A heavy silence hung over the group when they met the next day, after they had recovered (mostly) from the injuries they'd suffered.

There had been murmurs of conversation—clarifications and exchanges of stories from all sides, and many unsuccessful attempts at trying to piece together an explanation for them. They were all suffering a severe blow, to the team spirit and to their self-esteem, after such a spectacular failure, and everyone was moody and grim. Mark tried his best to keep them afloat, but two factors kept him from being able to help.

The first was the notable absence of Baekhyun. The man had disappeared into the lab to test the samples Mark had brought back from the building, and hadn't returned yet. The team awaited his entrance with growing anxiety that seemed to churn like a living thing, adding to the tsunami of emotions that was already threatening to pull them under.

The second was Shao.

Mark jumped in his seat as he heard the door slamming shut behind him with a bang. He turned, craning his head to see Baekhyun finally enter the meeting room pulling off his latex gloves, the safety goggles hanging around his neck.

"Sorry I'm late to the party," he said with a bright smile that indicated he hadn't picked up on the atmosphere of the room yet. Despite that, he looked high-strung, a brittle tinge to his smile and his constantly flitting eyes. He took a seat at the head of the table, between Taeyong and Taemin, and the others watched him silently. Then he looked up, noting the deafening silence, and his smile drooped. "Did something happen?"

Taeyong snorted, the sound like a gunshot in the silence. He had been draped over the swivel chair, legs crossed and elbow propped onto the table. He rolled his eyes now, unfolding himself and looking away. Mark frowned. Taeyong had always been sardonic—biting, even, but this time his behavior was more rebellious, almost insouciant.

"Nothing." Mark hurried to speak up before he could say anything to upset the general mood even more. "We've just been waiting for the toxicology reports."

"Ah, right, of course," Baekhyun muttered, and reached into the deep pockets of his lab coat, pulling out a wad of folded-up papers. He looked a little lost—they all did, but he seemed more absent than confused. His orange hair was mussed, and there were noticeable bags under his eyes, which made Mark even more upset than he already was. "It's not exactly a toxicology report, but I ran some basic tests on the liquid from the two syringes Mark found. It took some time, but—"

"Baekhyun," Taemin interrupted gently. The blond had been even more withdrawn than usual, and Mark noticed Ten shooting him concerned glances every now and then. A lot had changed in the past twenty-four hours, drastically so, but it had happened in a way that it felt like the change had been around since forever. "Just tell us."

Baekhyun carded a hand through his hair, and nodded, looking troubled. He stared at the papers hesitantly for a few seconds before withdrawing his hand and putting them away. Pulling his eyes away from the tabletop with some difficulty, he faced the team with sad eyes. "It's bad."

No one spoke. Baekhyun sighed, and continued.

"You might not know this, but superpowers are the result of a gene," he said. "They can't be developed on their own. The genes are dormant in most people, but the liquid contains—" He broke off, biting his lip. "In layman terms, it awakens the dormant gene in people if they're injected with it."

"So it gives normal people superpowers," Kai said, then shook his head. "Um, honestly, that doesn't seem like a major threat or anything—unless you're considering the whole ethical angle, but still—"

"That's not it," Baekhyun said tiredly, cutting him off. "We have to assume they're picking people at random, judging from the pattern of the disappearances, and injecting them. But the thing is, the effect isn't permanent." He looked at Taeyong. "You saw what happens when the effect wears off, with Seonghwa. I could be wrong, but from what I've seen, it doesn't end well."

"What do you mean?" Ten asked.

"I mean it has serious repercussions. Life-threatening ones. It's not gene splicing or cloning—whoever developed this technology obviously haven't gotten it right yet. I'm guessing that's what Irene is waiting for." He looked pale. "And even though the percentage is low, there are people who lack that gene, and the consequences of injecting them with this could be..."

He trailed off, but the implication was clear.

"Levelling the playing field," Taemin mused sadly. "That was what she meant."

"Oh, so you had a nice, long conversation with her afterwards, too?" Taeyong asked. He pushed back the hair that fell over his forehead, and laughed dryly. "Well, I shouldn't be surprised. You are like long-lost friends."

Taemin stared at him, his lips parting, then closing. He seemed at a loss for words—which Mark understood, because he felt the same way. There was no way for Taeyong to know about Irene's and Taemin's past working together, was there?

"Anyway." Baekhyun cleared his throat, looking mildly panicked. Of course he knew, too. "The other Supers we encountered—the ones who were cryogenically frozen in the casino, were likely missing persons being preserved either after, before, or during the process. I don't know how much time it takes for the serum to work yet, but there's a time window, and we know the effects wear off over time."

"The wolf guy," Taeyong said. He had sobered, but he still looked careless, less alert than he had been before the previous day's events. Like he didn't care. "When we—I fought him at the diner, he looked agonized. Same with Seonghwa. It could have been because of the pain of the effects fading, but Seonghwa, he became calmer after he started shedding. Is it possible that the gene unlocking could have side effects, like causing hormonal imbalance in the neural system?"

Baekhyun looked taken aback, like he was too surprised to be impressed. Mark discreetly shot Taeyong an enthusiastic thumbs-up, but the young man barely paid attention. "That's...that's actually very much possible." Baekhyun frowned. "I'll look into it."

"What happened to the wolf guy, by the way?" This was Kai, turning to look at Lucas, whose expression shut down at the question. "After we locked him in the cafeteria, did they know to get him out before the building—"

"He's dead." Lucas's reply was short, clipped, his face gray. "I went back to the site this morning."

"B-but—" Kai stammered.

"I know what I'm talking about." For a moment, Lucas's stony expression flickered, baring the gentler face underneath. "I'm sorry."

"You couldn't have done anything," Ten murmured reassuringly.

"I could have," Lucas said shortly.

There was another short silence before Mark spoke up again, trying to diffuse the sudden tension. "That could slow them down, though, right?" he asked. "I mean—the Foursaken are just the Threesaken now."

"An incomplete team," Ten agreed.

"If the wolf had been part of the Four, yes." Taeyong's tone was frosty. "The other three—Irene, the Angel, the girl, Jisoo, were doing everything willingly. But not the wolf, if the hormonal imbalance turns out to be true. He wasn't part of the original four, was he?"

"But—" Mark started softly. "Then who?"

Instead of answering, Taeyong turned to Baekhyun. "The blood test you do for testing the Super gene," he said blankly, "will it identify the serum in the subject's bloodstream?"

"No," Baekhyun replied. "Why—"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Taeyong rolled his eyes, but his callousness seemed forced now. "Shao. She was the fourth."

Silence again.

"Taeyong—" Taemin started.

Taeyong held up a hand, cutting him off. "You don't have to walk on eggshells about it. It happened, we were stupid—or you were, even though I mentioned repeatedly that she could have been a spy, and I was right all along!" His voice had risen to a shout. "If only you had listened to me—"

"Taeyong, calm down," Kai muttered.

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

Kai looked at him levelly. "Calm down."

Mark felt the tense muscles in his back and face relax at the sound of Kai's voice, which worked like a mental massage. He felt his thoughts ease, his worry dissipate, his eyes close—

"Right now, our priority is to rescue the people who have been kidnapped," Kai said, and Mark's eyes flew open. The purple-haired man's voice sounded calm and confident, like he knew what he was doing. Well, at least one of them did. "We don't know what kind of harm could come to them while they're still where Irene wants them."

"She won't hurt them," Taemin said. "Not on purpose. She said so."

"Oh, and you believe her?" Taeyong cocked an eyebrow. "Why exactly do you believe her?"

Taemin's jaw tightened.

"Let me explain for those who you've left in the dark," Taeyong said breezily. He uncrossed his legs and got to his feet, pulling his hands behind his back, and began to pace the floor like a lecturer. "Remember your childhood friend?" he asked Taemin. "Black hair, pale skin, about ye high, might have showed early signs of psychosis?"

Childhood friend? Mark thought, bewildered. He looked at Taemin, but his face was closed off, lips thinned.

"Yeah," Taeyong said bitterly. "She showed me. With those psychic powers you also probably don't remember. She showed me the past. She and you developed Sybil together, with all your dreams of making humans and mutants equal, almost destroying the fucking world in the process."

"You developed Sybil together?" Mark asked Taemin, aghast. "But you told me she stole the undeveloped software!"

"He told you something?" Kai asked Mark, equally surprised.

Taemin didn't answer him, holding Taeyong's gaze. "I didn't know about her plans," he said. "Yes, we developed Sybil together, but she wasn't like this before her parents' accident. I didn't even know she was alive. I haven't seen her in ten years."

"So you admit you lied to us," Taeyong said, disregarding his other statements. "You knew about her powers, about what she could do, but you let us go in unprepared to do your bidding. When you knew fully well what she could do."

"I didn't know the extent of her powers," Taemin protested. "And I never helped her with her ideals."

"But you never stopped her, either." Taeyong cocked his head, his intense expression falling away, and barked out a laugh. "You—everything that's happening right now, it could all have been avoided if you'd been a little more careful."

"But I can fix it," the millionaire said. "I handpicked you, every single one of you, for this specific purpose. I monitored a lot of Supers for this task force, and I know each of you is capable of the very best. If I thought that it wouldn't work—"

"Good, so you admit you have an eye on other Supers in the City," Taeyong said, going over to the door. "Well, you can find them and make them do your work for you instead. I'm done."

"Taeyong!" Mark exclaimed.

"Don't, Mark," Taeyong said in a soft, dangerous voice, pulling open the door. "Stop."

"Do you really want to leave?" Baekhyun asked sadly, not moving from his seat. "After knowing the danger so many people are in? The city you could save?"

"How can I save the city when I can't even save myself?" Taeyong asked softly, and shook his head. "It's not just about his continuous lying, you know. You might think I can do this, but I can't." His voice was forceful. "But at least I know there are others out there who can do this job for me."

Kai stood up. "Actually, I think he's right."

Mark let out an incredulous breath. "Really?" he asked, his panic barely veiled. "You too? Lucas—Ten—" Lucas shook his head mutely, expression blank. Ten wouldn't meet his eyes. "You guys—"

"I'm sorry, Mark. But you said it yourself." Taeyong shrugged. "The missing people have been taken because no one's going to miss them." Mark inhaled sharply. "But there's someone who will miss me if I'm gone, and I need to be safe. For him." His voice turned brittle. "Find another Super, Taemin. I'm not the hero you were looking for."

He turned and left, not even bothering to slam the door on his way out.

|

this one was pretty long, and also pretty sad :( we're at the final arc now, folks, and i can't wait to show you guys everything in store !!

how are we feeling so far?

love, 
Manx.