'm going to go meet some friends. I'll see you later!" Yuri moves quickly, not giving Yena a chance to respond.

As Yuri opens the door, a familiar big puppy falls to the ground in front of them, caught red handed. "Oh...Unnies, Hi! How you guys doing? I just got back, ha-ha." There's a bead of sweat that rolls down her face as she's being glared at by Yuri. "As I was saying, I'll see you later, Yena!" And she was off.

Yujin lets out an exasperated sigh as Yuri goes off. "My god, she is scary. How'd you end up falling for her, Yena-unnie?"

"Agh, you brat eavesdropper." Yena says irritated. "It wasn't like that. Also, why is she scary and I'm not, huh?"

"Unnie, she said it herself. How could I be afraid of a duck face?" Yujin says snidely.

"Oh, you're really getting it now. Come over here!" Yena says as Yujin begins to turn and run.

"YUJIN!!!" Yena rubs her hands together to gather static and chases after her.

~~~~
Later in the week...

The list of teams for the upcoming test had been released and the facility was buzzing with activity. Trainees were milling around looking for their teammates which honestly made things harder since they were all doing it at once. Some Japanese trainees were just left standing around cluelessly not knowing where to go. Chaeyeon understood this, not all of them had learned to understand Korean completely before going here unlike Nako and Sakura. She'd spent the last ten minutes directing them around looking for their teammates. This first test would certainly be one of the most important ones to be able to see a trainee's potential. How they interact with others as well as how they handle pressure situations are good barometers for how they'll fare in real missions. Chaeyeon knew about this very well from her old home in JYP. Everyone was like a family there, heck her own sister was there with her. Things were going great for her until she got the news that she'd have to go to WM. It was tough leaving behind her friends and family to such an unfamiliar environment where the word "family" didn't seem to hold much weight. She still holds her president's words from that day.

"I'm sorry Chaeyeon, but my hands are tied. They won't allow both of you to stay. It's either you or Chaeryeong. The government doesn't like having mutant relatives in the same place." She could tell that he meant it, but there was no way she was going to let her sister go somewhere that wasn't here. The JYP school was one of the safest places for mutants in the country. It was better to leave Chaeryeong behind. When she had heard of the 'Produce' initiative, she begged her new superiors to let her try out. She wanted to be in a position to help the people she cared about, and getting on the team would be a great opportunity. That goes without saying that her new institute, WM, wasn't the greatest place to live in in comparison. When they were calling out attendance during the first few days, one of the trainers noted her first home which caught many by surprise. JYP didn't take people in easily. There were specific circumstances that had to be met and because of that background, she felt that there was now more pressure on her to perform. Sure, her roommates like Chaewon and Gaeun didn't seem to care, but she could feel the eyes on her whenever she passes by. People wanted to prove they were better than her and that made things more difficult. This first mission would be important on establishing an identity, and for Chaeyeon, she wanted to prove she was no slouch.

As she was walking, getting lost in her thoughts, a familiar voice catches her attention. She turns and sees Sakura and Jurina heading towards a dark corridor. "Hey! Sakura! Jurina! What're you guys up to?" She calls out to them. Sakura smiles back about to respond before Jurina starts. "Oh, we were just walking around trying to get more familiar with the place. These facilities are nothing like the ones in Japan." She says politely.

"Well, I think you may have the wrong idea. I'm pretty sure this is the most advanced training facility in Korea. Most other institutes don't have nearly the same amount of technology and funds to build this type of place."

"Ehh? Is that so? We'll keep that in mind." Jurina responds, and then, tugs Sakura's arm in a gesture to get going. Though, before they can, Chaeyeon cuts them off again.

"Oh, by the way, Sakura. Did you know that we were assigned to be teammates for the first test?" She asks.

"Ah, yes. We looked at the board a while ago. We also have Ahn Yujin, Jang Wonyoung, Honda Hitomi, and my friend, Yabuki Nako. They have the powers of Water, telekinesis, control over plants and super strength respectively." Sakura's analyzed response surprises her. She's that technical even outside trainings too apparently. She thinks to herself.

"I see you did your homework." She says with a laugh.

"Of course, I have already ran through some situations to form the optimum strategy for whatever we're faced with." Sakura grins to herself subconsciously, feeling proud for some reason she can't figure out.

"Wow, Daebak. We should get the team together to plan some time then. I'm really getting excited!"

"Alright, that's enough, we have some other places to check out before heading back to the dorm. We'll see you then. Nice talking to you, Chaeyeon." Jurina suddenly butts in and this time successfully pulls Sakura away.

Chaeyeon wonders why she was in a hurry, and as they walk away, she can just make out some Japanese words being exchanged between the two that intrigued her. Stick to the mission. She had heard Jurina whisper to Sakura. Chaeyeon then looks up at the sign above the corridor those two were about to go down. The server-room? What could be so interesting about that place? She's curious, but decides to ask Sakura about it some other time, hopefully without Jurina around. For now, she has to figure out how to approach the first task. Representative Lee said they'd release more information tonight after dinner. She thinks about getting the team together before going to the auditorium and is excited at the prospect of getting to team up with Sakura and the two other Japanese girls.

~~~~

"Okay, team! You all heard what the first test is going to be, right? It's sort of like capture the flag, but we get bonus points based on how we go about it. Brute strength isn't going to get us the most points; there has to be a plan which is why I called you all here. Any suggestions?" Kwon Eunbi, dubbed the rabbit captain, respected by most trainees by her commanding yet kind presence, says. The nickname suited her well. There were many people hoping to get her on their teams because this girl was just a natural born leader. Not only one of the older trainees there, she was very composed and put together. It was strange for someone like her to just pop up out of nowhere with no real background of mutant abilities, so most assumed she was just a late bloomer which wasn't unheard of.

"Wellll, there's six of us, right? Maybe we could pair up to cover ground, offense, defense and in between." Yena suggested. She may not have been the brightest when it came to strategy, but she did play a lot of video games growing up.

"Oh, good idea, Yena. Hmm, so there are three power bases, right? Mental, combat and elemental? I think Minjoo and Chaewon should be on offense. Their powers could throw off the opposition the most. Minjoo could snatch the flag with her invisibility and Chaewon could confuse people with her clones." The others nod in agreement at the proposed strategy. Logically, it made sense, but there was one person quivering in her shoes, Minjoo.

"Uhm, unnie, don't you think it would be better for you to take offense? You have combat experience in addition to your powers, don't you? We have to assume that they'll have their flag guarded by their strongest members, don't we?" Minjoo's voice is shaky, but the others did see her point. They just miss how Eunbi's face turned ash grey at that suggestion. Minjoo wasn't the only one not sure of herself.

"Good a point as that may be, Minjoo. That's why we need stealth over strength. If we can defend our flag long enough, we should be able to get theirs eventually. Look, Minjoo, I can see that you're just not that confident in yourself. You'll do fine, you're going to be the key to the win, and if you have trouble, Chaewon's gonna be right there to support you." Minjoo looks over at Chaewon nodding at her with conviction. They were still kind of awkward from that incident in the bathroom, but she smiles at the reassurance.

"Sure, I can do it." She says.

"Okay, I think that the mid-support team should be Yena and Yuri, which leaves Hyewon and I to guard the flag." The two aforementioned girls nod eagerly while Hyewon keeps a poker face on. I knew she had ice powers, but does she really have to be this cold in meetings too? Eunbi thinks.

"Alright! We have a sound plan, and as long as we stick to it, we can win. C'mon guys bring it in!" They all put their hands together ready to cheer, even Hyewon reluctantly joining in. This team will really be one to be reckoned with.

~~~~

There were sixteen teams of six members each, but after two days of flag-hunting, it was down to four. Many trainees had shown flashes and had unique strategies, like that team that went all offense leaving no one to defend, or that team that just let their opponents take the flag without a fight only to surprise them all at the goal area to trap them. The rules for the challenge were simple, capture the other team's flag, and get it across to your territory. In practice though, it was a lot more complicated than one would think.

The trainers were looking at the film from all the matches to observe each trainee's movements and initiative. Bae Yoon-jeong, being the strict personality she was, was quick to point out lacking trainees. That girl has no perception. That girl just let them take the flag. That girl had no control over her powers. She kept pointing out this and that, the other trainers were simply taking note. Lee Seunggi may have been the representative, but he trusted that his colleagues had more knowledge than him. He acted more as a counselor for the girls. Many had apprehensions on their control and conviction. Not everyone wanted to do this, but it was his order from the higher-ups to keep these girls training. If they don't make the team, then just send them back to their original institutes. They had told him. It was tough on all of them, but he couldn't just disobey and let them go free. That'd just get them hunted down only to be turned in to the rehabilitation camps, or worse, killed. The goal here was to create the strongest team possible, but if you weren't willing enough or showed any bit of hesitation, it would show.

Now that there were only four teams left, there was more focus and intrigue by the trainers. These were the ones most likely to make the final team after all. "This girl over here...she moves very well." The other trainers look over to what Yoon-jeong was paying attention to. It wasn't every day that she gave positive comments.

"That would be Lee Chaeyeon, sunbaenim." One trainer says.

"Yes Young-jun, she darts around very well with great control. Keep an eye on her for the final few matches."

"Wait, what about the girl in the middle? I don't think I've seen her move an inch in either match so far." He asks curiously. Her team had been winning, but it doesn't look like she's contributing anything.

"Aish, you've always only focused on movement. Take a closer look. She's the reason why they've been winning." Yoon-jeong says sternly. The girl in question was actually Sakura. Many knew her power was technology related, so people expected her to have difficulty in this challenge, the simulation room creating different terrains from lush jungles to barren deserts, calm forests and even bustling cities, but she had a trick up her sleeve that shocked the first two teams they'd beaten.

----------

Look left, they're sneaking around the bushes.

One of them is flying overhead right now.

Their flag is unprotected, Nako, Hitomi, go now.

Calculated orders...almost machine like. Sakura had taken complete control over the matches they'd been in.

"I have the ability to link up our thoughts to be able to communicate for a span of a couple hours. All you have to do is keep me focused while the others do their job." That's what she'd told Chaeyeon before the first match. At first, it was a shock to everyone, being connected and hearing each other's voices, but by the second match, they'd learned how to communicate easily. How did Sakura manage to know where everyone was going? Well, the room may have changed, but it was still, at its base, a machine. A machine that could be manipulated.

---------

"That Hyewon girl has also been doing pretty well. I was surprised to be honest." Says trainer Soyou. "Sometimes you'd forget and think her power was camouflage, but she has pretty good control over her ice." They were looking at the footage of her team's defense which had proven to be one of the best among all the teams, almost like an ice fortress. She'd be creating walls or freezing the ground, and the enemy could do nothing but slip, slide and crash. Eunbi was more of an insurance policy. Few people actually knew what her power was, but her fighting ability let people to assume it was just increased nimbleness and coordination.

"One last thing of note, that girl from team 4, power-stealing, hmm?"

"Ah, yes. Park Seoyoung. We told her not to go too hard on the others because draining them too much could kill them." Hongki says warily. "She's dangerous. We're lucky the authorities managed to bring her in. She'd been sneaking around Seoul killing other mutants. If she takes it down a notch like she's been doing, her victim will only have a slight headache, and the powers will go away from her, but when she kills, she keeps them forever."

"I see. We're going to need to keep extra precaution with her, then." Yoon-jeong says with finality.

----------

Four teams remained in the challenge. Though everyone had different goals from joining 'Produce', the fact that they've made it this far says something about their commitment. In the end, how much they believe in their goals can play a part in victory or defeat. The scene was set for some exhilarating matches, and the only question left now was "who wants it more?"