Part 13: Complications

Heero looked over Trowa and Quatre as the two boys entered the kitchen. His trained eyes took in every incriminating detail. Quatre came through the door first, blue green eyes wide and happy, a small smile playing on his lips. Heero's gaze went over his damp blonde hair to Trowa's equally damp hair.

Trowa was staring at the shorter boy and didn't glance up until Quatre sat down. Sitting beside him, he glanced around the table.

Heero met his gaze, taking in the eyebrow Trowa raised at him. With a vague nod, he left his place and moved behind the counter.

He took a baking sheet of cinnamon rolls out of the oven and transferred them to a plate. No one spoke when he returned to the table, placing the breakfast rolls in the center where all could reach them.

His gaze shifted over the others again, and paused on Duo. Heero frowned, grabbing two rolls and setting one in front of the dreary boy. Duo was nodding off again, about to fall face first onto his plate.

Duo's head snapped up when he caught scent of the roll. He blinked large, blurry violet eyes at Heero for a moment before a goofy grin crossed his face. He promptly latched onto the food.

"More coffee?" asked Wufei.

Heero turned slowly to stare at Wufei, his eyes narrow and suspicious. He didn't understand the boy. Wufei had been smirking at him since he'd gotten up. And he'd been smiling at Duo, as if they shared a secret. Why? Did Wufei really not know the progress he'd made? Didn't he realize things were going to be harder for him?

Heero didn't answer the question Wufei had asked, and he was broken from his thoughts when Wufei moved. Blinking, he frowned at the boy's smile, watching the coffee that was poured into his cup. He followed Wufei with his eyes as the boy moved around the table to stand by Duo.

Having wolfed down the roll, Duo was slowly leaning forward again, his eyes drooping. Wufei gave his braid a sharp tug, earning him a possessive glare from Heero and a startled yipe from the longhaired boy.

Looking over his shoulder, Duo glared and wrinkled his nose at Wufei's challenging expression. He sniffed and snatched up his mug, holding it out.

"You certainly make a good waitress, Wufei," Duo taunted.

He was left frowning when he couldn't get a rise out of the other boy. Wufei sat down again, and Duo glanced around the table. He hadn't really noticed when Trowa and Quatre had come in, so he smiled at them now.

"I'm not a morning person," said Duo.

"Obviously," Heero muttered without thinking.

Duo stuck his tongue out at him and grinned before downing his coffee, mindless of the heat.

.-.

"We have another mission," said Heero, "a potentially dangerous one."

Duo glanced at Heero's blank expression and sighed. "You don't beat around the bush, do you."

"No," said Heero. "I've received word that OZ has one, possibly two mutants in their possession. We are to release them if they're captive and kill them if they've joined forces with OZ."

Quatre looked around the table, his eyes wide. "But...I thought OZ refused to use mutants."

"There were nets inside the last compound," Trowa said slowly. "It's reasonable to believe they are making plans to catch mutants alive. If they have one or more already then we must act."

Heero nodded in agreement. "My information says there should be fewer guards than before, but the compound is twice as large as the last one. We have to get inside and find those mutants. It would be best if we get them out alive, willing or not."

Heero looked at Quatre, but Duo was the first to ask.

"How will we do that?" asked Duo.

"Quatre," said Heero. "If he can get close enough he can force them outside without any trouble."

Trowa's eyes narrowed immediately, but he didn't argue, obviously waiting to hear the rest.

"It would be best if they don't even know we were there until we have the mutants safely outside the compound," Heero continued. "Duo, you would go in first and find places for Quatre and the mutants to hide when guards are around. It would be up to you to let them know when the area is clear."

"And us?" asked Trowa.

Trowa stared at Heero, expression calm as if he were resigned to the danger involved. More likely, he realized that the danger was not as great as it might have been.

"Stationed near the exit," Heero answered.

Heero was relieved that Trowa wasn't going to let his emotions lead him to objecting. He was just as uncomfortable with the idea of Duo going in and Duo couldn't even be seen.

"Trowa, you will monitor Quatre and Duo. If there is any trouble the three of us," he glanced at Wufei, who nodded sharply, "will act as back-up. Hopefully we can get the mutants out and then stage an attack."

"When do I go?" asked Duo. But even as he spoke, he suspected what the answer would be.

"Originally the plan was to attack tomorrow night," Heero admitted. "But there's evidence that they plan to move the mutants tomorrow so we'll go in tonight."

"Alright," said Wufei. "Are there layouts of this base?"

Heero shook his head, and Wufei frowned. "Then there's no point in reviewing anything. Let's prepare."

.-.

"There's a girl, not far from here," said Quatre. He frowned as he concentrated, then pointed. "I think she's about twenty yards that way."

"Okay," Duo whispered back. "Wait here. I'll go find her. If she's alone, I'll come back and get you. Just monitor me. If anything happens stay here."

Quatre nodded and Duo slipped out the door of the dark storage room. Everything was going very smoothly. Moving silently, he passed the few guards unseen, stopping outside a wide set of doors that were opened to reveal an interesting scene.

A tall man with long white-blonde hair was standing in the corner of the room next to a small table covered with blueprints. Entering, Duo sidled against the wall so he could hear what was being said. There were three men in uniform standing next to the blonde man, one of which had stripes on his shoulder denoting a high rank. He had short, red-brown hair and arched, split eyebrows.

Leaning over the table, the blonde man slowly pointed to a spot on the print.

"Here," he said softly, raising pale blue eyes to the brown haired man.

"And the other one?"

Duo was about to leave when the blonde man suddenly straightened and looked around the room.

"He's here."

The three men in uniform reacted immediately. Backs to the corner, they opened fire on the room, mindless of the equipment that was riddled with bullets.

Duo didn't even have time to be surprised. He fell against the wall, slowly raising his gun as his vision blurred. He caught one of the soldiers in the chest. Then his arm fell limp and he slid to the floor in a boneless slump. Through a dim haze, he saw the brown haired man aim his weapon at him.

He'd left a smear of blood where he'd hit the wall after that first volley of bullets. Realizing that mark had given him away, Duo closed his eyes and thought desperately to Quatre.

'Get out. Have to get out. Go. Run. I have to get out...'

Thought of escape consumed his mind and he pictured the safe-house as another gun went off and everything went black.

.-.

As soon as he heard Duo's call, Quatre made for the door. But it was jerked open before he could reach it. He lurched to a halt, barely registering the sharp dart that struck his neck. Before he realized what had happened, he was falling into darkness.

.-.

Trowa jolted the second Quatre's thoughts vanished. "Quatre!"

Heero and Wufei flinched, turning in shock at Trowa's scream. And they froze as they caught sight of him.

Trowa's green eyes blazed in the dark of the room they hid in, a bright pulsating light that flowed down to surround his entire body. It was eerie, frightening, and inhuman.

He flew by them as if he'd forgotten they were there, hitting the door with both open palms and sending it flying back off the hinges in a green explosion. Not pausing to check for enemies, he flew down the hall.

Heero and Wufei exchanged a stunned look. Then Heero's eyes widened. "Duo."

Running together, the two boys followed Trowa's path, the occasional body marking the way. A siren was sounding and gunfire could be heard from somewhere ahead of them, spurring them on.

"What the hell happened to him!" Wufei cried as they ran, guns ready for any soldier that might have made it past the crazed boy.

"I don't know," said Heero.

He whirled to shoot the sudden outpour of soldiers through a door behind them. Holding his position in front of Wufei, he fired into the hall. He took the enemy fire as lightening shot through the walls to take care of the men his own bullets didn't reach.

Finally, they reached the eye of the storm only to find that they'd missed it. Trowa floated two feet off the ground, green fire blazing around him as he glared at a tall, blonde man. It was obviously a stand-off, since the man was standing against a wall with his hostage, Quatre, held limp in his arms.

"Please stop," the man said softly, looking at Trowa with pleading eyes. "He's all right! They just knocked him out. Check for yourself. Trowa! Calm down!"

Minutes passed as Wufei and Heero guarded the door, eyes moving over the bodies of two OZ soldiers on the floor of the room. Then Trowa sank so his feet touched the floor, the glow slowly dissipating.

"Let. Him. Go." Voice deadly, Trowa continued to glare at the man.

"Don't kill me when I do," the man said. "I'm not your enemy. And you need me." At Trowa's unmoved expression, the man slowly stepped forward. "Check my mind if you can. Kill me and your friend, Duo, will die."

Both boys at the door turned abruptly, guns trained on the man who continued to approach Trowa until he stood directly in front of him. He handed Quatre to the tall boy and turned his back on them, returning to where he'd stood when they entered the room. He knelt on the floor there, looking back at Heero and Wufei while a much calmer Trowa checked Quatre for wounds.

"Help me," the man said. "Get my sister and I out of here and I'll heal him. I know all about you, I'm his only hope."

.-.

"Hurry, he's fading fast."

Heero glared at the man and shoved past him so he could lay Duo on the bed.

"You said you'd heal him," the Japanese boy said harshly, "Do it."

"You should leave," the tall man said gently.

"No."

He stared at the irate boy for a minute, but didn't press the issue. "Don't interfere."

He turned back to the bed, moving his hands lightly over the invisible boy until he could bury his fingers in the hair on Duo's forehead. Since he couldn't see him, he relied on touch. He held the boy's head still and slapped him hard. First one cheek and then the other.

The second blow landed a breath before Heero's did. That fist connected with him, knocking him away. He shook his head groggily and looked up to see the boy advancing on him, fury blazing in dark cobalt eyes.

"Don't!" he said quickly, holding up his hands. "I have to see! I have to know where he's injured. I can't heal him when he's invisible like this."

Heero slowed, then turned abruptly when a soft groan sounded from the bed and Duo appeared. "Duo...?"

Drawing in a painful breath, Duo opened his eyes a crack and looked up at Heero. The boy's expression was almost desperate. That was enough to make Duo's eyes widen in sudden fear. He swallowed roughly, preparing himself, then slowly lifted his head to look at his aching body.

With a low groan, Duo let his head fall back again. His eyes closed tight after seeing so much of his own blood, and his face screwed into an expression of misery.

The blonde man laid a light hand on Heero's shoulder, giving the tense boy a sober look.

"You won't like this," he said, "but I want you to stand on his other side and hold him down. You'll need to keep him still."

Heero stared at him in obvious mistrust, but did as he was told. He moved to the other side of the bed and grasped Duo's hand in his.

Duo's eyes opened and widened as the blonde man leaned over him. He recognized him as the man he'd seen in the compound. He was just opening his mouth to warn Heero when the man suddenly drew a deep breath and, closing Duo's nostrils with one hand, pressed their lips together so he could breathe into his mouth.

Fire raced through Duo's body, igniting where the bullets had hit him. His back arched from the pain and he pushed weakly at the man's shoulder with his free hand. He was squeezing Heero's hand so hard that his fingernails cut skin.

A long minute later, the man pulled back. He gasped for breath and staggered a bit before getting his balance. Then he placed his hands over the bloody wound on the right side of Duo's chest.

Gasping from yet more of that fiery pain, Duo curled his free hand into a fist and struck the man. He was still weak from the bloodloss, but it was enough to knock him away.

With a sharp curse, the man growled for Heero to hold him down as he placed his hands on the wound again. Heero complied, and Duo struggled when he caught hold of his other hand, now holding both. The pain seemed to spread, more acid than fire now, and Duo jerked furiously at Heero's hold on him, until the man finally stepped back.

"That was the worst one. If you bind them, the others can wait until he's asleep so long as I can see the wounds."

The man turned after giving that information. Without a glance back, he moved to the door and left the room.

Heero released Duo's hands and unbuttoned the boy's blood soaked shirt, pushing it aside so he could see his chest. His eyes widened when he saw only unblemished skin.

"Heero...?"

Heero looked up sharply at the confused hurt in Duo's voice.

"It's all right. He was healing you," Heero said quickly, touching Duo's forehead.

"But...he's the one who told them where I was. He's the reason I got shot."

"What!"

"I saw him," Duo said sharply. "He told them where Quatre was."

.-.

Trowa sat on his bed, Quatre lying across his lap, head thrown back limply. Arms around the sleeping boy, Trowa hid his face against Quatre's neck, breathing deeply.

He'd lost control. What would happen if Quatre were really hurt and not just knocked unconscious? How many would he kill? He had to learn to control this. But...he couldn't lose him.

He felt a sharp tug at the hand that was clenched fiercely in Quatre's hair as the pale boy tried to move his head. Trowa let go and sat up abruptly, wide eyes moving over the boy's face.

"Quatre?"

"Hmmm..." Quatre looked up at him, blinking tiredly with a downcast expression. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "They caught me off guard."

"No," Trowa breathed, pulling him close. "It's not your fault. Just...let me hold you? Please."

"Trowa?"

"Please."

.-.

Wufei pushed away from the wall when the blonde man came out of the bedroom. He gestured for him to come into the living room and searched his face as they walked.

"How is he?" asked Wufei.

"He could heal on his own without any more help from me. The other shots went straight through. I'll let them decide if they want to let me near him again."

"What do you mean?" asked Wufei. He glanced at the door, then stared at the man with narrowed eyes. "Who are you?"

"My name is Zechs," the man said softly, moving toward the couch.

"Millardo, must you-"

Zechs glared at the girl who'd gotten off the couch, and shook his head.

"I'm not a Peacecraft anymore," he said tightly. "Remember? They didn't want a mutant in the family."

He turned his back on the girl and faced Wufei again. "My name is Zechs Marquis. I've...been watching the four of you for days now under the order of OZ."

At Wufei's growl of anger, he raised his hands.

"Please, hear me out. This," he turned and gestured to the girl by the couch, "is my sister, Relena. What I did...I did because if I hadn't they would have killed her. I know that doesn't erase the pain your friend went through, but...I did stop them from killing him. Unfortunately, Treize got away, but Duo lived. You see, Treize is the head of OZ right now and he had two objectives. The first was to kill him."

Zechs pointed down the hall at the closed door to Duo's room. "He believes that boy has powers that haven't shown themselves yet and OZ wants him dead."

"And the second objective?" asked Wufei.

"Quatre, of course. He can control mutants with his mind. OZ wants to use him, to have him working for them."

"You said the four of us," Wufei said suddenly.

"Yes," Zechs answered, eyes wide in awe. "I had absolutely no contact with Trowa at all. The only time I could sense him was when he lost control. Let me tell you, Wufei, that one has powers that are horrifying to the mind. It's a good thing Quatre was unconscious. I don't know if he would have been able to handle the fury that consumes that boy."

"It's strange to hear you say our names so easily. But Trowa," Wufei shook his head slowly. "He never mentioned this to us."

"No. He can't control it, that's why. He lost control of himself."

"Because of Quatre..."

"Excuse me," said Relena, "but is everyone going to ignore me all night?"

Zechs put a hand over his forehead and sighed in exasperation as Wufei turned to give the girl an incredulous look.

"After all," Relena continued, eyes wide, "I'm a victim here."

"Of course," Zechs said quickly, looking to Wufei. "Is there a place where my dear sister can get some rest? If we're still welcome that is."

Still giving the girl a strange look, Wufei nodded. "Follow me."

He led the girl to Quatre's room, since he knew the boy wouldn't be using it. He doubted Trowa was going to let him out of his sight.

"You can sleep here," said Wufei.

The girl's gracious thanks made him suspicious for some reason, and he frowned as she entered the room. "Don't touch anything."

Wufei arrived in the living room at the same time as Heero.

"Finish healing him," said Heero, "then we talk."

It was not a request. Zechs nodded and entered the bedroom. As he followed the tall man, Heero paused to look at Wufei.

Duo watched as Zechs entered the room, still eyeing the man warily. He let out a silent sigh of relief when Heero joined them, and his eyes lit up when he spotted Wufei.

At Heero's nod, Zechs began healing the more minor wounds Duo'd sustained.

"How are you?" Wufei asked quietly as he touched Duo's hand lightly, Heero watching from his post against the wall.

With a soft laugh, Duo grinned and grimaced at the dark haired boy, making a face at the burning sensation that accompanied the healing. "I've been better."

With a pointed look toward the man leaning over him, Duo raised an eyebrow at Wufei.

"This is Zechs," said Wufei. "Don't worry about him."

Duo wanted to argue about that quick dismissal, but something else sprang to mind. His eyes widened. "Quatre! Is he all right?"

"Fine," Wufei said quickly. "You'll get a recap of everything in the morning."

.-.

"What powers does OZ, or this man Treize, think Duo has?" asked Wufei.

Heero had been debriefed and had gone to move Duo into his room since his bed didn't have bloodstains on it. At least, that was the reason he'd given. Duo had already passed out from exhaustion.

"Did he tell you about the church he lived in?" asked Zechs.

At Wufei's frown, he told him about the Maxwell Church massacre.

"Your friend was the only survivor. They even have footage of the massacre. That's what clued Treize in. Duo doesn't seem to remember, but there was no way he could have gotten out of that church. OZ nailed the doors shut and guarded the entire perimeter. There's film of Duo appearing outside the church and then disappearing mid-run as he escaped. But no one can figure out how he got through the door. Treize thinks he either walked through it or transported himself to the outside."

"Maybe he just found a way out," Wufei said, scowling.

"I don't know," Zechs warned, "but Treize considers him a major threat. Duo's at the top of his list of mutants to eliminate."

"Which explains whey they've been so determined to catch him."

Wufei glared, then looked at Zechs, who was sitting on the couch. "And now this man wants Quatre."

"At least he wants Quatre alive."

"Well," said Wufei, "it looks like we have a new target. It's late and you're too tall for the couch. You can sleep in my room."

Without checking to see if he agreed, Wufei opened the door to his room only to find Zechs staring at him, pale blue eyes wide. Wufei smirked and looked him in the eyes, slowly looking down then back up again before raising an eyebrow at the man's stricken expression.

"I," he said slowly, "will be sleeping on the couch."