Spiders, Spinners, Symbiotes (NewJeans, ILLIT, IVE)

18: Boom

"it feels so good to finally just me be again." haerin said.

she was sitting on hyein's couch, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, drinking a mug of hot chocolate filled with marshmallows.

"i've been a prisoner of my own body for so long. i forgot what it felt like to be in control of my actions." haerin added.

"well, im glad i have you back." danielle said. "i know, i did a lot of bad stuff. i fought with you a few times, we, you know, broke up..." danielle trailed off. "but i never wanted to believe that the person doing all that stuff was you."

"thanks for always seeing the best in me, marshmallow. it means a lot." haerin blinked away tears. "but what happens now?"

"what do you mean?" hyein was making herself a cup of hot chocolate in the kitchen. powdered with some milk, of course. fresh food and beverages didn't exist in hyein's house.

"well, i did a lot of horrible things. i've caused thousands in property damage. killed hundreds of people. what happens to me now?" haerin sipped her hot chocolate anxiously.

"you didn't do all those things. it was a mad scientist and a deranged, bloodthirsty alien doing those things." danielle comforted.

"it was still... me. i don't know." haerin said.

"it's alright. you aren't in control of your actions when you're possessed by a symbiote. to control it, you have to accept it as a part of you. but, in your case, you couldn't do that. it would mean that the real haerin became a bloodthirsty murderer. just the fact that you fought back and were willing to give your life should be enough to prove you innocent." hyein dropped a handful of marshmallows into her mug. and then another.

haerin tapped her foot and breathed out worriedly.

"we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, okay darli- haerin?" danielle awkwardly cut herself off.

haerin would never get used to the pain of her and danielle being broken up.

"i guess."

—
the sun had risen, reached its peak, and was now beginning to set. the entire time, hanni had been combing through every file on that drive.

minji was still in her apartment, for some reason unable to find the courage to leave.

suddenly, hanni threw both of her grip strength trainers to the ground.

"what's going on?! are you okay?" minji asked.

"i finally found something."

"what is it?"

"it's a list of names. four pages long."

"okay. so what?"

"they're names of scientists who worked on nuform. all of them died."

"so... roxxon is killing them?"

"no. nuform, the revolutionary energy source meant to power all of new york for hundreds of years isn't safe." hanni read through the file. "oh my god! it's failed every single safety test! even breathing it in can cause "significant bone marrow decay"." hanni threw up air quotes. "god! if they actually end up using the nuform reactor, it could poison the entire city!"

minji ran over to hanni's computer and started reading along with her.

"it's not just that. read this line, right there." minji pointed. "it says "nuform is highly flammable. being exposed to small sparks of electricity, bright lights, or extreme heat can cause nuform to explode!" dude!"

"they can't possibly unveil the reactor. not with nuform in this condition. right?"

—
"we at roxxon are so proud to unveil the Roxxon Nuform Reactor this holiday season. that's right! at exactly this time tomorrow, the great city of new york will run on 100% clean energy."