by terre nymphe
as aforementioned in the summary, this piece borrows both characters and storylines from Gundam Wing, Sailor Moon, and Dark Angel. I do not own, nor have any claim to, any of these shows and/or comics. I apologize for any perceived plagiarism and assure readers that it is not intentional.
The wind was whipping her hair back and forth and creating tangles the size of hand grenades. Usagi was enjoying every bit of it. Pushing her brand-new, sleek, black, beautiful motorcycle as fast as it could go, she stared at the empty road ahead of her and reviewed her mission for the hundredth time. She was to join the Bloom traveling circus. It was run by Charles Bloom and his daughter Catherine, but it was secretly owned by one of the other Founders. Usagi's mission was to identify the mole that had been selling Society research and arrange for him to have a fatal accident.
The circus was real and functioning and most of the employees were clueless as to The Society's involvement. There were, at last count, twelve lab techs and trainers on the circus' payroll. They used it as a cover for their real jobs– mostly to avoid paying exorbitant income tax on their generous salaries. And, there was at least one person that was using it as a place to further supplement his income by selling priceless information to the other side.
Another "perfect" had originally been given the mission but had to return to the base before he could finish it. He would be back at the circus soon; she wanted to kill the mole and get back to the base before he found out whom she was. Usagi knew that all of the soldiers were supposed to be male; she'd been sequestered all of her life because she was not. It was frustrating, but Director A had promised her that soon she could play as big a part in the Society as the rest of the gundam zero series.
She parked her motorcycle next to a huge willow tree at the edge of the compound. It wouldn't draw too much attention– she hoped. A cautious hand went to her hair; it was perfect. She was sporting a short, bright red, pageboy. It was less noticeable than her natural platinum blonde locks. Not that it would have mattered either way, but Usagi liked it. She did not; however, like the green contacts that she was forced to wear. The color was fine, but they were so damn uncomfortable. Her own ice-blue eyes were, once again, too noticeable. Or, at least, that's what Director A had told her. She often wondered why he had given her such distinguishing looks if they were always to be hidden under wigs, dye, contacts, and make-up.
These thoughts bordering on insubordinate, Usagi ceased them and subjected herself to two hundred push-ups as punishment. She dabbed the sweat from her face; heaven forbid she mess up her make-up. She had an image to project and people to impress.
She had already studied the compound layout included in her briefing, so she headed straight for the main big top. She arrived just in time to see Charles Bloom open the tent's flap. Adopting a doe eyes, a toothy smile, and a prancing gait, she followed him inside. Closing the flap behind her, she spotted the man at the far end of the tent. He was sitting on a crate, his head in his hands.
"What am I going to do? I never knew animals could be depressed. I can't the lions to come out of their cages. And even if I could, I'd still be one act short."
Bloom was almost in tears as he relayed his sorrows to a young, curly-headed woman. It was Catherine, his daughter. Patting his back, she reassured him they'd work it out. Usagi decided that it was the perfect time to make her grand entrance, and she quickly made her way toward the prone pair.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Bloom?"
The man looked up, exasperated, "yes, what do you want?"
"Well, I've run away to join the circus," she had to force herself not to roll her eyes at . . . well . . . at herself. This act she was forced to put on was ridiculous and insulting to deep cover operatives everywhere– okay, she was being slightly dramatic.
"Unless you can tame lions and throw knives, you'll have to find another circus," Bloom said dismissively.
"Well, I don't throw knives and I've never tamed a lion, but if you would settle for a trapeze artist or a tightrope walker, I think I can help."
Bloom looked up at the girl; she was young, petite, and gorgeous. Even if she wasn't any good at the trapeze or the tightrope, she had enough draw as eye candy– the shows would be sold out. He motioned for her to show him some of her skill. She let loose a calculated giggle and walked to the ladder. Within seconds, she'd climbed to the top of the tightrope platform. Usagi completed a few of her Society warm-up exercises and moved on to the trapeze. By the time she was finished, Bloom's jaw was on the floor. She was amazing.
"You're hired. Catherine will take you to your trailer. The first show is at four o'clock; wear something short, tight, and sexy."
With that, he quickly walked out of the tent and headed back to his office; the smile on his face was a mile long. Usagi watched him go then turned to Catherine.
"My name is Sera," she told the girl standing next to her.
"It's great to have you, Sera. I'm Catherine Bloom, and that crazy man was my father," the older woman replied amiably.
"He seems nice," the simpering was making Usagi ill, but she had to keep it up.
"Yeah, well . . . come on, I'll take you to your trailer," Catherine said as she led 'Sera' through a maze of trailers; they stopped in front of a small brown one at the edge of the lot.
"Sorry, it's kind of small, but it's the only one left. It belonged to our last guy, Trowa. He was the knife-throwing lion tamer that Daddy was talking about."
"What happened to him?"
"I don't really know; he just disappeared. He's done it before, but never for this long. He might be back soon, but we never know."
Usagi considered the statement. This Trowa was probably a trainer at the Society; he might even be the spy that she was looking for. She followed Catherine inside and was surprised by what she found– or rather, what she didn't find. She'd expected clothes strewn on the bed and trash on the floor, but nothing was even dirty. There were no cobwebs, no dust, and, thankfully, no strange smells coming from the bathroom or refrigerator. Both beds were made up with military corners; there was even an olive-green trunk at the end of one of the beds. All in all, it was a refreshing and calming sight– a little bit of 'home' in the outside world.
"Trowa will probably back soon. I hope you won't mind sharing."
"Oh, I won't mind at all. I'm just glad to have a place to stay."
Catherine took Usagi's bag and tossed it on the bed nearest the door, and then she guided the new girl to the props trailer for a costume. There were few to choose from, but Catherine made her try them all– each more gaudy than the last. After an entire hour of insincere girly-ness, Usagi decided that she couldn't stand anymore. She'd settled on the one she'd wanted as soon as Catherine opened the trunk, but from her studies of female behavior at the Society, she knew she was expected to 'oooh' and 'ahhh' and change her mind a million times. She held up the costume of choice for the other girl to see. Catherine gave the simple, green unitard one glance and continued to dig around.
"Catherine, I really like this one."
"Sorry, Sera. It's way too plain. I made that, like, a thousand years ago; it's ugly!"
"But it fit perfectly."
"It would fit a cow perfectly. On you . . . it looks like a tent."
"That's okay. I don't want it too tight," 'Sera' whined with mock modesty.
Catherine stopped rooting through the trunk and sat back on her heels, "look darlin', this is a skin business. You know that you're awesome and I know you're awesome, but unless you got some way to hook those customers, no one else will ever see you. Show a little leg, a little cleavage, and you're set."
Usagi was becoming increasingly frustrated with her new 'friend.' She had other things to attend to– a vital mission to complete. Suddenly, an idea hit her and she plastered a smile on her face.
"If it's too plain, just fix it."
Catherine faced her, another repulsive outfit in her grasp, "what?"
"Well, you made all of these gorgeous costumes, right?" 'Sera' said, Usagi inwardly gagging. "Please! I really like this color."
"Well, yeah . . . hmmm . . . I guess I could do it before the first show. The base is already there . . . Okay, just let me get your measurements and I'll get to work," she said with an almost maniacal gleam in her eye– Usagi was a bit worried.
"Just keep it simple; I don't want a lot of sparkle and flash to distract from my act," Usagi told her.
Though it was merely confidence in her abilities, her tone was arrogant– a far cry from her Sera character and way too close to her real personality. She would have to watch this kind of slip-up in the future. Catherine, on the other hand, paid her no mind. She was used to this type of behavior; Trowa was extremely arrogant as well. With a few empty promises to "keep it simple," Catherine shooed Sera from the trailer and told her to go practice. As Usagi walked away, her enhanced ears allowed her to hear Catherine ordering some anonymous circus hand to find some sequins, beads, and extra fabric. Catherine was just keeping it simple.