Thanks for waiting for the fourth (Wow! Four chapters!) Installment of:

Passions

By

Uplifted

"Okay folks, operation: Rescue the Mutants is ready to load!"

"Duo, shut up."

"What? C'mon have a little sense of adventure here! We're flying to the antartic plain, and barging into Trieze's abode, a master mutant, to steal some small-fry mutant who was stupid enough to get caught. What fun is it if I don't spice it up a notch?"

"Maxwell, if you don't put that camera away, I will freeze your braid once more. Solid."

"Wufei! It'll take months to regrow this kind of hair!"

"Then put. It. Away." The chinese mutant growled.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh." Duo said, putting away the device and settling into his seat. Trowa was flying, as commander of this Op (Operation), and Quatre was sending coordinates back to Milliardo. They were in complete costume for the event, even Duo had donned his uniform as the codenamed 'Shinigami'.

Wufei's costume consisted of a black bandana over his head, and loose black pants. He wore no shirt, as he was always in ice-form when on a mission. Wufei had been found in a starving village in China. His talent's hadn't been discovered yet by the government, who would have likely shipped him away to a lab somewhere. Instead, he had been offered to join the academy under Milliardo's guidance. Convincing his family had been particularily easy, and they enjoy the enormous amounts of money he sent home, his wages from a night job in the city. He had often thought of returning to China, to his fiance and family, but he enjoyed his time in America, the freedom, and his so-called 'friends'. Though Maxwell could just be there for his annoyance.

Quatre wore a slim-fitting dark blue sleeveless shirt, tunic like in it's shape, composed of a material stronger than kevlar, yet lighter than cotton. It's unstable molecules, designed exclusively for the Mutates and worn by them all, allowed it to fit any form. Around the blonde boy's wrists were large cuffs, gauntlets almost, that helped amplify Quatre's energy using powers. He wore tight, comfortable black pant with knee-reaching boots, the same dark blue color of his shirt. 'Seer' was what he had decided on for a codename, and it fit him well, for although he had been gifted with the 'sight' to see his friend's emotions, he could also see what most affected them, and what most defined them.

Trowa wore a figure-fitting suit of the material, reaching from his fingers to his slim boots. A belt of many compartments was looped loosely around his wasit for the use of a variety of things ranging from bandaids to sulphuric acid. His hair, as always, draped over one eye and obscured the visor that covered his high powered optic blasts. He had suffered head trauma as a child, and as a result, could not control his own powers. Thankfully, Milliardo had created a visor of a special stone, enabling him to open his eyes without the repercussions of a force that could punch through steel.

Duo wore baggy black pants, held up by a belt similar to Trowas, and a long sleeved dark blue shirt, covered by a tight black one. He wore fingerless gloves, and his long braid swung on his back, a nusiance in battle, but the boy refused to cut it off. Duo's abilities to transport people, and teleport to various places only applied to places that he had been, or places he could see. If he tried to go somewhere he couldn't see, or had never been, he might teleport into solid concrete, or too far away. It wasn't a finite art, but it was one Duo was familiar with. The braided mutant grinned, fanged canines catching the glint of the artifical light in the jet. His fanged mouth had often been remarked upon by other students, and he had been given the nickname, 'Devil', around the campus, which was a definite change from his battle codename, 'Shinigami'. The God of Death.

"Okay guys, we're closing in on the target. ETA- 10 minutes." Came Trowa's voice, cold and somber, even as the other occupants in the plane secretly grappled with their mixed emotions. A kind of tension descended on the group, and Quatre leaned back, and drew the anxiousness, agitation and nervousness into him, using his own mutant powers to create a battle peace for the group. It had worked before, and calmed everyone.

"Thanks, Seer." Trowa said, a bit less harshly. It was known that the two of them were close friends, though the entire group were all friends. The group couldn't have maintained a sense of victory if they hadn't been close.

"No problem, Cy." Answered the blonde, and Duo grinned. The four prepared themselves, as the jet tipped downward, cloaked and invisable as it descended on the enemy as a hawk to a petrified hare. But does a hare usually have weapons of mass destruction?

:>:

"What…? W-what are you talking about?" Relena scuttled as far as her leash would allow to get away from the glaring monster that her cellmate had transformed into. Her confusion had escalated to fear after his question, he had stood and demanded an answer to her actions. But what actions were he talking about? Could he have known…? The little piece of sharp metal she had taken from the bathroom, the 'knife' she was going to use to cut her bonds?

"Just who the hell are you?" He growled, his voice low and gutteral, a natural snarl rising up his throat. The hairs on the nape of his neck stood up, a sure sign that something was happening that he didn't know about, or understand. Then he forced away the ferality that had always been his nature, and cautiously sniffed in the direction of the girl-Relena, whatever her name was. No…it was a different scent.

Stiffening after realizing that he was sniffing her, her first reaction was to be outraged. But by then, she knew that he was a mutant. Perhaps that was part of his mutant abilities, a hieghtened sense of smell?

Relena was correct, though she was only guessing. Hiro knew now that they were employing a shapeshifter in their ranks, meaning that as long as he held onto the scent of the other thing, he could recognise her, or him. People's forms could be changed, but scent always remained the same. He knew that somehow, from his time in the lab. He couldn't block out what he knew, but now, the information was coming in handy. A few seconds happened in absolute silence, until Hiro snapped his arms apart, trying to break the metallic gloves. His muscles, thick as cables, strained inhumanly as he tried to break free. The time for thinking was gone. The time for action was now. As if on que, the floor rocked. Relena's eyes widened in surprise, and she struggled to keep her footing, managing instead to fall on her knees. Hiro remained standing, immovable by the brief quake.

"What was that?" Came a quivering voice, and Hiro turned to upraise the girl. As he stared at her, Relena noticed that the camera's angle couldn't see her as long as his head was thusly, directly in the camera's view.

"Please…don't move…." She whispered, and hesitantly brought out the scrap of sharp metal she had broken off. Displaying it to him, she realized that she was admitting he was an accomplice, a maybe friend? She wouldn't leave him here, she trusted him, a bit. But he scared her, with his quiet intensity. She began to saw at the leash that held her to the bed, not looking again at the boy. He had remained still, but for how long? How much could he be trusted?

Finally, with a snap and a twist, her hands were free. She rubbed the vigorously, trying to get some blood flowing in her pale, cold hands. She looked at Hiro, and her glance held questions.

"I doubt that bit of metal will get me free of this." He answered curtly, his head remaining still, blocking her freedom from the camera. The former quake was forgotten, but not for long. Hiro's nose sniffed, and he recoiled, relaxing into a fighting stance, revealing Relena to the world, in her freedom. Though…she wasn't. She had quickly wrapped a bit of the rope aroudn her wrist, and Hiro's warlike mind had quickly added up her uses. Her gold hair flashed at him as she bent her head to hold the rope more firmly, and he snorted. He might as well take her with him. If Trieze wanted her, then she must be someone in this crazy world worth something.

They had prepared themselves in the nick of time. A pair of highly armed soldiers walked into the room without announcement, and behind them came the thick, swirling miasma of smoke. Hiro's lethal face stretched into an unreadable mask. It had been an explosion they had felt, not an earthquake. Hiro moved first, knocking the first one out with a punch of the metal gauntlets to the stomach. The gun fell from his hands and discharged, sending a round of bullets into the bed. Relena screamed and ducked, effectively distracting the second guard, who fell with a heavy hit to the head. Peeking from under her hands, she saw the fearsome Hiro standing over the bodies of the two guards and gulped. He glanced at her, then motioned to one of the guards, who had what appeared to be the keys. She ran over, hastily pushing off the ropes that she had held in the pretence of being a captive still, and grabbed the metal things, trying one after another in the metal encasings that covered Hiro's hands. He growled as one after another, they fell away, useless. He ripped his arms away from Relena's grasp, and grunted towards the open door.

"There'll be reinforcements soon. We have to go now." She nodded to his strong words, and they left quickly, neither one looking back.

:>:

Trieze couldn't believe it. He laughed at the computer screens, as they unfolded before him. Milliardo was actually sending his team of mottly mutants to get his prizes, the ones he needed for his conquest. He watched as they destroyed his outer hatch with a well aimed blast of optic power, and he glared as the Ice boy froze all his supporters, and weakened his building by freeze blast after freeze blast to the supports of the structural foundations. If nothing was done, then the little group of children would thwart his beautiful plans. They just didn't understand, he sighed, wondering how such naïve children could rebel against such a beautiful dream of equality. The mutants would reign supreme eventually, power always ruled over the weak. The weak, the Homo Sapiens had long walked the Earth, destroying it in the process. Well, Homo Superior would recitify their mistakes. His long grin, born of his thoughts, was wiped away in an instant as he saw the flashing red indicator that was implanted in the captured mutant flicker quietly on the screen, heralding an escape. He scowled as he stalked furiously out of the control room. Who had let them escape? His cold fury stopped Dorothy, as she exited the room adjecent to his.

"What is it, Trieze?" She asked, luxurious hair falling behind her in one fell wave. He barely spared her with a glance, but the coldness in the look froze her. His words, chipped and icy, called back to her shocked form.

"They're getting away. I want them caught, at any cost. Now."

She left immediately, form rippling along the way.

:>:

"Okay, everyone ready?" Asked Quatre, who had encased everyone in a separate shield, bullet proof and glowing an incandescent blue. Trowa's enabled him to shoot his own powers, the same applying to Wufei. Duo's followed him as he teleported, and allowed him to shoot out of the tranquilizer/shock gun he had brought along. His ability extended to teleportation, not a very decent offensive mutation. They were worming their way through the fortress, and it was indeed a formidable castle of soldiers and recruited mutants. It had taken them fifteen minutes to get through the outer doors, and it had ended only with Trowa's eyes blasting a hole into the gigantic door. He claimed it was only because of Duo's incessant complaining of the cold.

The four battled continuously, acrobatics and martial arts, street fighting to battle statistics. They were well into the fortress before Quatre's protective bubble popped as carelessly as a soap bubble, and the blonde empath clutched his head. Trowa hurried forward, as did Duo, to catch the teenager as he fell, while Wufei simply watched their backs. They were in a deserted hallway, and were close to their goal; When he opened his eyes, Quatre could feel the two mutants, running steadily away from a group of menacing soldiers, until they were surrounded.

"We've got to hurry, guys!" He cried, and struggled forward, his two teammates releasing him carefully. All four raced flat out now, with Iceman skating easily on a wave of ice he held command over. It was particularily easy to create ice in this facility, surrounded by it on the antarctic plane. Seer managed to block the blinding migraine he was having, and Shinigami was fervantly wishing that he knew where they were so they could teleport to the place, to help the mutant with the metal, the one he and Quatre had seen together on an L1 colony, bravely facing Trieze with murder on his face.

Cyclops' mind was a blank, as he too raced with the others, his lithe form keeping easily with the stringent pace. His eyes always roamed, always sought, what they were looking for. He was the first to see the wall of flame, and the first to respond, as the heat shot at them, with a burst of optic blast. Seer automatically brought up a wall of energy, blocking most of the flames, but it took it's toll on Iceman, who was forced to regulate his own temperature, and consistantly control it. The flames licked his sides, and he shot a wall of ice into the steady flames. They could hear a childish giggle of glee behind the wall of fire, and Trowa gritted his teeth. The fire was constant, but could be put out, if they concentrated enough. But suddenly, with a muted Pouf, Duo was no longer with them, leaving behind a stink worthy of a devil. They strained their ears, as they heard the giggle stop midway, and a shriek that halted as well. The flames disappeared, licking silently at the sides of the hallway, and The three made their way forward, most of them panting, but giving Shinigami a congradulatory pat on the back all the same. Duo beamed, and then watched his friends, carefully.

"D'you guys think we're up for this? We're almost there, but we're gonna have to go back, y'know." He uttered simply, watchfully gathering the small girl, Flamer, into his arms, and depositing her on the side of the hallway. It was against the Mutate's code to kill an enemy. That would make them no better than Trieze's outfit. Duo's question remained unanswered, until Trowa straightened his back, and silently stared at their team. Then he forged ahead, leaving a grinning Dup, a following, but silent Wufei, and an exhausted Quatre. As an empath, he could easily pick up where the mutants were. And it seemed, they were in a pinch of trouble.

:>:

Bullets screamed in the air, and men crumpled to the floor in a bloody mess as Hiro dispatched each one. Relena no longer had the instinct to check and see if they were dead or not. She had helped as best she could, but her fighting skills were virtually nil, and it was left to the warrior of the two, the Hiro, to get the them out to safety. Just as the battle seemed to be over, a man snuck behind the mutant, busy grappling with another soldier, and struck him on the head. Relena let out a horrified screech, and leapt up to help Hiro, but it was not needed. Sending a glare that told her simply to 'stay put', he swung his arms as a club once more, and hit the man's 'family jewels'. Mouthing wordlessly, the man sank into pain induced unconsciousness. After knocking the last man out, he stepped over to Relena, and sat quietly. Battling with no hands, with little energy, and no idea of how to escape was beginning to take its toll on the Gundanium implanted mutant. But he would keep going, if not for his sake, for hers. He struggled to his feet, ignoring the twinges of pain, and waited for her to follow. As he sniffed down a fork in the hallway they were following, a dark laughter echoed over the halls, frightening Relena, and causing her to grip his shirt tightly. Glancing over his shoulder at the scared girl, Hiro noticed that she was wearing a uniform of a long skirt, and a heavily embroidered blouse. So, here was a rich girl, kidnapped most likely because Trieze had an altercation with her father? Or was she what Trieze wanted?

And why had Trieze wanted him? Because he was a skilled assasin? Because of his abilities? Somehow Hiro doubted it was so.

"Come on. We've got to keep moving." He said, ignoring the laughter that rang down the hallway. He chose one, on the smell. A light smell, but with a bit of ash to it. A fire had recently happened? Hiro didn't know. But there was little heat, only cold metal that surrounded them. Would they ever escape this hellhole?

As if on cue, an icy wind blew at them, forcing them into the other tunnel, and blowing them fiercely down the hallway. Relena's scream echoed eeriely with the hollow laughter, and Relena blindly reached out to someone, to anyone. Hrio caught her hand, and grabbed an open doorway, his precarious hold on both slipping. Growling with exertion, he threw Relena into the room, and hauled himself out of the icy air, closing the door with a snap.

Without the howling of the wind, the only noises were the gasping of breath from Relena, and the quiet panting of Hiro. The small room, previously dark, was suddenly lit with hundreds of lights, effectively blinding the two. Relena rubbed at her streaming eyes, and Hiro blinked slowly, willing his eyes to accustom themselves to the new light. When the spots had finally faded, Hiro's pantings immediately ceased, and escalated into animalistic growls. Relena, still blinded, averted her face from whatever Hiro was growling at. But soon, the riddle was revealed to her.

"Why, dear Hiro, I'm amazed you and the girl made it this far. You surpassed even my expectations, and I'm very proud of you both. Now, my men will escort you back to-"

"What the hell are you doing, toying around with us, Trieze?" came words from the growl, as Hiro held his arms up threateningly. Trieze's earlier anger resurfaced, and the groaning of metal, a screech no human ears should ever hear, sounded throughout the tiny room. Blinking tiredly, Relena saw Hiro's body arched in such an unnatural way, that her heart lurched, and her stomach rolled.

"Stop it! What do you want!" She cried, and ran in front of Hiro, as if to somehow stop these torturous events. The evil mutant's eyes immediately calculated this, and Trieze broke off his control of Hiro's body, only to reinsert himself, by making Hiro's arms move on their own. He clenched his teeth, fangs snaping together as Hiro fought the control over his body. But to was to no use, as his metallic arms incased Relena's, holding her in a tight headlock. The stranglehold, and Hiro's taut readiness under Trieze's unwanted command, quieted Relena. She held onto his arms fruitlessly, to stem the decrease of oxygen to her throat. Slowly, she was finding it harder and harder to breathe, as Trieze made his arms tighter by every few seconds. He grinned, catlike in his enjoyment, and was watching intently when the doors flew open.

The Mutates, in all their ragged glory, saw only that Trieze was lounging there while their rescuers were trying to seemingly kill each other. Duo cocked the gun, and yelled, firing at Hiro, while Trowa fired a blast at Trieze.

The bullet pierced into Hiro's upper arm, lodging itself deeply into the muscles of his upper arm.

"No!" Relena cried, as Trieze's hold snapped, and She fell to the floor. Hiro swayed, then landed on his knees. Trieze, Trowa and Wufei began a heated battle, Ice shards, metal scraps and optic beams exchanged increasingly over the next few minutes, until suddenly, an alarm went off, and Wufei fell to the floor, clutching an icy side, imbedded with some shrapnel. Dup had gaped, dumbfounded as the pretty, gore covered girl tenderly checked the 'bad guy's' arm. Quatre had encased the three in a bubble.

"C'mon you two! We're getting out of here!" The structure was weakened, by Wufei, and the consistant fighting. It was falling apart. Trieze glared spitefully, enraged at the Mutates.

"I will get them back! I will get Zechs, and you pathetic traitors! You will rue the day-"

His anger fueled ranting ceased as the other two climbed into the bubble, and Duo teleported them all with a muted Pouf to the Jet. The ground shook as Duo carried the now-unconscious Relena, Trowa helped a limping Hiro, and Quatre aided a cursing Wufei into the Jet.

As the plane took off, and the structure exploded, no one thought, upon looking at the burning sky, that this was only the beginning. Trieze was dead, after all, wasn't he? The mutants were safe, they were going home, what could possibly be wrong now?

Reviewer Responces

Lost-Remembrance: I won't let you read ahead if you keep closing the computer window! Sheesh.(xP) But thanks for the review!

Artgirl150: I like the name! But other than that, I think your questions are answered her, for the most part.(:o) And don't tell her that! She'll lock me up, and take away my poor pet!

darkfairy88: Don't go blind, waiting for an update! I'm really sorry I made you wait, but here it is!

Elithil: My email doesn't work, but I would DEFINITLY appreciate any and all plot ideas that anyone has for me. You can put it, right here, in the comment boxy. (xD)

Lost-Redemption: Hmmm. I wonder who that could be. (...) Thanks for the review, sis! I look forward to more Moonshine and Blau Augen!

TBC

Author's Note:

Hey Everyone! Sorry it took such a long time to update. But here it is, and a long one too! The next chapter should be up soon, and by soon I mean within a week, I hope! W Juliet 4 came out, and it was most excellent! I encouraged anyone to Read it!

Well, here's a preview for the next chapter:

Relena and Hiro settle into life at the Peacecraft Institute, but why is Milliardo avoiding these new students? Why is Hilde pulling such pranks on Relena? And why, why does Hiro have that scar on his back? Will the answers be solved in the next installment? Find out, on the next exciting episode of:

Passions!