The Tomorrow We Fight For
A Gundam Wing/Tomorrow People crossover
Part 1
By Marika
�Would someone please explain to me what we�re doing here out in the middle of nowhere?� Duo demanded over the group�s encoded transmission. � �I mean, we�ve done some hanging out in some pretty remote places, but there was always a base or a set of railroad tracks or something. This is really the middle of nowhere.�
�Their scientists have developed some sort of machine that may be capable of opening up portals between our world and others,� Quatre said calmly over the speaker. Apparently his briefing had included information not available to the others. � �But they don�t know if it will work, or just create a huge explosion,� there was disapproval in his voice. � �So they brought it out here to test it.�
�So if it does blow up, it�ll just take them out. And us too, now. This was a great idea,� Duo remarked sarcastically.
����������� �02, shut up,� Heero said over the comm. He was providing a visual feed of the clearing where the Ozzies were going to hold their experiment. The rest of them were hiding in the forest around the clearing, far enough back that they couldn�t be seen, but that also meant that they couldn�t see anything. � Heero had solved the problem by hovering nearly a thousand feet above the ground, so that Wing was merely a black spot in the sky to those looking from below. But they were not as invisible to him � he had a powerful camera aimed precisely at the clearing, and was sending that image to the two Gundams hiding in the forest.
�How did I get lucky enough to be sent on this mission?� Duo muttered to himself, momentarily shutting off the comm. so that Heero wouldn�t yell at him again. Trowa and Wufei had remained back at one of the safe-houses, and right now Duo would have given a lot to switch places with either one of them. Even being stuck in the house with justice-is-my-life Wufei would have been preferable to sitting here in Deathscythe for close to twelve hours because the stupid convoy got stuck in a mud hole or something. � Duo had almost been ready to help them out himself, just so they could get to the test site so he could destroy it.
He watched as the Ozzies unloaded a large machine from the back of a truck and set it on the ground. The truck drove a few feet away, and the soldiers backed up a couple of feet, leaving only a couple of men in lab coats standing next to the machine. �
�Finally,� Duo muttered, automatically doing a quick check of Deathscythe�s systems, to make sure everything was as ready as it had been when he settled down here eight hours ago. It was. � Now maybe they could get this stupid mission finished with and he could go get some sleep in an actual bed.
�Adam, this is getting ridiculous,� Megabyte complained as he stared at the chess board in front of him. �Why do I let you talk me into playing this stupid game?�
�Because it�s fun and challenging,� Adam replied, a small smile playing around the corners of his lips. �Checkmate.�
Megabyte groaned, and Ami smiled, looking up from the book she was reading. � �I think you�re just a glutton for punishment. You�d think after all this time you�d learn not to play him. He always wins.�
�Yeah, but think how cool it would be if I ever won,� Megabyte replied, his tone sarcastic. �I think everyone will just faint from shock. Including me.�
�Can you keep it down over there?� Jade complained from where she was lying on the floor, looking at some books. �My mum only let me come out here because I promised I�d get my homework done. � I can�t concentrate with all that noise.�
�Well, maybe you should have finished your homework before you came out here then,� Megabyte shot back.
�Megabyte, take it easy. Come on, we�ll go to the surface, the sunsets here are great,� Adam said, then there was a bright flash of light and a loud crackling sound as he vanished. �
Megabyte looked at Jade, weighing the fun of continuing to tease her against the trouble he�d get in with Ami and Adam, and regretfully decided that it wasn�t worth it. Especially since he knew that Jade�s mother really would follow up on her threat if Jade didn�t finish her homework, and it wasn�t as much fun to tease Jade unless she was here, where he could see her expression.
Sighing in disappointment, he teleported to the surface to join Adam. � �Here� was a small island somewhere in the south Pacific, or, more accurately, the spaceship that was halfway buried in the sand of the island. When he appeared on the sandy beach, Adam was already walking in the opposite direction, his eyes fixed on the sunset across the ocean. � Megabyte ran a few steps to catch up with him.
�Cool, huh?� For once Adam�s Australian accent wasn�t as apparent in his speech. Of course, he didn�t usually use the word �cool�, either. � He�s been hanging out with me too much, Megabyte thought, amused.
�What? � I�m not allowed to talk like an American every now and then?� Adam responded directly to his thought with a grin.
:Stop looking in my head,: he growled telepathically, and Adam laughed. �
Megabyte looked at the distant sunset. It was fairly spectacular, he had to admit. You couldn�t see sunsets like this back in Vermont, or any place that was well populated. It was only when you could see forever like this that you could really get a good look at the sunset. � He should know � ever since he�d become a Tomorrow Person, he�d traveled all over the world on a fairly regular basis. Why not? � When Paris or Hawaii or any other place was just a thought away, why wouldn�t you visit those places whenever you had a few free minutes?
Suddenly he felt a strange buzzing in the back of his head and frowned. � He turned to look at Adam, who had one hand pressed up against his forehead, his face creased in pain. � Suddenly his eyes opened wide, and then he disappeared in a burst of light. Megabyte stared blankly at the spot his friend had just occupied. � So he�d teleported. � Nothing special about that � they all did it several times a day. But he was under the impression that this time it hadn�t been Adam�s idea.
That�s impossible. It has to be his idea. � Who�s idea would it be? � It can�t� his thought was cut off as the buzzing suddenly intensified and he also teleported. � Or maybe it can�
Quatre watched in fascination as little electric sparks began to run across the top of the machine, whatever it was. He wondered whether or not it was supposed to do that. � He also was quite impressed by the level of resolution that they were getting, considering the distances involved and difficulties involved with holding a camera that steady. The electrical sparks got larger, jumping into the air around the machine. � They seemed to be concentrating on four different points in the air, for some reason. He stared as the electric sparks abandoned the machine entirely and focused in on those four points.
He checked the Oz soldiers � the soldiers themselves were watching the electrical anomaly with no small amount of suspicion and fear, but the scientists didn�t seem upset, so maybe this was supposed to happen. � He returned his attention to the machine and the sparks. � Their orders were clear � if it worked, they were supposed to steal the machine, if it didn�t work and didn�t blow itself up, they were supposed to finish the job. Right now all it was doing was creating a very interesting light show, but nothing more.
That assumption was suddenly dashed when the light at the four points increased in a blinding flash. When the flash cleared, there were four kids standing in the center of the clearing, where the electrical disturbances had been before.
It was hard to say who was more surprised: the soldiers, the scientists, the Gundam pilots� or the kids themselves. Quatre saw surprise on all of their faces before the expression gave way to naked fear as the four of them drew closer together. � Kids. It was weird that he was thinking of them that way, since only one of them was actually younger than he was � the blond girl � and two of them were definitely older. The black girl looked like she was about eighteen, and the blond boy was a year or two older than that. � The red-haired kid looked like he was about the same age � physically � as the Gundam pilots, but whereas all of the Gundam pilots had a certain hardness to them, darkness in their eyes, all of these kids looked pathetically innocent, with clear eyes that spoke worlds to the universe at large. Innocence personified. The words ran through his head before he even realized what was going on. �
Then he saw the oldest boy grab the arm of the youngest girl and give the younger boy a shove. As one, all four of the kids started running. Quatre turned on his comm. �New mission parameters. � We�ve got to get those kids. � We can�t let Oz catch them, they might actually be from another world. Capture, not kill. Understood?�
�Nimou ryoukai,� Heero grunted.
�01, stay where you are, we need the visual feed,� Quatre told him as he heard Duo cursing in the background. Quatre knew exactly what he was talking about. Gundams were good at a large number of things, but capturing individual people was not one of them. It was exceedingly difficult to capture a person without doing them serious damage in a suit this size, but they were going to have to manage. � Letting Oz capture them was not an option, and the fact that they�d been pulled from wherever they�d come from was not a good enough reason to kill them.
He checked the video feed. If his interpretation of this was correct, they were headed straight for him, but first they had to get beyond a half-dozen Oz soldiers. � As he watched, the soldiers moved to cut them off�
The four kids stumbled to a stop, then the oldest boy gave his companions a shove and put himself between them and the soldiers who were chasing him. � As his three companions disappeared into the woods, moving directly towards Quatre, the older boy suddenly threw himself at the soldiers. Startled by his sudden action, the soldiers actually let him break through their line. � He dodged past the scientists and their machine and took off for the woods on the opposite side of the clearing. �
�02, you have one of them coming towards you,� Quatre said. � �I�ve got the other three. � 01, wait for us to catch them, then move in and secure the machine.�
�Hai.� �
�Got it,� Duo said amidst his cursing.
Quatre turned his attention to his sensors. The three kids were still running towards him, followed by a half-dozen Oz soldiers. Suddenly the kids swerved sharply� trying to hide behind a tree, he guessed, shaking his head. � The trees here might hide them from view for a few seconds, but then Oz would catch up with them. � Then he�d have to rescue them from the soldiers. � He started to move towards them, but hesitated when there was a brief flare of energy on his sensors, like a very small explosion. He blinked. �
They were gone.
There was nowhere for them to go, no way that they should have been able to hide from his sensors, but they were indisputably gone. He watched the Oz soldiers mill around for a few seconds, then spoke, �Ah, guys? We have a problem��
Adam froze as he reappeared in a forest somewhere. Never in all of his time as a Tomorrow Person had he ever teleported against his will. An instant later Megabyte appeared, followed by Jade and finally Ami. � :What happened?: Jade asked, pressing in close behind Adam. He tried to put himself between her and the men surround them, but they were all around them. � Trapped. He swallowed and tried not to panic. There were people who looked like scientists, and even more who looked like soldiers. Not again. � But what were they doing out in the middle of the woods?
:I don�t know, but we�ve got to get out of here.:
:Teleport?: Megabyte asked tensely.
:No, I don�t want to let them see us. Run for the woods, try to lose them, then teleport,: Adam instructed. �
:Hello? � They just saw us teleport in! � I think they did it,: Megabyte said as Adam took hold of Jade�s arm.
:Maybe, but they look as surprised as us. I don�t think they knew what they were doing, and they don�t know what�s going on now. Let�s not let them see us if we can help it, but don�t let them catch you. Got it? If we have to split up, we meet back on the island.: He could feel their silent agreement. :Go!: � He pulled at Jade�s arm and gave Megabyte a push as he started running.
The other three followed him as he ran for the nearest edge of the forest, hoping that he was doing the right thing and wasn�t about to get them all shot. � He heard shouts as the soldiers, whoever they were, started to give chase. He saw another group coming in from the side and judged that they weren�t going to make it to the woods. He skidded to a stop, releasing Jade�s arm. :Keep going!: he said as forcefully as he could. :I�ll be fine!: He saw Ami grab Jade�s upper arm to keep her moving, but the older girl spared him a glance as they continued running.
:If you get caught I�m going to kill you,: Megabyte told him as they disappeared into the trees.
The soldiers who�d been about to catch them hesitated, torn between catching the three who�d escaped or the one who was standing there, waiting for them like an idiot. He hesitated just long enough to make sure they�d follow him, then spun around and headed directly for the soldiers who�d been chasing him, praying that he�d caught them by surprise. He got lucky � they were so startled that he�d run at them that he was through them and headed for the forest on the other side of the clearing. He ran past the startled scientists and the large metal thing that they were standing next to, not daring to look behind him. � He could hear the soldiers to know that they were too close � he had to lose them before he could teleport.
Adam kept running, slowly gaining on the soldiers. Then there was the crack of gunfire and he instinctively ducked his head, his entire body tensing in anticipation of the pain, but there was nothing. They missed. � Was that on purpose? he wondered. � He risked a glance behind him, and saw close to a dozen soldiers chasing him. He dodged to put a tree behind him, between him and them, and turned his head back.
Once more he skidded to a stop, eyes wide, and just barely managed not to run into the foot of a monster. No, not a monster, just a huge robot of some sort. It stretched upwards, several stories tall, and the aura around it almost made him sick. Death. � It feels like death, he thought desperately, stumbling backwards several feet. Then it�s head turned to look at him, green eyes glowing. � He heard the soldiers still searching for him, but couldn�t bring himself to move, frozen in terror. �
Then one of it�s hands moved, slowly reaching for him, and he realized that it was going to grab him. Instinct took over where rational thought failed, and he teleported to safety.
Duo was not looking forward to what was coming. Gundams were not made to pick people up in their hands. � Not without crushing the life out of their bodies, anyway. Duo had been amazed at the confidence and trust Quatre had shown in him when they first met, when he stepped into Deathscythe�s open hand. He�d come out of it unscathed, but there was a large difference between having someone step onto an open palm than trying to grab someone who probably didn�t want to be grabbed.
He watched, first on his sensors, then on visual pickups as the boy ran through the forest. Boy� ha! � The �boy� was probably several years older than him. It was the fact that he obviously was unprepared for fighting that led to Duo�s automatic classification of him as �boy�. The boy ducked his head slightly as one of the Ozzies opened fire, but didn�t stop running. Duo would have been impressed with his guts, except that he didn�t know if the boy kept running because of courage or terror. He turned his head to look at the soldiers behind him� and almost ran into Deathscythe. �
Duo zoomed in with his camera to get a good look at the boy. � Nineteen or twenty, at an estimate, with light hair and dark eyes, in decent shape, if the speed and distance that he�d run was any indicator. The boy�s eyes widened, first in shock, then in outright terror. � He stumbled backwards several feet, still staring at the Gundam. �Sorry, kid, but this is for your own good,� Duo muttered as he started to carefully reach for the boy.
If anything, the boy�s eyes got even wider as the Gundam began to move. � Duo had almost reached him with one huge hand when a sphere of light appeared around the boy, which then rapidly shrunk down to nothing. The boy was gone.
�What the fuck�� Duo muttered, checking his scanners. � No, his eyes hadn�t fooled him, the boy really was gone. �
�02, do you have the last one? I�ve lost the other three,� Quatre�s voice came across the comm., sounding apologetic. �
�Ah, no, I lost him.�
�How?� � There was no condemnation in Quatre�s voice, just honest curiosity.
�You�re not going to believe me, but� he just disappeared!�
There was silence. Finally Quatre said brightly, �We can talk about this later. 01, complete original objective, 02 extract.�
Duo heard several startled shouts as the soldiers who�d been chasing the boy saw Deathscythe. A couple of them opened fire, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off of the gundanium plating before the soldiers turned and ran. Duo smirked to himself and let them go. Heero would destroy their transport on his way out. � At best, it would take them weeks to get out of this stupid forest, at worst� well, it wasn�t winter yet, but it wasn�t exactly warm at night, either. And this forest was near some sort of natural game preserve, if he remembered correctly.
�Got it, 04,� he replied. He knew that Quatre probably thought he was crazy, and while that might be true, he hadn�t imagined this. Hopefully the visual records would back up what he thought he�d seen, or else it might be time for him to hang up his scythe. Nah!
Using the thrusters, he carefully maneuvered Deathscythe out of the trees, then took off towards the field where they�d stored the transport, a few miles away. � At least he�d be able to get out of the cockpit for a while.
Normally Adam was very good at teleporting. His reaction time was the fastest of any of them, a fact for which Megabyte was always teasing him, but this time he hadn�t been thinking about what he was doing � he�d been reacting on a purely instinctive level to protect himself, and when you didn�t visualize where you wanted to go, you always ended up in the same place � the same place you ended up the first time you teleported. The ocean, a few hundred feet off the coast of his island.
Adam landed in the ocean with a splash, then kicked to the surface, spitting out the salt water. On the shore he could see the other three, and breathed a sigh of relief, then began swimming in. � The shock of hitting the water had also driven the unreasoning terror from his mind, and for that he was grateful.
:Getting a little sloppy?: Megabyte asked as he staggered out of the water.
�Megabyte,� Adam said warningly, trying to wring out his shirt.
�Adam, we have a problem,� Ami said nervously, her hands clasped tightly in front of her. Her English accent was especially clear right now, for some reason.
�What?� he asked warily. They hadn�t even seen the huge robot-thing, so what could be wrong now?
�We�re not on our Earth.�
He blinked. �What?� he asked blankly. � Automatically he looked at the spaceship at the other side of the island. It was there, but� he frowned. It looked the same way it had when he first saw it, all those years ago. � He�d done some work, nothing major, but he�d dug out some of the normal entrances so that they didn�t have to use the emergency escape hatch to get in and out anymore. � There was no sign of any digging, and now that he looked around, he noticed that his tent, with all of his things, was missing.
�We went inside the spaceship,� Ami said unnecessarily, because Adam already knew where this was going. �None of our stuff is in there, and it�s all dirty, like we were never there before. � The ship was pleasantly surprised to see us, and very welcoming, but I get the distinct impression that it had never seen us before. So I think this is a different Earth. Either that or the past, but they had guns, so I don�t know��
�No, you�re right, it�s a different Earth,� Adam said, raking his hands through his wet hair. �I saw this� I don�t know what it was. It looked like a huge robot. It tried to grab me, and I teleported. That�s how I ended up out there,� he added with a weak laugh, shivering in the slight wind that had started. It was fairly warm here, the way it always was, but even so, the wind seemed cold when you were soaking wet.
Ami saw him shiver. �Come on, we�d better get inside, or you�ll get sick!� she exclaimed, sounding very much like her mother for a moment. The caring, overly-worried part, not the part that yelled at her and was rude to the other Tomorrow People.
Adam nodded and teleported directly to the inner chamber of the Ship. � It was just as he remembered it being the first time he saw it, dirty with cobwebs in the corners, strangely alien and familiar at the same time. The column moaned at them when they appeared, and he placed a hand on it. � �Nice to meet you, too,� he murmured with a slight smile. He started to pull off his shirt, automatically turning to the corner where he stored blankets for when newcomers got dunked, then swore to himself when he realized that the blankets weren�t there, for obvious reasons.
Megabyte saw his action, and said, �Don�t worry, I�ll take care of it,� then vanished before Adam could tell him otherwise.
His lips tightened in annoyance, then he gave into the inevitable. � He really did need some dry clothes. � He glanced at Ami, who smiled slightly. � �Don�t worry,� she said softly. � �He can talk his way out of anything.�
�But only after he talks his way into more trouble than ten people could find if they were looking for it,� Jade said acerbically. � Adam looked down at the younger girl and laughed. � As long as Megabyte and Jade were making fun of each other, things couldn�t be that bad. On the other hand, they�d probably still be making fun of each other five minutes before the world ended, so it wasn�t necessarily a good sign. � �My mum�s going to kill me, you know,� she continued. �I was supposed to finish my homework, and I don�t think she�s going to buy the �I was sucked into another dimension� explanation.�
�Her reaction�s only going to be a little better than my mum�s,� Ami said, shaking her head, and both of her fellow Tomorrow People grimaced sympathetically. � They knew that the reason that Ami�s mom acted the way she did was entirely because she cared for her daughter, but that didn�t make it any easier for any of them to take when they were on the wrong end of one of her lectures.
A few seconds later Megabyte reappeared with a pair of jeans, several T-shirts, and a couple of blankets. There were still tags on most of them. �Do I want to know where you got these?� Adam asked.
�Probably not. Do you know that they don�t even use dollars here anymore?� Megabyte said in disgust. � �Probably not pounds, either. Everything was listed in credits, whatever those are.�
Which meant that what money they did have with them was going to be useless. � And Megabyte had stolen this clothing. � Great. Adam sighed then pulled off the tags with his teeth before wrapping one of the purloined blankets around him.
�And before you give me a lecture on ethics, I�ve already gone over all of that in my head,� Megabyte hastened to tell him. �I know it�s wrong to use our powers to steal, but it isn�t like we have a lot of choice in the matter.�
�I know,� Adam said with a sigh.
�And I� You know?� Megabyte asked, astonished.
�Yes. � We don�t have much of a choice, here. � But if I ever find out that you�ve been doing this at home, I�m telling your father,� Adam warned.
�Sure!� Megabyte grinned. �I�m going to go get something to eat!�
�Wait!� Adam cried before he could teleport again. �We need to talk first.�
�About what?�
�Well, how about the gigantic robot I saw?�
Megabyte�s face fell, probably at the thought that he would have to delay his thievery. �Oh yeah. � Hey, did anyone every notice how truly strange our lives have become? I mean, we spend all of our time thinking about aliens and dead pharos and killer mosquitoes.�
�I hadn�t noticed. Actually, the only time I see anything weird is when you�re around,� Jade said primly, smiling when Megabyte�s face turned as red as his hair.
�Sure, whatever you say, kid,� Megabyte said mildly, but with a malicious grin.
�Don�t call me kid!� Jade shouted.
�All right, that�s enough!� Ami said firmly, trying without complete success to hide her grin. �What did you see?� she asked Adam.
�Here, link with me and I�ll show you,� Adam said, raising his hands. � The others immediately got into place, also raising their hands so that they formed a complete circle. � A ball of bluish light formed in the center of the circle as their minds linked. Adam put an image of the thing he�d seen in the front of his mind, where they were sure to see it.
:Wow,: Jade said softly.
:It looks sorta like a transformer,: Megabyte remarked after a stunned silence.
:A what?: Ami asked.
:These toys I played with when I was younger. They start out as a plane or something and they turn into these humanoid robots,: Megabyte exclaimed. :Except they weren�t real, they were just toys.:
:These are not toys,: Adam said firmly, lowering his hands and breaking the link. �It was trying to grab me.�
Jade shuddered. �Wouldn�t it have crushed you?�
�I don�t know. And there was this aura around it�� he said, thinking back. As a rule, they had nearly perfect memories, although searching for a particular memory could take some time, especially if it was a long time ago. � This time it was easy. � �Death. It felt like death.�
�Evil?� Ami asked with a shudder of her own.
�I don�t know. It felt sort of like a gun, only moreso,� he said, knowing they would understand what he meant. � As Tomorrow People, they couldn�t kill, to the point where even weapons made for killing became distasteful to them. �
There was a moment of silence, then Megabyte said brightly, �OK, so we have to stop by the public library somewhere and try to figure out where the hell we are and what that thing was. But first we have to get something to eat.�
�Just let me get changed first,� Adam said, picking up the jeans and one of the T-shirts. As he started to walk into one of the other chambers, he asked, �You couldn�t have stolen any underwear?�
�I�m telling you, I�m not crazy!� Duo�s voice echoed through the entire house. � A few seconds passed, then the door slammed. Trowa sighed. � There went the peace and quite that had reigned for the last sixteen hours. He stood up and walked to the front room, where Duo was in the middle of a heated conversation with� well, he was very excited about something.
�I never said you were crazy, Duo,� Quatre said, holding his hands up.
�But you�re thinking it, aren�t you? I�m telling you, I saw that kid disappear!�
�Disappear?� Trowa asked, raising an eyebrow.
�The mission went� well, not wrong exactly,� Quatre said with a worried frown. � �Heero is hiding the machine we stole��
�So it worked?� Wufei asked.
�I�m not sure. They activated it, and four kids appeared. I mean, they looked human. � Two boys and two girls. � The youngest was a few years younger than us, and the oldest looked about twenty. They appeared out of thin air, took one look around them and ran. � We lost them in the forest.� � There was a puzzled frown on his face when he said that.
�You lost them?� Wufei asked doubtfully, his lips turning down in a frown. � �They were on foot and you were in your Gundams and you lost them?�
�I don�t know how it happened,� Quatre said with a shrug. � �There were three of them running towards me, and suddenly they weren�t on my scanners any more. � The last one ran towards Duo, and he insists that he saw the boy disappear into thin air.�
�Look, just wait until Heero gets back and we can upload the recording from my Gundam,� Duo said, crossing his arms. �There was a ball of light, and it shrunk, and he disappeared.� � He looked around at a set of skeptical faces. �Hey, it explains why they weren�t on the scanners, doesn�t it? And that�s how they arrived, isn�t it?�
�Yes, but Oz did that�� Quatre said, then trailed off. � He shrugged. �It could be. We don�t really know what Oz did. � But they looked very surprised when they arrived. I don�t think it was their idea.�
�That doesn�t mean they can�t do it on their own,� Duo argued. � He looked at the door. � �How long until Heero arrives?�
�He should be here any minute now,� Quatre said, also looking at the door. � �Call me when he gets here. � I�m going to go clean up.� � With that, he turned and walked resolutely down the hall and straight into the bathroom, closing the door behind him without slamming it. The three remaining pilots looked at each other and then mentally shrugged before going in their separate directions.
Ten minutes later the front door closed and Heero came walking in. � He held a disc in his hand and immediately headed for his laptop. The other four followed him, Duo also carrying a disc of his own. � Heero inserted the disc and immediately uploaded it. � �So lets see what happened,� Wufei said caustically, well aware of the fact that if he didn�t say anything, Heero would probably just send the file to Dr. J without ever showing them the video.
Heero glanced at him and grunted something unintelligible, but played the video. � It happened just as Quatre had described it, the scientists activated the machine, the strange light show, the four �kids� arriving, and then running for it. �It looks like Oz did bring them in,� Duo muttered. � �I don�t think that surprise on their faces was fake. � I don�t think I�ve seen anyone that shocked since we first landed.�
�Your disc,� Heero grunted, and Duo obediently handed it over. � Heero uploaded it, and then played it, this time without them having to ask. There was the oldest of the �kids�, a young man about twenty years old, running from Oz soldiers. They opened fire, and he ducked his head, but didn�t stop running. Either very brave or very foolish, Trowa reflected. � He turned to look at the soldiers following him, and so he almost ran into Deathscythe. Naked fear showed on his face as Duo started to reach for him. � Then there was a flash of light and he was gone.
Everyone started, and even Heero blinked in surprise. �Back up,� Quatre instructed unnecessarily � Heero was already doing just that. He backed up to when the boy ran into Deathscythe, and then played it forward in slow-motion. ��� They saw the shock as he first saw the Gundam, followed by a brief moment in which he looked as if he was about to be sick, which was an interesting reaction. Nausea was not a common reaction to seeing a Gundam. � Terror, yes, but not nausea. � That reaction was quickly followed by the naked fear Trowa had noticed the first time through as the boy stumbled backwards.
Then a sphere of light appeared around him, rapidly shrinking even in slow motion, and when it shrunk down to nothing, the boy was gone. �
�See?!� Duo cried triumphantly. �I told you! He disappeared!� �
There was a short silence after that. �But what was that?� Quatre finally asked in a small voice. � Heero hurriedly finished sending the material to the scientists.
�Teleportation?� Trowa suggested after a moment�s thought.
They all stared at him in shock, although if it was because he spoke or because of his suggestion he didn�t know.
�Teleportation?� Duo finally asked. �You mean like, instant transport from one point to another? No travel time?�
Trowa shrugged. It had only been a thought.
�It would explain why they disappeared from sensors,� Quatre said thoughtfully. � �Actually, it�s one of the few things that could explain why they disappeared from our sensors. Either that or very sophisticated cloaking equipment, but I don�t know how they could be carrying that, or how it would make us see� what we saw,� he said uncomfortably.
�Them being able to project some sort of interference is as valid as them being able to teleport,� Wufei pointed out.
�But it still doesn�t explain what Duo saw,� Quatre protested, and Wufei glowered at him. They all turned to look as the computer beeped, indicating an incoming mission brief. �
�Wow, that was quick,� Duo remarked as Heero read the message, hiding the screen from the others with his body.
�New mission,� Heero said shortly. �Find and capture. They want them alive.� �
Quatre�s face went still, and it didn�t take a genius to see that he was not happy with those orders. Trowa could see why he would be uncomfortable with the idea of turning a bunch of innocent kids (if that�s what they were) over to the scientists who�d given them the Gundams and still gave them their orders. But orders were orders, and it was entirely possible that they weren�t as innocent as they looked. Just look at their own group, for example � who�d expect the feared Gundam pilots, terrorists all of them, to be teenagers, none of them old enough to legally drive a car, much less vote.
They�d know better when they caught them.