DISCLAIMER – I do not own Gundam Wing.
Chapter Three
Heero was sitting at the conference table, with Noin, Sally, and Wufei. Trowa was listening in on the conversation from where the circus was in the L2 colony cluster; his face was stern and quiet as always on the screen. Duo and Quatre walked in to take their seats, making the idle chatter between Noin and Sally end as the meeting came to order.
Noin was the head of this conference. "I'm glad we could all be here," she began, glancing around the table at everyone seated, and Trowa on the monitor. "As we're all well aware, there is a new threat to peace. And you Gundam pilots seem to be a target for this overlooked OZ faction…"
At the word "target" Duo mumbled, "What else is new?"
Ignoring his comment, Noin continued, "First, a status check. Relena is returning to Earth as we speak, to meet with the other members of the executive counsel. They will be in contact with us within the next few days. Trowa is still in L2, and the rest of us are here. Jinx, codename Mimic, is here as well and will stay until she recovers. Everyone in immediate threat is accounted for."
Noin paused to take a breath as a couple of people shifted in their seats. An elephant trumpeting was heard over the communicator.
"Now," she continued, "what are we going to do about this situation?"
"Shouldn't we wait for the decision from the executive counsel?" Quatre asked.
"Ultimately, yes," Noin replied. "But calling Trowa in to sit around and wait seems like a waste of time. And keeping Wufei from his normal Preventor duties likewise seems like a waste of talent. This is a waiting game now. There's no sense in jumping to conclusions."
"I see," Trowa spoke up. "So everyone will continue as if nothing has happened."
"Exactly." Noin didn't like the idea, but that's what Relena had conveyed to her before Relena departed for Earth late last night.
"But I'll have to stay here," Duo said. "They probably think I'm dead or something."
"Yes," Noin agreed. "Its best if you stay here where it's safer. They obviously know where you and Heero live. Besides, Sally, Wufei, and I will be on patrol around the L4 cluster, keeping an eye on that OZ base. Someone should stay behind and make sure Jinx is alright."
"She can take care of herself." Heero's voice surprised them all. "She is a soldier."
"Regardless," Noin insisted, "I would feel better if…"
"We'll stay," Heero sternly interrupted.
Well, Noin thought. That's the end of that conversation. She turned to Sally, "Let's get the ship ready for departure. We'll leave in thirty minutes."
Sally and Noin were about to disappear through the doorway when Noin turned around to address the Gundam Pilots. "We're glad to see you all again. We'll keep in touch."
Wufei remained behind, to talk with his comrades a little before he left to meet Sally and Noin. "Tell me about her," he said to Duo.
"She's incredible, man," Duo explained. "She took electric torture…four times! It was amazing. And she was conscious throughout the whole thing. Of course, she's paying for it now, but it was still unbelievable."
"Unreal," Wufei remarked. "So where is she from? And why didn't we know about her?"
"She's from L3," Trowa answered. "I remember hearing about a girl on our cluster who survived the L3-X18 colony plague. She was the only one who lived through it. They called her Jinx, a name that means curse and plague."
"That supports the information I've found," Heero added. "But there is little else about her. They wanted to keep her a secret."
"She seems nice enough to me," Quatre butted in.
"Now she does," Trowa warned. "But she was an assassin."
The room grew quiet as the pilots contemplated the new information on this strange girl.
"So was I," Heero said, getting up and leaving the room.
* * * * * * * *
Jinx stared out of the window, watching the shuttle containing Wufei Chang take off and head toward the ship where Noin and Sally must be waiting for him. The three pilots on the ground watched as the shuttle disappeared into the atmosphere before they turned around to go back inside the mansion. She never dreamed she'd be laid up in a Gundam pilot's mansion.
She could hear Duo talking as they came closer to her door. Damn, she thought, she didn't have time to get back in bed. And those worrying boys would be mad at her for standing up by the window in her condition.
"…no really, man, I'll show you." She heard the end of Duo's conversation as he and Heero entered her room.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be up," Duo said, coming over to her.
"Is Trowa Barton not here?" she asked, ignoring him.
"No, he's busy on L2 with the circus." Duo took her by her good arm and tried to lead her back to her bed. She wasn't budging.
"Circus?"
"We have interesting ways of passing the time when there aren't any battles to fight," Heero explained in his monotonous voice. He sure wasn't very personable today like he seemed to be last night, Jinx thought.
"Yea, he's really good. In fact, I think he's scheduled to come here in a few weeks. Maybe we'll take you to see him," Duo added. He was still trying to nudge her in the direction of her bed. She wasn't cooperating.
Just as Duo had given up trying to get her to move, Jinx started walking back to the bed. He helped her sit down on it, and then swing her legs over on the bed. She lied down with a heavy sigh. She hurt so much inside.
Heero walked closer and put a hand on her head. "You need to rest. There is too much damage to your body. Your inner tissues and organs are burned from the electricity."
"I know," she whispered. She closed her eyes to concentrate on healing herself.
She felt concern from the two boys radiating over her. She fell into a deep state of meditation, under Heero's watchful eyes.
* * * * * * * *
Duo walked into the room where Jinx was laying. It's been three days. And Heero hasn't moved. Or slept. The boy was relentless. He just sat there in a dark corner, watching Jinx as she remained motionless in the bed.
He handed Heero the plate of food and sat down next to him. "Any changes?" He knew the answer, but Duo asked anyway.
Heero shook his head no as he started to eat.
"Wonder what she's doing…" Duo thought out loud.
"Meditating."
"Meditating?"
Heero swallowed and started to explain, "She has some psychic abilities. She can focus her concentration onto the microscopic particles of her own cells and will them to heal. It is time and energy consuming, but she's done it before. That is how she survived the plague."
"How do you know all this?"
"I remember Dr. J mentioning something about it when I was younger. After hearing about the success OZ was having on a girl named Jinx in the L3 colony cluster, he tried to develop my own psychic abilities, but I wasn't capable of that high a level of mental training. He abandoned it and concentrated on my combat skills after that."
Duo shifted in his chair. "Wow. That's weird."
"What's weird?"
"How we all end up connecting with each other. Who would have thought that this girl from you and Trowa's past would actually be right here in front of you some day?" Duo rubbed his left arm. The shrapnel wound was healing nicely, and leaving nothing but a scar behind.
"It's not that great," Heero said irritably, thrusting the empty plate into Duo's stomach. Duo was confused. "It was bad enough with only one Perfect Soldier around," Heero explained. "Now there will be two of us."
Duo rubbed his stomach. "Hey, buddy, don't be so hard on yourself. You're not the same as you used to be, and you know it. Sure, you still do the whole sneaking behind people thing and popping bones back into place, but you have a heart now." Duo got up. "If you didn't, then you wouldn't be staking out her bed waiting for her to wake up." He left Heero to continue watching over Jinx.
* * * * * * * *
Ow, Jinx thought as she started waking up from her long meditation. Her whole body ached, and she couldn't find the strength to open her eyes just yet.
Need some water? Heero's voice asked her. She heard him get up and walk closer, but she didn't make the connection that he wasn't speaking out loud to her.
Water would be great. She replied, her eyes still closed. She felt Heero's strong hand slide under her neck to help hold her up. A cool liquid brushed against her lips and she drank the tonic. It warmed her body and gave her much-needed energy.
Thanks.
"No problem," Heero replied, stepping back away from her after setting her gently back down onto her pillow. He wondered why she still hadn't opened her eyes.
I think it's too bright out there. It would hurt to open my eyes right now. Her thoughts entered his head, answering his unasked question.
This was too weird.
What's weird? she asked.
The fact that I've only said two words out loud since you woke up.
Jinx's eyes popped open, and she sat up suddenly in bed. "What do you mean?"
Heero sat down on his chair, now permanently imprinted with the shape of his butt. "Sorry, but I had to test and see if Duo was right. He said that you could hear his thoughts. I had to find out for myself."
"But how do you hear me?" she asked. In all her experience, no one had ever been able to hear her back, no matter how her mind screamed out to them.
"I don't know. Perhaps because I've had a little bit of mental training myself." Heero watched her as she pulled herself up into a more comfortable sitting position. Her bangs were wet, and they stuck to her forehead. Her red colored eyes held his complete attention.
What? she asked, irritated.
Sorry, he apologized again, averting his eyes from her to the window.
Jinx looked down at herself. She was soaking with sweat, the only evidence of the intense labors to heal herself. Her hair was still in her fake Duo braid. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she was thankful she'd taken the time to heal her broken arm and ribs. Lightly, she dropped to the floor. Damn, she had forgotten about the shrapnel wounds in her leg. She watched the ground rush up to meet her as she fell.
But she never touched it. Heero's expert reaction time kept her from hitting the ground. He held her nimbly in his strong arms, his face close above hers. He blushed, ever so slightly.
Jinx squirmed her way out of his arms, standing up gingerly next to the bed. "I feel gross," she told him. "I need to take a bath."
Heero held her upper arm firmly to steady her. He led her to a room down the hall, and filled a tub with warm water. She could hardly stand without leaning on him. And he was amused by the fact that he didn't seem to mind. Jinx kept her eyes closed and didn't say anything, with her mind or her mouth, while he prepared her bath.
She heard him say something about getting some food ready for her, and he'd check back with her shortly before he gently closed the door behind him and left her to bathe. Too bad, she thought. He was so nice.
Jinx eased herself into the warm bath water.
* * * * * * * *
Duo woke up with the sun that morning, for the first time in his life. He heard someone taking a bath next door, and supposed it to be Jinx or Heero. Stumbling down the stairs in his sleep clothes, he saw Heero attempting to cook something. How cute, he thought. Heero got defensive when Duo brought it up, but he knew that Heero liked the new girl.
Instead of bothering Heero this early in the morning, he headed back upstairs to check on Jinx himself. He knocked lightly on the door, listening for a voice or sound of splashing inside.
No answer.
He knocked louder, calling Jinx's name.
Still no answer.
"Come on, Jinx," he yelled. "I'm going to come in there if you don't say something. And believe me, I'm not bluffing…"
No answer.
"Alright, here I come. You better grab a towel while you can," he warned, turning the doorknob.
* * * * * * * *
Over the noise of his cooking, Heero heard Duo screaming for help.