Chapter Three

Heero POV

I sat halfway down the stairs with my mind on the call from J. The old fool had to go and activate my weaker mode, my civilian mode. My emotions were allowed to roam free, I didn't have to try to control them. I could if I wanted to, and I could have become the soldier again if I wanted to – but I didn't.

"Don't you want to join us down here?" I looked through the rails at Quatre. They were all sitting around in the living room, cups of cocoa in their hands. Quatre and Trowa, who had apparently known each other the longest and had developed a relationship in that time, sat on the loveseat curled into one another. Duo and Wu Fei sat across from each other in the two chairs. That left the Lay-Z-Boy for me, should I want it. I didn't.

"Yeah, its loads more comfy in here. Warmer." Duo said. In response I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them, clasping my arms to hold them up. The stitches pulled and I winced. "Okay, stay there then."

"Duo…" Wu Fei spoke, softly. "Did we all get the same message? Stay until further notice?" I saw the other three nod, and I nodded almost glumly when Quatre turned to me. "I wonder why that is then."

"Now that we're all together, maybe they want us to get to know each other?" Quatre hit the proverbial nail on the head. He was just missing one thing….

"They want us to learn how to work together so we become a better fighting unti." I said. My voice was hoarse from the lingering drugs, and I could tell that I had startled everyone when I spoke.

"Is fighting all you think about?" Trowa asked. Quatre was about to elbow him, but I answered. He had asked in a questioning tone, not a sarcastic or cold one.

"No. But it is why we were made." I pointed out. "It makes sense that once our individual training is finished we learn to fight as a team." There was silence. "Besides, J told me." Duo let out a snort.

"Well, I plan on making the most of this mini-vacation while I can. We can learn to fight as a team AFTER we get to know each other, ne?" He gave a cocky grin. "Soooo, since I like to talk the most I'll go first. We each say one thing, then when everyone said their piece we say another."

"Agreeable." Wu Fei said, though whether he meant the offer or the fact that Duo liked to talk was unknown to me. I rested my chin on my arms and watched.

"Thanks Wu." Wu Fei scowled. "Okay. Duo Maxwell is not my real name. My best friend Solo gave it to me when I was little, and I took the name Maxwell from the church I lived at." He looked to Quatre, and I was relieved to find that I would be the last to speak each turn.

"Quatre Raberba Winner is my real name, and I hate it. It's too long."

"I don't remember my real name; I took the name Trowa Barton from a dead guy." Okay, mildly interesting.

"Chang Wu Fei is my real name. Because it is Chinese my last name is considered my first. So it is really Wu Fei Chang." The spotlight was on me.

"I don't remember my real name either." I said, barely loud enough for them to hear. "J gave me the codename Heero Yuy."

"I don't have any living family that I know of, and the only family I remember died on L2." Duo said.

"I have 29 sisters…"

"No shit!" I almost laughed at the look on Duo's face at that revelation. Quatre continued as if Duo hadn't interrupted.

"And my father lives on L4. He doesn't approve of what I've become."

"I have one adoptive sister. She lives and works at the traveling circus from L3." Duo laughed.

"My clan, my family, was wiped out when L5 blew." Wu Fei said coldly.

"I never knew mine."

"Maybe we shouldn't get too personal? At least until we know each other longer." I could have kissed Quatre for his suggestion.

"Okay, but at the end we have to tell each other what our abilities and shit are." I almost groaned when everybody nodded. Even though I now had permission from J to tell them everything, it didn't mean I wanted to.

"Heero? Is that okay with you?" I sighed and gave Quatre a pathetic look but nodded. He smiled encouragingly. "Okay then, except for that we keep in impersonal."

"Okay, I'm 16." Duo said proudly.

"15." Quatre admitted, earning a few raised eyebrows.

"17." Trowa said.

"16." Wu Fei said. I really didn't want to reveal my age and I almost bolted when everyone turned to me.

"14." Duo fell out of his chair, Wu Fei dropped his cocoa, Quatre gasped, Trowa blinked, and I buried my head in my arms.

"How the hell can you be 14!" Duo asked as he pulled himself up. "You look at least 16!" I heard Quatre scold him and remind him of the genetic engineering and it's effects on the body. When I looked up again, Quatre was directly in front of me.

"Are you okay to continue?" He asked kindly. I scowled at him: I truly hated being treated like a kid, which was one of the reasons I didn't want them to know my true age. Though I had to admit, I tended to act it at times while in civilian mode.

He responded by sending soothing waves in my direction, and I relaxed. Seconds later he was sitting beside me on the stairs, close enough for me to feel the soothing vibes but far enough away to keep me relaxed.

"I want to get this over with." I finally said.

"Okay. We'll skip right to the hard part then. We'll learn the rest over time." I nodded. "Do you want to start?"

"No, I'll take the longest." Quatre nodded and turned to Duo, who picked up the conversation.

"I was eight when G picked me off the streets. Heh, I was stealing from his scientists at the time. After explaining my job and future should I accept his offer at being his pupil, I was trained in combat. I got my body back to perfect health. Then, when I was ten, he began the engineering that took two years to complete. From then until now I was trained in battle strategies, strength, Gundam fighting and care, and stealth." Here he paused. "I have no fucking clue as to how he did it, but he managed to fuse my genes with those of a panther. I can transform into a panther at will, completely or partially. I also have the senses of the panther and the stealth."

"Show us?" Trowa requested. Duo nodded. Off came the boots; off came the clothes until he was in his boxers.

"Pink hearts?" Wu Fei snorted. Even I had to chuckle as Duo stuck out his tongue. Then he gave us a wink and I was transfixed as his body began to twist and bend. Bones twisted and grew, muscles rippled, fur grew, his braid snaked back into his head, his feet and hands twisted and morphed into paws, a tail grew out of his backside. He slumped to the floor as the transformation slowed, then stopped.

"Amazing!" Quatre whispered from beside me. Duo-panther stood and stretched. Sleek claws appeared to scratch at the carpet, earning a scolding from Quatre. The panther grinned and sat on powerful haunches. "Is that all?" Quatre asked in awe. Duo-panther shook his head and elegant black wings, similar to a bats', erupted from his back. He flexed them, creating a small breeze and nearly knocking Wu Fei out of his seat. Duo-panther turned to Trowa who nodded.

"I was with a band of mercenaries until I was nine. Then I was picked up by S and worked as a mechanic on Heavyarms. At eleven I agreed to be the pilot and he trained me. I was already in good shape so he began the genetic changes immediately. I do not have any gene fusion, but he did tweak my genes so that I'm stronger than normal, I have better senses, and I can communicate with animals. I too have wings." I watched as he removed his shirt and unfolded the wings from where they had melded into his back. They were the same color as his hair, with darker and lighter streaked feathers. "My main part in this war, I was told, is as firepower and backup."

"I was picked up by Master O while I was still with my clan. I was trained since I was little to be a strong clansman, so I already knew martial arts and fighting when I agreed to be a pilot. My genes were tweaked the same as Trowa's, but I was trained specially for combat. I too have wings." Wu Fei's explanation was simple and to the point, which meant it was almost my turn. Wu Fei also unfolded his wings to reveal that they were covered in black feathers.

"H was working on my gundam at my father's colony. I met him through my father, actually. Like Wu Fei I was in perfect health and they began the genetic modification when I was eleven. I was training before then, and I continued to train after. I was trained in strategy and fighting, and the only noticeable alteration is my wings, although my senses were heightened too." He stood up and walked down the stairs, leaving me by myself as he unfurled his own golden-colored wings. "I was born with the empathy, but training made it better and now I can turn it on or off, sense emotions at will, and pinpoint the location and general health of anyone I wish."

I waited while Quarter settled in the other room again. They all had their wings out still, and it made me nervous. A gentle look of encouragement from Quatre got me started. "I lived with an assassin until I was six. By that time my body condition was perfect, I knew how to use weapons, and I didn't mind killing. I met J after Odin was killed on a mission, and he more or less dragged me back to his lab where I was kept under heavy sedation for a long time. When I woke up I was tied down to a lab table, and I felt different. My body was bigger, I was older. When J met with me, he told me what he had done. I tried to kill him." I paused. "I was twelve."

"He kept you sedated for six years?" Quatre asked, horrified. I turned my head away.

"Sort of. When I wasn't sedated I was fighting the genetic changes he had made. I guess it made me crazy. I don't really remember. After I tried to kill him, and nearly succeeded, he put me under and set triggers."

"Triggers?" Duo asked; now back in his human form. I could hear Trowa's surprised gasp, and Wu Fei's sharp exhalation. Thankfully I wasn't asked to explain – Trowa spoke up on my behalf.

"Triggers are words, phrases, or sounds set deep in a person's subconscious. They're usually tied to a different personality. When someone speaks these triggers the person changes." Duo scratched his head, so Wu Fei took over.

"You've heard of Multiple Personality Disorder?" Duo nodded. "Well, it's the same principle. When a person has it, they usually don't know it and when they see or hear something they can change personalities."

"I get it." Duo said. "Isn't that dangerous though? What if one of us says the trigger?" I shifted to look at him.

"It's keyed not only to a word, but to J's voice." I admitted. "As far as I know, J programmed three different personalities. One for fighting, one for standby, and one for peace."

"That's why you feel different today." Quatre said suddenly. I looked at him in shock. "When you arrived, I could barely feel you. You were blocking most of your emotions and feelings. I couldn't sense you like I could any other person. Then when we got the call, it was like you blipped back on my radar. I could sense you, but I still can't really read you. He triggered you." I nodded.

"Okay then." Duo said uncomfortably.

"You aren't in any danger unless J contacts me and triggers me. He won't do that though because we were all created to be a team." I said uncertainly.

"I believe you Heero." Quatre said. "What else is there?" Only Duo seemed surprised that there was more to my engineering.

"I'm like Duo. J fused my genes with that of a feline, but he also fused them with that of a canine. That's also why I wasn't stable. With both creatures' instincts trying to guide me…" I shrugged. "Eventually they melded and now I am a cross between human, dog, and cat."

"Wings?" Trowa asked. I nodded. And hoping that J wouldn't mind, I allowed my wings to unfurl for the first time in a long while. I could feel them as they brushed the walls and floor after I stretched them. There was nothing from the collar, so I relaxed and let my wings drape around my shoulders like a cape.

"I was trained to be a soldier." I said softly. "And to lead you in to battle. I have all of your abilities and have gone through all of your training at a higher level. I don't mean to be rude and discredit you…"

"It's okay. We understand." Quatre was by my side again. "We kinda figured than none of us would be leaders, we were not trained for it." To my surprise, all of them nodded. "In fact, if what you're saying about the triggers is true, then you'd probably be the best person to lead us. We all have emotions that can get in the way of orders, but your soldier doesn't correct?"

"Not that I can tell." I admitted.

"Then it's settled." Trowa said. "Now, show us your form?"

TBC

Did that explain everything? Except the collar, because he can't tell them about it yet.

Come on, i know there are people reading this...so why are none reviewing? pout