Resolving Conflict | Ateez Superhero AU

Operation 0

"Put on your masks and let's go," Hongjoong ordered, "We have no time to waste." He tied an eye mask around his skull and pulled a black mask over his mouth. Surveying the room with his keen eyes, he made sure everyone else was doing the same.

All except 3 people followed the leader. San and Seonghwa, who will be staying at their base today, were hunched over a laptop, going over their typed up plan one last time to check for any flaws. Hongjoong's eyes went straight past them and landed onto Wooyoung, whose face was still exposed and identifiable.

"I still don't understand why we have to wear disguises," Wooyoung complained, his hands by his sides clutching onto the black strip of cloth. "Aren't we the good guys? Why do we have to hide?"

Hongjoong resisted the urge to sigh. Patience was a big part of his job. He was wondering how to answer the younger in an understanding tone when Yeosang came to the rescue.

"You're right," Yeosang replied, giving Hongjoong an I know it's hard look. He walked over to Wooyoung and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're good. But not everyone thinks that. Some people think we're doing the opposite - disrupting the peace and destroying order."

"But-" Wooyoung started to retort, but Yeosang's stern glare silenced him.

"So," Yeosang stressed, "we can't let those people know who we are, not unless you want to be chased down and suffer the consequences after being caught."

It had to be the 10th time Wooyoung heard this explanation, but he still got a bit spooked out whenever his hyungs reminded him of it. Yeosang removed his hand from the younger's shoulder and all the other members walked towards the door as Wooyoung put on his disguise.

San and Seonghwa gave their teammates a thumbs up - an indication that the plan was perfect and ready to be executed - and said their final goodbye.

-

"Hold my hand," Wooyoung said, holding out his hand to Hongjoong.

The six of them were outside a bank center, where a major heist was about to happen. The thieves were already in the vault, stuffing as much gold as they can into their bags. The guards would already be lying on the floor, unconscious...or worse. Hongjoong shuddered at the thought as he grabbed onto the outstretched hand.

"Three,"

"Two,"

"One."

The rest of the group - Yunho, Jongho, Mingi, and Yeosang - looked at the space in front of them where Wooyoung and Hongjoong just were, completely unfazed by now. Less than a second later, Wooyoung reappeared, his hand already reaching out for the next person. His purple bangs were still perfectly laid upon his forehead as if teleportation was a task as insignificant as breathing.

Within a minute, everyone was crouching behind the vault door, holding their breaths to keep as quiet as possible.

Hongjoong nodded to the youngest member, Jongho. Recalling the next step of the plan, Jongho stood up carefully and lifted his hands. After a few simple gestures, he turned to the others and whispered, "We can talk now, but keep out of sight."

The vault wasn't very big, and it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, but the thieves proceeded on with their heist, oblivious to Jongho's voice.

Yunho gave his brother a thumbs up. Jongho had pushed away a circular strip of air molecules between them and the thieves so that the sounds they made wouldn't be heard outside of the invisible circle.

The rest of the group started to stand up, but Wooyoung remained crouching. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

"You ok?" Mingi asked, bending his knees again to reach the member.