Chapter 5: Plastique (and the Blight of the Snack Queen)
The tension in S.T.A.R. Labs was thick enough to cut with a butter knife. Bette Sans Souci, a former soldier turned metahuman, could turn anything she touched into a bomb. She was sympathetic, tragic, and currently being manipulated by General Wade Eiling, a man who made military dictators look cuddly.
In the midst of a heated debate about how to disarm a bomb Bette had created, Jisoo, who had been quietly observing, suddenly piped up. "Does anyone have snacks?" she asked, her voice perfectly calm, cutting through the frantic scientific jargon like a hot knife through butter.
Everyone paused, staring at her.
"Snacks?" Cisco repeated, bewildered.
"Yes. My stomach is making… loud noises. It is distracting." She patted her stomach. "A hungry brain is a slow brain. We need snacks to think clearly about the exploding lady."
Adam buried his face in his hands. "Oh, Jichu. Never change. Except maybe when the world is about to explode. Then, maybe change a little."
Despite the absurdity, Jisoo's question somehow broke the tension. Cisco, ever the enabler of good ideas (especially snack-related ones), immediately started rummaging through a drawer.
As the team struggled to find a non-lethal way to stop Bette, Adam's mind raced. He knew the canon. He knew the solution. But how to get it into Cisco's head without looking like a psychic weirdo?
"System," Adam thought, a strategic glint in his eye. "Minor Wish: 'Telepathic Suggestion.' Target: Cisco Ramon. Suggest: 'Vibrational frequency disruption for bomb stabilization.'"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]: Minor Wish 'Telepathic Suggestion' Used. Cost: 12 Days. Current Wish Balance: -88 Days. It's time to start a business.
Cisco suddenly slapped his forehead. "Wait a minute! What if we… what if we disrupt her vibrational frequency? Like, a counter-vibration! That could stabilize the bombs!" He looked around, beaming. "I'm a genius!"
Caitlin looked at him, impressed. "Cisco, that's… actually brilliant."
Adam simply nodded, a smug, internal smirk on his face. "You're welcome, genius. Don't spend all that credit in one place. Oh, wait, I already did."
Later, as Barry confronted Bette, trying to reason with her, Jisoo approached the distraught metahuman. "You are scared," Jisoo said softly, her voice filled with a quiet empathy that surprised everyone. "Like a trapped bird. You didn't ask for this power. It is… a heavy burden."
Bette, tears welling in her eyes, looked at Jisoo, surprised by the understanding. "I just… I just want it to stop."
"I know," Jisoo replied, her hand reaching out. "Sometimes, chaos is necessary. But not this kind of chaos. This is… sad chaos."
During the final confrontation, as General Eiling tried to capture Bette, and she, in turn, unleashed a desperate explosion, Jisoo's eyes glowed fiercely. A crown of shimmering, golden light appeared over her head, radiating power. She extended both hands, and a massive, translucent magical barrier erupted, shielding the innocent bystanders and even deflecting some of the blast away from Barry.
"Whoa!" Barry yelled, skidding to a halt. "What was that?!"
Cisco stared, mouth agape. "Did… did Jisoo just conjure a force field? Like, a really pretty, golden one?"
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]: Member 'Jichu' has used an activated ability. Power surge detected. New ability 'Perfect Memory' unlocked. Current Wish Balance: 0 Days. Thank you for your continued service, Host.
Adam stared at the System message, then at Jisoo, who was now calmly dusting off her hands, the crown of light fading. "Perfect Memory?" he whispered. "Jichu, you just paid off my debt! You're a walking, talking, debt-erasing angel!"
Jisoo tilted her head, a small, unbothered smile. "Oh? Good. Now, about those snacks. I have a perfect memory of where the good ones are."
Adam looked at his balance: 12 glorious Wish Days. He was back in the black. And Jisoo had just unlocked a new power, all while being her effortlessly chaotic, empathetic self. "This is it," he thought, a truly triumphant grin spreading across his face. "Time to get serious about this 'wish trading' business. And maybe, just maybe, I can finally afford a decent cup of coffee. Without the debt-induced existential dread."