The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this, would I?

Author's note: SECOND CHAPTER! Anyways, encouragement please, and constructive criticism as always. Hope you like it, and things should settle down.... ::thinks about it for a sec:: um... probably a long time from now. But enjoy the confusion! ;)

The Ties That Bind Us, by Siren Alecto

Chapter 2 - Rescue Mission

June

AC 200

Preventers Headquarters

18:30

The car arrangement ended up with Destiny and Angel going in Angel's convertible and Trowa, Duo, and Wufei in Duo's car. Angel glanced at Duo's black car, appreciating the sleekness of the machine, and the ability to carry more passengers than her two-seater. "Nice. Though I'd never give up my baby." She claimed, as she lovingly stroked one of the rising red flames on the side of her night-black convertible.

Duo gave a low whistle and grinned at Angel. "I'd be happy to take care of it for you if you go on vacation. Very happy."

Angel mock glared at him, "Do not get ideas about my car, braid-boy!"

Destiny rolled her eyes and motioned impatiently for everyone to get themselves seated. "Get moving."

After that, Angel knew that playing around would be too much, so she settled down to the task at hand. The very enjoyable task of driving her baby at the speeds it deserved. Angel grinned as she turned the key in the ignition, there were times she used Preventer privilege to her advantage and this was one of them. She planned to enjoy it to it's fullest.

Before she put the car into gear, she had the top as well as the windows down, so the wind ruffled her hair lightly. "Hey, Duo!" She called out to him in the other car.

"What?" He asked, after he rolled down his window to speak to her more easily.

"Race ya." She offered, a challenging light in her eyes.

Duo smirked, "You got it."

Angel grinned, as the car hummed along with her in anticipation. "Then let's go." She waited for Duo to line his car up with hers to start counting. By then she could see the blank faces of Wufei in the passenger seat and Trowa in the back. She took this as a sign that he was lined up with her and started counting loud enough for him to hear. "On your mark... Get set... Go!" Her foot slammed on the pedal after she shouted go -she was fair, after all- and she could hear the squealing of tires as they shot off down the road.

Duo could also hear the burning rubber, and wondered how much trouble they would get into because of the skid marks they were sure to have left. Duo grinned to himself as he thought about that last statement. Of course there was going to be trouble, there always was when Angel and him got together. Double Trouble, they used to be called in the old days. But those days were over and he had to focus on the now... Like the sight of Angel's really cool car slowly pulling away from his.

Destiny rolled her eyes and pulled out a hand-held tracking unit that fit neatly in her palm. "Next left, then a right."

Angel glanced over at Destiny and grinned, "Don't you just love my little toy? The things I make are just so helpful."

"Just keep your eyes on the road, Angel."

"Duo... What's going on between you and Angel?" Trowa asked quietly, not turning from his view of the road speeding under them.

"Huh?" Duo looked up startled. "What're you getting at?"

"He means, Maxwell, what are you doing with this Angel person if you have Hilde?" Wufei broke in.

"Wait... You thought... We... us..." Duo started laughing so hard that the car swerved and Wufei had to reach out a hand and steady the steering wheel. "It's not like that between us," Duo started, still chuckling, "She's been my best friend since... oh, since we were about 5 or so. She disappeared when we were about 10 so there wasn't any time for there to be even the hint of emotions like what you guys are getting at. I mean she's a looker all right, but I'm not interested in her that way. She is, and has always been a sister to me."

Wufei nodded once and settled back into the cushions, convinced that Duo wasn't being dishonorable.

"Anyway, I could ask the question of you, Trowa. I mean, that was a very tense room when you and Destiny thought you guys were alone. What's going on there?" Duo asked, his gaze flickering from Angels car to his friend's profile. He was rewarded by the tightening of the muscles in Trowa's back. 'Caught ya.' He thought with a mental grin as he expertly followed Angel's car on it's path.

"When I was a mercenary, we found a girl named Midii Une. She turned out to be a spy from OZ, and led them to us by a tracer she wore. Everyone died except for me and her. She was the only one who knew I am Nanashi. That's what Destiny called me when she saw me." Trowa's sentences were clipped, almost like they were painful to speak. "So there's nothing like what you want to hear." The last sentence had something close to a menacing tone but instead of being afraid, Duo's mental smile widened. Definitely something going on there.

On the other hand, Trowa's story also got Wufei's undivided attention. "Do you think she could still be playing traitor?"

"I don't know," Trowa replied honestly "It's bad to assume anything, so I'll just keep watching her. Angel too."

"Angel?" Duo looked over at Trowa through the rear-view, surprised. "You think she might be in on something too?"

Trowa just shrugged and leaned back in his seat, crossing muscled arms over his chest.

"I don't know," Wufei started, thinking back on the conversation he just had with them. "If they're traitors, why haven't they done something already? And why when they are being captured are they turning to the Lady for help? Wouldn't they just ask someone else?"

"I don't know... I just want to make sure that she's on the same side as us." Trowa said quietly.

Duo was distracted from answering by Angel's car suddenly slowing and pulling over on the shoulder of the road. He downshifted and parked just behind, turning off his lights.

Angel was already out of the car and rummaging in the trunk when she heard Duo's car pull up behind her. She gave a cheerful wave as Duo jumped out of the car and came over.

"Whatcha lookin' for?"

"This." Angel said simply as she pulled a large suitcase from the back of the trunk and opened it for Duo to see the array of explosives in it.

"That's a lot of firepower." Trowa said simply.

"They took our friend." Destiny replied, walking over to the trunk.

"That was a mistake. Now we'll punish them." Angel said, with a fierce light in her eyes.

"Don't overdo it and let your emotions go to your heads." Wufei retorted sharply.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Chang." Destiny said coldly as she pushed a new clip into her handgun.

"Don't preach until you see us in action, k?" Angel countered as she closed the suitcase again and checked the clips in her own guns. Satisfied, she turned to the group. "Ready. So who wants to help me with a distraction?"

Duo flashed her an evil grin, "I'll go, I love blowing things up."

Destiny nodded in agreement, "Good. I guess you other two are with me. Have a problem with that?" She asked Trowa challengingly.

"No. It'll help me keep an eye on you." Trowa responded bluntly.

Angel smothered a grin with her hand and turned to Duo. "C'mon. We should get going."

With that, the two walked off into the trees.

Destiny sighed and glanced at Trowa. "Why is it exactly that you dont trust me?"

"It might be the fact that you betrayed me once before." Trowa answered.

Destiny glared at him, full of lethal force, "What the hell do you want me to do to prove my innocence?! Lady Une can testify that I practically built the Preventers unit with only Angel to help me."

Trowa narrowed his gaze at Destiny, "You expect me to believe that one assignment for OZ for your family's sake was it? That you never tried to pay the bills that way 'till now? Hah, likely story."

Destiny's glare intensified still further, "It's the fucking truth so you can believe it or not. Do whatever the hell you want, just don't fuck up on this mission." The raven-haired girl got up close to Trowa "Got that?" she whispered venomously.

Then she turned and stalked away a couple of feet.

Wufei judged that it was safe to bring himself into their line of vision now that the sparks had stopped flying. "You really push her buttons." He remarked just loud enough for his fellow pilot to hear him.

"Yeah, well, the feeling's mutual. Damn, why does she get me so agitated?" Trowa asked in frustration.

I have no idea. Why do you do the same to me? Destiny sighed and her posture drooped - for just one moment. Then she straightened and a collected look came back to her. "Right. They have enough of a lead now. Let's go." Not stopping to see if the two men followed her, she headed off silently at a light jog into the woods.

Wufei and Trowa shrugged and took off at a moderate jog after her, just as silent through the undergrowth as the raven haired woman.

They quickly caught up to her and steadied into an even pace disrupted only by Destiny signaling them to slow and eventual stop at the edge of the tree line. She quickly scanned the clearing in between the trees and the base that was holding the mysterious captive. Seeing only a minimal number of guards wandering around the perimeter with not a great amount of focus, Destiny nodded. At that moment, a loud explosion went off and Destiny shot forward, gun out and ready with the two men close behind her in equal amounts of readiness.

With all the confusion, none of the guards saw the three figures clothed in black enter the building swiftly and silently. After they had passed the entrance, Destiny flipped out her palm unit and looked at the blinking light. Taking the next right hallway, Destiny started to run faster and faster, starting to feel success in every bone in her body.

Taking two more right turns and then a left, Destiny paused again to look at the tracking device in her hand and gauge how much longer 'till they reached Faith. She guessed that it would only be a little longer and set off down yet another hallway in search for her friend. Trowa contented himself with following a couple of paces behind Destiny and Wufei a little behind him, keeping an eye on where the woman would lead him next. Suddenly Destiny stopped outside a door and treated everyone to the site of a door being knocked off of its hinges completely.

The first thing they saw in the room was a young woman tied to a chair, head tilted forward, short black hair covering her face. Destiny marched in and kneeled down next to the woman and started untying the ropes around her wrists and ankles. After that was done Destiny gently picked up the woman and carried her out the door. Trowa checked the next hallway and it was all clear so the three started running back towards the exit.

Suddenly the sound of gunfire erupted behind them and Trowa yanked out his gun to return fire and cover their backs. The skirmish ended quickly, but it was enough to keep the three soldiers tense and on their guard while traveling back the way they came. Coming around the bend to the next hallway, they stumbled upon a group of guards so quickly that everyone froze. Recovering quickly, Destiny used her power to slam the guards against the wall behind them hard enough so that there was an audible *crack* when they hit.

Deciding that it was getting increasingly more dangerous to be in the building, the three ran for the exit as fast as they could. Then all hell broke loose as the alarm system went off. Apparently someone had figured out very quickly that their prisoner was missing and had no intention of letting her go. Destiny yanked Trowa backwards by his shirt two seconds later, to flatten them against a wall just as a group of soldiers ran past them.

Did she... save me? Trowa wondered incredulously as he openly stared at the raven haired woman at his side. He was brought out of his stupor by Destiny signaling the "all clear" sign.

They ran across and ended outside the compound a couple of minutes later. Once they got back into around the middle of the woods, where it was quite dense and no one could see them Destiny stopped. Gently lowering her friend against a tree, she grabbed a communicator from a pocket in her pants and flipped it open.

"Angel. We've got her. Meet you back at the car." Then she flipped it shut and tucked it back into her pocket again, not even waiting for a token response from the other girl. With her hands free, Destiny turned back to the woman lying on the ground, propped against a tree trunk and performed a quick check over her body for broken bones or obvious injuries.

Bruised ribs, abrasions on wrists, and a puncture mark on her right arm. Nothing serious or life threatening, the car really shouldn't jostle her too much either. All's go. With quick mental calculations Destiny decided that the bruising on the ribs wasn't bad enough to rig a temporary stretcher, so she gently picked up her friend and headed back to their car.

Angel's ears perked as her transmitter came softly to life. She heard "Angel. We've got her. Meet you back at the car." and then all was silent once more. Grinning, she fell back into the fallen leaves that she had been crouching in and stared at the shadows cast by the giant trees above her. Then her view changed to Duo upside down, looking at her curiously. She giggled softly, then jumped to her feet and planted a kiss on Duo's cheek before twirling in a circle.

"We got her back! Mmm..." She sighed, hugging herself and closing her eyes. Then she turned back to Duo. "You'd better get the case with the rest of the supplies. We're supposed to meet them back at the car."

Clicking his heels together and giving her a mock salute, Duo grabbed the case with the rest of the explosives and set off at a fast walk back to the car with Angel by his side.

"Duo?" Angel asked suddenly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to, you know, ask me all sorts of questions about... everything?"

Duo smiled slightly, "I want to, but I know you well enough so that if you don't wanna talk, I'm not gonna hear anything."

Angel sighed dramatically while trudging up a hill, "Yup, I suppose I'm too much like you that way."

Duo raised an eyebrow at her, "You think so? And people always told me I talked too much. Sounds like I should talk more." He grinned evilly.

Angel elbowed him lightly in the side. "Baka. You could talk for days non-stop and not say anything important at all."

"Defense." He said, looking straight ahead.

"Don't I know it." She replied shaking her head. "But, really, I'd almost be relieved to answer your questions. I want to know what my brother thinks of me."

Duo let his gaze rest seriously on Angel again. "How many of you are there, in total? Tell me about them?"

Angel put both of her arms behind her head and tilted back slightly in a thinking pose. "Ok, a quick review then. Well there's me, who you know. Destiny, she's a good friend, trustworthy, but has emotional problems. Sometimes she can be rather focused on the mission. A female Heero Yuy, I suppose. Then there's Mercy, she's so mild and innocent, sometimes you feel like knocking your head against a wall. She lives in Russia right now, she might be coming back to visit soon. Her powers are to heal. Faith, she's got a bad temper and some pretty bad emotional scarring as well. Her power's telepathy as you know. Then there's Hope, she's pretty good natured about most things. She's a regular Doctor Dolittle and can speak to animals. Very handy, anyway she's your Heero's twin-"

Duo looked at Angel, eyebrows raised.

She smiled at him, "No, I'm not lying. It's true. Anyway, what else about her? Oh, I forgot to tell you about my hobby. I'm a mechanic, Hope designs things and I build them, we work pretty good together. Then there's Fiona. She's our younger by two years, but she's the most powerful one of us. She's the only 2nd generation of the experiment, and her mother was a natural witch so Fi was enhanced a lot. She's got a couple of different talents. Her mother taught us all how to control our powers. Then... she died. Fiona's about the most emotionally damaged person I've ever met. Then there's Blade. He's Destiny's younger brother, the only one she still has. He can control metal and is madly in love with Fiona."

Duo smiled, "Sounds pretty complicated. But, how do you know the other pilots by name? I'm sure you've never met them."

Angel shook her head at him. "Duo what do you think the scientist were doing with 7 kids that were genetically enhanced? We were put on missions to assassinate threats or to find information for your missions. We also had Faith hack into the system to get all your personal data so we could see who these pilots were."

Duo sighed, "My life seems so simple compared to yours."

Angel shrugged her shoulders, "I can't say that it bothers me. I rather liked the energy and efficiency of everything." She looked around, surprised. "We're here already. Cool." She wandered over to the roadside where her baby was parked and then stroked the side of the car gently. She was interrupted by an irritated voice from her right.

"Would you stop treating that car like it was your damn kid and give me a hand?!"

Angel swung around quickly to face Destiny and noticed the way that Faith fairly drooped in her arms. "How's she doing?" Angel asked softly, stepping close enough to Destiny that she could push Faith's bangs back from her face and gently stroke her smooth cheek. Angel's face had such a look of gentleness on it, it almost boggled Destiny's mind when moments later Angel turned to her and said "I'm going to come back and kill him later."

"About that." Destiny said, catching Angels eye when she was about to say something. "I want to see Fiona about what happened. We'll go from there."

"Fine." Angel replied. "As long as I can kill him."

"We'll see." Destiny conceded. "But first things first. Like how the hell we're going to work getting to Fiona's house with this one unconscious."

Siren Alecto: Whew. I think that's a good place to stop, don't you?

Eiryn: No.

Siren Alecto: -.- I knew you would say that.

Eiryn: Then why did you bother to ask?

Siren Alecto: ANYWAY, comments and criticism welcome, please, please, please! If you don't understand something I'll be happy to change it or answer your question(s), for the sake of the story.

Eiryn: Please support her and make my job easier. It's hard enough trying to get her to actually write this without TOO many flames making her lose confidence.

Siren Alecto: WHAT confidence?

Eiryn: See?