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"Evolution"Written By: The Plotting Housewife Disclaimer: Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sotsu
and associated Parties. This work is written for pleasure not profit. Rating: NC 17 Warnings: AU, yaoi, quasi-dark, genetically engineered
pilots, test tube babies, lab-created Gods, pseudoscience. Pairings: 1x2, 3x4, 5x13, 13xUne Summary: Zayeed Winner, founder of The Human Perfect
Project, makes miracles happen in the laboratory by creating genetically
engineered children. It's only when it's too late that he discovers
playing God can result in catastrophic consequences. " Evolution" Chapter 10 - Mercury Rising Duo pressed a tired hand against his forehead, groaning as a nasty headache made itself known. He rubbed his hand over his face, blowing a harsh breath through the spaces of his fingers. Damn. Zapped again. His limbs were fatigued though they shook slightly with the lingering effects of the electrical impulses and left him feeling jittery. He'd killed that trainer. He hadn't meant to, but it was just what happened when his emotions got the better of him. He rolled over, seeking the warm body still sleeping beside him. He snuggled into his lover's side, sighing with relief when Heero's arms instinctively closed around him. It was morning now, but early still. He could see the glimmer of sunrise beyond the barred windows through his puffy, crusted eyelids. The sky glowed in fiery hues of red and orange, the last of the clouds finally shifting east. The compound was quiet, only the sound of water rushing through the pipes behind the walls and the gentle breaths of his lover. Heero always took longer to recover from his shocks. Duo wasn't sure why. He figured they just had different levels of endurance. It was Quatre who recovered the quickest when he was zapped, followed by Wufei and then Trowa. He and Heero took the longest with Heero needing a good twelve hours of sleep before he was able to function. The first few times he'd been shocked, Duo ended up in a panic because he was sure they'd put Heero into a coma. Of course, his simmering fury at the doctors over what they'd done to his brother was rectified with a shock of his own. There was a no-holds-barred, zero tolerance policy when it came to any of them showing even an inkling of emotion, particularly anger. The funny thing was, they thought he and his brothers were learning not to get angry when what it was really doing was teaching them how to suppress it, control it, nurture it deep within. Of course, there were times it boiled over like the previous day, but for the most part, they'd learned how to hold onto their anger. They learned how to hide it, store it away and let it grow and fester. There would come a time when they would say 'enough' and no amount of electric shocks from their microchips would do any good. When that time was was anyone's guess, but it was coming. Duo could feel it. It hovered in the air between them like a swarm of pissed off hornets. At some point, that swarm was going to be unleashed. His biggest concern was for Wufei. They were losing him. He could feel that, too. Their shared five-way connection was, at times, being blocked off by him. It was something he'd never done before and it frightened and saddened him. What Duo was able to pick up from him were thoughts that increasingly revolved around the Senator. Somehow that snake had wormed his way in between them. He wondered if Wufei had told him about the growing sentiment between him and his other brothers. It was something he was unable to garner from him. Treize was sly, cunning, and underhanded. If he knew, he may have been taking steps to ensure that Duo and his brothers would not be able to take action against their captors. He'd felt the lovemaking between Wufei and the Senator yesterday. It was something that Wufei either didn't bother to block, or he was too immersed in the Senator to notice he was broadcasting it to his brothers. Duo felt bad for him. He had been left out of the loop when he and Heero and Trowa and Quatre paired up. Though they tried to include him in everything they did, it wasn't the same. Their intimate moments weren't something they could include him in. Perhaps Wufei's refusal, if it was refusal, to block them was his way of rubbing their exclusion in their faces. The connection that Wufei left open, deliberately, or not, gave them almost physical sensations of the activity between him and Treize. Needless to say, despite the discomfort of knowing who their brother was making love to, Duo had been unable to compartmentalize it and responded with his own surge of arousal. He was embarrassed at first, but was relieved to discover that Heero also seemed to be affected and he wouldn't have been surprised to find out Trowa and Quatre were not immune either. He breathed deeply through his nose, the memories of a few hours ago emerging behind his closed eyelids and he squirmed a little at the answering pulses in his groin. Having slept off most the effects of the microchip, he'd rolled on top of his lover who was still dead to the world and ground himself against him. The distant sensations of a hot, wet mouth around his erection, even though it was actually Wufei's, left him hopelessly horny. Heero roused enough to respond to Duo's hungry kisses and sleepily opened his legs. He only had enough energy to whimper quietly as he was fingered open and mewled when his eager lover slipped inside him. Duo felt a little bad about fucking him when he was still so out of it, but he knew Heero was cognizant enough to know what was happening and openly consented. He kept his eyes closed, breathing softly and steadily as he was fucked, biting down on his lips when he came all over himself. He went limp with exhaustion and allowed Duo chase his own orgasm, finally passing out again when his lover groaned above him in completion. Despite that interruption, Heero had slept a good thirteen hours and that was more than enough for Duo. He grinned and slipped beneath the covers, waking his love up in the best way possible. After riding Heero's morning wood, he settled at his side and enjoyed the after effects of leisurely morning sex. The air in their room was warm, stagnant, and smelled of sweat. But the sun was finally out, something that they hadn't seen in the better part of two weeks. It streamed in through the window and Duo watched the almost microscopic dust particles float in the shining beam and catch in the light. They looked like specks of glitter and made him think of fairies for some reason. Heero laughed when he told him that. "You have some imagination." Duo pushed his damp bangs off his forehead and nuzzled his lover's bicep. "That's good, isn't it?" Heero's hand clutched the base of his braid and tugged gently. "Of course. It's one of the things I love about you." Duo preened and kissed a sweaty pectoral, catching a whiff of musk. His nose wrinkled. "You need a shower." "You don't exactly smell all that pleasant yourself, you know." "Wanna take one together?" Heero's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "Sure, why not." The shower was both refreshing and invigorating. Duo could instantly tell that it removed the last of the residual effects of Heero's grogginess when he dropped to his knees and sucked him into his mouth. Duo pushed his lover's wet hair off his face, staring in fascination as Heero's lips stretched around his girth, his cheeks hollowing out. Duo released into that hot mouth, sucking air through his teeth, then returned the favor. Heero washed his hair as he always did when they showered together and Duo basked in the soothing sensations of his love's fingers massaging shampoo into his scalp, made even better with the overall warmth in his body from incredible sex. He could sense the same worries weighing in Heero's mind, though he didn't speak of them as they finished washing up. Heero was quiet, contemplative as they dried off and Duo didn't push him. There was time for that discussion when they met with Trowa and Quatre for breakfast. Though if Wufei decided to attend, which he didn't always do lately, it would complicate things. Their relationship with him was tense now, especially between he and Heero. Heero didn't much care about Wufei's motivations for doing what he did. His concern was more focused on the fact that their brother was being used. Possibly even using Wufei against them. The most worrisome part was that Wufei didn't seem to realize, or care. They quickly got dressed and Duo's stomach rumbled with hunger. Heero smirked at him as he slid his jeans on and Duo snapped a towel at him. "I'm hungry. Don't judge me." They walked down to the cafeteria, their hands clasped together. It wasn't actually the cafeteria. The real cafeteria was what the staff used for their meals, but it was off limits to the five of them. Their meals were taken in a room at the end of a long corridor that offset their bedrooms. It doubled as a rec room. There was a round table in the corner surrounded by folding chairs which was where they ate. In the center was a long sofa and a couple of easy chairs. Along one wall was a large vid screen where they could watch television and movies and the wall to the right of it was lined with shelves that housed video disks, games, puzzles, and other activities to keep themselves busy. Trowa and Quatre were already seated at the table when they entered the room. Quatre greeted them with his usual cheer and Duo could sense the languidness of sexual satisfaction. He grinned and plopped down next to his blond brother, reaching over him to swipe his croissant off his plate. "Duo." He glanced up at Trowa, taking in the dark eyes and the brows that lowered over them. He smiled sheepishly and broke a small piece off, setting the larger part back down on Quatre's plate. "Sorry, Quat. Hungry is all." Quatre sent his lover an admonishing look and slid the rest of his croissant onto Duo's plate. "It's quite alright, Duo. I'm not all that hungry right now anyway." He reached for the fruit bowl instead. Duo chowed down on the croissant, moaning at the flaky, buttery goodness. Say what you would about this place, but the food was stellar. Trowa looked over at Heero as he sat down and quietly unfolded his napkin into his lap. "How are you feeling?" "Fine now." Quatre's face was worried as he propped his chin on a fist. "It seems like every time this happens, it takes longer for you to recover." Duo nodded in affirmation, chewing around a mouthful of croissant. "He does. He never believes me when I tell him that." "I'm fine, really." "Heero, I can feel it draining you." Duo gestured to Trowa and Quatre. "They can, too. You've got to work on not getting so upset. At least not so much that they activate your chip." Heero threw his hands up. "What, you think I'm doing it on purpose?" "Of course not, baby, but...for some reason, one we can't figure out yet, it's affecting you more than it affects us and it's getting worse every time it happens." "Listen to him, Heero. Please. You have to try not to get so angry. The chip activation is doing something to you." Quatre voice was solemn, but there was an edge of authority to it. Duo breathed a sigh of relief. Heero would listen to Quatre. Their tiny blond brother was the unspoken leader of the group. Heero nodded, looking down at his empty plate. "I'll try." "Good." Quatre popped a grape into his mouth and leaned back in his chair. He glanced over at Duo, chewing thoughtfully. "How about you?" He gestured to himself. "Me? Oh, I'm good. Felt like shit for a few hours, but it wore off like it usually does." He shrugged and helped himself to the bowl of eggs and the platter of bacon. Quatre nodded. "I know you only responded to what happened to Heero, but you have to work on your own control. You killed the trainer." He sighed, his guilt rising up and momentarily stifling his appetite. "I know. I'm sorry." "Don't apologize to me. But you know, we're going to have a hell of a time functioning out in the real world if we can't control our abilities. We can't have people dropping like flies every time you have an anxiety attack." "I know that." He couldn't help feeling defensive. He knew that, he just didn't know how to control it. He calmed some when Heero's hand closed over his thigh. "I'm trying." "Well, try harder. Both of you." Quatre sipped his coffee and glanced over at Trowa who nodded at him. There was an unspoken communication between them that they blocked from him and Heero. Trowa leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "We need to figure out what we're going to do." Duo paused with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth. "What can we do? We're outnumbered, not to mention rigged with electrical devices that put us out of commission any time we try to rebel. Treize would probably shoot us down if we tried to escape." Trowa shook his head. "He won't do that. We're his key to world domination. He wouldn't jeopardize that." "There's also Fei to think about," Heero added. "He's not going to be willing to give up his relationship with the Senator," Quatre said. His eyes were downcast and he fiddled with his mug. The action made Duo want to fidget and he reached for his clay, rolling the piece between his hands. "Not even for us?" Quatre looked up sharply, his teeth closing over his lip for a moment. "Duo, we have to consider the possibility that he will not give up his relationship even for us." Duo sputtered in outrage, though he wasn't sure if it was because Quatre had said that, or if it was the concept that Wufei would actually choose the Senator over them. "That's ridiculous! We're his brothers. He'd always choose us over that worm." Quatre's eyes were steady, challenging. "I don't think you believe that any more than I do." Duo looked away, suddenly deeply hurt. Quatre was right. He really didn't believe that. In fact, he knew with almost complete certainty that if it came right down to it, Wufei would choose the Senator. "I - I want -" "We all want Wufei with us, but we have to be realistic. More importantly, we have to be careful. I don't want to admit that we're going to have to watch what we say, do, and think around him, but we run the risk of him telling the Senator things that we most definitely do not want him to know." Duo set his slice of bacon down on his plate, his appetite gone. "I can't believe this is happening." "Quat's right, Duo," Heero said. "As much as we love him, we have to be very careful. I'm not sure we can trust him now." His face was pained when he said that and Duo realized how much this was hurting all of them. He took his love's hand, squeezing the bony fingers between his own. "That means that you're going to have to be extra vigilant around him when it comes to your thoughts and emotions." Quatre was eyeing him intently. Duo sighed and nodded in resignation. He was the one that ran the most risk of exposing their plans to Wufei. He was going to have to tamp down on himself and exert a lot of control over his emotions. Trowa suddenly stiffened, his back ramrod straight. "He's coming." "Duo." He nodded at Quatre. "Yeah. Yeah, I can do that." Though he wasn't sure he could, he couldn't risk the Senator finding out and he'd never be able to live with himself if he exposed their plans. He squeezed the clay in his hand, his palm sweaty as he tried to suppress his anxiety. Wufei would pick up on it most definitely, but Duo was almost always anxious, buzzing with nervous energy. He swallowed down his resolve and took a sip of water to cool his parched throat. Wufei entered a moment later and nodded to his brothers, silently taking a seat between Heero and Trowa and helping himself to a croissant and fruit. His brothers watched him eat, breaking tiny pieces off the pastry and placing them into his mouth, chewing each one thoroughly and methodically. Quatre cleared his throat. "Good morning, Wufei. How did you sleep?" Wufei glanced up, his dark eyes landing on the blond. He gave a curt nod of his head. "Satisfactory." Duo snorted. "'Satisfactory'," he mocked, then thought better of it when Wufei gave him a sharp look. "Sorry. You're just so..." He struggled for the right word. "Well-read?" Was Wufei's snide response and Duo flushed and looked away. "Hey." Heero's dark brows furrowed as he addressed their brother. "Don't be an ass." Wufei rolled his eyes and dropped the croissant down onto his plate. "Maybe you should tell your lover not to make fun of me then." His emphasis on the word 'lover' made Heero's hackles rise and Duo closed a placating hand on his thigh. "It's okay, Hee-chan. I did start it." But Heero was still glaring at Wufei. "You know how he is." "When are you going to stop making excuses for his behavior?" Wufei returned Heero's glare and Duo wanted to sink under the table and hide in embarrassment. He glanced desperately at Quatre, begging him to put a stop to this. "Guys -" "When are you going to stop treating us like the enemy?" Heero asked. Wufei threw up his hands. "I'm not! For fuck's sake, why are you even saying that?" "Because you -" "Oh, wait. I know this one. Because I happen to have a sex life with someone you don't like." Trowa's eyes widened. "'Don't like'? That someone is the reason why we're locked in this place. That someone is the reason Father is dead, or have you forgotten about him?" Wufei's face was red with indignation. "Of course I haven't!" He sagged slightly, his body language screaming of defeat. "But...you don't know Treize like I do. If you did, you'd understand -" "There's nothing to understand. He's a vicious, evil, sadistic man -" "You realize he has a responsibility to protect the public? As the Senator, he had and has a very valid concern about the kind of damage and hurt we can cause." Heero sputtered. "Are you listening to yourself? Who's making excuses here?" Wufei pointed at Duo. "He killed our trainer not even twenty four hours ago! Or did you forget that?" He threw his napkin down and pushed his chair away from the table. "Maybe there's a reason we're here." He wagged a finger in Heero's face. "Maybe you ought to start facing the reality that we're all dangerous and that maybe he has a valid point." Duo groaned as he felt Heero's rage spike out of control. Oh God, not again. He clutched his clay tightly and lowered his head into his arms. Quatre had felt it, too. "Heero -" But Heero was beyond listening. "I don't believe you! You know, I wondered if maybe I wasn't exaggerating when I thought you'd gone off the deep end, but now I realize just how right I was." The temperature in the room increased as Wufei's emotions began to boil over. Duo squeezed his eyes shut, knowing this was about to get ugly. "Excuse me?" "You heard me!" "You have no right to talk to me that way!" "I am your brother and I have every right to tell you when you're being a fucking idiot and right now, you are being a fucking idiot!" "Enough!" Quatre shouted. It was so loud and released so much energy, the window beyond the iron bars shattered. Duo yelped as the walls shook, wondering if the building was about to implode with all of them inside it. He clenched his teeth and waited to be crushed by falling ceiling beams. There was nothing more frightening that an angry Quatre. When nothing happened, he peeked through the gaps of his fingers, his heart plummeting when he saw his blond brother seizing uncontrollably. Trowa immediately leaped out of his chair and stepped behind Quatre, his strong arms closing around the convulsing body, trying to absorb as much of the shock as possible. Duo, Heero, and Wufei were frozen as they watched their brother succumb to his microchip. After a few agonizing minutes, he went limp. Trowa caught him easily and swept him up into his arms. Duo whimpered at the fury in Trowa's face. It took a lot to piss him off, but when it happened, his anger was almost as terrifying as Quatre's. He glared at Heero and Wufei, his eyes shining like green fire. "I hope you two are happy," he snarled and spun on his heel, leaving them all behind in shamed silence. Duo slouched in his chair, tears beginning to brim behind his eyes. What had happened to all of them? What had gone so horribly wrong between them? He didn't think anything would ever be right again. Not with half of them at each other's throats all the time. He felt lost, disoriented, and he leaned his head down onto his crossed arms. The tears flowed over his lids and streamed down his cheeks. He just wanted things back to the way they were. He just wanted his brothers back.
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