Author's Note: Before all the newbies just finding this story come to any quick conclusions, let me just say that half the OCs I'm using aren't even mine but have been leant to me by other generous authors/readers. I understand though that having a fic with a bunch of OCs might put some people off but for my latest anonymous reader, I don't know what my name is, there's a way to make OCs so much bearable and not so Mary Sue-ish. That way, is of course, to give them flaws and purposely exploit them without prejudice. The flaws don't have to be blatant, they can only be quirks of their personalities, but those quirks can be used to utterly destroy them, as most of, if not all of, you have seen in The Maxwell Project. Don't think this formula will not be used again because I will continuing using it until people get sick of it, which probably won't be happening any time soon. So, without further ado, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Frank Sinatra's Jeepers Creepers.

Warning: language

Center of Attention

"Will somebody get these kids off of me already?!"

Duo smiled serenely at the sight as he sat on the same bench that Trowa and Dorothy had once occupied and vacated some time ago to do whatever it was those two did. Now Duo had laid claim to the bench where he took sadistic amusement in watching Solo trudge around the courtyard, orphans of all ages clinging onto him and not releasing their grips anytime soon. Now, Duo knew that Solo could throw the children off if he wanted to but that would result in the kids being hurt and then Sister Helen wouldn't be happy and Duo couldn't have that happening.

Still, Duo wanted to partake in the festivity but he didn't feel like competing against ten of those orphans, wait make that eleven. Only he could say that he had gotten a piggyback ride from Solo, even though he was pulling at the other's hair at the time, and that made him feel superior to all these other hanger-ons, especially Adrian who hadn't quite climbed up all the way to Solo's back and was hanging on to the blond's waist for dear life, even as he laughed out loud in delight.

"Hey lady!" Solo called out, catching sight of a smiling Sister Helen who was making her way towards him and the orphans. "Can ya help me out here? I can't move!"

"Of course I can," that musically whimsical voice that only this woman possessed flowed from her mouth, even as she giggled good naturally at Solo's plight. "Children? Come along now, it's almost time for dinner and you all need to wash up."

Several "awws" answered her but she didn't look the least bit put off. Instead, her sweet smile continued to grow as she got within arms' length of Solo, the top of her head barely reaching the blond's chin. With gentle hands, she pried off one of the orphans from his perch on Solo's arm, her grip firm on the squirming body as she set the child down, her hand patting the small back, urging the child to go clean up with the boy did so at a trudging pace.

Thankful that one of his limbs was free, Solo effortlessly began to pry off the others, Sister Helen coming in once and a while to help prevent Solo from removing an orphan too harshly. However, Duo noticed how gently Solo was moving as he freed himself and wondered about it. The only time he had even seen Solo act like that was with him and only him and he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. He successfully hid a glare that would have been aimed at his rival in all things but was shaken out of his thoughts as that lovely, lovely voice spoke to him again.

"Duo? Would you like to get something to eat as well?" Sister Helen asked him, her violet eyes looking down at him with fondness. Oh, how he could just be in this position forever, he would die a happy man. Sadly, she did ask him a question and he had to answer it or it would be just rude. At least, that was what she taught him anyway.

"Yes, Sister, I would like that," he answered with a bright smile on his lips.

Sister Helen held out her hand to him and like the child he mentally was, he took it and got off his bench, walking side by side with the nun as they made their way towards the dining hall.

"Can you read me a story tonight?" Duo asked, his violet eyes looking straight at the nun with childish innocence.

"Of course, Duo," Sister Helen answered him. "As soon as I tuck the others into bed, I'll tell you the story about…"

---

Watching the sight, Solo shook his head in slight exasperation. The way Duo was acting with that nun, he was like a child! Then again, he mused, this was the Kid side of Duo and not the Reaper side. Kid Duo was literally just that, a kid. Sure, his body was that of a fifteen year old but that was the thing with having multiple personalities.

Duo hadn't the choice; his personality had split into half during those sessions on the "butcher's block" so that he could cope with what had been done to him. He knew that Reaper Duo had done his best to protect Kid Duo from it but perhaps he had done too good of a job.

Or maybe he was getting jealous? Ever since they had first arrived here, Duo had been trailing after that nun and the priest like a little puppy, looking for the loving support that he craved so desperately. Before, he had depended solely on Solo and no one else, other than Reaper. Solo liked that feeling, the feeling when a person put their absolute trust in you, believing that you would never do anything to betray that trust…he had liked it, no, enjoyed it, loved being the sole defender who would take on all the threats and blows the world would throw at Duo. He could take it too, he knew that.

But now…now it was different. Now Duo was getting into God.

Ugh.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Ah, just what he needed now. Trowa was adding his two-cents into his thoughts. "What would you know?" he spat back, folding his arms over his chest but not turning around to where he knew Trowa was standing.

"You look like you want to tear the Sister apart with your bare hands," Trowa jested, coming up to the blond's side. "I know you could do that but try and refrain from that course of action. I would think Sister Helen would like being in one piece."

"What do ya take me for, some kinda monster?" Solo snorted. "I wouldn't be able ta hurt her. She's too…sweet for that. It'd be like hurtin' a kitten."

"Jealous that Duo's hogging up all of her attention?" Trowa suggested, his visible emerald eye gleaming with mirth.

"It's not that," Solo answered but choosing not to elaborate.

"Or maybe you're jealous because Duo's focused on her and not you," Trowa mused. Eyeing the blond, he asked, "Is there something about yourself that you're not telling me…?"

"I ain't queer," Solo snapped, tightening his arms.

"I wasn't suggesting that," Trowa replied but anybody who was listening knew that was a blatant lie. "Maybe it's a sibling thing. You the older brother and Duo the younger. Maybe you're afraid that Duo is going to grow up and leave you?"

"He wouldn't be da first," Solo muttered.

"I don't think you should be worried about that," Trowa told him. "If you decided to leave tomorrow, I'm sure that Duo will be right on your heels."

"If you say so," Solo groused. Snapping his eyes to the side, he noticed that the guy from the church was looking at him. His eyes narrowed. What was that guy's deal? Why was he looking at him and Duo all the time? This was something that he made a mental note to figure out before going to bed that night. Enough was enough already!

But first, he needed to go and stuff his gullet first.

---

Duo snuggled under his covers, his eyes watching Sister Helen adoringly as she finished up telling him a bedtime story, a story that he had forgotten what it was about since he was too distracted by Sister Helen's lulling voice.

He was too far gone, even as his eyelids grew heavy, but he was still aware of the nun's soft lips pecking him on the forehead gently as her melodic voice wished him a good night. As he drifted off into slumber, the Sister's kind voice kept echoing inside of his head, soothing away any nightmare that might try to attack him in his sleep.

Beyond the now closed door, a tune played out in the hallway, a song that was all too familiar to certain ears…

---

"Something troubling you my son?"

Solo jerked his head up and whipped around in his pew to discover the sight of the large Father Maxwell. Startled was too weak a word to describe what the blond was feeling; he hadn't expected someone as big as this priest to be able to sneak up on someone like him. Hell, his internal alarms hadn't even gone off and that in and of itself was worrisome.

When he made no move or attempt to answer the priest's question, the elder man smiled kindly at him and moved around the pew, taking a seat next to the young teen. "Your mind seems preoccupied this night," Father Maxwell commented. "Is it a common occurrence?"

Solo shook his head in the negative. Already his face was creasing into a frown as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He didn't like this, this feeling of being…dirty as he sat next to a man that was pure compared to him. Yeah, he was dirty; how many times had he broken any of those Commandments, in particular that one about "Thou shall not kill?" One too many times than he cared to count.

"What is troubling you?" the Father asked pleasantly. "Perhaps I might be able to take some of the burden off of your shoulders."

"An' do what with it?" Solo snorted, speaking for the first time. "Give it ta God?"

"Not at all," Father Maxwell replied, not in the least offended by the comment. It wasn't the worst he had ever heard before and one needed to grow a thick skin so that they didn't rush to rashly defend their faith.

"Then why are ya botherin'?" Solo snarked.

"I'm not going out of my way for this," the Father answered. "It is my calling, to help others with whatever problems they have, be it the physical kind, the emotional, or even the spiritual."

Solo snorted rudely. "Yeah, well, my problems ain't da kind that can be solved by prayin'. 'Sides, you couldn't do anything 'bout them even if ya wanted ta."

"What makes you think that?" Father Maxwell asked in reply. "How are your problems so great that I can not help you with them? Could it be that you wish to deal with them yourself? Or are your troubles that terrible?"

"You have no idea," Solo said, smirking slightly to himself.

"Well surely there must be something I can do to help you," the priest continued. "Think about it; not all your problems can be as massive as you think they are."

Images of Duo fawning over the nun and even this man flashed through the blond's head but he shoved those away. Why would this old man even want to hear about something like that? Briefly, he entertained the thought of maybe using the guy to hold on to Ms. Eyebrows but put it aside with only a mental note that said he would think about it later. Hmm, well what about this?

"I've noticed this other guy around, starin' at me," he finally said. "He's hangin' around in this place somewhere and he's annoyin' me already."

"Other man?" Father Maxwell repeated, puzzled, a sudden flash of recognition sparking in his eyes. "Oh, you're probably talking about my brother."

"Huh?" was Solo's eloquent reply as he stared at the man. "Your…brother?"

"Sister Helen and I are not the only ones who inhabit this church, along with the orphanage," Father Maxwell said, his eyes twinkling. "My brother, James, came here a few years ago, searching for sanctuary. As a man of God, I couldn't refuse and besides, he is my brother. He was very troubled about something and he's only dropped little bits of what demons were haunting him. Ever since then, he has been searching for forgiveness, for what, he has never fully explained."

"And how does that answer why he's been staring at me?" Solo stated bluntly. "What is he? A pedo?"

"Excuse me?" Father Maxwell said, blinking.

"Ya know, a pedophile."

"Oh course he isn't," the priest laughed. "But I will convey your annoyance to him and maybe get him to stop."

Blinking at this, Solo was stunned. This guy was actually gonna do that? But why would he? He wasn't going to get anything out of it, so why? It made no sense to him; he had lived on the unforgiving streets for as long as he could remember, not counting his time spent as a living guinea pig. Everybody had a motive to do something, a selfish motive.

"What's in it for you?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing.

"Nothing," the priest answered, smiling kindly at him.

"So why are ya gonna do that?"

"Because it will help you, at least on some level, and I want to. Do you not want me to help you?"

"It ain't like that," Solo said, waiving the matter away. "You do whatever ya want. I think I'm gonna go hit da hay."

"Before you go, I want you to remember something," Father Maxwell said, stopping the blond from leaving. "No man is an island. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Not everybody is out to stab you in your back."

"Thanks…I think," Solo said, confused about where such words were coming from. Why did this guy say that and what prompted him to do it?

Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those peepers?

Solo felt his blood run cold and it wasn't from what that priest said. No, this was something else, something more deadly.

Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those eyes?

"Is something else the matter?" Father Maxwell asked pleasantly.

"Is that…" he started, his voice failing him.

"Jeepers Creepers by Frank Sinatra? It's James' favorite song," Father Maxwell answered, unaware of the danger that not only he but everyone in the nearby vicinity was in.

"Shit!" Solo swore as he spun on his heels and ran out of the church, much to the priest's surprise, the man getting up and following after, heading towards the room that the blond shared with his braided partner-in-crime.

Jeepers creepers, where'd you get those peepers?

Oh those weepers, how they hypnotize

He had just turned down into the correct hallway just as the door to their room exploded into tiny splinters by an unseen force, a bright crimson light flaring out through the broken doorway.

"What on earth…?" Father Maxwell gasped, staring at the unexpected violence.

Stepping forth into the hallway was the one and only thing that had ever scared Solo shitless. It was Duo, the cold blooded, serial killer, machine Duo to be precise, his blank facial expression the one thing that confirmed it as he caught sight of the blond and the priest.

Where'd you get those eyes?

"Oh fuck," Solo said as he slowly began backing away, pushing the priest behind him before mentally saying fuck it and shouting out, "RUN!" Father Maxwell didn't even question the order but the two of them didn't get very far as both ran into a solid wall of time. The next thing the blond knew, both of them were encased in time, frozen in their prone, standing positions. Solo was glad that the priest wasn't able to look behind them as he, Solo, was facing the emotionless Duo as he approached them, terror ripping his insides apart with every step that was taken closer to them.

Catching movement, Solo snapped his eyes up and saw to his horror that the nun was coming onto the scene, her every movement radiating confusion. "Duo?" she said aloud, the braided killing machine stopping in his tracks and slowly turning around to face her.

Solo had to give the gal props, she did not panic like a typical girl would but she did gasp out in fright when Duo's crimson eyes landed on her, making her his new target. He slowly came upon her like a prowling cat, each of his footsteps deliberate and it seemed like to Solo that the Sister couldn't move. Duo must've froze her too…

"Duo?" Sister Helen managed to speak, much to Solo's astonishment, "what's wrong? What happened to you?"

As soon as the voice stopped, Solo felt something, something that was different and it was changing with every step that Duo was taking. His mind came to quick realization when he found himself about to move just a tiny bit that Duo's hold on him and the Father was weakening. This was his chance to break free and take advantage of Duo's inattention so that he could stop this all before it became tragic.

"Duo? You can talk to me," Helen said, looking pleadingly at the boy. "Tell me what's wrong, please…"

Using all the strength in his enhanced body, Solo strained against his restraints until he felt it shatter and release him. He didn't stop to marvel at this but instead shot off at Duo, crossing the distance in only a couple of seconds. Grabbing the braided one by his shoulder, he spun him around and backhanded him, holding back his awesome strength since he didn't want to accidentally decapitate his one and only friend.

Duo remained stocked still for what seemed like hours but was only about a minute before his eyes began blinking and Solo could see, much to his relief, that he was coming back.

And then the mouth made its appearance.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Reaper Duo demanded before degrading into a spew of swear words and curses, a few of which Solo was sure he had never heard before and a couple of which he had to admit were pretty original. Solo could see above Duo's head the look that Sister Helen was casting at Duo's back and he had to stifle whatever laughter that was threatening to bubble out of his mouth. She had only seen the innocent side of Duo before, not this foul-mouthed version of him who was even teaching her new words as he spoke.

"SILENCE!" a strong voice thundered and Duo's tirade stopped immediately as he blinked owlishly. Solo didn't want to admit but he was startled by that unexpected order. Slowly, he peeked around and saw, much to his surprise and ire, Father Maxwell, the man looking frazzled but otherwise not the worse for wear. Letting a small, relieved smile form on his lips, he said, "I think that's enough swearing in this House of God this day, child."

"Son of a bitch," Duo swore under his breath as he remembered where he was exactly, Solo wincing as he heard the swear and hoping, for some reason, that it hadn't been heard.

It was heard but Father Maxwell didn't reprimand him, instead chuckling at it. "Have it all out of your system, my son?" he asked goodheartedly.

"Sorry," Duo muttered, his crimson eyes looking away from anything other than the large priest.

"Mayhap I am not the only one you should be apologizing to," Father Maxwell said.

His brow furrowing in confusion, he looked up at the priest questioning only to receive a gesture to turn around. Doing so, his crimson eyes widened to whole new proportions not just in shock but in horror as well. "Oh God!" he practically sobbed out as he fell to his knees, looking like a lost child.

It was a look that Sister Helen was all too familiar with and her mind snapped back into its maternal customs as she moved towards the boy, taking him into her arms like a mother would and began to rock soothingly, forestalling the hysterics that were sure to come. Solo, feeling a bit out of place, rubbed the back of his head as he backed away.

"Ssh, Duo, sssshhhh, it's okay, I'm okay, I'm not hurt in anyway, it's okay," Sister Helen soothed, rubbing Duo's back.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it, I'm so sorry," Duo gasped out, his voice revealing how close he was to actual tears. Solo was amazed by that; there was no time in his memory that he ever recalled Duo, both Duos to be exact, ever shed a tear and now here was Reaper, the more aggressive one, on the verge of doing such a thing. Yet he did nothing; he knew not how to handle such a situation and felt it best to leave it to an expert.

"It's all right, no one was hurt," Helen continued to murmur to the boy.

"It's not!" Duo nearly wailed. "I can't control it! Next time, next time I might…might…" At this point, he nearly did dissolve into tears but he made some strange huffing sounds, as if trying to keep it all in.

"What?" Father Maxwell spoke, his voice soft. "What might you do?"

"Kill…" Duo whispered into the air, silence deadening all who heard it.

Yet Sister Helen did not hesitate for a second as she continued to comfort him. "You wouldn't," she told him, "I know you wouldn't…"

"I would," Duo said hoarsely. "It's a conditioned response. Whenever I hear that song…those words in that order, it takes me over and I kill…"

"He didn't…"

This was a new voice, one that hadn't been apart of this drama. All the participants snapped their heads up to find the interloper and Solo found it to be the guy who had been staring at him, the person that Father Maxwell had called his brother. However, before Solo could even move to try and corner the guy, Duo had shot out from his spot, leaving Sister Helen holding nothing but air. With a physical strength that he wouldn't have credited to the other, Duo had grabbed the man by the front of his garments and had swung him into a wall.

"YOU!" Duo bellowed, a furious rage in his voice that Solo had never heard before. Duo looked as if he was about to tear the poor guy apart but then began blinking confusedly before tightening his grip and demanding, "Who are you?!"

"Duo," Father Maxwell said sternly, "put him down."

"Yeah, I'm da one that's suppose ta do that," Solo added.

Looking back at the two, Duo let go of the man and backed away but his crimson eyes returned to keep an eye on the man with a suspicious stare. Through it all, the man in question, James, had remained unruffled and had calmly accepted it all.

"You probably have some questions you'd like to be answered," he said, as if nothing that had just occurred happened. "If you'll collect the other one, I will answer all and more, if you wish it."

Frowning, Solo demanded, "What da hell are you talkin' about?"

"The reason as to why you've been given special abilities," the man replied without hesitation. "In fact, I can tell you all there is to know about Project Maxwell and what it has to do with all of you."