Phoenix | SuperM

46 / Failure

"What about the corrupted superhumans you were tracking?" Baekhyun asked. "Have you found any?"

"We got a tip just a few hours ago," Hwasa said, sliding an enveloped document across the table. "The artificial storm serums are being spread on a global level. Through drugs."

Ten pulled out a small image and passed it to Baekhyun. There was a large tray full of colourful pills and a few syringes on the side.

"The distribution of these drugs has been on the rise in East Asia and has come to a halt, here in Dubai."

The blank screen in front of them lit up to show a world map. Red dots grew all over certain areas in South Korea, Japan, China, Mongolia, and Taiwan. There was a singular, large dot residing in the Dubai area.

"We do not know why the distributions have stopped here since they are still thriving in Asia," Naomi said, twirling a braid around her finger. "But our spies say they're doing final tests before the distribution goes international."

"Do you know who's transporting the serums?" Ten asked.

"Yes." They both replied in unison.

"Then why don't you shut them down?"

Naomi tapped the tablet on the table and the screen switched to a collage of images. There were twelve people in total; four of which they recognised.

"Some of the escapees from Levanter teamed up with anti-superhumans and formed an army of some sort. Their motive remains unknown. We sent in some of our people to watch over them and send reports." Hwasa explained. "Just knowing some of our allies are in there screams that we can't afford to risk their lives based on an unsupported assumption."

Baekhyun blankly stared at the printed image resting on his hand. What was so special about those things? For all they knew, the products were probably placebos. A coverup for the real deal.

"You must be wondering why these drugs are so important all of a sudden." Naomi grinned, catching Baekhyun quickly shift his facial expression into a more stoic one.

"These pills came from Shēnghuó Correctional Centre. The problem is, their mass productions stopped after the breakout that shut the place down. They haven't attended any of the bids or facility meetings in years."

"The products have all been tested on animals and human 'volunteers'." Hwasa continued, bending her index and middle fingers on both hands. "Some of them ended up in hospital in trauma or psych wards with permanent damages to their bodies or brains."

She placed a few printed images on the table. Some patients were covered in burns or scars or had extra limbs that weren't protected by any skin. Others held themselves tightly in an assumable rocking position. The sight made their hearts drop in fear.

"The rest disappeared without a trace. A few joined forces with the Levanter escapees but–"

"Some died." Ten and Baekhyun cut her off. They knew where it was going. Products like those were never guaranteed to be completely safe. There would always be some sort of consequence in the way.

"What do they do?" Baekhyun asked, eliminating the rising tension in the room. His peers subtly slumped their shoulders in relief.

"We've only gotten results from some ex-dealers. I don't know what Yoongi was thinking. He knew they could be false." Naomi muttered. "What we know is that the syringes grant permanent powers, red grants them temporarily, blue interferes and cancels them out (they're basic suppressors), and the green permanently erases them."

Ten's eyes slowly widened. "That's what happened to them."

"What happened to who?" Hwasa asked.