Chapter 21:
[Day 26] MO-49573
Just as had been expected there was a 'spontaneous' 2am drill for the pilots. They were jostled from their bunks by Lt. Edgar and hustled down to the hangar in staggering, disoriented lines. Heero had tried his best to blink back his fatigue, and from the looks of it he was doing a better job at it than some of his colleagues, who were tripping over their own feet and running into walls.
They entered the hangar noisily, pilots yelling at one another in the confusion, Edgar screaming over a loudspeaker for them to start shipping out, and confused and groggy mechanics cursing and hissing to themselves as their half-completed mecha were being dragged to the launch dock.
Heero had wasted no time in getting to his suit. His leg was killing him, but he willed the agony away. There was no time to think on it. He saw Duo sitting up on his cot in front of the mobile suit. There were parts lying around the workstation, and an enormous welder sitting off to the side along with a few spare sheets of neotitanium. The mobile suit itself was completely patched up, the new paint almost completely dry. Heero tried not to smile. Duo was the goofiest, most annoying person he knew, but damn if he wasn't efficient and completely reliable. There would be no punishment from James and Edgar for their unit. It seemed that they were completely ready for launch. He jogged up to his mechanic, placed his hand gently on his sleepy friend's arm and then took off like a bat out of hell up the catwalk. He jumped into the piloting seat and kicked the control to close the hatch. Outside he could hear the siren indicating that the lifts were grabbing the suit. It jerked as if was dragged off.
The Haro squealed happily as he popped it down onto its dock. It twisted and turned. "MISSION ACCEPTED. MISSION ACCEPTED."
"Hn. Mission, accepted." Heero said softly as he tapped the controls to reveal the surprise mission. It scrolled across the tiny command screen. Heero skimmed it quickly before closing it. Easy enough. The pilots were all supposed to attack a single target, and whoever got to it first and eliminated it was the victor.
It seemed like such an elementary exercise, but he knew that it would be more difficult than it seemed. Piloting these suits was the main difficulty. It just took so much out of a person. Expecting the already fatigued pilots to perform this mission right after their previous one… it was brutal.
It was all extremely difficult, but Heero knew it was intended to be a test to weed out the weak. He knew he had to perform his best to stand out. If he stood out he would win Noah's trust, or whomever Noah worked for, and they would be more inclined to keep him on the team. He would be able to access more of the Hathcock Project's technology. It would make their mission easier, though perhaps it wouldn't be easy on him personally.
The Aequitas unit thrummed loudly as it began to start up under the ministrations of the command tower's control. Heero would pilot the unit, but the command tower was ultimately in charge of activation and termination. It made sense. Otherwise Heero could just run off with their precious secrets. There had to be a check and balance system.
"AE-02. Activating M.E.I. Fusion." Heero heard Edgar saying over the comm. Again his body began to grow heavy and sink into his seat. His fingertips felt like they were on fire. The flame flowed up his arms and settled in his chest, warming his skin. A peculiar tingle began to itch his feet and palms. The sensation worked its way up to his neck. His vision blurred and then darkened. The flash of yellow light, and then he saw everything from the perspective of his mobile suit once again.
"Welcome back," M.E.I. greeted in its sensual monotone. Heero felt the system take over his body controls. It regulated his breathing and heart rate manually. He assumed it did this so he could devote all of his mental capacities to piloting. It explained why he couldn't seem to catch his breath when the system was extracted.
Heero moved his arms experimentally. The unit responded smoothly. Somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear the Haro unit chirping faintly. "FUSION. FUSION. FUSION."
It was time for the mission.
"All units. Find the target. Destroy it. Your colleagues are your enemies," Edgar said darkly across the comm. Despite Heero's exhaustion he sprang into action, launching his mobile suit out into open space. With the optical zoom he could see across the darkness, visualizing a faint glimmer in the distance he immediately recognized as L3 colony cluster. He twisted himself to the side and looked 45 degrees to his left to see the faint dark orb of Earth plunged into night. Just on the cusp of the planet he could see a glistening sliver of golden light as the Earth twisted under the warmth of the sun.
Earth. Somewhere down there Relena was working to maintain Peace. Quatre, Trowa and Wufei were there, too, fighting for the same cause.
And here he was, sitting in the very mobile suit that threatened their life's work.
He twisted again, adjusted his position and began working the coordinates for the empty container he was to destroy through his mind's eye. As if he were looking through a screen grids began to trace across his vision, creating a virtual pathway for him to travel on. He made his way across the imaginary lines toward the target.
"Hostile mobile suit, 0921." M.E.I. said loudly, filling his ears with her smooth voice. Heero turned to face the indicated direction, just in time to see the pale green beam of light dispatched from a beam cannon barreling in his direction. He dodged out of the way and raised his own cannon. The targeting circle bounced erratically in front of him as he tried to pinpoint his target, careening backwards, still en route toward the canister. Quickly racing up to him was another Aequitas suit, AE-12. Heero recognized the number as that of Trexis. But Trexis had been dispatched, hadn't he?
Another shot was directed at him. He tumbled easily out of the way and returned it with a shot of his own. It missed, but he hadn't been expecting it to be so easy.
"Well, what have we here? 02, huh? Who are you?" A strange, strained voice came into Heero's mind. It was the pilot of AE-12. "Nice defense. But I wonder… what would happen if I caught you?" Heero shot at the suit again and careened backwards, dropped an eighth of a mile and began zig-zagging across the open space. To his surprise the other suit was keeping up with him. He attempted to lock on to the other suit, but couldn't due to his own erratic movements and the evasive movements of the other suit.
There was something else about this suit. It was glistening and glowing, emitting a long trail of pale green sparkles in its wake. It moved fast, and turned and twisted unlike anything Heero had ever seen. Its maneuverability was astonishing.
"Come to papa…" the voice said with a loud laugh. Suddenly it vanished. Heero scanned the area. There was no sign of the other suit. That is, until it landed on him. It came at him from the top. Heero's radar hadn't even picked it up. It slammed roughly into his suit. Large mechanical arms embraced his torso, squeezing tightly. Heero felt the pain of the hold as if it were himself, the hard metal of the arms pinching him tightly, making it difficult to breathe. He tried to take a shot at it, but he couldn't turn his arm enough to aim the muzzle of his weapon at it. "Look at that. It seems you are stuck."
Heero snarled and in desperation tried to knee the other suit. He only accomplished a faint kick, his lower leg searing with pain from his previous wound.
"What's wrong? Don't want to talk? Cat got your tongue? Hm… I heard you were the best. Seems like they were wrong." The other suit said with a cackle. It released an arm to retrieve its beam weapon. It sprang to life with a loud crackling sound. It too was glowing green, like the shower of particles pouring from the back of the unit. Heero saw an opening. When the other suit pulled one arm away it freed his arm up. He reached up and grabbed the assaulting suit's arm before it could plunge its beam saber into his chest.
"Ah! Now, this is what I like." The voice said. Heero strained as he tried to hold the beam saber away from him. He pulled with all of his strength, trying his best to dislocate the arm of the other mobile suit. He heard the other pilot grunting as he did so, but it was no use. The suits were too evenly matched.
"Hm… you're a tough one, but I am far superior. Here, let me show you." The other suit released Heero, zipped backwards and then thrust forward at a speed Heero had never seen before. He could barely see the suit as it swept at him, its beam saber raised with the intention of skewering him. Heero snarled in frustration, rolled to the right, let go of his rifle and activated his own beam saber. When the other Aequitas barreled past he took a slash at it, cutting off its leg from the knee down. The other pilot screamed. His screams filled Heero's ears and caused his ever-present headache to worsen. The other suit twisted and writhed in the weightlessness of space. It grabbed its damaged leg and writhed again. There was something unsettling about watching a mobile suit move like a human. Heero began to back away with his weapon raised, prepared to defend, but not necessarily ready to finish off something so vulnerable looking.
His optical zoom locked on to the strange cone-like generator on the back of the unique, and now very damaged, Aequitas unit 12. It was emitting strange glowing green particles in all directions. Was that its power source? And why did this suit have something so unique? Was that was made it to powerful and quick?
The AE-12 was too preoccupied with its pain to pursue him, so Heero continued on with his mission. He found the container and destroyed it before the other suits could even show up to challenge him.
Being released from M.E.I. Fusion was easier this time. Heero was ready to take control of his body again, and by the time the mobile suit was docked back in the hangar he was autonomically breathing. His heart was steady and heavily beating.
The hatch slid open and he unhitched himself wearily from the harnesses before grabbing Haro and tiredly exiting the catwalk.
"WE WON. WE WON. WE WON." Haro exclaimed, bobbling happily in his arms. Solo was standing on the catwalk observing the suit. Heero went to lean on the railing beside him and turned to regard the suit. It had a few cosmetic scrapes on the chest and arms. The damage had been mirrored on his body, faint burns were left across his flight suit in the same places were the mobile suit took damage.
"There was another suit out there," Heero said quietly, his eyes searching the hangar for unit 12. It was nowhere to be seen.
Apparently it wasn't being kept in the same hangar. "It had a strange power source. It was fast. So fast, I could barely keep up."
He stared at his mobile suit for a long moment. It was so much like Wing, it was frightening. Everything from its helmet design to the shape of the chest and hatch. And yet he didn't feel comfortable in this suit. It may have looked just like his old Gundam, but it was nothing like it.
And it stood for something completely different.
Heero heard footsteps coming up the catwalk. He turned to who he thought was Duo, only to see Noah's smiling face beaming down at him. "Great job, Ritter! We saw everything! What an amazing show!"
Heero wanted to punch the fucker in the face. How could he be so happy? As far as Heero knew the entire mission was a bust. He had gotten assaulted by a mystery mobile suit. He had damaged the mystery suit, but hadn't destroyed it. He had destroyed the container, but that was child's play. What was this idiot getting at?
"You went against our prototype. Did you find it a challenge? We honestly hadn't expected any of your first version suits to be able to neutralize it, but somehow you managed. It was amazing. Don't worry about the damages, we'll take care of that."
Like Heero gave a fuck about the damage to the other suit, or the other pilot. He was pissed. So they had another suit, a better version, and they intended on using the lesser suits to test it? He had been acting as a test for unit 12? He frowned and clutched the Haro tightly against his stomach to keep from choking the other young man.
"It looks like you passed the test. Soon enough, we'll get you and a few others in to a special unit. You'll be moving out of the main pilot dorm and into an elite sector." Noah nodded at Solo and smiled again. "Well, be ready tomorrow. You'll start training with your new unit. We are looking for leaders. If you prove yourself, you will be the captain of that group. Try your best."
Was this his idea of some sort of motivational speech? Heero just nodded. Noah was just about to leave when Heero thought of something.
"Excuse me, Sir. May I ask for special permission to stay in the hangar tonight. I would like to personally assist my mechanic in repairing this suit's damage. I feel that working on the mobile suit personally will optimize my piloting potential."
Noah paused in his retreat and shrugged. "Sure, why not? How eager you are. I am impressed. Go ahead. Tomorrow you will be ready at 0715. You are being reassigned to the Elites."
Heero nodded and watched Noah move on to the next team. He looked over at Solo and frowned. "What are the Elites?" And where the hell was Duo?
.
The entire battle had been broadcast throughout the hangar, and while the mechanics had been roused from sleep by James, they had been ordered to standby for any necessary repairs. Duo had found it odd, but when unit Ae-12 had shown up on screen he had known exactly why.
So that was what a GN drive could do. Earth was fucked.
Not only did it improve speed and maneuverability by upwards of sixty percent, but the damned thing was practically unstoppable. With the right pilot, it could have taken on all six Gundams and whooped their asses without breaking a sweat. Heero was the right pilot.
James gave him a smug look as Solo came running into the hangar with the other flight sergeants. He looked surprisingly awake. When unit 02 dispatched the threat, the Sweeper grinned and headed towards Duo's bay. The American didn't bother to watch the rest of the exercise. Destroying an empty container wasn't a real mission, anyway.
They had used the Aequitas pilots as guinea pigs against a GN drive-powered suit. They could have been killed. Duo wanted to break something.
"What the hell is powering that suit?" he asked James, his voice low and dangerous. Duo already knew, but he had to act stupid.
The sergeant gave him an unhappy glare. "I don't know. I've never seen it before." Duo believed him, too. It seemed that Noah was carefully guarding a lot of secrets in this organization.
When his unit docked, Duo headed for the catwalk. Noah was traipsing through the place, headed for Heero, so the violet-eyed agent hung back. That guy gave him the creeps. Once the man had moved on to another unit Duo approached his pilot, who looked pretty damned angry, and Solo, who was talking to his brother quietly.
"...have no idea. I've heard there was an elite squadron, but I've never seen anything." He looked up when Duo joined them. He was about to speak again when a loud catcall from the floor of the hangar caught their attention. Duo leaned over the rail and looked down to see James giving him a sly grin and a thumbs-up. He rolled his eyes and sighed. Great. Now he wasn't going to be able to even look at Solo without squirming.
"We need to talk," he said. He shoved Heero back into the cockpit of his suit, grabbed Solo by the wrist, and dragged the other man in behind him before slamming his fist into the release lever. The cockpit closed with a hiss behind them. "That suit was powered by a reactor called a GN drive. I found the blueprints for it on Lowe's computer."
When Heero opened his mouth to interrupt him with an obvious question he waved the other agent to be quiet. "Not important, right now. Your suit's scheduled to get one too. They're planning to take this unit and any other GN equipped suits to Earth."
.
Heero was silenced by the gravity of the situation. So they were going to attack Earth with the elite suits, which apparently had GN drives. Heero had seen firsthand the power of the GN drives, and he could only assume that they were capable of even more than the little he had witnessed.
"The pilot in unit 12 was good, even if he had a handicap against me with the new drive." He held the Haro firmly against his chest and sighed. "I guess my objective is to get into the Elite group and take control of it. If the GN drives are created for attack on the Earth, then the new group is our new target." He narrowed his eyes slightly and then looked up at Solo, who had been oddly quiet. Did he know more than he was letting on? He was supposed to be their source of intel, and yet these drives and the elite task force somehow had managed to surprise them. Heero didn't like surprises. Especially those of the overpowered mobile suit kind.
"I'm staying here tonight." He said plainly, informing Duo of his recent development. "I am supposed to be helping you repair the suit, and then in a few hours I am going to be relocated to the Elite squadron. I am assuming you both are coming with me."
But he couldn't be so sure. The Haro unit swiveled and chirped softly in his lap. It was just one thing after another lately. First he had to deal with M.E.I. and now this.
"I think I got the hang of the M.E.I. OS." He hadn't really thought on it until now, but the system seemed to be less aggressive toward him while working in the mobile suit. Perhaps now that he had been screened for ability it was giving him more freedoms to pilot? During his last assignment he hardly had any resistance from the OS at all.
"I think I am beginning to understand why the system had been developed the way it has." He settled back in his seat and peered up at Solo and Duo through the darkness of the cockpit. "It is unbeatable, light years ahead of the current technology. There is no way anyone can develop a system faster or more thorough than this one, but there is a trade off. It allows the pilot complete control of a mobile suit in ways that have never been achieved before now, but in doing so it makes the pilot become the suit. It makes you feel the pain of the weapon, and every hit and tumble is your own. I'm not sure about this, but I think the point is that it was developed with its own deterrent for war."
He saw Solo's eyebrow quirk at this idea, and Duo's nose scrunch up in confusion. "In the past I have read that wars were fought between people. Soldier against soldier on a battlefield faced off. Thousands of men crashing into one another, sacrificing their individual lives. Now, we fight with weapons from long distance. Missiles don't require human sacrifice, and many times the destruction of a mobile suit doesn't necessarily mean the death of the pilot inside. This suit grants limitless power and control, but in doing so the pilot must put their life and safety on the line. Faced with this notion, one would be hesitant to attack another if it was their life that was at stake. Just like in the past."
He sighed and held the Haro tighter against his chest. The idea hadn't come to him before, only just now poured into his head. So this was what they were trying to accomplish? Protecting the colonies? Fighting for spacenoid's rights, and showing the world that there was a force in this galaxy that could rule all, but at a price.
This was much more complicated than Heero could have ever imagined. "I am not sure what GN drives are, or how they work, but I am sure in time they will change everything we know about mobile suits and piloting. Already, the M.E.I. OS has completely changed my concept of these things. Solo, I need you to run a request for an audience with Odin Lowe for me. Also, can you ask Noah if I can have my own computer terminal brought to my new hangar? Tell him I am very interested in catching up on my astrophysics studies, as well as mobile suit and colony history."
He reached up to brush his own bangs out of his tired eyes and smirked up at Duo. "And you. I know you have something to eat. Let me have some." He knew that Duo was notorious for hoarding food. It was an amusing habit that often led to Heero finding candy bars and bags of chips hidden away in toolboxes and random drawers in their filing cabinets back in Brussels. "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."
.
Duo rolled his eyes. Here they were, elbows-deep in the biggest terrorist shitstorm since the Eve Wars, and Heero was more interested in snacks than the billion-credit GN drive these rebels were getting ready to strap to his back.
"You're unbelievable, y'know that?" He looked over at Solo, silently grateful for the relative darkness of the cockpit. "Second drawer from the bottom of my bigger toolbox," he sighed. "Grey bag. Bring the whole thing up here?" Solo gave him an odd look but obeyed. Duo didn't bother to close the hatch behind him. He studied his partner closely. "I don't know why you're interested in repairing your own suit. That's my job. Why don't you crash on my bunk, and I'll put Yuy's useless ass to work?"
Was he thrilled that Heero would be with him all night? Of course. But being this close to the other agent was playing hell with his self-control. He couldn't afford to slip up in front of James and the other mechanics.
When Solo reappeared with Duo's stash, he grabbed the bag, purposefully avoiding the Sweeper's gaze, and tossed it to Heero before leaning back against the doorway to the cockpit and crossing his arms over his chest. "Can you handle the GN drive?"
.
"I don't know what to expect from the GN drive. I think I should be able to handle it, though." He was actually eager to get his hands on it. He wanted to know what the technology was capable of. For now he had to focus on the task at hand. He had to get some rest, and his suit needed to be prepped for tomorrow's training assignment.
Heero knew his mission objective at the moment consisted of one thing, and that was maintaining relative health so he could get his hands on more of the Hathcock Project's technology. He caught Duo's stash and opened it, carefully sifting through the pilot's snacks to find the most agreeable option inside. He found a decent looking apple and a granola bar. Wait... what was this? He picked out a strange looking package from the bottom of the bag and held it up.
Freeze dried ice cream sandwich? Seriously, who the hell actually eats these things? He shrugged and shoved it back into the bag before standing up. He handed the bag carefully back to Maxwell.
"Thanks. I think I will take you up on that offer." He set the Haro on its dock and exited the cockpit without another word, biting into the apple with a smirk. He would leave the repairs to Duo and Solo. His intention wasn't necessarily to actually do the work, but to stay near his teammates. He hadn't gotten much sleep in the barracks, only allowed himself to just skirt the top of his unconsciousness for thirty minutes at a time. Here he knew he could sleep, knowing that Duo and Solo were nearby.
He made quick work of ingesting the granola bar, finished the apple and then slid down to lie on the cot set up just beside the workbench. He hadn't bothered to change out of his flight suit, finding the superficial burns on his chest to be hardly worth tending to. He situated himself on his side with his back facing the workbench and closed his eyes. He could hear the familiar sounds of pneumatic tools whirring and ratcheting behind him.
For the first time in two weeks he fell completely asleep.
.
Installing the GN drive was apparently a task not relegated to the fleet's mechanics. Three hours into repairing the mostly superficial dents and scratches to the chest plate of their unit, Duo had to turn off his welding torch and flip his safety visor up, Solo doing the same where he was kneeling beside him on the scaffolding, to hear what James was saying to him. "There'll be a crew coming through here in about an hour to mount the new hardware onto your unit. Apparently the programming and circuitry harness are already installed."
Duo arched an eyebrow incredulously at James but said nothing. The old sergeant snorted. "Yeah, I know. They like keeping everyone in the dark, around here. I don't like it anymore than you do, kid. Just roll your pilot over and bunk down for a few hours. That kid looks almost as exhausted as you two." He clapped an enormous, calloused hand down on Solo's shoulder and smiled wearily. He was missing a tooth, and the rest of them were plated in titanium alloy. "You three do good work. We're lucky to have you on our side."
As soon as he'd cleared their portion of the hydraulic catwalk Duo slumped down against the unit. "Yeah," he sighed. "Real lucky." He felt guilty. Despite their rocky start, Duo genuinely liked Sergeant James. The grizzled old war veteran was the kind of guy who had raised him vicariously amongst the Sweepers. He was harsh because he had to be to keep younger comrades from making stupid mistakes that could kill someone. Deceiving the man felt wrong, but the American knew he didn't have a choice. "Let's call it a night," he muttered.
His tools properly put away, Duo glanced down at his watch and groaned quietly. They had to be up in less than two hours, and he was dragging some serious ass. Without preamble, he killed the lights in his hangar bay and approached his bunk cautiously. Sure, Heero was perfectly friendly while awake, but, sleeping, he was fucking dangerous. Deathscythe's pilot was gazing at his toolbox and debating about which tool to toss at his partner to get his attention when Solo rolled his blue eyes, snorted, and pushed past Duo. He reached out and shoved Heero's sleeping form over unceremoniously, and collapsed onto the bunk against his brother.
Duo stared in horror, waiting for the Japanese agent to shoot their fellow Preventer, snap his neck or punch him, but Heero just grunted and went back to sleep. The hell? Maybe he was just that tired. Or maybe he'd become so accustomed to both Duo and Solo's presences that even dead to the world asleep he still recognized them.
Solo gave his childhood friend a lazy smirk, ruffled Heero's messy hair affectionately, and patted the remaining foot of space on the bunk beside him, giving Duo a jokingly suggestive look. The violet-eyed pilot was reminded suddenly just how crazy the Sweeper was at times. Sure, he played the quiet, non-threatening babysitter well, but he still had the same training that Heero had undergone; the only difference between them was a five-year age difference and a gap in emotional capacity, but even that was dubious. Solo had difficulties empathizing with other people. Heero had problems expressing emotions of any kind. They were so alike it was a little fucking scary.
Duo flicked the other agent off and punched him half-heartedly in the shoulder as he dropped onto the thin mattress beside him. "You're an ass, y'know that?"
Grinning, Solo shrugged. "Yeah," he said quietly, "But I figure it's safer for me to act as a buffer and keep you two from screwing one another in the middle of the hangar and blowing our cover." Duo snorted. So the fucker was useful for something, after all.
"Whatever. Just keep your hands to yourself," Duo yawned. He was unconscious in moments.
.
Heero had been content in his pursuit of sleep. He had been so sleep deprived, and so trusting in Duo and Solo to keep his protection, that when he was shoved in his unconscious state he hadn't so much as twitched his trigger finger. He was exhausted beyond all reasoning. He couldn't remember a time when he was so drained. There were no dreams, no recollections, no sensations. Just an inky blackness. Calm. Serene. Peaceful.
His internal clock jolted him awake at 0700. He sat up robotically and felt a strain of a muscle in his side as he did so. He must not have stirred at all in his sleep. The hangar was dimly lit, only the red emergency lights glowed along the catwalks and by the doorways. The faint sound of metal clanging metal sounded from a lift chain swinging gently in the current of the climate control vent, clinking melodically against a hydraulic arm of the mobile suit lift.
He lifted a hand wearily to push his hair from his face. The stubborn locks fell back automatically to their usual positions across his eyes and cheeks. He grunted, stretched his arms over his head and heard the faint cracking of his thoracic vertebrate slipping back into alignment just below his shoulder blades. He felt much better, having finally gotten adequate sleep.
He turned to his right and saw a large figure lying on the bunk. He immediately recognized the form to be Solo. His brother was turned on his side with his arm draped across… Duo?
Heero stared for a long moment, processing this. Solo wasn't that stupid, was he? He narrowed his eyes and frowned before reaching over calmly to grab Solo by the offending arm. He pulled it with a sharp yank toward himself, rolling the other Preventer toward him, and with the other hand grabbed Solo's index finger and before the his doppelganger could react he snapped the man's finger out of its socket.
He released the hand and stared down coolly at his brother and the sleeping figure of his baka partner. There was no way in hell he was going to let an offense such as that go without punishment. Nobody touched Duo but him.
.
There were certain noises that would wake any former soldier from a dead sleep: base alarms, gunshots, barking dogs, and bones breaking. Duo was almost positive he'd heard at least a dislocated joint when his eyes flew open groggily and he looked around for the source.
They were in the hangar. He knew that. He was sharing a cramped bunk with the Wonder Twins, both of whom were glaring daggers at each other. Heero looked ready to spring at his brother and beat his face in, and Solo was holding onto his right hand with his left and cursing under his breath.
What the fuck was up with those two, now?
"Yuy?" he asked, keeping his voice down. His watch told him that it was 0700 hours, and there were already slight sounds of movement around the hangar. Two pairs of cobalt blue eyes turned to him and he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. He was certain he'd picked up that particular habit from Wufei. "What's going on?"
Solo flicked his gaze back to their pilot briefly, eyes full of loathing, and then he reached out with his right hand. Duo saw the dislocated index finger instantly. "How the hell-" the American began, and then everything sort of clicked into place in his tired mind. He leveled a deadly gaze at Heero. "Did you do this?"
What the fuck was Heero thinking? Like they could afford for one of them to be physically incapacitated in any form or fashion in the middle of a mission of this magnitude. Duo took the Sweeper's hand in his as carefully as possible and grit his teeth. "I'm going to push it back into the joint," he said quietly. Solo just watched him impassively. It was almost unnerving. He'd seen Heero with the same expression after being shot and falling from buildings. With a familiar flick of his wrist and a small amount of force, he fixed Solo's dislocated index finger and watched the other agent flex his hand experimentally before getting up from the bunk and walking away wordlessly.
Solo had looked angry and more than a little hurt, and Duo doubted it had anything to do with physical pain. Deathscythe's pilot was furious. What the hell had Heero been thinking? He was lucky that his brother hadn't beaten the unholy shit out of him. Solo definitely outweighed the other soldier by a few dozen pounds. More importantly, they were supposed to be teammates.
Hadn't they gotten this shit over with weeks ago? This whole situation was getting out of hand.
It got a whole lot worse when James strolled by their bay, noting their flight sergeant's absence and the obvious tension between pilot and mechanic, he snorted and chuckled. "Lover's spat?" he smirked. "You can't have them both, Johnson. Weren't you getting hot and heavy with Yuy last night?" The veteran gave Heero a pitying look. "I think you're barking up the wrong tree, kid."
Duo wanted to knock those metal-coated teeth down the old man's throat. He glared at James and the man put his hands up in an appeasing gesture and backed away, disappearing into the next bay.
Goddamnit.
.
Heero's eyes widened a few millimeters at the mention of 'Yuy' getting hot and heavy with Duo. The man was insinuating a lot in only a few sentences. Heero's expression turned icy, a defense mechanism he had picked up during training. It was something he had been taught by Dr. J after the first time he was brainwashed. Never show anyone how you feel. They could use it against you. He had made that mistake once. He had expressed sorrow at the untimely accidental death of that little girl...
At the memory of the smoking, charred body of that girl and her dog his eyes glazed over with another layer of ice. He stood up slowly and stalked away in the direction of his mobile suit.
He couldn't deal with this now. Not now. He had a mission.
If Duo wanted to snuggle with his brother while they were sleeping, let him. If Solo wanted to be close to Duo like that, then fine. They were fucking behind his back? Let them. He didn't care anymore.
Which was a lie. He cared a little too much.
He slid into the seat with a blank expression and began booting up the OS. Haro squealed loudly in greeting. "RITTER. RITTER. RITTER."
"Silence mode," Heero said coolly. The Haro unit blinked sadly and turned to face away from him, perhaps sensing his agitation. Heero began to firmly prod the control panel, bringing up new statistics for the mobile suit. The GN drive had been installed, and according to the Haro's diagnostic abilities it was ready to go.
.
Duo literally watched his partner shut down emotionally. It was almost identical to the expression he'd just seen on Solo's face. And once Heero got to that point, there was really no reasoning with him.
Except that he couldn't afford to fly in that state of mind. Duo didn't doubt his piloting abilities at all, but he knew damned well that Heero's logic and reasoning were becoming more and more affected by his feelings, and that was going to get him hurt.
But why the hell had he gotten angry with his brother in the first damned place?
None of this made any sense, and they were both acting like bratty teenaged boys, not grown fucking men, Preventers agents, genetically-engineered career soldiers. Was Duo the only one of their motley little group with any common sense left?
The American scrambled hastily off the bunk and all but ran up the access ladder to the catwalk, punching in the code to open the cockpit hatch on unit AE-02 and ignoring the hydraulic whirring emanating from the GN drive now installed on the back of the suit. The hatch sprang open with a soft hiss and Duo marched inside, hitting the release and waiting until the door had closed behind him. He reached over the console array and grabbed Heero by the front of his flightsuit, shaking him roughly.
"I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but this stops now. You know damned well I was with you and not your damned brother; I told James I was with 'Yuy' when he caught me out after curfew. I didn't lie. He just assumed I meant Solo. And if you have that little faith in me then just spit it out now and we can get all of our cards on the table, 'Ro."
Duo was so angry that his hands were trembling. "What the fuck happened this morning that you needed to hurt him?" The next question that sprang from the American's mouth was completely unexpected but valid. "What the hell do I have to do to you to make you flip your shit and hurt me like that?"
The pain in Solo's eyes as he'd stalked off had startled Duo. The Sweeper wasn't supposed to feel much of anything, but he'd obviously been upset. And with as much as the man had tried to watch out for Heero-not that Wing's pilot really needed it- by defending him against Wufei and Lowe and anyone else who tried to pick a fight with the Japanese agent, Heero's behavior was shocking.
.
Heero didn't know how to handle this. He stared impassively at his enraged partner for a long moment, shocked that Duo even came up here to chastise him. He was going to blow their cover. He needed to pacify the other pilot quickly.
"Nobody touches you but me," Heero said flatly, his face completely devoid of any emotion. He didn't care how that sounded. He didn't care that he was probably being an irrational prick about the whole thing. He had reacted to something his brother had done. He wouldn't take it back. "If you feel so sorry for him, then go coddle him. Now get out."
He needed Duo to get out and to stop yelling at him. He needed to get away from the other pilot before he got angrier. He needed to repress his urge to beat the shit out of his brother, or anyone for that matter.
His watch beeped. It was 0715. He reached over to kick the control lever that released the hatch. It hissed open loudly.
.
Duo arched an eyebrow at his best friend and knew that his expression was lethal. "I'm not a piece of real estate, Ritter," he seethed. He wanted to deck the other pilot, but now wasn't the time. Instead, he smiled coldly and nodded. "I'm outta here. For good. You're just too fucking unstable."
He was out of the suit and down on the hangar floor before he really thought about just how callous and harsh his words had been. Fuck it. Duo slammed his tool chest's drawers shut angrily. It was done. Heero needed to keep his damned head in the mission, not assault his flight sergeant. And when Solo stopped licking his wounds and came limping back, Duo was going to get him alone and get some fucking answers from the idiot.
Heero's possessive streak was getting out of hand. There was a simple solution to that-he'd just cut the Japanese agent off. Did he want to? Right now, yeah. He was pretty damned sure that was just his anger talking, though. But right now he wanted to get back into that cockpit and pound Heero's handsome face into a bloody pulp.
Who the fuck was his partner to treat Duo like property? Last time he'd checked, he wasn't married. He certainly wasn't in a long-term, committed relationship. He loved Heero, a lot, but that by itself didn't mean anything. Duo had never been in a serious relationship with anyone.
Except Solo.
But he'd been just a kid. And while he knew damned well that he'd been in love with his childhood friend, Duo was well aware that Solo had changed a lot in seven years.
Did he still love Solo?
Shit.
Duo buried his face in his hands, elbows braced on the top of one tool chest, and sighed explosively. Maybe he did. Maybe he was confused about this whole situation, and with practically no sleep and ridiculous amounts of stress, he wasn't able to think clearly anymore. Maybe he needed out of this mission. No. He wouldn't leave these two idiots behind. They'd just kill each other. Or maybe he was the problem, here.
There were footsteps behind him, and Duo didn't need to turn around to recognize the slow, even gait. Solo had wandered back into the hangar bay and was standing less than two feet behind him. "I musta rolled into you in my sleep," he began awkwardly, trying his best to keep his voice down. "I guess even after all this time it's just comfortable sleeping next to you. He woke up and lost it."
That explained a lot. And Duo felt strangely complacent about Solo's admission. He nodded once and turned away from the tool chest to look at the Sweeper. "We've got shit to do," he muttered. "We're going to Lowe's office. Everyone's gonna be real busy supervising the Elite suit practice, and we weren't invited to the party." He brushed past the older agent and ignored the tightening in his chest at the brief contact.
No need to analyze that. It wasn't fucking important. Nothing was, anymore, but this damned mission. "Let's look up those accounts."
.
Heero watched Duo storm off and sighed. He hadn't meant to be so harsh, but he had to shake the other pilot off for the time being. He knew he hurt Duo. He knew he had hurt Solo, too. Perhaps he was destined to do nothing but hurt others for the rest of his life.
He hadn't ever really understood his infatuation with the other pilot. It had come out of nowhere. One minute he was yelling at the American about the inconsistencies of his reports, and the next he was admiring how beautifully the other pilot's hips swayed when he walked, or the little determined smirk the idiot made when he shot at a target on the range at 100 yards or more.
And now he had completely screwed up everything he had worked for up until now. He had trusted Duo. He hadn't liked the things that James had said, but when Duo explained them he believed him. He still didn't trust Solo. He had shared DNA with the guy, and Solo had been standing up for him for some time now, but that didn't mean a thing. He had no history with the guy. At least, any that he could remember, and perhaps he wasn't capable of being a brother. Or a partner. Or a lover, to anyone.
He was a pilot. He was only good at taking orders and completing missions. He would dedicate himself to that.
But why did his chest hurt so much? He frowned and stared down at the Haro, which was now bobbling uneasily in its dock.
"Pilot AE-02, prepare for launch. Potential Elites will rally at coordinate. M.E.I. Fusion, activated." Heero heard Edgar's voice speaking over his comm. He felt his suit being dragged away toward the launching bay. Immediately the queer sensation of his body sinking into the seat began again, and within moments the dull ache of emotion he had been experiencing was gone, replaced now by the throbbing sensation of pure power gathering at his spine. He assumed it was the suit's interpretation of the effect the new GN drive was having on it. His vision was now the suit's, and he looked down just as he was being dragged off to see Solo and Duo leaving the hangar together.
He loved Duo. He couldn't deny this. It hurt that he couldn't do anything to stop this. He couldn't stop the yelling, and the frustration and the miscommunication. How was he supposed to work this out?
And now he was being dragged away, again, to deal with all of this on his own.
Maybe Duo needed someone like Solo. His brother was older, with more experience. He seemed more likable and personable. He was just as capable of taking care of the American as Heero was, but perhaps more adept in the emotion department. He had been with Duo before Heero had ever even met the Deathscythe pilot. He probably understood his partner better, and maybe knew just what to say to appease him.
Duo would be happier with him.
The thought sent a strange sensation into his mind. Immediately he heard M.E.I.'s voice speaking loudly across his consciousness, "Erratic breathing detected. Cardiac Arrhythmia. Attempting to modify."
This is my heart aching, Heero thought, and here this operating system is trying to fix me.
The two Preventers vanished somewhere in the darkness. The pressurizing chamber closed in around him, locked, and then dumped him into open space.