Undercover
Jan. 22nd, 2021 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonv2Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Tao finds a new hidden Union lab and they need to infiltrate it. Going undercover should be easy, and it'll be easier when dresses are involved. Tao just has to make it first...
Notes: Written forhellse_bunny. <3
I guess set before season 7, or just an au of canon.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,112
Status: Complete
"It's pretty suspicious," Tao said, displaying the relevant windows he wanted to point out. Going in and out of Union fronts over the years helped him to identify all the little tells surrounding the office: the foot traffic was off, with too many people going in than the building could hold for a start. The Union preferred buildings that had a large base so they could build down without bumping with neighbouring spaces.
Tao had found the building in the Union database: it had been listed as 'abandoned' (aka, a modified human had broke free and massacred everyone in sight) for years now. Except it was back in operation again as if nothing had happened, reports coming from the building again. With too much consistency. At a glance, it looked like the building was doing research, but go back far enough revealed it was the same meetings, the same research, the same reports over and over again. Something wasn't adding up.
"You want us to check it out?" Takeo said, leaning on the back of Tao's chair.
Tao nodded. He could access the office's security system, but that only told him so much when it wasn't connected to the lab underneath."But how to get in..." He clicked around and there were a couple of decently sized meeting halls that were also rented out for large gatherings.
One of which was due in two days. And while the name looked official, a quick search brought up an organisation that was based on another continent that had no reason or connections being here. Very suspicious.
He grinned. "Bingo." It didn't take long to fudge the guest list. Tao frowned over some of the names. Because of how Official the guest list was, it also listed what their occupation was. Now why were some KSA members on the list...?
"Sooo, we've got two tickets now," Tao said, leaning back as he stretched.
"So that means us two?" M-21 said with a snort.
"Well, I'm not gonna ask Regis or Seira-yang to do undercover work!" Tao said, swatting M-21's arm. They had school and homework to do. And being nobles, they turned heads wherever they went and that was the exact opposite of being undercover was. Not unless one of them was the bait while the other snuck around. Which left out Raizel-nim too. Boss was busy trying to run the school, so that left the three of them to do this.
"Fine." M-21 looked over at Takeo. "Are we just looking like this? If someone recognises you..."
"Heh, undercover means we gotta be undercover." Sure, they were modified for large scale attacks, but they could do some subterfuge too. They'd basically been doing the same at the school.
"Our records have been wiped clean anyway," Tao added, "so the only way anyone would recognise us would be if they'd already seen us in the Union." Which was pretty slim, with how huge the organisation was. "On the other hand, if we're recognised because of our connection to the school..." That was different.
He tilted his head back to study Takeo. Long hair, framing a face with full lips and while Takeo didn't have an hourglass shape, well. That could be adjusted with clothing. They couldn't cut Takeo's hair, and couldn't stuff it into a wig either. Dying was out of the question too, so...
"We are fairly recognisable," Takeo agreed.
"How do you feel about dresses?" Tao asked, watching him.
Takeo blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Wearing one."
Takeo stared at him, and then sighed. "For the mission?"
"For the mission." In a bright dress that was as far away from their security uniform as possible.
Takeo didn't hesitated, nodding. "All right."
Tao punched the air. "Yesss! We don't have much time so let's get going!"
* * *
Dressmaking was about the same and different from what Tao expected. He'd adjusted their suits before, and he'd made some outfits, but this was... He'd had fun with his designs, and they were mostly for how they functioned; this was more about how it looked and people were going to be seeing it up close, so it needed to be perfect.
Ordering it online ran the risk of it being late, or the wrong size. Buying it in person would take too long, and there was far too much choice with that.
Tao sighed at the rolls of fabric around him. He'd thought buying it in person would take too long, but really, making it from scratch was taking a while, and that was with the help of his cables.
Takeo and M-21 had left to get more supplies and Tao had commandeered a corner of the living room to make the dress - it had more natural lighting than the lab, and it was less work to carry things through. He'd lined out his corner with his cables too, to make sure he didn't spread himself out without realising it but... Hm. There was still a lot to do.
He had the base shape down, but he wasn't satisfied with it. He knew from making the suits that what fitted on the mannequin didn't always transfer to how well it fit or how easy it was to move in, especially with the arms. With this mission, he definitely needed to make sure Takeo could move well, in case something went wrong, because knowing their luck, something would. It had to be perfect.
"Is something wrong?"
Tao span around, and let out a small laugh at seeing Raizel-nim standing by the sofa.
"Hey, Raizel-nim, didn't hear ya come in!" Though it would have been a surprise if he did hear Raizel-nim. "And, eh, kinda." He shrugged. "Not enough hours in the day and all that, heh."
Raizel-nim looked over everything Tao had done so far before his gaze settled on Tao again. "Can I help?"
It would be nice if Raizel-nim could just change the dress into what Tao wanted, but Tao didn't know what he wanted the dress to be yet. "Unless you could-" Tao froze, looking Raizel-nim up and down. "You're about the same height as Takeo, aren't you?"
Raizel-nim nodded.
Tao sucked in a breath, grinning. "Then you're exactly what I need right now!" He gestured Raizel-nim towards where the mannequin was as he yanked the dress off it. Raizel-nim wasn't quite as broad-shouldered as Takeo, but it was much closer than what he currently had to work with, and Raizel-nim would be able to tell him if something didn't fit right!
"Just lemme know if I accidentally stab you, okay?" Tao said as Raizel-nim stood next to the mannequin. Okay, okay, he could do this. He just had to focus now and he'd get it done.
* * *
Tao twitched at the doorbell, his head snapping to it. "Ooh, they back already?" Tao said, calling back his cables as he dashed for the door. He could have kept them in place, but he was feeling the start of headache building up from keeping them out and controlling multiple of them all at once.
If Takeo and M-21 couldn't open the door, they must have bought a bunch of-
Tao flung open the door and stared.
"Thanks, Hyung!" Ik-han said as he came in, Shinwoo hot on his heels, carrying bags filled with bright coloured packets and game boxes.
Wait. Wait wait wait. If he let them in, they were going to see-
The kids didn't push past Tao more than Tao just stood there, trying to switch gears from preparing for a mission to looking after civilians.
"Hey-" Modified strength and speed was useless when he couldn't use it, and he couldn't use his cables to hold them still either.
"Rai?" Tao heard Shinwoo splutter.
"Oooh, you look great!" Yuna's exclamation followed soon after. "Is Tao doing this?"
"Yes," Raizel-nim answered.
Oh. Okay. The kids seemed okay with it, but he still needed to think of a reason for why he was doing this that didn't mention the real reason.
Tao closed the front door, and when he came through to the living room, the kids were inspecting his work.
"Sooo, what do ya think?" Tao said. If the kids were here, that was going to eat into a bunch of his time, but he couldn't just pack up everything to work elsewhere. Well, he could but-
"You should have told us you were doing this, Hyung!" Ik-han said, pulling out his laptop.
Suyi laughed behind her hand. "If we had, we would have come a lot sooner."
Err, that was kinda the exact problem...
Yuna was still looking over Rai, and Tao watched her as she made a few adjustments to where put some of the pins.
"What kind of dress are you thinking of, Hyung?" Ik-han said, fingers coasting over the keyboard. "We'll design it together!"
Tao stared, looking between all the kids. Shinwoo was had finished setting all the snacks on the table and was looking over all the fabric in the corner. They all looked like they'd done this before.
"I...guess I should mention the dress is for Takeo?" Tao said, and maybe he was out of it from trying to make the dress for so long already, but if the kids had expertise, then he wasn't going to turn it down. "That's why it doesn't fit Raizel-nim perfectly."
"That makes sense," Suyi said, eyeing the dress. She clapped her hands, grinning. "That means we can make a dress for Rai too!"
Oooh, that was going to be fun. Tao could already feel some ideas forming, but that would be for after the dust had settled on their current project.
* * *
"Eeeh," Tao said, wide-eyed as Suyi held up some fabric against Raizel-nim, "you used to do this all the time?"
Yuna nodded. "We used to design Suyi's outfits when she was starting out as an idol." She smiled as she worked on her part of the dress. "It was one of the ways we could spend time together in between all her practice sessions."
"That's amazing!" He could learn a lot from them.
Tao heard the front door open, and grinned when Takeo and M-21 appeared with some very full bags in hand. "Yooo! Go put the shopping in my room." He didn't think the kids would peek, but better to be safe.
"Great, we can see how this fits now!"
Takeo shoved his bags into M-21's arms as the kids descended upon him.
* * *
"Whew!" Tao flopped back onto the sofa, his muscles wanting to just melt right into the fabric. "That was hectic." Especially with the deadline looming, but with the kids, they got through a lot more than Tao thought they would.
The dress wasn't quite finished, still needing more places touched up, but it was way closer than it had been Tao had started.
Hmmm. Tao tapped his knuckles against the sofa. "Do you think the kids'll know how to do make-up?" Nail polish he could do easily; make-up wasn't something he'd touched as much, aside from mascara.
"I'd assume so," M-21 said.
Tao nodded. "I'll ask next time."
But first, a nap would be really nice.
* * *
"It's nice seeing it from this view," Suyi said as Shinwoo did Takeo's make-up.
"I think I should have been taking notes!" Tao said, and maybe he would, once this was all over. "Thanks a lot for all this - there's no way Takeo would have looked as amazing as this without you."
"Done!" Shinwoo said, leaning back. He grinned at his handiwork and then stood up. "Hey, how's Rai doing?" he asked as he walked over to where Raizel-nim was getting fussed over.
Great! While the kids were busy with Raizel-nim, they could slip out and get to the conference in time.
Tao palmed an earpiece to Takeo and M-21 as they left, Tao heading downstairs. For Takeo's hair, it was in a loose braid that helped to cover up the pierce.
Tao closed his eyes as he slipped the headset on, hearing Takeo and M-21's earpieces connect. "Good luck, guys," he said, watching them leave on the monitors, already pulling up the path they'd be taking, and the CCTV footage of the conference room. People were already starting to file in, but it would be a while yet until it was full.
"We won't need it with you watching over us," M-21 said.
"Heh." Tao grinned, settling into his chair. That was the confidence they needed.
Time to get this done.
There's a prologue to this that involves a transformed and instinctual M-21 being accidentally taken to the vet, and a part after this that involves Rajak also needing to wear a dress undercover, but it's very unlikely that I'll be writing them, haha.
Summary: Tao finds a new hidden Union lab and they need to infiltrate it. Going undercover should be easy, and it'll be easier when dresses are involved. Tao just has to make it first...
Notes: Written for
hellse_bunny. <3 I guess set before season 7, or just an au of canon.
Rating: G
Genre: General
Word count: 2,112
Status: Complete
"It's pretty suspicious," Tao said, displaying the relevant windows he wanted to point out. Going in and out of Union fronts over the years helped him to identify all the little tells surrounding the office: the foot traffic was off, with too many people going in than the building could hold for a start. The Union preferred buildings that had a large base so they could build down without bumping with neighbouring spaces.
Tao had found the building in the Union database: it had been listed as 'abandoned' (aka, a modified human had broke free and massacred everyone in sight) for years now. Except it was back in operation again as if nothing had happened, reports coming from the building again. With too much consistency. At a glance, it looked like the building was doing research, but go back far enough revealed it was the same meetings, the same research, the same reports over and over again. Something wasn't adding up.
"You want us to check it out?" Takeo said, leaning on the back of Tao's chair.
Tao nodded. He could access the office's security system, but that only told him so much when it wasn't connected to the lab underneath."But how to get in..." He clicked around and there were a couple of decently sized meeting halls that were also rented out for large gatherings.
One of which was due in two days. And while the name looked official, a quick search brought up an organisation that was based on another continent that had no reason or connections being here. Very suspicious.
He grinned. "Bingo." It didn't take long to fudge the guest list. Tao frowned over some of the names. Because of how Official the guest list was, it also listed what their occupation was. Now why were some KSA members on the list...?
"Sooo, we've got two tickets now," Tao said, leaning back as he stretched.
"So that means us two?" M-21 said with a snort.
"Well, I'm not gonna ask Regis or Seira-yang to do undercover work!" Tao said, swatting M-21's arm. They had school and homework to do. And being nobles, they turned heads wherever they went and that was the exact opposite of being undercover was. Not unless one of them was the bait while the other snuck around. Which left out Raizel-nim too. Boss was busy trying to run the school, so that left the three of them to do this.
"Fine." M-21 looked over at Takeo. "Are we just looking like this? If someone recognises you..."
"Heh, undercover means we gotta be undercover." Sure, they were modified for large scale attacks, but they could do some subterfuge too. They'd basically been doing the same at the school.
"Our records have been wiped clean anyway," Tao added, "so the only way anyone would recognise us would be if they'd already seen us in the Union." Which was pretty slim, with how huge the organisation was. "On the other hand, if we're recognised because of our connection to the school..." That was different.
He tilted his head back to study Takeo. Long hair, framing a face with full lips and while Takeo didn't have an hourglass shape, well. That could be adjusted with clothing. They couldn't cut Takeo's hair, and couldn't stuff it into a wig either. Dying was out of the question too, so...
"We are fairly recognisable," Takeo agreed.
"How do you feel about dresses?" Tao asked, watching him.
Takeo blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Wearing one."
Takeo stared at him, and then sighed. "For the mission?"
"For the mission." In a bright dress that was as far away from their security uniform as possible.
Takeo didn't hesitated, nodding. "All right."
Tao punched the air. "Yesss! We don't have much time so let's get going!"
Dressmaking was about the same and different from what Tao expected. He'd adjusted their suits before, and he'd made some outfits, but this was... He'd had fun with his designs, and they were mostly for how they functioned; this was more about how it looked and people were going to be seeing it up close, so it needed to be perfect.
Ordering it online ran the risk of it being late, or the wrong size. Buying it in person would take too long, and there was far too much choice with that.
Tao sighed at the rolls of fabric around him. He'd thought buying it in person would take too long, but really, making it from scratch was taking a while, and that was with the help of his cables.
Takeo and M-21 had left to get more supplies and Tao had commandeered a corner of the living room to make the dress - it had more natural lighting than the lab, and it was less work to carry things through. He'd lined out his corner with his cables too, to make sure he didn't spread himself out without realising it but... Hm. There was still a lot to do.
He had the base shape down, but he wasn't satisfied with it. He knew from making the suits that what fitted on the mannequin didn't always transfer to how well it fit or how easy it was to move in, especially with the arms. With this mission, he definitely needed to make sure Takeo could move well, in case something went wrong, because knowing their luck, something would. It had to be perfect.
"Is something wrong?"
Tao span around, and let out a small laugh at seeing Raizel-nim standing by the sofa.
"Hey, Raizel-nim, didn't hear ya come in!" Though it would have been a surprise if he did hear Raizel-nim. "And, eh, kinda." He shrugged. "Not enough hours in the day and all that, heh."
Raizel-nim looked over everything Tao had done so far before his gaze settled on Tao again. "Can I help?"
It would be nice if Raizel-nim could just change the dress into what Tao wanted, but Tao didn't know what he wanted the dress to be yet. "Unless you could-" Tao froze, looking Raizel-nim up and down. "You're about the same height as Takeo, aren't you?"
Raizel-nim nodded.
Tao sucked in a breath, grinning. "Then you're exactly what I need right now!" He gestured Raizel-nim towards where the mannequin was as he yanked the dress off it. Raizel-nim wasn't quite as broad-shouldered as Takeo, but it was much closer than what he currently had to work with, and Raizel-nim would be able to tell him if something didn't fit right!
"Just lemme know if I accidentally stab you, okay?" Tao said as Raizel-nim stood next to the mannequin. Okay, okay, he could do this. He just had to focus now and he'd get it done.
Tao twitched at the doorbell, his head snapping to it. "Ooh, they back already?" Tao said, calling back his cables as he dashed for the door. He could have kept them in place, but he was feeling the start of headache building up from keeping them out and controlling multiple of them all at once.
If Takeo and M-21 couldn't open the door, they must have bought a bunch of-
Tao flung open the door and stared.
"Thanks, Hyung!" Ik-han said as he came in, Shinwoo hot on his heels, carrying bags filled with bright coloured packets and game boxes.
Wait. Wait wait wait. If he let them in, they were going to see-
The kids didn't push past Tao more than Tao just stood there, trying to switch gears from preparing for a mission to looking after civilians.
"Hey-" Modified strength and speed was useless when he couldn't use it, and he couldn't use his cables to hold them still either.
"Rai?" Tao heard Shinwoo splutter.
"Oooh, you look great!" Yuna's exclamation followed soon after. "Is Tao doing this?"
"Yes," Raizel-nim answered.
Oh. Okay. The kids seemed okay with it, but he still needed to think of a reason for why he was doing this that didn't mention the real reason.
Tao closed the front door, and when he came through to the living room, the kids were inspecting his work.
"Sooo, what do ya think?" Tao said. If the kids were here, that was going to eat into a bunch of his time, but he couldn't just pack up everything to work elsewhere. Well, he could but-
"You should have told us you were doing this, Hyung!" Ik-han said, pulling out his laptop.
Suyi laughed behind her hand. "If we had, we would have come a lot sooner."
Err, that was kinda the exact problem...
Yuna was still looking over Rai, and Tao watched her as she made a few adjustments to where put some of the pins.
"What kind of dress are you thinking of, Hyung?" Ik-han said, fingers coasting over the keyboard. "We'll design it together!"
Tao stared, looking between all the kids. Shinwoo was had finished setting all the snacks on the table and was looking over all the fabric in the corner. They all looked like they'd done this before.
"I...guess I should mention the dress is for Takeo?" Tao said, and maybe he was out of it from trying to make the dress for so long already, but if the kids had expertise, then he wasn't going to turn it down. "That's why it doesn't fit Raizel-nim perfectly."
"That makes sense," Suyi said, eyeing the dress. She clapped her hands, grinning. "That means we can make a dress for Rai too!"
Oooh, that was going to be fun. Tao could already feel some ideas forming, but that would be for after the dust had settled on their current project.
"Eeeh," Tao said, wide-eyed as Suyi held up some fabric against Raizel-nim, "you used to do this all the time?"
Yuna nodded. "We used to design Suyi's outfits when she was starting out as an idol." She smiled as she worked on her part of the dress. "It was one of the ways we could spend time together in between all her practice sessions."
"That's amazing!" He could learn a lot from them.
Tao heard the front door open, and grinned when Takeo and M-21 appeared with some very full bags in hand. "Yooo! Go put the shopping in my room." He didn't think the kids would peek, but better to be safe.
"Great, we can see how this fits now!"
Takeo shoved his bags into M-21's arms as the kids descended upon him.
"Whew!" Tao flopped back onto the sofa, his muscles wanting to just melt right into the fabric. "That was hectic." Especially with the deadline looming, but with the kids, they got through a lot more than Tao thought they would.
The dress wasn't quite finished, still needing more places touched up, but it was way closer than it had been Tao had started.
Hmmm. Tao tapped his knuckles against the sofa. "Do you think the kids'll know how to do make-up?" Nail polish he could do easily; make-up wasn't something he'd touched as much, aside from mascara.
"I'd assume so," M-21 said.
Tao nodded. "I'll ask next time."
But first, a nap would be really nice.
"It's nice seeing it from this view," Suyi said as Shinwoo did Takeo's make-up.
"I think I should have been taking notes!" Tao said, and maybe he would, once this was all over. "Thanks a lot for all this - there's no way Takeo would have looked as amazing as this without you."
"Done!" Shinwoo said, leaning back. He grinned at his handiwork and then stood up. "Hey, how's Rai doing?" he asked as he walked over to where Raizel-nim was getting fussed over.
Great! While the kids were busy with Raizel-nim, they could slip out and get to the conference in time.
Tao palmed an earpiece to Takeo and M-21 as they left, Tao heading downstairs. For Takeo's hair, it was in a loose braid that helped to cover up the pierce.
Tao closed his eyes as he slipped the headset on, hearing Takeo and M-21's earpieces connect. "Good luck, guys," he said, watching them leave on the monitors, already pulling up the path they'd be taking, and the CCTV footage of the conference room. People were already starting to file in, but it would be a while yet until it was full.
"We won't need it with you watching over us," M-21 said.
"Heh." Tao grinned, settling into his chair. That was the confidence they needed.
Time to get this done.
There's a prologue to this that involves a transformed and instinctual M-21 being accidentally taken to the vet, and a part after this that involves Rajak also needing to wear a dress undercover, but it's very unlikely that I'll be writing them, haha.