Cammy couldn't help it. She was nervous, and couldn't stop fidgeting. Her fingers wouldn't stop drumming against the seat, save for the numerous moments in which she pulled the seat belt around, changed how she was sitting, toyed with her hair, picked at her fingernails. Whatever she could do to distract herself. Chun-Li was going to walk out of that airport with who she thought was one of her friends. But it was really the exact opposite. Cammy decided it would be better if she stayed in the car. Vega wouldn't attack the Chun-Li in a public place. Well, she hoped, at least. She glanced out the window again, hoping that Vega was good at keeping his temper at least this one time.
The minor annoyance present in the back of Vega's brain told her not to count on it. He really, really hated Chun-Li. Even with his mind at her disposal, she couldn't quite figure out why. He found her to be beautiful, but that was part of what made him so angry, which confused Cammy even further. She'd promised not to snoop, so she tried not to think too much into his motivations. But if he stepped over that line with her, then the gloves were off-she'd have a field day getting any question about him she wanted answered.
Her heart skipped a beat as she finally noticed Chun-Li chatting away with Vega-who, at this point, she didn't know was Vega. He looked like he was doing his best to be patient, to not snap at her. But Cammy could tell he was pretty annoyed, nodding every once and a while, probably only half-listening to the other woman. Cammy sank down in her seat a bit. Being taller made it harder to hide and she wasn't used to that. Chun-Li wasn't going to take this well. She just knew it. And why should she?
Inhaling deeply, she tried to keep as calm as possible. She would need to, in order to get this conversation to run smoothly. As they got closer, she could begin to discern their words. Chun-Li was finishing up her flight experience, and Cammy heard her own voice reply, "Yes. Well, there's something sort of...odd I need to inform you of."
Chun-Li raised her eyebrows, and she could hear them putting her bags into the trunk. "Is everything all right?"
"Not really," Vega responded dryly. Cammy bit her lip as she heard the car unlock. Things were about to get pretty intense, she was sure of it. Her stomach felt suddenly empty, her heart fluttered in her chest.
"What is it?" Chun-Li asked, voice full of concern which seemed to only make Vega more irritable. They both finally opened the doors and got into the vehicle. Cammy couldn't help but stare at her. Had she always been so gorgeous? How had she never noticed just how perfectly beautiful her friend was? She was brought out of her reverie when Chun-Li noticed someone was staring, drawing her brows together. She turned around to see who was in the back seat, and then screamed. Vega sighed, and leaned his head into his hand. Cammy also screamed, startled by Chun-Li's reaction. But then she shook her head as Chun-Li tried to get out of the car, which Vega had to continuously lock to keep her inside. "You! What's the plan this time, huh? What do you want?" she said, holding out her hands as if to defend herself from an impending attack.
But Cammy waved her hands, shaking her head frantically. "It's nothing like that, I promise! Please, calm down, it's me, Cammy!"
Chun-Li stared for a second. Then she gritted her teeth, and smacked her in the face. Cammy was taken aback, and blinked rapidly. That certainly stung. Before she could say anything, however, she saw Vega reach over and shove Chun-Li into the side of the car. "Hit me again, and I'll break your fingers," he said in a voice that made the threat sound more like a promise. Chun-Li stared at her friend for a moment, trying to parse what had just happened. Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two blonds. Who she thought was her friend, sitting right across from her in the driver's seat, stared intensely, lips pressed together and looking for all the world ready to murder her. And when she looked to the back seat, where one of the men she hated most still sat, she saw an apologetic expression, brows turned up, frowning lips. This was all wrong. Cammy didn't get that look on her face, not towards her friends at least. And Vega most certainly never looked apologetic over anything.
"I know it's strange," Cammy said, holding a hand up to her stinging cheek. "But I promise, it's all true."
Chun-Li turned her eyes back to Vega, who said, "You picked the wrong week to stay in London."
"Oh my God," she whispered, eyes wide as she stared at the body of her friend. Slowly, she turned back to face the body of her enemy. "Prove it," she said quietly. "Prove to me you know something that only Cammy could know."
"Okay," Cammy said, nodding. "Ummm..." She started toying with the end of her braid, and rolled her blue eyes skyward as she thought. Chun-Li stared. If he was acting, it was incredibly convincing. But she had to be certain, and the only way she could think of to verify these bizarre claims was the test she'd just pressed on them. "All right. This past Christmas, we went to stay in America and saw Ken and Guile for the holidays. Ken gave me the most adorable stuffed kitty, and Guile got me those nice combat boots from the surplus store. And Ken gave you chopsticks for beginners as a gag gift-remember, with the rubber bands on them?" She laughed a little at the thought, and Chun-Li continued to stare.
"I don't talk that way," Vega griped from the front seat, putting a hand to his head. "Ugh, you're going to ruin my reputation. Everyone will think I'm on drugs."
"Won't you stop being an ass already?" she replied, kicking the back of his seat. "Who cares what I sound like when it's just us?"
"I do! You're embarrassing me!" he said.
Cammy rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself already. No one here cares." He withdrew, and said nothing else.
"How did this happen to you?" Chun-Li asked, turning to Cammy.
"I don't know, really," she responded with a shrug. "Some experiment or another within Shadaloo went wrong, and now I'm paying for it. For some reason."
"Wow," Chun-Li whispered. She reached out a finger, and poked Cammy's cheekbone. Cammy raised an eyebrow at that. "It's just so strange. You're really him." She drew her finger over the tan cheek, and Cammy felt herself becoming pretty irritated. She stuffed it down, though, knowing it was just Vega's brain going crazy at the sensation of being touched by Chun-Li. Just to spite him, Cammy took hold of Chun-Li's hands and pressed both to either side of her face.
"Yep!" she said cheerfully. "It's really weird, being a guy, believe me."
"Will you stop!" Vega said. "I don't want that thing putting its paws on my face!"
"You're unbelievably rude," Cammy said. "Remember, you promised you'd be nice to my friends-and Chun-Li is my friend, so..."
Vega sighed, turning it into a groan and shook his head. "Had I known she would be here, I would never have made that promise."
"Too late," Cammy replied. She smirked back at Chun-Li. "If he doesn't do what I say, I can really easily screw up his life. Everyone would think I'm him."
"It's a stalemate, sweetheart," Vega said. "You screw mine up, I'll ruin yours."
"This doesn't seem like a great outcome for either of you," Chun-Li commented.
"It wouldn't be," Cammy answered with a nod. "So that's why Vega's going to be nice, right?" He didn't respond, so she shrugged. "I think that's as good as a response as any," she whispered to Chun-Li.
"How are you guys going to get this fixed?" Chun-Li asked.
"We have to wait for Bison to come up with something," Vega muttered. He didn't even want to think of the bastard right now-this was all his fault. His name alone was making him uncomfortable, giving him an uneasy feeling. He was beginning to feel like he was part of some kind of game. He was just a toy being played with. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, giving himself a reminder of where he was. It was silly to think that way, and he realized with a frown that it was Cammy's mind giving him these feelings.
"Don't sound so cynical about it," Cammy said. "He's pretty smart, you know." Then she clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes going wide. Both Chun-Li and Vega glanced at her with a bit of confusion. "I can't believe I said that about him." She should hate the man with a fiery passion, yet now she felt a mild admiration for his intelligence and scientific creativity. These were Vega's feelings for him, not her own, and that was a bit of a comfort. It still made her feel strange to say something positive about Bison. She bit her lip, and then said, "I'm worried, sometimes, that your brain is taking over a bit too much."
"You have access to Vega's brain?" Chun-Li asked quickly. The potentials this unlocked were incredible, and now she was wishing Cammy had told her about all of this sooner.
But knowing the direction her friend was going, Cammy shook her head. "I do, but I promised not to dig around in it."
"But he's killed so many people, and we're capable of bringing forth any evidence we want against him!" Chun-Li cried, awestruck by Cammy's compliance with this disgusting excuse for a human being.
"You're forgetting," Vega said, "that Cammy has quite an unsavory past of her own. There are several assassinations which she can be linked to as well."
Cammy frowned, upset with the reminder. She leaned her head against the window. Even though she couldn't remember any of the specifics of her past, she knew a thing or two. She knew she'd been an assassin, created only to kill, and that she was successful in that. She couldn't remember the faces or even the names of the ones she'd murdered, but it still haunted her all the same. And Vega was right-if she were to turn in evidence against him, Shadaloo probably had a good amount of dirt on her still floating around.
Chun-Li wasn't deterred yet though. "Don't think we won't find a way to make this work in our favor," she said. "This is an opportunity that'll likely never present itself again, and we're going to take it."
"I can't wait," he whispered back.
"Can we not talk about this anymore?" Cammy asked softly, staring at the floor.
Chun-Li frowned, but abated. She sat back in her seat, glancing out at the parking lot around them. They hadn't started moving yet. "That's fine. We can talk later," she replied with a nod. "But what are the plans for this week? I don't guess we can still see each other."
Cammy felt even worse at that. "Not very much," she said. "I wanted to. But now that doesn't seem plausible. You shouldn't stay with him at my home, but you shouldn't stay with me in Spain, either. Our initial switch was very sudden-the switch back may come without warning, too. And I would hate for you to wake up in his home and..." She trailed off, shaking her head. Vega's mind was playing out the scenario for her in all its visceral horror. He'd find her asleep, unsuspecting, and then, his hand would find its way around her throat, a spray of blood, and wasn't she so much more beautiful like this?
She screwed her eyes shut and inhaled deeply. "You're disgusting, Vega!" she growled, wanting to inflict pain on him but he was in her body right now, and it would be senseless to hurt herself.
"I haven't even done anything yet." he said, confused by the seemingly random insult.
"Just shut up," she snapped, confused and annoyed by everything going on in her brain-his brain. It was important that she remembered that these perverse thoughts and bloodlust were in his brain.
After a brief, but tense silence, Chun-Li cleared her throat. "I guess...maybe I should get going, then. I'll find somewhere to stay and, well, call me anytime you want, okay Cammy? You shouldn't have to be alone through this." Vega gripped the steering wheel tightly, clenching his jaw. Envy reared its ugly head. If he'd said any of that to Cammy, she'd laugh in his face. Or react with disgust. Again he was reminded that he repulsed her, and it infuriated him that Chun-Li didn't.
"Thanks," Cammy said with a nod. "I will." She wanted to hug her, but knew Vega would be quite angry about that. He was already glaring at Chun-Li, looking ready to beat her half to death. Chun-Li looked from Vega, who narrowed his eyes at her, then back to Cammy, who smiled a little. It was certainly strange, but this was reality, for now.