Secret lives by Ebonyswanne
[Reviews - 5] - Table of Contents - [Report This]

Printer Chapter or Story
- Text Size +

Joe wasn’t really paying attention to the engine that he was tuning up.

His mind really was on other more important things.

It had been a month since they rescued Madeline from Count Egobossler, and for Joe it was feeling like a lifetime.

He wondered how much longer he could hold out from not seeing her. He would find himself laying awake when he was suppose to be resting after a mission just picturing her face and remembering the happier times before it got complicated.

That was a word that described his entire existence on the planet…Complicated.

He stood for a long moment staring at the engine, as his thoughts once again drifted back to that day;

He walked into the bridge from the top of the Gatchaspartan carrying her limp body cradled in his arms.

A concerned Swan rushed to his side, but he reassured her she was alive, and seemed to alright apart from some minor injuries he found from the examination he had done when first entering the ship.

Ryu had turned the ship around and was headed for home, but he could not let her go from his arms, so he sat at his station still cradling her close to his body.

Her head rested against his shoulder, long dark copper tangled hair fell over his blue wings, and then he pulled her legs up closer to him to cover her bare feet, and wrapped his wings around her to keep her warm.

The dress she worn was tattered and torn, and light dust darkened her features, it was then that he noticed the bruise forming on her cheek, and he bowed his head closer to her face.

His chest tightened at the feeling he should have been there sooner.

But she never looked more beautiful to him than at that moment because she was alive, so he held her until they reached the base.

Just before they arrived she regained consciousness and weakly looked up at him again under his visor. He looked back into her eyes and realized she was staring at him as if seeing him for the first time.

Maybe she really was. He thought…

After they arrived, he took Madeline straight to the base medical centre still in birdstyle.

The doctors sent him away despite his protests telling him to get cleaned up before coming back, he was back there with half an hour…The rest of the team with were there and they waited with him.

It was a few hours before they let him in again to see her.

So he waited outside pacing the corridor until they allowed him into her room.

Before he went into the room he questioned the doctors about her condition, they told him she was O.K, physically, but extremely tired and emotionally drained...But he could go in and see her now if he wanted to.

When he walked into the room she did look better, she was sitting up on the bed in a private room wearing a hospital gown, she had showered and her hair was still a little damp. Her right foot was bandaged and the bruise had come out to a deep purple on her left cheek.

Egobossler was going to pay dearly for that, he thought.

They had small talk between them, “how are you feeling, are the doctors treating you well” things like that.

She did look exhausted and he could tell she needed to sleep and decided to leave so she rest.

He got up to go and had turned towards the door when he felt her hand gently touch his and he turned to look into Violet/blue eyes that begged him not to leave her alone.

He understood the silent communication, and found himself lying down on the single bed next to her as she snuggled up close to him and went to sleep, he watched her until sleep eventually took him as well.

Then the moment of truth came the next day when they all met in a small conference room with Dr Nambu.

The team met there out of birdstyle and confirmed that they were the Science Ninja Team. They no longer had to hide who they were in front of her, Dr Nambu had approved of knowing their civilian identities.

The fate of her father was confirmed by Dr Nambu, and Ken told her the details of how he died at Cross Karakoram. He told her all he knew about Red Impulse and the death of Oniishi’s family, and why she has to be protected.

Her encounter with Count Egobossler had left her shaken and she understood the true power that Galactor had in the world and his role in trying to stop the spread of evil.

It was not easy for her to hear all of this, and the lies about her identity that her father had set in place.

Joe had held her close to him while she cried for her father; the truth can be a painful thing even when you want to hear it.

He understood the pain, he had been through it may times.

Then it was their turn to talk;

Dr Nambu and the rest of the team left the room for them to have time alone.

They sat in the conference room chairs facing each other and holding hands as she told him how she found him a Cross Karakoram, but she did not know it was him when they first met, but she had a feeling of knowing him from the time they met that day he walked into the city hall were she was practicing her music for her solo performance.

It was a coincidence that saved his life.

All this time he had thought that Dr. Raphael was alone in finding him and the dreams were his imagination getting the better of him.

She told him about the two weeks that she was at Dr Raphael’s lab, and they laughed through tears at some of the one way conversations she apparently had with him.

He realized for those two weeks she had not left him alone.

It was comforting to know that during his darkest hours he was not alone.

She knew something of him that even he was not aware. Then he told her about his dreams and how much more real they became once she had come back into his life.

He didn’t really have to tell her that he was a Cyborg, because she already figured it out. She also knew something about what Dr Raphael had in mind for him and knew he was not the standard metal kind

The Doctor had made advancements in his research and Joe’s body had more artificial organs and enhanced tissue making him able to withstand electricity and other functions that would kill a normal human being.

He had cybernetic implants in his muscles and brain, his heart was a special prototype that the Doctor had only developed at the time Joe had gone in for the surgery.

That was why Dr. Nambu had so much trouble with his body functions at the end of the war. The bomb implant had caused it to almost malfunction.

But it also meant he could not have natural children because the cybernetics interfered with these natural functions, despite the technology used on him and he function in many ways like a normal human being.

That did bother him, but what could he offer her for a future, she had the right to have a family he thought.

He realized he could for once in his life talk openly with someone outside of the team, the barriers came down and he knew that it was deepening his love for her because of it.

No more secret life, at least with Madeline.

He could see the hurt and confusion that she was faced with, and understood when she said she need time to think things through.

She didn’t know if she could go through it all again.

She accepted him as he was, she never knew him any other way. She did love him, but need the time to sort out her own feelings. Joe wondered if she would decide never to come back to him.

So the next morning she decided it was time to leave the base.

Jun had offered her upstairs flat and her bedroom at the Snack J as a safe house for her until she sorted out somewhere else to live, since they were now living on the base. Madeline had offered to look after the business for Jun and see that it was running smoothly for her and Jinpei.

Joe waited apart from everyone as she said her goodbyes to the team. Madeline walked over to him and he could feel the pain between them as they looked quietly at each other lost for words. All he could do was reach out and touch her hair with the feeling that he may never see her again.

Joe kissed her goodbye, a passionate kiss and he tasted the salt of her tears and he wondered if she tasted his tears too.

She got into the car with Dr Nambu who was driving her to her apartment so she could pick up some belonging and then to her new temporary home the Snack J.

******

Earth to Joe, Earth to Joe” The sound of Ken’s voice bought him out of his memories as he waved a can of cola in his face.

He wordlessly took the can from his hand and opened it.

Ken leaned against the side of the car and opened his as well giving him side long glances.

They stood not talking for a moment before Ken broke the silence.

“So how’s the old G-2 coming along, it can get boring being confided to base can’t it.” Joe shook his head let out a long breath. “Yeah, I’m with you on that one.”

Ken was looking into his can like he was going to broach a topic and wasn’t sure how to go about it, Joe see could from his face Ken had decided to go straight in for the kill so he waited for him to talk.” So why did you sneak out and go into Utoland a few days ago?”

So this is why he came to talk to me, Joe thought looking at his brother.

“Since when did I follow all the rules people gave me? So what if I did.” Then he went back to pretending to look at some problem in the engine.

“Because it’s to dangerous for us and you know it. Going into Utoland and stalking her, you won’t win her back that way…. it’s for the best that she’s distant from us.”

Ken pointed out.

Now that got on the Condors goat. Who was Ken to talk to him about relationships when he was doing a poor job with his own with Jun?

Jun was heartbroken at how Ken was shutting her out.

Joe found her a week ago on a hill outside the base with swollen red eyes and a lost look on her face. She told Joe that she knew about the test results from the destroyed lab.

She was so afraid for Ken.

Joe listened knowing how she felt; he was feeling much the same way, about the results he had found and the possible death if Ken continued to use the Hypershoot weapon. I was having a reaction to him and the doctors still were trying to work out some of the symptoms and if they could reverse the damage that was happening to his body.

If Galactor didn’t kill Ken, then Hypershoot would probably do the job for them, getting it through to Ken was another thing though.

There was a time during the second war that Joe thought something could be there between him and Jun.

But Joe quickly realized that even if something happened, there would always be Ken standing there between them.

She was reaching out for something, and Joe happened to be paying her some attention at the time because Ken had distanced himself. The argument he had with Ken later confirmed it all in his mind that she was right for Ken. How could he walk in and take away the one person who really could make a difference in Ken’s life.

He would have been second best, and it would have been a brief affair with Jun that could have destroyed all three of them.That was not enough for Joe to fall into her arms when she was almost asking him too.

So Jun had left that morning with Dr Nambu to find a cure for the Hypershoot illness that was affecting Ken.

It’s none of your business Ken, why don’t you try fixing your own love life before you try advising me on mine. You need to talk to Jun”

Now that stopped the Eagle in his tracks and he glared at Joe, so Joe continued.

” I’ll start obeying rules when you stop using the Hypershoot, and I don’t have to continually pull your arse out of situations that you would normally walk away from… And you start treating Jun right. She’s your fiancé Ken. She deserves more than you shutting her out like you have been!” Joe was rallied up and he was not in the mood for one of Kens lectures on what he was suppose to do or not suppose to do so he let him a have it!

“I’m tired Joe...” and he looked it Joe thought. He could see Ken’s mood was not any better than his.

” I’m going to get some sleep...” Ken’s eyebrows arched together over his icy blue eyes as he crushed the can in an angry gesture, and the glare in his eyes was unmistakable as he marched off.

Ken was right about one thing, he had disobeyed direct orders not to leave the base…

Joe had gone into Utoland earlier that day to see Madeline, on the way home from a mission the Swan had casually said to him that Madeline still practiced her music in the small Austalis theatre in the city almost daily even though she no longer played in the orchestra.

He didn’t really respond when she told him, but he took the hint. So he went into Utoland the first chance he got.

The theatre auditorium was small, and he sat on a high beam that ran across the top section of the ceiling in birdstyle as he listened to her play.

He let the music sooth his soul, and he could easily watch her undetected from that beam. He moved a little further along quietly to get a better view of the woman with long red hair and fair skin that was all alone on the stage. Count Egobossler had not made a move to find her and the team had been kept busy by Galactor over the past month.

He hoped that Egobossler had thought she was killed; Dr. Nambu had apparently had a spy do a report to Egobossler saying she was killed during the attack. He hoped whoever it was had been convincing,

He felt a small contented smile come to his face as he remembered the Concert a few months before, and his regret at not staying to hear her solo performance.

Right now she was playing just for him, he thought.

As he watched her from his vantage point he began to feel a tightening in his chest and a longing for her in his heart. It took all of his will power not to fly down there and take her in his arms and beg her to take him back, it felt so intimate, and he was so close yet so far away from her.

Joe closed his eyes for a moment as he listen, true he liked heavy rock and metal bands. This was different from what he had been used to in his life, and he knew he would not be a man to sit and listen to classical music, but it was like she was making love to his soul by reaching out with the passion of the song she was playing.

So he sat there on the ceiling rafters instead and listened.

Suddenly while he was there looking from his vantage point he had an idea, he opened his eyes and looked over to the private boxes and began to move quietly.

He flew across the roof into one of the private boxes and de-transmuted out of birdstyle, and ran down the stairs to the florist across the road. He bought a big bouquet of assorted flowers.

The first he had ever bought for a woman he realized, he hated roses because of the Devil star who killed his parents and tried to kill him as well.

He wrote out a note and put it in a white envelope. The man sent an assistant to deliver them to her in the theatre.

He wrote” I love to hear you play; there is no music more beautiful than yours to my ears…and to my soul.

I’m even wearing a bird suit…I love you

Condor Joe, at your service”

He would have liked to have seen her reaction but he had to get back to the base…

*****

Joe picked up a screw driver and went back to the work he was doing on the car. He was leaning down into the engine to fix a bolt, when he heard footsteps again and anticipated that Ken had decided that he wasn’t finished after all and had come back to have a second shot at him.

LOOK!!!” he shouted from deep within the engine.

” Subject is closed-“but he was stopped by a very familiar feminine voice. “ohhh aaahh I’m sorry bad timing huh..I …I’ll come back-“He looked up into Madeline’s confused face.

He hit his head on the bonnet of the car to add to his embarrassment at what he was just saying supposedly to Ken.

Madeline” He was recovering as he rubbed the back of his head” What are you doing here?” He was still in shock that she was standing in front of him.

She was looking at him and a smile spread across her face at the Condor as he was rubbing the spot he just hit. She tilted her head slightly sideways and looked down towards her feet, and then she looked back at him through her eyelashes.

I thought I would come and thank you personally for the flowers She was looking softly into his grey eyes with a smug expression forming on her face.

Actually you’re not as good as you think you know at hiding. I saw you fly into the private box... Are you now my personal body guard?”

The Condor had recovered his usual manner by this stage.Are you looking for one?” he asked her back moving a little closer to her.

“Well that depends….since you are “at my service.” But I came to tell you something….it’s important and you may run when I tell you.”

Joe stood waiting wondering were this was going”Ohh” was his response so she continued.

”Well I have another man in my life so things are going to get complicated.” She looked at him waiting for his response to that.

Joe didn’t let her down from the small smile that came to her lips.

He felt she had just delivered a hard punch to his stomach. Was she here to tell him that she had moved on and to stay out of her life?

“Not what your thinking.” She said again. “Do you want to meet the competition?”

Joe was very confused by now, that was until he looked behind her.

Madeline walked over to the baby capsule and picked up the little child that was happily gurgling away. He walked over to join them.

She gave him a big happy joyful smile.” I would like you to meet Baden Oniishi.”

She introduced them and Joe with a flood of relief washing over him began to laugh a little and looked at the baby with big dark brown eyes that was looking up at him. He gave her a questioning look.

So she filled him in.

Dr Nambu asked me to look after him not long after I went into Utoland.A week later I decided to make the arrangement permanent, Dr. Nambu had hoped that I would decide to do that. He’s such a good baby really only three months old.

And we Red Impulse children should look out for each other.

I’ve decided to adopt him legally. Dr Nambu has been helping with the red tape. He has so many contacts to speed up the process. Due to his circumstances it should be all legal sooner than normal for this sort of thing.” Joe could feel her eyes on him but he was busy studying the little baby in her arms, he listened as she continued to speak.

”I’ve decided to buy a house just outside of Utoland City on a few acres. The property has ocean views, and isn’t to far from the beach. It’s a big house but as he grows I’m sure he will love it there.” He had one of Joe’s fingers in his little hand and was trying to put it on his mouth smiling as if they were sharing a secret. Then he screwed up his face and let out a small wail.

“It looks like he needs to be fed again, very soon… I’m still getting used to this, formulas and nappies, waking up at all hours of the night.” She looked back at Joe more seriously this time.

“Joe he needs a man in his life, you know if you want you can drop in from time to time if you want too.” This time he looked into her eyes and saw something he had begun to want from the time he had come back to Utoland without even realizing it, a future with someone who accepted him as he was. In her eyes he saw that.

Joe thought about the invitation, he wanted more, he wanted to be with Madeline, not just as her friend or someone who was in and out of her life.

” No, that wouldn’t be enough for me.” He said looking into her eyes and seeing the comprehension of what his were saying. He leaned down to kiss her and the silent communication that they had spoke volumes between them.

“So where do we go from here?” She asked quietly. The corners of his lips turned up slightly at that question.” So what are you doing this weekend?” He asked with a sense of purpose coming into his life, a reason to fight Galactor for more than revenge for his parent death.

“Nothing that I know of “she replied. Then he whispered something in her ear.

Her face broke into a happy delirious smile. “Well I am doing something now” She responded to his question in a soft silken voice and he took both of them in his arms as he leaned down to kiss her and was stopped by a small cry from a baby boy who was getting hungry.

”I think we had better go see to his bottle.” Joe said and smiled as Baden let out another wail. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him and kissed her, he then picked up the capsule as they headed back to his quarters.

~ Table of Contents ~
[Report This]
You must login (register) to review.