Chapter 20
It was only mid-afternoon, and Jun was already exhausted. She had spent the entire morning at the Medical Center. After numerous tests and discussions, she had been given permission to walk again, for brief periods. She had even been cleared to go on a mission, should an emergency arise. Another day or two of rest and her feet would be back to normal. Additionally, her burns were nearly healed, thanks to the skin regeneration treatments she had undergone in the Medical Center.
Jun had been thrilled to learn that she was leaving her wheelchair behind. It had been nothing but problematic for her. Being able to walk out of the medical center, without the chair, made her feel like she was starting her life all over again.
That feeling had dissipated the moment she entered Dr. Nambu's lab. For nearly three hours now, the Doctor had been performing procedures, running tests, making adjustments, scanning her brainwaves… Jun was beginning to feel nauseous from the endless rounds of scans. But she knew it was important to ensure that Leader X could not detect her. She had been lucky to escape Galactor with her secret identity intact, but that would be destroyed if The Swan were transmitting the location signal meant for Jun Matsuo.
"Good news, Jun!" Nambu said, "That last procedure appears to have been successful!"
Jun gave him a weak smile. All she wanted to do was throw up. But at least this ordeal was over.
"I have to get back to my office, to check on a few things." the Doctor continued. "Why don't you rest here for awhile, before going back to your quarters?"
"Thank you, Hakase." Jun whispered.
"I'll see you later, Jun." Nambu said, patting her hand, before leaving the room.
Jun lay on her back, fighting the waves of nausea that rolled over her. At last they subsided, and she let her mind drift, as she did when she meditated.
She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, and she entered an almost dream-like trance. Her body welcomed the rest, but Jun's mind was still awake, and active.
Joe… this was a development that Jun hadn't expected, and yet… it wasn't entirely unwelcome, either. He had been like a brother to her for years, but Jun had never felt anything more for him. Until last night…
What had changed? Was it Joe? No, he was the same fascinating, and frustrating, person he had always been. Jun was the one who had changed. She had been so wrapped up in Ken for years that she had never even thought of looking anywhere else.
Particularly not at the person whose shoulder she cried on, every time Ken ignored her.
While Jun had no regrets for anything that had happened the previous night, she knew that Joe had been right. She had been caught up in her feelings of the moment, and needed to sort things out. The analytical side of her had to wonder why this had happened with him. Were there real emotions there, or had she just been feeling alone, unwanted, and vulnerable?
A little of both…
Still, Jun recognized that she didn't want to start anything emotionally serious with Joe just yet. She didn't want to rebound from one failed relationship (well, a relationship that had never really gotten off the ground, if she were honest) into another.
She needed time. Time to sort out her feelings… for Joe, for Ken… and for herself.
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Joe grunted with the exertion of lifting weights. He had been feeling really good about himself when he had started the session, so he had added an extra ten pounds to his usual routine.
Now, an hour later, his muscles were screaming in protest.
Still, it was a good kind of pain… one that helped clear his mind. Exactly what he needed today.
As he worked out, Joe's mind went over and over the events of the previous night. Discovering Jun in the conference room… their bizarre pact… kissing her… and after…
It was the after that Joe couldn't get out of his mind.
He had thrown himself onto his bed the moment he had reached his quarters, falling asleep almost before his head had hit the pillow. Still, his sleep had been restless, and full of dreams about Jun, and her passionate response to his attentions. While Joe certainly had no regrets about what had happened, he couldn't help wondering if Jun did. He had tried to give her some space today, to think things through on her own, but his need to see her was starting to take over.
Joe made up his mind to seek Jun out as soon as he was finished in the gym. They needed to talk… to figure out exactly what was going on between the two of them.
He had just finished with the weights and was walking toward the mats, to practice his combat skills, when Ken entered the gym.
Joe raised his hand in greeting, but Ken turned away.
Ken had seen Joe, but he couldn't face the Condor right now. Perhaps after he had talked to Jun, then he would be able to deal with Joe.
But not right now.
Ken watched the Condor surreptitiously as he took to the mat, sparring with practice dummies and punching bags. Suddenly, Joe stood up and looked the Eagle right in the eye.
"Interested in a few rounds, Ken?" Joe asked.
It sounded like a casual challenge: the kind they often engaged in. But today, there was something else behind the usual words. Today, it was about more than just practice.
It was about Jun.
Ken nodded curtly, moving out to the open area of the gym.
"Bird Go!" he shouted, moving his arm in a sweeping motion.
Joe was taken aback. He had only been suggesting a little sparring, but Ken was taking it up another notch. Obviously, he felt that he had something to prove to Joe.
Or that Joe had something to prove to him.
Never one to back down from a challenge, the Condor followed suit, transmuting even as he leapt into the air for his first attack: a vicious kick aimed at the Eagle's head.
The Eagle grabbed his opponent's ankle, twisting hard to turn him off balance. The Condor broke off his attack, turning away in a graceful roll.
Not giving the Condor time to stand, the Eagle threw himself across the room, fists first.
The Condor seized his opponent's forearms, catapulting the Eagle over his head. The Eagle twisted in midair, landing on his feet and launching himself at the Condor.
A flurry of punches flew between the pair. To a casual observer, they would have appeared as a blur, but in fact, they were an incredible series of precise movements, countered by equally precise blocks.
Usually, Joe was more aggressive in his fighting style, while Ken was more controlled. This led the Condor to take risks, often gaining an unexpected advantage, while the Eagle took full benefit of any minor weakness shown by his opponent.
Today, these roles were reversed. The Eagle was fueled by anger, while the Condor was in an analytical frame of mind. This difference was noted by both men, although the reasons for it remained uncertain.
The Condor noted that his opponent was leaving his middle unprotected, and delivered a swift side kick to the Eagle's torso. Undaunted, the Eagle attempted a sweep as he went down, knocking the Condor off of his feet.
The Condor recovered by executing a perfect backflip, ducking another kick from the Eagle as he moved in for the final blow.
The Eagle's simultaneous kick and punch were expertly blocked by the Condor. The two opponents held the position, maintaining the perfect stalemate between them. It was obvious that they were evenly matched.
The two men stared at each other, their faces mere inches apart, a primal urge reflected in their eyes. Breathing heavily, they were just about to continue the fight, when they were interrupted by a disembodied voice rising from Ken's arm.
"G-1, this is Nambu." came the voice, "Assemble the team in the briefing room, immediately."
Ken and Joe nodded to each other, acknowledging the temporary cessation of their fight. They both knew that it was far from over.
Stepping away, Ken answered the call.
This battle would have to wait.
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Jun groaned inwardly as she entered the briefing room, carefully lowering herself down to sit on the couch. She hadn't completely recovered from Dr. Nambu's procedure, and she hoped that the feelings of nausea and aching would dissipate soon. Still, the prospect of a mission was enough to take her mind off of her physical discomfort. It had been a long time since she had been in action as the Swan.
Jinpei and Ryu entered the room, chattering away about their video games, but all business as soon as Dr. Nambu arrived. Ken and Joe were the last to arrive, appearing silently just as the Doctor called the meeting to order.
"For the past twenty-four hours, the ISO has been tracking what we believe is a new Galactor mecha. At first, we were unable to determine its purpose, as it did not appear to be designed in an offensive capacity."
"You mean, it isn't designed to attack?" Jinpei asked in surprise.
"No." Nambu comfirmed. "And this morning, we received word from one of our operatives about its true purpose. The operative died to send us this information. He felt that it was that important." Nambu looked at each member of the Science Ninja Team, his expression only adding to the weight of his words.
"So, what does it do?" Ryu asked nervously.
"Essentially, it is a glorified transport ship." The Doctor revealed, "But it is what the mecha is transporting, that is important. It contains an extremely advanced laboratory."
"A laboratory?" Jun asked, "What are they making?"
"According to our informant, it is a variant of the Anthrax virus." Nambu said gravely. "It is an inhaled disease that kills 99.9 of those exposed within sixty minutes of exposure. We have to assume that Galactor plans to use this weapon on the general population."
"When will this virus be deployed?" Ken asked.
"We are not certain," the Doctor replied, "but it is expected to be within the next week or so. It goes without saying that this virus needs to be destroyed before that point."
"Can we destroy the mecha without spreading the virus?" Jun asked, furrowing her brow.
"We aren't certain what effect destroying the mecha will have." Nambu admitted. "So you will have to infiltrate the mecha, and insinuate an antigen, developed by the ISO, into the virus. Although this is a mutated virus, we have reasonable hopes that our re-engineered antidote will at least minimize the impact of the virus being released into the atmosphere."
"Of course," he continued, "it would be even better if you could destroy the mecha in an unpopulated area, allowing it to die out before it is inhaled by any humans. You must insinuate the antigen into the virus and destroy the mecha. Even if the antigen kills the virus outright, we must ensure that Galactor no longer has access to the research data from the laboratory."
"We are tracking the mecha, and believe that it will be in an unpopulated area over the Simpson Desert, in central Australia, in approximately four hours. Your mission is to infiltrate the mecha, introduce the antigen, and destroy the laboratory." Nambu ordered.
"Launch the God Phoenix. I pray for your success."
"Roger!" shouted the team as one.