A/N: Aiiiiyyaah what’s this a new fic? It would appear so. This was meant to be a one shot, and I’ll tell you how it came about. I wanted to do a motorcycle scene. Yes. Then it lengthened, and I thought I had a pretty decent plot, so here we are. Upcoming chapters will be longer, this is just to get things going. Enjoy.

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Shadow Beneath

Chapter 1: Anomaly

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“However invincible you imagine yourself to be
You are wrong”

-Ani DiFranco, Parameters

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A quiet room. White walls, white bed, white hospital clothes, but not a hospital. The only sound was the gentle monotony of the heart monitor. White washed, desolate, with only a window letting in any kind of life. The glow of the setting sun illuminated the still figure on the bed, hooked up with so many wires and tubes. The door opened and a nurse entered the room, the clacking of her heels echoing so loudly in the cavernous silence. She approached the patient and removed the chart at the foot of the bed, flipping it open. A pen was removed from her pocket, the click sounding like a gunshot.

As she was writing down his heart rate, she didn’t notice the way a pair of cerulean eyes shot open. They darted around the room, and he lost his control. His breathing sped up, and with the increasing heart rate, the nurse turned to look at him. Their eyes met, and the metal clipboard clattered to the ground loudly. She backed away, turning to flee the room. He heard her echoing cry of ‘doctor!’ fade down the hallway outside.

He sat up slowly, feeling as if his body were made of thickening cement. Something tickled his arm, and he looked down to find a tube connected to an IV bag. His eyebrows furrowed in a strange mix of confusion and fear right before he ripped out the needle. Several more of these followed, along with small electrodes with wires trailing to a complicated looking machine. With the severance of the one on his chest, the heart rate went flat. “What the hell is this?” he croaked, his throat sore from weeks of disuse. He threw back the covers and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, stumbling slightly from the head rush that followed standing up.

He shuffled over to the dropped chart, trying to steady the shaking in his hands as his eyes flew over the information. “Is that my name?” he asked himself, confused.

Patient name: Duo Maxwell

Age: 17

Status: Code Orange

Before he could read anymore, the nurse reappeared in the doorway. A look of shock captured her face at seeing him out of bed, and she eased inside. “Please, you shouldn’t be up. You need to lie down...”

“Where the hell am I?” Duo demanded, tossing the chart to the bed and making his way towards the nervous woman.

She backed up hastily. “Please, sir, I have to ask you to calm down.”

“Like hell! Tell me where I am!”

Brown eyes darting all about the room in panic, she finally turned tail and fled once more. Duo rolled his eyes and approached the open door, looking left and right down the hall. The braided boy set off, forgetting about finding out where he was, but only focusing on getting out. This was no hospital. He felt something in the air that had given him chills the moment he’d woken up. And why wouldn’t the nurse answer his question? He growled low in his throat, startling himself with how feral it sounded. His blue eyes peered around, and suddenly he spotted a door marked ‘storage.’ Maybe he could find a spare set of clothes to get into. The hospital outfit just wasn’t working.

He turned the knob, surprised to find it unlocked, and stepped inside. Instead of medical supplies and instruments of torture, he found bins on shelves. Most of them were empty, and the few that held anything contained nothing of use. Then, he found a bin labeled with his name. “This must be my stuff from when they first brought me here,” he whispered, rifling through it. There was a set of clothes and a messenger bag. He was just about to change out of the hospital clothes...

And then an alarm blared.

“Shit,” he cursed, picking a direction and darting down the hallway. Duo threw the strap of the messenger bag over his head and stuffed the clothes inside as he ran. Luckily, he found a stairwell and flew down the steps, the sounds of shouting fueling him. He came to the ground floor and hit the double doors running. They banged loudly in his wake, and he only paused a moment to scope out his surroundings. A parking garage caught his eye, and he sprinted across the empty street into the safety of the concrete structure. Immediately, a grin spread across his face, and he sauntered over. The machine was sleek, black and silver, and it called to him.

Duo examined the motorcycle closely, but his head shot up when voices flooded the courtyard across the street. He cursed angrily and his hands began to work. He didn’t realize or understand what he was doing until the engine roared to life. When did he learn to hotwire? He shrugged it off and pushed the bike forward so it was off the kickstand, swinging a leg over the seat to get comfortable.

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing with my motorcycle?!”

The braided boy’s head whipped around to see a furious Chinese teenager running towards him. He glanced over at the crowd of doctors and security flooding in his direction. “Damnit!”

The stranger reached him and grabbed his arm as he was about to take off, anger twisting his face. “Remove yourself. Now.”

“Get on, then! I just need to borrow it!”

There was a cacophony of noise, and they both turned then to look at the crowd of people coming after Duo. He jerked his arm, getting the guy’s attention on him once more. “Don’t be a fucking prude! Get on the bike!” he snarled.

Giving in, the stranger hopped onto the back of the motorcycle and Duo took off. “Put on your helmet,” he said grimly, a smile quirking his lips as he flew out of the parking garage. He took the next turn at high speed, whooping with excitement. The owner of the bike was barely able to put on his helmet between holding on for his life. Duo laughed, enjoying the feel of wind ripping at his hair and clothes. “Apparently I know how to work a motorcycle, too!”

He tensed when he heard the squeal of car tires behind them, glancing over his shoulder. A white van was quickly gaining on them, and Duo squinted. The people in front were wearing lab coats. Facing forward again, the braided boy smirked. “Hey buddy, unless you want some serious road rash, hang on tight!”

He revved the engine, and felt a pair of arms hesitantly wrap around his waist before he gunned it. He laughed again when the front of bike lifted up, feeling the indescribable rush of joy. The front tire touched down again, and they took off like a bat out of hell. The arms around his waist tightened in panic, and he snickered on the turn. His keen eyes spotted an alleyway, and he wrenched the bike down the small passage. He heard a screech as the van came to a halt, but he didn’t expect it to be over that easily.

Surprisingly enough, that was the last they saw of Duo’s pursuers. He brought the bike to a slow stop next to a deserted park, killing the engine. Their ears rang in the sudden silence, and Duo let out a puff of breath. He looked down then, observing the white knuckles and interlocked fingers above his stomach. “Dude, you can let go now.” Slowly, the stiff hands pried apart, and Duo maneuvered off the bike. The braided boy turned to look at his spur of the moment benefactor. “Hey, thanks for the ride. I’d give you money for gas, but I seem to be broke,” he grinned.

As Duo turned to leave, he dug into his bag of possessions, feeling weird snooping through his own things.

“Now wait just a moment!”

Turning with one eyebrow raised curiously, he stopped to face the fuming stranger. “What the hell was that about? Who were those people?”

Duo shrugged, ripping the I.D. bracelet from his wrist. “Hell if I know. I woke up in some strange place. It looked like a hospital, but it felt bad. I had to make tracks, and you’re bike was the prettiest thing in the parking garage, so it’s nothing personal.”

The Chinese boy furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean you just woke up there?”

“I don’t know,” Duo repeated. “I only know my name because I looked at the damn chart.” Then he started to walk away again. The other young man seemed a bit frustrated.

“So where are you going to go?”

A casual shrug was his answer. “I’ll figure something out.”

The Chinese boy ran a hand over his hair in frustration, a war raging inside his head. Finally, he sighed. “Hey,” he called.

Duo paused again and looked over his shoulder, an inquiring look on his face.

The dark haired youth sighed again. He spoke in a grudging voice. “Do you want a place to stay?”

Blinking in surprise, Duo fully turned to face the stranger. “Me? Stay with you? But you don’t even know me.”

Eyes drifting skyward for a moment, the Chinese spoke again. “I know that, but this is an... unusual circumstance. I’d... feel bad for leaving you to wander alone, when you obviously have amnesia of some sort.” He crossed his arms over his chest, frustration returning. “Do you want a place to stay or not?”

Duo grinned, hopping back over to his new pal. “Hey, thanks a lot. I appreciate it. My name’s Duo Maxwell. Who do I owe my gratitude?”

“Chang Wufei, let’s get going.”

“Can I drive?”

“NO.”