Title: Superman
Author: AstroKender
Pairings: 1+2
Rating: shounen-ai
Warnings:Slight angst
Spoilers: Follows the series.
Notes: Sequel to 'The Hero'. Kryptonite is by 3 Doors Down.
Disclaimers: I own nothing...not even my computer. So obviously GW isn't mine. Don't sue.
You took for granted all the times I never let you down
You stumbled in and bumped your head,
Heero leaned against the wall, arms crossed, as the scientists updated him on the current events. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. Things seemed to be spinning out of control. He did his best to remain calm, when all he wanted to do was tear down the walls in search of a certain long-haired baka. If the scientists escaped, why wasn't he with them?
Heero had rushed to the cell they had shared only to find it empty. The Japanese boy remembered breaking into the security room and hacking into the OZ surveillance records. His heart had leapt into his throat as he watched Duo stumble and collapse next to the still form of WuFei. He reached out and touched the screen, unconsciously trying to lend his strength to the fallen boy. But it was too little, and too late. Static replaced the view of the cell and Heero growled, slamming his hand through the screen.
I let you down, Duo. I'm sorry.
"Treize Kushurinada has been confined to quarters by Romafeller Foundation's High Command." Dr J's voice jerked Heero back into the present.
"And now OZ's army has been split into two groups."
I don't care. What about Duo?
"Lady Une has been shot." Professor G added. "We do not know whether she's dead or alive. The Romefeller Foundation, however, has branded her as a traitor."
The bitch deserves it for what she tried to do to the colonies.
Dr J studied Heero silently for a moment. The Japanese boy could feel it behind his closed eyelids and fought not to shift uncomfortably. The Doctor always seemed to have this creepy way of reading his thoughts. Finally, the old man broke his stare and the unnatural silence.
"Duo Maxwell and Chang WuFei have succeeded in escaping by using the internal breakdown of OZ's troops as their chance."
Yes! If I believed in God, I would thank him.
"However both their Gundams are only at 80% capability."
His Gundam isn't at full capacity. Will he be all right?
The remaining 20% will only take a few adjustments." Professor G stated smugly. "It'll be easy enough for them to take care of it if they take their time."
Heero smiled, eyes still closed. G was right. Duo would be fine. There was only one for question...
"What about Trowa Barton?" He asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Quatre turn to face him.
Dr J's voice was grim. "Since Vayeate was destroyed, he's reported missing. I'm guessing he's dead."
"We shouldn't expect him to still be alive." G chided. "It's too bad that our fighting force has been diminished, but that's that."
Dr J turned to Heero once again. "That's about everything we know of the present situation. Did you understand all of it, Heero?"
Heero's eyes flashed in the darkness.
"Understood."
Heero found himself in the same room sometime later.
"You wanted to see me, Dr J?"
J beamed up at him. "Ah, yes! Come, Heero my boy. Have a seat." He gestured to the chair beside him. Struggling not to curl his lip in distaste, Heero complied.
"How did you like the Earth?"
Heero looked at the Doctor warily. The old man had never encouraged idle chitchat.
"It was acceptable. Besides that girl that keeps following me around, I have had nothing unusual occur."
"No ones else has noticed you?"
"Ie."
"You're keeping things from me, Heero." Heero shivered involuntarily. "I trained you against such actions."
Heero stood up, suddenly angry. "You're the one who didn't tell me everything! I wasn't the only one who was ordered to come down to Earth in Operation Meteor." He began to pace, back and forth.
"Pilot of Gundam HeavyArms, Trowa Barton. Pilot of Gundam Sandrock, Quatre Raberba Winner. Pilot of Gundam Shenlong, Chang WuFei. And pilot of Gundam DeathScythe, Duo Maxwell."
Dr J stared up at him, expression shuttered. "So you've befriended the other pilots. The American?"
"I don't think of the other Gundam pilots as friends." Heero responded automatically. "Actually, I haven't had a friend from the very beginning. This guy named Duo is just like Relena. They're just annoyances keeping me from my mission."
"Oh, really? Then you might be interested in seeing this." Dr J gestured to the screen beside him.
Heero watched the playback of his and Duo's first kiss, face impassive.
If not for me then you'd be dead.
I picked you up and put you back on solid ground
"What the--?" Duo gasped.
"What is it?" Hilde asked.
Flying over the colony, careless of who might see it, was a Gundam the braided boy had never seen before. It looks almost like Wing... Duo moved to protect the dark-haired girl beside of him, though he knew it was a futile effort.
The Gundam landed only a couple of meters from them. Its arm raised, and pointed a very lethal beam cannon at the two figures. An unfamiliar voice began to speak.
"Don't move!
The hatch opened and Duo took and involuntary step backwards, almost running into Hilde. A man stepped out, wearing an OZ spacesuit. Duo hated him already.
"Duo Maxwell...Come with me. If you resist, you will die right here."
I'm being captured? Again? Man! I never thought OZ would go to these lengths.
Hilde looked at Duo, eyes wide. Duo decided to call the man's bluff.
"Please go right ahead. But that beam cannon is way too strong. Don't you care that the colony will also be destroyed?" Maybe he can force the man into hand-to-hand combat.
"I don't care."
"What?!" This guy isn't human!
"I don't care about this place. I will not finish my life as a lousy mechanic. If I can reveal the secret of the Gundam system, Tsubarov's Mobile Dolls will become outdated and nothing but trash."
So it's for personal gain... Duo thought. He should have known that not even OZ would destroy an entire colony just to capture one Gundam pilot. Gundam system? What Gundam system?
"The new OZ needs this new system. For that, I will do anything."
Duo glared at the man, teeth clenched. He didn't know what this guy wanted from him, but it couldn't be good.
"Well come to me, Gundam pilot." The soldier commanded. "I only need you."
Duo reluctantly began to climb up the Gundam's smooth surface, the man watching him imperiously from above. Maybe I can push him off. That thought was killed as he reached the hatch only to come face to face with the business end of a pistol.
"You look awfully delicate for a terrorist." Tranto said, grabbing Duo by his hair. "I'm afraid there isn't much room in here, but we're just going to have to make do." He leered down at the braided boy, dragging him onto his lap.
Duo took one last look at a frightened Hilde before the hatch closed and the two shot out into space.
Duo sat in the cockpit of the strange Gundam, numerous sensors attached to his body. He glared out from the depths of his space helmet.
"This is some pretty weird shit you're putting me through. What are you planning to make me do?"
Tranto floated half outside of the hatch, pushing buttons here and there. Duo felt a jolt as the sensors activated.
"I want you to fight the Mobile Dolls with this, Wing Zero."
Wing Zero...
"Of course, we'll be using real ammo." So if you don't fight, you'll die.
The threat didn't upset Duo in the least. "I see. I'm okay with it, but I might escape though."
"It's impossible."
"Huh?"
Tranto drifted closer and Duo suppressed a shudder, remembering the feel of the man's arms around him as he manipulated the controls. He would kill this man.
"Wing Zero can be controlled by the outside. Moreover, if you do something strange, the Mobile Dolls will attack the colony."
Bastard!
Something was wrong. Duo's hands clutched the controls tightly. The targets were beginning to blur on the screen. An alarm activated, signaling an enemy up ahead. Looking at the screen, he gasped.
DeathScythe hovered before him, scythe raised to attack. "Impossible!"
"Can you see it too?" Tranto's voice floated through the communicator. "So answer me! What is Wing Zero trying to show the pilot?"
"How would I know?" Duo shouted. "Right now I don't even know who I'm fighting..." He turned to face another suit.
Suddenly, hundreds of DeathScythe's flew before him. The Grim Reaper brought to mechanical life. Voices whispered in the braided boy's ear, taunting him.
Shinigami...You are Death...Everything you touch dies...Everyone you love perishes in agony...
Duo opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. He closed his eyes tightly against the ghastly vision, but the voices remained.
Death...You will destroy them all...Shinigami... Pictures flashed through his head. Solo, dying. Maxwell church, a burning heap of rubble. soldiers and civilians, all killed by him in this war. Quatre...Trowa...WuFei...all dead.
"Nnnoooooo!"
I am Death...
His enemies...dead...the Colony...Destroyed...Hilde...Dead... His friends...Dead...Heero...Heero?
Screaming, Duo jerked back to himself. He sat there, panting, refusing to look up and see his colony scattered across the galaxy.
"What a horrible thing I've done..."
Finally looking up, his saw before him, not a destroyed colony, but a Mobile Doll, impaled on his beam saber. Pulling the weapon free, Duo watched the Doll explode, numb.
"I can't believe..."
The colony was whole, untouched.
"Can a human really do this?"
"Yes. We can."
He glanced up to see Tranto, head cradled upon his arms, looking up at him intently.
"We're supposed to. It awakens the consciousness of a human, no, it changes it to a newer one. This system can do anything."
"Special Envoy Tranto." An unknown voice called out. "Can you hear me? Hand Wing Zero over to us and surrender. This is an order from Commander Tsubarov. Repeat, hand over Wing Zero to us and surrender."
Tranto sat up, an unholy gleam in his eye. "They've come."
Duo was too drained to struggle as Tranto lifted him out of his seat. Caressing the American's helmet for a moment, Tranto shoved the boy out into space. Duo floated helplessly, awaiting his death.
"Don't Tranto..." Duo murmured weakly. "That system is..."
A shuttle flew up behind the nearly unconscious boy. Hilde...
"Don't Duo! You can't fight in the condition you're in."
Duo smiled at the worried girl feebly. "Don't worry about me. I'm a Gundam pilot."
The shuttle opened up and DeathScythe rose like a vampire from a coffin. Extending its wings, Duo shot out to stop Tranto.
A human can't use that system. I have to stop him.
Wing Zero's beam rifle pointed at L2. Duo swooped down, scythe extended for an overhead swing.
"Stop it!"
The two Gundams danced a deadly death, striking and evading. DeathScythe was fast, but the speed of Wing Zero was amazing.
"What speed!"
"I can see it!" Tranto gloated. "I can see your moves clearly. I can even see how you die."
"LIAR!" DeathScythe's eyes burned as the double bladed scythe swept down. Wing Zero brought its shield up, deflecting the blow. Duo pressed with all his strength, but Zero didn't falter.
"He has much more power than I do."
With a final shove, Wing Zero pushed away the scythe, ripping it away from the American. Duo watched in horror as his weapon floated away.
"Got you." Tranto moved in for the kill.
Grabbing the Gundam firmly, Zero held DeathScythe in a deadly embrace.
"Baka. Haven't you noticed that this Suit's power far exceeds yours?"
Zero's enormous head grabbed the black Gundam's head, slowly crushing it. Duo grunted in pain as jolts of electricity shot through the cockpit.
"This is it." Tranto laughed. "You will die here and I shall be bathed in glory."
"What are you thinking?" Duo's voice drifted through grim with determination. "There can be a way for us to die together." His hand gripped the detonator firmly.
Aware of his intent, Tranto shoved him away, gasping.
"Leave me alone. I won't lose. I won't lose to you!"
"If you lose, it won't be because of me. It would have been because of Wing Zero."
"I will not lose." He pointed the beam cannon at Duo.
"Don't you get it?" DeathScythe's buster shield flared to life. The beam and the shield flew towards each other.
A giant explosion lit the darkness. Ignoring the pain, Duo forced DeathScythe thrusters to activate, shooting his through the blast.
"I will not lose. I should not lose. With such a system here..." The rest of his words were swallowed by a scream. Duo heard the glass of Tranto's helmet shatter and watched as Wing Zero floated lifelessly through space. He ripped his own helmet off and gazed at the Gundam.
"A human can't go on doing such things. If he still does, he no longer becomes human, but something else."
Heero...
Thousands of miles away, on Earth, Heero Yuy sat, panting in the cockpit of the Gundam called Epyon.
"It's the same, this is the same as Zero..."
Normally dark-blue eyes turned white, then red.
"Eliminate everything. Everything that fights is the enemy!!"
He sat, alone on the charred and bloody battleground. Now normal eyes closed tightly as Heero tried to fight the afterimages from his mind.
"Duo..."
If I go crazy...
Owari
(:./astrokender/superman2)
