"You've done what?" Duo asked, incredulous.
"I have invented a time machine!" J said proudly. His left hand clicked habitually.
"Is that even possible?" Quatre asked.
"Apparently so..." Fei said slowly, walking around the machine slowly. It was a large structure, shaped much like a traffic cone, only bright blue rather than orange. From the top protruded a long pole with a small ball on the top. The entire structure emitted a high pitched squeal that made the pilots cringe.
"I had heard these things were impossible..." Trowa commented dryly, looking up at J through his bangs, like he always did.
"It is simply a matter of rearranging molecules, that's all," J said defensively.
"Have you tested it yet, J?" Heero asked, his face blank and emotionless.
"Well, sort of. I sent a dog into last week, and brought it back."
"A...dog?" Heero said, raising a brow ever so slightly.
"Is that supposed to comfort us somehow?" Fei asked, peering into the expansive space that would hold all six of the men present, plus a few more.
"Well, do you want to test it?" J asked.
"Can we?" Quatre asked excitedly.
"No. It's not safe yet. We don't know if it really works."
"You're such a spoilsport, Heero. Come on; we've trusted J all these years; why is this any different?" Trowa smiled a little, causing Quatre to blush.
"...Trowa..."
"What? It's true; has J ever led us astray? I mean, is that the face of a doctor who would cause you to grow an extra limb, or lose one?" He motioned to the innocently grinning pyscho doctor.
"Yes."
J looked hurt. "You know, Heero, as a child, you were much more complacent."
"As a child, I hadn't lived through a war."
"He has a point," came a small rebuttle from inside the machine. Fei was inspecting it closely, entraced by the wires that laced the roof.
"Be careful in there, Chang. We don't want you getting sucked back into, like, 2002," Heero warned.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not a clutz like Duo."
"Hey!"
"Good point." Quatre began to circle the contraption, stopping in front of the control panel. "Explain this to me, J. Please?"
"Of course." The older man stood beside Quatre. "This button here sets the destination date. See, now it says 2000 AD."
"I read about that time in history!" Quatre said excitedly. "They didn't have mobile suits or anything."
"Precisely. Now, here, you set for the number of people who are going on the excursion, and here, you give them a time limit to get back to the deportation location. If they miss that window of one hour, they can never return to this century."
"Well, that bites." Trowa peered over J's shoulder at all the shiny buttons.
"Yes. The only way they could get back is if someone went to find them, which would be nearly impossible, because this machine dumps you somewhere different every time, and you have to leave from that exact spot. Now, this red button here activates the machine. It scrambles the molecules in your body, sending them along a cosmic line of atoms that stretches along time. It's much like a timeline that you used to make in school, where each atom is a different day in a different year. The nuclear construction of each atom determines exactly when you arrive, since each is different."
"Really? That's amazing. How did you figure it out?" Duo asked, finally giving in to his curiosity.
"Well, it was quite simple, first I-" J turned and bumped the red button.
The high pitched squeal grew in volume, and the ball atop of the conical contraption began to glow. That glow spread down the pole, filling the entire cavernous space of the machine. Fei's sillouhette appeared; he covered his eyes with his hands, hunching down to protect himself. Swirling around him were what looked like thousands of tiny bugs, but were, instead, thousands upon billions of molecules. White light filled the warehouse, forcing all the pilots to close their eyes and look away.
When they finally looked back up, the machine was empty, their ears ringing. "Fei!" Heero shouted. He leapt into the machine. "He's...he's gone!"
"I have invented a time machine!" J said proudly. His left hand clicked habitually.
"Is that even possible?" Quatre asked.
"Apparently so..." Fei said slowly, walking around the machine slowly. It was a large structure, shaped much like a traffic cone, only bright blue rather than orange. From the top protruded a long pole with a small ball on the top. The entire structure emitted a high pitched squeal that made the pilots cringe.
"I had heard these things were impossible..." Trowa commented dryly, looking up at J through his bangs, like he always did.
"It is simply a matter of rearranging molecules, that's all," J said defensively.
"Have you tested it yet, J?" Heero asked, his face blank and emotionless.
"Well, sort of. I sent a dog into last week, and brought it back."
"A...dog?" Heero said, raising a brow ever so slightly.
"Is that supposed to comfort us somehow?" Fei asked, peering into the expansive space that would hold all six of the men present, plus a few more.
"Well, do you want to test it?" J asked.
"Can we?" Quatre asked excitedly.
"No. It's not safe yet. We don't know if it really works."
"You're such a spoilsport, Heero. Come on; we've trusted J all these years; why is this any different?" Trowa smiled a little, causing Quatre to blush.
"...Trowa..."
"What? It's true; has J ever led us astray? I mean, is that the face of a doctor who would cause you to grow an extra limb, or lose one?" He motioned to the innocently grinning pyscho doctor.
"Yes."
J looked hurt. "You know, Heero, as a child, you were much more complacent."
"As a child, I hadn't lived through a war."
"He has a point," came a small rebuttle from inside the machine. Fei was inspecting it closely, entraced by the wires that laced the roof.
"Be careful in there, Chang. We don't want you getting sucked back into, like, 2002," Heero warned.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not a clutz like Duo."
"Hey!"
"Good point." Quatre began to circle the contraption, stopping in front of the control panel. "Explain this to me, J. Please?"
"Of course." The older man stood beside Quatre. "This button here sets the destination date. See, now it says 2000 AD."
"I read about that time in history!" Quatre said excitedly. "They didn't have mobile suits or anything."
"Precisely. Now, here, you set for the number of people who are going on the excursion, and here, you give them a time limit to get back to the deportation location. If they miss that window of one hour, they can never return to this century."
"Well, that bites." Trowa peered over J's shoulder at all the shiny buttons.
"Yes. The only way they could get back is if someone went to find them, which would be nearly impossible, because this machine dumps you somewhere different every time, and you have to leave from that exact spot. Now, this red button here activates the machine. It scrambles the molecules in your body, sending them along a cosmic line of atoms that stretches along time. It's much like a timeline that you used to make in school, where each atom is a different day in a different year. The nuclear construction of each atom determines exactly when you arrive, since each is different."
"Really? That's amazing. How did you figure it out?" Duo asked, finally giving in to his curiosity.
"Well, it was quite simple, first I-" J turned and bumped the red button.
The high pitched squeal grew in volume, and the ball atop of the conical contraption began to glow. That glow spread down the pole, filling the entire cavernous space of the machine. Fei's sillouhette appeared; he covered his eyes with his hands, hunching down to protect himself. Swirling around him were what looked like thousands of tiny bugs, but were, instead, thousands upon billions of molecules. White light filled the warehouse, forcing all the pilots to close their eyes and look away.
When they finally looked back up, the machine was empty, their ears ringing. "Fei!" Heero shouted. He leapt into the machine. "He's...he's gone!"
