~AC 197, March 8th, L4-A001, Winner Mansion, 2:28pm~
"That's pretty much all," Sally finished, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that Carter was opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish and that his eyes were almost popping out of his head.
The young psychiatrist could feel his brain boiling. What he had heard in the last forty minutes couldn't be possible. It had to be some sort of bad sci-fi candid camera.
'Yes, and two hundred and fifty years ago, people thought that building space colonies was impossible. God, I knew that wars usually create the most advanced technology, but… this… this is just…'
"Chill out, man," Duo's voice cut through the fog in his mind.
Carter instinctively turned to look at Duo. His eyes met Duo's, and suddenly, he found himself unable to look away. Mesmerized, he could only stare helplessly in endless pools of blue that seemed to shimmer.
Carter blinked and the spell was broken. He came back to himself… except that the feeling of blind panic that had threatened to overwhelm him seemed to have vanished into thin air. The doctor looked around, but apparently, no one had experienced the same, and he found himself looking at Duo again, confusion written all over his face. Duo just smiled enigmatically at him and winked. Then the violet eyes darted to Sally before finally resting on Heero, who was sitting in a chair with his arms crossed and his head bent, his bangs hiding his eyes.
"Do you have any questions?" Sally asked.
Shannon shook her head, looking just as dazed as Carter. But the psychiatrist couldn't help looking around at the three pilots in the room. Wufei had been sitting away from everyone, one hand holding his head and absentmindedly rubbing his temple, his eyes closed. Heero had only contributed what he knew of the system and let Sally do most of the medical explaining.
"You were all subjected to that… thing?" Carter finally asked.
"Yup!" Duo said far too enthusiastically. "Well, Heero and Cat mostly. One go was more than enough for me, especially when I saw what it did to that other guy... Brrr!" he mock-shivered as he finished.
"What other guy? You mean Hilde didn't tell me the whole story?" Sally exclaimed.
Duo shrugged.
"I thought she had, didn't see the point of saying it again. You mean you really don't know why I've always found that system creepy?"
"Enlighten me."
Duo sighed, looking bored.
"The only time I piloted the stuff, it was because a stupid OZ guy named… Trant, I think, had been trying to pilot the thing just because he wanted to prove he could and to piss off that creep Tsubarov. He found me, I dunno how, and forced me to pilot it. He had programmed MDs to attack the colony where Hilde was so I had no choice, but… well, when I saw what Zero wanted me to do, I looked for the self-destruct. Of course, Trant didn't want me to damage the Gundam, so he stopped me and kicked me out. Hilde brought me Deathscythe Hell and I went after him, but… he was just… he could anticipate all of my movements, I couldn't place a punch, and then, then he began to gloat about how I could do nothing to stop him. And I was thinking of using my self-destruct again, because it was the only way, and the thing just stopped."
"Your self-destruct stopped?" Sally asked, perplex.
"No," Duo snapped. "Wing Zero stopped. The system shut down."
"Why?"
"Overload. It killed the pilot."
Silence fell in the room.
"You mean," Iria said prudently, "that this system actually killed its pilots to prevent its own termination."
"Now you know why I didn't really fancy another go at it," Duo said ironically. "And why I wasn't very pleased to see my buddies use it. It scared the shit outta me, honest to God."
Heero looked up at Duo and their eyes locked for a second. It was so rapid that most of the occupants in the room didn't see it, but Sally did. And she of course understood now why Duo had always seemed so upset every time Heero had left Peacemillion with Zero. And yet, even he, in the end, had seemed to come to terms with the fact that the system had played a non-negligible role in their victory. But it wouldn't prevent from holding grudges apparently, she thought with a smile. It was all Duo, to be mad at a dead electronic system just because he felt like it.
"I think I understand," Carter finally said, breaking the silence again. "But what does it have to do with the present situation?"
"Well, apart from damaging his shields, it seems that whatever Quatre was subjected to also affected his ability to control Zero under any circumstances," Iria answered. "This would explain the violence of his attacks against the staff at the clinic and against you later on. The power, being too overwhelming, prevented his brain from controlling Zero, and let it take over in instances when he was subjected to threats. Can I ask what exactly happened on those occurrences?"
Carter took a deep breath. He had known that he would have to disclose that piece of information sooner or later, but if he was totally honest, he really did not want to do it with three Gundam Pilots present. Yet it wasn't as if he had a choice.
"The two members of staff who were injured tried to assault him," he said quietly, avoiding everyone's gaze. "The patient was a paranoid and was absolutely convinced that Quatre wanted to kill him, which he almost ended up doing."
When he finally looked up, Carter found three pairs of eyes glaring daggers at him. He gulped and would gladly have crawled underground if such a thing had been possible. However, in spite of the fact that the three young men all sported various degrees of murderous expressions, it took Carter only a second to realize they were not mad at him, but at themselves. They were angry because they hadn't been there to prevent their friend from getting into trouble.
"I am really sorry this had to happen while he was under my care, but I didn't imagine someone would dare attempt such a thing," Carter kept on, his voice a bit hesitant, turning his head to Iria Winner, who looked quite impassible, except for the fact that her blue gaze had hardened. "Unfortunately, those kinds of things are more frequent than the public thinks. The two members of staff involved have been dealt with. They face charges in court, since the clinic decided to prosecute them, and they are banned from working in hospitals for the rest of their lives."
"Their names," Iria demanded in a clipped tone. "I want their names, now."
"Jay Maleda and Carl Benson," Carter answered quickly, knowing it wouldn't be too careful to deny that particular request. He was beginning to get the feeling that the Winner family's reputation for dealing with their enemies quickly and efficiently was not as usurped as he had believed it to be. Pacifists they may be, but the kind of pacifists that Minister Darlian was admiring: loving peace from the bottom of their hearts, but ready to strike back if someone threatened what was dearest to them. Apparently, those foolish enough to have ever touched a hair of Quatre Winner's head had forgotten that. And either they didn't know that Quatre had been a Gundam pilot, or they had been foolish enough to attack him knowing it. Whatever the case, Carter was sure of one thing: once the other pilots would find the culprits, and there was no doubt in his mind that they would find them, there would be hell to pay.
"Well, that's all we had to say for today, right?" Sally inquired.
"The memory cards," Wufei said quietly as if speaking aloud hurt his head, and making everyone jump since those were the first words he spoke in an hour.
"Oh right," Sally agreed. "Heero?"
"I'm going to start looking at the program," the Japanese young man answered. "I think I know where to look. After testing it, I can positively say that this is not the Zero system that I used during the wars, but the similarities are troubling."
"But… how can you do that?" Carter asked. "I mean, this program must be awfully long!"
"About three billion lines for Zero, I think this one may be a bit shorter, close to two point five billion. I will have the first results in a few hours."
"And now, everyone knows what he was doing on his laptop!" Duo sighed dramatically. "Honestly, he's such a comp geek that he was even looking at the program itself! Cheating on me with that machine twice at the same time!"
"We weren't together at that time," Heero said deadpan. "And I thought trying to see how the program was written could help me master it."
"Did it work?" Sally asked, interested.
"Of course not."
Sally blinked. Duo burst out laughing when he saw the expression on her face.
"The Professors were seriously off their rocker, Sal. They even told me that they had no idea why they had written the program in the first place, and that they hadn't really intended to use it anyway. It was more bad luck than anything else that Cat dug Zero out of the hole where it had been left alone for so long."
"But you'll still be able to make the differences between Zero and this program?" Sally asked Heero. "It's been a long time, and the original program has been destroyed."
"I remember good chunks of it, although I would not be able to rewrite it entirely," Heero answered. "I'm positive that I can at least find proof that this program is something different. I'm not sure I'll be able to pinpoint exactly what it is, though."
"Well, do your best," Sally said with a sigh. "Now, if you will excuse us, boys, I think you have work to do and Dr Carter, Iria, and I still have stuff to discuss."
Duo was ready to protest at the cavalier dismissal when Wufei abruptly got up and left the room without a word. Duo frowned.
"What's wrong with the Wuffers? He's usually grumpy, but this is even worse than usual."
"Maybe we should go check on him," Iria suggested, getting up, but Sally extended her hand to stop her.
"No," she said. "I'm going. He trusts me."
"Alright," Iria agreed. "We'll be waiting for you."
Sally made her way out, followed by Heero and Duo. But just before he got out, Duo turned around and caught Carter's eyes. The psychiatrist stared back, and Duo smiled again before he went out.
Carter scowled, feeling something was off in his own attitude.
Shaking his head, Carter smiled at Iria, suddenly forgetting why he had been so preoccupied just a second before.
Sally caught up with Wufei quite rapidly, which was another cause for worry. The young man was actually leaning on a wall, eyes tightly closed and still rubbing his temple. Frowning, Sally got closer, careful to signal her presence with some noise. She didn't really fancy being kicked, even in self-defense.
"Wufei, is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I… my head's killing me and I need sleep."
Sally was so surprised by the willing admission of weakness coming from Wufei that she forgot to be snide. Coming closer, she pried his hand away from his head and touched his forehead.
"You're a bit hot, but I don't think you're starting a fever," she said quietly. "Your pupils are dilated, though. I'm not even gonna ask if you took anything…"
"Yes, please don't ask," Wufei snapped.
"I think it may be nothing more than stress and exhaustion, although it is quite rare to have you ready to fall after only thirty-six hours without sleeping…" her voice trailed away ironically, but Wufei didn't snap back at her, apparently too busy concentrating so as not to let out a moan of pain. She grew concerned.
"You should go to bed and get some sleep. Heero said that he would need a few hours before getting results anyway, and we need you at your best. Let me just get you something for the pain," she said, beginning to get away.
"No!"
Wufei had snatched her hand and held her back.
"No," he said a bit more quietly. "I've been through it before, and it's best if nothing interferes with it."
"Drop the tough act, Chang," Sally said irritably. "I'm not leaving you with a headache that seems to split your brain in two!"
"I'm not giving you a choice," Wufei answered as calmly as he could, in fact more calmly than she ever imagined he could. "I won't take anything. I just need a bit of rest in the dark."
Sally shook her head, an incredulous look on her face.
"How did you even manage to pilot a Gundam if you had those kinds of migraines?"
"I didn't have them during the war. It was before, when I was a child. I know how to make them go away, so forget about the painkillers."
Sally seemed hesitant for a moment, then she smiled and nodded.
"Fine. But if it gets worse, you come see me."
"Woman…"
"For the last time, Chang Wufei, my name is not 'woman'!"
"Stop screaming!"
"Then stop being an uptight bastard and go get some rest!"
And she left, storming out of the corridor but silently laughing. If he was still calling her 'woman', then it was not as bad as she believed it to be.
Once she was gone, Wufei absentmindedly massaged his temples, trying to ignore the explosive pain behind his eyeballs like he had been taught too.
'I don't understand. Father told me it was very unlikely that this would happen again, I was supposed to have reached my full potential. It shouldn't be happening now. But it is. What does it mean?'
"What do you think is wrong with Wuffie?" Duo asked, flopping down on the bed as Heero began to plug the memory cards to his laptop.
Heero frowned, taking his time before answering.
"I'm not sure," he finally said.
Propping himself up on one elbow, Duo peered at his Heero's face intently.
"You're not sure. So you have an idea."
"I think… it may be expanding again."
"But… he told us it had been fully developed when he was a kid!"
"I know, but…"
Heero took a deep breath running his fingers through his hair as he looked for his next words.
"The studies about New Types are imprecise and incomplete. Very few people have been interested in that kind of research, it's just beginning. And our abilities are not even recorded as being of New Type origin."
"But they are, we know it! What else could it be, after all?"
There was a small silence.
"So you think his power's expanding again, and he wasn't prepared for it. What gave you the idea?" Duo asked.
When more than ten seconds passed without him getting an answer, he turned his gaze to find Heero sitting in front of the laptop, hands on the keyboard but not typing, and looking down.
"Heero?" Duo said, raising an eyebrow.
"You remember that day at the beginning of the year when you came home and found glass in the trashcan?" Heero started abruptly.
It took a few seconds to go back to the day that Heero was referring to.
"Yup. You told me that you had accidentally dropped a glass."
"And you didn't find it odd?"
"Well, now that you mention it, it's not really like you to drop a glass," Duo agreed.
"And what else happened on that day?"
"Heero, could you please stop talking in riddles?"
"I had a migraine," Heero continued, face blank. "It was so bad that I had to call in sick the next day. People are still talking about it at headquarters."
"That's right… you asked me to leave the room in the dark so you could get some rest… I almost called in sick too to take care of you, but you insisted that you would be fine. That wasn't a lie, was it?" Duo asked suspiciously.
"It wasn't, and I was okay in the evening. But I didn't drop the glass."
"Huh? So what happened?"
"I was using the kitchen table as a desk. I was getting frustrated at my laptop. I had gotten a glass of water. It was on the table right by my side. And at a moment when I felt like just throwing the computer out of the window, the glass exploded. All by itself."
Heero was staring at his hand by the time he had finished.
"I didn't even touch it," he added quietly as an afterthought.
Heero turned to Duo, only to see him sport a quite disgruntled look.
"When exactly were you planning on telling me this? Or were you just hoping that I would never notice until things would start exploding in my face?"
Heero reddened and said nothing. Duo sighed exasperatedly, wondering if pulling at his braid hard enough to hurt his scalp would be productive at the moment. You had lot of those urges when you were Heero's boyfriend. Duo almost had to pry everything out of him. There were times when he wondered why he even bothered, but then he would look in Heero's eyes, and the question would seem to become irrelevant.
"You should have told me right away," Duo kept on, keeping his voice carefully neutral in spite of the fact that he was definitely angry. "What did you think I would do, kick you out of the apartment?"
"No, I just… I was… scared."
"Of me."
"No," Heero answered, getting frustrated too. "It's just… when my ability surfaced and my trainers began using it… they were waiting for it to develop more. I… I actually hid most of what I could do from them, because it hurt so damn much every time."
Duo shook his head, understanding why Heero had been reluctant. Knowing him, the bad memories from his training days would have been as powerful as a mental block. Having forced himself to hide his true capacities for a long time would have made Heero most reluctant to discover they were expanding yet again. But being angry at him would not help, so Duo just got up, went to Heero and took him in his arms.
"I let it slip for this time, but none of that ever again, okay, Yuy?"
Heero nodded against Duo's chest, letting out a small relieved sigh. He should have known that Duo wouldn't resent the news itself, but the fact that he had been lied to, even if technically, Heero had not lied. He had been, as Duo often was, selective about the truths he had told.
"So you think it could happen to all of us? Maybe it's because we reached puberty, I guess hormonal changes must influence that kind of things, right?" Duo said as he went back to lie on the bed, crossing his hands behind his head.
"It's probable."
"We should warn Tro and Cat, too."
Heero shrugged, and began typing, happily digging in the glowing lines of program that began to scroll down on his screen. He jumped to the sound of the door opening, looking up to see Duo standing in the doorway, ready to go out. He raised an eyebrow in question, and Duo winked at him.
"I'm going to sneak 'round a bit," he said. "I wonder what Sally had to say that we shouldn't hear. I got a feeling it has to do with some special abilities that we never openly disclosed to her."
"You think she knows?"
"She's a doctor, and she took care of all of us at least once during the war. If we call strapping you spread-eagle to a table taking care of you, of course… but she's got medical data on all of us… I'd be surprised if she hadn't noticed anything."
"So what do we do?"
"First, I do a bit of reconnaissance… Then… well as long as she doesn't ask, I don't see any reason to volunteer the information. I spent the first eight years of my life being looked at like a rat, and I don't fancy going back to that."
"So… why were you in such a hurry to make them go out?" Iria asked Sally as the blond doctor came back in and closed the door behind herself.
"Iria, you remember when we brought Quatre back here and Trowa told you he'd never had a headache in his room in spite of the machinery that he didn't know was here? You answered that it meant that he had at least a potential for New Types abilities, and you added that you thought they all had it."
"What are you getting to?"
"How did the boys react?"
Puzzled, Iria had to stop to think.
"Well, they didn't… oh. You mean I was right?"
"I didn't say anything at the time because it wouldn't have been very appropriate, but according to what I observed during the wars, I'd say yes."
"Wait a minute," Dr Carter interrupted. "Are you telling me that all those boys are full New Types? Do you know how rare this is, and how unlikely it is?"
Both Sally and Iria stared at him, and the psychiatrist felt himself redden. At his side, Shannon was silent, listening raptly.
"Do you even know what a full New Type is, Dr. Carter?" Iria finally asked.
"Dr. Hewley…"
"I am sorry to tell you that although Dr. Hewley's ideas on the subject are indeed far better than what her predecessors thought, she too is quite misguided about what New Types are really capable of. I am not saying that I approve of the researches that were done to turn New Types into weapons because that is inherently wrong, but New Types are a possible danger. In his present state, Dr. Carter, Quatre could kill you with a simple thought."
Carter blanched, and Sally patted his arm sympathetically.
"I'm afraid it's true," she said. "Yes, full New Types are very rare and most abilities apart from telepathy, which is the most common, telekinesis, and empathy, are not recorded."
"I think I need to explain more properly," Iria said tiredly.
"That would be appreciated, yes," Carter answered, sounding a bit disgruntled.
Iria just smiled and began.
"You already know that a lot of colonists have what we call limited New Type perceptions that come with the fact that the human body has adapted to life in space. The mutations occurred in the last century, mostly."
"And, most of the time, the people who have these abilities are totally unaware of it. The only visible aspect is that they are extraordinarily brilliant students, that they are gifted in many areas, and that they seem to be more concerned with their fellow human beings than the rest of us," Sally kept on.
Iria raised an eyebrow at that last definition, and Sally laughed.
"I never said there weren't exceptions," she said ironically, "and Heero is concerned with his fellow human beings, even if it's in a strange way. The definition comes from the earliest study on New Types, which is about eighty years old now."
Carter nodded.
"Anyway," Iria carried on, "more recently, full New Types have begun to be recorded. People able to use up to seventy-five to ninety percent of their brain capacity. You know about that, since most of them were later locked up in institutions where they either shut themselves off or committed suicide. The subject of training is not our problem right now, but I want you to understand this. A person with limited New Type abilities sees his powers develop around puberty. The changes may become noticeable or not, depending on each person's gene pattern. Full New Types begin to express their powers very early in life. Puberty is actually one of the final stages of development."
"Which means that if I am right," Sally said, "we have five Full New Types in the final stage of development who are in complete control of their abilities here."
The silence that followed was deafening. Carter found it very hard to believe, but then, if Quatre was a full New Type and he was sure of that, then why couldn't the others be? Carter hadn't thought it possible for Quatre to even have been in the war when he had discovered his patient was a full-blown empath, which was about the worse aptitude you could have when there was a conflict raging. At least, that was Carter's opinion. But it had turned out Quatre had in fact been a Gundam pilot, and the leader and strategist of the little terrorist group. So, after all, why not?
"Why are you telling this to us now?" he asked. "Why not them?"
Sally frowned.
"There are several reasons. First, as I told you, they reached puberty and are in the final stage. The hormonal changes going through their bodies also affect their abilities. But apart from Quatre who's had formal training all his life, the others probably learned to control the power all by themselves. It makes them dangerous and unpredictable. Any strong emotion can trigger a widening of their abilities."
"And second?"
"I'm not sure if they are in fact all New Types, or if they are aware that they are."
Carter blinked.
"I'm not sure I'm following."
Sally took a deep breath.
"Heero grew up in a lab, Duo on the streets, and Trowa god knows where. Heero's ability may have been implanted genetically, but even if it's the case, no one had any means of knowing which ability would develop. The New Type genes are the same in all New Types. It's the way they express themselves that makes the different abilities. The active zones in the brain are always the same when a New Type uses his power. Duo and Trowa pretty much grew up on their own. What are the chances that they met anyone who knew what a New Type was, let alone someone who could teach them how to control it?"
"It's unbelievable," Carter said in a whisper. "It's never been heard of. It's… Dr. Hewley will want to…"
"No!" Sally interrupted harshly.
Carter looked up at her. She was frowning at him.
"I already warned you not to play with fire, Doc," she said threateningly. "What I'm telling you here must not get out of this room, and certainly not back to Dr. Hewley!"
"She's my boss!" Carter protested.
"That won't protect you if one of the boys thinks you betrayed them and as such put them all in danger of becoming lab rats! And believe me, none of them would take it kindly, and that's putting it mildly! Not to mention that if I hear that even the slightest thing I told you went out of this room, I'll hunt you down and shoot you myself! I'm trying to make them accept you, and I'm trying to give you some clues to do your job while staying alive! That won't give you the right to go pry in their lives and destroy everything I've worked for up until now! Am I making myself clear?"
Carter nodded hurriedly, absently noting that Sally was indeed very pretty when her cheeks were reddened in anger and her light blue eyes alight with fury. Shannon, for her part, was huddled in her seat and barely dared make a sound. Sally smiled kindly to her.
"I'm sorry," she said, "but I can't bear the responsibility of seeing you get killed because of stupidity. For the last time, those boys are dangerous, and if they feel threatened, they will react in any manner that seems appropriate to remove the threat. The fact that they are most certainly New Types makes the retaliation even more certain and unpredictable. A New Type protects himself instinctively. They are five, and ready to use any means to protect themselves and each other. That alone should dissuade you to try anything foolish.
"I understand," Carter said a bit dejectedly. "But this would have been a formidable asset for Dr. Hewley's program."
Iria got up and went to the window, looking outside as she spoke.
"I told Dr. Hewley that I wanted Quatre to take a look at her program and it still stands. Whether he decides to help or not remains his personal decision, even if I am certain he will say yes. But the others… if Sally is indeed right, I don't think any of them would accept. And it would have to be their choice anyway. You have no right to throw them to the wolves without being sure that they agree to it too."
"It wasn't my intention…" Carter began, but Iria cut him off.
"I know," she said. "But the result would have been the same. That, and if Sally is right and they are not aware of their own abilities, It's not your role to announce it to them, but Sally's. I totally support Dr. Hewley's project, but I think it would be highly inappropriate to bring the subject up in the foreseeable future."
"Alright," Carter said. "I won't mention it again."
Iria turned around, leaning on the window and crossing her arms on her chest.
"Now… are you going to tell us what you think those boys can actually do?"
"I have to remind you that I have very few facts, and in some cases only suspicions," Sally started. "In fact, the one I have the most data about is Heero, since I was lucky enough to have him in my ward for about twenty-four hours a few days only after Operation Meteor. I had the time to do medical tests, and then I observed him throughout the war. I think that he is a telekinesist."
"What made you think that? I have never seen him move objects around or anything," Iria wondered.
"His strength," Sally simply answered.
When she saw three pairs of eyes blinking at her, she sighed.
"You have to admit that Heero's strength has absolutely no link with his physical mass," she said.
"I thought he had been genetically enhanced," Iria objected. "Adding muscle mass without visible results for the human eye is possible now with some of the new techniques, and I'm sure the geneticists that were involved in the project knew about that far before it became more generally known."
"But if that was the case, then Heero should have weighed more. Even if it's not visible, muscle mass has an impact on the global weight. And Heero only weighed ninety pounds at the time."
"How do you explain that, then? What made you think about telekinesis?"
"The fact that apart from the usual fractures you would expect to see in someone who has been under hard training for most of his youth, all of his bones sported old traces of hairline fractures. And I mean all of them. That boy literally broke every bone in his body at least once. I think this may be because he doesn't use the telekinesis to move other objects, but to enhance the resistance, speed and strength of his own body."
"You mean that the energy and heat of the telekinesis would have fractured his bones because they were contained into his body?" Carter asked. "Am I right?"
"You see, you can be clever when you want to," Sally said ironically. "That's exactly what I mean. This is quite unusual to have someone actually channel their own telekinesis through their body without it going out. It is possible that he was trained to use it like that, or that the ability was like that in the beginning, and will now evolve."
There was a small silence before Sally spoke again.
"I am not sure that Heero knows about his own ability. His trainers could have explained his strength as added muscle mass, and he would have had no reason not to believe them. Also, I think maybe the behavior modification hypnosis sessions may have included some kind of mental block that erased the memory of the training sessions. I can't be positive about that, of course."
"What about the others?" Carter asked.
Sally went to the desk where she had left some of her stuff, and rummaged around until she held out an old copy of the eighty-year-old theory that she had mentioned before. New Type Theory: Human Evolution in Question, by Dr. Alan Webster, was still considered the founder work for everything related to New Types.
"This book is ancient and most of the theory has been revised now, but the basic categories that old Webster designed are strangely accurate. I think some of our newest scientists would do well to re-read their classics."
She flipped through the pages, then stopped and gave the book to Carter, pointing at one paragraph.
"I think Trowa is what Webster poetically calls a doppelganger. His brain has the ability to absorb all kinds of information very quickly and to reproduce any types of behavior. This allows him to be the perfect infiltrator. He can basically impersonate everyone he wants. A kind of human chameleon."
"Is what is written here really possible?" Carter asked.
Sally smiled.
"Trowa enrolled in OZ during the war. He infiltrated their army using the simplest way: he passed the test, became a pilot, was noticed by Lady Une and climbed the ladder to elite pilot in no time. He actually was Lady Une's favorite officer by the time he… went MIA. Believe me, our dear Head of Preventer is not really proud that she got fooled so easily, but the truth is she didn't stand a chance. Trowa is someone that you notice if you really pay attention to him. He's tall, quite handsome, seldom speaks but is not afraid to speak his mind when the situation requires it, and an exceptional fighter. Almost everyone in OZ knew about Colonel Une's new pet pilot Officer Barton. But none of the members of the force still alive would be able to tell you what he looked like. He was just another guy to them."
Sally took the book back, and closed it.
"Wufei's case is yet a bit different. Chinese colonists have been aware of the New Type phenomenon for quite a long time, and they do train their children to control their power if it develops. But they do not advertise it. To them, a New Type is merely a child that is more gifted, and they leave it at that."
"That's an interesting approach," Carter said.
"The healthiest one in my opinion, because it doesn't stigmatize the children, and it doesn't put them on pedestal either. Wufei uses something that Chinese people would call qi, or life force, to increase his speed and resistance, heal faster, and create alternate states of conscience. There is no recorded name for this kind of ability, and we won't find any records of how his family called it, since his home colony was destroyed during the war."
"And Duo?" Iria asked.
Sally rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"My main problem. I don't know. I don't know if he's a New Type or not, and if he is, I have no idea what his ability is. But… there's just something… in his eyes…"
Carter frowned. Sally was right. There was something about the very unusual color of those eyes, a dark purplish blue that sometimes turned a vibrant violet. That, and there was a strange energy about the youth that both unsettled and puzzled, but he couldn't place the exact feeling it gave him. Every time Duo left a room, Carter was left with the feeling that the boy was an enigma and he shouldn't spend so much time thinking about it.
Since they were all deep in thoughts, no one noticed the door closing silently.
"She knows about you, Tro, and Wu, and she suspects there's something up with me," Duo announced as he came back into the room he shared with Heero.
Heero looked up from his laptop. He couldn't decide if it was good or bad. Duo just stood behind his chair and embraced him from behind, putting his chin on his lover's shoulder.
"She made Carter promise he wouldn't tell. God, she almost scared me there, you would have believed she was a lioness defending her cubs!"
"So… it's alright?"
"I don't mind her knowing as long as she doesn't pry."
"She doesn't know about you," Heero said pointedly.
"True. And if possible, I'd like it to stay that way. But anyway, it's not like she intends to do anything. She just wanted to warn the Doc and Iria, because apparently, puberty is a big stage, as I guessed. She called it the final stage of development."
"So that's why…" Heero said, looking at his hand again.
"Yup! Nothing to worry about, it's perfectly normal. But it's probably gonna be a bit hectic for all of us for a while."
Both fell silent, and Duo took a peek at the laptop.
"Going somewhere with that?"
"I noted several differences with the actual Zero program, differences that don't make sense. I have to carry on a bit."
"What do you think we should do about… the other stuff?"
Heero shrugged.
"Just continue as we always did. From what you said, Sally only monitored us because she was concerned about us. As long as we show no sign of being a danger to ourselves or other people, she will leave it alone."
"She is an intelligent woman…" Duo muttered.
He got up and scratched his head, then laughed. Curious, Heero turned to look at him.
"I never knew what it was like to have a mom," Duo said, "but there are times when I wish that if I had had one, she would have been like Sal. But… we have to find some time to speak with the others… just the five of us."
Back in her bedroom, Iria flopped down in a rocking chair and switched the TV on, her mind going back to recent events. She was beginning to feel tired. It wasn't entirely a surprise for her to learn that all the boys were New Types, but it still wasn't everyday that you heard that. Now, she thought that the best thing would be for everyone to relax till the next day. Wufei would be feeling better, they would have the first results about the memory cards, she could help Quatre rebuild shields in a few hours if he proved to be as well as he looked, and they may get a lead in the inquiry.
" … breaking news. An anonymous source revealed that some significant changes have taken place at the head of WEI. Quatre Winner allegedly resigned from his position as CEO redistributing about half of his shares between his sisters. Iria Winner, the family's eldest child, is now said to be the new CEO, due to the redistribution. The Winners have issued no statement to confirm this information, and Quatre Winner's whereabouts are currently uncertain. The young CEO was said to be ill and resting at his family home on L4-A001, and has made no public appearances in more than a month…"
Iria gaped at her TV.