15 September 2018: Playing Favorites

The rain was pouring down in the early dawn of the day, the only light coming from the two large lights beaming down onto the training field from either side. Yumi couldn't quite grip the bar she was aiming for after making her jump from the platform. She landed hard onto the dirt ground beneath her, her hands barely stopping her face from hitting the ground as well.

Woojin moved to jump down from his place in line to run to her aid as she started wheezing on the air that was knocked out of her from the fall.

"Please stay in your place, Subject." 777's voice was calm, but the man made sure that each and every subject could hear him through the pounding of the rain.

Woojin's eyes narrowed at the command, and though he didn't move a step closer to Yumi, he challenged 777's authority. "What the ? She's struggling to get up, man." His eyes glared into the hero's core, but he still backed into his spot in line.

777 nodded his head and walked to Yumi, bending down next to her as she dragged herself onto her knees. "There's only a couple of weeks of training left, and you've yet to show any improvement. Were you confused by the hallucinations you can see in your head? Shall we find a doctor who can you to the other ill?" His voice was low this time, only meant for Yumi. However, he kept his eyes forward instead of looking at her.

Wiping off the mud on her chin, Yumi shook her head. "No, I wasn't confused. The bar was slippery from the rain. I... I can do it again."

"Don't bother. Please stand aside for the others to complete." 777 stood to his feet and gestured for the next subject to do what Yumi couldn't.

The expressions on the subjects' faces were grim except for three, who knew they were excelling at every test and task given to them. And just as they easily dominated every other course, they could destroy this as well. Rain be damned.

Sungmin was up second, making a large jump and then vanishing in thin air. He appeared on top of the bars, posing with two fingers in a V close to his cheek to boast to the others. "Cleared it!" He disappeared once again to then appear in line next to Yumi with a smile.

Junho was next to go, only laughing at his friend's antics. "What a show off." When given the gesture from 777, he was quick to make his leap. He aimed for the last bar, altering the probability of him making it to be as high as possible. And of course, his hands found the bar with ease. He dropped down with a grin then jogged to his spot in line. "Easy," he said with a shrug to Sungmin.

"Those two sure are cheaters," Jongsu told the subjects in line with him jokingly, gesturing to his friends that went before him. "See ya'll on the other side." With that, he let his body fall sideways off of the platform instead of aiming for the bars. He ended hanging from the last bar one-handed with his own smug grin. He dropped down once 777 passed him, joining Sungmin and Junho. "Portals, am I right?" The other two just snickered quietly.

Why the hell do I have to go after those three? Hayeon thought to herself. She had no intention of embarrassing herself as Yumi did. But, she really couldn't do anything as impressive as everyone else. Swallowing hard, she bent her knees to give her some momentum. She extended her arms, preparing to catch the furthest bar she possibly could. The rain was against her as well, causing her grip to slip almost immediately. At the very least, her fall wasn't that bad, only landed on her and letting out a small yelp.

Just as he'd done before, 777 walked toward her and kneeled down to her level. "It's unlike you to let yourself fall like that. Where was the determination I usually see in you?" His eyes were on Hayeon, questioning and thoughtful. It was a complete difference from the way he had treated the last failure. And everyone noticed. He stood to his feet before giving her the chance to respond. "Being able to clone yourself is a resourceful ability, as long as you're determined to do something with it." He held his hand out to help her to her feet. "Try again."

"Wait, what the ?" Woojin cried from his spot on the platform. He was about to continue on until he saw Yumi quickly shake her head at him to get him to stop.

777 ignored his outburst, waiting patiently as Hayeon climbed back up onto the platform to the front of the line. She focused her eyes on a particular bar in the middle. She wiped her hands on her wet sweatpants in a meager attempt to dry them off. She bent her knees again, firming her stance, before taking a breath and making her jump. 

This time, she held on for dear life to the bar she'd caught, holding herself up as she smiled up at the rain. When she looked at 777, he gave a small smile and nodded once.

"What the ?" Woojin asked for the third time. He seethed as he watched Hayeon take her place in the finished line.

Right in front of him, Keeho turned to him with an exaggerated grimace. "Yikes! That was ed up." He choked on his laugh, holding it back when Woojin cut his eyes at him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know Yumi's your cousin." His smile was gone just as quick as it appeared. "And I'm sorry about what happened to Yuri. I don't get why Seven hyung is being so harsh to her even after..."

"Obviously, he picks favorites. But if I were to freeze every single drop of rain and aim each one straight into his heart, there would be nobody over us anymore."

Keeho's jaw dropped, mostly in amusement but partly in fear. "Um..."

At the other man's discomfort, Woojin quickly chuckled quietly. "All jokes, of course."

"Of course..."

Only several people away from the men was Jihye, who was pacing in her spot. "I just don't understand why you didn't let me say anything. What he's doing is wrong, Yeo unnie. Her twin just died!"

Yeo nodded slowly, grabbing Jihye to keep her still. "Lower your voice. I know. You know I know. However, we must keep up appearances. No matter how hard. That poor girl will have to help herself at this point."

2 January 2019: Future Villains

"See you later, guys!" An oblivious Yooshik escaped what was supposed to be mandatory training for the umpteenth time that month since they were given the tonic. While the other subjects had to agree that he was incredibly powerful, they weren't impressed with his already being given a hero name and missions. Yooshik was even taken under 777's wing and doted on while the rest were stuck suffering through nonstop training.

Minhyun was already on edge since they'd removed his twin sister from the program the day before. She was labeled a minimal before even getting to her second month of training, meaning that Minhyun had to finish it out himself. "That is really starting to piss me off. Why the hell is Yoo the only one who can come and go as he pleases?"

Nari shrugged her shoulders, leaning back in her seat. She was trying to enjoy the peace before the heroes came to run their training. "Maybe because he's just really powerful?"

"We're all powerful! That's the point of this whole thing."

The woman merely shrugged again and pointed her eyes at the blonde man standing next to Minhyun. "Well...not all of us. Dohun, how the hell did you manage to stay here?"

Dohun's jaw dropped at Nari calling him out. "How did I get into this?"

It was Minhyun's turn to stare at Dohun, sizing the man up before he could even get a chance to defend himself. "Yeah, how did my sister get sent home, but you're still here with us?"

"Minhyun, your sister literally couldn't do anything!" Dohun was actually hurt that the friends he'd found in The Might program were beginning to turn on him. "She was just lucky? That's not even a power!"

Nari laughed loudly, causing some of the other subjects around them to stare. "That's so true, Min! What will that even do? Stop, villain! My luck will stop you!"

Both Nari and Dohun fell out of their chairs from laughter, hitting each other as they did. Minhyun glared at them and only let a slight chuckle leave his lips. "Simon says stop laughing." The laughing ceased immediately, and they frowned at him using his power against them. "What's so funny? Because you, Nari, just blow out some cotton candy powder. And you, Dohun, just have some icy fingertips."

The two of them stayed quiet for a moment before glancing at each other and bursting into laughter again as soon as Minhyun's hold on them wore off. "But we're still here longer than Miyeon!" Their words were in between laughs and pants for air.

Sighing at his choice of friends in this program, he leaned back in his seat and ignored their incessant laughter.

6 April 2019: No Second Chances

The man that stood in front of several officers with his hands balled into fists was much different from the playful and sensitive man that stood in that same spot months prior. It was Dohun as before, but he seemed much different to the scientists who had known him the first time he went through the program.

Backed into a literal corner, a small smile grow on his lips. His brows still furrowed to the center, and it gave him a deranged look. "Don't make me blow up right now."

The officers didn't heed his warning, and they moved closer to him with their guns and their sticks. Dohun took this as a threat, and flames rose around him. There was no pause in his movements as he started shooting flames in every direction to get the officers away from him.

The training field and the entirety of the training center was catching fire, and the flames were growing rapidly. Some brave few were trying their best to put it out to no avail. With Dohun now having disappeared, everyone's attention turned to the growing fire.

Minji didn't bother with the flames, instead opting to grab anyone's attention that she can and leading them from the burning building. "Run! You need to run! Stop trying to put it out!" She pulled at anyone in her reach, freeing herself and many others from the building right before the door caved in behind them. Black smoke rose to the sky as people screamed and ran in every direction.

That wasn't doing anybody any good, so as Minji ran through the crowd, she touched as many people as possible. This time, she did her best to calm them down with her power. Only a few days from when she was injected with the tonic, it was best for her to focus on one person at a time until she was able to reach a large portion of the crowd.

She stopped running and leaned over to catch her breath as the group she'd calmed worked out a way to extinguish the fire and stop the rest of the building from burning down.

Everything was calming, despite the officers losing sight of Dohun. The black smoke in the air turned to a light gray, and everyone was being gathered to the training field by heroes and officers alike.

Minji looked at the training field, already seeing what her life could be if she remained there with the other government puppets. She would be used in whatever way they felt was best. However, her mother didn't die just for Minji to give herself over to her mother's murderers. She got what she'd come for.

Hiding in a larger group that was making its way back, she escaped through the ruin Dohun had left behind in his wake. There was not even one reason to look back.

10 August 2019: Potential Friends

Yeona was relishing the refreshing water that she earned after clearing several goals that The Real and Supernova had set for her a week before. Most of the other subjects were still training or failing, even within the first week of having their abilities.

She winced at the sight of the friend she'd made since joining the program. Hwayoung was having the hardest time. Though she hadn't fallen ill, her power was honestly minimal, and she wasn't strong enough to prove otherwise. Yeona didn't really have high hopes for the girl, but she liked her enough.

Ruining her peace, Supernova nudged the woman with his shoulder when he came over, making her spill some of her water from its bottle. She let out a long sigh, but he didn't let it phase him any. "You're doing really well so far. I can see you going all the way. Want oppa to put in a good word for you?"

It took everything in her to not make a disgusted face. Though she wanted it to be left only to the scientists, Yeona had a feeling that what he said really could affect all of her hard work. So, she merely shook her head. "No, I'll just work hard."

Hwayoung got Yeona's attention from a few feet away, making motions to silence Supernova for her. Against her best efforts, she stifled a chuckle behind her hand. Supernova took that as his chance to flirt with her more. 

Thankfully, The Real had come over to save her before she had to figure out some excuse to leave. His smile, unlike Supernova's cocky grin, was genuine. "Yeona, you're the one with a lot of potential. Seven said you're one of the best this program."

She nodded in agreement, already knowing she was at the top. "You're probably just saying that because I'm not giving you any problems," she joked lightly, referencing the many villains that have formed from the last several programs.

She watched The Real's face as it changed to a serious expression. "Yeah... I hate that. That's why you guys are so guarded this time. We can't take any chances." He shrugged, but it was clear that it still remained in his mind.

Changing the subject, Yeona nodded her head towards Hwayoung, who was now being harassed by Supernova. "What do you think of Hwayoung so far?"

"She's really nice! I don't think she'll make it though." He didn't worry about beating around the bush, not even thinking that Yeona could possibly be asking for an ulterior reason.

"No... She is really nice though." Yeona would have to get around to asking for at least some of her information before Hwayoung is let go, so they could continue being friends. It would be nice, to have a friend who could relate.

15 January 2020: Break Time

The day was bright. Somehow the sun still managed to beat down on them around as afternoon turned to evening. The large fence that scaled the training field, fortified with officers at every corner, seemed to keep anything and everything else out— or in.

All the subjects were sweating through their training clothes, even with the chill in the air. Voltage had put them through a course so rough it was able to combat even the fiercest of the winter cold. She was pleased with their results, so she allowed them to take a few minutes to hydrate and rest.

There was a still quiet to the group, worn and ready for the day to end. However, two young girls still found the energy to hold a lively conversation between gulps of water.

"I thought I was happy for the cold during this training session, but now I can't tell whether I'm cold or hot," Hanbyul whined to her companion.

Haengbok nodded quickly in agreement. "I just really hope most of our days aren't with Voltage. She doesn't stop until we're all completely broken down. I'm sore every morning when I wake up. I really hope we'll get Seven oppa one of these days!"

Hanbyul laughed quietly and leaned forward toward Haengbok, pulling her closer to her as she whispered, "There's no way! Apparently they're keeping Seven away from the subjects because of what's happened in the past."

"In the past?"

Widening her eyes, Hanbyul straightened her back. "You don't know?! Boki, you don't know about the villains?"

The younger girl smiled at the question, getting excited that she wasn't completely clueless. "Of course! The ones that break the contract."

She'd answered so proudly, Hanbyul was almost sad that she had to correct her. Almost. "Yes, but don't you know that some of the worst of them broke the contract during training? That's why we have this huge fence. That's why we're guarded so heavily. And that's why Seven rarely comes to train us."

"Oh," Haengbok gaped as she took in the new information. The expression quickly turned to relief and she waved her hand at Hanbyul. "But it's Seven. Nobody can defeat him. He's South Korea's first hero—"

"South Korea's first hero," Hanbyul finished with a knowing nod. "Yes, but there's some po.wer.ful villains out there, Boki. Demon took The Might twice and almost burned everything down. Ouroboros makes dimensions! And The Ringmaster has a whole group of villains who can do God knows what."

Haengbok blinked slowly. "So you're saying..."

Shrugging nonchalantly, Hanbyul simply answered, "That maybe it is possible for someone to defeat Seven."

5 April 2020: No Time

There was fear running through her as she walked with several other subjects through the dimly lit hallway of the training center. Everyone else was on the training field with Voltage. Why was Bomi being set apart? Did she do something wrong? She knew she wasn't the most powerful of the group, but she was doing well in the days since she's had her injection.

"Hello, everyone. I'm sorry to pull you away from your training, but I've heard good things about you all from the heroes who have trained you these last few days."

The subjects were in awe of 777, who stood in front of them with a serious look on his face. 

"This isn't usually how we do things, but we need your help. Your specific powers and skills could be useful in our fight against the growing number of villains. You will not be going through the rest of your training. Because it isn't your decision to breach this aspect of the contract, you will be named and your costumes will be figured out."

Bomi's eyes widened as she looked around to the other subjects, who all seemed just as surprised as she was. "So, we're...heroes?" She asked in stupor.

777 only smiled softly to her and the rest of the group. "Yes. You are all now heroes."