The light…it was so bright. Fathom squinted as she was almost carried on the shoulders of Wufei and Duo out of the basement. In the light, the full extent of her injuries became apparent. Nothing looked broken, but her wrists and ankles were badly chaffed by her bonds, and numerous small bruises and scratches lined her face and the spots where her uniform was torn. Her mane of long brown locks was in disarray, and her normally quick and responsive eyes were red and tired. She looked almost ten years older than she actually was. Quatre almost dropped his tea at the sight, and immediately ran for a medical kit. The worst of her wounds were not difficult to patch up, and she healed fairly fast, so all she declared she would need was a room to herself and some bed rest. Heero happily obliged her, shuffling her up to a secluded room at a more quiet section of Quatre's mansion. He took the long way down, trying to let the redness in his face wear out. That woman was the only one who had ever been able to embarrass him so. He almost made it down the stairs too.
Duo's head appeared in between a pair of stair posts, "Hiya Heero."
Heero quickly looked away, "Maxwell."
"How is she?"
"…fine."
"How are you?"
"…fine."
"Are you sure?"
"…yes."
Duo tapped his chin thoughtfully, "She tried to get you to do the tongue thing, didn't she?"
If humans could go crimson, Heero was a shining example. "Shut up, Duo."
Fathom stared blankly at the ceiling above the bed in her rooms. For four days she had slept and stared, thinking to herself. There had to be a way to stop her employers without risking too much harm to everyone else…there had to be a way. No doubt they were wondering where her punctual reports had gone, and if she knew them the way she thought she did, they would be sending search parties shortly. That left only one viable option: be invisible. Not in the conventional invisibility she practiced so often when she stalked her victims, but in a more practical form of invisibility: Invisibility of the identity. She climbed grudgingly out of the bed and found the bathroom at the other end of her bedroom. There was a large bath, a make-up area, and a closet with her bags in it. Heero had thought enough to move them there, how sweet of him. She rummaged through her bags until she found the appropriate containers and accessories, and then she ran the bath water once she had set her items aside. A beautifully calculated scheme was already forming in her mind. As the water soaked away her pain, her thoughts drifted to her life, or lack there of. How stupid she had been, taking this assignment. How stupid she was being for breaking her contract. How foolish she was for letting that little girl get to her. If what she was doing was so wrong, why did it feel so right?
Heero sat with Wufei and Duo at a small table in Quatre's kitchen and played cards as they waited for breakfast. Quatre and Trowa were fighting over ingredients, and the food was taking a bit longer then expected. Faith was watching her favorite weekday cartoon, and munching on some toast she stole from Quatre's plate earlier that day. None of them noticed the stranger in their midst. She moved fluidly, sinister and serene as she glided by them all. Jaws dropped and stares were fixed upon the woman standing before them. She fixed a stare on Heero and winked.
"Fa…Fathom?!?!" He stuttered.
She grinned, "As if you were expecting someone else?" The woman before them no longer had a flowing brown mane of hair, but small ringlets and curls danced from her head. These curls and ringlets were no longer brown, but were mixed with a natural looking blend of reds and blonde tones to produce a natural dirty blonde. Cleverly placed concealer made her skin appear smooth, healthily tanned, and unblemished by injury. Her eyes were no longer an earthy brown, but an emerald green. A new person stood before them, all wrapped up in a simple pair of long flowing pants and a formfitting shirt. She was an epitome of beauty and deadliness, grace and savagery, pleasure and pain. She snapped her fingers to break their stares.
"Wow, Fathom, I like the new look," Quatre chimed in.
She glanced at him, "Unfortunately, its not for pleasure," she eyed Heero, who looked away, "but looking like this, I'm sure I can infiltrate my employer's complex undetected."
They all gave her odd looks. "You're sure you want to do this?"
She nodded solemnly, "I've made a lot of mistakes in my time. Let me take this chance to make amends. I owe all of you this, and especially Faith for giving me this new chance at life." She winked at the little girl, who winked back.
Again, Fathom addressed the gathered pilots, "I've analyzed the e-mail system they've been using to contact me. It's simple, but I believe I've tracked it to the source…I'll need some transportation, and some time."
Quatre looked up from a phone, "I've already called the Preventers, they'll provide you with everything you need."
She almost managed to turn and head for the door, when a hand caught her arm. She turned back to stare into Heero's eyes.
"I'm coming with you."
"No you aren't."
"Yes I am. I still love you Fathom, and I'd hate to see you die alone."
"How touching."
"I thought so as well."
She turned back to the awaiting pilots. "We'll keep you appraised then."
Heero held open the door for her, and as she stepped through the portal, she hesitated and looked back over her shoulder at the remaining pilots, "Oh, and for the record, Fathom is dead. If I am to begin this new life, then I must begin my whole life anew. If you can find it in your hearts to call me anything, then call me by the name my mother gave me at my birth." She looked them in the eyes bravely, "Before she died, she breathed my name unto my father's lips. Her whisper contained my journey through my false life, and unto this new one. I am Trinity, and I will never fail my friends."