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Warnings: There are no DBSK appearances in this chapter. However, it's important to the plot so humor me and read it anyway.
Legal Notice: Dong Bang Shin Ki, SHINee and Super Junior belong to themselves and SM Entertainment (boo! hiss!). Everything else is mine.
Rating: This one's pretty tame. Maybe PG-13 for language?
First Chapter
They had taken a tongue, the monsters, and they sent it back to Seoul in a bag of ice. They didn't even make any demands. Midori Mifune didn’t know much about international politics, but she knew when the ways of diplomacy would be insufficient in matters such as these. She was the president of the TVXQ International fan club and as such, it was her duty to do something. The heads of Cassiopeia and BigEast were waiting on her response. But this kind of thing called for actions bigger than a boycott or a sit-in. Luckily for the boys, Midori, together with her twin sister Miho, was also the most powerful yakuza boss in the world.
“It’s 3am,” came the soft voice of her cousin Bo Mao. “You’ve been watching KBS all night. There’s nothing you can do, dear. Why don’t you go to bed?” Bo Mao reached for the remote control and switched off the massive LCD screen.
Midori didn’t budge. Without so much as turning her head, she spoke. “Call Frequency. Edessa Morae as well. Set up a meeting.”
Bo’s eyes grew wide. “But…but they’re crime fighters.”
“Do it. Now.” Midori got up and walked to her computer. She didn’t have to look back to know that Bo was doing exactly as she was told. Midori was rarely serious about anything, but this was war, and Bo knew better than to get in her way. She opened up her Firefox and got to work. Joan of Arc was only 17 when she led an army of French peasants to victory. Midori was 25. She would do better. She had Cassies.
Within an hour, Edessa Morae was standing outside the intimidating structure that was the Mifune compound. Even though she was a reasonably keen psychic and one of the most powerful magic users in the world, she hesitated. Midori was notoriously fickle about whom she bestowed her favor upon and the huge replica of a Japanese castle was crawling with all sorts of security. Midori herself had a personal army of twelve ninjas that travelled with her everywhere; besides the considerable magical protections and runes spread throughout the property by Midori there was also the tech provided by the Mifune's most dangerous ally, deposed mafia princess and mad scientist Monica Bellagio. Rumor had it that Monica's partner Max Destiny was working on mechas. And of course, there was Midori's even more psychotic older twin sister Miho. One wrong step and she would be a grease spot. Edessa sat on a nearby wrought-iron bench and braided and re-braided her white hair over and over as she waited for Frequency to arrive.
Given her ability to travel electronically, Frequency normally would have gotten there faster, but there was so much interference with all the distraught fangirls overloading the satellites that her trip from Japan had been more complicated than usual. When Edessa's cell phone rang...
Out materialized Frequency. Edessa stood up immediately with her hair half braided and the two women embraced.
"Hey girl, what's up?" asked Frequency. Her tone was somber. She had spent almost the entirety of the last three days sifting through the internet trying to find anything resembling trustworthy information. SM's network was locked up tighter most of South Korea's most sensitive government websites, which seemed strange, since she was able to get through during the worst period of the lawsuit. However, she had been able to glean some useful information from the private files she was able to access.
"I haven't slept, Ayumi. Not since I heard..."
"The news. Yeah. Me either. My nanites are killing me. I hope Midori's got some sort of recharging station I can use."
Edessa and Frequency made their way to the front gates of the Mifune estate. The castle, a perfect replica (on the outside) of Nagoya Castle, was surrounded by perfectly kept Japanese gardens but, in reflecting the sisters' mixed heritage, was bordered by Han-period style Chinese carved-stone walls. Pomegranate trees flanked the castle in the front and imposing Fu dog statues sat dutifully in front of the gate. As they approached, the ancient looking gate transformed. Cameras, video screens, thumbpads and microphones all appeared out of what had previously seemed to be solid stone. The two women identified themselves and the gates swung open.
Cautiously, the women walked towards the front door. Looking up, Edessa noticed a female figure in black ninja gear and a male in white ninja gear. The male seemed to stare hard and disapprovingly at her. Self-consciously, she took her hair down and covered her pointed ears. Inside, she heard the sound of grumbling in Japanese:
"Answer the door, Tatsuya. Get me some more milk for my cookies, Tatsuya. I'm a samurai, not a goddamn butler. My father would be so ashamed if he knew -"
And the front door swung open sharply to reveal a handsome if slightly built Japanese man in a black dress suit. He wore wire rim glasses and his fire-engine red hair was spiky. Tatsuya Ishiguro looked like he'd stepped out of an anime and into the Mifune's doorway. Both women were taken aback. Frequency found herself blushing as Tatsuya bowed to them.
"Welcome to Mifune Castle. I assume you are Frequency and Edessa Morae. I am Tatsuya. Mistress Midori is expecting you downstairs." He stepped aside so the women could enter and the cavernous halls of the castle yawned before them. Shrugging off the slight chill in the New Detroit summer air, they stepped inside, delicately slipped off their shoes and followed Tatsuya as he strode down the corridor to the elevator, his footsteps lightly ringing against the marble floors. He smiled slightly as they stepped inside. "How nice that I didn't have to remind you to take your shoes off! Monica's little lapdog Max doesn't leave them at the door until I give him the death glare." Edessa noted a hint of jealousy in Tatsuya's voice and grinned despite her nervousness. Looking down, she noticed Frequency's perfectly manicured feet.
"Oh my God, Ayumi! Where do you get your pedicures done?"
Frequency smiled. "The same place I get my manicures."
Edessa pouted. "Ha. Ha."
Frequency giggled. "Seriously, Edessa. It's not worth telling you where I go. Are you planning on going to Seoul any time in the near future?"
Edessa sighed. "I guess not."
Tatsuya interjected, "Don't be too sure about that." The elevator door opened, revealing a petite, dark haired and olive-skinned woman with hard brown eyes. Tatsuya shifted a little and with a lighthearted tone to his voice announced, "Here we are. Ninja quarters, shark tank and...hello, Ms. Bellagio. Going down?"
Monica Bellagio's eyes softened and she smiled as she purred. "Not today, Tats. I've gotta go hit up the local Radio Shack for the new project Midori put me on. Something called an Anti-Anti-Fan Missile."
"Let me come with you. It's so boring playing houseboy around here." Tatsuya said, running his fingers through his hair almost casually.
Monica raised her eyebrows. "A bad-ass samurai like you? Isn't Radio Shack slumming it a bit?"
Tatsuya took a step closer to Monica. "Not with you, it isn't."
Realizing that Edessa and Frequency were still standing there watching them, both Tatsuya and Monica cleared their throats. Tatsuya spoke up. "Down the hall to the left, past the shark tanks and then take a sharp right. Knock five times then wait for her to summon you inside." He then waved the women away and departed with Monica into the elevator.
Edessa turned to Frequency. "Shark tanks?"
Frequency shrugged. Away they went, down the hall lined with many different kinds of japanese swords and accented with shuriken, past the shark tanks. They then took a sharp right and were greeted with a huge oak door with brass knockers. After Frequency pounded on the door five times, they heard a cutesy voice answer. "Come in and make yourselves comfortable. I'll be right down! Hee hee!"
Frequency blinked.
Edessa gingerly opened the huge door and the two women slid into their seats on either side of the Chairman's seat at the head of the huge table. Suddenly, strobe lights came on, a pole descended from the ceiling and "Mirotic" began to play. A small figure clad in a black T-shirt from Tohoshinki's first Japanese tour and pajama bottoms slid down the pole and landed on all fours upon the table. Swinging her long black hair out of her face, Midori Mifune sprang to her feet and danced out the entire song on top of the table. Frequency noted to herself that Midori had performed Yunho's dance exclusively.
After Midori was finished, she froze in place while her guests applauded. Edessa spoke up. "You know, given your body type, I would have thought you would have done the Junsu dance instead."
Midori turned her head sharply and stared at Edessa. "Are you trying to tell me that I have a fat ass?"
Edessa, shocked at her host's ferociousness, jumped in her seat.
Frequency interceded, "No, Ms. Mifune. I think she's referring to how Yunho is so tall and lanky and Junsu is...you know, not. You're petite."
Midori sighed and slid off the table into her executive's chair. "I dance as Yunho because he is leader-sshi and here, in this place, so am I."
Midori's guests nodded slowly. Midori broke into a huge grin. "That and I'm a huge fangirl of his, hurr durr!" She clicked a remote in the arm of her chair and the table flipped over, bearing platters of food. There was hitsumabushi, crab legs and curry udon. Also, the decor in the room changed. Where there was once plain white walls, there were huge posters from Tohoshinki's triumphant Tokyo Dome concerts from earlier that summer.
Midori giggled. "I always wanted to do that!" Then, as if remembering herself, her face fell. "Too bad about the occasion, huh? Well, anyway, here's a minor briefing I've prepared for you. Dig in!"
She clicked her remote again. One wall opened up to show a huge flat screen plasma TV and the lights were dimmed. As the girls ate, the basic facts of the case were stated:
TVXQ was doing some photoshoot at North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort, mainly as a show of trust between the two Koreas since relations had warmed recently. The details were sketchy, but somehow, the entire crew for the photoshoot ended up dead and the members of TVXQ were taken by North Korean troops. Just a few hours ago, a package was delivered to SM Entertainment containing a human tongue. Until DNA testing is complete, it will be impossible to know who the tongue belongs to.
The TV was shut off and the lights were turned back on. Midori turned from one woman to the other and asked, “Whose is it?” Both of her guests shook their heads.
Frequency’s eyes clouded over into static as she concentrated. When she spoke it sounded slightly mechanical and metallic. “North Korea has a country-wide power dampening system, not to mention firewalls like whoa. But even if I could get in there, do you really think they have that information in a database?”
Midori was outraged. “A country-wide power dampening system? What is it made with? Copper wire and scotch tape?” She slammed her tiny fist on the table and took a deep breath to compose herself.
Edessa spoke up. Her accent was strange and untraceable, having come from another dimension, but her voice was soothing, encouraging. “What do you have in mind, Midori?”
“You of all people would know. But for the benefit of Frequency, I will divulge. I’m thinking a full-scale invasion of Pyongyang. I want every Cassie there. I want super-powered allies, from both sides of the law; guys, too. I think the boys would appreciate that! Frequency, I’m going to need the coordinates of the power-dampeners. If they’re located in satellites, I want you to take them out just before we set out from Seoul. I don’t want to have to have the army march the whole way, so we need people with serious skills in teleportation and telekinesis. Max can make me some robots to take out the dampeners if they are ground level, but unfortunately he says that he might need more time for giant mechas.”
“Mechas?” asked Edessa.
“Everything is better with mechas,” said Midori. “Mechas that look like the boys in the ‘Balloons’ video. That would have been so kawaii!" She sighed and looked dreamily off into space for almost a full minute before continuing. "Oh well. Frequency?”
Frequency was sitting with her mouth hanging open. “I’m sorry. I’m just still thinking about the fact that you’re talking about an invasion of Pyongyang.”
“That was like, two minutes ago. Right now, I’m talking mechas!”
Edessa spoke up. “Let’s not lose focus.”
Frequency raised her hand hesitatingly. "Um...I do have some information that might be useful."
Midori smiled slightly. "Please continue, this is relevant to my interests."
Frequency cleared her throat. "Ahem. Well, I was able to hack into some of SME's restricted files..."
Midori's eyes grew wide. "Ooh, was there any dirt on SHINee?"
Frequency answered, "Nothing that you don't probably already know. Anyway, preliminary forensics results suggest that all those crew members were killed by a combination of different attacks."
"Explain."
"They weren't gunned down, which means the North Korean military probably didn't kill them. Some were burned, some were frozen. A couple appeared to be exposed to a powerful sonic attack, while a few seemed to have died from...being struck by lightning. Two others seemed to have expired due to severe cerebral hemorrhages..." Frequency trailed off, noticing the fear in Midori's eyes.
Midori gulped. "That's...very interesting. We will have to look into that further..."
Frequency interrupted, "But Midori, the power sets match up exactly with - "
Midori silenced Frequency with a look, but all three women knew what she was thinking. Midori's fingertips flitted softly against the glass table. "Was this the only information you got out of SME's system?"
"Yes, everything else had either been locked up tight or...taken off the servers..."
"I see. How difficult was it to get into these particular files?"
"There were some decent firewalls and a few passwords I had to decipher, but other than that it was a typical day at the office for me."
Edessa spoke up softly. "They wanted us to find those files." Midori snapped her fingers and pointed at Edessa, who felt emboldened enough to continue. "Something is very, very wrong here. The final court decision is handed down in a couple of weeks. Before that happens, TVXQ disappears. For some reason, SME wants them smeared."
Frequency nodded. "That may explain all of Eunhyuk's cyworld posts that keep getting deleted. I've been managing to catch them before they go down the rabbit hole, however. He's been talking about how worried he is about Junsu and that SME is expressly forbidding anyone under contract with them to intervene."
Midori slammed her palm against the table. "That explains why Shisus has been keeping such a low profile. Everybody, really, come to think of it. Damn."
Edessa turned to Midori. "We, the fans, we're their only hope right now. Is there more to your plan?"
“Of course.” Midori spun in her executive’s chair and cracked open the mini-fridge behind her, producing three Oronamin C drinks. She kept one for herself and passed the other two to each of her guests. Then she opened the drink and gulped it down in one go. “Woo! I’ve been downing this stuff like candy. I think I’ve slept like, 9 hours in the last 3 days. Okay, so I’m thinking we recruit people who can make force fields. Considering the size of the TVXQ fanbase, there’s gotta be at least five of them who are diehard Cassies. We’ll need three of them to stay behind in Seoul in case shelling starts, or God forbid, nukes. Even the North Koreans can’t miss at that range. We may even need someone who can fly any nukes fired into the sun. We really don’t want to be dealing with the fallout. Lux might be able to fix something like that, but I think she’s still mad at me for that business with the bank robbery and her broken leg.”
Frequency blinked.
Midori continued. “Luckily, I have someone who can handle the whole 'throwing nukes into the sun' thing already at my beck and call.” She sighed dreamily and then shouted. “Penguin armor!”
Edessa blinked. “What?”
Midori blinked. “What?”
Frequency blinked.
Midori continued. “Where was I? Oh yes. Fangirl skills are sometimes amazing and we need to find out what those skills are. You know, beyond stalking, making macros and editing tribute videos. Can you two handle that?”
“That part will be cake,” said Frequency decisively.
“Ooh, cake!” exclaimed Midori as she clapped her hands excitedly. “We also need to put the word out in a persuasive manner. I know, I’m president of the international fan club and the co-head of a massive criminal organization, but we’re dealing with fangirls, not yakuza and ninja. They can’t be threatened with bodily harm if they screw up, and I can’t reward them for their good work by giving them happy times in bed. I just don’t swing that way.”
Frequency blinked.
Midori cocked her head to the side. “You keep doing that. Do you need eye drops?”
Frequency smiled slowly. “No, I’m good.”
Edessa chimed in. “So let me get this straight. You want the Cassies mind-controlled?”
Midori turned slowly to Edessa, absentmindedly tapped her probably-poison tipped fingernails on the long glass table and smiled slowly but menacingly. “You’re new here, so I’m gonna say this nice. You know about the invention called the internet? You should check it out sometime. Look up Cassiopeia and tell me whether or not that is even necessary. No, wait. I’m just going to tell you. No. All I want is their inhibitions dissolved a little. I need them in Seoul, every single one of them. I don’t want anyone thinking ‘oh, I have classes/a job/no money for a ticket/no skills’. Lives are at stake. Our boys’ lives. So unless they’re in a coma, I’m going to need every TVXQ fangirl in the universe with us. If they have skilled allies, that would be great too. Get back to me when the message has been put out and you know what our assets are. You are dismissed. Oh, and take some gingerbread men from the basket by the door on your way out. They give vitality!”
She waved her hand, gesturing towards the door. The two women exited and when they had left the Mifune estate, Frequency turned to Edessa. “Bitch is crazy.”
Edessa kept walking, her head down, nibbling on her gingerbread man, deep in thought. Finally she spoke. “Her sanity is warped, yes, but her intelligence is off the charts. She is also one of the best mages there is. Whatever Midori Mifune focuses on, it is possible. She just has to stay focused. We should just be glad she’s not trying to take over the world.”
Legal Notice: Dong Bang Shin Ki, SHINee and Super Junior belong to themselves and SM Entertainment (boo! hiss!). Everything else is mine.
Rating: This one's pretty tame. Maybe PG-13 for language?
First Chapter
They had taken a tongue, the monsters, and they sent it back to Seoul in a bag of ice. They didn't even make any demands. Midori Mifune didn’t know much about international politics, but she knew when the ways of diplomacy would be insufficient in matters such as these. She was the president of the TVXQ International fan club and as such, it was her duty to do something. The heads of Cassiopeia and BigEast were waiting on her response. But this kind of thing called for actions bigger than a boycott or a sit-in. Luckily for the boys, Midori, together with her twin sister Miho, was also the most powerful yakuza boss in the world.
“It’s 3am,” came the soft voice of her cousin Bo Mao. “You’ve been watching KBS all night. There’s nothing you can do, dear. Why don’t you go to bed?” Bo Mao reached for the remote control and switched off the massive LCD screen.
Midori didn’t budge. Without so much as turning her head, she spoke. “Call Frequency. Edessa Morae as well. Set up a meeting.”
Bo’s eyes grew wide. “But…but they’re crime fighters.”
“Do it. Now.” Midori got up and walked to her computer. She didn’t have to look back to know that Bo was doing exactly as she was told. Midori was rarely serious about anything, but this was war, and Bo knew better than to get in her way. She opened up her Firefox and got to work. Joan of Arc was only 17 when she led an army of French peasants to victory. Midori was 25. She would do better. She had Cassies.
~
Within an hour, Edessa Morae was standing outside the intimidating structure that was the Mifune compound. Even though she was a reasonably keen psychic and one of the most powerful magic users in the world, she hesitated. Midori was notoriously fickle about whom she bestowed her favor upon and the huge replica of a Japanese castle was crawling with all sorts of security. Midori herself had a personal army of twelve ninjas that travelled with her everywhere; besides the considerable magical protections and runes spread throughout the property by Midori there was also the tech provided by the Mifune's most dangerous ally, deposed mafia princess and mad scientist Monica Bellagio. Rumor had it that Monica's partner Max Destiny was working on mechas. And of course, there was Midori's even more psychotic older twin sister Miho. One wrong step and she would be a grease spot. Edessa sat on a nearby wrought-iron bench and braided and re-braided her white hair over and over as she waited for Frequency to arrive.
Given her ability to travel electronically, Frequency normally would have gotten there faster, but there was so much interference with all the distraught fangirls overloading the satellites that her trip from Japan had been more complicated than usual. When Edessa's cell phone rang...
Out materialized Frequency. Edessa stood up immediately with her hair half braided and the two women embraced.
"Hey girl, what's up?" asked Frequency. Her tone was somber. She had spent almost the entirety of the last three days sifting through the internet trying to find anything resembling trustworthy information. SM's network was locked up tighter most of South Korea's most sensitive government websites, which seemed strange, since she was able to get through during the worst period of the lawsuit. However, she had been able to glean some useful information from the private files she was able to access.
"I haven't slept, Ayumi. Not since I heard..."
"The news. Yeah. Me either. My nanites are killing me. I hope Midori's got some sort of recharging station I can use."
Edessa and Frequency made their way to the front gates of the Mifune estate. The castle, a perfect replica (on the outside) of Nagoya Castle, was surrounded by perfectly kept Japanese gardens but, in reflecting the sisters' mixed heritage, was bordered by Han-period style Chinese carved-stone walls. Pomegranate trees flanked the castle in the front and imposing Fu dog statues sat dutifully in front of the gate. As they approached, the ancient looking gate transformed. Cameras, video screens, thumbpads and microphones all appeared out of what had previously seemed to be solid stone. The two women identified themselves and the gates swung open.
Cautiously, the women walked towards the front door. Looking up, Edessa noticed a female figure in black ninja gear and a male in white ninja gear. The male seemed to stare hard and disapprovingly at her. Self-consciously, she took her hair down and covered her pointed ears. Inside, she heard the sound of grumbling in Japanese:
"Answer the door, Tatsuya. Get me some more milk for my cookies, Tatsuya. I'm a samurai, not a goddamn butler. My father would be so ashamed if he knew -"
And the front door swung open sharply to reveal a handsome if slightly built Japanese man in a black dress suit. He wore wire rim glasses and his fire-engine red hair was spiky. Tatsuya Ishiguro looked like he'd stepped out of an anime and into the Mifune's doorway. Both women were taken aback. Frequency found herself blushing as Tatsuya bowed to them.
"Welcome to Mifune Castle. I assume you are Frequency and Edessa Morae. I am Tatsuya. Mistress Midori is expecting you downstairs." He stepped aside so the women could enter and the cavernous halls of the castle yawned before them. Shrugging off the slight chill in the New Detroit summer air, they stepped inside, delicately slipped off their shoes and followed Tatsuya as he strode down the corridor to the elevator, his footsteps lightly ringing against the marble floors. He smiled slightly as they stepped inside. "How nice that I didn't have to remind you to take your shoes off! Monica's little lapdog Max doesn't leave them at the door until I give him the death glare." Edessa noted a hint of jealousy in Tatsuya's voice and grinned despite her nervousness. Looking down, she noticed Frequency's perfectly manicured feet.
"Oh my God, Ayumi! Where do you get your pedicures done?"
Frequency smiled. "The same place I get my manicures."
Edessa pouted. "Ha. Ha."
Frequency giggled. "Seriously, Edessa. It's not worth telling you where I go. Are you planning on going to Seoul any time in the near future?"
Edessa sighed. "I guess not."
Tatsuya interjected, "Don't be too sure about that." The elevator door opened, revealing a petite, dark haired and olive-skinned woman with hard brown eyes. Tatsuya shifted a little and with a lighthearted tone to his voice announced, "Here we are. Ninja quarters, shark tank and...hello, Ms. Bellagio. Going down?"
Monica Bellagio's eyes softened and she smiled as she purred. "Not today, Tats. I've gotta go hit up the local Radio Shack for the new project Midori put me on. Something called an Anti-Anti-Fan Missile."
"Let me come with you. It's so boring playing houseboy around here." Tatsuya said, running his fingers through his hair almost casually.
Monica raised her eyebrows. "A bad-ass samurai like you? Isn't Radio Shack slumming it a bit?"
Tatsuya took a step closer to Monica. "Not with you, it isn't."
Realizing that Edessa and Frequency were still standing there watching them, both Tatsuya and Monica cleared their throats. Tatsuya spoke up. "Down the hall to the left, past the shark tanks and then take a sharp right. Knock five times then wait for her to summon you inside." He then waved the women away and departed with Monica into the elevator.
Edessa turned to Frequency. "Shark tanks?"
Frequency shrugged. Away they went, down the hall lined with many different kinds of japanese swords and accented with shuriken, past the shark tanks. They then took a sharp right and were greeted with a huge oak door with brass knockers. After Frequency pounded on the door five times, they heard a cutesy voice answer. "Come in and make yourselves comfortable. I'll be right down! Hee hee!"
Frequency blinked.
Edessa gingerly opened the huge door and the two women slid into their seats on either side of the Chairman's seat at the head of the huge table. Suddenly, strobe lights came on, a pole descended from the ceiling and "Mirotic" began to play. A small figure clad in a black T-shirt from Tohoshinki's first Japanese tour and pajama bottoms slid down the pole and landed on all fours upon the table. Swinging her long black hair out of her face, Midori Mifune sprang to her feet and danced out the entire song on top of the table. Frequency noted to herself that Midori had performed Yunho's dance exclusively.
After Midori was finished, she froze in place while her guests applauded. Edessa spoke up. "You know, given your body type, I would have thought you would have done the Junsu dance instead."
Midori turned her head sharply and stared at Edessa. "Are you trying to tell me that I have a fat ass?"
Edessa, shocked at her host's ferociousness, jumped in her seat.
Frequency interceded, "No, Ms. Mifune. I think she's referring to how Yunho is so tall and lanky and Junsu is...you know, not. You're petite."
Midori sighed and slid off the table into her executive's chair. "I dance as Yunho because he is leader-sshi and here, in this place, so am I."
Midori's guests nodded slowly. Midori broke into a huge grin. "That and I'm a huge fangirl of his, hurr durr!" She clicked a remote in the arm of her chair and the table flipped over, bearing platters of food. There was hitsumabushi, crab legs and curry udon. Also, the decor in the room changed. Where there was once plain white walls, there were huge posters from Tohoshinki's triumphant Tokyo Dome concerts from earlier that summer.
Midori giggled. "I always wanted to do that!" Then, as if remembering herself, her face fell. "Too bad about the occasion, huh? Well, anyway, here's a minor briefing I've prepared for you. Dig in!"
She clicked her remote again. One wall opened up to show a huge flat screen plasma TV and the lights were dimmed. As the girls ate, the basic facts of the case were stated:
TVXQ was doing some photoshoot at North Korea's Mount Kumgang resort, mainly as a show of trust between the two Koreas since relations had warmed recently. The details were sketchy, but somehow, the entire crew for the photoshoot ended up dead and the members of TVXQ were taken by North Korean troops. Just a few hours ago, a package was delivered to SM Entertainment containing a human tongue. Until DNA testing is complete, it will be impossible to know who the tongue belongs to.
The TV was shut off and the lights were turned back on. Midori turned from one woman to the other and asked, “Whose is it?” Both of her guests shook their heads.
Frequency’s eyes clouded over into static as she concentrated. When she spoke it sounded slightly mechanical and metallic. “North Korea has a country-wide power dampening system, not to mention firewalls like whoa. But even if I could get in there, do you really think they have that information in a database?”
Midori was outraged. “A country-wide power dampening system? What is it made with? Copper wire and scotch tape?” She slammed her tiny fist on the table and took a deep breath to compose herself.
Edessa spoke up. Her accent was strange and untraceable, having come from another dimension, but her voice was soothing, encouraging. “What do you have in mind, Midori?”
“You of all people would know. But for the benefit of Frequency, I will divulge. I’m thinking a full-scale invasion of Pyongyang. I want every Cassie there. I want super-powered allies, from both sides of the law; guys, too. I think the boys would appreciate that! Frequency, I’m going to need the coordinates of the power-dampeners. If they’re located in satellites, I want you to take them out just before we set out from Seoul. I don’t want to have to have the army march the whole way, so we need people with serious skills in teleportation and telekinesis. Max can make me some robots to take out the dampeners if they are ground level, but unfortunately he says that he might need more time for giant mechas.”
“Mechas?” asked Edessa.
“Everything is better with mechas,” said Midori. “Mechas that look like the boys in the ‘Balloons’ video. That would have been so kawaii!" She sighed and looked dreamily off into space for almost a full minute before continuing. "Oh well. Frequency?”
Frequency was sitting with her mouth hanging open. “I’m sorry. I’m just still thinking about the fact that you’re talking about an invasion of Pyongyang.”
“That was like, two minutes ago. Right now, I’m talking mechas!”
Edessa spoke up. “Let’s not lose focus.”
Frequency raised her hand hesitatingly. "Um...I do have some information that might be useful."
Midori smiled slightly. "Please continue, this is relevant to my interests."
Frequency cleared her throat. "Ahem. Well, I was able to hack into some of SME's restricted files..."
Midori's eyes grew wide. "Ooh, was there any dirt on SHINee?"
Frequency answered, "Nothing that you don't probably already know. Anyway, preliminary forensics results suggest that all those crew members were killed by a combination of different attacks."
"Explain."
"They weren't gunned down, which means the North Korean military probably didn't kill them. Some were burned, some were frozen. A couple appeared to be exposed to a powerful sonic attack, while a few seemed to have died from...being struck by lightning. Two others seemed to have expired due to severe cerebral hemorrhages..." Frequency trailed off, noticing the fear in Midori's eyes.
Midori gulped. "That's...very interesting. We will have to look into that further..."
Frequency interrupted, "But Midori, the power sets match up exactly with - "
Midori silenced Frequency with a look, but all three women knew what she was thinking. Midori's fingertips flitted softly against the glass table. "Was this the only information you got out of SME's system?"
"Yes, everything else had either been locked up tight or...taken off the servers..."
"I see. How difficult was it to get into these particular files?"
"There were some decent firewalls and a few passwords I had to decipher, but other than that it was a typical day at the office for me."
Edessa spoke up softly. "They wanted us to find those files." Midori snapped her fingers and pointed at Edessa, who felt emboldened enough to continue. "Something is very, very wrong here. The final court decision is handed down in a couple of weeks. Before that happens, TVXQ disappears. For some reason, SME wants them smeared."
Frequency nodded. "That may explain all of Eunhyuk's cyworld posts that keep getting deleted. I've been managing to catch them before they go down the rabbit hole, however. He's been talking about how worried he is about Junsu and that SME is expressly forbidding anyone under contract with them to intervene."
Midori slammed her palm against the table. "That explains why Shisus has been keeping such a low profile. Everybody, really, come to think of it. Damn."
Edessa turned to Midori. "We, the fans, we're their only hope right now. Is there more to your plan?"
“Of course.” Midori spun in her executive’s chair and cracked open the mini-fridge behind her, producing three Oronamin C drinks. She kept one for herself and passed the other two to each of her guests. Then she opened the drink and gulped it down in one go. “Woo! I’ve been downing this stuff like candy. I think I’ve slept like, 9 hours in the last 3 days. Okay, so I’m thinking we recruit people who can make force fields. Considering the size of the TVXQ fanbase, there’s gotta be at least five of them who are diehard Cassies. We’ll need three of them to stay behind in Seoul in case shelling starts, or God forbid, nukes. Even the North Koreans can’t miss at that range. We may even need someone who can fly any nukes fired into the sun. We really don’t want to be dealing with the fallout. Lux might be able to fix something like that, but I think she’s still mad at me for that business with the bank robbery and her broken leg.”
Frequency blinked.
Midori continued. “Luckily, I have someone who can handle the whole 'throwing nukes into the sun' thing already at my beck and call.” She sighed dreamily and then shouted. “Penguin armor!”
Edessa blinked. “What?”
Midori blinked. “What?”
Frequency blinked.
Midori continued. “Where was I? Oh yes. Fangirl skills are sometimes amazing and we need to find out what those skills are. You know, beyond stalking, making macros and editing tribute videos. Can you two handle that?”
“That part will be cake,” said Frequency decisively.
“Ooh, cake!” exclaimed Midori as she clapped her hands excitedly. “We also need to put the word out in a persuasive manner. I know, I’m president of the international fan club and the co-head of a massive criminal organization, but we’re dealing with fangirls, not yakuza and ninja. They can’t be threatened with bodily harm if they screw up, and I can’t reward them for their good work by giving them happy times in bed. I just don’t swing that way.”
Frequency blinked.
Midori cocked her head to the side. “You keep doing that. Do you need eye drops?”
Frequency smiled slowly. “No, I’m good.”
Edessa chimed in. “So let me get this straight. You want the Cassies mind-controlled?”
Midori turned slowly to Edessa, absentmindedly tapped her probably-poison tipped fingernails on the long glass table and smiled slowly but menacingly. “You’re new here, so I’m gonna say this nice. You know about the invention called the internet? You should check it out sometime. Look up Cassiopeia and tell me whether or not that is even necessary. No, wait. I’m just going to tell you. No. All I want is their inhibitions dissolved a little. I need them in Seoul, every single one of them. I don’t want anyone thinking ‘oh, I have classes/a job/no money for a ticket/no skills’. Lives are at stake. Our boys’ lives. So unless they’re in a coma, I’m going to need every TVXQ fangirl in the universe with us. If they have skilled allies, that would be great too. Get back to me when the message has been put out and you know what our assets are. You are dismissed. Oh, and take some gingerbread men from the basket by the door on your way out. They give vitality!”
She waved her hand, gesturing towards the door. The two women exited and when they had left the Mifune estate, Frequency turned to Edessa. “Bitch is crazy.”
Edessa kept walking, her head down, nibbling on her gingerbread man, deep in thought. Finally she spoke. “Her sanity is warped, yes, but her intelligence is off the charts. She is also one of the best mages there is. Whatever Midori Mifune focuses on, it is possible. She just has to stay focused. We should just be glad she’s not trying to take over the world.”
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Re: take some gingerbread men from the basket by the door on your way out. They give vitality!”
Date: 2009-08-28 02:53 pm (UTC)From: