In Motown Heat's 7th precinct office, the team is conferring over some files on local criminals when they are interrupted by the phone ringing. Turning their attention to the phone, Flea picks up and, after finding out who it is, puts the speaker on the speakerphone.

"It's the chief, gang. What's up, sir?"

"Detectives, officer, you are immediately to head home and pack effects for a five-day stay in Seoul. You are extraditing a Federal prisoner back to the States."

Ramm suddenly looks up. "Why us, sir? Shouldn't Federal agents be extraditing Federal prisoners?"

"Normally they would, however, this particular prisoner is a superhuman going by the name of Nocturne. We've been given orders by the government to loan you guys out to the U.S. Marshal, solely for the purpose of bringing Nocturne back. Once here, he will be brought up on Federal charges. The authorities in Seoul already have Nocturne in custody, and have asked that we send help as soon as possible."

Sonic Boom signs to Flea, who relays the message. "Sir, Sonic Boom asks when we're leaving."

"Two days from now, on Korean Air flight 401. Get moving, folks."

The chief hangs up. The team looks at each other.

"You heard him, folks. I'll go to City Hall and pick up our tickets. The rest of you, go home and pack up."

Everyone nods at the Flea's suggestion, and scatters to return home.

In her apartment, Cutup is busily packing her suitcases. A buzzer sounds, notifying her that the mail has arrived. She hops down to the mailboxes in her building, retrieves her mail, and jogs back up. Only then does she notice that one letter is an international Air Mail letter from a small town in Korea where she has family. She opens the letter. Ornately written in Korean is a short message:

"Hello?"

"Jill, it's me."

"Jasmine, what're you calling me for?"

"I just got a letter from South Korea. I still have some family there, and they sent me a letter asking for my help."

A pause. "Why?"

"A new war with the North is getting ready to erupt, and they are afraid that their homes will become the front lines. I was wondering if I could get some time away from the rest of the team to see them."

Flea sighs audibly over the phone. "All right, but you realize that it's my ass if you get in trouble with the Korean officials. I hope you don't mind if I have my sister go along with you, sort of an insurance policy if you get in trouble. If the Northerners have superhumans, you'll be out in the open with your pants down, and I can't afford to bring you back in a pine box."

"You didn't have to remind me that I don't have powers. I don't mind bringing Meredith with me."

"All right ..."

"Don't worry, these are my people we're talking about. Besides, I'm not exactly Little Miss Helpless here."

"I understand. We're meeting at Detroit Metro at about 10 am Friday. Be there or we leave you."

"I'll be there."

"Good. I'll see you there." Flea hangs up.

After arriving in Seoul, the team splits up into its agreed directions, as Cutup and Sonic Boom head out to the small village of Hoang-Kin. Checking the address on the envelope, she finds the house she is looking for: a small two-room shanty. Cutup gets out of the car and knocks on the door. A small elderly woman opens it.

"Jasmine?" The old woman jumps up and embraces Jasmine tightly. Meredith, distanced from the reunion, exits the car.

"It's so good to see you again, little one."

"The same to you, rosebud."

Meredith approaches the happy women. She signs "hello."

Jasmine's aunt looks up, looking over at Meredith.

"Oh, that's my friend Meredith. She's come to help as well."

Rosebud says something to Meredith. She doesn't seem to notice.

"Oh, rosebud, she can't hear you. She is deaf."

Rosebud nods in understanding, turning to Meredith and touching her arm. "Welcome to Hoang-Kin, young one."

Jasmine translates for Meredith, who nods. "Dank you."

The three women go inside the hut together.

Later, after Rosebud has put all of her children to bed, she comes to the low table where Meredith and Jasmine are sitting, sipping small cups of tea.

"So, what was this about a war about to erupt?"

Rosebud sits down, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Lately, soldiers from the North have been conducting war exercises just on the other side of the border from us. It wouldn't be so bad, but they have started demanding we give them supplies and lodging. It's as if they don't care about border restrictions."

"Have they threatened you yet?"

"Not directly, but some of the soldiers have come close. The other night, there was gunfire on the outskirts of the town."

Meredith signs to Jasmine, who turns and translates into Korean. "Meredith asks if there have been any personal assaults against any of the villagers."

"Yes there have. In fact, Nia was abducted the day before I sent you the letter."

Jasmine suddenly recalls her cousin Nia would be 18 at the current time. "Have you had word back from her? Do you know who did it?"

"We know who did it. Some of the Northern soldiers did it. They've threatened to kidnap more of my daughters in the days to come, and the first they plan on taking is Yu."

"How old it Yu, anyhow?" "This year, she will be 17."

Jasmine nods. "Well, it's getting late. You go to bed. Me and Meredith will come up with a plan tonight."

"All right. Good night, little one."

"Good night, rosebud. Sleep well."

Rosebud nods and leaves for the other room. Meredith and Jasmine stay at the table, as Meredith takes the teapot and pours herself another cup.

"What are we doing dow?"

"We'll take seperate watches. Let's make sure that the Northern soldiers don't decide to attack tonight. I'll take the first, since there's a phone in the town square, and I want to call Jack and Jill in Seoul."

Meredith nods. "All right. Good dight, Jasmid."

"G'night, Meredith. I'll get you up at three, unless something happens first."

Meredith nods, turning to the other room to find a spot to sleep, as Jasmine heads out the door.

In Seoul, Flea and Ramm have just entered their room at the hotel. Flea has just come out of the bathroom when the phone rings. Ramm picks up.

"Hello?"

"Jack, it's me."

"Oh, hi Jasmine, what's up?"

"We're all right. I'm calling from the only phone in Hoang-Kin. Is Jill there?"

Ramm looks up and sees Flea walk toward the phone and himself. She has a towel wrapped around herself, with another one in a turban on her head.

"She's here."

"Good, I need to talk to her."

Ramm hands the receiver to Flea. He subsequently walks into the bathroom.

"I'm here, Jasmine."

"Jill, this is more serious than I thought. My aunt told me that Northern troops have been making raids on the town for a while, and conducting war games along the border. She also told me that my cousin Nia has been kidnapped, and my cousin Yu might be the next."

"Is Meredith there?"

"She's sleeping back at my aunt's hut. I'm calling from the only phone in Hoang-Kin, it's in the town square."

"I see. Keep us updated, we're going to bring Nocturne into custody tomorrow, and we're all expected to be on the flight out in four days. If you get in trouble, let me know, and we'll come a-running. All right?"

"Deal, Jill. I've got to go now, my quarter's almost up. G'night, Jill."

"Thanks, Jasmine. Good night."

Flea hangs up the phone. Immediately, it rings again. Flea picks up again.

"Hello?"

"Detective, we need you at the American consulate right now! Nocturne has escaped!"

"We're on our way." Flea hangs up as Jack comes out of the bathroom. She goes straight to the closet, pulling out a special stealth costume she brought for the trip.

"What happened?"

"Nocturne escaped. We're needed at the consulate now."

At Hoang-Kin, Cutup is about to nod off when she hears gunfire in the distance. Waking at a start, she runs into the shanty and grabs a pouch of her knives, readying herself for trouble. The firing moves closer, as Cutup plants her stance and faces it head-on.

The gunfire is close enough to even awaken Meredith. She runs out of the shanty, assuming a position behind Cutup. The group doing the firing stops in the middle of the street, about ten yards from Cutup.

"This dispute does not involve you, foreigner. Stand down."

"This dispute involves my family, and thus involves me. My name is Chin Jasmine."

Cutup pulls three of her knives from her pouch.

"Very well, foreigner. By orders of General Hang Mi-Pok, we are to take the fugitive Chin Yu into custody."

"Fugitive? May I ask what the charge against Yu is?"

Three of the soldiers sneak out behind the leader, but Meredith catches them. She hits her right-hand Walkman, sending a volley of Wagner toward the soldiers, laying two flat. The third scrambles back to the others.

"Let General Hang know that before he gets Yu, he will have to kill both me and Sonic Boom."

The leader looks at Jasmine with disdain. Jasmine backs up her threat by flinging the knives in her hand at the group, hitting three square in the shoulders. The group retreats finally. "Meredith, follow them!"

Meredith nods, setting both her Walkmans and firing off two beams at once, trying to stay high above the scene to keep from being seen.

At the American consulate in Seoul, the Flea and Ramm are conferring with the chief of security, and from a distance, it's apparent that the Flea is getting ultimately pissed off.

"Enlighten me, please. How is it that one loses a prisoner who's locked in an impregnable cell which not even the fires of hell itself could open, when Nocturne's only power is the ability to put people to sleep?!"

"Back off, Jill. We have to consider, we don't know enough about Nocturne's powers yet to be sure. Maybe he has some kind of electronic manipulation powers."

"The guard is coming to."

Flea, Ramm, and the ambassador come over to where the guard is lying, and watch as he regains consciousness. Ramm approaches him.

"Officer, what happened?"

The guard shakes his head, then speaks.

"It's really fuzzy, but I do remember that some soldiers came in and knocked me out."

The ambassador is concerned. "Southern soldiers?"

"No. Northerners. I heard them before I went out, calling Nocturne something to the effect of 'general' or something."

"Oh God ..."

Flea turns to see the ambassador scrambling for a chair.

"What?"

"When the local authorities find out about this, they'll consider this an act of war. Not to mention that the U.S. will definitely see it as a terrorist attack. Before you know it, ICBM's are flying all over the place and it's instant World War Three!"

Flea and Ramm nod.

High in the skies, Meredith is still following the attack party, until she spots them stopping outside a cave on the Northern side of the demilitarized zone. When the trucks enter, Meredith silently lands and slips inside, amazingly undetected by the guards.

Inside the cave, she is drawn toward a powerful light source, and following it, finds its source at the heart of the cave. She slinks around the outside of the light, watching the gang converse with a very gaunt, thin man. Fortunately enough, everyone is speaking English, so she can read their lips.

"General Hang, are you in good health?"

"Marvelous, private. Now, did you succeed in getting the other girl?"

"Not yet. She has a cousin as her guardian now, a foreigner. She called herself Chin Jasmine."

The gaunt man nods. "I see. Well, since Cutup is alone, I suspect ..."

"No she isn't, General. Two of my men were injured by another woman, a true superhuman."

The general nods again. "Bring out the first prisoner. It's time we made her shoo Cutup away."

Two men walk out of the room, out a door opposite of where Sonic Boom is. They return with a young Korean woman, looking a lot like Jasmine. It's Jasmine's cousin, Nia.

"So, Nia, are you enjoying your stay here?"

Nia spits out a frustrated line of Korean, and is slapped into silence by one of the others. This starts Meredith's blood boiling. "Ohhh, too bad, Nia. I was hoping to bring you your sister Yu tonight, but your cousin got in our way."

Nia looks up, her eyes starting to twinkle. "Jasmine?"

Another man hits her. The general smiles.

"Yes, Jasmine. She will be no match for us." Turning to the others, the general waves a hand away at Nia. "Do with her what you will."

Three of the men smile. Meredith, fearing that Nia has been and will be raped, jumps out of the shadows, hitting her Walkman and blasting two of the men with a volley of Firehouse. The general turns ar ound again, spotting Meredith.

"Ah, someone else has jumped in on my private party! Welcome, Sonic Boom."

Meredith, her teeth tightly gritted, shoots her hands forward, her sound power charging. Suddenly, she starts to waver.

"Yes, my dear deaf child, sleeeeep. Iiiiiiii aaaaamm yoooooouuuuur reeeeeesssstttt."

The relaxing tones that the general is speaking in, combined with the strange glow from his eyes, are putting Meredith to sleep. Finally, she drops her hands, as the rest of her body follows. The general laughs.

"That's what happens when you dare to threaten ... NOCTURNE!"

Liked it? Didn't? Wish to inflict great bodily harm upon my person?