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~ Gemini Industries
Boston, Massachusetts
Planet Earth ~

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Gemini held a cup of mahon tea as he lay in bed, looking at the brightly lit city from the window shaped like a diamond. Mahon was a blend of oolong tea, vanilla, rosehip, cardamom, and black currant. The tea was warm, gilded with glitter naturally formed in the Iredescent imported ingredients.

He slept during the day and stayed up at night, keeping a nocturnal lifestyle while working his abbhorent business. He loved nighttime, loved the city lights, loved the creativity that came late at night, after the chaos of the day.

As he continued watching Geminangels fly around, enjoying their new wings and shimmery bodies, Gemini recalled the night he first saw irangels. He was jealous and wanted to become an irangel. He kept going in random forests, frustrated when he didn't turn into an irangel. He was envious of the lucky ones who became irangels, wondering why he wasn't chosen to become an irangel.

After the creator of irangels was revealed to the world, Gemini's envy increased upon learning a select few irangels were given the knowledge of turning humans into Iredescents. He felt it was unjust that only a few people were given the chance to become an irangel.

When travel was permitted between planet Iredescent and planet Earth, Gemini was the first to volunteer to go to planet Iredescent.

Gemini was a perfume chemist with a vast chemical engineering background. Like most perfumers, he was able to identify hundreds of ingredients by smell alone. His heightened sense of smell increased when he became an irangel, though he didn't gain any special ability.

In his desire to become an irangel, Gemini studied as much as he could about Iredescent. He brought Iredescent plants and flowers to Earth and studied them, but he couldn't find the answer on how to turn himself into an Iredescent. He made several trips to planet Iredescent, picking up wing feathers from the ground and pocketing them, making sure nobody saw him take them. He studied the Iredescent wing feathers in his lab and learned about the n-r element for the first time.

Realizing he was close to discovering the secret of how to turn humans into irangels, Gemini constructed a place, the building he called Gemini Industries. Disguising it as a perfume laboratory where he created perfumes, Gemini built a secret transformation room where he replicated the cylinders used to turn humans into irangels.

Once the building construction was completed, Gemini returned to Iredescent and posed as a surgeon, stealing vials of Iredescent blood, wing feathers, and fins. Only then was he finally able to uncover the secret and use the blood vials to turn himself into an irangel.

He had dozens of trusted scientists and chemists at work. Using the stolen vials of Iredescent blood, Gemini was able to successfully turn himself into an irangel. He didn't have Demian and Cole's co-operative knowledge of cloning Iredescent blood, so he resorted to thievery and Iredescent trafficking to gather more blood.

Hospitals grew suspicious from increased numbers of stolen blood. Families searched for missing loved ones. And Gemini's business developed once he allowed the public the chance to become what he always wanted: an irangel.

Gemini was aware the Iredescents and irangels would eventually find out about the missing Iredescents. He knew they would come for him, so he set to work creating perfume weapons to combat their abilities, since he had no superhuman ability.

He used his extensive knowledge of fragrances to create perfumes that could be used as weapons against Iredescents and irangels. Fragrances and chemicals tampered with individual abilities, either hindering or killing.

Gemini continued to lay underneath the bed covers, his elbow propped up on a satin pillow, his eyes directed at the diamond-shaped window. The city was glittering with lights and people using their new wings for travel and flight. He enjoyed the delightful looks on their faces, the sound of wings flapping, and the feel of the wind rushing through his hair and body, a sensation similar to riding a bike downhill.

This is life. Gemini sighed contently, lifting his late-night tea for another refreshing sip.

No sooner than he finished a sip than one of his subordinates, an Englishman named Zaevion Zycheaus, came forth bearing the following news, "Sir, there is talk of criticism. News leaked of your direct involvement with one of the irangel leaders. Some are questioning your motives."

Gemini placed his tea on the bedside table. He reluctantly got off the bed and went over towards the window. He gestured at the city view, his silky robe and matching pants reflected in the clear windowpane.

"Stupid critics. Have I not successfully revolutionized the world and forever changed it?"

"Tori Nichok was the first irangel, the person who forever changed the world through her discovery of planet Iredescent, leading Demian Daggers to become the creator of irangels," Zaevion reminded Gemini.

"Yes, I know." Gemini dismissed his reminder with a wave of his hand. "Point is, I can accomplish anything. Perhaps more than Tori ever dreamed."

Gemini motioned towards the large glass cabinet that spanned nearly the entire section of the wall on the other side of the room, containing multiple identical perfume bottles. There were different colored liquids in each of them.

Each perfume bottle was labeled with dark purple writing: Invisibility. Teleportation. Speed. Telepath. The Force. Emotion manipulation. Pyrokinetics. Air manipulation. Chlorokinesis. Phytokinesis. Thermoendurance. Healing. And so on.

"This is my private perfume collection. With these specially formulated perfumes, I will combat any opposing Iredescent abilities with my perfumes. The situation with Cole was the perfect example."

As Zaevion looked in astonishment, Gemini spritzed on his regular signature fragrance and set it back on the shelf, above the weaponized perfume fragrances.

"Zaevion, I want you to extensively research the irangels. I want to know everything I possibly can about them."

"I'll gather the information once again and compile it into another document for you," said Zaevion, sighing quietly. He felt Gemini was either asking too much or asking to repeat the same tasks he had already completed.

Gemini changed into a silvery grey suit and went to grab a bottle of scotch. After consuming a drink, he descended into the heart of Gemini Industries, the clandestine source of his evil. Within its glamorous walls are concealed corruption in the form of fragrances and blood.

Iredescent blood.

Vials of it lined the wall in giant cylindrical tanks, stored under a certain temperature to keep from spoiling. The next room was the research room where Gemini studied the n-r element. Neatly stacked folders and notes were carefully organized into filing shelves, with digital holographic copies in columns.

Further down, Gemini could smell various scents as his employees worked on creating perfume fragrances, unaware of the chemicals that were Gemini's own invention, a creation of deadly weapons intended for use against Iredescent people. Though his employees were told which materials were hazardous, they were kept unaware of the truth, believing they were truly in a perfume factory.

A war preparation room disguised as a perfume factory.

Gemini breathed deeply, each scent distinguishing a different weapon for each ability.

Orange took down telekinetics and their force shields. Pizza scent repelled sound manipulators. Leather scent was used against light manipulation.

Several scents, like coconut and orange blossom, served as a distractor. Gimpy sundew caused one to see inverted colors. Morning glory produced hallucinations. The scent combination of pumpkin and lavender made people lose their inhibitions, causing them to be 'sexed up' as a seductive form of distraction.

Jasmine, mixed with chemical properties derived from slipsilver fragments, was effectively used against shapeshifters. Patchouili and pomegranate were used against Iredescents with nature and weather manipulation abilities.

Sage took down those with an invisibility ability. Blackberry shielded a user. Valerian prevented teleporters from using their ability; that was the one Gemini used against Cole in the spaceship.

Crayon was an acid perfume that acted like pepper spray. Mulberry was used to disguise and hide a scent. Pine immobilized while barbeque took away an Iredescent's strength and made them really feel weak.

Coffee was used against telepaths. Gingerbread deterred Iredescents with a glitter manipulation ability. Popcorn disarmed mermaids and mermen capable of water manipulation. The scent of fresh cut grass temporarily cut off all senses, while cayenne pepper enhanced senses. Chocolate chip cookie scent placed one in a trance. Kava scent caused one to act drunk. And so on.

There were fragrances that gave Gemini an advantage over powerful Iredescents. Neroli formed rain and condensation. Rain dispelled flames. Vetiver healed wounds.

Violet vapor made him invisible, allowing for a quick getaway. The secent of violet was interesting because violets have the chemical ionane, which makes the scent 'disappear' then reappear later.

Then there were the dangerous fragrances, the lethal ones that Gemini took extra precautions with. Caladium acted like poison, turning into acid after prolonged exposure. Foxglove caused heart failure. The pink cotton candy scented fragrance was the most lethal one, promising immediate death just from inhaling the fragrance.

After creating an arsenal of weaponized perfume, Gemini felt confident he would succeed if he fought against an Iredescent or irangel. Because he used one of his perfumes on an irangel leader, Gemini was sure the irangel leaders would come for him in retaliation, including the creator of irangels. For this reason, Gemini carefully researched not only the irangel leaders, but also each irangel, Iredescent, and non-Iredescent counsel.

Knowing he would need a team base of his own, Gemini hired his own group of irangels to fight Demian and his irangels when necessary. He called them his 'gemstars', since they were his top choice, as opposed to the irangel 'stellars'.

Gemini's gemstars were Envigo Miroshnichenko, Cirilo Czyril, Diwata Liwayway, Cyrenus Erdoğane, Jeslyn Rist, Vittini Ladislare, Sevaria Mesbah, Taivek Miklavic, Cristobal and Kaizleiya Mazarresk, Esabelita Isipfiore, and Qímico de' Brilho.

Envigo was a Kazakhstani Geminangel with the teleportation ability. Envigo looked like he was of Middle Eastern, Russian, and Asian ethnicities. His long black hair was halfway tied back. His jubilant, almond-shaped eyes had purple sparkles in them. He had indigo blue wings. He was in very good physical shape, and he was in the military before he became a Geminangel. His nickname was the Kazakhstani Teleporter.

Cirilo Czyril, the Uzbekistani Shapeshifter, had wavy ebony hair, a lean figure, and an affinity for the fun playful adventure. His wings were green and brown, matching his mischievous green-flecked brown eyes.

Diwata Liwayway was from the Philippines. Called the Purple Princess because she always wore purple clothing and her sepia brown skin had purple skin shimmer, Diwata had very long, beautiful dark brown hair and almond-shaped purplish pink eyes reminiscent of an Iredescent sunrise. Her wings were purple with mauve pink glitter, and her ability was healing.

Cyrenus Erdoğan, the Georgian Merman, spent more time underwater than he did on land. His fin was cerulean blue and silver, looking great with his dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Jeslyn Rist was a Geminangel with the invisibility ability. Though shy in social settings, Jeslyn carried herself with elegance and grace. She was half Spanish half Asian, born of a Spanish father and a Taiwanese mother. She was given the nickname the Invisible Beauty.

Vittini Ladislare was from Italy. He had two abilities: the ability to manipulate emotions and the sensory deprivation ability. Not only could he manipulate emotions and influence how people feel, but he could also deprive senses from people, such as the sense of taste or smell. He could make people feel certain emotions, numb them to emotion and make them feel nothing, or bring lost senses back to people. His nickname was the Deprivor and Reviver.

Sevaria Mesbah was a finned Egyptian Geminangel with long black textured hair. She had vivid gold skin shimmer that never faded even on land. Her fin was entirely shimmery gold with rose gold scales. Her nickname was the Egyptian Rusalka. Rusalka means mermaid in Russian, which was fitting because Sevaria spoke Egyptian, Hebrew, and Russian.

Taivek Miklavic was a Mongolian Geminangel with the sound manipulation ability. He looked so much like Envigo that the two could pass as brothers. The other Geminangels thought they were related when they first met. Envigo's thick black hair was halfway pulled back into a man bun, the other half long and loose; Taivek's long black hair was layered and had blue streaks in it. While Envigo had a cheerful outlook on life, Taivek was cautious and wary, initially distrusting of others until he deemed a person worthy of trust. His nickname was the Sound Manipulator.

The Chilean siblings, Cristobal and Kaizleiya Mazarresk, had two separate abilities. Cristobal had the regeneration ability and Kaizleiya had the ability to see memories by touching objects.

Cristobal's ability acted in such a way so that if somebody ate an apple and he touched the apple core, his ability would restore the apple to the way it was before it was eaten, replacing lost molecules and particles of matter. Therefore, he was able to restore any food in the fridge and even recover deleted computer files by touching the computer or hard drive. His nickname was the Restoration.

Kaizleiya could touch a desk and instantly learn the memories associated with that desk, seeing every person who interacted with it. She could hack into computers simply by touching the keyboard and seeing the computer user, what keys they pressed, even what the person looked like and what coffee they drank. She was nicknamed the Recollection.

Esabelita Isipfiore was nicknamed the Burundian Elsa. Like the Disney Princess, Esabelita was able to form ice and create winter weather. Unlike Elsa, Esabelita had braided light mint green hair and dark umber skin, wore mint green and cobalt blue clothing, and she was from an African country called Burundi.

appeared as the Geminangel impersonation of the bottle design for the 2019 men's fragrance called Química de Humor Natura. His wings color-shifted in stunning ombré tones, ranging from sunset orange to sepia brown and light violet purple, highlighting his spiked-up light violet purple hair and coffee brown skin.

Qímico had the ability to warp reality and trap people in illusions. For example, he could make a man believe he was drowning in perfume, when in reality, the effects weren't real and the man was just victim to an illusion of his making, though the illusion felt real. Because of his illusions, he was able to make anyone believe whatever he wanted them to believe. His name meant Chemical Sparkle in Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil. He was the only gemstar whose name was also his nickname.

The gemstars were supervised by Zaevion Zycheaus, a human from Wales with no special ability. Zaevion was Gemini's subordinate, one of the few who did not wish to become a Geminangel. He was simply nicknamed the Englishman.

Gemini housed the gemstars in a luxurious apartment complex that included amenitites like stunning architecture, marble bathrooms, infinity pools, hot tubs, Jacuzzi, 24-karat gold leaf walls, champagne in tall fancy glasses, beautiful gardens, balconies with a paradise view, concert halls, even an opera and theater.

All paid for by Gemini.

Sevaria and Cyrenus immediately rushed for the infinity pool, turning into their merforms soon as they dove underwater. Qímico was already drinking champagne. Jeslyn was nowhere to be seen. The Chilean siblings were already unpacking their belongings while Diwata was trying to decide which room she wanted. Vittini explored the complex with Esabelita, leaving Envigo and Taivek in the spacious hallway.

"What irangel wouldn't want to live here?" Envigo asked nobody in particular as he looked around the luxurious complex, touching its magnificent walls flecked in gold shimmers.

"How do we know there isn't a catch to this?" Taivek asked, ever so cautious and wary.

"Gemini told us why he hired us. There's no catch, just the warning that we could engage in combat with one of the irangels," Envigo stated.

"If I had to fight one of them, I would want to fight the Black Rose. She's such a hot woman," said Cirilo, appearing out of thin air. He briefly shapeshifted himself into Valerie's form, dressing her in a shimmery purple bikini.

Envigo rolled his eyes, his muscled arms folded across his chest. "Good luck with that. She is the most powerful irangel. A woman like her is definitely not single."

Cirilo scowled, shapeshifting back into himself.

Envigo smiled when he turned and saw a bouquet of peonies in a beautiful pink vase, resting atop a marbled décor furniture. He took a peony flower, closing his eyes as he breathed in its lovely floral scent.

"Peonies are my favorite flower," Envigo told Taivek, holding onto the peony flower as they started walking down the hallway. "In Kazakhstan, my sister Rayana grew peonies in our backyard when we were growing up. Every time I see peonies, I think of Rayana. I miss her."

"What happened to her? If you don't mind me asking," said Taivek, curious in learning more about his comrade.

Envigo stopped near the entrance to the dining area, his gaze faraway and thoughtful. "Rayana moved to Kyrgyzstan with her husband Nurlan. I remained in Kazakhstan until I became an irangel. I got a call from Gemini, wanting to hire me after he discovered my ability. I accepted on the condition that I get paid reasonably. Soon as Gemini paid me, I gave the money to my sister and her family."

"Payment is the only reason I accepted Gemini's employ," Taivek admitted. "I came from a rough part of Mongolia and I needed money to pay off some debts. It shocked me when Gemini paid me the moment I accepted. After paying off my debts and having enough left to live a good life, I came here where all the other hires are gathered."

"How are you finding the other hires? Are they to your liking?"

"We are definitely an exotic group. I've never seen people of so many different cultures in one building. All the different languages, yet we can understand them. Makes you wonder about Iredescent and how advanced they are."

When leaving the hallway, Taivek increased the faraway orchestra concert music's volume, altering the building's acoustics and carrying the sound to make it reach the dining area.

Envigo inclined his head towards the dining area. "I'm gonna grab some food and enjoy the music." He turned and smiled at Jeslyn, who was walking gracefully as she allowed herself to be visible. "Would you like to join us, Jeslyn?"

Jeslyn stopped, looking curiously at Envigo. Though Envigo secretly had designs on her, he kept his interest to himself, refraining from attempting to flirt with her. He allowed his eyes to study her, admiring her beauty though he wished to comment on it.

"Sure, that would be great. Thank you," Jeslyn said, deciding it would be a good opportunity to learn more about her comrades.

"May I?" Envigo asked, extending an arm towards Jeslyn.

Jeslyn linked her arm in his and allowed Envigo to lead her to the dining area.

Taivek smiled, silently wishing them luck. When going to see how the other hires were doing, Taivek froze at the unexpected sight of his boss. What is Gemini doing here? I thought he was away on business.

Gemini was without bodyguards, completely dependent on his secret perfume weapons arsenal. After the men in black were knocked out with Cole's electricity, Gemini decided to rely exclusively on himself, dissatisfied with those around him.

All except the gemstars, whom he granted favor and lavished with attention.

Dressed in his usual metallic dark purple suit, Gemini talked amicably with Vittini and Esabelita, whom he had run into while on the premises. He held a manila folder packed with paper documents.

There was nothing special about the manila folder, but Taivek frowned, seeing something disturbing on one of the files that was sticking out of the folder.

Gemini seemed conscious of it and covertly tucked the file deeper into the folder to hide it from view, but Taivek had already seen it. Gemini turned, sensing Taivek's presence, but Taivek had already left.

Edgily running a hand through his hair, Taivek looked around the dining area, finding Envigo and Jeslyn sitting at one of the fancy white and gold tables, chatting with one another. Or rather, Envigo was doing the chatting and Jeslyn was listening, holding a glass of water.

Taivek surprised them both when he abruptly addressed Jeslyn.

"Jeslyn! I know we don't know each other well, and I am sorry to interrupt your time with Envigo, but Gemini is here, and I saw something disturbing. I'm not sure what it was, but it's in one of Gemini's files. It's in a manila folder he's carrying.

"I know this is a heavy risk, but could you please use your ability to find what's in Gemini's files? I might be overthinking this, but I suspect he might be hiding something from us."

Envigo's slightly flirtatious conversation and Jeslyn's polite listening quickly turned into seriousness. Though they didn't know Taivek well, they could tell he was telling the truth.

Jeslyn set her glass down and rose from the table, Envigo rising as well.

"I trust your instincts, Taivek. I will go and find out. Keep this between us for now. Once I learn what Gemini might be hiding, then perhaps we could tell the others, depending on what I find."

"Thank you, Jeslyn," Taivek said sincerely.

Jeslyn nodded and turned invisible, heading out of the dining area.

A worried look came over Envigo. "I hope you're wrong, Taivek. Because if Gemini is hiding something from us – "

" – he'll regret his sorry ass and quickly learn what a rich loser he is compared to us, the gemstars," Taivek finished, intent on learning Gemini's cruel secret he kept hidden from the world.

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Music:

"Dust 04" and "Dust 07"
by Circle of Dust

[When Gemini descends into the dark dirty awful secret of Gemini Industries]

"Super Villain"
by Powerman 5000

[Except that Gemini tends to dress in very dark purple, the color that Iredescent people wear to funerals]

"Happy Feeling (Anton Liss Remix)
by Valio Kilas ft. Kevan Bryant

[A cheerful, upbeat dance song to 'offset' the Gemini-esque music]

"Fashion Nights" and "Future Bass Pow"
by VICTORY IHS

[cool fashion model type music]

✨ Let me know if you have any good music recommendations! ✨

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