17-Sep-2002
Parallel
A Harry Potter/Gundam Wing fanfic by Stormy
Rating: R
Pairings: 1x2 (more to be announced)
Summary: Heero Yuy and Harry Potter. Transcending time and space, the mystery of what became of Harry Potter is about to unfold.
Warnings: Shonen ai (1x2), possible SBxRL (haven't decided yet ^^)
Spoilers: TPS, CoS, PoA, GoF, (HP), Endless Waltz (GW)
Additional Notes: Well, the GW boys look like they're going back with Dumbledore and company - and who knows what awaits them?
This chapter is dedicated to Kaeera, who not only reviewed my fics, my web page AND emailed me personally, but also told me that Parallel inspired her to become a 1x2 fan! ^^ I'm always happy to corrupt the masses - and I'm glad you're enjoying this fic so much! Also, thank you Shinigami, Autumn and Cherry Stain (BTW - when's the next chappie of your GW/HP fic coming out?) for reviewing each time I post. Your comments are always helpful, appreciated and insightful.
As always, check out my home page for pics and even more fics (though if you want to read my GW fics, I suggest you check out Gundam Wing Addiction: www.gwaddiction.com under "Stormy" - I don't keep even half of my GW fics on my homepage. ^^).
Doctor Ryan Sampson was a good man. He had always been told that, always had been considered a kind, patient man. He was well liked by his co-workers, and he thoroughly enjoyed his job. He fully envisioned himself twenty years in the future, still working for the Preventers, fending off retirement to work in the labs he loved so much.
That was why it wouldn't do to have a murder on his permanent record.
Grant chuckled with amusement as the red haired boy he'd been assigned to show around, dropped yet another test tube with a yelp as blue flames shot out of the Bunsen burner next to him.
"Lieutenant Grant!" Doctor Sampson in his long white lab coat loomed over the young man like an avenging angel. His hair was frizzled from when the sprinkler system had turned on during Ron's earlier experimentations with the flamethrower prototypes, and his eyes were wild. Quite a change from the normally quiet and studious young scientist he knew.
Grant grinned warily. "Yes?"
"I insist that you remove these... these children from my laboratory before they completely destroy it!" Sampson's chest was heaving as he pointed a shaking finger back in the direction of Ron and Hermione. Grant followed with his eyes.
To be fair, it was really only Ron who was causing the damage, his natural enthusiasm coupled with his complete naivety wreaking havoc in the carefully controlled room. Hermione was paging through the manual she had asked for, sitting at the computer and scrolling through documents filled with lines and strings of text that Grant knew had to be at least three university degrees above his head. "Well, I would Ryan, but Special Agent Yuy gave them permission to check out whatever they like."
"I don't care WHO gave WHAT permission!" Doctor Sampson's breath snorted in and out of his nose, his fists clenching spasmodically. His glasses slipped to one side of his face. "They are ruining countless experiments - and that girl! She's viewing top secret material--"
"Agent Yuy said if you have any complaints, then you're to take it up with him personally," Grant said calmly, carefully hiding his smile. "Ron and Hermione are close, personal friends of his and the other pilots though, so I suggest you select a different tone of voice when you speak to him."
The scientist stopped cold in his tracks, turning his flushed face to the two teenagers happily ignoring them, and then looked back at Grant. "A-Agent Yuy? Heero Yuy?"
"And Duo Maxwell," Grant supplied helpfully. He pointed at the intercom. "I believe you were about to call them?"
Doctor Sampson's jaw worked silently, his mouth opening and shutting like a gaping fish. "I..."
Grant chuckled again and punched the man lightly on the shoulder. "Ah relax, Doc! They haven't really done much damage, nothing that can't be easily fixed or replaced. I know as well as you do all the real rough stuff is locked up, and the super secret info on the computer is behind one of Agent Yuy's personal firewalls. So relax and I'll get 'em out of your hair, okay?"
Sampson's eyes were still dazed but he managed to move his head up and down. Grant nodded. "Good man."
Ron plopped himself down into the chair next to Hermione's, wrinkling his nose up at the bluish-white light from the monitor. "I think I'm in trouble."
"Really," Hermione murmured automatically, totally immersed in what she was reading.
"Yeah. That guy in the white robe is getting mad, but I don't know what Grant's saying to him."
"Lab coat."
"What?"
"It's not a robe, it's a lab coat." With no little amount of effort, Hermione dragged her eyes off the screen and glanced at Ron. "And Harry won't let anything happen to us."
"Maybe... and it's Heero, not Harry," Ron said, slouching back in his seat. He waved at the computer. "Whatcha reading?"
"Mmmm... I found some history files about the Preventers," Hermione said, turning her attention off the irate scientist behind them and focusing back at the screen. "How this place came to be built, its purpose - and look! I even found bio files on the Preventor agents." She wrinkled her nose. "Well, the public ones anyway. Harry - Heero, "she amended. "--isn't here and neither is Duo or any of the others they introduced to us." She sat back. "I guess that's for security measures."
"What's it say?"
"Well, the main goal of the Preventers is to stop major security issues before they start. Things like war and terrorist acts. I suspect the Preventers is not unlike the FBI or the CIA of our time," she concluded thoughtfully. "An intelligence network sniffing out world social problems and finding the solution before most of the public is even aware there's a problem to begin with."
"Like the Unspeakables in the Ministry?" Ron asked, fascinated.
"Maybe."
"You seem to understand well enough," came a dry voice.
Ron and Hermione both jumped as Grant leaned over the computer terminal, resting his arm on the top of the monitor. "Having fun?"
"Actually, there's not a lot of information here," Hermione informed him. "I want to know more about the Preventers - what someone like Heero does here, how he got involved." She held up the manual Grant had given her. "This covers a lot of general information - but not specific."
Grant smiled. "Well, you won't find that kind of information on the comp. Special Agent Yuy and the rest of the Gundam pilots' personal records are so tightly sealed it would take Heero Yuy himself to unlock it. But," he added quickly as he watched Hermione's face begin to fall. "I know a bit of the history of this place myself. I could try and answer your questions."
"Great!" Ron crowed. He noticed the strange look Hermione was giving him. "What? I want to know too!"
"Well, how about we head downstairs to the cafeteria for some lunch while we're at it?" Grant ushered the two of them away from the computer and began herding them towards the door. "You can conduct a thorough interview over some of the best hamburgers this side of L4..."
"We're being banished?" Ron asked knowingly, his cheeks red. Grant chuckled.
"Don't worry about it kid! We'll just leave the doctor alone so he can get back to work. I'm starving too! How about you?"
Ron nodded and eagerly scampered through the door, tugging at Hermione's hand.
Grant waved cheerily at Doctor Sampson and the mess they left as the door slid shut behind him.
"So Colonel Une is in charge. And she used to work at Treize's right hand. And he was the one who ran the whole war that created the need for Gundams in the first place?"
Grant nodded. Hermione scowled blackly and tore off another chunk of her hamburger. While Grant's reviews of the cafeteria food had been spot on, the taste was somewhat soured in her mouth as she learned what kind of life Harry had been reborn into.
"And everyone trusts her?"
"People can change," Grant said seriously, setting his own burger back down on the plate. "Lady Une is devoted to peace, and Relena Peacecraft, the world Vice Foreign Minister has given her, her complete trust."
"But Lady Une was responsible for her father's death!" Ron objected.
"Lady Une was acting under orders at that time," Grant repeated. "And all laws broken during wartime were granted a full pardon by the Sank government. Relena is a very mature young woman, and realized that she cannot blame Lady Une for following the orders of her superiors during war." He smiled ruefully. "If that were the case, if a slate could never be wiped clean, then there would be a good deal of vacant positions in the Preventers. Lieutenant Miliardo Peacecraft used to be known as the Lightning Count Zechs Marquis, fighting under Treize's banner. Same with Lieutenant Noin. They are now completely loyal to the Preventers. Even Quatre Winner, the blonde boy you met earlier?" Grant shook his head sadly. "Quatre destroyed a whole colony. Granted, he was under the effects of a nasty little program called the Zero System, and he was distraught over his father's death at the hands of the colony he had sworn to protect - but he too was absolved. Wufei Chang originally chose to fight alongside Mariemaia when she kidnapped Relena Peacecraft and fought Heero in space before coming to his senses."
"How do you forgive all the betrayals?" Hermione asked softly. "I don't understand."
"You have never lived through a war," Grant told her and Ron both, looking sternly at them. "During war, one does what one must to survive. The Gundam pilots are lauded as heroes for helping to stop the war, but during battle, they were responsible for the deaths and decimation of countless Oz troops. Are they held responsible for their actions now? In their dreams maybe, and on their conscience, but officially, they've all been pardoned. As were the Oz and Romafeller troops themselves that turned themselves over to Sank's peaceful rule."
Hermione was silent as she took that all in. Ron however, looked up at Grant again. "So you all protect the peace. How?"
Grant waved his hand at the huge structure. "By using the funding granted to us by Sank and the Winner Corporation, Lady Une built the Preventers to do exactly as you said earlier Hermione - sniff out trouble and stop it before it starts."
Ron grinned, looking thoroughly impressed.
Grant was supervising Ron as he gleefully made his way through the obstacle course in the training gym, Hermione watching at his side, when she asked something that had been bothering her all day.
"What is Har-Heero like?"
"Hmm?" Grant took his eyes off Ron's progress across the slender rope bridge. The redhead was tied to a safety harness just in case. Grant didn't relish the idea of telling Agent Yuy one of his best friends had been injured on his watch. "What do you mean?"
"I've seen the way he acts with everyone - he's so different from what I remember. More cold, more ruthless - but very efficient," she grudgingly admitted. "Still, everyone either seems to be afraid of him, in awe of him or a combination of both. Why?"
Grant laughed. "Heero is a very special young man."
"I'm aware of that," she said sadly.
"Heero was one of the main reasons Dekim Barton was stopped during the Mariemaia uprising last year." Grant's voice sobered. "At great risk to himself and his Gundam, he fired a very powerful weapon at the shielded structure Relena was being held captive in. His actions allowed our forces to move in and secure the facility. The war and its aftershocks ended with that final confrontation. "
"I can understand the respect then," Hermione allowed. "But the fear?"
"To pilot a Gundam takes great strength and ability. Each of the Gundam pilots received specialized training that enabled them to fly their Gundams. They are only in their teens, but mentally, they're ancient." The young man shook his head. "I don't even want to know what kind of training they went through. They flew through the tests we conduct here as though they were nothing. I've seen reports from the war - how they were captured, each pilot subjected to some form of torture at one point or another. Yet they never gave in, never gave up. They always escaped, always came up with a plan. Only five pilots and they had an entire army on the run."
Ron had finished the course and had sidled up to the two of them, listening intently.
"Each of them had their own unique abilities to add to their group. Trowa, pilot 03 of Heavyarms, was adept at blending into whatever situation he found himself in. He penetrated Oz as a recruit and then later on became a member of White Fang. He was utterly fearless and would do whatever was required of him."
"Quatre, pilot 04 of Sandrock had the ability to sense people. Where they were, what they were doing. No one outside of the Gundam pilots themselves knows the full extent of his capabilities, but I would hazard a guess and say he could do anything short of reading actual minds. He's also extremely wealthy, and used both his finances and his strategizing ability to help them out."
"Wufei, pilot 05 of Shenlong, fought for justice. He is a master at several forms and schools of martial arts, and is an accomplished swordsman as well." Grant grinned at Hermione. "He's also a dedicated scholar when he's not helping the Preventers - as Agent Maxwell would say, he's a real bookworm. He comes across as a cold and gruff individual but there is nothing he wouldn't do for his fellow pilots."
"Then you have Duo, pilot 02 of Deathscythe Hell. Duo is a stealth artist and a master thief. His abilities, honed from spending years on the streets of L2 make him a natural at sneaking past whatever guards and security you throw at him. He's also a top-notch demolitions expert. He's a friendly guy with a sucker-soft spot for kids, but when he's in the heat of battle, he's death incarnate."
"And then you have Heero, pilot 01 of Wing Zero. Nicknamed the Perfect Soldier, Heero is known for doing whatever it takes to succeed in his mission. He's a brilliant strategist, almost on par with Quatre, and has nearly perfect aim with any weapon you hand him. He's a demolitions expert like Duo, as good at hand-to-hand combat as Wufei, and the training he received made him a lot stronger then his fellow pilots, able to bend steel bars and survive deadly crashes."
Grant finished his monologue and sat back, watching Hermione and Ron for their reaction. Ron looked suitably impressed, but Hermione still had a calculating look on her face.
"Quite the team," she said finally, softly. "It makes me wonder how much of Harry is left from the boy we knew?"
Grant looked puzzled but she waved her words aside.
"I'm just thinking out loud." She glanced at Ron. "What do you think?"
"I think Harry found a new team to help him when we weren't available," he said confidently. "Even though he had no memory of us. Otherwise why would someone raised to work independently, work within a group setting?"
Hermione stared at him. "That was remarkably insightful of you Ron."
"I've been hanging around you too long."
"But it makes sense," she continued. "No matter what the circumstances were regarding his upbringing. Harry - Heero - has always needed people, even if he wouldn't admit it."
"They make a great team," Grant nodded. He still didn't understand exactly what they were talking about, but this was something he could agree with whole-heartedly. "Quatre has always been considered the brain, Trowa stabilizer, Wufei the conscience, Duo the heart and Heero the soul of the Gundam pilots."
Hermione and Ron exchanged quick looks before nodding firmly. It just made sense.
They were strolling along the floors that housed the accounting and filing departments when the beeper at Grant's waist went off. Unclipping it, Grant held it up and peered at the message scrolling across the small screen.
"Looks like the meeting's over," he told his two charges who were watching him curiously. "Heero asked me to bring you up whenever we were ready."
Ron shrugged. "I'm ready now," he said. Hermione nodded.
"Me too." She gave Grant a big smile. "This has been fun and very informative, but we need to hear what's going to happen now."
"You've got me mighty curious about what's going on," Grant commented as they waited for the elevator. "I don't suppose you could give me a hint? Or at least tell me why you keep referring to Heero as Harry?"
"It's not really our place to tell," Hermione said quietly. "Let's just say we knew Heero a long time ago."
"Another lifetime ago," Ron muttered. Hermione jabbed him in the ribs making him yelp. Grant watched them, shaking his head.
They rode the elevator up in relative silence. Ron jumped at the chance to play with the buttons again, and this time Hermione managed to catch his fingers before he pressed all of the different floors, making an interesting ride for whomsoever would ride that car next. They stepped off, back in the main room they had first been introduced to the others in. The five pilots were sitting in a semi-circle around the large, window-paned hallway, waiting for them.
Ron wrinkled his nose. "What's up mates?"
Heero looked over at the two of them, smiling faintly, making Hermione smile in return at the friendly greeting. Duo was by his side, as always, and directly across from them was--
"Sirius?" Ron blurted out in astonishment.
Sirius waved at the two of them. "Heero blabbed my secret," he complained, his eyes sparkling. "Now I can't sneak around, pretending to be an ordinary dog, and learn all their dirty little secrets."
"Uh-huh," Hermione said dryly. "You all look like you're waiting to spring something on us. What's going on?"
"We're going to have some company when you take us back to your timeline," Heero said, motioning towards the trio facing Ron and Hermione. "Quatre, Trowa and Wufei have decided to accompany us."
"Really?" Ron grinned. "Awesome. You guys will make life a little more interesting, I'd wager."
"But what about your responsibilities here?" Hermione asked prudently. "Surely they'd notice if five of their top agents turned up missing."
Heero shrugged. "Not really. All of us have vacation time we've never used. Quatre took care of that just before you arrived. Aside from Quatre's business, which he left in the hands of his sisters so he could join the Preventers, none of us have any real ties here. If we decide to go away, everyone who knows us, knows not to look for us."
"They'd never find us anyway," Duo snorted. He winked at Ron. "How'd you like the training course?"
"Lots of fun," Ron replied, his eyes shining. "I think I definitely want to train to be an Auror now."
Sirius clapped his hands once, gathering their attention. "Well, if we're all agreed, I suggest we head back to the hotel and inform Dumbledore of what's going on." He chuckled. "I wonder what Snape'll say?"
"If its anything bad about Heero, he'd better keep his mouth shut," Duo growled. He did not like that sour-faced man who made the snide remarks. "Or I'll shut it for him."
Ron was beaming at those muttered words, while Hermione had worked up a really nice admonishing look. Sirius chuckled again. "Shall we go?"
"Are we gonna 'apperport' again?" Duo asked eagerly.
"Apparate, Duo, and yes we are." Sirius pulled out his wand and stood up. Everyone followed suit. "Make sure you're touching someone."
Trowa and Quatre clasped hands with matching smiles and then Quatre latched on to Duo's braid. Duo had one arm wrapped around Heero who gripped Sirius's forearm. On the other side, Wufei put his hand on Ron's shoulder while the redhead held Hermione's hand, blushing fiercely. Hermione grinned at Ron before grabbing a fistful of Sirius's robes.
"All set?" Sirius asked. "Then let's go!"
They vanished from the meeting room, Duo's voice ringing out as they did.
"I have GOT to learn how to do this!"
Up in the security room, a small square section of the building filled top to bottom with TV screens showing every room in the Preventor building, Ol' Pete shot to his feet as he saw a group of people vanish from the top floor of the HQ. He took off his glasses, cleaned them and then put them back on. No one was there.
"I've been working too hard," he mumbled, settling back in his chair. "I'm starting to see things."
End Part 11
Well, they're on the move! ^^ See? Slowly but surely I'm getting to the point of this story. I hope you enjoyed this, and please review!
Feedback please?
Stormy
Please send comments to: dingostorm@hotmail.com