“Lee Saerom. Can you please explain to me what happened here?” Officer Hwang asks Fromis’ leader once he arrives at the scene. The ballroom was in shambles, stray flames burning and ice shards impaled into the walls.

“Uh, you see, sir… I was actually stationed outside when the commotion began. With all the guests running out, I couldn’t get in to see what happened until now when it was over.” Saerom replies with a neutral expression.

“So, you didn’t see anything strange? I heard reports of mutants being present. Is this true?” Hwang asks again, but Saerom only shakes her head.

“The only thing of interest when I showed up was that robot there.” Saerom says, pointing at the remains of KYB’s android. Her teammates stay quiet as per their leader’s request. Saerom had promised to explain everything later, and they decided to trust her.

“Hmm, we’ll have a team to clean this place up soon. If anyone asks, there were no robots, just a rogue mutant attack. You understand? I just have a feeling this is related to one of those PD campus girls.” These words cause Saerom’s eyes to widen for a second. If it wasn’t clear that he was working with KYB before, it was now.

“Sure… sir. By the way, I recently got a new phone. Can I borrow yours to put in my new number?” Saerom suddenly asks.

“Huh, you did? Wh-” Jiwon interjects before Hayoung covers .

“Oh, you didn’t know? She just got it today. You must’ve forgotten, silly.” The older girl says, trying to get her message across to the others with her tone.

“Ahh, of course. My bad, unnie. You know I don’t have the best memory.” Jiwon says with a laugh she hoped didn’t sound forced.

“Alright… here you go then.” Hwang says while taking out his phone and handing it over, a bit confused by that whole interaction.

The second the device came into contact with Saerom’ hand, a voice began to fill her head. It sounded like a phone call, which meant she could only hear one side.

~~~~

Yes, sir? Hwang’s voice asks.

….

Ah, right away. No, I don’t know how the mutants caught wind of the auction tonight.

….

What? But sir, are you sure they’ll be ready by then-

….

Okay, sir. I’ll have the preparations made by the end of the week.

….

Yes, I understand the importance. It’s just that I’m worried about the civilians who migh-

….

Apologies. I spoke out of line. Have a good evening, sir. When the call cuts off, Hwang shoves his phone back in his pocket. He began muttering some more things, but it was all muffled. Saerom could only make out a couple words.

Androids… Spread out… Attack…

~~~~

“Saerom-ssi. Are you alright?” Hwang asks when Saerom froze for a second.

“Ah, my bad, sir. I was just trying to remember my new number. Here you go.” Saerom says after snapping out of her trance, typing in some random number before handing the phone back over.

“I’ll see you all back in the station tomorrow then.” Hwang says before giving a salute that the Fromis squad returns. And with that, he was on his way out.

“Unnie, what’s going on? Why are we lying to the chief?” Chaeyoung asks when Hwang was out of earshot.

“Yeah, those mutants who he referred to. They’re the ones that locked us in the closet, aren’t they?” Seoyeon adds, skin still itching a bit from the vines.

“You girls ran into some mutants too? Hayoung-unnie and I also ran into some upstairs. We were chased by some android looking things, and they helped us.” Jiheon says, glancing at Hayoung who was also keeping a tight-lipped expression.

“Listen, girls. I know you have a lot of questions, and I promise we’ll answer them, just not here.” Saerom replies, looking around to double-check that they were alone before whispering something else.

“Hayoung and I are going somewhere to meet up with those mutants soon. If you want to know the truth, you can come with us. Just know that there’s no going back if you do. We’ll probably be labeled as traitors.” The group stays silent for a couple seconds, taking their leader’s words in.

“I’m in. Those mutants saved me after all.” Jiheon eventually says, also incredibly curious about what Saerom and Hayoung’s mission really was.

“I’m going too. I am not getting left with Hwang’s paperwork.” Jiwon adds, the others also agreeing to come one by one.

“That settles that then. We’re heading to PD campus.” Saerom says.

~~~~

“C’mon, what’s taking them so long…” Yujin asks while stamping her feet anxiously. Her group along with ITZY had arrived at the rendezvous point a couple minutes ago, and they were kind of sticking out like sore thumbs, especially Eunbi whose dress was in tatters.

“Are you sure I can’t go and check on them?” Chaeryeong asks Yeji who shakes her head in response.

“We can’t afford any more risks right now. You have to trust your sister.” She says, and as if on cue, the sound of a group of people running towards their direction catches their attention.

“Start the van! Start the van!” Chaeyeon yells, and it’s only then that they realize their group was being followed. They looked like regular college and high school students, but there was no doubt in Eunbi’s mind that they were androids.

“Hyewon, you heard her! Start the van!” Eunbi says, prompting Hyewon to uncover the vehicle they’d covered in foliage a couple hours earlier.

Everyone begins squeezing into the van one by one except Chaeyeon and Chaeryeong who had elected to run all the way back to give them more space. It was still a tight fit with the other ITZY members hopping on, but no one could really afford to complain at that moment.

When everyone was onboard, Hyewon revs the engines and gets on the road. Oddly enough, the androids stop giving chase, but that may be a product of them not wanting to reveal their identities in a public space, at least, not yet.

“God, that was exhausting…” Chaewon sighs, fiddling with the USB she’d taken from Hitomi during their escape. All the answers to the puzzle were so close to being revealed. They just needed to put together the big picture.

For the rest of the ride, the van was understandably quiet as everyone tried to catch their breaths.

~~~~

After about an hour on the road thanks to Seoul traffic, the group finally arrives back at campus. The Lee sisters had actually gotten back 50 minutes prior, so by the time Hyewon pulled the van into the garage, there were already people waiting. Yena was immediately taken to the infirmary by Yuri with the help of Hongki. Meanwhile, the ITZY girls went to the main office to contact JYP of their whereabouts, leaving the rest of the girls standing idly in the garage wondering what their next move was.

“I’m relieved you’re all safe. Gaeul said Rei discovered something about the water while we were gone. You wanna go talk about it now?” Chaeyeon informs trying to break the tension.

“Sure, let the others recuperate first though.” She replies. Though there weren’t any major injuries this time, she could just tell that everyone was tired. There have been a lot of missions the past week, and it was obviously starting to take its toll. As per usual though, some members still wanted to help.

“Unnie, if it’s related to the water, you’re going to need me to go check.” Yujin argues.

“Yeah, and if Rei discovered something in my lab, I should at least be around to check.” Sakura adds.

“Fine, you two can come, but for the rest of you, please take this time to rest. I really mean it” Eunbi sighs, hoping everyone else would heed her word, and fortunately, they did.

~~~~

“You girls are basically regulars at this point, and as a doctor, I really don’t want that to be the case.” Hongki chides after helping Yena lay down in one of the infirmary beds.

“Sorry for worrying you then, sunbae.” Yena chuckles as the doctor patches up her shoulder wound.

“Yah, you’re really laughing? If Hayoung didn’t find you in time, who knows what would’ve happened!” Yuri replies worriedly.

“Weren’t you the one who told me danger was part of our jobs. Don’t tell me you’re walking that back now.” The duck teases before groaning at a sudden headache. Seoyoung trying to absorb her powers didn’t feel any better than it did in the past.

“Take it easy for now, Yena. You’ll be good to go after a night’s rest.” Hongki advises after sending her some healing energy.

“Heh, with everything that’s happened tonight, you expect me to just go to bed?” Yena jokes. Yuri gives her a judging expression before slowly leaning forwards.

Thinking it was a kiss, Yena closes her eyes and puckers her lips. That was not the case as Yuri leaned further to her ear and whispered.

“Sleep, you dummy.” And with that, the duck felt her eyes become heavier until they were completely shut.

“A real piece of work that girl is, huh?” Hongki says with a laugh as he fixed his things at the front desk.

“Yeah, but in the end, she’s my idiot.” Yuri replies before taking a seat and laying her head on Yena’s bed.

~~~~

“Interesting…” Sakura mumbles as she looks through the microscope.

“I don’t know why I couldn’t detect them until now, but I’m sure it’s iron.” Rei explains. While waiting for them to return she’d played around a bit with a couple pieces, but in the end, they didn’t seem to have anything special in them.

“I think the reason you couldn’t sense them was because they were so small and from the looks of it, they also had a dissolvable membrane.” The older girl replies, still observing the petri dish through the zoomed lens.

“Does that also explain why I can’t control the water?” Yujin wonders. She’d tried to lift one of the unopened bottles when they arrived, but it was like the water wasn’t even there.

“You said you could somehow control oil, right? Well, water and oil have different densities. You weren’t controlling the oil per se, but the water within. To do that though, you had to focus on the liquid harder. My best guess is that you’re still trying to control the Jirisan water as if it’s normal water when there’s a bunch of iron that could be masking it. Try actually focusing on the H2O itself.” Sakura suggests before pouring the bottle’s contents into another beaker.

Yujin closes her eyes and holds her hand out, feeling for the actual water, and this time, senses something, like she’d caught something on a fishing hook. Slowly, she lifts her hand up, gasps from her friends filling the room. This prompts the puppy to finally open her eyes and see a water ball floating above the beaker, little pieces of black metal being left behind.

“Woah, that’s so cool, unnie!” Rei says.

At least this means I can be useful again on the next mission… Yujin thinks.

“So what does this all mean?” Eunbi asks, getting everyone’s attention. “The androids can sense high concentrations of iron in a person’s body? What would make that different from a non-mutant drinking it?”

“That, I’m not quite sure about yet. I don’t see anything suspicious about it from a chemical standpoint either. There has to be something specific that the androids are looking for that the water triggers. Like a reaction that only mutants have with it. That’s just a theory though. I’m not exactly a chemist.” The files Chaewon’s group downloaded didn’t really go too into detail into the processes of the scanners. All they knew for sure for now was that the androids scanned for iron levels in a person’s body to check if they’re a mutant. There just had to be more to it than that.

“Actually, we might have someone who knows how they really work.” Chaeyeon suggests.

“Oh yeah, that’s right! That scientist from Chuncheon. We’ve been trying to get her to talk, but she’s refusing.” Eunbi remembers. They’d wanted Yuri to help out, but she still needed to recover for their mission today at the time.

“We can bring her in tomorrow then.” Hyewon says. Eunbi nodded and was about to tell everyone to head in when Gaeul entered the room.

“Unnie, those police officers are here, and they brought some friends. Do we let them in?” She asks.

“Oh, sure. Tell them we can meet at the library.” Eunbi replies.

~~~~

“Why are we all the way out here?” Nagyung asks when Saerom stops their transport in the middle of the mountain road. Throughout the whole ride, Fromis’ leader had been quiet, trying to put her words together while the girls pestered her with questions.

“This is near the entrance to PD campus.” Saerom replies, signaling Hayoung to contact the Eunbi on their arrival.

“What do you mean? I’ve seen pictures of the place, unnie. There aren’t any structures like them in sight.” Jisun says.

“Well, it is a hidden campus after all. But before any of that, I think it’s time for me and Hayoung to tell you the truth.” Saerom could feel six sets of eyes looking at her expectantly, causing her palms to sweat from the anxiousness of what she was going to say. She made it this far though. There was not turning back.

“Hayoung and I… are mutants.” Her voice was quiet when she spoke, and the silence was so deafening that Saerom wondered if they hadn’t heard her. With her gaze directed at the ground, Saerom couldn’t even tell what their faces looked like right now. Hayoung was in a similar boat. She couldn’t bear to meet her teammate’s eyes either and decided to hang her head low, clenching her fists in nervousness.

“Oh, that’s it? Thank goodness.” Jiwon eventually says.

“What…?” Both girls ask confusedly.

“That’s actually so cool! For a second, I thought you two were planning to leave the team or desert us.” Chaeyoung jokes. As Saerom and Hayoung looked at the girls’ faces, none of them looked angry or hateful like they were afraid they’d be.

“Is that how you heard the fighting earlier, Hayoung-unnie? What’s your power?” Jiheon queries, eyes full of curiosity.

“Wait, wait. Slow down. We just said we were mutants, and you’re all… okay with that?” Hayoung tries to clarify.

“Why wouldn’t we be? Both of you have done nothing but good while you’ve led the team.” Nagyung says.

“Yeah, the only thing I’m mad about is that you didn’t tell us sooner and let your acquaintance tie me and Jisun up.” Seoyeon teases. “We could’ve helped you out earlier with whatever you were doing.”

Saerom and Hayoung looked at each other with relief. These girls weren’t just their teammates or colleagues. They were their friends.

“So, now can you tell us why we’re here?” Jiwon asks just as Hayoung gets a notification on her phone and shows it to Saerom.

“Heh, I think it’d be better to show you instead.” The leader says as she steps backwards through the camouflage barrier, much to the shock of everyone.

~~~~

“Apologies that not everyone’s here to greet you. Some of the girls just had to rest after that whole ordeal.” Eunbi says after getting Saerom, Hayoung, Jisun, and Seoyeon seated in the library. The rest of the Fromis girls were being shown around campus and where they’d be staying for the night.

“No need to be sorry, Eunbi. We came on short notice after all.” Saerom replies.

“So, are you all mutants too?” Jiheon asks, definitely the most curious of the bunch.

“Not me, but everyone else is. Chaeyeon here has super speed and Yujin can control water.” Eunbi says, the two aforementioned girls nodding and greeting back.

“Woah, much cooler than unnie’s.” Seoyeon mumbles to herself before getting a playful smack from Hayoung.

“Yah, I heard that.” The older girl says, which reminded Seoyeon that heightened senses meant heightened hearing.

“Aaanyway, I have some info for you.” Saerom says after clearing to get everyone’s attention back. “I caught a conversation officer Hwang was having with KYB. I couldn’t catch it all, but it sounded like they were preparing their androids for an attack by the end of the week.”

“What? Are you sure?” Eunbi asks, hoping it wasn’t the case. Saerom simply shakes her head though.

“It’s real, and it’s going to be a spread attack. He mentioned something about civilians, but KYB just shrugged it off. Why would they even do that?”

“Mutants…” Chaeyeon suddenly realizes. “The water that they’re selling is already widespread, right? And their androids can scan for them? What if he’s sending an army out to collect them?”

“You might be onto something. KYB mentioned wanting to use mutants for business instead of exterminating them. If a lot of people have already drank that water, that’s a lot of mutants in hiding that could be exposed.” Eunbi says, suddenly understanding the full scale of KYB’s plan. “God, this is really bad. We don’t even know where they’ll strike.”

“Actually, I was gonna save this until tomorrow, but I might as well bring it up now. Back at the KYB building, I managed to sneak through the kitchen to the docking area where I found a delivery map with several marked spots.” Yujin interjects, taking out a piece of paper from her pocket. “I didn’t know what it meant, but after hearing you girls talk, I’m starting to think it might be connected.”

Eunbi scans the document, seeing “X” marks around Seoul like the Han River, Namsan Tower and Hanlim Multi Arts School.

“Maybe we can hang around those areas and protect the civilians from the attack? How many androids could they possibly have by now?” Hayoung suggests, but Chaeyeon shakes her head.

“I don’t think it’s that simple. They have production plants all around the country, so they might have a full army by now. What’s more, I don’t think we have the firepower in general to fight. Bullets don’t work on them, and we don’t have enough elemental users to spread out and defend the entire city.” She replies while shaking her head.

“So, what are you proposing? We can’t just surrender to them.” Saerom says.

“Hmm, you said that the KYB you fought back at the party was an android, right?” Jiheon interjects. “What if we could find out where he is? Take down the mastermind, take down the system.”

“That’s a good start, but the problem right now is we don’t know where he is…” Eunbi replies, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

“Maybe we can discuss it with the others tomorrow? It’s getting late after all.” Yujin suggests, sensing everyone at the table starting to show signs of tiredness.

“Yeah… hopefully someone else will have something useful for us.” Eunbi says.

~~~~

“Ugh, I can’t sleep at all.” Nako complains in her bunk.

“Yeah… the more answers we find, the more questions pop up. I mean, the president was an android the whole time? That’s crazy.” Hitomi replies, staring out their dorm window.

“He’s probably hiding out in some secret base right now like a coward.” Nako says. “The longer he’s out there, the more they can improve those robots.”

“I heard some commotion outside earlier. You wanna sneak out and check.” Hitomi suggests, and if Hitomi was the one proposing disobeying Eunbi, you knew she was starting to get desperate.

“Woah, calm down, Hii-chan. Even I know we can’t do this on our own.” Nako replies, feeling a bit strange at being the voice of reason for once. As much as she hated it, they needed a sound strategy to take this guy down. He was more cerebral than they originally gave him credit for.

Hitomi sighs, turning around to head to bed when she hears her phone begin to vibrate.

“Huh, who could this be?” She mumbles to herself, staring at the unknown number before answering.

“Is this Hitomi?” A familiar voice asks in Japanese.

“Y-yeah… who is this?” Hitomi asks back, turning the speaker on for Nako to hear.

“It’s Jurina, and I have some overdue information for you.” 

 

A/N: Hello again! Sorry for the delay, I got the other day, but I'm better now! 

In this chapter, Fromis finally reveal to their friends that they're mutants, and thankfully, their friends didn't shun them, and instead want to help. Also, the full scale of what the android/water combo does and the big upcoming plan of KYB has come into light. By the end, Jurina is finally awake, and she has some information for NakHii. We'll find out in the next chapter what exactly that is, and how our heroes can prepare for the upcoming battle.

Thank you all once again for all the likes, comments and support! I appreciate it a lot.

Have a nice day, and I'll see y'all in the next one!