Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mission: Wings of a Dove ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

All the standard stuff: Gundam Wing and its character are not mine.

I couldn't understand then, and I still can't understand it now. How the hell had we gotten ourselves into such a mess? …

I shifted uncomfortably in the transport truck, unable to doze in the bouncing vehicle and too tired to really stay awake. It had been two excruciating hours since we left Preventors HQ.

Oh. Snap. We were all Preventors. Like I said, it beats the hell outta me as to why we agreed to it. They were only temporary positions; high ranks too. HQ was having trouble dealing with a bunch of terrorists known as the Desert House Group. They'd been causing a lot of trouble, and were gaining strength and numbers. They were endangering the still fragile peace that my comrades and I had worked so hard to achieve! So, when HQ asked us to join them until the terrorists were contained, we agreed. Wufei had shown us all the ropes once we arrived. It was hard to believe that the war had ended four years ago. I'm tellin' ya though, being a Preventor can sometimes be as dangerous as it had been as a pilot!

Most of the time it's not so bad, just a little challenging at times. But the last mission was a total failure. In all honesty, we were lucky to leave Colony L2 alive.

But gods we were tired… I was rudely roused from my dozing as the truck bounced again. I sighed and decided to be my observant self instead of trying to sleep. The realization of how exhausted everyone really was kinda hit me then.

I'd never know Heero to just stare into space like that. He was pale; it almost looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open. He was leaning heavily on Wufei. Heero was actually the one to save our asses. Big flippin' surprise. His quick thinking got us out alive, and now he suffered four badly cracked ribs. Not a good thing when you're stuck riding a crappy old transport.

Wufei was letting Heero lean on him, a very futile effort to make him a little more comfortable. But perfect soldier boy tried his best to hide the pain. Wufei was gracious to let him lean on his shoulder and try to look as inconspicuous as possible at the same time. As drugged as Heero was on painkillers, though, it was probably a good idea to have him leaning on someone.

And oh, poor China boy. Wufei was constantly rubbing his eyes, trying to stay awake. The physician at HQ had suspected that he might have received a concussion in the ambush on L2. As a result, the doc gave him strict orders not to run the risk of sleeping until late evening.

None of us were doing a good job of keeping our eyes open, but who could blame us? We all had our share of minor injuries.

…

Oh hell. We were a mess.

I was just as bad off as any of the others. Back at HQ, I had spent the entirety of our miserable debriefing nursing a black eye, which was now swollen shut. A little sore here and there… especially my ass… The truck wasn't helping any.

Quatre had propped himself in a corner of the covered truck. He dozed heavily, but woke with a start every time he seemed to be almost asleep. Trowa sat next to him, eyes closed and arms crossed. He gave no sign as to whether he was awake or not, but I doubted he was asleep.

I snorted at a sudden thought. Something I had never cared enough to observe before.

Even sitting down, Trowa towered over the rest of us. And now, gods forbid, we were in our early twenties. Things certainly had changed since our war days.

Trowa was now an easy six foot three. His frame hadn't filled out much, though; he was still skinny as a rail.

Quatre must have had a growth spurt just after the end of the war, because he was suddenly much taller than I remembered him. I'd estimate… around five eleven now. His jaw line had filled out a little, but those big innocent eyes never changed. His eyes and his hair always make him look younger than he really is.

I stood as tall as Quatre; still skinny as ever, but never as bad as Trowa. Hey, stealth is my specialty; stealth and skinny go hand in hand, y'know? My pride and joy was, and is, still attached to my head. My braid was a little longer, but that should come as no surprise to you, since I never cut my hair.

Heero stood at about five nine, in my opinion. He kept his hair shorter now; my guess is that it had gotten thicker, and harder to take care of. He was still the perfect soldier, but a little more talkative than he used to be, I guess.

Now, if you wanna talk about stoic, talk about Chang Wufei. He's the shortest of us; not surprising when you look at his strictly Chinese lineage. He always stood tall, though. A very justified five and a half feet. His ponytail was a little longer, but other than that, virtually nothing about him had changed.

I played restlessly with the cross necklace I never take off, wanting nothing more than to get off this blasted truck.

It was another hour of uncomfortable shifting and useless dozing before the transport finally ground to a halt. It took my drowsy brain a minute to realize that we'd finally made it home. Trowa and Quatre were already halfway out of the truck, dragging their duffle bags with them. I slowly got to my feet, biting my lip as muscles protested against the movement.

I glanced over at Heero and Wufei, and muttered a quiet curse.

Heero was staring at me expectantly, silently begging for help to get up. Wufei had his head leaning back against the transport, asleep as far as I could tell. I'd have to keep a closer eye on him for the next few hours to make sure he wouldn't fall asleep. Doc's orders.

I made my way over to them and crouched down in front of Wufei. A shadow moved over us, and I looked up to find Trowa. I watched in secret relief as he carefully helped Heero to his feet and shouldered some of his weight. Quatre was waiting outside the truck to help them down. I turned my attention back to Wufei. Surprisingly, he was still sleeping. Of all people to sleep through something like that, he was the last person I would think of.

Very carefully, I called his name. Something less should have woken him, but this didn't. I was hesitant to touch him; you can never tell when that soldier's reflex will kick in. I called louder this time.

"Yo, Chang! Duo callin'!"

He stirred this time, taking in a deep, tired breath and opened his eyes half way.

"Hey, there you are," I greeted. Either he was not amused by the light tone in my voice, or he was too tired to understand what I was saying to him. He gazed about the empty truck for a moment, probably a little disoriented. I sighed and braced the side of his head with one hand.

"Look at me," I ordered, using my other hand to force one eye open all the way. His obsidian eyes were too dark to tell if the pupils were dilated. "Come on, Dragon," I spoke. "Let's get off this stinkin' truck."

With obvious irritation, he batted my hands away, bracing his hands against the truck bed and standing up quicker than I expected he would. Without a word, he grabbed both Heero's duffle bag and his own. I followed him out of the truck with my bag, watching him closely. Wufei was not known for lack of awareness, and if he really was that tired, I would have a hell of a time keeping him awake for the next few hours.

We walked up the long driveway that led to our home, one of the Winner estates. HQ wanted the five of us in one place, as near to Preventors International and Interspace Head Quarters as they dared, for as long as we were working for them. This Winner estate was in a somewhat convenient location in the middle of the countryside, so this was where we chose to stay.

Quatre fell back to walk side by side with me; he must have been thinking I was the most aware out of all of us.

"Duo," he addressed me quietly. "I didn't have to do anything with the alarm system at the gate. It wasn't set."

Typical, was my first thought. "How ominous," I muttered. "You think someone's here? Or did you just forget to set it when we left?"

"I never forget," he defended reasonably. "Guess there's not telling till we get inside."

The sun was starting to set already, and there was a slight chill in the air. It didn't do much for my mood.

We reached the front door, and Quatre searched the pockets of his Preventors jacket for the house key. I looked carefully over the door for any signs of break in. With a trained eye like mine, I could clearly see a light scratch on the door that had not been there before. My hand shot out to grab Quatre's wrist. He must have been expecting me to look over the door, because he looked at me expectantly.

"Duo?"

I pressed a finger to my lips for silence, then ran a finger carefully over the scratch on the door lock. Everything went eerily quiet then, and I could feel the tension building around us. All of them immediately got the message; it was obvious to see.

Heero moved gingerly away from Trowa, wincing a little as he pulled his gun from the holster under his jacket. The rest of us followed his example, keeping weapons at the ready as I bent down to examine the lock more thoroughly.

The scratch in the gold finish of the dead bolt looked more like it was caused by a slip of the hand than a forceful action. It was almost as if the door had been… caressed open. Whoever had broken in definitely was not a run-o'-the-mill burglar out for a petty steal. That meant the intruder was either after information here, or after one, possibly all of us. If it was the latter, then he was still here. Snap.

I passed a serious glare to Quatre, a kind of silent warning. Being the closest to the door, I took the keys from him and unlocked the door as quietly as possible. With a slight pause, I pushed the door open and immediately brought my gun to the ready. My heart sang in my ears, and it was hard to listen to the total silence of the entry hall. The shadows were growing long as the sun set, casting everything in the room into a dusky hue. I hate dusk, did you know that? That time of day where it's hard to see anything because it isn't light and it isn't dark.

Completely silent, we all crept deeper into the entrance hall. A sequence of hand signals from Heero told us to spread out and go to certain rooms. He went off to the right, toward one hallway that took the long way around the first floor. Quatre snuck off down the hallway to the left, toward the kitchen and great rooms. Trowa, Wufei and I took dead center, toward the library directly across from the front door. The shortest way to most of the first floor is through the library, which could open from tow opposite sides, front and back.

Trowa entered the library first, making sure the room was safe before waving us through to the other side. I took the lead in walking across the room to the adjoining corridor, all my thoughts focused on getting safely to the security room not far down the hall.

The focal point on this side of the first floor was the enormous indoor pool. It was in plain sight, sectioned off by tempered glass walls on three sides.

Wufei stayed close behind me, ensuring my safety until I got to the security room, where he would leave me and continue the search elsewhere.

Darkness was starting to overtake the mere shadows, making me all the more nervous. The impulse to fidget with something suddenly flared up, and I was tempted to take one hand away from my gun to play with my necklace.

I made it safely to the security room, slightly annoyed that I couldn't play with anything. Wufei walked on down the hall, continuing where I left off.

The small security room was full of TV and computer monitors, all flashing black and white pictures of different places in the mansion or on the grounds. After cautiously checking that there was no one else in the room, I sat down at one of the computers. After entering a few codes, the monitor switched to a simple floor plan of the entire mansion. The screen was divided evenly into the four floors. This program tracked any head signatures in the mansion.

There was no life on the second, third, or fourth floor, so I focused on the first.

One little red dot was just walking out of the kitchen; I suspected that to be Quatre. One was moving down the west wing hallway, that was Heero. Another was just leaving the pool locker rooms. There were two in the- … Two?!

"NNYAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

I nearly wet my pants t the unfamiliar shout, and a cold chill ran down my spine. Before I really even thought about it, I was flying out of the security room and down the hallway toward the library.

Now, I may have the fastest piloting skills around, but Wufei had the fastest feet, and he verily blew past me as we neared the library doors.

When I skidded to a halt in the library, Wufei was just turning on the lights. I had to blink as the bright light stabbed my eyes.

"It's clear," I heard Trowa's voice as my eyes finished adjusting. I looked over at him, and could only stare.

"What the hell…?" I muttered.

Trowa stood, right there in the middle of the library with his arms straight out in front of him. A little boy, no older than four or five dangled by the collar of his black T-shirt. He struggled furiously to twist out of Trowa's grasp, but it only made him sway a little where he dangled. Trowa, despite his usually emotionless façade, looked confused and slightly entertained at the same time. At that look, my initial shock started to wear away, and I felt a small grin flicker across my mouth.

Wufei moved to stand behind Trowa, off to the side enough to get a good look at the boy.

"Is this who managed to outsmart the security system?" he asked skeptically, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"Couldn't be!" I chuckled, grinning at the kid. He glared angrily at me for a minute. He was dark skinned, black haired, and I was slightly taken aback by the enormous size of his innocent cobalt eyes.

Quatre suddenly stumbled into the room. He froze when he spotted the kid. The kid, however, had seen them come in, and stared at them in complete horror. Suddenly, he sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"NYAAAAAAAANNNAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!"

I couldn't stop a cringe as his shriek ripped through my ears. I have no doubt the other did the same.

"Put the boy down." A robotic voice stung my already ringing ears. I looked up and immediately froze, my gun half-aimed before I could even stop myself.

A short, thin stranger clad all in black just appeared out of nowhere! He stood behind Wufei, one arm wrapped around his neck and pulling him back a little. The other held a fighting dagger against the pulse spot just below his jaw.

A silver plated mask covered the intruder's mouth and nose, a pair of dark sunglasses hid his eyes. A baggy black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up clouded the general shape of his torso. Even his hands were leather gloved.

"I said put the boy down," he repeated. The grainy monotone sound of his disguised voice annoyed me.

"I think not," answered another voice. Heero stepped into the room with his gun aimed. He stalked carefully toward the stranger. "Drop it."

Without a word, the mysterious guy released Wufei and took one step back, letting the knife in his hand drop to the floor. It seemed almost too easy to me…

Although he seemed slightly annoyed, Wufei circled behind him and pulled his arms back, putting him in a Full Nelson to keep him from trying anything funny. I knew my piece, and I pocketed my gun and walked up to the stranger. I reached out my hands to begin a pat search.

"NYOO TOUCHIE!!!!!" the kid screeched, making me jump a little. I turned and stared at him for a minute, confused by his spasmatic behavior. But I couldn't waste time worrying about the boy, so I shook it off and continued what I was doing. The top priority was to check for other weapons, then we could take the time to find out who he was.

"Trowa," Quatre spoke as I patted down the arms, "put the boy down, he doesn't look at all comfortable."

I sighed a little and patted down shoulders, then chest. What the…?

"I can't do that, Qua-"

"HOLY SHIT!!!" I yelled and stumbled back. Never in my life have I been so shocked, but I had a damn good reason. I felt my face grow hot, and I rubbed my hands together to try and wipe them clean of invisible dirt. Hilde would kill me if she found out…

A grainy chuckle filtered through the no-name's mask.

"Surprise."

I suddenly had a very strong urge to rip off that mask. I could tell without looking around that my comrades were staring strangely at me. So what else is new?

"Duo, what is it?" Heero asked.

"This guy isn't a guy!" I yelled, not really able to help the volume of my words. I couldn't tell if I was angry or still surprised, or why I would feel anger at all.

"I'm pleased to report there are no roaches in the tea house," the intruder stated.

I think some of the tension would have melted away, but the confusion my new, and very disturbing discovery had caused prevented that from happening. She had said the code; she was clear. By speaking that ridiculous sentence, we couldn't do anything about her being here. She was a Preventor. Wufei reluctantly released her and stepped away, walking into the middle of the library to sit down in a chair.

Mystery Lady didn't leave a lot of time for an odd silence to sink in. Her voice warped weirdly when she took off her mask why she spoke.

"Mr. Barton, will you please put him down."

"Let us see your face first," Quatre suggested. I was not so surprised by his serious tone as I would have been several years ago. Even though he was still good natured Q-man, he had grown a little more serious over the past few years. I think it's that Dorothy lady he's been dating…

Nameless woman sighed, setting her silver mask on a nearby coffee table. She pushed the hood back, revealing a long, delicate neck covered by a turtle neck under the sweatshirt, and raven blue-black hair pulled into a tight braid that disappeared into the back of her shirt.

I was struck dumb by a sudden sense of recognition. It was an odd feeling; it almost made me feel misplaced. She reached up and took off her sunglasses.

I don't know if I made a sound or not, but I know my jaw dropped. I felt my insides suck into themselves, and I'm pretty sure I hunched forward a little. I couldn't find it in me to breathe. All I could do was stare at her. My mouth worked as I tried to come up with something to say.

Why was she alive?

"Hello, Duo," she greeted coolly with a smirk on her face, then turned immediately to Trowa.

"Hi Sparx," I choked out, and immediately felt stupid at my delayed reaction. She was still alive?! How?!

"Now, Mr. Barton, will you put him down?"

Without a word, Trowa set the boy's feet on the ground. The boy rudely pushed his arms away with an angry grunt and launched himself toward Sparx. She crouched down and opened her arms to him, and he lunged into her embrace, sobbing suddenly and speaking nonsense words.

None of us were really all that able to do anything but watch. Heero flipped the safety switch on his gun, put it back in its holster, and then sat on the edge of a plush chair, keeping his back straight and resting hands on knees.

"Uh, Duo?" Quatre inquired quietly as he moved closer to me. "How did you know she…?"

I could feel my cheeks start to burn again as I glared at him.

"I bet I can guess," Heero muttered with a sly smirk on his face.

"Not a word of this slips to Hilde!" I hissed.

"And what do we get if we stay quiet?" Wufei teased.

I could only cross my arms and look away to spare myself from further humiliation. My eyes happened to land on Sparx and the boy.

She was almost the same as she had been so very long ago. She was a dark tan, though all I could see was her face. She was of Native American descent, with the slightly long, flat nose and well defined eyes. Her eyes, though, were a very light, almost iridescent shade of icy jade. Her hair was sleek and black enough to rival Wufei's, with just a hint of blue where the light hit it right. The boy she held very much resembled her.

Wait…

"Sparx, mind if I ask you a question?" I queried, shoving my hands in the pockets of my Preventors uniform to keep from fidgeting with my cross. She raised her head up to listen, eyes piercing me coldly.

"What the hell are you doing with a kid following you around?"

Her brow furrowed a little, like she was thinking deeply. She hesitated, then answered,

"He needed someone to care for him, so I took him in. I didn't plan on keeping him long, then, but he was a tiny baby. …I guess he just grew on me."

"As long as we're on the why questions," Heero interjected before I could start an argument, "why not tell us what you're doing here at all?"

"Agent Sparx at yer service," she replied smartly, lifting the boy into her arms and standing upright. "Consider me your new house-mate until the Desert House Group is contained."

"You're joking?" Wufei mumbled, leaning back into his chair. "The DHG is getting stronger. What makes HQ think you'll be of any help?"

"Ah, China boy found his voice," Sparx retorted with cold sarcasm. I almost failed to stifle a laugh. "I'm a Class A stealth worker, electrician, and mechanic. I'll be joining this little crowd of yours in the same kind of under cover work you so recently failed."

The air immediately grew stale with the tension and silence that followed. What made her think she had a right to say that?! We took our work seriously, and we were damn good at it!

"Nyanaa…" the boy said quietly, snapping out of my brief anger. I've always had a soft spot for little kids, but I don't show it that often.

"What, babe?" Sparx asked, looking down into his big eyes. He grunted and pointed past her, through the front library door. She didn't turn to see what he was pointing at, just smirked and lowered him briskly to the floor.

"Okay fine," she said. "Choose water or milk."

The boy nodded once and then skipped out of the library.

"And don't choose both this time!" Sparx called after him over her shoulder. The bright light of the library shone on the side of her face, and I saw something. When she turned her head back to look at us, I found there were two of them.

Pale, pinkish scars trailed down her cheeks, one on each side. They made tear tracks, starting from the outside corners of her eyes and running to the bottom of her jaw. I would have to ask her about those later… But it wasn't my prime concern at the moment.

She stared at us as if nothing was wrong, unshaken by the awkward silence. But to me, the silence didn't belong, and I had to break it.

"Sparx," the concern in my voice surprised me. "I know you have more than enough brains to realize that keeping a child with you is insane."

"Don't even try to broach the subject with me, Mr. Maxwell. I know the risks."

"But Do-"

"Say it and I'll make you regret it, Maxwell! It's Sparx and only Sparx!"

I sighed. She was just as stubborn as she used to be, and right now it irritated the crap outta me. I knew my comrades were completely in the dark now, so they probably couldn't think of anything useful to say. I'm sure they were all murderously curious about what the hell was going on.

Just then, the little boy came back into the room, hiding behind Sparx.

"What's his name?" I asked, nodding my head at him.

Sparx stepped aside a little and turned to look at him. The very picture of innocence. He had a small glass of milk in his hands with a straw in it. Where the straw came from, I could only guess they had brought some with them. He looked up at her, sipping at his drink through the straw.

Irritated and tired as I was, I waited patiently for Sparx to answer me. The others just stuck around, probably just as curious about the strange child as I was. Sparx seemed to be deep in thought as she watched him. After a minute, he held the glass up to her and she took it. I almost chuckled when he immediately clung to her leg, glaring at everyone else in the room. He might as well have been shouting, "Mine mine mine mine! Don't touch!"

"His name is Shiloh," Sparx finally answered, rubbing the top of his head.

"It would be safer if he didn't stay here," Heero commented. Sparx glared coldly at him, looking the slightest bit like she'd been slapped.

"I love and treat him as if he were my own son. Sending him away is absolutely out of the question."

I didn't even try to argue with her; that would be pointless. I tried to talk to Shiloh instead, hoping I could get him to say more than just babble. After all, kids his age don't babble.

"How old are you, Shiloh?" I asked. I crouched down in front of him to look him in the eyes. He let out a startled whine, ducking behind Sparx to her other side. He stared cautiously at me as he wrapped his arms around her other leg; it was obvious he was afraid.

"He just turned six," Sparx answered for him. I was a little surprised; he didn't look any older than four.

"What's the matter with him?" Wufei asked bluntly. Sparx scowled severely at him.

"I hope you mean `how is he different from others his age'. In which case, it's because he's severely autistic."

I looked over at Wufei in time to see him raise his eyebrows. I knew him well enough to know that he was a little surprised. Hell, I was shocked. I didn't know much about the condition, but I knew it was not something to be taken lightly.

Sparx turned to me, holding out the glass of milk. I took it from her before she could say anything. She smiled briefly at me, then held her hands out to Shiloh. But Shiloh was too busy staring at something. I followed his gaze to see what he was so enthralled with.

… Wufei?

He was staring at Wufei, of all people. And Wufei was staring back. He looked a little unnerved by it, if ya ask me…

Sparx tapped Shiloh on his shoulder, and he snapped his head up to look at her. He climbed into her waiting arms, rubbing his face into her shoulder as she lifted him. Without a word, she walked out of the front library door, probably on her way to the second floor bedrooms.

When she was out of sight, I released a sigh I didn't even know I was holding back. I sought out a chair and plopped into it, rubbing my eyes with one hand. Gods I was tired. This wasn't what we needed at the moment! We needed sleep, but nnoooo… Let's all find something more to do! Let's all be confused and not sleep `til this whole mess is straightened up!

"I can't believe she's alive…" Did I just say that?

"I'd ask about it," Wufei commented as he stifled a yawn, "but I'm too tired to care."

"No shit…" I muttered.

"I don't like the idea of them staying here," Trowa voiced. "It's too dangerous here."

"Well, she said she was assigned here," I said. "If it's true, we can call Ms. Une and double check. And we can check that she knows about Shiloh being here."

"Good point," Trowa agreed.

"I vote for sleep first," Quatre commented, trying to stop a deep yawn.

"By all means, go rest," Sparx said as she cam back into the room. Trowa glanced at his watch, then raised an eyebrow.

"It's only 7:15."

"Only?" I retorted irately. "Who cares what time it is?! I want sleep!"

"I think we all do," Quatre agreed.

"Then I'll be the first one off to bed," Wufei mumbled.

"No you won't," I argued. "I'm supposed to keep you up for at least another hour."

"I assure you, Duo, I'm perfectly fine. Do you want to stay up for another hour?"

"No…" I muttered. "But if you wake up dead in the morning, it won't be my fault."

"Fine with me," he consented, then stood up and left the library. The rest of us rose to follow; Heero had some difficulty standing, but managed on his own.

"I'd take a strong painkiller before sleeping if I were you, Mr. Yuy," Sparx commented casually as he passed her. "Otherwise your ribs will be screaming bloody murder when you wake up."

Heero stared at her, and she smirked.

"I read body language quite well, sir."

With that much said, Heero just nodded his head and left the library with the others. I trailed behind them; I wanted to talk to her alone.

"Dove…" I reached out to touch her shoulder. She ducked away, stood straight facing me, and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We'll discuss everything tomorrow, Maxwell," she stated before I could say anything. "Now go to bed already; you're tired. And don't use that name."

I sighed, and my fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks. My eyes felt heavy; all I could think about was my bed. So, with a single nod, I headed for the second floor. In the hallway, I suddenly remember.

"Oh, Sparx," I muttered and turned to face her. "I'm… glad you're alive."

She smiled genuinely at me. "I am too, Duo."

AN:: Thank you to Hecate, yaselle, and DC for the encouraging reviews! ^_^ And thanks to my friends for all their support! Forgive the inevitable grammar mistakes, it was a quick type up. Didn't wanna keep the audience waiting too much longer. R&R, tell me what you think!

PS: I did a lot of research on autism before daring to write Shiloh's character. Even so, some of the symptoms may not be portrayed accurately. Please forgive any inaccuracies in future chapters.