The Tomorrow We Fight For
A Gundam Wing/Tomorrow People crossover
Part 3
By Marika
�So after Duo blew up the car� cars,� Quatre corrected himself. �Everyone ran� except for the two of them.�
�Because they couldn�t,� Wufei observed.
Quatre nodded with a grimace. �I hope he�s OK,� he murmured to himself before returning to the story. �Anyway, it was like they were expecting us,� he added. �Like they knew we were there before we stepped out of hiding.� He took a deep breath. �And they knew who we were. Both of us.�
Heero glared at both of them. �What did you say?� he asked accusingly.
�We didn�t say anything!� Quatre protested, glancing at Duo, who nodded in agreement but let Quatre keep talking. He was better at explaining this sort of thing, anyway. And the others were less likely to attack him. �He looked at me and said, �You�re one of them too?� Then he said that he recognized Duo from the woods, that he was in the huge machine that tried to grab him.�
�Which I did,� Duo put in.
Quatre nodded. �Then the girl said that we felt the same. Then the two other ones, the younger ones, appeared with that flash of light. The redhead said that the soldier was coming, and then the two younger ones vanished again. The older boy� I think his name is Adam� he begged us to leave them alone, and then the two of them disappeared again. Then the soldier caught up with us, so Duo killed him, and we returned here as quickly as we could,� he summarized. �Right, Duo?�
�Yeah, sure,� Duo answered.
�What�s wrong?� Quatre asked, a frown creasing his brow.
�I just keep thinking about their faces. Do you remember?� Duo asked, his voice quiet and introspective for once. �They were scared of us, more like terrified, but you know what I can�t get out of my head? The disgust. There was something about them, but we disgusted them, or they pitied us, something like that. It was� weird.�
�So what do we do now?� Quatre asked out loud after staring at him for a second. �It was coincidence that we ran into them the first time, and they�ve obviously disappeared again.� He giggled, sounding much more like a child then the trained terrorist Duo knew him to be. �Literally.�
Duo groaned. �Bad pun, Quatre, bad pun. I guess we should start�� he trailed off as there was a flash of light and a figure appeared in the middle of the room. He had his weapon trained on the intruder before he realized what he was doing. So did the others.
�Don�t shoot me!� cried a familiar voice, and Duo threw himself between the girl and Heero, who had the itchiest trigger finger.
�Don�t shoot!� he shouted, standing above the cowering figure. He waited until the others let their hands drop to their sides, then spun to look at the girl. Once the guns weren�t pointed at her anymore, she stopped trying to cover her head with her arms. Her eyes widened when she saw the gun in his hand, but she still stood up all the way before slowly backing away from him until she ran into the couch. �What are you doing here?� he asked coldly.����������� For a moment it looked like she was going to panic again, but then she took a deep breath and raised her head slightly. That was when Duo realized that she was actually taller than she was � when the hell was he going to hit his growth spurt?
�We� I came to talk to you.�
�How did you find us?� Wufei asked. He�d put away his gun, but now had his sword out, which was not an improvement.
�We� I tracked him,� she said, nodding towards Quatre.
�What? That�s impossible!� Quatre gasped.
�Yeah, I�m leaning towards his view with that one,� Duo said. �You didn�t have time to plant a tracer. So lets try this again, the truth this time, how did you find us?�
Instead of cowering again, she surprised him by getting angry and indignant. �I did tell the truth! I never said that I planted a tracker, whatever that is! I just said that we tracked him!�
�All right then, how did you do it?� Duo asked sarcastically.
She froze, biting her lip, then looked down at the floor, every now and then glancing up at Quatre. �His aura� it�s like a psychic signature� it�s very strong and very unique. We just looked for that and then I teleported here. We were only guessing that the rest of you would be here.� She looked nervously around the room. �It is all of you, isn�t it?� she asked softly, looking sad.
Duo glanced at Heero, who did not look pleased by this latest event. Since his philosophy tended towards shoot first, ask later, he decided that they�d better get off this subject before Heero decided to kill her. Actually, he probably wouldn�t kill her, because that would be violating orders, but that didn�t mean that he wouldn�t shoot her. �So, I�m guessing that we is yourself and those other kids, the older boy, the redhead, and the little girl?� he asked.
She nodded.
�And where are they now?�
She shook her head. �I�m not telling you. They�re safe,� her eyes glazed over for a second. �And hidden,� she concluded.
�Don�t trust us?� Duo asked sarcastically.
�No.�
�Then what are you doing here?�
�We� I wanted to ask you some questions about your world.�
�So you really are from another world?� Quatre asked, and the girl nodded.
�We� there aren�t any space colonies where we�re from, or major wars, and the first time we saw a mobile suit was when you tried to grab him,� she said, glancing at Duo. She hesitated, then asked, �Were you trying to kill him, or just grab him?�
�Lady, if I�d wanted to kill him, he�d be dead,� Duo told her, and she blanched. Her eyes traveled to the gun that he still held, and he could almost see her pulling away from it.
�Can you put that thing away?� she asked, and once again he could hear disgust in her voice.
�What this?� he asked, lightly tossing the gun to his other hand and then sticking it in the back of his pants, nodding at the others, who also hid their guns, although none of them actually put them down. Despite the fact that they hadn�t actually gotten rid of the guns, the girl visibly relaxed when she couldn�t see them anymore.
�Thank you,� she said softly.
�All right, you seem to be terrified of us, and you obviously don�t trust us, why do you want to ask us questions?� Duo asked.
The girl stared at him blankly for a moment, then the corners of her lips curled upwards and she ducked her head to hide her face.
�What�s so funny?� he asked.
�Nothing. I was just thinking of something one of my friends would say.�
�And what�s that?�
�That at least you guys didn�t shoot us, and that�s a good beginning,� she said with a fair approximation of an American accent.
Duo surprised the other and himself by laughing aloud. �I think I like your friend,� he said. �That is a good beginning, by some standards.�
The girl�s eyes suddenly glazed over, then narrowed, and her lips tightened.
�What�s wrong?� Quatre asked.
Her eyes unglazed, and she shook her head. �Nothing. It�s just that�s a very bad beginning, by some standards. Just because they aren�t shooting at you doesn�t mean that they�re the good guys. Sometimes it just means they want you alive.�
Ouch, Duo thought. Something about the way she said that made him think she was speaking from experience. It also came a little too close to their actual orders concerning the girl for comfort. �Why?�
The girl gave him a sharp look. �You�ve seen what we can do. You�re telling me that you don�t think that it would be a little useful for the government?� As soon as the last word left her mouth, she winced.
�Government?� Duo asked, picking up on the slip.
She frowned at him. �Will you answer some of our questions or not?�
Duo glanced at Heero, who had the same non-expression on his face that he always did, then shrugged. �You can ask your questions. We�ll see whether or not we can answer them.�
�How can you kill?� The question was immediate, and direct, and it froze Duo in his shoes. What the hell kind of question was that? he wondered. He knew she wasn�t looking for a physical method for killing people, but still� He opened his mouth to say something flip when he realized that the question hadn�t been directed at him. She was staring directly at Quatre, and the question had definitely been directed to him and him alone.
�What?� Quatre asked with a faint frown, and Duo noticed that his hand was pressed against his chest again.
�You�re sensitive, aren�t you?� she asked, and there was real strain in her voice. In fact, it was just a shade away from cracking. Something about this conversation was really bothering her.
�What do you mean by sensitive?� he asked curiously.
�You�re an empath,� she stated bluntly. �Right? You can feel other people.�
�Sometimes,� Quatre said cautiously. �It�s stronger with some people than others. How did you know?� She didn�t answer him, and after a second he asked, �You�re� sensitive too, aren�t you? That�s how you knew.�
She bit her lip again. �Yes. I am. That is how I knew. Now, how can you kill, knowing what others feel?�
�When I fight, I try to shut it off,� Quatre said slowly. �It still hurts, but I can function that way, complete my missions.�
Duo stared at Quatre. He�d had no idea that Quatre was in pain every time he fought � he�d heard Quatre begging their enemies to surrender so that he wouldn�t have to kill them, but he�d never connected it with what had happened when Heero had tried to self-destruct.
�Why?� the girl asked sharply.
�Because the Alliance� well, Oz now, they have to be stopped. They�ve hurt too many people in the colonies� I want to protect my family. I don�t want anyone else to have to worry about the things that we have�� He trailed off and shrugged apologetically. �It�s hard to explain.�
The girl studied him seriously. �May I touch your hand?� she asked gravely.
Quatre seemed surprised by the question, then silently extended his hand. She took several steps towards him and then reached out and hesitantly took his hand. Quatre gasped, and both of them froze, eyes wide and unseeing. When, after several seconds they showed no sign of moving, Duo reached out and grabbed the girl�s wrist, intending to separate them. He got another surprise as the girl cried out in pain and jerked her hand away from him, clutching her wrist.
Quatre stumbled as she pulled her hand away and almost fell. He stared at Duo with wide eyes, then looked at the girl, who had backed away as far as she could without actually moving around the couch. �Are you all right?� he asked.
�Please don�t touch me,� she said, still clutching her wrist like it was burned.
For some reason, that simple gesture made him angry. �What? Are you too good for me? What�s so bad about me that�s not bad about Quatre?�
Her mouth opened and closed once, then she winced and dropped her head. �I�m sorry,� she finally said. �I didn�t mean it that way. It�s just� you have a very strong aura � not like his� Quatre�s,� she said after a quick hesitation. �But it�s stronger than most normal humans. And� you feel like death. It�s probably not your fault, but� I don�t like it. It doesn�t feel good. I�m sorry. �
Duo felt all of the anger drain out of him. Death. It always comes back to Death, doesn�t it? �No, it�s all right. I guess that�s what scared you in the park?�
She nodded. �It isn�t so bad, really. I was just working on picking up impressions just now, that�s why you startled me so badly. And I wasn�t expecting it at all in the park.�
�It�s OK, lady, I understand,� he told her.
Her eyes glazed over, and she turned her head slightly to the side. �I� I have to go now. Thank you for your help.�
�Will we see you again?� Quatre asked softly.
�I don�t know,� the girl said simply.
�Wait!� Duo exclaimed before she could disappear again.
�What?�
�Your friend� Adam, right? He got shot?�
She paled slightly and her hand drifted down to her thigh. She swallowed and nodded.
�Hang on a sec,� Duo told her, and then quickly ran to the bathroom. He returned with a spare med pack. �Here,� he said, tossing it to her. �Got some better grade supplies than stuff you can get in the stores. �Specially has some stuff that will help with gunshots,� he added, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Heero, who glowered at him. Duo wasn�t sure if Heero had ever forgiven him for shooting him right after they arrived on Earth.
�Thank� thank you!� the girl stammered. There was a flash of light and she disappeared.
All of the tension immediately drained out of the room, and Duo looked at Quatre. �Q? Mind telling the rest of us non-psychics what just happened?�
�She�s powerful,� Quatre said softly, looking at his own hand. �She�s an empath, like me, but much, much stronger. I think she was sifting through my memories when we touched hands.�
�And this didn�t bother you?� Duo asked when Quatre paused momentarily. He, for one, valued his privacy very strongly, and didn�t want anyone looking around in his head. They might see some of the memories that he preferred not to examine too closely.
�She only looked at what I showed her,� Quatre explained patiently. �Actually, she was very polite. They�re very confused,� he added. �And scared. I wasn�t able to get much from her, but� when she said that just because a person wasn�t shooting at them didn�t make them friends, she was talking from personal experience. I think their own government, in their own world, tried to experiment on them.� He shuddered.
�That sucks,� Duo remarked.
Quatre nodded in agreement. �You did the right thing in giving her those supplies. She�s very worried about her companion, and it will make them more likely to come to us later. Oz has already lost their trust, they don�t have anyone else to turn to.� He paused pensively. �We can�t turn them over to the scientists.�
That comment earned him a glare from Heero and Wufei, silence from Trowa (big surprise there), and a skeptical look from Duo. �Quatre, we have orders��
�We�ve disobeyed them before, haven�t we?� Quatre immediately responded. �We are not turning them over to the scientists,� he said firmly. No one responded, but Duo could already see that this was going to become a major bone of contention between them over the next few days. Personally, he agreed with Quatre. Actually, he wouldn�t turn a dog over to the scientists if he had anything to say about it, but he didn�t. He was waiting to find out more about these kids before making a judgment on this issue, though.
�It may not matter,� Duo pointed out to the others to delay the impending fight. �They can do that disappearing thing. So far we�ve seen them do it out in the woods, after one of them was shot, and now into a building! If they can do that through walls, how are we supposed to hold them anyway?�
Ami reappeared in the Ship. �Are you all right?� Adam immediately asked.
Ami shot him a look that said that he should have known better than to ask a question like that, and to tell the truth, he should have. He knew that she was fine � he would have known the instant anything went wrong, and would have known exactly what was wrong as well. �Sorry.�
�It�s all right,� she said, immediately seating herself and opening the box that the braided boy had given her. She started examining the contents, finally tossing a bottle at him. �Take two of these.�
�Are you sure?� he asked doubtfully.
�I wouldn�t go over and put our lives in their hands, but I�d know if he was trying to hurt you. And he isn�t. So take the pills.�
He grimaced and then swallowed two of the pills. He lay his head back down, wishing that he felt better � at least good enough so that he could pace. It would be good to be able to get rid of some of this nervous energy.
�How are you feeling?� Megabyte asked, doing some pacing of his own.
�I�ll survive,� he assured the younger boy. He looked at Ami. �So, what do you think of them?�
Ami closed her eyes for a long moment before opening them. �I hate to say this, but I really do think they�re the good guys here. Or at least as good as we�re going to find.� She turned her head away. �I don�t know what to think. They�re all killers, but I think they�re better than the government. Here, I�ll show you what I got from Quatre�s mind.� She knelt at his side and raised her hands. The others quickly got in a circle with her and they linked minds. Adam closed his eyes as images flooded through his mind, some no more than a vague impression, others quite vivid and clear. Then it was over, as Ami withdrew her hands, and Adam began to file through the memories he�d just received.
�Damn,� Megabyte remarked after a few minutes. �Their whole government is one big pile of corruption, isn�t it?�
Adam frowned. He wanted to protest that this might not be the truth, but he knew that Ami had found this information in a crude sort of mind-link with another empath. You couldn�t lie under those circumstances, especially given that Quatre didn�t seem to have any training with his skill, other than shutting it off when he fought.
And there was the problem � they might be the good guys, but they were also terrorists, killers all of them. And Adam couldn�t wrap his mind around that fact. Maybe it was because he�d been a Tomorrow Person for so long, or maybe he was just more peaceful than the others (which was a little extreme, he admitted), but he just couldn�t get beyond that. He couldn�t even conceive of anything that could make you feel that you had to kill to deal with it (not that it was ever going to be a problem for him), and that made it harder for him to relate to people sometimes.
So he remained silent, waiting for the others reactions first. Megabyte was right, the entire government reeked of corruption. � He�d suspected it when they were looking through the old newspaper articles � something just hadn�t been right, and what Ami had seen in Quatre�s mind fit that very well. Suppression of ideas and people in general, no communication, no free press� Well, it all fit. Which meant that he wasn�t letting any of the Tomorrow People within a hundred feet of anyone connected with the government, if he had anything to say about it.
That didn�t mean that he wanted to put their lives in the hands of a bunch of killers, though. It didn�t seem like they had much choice in the matter, though. There were three factions with enough power to do anything substantial � the remnants of the Alliance (the government), Oz (part of the government) and the Gundam pilots. Of those groups, only Oz and the Gundam pilots might possibly know something about how they got here and how to get them home. Already home seemed very far away, and was likely to grow more so in time.
After several hours of talking (arguing), they finally decided that they could keep on talking to the Gundam pilots, who, as Megabyte put, �haven�t shot any of us yet.� They needed to find out whether or not the Gundam pilots had any idea on how to get them home, or if they needed to make some kind of deal with Oz.
Duo was drinking some coffee the next morning when there was a flash of light and a little girl arrived. He promptly spilled all of the coffee all over himself and jumped around the kitchen cursing and trying to cool himself off. The girl just stood there staring at him, not helping or anything. Quatre and Wufei came running into the room. �What�s wrong?� Quatre asked, also staring at him.
�That little� ow� coffee� ah!� hot!� he explained eloquently, still dancing around.
Quatre tried to hide his grin, and Wufei muttered something in Chinese that Duo didn�t catch. �It isn�t funny!� Duo snarled as the coffee finally began to cool down. Now he just had a wet spot in an embarrassing place.
The girl giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. Wufei immediately spun, reaching for his sword,, which luckily wasn�t there. Quatre reached for his gun and immediately brought it around to face the girl, who let out a startled cry and vanished in a flash of light. She reappeared an instant later behind Quatre, who jumped about a foot in the air. It would have been funny except that Duo was doing the exact same thing, and the rapidly cooling coffee wasn�t getting any more comfortable.
�Wait, don�t shoot her,� he said disgustedly. �It�s one of them. The� teleporters. Isn�t there any way to put a warning system on you guys?� he demanded.
She actually giggled again. It occurred to him that laughing at a couple of well-armed terrorists who weren�t in a good mood wasn�t a particularly smart idea, but he wasn�t about to shoot her for it. This time. �What�s so funny?�
�We just hear that a lot,� she explained, getting control of herself. She had the same accent as the black girl from yesterday. �We haven�t figured out a warning system yet. Sorry.�
She didn�t sound particularly sorry. �You hear that a lot? From who?�
�Our parents, mostly,� she said with a shrug. �I�m Jade,� she said, offering her hand.
�You don�t have a problem touching me?� he asked doubtfully.
�No, I�m not quite as sensitive as Ami is,� the girl replied cheerfully.
Ami, huh? �OK,� he said, carefully taking her hand. He was watching for a reaction, and got a small one � a low gasp and a widening of her eyes, but she didn�t pull away until she�d shaken his hand firmly. �I�m Duo.�
�Pleased to meet you,� she mumbled distractedly, staring at her own hand. �That is the strangest sensation,� she murmured before finally extending her hand to Quatre, who quickly shook it.
�Quatre,� he said quickly, a bemused expression on his face.
Jade turned to Wufei, who turned away with a disgusted look on his face. She frowned slightly, then looked at Duo. �Is it me?� she asked in a stage whisper.
He shook his head. �Nah, Wufei�s like that with everyone,� he answered, ignoring Wufei�s glare for telling the girl his name. �I�d introduce you to the others, but they�re out right now.� Actually, they were on a mission, which was sort of like being out, except there were more explosions.
She shrugged. �That�s all right. I just wanted to look around and talk a little. By the way, Adam says thank you for the pills. They helped a lot.�
�No problem.�
She smiled brilliantly, then resumed her obvious study of the kitchen. �This is a nice place you�ve got here � much nicer than where we�re staying.�
�And where is that?� Duo asked casually.
�I�m not allowed to tell. Not that it would do you any good if I was, since we don�t really know.�
�Oh.� Duo didn�t know what to make of that statement. How couldn�t you know where you were staying?
�You do have really long hair,� she commented, staring at his braid. �How long has it taken you to grow it?�
�Ah, I�ve always had it,� he responded after a moment�s hesitation. Her gaze suddenly intensified, and he got an uneasy feeling between his shoulders, like someone was watching him from behind. He � well, all of the pilots, really � had developed a sort of sixth sense that had nothing to do with Quatre�s empathy, that told them when they were being watched, or when they were walking into a trap. So why was he feeling it now?
The feeling fled as soon as it appeared, and the girl wilted slightly. �Oh. I see,� she said softly. Then she frowned. �Darn it,� she muttered under her breath.
�What?�
Suddenly there was another flash of light and the red-haired boy appeared. �Jade!� he hissed. �What are you doing here?� American accent, Duo noted. Very strange. You didn�t usually find people with such obviously different accents hanging around together. Unless you were a Gundam pilot, but most of the normal rules didn�t apply to them. �You�re just lucky that Adam�s asleep, but Ami�s going to kill�� he trailed off as he realized that they had an audience. �Ah� hi,� he said, his face turning as red as his hair, which was a neat trick.
�Hello,� Duo said cheerfully, interested by the argument. It seemed that the teleporters were far from unified. That could be useful. �Anything wrong?�
�Nothing much,� the other boy told him with a forced smile before turning to glare at the girl again. �Just a kid going where she isn�t supposed to.�
�Kid?� Jade asked, her voice rising dangerously. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. �That�s Duo, and Quatre, and that�s Wufei,� she said, pointing to each in turn. �And that�s Marma��
The boy suddenly cut her off. �I�m Megabyte,� he said quickly, glaring at the girl. �Nice to meet you. Sorry, but we�ve got to go.� He shot the girl another glare, which she returned, before they both disappeared.
Duo looked at Quatre, who shrugged. �They�re� interesting, aren�t they?� he said, polite to the last.
�I think they�re crazy, but that�s just me,� Duo said. �What do you think, Wufei?�
Wufei gave him a disgusted look and left the room.
There was another flash of light and the black girl, Ami, appeared. Her hands were already held up, as if she anticipated having guns pointed at her again. When everyone just stared at her warily, she lowered her hands. �I just wanted to apologize for anything that Jade or Megabyte said or did,� she said quickly, then her gaze drifted down to his pants. �Oh, sorry about your pants. That happens a lot.�
�So I�ve heard. You mind telling us about what�s going on? What�s wrong with the Jade kid?�
Ami grimaced slightly. �She just told us she was going� somewhere else, and came here instead, after we told her to wait. We�re going to have a talk about that.�
�Mm-hm. Well, she didn�t cause too much trouble. Except the pants,� he added.
�Yes� well�� she suddenly looked uncomfortable, and he had a good idea why.
�You were trying to protect her from us. I understand. It�s a good idea � we are terrorists,� he said with a shrug.
If it was possible, she looked even more uncomfortable after he said that. �Yes, we know, but�� she cut herself off. �Thank you.�
�For what?� Quatre asked.
�For your honesty. And� for protecting us yesterday � ah, the day before,� she stammered. Her eyes glazed again for a second. �I� have to go. I�ll come back and explain later. Sorry,� she repeated herself, then disappeared.
�Well, that was almost as strange as the two younger ones,� Duo remarked.
�There�s no distance limit,� Quatre murmured to himself.
�What?� Duo asked.
�She didn�t know how long it had been since we helped them. I sometimes have that problem when we catch a transport and start hopping around the world or jumping to the colonies. You lose track of how much time has passed in one particular area. So they must be changing time zones. So they must be able to teleport vast distances. There might not be any limit at all.�
�That would make them very, very useful, wouldn�t it?� Duo said softly. �They could teleport into a secure facility, grab data or kill someone, and then jump out and be a thousand miles away before anyone knew something was wrong. No wonder they have problems with the government back on their world. Just about everyone from a legit government to crime organizations would love to get their hands on them. Shit.�
�The doctors would love to get their hands on them,� Quatre said quietly.
�Yeah,� Duo said slowly, still not sure how he felt on that issue. �You think it�s something you can learn? Or some sort of technology?�
Quatre shook his head. �It�s inborn, I�m sure of it. They�re empaths, like me, except for a lot stronger. That�s connected to their abilities, somehow. I don�t think that we�re going to learn how to do that anytime soon.�
�Shit. The doctors aren�t going to take your word for it, though, are they?� Duo asked, knowing the answer to his question. If we turn them over to the docs, we won�t have done them any favors by saving them from Oz.
Quatre shook his head. �What are we going to do?�
Duo shook his head. This wasn�t like obeying orders to destroy Oz troops � that was easy, they knew that Oz was the bad guys. Who the good guys were was open to debate, but his job was straightforward. Nothing like turning over a bunch of kids who hadn�t done anything to a bunch of crazy scientists who built massive killing machines. �I don�t know.�