Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of the characters, and I'm not making money off this story. I wish I was, I have no money, but then I'd lose it all again when the Japanese guys who own Gundam Wing sued me. Life sucks that way sometimes.
Last Chapter:
"Quatre, you just said that you're not a hand to hand fighter. You'll have to learn. It was alright during the Eve Wars because we hardly ever had missions that didn't involve our Gundams, but now most of our missions will probably involve hand to hand combat. I suggest that all of us work with Quatre to teach him, and with each other. It can't hurt to know each other's style, not when we're all working together."
"He's sounding like a commander already," commented Sally. Heero glared at her mildly.
"I've been in military training since I could walk, why wouldn't I?" The dispute continued, degenerating into childish name calling. Above it all could be heard Wufei loudly saying his favourite word.
"INJUSTICE!"
Chapter 12:
A month after joining the Preventers, the pilots were still hanging around the offices: filling out paperwork, upgrading the security, and working on learning each other's fighting styles. Quatre proved to be a quick learner, and had already mastered the basic techniques of each style. Duo and Trowa's styles of fighting were proving the most difficult to learn, Duo's because it wasn't really a style, and Trowa's because of all the acrobatics. Heero and Duo were the only ones who could keep up with him when he started doing flips, surprising everyone. Duo had always been graceful, but noone thought that he could do things like that. And Heero, he seemed too solid to flip through the air. The other pilots weren't as surprised as they should have been though. After all, they thought Heero could do anything.
"That's really impressive, guys," Quatre said as Heero and Duo copied Trowa's triple flip. "You've learned that really quickly. I never would have guessed that the two of you would be that good at acrobatics."
"It's not that hard, Quat," said Duo. "You just have to have good balance and trust yourself to land on your feet."
"You've learned quickly yourself, Quatre. Once I suggested that you learn hand to hand combat, you've gone about it enthusiastically," pointed out Heero.
"Thanks, Heero. Coming from you, that means a lot." Just then, Une interrupted, striding quickly into the small training room the pilots had taken over.
"I have a mission for one of your teams, Heero. Here's the mission briefing, it's up to you to decide who you want to send on it."
"Alright Commander." Turning, he said to the others, "sorry guys, but you'll have to keep training without me. I should go read this over so I can figure out who to send."
"No problem, Heero. I'll keep working on that combination you showed me. It seems like it would be pretty powerful, once I get the hang of it," said Duo.
When Heero left the gym, he headed to his office to read over the mission briefly. It was a fairly basic mission. A simple infiltration. A group of Mariemeia loyalists who hadn't surrendered with the rest had retreated to an abandoned base and were trying to assemble a military group. All that needed to be done was sneak into the base somehow and retrieve information that proved they were going to rebel. As soon as that was obtained, a small group of Preventers could go to the site and arrest all those involved.
"Another change from the wars. Now we need proof before we can attack someone, and we don't simply blow up the base and kill them all," Heero thought to himself. "Duo is the best at stealth, but this is a really easy mission. Maybe I should send Quatre and Trowa. It would be good practice for Quatre to use hand to hand combat in the field. I'll have to explain to Duo later why we aren't taking this mission." That settled, he headed back to where he had left the others.
"Hey Heero, decide who you're going to send?" Duo asked as soon as he spotted Heero.
"Yeah, Quatre and Trowa are going to go. Here's the mission briefing." He handed it to Trowa. "Make your own plans, just bring them to me before you go so I know what your time schedule is." Trowa agreed silently, nodding his head. Quatre looked slightly nervous, but that was to be expected from someone who'd never really had this kind of mission before, even if he was a Gundam pilot. Duo had a slightly puzzled look on his face, turning to Heero as if about to ask why they weren't taking the mission. Heero shook his head slightly, a sign not to ask then and Duo subsided, query unvoiced.
"It's amazing what kind of communication has developed between us in the time we've worked together," Heero thought. "I don't even have to speak for him to understand me, which is a good thing considering how little I spoke before." Unbeknownst to him, Duo's thoughts echoed his own.
"It feels like I've known Heero for a lifetime, we work together so well. It's like he knows what I'm thinking. Wait, maybe he does! He did mention that he has some telepathic powers. No, that can't be it, he said that he tried not to use them, and I would've gotten decked long since with some of the thoughts I've had about him." A slight blush coloured his cheeks as he remembered some of the - inappropriate - thoughts he'd had about Heero since he'd met the Japanese pilot. "It doesn't help that he's gorgeous either. I've never seen anyone else who looks like him." Duo attempted to put a stop to his thoughts before they strayed too far into the forbidden zone. "Get a grip on yourself Maxwell! He's just a friend, nothing more. And now he's starting to look at you funny because you've spent the last few minutes staring blankly off into space with an odd look on your face." And indeed, as soon as Trowa and Quatre left the room to start preparing for their mission, Heero walked over to Duo, a concerned look on his face.
"Oh shit! He must've heard what I was thinking."
"Are you alright, Duo? You're flushed and you've been staring at my hair the whole time I was talking to Trowa. Are you getting sick?" Heero asked, sounding concerned.
"What?" Duo snapped out of his panicked thoughts. "Sure, I'm fine. I'm not sick at all." He felt his face flush further at the real reason he was blushing and staring off into space. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, he asked, "why'd you give Quatre and Trowa the mission. It looked like an infiltration, and you know those are my specialty."
"Only the stealth kind of infiltration. Trowa's better at actually joining the organization. But I gave it to them because it should be an easy mission and I want to see how Quatre does using his new skills in the field."
"Oh, I'd never thought of that. Good idea. Seems like we made a good choice, electing you commander."
"Thank you. But I'm sure I'll regret at some point having this position where I am responsible for all of you."
"At least you don't have to worry about getting us killed," Duo pointed out cheerily.
"There are worse things in this world than death."
"Geez, you're depressing today. Who pissed in your Cheerios?"
Despite himself, Heero had to grin slightly. He had no idea where this dark mood had come from, but as usual Duo was helping to lighten it. "If anyone pissed in my Cheerios," he shot back. "It was probably you. None of the other pilots would do something like that." "Especially not to me," was the unspoken thought. The other pilots were too respectful of him, sometimes he would swear that they were almost in awe of him. Hopefully that would change when they got to know the real him better, living in a house with him.
"Aw, damn. You found me out," joked Duo. "You're right, none of the other pilots would try that with you. I wouldn't put it past Zechs though..."
"And how exactly would Zechs gain access to my breakfast cereal? He doesn't live with me, unlike the four of you."
"Ummm, he snuck in through the window?"
"And which of us would leave a window unlocked?"
"None of us."
"Exactly. Therefore, Zechs did not piss in my Cheerios, and it must have been you. Therefor you have noone to blame but yourself for my current depressing mood. If you don't like it, don't pee in my food from now on." Heero enjoyed bantering like this, he'd never had a chance to joke around with someone his own age before now. He and Duo headed back to their office, joking back and forth all the way. They worked fitfully on different projects until Trowa knocked on the door, later that evening.
"Are you done the mission plan already?" asked Heero.
"No, but we were going to call it a night. It's already six o'clock, we should head home." Heero and Duo agreed, and soon joined the other three in the hallway, locking their office behind them. The five had decided to share a house when they started at the Preventers, and they also shared a car. Since they all worked at the same time, in the same place, it was easier and cheaper that way. If they needed to go somewhere on their own, they could either use the car if it was free, or ride their motorcycle. All five had bought themselves a motorcycle for fun. It was a way to get a similar rush to piloting a Gundam without the automatic fear and suspicion from people that the giant mechs inspired.
The ride back to the house was normal. Trowa and Quatre discussed the mission quietly, and Duo and Wufei argued about what to make for dinner. Heero just sat back and enjoyed the routine. It had been a very long time since he'd had a place to belong like he had with the other pilots. From the sounds of the argument, Wufei wanted to have wonton soup and Duo wanted pizza. He was distracted from their reasoning for each food by Quatre asking his opinion on some of the mission specs.
Dinner that night was homemade pizza, Duo had obviously won the argument and Wufei was sulking, arms crossed over his chest. The conversation was for the most part about the upcoming mission for Trowa and Quatre, and about when the rest of them would have their first for the Preventers. All were glad that missions appeared to be few and far between. It meant that the fragile peace all of them had fought so hard to create was beginning to solidify.
"It's nice to just be able to relax a bit and not have to wonder about when the next rebellion will happen and we'll have to go off and fight again. The Preventers have such good warning systems now that all possible dangers get flagged and we eliminate them before they have a chance to involve innocents," said Quatre.
"You're right, Quat. All the same, I sometimes miss piloting Deathscythe," said Duo.
"Don't worry, Duo. You will have to pilot Deathscythe again, but when that time comes you will curse the necessity of it," said Heero solemnly. Everyone just stared at him, wondering what he'd meant. He shook his head to clear it. "Kuso, I hate it when that happens."
"Um, Heero, what did just happen?" asked Duo nervously.
"I can See into the future occasionally. Nothing really helpful, just flashes. I never even know the time context of what I'm seeing, but it's like I'm really there. The worst was when I saw myself self-destruct. I got to feel the whole thing as I did it."
"Wow, that sucks," commented Duo.
"Why didn't you tell us before that you have the Sight, Heero?" asked Wufei. "You said that you were telepathic and telekinetic, but you didn't mention this."
"That's because it's not really a useful ability. I can use my others powers when I want to, but I can't see into the future when I try. It comes and goes as it will, never giving me more than a glimpse."
They finished dinner in silence, deep in thought over yet another new development. Although it wasn't late, everyone went to bed soon after, still lost in contemplation over when and why Duo was fighting in Deathscythe again in Heero's Sight.
A.N. - Yay! More new powers! Where will they end? I certainly have no clue, I didn't know I was going to give Heero the Sight when I started this chapter.
Clarobell - I'm glad you liked it. I always thought it would be interesting to see who would beat who if the pilots ever fought, and since they didn't put it in the show, I had to write it.
Griffen - The question is, who is the player and who are the pawns? And is there room for angels on the board?
Chibis Unleashed - You're allowed to pester, just not too often. Thanks for wishing me luck on the novel, I think I'll need it. I added another few pages over the weekend, yay! I don't know who'd win in a fight between Wufei and Trowa. I guess we'll have to wait and see if it wants to get written.
Lilly - Thank you. I'm glad you liked it better. Yeah, Heero is quite the leader. I can picture him taking charge like that though, once someone gave him the responsibility. And I think Zechs has always respected Heero, it just was expressed differently when they were enemies. It's ok that you aren't good at cyber food. I think I just need a good cyber cookbook.
DragonHearts - I like it when people say my story is great! :-) Sounds like you need a new keyboard. I've never seen a keyboard with keys that didn't work. Keys that weren't there yes, but no keys that didn't work.
The Chaotic Ones
Aaries - Sorry that I spelled your name wrong. I read reviews quickly to reply, and sometimes I miss spelling. I'm glad you liked it. And I like replying to people separately, I can reply better to each person's questions that way. Great googlymoogly? :-) I am amused.
Chaos - Isn't Legato a bit evil to pair with Wufei? It would be an interesting contrast though. (I haven't seen DBZ either. The tv version is too edited.)
Angel - With the dramatic rescuing it sounds like a bodice ripper romance novel. That would be really funny, Wufei as the damsel in distress. I can just imagine his speech about justice as he's carted off over the shoulder of some Fabio lookalike. And I've noticed that you really like Fei Fei. I don't think I'll be doing an OC in this story, but maybe if you and Jef send me some stats, I'll write you a Fei Fei rescue story for a Halloween present or something. (No promises though)
Jef - Sorry to disappoint, but Wufei won't be in the Preventers after Sally dies. They're only sticking around there for a few years. Maybe I'll include the kidnap and seducing in that Halloween present story. As for the demonic descent, I could have guessed. I can just picture you and Angel with Wufei, one with shiny white wings and the other with horns and a tail.
For the record I am not against OC's, but I can't see myself including one in this story. That may change in the future however, since I don't know what I'm going to write until I write it.