The scream was distant, desperate, and distinctly feminine.

Lucas winced, shoulders hunching at the pure noise of the sound. It was fainter because of the distance, but the sound was nauseating and made him uncomfortable. Next to him, Ten was scrunching up his nose. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who found the scream discomfiting.

The scream was drawn-out, but it only lasted for a few second before it was cut off abruptly. Taeyong was on his feet before it even ended, face pale and worried.

"Shao," he said, in such a small voice that it seemed like he hadn't meant to say it out loud, and took of running in the direction of the voice.

"Wait up!" Ten called after him, but Taeyong was already disappearing around the corner of the broken wall. Ten sat back down with a sigh, shaking his head. "We have to break the door to the basement first."

"Break it?" Lucas raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's been frozen shut," Ten replied, then got up. "Come on, we don't have much time."

Lucas dragged himself to the door after Ten and tried the handle. Yup, definitely frozen.

"It's more brittle," he said, scrutinizing the lock. "It'll be difficult to make any progress pushing against the ice, but once we get a breaking point amount of force, it should be easy enough to get through."

Ten seemed pale. "You mind?"

Lucas kissed his teeth, surveying the handle for another few seconds before sweeping his leg back. He raised his foot to kick, and just as his foot was about to make contact with the door, it opened.

Lucas's eyes widened, but his foot was already in full swing, and it hit the side of the door with bone-shattering force. The person who was standing behind it was hit with the full force of the front kick, and didn't even get to see his assailant before he flew backwards, right into a surprised Baekhyun's arms.

One quick glance was enough to tell that Chan's nose was broken.

"Come on!" Jae exclaimed from his position a little farther down the stairs, an expression of utter disappointment on his face as he looked at his apprentice. "You guys are pretty bad at being superheroes."

"We're trying our best, Jae. And we only became superheroes a few weeks ago, and it's hard," Ten said. He glanced at Chan again, who had blood streaming from his face. Fortunately—or unfortunately, it depended on how painful the injury was—he seemed to be awake and conscious. "Also, sorry. Though it was Lucas's fault."

Lucas didn't bother glaring at him, knowing that it was, in actuality, his fault. "Sorry about that," he muttered, and Chan made a gurgling sound that seemed to be his voice modified by the effect of having a mouthful of blood. Lucas pursed his lips, then tore his gaze away from the kid and towards Baekhyun. "How did you open the door?"

"Zapped it," Baekhyun replied, raising his hand and snapping his fingers, creating a tiny spark between them. His mask was off, and his expression was disturbingly pleasant for someone who had just seen a kid getting his nose burst open. "We figured it was frozen shut, and heat works well against that kind of thing. Sorry Chan had to be in front of the door when you kicked it open."

"You don't have to apologize," Lucas said, shaking his head. "Did anyone else hear that scream?"

Baekhyun nodded, frowning lightly.

"You were literally buried underground, and still heard it," Lucas said gravely. "That means something is wrong. Were you nauseous when you heard the scream, Ten?"

Ten pinched the air between his fingers, raising them to show the tiny space he had left between his index finger and thumb. "A little."

"Everyone else is back out. We have to go. Now." Lucas glanced at Chan, and the grim determination in his face and tone turned apologetic. "Sorry about your nose, Chan, but we can't attend to it right now."

Baekhyun nodded, and turned to Ten. "Ten, take Jae and Chan outside somewhere safe and secure, and keep guard over them. Don't hesitate to call for help if even one of the Four show up." He flexed his shoulders, and pulled on his mask. "Let's go help the others."

|

By the time Taeyong reached the site of the fight, he was winded.

He had thought that the place would resemble a construction site, but the spot was overgrown with bushes and covered in undergrowth that smelled like bugs. It reminded him of the time he used to work in an old McDonald's—he had a pretty bad experience working for McDonald's.

He looked around wildly, but couldn't see Shao anywhere. It was difficult to see, and every living figure was outlined in orange through his mask. As far as he could see, it was utter chaos, but he couldn't seem to be able to tell apart the good guys from the bad guys.

The fox guy—or wolf guy—was in human shape, and looked exactly like Lucas had described him. He had his hands wrapped around Kai's neck and had him lifted in the air. Kai was struggling to breathe, clawing at the man's hands in a futile effort to get him to drop him. His face was red, but he seemed like it hadn't been long since he had been lifted in the air.

The wolf guy was obviously too strong for Taeyong to deal with, despite the many hours of super workout he had done during the training period, and still did. Taeyong was no match for Kai, and even Kai seemed like he was having a hard time with the guy. The werewolf's arms were bare, and his muscles rippled with every movement he made stopping Kai's attempts at freedom.

Taeyong surveyed the area quickly for something to throw, but all he found was a trashcan whose he was doubtful about. Cursing under his breath, he ran up to the trashcan and tried to lift it, but the lid came off in his hands.

"Oh, come on," he muttered, then sighed. "Fine. This is what you want me to use? Fine."

He took off running in the direction of the werewolf, making a clone appear in front of him so he could use himself as a launching pad. Thankfully, Taeyong #2 didn't collapse when he stepped on him, pushing off and into the air.

The world seemed to stop for a moment, and all Taeyong could hear was white noise. There was a moment of confusion where he swore he could see someone else in front of him, and his body reacted before his mind could, trying to retract the lid of the trashcan, but it was too late. He crash-landed, missing his landing opportunity, and the lid smashed against the werewolf's head—which would have been enough to take him down, but Taeyong's body came next, and both of them crumpled to the ground.

Kai dropped to the ground next to him, gasping for air. Taeyong scrambked to get to his feet, lifting the bent lift like a shield in front of him, eyes wild. "What did you do?" he asked, not sure who he was talking to. "What the fuck did you do?"

He stumbled over to the unconscious man's body, pushing him so he rolled over his body. There was a gash on his forehead, and blood streamed from the open wound. The werewolf—Changkyun?—had unfocused eyes that fluttered open and shut. Taeyong shook him, and for a split second, when the man opened his eyes, there was a desperate fear in them.

Suddenly, Taeyong was pulled away violently, and a spike landed on the ground next to where he had been seconds away. He scrambled back, realizing that the spike was formed entirely of ice. And the floor—he was slipping. Taeyong looked down, but Kai's grip on his shoulder tightened, pulling him away. The ground was slowly being covered in a thin layer of ice.

"We have to get away, man," Kai said, voice whispery and choked from the chokehold the werewolf had had on him. "Dry land. There's dew on the grass, that's why he's able to freeze it without touching it."

They stumbled onto the concrete, tripping over each other. "Where's Shao?" Taeyong asked. "Mark? Baekhyun?"

"I have no idea," Kai replied. There was panic in his expression, unlike anything he had ever seen before. "I came here as soon as the distress call came, but then—"

"Wait," Taeyong whispered, blinking. Tears of pain had caught on to his lashes, and the world of infrared looked blurry through the combination of his pupils and enhanced contacts. "I see someone."

The figure was shorter than any of his teammates, shorter than Shao, so Taeyong assumed it was either a stray civilian or one of the Four. But to assume that a civilian had made it all the way there, in the grass atop the freezing ground and still be unharmed, was to invite mistakes, and Taeyong couldn't afford to make any more of them.

"You see that? In the grass?" Taeyong said to Kai in a low voice, and his partner nodded. Taeyong crept forward as soundlessly as possible, hoping to catch a big fish. "Anyone else seeing this?" he spoke into the mouthpiece quietly. "Do I go in?"

"Eros and Mirage, I see you," Taemin said, and Taeyong leaned back in surprise. "Mirage, go forward. I'm covering you."

"Mirage, going in," Taeyong whispered. A smile threatened to curve his lips. Mirage, he mouthed. He didn't like how much he enjoyed being called that.

He crept forward, making sure he was within ten feet of the figure before lunging at them. The girl—it was a girl, with raven-streaked-purple hair and a fashion sense that mimicked a Monster High student—fell back in surprise, but rolled away before he could get to her.

"I've got you now," Taeyong said, smirking under the mask. He planted his feet onto the ground, firmly enough so he wouldn't slip on the ice, and the girl screamed.

For a split second, he blacked out. The scream was unlike anything he had ever heard before, a sound so loud and close and consistent that it got in the nooks and crannies of his brain and left him feeling like someone had hit him over the head with a bong. Taeyong collapsed, falling to his knees, clutching at his ears, feeling like is brain was beginning to melt.

He tried to call for help, but the only coherent command his brain could send to his mouth made a weak groan escape from between his lips. He felt frozen in place for what felt like years, until the sound was cut off abruptly.

Taeyong gasped, keeling over. Yep, his brain was definitely melted.

Taemin rolled him over, sitting down next to him with a wince. Taeyong tried to speak, but Taemin shook his head, looking grim. "Don't try to speak," he said. "Just lay still for a moment."

"What happened?" Kai was at their side in another moment, mask off, looking pale. "Where did she go?" he asked Taemin, and then, noticing the confusion on Taeyong's face, clarified: "The girl who was screaming. He threw himself against her, and they went into the bushes, but then—"

"She escaped. They all did," Taemin said, pulling off his own mask. Taeyong noticed there was a long gash on his leg. "Lucas and Baekhyun tried to get to the Angel, but he slipped through their hands. The ice is melting." He swallowed. "The Four are gone."