Chapter Text
“And where two raging fires meet together, they do consume the thing that feeds their fury.”
...
The boy woke up from a dreamless slumber, bleary-eyed and confused. The sun’s rays shone weakly into the room through the curtained windows and he could hear the faint twitters of songbirds as they passed by outside.
Sitting up in the comfortable bed he laid upon, he looked around curiously, taking in the surrounding room. Intricate paintings in muted bronze frames hung around the room, depicting strange images of people captured in the midst of movement. Colorful dancers in blooming dresses and frilled collars, knights sat upon shining steeds, a king sitting idly on his throne, grasping a golden heart. Their little, painted eyes seemed to stare at him, observing him with reserved judgment.
Across the room, mounted on a wall was a beautifully ornate mirror created out of twisting metal bands. The boy’s eyes snapped to meet his own reflection, glimmering in the glass.
He was wearing a simple, white cotton shirt and black pants that were perfectly fitted on his lithe frame. His hair was coal-black, which strangely enough, felt wrong. A myriad of colors flashed behind his eyes when he closed them, forming images that blurred when he chased after them. Why couldn’t he remember anything?
Swinging his legs off of the bed, he stood up, finding a bit of relief in the mere fact that he hadn’t forgotten how to walk. Still confused, he paced around his room, checking all corners and crevasses for any hints to his identity. The only thing other than dark furniture and the paintings hanging on the walls was a single, crimson rose, placed in a vase on a table. It bent slightly downwards, its bloody petals greeting the ground solemnly. His stomach churned unexplainably at the sight.
His eyes flicked towards a large panel of wood, right next to the vase. A door. Stepping up to it, his fingers grasped the cold metal of the doorknob and he twisted it open. A rush of images flew in his mind, consuming his thoughts.
A group of people- all boys. There were around eight of them and they all smiled widely at him, inviting him into their abode, past the wooden door. One of the boys extended a hand towards him with a cheerful, “Come in, Jeongin!” Then, as quick as the vision came, it was gone.
He frowned and pressed his hands to his temples. He knew them. They were his hyungs. All of a sudden, their names came flooding back to him. Chan, Woojin, Minho, Changbin, Hyunjin, Jisung, Felix, Seungmin. And he was Jeongin.
He was also alone. And confused.
Sick of his whirling thoughts, Jeongin pushed open the door and ran out into the hall. Spotting a stairwell, he rushed down it, searching the unfamiliar halls for his hyungs. As he ventured past numerous paintings- equally as chilling as the ones in the room he had woken up in- he began to recall more and more. This manor was definitely not Jeongin and his hyungs’ apartment or JYP Headquarters. Jeongin briefly wondered if it was a JYP safe house, but that too made no sense. Why would he need to be placed in a safe house? And where were his hyungs?
Pushing open a set of large, double doors, Jeongin stilled in his frantic searching. His eyes fell on a shocking scene laid out before him.
A long table stretched from one side of the room to the other with empty chairs placed perfectly alongside it. The tabletop was brimming with food, placed on various dishes and plates. Anything that could fly, swim, or breathe, Jeongin reckoned it was on a porcelain plate. The air was filled with an interesting mix of smells, some good, others not so much. Almost hidden by the massive mounds of food were two figures, sat at the end of the table. They appeared to be arguing with each other. One figure was gesticulating wildly as he yelled at the other, who seemed disgruntled and held a petulant frown.
Jeongin took a step back, feeling weird and uninvited. In his awkward attempt to walk out of the room, his back hit the door, resulting in a large thud that echoed loudly in the large hall.
Two pairs of eyes snapped up to meet his. Jeongin found himself recoiling from a wave of mania emanating from the glittering golden orbs examining him coldly. His vivid red lips curled up in a grin and he stood up from his seat, extending his hand out to Jeongin as he came closer.
“Hello, dear. Glad to see that Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken.”
And with those words, Jeongin knew who the boy was. Memories rushed behind his eyes, playing out in some sort of sick montage, detailing fiery blue flames, red roses, and twisted fairytales. Romeo stalked towards him with unknown intent, meeting Jeongin’s frightened gaze with a curling smirk.
“Get away from me, psycho.” Jeongin hissed, trying to step back. Once again the door stopped him in his path. Romeo reached out and pressed a hand against the wood behind him, caging Jeongin in.
“Welcome back, Juliet,” Romeo whispered, his bloody lips turning up in a smile. “I’ve missed you.”
…
“Fe, I don’t think this is such a good idea.”
Felix rolled his eyes as he strode through the shadowy bar, staring down a couple of late-night loiterers. Casually reaching up to his ear, he flicked on the comm-set and muttered, “Binnie, We’ve been over this.” Felix slipped his hand in the pocket of his black leather jacket- a borrowed item from Chan- finding the small slip of paper inside. “This is the only lead we’ve found in weeks . It could be nothing, but it could be everything. I need to know, Changbin.” Felix closed his eyes briefly, taking a breath. “I need to know if he’s okay.”
Three weeks. Jeongin had been declared missing three weeks ago. On the happiest day of Felix’s life- the day on which Jeongin had accepted their invitation to join their rag-tag team of superhero boyfriends- he had been kidnapped. By a maniac in a cape. And Felix had done nothing to stop him.
“Lix…” Changbin uttered in a hushed voice, pain and sorrow darkening his tone. “Just be careful. Please. I can’t… I can’t lose you too-”
“And you won’t,” Felix stated confidently, eyeing the figure behind the bar counter. Although his boyfriend’s worry was mostly unnecessary, Felix had to admit that Changbin’s warning held some weight. The bar he was in was notorious for being a common villain hangout, and it was definitely living up to its expectation. Felix had seen the familiar faces of numerous criminals and villains that he had encountered while running around Seoul doing his hero-thing. So, Felix channeled his inner-villain and strode through the room, scaring away curious eyes.
“Alright, I’m going in, babe. Relay that to the others, would you?” He tried to hide his smirk as Changbin sputtered at the nickname.
“Ugh, gross. Keep the lovey-dovey talk off the comms, please.” Jisung’s exasperated voice filled Felix’s ears and the blonde boy had to stop himself from smiling.
He walked up to the bar counter and leaned forward, observing the bartender. He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and a halo of smoke surrounding him. Whether it was a residue of cigarette use or something more mystical, Felix didn’t know. The man looked up with an unimpressed look and raised an eyebrow at Felix. “You need something, boy?”
“Information on one of your regulars.”
The bartender polished away at an empty glass, peering into the glass cup. “I was talking more about alcohol, kid. You even old enough to drink?”
“You know I am. I need to know about a person you’re very familiar with. Clarissa Rembar. She’s one of your-”
“What do you want to drink? Kid, I’ve said it once and I won’t say it again.”
Felix clenched his fists, about to tear the man a new one when he someone beat him to it.
“He said he needed information. So give it to him.”
Felix looked up to see Seungmin, wearing all black, looking incredibly intimidating. Thin silver chains glinted cooly around Seungmin’s neck and wrists, catching the dim lights of the bar. Felix almost choked on his breath as he took in Seungmin’s dark eyes, stormy and dangerous. He had never seen his smiley boyfriend like this. It was incredibly distracting.
The bartender drew his thoughts away with a disdainful mutter of, “Hey, look I’m not sure who you think you are but-”
Suddenly, Seungmin slammed his hands down on the table, startling almost everyone left in the bar. As his control over his sonic powers slipped, the boy let loose a wave of vibrations that shattered the glasses nearest to him, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. The glass that the bartender had been polishing off exploded in his hands, showering the counter with its remains. Felix felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched his boyfriend, eyes blazing with barely contained rage.
“Wow, he’s hot.” Felix heard Jisung whisper in their comms.
The bartender stared at the boy with wide eyes and after a second of trepidation, raised a shaking hand to point at the back of the bar.
Felix, trying to push down his shock at Seungmin’s actions, followed his finger and squinted into the shadowy depths of the room, tensing when he noticed the dark figure - a woman, based on the slinky dress she wore- curled up on a lounge sofa. A table sat in front of her, a solitary glass placed upon it. Felix couldn’t make out her features from the distance, but he could see the glowing end of the cigarette she held languidly between her elegant fingers. Felix assumed this woman was Clarissa Rembar, their informant.
Gently knocking shoulders with Seungmin, he started walking towards the woman, leaving the fearful bartender to sweep up the shattered remains of his glasses.
“Stop right there,” A voice called out to him amidst the smoky air of the corner.
Felix raised his hands in peace, stepping closer to the woman. “I just have a couple of questions.”
“I said stop , pretty boy.”
Felix came to a standstill, his hands still raised up. Something in the dark tones of the woman’s voice made him hesitate in his steps.
“Stand still.”
The smoke trailing from the end of her cigarette curled towards him like a silvery snake, coming just short of his face.
“Listen, I just need to ask you something.”
“Hmm, your aura says you’re a good soul… damaged, yes, but good nonetheless,” Clarissa murmured under her breath, eyeing him behind the smokescreen with curious eyes.
“Excuse me?”
Jisung snickered in his ear, whispering to Changbin with an audible smile, “She called his soul ‘damaged’, what a burn.”
“Your aura… ah, it matters not. Come here, take a seat.” The woman patted the worn sofa she sat upon, gesturing for him to sit.
Warily, Felix ducked around the smoke whisps, sliding onto the open seat.
“You said you had questions?”
“Ah, yes,” Felix nodded, looking back at Seungmin, who stood apart from them. “Would you mind if my friend joined us? He’s got a… good soul and all that.”
“Hmph,” She seemed to contemplate her answer as she stared at Seungmin. “His aura reads innocent enough. He may join.”
“His aura?”
“Hmm, I assumed you were smarter than this, blondie. I can sense auras. Read ‘em, see ‘em, you know the works.” Upon seeing Felix’s raised eyebrows and the surprise in his eyes, she chuckled. “Or maybe you don’t.”
Unsure of what to make of the new information, Felix turned to look at Seungmin. He beckoned Seungmin - who was very confused- over, and soon enough, the three of them were sitting around the table. Clarissa toyed with her cigarette, looking at the boys with hooded eyes. Her gaze was flirtatious, as was the hand she gently laid on Seungmin’s arm.
“You’re Clarissa Rembar, right?” At the woman’s nod of confirmation, Felix continued. “We need your help. What do you know about a Villain called ‘Romeo’?”
Her sultry smile immediately fell and she retracted her hand from Seungmin’s arm as if she had been burned.
“Clarissa? Seungmin reached out to make sure she was alright, but the lady pushed herself back, hugging her arms close to her.
“Leave at once.”
“What?” Felix exclaimed at the same time as Seungmin let out an incredulous, “Excuse me?”
“You have to go. I paid my debt. I helped that murderer get his pal out. I’m done, you hear me? I’m done!” She shrieked, trembling like a leaf.
“Clarissa, calm down! We’re not with Romeo, we’re against him! Very much so.” Felix hissed, grabbing onto her arm.
She stilled instantaneously, her eyes locked on his hand wrapped around her thin wrist. Felix let go with a quiet apology, almost unheard over the woman’s hiss, “So, you two are Heroes, huh? I knew your auras, even with those maladies, were too light to be Villains’.”
Ignoring her strange statement, Felix pleaded, “Please, you have to help us. Our friend-”
“I don’t have to help anyone but myself, Hero.” She hissed, clinging to her arms tightly. “And I won’t succumb to no Hero scum-”
Seungmin slid a large bundle of green notes across the table, placing it right under her nose. “Not even for money?”
Clarissa’s eyes immediately lit up with a new glow and her hand reached out to snatch the wad. Felix blocked her immediately, leaning over the table. He tutted, shaking his head at the Villain. “Not until you answer our question, dear.”
“How do I know you won’t drop me off to the police if I tell you?”
“If it’s any consolation we really don’t have the time to be doing any of that.”
Clarissa glared at Seungmin but slumped in her seat, defeated. Taking a shaky breath, she collected herself and began to speak. “Romeo was a charmer that came into the bar one night, starting rallying everyone he could find with stealth related powers. The plan was to break his friend out of a maximum-security prison. I thought it was insane, but the rewards were too high to ignore. So I went with him, acted like a lookout. With my aura reading abilities, I could see any guards that passed by. I only knew the parts of the plan that were crucial to me, though. I have no idea how he got his friend out and where he went afterward. Just that he left me in there, all alone. I barely got out, and not without my fair share of injuries. I never want to see that psycho again. Ever.” She spat, throwing her cigarette on the table, watching as it whispered it’s last trails of smoke. “His aura was all messed up. I’ve seen pyros before, but he was different. They’re all a little manic but he was…” She shuddered, clasping her arms. “I’ve never seen anything like his flames - demonic and controlling. I thought I heard them whisper to him, but I can’t be sure.”
“Do you know anything about the ‘friend’ he was getting out of jail?”
She examined her nails, her eyes flicking up to meet the wad of cash Seungmin held. Seungmin rolled his eyes and muttered a resigned “Fine,” as he pushed half of the stack to her. Swiftly pocketing the money, she cleared her throat.
“The friend was extremely powerful, I can assure you of that. Kept in a highly fortified room behind glass that could survive even a bomb, I’m sure. Must have been some sort of creep for MIA to have locked him up.”
“MIA?”
She cocked her head to one side. “You’ve surely heard of the M.I.A. haven’t you? They’ve been making life hell for all of us - including you Heroes.”
With those words, Felix remembered something that Changbin had told him about. Months ago, when he and Jeongin had gone to visit the police station, Jeongin’s presence had been requested by Malum- who was temporarily being held in the lower levels of the building. When they had visited, men in black suits were there waiting for them. Taehyung had described them as being anti-villain, but Changbin had done some research and found that their organization was widely anti-powers based. He had chalked it off as something to be mildly concerned about and they had gone about their regular schedule, trying to figure out what was happening with Malum. Their organization’s name was M.I.A.
“Ah, so you have heard of them.” Clarissa voiced, staring at Felix.
“Vaguely,” He replied.
“I heard whispers that this Villain was the one who started that fight against the Heroes. Ya know, the one where they all assembled downtown and fought. I assume you two must have been there?”
Felix exchanged a glance with Seungmin, who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. Using his telepathy, Felix reached out to his boyfriend silently.
“She’s talking about Malum, isn’t she?”
“Afraid so. He’s the only Villain to have arranged a stand-off between Heroes and Villains like that. That would qualify for those prison arrangements.”
Seungmin’s eyes flashed darkly and Felix felt his chest tighten.
That had been the day in which Jeongin had found out about their identities. Oh god, how he missed Jeongin.
“You two done there?” Clarissa took a puff of her cigarette before pressing it into the table, snuffing it out.
“Right well we just need to know one more thing. What do you know about Malum?”
“Malum?” She exclaimed in surprise, eyeing the two of them. “Why’d you want to know about him? How do you know about him?”
Wordlessly, Felix slid the rest of the money over to her and she snatched it up, albeit somewhat hesitantly this time.
“All I know is that he’s smarter than he looks. My boyfriend used to work at his company. It was-”
“Malum had a company?” Felix exclaimed in disbelief, his mouth falling open.
Clarissa raised a brow. “You didn’t know? It was called Genotech Industries and-” Her eyes widened and she jumped up from the table, slamming her hands down as she yelled, “GET DOWN!”
The sound of shattering glass exploded around them, followed by the piercing screams of the customers. Felix and Seungmin leaped up from the table, scanning the bar for any signs of danger. The door slammed open and what must have been easily a dozen figures swarmed the bar, all dressed in black uniforms. Their eyes were covered by black visors and their hands gripped sleek guns. One of the people locked eyes with Felix and brought their gun up, firing in an instant.
Felix dove to the side, dragging Seungmin down alongside him. A loud bang sounded out as something hard hit the table. Felix looked up to see a silver dart sticking out of the table. Clarissa was slumped in her seat, her eyes hazy and drooping, a needle sticking out of her neck. That was all the invitation Felix needed to get up and run.
Pulling Seungmin alongside him, Felix made a mad dash towards the exit, trying to avoid the flying tranquilizer darts.
The faint sound of Changbin and Jisung’s voices yelling at him to run echoed from his comm set in his ear.
Suddenly, a hand reached out and grabbed him, pulling him from Seungmin violently. Felix immediately faced his attacker - a woman in the black uniform- and kicked her gun out of her hands. Looking back at Seungmin, who was handling his own attacker, Felix began to move over to him, but was stopped by Seungmin himself, who shouted, “Run, go!”
Feeling his heart twist in his chest, Felix hesitated for a second as he looked at his boyfriend. Then, he ran.
…
Seungmin slammed his shoulder into his assailant, deftly avoiding the man’s taser. He couldn’t risk using his sonic powers while he was in his civilian identity, so he stuck to the basics. Disarming the man, he threw the taser across the bar, watching as it slid under the barstools.
While he was distracted, however, the man shot a needle into his neck with a crazed grunt. His eyes were wild and cloudy with pain, but he held a triumphant smile. Seungmin ripped the needle out almost instantly, cursing himself for being so careless. Whatever was in the dart was already running through his system. Even though it was a small dose, it would no doubt mess up his body and response time.
He threw the dart he clasped at the man, who was too slow in his attempt to dodge it. Seungmin let out a breath of relief as the man went down like a shot elephant, the dart sticking out of his arm.
Wasting not a second, Seungmin stumbled out into the dark, escaping the rest of the uniformed goons with his remaining energy. He had counted at least ten of them in the bar, which meant that two were unaccounted for. Seungmin worried that they might have gone after Felix.
Whatever drug had been pumped into him through the tranquilizer was already starting to take effect. His head was swimming and his vision blurred in and out of clarity as he ran through the dark streets. Seungmin could feel his eyes begin to flutter closed as waves of lethargy rolled through him. Bracing himself on the wall beside him, he forced himself to carry on. Loud sounds echoed in the alleys behind him, growing closer and closer. Seungmin wouldn’t let himself be caught. He couldn’t.
But he could feel the drug weigh his legs down, slowing his heartbeat. Just as he was about to collapse, lights flooded the street and a loud screech sounded out. A figure on a motorbike appeared before him, throwing a hand out. Seungmin nearly cried in relief as he saw Minho’s face.
“Get on!” Minho yelled, tugging Seungmin towards him.
The two of them flew down the street on the bike, racing away from the bar.
Seungmin, gripping onto Minho’s jacket, rested his head against his boyfriend’s back. Maybe it would be okay to close his eyes for a bit. He was just so tired.
“Seungmin?”
A couple of minutes of sleep wouldn’t hurt, would it?
“Seungmin?”
Seungmin felt his eyes slip shut as he succumbed to the pull of slumber.
“Seungmin!”
…
Felix raced through the night, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. His breath shuddered in his throat. The sounds of people chasing him grew behind him, sending his heart into overdrive. His legs burned like fire as he searched for an exit, an escape, anything to get away from the uniformed figures.
Spotting a fire escape, Felix clenched his fists and channeled his telekinesis as he jumped, boosting himself with his powers. He caught the ladder and clambered up to the stairs, leaping up the iron steps.
“Felix, go left when you reach the top! There’s a path you can take if you jump from roof to roof.” Changbin yelled through his communication device. Felix could almost picture them - Jisung pulling up schematics of the entire city, formulating an escape route with Changbin for Felix. It felt nice knowing he had support. Knowing that they had his back.
He could hear the heavy footfalls of the two men pursuing him as they ran up the stairwell, close enough to drag him down. Felix reached the top and jumped immediately, pushing himself with his telekinesis to an apartment building’s roof. Just clearing the edge, he ran on, not daring to look back.
Jisung and Changbin frantically spoke in his ears, but Felix was running on pure instinct. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he tried to shake the men on his tail. To his increasing despair, nothing seemed to be working. The uniformed men had run out of their silver darts a while back, but that was little comfort to Felix. All he could do was continue to push through the exhaustion dragging him down.
Felix threw himself onto a rooftop and rolled, absorbing most of the impact of the harsh landing with no issue. He reached the end of the roof and skidded to a stop as he saw the far drop that lay beneath him. There were no more buildings for him to run to. No pathways he could find. No escape.
He was trapped.
“Stop right there!” One of the men exclaimed, pulling out a black taser. Felix had seen the models before and he knew from firsthand experience that getting shocked by one of them hurt. A lot.
“We've got you cornered, boy. Now surrender and come with us.”
Felix looked behind him at the drop, squinting into the darkness. It was a far drop and chances were he’d end up as a little Felix-sized pancake on the side of the street if he jumped.
“Surrender or die!” The first man yelled, brandishing his taser. Clearly, he was not pleased to have had to run a mile to catch up with Felix.
Felix faced the guards and let his hands drop to his sides. He let out a loud sigh and locked eyes with the man.
Then, he raised his hands and flipped him off, jumping backward off of the building into the dark void beneath him.
Felix closed his eyes as he fell, bracing himself for the painful impact that would come and greet him when he hit the ground.
Instead, a loud rush of wind hit him and Felix was pulled sideways at an astounding speed. A strangled scream escaped his throat as he wildly slammed his arms into something. When Felix opened his eyes, he was met with a raised brow and a shock of light blonde hair.
“Ouch,” Chan deadpanned as he held Felix, zipping through the air with him. Felix let out a large sigh of relief as he clutched onto Chan, burying his face into Chan’s shoulder. He gripped onto Chan tightly, taking comfort in his boyfriend’s strength.
“Thanks for catching me, Channie.”
“Anytime Felix,” Chan replied as he started to descend, lightly landing on the ground with practiced grace. “Actually, no, not anytime. Please stop launching yourself off of buildings.” Chan exclaimed as he carried Felix to a dark van parked on the side of the road.
Felix let out a breathless laugh and leaned into Chan. “No promises, Chris.”
Chan rolled his eyes, but Felix could see the affection behind it. He gently let Felix down to the ground, ensuring that the younger was okay. Then, Chan stepped up to the backdoor of the van and rapped his fist on the metal in a series of timed knocks. Instantaneously, the door was flung open and Felix was met with Woojin’s worried eyes.
“Oh, thank god you’re alright.” Woojin gasped, clutching Felix like he’d disappear at any given moment.
“Of course, Jinnie. I always am.” Felix breathed, ignoring the fact that he almost wasn't alright as Woojin squeezed him tightly.
Chan stepped into the van and pulled Felix in, showing him to his seat. Hyunjin, the only other passenger in the van besides Chan and Woojin, reached out and pulled Felix into a hug, holding back tears as he yelled about how worried he had been. Felix carded his fingers through Hyunjin’s hair as the boy wept, biting his lip. Meanwhile, Chan informed them that Seungmin and Minho were alright and that they’d be meeting everyone back at the apartment.
Felix, for the first time in hours, let himself relax in Hyunjin’s embrace. Looking at his boyfriends and their tired faces, Felix just hoped that Jeongin was okay, wherever he was.
He really, really hoped he was okay.
…
END OF CHAPTER 1