Project IZ*ONE: Secret Files

Cat and Mouse: Part 4

The homing beacon led Chaewon's group to a park a couple blocks away on the edge of the city before the signal died. Nothing looked amiss from taking a quick look around, but looks can always be deceiving. They knew Seoyoung was smart enough not to make a move out in the open. There had to be a secluded area somewhere here.

"So, this Seoyoung girl. You said her ability was mimicry? Like copying our powers?" Eunchae asks as the five girls walk on the cemented pathway. During the ride over, Sakura had given them a quick summary of what to expect and how to fight Park Seoyoung- attack from afar, do not try to take her one on one, and under no circumstances should you allow her hands to make contact with you.

"Something like that. She drains one's powers on contact, leaving the target dizzy and weak. Normally, she'll have the power for a couple hours, but if she manages to kill her victim and drain all their life force, she keeps their abilities permanently. Right now, from our data, she has the power to shift her arms into metal weapons, but more recently, she's shown the ability to camouflage herself." Sakura replies without looking back. Given the second listed ability, the older girl had to keep her eyes peeled for even the slightest movement in the foliage surrounding them.

"Okay...that sounds really scary, but you've beaten her before, right?" The youngest girl tries to clarify, suddenly feeling a bit apprehensive. She had joined HYVE to train to be an idol, but the new mutant initiative gave her an excuse to practice her powers as well. Eunchae couldn't have predicted though that she'd be thrown right into the fire to apprehend a high tier mutant threat.

"Not without a few tricks..." Chaewon says ominously, remembering herself almost dying back in Busan trying to stop the rogue mutant. Eunchae quiets at the vague response, hearing the sound of her own heart beating. She couldn't afford her ability to fail today. Her thoughts are interrupted though as Kazuha's voice stops the group.

"I sense something strange." The Japanese girl announces.

"What do you mean? I don't see anything out of the ordinary." Yunjin replies, but Kazuha shakes her head.

"No, the air feels different. Something pivoted off the path and into the forest." She says confidently, pointing in the direction of a thicket to the group's left. That's when Sakura began to feel a tingle in her brain. Something technological was nearby and as she approached where Kazuha had pointed, she found a crushed cell phone on the ground. The older girl still wasn't sure what the former spy's power was, but she decided to trust her judgment..

"This must be Goeun's. Let's follow Kazuha's lead for now." The tech girl says, letting the aforementioned girl lead them off the path and into the forest.

~~~~

After a couple minutes of trekking, the thicket opens up into a clearing that wasn't visible earlier. As the group fans out to survey the area, Sakura now finds herself next to Yunjin.

"I never would've imagined working with you or even Chaewon-unnie for that matter." The dark-haired girl says absentmindedly. She'd found herself rescued by the members of IZ*ONE more times than she'd care to admit, which is one of the reasons that really pushed her to join HYVE after receiving their offer. She wanted to be able to help others the way they helped her.

"Yeah, life can be very unpredictable, but I haven't fully decided on committing yet." Sakura replies quietly.

"I really hope you do though. We could use your experience. You're much more powerful than you give yourself credit for." Yunjin says. Given the past couple days, the compliment meant a lot to the tech girl. Before she could reply though, she hears Chaewon let out a gasp from across the clearing.

"Oh no... we have to find Goeun quickly." The short-haired girl says, pointing towards a trail of blood leading even deeper into the shrubbery.

After following it, the group eventually reaches a river that cuts through the forest. It definitely felt like they were out of the park's jurisdiction now, and on the riverbank was an unconscious body of a woman.