This is just a one-shot story I'm doing. If I get enough feedback, I might try and do a little more with it. Also, I've been watching some other series so I've taken the liberty of borrowing some of the ideas for this. And please remember this is fiction. Don't treat it as authoritative. One final note: I do not own anything related to Gundam Wing except some T-shirts. Other than that, there's nothing else.
"What did you just say?"
Quatre Winner glanced quizzically at his friend, Duo Maxwell. They had met up together by chance at a small café outside the Winner Corporation headquarters. Everything had been calm for the past couple of years. People had even begun forgetting about the conflict that had embroiled the entire world just half a decade ago.
"They're declassifying all the military secrets from the war."
"Really." Quatre stroked his chin slowly, thinking about that. "Everything?"
Duo frowned just slightly. "What wouldn't they declassify?"
His blond friend glanced around quickly before whispering quickly, "ZERO."
Frowning again, Duo responded. "You're right. But I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to do anything with it. They've already denounced it publicly as having too many adverse side effects for its users. They've declared that no human can use it continuously and retain their sanity."
Quatre raised his eyebrow and a half-smile spread over his face. "Really."
It wasn't a question, but rather it was a challenge.
Duo leaned back in the chair, shifting to accommodate his braid. With his hands behind his head he challenged his friend to name someone who could.
"Even better. I can name someone who already has."
"Really. Who?"
"Heero. It's scary what he could do with that thing. The fact that he still leads a normal life amazes me."
"Why?"
The peaceful Arab closed his eyes, leaning back as well. "He doesn't strike me as completely normal. To me it seems that the only thing he could ever do is fight. He doesn't seem to enjoy anything else. Granted, he excels at anything. But still..."
They stopped to think for a while, drinking their tea in silence. Finally Quatre stood.
"I need to get back to work. It's been good catching up with you. Maybe I'll have you over later. Meet the family."
"Ya. I'd like that. See ya."
Paperwork was tedious. Quatre sighed and tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind his ear. He picked up another stack of papers and began flipping through it absent-mindedly, ignoring most of the less important things before a bright red label caught his eye.
He placed the rest of the pile down and began flipping through the information. Apparently someone had stumbled across a bank of old computers in an abandoned area of L1. Because of the lock codes, no one could access them for information. They wanted Winner Corp. to come in and remove them so they could renovate.
Almost instantly, an uneasiness came over him. He would take care of it himself.
Compared to what he had in his office, Quatre found the computers to be almost archaic. Everything was almost five years old, several generations out of date. He found it simple to slice through the coding and gain access to everything that was inside. He transferred everything to his laptop and returned to the room he was renting before accessing the data.
When he finally found something, he couldn't help but smile. He had found the data that had been gathered by Dr. J several years earlier. Sorting by date, he began deleting files that dealt with Operation Meteor. Finally everything was going to be gone and everyone could really forget about the war.
At last he came to the final folder. Oddly, it was dated almost two dozen years earlier. Eyebrows narrowing, he flipped open the folder and began to read.
"What's up?"
Duo sat, relaxed, in Quatre's parlor and sipped another cup of tea. As soon as Quatre got back, he had called his braided friend to share his findings. He tossed the folder across the table.
"Before you open that, tall me again what you said about ZERO."
A perplexed look crossed his face. "What?"
"Do you remember when we talked, nearly four years ago? When ZERO was first built?"
"Vaguely. I believe it was something about ZERO's master being superhuman. Why?"
"Read."
"All right." Slowly he flipped through the papers he had received, shock crossing his face as his mind registered what was in his hands.
"So? What now?"
Duo looked up. "Do we tell him?"
"I don't know. On one hand I think he should know. But..."
"You're not sure if that's what's best for him."
He nodded gravely. "If what we have here is correct, then our friend is truly the ultimate soldier."
He took the papers back and spread them out, revealing pages of complex charts and spirals of color. They chronicled how the best features had been cultivated from a generation of people and the chromosomes that were linked to that trait were isolated. The result: a chain of DNA that was responsible for creating a human being surpassing the strength, reflexes, and conditioning of anyone born naturally.
"Whatever happens, me must destroy this now."
"Agreed."
Slowly, almost awkwardly, Duo retrieved a lighter from his pocket and placed the flame on the corner of the pile. When it ignited, he sat back and watched. They both did, watched as the chronicles and history of Heero Yuy's birth disappeared before them. All they could do was watch.