Resolving Conflict | Ateez Superhero AU

Complication

Jongho stared intently at the man closest to him, occasionally  stealing glances at the window to his side. He could easily manipulate  the air in the spacious room to create a draft that would throw the  hairless man out the window. Then Yunho would assist and get rid of the  other two.

Yunho spoke up just as Jongho was about to carry out his plan. "Who's  asking?" The tightness in his voice reflected his forced confidence.

"We ask the questions here," the man asserted. He nodded towards San  behind him as a reminder that they were the ones in control.

Seonghwa furrowed his brows and felt his hands clench into fists by  his sides. He was scared - terrified - of the strangers in front of him,  and with good reason too. But it was frustration that flooded his  brain. He was the oldest, yet he had nothing in his mind but anger. He  had no idea who the intruders were, how they found them, why they were  holding San as a hostage, and what they wanted from breaking in. Most  importantly, Seonghwa had no plans whatsoever to bring his teammates out  of danger.

He just finished his thought when he caught a movement out of the  corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw Jongho raising his left  arm inconspicuously. Jongho's intentions were clear to Seonghwa, and he  immediately tried to stop the maknae from completing the foolish act. He  was fully confident in Jongho and Yunho's superpowers, but no one knew  who those men were. Seeing how they barged with such confidence and  purpose, they might be hiding deadly weapons specifically designed for  special people - like Seonghwa himself - inside their suits. Hell, he  couldn't even say for sure if these men were mortals.

There was one bigger, more concerning problem though. San was  basically stuck to two of the three men. Going offensive might work if  San had amazing powers hidden somewhere inside his body. But he didn't.  He was just a human. Which meant he would be affected by superpowers  just like any of the three strong men surrounding him.

More simply put, he was most likely going to be seriously injured...or worse.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man who seemed to be the  commander said. He had spotted Jongho's movements before Seonghwa could  warn him to stop.

His voice was indifferent and not very threatening, but Jongho froze  at the spot, staring wide-eyed at the nozzle pointed straight at him.  The man had pulled out a weapon out of nowhere. It looked like a pistol,  but it was smaller, more delicate, and had a translucent blue body. Yet  somehow it still looked deadlier than normal firearms.

The bald man smirked. "That's what I thought." He flicked his wrist,  causing Jongho to flinch on reflex. "This is loaded with darts, dipped  in a serum that is specialized to stop special humans like you from using your dangerous weapons." 

A rush of panic paralyzed Jongho, Yunho, and Seonghwa. They knew that they had to do something, but they couldn't calm their minds enough to construct a plan that wouldn't involve hurting San.

They were so used to having a meticulously laid out plan to follow  and a trustworthy leader to go to, that they couldn't adapt quickly  during emergencies like this.

All three of them occasionally stole glances at their trapped  teammate only a few meters away. San's eyes were opaque and bleary,  stripped of all emotions. He seemed to be looking through his friends - the only people who could save him - instead of at them.

The bald man was getting impatient. He switched the gun from one hand  to the other. "Look, we're just doing our jobs, alright? We received  orders. You can either tell me where your leader is and make this easier  for both of us, or I can use your friend here to-"

The man was interrupted by the thumps and grunting noises behind him.  Yunho, Seonghwa, and Jongho saw everything, but the man wasn't so  lucky. He turned around, muttering "Can't you see I'm trying to talk  here?", but stopped midway when he saw his two companions lying  unconscious on the floor.

The intruders never bothered to close the door after breaking in, so  Hongjoong and Mingi saw what happened as they were returning to their  base, and managed to get a sneak attack from behind. They quietly  strangled the two men holding San, alerting the bald man who was talking  to the three members.

Before the last man could make sense of the mess in front of him and  raise his weapon, Yunho sent a chair flying straight towards the back of  his head and knocked him out.

Hongjoong closed the front door, though it was unlikely anyone would  walk past and look inside. Mingi brought the shell-shocked San into his  room. Yunho was breathing heavily, but other than that everyone was  silent, their overwhelmed minds trying to digest the events during the  past few minutes.

"We have to get rid of them," Hongjoong decided. His voice was grim,  his face rigid as if his muscles were trying to contain the torrent of  emotions whirling uncontrollably inside him.

There were many unanswered questions, but it wasn't the time to  discuss them. Their leader was right - the men might wake up at any  moment. Following Hongjoong's instructions, Seonghwa called Wooyoung and  explained everything.

Wooyung teleported back to the base and brought the unconscious men  to the most secluded place he could think of, making sure to tie them up  before coming back. He did all this without a word.

Eventually, Yeosang returned from tutoring his niece. He knew something was very wrong, but he was smart enough not to ask.

San never came out of his room, probably because he had to be as far away from the living room as possible.

Seonghwa prepared lunch to take his mind off things, but that did  nothing to mollify himself or the members. The air around the dining  table was oppressive. They dipped their heads, eyes never leaving their  plates of food, their hands delivering food into their mouths with much  difficulty.

No one said anything. The unspoken words hung in the air, a constant reminder of the grave situation they were in.

Seonghwa stood up and started clearing the table once the plates were  emptied. Jongho slammed his chopsticks onto the table, startling  everyone. Seonghwa froze, hand still hovering in midair. "We can't just pretend that nothing had  happened," the maknae said, his voice straining from the building anger  inside.

Yunho looked at his brother. "Jongho."

Hongjoong raised his hand to stop Yunho. "We're not pretending  everything's fine." Jongho opened his mouth again, but Hongjoong didn't  let him speak. "I just don't think you're ready for the truth yet."

"What?" Everyone else was as equally stunned as Jongho.

The leader scanned the members, reading their expressions, gauging  whether they were ready for what he had found out from reading the  intruders' minds.

"I know who they were," Hongjoong said, "and I know what they want."

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This  is the beginning of something big! How will the group change from this  point on? I hope this story has been a good read so far :) The beginning  is a bit slow (and I realize that now as I pre-write chapters and  notice how long it took me to get to the climax) but I tried my best not  to make it boring.

Also, how's social distancing going for everyone? Hard? Easy? Finding a new hobby really helps if you feel bored!

- KCGG_Goddess