If you recognise it… I don't own it.
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Gundam Wing & Avengers – Startish
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"Agent Romanov," Quatre's clear and calm voice held just the edge of a threat in it, "Lower your weapon… All of you, lower your weapons."
Heads turned to see Quatre. He was standing just inside the room. But his very appearance made the Avengers' blood run cold and their hearts stop.
Kneeling in front of Quatre, in what looked to be a painful hold, was Tony Stark. Quatre also held a gun to the back of Tony's head. The threat was very real and very clear.
There was danger in Quatre's eyes. The open, bright blue eyes had become hard sapphires.
"Don't even try it, Agent Barton." Quatre carried on, "I can kill him, before you have time to properly aim. You don't want Mister Stark injured do you?"
"Jarvis," Bruce called out, "Protocol Magnificent Seven."
"Jarvis is down." Tony shook his head, "I don't know how. I was on my way to fix him when…"
"Doctor Banner," Quatre interrupted, "I would advise keeping the Other Guy under wraps. In these close quarters who knows who might get injured."
Slowly the team lowered their weapons. Leaving only the two boys still armed.
"Oh-Two," Quatre threw a glance at the braided boy, "Status."
"Mission ready, Oh-Four." The boy replied immediately, a tiny, almost imperceptible slur to his words.
"Mission status, Oh-Two." Quatre snapped out.
"In progress, Oh-Four." The boy responded.
"Mission Commander, Oh-Two?" Quatre asked.
"External." The boy shrugged slightly.
"Assigned mission objectives." Quatre demanded.
Natasha, Clint and Steve exchanged looks at that. It wasn't sensible for the boys to discuss mission plans in front of them. However they weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Anything they learned could potentially be useful.
"Primary objective," Oh-Two had taken a deep breath, "Obtain data on Arc Reactor, in particular the blueprints and specifications."
Tony stiffened beneath Quatre's hand. The Industrialist knew what his technology could be used for and that was the primary reason why it had stayed safely in his hands.
"Secondary objective," Oh-Two continued, "Obtain blueprints and specifications for Iron-Man suits, as many versions as possible."
This time all the team stiffened, they understood the implications.
"Tertiary objective," Oh-Two was seemingly oblivious to their presence by this point, "Obtain a working Arc Reactor from the many stashed around the Avengers' Tower. Fourth objective, obtain DNA sample from Captain America, AKA, Steve Rodgers. Fifth objective, obtain DNA sample from the Hulk, AKA Bruce Banner. Sixth objective, obtain DNA sample from Thor. Seventh objective, confirm presence of Oh-Four. Eighth objective, identify security around Oh-Four. Ninth objective, liberate Oh-Four. If at any point there is a risk of discovery disengage and return to pick-up point. Objectives to be achieved in order of statement, which is also order of importance."
The Avengers exchanged long looks. It was clear that the boy was a threat, given that his superiors had believed him capable of achieving the list of objectives. The more worrying part was that it appeared he had fallen at task nine. That meant security was badly breached.
"Personal objectives, Oh-Two." Quatre smiled gently as he asked, a little of the softness that the Avengers were more used to seeping through his stone face.
"Liberate Oh-Four and get him back to Oh-Three asap." Oh-Two was blunt, "He needs you Cattie. I can't help him. He needs you."
The coldness and warrior-like tones of the braided boy broke as he spoke. He was sounding more and more like a sleepy child.
"Status of Mission objectives." Quatre pressed.
"Only one begun." Oh-Two shrugged, "Liberating Oh-Four."
"Last sleep period of more than two hours?" Quatre asked.
"Umm… Before we came here?" Oh-Two replied, "This dimension. World. Whatever it is."
"Last time you had a meal that consisted of less than fifty percent caffeine and-or nutrient bars?" Quatre queried.
"Umm… Same time?" Oh-Two seemed embarrassed.
"Oh-Two," Quatre's voice was soft, "Come here."
With a strange sort of cat like grace, Oh-Two made his way over to Quatre. Finally coming to a halt next to the blond boy.
Much to the Avengers' surprise, Quatre instantly released Tony, who scrambled away from the two boys. Quatre pulled Oh-Two into a hug and sank down to the floor, so that he was cradling the braided boy.
Both guns were kicked towards the Avengers.
"It's okay, Duo," Quatre murmured, "I'm here. You're safe. Stand down. You're safe. I'm here. Let go."
"Tro needs you." Oh-Two slurred sleepily, "Fei can't do it alone. And they won't let Hee near them. Tro needs you, Cattie."
"And I promise you," Quatre returned, "We'll get them back. But first you need to rest. Sleep. I'm here. You're safe."
Quatre's hands moved gently, stroking the other boy's back and braid; half-humming, half-singing a lullaby. His motions were rocking, as he drew a veil of sleep over his friend.
The Avengers didn't move towards the pair; however the two spies had them covered with weapons.
"Mister Stark," Quatre looked up, "I apologize for my treatment of you, however I believed it was the fastest way to resolve the situation without serious injury. If you could direct me to a room where my friend may sleep I will attempt to answer the questions I know you have."
"What about Jarvis?" Tony asked.
"Knowing Duo as I do," Quatre smiled, "Jarvis is simply offline. As soon as he's coherent enough, I'll have Duo fix it."
"You sure he can?" Bruce frowned, "Its Stark technology. Some of the most advanced in the world."
"Duo never breaks anything he can't fix." Quatre shrugged, "Except for when he blows it up. Plus Duo loves technology. He thinks it's a crime to damage incredible pieces of technology. And even I can tell Jarvis is just that."
"This way," Tony pointed, "You'll understand if we put him in a locked room."
"Of course," Quatre nodded, "But Duo's harmless."
"He broke in here," Clint raised an eyebrow, "With a gun. Disabled or possibly destroyed Jarvis. Was sent with the aim of getting potentially dangerous technology, which he could clearly achieve. The only reason we caught him was that I was going through the vents at the same time. Pure chance."
"Okay," Quatre shrugged, "Mostly Harmless."
Bruce tried to smother a snort. But Quatre caught it and looked up, grinning broadly at him.
"You're a Hitchhiker?" Quatre asked.
"Of course." Bruce nodded, "Didn't picture you as one though."
"Duo got me into it." Quatre smiled, "The book is superior to the film and tv series, but the radio series is the original and the best."
"Agreed." Bruce laughed.
"This way," Tony's voice was cold, "I want him locked up. And I want answers."
Quatre rose to his feet strangely graceful, despite the sleeping figure in his arms. He moved seemingly oblivious to the weapons pointed at his back. Though everyone there knew that he was aware of them. Tony led the strange procession, Quatre behind him and everyone else behind him.
The room was little more than a bare room. Clearly intended to be a panic room at some point in time. There were no electronic devices beyond the light and the iris-scanner to open the door.
Once the door was shut, Tony knew that only Pepper, himself, Rhodney or Happy could open it. Jarvis could open it, but whoever was inside the room could deactivate that right. It was meant to be a safe place for Pepper, in case of a disaster and had every protection around it that Tony had been able to conceive.
Pepper had taken one look at it and asked where the bathroom was, where the food and water was. Tony had missed the human essentials in his quest to make Pepper safe. He had ended up building an entirely new panic room for her with all the necessary amenities.
So it would do very well as a cell.
Quatre was then led to the main living room, where he was quickly cuffed to a metal chair by both wrists.
"So how did you do it?" Tony asked first.
"Do what?" Quatre raised an eyebrow.
"Fool the Black Widow." Tony retorted, "She's the best in the business. And she never saw a lie."
"That's because I never lied." Quatre countered.
"You are not a Pacifist CEO." Natasha snapped, "You handled that gun like an expert."
"I am a CEO," Quatre replied calmly, "Of a multi-billion company. I am from a family of pacifists. To take up a weapon I would have to disinherit myself. I did and I did."
"You disinherited yourself?" Steve blinked in surprise, "Why?"
"Because my family has always believed that pacifism is the only way to peace." Quatre said, "And I found out that sometimes you have to fight for what you want. If you seek peace, prepare for war. I decided that if I wanted peace, I had to earn it. I fought for it. I knew that I was disinheriting myself. And I didn't care. I would rather die on the battlefield fighting for something that I believe in, than going through my life without living a life that I could feel proud about. I believe in the idea of pacifism. But accept that it won't happen until everyone is ready to lay down arms, else people will take advantage of the pacifists."
"Then how did you gain control of the company?" Tony frowned.
"My father forgave me." Quatre shrugged, "Either that or he forgot to change his will."
"Who is the boy?" Clint demanded, "Oh-Two?"
"His name is Duo Maxwell," Quatre replied, "He is my friend. My family-by-choice. My brother-by-combat. For he today that sheds his blood with me."
"Shall be my brother." Steve finished the quote, "You were both soldiers. You fought together."
"Fought and nearly died," Quatre smiled, "But we were never soldiers, Captain. We were terrorists."
"Terrorists?" Bruce and Tony spat out together.
"I doubt that." Natasha fired back, "You do not have the bearing of one."
"Some people would dispute the title," Quatre locked eyes with her, "They would call us Freedom Fighters. Revolutionaries. But we would always disagree. We were sent to Earth, with the same orders. Don't worry about the Colonies. Destroy the Enemy, before they kill you. We were also told that no-one was to see a Gundam and live. We mostly kept that promise for the first few months of the War. We weren't sent to free the Colonies from the oppression of the Alliance. We were sent to begat fear. To create terror. Is that not the definition of Terrorist?"
"Yes." Clint was calm, "And did you achieve your goal?"
"We were feared." Quatre nodded, "For a while. After Freedom and Peace were negotiated we stood down. Destroyed our weapons. Returned to normal lives."
"How many of you were there?" Natasha demanded.
"Five." Quatre replied, "Oh-One, Duo, Oh-Three, myself and Oh-Five."
"Names." Natasha snapped.
"No." Quatre countered, "You get Duo's because he's here and he would tell it to you himself. The others will wait."
"Who gave Duo his orders?" Clint questioned, "Oh-One?"
"No." Quatre shook his head, "Duo said it was external. That means it wasn't one of us, one of our handlers or anyone we would usually take orders from, or even suggestions from. That Duo was outwardly following those orders, says that they were holding something over him. Probably the safety of the others."
"Why send him?" Natasha pressed.
"Because Duo wears his heart on his sleeve." Quatre replied quickly, "You harm one of the others in front of him and he'll swear and curse and yell at you. Same for me. Same for anyone he cares for. The others? They're more closed off. Reserved. They hide their emotions. Hurt someone they care for in front of them, and they won't bat an eyelid. But they will get their revenge and their Justice when they are in a position to. Duo's more vulnerable to manipulation that way. Always has been. Always will be."
"How would the others react to a similar threat?" Steve asked.
"Oh-One would kill himself." Quatre was calm.
"You can't be certain about that." Clint dismissed the claim.
"Yes, I can." Quatre retorted, "Our enemy once threatened to destroy a Colony if we did not surrender to them. Oh-One blew himself up instead. It was a miracle he survived."
"Why you?" Steve frowned, "Why were you chosen?"
"Because I had my eyes opened. Because I realized that I wasn't replaceable. Because I learned to have some pride in myself. Because I had a kind heart and wouldn't do what the original mission required." Quatre shrugged.
"And what was the original mission?" Clint demanded, "I fail to see how being a terrorist could be any better any alternative."
"The original Operation Meteor plan," Quatre spoke clearly, "Was to drop a Colony on Earth."
"How big are these Colonies?" Tony got his question in before anyone else.
"The size of a small city." Quatre replied instantly.
"That would kill half the population of Earth," Tony stared, "And send the planet into an Ice Age. What were they thinking?"
"I don't think they were." Quatre stated, "The second version involved massacres. Of civilians. The final plan was for strategic attacks on key military installations."
"They wouldn't," Steve breathed, "Civilians?"
"It would be no less than they had done to us." Quatre returned, "There once was an Orphanage. Maxwell's Church and Orphanage. It housed mainly street kids. Those with no known parents and often no official documents. It was poor. And had very few staff. Only Father Maxwell and Sister Helen. A small group of Rebels on the run from the Alliance decided to use the Orphanage as a shelter. They probably numbered less than ten. All adults. The children in the Orphanage were eight and under, approximately. The Rebels believed that the Alliance wouldn't attack the Orphanage. They were wrong."
"What happened?" Bruce asked softly.
"They attacked." Quatre shrugged, "Two hundred and forty five people died that day. It's called the Maxwell Massacre to this day. There was only one survivor."
"Duo." Tony stated, "How did he survive?"
"By being Duo." Quatre smiled, "He simply wasn't there. But he came back, just in time to watch Sister Helen die. The closest thing he remembers to a mother. That's why Duo fights. So that there will be no more children like him. No more children old before their time. No more street kids. No more massacres."
"It must have been strange for the two of you, training together." Bruce remarked, "Coming from such different backgrounds."
"There were five scientists," Quatre replied, "They built five weapons. Each one of them built a different weapon, on a different Colony. They chose the Pilot from the people of their Colony. The five of us didn't know about the others, until we met, on Earth. By then, we all knew we had a common link. We were all Pilots. All fighting for the same thing."
"What sort of weapon?" Tony asked, "What? Former Merchant of Death here!"
"They were called Gundams," Quatre stated, "Named after the metal they were primarily made of, Gundanium. I suppose the best description would be Iron-Man Armour, only nearly fifty five feet tall. Mine was called Sandrock."
"What weaponry did it utilise?" Tony pressed.
"Depended upon the model." Quatre shrugged, "Each one of the five was different."
"Just how," Clint drawled slightly, "Does a pampered prince learn about deprivation and fighting?"
"I had my eyes opened," Quatre retorted, "I was an angry person back then. I thought my father didn't care for me. So I told myself that I didn't care for him. I was resentful. And I thought of myself as replaceable. I didn't care about anyone or anything. I was filled with contempt. Even as I was kidnapped, I simply took a nap."
"And being kidnapped, you saw how other people were treated," Natasha sighed, "You swore to stop people like your kidnappers from hurting other people ever again."
"No," Quatre shook his head smiling, "They weren't trying to hurt anyone. There was a resource satellite. One staffed mainly by Alliance political prisoners and people who were snatched off the street. None of them were paid and none of them could leave. The Maganac Corps wanted to return the prisoners to their families. I was taken to get the money needed. I didn't think my father would. But he did. I didn't understand why. I got into my standard argument with my father, in front of everyone."
"Standard argument?" Bruce asked.
"I was born from a test-tube." Quatre shrugged.
"IVF." Clint retorted, "Common enough."
"No." Quatre laughed, "I wasn't an IVF baby. I never encountered another human being until the day I was born. I was a batch of organic compounds, grown by my father to create a tool. At least that was how I thought of myself. I loved no-one and was loved by no-one. That's what I told myself… Right up until Rashid slapped me. He told me to have pride in myself. That he was the same as me. A test-tube baby. All the Maganac Corps were. They didn't know anyone on that satellite. They had no reason to do what they did. Yet they did. Just so they could live a life they could be proud of. I watched them, because I didn't understand. Instructor H helped explain things to me. After that first slap, they never hit me again. Just left me alone."
"How did you get free?" Tony asked.
"They had a traitor amongst them." Quatre shrugged, "He turned them into the Alliance, who were more than willing to kill every single person on the satellite. So I turned him into them. He got free, tried to kill Rashid. So I took the bullet for him, but he was still injured. They needed to fight to save themselves. I offered to do so. Rashid let me do so, and gave me his goggles."
"Stockholm Syndrome." Natasha was firm, "Classic case."
"Unlikely," Quatre smiled, "It was barely even three days. And you don't understand the symbolism of Rashid giving me his goggles. In doing so he stood down as leader of the Maganac Corps. The position became mine. I didn't break in three days, but I was made their leader. They would die for me. And I for them. Also it turns out that the weapon I used to defend them isn't too dissimilar to a construction mecha. Something I had learned to use. I covered them as they escaped with the prisoners. When I found them again on Earth they were waiting for me. Took me two years."
Clint opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped when he heard a light landing. He and Natasha spun and pointed weapons on the figure.
It was Duo. He moved with cat-like grace through the Avengers. None of them touched him, they simply stared at him.
Duo approached Quatre and sank down next to Quatre. He wrapped his arms around Quatre's legs, nestled his head on Quatre's lap, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
"How…?" Bruce stared.
"Duo has always been our best escape artist." Quatre smiled, "It's my fault though. I told him he was safe, because he was with me. But I left him alone in that room. He knew I wasn't there. So he knew he wasn't safe. So he came to find me."
"The security in that room…" Tony started.
"Pointless," Quatre laughed lightly, "Duo's been breaking in and out of security systems for longer than I've known him. I have a sneaking suspicion that's how he was chosen to be the Pilot for L-2."
Quatre gently touched Duo's shoulder.
"Duo," Quatre murmured, "Mister Stark built a computer system for this building. It's called Jarvis."
"He." Duo protested sleepily, poking Quatre's leg, "He is called Jarvis."
"Alright," Quatre nodded, "He is called Jarvis. To get in here, you had to circumvent him. Mister Stark is worried that Jarvis is damaged. Can you fix him? Can you give him back?"
"Gotta be fast, Cattie," Duo slurred, "Deathsythe rises."
"Sandrock stands." Quatre finished automatically.
"Mister Stark?" Jarvis' voice came over the speakers, "I apologise for my time off-line. I hope that you have not come to any harm in this period."
"We're fine, Jarvis," Tony's voice was filled with relief, "Run a full system scan. Check for Trojan Horses, Viruses and anything else that might compromise or have compromised your systems."
"Running scan, sir." Jarvis replied.
"You weren't joking about him being a street kid," Bruce knelt down for a better look, "Were you?"
"Not one bit." Quatre replied, "You've seen street kids?"
"I've travelled quite a bit." Bruce nodded, "Lived on the very edges. Street kid packs sleep in pile. You can never tell where one kid starts and one kid stops. He needs the contact."
"Not so much these days." Quatre shrugged, "He hasn't had a street gang for a long time. He only gets like this when something unsettles him… Duo, who has the Odds? Who has the Odds?"
"Many heads." Duo slurred back, "Many heads. One body."
"I hope that made sense to you." Quatre declared, "Because it doesn't to me. However until Duo is fully awake, I won't be getting a better answer."
"Hydra." Steve snarled, "I know them. They're ruthless. And they would certainly want what Duo listed off. You're sure he's not been compromised?"
"Duo never lies." Quatre stated, "And he's not so easily broken."
"Hydra is more dangerous than you think." Steve argued.
"So am I." Quatre returned.
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Basic background to this is that the Gundam Boys have somehow travelled through time/space/dimension. Quatre was picked up by the Avengers and has up until this point been deemed as a harmless civilian. The other Gundam Boys have fallen fowl of Hydra.
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