Heero strode through the Preventer headquarters with Duo at his heels. Duo was chattering away about the latest information they'd uncovered, but Heero could barely hear him. His brain was buzzing with worry. He knew he needed to calm down and think clearly, but the whole situation had him tight with worry.

Why had she disabled her own security system?

The question drove him crazy. He couldn't think of a logical explanation. The only thing he could think of was that she had been coerced. But by who?

"Yuy! Focus up!" Duo slapped Heero on the shoulder.

Heero shook his head and looked at his friend.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Duo gave Heero a sad smile.

"I know you're worried, but like I said, we need you present. It's the only way to save her," Duo said.

"I know."

They took the elevator up to the top floor of the headquarters building. When they arrived, they stepped off into the hallway that led to Commander Une's office. The door was ajar when they approached, so Duo pushed it open, and the two of them stepped inside.

Commander Une sat at her desk, her head in one hand while her other hand scrolled through something on a table. A young woman sat perched on the edge of her desk, curling pink hair hanging around her ears.

"Mariemaia," Heero said, acknowledging the girl he'd once tried to kill.

Mariemaia hopped off the desk and walked to Heero, throwing her arms around his neck. A little startled, Heero returned the hug, then pulled away from her.

"We're so worried about Miss Relena," Mariemaia said, looking up at Heero. "You'll find her, right?"

"That's why I'm here," Heero grunted.

Commander Une had looked up from her tablet. Worry lines were etched around her eyes, and Heero noticed gray streaking her light brown hair. When had that happened? How long had he been away?

Too long, apparently.

"Heero. Duo."

Commander Une stood up and circled around the desk. Mariemaia stood beside her mother and folded her arms over her chest.

"I tried to brief Yuy on the way up here, but he was distracted," Duo said, moving into the office and plopping down in a chair.

"That's unlike you," Une commented, but Heero had no response. He just stared at her. "Anyway, we found some traffic footage from cameras near Relena's house. We were able to pick up a strange black van that didn't have license plates."

Une picked up the tablet from her desk and handed it over to Heero. He looked at the screen, seeing the black and white footage of a van. It seemed to be heading outside of the city. There were only cameras in the city center. Once anyone got outside of the city into the warehouse district, there were no cameras.

"Have we sent anyone to the warehouse district yet?" Heero asked.

"Not yet. We want to send you and Duo," Une said. Heero nodded. "On one condition."

"What?"

"You have to keep your head."

Heero glowered at Une, but he nodded his head again.

"We have gear waiting for you in the basement. Stay on the comm links. I'll be in the control room so we can communicate with you."

"Got it."

Heero and Duo left Une's office and headed to the basement. They were outfitted with Preventer tactical uniforms, guns, and other gear. They had small, discreet cameras attached to their chests so they could relay information back to the control room. Heero didn't like the addition of the cameras, but he supposed it made sense.

After donning their gear, Heero and Duo went further underground to the parking structure. A young Preventer agent handed over a set of keys to a black SUV. They climbed inside and drove out into the city.

Relena woke up again, this time because her head bounced on something hard. It became clear to her that she was in a vehicle. She opened her eyes while rubbing at the back of her head. Looking around, she realized she was in some sort of armored vehicle. There was a window into the driver compartment and a window looking out the back of the vehicle. Both had bars crisscrossing them.

She pushed herself up and found it to be much easier than before. She jumped to her feet without much effort. Standing, she looked around. Her arm was a little sore where the woman had jabbed the syringe. Relena twisted her arm and looked at the puncture. The spot where the syringe made contact with her skin glowed blue. Spreading out from the spot where veins also glowed blue. She searched her arms and legs, and even in her feet were veins that glowed blue.

"What the hell?"

She inspected her hands, also blue, turning them back and forth. She clenched her hands into fists, and a new feeling took over her. She felt strangely… powerful.

Curiosity got the better of her. She turned to the back door of the vehicle and drew her arm back and let it fly. Her fist made contact with the metal door. Reverberations sang through Relena's muscles, but she found it didn't hurt. And underneath her fist was a sizable dent in the vehicle's door. Relena retracted her arm and stood staring at the dent.

What the hell did they inject me with?

"Hey! Cut that out!"

Relena turned and saw a face peering at her through the window.

"Where are you taking me?" she demanded.

The man's lips curled up into a smirk.

"You'll find out soon enough."

Irritated, Relena punched the door again, causing the dent to cave in even more.

"I said to cut that out!"

Relena threw another punch, and this time, the door's hinges groaned.

The sound of a gunshot rang through the vehicle. Relena's shoulder jerked forward, a slight pain radiating from the spot where the bullet struck her. What remained of the bullet landed on the floor with a soft plink. Relena rubbed at her shoulder, but there was no blood, no wound. The bullet hadn't even broken the skin.

What the hell did they do?!

Relena's body swayed as the vehicle picked up speed. She looked at the man staring at her through the bars, the barrel of his gun still pointed at her. Not that it did any good, apparently.

"Hurry up! We're almost there!" the man in the window shouted to the driver. The vehicle continued to pick up speed until Relena completely lost her footing. She crashed to the floor, slumped against the door she'd dented.

The vehicle made a sharp turn, the wheels squealing on the pavement. Relena slid to one side, then back the other way as the driver regained control of the truck. The driver slammed on the brakes, and Relena flew to the front of the holding compartment. Her body dented the metal wall on impact. She slumped to the ground, stood up, and brushed herself off.

She was pain-free.

The vehicle backed up and then stopped. The driver cut the engine. Relena waited, arms folded over her chest.