Kai hated his job.

While the rest of his team had been allowed to leave the messy, broken dimension controlled fully by Irene and her cronies (and ex-cronies, thankfully), he had been left behind to handle the most dangerous part of the plan.

He remembered a time life had sucked less.

Of course, no matter how great he said his life had been before joining the Supers, it had never really been extraordinary. Kai had always lived on the wild side, drinking and partying his life away, but even then, it hadn't been exactly memorable. One might take a look at his life history and be impressed about the number of crazy stories he had to share, but it really wasn't all that.

Only after joining the team had he realized how utterly and desolately pointless his entire existence had been before that. The only thing Kai used to trust himself about was not getting run over by a car while running naked and drunken on the streets, but that had changed. His entire life he had subdued and suppressed his curiosity about what he was capable of, his emotions about what he could have been. He had been dreamless, goalless, aimless. A piece of driftwood in the empty ocean.

Not anymore.

The fire raged all around him, circling him as if he were standing on a raised platform, but Kai barely paid it attention. Sure, it stung like hell and he felt like if he stayed in the same place too long, he was going to choke to death, but that was nothing compared to his fear of the task that lay in front of him.

Taemin stood high above him on one side of the chasm, looking badly scratched-up as if some rabid kitten had taken its claws to his face. Where there was once flawless skin and perfect fabric were now long, red scratches and rips in the cloth. Worst of all was the expression on his face—lost, desolate, as if he had given up all hope except for a frail thread that could break at any moment.

The sight was so convincing and real that Kai almost lost his composure for a bit, but he controlled himself by looking away. Maybe it was for the best that seeing Taemin like this affected him so much. It would make his powers work better, more resoundingly.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one affected by the sight. Irene stood at the other balcony, all haughtiness and cruel smiles gone as if melted away by the fire. She was staring at Taemin with a look of pure disbelief in her eyes—perhaps even more hopeless than Taemin himself, so lost was her expression.

Use that.

Kai winced at the thought, hating how uncaring it sounded. Yes, he was a silvertongue or whatever the hell it was called, but it wasn't simply a manipulative power. He knew that now. His powers were extraordinary, unlike his old life. It was sensitive and aware and emphatic the way other powers like cloning or super-speed could never be.

That was what made it so hard to wield.

"Irene," Kai said, and Irene's eyes seemed to glaze over a little. She didn't look at him, but Kai knew she was listening, simply from the way her muscles twitched and the way her hands tightened into fists. "I give up."

Now she looked at him, flabbergasted. "Give up?" she murmured, her brow furrowing as if he were speaking a language she had once known but long forgotten.

"Yes," Kai said. It was a wonder that she could hear him over the roar and crackle of the flames. Jeonghan had long since disappeared from his side, but Kai could still feel a cold prickle down his spine, as if the man was standing behind him and breathing down his neck. "I give up. I couldn't get out of here and I couldn't help my friends, so I give up. I surrender. Please, just help me."

She said nothing, but her lips parted slightly. Kai let his power flow in his words, telling her exactly what she wanted to hear, but twisting it so he could use it against her instead. "Help you?" she echoed.

He swallowed, readying himself. The circlet of flames seemed to lunge at him, nipping and biting but staying at bay, as if Irene was telling them to stay back. "Get Taemin out of there," he said. "I can't get up there, Irene, only you can do something. I'll do anything—just get him out of there. I'll even help you with your stupid plan. Just help my friend."

He clenched his fists and let years' worth of pain and neglect flow over him, submerging him. He had almost wasted away like a wraith, left to become a hollow shell of his potential self without even tapping into his powers. Kai accepted all of his pain, felt it in all of its glory, and let himself be taken under without knowing if he could get out.

"Why would I ever help you?" Irene hissed, but her determined expression seemed to flicker as Taemin gasped in pain after attempting to move. "Our years together are wasted, long gone and withered to nothing. You threw me away, Taemin, like I was nothing but a rag doll you had gotten tired of. You didn't even care to look for me."

"I couldn't," Taemin said. His voice was quiet, yet it seemed to reverberate in the hollow area. Even from this far away, Kai could see the reflection of the fire in his eyes. "But I'm here now. Help me, and we can get away from here—together. We can fix the world together."

"You'll just run away again," she said, but she sounded a little less sure of herself. "Like you always do. And I will never be able to catch up to you. Even now, you can run. You will run. You don't need me to help you, this is just a trap."

Kai's heart clenched, but Taemin spoke without hesitating. "Where will I run, Irene?" he asked softly. "I don't have the strength to go on anymore. I have nowhere left to go."

Irene pulled back, looking pained. Kai knew she was trying to rearrange the structure of the house again, but it was long gone from her control.

Kai's chest felt like it was lined with barbed wire. He felt like a narrator to a tragic play, standing to the side and watching as all the characters wound up dead onstage. This was his power, and his curse—to feel for the other with all of the force of feeling, never being able to help.

"Help him, Irene," he said softly, one last appeal. "Save him."

|

"We have to save him—!"

"Hey, hey," Taeyong muttered, holding Ten back as he strained to reach the portal. His face was grave, like he knew exactly what his friend was suffering through but couldn't do anything about it. "Easy, buddy."

They were standing back in the asylum again, the floor which had been magically—or scientifically, technically speaking—repaired by Irene's minions. The rest of the place seemed to be empty, the Supers of B squad gone from sight. Ten had never thought he'd be so glad to see the asylum, and so desperate to go back to the mansion at the same time.

"You don't understand," Ten said, his teeth gritted. "Jeonghan won't be able to stand the flames, and leaving him alone in there with—"

"He's not alone, remember?" Taeyong said. "He has the others."

At that, Ten's energy seemed to subside somewhat. He pulled back, still feeling worried and conflicted, but there were decisions to make and risks to take, even if he hated them with every ounce of his body. "If they're not back in fifteen minutes, I'm going back in there to get him personally."

"Unfortunately, you don't have much more than fifteen minutes," Shao said. She looked exhausted, which was understandable since she's spent a lot of her energy repressing Irene and Jisoo's powers. "The virus is timed to be airborne in approximately that much time, and there are dozens of vials located all around the city. You need to leave now if you want to deactivate them before T-minus zero."

"And why should we trust you?" Baekhyun asked. He was frowning, electricity arcing along his exposed biceps as if reacting to his aggressiveness. Ten had never expected Baekhyun to look this disgruntled. "Shouldn't you be in restraints?"

"Not this time," Taeyong said, stepping forward protectively. He glanced at Shao, and a look of understanding passed between them. "This time, we're trusting her. A hundred percent."

She smiled slightly. Ten raised his eyebrows. He wasn't completely sure what had happened there, but he was here for it.

"I can't believe I lived through all of this only to have such a small part to play," Taemin said, breaking the silence. He looked distraught; face clouded over with distress. "I should have stayed back to face her instead."

"You had no choice," Lucas said, with more gentleness than Ten would have thought was possible for him. "Sometimes you have to step back and let others take the risk."

"And besides, you're needed here more," Mark said. "Because, like, the speed thing and everything— and I'm sure Kai's got everything under control."

The group fell silent at the mention of him. He was the only one of the original group not present, taking a much bigger risk than them all.

"Maybe so," Taemin said. His eyes still looked troubled, but he offered Mark a small smile. "Let's check on squad B's progress and get out of here."

"I think they should have gotten everyone out of here by now, but the comm's still broken so I can't be sure," Taeyong said. "Mark, any ideas?"

Mark nodded, not hesitating once before flipping open a panel on his Bracelight. "I have all the locations of the vials down, so if we get out of here fast enough, we should be able to disable them in time," he said, then laughed nervously. "I mean—it's better than being stuck inside. This should be easy."

Before he had even completed his sentence, someone laughed. They whipped around to find the exit barred, blocked by a group of humanoids led by a familiar girl standing at the head. She smiled at them now, so viciously it was almost a sneer, and flicked her hand. Behind her, the artificial Supers seemed to come to life—a dark-haired boy unfurled a pair of wings, a girl's eyes glowed yellow, and a tall man opened his hands, making shadows spill out all around him.

"Or so you thought," Jisoo said.

||

guess who almost teared up writing this chapter and thinking of how far these characters have come? this bitch

there's a LOT coming up as we're at the final arc for the story,,,,hope you'll be able to keep up !!

who's your favorite character so far? and why?

love, 
Manx.