The Sworn epilogue (1/2)
Title: The Sworn
Fandoms: SS501, Super Junior, cameos from SNSD, TVXQ and EXO-M
Chapter: Epilogue (1/2)
Main Pairings: JungMin/YoungSaeng, KyuHyun/SungMin, KiBum/KyuJong, HyunJoong/DongHae
Minor Pairings: HyungJoon/Sunny, HeeChul/Han Geng, Zhou Mi/RyeoWook
Rating: R overall
Warning: AU, violence, angst
Summary: They paved the way for justice in a dangerous city, and swore to protect the innocent lives of it's citizens. An accident made them turn their backs and break their oath. It takes a man who sees it all to bring them back, to stop the coming darkness that threatens everything.
A/N: Our 8th story. Please comment! <3
The roar of a truck engine echoed through the otherwise empty warehouse. Reverse lights on, the vehicle slowly backed up through the open door, a man standing behind it motioning for the driver to continue. Chatter was hushed, except for low grunts to move this bag of rice or get that crowbar.
The truck stopped once it was far enough into the warehouse, the engine idling. The truck driver stayed where he was, in case a quick getaway was needed. A figure was hunched over in the passenger seat, hood pulled up over their face.
The ringleader of the group of men motioned for the back of the truck to be opened. Lock coming off, the metal doors swung wide open to shine light into the compartment. Crates were stacked carefully inside, at least fifty of them. Someone climbed inside the truck to open the first one.
"Hey! You're not allowed to be here, employees only."
Attention was diverted to the young man with the face of a daydreamer who had just wandered in past the truck. The person in question just kept on walking, dancing to the music on his ipod and not paying the men any attention.
That was until one of the men got in his face, yanking off the headphones. "Hey," the guy frowned, grabbing for them.
"This is a restricted area, employees only."
"Employees?" The young man blinked. He looked between the others gathered. "You don't look like employees. In fact, no company works here. You're not supposed to be here either, especially not to move weapons into sacks of rice."
The cold metal of a gun pressed against his temple, and with a bang he dropped. Blood pooled under his head and spread around him.
The workers turned to go back to work, muttering about stupid kids. The lights overhead flickered, the bulbs buzzing in protest as they were overloaded. The first popping noise had men reaching for weapons, looking up as each light exploded one by one, glass and sparks showering the floor below. With guns drawn, the men looked around the room warily as darkness closed in around them from all sides.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," a voice spoke, echoing through the empty space. "What's it going to be?"
Figures half-hidden in shadow stepped down from inside the truck; six, their forms wavering.
A hand lightly tapped one man on the shoulder. He turned to see the kid he'd just shot standing right behind him, blood bathing half his face and smiling widely. "Surprise!" He punched the man in the jaw before tackling him to the ground.
The reaction was instant, weapons fire ringing out as the workers shot at anything that moved. Including each other as they got caught in their own crossfire in the darkness. By the time the shooting stopped, at least six men were wounded or dead. That still left a dozen or so men, each with itchy trigger fingers as they jumped at the shadows.
"Guess they chose the hard way." Another voice chuckled off to the right, starting another round of firing from those closest to that side.
One worker, seeing shapes on all sides and closing in, bolted for a door. He didn't make it far, disappearing into the dark with a cut off cry of alarm.
"Oh stop freaking out. For a bunch of smugglers, you're pretty spineless." The ground by their feet exploded, showering them with concrete chunks.
"Heads up!" The guy who had been shot through the temple grabbed a concrete chunk and threw it at one of the workers, hitting him off the back of the head. The man went down like a sack of potatoes. Some others turned on the only opponent they could see, who should have already been dead but wasn't.
Their distraction cost them, thin bands of shadow snapping around the wrists and ankles of one. Two more were dragged into the darkness, their shouts ending.
A second person detached from the shadows, walking calmly towards them even as guns were pointed at him. "I'm going to offer you-" he didn't even get to finish his sentence, the workers firing on the second speaker. The air around the room shattered, the sound like a thunderclap and the force of it sent the thugs sprawling to the ground.
"Excuse you, I was talking," the man huffed, the air between himself and the workers returning to normal. "I'm going to offer you the opportunity to put down your weapons and put your hands over your heads before anyone else has to lose their life. Are guns really worth that?"
There was a long pause, some of the men obviously spooked enough to listen. Only eight men were left at this point, many others sprawled along the ground either unconscious or dead.
Some started to put their guns down slowly. One lifted his weapon to point at the man again, but didn't get that far. A shadow grabbed his gun away and hit him over the head with it, the man dropping.
After that, the other workers all complied and put their guns down, hands linking behind their heads.
"Police are on their way." A third man joined the other two. "Do you really have to make me watch you get shot in the head, GoldFish?" he frowned at the one who had blood on his face, wiping some of it away.
"Shade, find... what the hell is he going by now? Find our assassin," the obvious leader said. "Slipstream, get the lights back on in here. I don't want any of our friends here making a wrong move."
"You could just freeze them." A voice from all around them said, even as some of the periphery lights came back up.
"Will you ever not argue," the man with the shock of red hair shook his head, arms folded across his chest. "They're not going to move, because the first one who does is gonna get this," he held up one finger, a ball of light balancing on it, "shoved somewhere uncomfortable. Right boys?" He made sure they all saw him.
"It kinda tickles at first," GoldFish was saying, grinning at the man who was cleaning his blood away. "Until my brain realizes it just had a bullet go through it." Someone standing by the edge of the group had disappeared into the shadows.
"What are we doing about the driver? Parasyntax?" A man younger than the others leaned around the truck.
"Leave him, he's not going anywhere," Parasyntax replied. "I'm sure the military police will have some questions for him about why these guns never made it to the base like they were supposed to. Would you be careful with those bombs Shatterwave, you make me nervous."
"I'm not doing anything," Shatterwave sniffed, closing his hand on the light and snuffing it out.
"Got him." Three people appeared out of a side door. Shade walked beside someone with bright pink contacts, who had a gun pressed against the back of the third man. "Alive and hole-free."
"Finally, we've been after this guy for months," Parasyntax said, eyeing the man coolly. "How did you get him? He's usually a step ahead of us."
"It was a little too easy," frowned the assassin, watching the man in front of him carefully.
No sooner than they'd stepped into the center of the room than the man they'd caught seized up, crumpling to the ground and disintegrating into dust.
"Tamonten, what did you do," called the youngest.
"I didn't do anything!" The assassin crouched down, hand against the floor where the man had disappeared. "It was too easy. He was never really here in the first place."
"What was that?" Parasyntax asked with a frown. "I really hate going into things without knowing all the details Fractal, what do we even know about this guy?"
"Not enough, apparently," Fractal sighed. "Well now we know he's a multiplier. Which would make sense now with what YoungSaeng said. He was saying something about copies of copies, and didn't understand it himself."
"Great, so all that research and information gathering was a waste," someone said, appearing not far away.
"It was not a waste, Slipstream," Fractal said. "This was the heart of his operation, and his entire crew. We can keep our ears and eyes open now when he starts back up."
Sirens were getting closer in the distance. Shade disappeared into the darkness again.
"I'm going back to searching the place," Tamonten sighed, turning around to go back through the door he'd just came from. "Tell me when we're leaving."
"He never wants to stick around for the police," Shatterwave shook his head before turning to their youngest. "Maximum, go give him some help." Maximum jogged after Tamonten.
"Don't blame him," Slipstream muttered under his breath.
The police arrived, ambulances and police cars filling the parking area just outside the doors. Medical workers checked on the wounded while the police took the remaining workers into custody. The members of the team gave their statements, carefully omitting anything about the mastermind behind the operation as they had failed to find him this time. Finding the villain was their job, and didn't want any bumbling police to get in their way.
"Just once, I'd like to be able to catch the bad guy, and then leave without having to give a statement to the police," KyuHyun complained when they were on their way away from the warehouse. "Seriously, how many times do I have to make the same statement?"
"That works only in movies, where the bad guys are too stupid to figure out how to untie themselves after the heroes are gone," ChangMin pointed out, pulling off his mask to rub his eyes. "We should take turns, two people stay behind with the bad guys for the statements while everyone else leaves."
"You didn't have to make any statement, you took off with SungMin," JungMin snorted.
"And I'm very happy about that," ChangMin beamed. "Can we get something to eat now? I'm starving."
"Gee, ChangMin's hungry, what a surprise," HyunJoong rolled his eyes. "You all go ahead, I should take DongHae home before he gives a waitress a fright," he said, looking at DongHae. There were still some bits of dried blood on his face and flecks on his clothes.
"Okay, then the rest of us can get some dinner," KyuJong said, linking his elbow with KiBum's.
"I have to get home," KyuHyun shook his head. "We hadn't even completely unpacked before you guys called. Couldn't let us be home for more than an hour could you?"
"I'm sorry about the timing," KyuJong frowned. "But we had good information, and we needed SungMin's expertise. Next time I just won't call you at all and listen to you complain about having missed everything again."
"He's right about that," SungMin mused, looking over at KyuHyun with a small smirk. "Can we bother you for a lift, Hyun?"
"Let's get out of these outfits before going anywhere," JungMin pulled off his bandana. "One of those asses blew a hole in my cape," he frowned at a bullet mark in the material.
"You're lucky, it could have been your arm," ChangMin piped up. KiBum was happy to listen rather than join in on the arguing, fishing his car keys out of his pocket.
"Well then I guess we'll just meet those of us who want to eat at our usual place?" KyuJong said with a resigned sigh. "And bring YoungSaeng with you Min, he really needs to get out more."
"I'll bring him," JungMin nodded. "He's not comfortable out in crowded places yet, but he should be fine this time." They reached the cars parked far enough away from the warehouse to avoid attention. "Now that you two are back from your honeymoon or whatever, we should get together with all the others sometime."
"It was not a honeymoon," KyuHyun sniffed. "It was just a vacation, something you wouldn't know anything about."
"If you two would please...." HyunJoong was unlocking the door to his car, motioning for SungMin and KyuHyun to join. "Not going to sit around and listen to KyuHyun make snide remarks about everyone."
"We'll call you tomorrow Hyun, make plans for this weekend or something," KyuJong said.
"That sounds good!" DongHae grinned, climbing into the passenger seat. "See you this weekend!"
KiBum unlocked the doors to the car he'd bought a couple months ago, seeing they needed more modes of transportation. Once the others were in, he turned on the engine. "How long do you think it'll take before we catch wind of that guy again? He's not easy to track."
"No idea, it sucks we didn't catch him this time," ChangMin sighed loudly. "How were we supposed to know he's a multiplier?"
"We know now, that's what's important," KyuJong said, settling into his seat. "The guy seems showy, likes to draw attention to what he's doing. He'll make enough noise for us to find him again. If not, we can see if YoungSaeng has any more information for us."
"Not that we were able to do much with his 'copies of copies' vision," ChangMin frowned.
"He's doing the best he can, and we wouldn't have even caught that jewelry guy without him," JungMin wrinkled his nose at ChangMin. "Anyone heard anything from the others lately? HeeChul's group has been busy in the news."
"I talked to Zhou Mi last week," KyuJong nodded. "They've added Yixing to their team, and his Korean's improved." He turned in his seat to look at ChangMin. "Speaking of others... don't think I didn't notice that little scandal article about you and GyuRi. How's she doing?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, we just went shopping," ChangMin blinked innocently. "She's good, she has a concert coming up next month and wants me to let you know she'll never talk to you again if you don't show up."
"Of course we'll go," KyuJong laughed. "We've never been invited to one before, and the tickets are expensive. That and the fans are.... very protective of her. They're kind of scary."
"Believe me, I ran into a couple of them," ChangMin shook his head. "You'd think it was a crime to go on a date with someone."
"I thought you just went shopping?" KiBum said absently as he drove. ChangMin kicked the back of the driver seat.
"Date or no date, I think you two work well together," KyuJong said. "Don't you dare do anything to screw it up, or I'll kick your ass myself."
"Hyung, who do you take me for," ChangMin protested.
"Someone who tries to pick up girls by comparing them to food," JungMin retorted.
They dropped ChangMin off at his parents' place; he hadn't saved up enough money to move out, and his parents weren't letting him go that easily after being gone for two years. JungMin got out at his place, waving to the two in the car and heading inside to change.
"Saeng?" he called as he closed the door, locking it behind him.
"A multiplier." YoungSaeng appeared in the hallway, eyes wide and with a pout on his lips. "Of course now it makes sense, why couldn't it make sense yesterday? I'm sorry."
"Hey," JungMin's lips quirked as he kicked his boots off. "No sorry, it didn't occur to any of us either. We'll catch him next time, we've bought time at least. Everything okay here?" He walked to YoungSaeng, placing his hands on the older man's hips.
"Yes, I'll be ready to go in a minute," YoungSaeng replied, leaning up to kiss him gently. "And sorry about your cape... kind of."
"I know, I know, you don't like the cape," JungMin wrinkled his nose, kissing YoungSaeng back and wrapping his arms around the other man. "I thought you said you wouldn't look into our futures anymore?"
"I didn't, I was watching KyuJong," YoungSaeng replied cheekily, undoing the clasp on the cape to push it off. "Not my fault you showed up."
"Sneak," JungMin grumbled, nudging them back towards the stairs. "Bedroom, before you try stripping me right here."
"What, this isn't a good place?" YoungSaeng looked up at him innocently. "Not like there's anyone here anymore. It's just us. Who cares if you don't have any pants on in the hallway?"
"No one, except KyuJong will be pissed if we get caught up and show up late," JungMin pursed his lips at YoungSaeng in a pout.
"Late is subjective," YoungSaeng sniffed. "Oh fine, but it's not like he won't be late at some point," he said, throwing his hands up in defeat and heading to the stairs.
"Probably not," JungMin snorted, following YoungSaeng up the stairs. Once they were in the bedroom, he spun YoungSaeng around and kissed him deeply. "We have all tonight to get caught up," he murmured.
YoungSaeng hummed in approval, his arms sliding around JungMin's neck as he returned the kiss. "One of the benefits of not looking into our futures, I get to anticipate things like that."
"There's definitely something in the anticipation," JungMin chuckled, running his hands along YoungSaeng's sides. Kissing the older man for a long minute, he finally pulled back. "Let me get changed, the sooner we go the sooner we can come back."
"Sounds good to me," YoungSaeng smiled, taking a seat on the bed and leaning back on his hands. His gaze went to the window. "You know what we should do tonight, something we haven't done in a very long time? Look at the stars."
Blinking as he pulled his shirt over his head, JungMin looked towards the window that had long since been fixed. "True, we haven't done that in a while…been pretty busy. I guess we're out on the roof tonight," he chuckled, tossing his shirt aside and pulling off his pants before going to find new clothes to wear.
"Not all night, I don't think that'd be very comfortable," YoungSaeng said, watching JungMin. He was quiet for a moment before he took a deep breath. "My mother called."
JungMin, losing balance with one leg in a pair of pants, hopped around for a moment before he could stand up straight. "Your mother?" He looked up at YoungSaeng, brow furrowed in concern. "Is…everything alright? What did she call for?" YoungSaeng hadn't heard from his parents in several months.
"We didn't talk long, her first question was whether or not I was still with you and when I was coming home," YoungSaeng said. "I told her I was happy where I was and that you and I were still together. I hung up when she started to lecture about how... unnatural I am, and how I should have never left the institution."
The redhead's eyes tightened and he scowled. "I wish I'd been here when she called, I'd have given her a piece of my mind." He walked over to YoungSaeng, wrapping his arms around the older man. "People like that don't deserve you in their lives."
"She's still my mom though," YoungSaeng said softly. "She won't even let me speak to my dad... it's so frustrating because I love them so much." He looked up at JungMin, leaning his cheek against his shoulder. "How long has it been since you talked to yours?"
"Mine?" JungMin ran his fingers through YoungSaeng's hair. "Not since Auntie's funeral four years ago. They made their decision, and so did I. I'd rather be around people who actually want me there."
"I don't know which is worse... sending your child to family but don't want anything to do with them, or send them to an institution to force them to be normal," YoungSaeng said, closing his eyes. "We're not weird right? Just because we have these things, abilities, doesn't make us freaks right?"
JungMin exhaled slowly, thinking about that. He'd asked that question often himself over the years, including to his aunt while she'd been alive. "No, we're not freaks. We're definitely a minority group," he snorted quietly. "But we're not freaks, or weird, or any of that. We're special, that's what. You, me, KyuJong, KyuHyun, DongHae, SungMin…everyone. We're all special, and some people are just too blind to see it."
YoungSaeng smiled a little easier at that, playing with the collar of JungMin's shirt as he nuzzled into him. "I wish your parents could see the man you've become, how much progress you've made. I wish they would be as proud of you as I am."
"I don't care if they're proud of me or not, never have cared," JungMin chuckled, pulling back enough to look down at the older man. "You being proud of me is more than enough. And I hope you know how proud of you I am. You're not our crazy precog hobo anymore, Saeng."
"I was never a hobo," YoungSaeng pouted at him. "I was only on the street for three days, that doesn't qualify as being a hobo."
"You looked like one when Kyu found you," JungMin chuckled, kissing the pout. "Cutest hobo ever."
"That's not exactly what you said when you first saw me," YoungSaeng snorted. "In fact, the first thing you said to me was 'No', and rather emphatically. You wanted nothing to do with me."
"Can you blame me?" Now it was JungMin's turn to pout. "You went around calling me the shattered one, that isn't very nice to say to someone you just met."
"But I didn't know your name," YoungSaeng chuckled. "It's all I had to identify you by... you were the shattered one, in spirit. I'm sorry."
"Still not nice," JungMin sniffed, kissing YoungSaeng again before letting him go to find his shirt. "I'm glad you're not calling me that anymore, even if I am out of retirement. Do you think you'll ever join us out there?"
"No, I wouldn't be able to handle doing all that hero stuff," YoungSaeng shook his head. "I'd be a liability to you and you know it."
"You wouldn't be," JungMin wrinkled his nose. "Though I would be happier with you somewhere safe." He pulled his shirt down over his head. "I was just wondering, maybe you should have a hero name too," he chuckled. "Even if you're more of a stay-at-home hero, you're part of the team too."
"I don't need nor want a super hero name," YoungSaeng said. "I don't have to keep my identity secret. I don't leave the house, and no one but you and the others know who I am."
"Oh fine," the younger man huffed. "Take away all my fun." He went to the door. "Ready to go?"
"I am," YoungSaeng hopped up to his feet and joined him at the door. "But I'm curious, what name would you think of for me?"
"I don't know. Something cool," JungMin chuckled. "You have to pick your own name, or it doesn't mean anything. That's how HyunJoong ended up with something only he would understand, and SungMin got some weird Japanese name no one but him can even pronounce properly."
"But they picked their own names," YoungSaeng blinked at him in confusion. "You must have some idea, or you wouldn't have mentioned it."
"I'm not telling you my ideas," JungMin stuck out his tongue as he turned to head down the stairs.
"... Well fine then, not that I wanted a stupid hero name anyway!" YoungSaeng huffed, following down after him.
"You said that you didn't, so what difference does it make?" JungMin snorted, stopping at the front door and jamming his feet into his shoes.
"I was just curious," YoungSaeng mumbled.
"Maybe I'll tell you later," JungMin grinned, waiting until YoungSaeng was ready before taking the older man's hand and linking their fingers lightly. "Come on, before we're even more late than we already are."
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[[CLICK HERE FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE EPILOGUE]]
Fandoms: SS501, Super Junior, cameos from SNSD, TVXQ and EXO-M
Chapter: Epilogue (1/2)
Main Pairings: JungMin/YoungSaeng, KyuHyun/SungMin, KiBum/KyuJong, HyunJoong/DongHae
Minor Pairings: HyungJoon/Sunny, HeeChul/Han Geng, Zhou Mi/RyeoWook
Rating: R overall
Warning: AU, violence, angst
Summary: They paved the way for justice in a dangerous city, and swore to protect the innocent lives of it's citizens. An accident made them turn their backs and break their oath. It takes a man who sees it all to bring them back, to stop the coming darkness that threatens everything.
A/N: Our 8th story. Please comment! <3
The roar of a truck engine echoed through the otherwise empty warehouse. Reverse lights on, the vehicle slowly backed up through the open door, a man standing behind it motioning for the driver to continue. Chatter was hushed, except for low grunts to move this bag of rice or get that crowbar.
The truck stopped once it was far enough into the warehouse, the engine idling. The truck driver stayed where he was, in case a quick getaway was needed. A figure was hunched over in the passenger seat, hood pulled up over their face.
The ringleader of the group of men motioned for the back of the truck to be opened. Lock coming off, the metal doors swung wide open to shine light into the compartment. Crates were stacked carefully inside, at least fifty of them. Someone climbed inside the truck to open the first one.
"Hey! You're not allowed to be here, employees only."
Attention was diverted to the young man with the face of a daydreamer who had just wandered in past the truck. The person in question just kept on walking, dancing to the music on his ipod and not paying the men any attention.
That was until one of the men got in his face, yanking off the headphones. "Hey," the guy frowned, grabbing for them.
"This is a restricted area, employees only."
"Employees?" The young man blinked. He looked between the others gathered. "You don't look like employees. In fact, no company works here. You're not supposed to be here either, especially not to move weapons into sacks of rice."
The cold metal of a gun pressed against his temple, and with a bang he dropped. Blood pooled under his head and spread around him.
The workers turned to go back to work, muttering about stupid kids. The lights overhead flickered, the bulbs buzzing in protest as they were overloaded. The first popping noise had men reaching for weapons, looking up as each light exploded one by one, glass and sparks showering the floor below. With guns drawn, the men looked around the room warily as darkness closed in around them from all sides.
"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," a voice spoke, echoing through the empty space. "What's it going to be?"
Figures half-hidden in shadow stepped down from inside the truck; six, their forms wavering.
A hand lightly tapped one man on the shoulder. He turned to see the kid he'd just shot standing right behind him, blood bathing half his face and smiling widely. "Surprise!" He punched the man in the jaw before tackling him to the ground.
The reaction was instant, weapons fire ringing out as the workers shot at anything that moved. Including each other as they got caught in their own crossfire in the darkness. By the time the shooting stopped, at least six men were wounded or dead. That still left a dozen or so men, each with itchy trigger fingers as they jumped at the shadows.
"Guess they chose the hard way." Another voice chuckled off to the right, starting another round of firing from those closest to that side.
One worker, seeing shapes on all sides and closing in, bolted for a door. He didn't make it far, disappearing into the dark with a cut off cry of alarm.
"Oh stop freaking out. For a bunch of smugglers, you're pretty spineless." The ground by their feet exploded, showering them with concrete chunks.
"Heads up!" The guy who had been shot through the temple grabbed a concrete chunk and threw it at one of the workers, hitting him off the back of the head. The man went down like a sack of potatoes. Some others turned on the only opponent they could see, who should have already been dead but wasn't.
Their distraction cost them, thin bands of shadow snapping around the wrists and ankles of one. Two more were dragged into the darkness, their shouts ending.
A second person detached from the shadows, walking calmly towards them even as guns were pointed at him. "I'm going to offer you-" he didn't even get to finish his sentence, the workers firing on the second speaker. The air around the room shattered, the sound like a thunderclap and the force of it sent the thugs sprawling to the ground.
"Excuse you, I was talking," the man huffed, the air between himself and the workers returning to normal. "I'm going to offer you the opportunity to put down your weapons and put your hands over your heads before anyone else has to lose their life. Are guns really worth that?"
There was a long pause, some of the men obviously spooked enough to listen. Only eight men were left at this point, many others sprawled along the ground either unconscious or dead.
Some started to put their guns down slowly. One lifted his weapon to point at the man again, but didn't get that far. A shadow grabbed his gun away and hit him over the head with it, the man dropping.
After that, the other workers all complied and put their guns down, hands linking behind their heads.
"Police are on their way." A third man joined the other two. "Do you really have to make me watch you get shot in the head, GoldFish?" he frowned at the one who had blood on his face, wiping some of it away.
"Shade, find... what the hell is he going by now? Find our assassin," the obvious leader said. "Slipstream, get the lights back on in here. I don't want any of our friends here making a wrong move."
"You could just freeze them." A voice from all around them said, even as some of the periphery lights came back up.
"Will you ever not argue," the man with the shock of red hair shook his head, arms folded across his chest. "They're not going to move, because the first one who does is gonna get this," he held up one finger, a ball of light balancing on it, "shoved somewhere uncomfortable. Right boys?" He made sure they all saw him.
"It kinda tickles at first," GoldFish was saying, grinning at the man who was cleaning his blood away. "Until my brain realizes it just had a bullet go through it." Someone standing by the edge of the group had disappeared into the shadows.
"What are we doing about the driver? Parasyntax?" A man younger than the others leaned around the truck.
"Leave him, he's not going anywhere," Parasyntax replied. "I'm sure the military police will have some questions for him about why these guns never made it to the base like they were supposed to. Would you be careful with those bombs Shatterwave, you make me nervous."
"I'm not doing anything," Shatterwave sniffed, closing his hand on the light and snuffing it out.
"Got him." Three people appeared out of a side door. Shade walked beside someone with bright pink contacts, who had a gun pressed against the back of the third man. "Alive and hole-free."
"Finally, we've been after this guy for months," Parasyntax said, eyeing the man coolly. "How did you get him? He's usually a step ahead of us."
"It was a little too easy," frowned the assassin, watching the man in front of him carefully.
No sooner than they'd stepped into the center of the room than the man they'd caught seized up, crumpling to the ground and disintegrating into dust.
"Tamonten, what did you do," called the youngest.
"I didn't do anything!" The assassin crouched down, hand against the floor where the man had disappeared. "It was too easy. He was never really here in the first place."
"What was that?" Parasyntax asked with a frown. "I really hate going into things without knowing all the details Fractal, what do we even know about this guy?"
"Not enough, apparently," Fractal sighed. "Well now we know he's a multiplier. Which would make sense now with what YoungSaeng said. He was saying something about copies of copies, and didn't understand it himself."
"Great, so all that research and information gathering was a waste," someone said, appearing not far away.
"It was not a waste, Slipstream," Fractal said. "This was the heart of his operation, and his entire crew. We can keep our ears and eyes open now when he starts back up."
Sirens were getting closer in the distance. Shade disappeared into the darkness again.
"I'm going back to searching the place," Tamonten sighed, turning around to go back through the door he'd just came from. "Tell me when we're leaving."
"He never wants to stick around for the police," Shatterwave shook his head before turning to their youngest. "Maximum, go give him some help." Maximum jogged after Tamonten.
"Don't blame him," Slipstream muttered under his breath.
The police arrived, ambulances and police cars filling the parking area just outside the doors. Medical workers checked on the wounded while the police took the remaining workers into custody. The members of the team gave their statements, carefully omitting anything about the mastermind behind the operation as they had failed to find him this time. Finding the villain was their job, and didn't want any bumbling police to get in their way.
"Just once, I'd like to be able to catch the bad guy, and then leave without having to give a statement to the police," KyuHyun complained when they were on their way away from the warehouse. "Seriously, how many times do I have to make the same statement?"
"That works only in movies, where the bad guys are too stupid to figure out how to untie themselves after the heroes are gone," ChangMin pointed out, pulling off his mask to rub his eyes. "We should take turns, two people stay behind with the bad guys for the statements while everyone else leaves."
"You didn't have to make any statement, you took off with SungMin," JungMin snorted.
"And I'm very happy about that," ChangMin beamed. "Can we get something to eat now? I'm starving."
"Gee, ChangMin's hungry, what a surprise," HyunJoong rolled his eyes. "You all go ahead, I should take DongHae home before he gives a waitress a fright," he said, looking at DongHae. There were still some bits of dried blood on his face and flecks on his clothes.
"Okay, then the rest of us can get some dinner," KyuJong said, linking his elbow with KiBum's.
"I have to get home," KyuHyun shook his head. "We hadn't even completely unpacked before you guys called. Couldn't let us be home for more than an hour could you?"
"I'm sorry about the timing," KyuJong frowned. "But we had good information, and we needed SungMin's expertise. Next time I just won't call you at all and listen to you complain about having missed everything again."
"He's right about that," SungMin mused, looking over at KyuHyun with a small smirk. "Can we bother you for a lift, Hyun?"
"Let's get out of these outfits before going anywhere," JungMin pulled off his bandana. "One of those asses blew a hole in my cape," he frowned at a bullet mark in the material.
"You're lucky, it could have been your arm," ChangMin piped up. KiBum was happy to listen rather than join in on the arguing, fishing his car keys out of his pocket.
"Well then I guess we'll just meet those of us who want to eat at our usual place?" KyuJong said with a resigned sigh. "And bring YoungSaeng with you Min, he really needs to get out more."
"I'll bring him," JungMin nodded. "He's not comfortable out in crowded places yet, but he should be fine this time." They reached the cars parked far enough away from the warehouse to avoid attention. "Now that you two are back from your honeymoon or whatever, we should get together with all the others sometime."
"It was not a honeymoon," KyuHyun sniffed. "It was just a vacation, something you wouldn't know anything about."
"If you two would please...." HyunJoong was unlocking the door to his car, motioning for SungMin and KyuHyun to join. "Not going to sit around and listen to KyuHyun make snide remarks about everyone."
"We'll call you tomorrow Hyun, make plans for this weekend or something," KyuJong said.
"That sounds good!" DongHae grinned, climbing into the passenger seat. "See you this weekend!"
KiBum unlocked the doors to the car he'd bought a couple months ago, seeing they needed more modes of transportation. Once the others were in, he turned on the engine. "How long do you think it'll take before we catch wind of that guy again? He's not easy to track."
"No idea, it sucks we didn't catch him this time," ChangMin sighed loudly. "How were we supposed to know he's a multiplier?"
"We know now, that's what's important," KyuJong said, settling into his seat. "The guy seems showy, likes to draw attention to what he's doing. He'll make enough noise for us to find him again. If not, we can see if YoungSaeng has any more information for us."
"Not that we were able to do much with his 'copies of copies' vision," ChangMin frowned.
"He's doing the best he can, and we wouldn't have even caught that jewelry guy without him," JungMin wrinkled his nose at ChangMin. "Anyone heard anything from the others lately? HeeChul's group has been busy in the news."
"I talked to Zhou Mi last week," KyuJong nodded. "They've added Yixing to their team, and his Korean's improved." He turned in his seat to look at ChangMin. "Speaking of others... don't think I didn't notice that little scandal article about you and GyuRi. How's she doing?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, we just went shopping," ChangMin blinked innocently. "She's good, she has a concert coming up next month and wants me to let you know she'll never talk to you again if you don't show up."
"Of course we'll go," KyuJong laughed. "We've never been invited to one before, and the tickets are expensive. That and the fans are.... very protective of her. They're kind of scary."
"Believe me, I ran into a couple of them," ChangMin shook his head. "You'd think it was a crime to go on a date with someone."
"I thought you just went shopping?" KiBum said absently as he drove. ChangMin kicked the back of the driver seat.
"Date or no date, I think you two work well together," KyuJong said. "Don't you dare do anything to screw it up, or I'll kick your ass myself."
"Hyung, who do you take me for," ChangMin protested.
"Someone who tries to pick up girls by comparing them to food," JungMin retorted.
They dropped ChangMin off at his parents' place; he hadn't saved up enough money to move out, and his parents weren't letting him go that easily after being gone for two years. JungMin got out at his place, waving to the two in the car and heading inside to change.
"Saeng?" he called as he closed the door, locking it behind him.
"A multiplier." YoungSaeng appeared in the hallway, eyes wide and with a pout on his lips. "Of course now it makes sense, why couldn't it make sense yesterday? I'm sorry."
"Hey," JungMin's lips quirked as he kicked his boots off. "No sorry, it didn't occur to any of us either. We'll catch him next time, we've bought time at least. Everything okay here?" He walked to YoungSaeng, placing his hands on the older man's hips.
"Yes, I'll be ready to go in a minute," YoungSaeng replied, leaning up to kiss him gently. "And sorry about your cape... kind of."
"I know, I know, you don't like the cape," JungMin wrinkled his nose, kissing YoungSaeng back and wrapping his arms around the other man. "I thought you said you wouldn't look into our futures anymore?"
"I didn't, I was watching KyuJong," YoungSaeng replied cheekily, undoing the clasp on the cape to push it off. "Not my fault you showed up."
"Sneak," JungMin grumbled, nudging them back towards the stairs. "Bedroom, before you try stripping me right here."
"What, this isn't a good place?" YoungSaeng looked up at him innocently. "Not like there's anyone here anymore. It's just us. Who cares if you don't have any pants on in the hallway?"
"No one, except KyuJong will be pissed if we get caught up and show up late," JungMin pursed his lips at YoungSaeng in a pout.
"Late is subjective," YoungSaeng sniffed. "Oh fine, but it's not like he won't be late at some point," he said, throwing his hands up in defeat and heading to the stairs.
"Probably not," JungMin snorted, following YoungSaeng up the stairs. Once they were in the bedroom, he spun YoungSaeng around and kissed him deeply. "We have all tonight to get caught up," he murmured.
YoungSaeng hummed in approval, his arms sliding around JungMin's neck as he returned the kiss. "One of the benefits of not looking into our futures, I get to anticipate things like that."
"There's definitely something in the anticipation," JungMin chuckled, running his hands along YoungSaeng's sides. Kissing the older man for a long minute, he finally pulled back. "Let me get changed, the sooner we go the sooner we can come back."
"Sounds good to me," YoungSaeng smiled, taking a seat on the bed and leaning back on his hands. His gaze went to the window. "You know what we should do tonight, something we haven't done in a very long time? Look at the stars."
Blinking as he pulled his shirt over his head, JungMin looked towards the window that had long since been fixed. "True, we haven't done that in a while…been pretty busy. I guess we're out on the roof tonight," he chuckled, tossing his shirt aside and pulling off his pants before going to find new clothes to wear.
"Not all night, I don't think that'd be very comfortable," YoungSaeng said, watching JungMin. He was quiet for a moment before he took a deep breath. "My mother called."
JungMin, losing balance with one leg in a pair of pants, hopped around for a moment before he could stand up straight. "Your mother?" He looked up at YoungSaeng, brow furrowed in concern. "Is…everything alright? What did she call for?" YoungSaeng hadn't heard from his parents in several months.
"We didn't talk long, her first question was whether or not I was still with you and when I was coming home," YoungSaeng said. "I told her I was happy where I was and that you and I were still together. I hung up when she started to lecture about how... unnatural I am, and how I should have never left the institution."
The redhead's eyes tightened and he scowled. "I wish I'd been here when she called, I'd have given her a piece of my mind." He walked over to YoungSaeng, wrapping his arms around the older man. "People like that don't deserve you in their lives."
"She's still my mom though," YoungSaeng said softly. "She won't even let me speak to my dad... it's so frustrating because I love them so much." He looked up at JungMin, leaning his cheek against his shoulder. "How long has it been since you talked to yours?"
"Mine?" JungMin ran his fingers through YoungSaeng's hair. "Not since Auntie's funeral four years ago. They made their decision, and so did I. I'd rather be around people who actually want me there."
"I don't know which is worse... sending your child to family but don't want anything to do with them, or send them to an institution to force them to be normal," YoungSaeng said, closing his eyes. "We're not weird right? Just because we have these things, abilities, doesn't make us freaks right?"
JungMin exhaled slowly, thinking about that. He'd asked that question often himself over the years, including to his aunt while she'd been alive. "No, we're not freaks. We're definitely a minority group," he snorted quietly. "But we're not freaks, or weird, or any of that. We're special, that's what. You, me, KyuJong, KyuHyun, DongHae, SungMin…everyone. We're all special, and some people are just too blind to see it."
YoungSaeng smiled a little easier at that, playing with the collar of JungMin's shirt as he nuzzled into him. "I wish your parents could see the man you've become, how much progress you've made. I wish they would be as proud of you as I am."
"I don't care if they're proud of me or not, never have cared," JungMin chuckled, pulling back enough to look down at the older man. "You being proud of me is more than enough. And I hope you know how proud of you I am. You're not our crazy precog hobo anymore, Saeng."
"I was never a hobo," YoungSaeng pouted at him. "I was only on the street for three days, that doesn't qualify as being a hobo."
"You looked like one when Kyu found you," JungMin chuckled, kissing the pout. "Cutest hobo ever."
"That's not exactly what you said when you first saw me," YoungSaeng snorted. "In fact, the first thing you said to me was 'No', and rather emphatically. You wanted nothing to do with me."
"Can you blame me?" Now it was JungMin's turn to pout. "You went around calling me the shattered one, that isn't very nice to say to someone you just met."
"But I didn't know your name," YoungSaeng chuckled. "It's all I had to identify you by... you were the shattered one, in spirit. I'm sorry."
"Still not nice," JungMin sniffed, kissing YoungSaeng again before letting him go to find his shirt. "I'm glad you're not calling me that anymore, even if I am out of retirement. Do you think you'll ever join us out there?"
"No, I wouldn't be able to handle doing all that hero stuff," YoungSaeng shook his head. "I'd be a liability to you and you know it."
"You wouldn't be," JungMin wrinkled his nose. "Though I would be happier with you somewhere safe." He pulled his shirt down over his head. "I was just wondering, maybe you should have a hero name too," he chuckled. "Even if you're more of a stay-at-home hero, you're part of the team too."
"I don't need nor want a super hero name," YoungSaeng said. "I don't have to keep my identity secret. I don't leave the house, and no one but you and the others know who I am."
"Oh fine," the younger man huffed. "Take away all my fun." He went to the door. "Ready to go?"
"I am," YoungSaeng hopped up to his feet and joined him at the door. "But I'm curious, what name would you think of for me?"
"I don't know. Something cool," JungMin chuckled. "You have to pick your own name, or it doesn't mean anything. That's how HyunJoong ended up with something only he would understand, and SungMin got some weird Japanese name no one but him can even pronounce properly."
"But they picked their own names," YoungSaeng blinked at him in confusion. "You must have some idea, or you wouldn't have mentioned it."
"I'm not telling you my ideas," JungMin stuck out his tongue as he turned to head down the stairs.
"... Well fine then, not that I wanted a stupid hero name anyway!" YoungSaeng huffed, following down after him.
"You said that you didn't, so what difference does it make?" JungMin snorted, stopping at the front door and jamming his feet into his shoes.
"I was just curious," YoungSaeng mumbled.
"Maybe I'll tell you later," JungMin grinned, waiting until YoungSaeng was ready before taking the older man's hand and linking their fingers lightly. "Come on, before we're even more late than we already are."
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