Hey guys... I finished writing XD LOL. Should I post the final two chapters up or just leave them for later? XDD This I think is more of an explanation chapter, so not much action, but I hope you'll still like it. Thank you everyone for your kind words in the comments :D

"Mom..." I mumbled. Automatically, I grabbed the handle to get out of the trunk and run towards her, but D.O.'s hand rested on mine.
"I'll go with you," he said quietly.

I wanted to hug him and cry out of happiness that he finally woke up, but my mind was too occupied with the fact that my mom was now in the hands of Dr. Psychopath. I opened the back door and D.O. and I hopped out. The others followed us out of the car and a moment later Kris landed next to us with Tao. The eleven of us walked towards the doctor with clenched fists.

"I suggest you don't do anything stupid," the kidnapper said calmly. "I won't hurt you either, as long as you listen to me."

The guys slowed down, but I kept charging towards him. I saw my mom's eyes grow, as if in warning.

"Don't regret it later," Dr. Kim gave me one last chance. Seeing the look in my mom's eyes made me more angry, but I stopped. I already had accepted the fact that she would be unable to save me, that this game was too dangerous for a human to be involved in. What I couldn't accept though was the hypocrisy: how could she tell me not to be scared, give me encouragement that kept me going for the past several weeks, and then suddenly show up frightened to the point of tears? It broke my heart.
"We'll listen to you," Kris said, sending glances in my direction. "But I suggest you release our friends."

Dr. Kim pursed his lips and nodded. His helpers that were previously holding our three friends inserted filled syringes into their arms and they slowly began moving. I could imagine the feeling; I remembered when that same substances was injected into me while I was paralyzed back in the cellar. Xiumin quickly crawled backwards and scrambled as far away from the scientists as possible, while Suho and Chen headed towards us with frowns on their faces. They clearly didn't like this situation either. I had a feeling they'd rather be back on the field fighting.

"I have so much to tell you, children," Dr. Kim said, circling my mom. If Daehyun and D.O. weren't holding me back, I would've willingly torn the guy's head off - and maybe regretted it later. "You might be wondering why I'm doing all this."

"No," I scoffed. "We really couldn't care less about your excuses. The reason's obvious. You're a psycho."

"Romi," Kris's firm voice warned me, but Dr. Kim didn't mind me challenging him. He smiled the way he used to. I guess he was over the initial shock of our rebellion and past being mad at me - he returned to his usual confident self.
"I'm sure you're at least a bit curious, Yang Romi," he laughed. "After all, I doubt your mother told you anything."

Anger boiled in me once again, but I held it back. Why is he constantly trying to set me against my mom? I wouldn't let it happen, no matter what. Calm down.

"The thing is, I've been involved with your kind for much longer than you think," Dr. Kim continued. "My great-great-grandfather started this experiment, and it was passed on from parents to child in my family. My father was in charge of pacifying your crazy grandparents. I am merely taking over his job, as the tradition requires."
"That doesn't make you any less evil," Lay rolled his eyes. "If my parents killed children for fun, I wouldn't follow in their steps just for the sake of keeping a tradition alive."
"Of course not," Dr. Kim chuckled. "There was another motive that kept me going, just as it kept my ancestors going. Curiosity. And the reason I'm so curious about all of you, is because you're so different from me... but at the same time very alike."

"There's nothing alike between us," Baekhyun growled. "We're not maniacs."

"There is more linking us than you believe, child," he stopped pacing for a moment to glare at us. "For I too, am not human."

It's not all that strange for it to get extremely quiet in the middle of a forest road. But as long as I have been a part of this huge messy experiment, I have never heard the boys' breaths stop all at once, and I have never seen a more satisfying smile on Dr. Kim's face. I looked around for some sign of denial, hoping that maybe one of the kidnappers would jump out yelling, "April fools!", but no such thing happened. In fact, the doctor's followers seemed just as shocked as we were.

"W-what are you..." I started stuttering, unable to stop myself. "That's not... you can't be..."

"Oh, but I can," Dr. Kim smiled casually, stuffing his hands into the pickets of his ugly green suit. "So was my grandfather. So was my great-great-grandfather. The powers pass on every other generation after all. And did you think my ancestors would have had any guts to stand up and openly challenge things like you without something to ensure their safety as well? No human would be brainless enough to do so," he smirked, looking at his minions. Yeah, they were. They followed him blindly, for "the sake of human safety and science" without anything to back them up. If they felt insulted by his words though, they didn't show it at all. They just stared.
"Your grandparents were captive while I was growing up, as a young boy. They knew of my special ability, therefore they trusted me. Under my father's order, I made sure they opened up to me. They thought I was different from him. They thought I wanted to help them," he chuckled, as if it was the most ridiculous idea in the world. I didn't know what to think of it. True, it seemed like one would have to be insane to trust Dr. Kim. But if he wasn't the one who brought me here, if I was in my grandma's place... wouldn't I also desperately try to cling to the only person that could potentially get me out of the mansion?
"My father didn't consider my ability dangerous, so I was allowed to be kept outside of the circle of... "patients". Despite that though, my power is extremely useful and strong."
"Would you just tell us what it is already?" Chanyeol sighed.
"Sure, little child. I have the ability to trap other powers."
Correction: this was the quietest I've ever heard the guys get. The fact that this horrendous person wasn't human wasn't all that unbelievable. But I've never been more confused in my life after hearing about Dr. Kim's power.

"What do you mean?" Suho asked softly. "You can... trap powers?"
"Sounds weird, doesn't it? But that's literally what it is. I can make all your powers disappear, if I want to. Tear them out of your souls and trap them in a simple object. I guess you kids have already seen an example of that," he pulled something out of his pocket and held it up for us to see. A small black ball glistened in his hand. My marble.

"I was the one who helped your grandparents hide pieces of their powers in the marbles," he explained as if it was an easy thing to do. "I told them it was so that their powers could weaken. That way, they wouldn't get out of control and my father would let them go. They believed me and allowed me to pull parts of their powers out of them and place them safely in the marbles. But there were some who were against this idea," he glanced at Kris. "One of the boys wanted to use his powers to his full potential. Another one didn't want to let him find the marbles, so he used his powers to hide them," here he looked at D.O.. "But no matter what, I could never locate them. I assumed he buried them somewhere underground, and gave up. That way they'd be safe from the wrong hands. Fortunately," he smiled again. "They were found by the right people. I didn't get the chance to retrieve them from you, boys. I suppose Romi wasn't the only one who had her grandmother's powers hidden away in her pocket?"
 

The guys exchanged glances, unsure how to react. I glowered at the doctor. What was his real motive behind this? Why did he split our grandparents' powers into pieces? He surely didn't actually want to help them out. There was no way I was going to believe that this man wasn't in fact evil. The way I saw it, every grin of his was filled with venom, and every move a step closer to completing his plan and killing all of us. But why?
I looked at my mom, but was unable to read her face. She stood there, her hands tied behind her, tears flowing down her cheeks. She kept looking at me, but it was more of a pleading look than a warning. What was she trying to say? Was she begging me to save her, after all those promises that she'd save me? Did she want forgiveness for getting caught and causing trouble? Or was there something else?
"Now I guess is the right time to make a deal with you kids," Dr. Kim smiled and took a small shoebox out of his car. Seeing it, my mom started sobbing frantically and I frowned. Seeing my worry, Dr. Kim opened the box.

"Don't worry, it's empty, see? But not for long, if you cooperate," he added.
"What do you want?" Suho demanded.
"Let me tell you that first of all, making serious deals with children is not something I like doing. However, it can't be avoided this time. I believe you can make the right choice. Stay calm, and be smart. Think. You can end all this."
Cut the crap, I wanted to yell, but stayed put.

"Just like tiny little marbles were enough to trap your grandparents' powers, this little box here... despite the strength and potential of your powers... can hold all of your abilities."
This was not sounding too good.

"So. All I ask of you, in exchange for life-long freedom for all fifteen of you, is to hand over your powers and allow me to hide them away in this safe," he smiled crookedly.
I laughed. Just like that, I laughed. Chen and Xiumin jumped at the cold sound of my voice. I could also hear it piercing through the silent air, but couldn't help myself.

"You've gotta be kidding," I gasped finally. Everyone looked at me with a worried expression. "You're kidding. You're kidding. You steal us away whenever you feel like it, tear us from our families, stuff us into an old castle, monitor us through camera supervision, scare the crap out of us, starve us, provoke us into using our powers against you..." I took a breath. "Then suddenly, you come out with a, 'oh by the way, you can all end it if you let me squeeze all your powers into this shoebox'?! I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW ELSE TO PROVE TO YOU THAT YOU'RE INSANE."
"Lower your tone," he snapped. "You boys would do well holding her back."
"WHY?! ARE YOU SCARED OF ME! AND VERY WELL! YOU SHOULD BE!"
Daehyun hugged me from the back while Chen clasped his hand over my mouth.
"Yang Romi..." Dr. Kim sighed. I hated the way he said my name. "I was afraid bringing your mother along would only rile you up even more. But at the same time I was hoping that seeing her here would make you a little more aware of your outbursts, and more careful about your actions. Aren't you worried about her? Don't you want to play along so that you can both go home safely? You should be grateful that I brought her and let you see her."
"OH YEAH, I'M SO GRATEFUL!" I shrieked, pushing Chen's hand away. "SO GRATEFUL TO SEE HER UNABLE TO MAKE A SOUND, TIED UP, AND CRYING AT THE SIGHT OF ME AND THE MESS YOU PUT ME IN!"
My mom was sobbing. It must have been hard for her to see me this way. I was usually outspoken and a bit too loud, but never this angry. It must have scared her even more.
Oh well. I was too tired to care. I ran out of tears some time ago already and yelling was the only way of venting now.
 

"So reckless," Dr. Kim shook his head and looked at me with pity. "Poor thing. Don't you realize how frightening you are? I'm sure it would be better if I disposed of your powers. Maybe you'd calm down. Maybe your family and friends wouldn't be so scared. Of you."
Ouch.
"I remember the way your grandmother was treated too, Yang Romi," he explained. "Such a pretty woman she was, but so disliked. At first, she was outcast because of her gender. Tough times they were, you see. But later things only got worse when the boys realized what she could do. How mysterious and threatening her talents were."
I didn't know what pissed me off more. The fact that he was trying to use my friends and family as a way to break through my barrier? The fact that he treated me like I was some kind of a beast while he, although also from planet who-knows-what, was a professional doctor trying to calm down an ill patient? The fact that I couldn't understand him at all and what his goals were and what secrets he's hiding and what in the world am I supposed to do now?
"It'll take a moment and it will be painless," he hissed. "You need to rid yourselves of those... sins... burdens... that came with the abilities that were pushed upon you. I can do that for you."
"Just one question," Kris growled, clearly not satisfied with the current, already-confusing explanation. "Why in the world didn't you do this from the very beginning? You've had this ability to "trap" our powers the entire time. From the moment you knew of our existence, you could have lifted the curse off of us, made us into normal human beings. I find it hard to believe that you really went through all this trouble... for science."
"You see," Dr. Kim glanced up at Kris with what seemed like a sincere, apologetic look. "I would have loved to do that. But your powers weren't developed yet. I couldn't have taken them away from you until I had confidence that they were in their fullest bloom. Now that they're grown and stronger than ever, they can be extracted from you. And I know that they're very well-developed, because... well, you're here, aren't you?" he smiled. "Unlike your grandparents, who were let go only years after their powers settled, you managed to escape. If that's not enough proof of how powerful you are... then I don't know what is. I supposed you can give yourself a hand for your courage and strength," he added with a laugh.

What a stinky load of BS.

"So now I'll ask the remaining twelve of you to hand over your grandparents' powers," he said. "You won't need them after this."
"We could just kill you and your friends on the spot, you know," I whispered. "It would only take seconds. And it would be over."
"True, but there are several holes in that simple plan of yours," Dr. Kim smirked. "First of all, your mother, Romi. I won't hurt her, but I don't think she wants to see you using that horrible skill of yours to kill all of us. In addition, I have many more men waiting for my return back at the mansion. One wrong move, and they won't leave you alone."
I turned to face Suho, who was one of the last ones to leave the castle. He just shrugged, unsure whether what he said was the truth. Of course, Suho and the others were paralyzed before they left to hunt us down. They wouldn't see who stayed behind and who didn't.

And I couldn't put my mom in danger.

One by one, the boys handed over their marbles to Dr. Kim. It was very difficult to watch. Just like the time when we left three members of our group behind to fight, I couldn't let out a sound, as wrong as the situation seemed to me. What happened to the screaming and rebelling me? I really wanted to voice my objection, but something held me back.

Maybe I knew in the back of my mind that this was the only way to end things.

The doctor strung all our marbles into a necklace and stared at it in utter happiness. It send chills down my spine.

"Now that I have your grandparents' powers here safe, all I need is your own," he smiled at us. "You're almost there, kids. Almost at the finish line."

I felt Daehyun tense up behind me and turned to look at him. He shook his head wildly, and slid his finger across his neck. I paled and turned to look at my mom. She had the same sign of panic on her face, and I knew there was something off. Things were not going to end this way.
 

"Just hold out your hands, I will transfer your powers into this," he said gently. The boys hesitated momentarily, but then did as he ordered, grabbing onto their last resort. D.O. took my hand, squeezed it, and pulled it up. We were lined up in front of Dr. Kim, who had a wicked smile on his face.

And it hit me so hard, I almost fell over.

How could I have been so stupid?

Just like our grandparents. Just like Dr. Kim's father her planned a long time ago, his job was to make us trust him, to convince us he wanted to help. And here I was, actually starting to believe him. What was wrong with me?

The whole time he claimed the experiment was carried out for the sake of humanity who was in danger of being taken over by berserk teens with raging superpowers... although it might have been set up in fear of exactly that (how would I know), that was not the reason he decided to continue it at all. He took very good advantage of his powers. What kind of a person would be "curious" enough about a bunch of teenagers to kidnap them and force them to hand over their only technique of self-defense?

The kind that wanted those techniques for himself.
"Wait," I gasped out, my imagination running wild. This seemed too much like a fantasy story to be true. No wonder I was in denial. How was I supposed to know that the man who claimed to be so hateful towards our kind wanted all our powers to himself? That mind of his, which claimed that we could do so many horrible things to the world, was the one that wanted to do all those things himself.

And how easy it would be for him, had he all the elements hidden away in a little shoebox.

"WAIT," I said, this time more firmly.

But it was too late.

A mixture of colors blinded my vision as all our hands began trembling. I felt little currents of energy sailing through my whole body, the tips of my fingers zapping with power. It tickled and burned at the same time, and I soon I could feel all the strength leave me.

I had forgotten what it felt like to be human. Over the past couple of weeks, I got so used to this mysterious energy within me, that I now was barely able to hold my body up on my shaking legs. Some of the boys fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Our powers were gone. The only source of energy was the old man standing in front of us with a malicious grin on his lips, holding in his hands the most powerful weapon in the universe - a shoebox.
He looked down at it hungrily and smiled widely.