Disclaimer: I don't own any of it.

A.N. - I'm sorry everyone for how long it took to get this chapter out. I've just had a lot going on. I had to go to my uncle's funeral, and I've been trying to work on my original novel more too. Anyways, I hope this chapter makes up for the long wait!

Last Chapter:

"Good idea." The two of them went back to where they had left the rest of their family where Quatre spent the rest of the day answering questions and showing off his wings.

He wound up staying at his estate on L4 for a week before all the wrinkles in the company transfer were ironed out, and got to know some of his sisters better. Trowa showed up halfway through the week, and waited patiently for Quatre to be done so they could go meet up with the others. Finally Quatre's business was done. They said goodbye to his sisters, and hopped on a shuttle to meet up with Heero, Duo and Wufei on Earth.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 8:

During the walk to the restaurant, Mariemeia caught up with the group, guaranteeing that she would also be one of those who knew about the Gundam pilots. The young former dictator looked so different in the wheelchair she had been confined to since taking the bullet meant for Relena. Now she just looked like an ordinary little girl, not someone who had almost succeeded in taking over the world. When they were seated in a private booth in the restaurant and she was told about what the Gundam pilots had become, she just smiled.

"It somehow seems appropriate, at least for Heero. After all, he certainly looked like an avenging angel in Zero when he took out the blast-shield above the complex we had taken over." Heero smiled gently in return.

"I just wish I'd had my wings back then. It certainly would've been less painful than falling out of the sky when Zero's wings gave out, or jumping down however far it was to get into the building."

"You know Heero, there was an elevator you could've used," pointed out Une.

"There was?" he asked, surprised. "I knew about it, but I thought it had been destroyed by Zero's buster rifle." Everyone laughed at the thought that Heero had jumped into the building without looking to see if the elevator still worked.

"That's so typically Heero," laughed Duo. "The guy who thinks he's Superman. You know 'faster than a speeding bullet, can jump tall buildings in a single bound."

"Nah," said Heero. "I'm much cooler than Superman could ever be. For one thing, I don't have to change in phone booths, and I don't wear tights. And don't mention the spandex, Duo. I stopped wearing those a year ago, and I only wore it in the first place because that's all Dr. J gave me to wear." He suddenly shuddered. "And I really don't want to think about WHY that's all J ever gave me." The rest of the table made horrified faces at their thoughts as to the reason the old man got Heero to wear spandex. Luckily the silence was broken by the arrival of their food, and they only talked about light inconsequential things while they ate.

"So Heero," asked Duo finally, "how did you know about Superman? You don't strike me as the type to get into comics, if Dr. J would even let you."

"It was because of one of the techs working on the Gundam. He was a real comic fan, and sometimes he'd sneak me whatever comic he happened to be reading at the time. I was really interested in them, mostly because they were the only thing that didn't relate to training. The tech used to tease me about that, saying that I was in training to become one of the superheros. He was the only guy who actually treated me like a person, rather than a tool or a robot. Most of the people on the project were just flat out scared of me. Then J found out about the comics and sent him to work on another base. He didn't want anyone teaching his 'weapon' about anything normal."

"Man, that must've been awful, Heero," commented Duo.

"I agree, Yuy. My upbringing was strict, but not as bad as that. I was still allowed to do what I wanted sometimes," said Wufei. "Yet you do not seem bitter about what was done to you as a child."

"Why bother? It's not something I can change. Besides, I wasn't really a child at that point. Even before I met up with Dr. J, I had been raised by an assassin named Odin for as long as I could remember. He wasn't as strict as J, but he was demanding in his own way. I could strip, clean, and reassemble a gun in under five minutes by the time I was four. Since Odin didn't really know how to handle a child, he treated me like a very short adult.

"When Dr. J took me to train, I had already met up with the angel, so I knew I wasn't going to be normal. I just used the training as a way to prepare for all that. If he was overly harsh with me, it was because he thought of the training as a necessity so that I could protect the colonies. Since it was for a higher purpose, he thought he'd have to sacrifice my humanity."

"And look at you now. You aren't human, but you've finally got a personality," teased Duo.

"I've always had a personality, Duo. You just didn't notice it."

"Is it my fault you're such a good actor? You pulled off being a cold-eyed psycho so well! And then you changed into a cold-hearted bastard. Anyone would've been fooled," retorted Duo. The others at the table were just laughing at Duo's descriptions of Heero's earlier self.

"He wasn't that bad, Duo," said Relena.

"Oh yeah? You're not exactly sane yourself. You defended the guy who threatened to kill you, and even stood on a cliff yelling for him to come and kill you!" he said.

"None of us are really sane," commented Wufei. "All of us have been extremely irrational at one point or another. At least Heero was just acting. He's probably the most sane out of all of us."

"If he's the most sane out of all of us," commented Zechs, "then we're in a lot of trouble."

"Hey," cried Heero, pretending to take offense, "as least I didn't try and blow up the world so people would be peaceful." The rest of the lunch degenerated into recollections of all the crazy things everyone had done, some of the most amusing about Une and her dual personalities. They parted late that afternoon, agreeing to meet a week later, before all the Gundam pilots officially joined the Preventers.

"So where to now, Heero?" asked Duo.

"First we'll go tell Howard about all this. He's in the city now, and I arranged to meet with him at our hotel later tonight. Then we'll go meet up with Quatre and Trowa to tell the Maguanac Corps." As it turned out, Howard had gotten impatient and was waiting for them in the lobby of their hotel when they arrived.

"Howie!" yelled Duo, running to give him a bone-crushing hug.

"Hey Kid, how's it goin'?" replied Howard, returning the hug before tugging his braid. "What's all this then. Why did I get a call from Heero saying that you all needed to tell me something?"

"There is something important we need to tell you Howard," replied Heero. "But it's private, so we'll say it once we get to our hotel room." He smiled. "It's good to see you again.

"Hey, Duo," Howard said in a loud stage whisper. "Did I just see Heero Yuy smile?"

They all had to smile at that. "Yes Howard, you did just see him smile. It's something you'll have to get used to though. He smiles a lot more now."

"This must be some secret you have to tell me." Duo just grinned and refused to say anything. Howard looked to the other two pilots for information, but they just did the same. Howard followed them to their room, pleading the whole way for even a hint about what they were going to tell him. It was not until they got to the room and locked the door behind them that anyone spoke.

"We're not human anymore, Howie," said Duo, sitting on one of the double beds.

"What do you mean you aren't human anymore?"

"I'll let Heero explain from here. He's better at it."

"We're angels now, Howard. The five pilots have been chosen by the Powers that Be to become angels and protect the Earth and the colonies until they no longer exist. Aren't we lucky?"

"You're angels," said Howard, clearly trying to come to terms with the news.

"Yes. We're immortal now too. That's why we're telling all our friends now, because we're going to have to disappear sooner or later before people notice we aren't aging. We trust that you'll keep our secret."

"Thank you for your trust," said Howard. "Noone will ever hear your secret from me."

"Thanks, Howie. I knew you'd understand," said Duo, giving the man who he thought of almost as a father another hug. The four of them sat and talked until far into the night, remembering the past and discussing the future. Eventually Howard left to return to where he was staying, and the three pilots went to bed, exhausted from the long day. The next day they would meet up with Quatre and Trowa, and tell the last group about their change.

A.N. - I hope everyone likes this chapter. I'll try and post another one soon to make up for the long delay.

Pikola - Thanks. I'll explain why Duo's wings are black in a later chapter.

Lord Aries Greymon - Allow me to clarify. When I said 'most loyal', I meant 'among the most loyal', but that doesn't sound as good in the old toungue. Sometimes one must sacrifice exactness for effect. And the reason I put Trowa and Quatre together is that Quatre seems to like Trowa a lot, and I can't see either of them with Wufei. Since I paired off Heero and Duo, I was left with putting Quatre and Trowa together. Wufei is the only Gundam pilot I can see being straight, since he had a wife who he loved previously, although he didn't realize it until she died.

Oracale - Thank you

Lilly - Sorry, I'm not good with giving out cyber-food. For some reason it just doesn't taste right when I make it. Yeah, Quatre having 29 sisters is intense. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Scotty-lass - You're not alone in wanting to know how they handle it when they have time to get used to the change. Heck, I don't even know (I didn't really plan how the story would go beyond the first 2 chapters.) Thanks for the review!

Hikaru - No problem. I just wasn't sure what the hmm... meant. There will be more 1×2, I promise. I just want to develop it gradually. This story can be very long after all.

Chibis Unleashed - I believe they'll be flying in the next chapter. No promises though. And with Quatre's sisters, I'm glad I only wound up writing a few instead of all of them. Lumping them into a group reaction is a wonderful thing to be able to do.