19-July-2001
Title: Chasing the Crown, an Extended Family Fic
ExFam Authors:
RavynFyre - ravynfyre@hotmail.com
von - sablexo1@yahoo.com
bonnejeanne - bonnejeanne@yahoo.com
*Special Guest Writer! Nixie the Pixie!*
Nixers - Nixerchan@aol.com
Category: yaoi, AU
Rating: NC-17 for now, that will change
Pairings: 1x2, 3+4
Spoilers: Series, Endless Waltz, Mission: Arcadia
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing characters and universe are the property of the copyright owners.
Kenny, Duan, Wufan, Tryan, Carter, Jack and the Ripper, and everything relating to Rip & Jack's universe are ours. No money being made here.
Feedback: Any and all comments, feedback, critiques welcome, be they short or long.
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
WARNINGS: AU (Alternate Universe), Original Characters, LEMON in some sections. Kiddie-Angst.
With outward bored detachment, Marcus eyed the social dance swirling about him as he drained the glass he'd plucked from a passing tray a moment before. Carelessly swapping it for a fresh glass from another passing tray, he surreptitiously watched the Chinese brat usher the horde of children out a pair of French doors into the garden beyond. Carefully swallowing back the sneer teasing at his lips, the dark-haired Preventer started slowly weaving his way through the crowd to an empty windowseat.
Vile little guttersnipe, that Wufei. Turning his back on Dekim and Mariemeia's army the way he had. If he hadn't turned coat there at the end, perhaps Dekim would have had his way, and there would have been no need for this utterly insipid party. For all the good it would have done Dekim to have won. A dark smile turned up the corners of Marcus' mouth as he leaned against the wall beside the window and peered out, sipping at his fresh drink.
The lights of the manor cast a pale glow over the gardens, faintly illuminating where the loathsome Gundam pilots had gathered with their precious children. Interesting thing about children... They get lost so easily. Curious little minxes can get themselves hurt, or even worse, with their childish explorations. And wouldn't that be a tragedy for brave Chang Wufei?
Pale hazel eyes narrowed as Marcus offered a mock salute with his glass to the group gathered so unknowingly in the garden.
From the shadows, a pair of brown eyes watched the Preventer as he raised his glass to the window in salute. Knowing every square inch of the grounds, Une's eyes narrowed as she watched Marcus look out over the gardens.
Stepping into the light, she moved closer, feeling an old part of herself come to the fore. The look on the Preventer's face and his behavior earlier left her to conclude that he was up to something at the least.
"Preventer McCormick!" she said, hearing the commanding tone of her own voice fill the hallway. More than one OZ soldier had quaked at that timbre and she was not above using her skills now.
He spun away from the window, almost sloshing his drink at her feet, as he turned to face her. Blinking in surprise, he settled the appropriate look of attention and discomforted fear on his face as he answered, "Yes, mam, Lady Une?"
Walking to the window, Lady Une looked out. "Hn," she remarked, turning to face McCormick. "Can you explain to me why you chose to disrupt the Vice Minister's party in such a manner that could possibly cause scandal?"
"I'm very sorry, Lady. That was not my intent," he answered, slipping into a shadow of an 'attention' pose as he faced his commanding officer.
"And can you tell me what *was* your intent, Preventer?" Une said, walking up to him and removing the glass from his hand.
He thought quickly, carefully maintaining his mask of polite respect and faint fear as he discarded several answers. "I... I'm not sure, mam. I suppose... I was merely frustrated seeing such a talented man wasting his abilities on a civilian life," he replied, mixing in the right amount of hesitance and disappointment in his voice.
Lady Une walked around until she was facing the man. Having discarded the glass of wine on the sill, she looked into the pale hazel eyes before her. "Cut the crap, McCormick," she said, sharply. "I am sure you are aware by now of the role I played while His Excellency was alive. I have no doubts that you are up to something, though I don't know what at this time. Suffice to say, that if I find out that you have caused the Gundam pilots, the Vice Minister or her attaché any harm or ill will at all, I will clear my desk of all my duties and take care of you myself. Is that clear?"
Allowing his eyes to widen in fear, Marcus nodded quickly. "Yes, Mam. Crystally," he answered quickly, snapping off a salute.
"Good," Lady Une replied. "Now since I ordered no one to pull surveillance duty on the Gundam pilots, I suggest you move out."
He swallowed and nodded, making sure to stammer slightly as he answered, "Yes M-mam..."
Waiting a respectful few moments, he turned and walked swiftly away, slipping out of sight. Once he was certain Une could no longer see him, nor were any of her pet lapdogs in evidence, he dropped the cowed expression in favor of a blank-eyed clenching of his jaw. Stupid twit. When the revolution came, she would be among the first up against the wall.
He felt a dark sort of heat flush through him, and his nether regions tightened almost painfully at that thought. Oh yes.... maybe *the* first. The phantom of a malicious smirk twisted at his lips as he slipped ignored through the halls.
Standing to one side of the dance floor, Mr. Bates tilted his head, and the fingers resting on Dorothy's arm rippled lightly, as if playing an unseen instrument. His lips curved slightly as he observed the dancers, particularly the small figure of Duan, surrounded by Tryan, Carter and Wufan along with Mariemeia. The adults who were dancing gave the small ones plenty of room and a hoard of indulgent smiles. Kenny leaned against the bandstand, arms folded, but his foot tapped with the music.
On the other side of the dance floor, three distinctive figures could be seen also observing the dancers. Three Gundam pilots, to be precise.
Dorothy shifted against Mister Bates' side, turning a little to follow his gaze over the children. "You're connected to them somehow," she said quietly.
Jack turned inclining his head every so slightly. "Distantly, I suppose, in some ways. Intimately in others."
An amused smile tugged at her lips as she continued to watch them before turning her gaze to the three quiet sentries across the room. "Why do I have the feeling that you have been more intimately involved in all of our lives than I could even begin to guess at?"
"Not at all," he said serenely. "Only marginally up to this point. Intimately? ...that is why we are here now."
"Hm. As you will," she replied with a sigh. "I believe I owe you a forfeit, Mister Bates," she said, inclining her head in the pilots' direction, "If you'll pardon the rudeness of my abandoning you..."
"Of course," he replied, green eyes glittering with pleasure.
With a wry smile, she nodded politely and disengaged herself from him, making her way over to Heero, Duo and Wufei with confident, measured steps.
Watching the dance floor, Heero folded his arms over his chest. There was a small smile on his face as he watched the kids dance. Each had their own sense of timing and on one occasion had surprised him by lining up and doing the same step flawlessly.
"Good evening, gentlemen," Dorothy said as she approached, "It winds down in a gradual pace. Morning will be upon us before we realize it, and I have yet to have seen any of you grace the dance floor with your presence..."
Heero glanced up at Duo.
The braided pilot held up his hands in a warding gesture. "Thank you, but no. I dance in public only after the hearty application of potent forms of alcohol. Besides, we could accuse you of the same thing."
"Hm... This is true. I thought perhaps I could convince Heero into helping me rectify that situation for both of us," she said graciously. "And perhaps offer you a bit of restitution by facilitating my humiliation."
Heero looked up sharply as his name was mentioned. There was something in the statement that Dorothy made that caused him to feel stuck for some reason. "Hn," he said, quietly. He looked to Duo and Wufei, then back to Dorothy. "You..." he began and then stopped. "We don't need to see you humiliated, Dorothy," he said.
"Again," she added with a mildly amused look at Duo.
Heero made a small growl in the back of his throat. "Let's dance," he said, reaching out to take Dorothy's hand.
She nodded politely and let him lead her to the dance floor. "Why the sudden capitulation? I didn't even have to resort to pricking your male pride," she asked, carefully keeping even the hint of mockery from her tone.
"Two reasons," Heero said. "One, this is faster. Two, I was rude to you earlier. Maybe this'll even us out."
As he spoke, and the two moved into the group of dancers, a green-eyed blond at the side of the dance floor smiled and made a slight, rippling gesture with his fingers, and the music changed smoothly to a waltz.
On the bandstand, the musicians looked a little startled, although their hands did not miss so much as a beat in the change.
On the floor, there was a brief startled murmur of protest which died softly like a summer breeze into pleased romantic sighs as the dancers suddenly moved in step with the music, arms reaching for partners and expressions softening instantly.
Heero sighed, grateful that the music had changed to something a little less active. He figured his own personal humiliation would be less with the more formal dance.
Taking Dorothy's hand and placing his own at her waist, Heero stepped in closer and began the waltz. He moved them smoothly in with the other dancers and looked up at Dorothy as he danced her around the floor.
She offered him a smile that hovered between grateful and secretive, following his lead as effortlessly as if they'd been dancing partners for years, rather than seconds. "Miss Relena never mentioned that you were a fine dancer."
"She probably forgot, considering that when we danced before, I threatened to kill her," Heero said, pulling Dorothy closer and whirling her in time to the music.
"Yes, I seem to recall that that made quite an impression on her," she observed. "Mister Bates tells me that you and the others did a 'job' for him once?" she asked curiously.
"Hai," Heero responded. "You're close to Mr. Bates?"
"We've spoken several times since Gemini Ltd. began funding Miss Relena's work. Today was the first we'd ever met. He's quite intriguing, don't you think?"
"Yes, quite," Heero replied. "So, what has he told you about himself?" he asked.
"That he is a man who appreciates a good game," she replied smoothly. "Would you tell me of this... Arcadia of which the children spoke? Mister Bates mentioned a world which you greatly influenced... Are they the same?" she asked, tilting her head to one side with polite, though definite, interest.
Heero thought for a moment as he decided what he could tell her, if anything. It then occurred to him that if Jack was talking to Dorothy, and Zechs mentioned her, then it would be a safe bet that he could talk to her too. Besides, it was like Duo said, they had power enough to take care of her, should they care to do so.
Looking at her, Heero said, "Yes, the two are the same. I couldn't tell you where it is exactly, but Jack and Ripper asked us to help the city out. Actually, it was to help Kenny out at first. It's how we met him. From what I could tell, the City of Arcadia is a pretty finite place. There's not that many people there and they're working very hard to keep things going."
"Sounds quite intriguing," Dorothy murmured. "There's more to it," she guessed shrewdly.
Heero nodded.
"I would be interested in hearing about it some time. It must be an interesting story," she said.
"Yes," Heero said, "It's simpler, the city, I mean. I liked that part."
"Simpler than this?" Dorothy asked, indicating their surroundings with a nod of her head, "Or simpler in general? Speaking in hieroglyphics would be simpler than politics."
Heero thought for a moment. "Well, when you only have about a hundred people and half of those are children to deal with, then it's simple," he said.
Dorothy had no answer to that, save for a single quirked brow. This 'Arcadia' sounded curiouser and curiouser with each passing moment.
The music swelled a little and then reached the final flourish, but did not stop, blending into another song.
Suddenly they were flanked by a tall figure, who tapped politely on Dorothy's shoulder. "Mind if I cut in, dear?" the redhead asked, grinning. Without waiting for an answer, Ripper skillfully slipped his hand between hers and Heero's.... taking her place.
Smiling down at the Japanese pilot, he took the lead effortlessly and twirled the Perfect Soldier back into the middle of the floor.
Heero felt a flush creep up his neck and his face registered unbridled shock. He looked up into the redheaded man's face with an expression of absolute betrayal.
"Sweet," Ripper murmured, grinning merrily.
Duo cocked his head as his partner stalked off with Dorothy in tow. Glancing over at Wufei, he offered the Chinese pilot a curious shrug. "That was unexpected."
Wufei took a breath and let it out. "Unexpected seems to be the rule for this party," he mentioned. He watched the Perfect Soldier and the blond-maned attaché begin to circle the floor to waltz time. Surreptitiously, he threw a quick glance at Duo.
"God forbid we let you get bored, Wu-chan," Duo replied, relaxing back against the wall again. He smirked to himself as he noticed Wufei's darting look. "Spit it out."
Wufei scowled slightly. He was silent for a moment. Then he said, "You did something. Possibly that... mirror thing," he said, a slight color rising in his cheeks. "You... you changed his mind somehow."
Duo smiled, his eyelids drooping half shut as he pondered their morning. "Hmm... Not so much 'changed', really... More opened his mind to the possibilities," he replied, unconsciously licking his lips as a wave of remembered heat flashed through him. "We talked," Duo explained, "Not the mirror. That was something else that needed to be done."
"'Needed to be done'?" Wufei said, and dropped his eyes to the floor. "Why? I mean, why did you do this?"
"This? This what? Start flirting with you?" Duo asked, shifting sideways a hair, slowly edging closer to the Chinese pilot.
"That... and changing Heero's mind about..."
"About finding other people attractive and not reserving sex for just between the two of us?" Duo interrupted blithely.
Wufei looked up with wide eyes and swallowed. "Hell yes," he said in a low voice. "Why would you jeopardize... what you have between you...? I can't believe you have no better reason than a... what did you say? Unleashed... libido..."
Duo's secretive grin faltered momentarily as he glanced at the Chinese pilot from the corner of his eyes. He played it off quickly with a softly lighthearted chuckle and a shrug. "Because, Wu... I'm tired of playing by everyone else's rules. We all deserve a chance to be happy... and maybe I don't really think I'm jeopardizing anything."
Wufei watched the violet-eyed boy's face intently, noting the momentary hesitance, and the glance. The Chinese pilot found that he was breathing very deeply. He turned, leaning his shoulder against the wall to face Duo more directly. "So you want to make up new rules, Duo?" he said softly, his dark eyes focused on Duo's face.
"Why have rules at all?" Duo asked quietly before turning his head to peer at Wufei from under his bangs. "Why not just live, Wufei?" He murmured, his voice dropping to a soft whisper while a pleased smile flitted across his lips at Wufei's use of his name.
"Just... live..." Wufei repeated, as if the idea was just beyond the edge of his comprehension. Suddenly he reached up, and placed his hand alongside Duo's cheek, leaned forward and pressed his lips to the other boy's. It was brief, but warm, and not without a taste of tongue against Duo's mouth. Then his hand dropped and he leaned back. "You mean like that?"
Duo's eyes fluttered opened again, as they had drifted shut when Wufei had reached out to his cheek. A slow, sensual smile spread over the braided pilot's lips as he nodded. "It's a good start, Wu-chan..."
Wufei closed his eyes and then opened them to look at Duo with a war of emotions roiling in his face. "Why can't we? Because it would all fall apart... madness and chaos. I... I..." his words faltered and then his senses were alerted to something out on the dance floor. He turned, in time to see the figure of the tall redhead pull Heero Yuy into his arms.
"Now there is something you don't see every day," Lady Une murmured to the Vice Minister.
Relena's hand crept up to her mouth to cover her expression as she tried not to smile in delight.
Dorothy blinked in perplexity for a bare moment as her partner was skillfully stolen away. Shaking her head, she deftly slipped through the crowd to the edge of the dance floor, where she spied Relena and Une standing. A wicked smile crossed her lips as she changed her trajectory and slipped up beside the Vice-Minister, seizing her hand. "Perhaps he had the right idea," she said, motioning towards the dance floor with her free hand.
Relena gave out a startled laugh and blushed furiously, as she accepted the invitation. "Why not?" she said, grinning.
Lady Une looked from Dorothy to Relena somewhat puzzled. "Huh?" she said, then looked back to the dance floor and shook her head in disbelief.
From his vantage point along the wall, Duo felt his jaw drop open as Rip expertly snatched his lover from Dorothy on the dance floor. With his eyebrows taking a semi-permanent vacation into his hairline, he tossed a glance at Wufei, before turning his attention speechlessly back towards the unlikely couple.
Wufei's eyes were as round as saucers and his mouth was slightly open as his jaw also sagged a bit. He blinked several times and glanced quickly at Duo, his expression blank.
From the sidelines, Duan raised his fist into the air and screamed, "SUGOI!"
The next moment Duan was pulled backwards by Kenny who simply dropped his friend to the floor and then sat on him.
"I see you follow as well as you lead," Ripper said pleasantly, the mischief in his brown eyes twinkling wickedly.
Heero's expression moved from shocked to glare of death. A deep furrow appeared in his brow. "I... will.. kill.. you," he said, not daring to look around. Hearing Duan on the sidelines, he closed his eyes.
"Promises, promises," Rip teased. He pouted dramatically. "You're just saying that to get me excited, aren't you? I do love a good death threat..."
Heero shook his head slowly. "I am *not* joking here," he said, feeling fury on one level. On another, it struck him like quicksilver that this man was a lot like his lover.
"In that case there's some hope for a happy ending," Ripper replied merrily. "Do you have any idea how alluring you are when you scowl like that? Like waving meat in front of a hungry wolf, you know..."
Heero growled. His scowl deepened. "It's not... I'm not... We have to talk," he managed.
"I'm all ears, dear boy, except for the other parts which are quite wide awake but there's nothing we can do about that at the moment, so better talk while you can..." Rip remarked with a wink.
Heero's head tilted slightly at the wink. The other references didn't slip by him, but he had things to say, so he focused on them and attempted to zero out the rest of the room. "Okay," he said. "First of all, I know you want Duo. I can understand that.. who wouldn't.. but he's mine. Secondly, Duo's special. You know that don't you? I mean, he's not reacting like everyone else.. right?"
Ripper blinked and then chuckled. "Hmm... he's yours... yes, I think that's fairly evident, even I am not that thick... special? Why of course... otherwise he'd be boring, wouldn't he? Like everyone else? Certainly not... now what in the name of mustard and kippers does that have to do with anything in particular, Hee-chan?"
Heero listened carefully, ticking off details as Ripper confirmed them. He'd managed to get what was on his chest off and didn't expect the questions that followed. He was about to open his mouth to speak again, when his brain registered the familiar use of his name. Cobalt blue eyes opened wider. "Wha..." he began, then closed his mouth. Feeling his brow crinkle again, Heero fought to not do that. "Nothing," he answered curtly, still focusing on Rip.
"Did you think I wanted to take him from you?" the redhead inquired curiously. He smiled. "That would spoil the set..."
The music began to swell a little and Rip pulled the Japanese boy more tightly against him, twirling them in circles. The dance floor had become a bit less crowded as people moved back to watch. Without missing a beat, Ripper suddenly released one hand and Heero went spinning out to the length of their arms and then was pulled back, twirled, and dipped to the floor. Rip held him there for a beat and then pulled him up gracefully as the music crashed to its finale.
As spontaneous applause broke out, Rip lifted Heero's hand to his lips. Fingers moving deftly, a blade seemed to slip from his sleeve into his palm and the edge slid against Heero's thumb, making a shallow cut in an instant. Completing the gesture, Ripper pressed his lips to Heero's skin and licked away a drop of crimson forming there.
"First blood is mine, Hee-chan," he purred happily. "Next move is up to you."
With that he released Heero's fingers and bowed to the floor.
For a moment, Heero stood on the dance floor with mixed emotions. He felt stunned, humiliated and challenged at the same time. His thumb extended at an angle as he looked at tall redhead.
Reaching out, he grabbed a handful of red hair and pulled Rip up slowly to face him. "You cut my thumb," he said, with a growl.
Rip grinned unrepentantly. "It's a start," he answered. The blade dropped into his hand again and he reached up as if brushing back his bangs and the next moment Heero was holding a small handful of red hair and Rip was twirling away. The redhead raised his arms dramatically and the music changed. Suddenly a driving, thumping bass beat cranked up and lush synthesizer tracks filled the air. The lights dimmed as if on cue and from somewhere, colored beams struck the chandelier which had inexplicably begun to turn, throwing reflections of light like a... like a... disco ball.
"Yowza!" Rip exclaimed gleefully and suddenly the floor was filled with cheering, writhing bodies.
Heero focused on the tall man, moving through the people to get to him. "Hey!" he called out, ultimately frustrated as the music muted it.
Blinking away his surprise, Duo pushed away from the wall and quickly wormed his way through the gyrating crowd. Materializing behind Heero, he reached out and grasped his partner's arm, halting the Japanese pilot's progress.
Heero turned to see Duo standing there and scowled. "Damn," he swore and let go of his pursuit.
"Come on... It's getting late. We should get the kids briefed," Duo said, leaning close to be heard over the music. "We can play with him after the whole mission's done."
Heero looked up at Duo sharply, then nodded and glanced around the room. "Let's get the kids and get out of here," he said. "Wufei?"
"Still by the wall, I think."
In fact the Chinese pilot was not against the wall. He moved a second after Duo and was now gathering small bodies and collecting them to one side of the dance floor.
"Correction," Duo said, after having glanced back to locate Wufei, "He's already a step ahead of us. Let's go."
"Hai," Heero replied, curtly. He followed Duo to get to Wufei and the kids, the incident still vibrating in his mind.
As they moved away from the music, a brief look back showed an unusual picture: in the middle of the dance floor, Relena, sans shoes and with her hair unpinned from her earlier coif, and Dorothy, blond mane swinging, were dancing in a foursome with a tall redhead and a green-eyed blond, who was surprisingly light on his feet. The expressions of all four dancers were remarkably free and joyful.
Heero stopped for a moment and watched. He felt some of the tension and anger drain from him, but couldn't say why. Finally, he turned to leave, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Wufei had scooped up Mariemeia, and clasped Wufan's hand in his as he lead the way through the huge room and back towards their suites.
From her vantage point, Lady Une watched the pilots and their charges leave. She saw Mariemeia in Wufei's arms and smiled to herself, realizing that it was all right. Remembering the previous scene on the dance floor she shook her head. I wonder what Mr. Treize would have made of that, she thought.
The door to their room wrenched open with a satisfying crash as Marcus jerked on the knob. He paused for a moment on the threshold, waiting for the exclamation of surprise and fear that... never came. With a scowl, he stalked into the room and kicked the door shut behind him with a slam.
"Sally?" he called, eyes narrowed as he glanced through the bathroom door into the empty darkness beyond.
With a growl, he pulled off the stifling jacket of his tux and threw it onto a hapless chair sitting nearby. Where was that useless wife of his, anyway? Surely not still "talking" with that annoying Noin woman. Marcus vented the frustration that had been stewing inside ever since Une dressed him down by ripping his tie off and slowly shredding it in his hands.
How dare that woman order him about like a common soldier? And Sally?! "We *will* talk later." What had that been about? Did she honestly think he would let her get away with speaking to him that way in public? And for merely taunting the Chinese Brat?
Crossing the small sitting room in a brisk stomp, Marcus retreated to the bedroom and stripped out of his tux, popping an occasional button in his anger and haste. Perfect little Chang with his perfect little family and their perfect little catamite "parents". Such polite little hellions. Always having the right thing to say or the right smile to toss at the unsuspecting observer.
Marcus shivered slightly, his skin crawling at the thought of all those children, so obviously attached to each other. They'd even welcomed Dekim's little puppet into their ranks. Oh, but attachments were dangerous things. Weaknesses for the faint-hearted.
With a malicious smile curling his lips, he slipped on a pair of comfortable slacks. As he dragged a shirt over his shoulders, visions of slicing that utterly ridiculous, undisciplined braid off the little violet-eyed boy danced through his mind. For everything there would be a time. Yes.
There was a soft beep from his communicator, indicating an incoming message was waiting.
Stuffing the dark laugh tickling the back of his throat back deep inside, he crossed to the communicator, assumed a pleasantly bored expression, and answered it.
The message was a simple text one. 'Uncle Jake says he needs you to lay a bet at the track for him. It's urgent, the race is an upcoming one.'
Setting the communicator on the bed, Marcus returned to the sitting room and locked the door to the hallway. Once the room was secured, he retreated back to the bedroom and locked that door as well for good measure. Only then did he fish his laptop out from his baggage, booting it up and coding in the commands to open a special scrambled line to his 'employer'.
The screen cleared and a window opened with the image of a white-haired man with goggle eyes. His mane of white locks was thinner, and there were a few old, pitted scars across one cheek but Heero would have recognized him instantly.
"I have been anxiously waiting to hear from you, Agent M," the man known only as Dr. J said. "I'm pleased you were able to leave the party a bit earlier than expected."
"The objectives called an early night as well, so I returned to wait for your contact to report," Marcus replied smoothly. "Otherwise I would have remained to get you more complete intelligence."
"Did you manage to get close enough to observe the objectives?" Dr. J asked with a hint of eagerness.
"As close as possible with their watchdogs so attentively in evidence," Marcus replied, a faint hint of scorn and anger in his voice.
"So tell me... are the resemblences as startling in person as what I observed on the broadcast earlier today?" the scientist asked.
"More so than anticipated. Were it not for your insistence, I would have thought the objectives to be products of yours and your compatriots' tinkering," the agent answered, eyes narrowing as he recalled the uncanny duplication of mannerisms and foibles he'd observed.
"Incredible," Dr. J murmured with a pleasure that approached something unsavory. "Five little Gundam pilots. This is almost too fortuitous to be believed. However it might prove my theory about the Artifact's ability to bend probability in Its favor. I've been re-evaluating the data from the last pilot tests. None of our volunteer test subjects has had the ability to adapt to the system for more than a short period of time, without going completely mad. In simulation, even Heero's adaptability would be pushed beyond its limits. But a subject with Heero's endurance and natural gifts, and a child's ability to adapt..." The scientist fixed Marcus with his cybernetic lenses. "This could be the answer to the last problem that is holding us back. I must... have the children."
Marcus nodded sharply. "All five?"
"Yes. If they are all as similar to their counterparts, they will all have extraordinary abilities we can use. Besides, each of the original pilots was able to pilot the Zero system, therefor we may have more than one candidate for the Cobra's control processes. Even if one of them or all of them can adapt to the system, we have no way of known whether it will be usable for any length of time. Even a few days would be sufficient, but it could burn out the operator. It makes sense to have spares."
"Understood," Marcus replied, nodding his agreement to what he considered a 'negligible loss'. "It may take a little time," he cautioned, "Their guardians are... attentive."
"I would have expected nothing less. But the finest materials are always the most well guarded. I suppose your ingenuity can manage to find a way. There's no sense in putting it off. We are ready, and have been ready for some time. As you know, we've been held back by this one problem. With a solution in sight, I expect you will come up with something."
"Of course. I'll have either the objectives or a progress report for you in 24 hours," Marcus assured him.
"Excellent. Then I leave you to it," Dr. J said, and the communication ended.
Marcus smiled to himself and closed down the laptop, storing it back in his luggage. Woe to brave Chang, about to be bitten by the serpent in the weeds.
TBC
End of Part 33
Please feel free to direct feedback to any or all of the authors!
ravynfyre@hotmail.com,
fenwyck@radiks.net,
sablexo1@yahoo.com,
bonnejeanne@yahoo.com, Nixerchan@aol.com.