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[ Disclaimer: All rights and privileges to Shin Kidousenki Gundam Wing are trademarks and property of Sunrise, Bandai, Sotsu Agency, and associated parties. The characters of these works are used WITHOUT permission for the purpose of entertainment only. This work of fiction is not meant for sale or profit. ]
A GW fan fic: Immortalized - Part One
By Stargem
Author's notes: Venturing into uncharted territory here ^_^; This is the result of playing the 'What-if' game concerning the G-boys, a cyberpunkish piccy by Kitsune(*waves* Hey Kitsune-chan! ^_^) and chibi-Star aka the Muse. I'm horrible at technicalities, so forgive any mistakes I make. I'm writing blind here, ya know…
Key for punctuation:
~ … ~ denotes Mindspeech/telepathy or voices in the head ^_^
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The nighttime streets were dark, shadowy and filled with fear. The harsh, glaring neon lights revealed nothing but the shadows of criminals lurking out of sight. Smoke wreathed upwards through the air, providing a thin veil of concealment for dark figures scurrying down the alleys, the collars of their coats pulled up and their hats low over their eyes. A lone hovercar darted quickly through the forbidding streets, the yellow glow of its front lamps cutting through the gloom to illuminate a slender, black-clad figure leaning casually against the wall of a dilapidated building in passing. A crimson cybernetic eye flashed warningly at the driver before it slid back out of the light.
~ I'm bored. Bored, bored, bored. B-O-R-E-D. ~
"Shut up, Duo."
~ There's nothing to do here! Why can't you bring me somewhere interesting for once? ~
"We're not here for fun. Our objective is Peterson."
~ *disgruntled* We've been here five hours already and he still isn't showing. Unlike you, I can't stand outside some scientist's house for hours on end twiddling my thumbs and doing nothing. ~
"Duo, you don't have a body."
~ *grimace* Right. I'm just a little voice in your head. ~
"Quiet. He's coming out."
Warm amber light spilled out onto the street, partially blocked by the dark figure in the doorway. Heero sank further into the shadows, narrowing his eyes dim cybernetic eye's glow. Ascertaining that the coast was clear, he darted forward and quickly pressed the sharp prongs of a taser to the scientist's neck. The man jerked in surprise, opening his mouth in a soundless cry for help before going limp as the injected drug filled his veins.
~ Nice job. Now, how about getting out of here? ~
Heero did not reply, hefting the slight body of his captive over one shoulder and pressing the switch beside the door to close it. The dark-coloured hovercar idling in the shadows immediately flew down to him at a non-verbal command with the minimum of noise. Heero dumped his captive into the backseat and jumped in the driver's seat. The hovercar purred off into the night, leaving no clue of its owner's recent visit.
***
~ You did check the dosage in the taser, right? ~
"I did," Heero growled irritably, though he was starting to feel uncertain.
Dr. Peterson slumped bonelessly in a chair before them, secured in place by ropes. His glasses had slid down the bridge of his nose as his head lolled on his slowly rising and falling chest.
~ Maybe it's because he's so skinny. Half of the standard dose probably would've knocked him out already. 'Course he'd still have a killer headache anyway. ~
"Hn."
Suddenly, the bespectacled scientist stirred sluggishly with a groan. He turned chalk white as he caught sight of his kidnapper. The fierce frown and glaring red cybernetic eye did not help his confidence any.
"W-who are you?" the scientist squeaked. "What do you want with me? I don't have any money!"
"You are Dr. Peterson, correct?" Heero asked without preamble. His piercing glare made it clear that untruths would not be tolerated.
Dr. Peterson gulped. "Y-yes, I am."
"You are an independent researcher into cyber-technology, who left Cyber-Tech Labs five years ago. You were working on the idea that if memories could be stored on MRDs, perhaps so could a person's consciousness. Cyber-Tech Labs rejected your project because of its dubious success and costly research, so you decided to move to a small lab facility and continue on your work there. Your sponsor and business partner is Mrs. Chandler, a rich widow. Just recently, you have built a working prototype of your invention that is still within the experimental stages."
The young scientist was gaping in shock at the succinct summary of his activities for the past few years. "That's right! How do you know all this?"
"I need your invention."
"Huh?"
Heero glared. "Does it work?"
Dr. Peterson shrank back. "Y-you said yourself, it's still in the experimental stages! Theoretically, it should, but further testing is needed..-"
"I can't wait that long."
"But-"
"Does it work?"
Dr. Peterson wriggled uncomfortably in his bonds, trying to escape Heero's eyes. "Yes. But the procedure is very dangerous."
Heero nodded, satisfied. It's going to work, Duo. You're going to be fine.
~ *Assent* ~
***
~ *nervous* You're sure about this? ~
"Getting cold feet?" Heero asked dryly. "I'm the one strapped into the chair."
~ It's me who's getting transferred onto a mind disk! The first time was bad enough. ~
"It was the only way."
~ You almost died. Two independent consciousness' can't both occupy one mind. The human brain doesn't have the capacity for that. ~
"That's why we're getting you into a body of your own."
~ It's ugly. ~
"Stop complaining."
Dr. Peterson's interest had been piqued as he witnessed Heero's side of the strange conversation. "Fascinating," he muttered. When it appeared that the conversation had stopped for the moment, he cleared his throat. "Are you ready?"
~ *resigned* Get it over with, doc. ~
"Do it," said Heero.
Dr. Peterson nodded, licking his lips nervously. He pressed the green start-up button. The computers hummed to life, bathing the reclining chair in which Heero was strapped into in an intense white glow. The scientist shielded his eyes from the glare with a hand, as the light intensified and a vibrating thrumming started up. With a final blinding flash, the light cut off abruptly along with the noise. The computers whirred softly and were quiet.
The scientist gazed intently at the two reclining chairs in the middle of the room. In the left, Heero was breathing evenly, unconscious. The cyborg unit strapped in the right was still and unmoving. Dr. Peterson bit his lip, anxiety creasing his brow. He did not want to explore the possibility of failure. The cyborg twitched. Its blank eyes suddenly came to life, glowing violet. As its systems came online one by one, it stiffly pushed itself upright, snapping the restraints. At the sharp sounds, Heero's eyes opened. The cyborg's cybernetic eyes meet his with a soft whirring movement.
There was silence for a full two minutes.
Then Dr. Peterson whooped, "It worked!"
"Hello, Heero." The inflectionless voice was unfamiliar, but there was no mistaking the living, breathing spirit residing in the pseudoflesh of the cyborg. Duo.
Heero just stared, wordless.
~ End Part One
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(© March 2000 by Stargem)
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