Maine realized it on their first mission together.

It was just the two of them. They were cut off from the rest of the group and surrounded by Insurrectionists. So Maine did was he did best. He became the most brutal, unstoppable soldier the project had ever seen. It didn't take long before his white armor was stained almost entirely red.

And Agent Washington didn't even bat an eye.

No, the new, little, untested rookie simply took it in stride, providing cover fire and maiming enemy soldiers so that Maine could finish them off. They worked surprisingly well together. Too well together, for someone with the personality of Wash. Wash did a good job of hiding it, such a good job that Maine sometimes wondered if Wash even realized exactly what he had shown hiding under the goofy façade.

But from that day, Maine knew. Maine saw Washington's brutality.

York realized it after he lost his eye. After Carolina was so willing to give the job of lockpicking to Wash, on the most important mission they had ever attempted. And sure, okay, York would admit to himself that he was a little pissed. Being thrown to the side in favor of someone who had no idea what the hell they were doing. Wash was their gunner, not their lockpick.

Except…Wash knew what he was doing.

York didn't even think about it until after the mission, when he saw Wash late at night practicing on a holographic lock. Sure, he set the alarms off several times, but he opened it. He opened the damn lock. And, satisfied with his work, he turned around and started practicing with his knives, and York realized that Wash had gotten good enough that he could probably match Connie or even Florida.

He would never say it to his face, but from that night, York respected Wash's versatility.

Florida knew from the moment he watched the interview with the Counselor.

David presented himself awkwardly, stumbling through apologies and clearly uncertain about why he was there. He appeared, in all ways, to be a normal, lost young man. A kid, really, who was caught between idealistic dreams of making a difference and an understanding of the stark reality that they were losing the war.

But the thing was, Florida had also seen the mission tapes.

According to the UNSC, their little Corporal had physically rebelled against his commanding officer when ordered to attack an alien contingency head-on. It was, supposedly, a rash and emotional act which had no place in an active duty soldier. Florida knew the UNSC was full of fucking idiots, but this one really took the cake. David did not act rashly in any way.

That attack was planned.

For how long, Florida did not know. But it couldn't be more obvious to him that David had been waiting for the ideal moment to strike, and the aliens had given him one.

Even the Counselor missed it. But Florida knew. Florida saw David's – Washington's – intelligence. A patient, biding cleverness. He just hoped no one underestimated it.

Others saw snippets. Actions that would temporarily break the image of the awkward, hapless rookie. When Wyoming was injured on a mission and Wash automatically stepped up and took over the leadership of the team before North even had time to radio Carolina for instruction. Of course, the second Carolina had given them new orders, he went right back to following. But North saw that underlying leadership. Or when Wash was ordered to create a distraction, and he did so by blowing up a section of a lab, so that the resulting fumes would make rescue of the victims too dangerous and would hold the attention of the entire facility for as long as possible. Wyoming saw Washington's capacity for calculated cruelty.

But no one said anything. Because they liked the way Washington presented himself. It was easier to be on a team with someone who acted like a goofy, snarky little brother than it was to face the fact that if Washington really tried, really set his mind to it, he could probably bring them all down.

Of course, not everyone saw it.

Carolina didn't see it until years later, when Washington's gun was resting on her head.

And South?

South never saw it.