Resolving Conflict | Ateez Superhero AU

D - Day (2)

8:10pm

"Why hasn't Yeosang texted us yet?" Mingi paced around anxiously, looking up to check the clock every 10 seconds.

No one answered him. They didn't want to give themselves fake hope, nor did they want to face the horror of a worst case scenario.

Jongho and Seonghwa stood by the window and looked deep into the woods.

Hongjoong sat on the couch, his phone on the coffee table. He waited for inky darkness of the screen to light up with a phone call, but none came. He looked back and forth between the clock and his lifeless phone, the pause on each object shortening every repetition.

Finally, at exactly 8:15pm, Hongjoong closed his eyes and took deep breaths to calm his racing heart. His body was still tense with trepidation, but he would have to go with it.

With brows furrowed, Hongjoong picked his way through distractions and reached for one unique mind until he zoned in on the one single thought he needed.

"Let's go," said Hongjoong as soon as he opened his eyes again. He stood up and fought the dizzying effect of vertigo.

-

8:25pm

A dozen possible escape routes flashed across Yunho's mind, but it offered burden rather than salvation. What use were the plans when none of them offered the chance to run away with the whole group - Yunho, San, Wooyoung, and Yeosang - alive?

Yunho felt like he wouldn't have had the energy to stand up even if the strong hands on his shoulders and the nozzle pressed against his head were removed. He could tell he wasn't the only one feeling this way from his teammates sunken heads.

"What should we do, boss?" The man standing behind San nudged San's head with his gun.

San whimpered. Surrendering seemed to be the only option.

The man behind Yunho snickered. "Of course we have to-" A loud moan cut off his sentence. Yunho felt the weight on his shoulders disappear as something brushed against his head. The gun that was pointed to him seconds ago scattered across the ground next to him.

Yunho looked up and saw the other men raise their guns. A few shots were fired blindly, but the captors were the ones who fell to the ground screaming in pain. Yunho didn't bother trying to figure out what happened. He scrambled to his friends and together they ran as far away as possible from the war zone.

The gunshots died down eventually. The men who were about to kill Yunho, Wooyoung, San, and Yeosang were now lying on the ground - some motionless, but mostly just groaning from being shot. A few people stood over them with guns in their hands, but they didn't approach Yunho's group even as they made eye contact.

"Our backup came the last minute." Wooyoung didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was holding onto San tightly.

Yeosang's hands were on his heart. "Is that Kim?" He nodded at the woman approaching them.

"We found the four smugglers locked inside the container that stored the illegal drugs. You did a good job," Kim said flatly. "We didn't know they had so much help. You held on long enough for us to arrive."

Shaken from the thrilling experience, the four men were struggling to register Kim's words. No one knew what reaction to give.

Kim didn't seem to care. "We managed to apprehend a notorious gang tonight." Her hand reached up to her Bluetooth headset, nodded, and then looked back at the crime scene. "You did a good job," she said again, without turning around. "We will discuss future arrangements later. Someone will pick you up after our team is done here."

Kim started moving as soon as the last word left her mouth. The clacking of her high heels faded away gradually as her silhouette blended into the night.

Yeosang's hand found his phone again, but he was hesitant to take it out. That they had completed the assignment was a fact that couldn't be plainer. But there wasn't a suitable opinion he could give to this matter.

"So did we do it? Did we gain their acknowledgement?" asked Wooyoung.

"I'm not sure, but I think the 'future arrangements' will tell us the answer." Occupied with his own thoughts, Yunho replied absentmindedly. He could hardly believe it himself. It all just seemed too easy. But then again, they had help from Kim's team, and only experienced or dangerous criminals posed a challenge to a group of super humans. Most of those were already sitting in jail anyway, and the best ones were so professional no one would even know they existed.

"Shouldn't we worry about Seonghwa's vision now?" Yeosang gripped his phone in his pocket, hoping suddenly that he had the ability to turn invisible, or send telepathic messages.

Yunho placed a hand on Yeosang's shoulder and smiled. "Look, everyone's leaving." An engine revved up in the distance with a vroom. "We're alone, and we will leave this place soon. Nothing's going to happen."

Yeosang couldn't bring himself to smile with Yunho. One sentence kept repeating in his head, haunting him and ridding him of a sense of security.

Seonghwa's visions always come true.

-

"We're here." Hongjoong killed the engine.

Seonghwa sat next to Hongjoong while Jongho and Mingi took the passenger seats. All four of them looked out the window even though there weren't much to see.

They overlooked the port and the walls of shipment containers. It was silent safe for the soft waves and quiet breathing inside the car. The reality was, they were looking at a perfectly normal port. Not a war zone, nor a battlefield.

Mingi stepped out of the car. He walked as close as he dared to the edge of the small hill they were on and squinted his eyes. Having the best eyesight among his teammates, he was the only one who had a chance of spotting Yunho and the others, or potential threats.

"There they are. They're just standing there. And I see no one else, unless they are hiding behind some of the containers."

Hongjoong drummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

You should watch us from afar first, and intercept only if we need help.

-

8:45pm

"Let me call Kim. Our ride should be here by now." Yunho took out his phone, his movements relaxed and leisured.

The call connected on the first ring.

"Hello?"

Yunho repeated his greeting when no answer came. His back was turned to his teammates so he could feel the wind on his face.

"Kim? Are you there?" Yunho heard noises, so he knew the connection was fine. He was still trying to evoke a response when he saw a blob of black twitch in the distance. Deciding he would call again later, Yunho squinted his eyes to get a better look. He saw nothing.

"Argh!"

Yunho spun around at the scream. He recognized Wooyoung's voice, but he didn't have to guess because Wooyoung was right there on the ground with his hands on his head.

"What's happening to him?" San cried, again on the verge of crying. He kept asking Wooyoung where it hurt and how he felt, but no words came out between Wooyoung's trembling lips.

Yeosang didn't care anymore about being surreptitious. He pulled out his phone and called Hongjoong.

Yunho turned around. He had to make sure.

The spot where he saw the black blob was now empty.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶

Things just don't seem to end, huh? But like Hongjoong said, Seonghwa's visions always came true. So of course the mission wasn't that easy...

- KCGG_Goddess