Shattered Reality Part 18
Time Bomb
by
Sailor Janus
"Listen to me! We have to get out of here!" Deidra yelled as Duo tried to recover from nearly being slammed in the face by the burgundy-haired girl's bedroom door.
The other four teens stared at the urgent curly-haired girl. She was either on to something or has completely lost her mind as Wufei had suggested.
"My cards predict major change and possibly death!" the frustrated L2 girl continued, before continuing, "NOW LET'S GO!"
"Deidra, you should not take that stuff so seriously," Quatre gently said, earning a cold glare from the frantic teenager.
Pulling Duo roughly, away from the wall by the arm and to the center the room the burgundy-haired girl shouted, "The cards do not lie! Now move your asses! MOVE!"
Curiously, Trowa, pulled out the device which Hotaru had given him, only to discover that Deidra was telling the truth after all. Grabbing Hotaru's lap top from the counter, he rose to his feet reporting, "She's right. There is a bomb in this apartment and it's set to detonate in one minute...or less."
"Oh shit! Evacuate the building! Pull the damn fire alarm!" the chestnut brown-haired pilot yelled as he and his friends quickly scrambled from wherever they were sitting or standing, rushing out of the door.
Trista, yanked on the fire alarm signaling trouble as she slammed the door shut.
Together the six teens hurried down the hall, three flights of stairs and straight to the parking lot.
Glancing at his watch, as he ran as fast as he could away from the apartment, the L3 pilot began counting down, "3....2....1-"
The entire building shook with a loud explosion, as flames soon engulfed the inside, filling the air with smoke. The impact however, knocked the six teenagers off the feet, crashing onto the hard pavement.
Wincing, Deidra turned her head and began gaping at the destruction of what used to be her home. "I-I'm homeless! I have no home! My purse!" Suddenly, she climbed to her feet and tried to race towards her apartment only to be yanked down by Duo.
"Trista, grabbed it," he simply said, tossing the black bag to the green-eyed girl. "Don't worry, Deidra. You can stay with us!" he grinned earning a stiff nod from the burgundy-haired teen.
"Question Maxwell, where? We are still wanted for the murder of Relena Peacecraft and the authorities know where we live so it's very likely that they have staked it out." Wufei said stating the obvious problem of the moment.
The dark green-haired young woman frowned, "Strange. Do you see anyone else out here? We're the only ones standing outside."
"I didn't see anyone in the halls. Did they evacuate the other residents without our acknowledgement?" the blonde Arabian inquired, as the others focused on the burning building.
Suddenly, a sheet of paper floated down next to Wufei. Curiously, the Chinese pilot picked it up and inspected the type printed out of the now dirty sheet of paper. "It was quarantined due to an asbestos problem."
"What?!" Deidra exclaimed, snatching the paper out of Wufei's hand to examine it for herself. "Damn them. Why weren't we notified?!"
"Because they wanted us in that building," the garnet-eyed teen sighed, feeling disgusted at the fact that she had just lost everything they had worked so hard for.
"Does anyone else want to send Nitol 'someone needs to remove his anal probe leftover from the alien abduction' Stanz a thank you bomb?" the curly-haired ex-cat burglar flatly said, appearing extremely pissed off at the moment. "What?" she added, realizing everyone was staring at her.
Duo tried his hardest to keep from snickering as the others adverted their eyes from the L2 girl, trying earnestly not to stare. Clearly she was not in the best of moods. "Um, babe. I think you need to cool down a bit but that was a good one!"
"Maxwell, by all means, don't encourage her," the Altron pilot sighed, rolling his dark eyes.
Clearing his throat, Quatre tried to change the subject as fast as possible. "Um, I propose we seek refuge with the scientists. After all, no one else knows about our help."
Nodding, Trowa agreed, "That is probably our best choice. Everywhere else, motels included, could lead us right back to jail."
Tiresomely, the six teens decided that was their only option despite how they felt about asking the scientists for help. Perhaps they had expected this to happen. If not then the five men should at least give them some blankets and they will just sleep in the warehouse with the gundams.
*~*~*~*
Groaning softly, Hotaru began to wake up, slowly opening her eyes. Oddly, she felt something warm underneath her. With a slight turn of her head, she realized it was Heero, who was still sound asleep.
'I hope I didn't wake him up. He needs to recover from that virus as much as possible. I have a feeling Prof. T, my father, is not going to be able to wait for much longer. Damn it. Why does he have to do this?' the dark-haired girl thought, resting her head back on the Perfect Soldier's chest, feeling it rise and fall beneath her.
Just then, Heero began to slowly stir, unaware of the girl that was still in his arms, until he opened his eyes. Blinking a few times, he managed to bring everything into focus.
"It's hell recovering from the virus isn't it," Hotaru softly said, still feeling extremely drained from whatever the scientists had done to her.
Nodding the teenaged boy inquired, "Have you set up a plan?"
"No, everything I try to plan out ends up seeming hopeless. We could try sweeping the guards' feet then make a run for it, but the shackles make that really difficult, shortening the space between us and them, until we are imprisoned once again. None of the guards enter with weapons, so we cannot apprehend them, and Prof. T always have a vile of something in his lab coat." Briefly the dark-haired girl closed her eyes as she added, "Right now, it is hopeless."
"We'll just have to go along with whatever they are planning until opportunity reveals itself." Carefully, Heero managed to sit up with the girl still in his embrace. "I have a feeling we do not have much time left."
Hotaru released the breath she was holding before gazing into Perfect Soldier's dark blue eyes. "That's because we don't. Since you are fairly healthy again, Prof. T can do whatever he has planned."
"That is precisely, correct," the white-haired man sneered, making his presence clear, surrounded by several guards who were eyeing the two teens.
Coldly Heero glared, removing his arms from around Hotaru, whose expression was very similar. "Release us now or you will pay."
Chuckling, the scientist shook his head, "You are in no position to make threats, my boy. Not by far."
'What the hell is he planning?' The violet-eyed girl thought, clinching her fist so tightly that she swore her nails would pierce through her skin. "I feel ashamed to even call you father. Why are you doing this?"
"Scientists concoct experiments, and I am a scientist. You do the math," Prof. T. snickered, snapping his fingers. Suddenly, the guards began to approach the two teens who were at an extremely bad disadvantage.
Gritting her teeth, Hotaru separated from Heero, planting her hands firmly on the ground, leaning to her left before kicking her shackled legs up, nailing one guard in the crotch. In a flash she pivoted her body around, sweeping the legs out from another.
'Nice strike, Firefly, but will this be enough?' the Perfect Soldier, slamming the man who was kicked in the crotch with his bound fists in the face then elbowing another in the gut. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Hotaru rise herself up to a hand stand, slamming her feet into a blonde-haired man's chest, sending him staggering back into the scientist, both falling to the ground.
Suddenly, a redhead kicked Hotaru's hands out from under her, striking her head at the same time causing the girl to collapse to the ground with a loud thud on her head and back instantly knocking the wind out of her. Oddly, it felt as though the room was spinning violently as the violet-eyed teen struggled to breath. 'What is happening?' In the back of her mind, she could hear Heero yell for her as he was apprehended by five guards, but soon blacked out.
"Hotaru!" The teenaged boy stared in disbelief at the still form of Hotaru Tomoe. 'A blow like that should not have affected her that much. Shit. What have you done Prof. T?' The brown-haired pilot thought, before feeling a piercing pain in the back of his neck and slowly lost consciousness.
*~*~*~*
The plan to go to the scientist's warehouse did not begin as expected since Trista and Trowa both had to struggle in order to remove a bomb from the van. The circus performer silently thanked Hotaru again for the detection device. It was a definite life saver. Deidra and Duo who were bored out of their minds, sat on the pavement in the vacant parking lot, playing a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. This left Wufei to muttered inaudible phrases under his breath while Quatre attempted to set a plan of action for dealing with Iron Fist and saving their captured friends.
"Ha! Rock crushes scissors!" the burgundy-haired girl smirked, lightly slamming her fist on the boy's 'scissors.'
Pouting, Duo mumbled, "You cheated!" This earned him a giggle and a very skeptical look from his opponent.
"How can a person cheat at Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Deidra inquired, her jade green eyes glimmering under the street lamp.
Shrugging the braided-haired teen answered, "I don't know but you did! You probably asked the cards or something."
Deidra suddenly began shaking with laughter. "Sure. Oh great invisible cards, help me read Duo Maxwell's thoughts!" This made the girl laugh even harder.
In annoyance, the Deathscythe Hell pilot stuck his tongue out at her. "Very funny, babe," he dryly said.
"Can you two stop acting so childish?" Wufei grumbled, rolling his eyes at the two teen's antics.
"Why? You wanna play too, Wuffy?" Deidra grinned as the Altron pilot scoffed at the suggestion.
"Hmph!" The Chinese teen grunted before narrowing his gaze. "My name is Wufei, not Wuffy. Get it right woman."
"Kay Wuffy!" the curly haired girl beamed, climbing to her feet as Duo tried his hardest not to roll on the ground with laughter at the infuriated expression on Wufei's face. "Hey Duo! I found a chocolate bar in my purse. Want half?"
This got the braided-haired teen's attention. "Chocolate? Sure!" Happily, Duo scrambled off the ground, racing up to the burgundy-haired girl who was trying to break the candy bar in half.
The Chinese pilot sighed in defeat, "Why me? Why those two? And why do they have to have sugar?!"
*~*~*~*
The two L2 teens sat on a curb, eating the sugary goodness. Deidra had offered some to the others but they declined accepting Trista's protein bars instead. The two girls often carried some form of food in their purses in case they had to hide out somewhere. The two ex-Iron Fist agents had three sources of food between them which was split up amongst everyone.
"Hey thanks for the chocolate," Duo quietly said taking a glance at the curly-haired girl sitting next to him.
"Don't mention it. I personally cannot stand Trista's protein bars. They taste like cardboard," Deidra answered making a face. "I can't see how the others like them. Blah."
This made the chestnut brown-haired boy chuckle. "Yeah, they are gross but when you're hungry you'd eat anything."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right, " the green-eyed ex-cat burglar shrugged, wrapping her arms around herself, turning her head to watch her partner and the curiously quiet boy hard at work.
Duo opened his mouth to say something, but forgot what he was about to say, watching small strands of Deidra's ringlets blowing lightly in the breeze. Closing his mouth, he turned his attention the two L3 teenagers, briefly glancing at the girl sitting next to him.
*~*~*~*
"Cross that wire over there but be careful of the red one," Trista quietly said, as Trowa silently worked on defusing the explosive.
Releasing a small sigh, the tall pilot said, "They did a damn good job this time. I don't know if I can deactivate it without setting it off."
Nodding her head, the dark green-haired girl tried to strategize a way of removing the bomb as they both fell into silence once again.
"Remove the blue wire," the two teens simultaneously said before freezing, exchanging quizzical looks. Quickly they averted their gazes, returning to work once again.
"Sorry to have gotten you and Deidra mixed up in this," Trowa quietly said, ducking his head down to inspect his handiwork.
Briefly closing her eyes in thought, Trista reassured him, "What happened, happened. Perhaps it was destiny. We are going to end this though."
"We have to," the Heavyarms pilot agreed, dark green meeting garnet once again. Slowly they moved a little closer.
The girl however faltered, "I-I think if we cut the black wire, it should deactivate the bomb without destroying any vital part of the van such as the starter."
"Right," Trowa whispered, turning his attention back to the detonation device.
*~*~*~*
Quatre frowned at the sheet of paper in his hands covered with possible methods of defense and offense for rescuing Heero and Hotaru. Unfortunately, each of those ideas were deemed impossible since they had no idea where they might relocate since that seems to be the most likely form of action for Iron Fist.
Finally some good news rang through the air.
"Hey Quatre! Trowa and Trista defused the bomb! We can go now!" Duo and Deidra announced, with twin grins on their faces.
Glancing up, the blonde nodded, quickly gathering up the laptop, paper, and pen from his lap, "Great! We better report to the scientists now. I have a feeling that our situation may worsen."
The braided-haired pilot's face fell at his friend's speculation. "You just had to spoil it."
"Stop pouting and come on!" the burgundy-haired girl snickered, grabbing the boy by the arm before racing off with Quatre to the van.
*~*~*~*
The pilots' van slowly pulled up to the warehouse. It was already getting late and all six teens were growing very tired of the constant conflicts. At least they should have a peace of mind in the warehouse.
"We're here," Trowa softly said, putting the vehicle in park. Quietly, Wufei stumbled to the sliding door and jumped followed soon enough by the others.
"Home sweet home," Duo drawled, releasing a loud and long yawn. Even the sugar from the candy bar was not working too well. "I hope they at least swept the floor."
Suddenly, the door swung open and a small bald head peeked out, "We were wondering what took you six so long. Come in."
The six young pilots exchanged glances, shocked at the fact that the men had known about their intentions to relocate in the warehouse.
"Why do they keep doing that to us?! It's like they expected these things to happen!" the cobalt blue-eyed teen scoffed, trailing behind his friends into the building.
Oddly enough, the mobile suit gundams, which once lined the opposite sides of the wall were gone leaving the room rather vacant.
Frowning, Quatre inquired," Um, excuse me. What happened to the gundams?"
Dr. E spun around and chuckled. "They were transported to space which the L1 teens are more than likely being sent to."
"How do you know that? How do you even have the slightest idea as far as what is going on?! Answer me!" Wufei growled, growing increasingly frustrated at the fact that the five men which report they are trying to help them, seem to always be one step ahead.
"Time is running out. Iron Fist has already suppressed the colonies and much of Earth itself. They are almost ready to unleash their dolls and suits which I will remind you, are made of gundanium alloy," the white-haired scientist replied to the amazement of the pilots.
Deidra dropped her jaw at the startling news as Duo bowed his head, lightly shaking it. "Man, it's starting again," he muttered. Angrily, Wufei balled his hands into fists, appearing as though he were ready to scream. Quatre sadly stared into the floor, as Trowa focused his attention on the wall while Trista closed her eyes. This was definitely the last thing they wanted to hear.
"Which is why you six must report to space," Prof. I crisply said. "The other scientists are already there, preparing the gundams and we shall depart soon as well. Once again, you are our only hope."
"What colony are we to report to?" Trowa clearly asked, accepting what the present was actually consisting of. He was ready to fight for the future.
"Colony L1 area 233X. That is where we will wait for you," Dr. E said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.
The blonde found something very odd. "What do you mean by wait? And what about Heero and Hotaru? Do you know where they have been sent and how do you know everything?"
"My, so full of questions. We have a few inside sources," The bald-head man said as he and his colleague turned to leave the room. "However, the path you choose get to your destination is up to you. Just don't get caught."
"You-you mean you're leaving us?! But why?!" the curly-haired girl shouted before angrily glaring. 'I can't believe these guys! They are doing it again!'
The men chuckled at the outraged girl. "You are the protectors of this world. We can not lead you by the hand and do everything for you. All of you must learn how to fight and survive on your own, only relying on each other. As I said before, we will provide the tools, but you must learn how to use them. Good Luck."
With that last word, the two men disappeared into the shadows.
"Great. I guess we better figure out a way to get there without being sent to jail, again," Duo flatly said, folding his arms behind his head with a sigh. 'Why must everything be left up to us? Fine. If they want a fight, they're gonna have a date with their maker!'
"We will have to depart on a civilian ship to appear less suspicious. Using disguises may be our best method of action," Trista said, brushing a lock of green tinted hair from her face.
Agreeing, Trowa added, "Fake identification cards would also be beneficial. I'm sure our pictures have been plastered everywhere."
"The key word careful. We cannot be caught again," Quatre firmly spoke, receiving five head nods, confirming his belief.
*~*~*~*
With a heavy feeling in his head, Heero's eye lids fluttered open. Oddly he found himself bound to a chair. Upon inspection, the Perfect Soldier found he was aboard some type of ship. One glance out the window confirmed his suspicions. They were headed into outer space.
Suddenly, Heero heard a soft moan next to him. A swift turn of his head, and he discovered it was coming from Hotaru. Soon, she too opened her eyes and appeared to be just as displeased. With a look that was a mix of pain and disbelief, she closed her eyes murmuring, "I was afraid of this. Damn it."
"What?" the boy questioned, with a slight glimmer of concern in his Prussian blue eyes. 'Why is she acting as if it is the end of everything?'
Swallowing thickly, Hotaru hated the words she was about to say but Heero had to hear them. "Remember when I said that Iron Fist needed us to fulfill their plans and Prof T. was going to correct us? I've been playing with a concept in my head, and now it appears that I am correct. They are going to use us in their battle against whoever tries to stop them."
"Makes sense," Heero nodded, struggling to stay awake. Apparently, they had been drugged once again.
"That is not the best part. Do you recall the Perfect Mobile Dolls that I found the other day using the stolen files? That is us," the dark-haired girl sighed. "They are going to retrain or brainwash us into doing exactly what they want us to do."
"More than likely, to eliminate the other gundam pilots," the Perfect Soldier grimly said, knowing that once they were under Iron Fist's control, it might be difficult if not impossible to take it back.
Hotaru closed her eyes again, "Iron Fist will be unbeatable and we will have the blood of our friends staining our hands."
*~*~*~*
Author's Notes: Sorry updating took so long but school has been evil! I may have to update every two weeks instead of every one week.
I have outlined the next 7 chapters (yep, this will be a 25 chapter story) and from what I can, it's going to move pretty fast paced from here on out.
That's it. Thank you for the reviews!