The Tomorrow We Fight For
A Gundam Wing/Tomorrow People crossover
Part 4
By Marika
Despite the girl�s words, it was two days before they saw any of the teleporters again. Then, two of them appeared at once in the middle of the living room of their current safehouse (which was different than the last one they�d visited � apparently Ami had told the truth about them being able to track Quatre). Only this time the older boy, Adam, was one of the two. He was leaning heavily on Ami�s shoulder as they appeared, and Duo immediately saw the bandages wrapped around his left thigh, but he stood upright for several seconds before letting Ami help him to the couch. � He wasn�t Heero I-can-set-my-own-leg Yuy, but he wasn�t a weakling either. Duo doubted that they�d been to a doctor to deal with the injury, and only had what pain medication you could find in stores. That was rarely as strong as the stuff they had in hospitals, so his leg must be hurting like a bitch right now. �
Adam kept a very careful eye on him as he sank down onto the couch, grimacing slightly. Duo was the only one in the living room at the time, watching television, but he shut it off when the teleporters appeared. He was very proud of the way he managed to keep from jumping out of his skin when they appeared. A few seconds later Quatre emerged from his room, where he�d been sleeping, recovering from a night mission. His eyes widened slightly when he saw the pair, but all he said was, �I thought I felt something.�
The boy� Adam�s eyes fixed on Quatre, and his lips tightened slightly before he nodded to Ami.
�Are you sure?� she asked, obviously continuing a conversation they�d started before they teleported in.
�I�m fine,� he assured her. �Go. I�ll be back soon.�
She shot him a worried glance and then nodded shortly and vanished.
�How�s your leg?� Duo asked conversationally. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Heero, pausing just out of Adam�s range of vision, a gun held ready. He gave him a silent shake of the head to let him know everything was OK.
Adam turned to look at Heero for several long seconds before turning back to look at Duo. �Much better, thanks. But I�d prefer not to repeat the experience again any time soon.�
�First time you�ve been shot?� Duo asked sympathetically as Heero walked into the room, giving Adam a murderous glare.
�No� ah, yes,� he corrected himself. �That is� most of our enemies on our home world use tranquilizer darts. They want us alive for study. I�ve been shot a few times with those. On the whole, bullets hurt more,� he remarked facetiously. There was also some challenge in his eyes as he watched them warily.
�You couldn�t teleport away in time?�
Adam hesitated, shook his head. �It�s not always an option. And a teleport isn�t faster than a bullet.� He sounded like he was speaking from personal knowledge again.
�Hn.�
Adam looked vaguely surprised at Heero�s monosyllabic grunt, then his gaze shifted to Quatre for a few seconds. Duo was interested to note that Quatre seemed to make Adam just as uncomfortable as Heero, which was very unusual. Usually Quatre was the one who people trusted, or at least opened up to, but Adam seemed to be avoiding looking at Quatre very carefully. Very weird. He seemed to be thinking that a lot about them. Adam was silent for a minute, then asked, �Where are the others?�
�Out,� Duo replied simply with a slight shrug, then he grimaced as his recently-dislocated shoulder protested the movement. That was the last time he was ever going to let Heero perform medicine on him. You�d think at least he could have given him some aspirin before he popped his shoulder back in. That had been two days ago, right after Jade and the other two visited, and it was still sore. At least he�d completed his mission.
Adam�s eyes darkened slightly, and for the first time Duo could remember, Adam didn�t look like a kid. �A mission?� he asked lightly, closing his eyes briefly. Then he shook his head. �Never mind. I know you won�t answer.�
He was silent for another minute. Finally Duo asked, �What are you doing here?�
Adam sighed and looked away again. Finally he looked at Duo and asked, �Can you help us get home?�
�What?�
�You know we�re not from this world, and you were there when we got� dragged here. Can you help us get back?� he asked, quietly intense. � �Because that�s all we want. We never wanted to get involved in your war, and we didn�t ask to get dragged here. We just want to go back to our own world now, and as far as we can tell, you�re the only ones who can help us. So far Oz has tried to capture us and they�� he smiled wryly and gestured slightly to his leg. �You were the only other ones there. So can you� will you help us?�
Duo took a deep breath � this was where it got complicated. �I need to ask you a few questions before I can answer that,� he told Adam.
Adam�s eyes grew more guarded as he narrowed them. �You�re free to ask,� he said, not promising to tell them anything.
�That teleporting thing you do� is it mechanical? Some sort of technology from your world?� Duo was fairly certain that it wasn�t, this time he just wanted to see what Adam would say.
�It�s not technology,� Adam said uneasily.
�So it�s something that you�re doing. Is it something that you can learn?� He was pretty sure that he knew the answer to this one, too, but it would be good to have confirmation.
Adam shook his head. �It�s not something you can learn� I mean, you have to learn to control it, but you can�t teach� you have to be born with it. I couldn�t teach you to do it. If you�re born with the ability, you can learn to control it, but you can�t do anything if you�re not born with the ability.� He paused, apparently going over something in his own mind. �Does that answer your question?�
�Yeah,� Duo said with a sigh. He didn�t think that the doctors were going to be able to figure out what it was that was letting them do this, it sounded like it was nothing like the mechanical genius that had built the Gundams. But that wouldn�t stop the doctors from experimenting on these people for a very long time. Duo glanced at Quatre and saw that he�d come to the same conclusion. �Just one more question � how do you know who� can do it, and who can�t?�
Adam smiled grimly. �You find out the first time you teleport. There�s no way to tell before that. We knew Jade before she became� before she teleported,� he quickly corrected himself. �And we didn�t know she could do it too, until she did.� He hesitated for a few seconds. �Why do you want to know this?�
Duo sighed. �I�ll level with you. We have orders to capture you and deliver you to the scientists who created the Gundams.� At his words, all the color drained from Adam�s face and his body became one clenched muscle. Duo quickly held up his hands before Adam could teleport away. �Wait a second! If we were going to try to grab you guys, we would have done it already. I take it this isn�t the first time that this has happened to you?�
Adam nodded tensely. �It�s not the second time, either.�
Duo winced. �Yeah, I kinda guessed that too. But, if what you�re doing can�t be learned or copied, I don�t see much point in turning you over to them, so long as you�re not doing missions for Oz or the Alliance.� He shrugged, and saw relief in Adam�s eyes.
�You�re not going to try to capture us?�
�I don�t really want to. But as long as you�re out there, there�s a chance that Oz will grab you and try to use you against us. That leaves us with two options � try to catch you and turn you over to the docs, who will probably drug you and keep you there as long as possible. I�m guessing eventually you�ll escape, and either join Oz to bring us down or spend the rest of your natural lives in this world hiding from everyone. That doesn�t seem like a winning combination for anyone.�
�I can agree with that. Other option?�
�We help you guys get home and then destroy the machine that brought you here, so that no one ever gets into this situation again.�
He saw Adam�s eyes momentarily light up before becoming guarded again. �Why would you do that?�
�Well, I�ve had some free time lately� and besides, saving lives would be a welcome change of pace,� he answered carelessly, and saw Adam swallow convulsively. �You can trust me, I may do a lot of things, but I don�t lie,� he told him seriously.
Adam looked as if he didn�t believe him, but chose not to question him openly. �What are you going to do?�
Duo wasn�t quite ready to tell Adam that they already had the machine. �I�ll talk to the others when they get back and we�ll see what we can do.�
Adam nodded. �Thank you very much. I�m sorry if we seem� distrustful. We don�t have� it�s a long story.�
Duo shrugged. �Whatever. Look, why don�t you come back tomorrow, the same time? We�ll probably have something by then.� By then he ought to be able to talk Heero, Wufei, and Trowa into going along with this. Hopefully.
�I�ll do that,� Adam said quietly. He started to raise his hand, as if to shake Duo�s but then quickly dropped it. �I�m sorry,� he apologized. �I just can�t��
�I understand,� Duo said, although inwardly he was a little irritated. What the hell was it with all these people that they were afraid to touch him? It wasn�t like being a killer was contagious or anything.
�Thank you. I�ll be back tomorrow,� he told them, and disappeared.
Duo flinched, waiting for Heero to threaten to kill him, but there was silence from that quarter. He opened his eyes and stared at Heero. �What? No �omae o korosu�? Nothing about the mission? Who are you and what have you done with Heero?� he asked, only half-joking.
�They�re innocent,� Heero said, as if that explained everything.
Duo blinked. �Um, could you explain that a little?�
�They�re innocent, and innocence should be protected,� Heero explained as if it was obvious.
�Oh. And you, ah, don�t have a problem with not� a finishing your mission to capture them?� Duo asked hesitantly. He was treading a thin line here � he didn�t want to make Heero change his mind, but at the same time, he wanted to make sure that Heero wasn�t going to come hunt him down later if he misunderstood him now.
Heero blinked. Twice. He was really upset about this, Duo observed. �You were right. Completing the mission at this point would serve no purpose.�
�Uh-hu. Right. Thanks for clearing that up for me,� Duo said quickly. He�d heard about the famous �follow your emotions� speech that Heero had given Trowa (that was a joke � Heero-I-live-for-the-mission advising the stone-faced Trowa to follow his emotions � in fact, he had a hard time picturing them talking at all � he would have expected them to just sit around silently). Anyway, maybe this was a sort of application of that principle � if so, it would be the first Duo had seen, but he wasn�t going to complain if it meant that he didn�t have to fight Heero to get him to not turn those guys over to the doctors.
�I�ll go pull up what information we have on that machine. Maybe there�s somehow we can reverse whatever they did to bring them here,� Quatre said quietly into the silence that followed Duo�s awkward statement.
�Good idea.� That would be a good joke, if they had the machine and everything but couldn�t figure out how to turn the stupid thing on. Somehow he didn�t think that Adam would think it was so funny. It was obvious that he was the leader of the group, and that he took his responsibilities (basically for the others) very seriously. Duo wondered if he�d complained a lot about being shot. Probably not, he didn�t look like the type. He�d probably gladly accept being shot if it meant that one of the others was safe. Duo remembered feeling that way, a long time ago, after Solo died and he was the one taking care of the kids, before Maxwell Church.
Duo shook his head slightly and pushed that out of his mind. If he thought too much about that stuff he�d really go crazy, or at least make himself incredibly depressed, and he didn�t need that right now. Right now he had to figure out how he was going to talk Wufei and Trowa into going along with this without getting his head chopped off (Wufei) or getting a dagger between the eyes (Trowa). This was going to be interesting.
�Do you really think we can trust them?� Adam asked yet one more time. It was the third time he�d asked that in the past few minutes. There were only a few minutes left until he was supposed to go back and talk to the Gundam pilots, and he was very nervous. They�d all discussed their impressions of the pilots practically non-stop, some positive, some negative, but they had no sure way of knowing that this wasn�t some sort of trap. This was the first time they�d gone with the pilots knowing exactly when they were arriving. If they were going to try to trap any of them, this would be the perfect time. He wasn�t going to let them get close enough for them to drug him or anything, but if they shot him with tranquilizer darts, there wouldn�t be much he could do about it.
He didn�t bother trying to get the others to promise not to try to rescue him if that happened, because he knew that if it did happen, no promise would be strong enough to keep them from coming after him. At least he�d convinced them to let him go alone. Ami wasn�t happy about that for a number of reasons, but she�d let herself be convinced, eventually. He thought that the incident with the soldiers had frightened her more than she�d admit � several times during the nights since the incident she�d woken them up as they sensed her fear when she had nightmares. So far she refused to tell them what they were about, but it didn�t take a genius to figure out that it had something to do with the attack on her and him getting shot. He hadn�t been sleeping so well since that, either, and not just because of the pain. He kept seeing Megabyte or Jade or Ami in his place, and feeling helpless because he couldn�t protect them. Compared to that, the pain was nothing.
Actually, the wound was healing very well. He could walk on it now, if he really had to, and could move about quite easily with someone to aid him. He wasn�t sure if his powers were working (sort of) to his aid, how much the ship had to do with it, or if it was that he�d just not been injured too badly. He�d never been shot before (for which he was very thankful), so he had no basis for comparison � he didn�t even know if he was healing at a normal rate or not.
�OK, it�s time,� he said, checking his (thankfully) waterproof watch. He used to have a watch that wasn�t, but it hadn�t survived being dunked in the Pacific ocean several times.
Megabyte actually didn�t make a smart remark, which meant that he was really, really worried, which didn�t relieve Adam at all. He just gave Adam a nervous smile and a nod of encouragement. Jade gave him a quick hug, being careful not to jar his leg. Ami stared at him for a long moment without speaking, then reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. Through the physical contact he could feel her worry on a number of different levels, although he tried to shield.
:It�s going to be all right,: he tried to reassure her.
:Of course,: she agreed, both of them well aware of the fact that they were lying through their teeth.
�I�ll be back in a few minutes, and I�ll keep updating you,� he promised. �Have they moved?� he asked Jade, who�d announced that she was going to keep track of Quatre for the group. Since they wouldn�t let her go see them, she wanted a way to keep involved.
There was something about that� a couple of days ago both Ami and Megabyte had been giving Jade the dirtiest looks when he woke up from one of his frequent naps. They wouldn�t tell him what was wrong, and he preferred not to think about it too closely, because he was certain that he didn�t want to know.
�Yeah, they�re still there,� Jade told him.
Adam nodded his thanks, then concentrated on the space right in front of the couch. A moment later he was standing there.
All five of the pilots were standing across the room, staring at him. This was the first time he�d been with all of them at the same time, and their presence hit him like a physical blow. Quatre was the only one who actually had any psychic powers, but they all had very strong auras � he guessed they�ve have to in order to do what they�d done, but it was still a lot to be hit with at once. Once again, he noticed what Ami had seen the first day � that though there was darkness in all of them, and they were killers, but they weren�t evil. It was a very important distinction, and one Adam had trouble with sometimes, but it was there.
He glanced behind him to make sure the couch was still there, then carefully lowered himself into the seat. Ami had promised to scalp him if he tried to do too much with his leg and injured himself.
�How�s you�re leg?� Quatre asked, a worried frown on his face.
�It�s getting better,� he responded, trying not to look Quatre in the eye. He couldn�t help it � for him, it was even easier to accept the others than an empath who somehow managed to kill people. Quatre was the most like them of the entire group, and the very fact that he was able to kill made him strangely familiar and incomprehensible at the same time. Adam had an easier time dealing with the others.
Quatre seemed to sense that and fell silent after that.
:What�s going on?: Megabyte asked.
:Nothing yet. Be quiet, I�ll tell you if anything happens,: Adam told him, and then firmly blocked him out of his mind. He didn�t want the distraction right now. �Well?� he asked after a few more seconds of silence.
Duo stepped forward after glancing at his companions. It seemed he was the spokesperson for the group. Actually, neither Adam nor Ami could remember ever hearing one of the others (except Quatre) speak. Adam wondered if it was him or if they were just normally quiet.
�We can help you,� Duo said. �Quat took a look at the machine, and� well, I don�t have a clue what he�s talking about, but he says that he can get you home, no problem. The reason you got pulled here in the first place is that you can teleport � apparently that�s the only way to travel between worlds.� He shrugged. �But you need some extra energy, or something, which is what the machine does. It acted like a beacon the first time, but by reversing something or other, it will let you get home, but you�re going to have to do the actual teleporting yourselves. Got it?�
�You took a look at the machine? I thought it belonged to Oz?� Adam asked, trying to keep up with the flow of information.
�Well, it did,� Duo said with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of his head. �We took it the first day, after you guys got away. Figured that technology was too dangerous to leave in the hands of the enemy. So we grabbed it.�
Oh. Somehow Adam wasn�t surprised that they�d concealed the fact that they had it from him. He probably would have done the same thing in their place � there was a whole lot that he wasn�t telling them about himself or the other Tomorrow People, and wouldn�t be telling them if he didn�t have to. As long as they helped them get home, he didn�t care how many secrets they kept.
�So how long will� changing the machine take?� he asked.
Duo looked vaguely surprised that Adam chose not to make an issue over the fact that he hadn�t told him about the machine, but quickly recovered. �Just a few seconds,� he said, waving a hand carelessly. �Just flip a few switches, and you�re set to go. And we�ll destroy the thing after you leave.�
Adam nodded. He would prefer that nothing like this ever happen again. He knew the chances of that were slim, though. Trouble seemed to find them on an astonishingly regular basis. It wasn�t as if they went looking for it, it just seemed to stumble on top of them.
�How soon can we leave?� he asked.
�Yeah, we kinda guessed you�d feel that way,� Duo told him. �Unfortunately, we stored the machine in eastern Europe.�
Adam frowned slightly. �Where are we now?� he asked.
�You don�t know?� Duo sounded surprised. �How?�
Adam sighed mentally. He really didn�t want to give them any more information, but they were helping them� �Teleporting doesn�t work that way. You sort of picture where you want to be, and then teleport there. If you don�t have some outside reference, it�s impossible to tell where you are.� He looked around the room. �I�m assuming we�re either in America, England, or Australia, because the newspaper is in English,� he said, pointing, �but I don�t know any more than that. And you could have brought it in. It�s usually pretty easy to figure out where you are, though.�
�Australia, is that where you�re from?� Duo asked, eyes sharp as he analyzed the information.
�Originally.� Adam most definitely did not want to discuss his past.
Duo must have read the warning in his voice, because he held up his hands. �It�s all right, I understand � not going there,� he easily agreed. �I see what Jade meant when she said that she didn�t know where you were staying, now.�
Adam�s eyes narrowed. �You saw Jade?� :Jade, when did you come out here?:
:The day after Ami first came,: Jade said meekly. :And really, you don�t have to tell me how incredibly stupid and pigheaded it was of me,: she added. :Ami and Megabyte have been telling me for days.:
:We�ll discuss this when we get home,: Adam said darkly, then turned his attention back to Duo, who was answering his question.
�Yeah, right after� oh yeah! Megabyte said you were asleep! They didn�t� oops.� Duo grimaced.
Megabyte, too? Adam made a mental note to extend that discussion to include Megabyte, too. General Damon would never forgive him if anything happened to Megabyte. Ditto for Jade and her mom. And he didn�t even want to think about what Mrs. Jackson was going to say when they got back.
�Thank you. Now, where are we?� Adam asked, deciding he didn�t want to go into the other issue with these people.
�Well, I guess it doesn�t matter much to you, but we�re in the northwest corner of what used to be America, before the Earth-sphere Alliance was formed,� Duo told him. �It�ll take us a day or two to get out there. As for you guys��
�We can teleport out there whenever you arrive,� Adam told him. �As long as he�s there,� he nodded towards Quatre. :Tell them we can go home in a couple of days,: Adam sent to Ami. He felt her excitement and smiled slightly. �It�s just when that�s the problem. We don�t want to teleport onto a full airplane� or however you�re planning to travel,� he quickly amended.
�Yeah, we kinda figured that was the problem,� Duo said, then fished something out of his pocket and tossed it to him. Adam reflexively caught it and looked at the little black cylinder with complete bafflement.
�What�s this?�
�It�s a very crude communicator, one-way, untraceable,� Duo told him, a curious look on his face. �You don�t have them?�
�Our technology is� a little behind yours. We don�t have colonies or mobile suits.�
�You don�t?� Duo sounded shocked, even scandalized.
�No. Yours was the first one I�d ever seen.� Adam tried not to let the fear he still felt at the memory show. Sometimes having a nearly perfect memory was not as fun as you�d think.
Duo grimaced. �Oh. Sorry. Anyway, it�s pretty simple. When we get to the site, we�ll flash you � that thing will beep and the light on the end will flash a couple times. Just keep it with you, and when it flashes, you can come over. Got it?�
Adam nodded and stuck it in his pocket. �Yes. Thank you. Thank you very much.� He hesitated, then added, �I misjudged you at first. I�m sorry for that.�
Duo looked genuinely surprised at the comment. Adam figured he didn�t have too many people say stuff like that to him. The other three stood in the background, looking like a bunch of statues, and Quatre had his hand pressed against his chest, for some reason. Adam felt a slight brush against his mind and unconsciously shielded against it, then felt the touch withdraw. Of the own accord, his eyes rose to meet Quatre�s.
�I have to go,� he said nervously, and teleported out before Quatre could say anything.