"Let me get this straight, there was an infiltration last night and classified data was stolen?" Principal Ahn states, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Team IZ*ONE had been asked to gather in the principal's office after what had transpired last night, but the atmosphere was different. The room didn't feel as welcoming as it used to be when Seunggi was there. One thing they'd taken note of was that the pictures of team IOI and Wannaone had been taken down.

"Yes, sir. They stole our training files and abducted one of our team members as well. We need to dispatch a team to rescue her as soon as possible." Eunbi says. She was still kicking herself for last night. She'd been duped by a shapeshifter, and now Minjoo was gone. The leader wanted to rescue her as soon as possible.

"I agree, but I'm afraid you seven are not fit for the job." The principal replies, shocking the team.

"But, sir, we've done this type of mission before! We can get her back! We have to..." Chaewon argues. She still had a lot of bruises from the ambush, but she was willing to risk her life to rescue Minjoo.

"As you mentioned in your report, that team of mutants outwitted yours. Maybe if you were twelve, I'd think differently, but as seven, I don't think you're capable of the task." Ahn says flatly. "I would rather rely on the authorities to handle this matter than investing resources into a possible failure."

"That's not fair! It isn't even our job to patrol the perimeter!" The tiger shouts back. The others had never seen Chaewon this upset, and they could understand why. She didn't explain fully what went down in the forest, but they could tell that she felt very responsible for it.

"Do not raise your tone at me, young lady. Don't forget that you're on probation and dish duty already." The principal scolds, forcing Chaewon to hold herself back. "You're all dismissed. I better not catch any of you causing trouble." And with that, the group was escorted out by the guards.

~~~~

"I still can't believe that guy." Yena groans as she takes a bite of her food. The group had decided to make their way to the cafeteria for lunch to regroup. "He just always gets on my nerves."

"Yeah, doesn't he know who we are? How can he trust the authorities to do a better job than us?" Yujin complains as well. "He even rejected our request to investigate his companies that were raided by these same people. He must be hiding something." The others nod in agreement. It didn't take a genius to figure out that something fishy was going on behind the scenes.

"So, Eunbi-unnie, when are we going to sneak out?" Chaewon asks suddenly, the leader choking up on her food in surprise.

"W-wait a minute. Let's not get too hasty, Chaewon. Maybe Principal Ahn has a plan." Eunbi tries to reason, but the younger girl shuts her down.

"Yeah, I don't care what plan that weasel has. I'm going to go save Minjoo, whether you're coming or not." Chaewon says with conviction.

"Do you even have any idea where she was even taken? You have to calm down first, Chae. You sound exactly like Yena when she wanted to go save Yuri, and look how that ended up!" Eunbi rebuts, putting her foot down. Chaewon could only reluctantly agree.

"Yah, don't drag me into this!" The duck says, not missing how Yuri giggled at the jab.

"In fairness, unnie. You did act like that." Yujin buts in, causing Yena to quiet down, grumbling to herself about how she still managed to save them in the end anyway.

"Listen, I'm all for sneaking out, but we really have to make a plan, especially this time because we're undermanned." The leader says.

"Let's start with who exactly we're dealing with. All the powers that Yena mentioned from the first attack match up with what was reported yesterday, and those line up with the research Wonyoung's been doing. If we find out where they're from, maybe that can lead us to Minjoo."

"There's also that one detail you haven't mentioned yet, Eunbi." Hyewon interjects, still rubbing her head from the hit she took yesterday. "Chaewon, you said that one of the girls looked like Chaeyeon, right?"

"Yeah, she did." Chaewon nods before continuing. "She even had some speed related power. I was really caught off guard."

"But Chaeyeon-unnie went with Sakura-unnie to Japan, didn't she? That doesn't make any sense." Wonyoung replies.

"Wait, I think I remember Chaeyeon-unnie mentioning she had a sister one time." Yuri says. "She didn't go much into detail, but she said that they had to separate because they were both mutants."

"Okay, that's good. It looks like we at least have a lead now. I'll try to see if Seunggi-sunbae can get any information from JYP's school for mutants." Eunbi jumps in.

"What about, Chaeyeon? Shouldn't we tell her about this?" Yena asks.

"I think it would be smart to hold off for now until we have confirmation. We don't want Chaeyeon to make any rash decisions when she gets back either." Hyewon advises. Everyone in the group nods as the discussions continue throughout lunch.

~~~~

A few hours later...

"Hey, Chaewon, whatcha got with you?" Yena asks as she enters the short-haired girl's room. Now without Sakura, Chaeyeon and Minjoo, the room looked a lot emptier than it usually did.

"Oh...it's nothing." The younger girl responds, throwing a piece of clothing into her closet before turning around to face the duck. "Any word from Eunbi-unnie on the JYP stuff?" She continues, trying to change the subject.

"That's what I was coming here to call you for actually. They found some info. We'll get Minjoo back in no time!" Yena says optimistically.

"We're still going to have to sneak out though. I'm sure Principal Ahn is going to double up on security later tonight to stop us." Chaewon responds.

"Listen, Chaewon..." Yena begins to say, her expression becoming a bit more serious. "Like, Eunbi-unnie said, I know what you're going through right now. Just...don't do anything stupid. Let's go and meet with the others first." She ends, patting Chaewon on the shoulder, and making her way out.

"Heh, yeah...nothing stupid..." The short-haired girl says to herself as she picks out the black article of clothing she'd found when she went back to the forest earlier. Engraved on it was the company 'Yujeonja Tech Solutions'.

~~~~

"Okay, girls, Seunggi-sunbae sent me a message of what he found out. He made sure to say though that we cannot let Principal Ahn find out about this." Eunbi begins. This time, the group had all chosen to meet up in the leader's room to avoid any unwanted attention.

"Well, don't keep us waiting in suspense, go on already!" Yena rushes, earning a slap on the shoulder from Yuri for her rudeness.

"ITZY was originally a mutant group formed under JYP to do missions much like us." The leader says as she takes out a few pictures the group's members. "Hwang Yeji is the leader, a pyromancer. Choi Jisu, better known as Lia, has elasticity powers. Shin Ryujin...she's the shapeshifter who duped me and Hyewon. Lee Chaeryeong, Chaeyeon's younger sister, her power is essentially super speed, but the file said she actually slows down time around her as opposed to Chaeyeon who's purely speed. Lastly, their getaway member, Shin Yuna, a teleporter."

"That's quite the lineup..." Wonyoung says. The synergy of that team certainly did feel like one that would be able to infiltrate any base with ease.

"I agree, but if they're supposed to be working for JYP, aren't they supposed to be good guys like us?" Yujin asks.

"That's the thing actually..." Eunbi responds. "They disappeared on a mission for JYP a couple months ago. They've tried searching for them, but with all the other missions they have to handle, they asked Seunggi-sunbae for help. He told me that he was actually going to pass the mission on to us before he was replaced."

"So, what was the mission they were on when they disappeared?" Hyewon asks.

"Daegu. It was a standard reconnaissance mission on a genetics company in the area they suspected was involved in illegal activity. It was called Yujeonja Tech solutions or something." When Eunbi says that name, Chaewon chokes on the water she was drinking, recognizing the name.

"What's wrong Chaewon? Have you heard of this place? Also, you look kind of pale. Is everything okay?" The leader asks in concern.

"Yeah, unnie, I'm fine. Just forgot how to drink water for a second is all." The younger girl tries to joke, deflecting the questions.

"Wait, I have though!" Wonyoung interjects. "That's actually the main branch of Principal Ahn's company! I remember looking through it the other day when I was trying to connect all the thefts together." She explains.

"That must be the reason Seunggi-sunbae never brought it up earlier." Yuri says. "He must be watching the principal's moves if he does anything fishy."

"That's so strange though. Why would he send people to steal things from his own subsidiaries?" Yena asks.

"Maybe he actually isn't aware of the issue? In any case, I think we'll find out if we venture out there." Hyewon responds.

"Alright then...let's figure out a plan to get there. We can sneak out around dawn." Eunbi says.

~~~~

Later after dinner...

"I appreciate you two keeping me company, but please don't make me the third wheel." Chaewon says to Yena and Yuri who had accompanied the short-haired girl on an evening walk around campus. Chaewon liked to take these walks to clear her mind, but usually, Minjoo would be right with her.

"Well, excuse us for trying to be good friends in your time of need, Chae." Yena quips.

"Yeah, don't worry, unnie. Minjoo will be safe in your arms before you know it!" Yuri says, causing Chaewon to blush.

"Yah, what are you even talking about?"

"Oh, come on, unnie. Yena tells me everything~" The hamster says with a laugh. Chaewon glares at the duck who can only shrug apologetically.

"Dropping the honorifics?" Chaewon asks with a questioning look.

"Don't deflect the topic, Chaewon-ah, we all know you like Minjoo." Yena teases.

"Okayyy, I do. I like Min a lot. Happy?" She finally admits with a hint of annoyance. "Now are you gonna keep messing with me or what?

"Sorry, Chae. We were just trying to keep the mood lighter." Yena apologizes. She always liked to try to keep the mood upbeat, but she still sometimes had trouble reading the room. The tiger really jumped out of Chaewon again there.

"It's fine...I just feel so stupid. I went too far during capture the flag, and I really hurt her." Chaewon says, frustrated.

"You know what they say, unnie, 'actions speak louder than words.' If you wanna show to Minjoo that you're serious, you gotta focus on this mission." Yuri advises.

"But this mission is going to be tough. Maybe Principal Ahn had a point. We're only seven right now. What if we just get beaten again..." The short-haired girl worries. 

"Nonsense, trust in Eunbi-unnie's plan. No matter what the Principal says, I still believe our team is the best. They just caught us while we weren't together. I'm sure if all of us were there, we wouldn't have been beat. Heck, even the three of us alone would be good enough to save Minjoo. We're JoYuriz after all." Yuri says confidently.

"JoYuriz?" Yena asks with a questioning look.

"Because people say we all look alike!" Yuri wasn't wrong though. If each of them had a hundred won for every time someone called them by the wrong name, they'd be rich.

"Yeah, I get that, but why are we named after you?" Chaewon asks back.

"Why wouldn't I be? I am the most mature after all~" She responds with a giggle.

"I can't argue with her on that front." Yena says. The three now share a laugh with each other as they approach the dorms again. Even if it had been a short walk though, Chaewon began to pant, catching the attention of the other girls.

"You okay, Chae? You've had that tired look all day." The duck asks with concern.

"It's nothing guys. I just need some rest to prepare for the mission tomorrow." The short-haired girl tries to explain.

"No...it's not nothing." Yena says seriously. "You did something stupid, didn't you? Even when I warned you against it?" Chaewon could only nod slowly, realizing she'd been caught red-handed.

"Okay...I did. Just promise not to tell Eunbi-unnie until I say so." And with that, she begins to explain herself. She knew her clone's tiredness would catch up to her, but she didn't expect it to happen so soon.

~~~~

Somewhere in downtown Seoul...

"You have a lot of nerve coming back here. Come on, get inside. You look awful." The stern voice of an older woman scolds. It was a voice Chaewon was all too familiar with. When she'd found that piece of clothing back in the forest, a quick search online told her the location of where it came from- a company in Daegu. From there, after hiding it from Yena, Chaewon decided to sneak one of her clones out and find a way to Minjoo alone. It was honestly easier than she thought it'd be; The guards would never really find out she was missing from campus because she was still technically there. Chaewon knew her friends would be able to help, but like Yena, she didn't want to waste a second in saving her friend. Right now, she was exhausted from walking down the mountain until she found a bus-stop that took her to the one place she thought could give her a free ride.

"Yes, mother. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting all this time..." She says with an apologetic bow before stepping into the mansion, her old home.

"So, what brings you here? You disappeared for what? A year?" Her mother asks when they both get seated at the dining table. This situation felt all too familiar too Chaewon, but she had to do it, for Minjoo.

"I...I need a ride, mom. My friend, she was abducted, and I need to get to Daegu as fast as possible."

"Don't you have your other friends for that? I kept trying to look for you, you know? But eventually, I found out you were signed up at Woollim's facility. Then, I saw a couple months ago that you moved to this other facility that's been in the news. I'm sure you would've had the resources to save your friend there. Why me?" This response surprised the short-haired girl. She wouldn't have thought that her mother would've kept tabs on her all this time.

"It's complicated. I'm kind of in this alone right now. Just tell me what I need to do and I'll do it." Chaewon pleads. She was desperate. She ran out of campus on her own with this as her only option. It was probably shortsighted of her, but emotions tend to cloud your judgement, especially when a loved one is in danger. After a few moments of silence, her mother answers, but it wasn't what Chaewon had expected.

"Come home, Chaewon..." Her mother says suddenly with a softened expression. "I know I made a mistake, but I want to be the mother you were asking for. I've missed you..."

"I...don't know what to say...Mom, I'm on a special team now. There are people counting on me..." Maybe her mother really had changed. The look she was giving the short-haired girl right now wasn't one she'd seen when she was a child- regret. Chaewon was conflicted. She had asked for her to act like a mother before she ran, and now the opportunity was there.

"I promise I'll try, Chaewon. I'll help you get to where you need to go. Just come home after...that's all I ask."

"But what about your reputation? People are going to eventually find out you have a mutant for a daughter. Aren't you worried about that?" Chaewon queries, still not fully grasping the complete 180 her mother had pulled on her.

"I'm planning to take a break soon...I think I've earned enough money to be able to not take on project after project. I'm fine with retiring too if that's what you want. We won't always be in the limelight anymore and I can support you." Chaewon pauses, still trying to contemplate what had just been asked of her, but eventually gives her response.

"Fine, mother, I will, but you know the laws. They're going to come looking for me if I disappear for too long. You're going to have to go along with my plan if you really want this to work out." Her mother nods with a smile at that. She'd been followed by cameras and paparazzi for so long that she thought that was all there was to life- her reputation. In the time Chaewon was gone though, she realized that nothing could've been more important than her daughter.

"Thank you, Chaewon...you should eat some food and get cleaned up first before leaving though. Get your energy back up." Chaewon wanted to politely decline, but her stomach betrayed her. She was really testing her limits with how far apart her clones were, and she was drained beyond belief.

~~~~

"I like what you did with your hair by the way." Chaewon's mother says as she sets up the table. Normally they had the house-help do the job, but this was a special occasion.

"Thanks, mom. I'm sorry for leaving so abruptly last time...I was just really angry." Chaewon says.

"I understand. I was very stubborn. After your father left, I became very protective of you. I never disliked you for having powers. I just thought that it would've been dangerous given the public's perception of mutants." Chaewon was surprised because she had never looked at it that way before. Maybe she had been too critical in the past. When she went up to her room for the first time in ages, she noticed everything was still clean and organized. Her mother had certainly been preparing for her to return one day.

"Anyway, tell me about your friends. What do they do? What exactly is this team you're on?" Her mother continues firing away questions. Chaewon smiles, realizing that there really was a lot of catching up to do.

"Listen, mom, I'd love to share every little detail, but time is of the essence. If I had to keep it short, my team, IZ*ONE, is a group of twelve girls who try to use our powers to stop bad guys."

"Sounds like a band of superheroes then. You better stay safe if that's the case. It could get dangerous." The older woman warns.

"I know, mom. I promise to be careful." The two went back and forth for a couple minutes after, but Chaewon knew she had to leave soon. With an understanding nod, her mother lets Chaewon finish her food in silence.

~~~~

After eating her mother's homecooked food for the first time in forever, Chaewon felt reenergized and relieved that things had turned out okay. The short-haired girl who was now in the driveway then gave her mother a quick hug before getting in one of their family's cars. It was still awkward for now, but she knew that she'd get used to things again eventually.

"Good luck, Chaewon-ah! Stay safe! Tell me everything when you get back!" Her mother says while waving to her daughter who was strapping in her seatbelt. Chaewon gives one more smile before the car begins to drive away to her destination- Daegu.

"Oh, Chae...this day has been something else..." She says to herself, sinking in her seat. Minjoo...I'm coming to save you.

~~~~

"Min? Min?" A voice calls out.

"C-Chaewon-unnie?" The aforementioned girl responds, trying to decipher the voice. Minjoo felt like she'd been hit over the head with something as she staggered up and looked around for the voice of her friend only to find herself in an empty dark room.

"W-where am I?" The quiet girl asks aloud.

"Minjoo! Come out now!" The voice shouts. Minjoo didn't know what was happening, but she followed the voice until she felt the handle of a door. When she walks through, she was in her old high school classroom.

"What...? What's going on?" Minjoo knew this memory. It was on the day she was found out to have powers except she was watching herself. She had no control over her powers before, so she would just disappear at random. Minjoo had always wondered why sometimes people would talk about her when she was right there with them or bumped into her in the hallways when she was clearly walking in their direction.

"Minjoo is so pretty~" One of her classmates cooed.

"Yeah! She's literally so perfect. Straight As. Gorgeous visuals. So kind and generous." Another one concurred. Minjoo cringed as she knew what was coming next. She watches as an invisible figure makes its way towards an empty seat, bumping into people and apologizing. How did I not know I was invisible at that point?" Minjoo asks herself, but it was too late as the class began taking notice.

"Yah! Is there a ghost in here???" One of the students yelps, the people around him also dispersing to the edges of the classroom.

"A ghost? Where?" Minjoo's past-self asked aloud, causing even more panic.

"W-wait...that voice sounds like Minjoo!" One girl finally realizes.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm right here. Where's the ghost?" She asks again, but one student managed to pinpoint the sound of her voice and threw a book in her direction.

"Ouch!" Minjoo shouts as she falls to the ground, beginning to rematerialize, much to the shock of all her classmates.

"Minjoo?" The voices begin to murmur in confusion as the girl tries to come to her senses, the words 'invisible', 'eavesdropper' and 'mutant' being bounced around.

"No wonder Minjoo always knew the right things to say...she just listened in on everything without anyone knowing." One girl says distastefully.

"She's just a mutant like the ones on the news trying to infiltrate our school!" Another shouts, and slowly but surely, the crowd begins to distance themselves from Minjoo, who was getting up, grabbing her head where she was hit. The realization was just dawning on her.

From the back, the current Minjoo watched in pain as her past-self unconsciously turned invisible again, and ran out. It was one of the worst moments of her life. She couldn't go back to school without catching rude glances and insults. It was because of that treatment that she decided to stay at home with her parents until she was assigned to be taken care of by Urban Works' Mutant Facility. They wanted her to find friends again, but even over there, she felt invisible. As she was looking back at those memories happening in front of her, the voice from earlier called out again.

"Min! Over here, silly!" The voice, which she was now sure belonged to Chaewon, calls out again with a giggle. Minjoo follows again, reaching for her classroom's door handle, but falling right through. Now, she finds herself in the PD campus' cafeteria. Seated around her were all her friends, eating lunch.

"Guys? Hello? What's happening?" Minjoo waves, but when she looks at her hands, she realizes she was invisible again.

"It's a shame that Minjoo couldn't make it today. She must be really sick." Eunbi says.

"Wait! I'm right here! Hello???" Minjoo begins to shout more to no avail. It was as if no one could recognize her presence at all.

"Don't worry, unnie! Hii-chan and I will check on her later!" Chaewon declares cheerfully.

"Yah, Chaewon-ah. You better stop giving Minjoo false hope. Just say you're dating Hitomi already. She's going to find out sooner or later." Yena scolds. The group begins to tease now as the couple sitting next to each other began to blush.

"No...No...No...this must be a bad dream..." Minjoo tries to rationalize, trying to keep her heart from breaking. She didn't understand anything that was happening right now. Even if she was starting to recognize everything as a dream, it all felt too real. She gets up and runs away, but the first doorway she runs through leads her back to that dark room she'd started in.

"S-Someone...please help...Chaewon-unnie..." She mumbles as she curls herself into a ball, tears falling from her cheeks.

~~~~

"Brain waves in the test subject are starting to spike, ma'am." A middle-aged man's voice reports.

"It must be her mutant cell's reaction to the technology. She must be reexperiencing trauma, poor girl. Ensure that we don't lose the subject, doctor." A woman's voice commands as she observes the still body of Minjoo on the table shifting between becoming invisible and rematerializing. "We're going to find out what makes you all tick if it's the last thing we do..."