─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

SEASON 3 EPISODE 9

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

System: Volii

Faction: Freestar Collective

Planet: Volii Alpha

Place: Neon/Jimin's ship in orbit of Volii Alpha

☆☆☆

Jimin

"What's it like?"

The space cowboy perked his head up at Jimin's words, and his hat flattened against his forehead as tufts of wavy blonde hair peeked out from under the dark brown fabric. The blue crystal necklace dangling off his chest hit the white table almost as square as Vladimir's head.

Jimin plopped down across from him and listened to the silence interrupted by the dying AC sputtering out its final puffs of cool air. They had the credits to fix it, but between constant heatleech inspections and taking care of a cat, no one had the energy to stop for a repairman.

"Sorry?" Sam asked, quirking his bushy brows.

Jimin folded his hands together, reveling in the way the warm glove soothed his aching bare hand. It had used more powers that week than usual, and his entire body throbbed as a result. "Being a dad."

"Good." Sam paused to shovel a spoonful of his baked beans in his mouth, and Jimin winced and wondered how anyone could enjoy such a disgusting puddle of goo. "Cora's a sweet kid. Never picks fights, reads all day, smarter than Jungkook. Can't complain."

Jimin chuckled. "Sounds fun."

They went quiet after that. They were in Sam's bedroom, which consisted of a window that had a view of the stars and the navy blue color of Volii Alpha. They opted to enter orbit while Jimin waited to start his next Ryujin task. Taehyung wanted to see the stars, and Jimin wasn't one to deny his best friend anything. If he had the privilege of calling Taehyung his best friend, that was. It wasn't like they had much history outside of not killing each other. Maybe Jimin should stop assuming. It wouldn't get him anywhere, would it?

Everything in the chamber was white except for the walls that had drawings on them. Cora had drawn a picture of Sam and her standing together in front of a field of roses. It wasn't the best drawing considering their crayon options were blue, green, red, and purple, but it had the charm Jimin hoped he had when he had been her age.

"Why roses?" Jimin asked, and Sam hummed through his mouthful of gross ass beans.

"Her mom likes them. With her being in the Rangers, we don't get to see her very often. Plus, y'know, her and I are kinda... separated."

"Were you married?"

Sam whistled and laughed. "Oh hell no. We were more of a fling than a relationship. Lillian Hart's her name. One helluva woman, but she bleeds Freestar colors. I bet she's pissed on more UC graves than you."

Jimin winced. "Ouch, low blow. That's my galaxy-wide record. Don't bruise my ego, Mr. Coe."

Sam held up his hands in defense, and they shared a moment of silence afterwards. It was far from awkward, which was refreshing, to say the least. Jimin became accustomed to awkward silences. Whenever Jimin did literally anything with Jungkook around, Jungkook would judge in silence. Jimin had received the occasional side-eye, too.

"Y/n and I wanted to have kids," Jimin said after a moment, and Sam slowed his movements but didn't say anything. That gave Jimin permission to continue. "I don't think I'd be a good dad, but shit, the thought of a little Y/n running around..." He chuckled. "I'd love to have a beautiful baby girl. With the same eyes as my wife."

"What would you name her?"

"Not sure. Irene, maybe? That fits with Park, don't you think?"

"Eh, maybe, but I was thinking something more... adventurous."

"Adventurous?" Jimin asked with a quirked brow. "What makes you think that?"

"Are you kidding?" Sam used one hand to motion to the entirety of Jimin's body. "You're you. A living adventure. Your kids should be the same. Hell, that's what my great grandfather would say."

"The great Solomon Coe, founder of Akila. The greatest adventurer in the galaxy," Jimin said with a whistle, leaning back and listening to the creaks of the chair as he did so. "Sounds just like you and Cora."

"Maybe, but I don't want that. I want to go deeper. Do something humanity has never done before."

"Like the artifacts?"

"Exactly. Why do you think I joined Constellation? Why do you think I've stuck with you hell and back?"

"It wasn't because of my dashing good looks?" Jimin asked with bulging eyes, placing an offended hand over his chest. "My, my, cowboy, you wound me."

"Ah, shush." Sam snickered and shook his head. "C'mon, man, seriously: why do you think I've stuck with you through all this bullshit life throws at us?"

Jimin wanted to crack four more jokes and pretend Sam hadn't asked the question. That was because Jimin couldn't comprehend why anyone would stay with him. Hell, Jimin didn't even want to stay with Jimin. If Y/n were there, he doubted she would either.

"Well, based on the way this conversation is going, I'm guessing adventure."

"Biiiingo," Sam said in a drawl, reaching over to give Jimin's shoulder a nudge. "I'm not Sarah, okay? I could care less about the science-y shit. But jumping the stars?" Sam let out a sharp breath through his teeth. "I must confess, Captain, the hum of a grav drive makes me feel alive. Every time we power up to go to a new place, I feel free. That's not something young me could have said."

"Why's that?"

"Ah, cause of my old man." Sam winced as he spoke, sinking back in his chair. "Good ole Jacob had my whole life planned out. Some fancy life in politics."

"That doesn't sound anything like you."

"Yeah, you got that right. So I did the idiot young adult thing... I ran. I started flying some not-so-safe jobs on a transport vessel. Found Lillian that way. Shit, she was so different back then, yet still the same, y'know? She was younger and more optimistic, but I don't think there's been a single second where that woman wasn't loyal to the Freestar."

"Uh oh," Jimin said, scanning over Sam's sunken face. "Any feelings still there, bud?"

"No, no." Sam's posture slumped. "Her and I were over before we even began, but Cora... Look, Lillian and I may have our differences, but she gave me Cora. No matter what fights we may get in to, I'll always respect her for that. Cora's the best gift I could ever ask for, and it's funny, really, cause I never thought I'd be a dad. Then one night, I was holding baby Cora, and she looked up at me and gave me a smile. It was then I knew I'd do anything for her."

Jimin let the words linger in the air for longer than necessary. There was no need to reply to that; it was Sam's confession, his deepest feelings. Jimin had never seen the space cowboy so vulnerable before, but in that moment, he decided he wanted to see it more.

"You're a good man, Mr. Coe," Jimin said as he stood, placing his hand on Sam's shoulder. "And you raised a damn good kid."

For a fleeting beat, tears welled up in Sam's eyes, but the man didn't let them fall. Jimin would be surprised if Sam knew what crying was. He gave the man time to compose himself, and then, Sam cleared his throat.

"Thank you, Captain. For everything. Cora adores you, and maybe I do, too."

"Maybe, eh? I'll take it... for now." Jimin squeezed Sam's shoulder before backing away. "I gotta go check on the others, but I'll be back when we land."

"Sure thing, Capt. Take it easy."

Ha, as if. Jimin couldn't sleep at night, let alone relax during the day.

Jimin didn't answer and instead departed the room to stroll down the corridors. VASCO and Barrett were in the engine room, fueling it and insulting each other for existing. Barrett attempted to punch VASCO. Yeah, no. Robots were made of metal, so that went about as well as one would expect. Barrett ended up doing jumping jacks to distract himself from the pain.

Captain Park snickered to himself as he passed, and VASCO waved in greeting while Barrett was too busy doing breathing exercises and cradling his now-bruised knuckles. Jimin returned the gesture and went to the main hub, AKA the area next to the ladder leading to the lower airlock. It was sealed off with Taehyung sitting on it with a slate in his grasp. The boy peeked up upon Jimin's arrival.

"Enjoying space?" Jimin asked, and Taehyung didn't hesitate to nod.

"I never thought I'd leave Neon, but... I don't know, Jimin, I think this is better."

"No shit."

Jimin snorted and glanced at the slate. Ah, of course: Taehyung wasn't doing any actual work on the ship. No, that'd be too productive. Instead, the boy was doing digital drawings of the stars and planets. One was a depiction of Neon from above. It was prettier than it had any right to be.

"Sorry," Tae mumbled, and as much as Jimin wanted to get on his ass for joining the crew and not doing work, Jimin couldn't bring himself to.

"Don't be. I get it. When I first went to the stars with my wi..." Jimin coughed. "...Y/n, I felt the same. It's beautiful. Everyone should see it, at least once."

"Yeah, maybe."

Taehyung got up and put the slate in his back pocket. He opted for typical Neon streetwear, donning a thick bomber jacket with deep pockets and cargo pants with more pockets. Everyone on Neon needed a million pockets to store their digipicks. Lockpicking and hacking were the two most valuable skills, after all.

"But I've been meaning to talk to you," Tae said, and Jimin crossed his arms over his chest at that.

"Sure, bud. What's up?"

"Well..." Taehyung motioned to the ship. "I haven't done much around here. I was wondering what else I could do. What about Ryujin? Can I help with that?"

"I appreciate your eagerness, but Ryujin is a beast I have to handle on my own."

"All alone? Are you sure?"

Jimin eyed Taehyung. While the boy was one of the more "innocent" ones by Neon's standards (AKA: he didn't kill people), Taehyung was far from soft, yet the one standing before Jimin seemed that way. Soft, caring, and maybe delicate, too.

"I'm sure. Hey, what's up with you? Since when are you nice?"

Taehyung's gaze lingered on Jimin before he snapped it to the ground. "I don't know. I've... never had this before."

"A spaceship?" Jimin asked with a snort. "Not much different than-"

"A purpose."

Jimin shut up after Tae said that. Silence dominated their presence, and Jimin shifted on the backs of his feet. The only sounds were the creaking radiator, Cora's distant laughter, Barrett and VASCO's bickering not too far away, and Jimin's soft sniffle he made prior to finding the strength to reply.

"You consider this a purpose?"

"Maybe it's stupid, but yeah, I do. Not much purpose being a tattoo artist on Neon." Taehyung brought his eyes back up. "I always lived in a box as small as that sleep crate you and your mom were in. But the box was in my mind, yeah? I thought I couldn't be anything, being from Neon and all. No Neon rat ever does anything worth mentioning. Bayu is our greatest accomplishment, and he's the worst motherfucker this galaxy has seen." Taehyung paused and shook his head, a soft, boxy smile blessing his face. "But then you came back, and I saw you did something. You discovered something. Maybe I'm not so hopeless after all."

"Well, let's not push it. You missed a leech yesterday."

"Shut it, Park. We were having a moment."

"Hm, if you insist, Mr. Kim." Jimin squeezed Taehyung's shoulder. "But for what it's worth, thank you for being dedicated to the crew. I know it couldn't have been easy, giving up Neon like that."

"Oh please," Taehyung replied with a hand wave. "Leaving Neon was easy. It was the whole teamwork and socializing that was an adjustment." Taehyung paused to grimace. "I've never talked to so many people at once in my life."

"My crew is less than a dozen people."

"Exactly."

Jimin sighed but didn't bother adding anything else to that. Instead, he stepped back and gave Taehyung a small nod. "Well, hey, I'll let you get back to work. If I have any new assignments or need your help with anything, I'll let you know, okay?"

"Thanks, boss."

Jimin dipped his head and dismissed himself to the cockpit. Upon entering, he spotted Sarah Morgan there in the co-pilot's seat. Where Y/n was supposed to be. Jimin hesitated before plopping down beside her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Sarah asked without taking her eyes off the starry horizon.

Jimin put his feet on the dash and hummed. "Almost makes Neon look good."

"Well..." She snickered and turned to glance at him. "You know, when I was a girl, I used to look up at the stars with my parents and wish I could be up there, making a difference. It was my childhood dream."

"And now?"

Sarah averted her gaze. "I like to think I'm making a difference, but my past with the UC doesn't make me look good, does it?"

"I don't know it, so I can't answer that."

"Fair enough." Sarah leaned back. The chair creaked with her body weight. Her signature leather jacket—which looked to be a fuse between dark red and pink—squished thanks to her movement. "But you can tell me one thing."

"Oh yeah? Enlighten me."

"You hate the UC more than anything, am I right?"

Jimin faked a wince. "I don't know... acid-washed jeans are pretty shit, too."

"Oh, stop it." Sarah laughed, and it was elegant. Upbeat. The opposite of how the ship's atmosphere normally felt. "You know what I mean, so I'll just take that as a yes. What I was going to say is maybe you can give me an opinion about a UC dog."

"And what opinion is that, Miss Morgan?"

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest, still avoiding eye contact. "Is it possible for a UC dog to redeem themselves in your eyes? Even if they've done terrible things?"

Jimin observed her side profile and the way the starlight made her sharp blue eyes seem soft by comparison. Sarah's eyes were sharp like Marbles', but in that moment, they were sweet baby blues, like Sam's. Her skin looked as pale as ever, only that time she had bags under her eyes, and Jimin noticed perhaps even a pimple resting by her thin left eyebrow.

"No," he said, his voice going deeper as he let it pass his tongue. "But not because they're not worthy of redemption." Jimin brought his stare back to the stars and shook his head. "I've been with Constellation two years, but in those years, I've lived a lot of lives. More than probably anyone."

"On that, we agree."

Jimin nodded and continued, "But that's why I know redemption doesn't matter. You can spend your time wallowing over and over, but this galaxy has billions of people, hundreds of systems, and more planets than anyone can count. Sarah, you're the head of Constellation. I don't know what you did during the Colony War that makes you all sad and pouty, but wouldn't you rather focus on how much you can do now? We're doing something that can change the very structure of life as we know it. Isn't that more important?"

"Everything is important. I want to believe so, anyway." Sarah coughed after she said it. "I wish I could brush off my past and focus on the future, but I would be lying if I said it did not define a major part of who I am."

Jimin buckled himself in and decided it was time for Ryujin, but before he started the descent back into Volii Alpha's atmosphere, he said one last thing. "My past is shit, Sarah. I spent my entire childhood stealing, killing, and torturing. But the universe still gave me these powers and trusted me to find the creator of life. What does that say about existence?"

He placed his hands on the yoke and activated the engines. Shields popped around the hull of the vehicle, but they were invisible to the naked eye; however, Jimin had no time to focus on that, seeing as Sarah let out a sound that seemed like a chortle. Then, she shifted toward him with a smile.

"I have no idea."

☆☆☆

Breaking into Ryujin was not on his bucket list, yet there he stood, in front of Nyx, preparing to receive the data needed to get it done.

For Y/n, for Y/n, for Y/n, Jimin repeated in his mind as he stared down the man he hated with a burning passion. Nyx was not only competition, but he was annoying as fuck. No one was more annoying than Nyx. Not even Jeon Jungkook. Jimin would rather take down the Crimson Fleet again while fighting five Terrormorphs at the same time than do business with Nyx, yet there he stood, preparing to seal his fate.

"Well I'll be," Nyx said, dragging out each word more than necessary. "Park Jimin's a Ryujin lapdog now?"

Yeah, no. Nyx needed an ego check.

The apartment Jimin stood in was covered in tech. Not a single wall had space for decorations. That meant the environment was full of a soundscape of whirrs and beeps, but due to modern technology, it wasn't that loud, more of a mild annoyance than anything. Quiet enough for Nyx's stupid, high-pitched, scratchy voice to be heard. It was as if Neon's pollution got to him and made him sound like a little girl who smoked a pack a day.

The gray metal floors creaked as Jimin's boots took a few steps forward. Nyx was an inch shorter than Jimin, and Jimin used that without hesitation. His eyes sparkled with a shade of blue before he fired a particle beam at Nyx's bed in the corner of the one-room apartment and burned the mattress. Nyx had a higher-quality one than most, seeing as he had strong business. His apartment sounded small, and it was, but it made up for its lack of rooms with a giant rectangle that was the one-room apartment. Jimin didn't spot a bathroom, though.

"What the hell?" Nyx said in a shout as he rushed over to put out the flames.

Jimin used Nyx's panic to his advantage and went over to the main computer the man used. He loaded up a solar flare that time and placed his hand on the side of the computer's black frame, feeling the material molding under his grasp, but it wasn't enough to break the poor piece of tech. Not yet.

Nyx put out the small fire by throwing off the blankets and stomping on the mattress. When he whipped around to confront Jimin, he stiffened upon seeing Jimin's grip on the man's lifeline.

"No. Ryujin is my bitch. Benjamin Bayu hand-picked me to help him solve his most lucrative case yet, and all because I have the skills you wish you could have. Without me, you would've never gotten the damn phone call to help us with this. Guess who found evidence of a traitor in the first place? Not you, not Ryujin—me. If you have any more smart comments you want to make..." Jimin paused to break off a piece of the frame and toss it to Nyx's bare feet. "Make them now."

It was safe to say Nyx kept his mouth shut.

"Good boy." Jimin released the monitor and waved his hand to shake the excess sparkles off. It didn't stop them, and he grunted as he formed a fist. No matter what, he never had full control over his powers. He wondered if he ever would. "Now give me the stupid program so I can sneak into Ryujin."

"I need the credits first."

"Take it up with Ryujin, I'm not your errand boy." Jimin's eyes glittered as he approached Nyx, and the smaller man cowered away. "Program. Now."

Nyx scrambled to haul the data slate from his desk to Jimin's pocket, and as soon as he did, Jimin backed off and watched the man's slim face look anywhere other than at Jimin. If snakes could be human, Jimin imagined they'd be Nyx. The man had a face so "smooth" it looked slimy. The same applied to his hair. Jimin was convinced Nyx spent more time putting gel in it to form an ugly spike than hacking.

"Any advice on how to use it, or is it just like any other deciphering program?"

"Just..." Nyx swallowed. "Just like any other. Plug it in and it'll do the work for you, and then bring it back to me and I'll crack the encryption."

"There you go. That was easy, wasn't it?" Jimin grabbed Nyx's shoulder and used Sunless Space to lower the temperature. Not to freeze him, per se, but to let him know Jimin's presence. "Thank you for your service to Ryujin Industries."

Jimin smiled, nodded, and released Nyx's cold arm as he strode away. Nyx's apartment left his line of sight as he went up the creaking stairs making up the mammoth that was Ebbside. Held up by scaffolding, staircases, and walls to hide Ebbside from the rest of Neon like an acoustic and visual barrier, Ebbside was a dump. Well, okay, all of Neon was, but Ebbside more than anything else. It reeked of rotten fish. Rain, too. The rain didn't smell nice that high up. If anything, it exposed Jimin to the toxins polluting the Neon skies more.

Jimin used his gravity dash to go faster up the stairs. Mostly so he didn't have to look down and see the heights. Ironic, wasn't it? For someone who grew up surrounded by stairs and giant buildings, Jimin feared heights. It was in his top three fears. The second was acid-washed jeans, and the first being losing his wife.

And that was why he was breaking into Ryujin: to ensure that fear didn't come true.

Ryujin Industries shined in the distance. The top of it had a crimson glow with the classic Ryujin logo plastered on top in the finest material known to man. Jimin appreciated the way the metal plates of the top of the tower were welded together. Back in his mining days, he had sliced through more tough materials than he could count, and he held a newfound appreciation for all things architect and resource gathering. If only Ryujin didn't suck so much ass, then maybe he could spend more than a second complimenting it.

The top of Ebbside included an array of shipping containers from off-world that hauled in all their vegetables. It wasn't like they had farmland on Neon. All they had were fish, rain, and perpetual darkness.

A shipping container with a wooden plank sticking out of it hung in the air by a thick wire from a crane mounted on top of one of the rooftops. Jimin approached and saw that he could move it toward him, and then use a grav dash to make it to the secret Ryujin entrance. So, he scouted the vicinity and found the controls to the crane, pushing the crate forward until the wooden plank was close enough that he could jump without exerting himself. He had a feeling he'd need to use his cloak 24/7 while inside, so the more he could save on his powers, the better. He could have just used his grav dash twice, but the less uses, the better.

Jimin jumped over to the shipping container and avoided so much as glancing down. He ran and jumped out of the box, using grav dash to make it to the other side. What awaited him was a tiny, cramped "hallway" (without a roof) leading to a vent. He kicked the metal door of the vent in and crawled inside. It was hard to traverse with the walls squeezing him, but he managed to slip out of it and fall face-first onto the ground.

He groaned and rubbed his sore head. Yeah, that'd leave a bruise or two. Not on his pretty face. Well, it could be worse. Could be the family jewels.

Oh good lord. He sounded like Jin.

Jimin got to his knees and observed his surroundings. Voices echoed in the distance and there was a breeze coming from a fan in one of the metal walls. Ryujin was all metal to prevent fires from tearing through the place. Fires were rare on Neon for obvious reasons: constant rain. Sure, the conduction grid helped shield the droplets from slipping through to the Neon Core, but the rain was present enough to keep fires at bay.

For a major tech corporation with billions of dollars to its name, Ryujin sure hated interior design. Jimin respected that; after all, he was a minimalist. But that didn't change how bland it was. The interior had nothing of note aside from metal, metal, and more metal. Crates lined the sides of the room, and Jimin heard the whispered chatter from distant security guards.

Jimin tip-toed to the corner and peeked up, spotting a vent and hopping up into it. Yippee. Another vent. How exciting.

There was no point using his cloak yet. His powers, as impressive as they were, were still on a cooldown. If he used too many at once, that'd lead to loss of consciousness. Besides, he had to play smart. Save the cloak for important moments. That was Jimin's game plan.

He crawled and made it to the back of operations, which was where he needed to be. Okay, part one of his plan completed. The next part involved sneaking past the guards and making it to the executive floor, where all the higher-up offices were. He had to upload programs to every single computer in the executive space. Only the higher-ups had access to the super secret project Jimin had no clue about; however, he was sure Bayu would tell him soon enough.

Jimin opened the vent and dropped down onto white floors covered in red lights. Night hours for Ryujin meant paint everything in red. They had an obsession with red, for some reason. Seeing as Jimin's eyes glowed red more often than not, that meant he'd blend in.

Speaking of...

His hand glowed red as he cloaked himself. The colors varied depending on his mood. On a good day, they'd be normal, like a particle beam would be bright blue. On a bad day, the deep crimson took hold.

Ryujin was massive, and Jimin stuck to the walls of the long, wide corridors as he hurried down them. Guards patrolled every corner, most carrying EM weapons while others opted for lethal power. Part of Jimin was surprised the entire staff wasn't decked out with rocket launchers or some ridiculous shit. Bayu didn't play when it came to his toys, and Ryujin was his best toy of all. Other than Aurora, of course. Jimin didn't want to know what was more profitable: Aurora or Ryujin.

Corridors of nothingness waved to him as he traversed the building he had become accustomed to. The guards whispered to each other about the gossip in the office that day. AKA: Useless information Jimin didn't need. What he needed was the executive floor, and he had to find the vent system or elevator to take him there.

Every wall and hall looked the same. They smelled the same, too: like bleach. Jimin squeezed his nose. The shit on the sidewalks didn't get to him but the bleach did.

Awesome logic, Jimin.

Jimin stayed crouched and waddled his way through the lifeless arena that was Ryujin Industries. He knew the layout almost by heart. It was as if he had been granted Hoseok's photographic memory in that moment, and all the blueprints of Ryujin he studied in preparation for the mission came back to him. He made sure to squeeze his scarf tighter than usual.

A back room waited for him. He squeezed through the door so the guards twenty feet away wouldn't notice, and right when he entered, his invisibility wore off. No guards or staff were in the back room, and he deemed it safe to remain uncloaked for the time being.

The back room was as bland as the rest of the building. Four walls and a roof, as expected. Except the "roof" had a vent. Jimin used his grav dash to hoist himself up and latch onto the metal. The weight of his body hanging from it had the hinges snapping. The vent cover swung down, sending Jimin to the ground. A groan left him, but he otherwise didn't care.

Another grav dash hummed to life and propelled him up. He grabbed the ledge just in time for the dash to fade away and replace him with his normal gravity. All his strength came to him to lift him into the cramped vent. It was far from ideal, but he wasn't surprised Ryujin made the vents as tight as possible. Inspectors had to come and do maintenance on them, but if they could make them as human-proof as possible, that made sense in Jimin's mind.

But, unfortunately, that whole spiel meant Jimin had to crawl on his chest and feel the metal press down on his back. One wrong move and he could get stuck. Claustrophobia was not high on his list of fears, though the constriction of the vent had him wheezing and sweating. His ungloved, clammy hand clamped on the metal of the vent, and he slipped thanks to the moisture.

Well, he'd get over it. It wasn't like that mission was anything difficult. All he had to do was sneak in and sneak out, so nothing complicated. Bonus points if he didn't so much as alert a guard throughout the entire night. So, he kept that goal in the back of his mind as he made his way through the vents and eventually ended up in the core operations. He needed to get to the executive floor, and he chose to use the elevator instead of crawling in more vents.

Guards patrolled the operations level, and Jimin kept himself cloaked. He slowed time and knocked over a vase before beelining it to the elevator. Time resumed, the vase shattering to the ground. Any guards in the area jolted from the sudden loudness and went to investigate, taking the attention away from the elevators for a moment.

Jimin slipped inside and uncloaked, pressing the button to go up and kicking the stupid thing in the process. Metal box of doom. Stupid stupid stupid. Who invented them? He'd rather get skinned alive than trapped in an elevator.

On the bright side, the elevator zoomed up to the executive floor, and Jimin glanced up as it dinged. But looking up was a bad idea. When he did, he noticed a red dot flickering, and Jimin had to mumble a few not-so-nice words to himself as he realized it: he had been careless.

The elevator had cameras.

"Shit," Jimin mumbled. If he had a dollar for every time he had tried to be stealthy but ended up getting caught by an elevator camera, he'd have two dollars, which wasn't a lot, but it was strange that it happened twice.

Jimin recloaked, not that it would matter. Ryujin security was the best for obvious reasons. It protected Bayu's precious secrets, so Jimin had a feeling he wouldn't have a fun time when the doors open.

He got proven right.

The doors slid open, and before he could so much as move, four Ryujin guards greeted him. Yes, he had a cloak, but they had knowledge. They were the only competent security detail on Neon, and that resulted in them raising their weapons.

Jimin couldn't react in time or slow said time to give himself a moment. They opened fire right away, but not with bullets. With EM blasts. That meant they shot at empty air expecting Jimin to be cloaked, and that also meant they hit him, right in the chest. The electricity sparkled through him and caused his cloak to short-circuit and fizzle out. He became visible, his eyes widening and his brain feeling like a puddle of goop. That was when yet another blast hit him, and that finished him.

Jimin collapsed, and the world went black.

☆☆☆

Ouch.

Jimin was grateful he hadn't been shot with EM blasts too often in his life, but that didn't change how it hurt every time it happened. That included that moment as he came back into being and felt the wooden chair underneath him. His eyes didn't function yet, but his fingers twitched. That was when he felt the rope binding him to the furniture.

The next sense that came to him was smell. It smelled of orange, almost like an orange perfume mixed with cleaning supplies. His nose flared while he tried to identify where it came from, but his ears tuned in next to fill in more blanks. Classical music. Piano keys and subtle violin strings.

What came last was his eyes. When he opened them, he grunted from the brightness. Turned out the room was dim, likely for his sake, but that didn't matter. His eyes reacted as if he had been flashed by the sun. The rest of his body woke up after that. He could feel the stiffness in his joints, and he wished he could purge it from his system.

"Ah, you're awake," a male voice said, and Jimin didn't need to be fully conscious to recognize it.

Benjamin God damn Bayu.

"Great," Jimin mumbled with a huff as he picked his head up and tried to see again. That time, he succeeded. He spotted the familiar penthouse of Benjamin Bayu. Fancy sculptures worth more than Jimin's ship, gadgets on the couch and desk, turrets hanging from the ceiling and pointed at Jimin, and Bayu wearing a violet robe with golden accents and close-toed slippers to match.

"You do know that when Dalton sent you in to Ryujin, he meant you do it without getting caught, right?"

"Gee, thanks for the reminder, grandpa." Jimin groaned from the pressure building on his head. Not a headache, but it felt as though hands pressed down on his skull. "Can I go now, or is there something else?"

"No, you can't go. You screwed up. How do you plan on fixing this?"

"Maybe if you give me two seconds to wake up after being shot by electricity and knocked unconscious, I could tell you."

Jimin kicked at the marble ground and adjusted himself to sit up in the chair. He couldn't move his hands, and he noticed his right hand was numb. He squeezed and squeezed as best he could, but all he could manage was a little twitch of the finger. Bayu noticed and scanned over Jimin's body.

"Try activating your powers, Mr. Park."

Jimin didn't want to obey Benjamin Bayu of all people, but he did. Symbols flashed in his mind. Sunless Space. Solar flare. Void form. All of them cycled through his vision, yet none of them worked. His hand never sparkled. Neither did his eyes.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Jimin asked, lunging forward in his chair and almost knocking it down in the process. He writhed in the bondage, yet it didn't budge. "What the fuck!"

A stream of expletives fired out. Bayu waited until Jimin stopped to come over and kneel to be eye-level with the powerless man.

"Nothing. Why do you think I have these?" Bayu motioned to the turrets and tilted his head. "I had a theory, not facts. A theory that EM damage could render you powerless, at least for the time being. I'm sure they'll come back in no later than twenty-four hours, but for now, you have nothing. You can't break free."

Wonderful.

"Okay, great, I'm lovin' the demonstration, but can we get to the part where you tell me what the fuck you want from me?"

"I told you," Bayu said, dragging out every second. "I want you to come up with a plan to solve your mess, but since you're so fuzzy from the whole getting shot thing, I suppose we can spend our time talking about your powers." Bayu placed his finger on Jimin's chin to lift it and inspect him. "So anything EM-related hurts your powers, hm? Guess that makes taming you easier."

"And? Am I supposed to care?"

"Of course you are." Bayu released Jimin and pulled a knife from his pocket, twirling it. "You can act like an overgrown child all you want, but remember I hold the key to your mech." Bayu pressed the knife against the outer layer of Jimin's jacket, right over his heart. "And now, I know a way to kill you, Park Jimin. EM damage and then a bullet to the heart the second you go unconscious."

"Threatening a being with superpowers isn't a wise move, Bayu."

"Where are they, then?" Bayu sank the tip of the knife deeper, past the fabric and to the point where Jimin could feel the coolness on his hot flesh. "You are welcome to try to resist, but even if they work and you can kill me, that means no more mech for you. I'm sure your..." Bayu paused to make a tsk noise. "...wife can survive more months without her dashing savior, but do you want to risk that, Mr. Park?"

Jimin had never wanted to kill someone as badly as he wanted to kill Benjamin Bayu. If he could rip out Bayu's throat with his teeth, he would. Bayu was close enough, after all. One lean forward and Jimin could sink his canines into a vein and tear the skin free. The turrets would probably kill him for that. Jimin didn't care anymore. At least he would die a hero.

"Point taken, but threatening me doesn't change that I don't have a plan yet," Jimin said, and Bayu sighed.

"I hired you to find the mole and put my product on the market, but you can't even do that right." Bayu removed the knife from Jimin's jacket and got up, flipping the blade around in his hand. "So you're going to come up with a backup plan, and you're going to do it before I let you leave this room."

"Well, gee, I don't know, send another operative in to do the job? One more experienced?"

"Operatives are used to small jobs. Pickpocketing. Hacking. Planting data. Breaking into their own place of employment? No, that's why I hired you. You're the one who can cloak and move shit with your mind, and somehow you still failed."

Jimin huffed. "I can't move shit with my mind-"

"Who cares? It was a metaphor." Bayu put his blade back where it belonged and slumped against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just think of something."

Jimin delved into the depths of his brain to attempt to formulate a plan that made sense. A plan that would satisfy Bayu and somehow result in Jimin succeeding in receiving the necessary data to discover the mole. Assuming the data would give them the mole. Yes, an executive had to be the one to do it, but would hacking into their computers be their hail Mary? Jimin didn't believe so, and he thought the focus should be on the product, not the mole. The mole could come later.

But then again, the mole could leak every piece of progress they make and give Infinity LTD an advantage. So maybe Jimin was stupid. That was why he wasn't a business man.

"Why don't we do it during the day instead of after hours?" Jimin asked, and Bayu waved his hand.

"And what would that accomplish? Having them on-site could risk them walking in on your little investigation."

"So schedule a bullshit board meeting to get them all out of their offices. I'll cloak to hide from the cameras and upload the program to their computers. Assuming those EM blasts didn't destroy the program in my pocket, that is."

"I'm sure you can fix it, Mr. Park."

Great, Jimin had to do repair jobs. That had been a popular service of his back in the old days. He didn't miss it.

"Yes, I'm sure," Jimin said with an eye roll. "Does that plan satisfy you, or do you need to keep bothering me?"

"Bothering you? Oh, I'm so sorry your failure led to this. I apologize for the inconvenience this must have caused." Bayu stopped and glared, letting the classical music interrupt them before he continued. "The plan is adequate at best. We wanted you to sneak in at night with no one else's knowledge but Dalton and Masako's for a reason. You're using an illegal program in the only place on Neon that cares about the legal process. You were lucky you were caught by guards and sent to me instead of caught by an executive. If you get caught by an executive while there or the guards see you on the cameras and alert the executives that you're tampering with their computers, you could get kicked out of Ryujin. And you know what that means?"

"No mech." Jimin went quiet for a beat, poking his tongue against his cheek and contemplating his options.

Any help, or am I alone on this one?

Y/n's voice echoed in his mind. "Jimin, I specialize in Starborn matters, not corporate espionage. I have no idea, but if you fail this time..."

No mech. No Y/n. Got it.

Jimin refocused on Bayu, who allowed Jimin the moment to collect himself. Bayu had no idea Jimin was consulting his wife, but that was something no one needed to know. Didn't want them thinking he was crazy. Well, to be fair, he was, but not about the Starborn. Not about his powers. It was the only thing he felt like he knew, yet at the same time, he knew nothing about it.

"I'll get it done, but I need to be more prepared. I want blueprints of the executive floor and a fake meeting with Masako after the fake board meeting so it's justifiable why I'm up there and don't need to cloak in the elevators. Give me a map of all the cameras and any blind spots they have."

"It's Ryujin. There are no blind spots."

"What about the vents?"

Bayu stroked his chin and hummed. "That is a possibility, yes. I will make an announcement that maintenance workers will be coming soon to work on the vents so they'll be left open without any suspicion."

Great, that meant Jimin didn't have to worry about needing to open and close vents on camera. Even if invisible, vents opening and closing by themselves would look a tad suspicious.

Just a tad.

"I will need a few days to set all this up," Bayu continued, pushing off the desk and approaching Jimin again. "And also reflect on the plan and add to it if necessary. I hope you will grant me this time."

"What choice do I have?"

Jimin started to see why breaking in after hours was the superior idea. Doing it during the workday led to all those complications and planning while at night, all he had to do was sneak through the vents and upload computers while dodging guards. Well, shit. He had a long ass job ahead, huh?

"Good answer." Bayu took out his knife and went behind Jimin, placing his hands on the rope holding the superpowered individual down. "I trust you won't kill me the second I release you?"

"Bayu, with all due respect, I just got knocked the fuck out by an electro-magnetic rifle and told I have a chance at losing my mech if I fuck up again." Jimin turned to make eye contact with Bayu, shaking his head. "The only thing I have energy for right now is drinking."

"Fair enough."

The ropes dropped to the ground, and Jimin brought his wrists forward to rub over them. His glove squeaked a bit as he did so. He listened to each rub of the fabric and how it contrasted with the delicate music bouncing around.

More quiet infected Bayu and Jimin's conversation, but Jimin ended it earlier that time.

"Give me a ring when you set it up. In the meantime, I need to recover from that damn EM rifle." Jimin staggered to his feet and almost fell over. Bayu didn't help him, not that Jimin expected him to.

Jimin rubbed his sore head and chest. At least Hobi's scarf didn't get damaged in the process. Jimin squeezed it to confirm it was there before throwing it back over his shoulder and heading to the elevator. Of course Bayu's penthouse only had one exit: a damn elevator.

"Mr. Park, before you go, might I remind you that you are not invincible?" Bayu asked.

Jimin called the elevator, and it appeared right away, the metal doors sliding open to reveal the bright space inside. He stepped in and swiveled on his feet to make eye contact with the man worth more money than the entire planet of Neon. Silence lingered, and Jimin allowed it to before he pressed the button for the bottom floor of the tower and granted Bayu the shortest reply he could manage.

"I know."

☆☆☆

A/N: Good news, everyone!

This whole time I wasn't just writing this chapter for SF. I actually wrote this one last. Ironic considering it was the next one, but for some reason I can't write in chronological order. So that means I have three more chapters close to being done that will be uploaded soon! I hope to have an update almost every week until the end of December. So I've been busy working on this story, and you can expect a lot of progress soon!

Secondly, I started a Patreon for anyone who would like early access to chapters and my future books alongside other benefits (depending on tier). Everyone got early access to this chapter on Patreon. But it's not just a paid thing. There's also free memberships available that grant you access to behind-the-scenes content, occasional early chapter access, and various updates and new things I'll post here and there, so I strongly encourage signing up, whether it's free or paid, to stay more in the loop about my content since I hateeee posting announcements on Wattpad and put most of my updates on Discord and Patreon.

If you're interested in signing up, the link is in the external link.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you soon in the next chapter!