Resolving Conflict | Ateez Superhero AU

3 Months Later

"Are you ready?" Hongjoong whispered to his teammates.

To his left were Wooyoung and Yunho, and to his right were Mingi and Jongho. They were hiding behind a row of decorative bushes, peeking between the plants at a mansion. Without all the lights, the huge house looked like a hibernating beast.

On the other side of the courtyard, Yeosang, San, and Seonghwa were on standby. They had no weapons, but they did all the research and had the detailed map of this place ingrained into their brains. Seonghwa had the basement and the outdoor section, San had the first floor, and Yeosang had the second floor, including the rooftop.

Seonghwa spoke into the Bluetooth headset. "The thieves are already inside."

The occupants of the house - a family of four plus two dogs - were oblivious to the threat inside their property, and, according to Seonghwa's vision, would stay oblivious unless someone interfered.

"I'm going in," said Wooyoung. "I don't know where I'm going to end up at, so I'll need some directions when I get in."

"I'm ready when you are," said Yeosang.

"We're ready too," said Yunho. They would be staying outside in case the burglars escaped.

Wooyoung nodded at Mingi and reach out an arm. They were gone the moment Mingi touched Wooyoung.

"Seriously, a bathroom?!" Mingi said after his eyes adjusted to the dark - which took virtually no time at all.

"What do you want me to do about it? I can only teleport to a general area if I've never actually seen the place with my own eyes," Wooyoung countered.

"Which floor are you on?" Yeosang's voice refocused Wooyoung and Mingi's attention on their mission.

Wooyoung and Mingi walked out the bathroom and found themselves on a hallway. "First," they both said at the same time when they saw staircases leading both up and down.

Knowing there was only one bathroom on the first floor, San said, "Turn right - the right when you walk out the bathroom - and the second door to your left will be the study. Check there first. And be quiet."

The reply came after a minute. "No one's inside, but the safe is already cracked opened. It's empty. And we don't hear anything at all."

"That's because the walls are soundproof, Mingi." Yeosang face-palmed himself even though Mingi couldn't see it. Seonghwa and San chuckled.

"Then you have to go upstairs," said San. "There's a walk-in closet, where all the jewelry will be."

Mingi and Wooyoung adhered to the suggestion since it would take too long to check every room separately.

A loud fumbling sound startled everyone hiding in the bushes.

"What happened?" The urgency in Hongjoong's voice traveled through the headsets.

"We tripped over each other," Wooyoung said as he gave Mingi an irritated glare. "Mingi freaked out when he saw the open door."

The others snickered softly, but Hongjoong didn't have time to comment on their incompetence. "Be careful."

Wooyoung led the way. Once he reached the door way and caught a glimpse of the room, he teleported behind one of the thieves and started to strangle him. There were two men in the room, and Wooyoung deliberately chose the shorter one to match his size. A lot of the glass cases were opened already, the empty cushions looking bland without the jewelry sitting on top.

To Mingi's astonishment, the tall thief ran away immediately when he realized they were caught red-handed. Mingi met the man outside the doorway and he kneed him right in the gut.