Jason and Brandon both blinked.
Flux's face darkened. "Of course you don't remember... why would you? You're not the one who got humiliated. It was back when you were still a C-Rank...."
Flashback – Years Ago
The cafeteria was alive with chatter and C-Ranks mixed in tense hierarchy. Jason, young, cool and calm, sat across from Flux at a corner table. His eyes were locked on him—staring. Studying.
Flux squirmed, clearly uncomfortable.
"What's with this guy... why's he looking at me like that? Is something on my face?" he thought.
Jason tilted his head, his expression deadly serious.
"Hmm..." he murmured, hand on his chin. "You remind me of something... something edible."
Silence hit the room like a glass shattering. Forks paused mid-air. Conversations stopped mid-sentence.
Everyone knew. Everyone.
They all thought it, but no one had the guts to say it aloud.
Whispers sparked across the cafeteria like fire on dry grass:
"He's gonna say it."
"No one's dared before..."
"Is he crazy?"
Jason suddenly pointed at Flux, eyes lighting up with innocent discovery.
"Aha! That's it! You look just like... a MUSHROOM!"
Gasps. Stifled laughs. Then—
Chaos.
"No way!"
"He actually said it!"
"Mushroom head!! HA!"
Jason wasn't done.
He nodded, dead serious.
"Yeah. A full-blown mushroom. Wide up top, slim on the neck. You even got the color down."
The laughter erupted. Flux froze, humiliated.
His fists clenched under the table as chants began.
"Mushroom Head!" "Mushroom Head!"
Jason, completely oblivious, sipped his drink and mumbled, "Huh... it fits."
From that day, the nickname burned like a brand—and Flux swore he'd never forget it.
Back in the present—
"I swore I'd get you back for that," Flux spat, voice trembling.
Jason stared, expression blank. "... That was you?"
Brandon sighed. "Bro... you ruined a mission over childhood trauma?"
Jason said bluntly, "And besides, I didn't mean for it to become a nickname. I only said it because your head actually looked like a—"
Brandon quickly stepped in, raising a hand to stop him. "Jason… don't."
Flux narrowed his eyes. "You were about to say something, Jason. Go ahead. Finish it."
Before Jason could answer, Ethan snapped. His fist clenched as he lunged forward, grabbing Flux by the collar and slamming him hard against the wall. The impact echoed.
"You nearly compromised everything," Ethan growled, voice sharp and venomous. "You leaked classified intel over some dumb personal grudge? That's not betrayal—that's brain-dead. Where the hell did you even meet those bastards?"
Flux stammered, "I—I went out during lookout at the inn… and I saw that same thug Jason almost wrecked. He was with some shady guys—looked like they were tracking someone. I approached them and… sold them info on Jason. his allergies… ."
Silence. Then Ethan's jaw locked. "You sold him out… Over a nickname?!"
Ethan snapped.
"You're seriously twisted…" he growled, slamming his fist straight into Flux's face. The impact echoed through the room. Before Flux could recover, Ethan grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up, slamming him hard against the wall.
"You really expect me to believe you sold Jason out—for that? A joke? A nickname? You risked his life over something that petty?!"
Flux winced, blood trailing from his lip. "It—it was personal…"
Ethan's eyes narrowed. He was about to fire off another verbal assault when his gaze shifted—stopping right at the top of Flux's head. He blinked.
A beat passed.
Then another.
And suddenly, his mouth twitched.
"…No way…"
He squinted.
"…You really do look like a damn mushroom."
A moment later, Ethan broke. He let out a sharp laugh that grew louder by the second. "Oh hell—Jason wasn't kidding!"
He staggered back, still laughing, and let go of Flux, who slid down the wall in humiliation.
"I really hate you guys" Flux muttered darkly.
Ethan wiped his eyes, still grinning. "You betrayed a teammate… over that? Man, I was mad, but now I just feel sorry for you.. Now that I think about it I've always wondered who gave you that name."
Then, looking at him one more time: "You are the fungus among us."
Flux muttered under his breath, "Asshole…"
Brandon stretched, unfazed. "Well, now that all that drama's out of the way, we're not killing him—so we might as well let him go."
Flux gulped, clearly regretting everything.
Brandon gave a short wave. "We'll leave you to rest, Jay. We'll be outside if you need anything."
Jason gave a simple nod.
As they exited, the door creaked again—this time, it was Liam, his expression clouded with worry. Jason noticed immediately.
"Liam? You alright?"
Liam hesitated before stepping forward. "I… I need to talk to you about something."
Jason didn't say a word, just looked at him calmly, signaling he had his full attention.
Liam stared at the ground, his voice barely above a whisper. "I had this… this feeling. When I saw you earlier—bleeding, bruised—it triggered something in me. Something I can't explain. A memory, maybe? I don't know what it was, but…" His fists trembled as his voice cracked, "I was terrified. I thought… I thought you were gonna die."
Tears welled up, spilling over as he wiped them furiously with his sleeves. But before he could say more, Jason was already in front of him—crouching down and pulling him into a quiet, steady hug.
"…Sorry you had to see that," Jason said softly, his tone calm but warm.
That broke whatever composure Liam had left. He let the tears fall, clinging to Jason like he might disappear. After a while, his sobs slowed, and he finally spoke again.
"Just—just don't ever do that again, okay?"
He held out his pinky with a shaky hand.
Jason blinked, then cracked a small smile. Wordlessly, he hooked his pinky with Liam's. "Promise."
Liam's face lit up faintly, a blush creeping across his cheeks. "That makes us friends now. A pinky swear makes it official."
Jason raised an eyebrow, amused. "Your first friend?"
Liam turned red. "Wh-who said that? I've got… tons of friends! A whole squad!"
But his voice cracked, and another tear rolled down his cheek.
"…Okay, fine," he admitted, eyes low. "You're… my first real friend. I've never had someone I could actually play with, or trust enough to call that. I mean it—I don't wanna lose that… I don't wanna lose you."
Jason smiled—then flicked Liam gently on the forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
Jason stood back up, folding his arms with that usual calm coolness. "Didn't think you'd be such a crybaby."
"I am not!" Liam turned away, arms crossed tight, still red in the face. "Just—don't tell anyone what happened here, okay? Especially the part about me not having friends."
Jason's voice softened. "You've got one now, don't you?"
Liam's eyes sparkled. "Yeah… I do. But still—don't tell. It's embarrassing."
Jason gave a knowing smile. "I won't."
Liam tugged Jason's sleeve. "Can we go out? I'm starving."
Jason blinked. Didn't this kid just eat an hour ago? He sighed. "Yeah, sure."
They stepped into the lounge where Brandon, Flux, Ethan, and Daphne were lounging. Liam beamed, about to speak—
"Jason and I are—"
But Jason cut in flatly, "Liam doesn't have any friends."
Silence.
Liam froze. His face turned red—so red, it could power a lighthouse.
Without missing a beat, Daphne and Brandon leapt toward him, lunged at him like affectionate wolves.
"You don't have any friends?"
"Aww, we'll be your friends!"
"So tragic…"
"What do you wanna do first? Play? Hug? Cry it out?"
"You wanna braid hair or make bracelets?"
Liam shot Jason a murder glare, but Jason was already looking away, suspiciously silent.
Even so… a small smile tugged at Liam's lips.
"No wonder you act all high and mighty," Flux started, smirking. "Deep down you're just a sof—"
Thwack! Ethan smacked him. "Shut it would ya."
Liam's eyes shimmered again, and just when it looked like tears would fall, Jason ruffled his hair. "Relax. You just gained two more. Not bad for someone who had zero five minutes ago."
Liam's face brightened. Without warning, he dragged Daphne and Brandon toward a corner. "C'mon! Xiomara left her toy box. Let's play heroes and villains!"
Daphne lit up. " I call dibs on villain, I'm gonna be the rogue villain. Feisty. Dangerous. Catwoman."
"Nope. You're Wonder Woman," Liam said seriously.
She pouted. "boring."
Brandon picked up a bald toy figure. "Who's this shiny-headed gremlin?"
"That's Lex Luthor, Nice pick, you can play his role, you two kinda look alike, actually, " Liam said without skipping a beat.
Daphne burst out laughing. Brandon stared at the figure like it had betrayed him.
Ethan cleared his throat. "Can I join or…?"
Liam turned. "Ohhh, Mr. Redhead wants in? Sure, the more the merrier."
Ethan sighed. "For the love of God, stop calling me—"
Liam handed him a plain figure.
"…This is just a civilian."
"Nope," Liam grinned. "That's Red Hawk. I gave him to you because you guys have something in common."
Ethan raised a brow. "Which is?"
"You both turn red when you're mad."
Ethan stood still. Processing.
Then: "You little—!"
He lunged, chasing Liam around the room.
Laughter exploded. Even Jason cracked a smirk.
For once, the chaos felt like peace.
A few hours later, after playing with Liam, Brandon, Ethan, and Flux headed back to their room. Ethan and Brandon collapsed onto the bed, while Flux walked over to the wardrobe, tugging at his now-sweaty shirt.
He opened the wardrobe.
And froze.
An unconscious body slumped halfway out, tumbling forward like dead weight. Flux let out a blood-curdling scream and stumbled back.
Ethan jumped up. "What the—"
Brandon didn't even flinch. His face remained unreadable, like this was just another Tuesday.
Flux pointed, still shaking. "Wh-what the hell is that?! Why is there a body in the freaking wardrobe?! Oh God— I think I'm gonna be sick!"
Brandon raised an eyebrow. "Why panic? It's not dead… yet."
He strolled over casually, crouched beside the body, and tilted his head with surgical smile. "Just unconscious."
The limp figure teetered at the edge of the wardrobe—then dropped with a thud that echoed through the room. The sickening sound made flux gag and cover his mouth
Ethan shot Brandon a look. "Seriously? The wardrobe? You couldn't have stashed the body somewhere less... horrifying?"
Brandon didn't even blink. "What, you prefer the kitchen?"
He smirked. "It's not like I had time to roll out a red carpet."
Brandon looked up slowly. "Would you have preferred I killed him?"
Ethan blinked.
Brandon smiled faintly. "Can't exactly hide the stench of a rotting corpse, can we?"
Flux backed up against the wall. "Are you hearing yourself?!"
Ethan groaned. "So what? We just hang onto this body like it's a roommate now?"
Brandon shrugged. "That's not so bad is it?."
That's when Ethan spotted it — a small device tucked behind the person's ear. He yanked it off and examined it.
"Tracker and comms," he muttered.
Flux paled. "Oh hell no, that's a tracking device?!"
Ethan's eyes narrowed. "Yeah… and we've probably got company inbound. Comms are cut, so they've likely lost his signal… but not for long. We need to spoof this thing, send them in the wrong direction—fast."
Meanwhile, Flux crouched next to the body, searching for anything else. His hand brushed against something round beneath the coat.
He recoiled instantly. "What the—?!"
Ethan and Brandon looked over.
Flux, red-faced, stammered, "I-it's a… it's a—!"
Ignoring him, Ethan searched the body's pockets. He pulled out an ID and raised a brow.
"She's a female," he said simply.
He removed the cap. A wave of long, dark hair spilled out.
Ethan smirked. "And… she's actually kind of hot."
Flux covered his eyes. "Oh come on, man!"
Brandon? Still stone-faced.
Only this time, a slight grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.
Brandon stood, brushing off his hands casually. "So… what now? Tie her up? Toss her back in the closet?"
Ethan scoffed. "You treat her like she's a broken broom."
Flux peeked over cautiously. "She gonna wake up soon?"
As if on cue, the girl stirred slightly—just a twitch in her fingers.
Ethan leaned in. "Too late. She's coming to."
Brandon knelt beside her again, pulled a knife from his boot, and calmly said, "Then we better make sure she doesn't try anything stupid."
Flux backed up again. "You're not gonna hurt her, right?"
Brandon didn't respond. He just turned the blade in his hand slowly, watching her face.
Her eyes shot open.
She blinked rapidly, groggy—but alert enough to realize she was surrounded. She glanced at Ethan, then at Brandon's blade… and smirked.
"Well… that's one hell of a wake-up call," she said, her voice hoarse but cocky.
Ethan crouched beside Brandon, cool and unreadable. "You're going to tell us who you are… and who sent you."
She laughed quietly. "You think I'm gonna talk?"
Brandon leaned closer. "Not really. But if you don't… well, that closet's always open."
Her eyes narrowed, but the smile didn't leave. "I've been in worse."
Ethan stood. "Good. That makes two of us."
Flux muttered, "Oh this is escalating fast…"
The girl's eyes drifted to him. "What about mushroom-head over there? He your emotional support?"
Flux flushed. "Oh come on! Even the enemy?!"
Before the girl could utter a word, Ethan struck her out cold. "No time for games. We'll deal with her later—Jason comes first." Without another word, they shoved her limp body back into the wardrobe and slammed it shut, locking it with a loud click.
They hurried to Jason's room, tense and breathless. Once inside, they filled him in on everything that happened. Jason's expression darkened, about to speak—when a knock suddenly echoed through the room.
Daphne froze. "Who could that—"
Jason raised a hand. Silence. His sharp eyes turned to Flux and gestured toward the door.
Flux widened his eyes, whispering harshly, "Wait, why me?!"
Jason took one threatening step forward. Flux immediately backed off. "Alright, alright!"
He crept to the door and peeked. His face tightened. "It's Zayan."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "Zayan? You mean that thug?"
His voice dropped, sharp with venom. "What the hell is he doing here—"
Before anyone could answer, Ethan was already moving, muscles coiled, ready to pounce like a wild dog off leash. But Jason stepped in without a word, blocking him with a calm hand to the chest. His eyes locked with Ethan's—no words, just a stare that said not yet.
Ethan froze mid-stride, jaw clenched, breathing hard. Jason turned to Flux, his voice low and composed.
"Let him in."
Flux unlocked the door. Zayan stepped in, dragging behind him the thug Jason had fought earlier—now bruised and beaten. Zayan shoved him to his knees in front of Jason.
"I'm sorry," the thug said through gritted teeth. "I didn't mean to rough you up. I... I shouldn't have gone after your girl."
Ethan's fists clenched. "You've got to be kidding me, you son of a—"
He lunged, fury in his eyes, but Jason's arm shot out, halting him like a wall of steel.
Without breaking eye contact, Jason turned to Zayan, his voice cold enough to freeze blood.
"You forgetting something?"
He took a slow step forward, gaze razor-sharp.
"Or do you need help remembering how to kneel?"
Zayan stiffened. The weight in Jason's voice made the air heavy, like a storm just before it breaks.
Zayan stiffened. "You serious?"
Jason's smirk was cold. "You know exactly what I mean. None of this would've gone down if you'd kept your dogs on a leash. Now get on your knees."
Zayan clenched his fists. A tense pause—then he dropped to the ground beside his man. "You happy?"
Jason crouched down so they were eye-level. "Not quite."
He pulled out the tracker they found earlier, holding it between two fingers like a threat. "This? You're taking it. As far from here as humanly possible. And you're not going alone—someone else is going with you." He said nothing further , but Zayan understood.
"When you get to wherever you're going... switch it back on. Let them chase shadows."
Zayan studied the tracker, then Jason. The tension in the room was suffocating.
"…Got it."
Jason gave Zayan two light slaps on the cheek—mocking, calculated. "Good boy." then stood back up.
Then he stood, voice firm and low. "Ethan. Bring the girl."
Ethan nodded and vanished without a word.
A short while later, the plan was already in motion.
---
Miles away, in the shadow of the forested outskirts, Aiden and his squad moved like a pack of wolves, combing through the region. Then—one of the guards rushed over, breath sharp.
"Sir! 038's signal just came back online!"
Aiden's eyes snapped open. "Location?"
"Far off—northwest perimeter. Looks like they're on the move."
Aiden's lips curled into a dark grin. "Then we move."
But just as the team began mobilizing, a voice cut through the air—calm, deliberate.
"Or it's a diversion."
Bon stepped forward, eyes unreadable, hands in his coat pockets.
"They're clever. They know we're watching," he added.
Aiden exhaled through his nose, frustrated but considering. "Fine. You sweep this sector. We'll chase the signal."
He turned to give orders, but Bon was already walking away.
"No backup?" Aiden asked.
Bon didn't even glance back. "I only need Jinx."
From behind, a low laugh followed. "Damn right you do."
Aiden gave one last nod. "If you find anything—"
"We'll call." Bon's tone made it clear: *we won't need to.
Jinx stretched, cracked his knuckles. "Let's go hunting."
And with that, the team split—one chasing a ghost signal, the other stalking the shadows they left behind.