Standard disclaimer applies. I'm poor, broke, and not currently in the ownership of any tv shows or characters.

Enjoy.

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The police were after them. Citizens were harassing them. White and his men and a lot of other psychologically-challenged government agents were hunting them. They were low on food, they had horrible accommodations, there weren't enough clothes, and half of their city was leaking under the torrential rain that kept coming down.

That being said, things were going surprisingly well in Terminal City, and that was why Max was in such a bad mood that day.

In her experience, Murphy was a close friend of transgenics – he and that stupid law of his. Things didn't go well. If they did, something was wrong, and something terrible was about to happen. Max didn't want it to happen, so she set about that day, snapping at everyone who looked like they weren't devoting 100 of their attention to whatever they were doing, even that happened to be taking a drink. She could feel the bad omens piling up in a very foreboding way, and she didn't like it.

So when she turned a corner in her rounds and found Alec having what looked to be a casual conversation with a young X6, Max blew up before she could help it. The biggest problem was actually that he was in the middle of most of TC's population in command. That wasn't unusual by any means, and he barely raised an eyebrow in response as he stood there and took it, the other transgenics and transhumans looking around as though trying to find a nonchalant way to disappear.

In the end, though, Max went too far. And she knew it the second the words came out of her mouth. Her shouting had been slowly diminishing until she was just talking icily, and she said, "Get out of Terminal City, Alec. You've caused enough trouble and I just need you to be somewhere else."

"Excuse me?" he asked, as though what she'd just said wasn't in English.

"You. Trouble. Leave."

His normally impassive face actually showed some emotion for once, and he finally said, "What if you need my help?"

"I won't," she snapped. "Just go."

Alec stood still for a moment, knowing all eyes were on him. After a few tense minutes ticked by, in which most of the unintended audience expected Alec to become understandably violent, he forced a characteristic smile on his face. "Okay, Maxie," he said with a light tone, putting his hands up in surrender. "But don't ever say I didn't try."

"Go already," she retorted.

He nodded once in acknowledgment to Mole and Joshua, then turned and walked out without looking back. The silence that followed was deafening. Whereas everyone had previously been awaiting Alec's reaction, they were now all staring at Max, wondering if she was going to explain or at least say something. She bit her bottom lip as guilt and regret crashed down all around her, went into her office, and slammed the door without a word. No one moved the whole time.

"Medium fella shouldn't be alone," Joshua said softly, breaking the paralyzing awe that permeated the room.

"It's true," Mole answered. "Someone should go after him. An X-series so they don't attract too much attention. He needs someone to stay with him. Who wants to go?"

After the tirade earlier, for some reason, Mole actually expected no one to volunteer. So when every single transgenic in the room asked if they could go, he was a bit surprised. Eventually, he selected Dalton to go and send the kid scampering off after his hero with a big grin. Everyone that remained knew Max would be furious if she found out, so Mole added, "If she asks, Dalton is on a supply run, or doing some job that he can't be taken away from. He's always busy."

At the agreeing nods, Mole sent them back to their posts or beds or wherever they wanted to go as long as it wasn't in command any more, which worked out fine since no one really wanted to see Max blow up at Alec in the first place. Joshua locked gazes with Mole for a few seconds, and then turned to gently push Max's door open. Everyone who was still in command at that point disappeared quickly when they saw what he was doing.

Max was sitting at her desk, head buried in her arms on her desk. She wasn't trembling in sobs, just sitting quietly. Joshua entered the room completely and shut the door behind him so he knew she would have heard him enter. "Little fella?" he asked humbly.

"What?" she snarled.

"What did Alec do?"

His words caught her off-guard, though she couldn't explain why. It was definitely what she should have expected him to ask. There was no question that he liked Alec a lot and was disturbed by the scene. "Not enough to get himself kicked out," she finally muttered.

Joshua tilted his head and came closer as she sat up to look at him. "Then why is he gone?"

She took a deep breath. "I don't know. I was edgy. He probably won't leave, anyway. He never does what I ask."

There was a tentative knock on the door just then. Joshua stepped back and pulled it open to reveal Dix. "We got a broadcast," he said shortly, flicking disdainful eyes at Max between words. "A transgenic was captured."

Stunned silence filled the room, and finally Max asked, "Who?"

He glared. "Who do you think?"

"He couldn't have gotten out already . . . could he?"

Joshua spared her a somewhat sympathetic glance and then turned back. "Police?"

Dix shook his head. "We wish. It's White."

Max jerked. "How do you even know –"

"Alec had found their signal and tapped into it," the transhuman interrupted. "He figured we should be keeping tabs on one of our worst enemies."

"Oh."

"Alive?" Joshua asked.

Dix moved his gaze to Max as he answered, "We don't know. All we know is that they got him . . . and Dalton."

"What?" Max sprang to her feet in surprise. "Dalton?"

"Followed his hero out," Dix said cryptically, leaving out the part about Mole asking for volunteers and sending Dalton.

"What do we do?" Joshua's voice broke the quiet that had fallen on the trio as they pondered the situation.

Max opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly she heard a phone ringing and whirled to find it. She spotted it quicker than she thought – Alec's black jacket lay on the couch in her office, his phone half-in and half-out of the pocket. She gave Dix a look before deciding it might be Alec himself calling for help, so she picked it up and answered it.

"Yeah?"

"We should meet, 452," White said on the other end of the line. "I have something I want you to see."

She looked back at the other two in the room before replying. "Actually, I've seen enough of what you have." She really didn't want to give away the fact that they'd tapped into his comms line if she didn't have to. Playing ignorant might help.

"How about this, then – I have something I want you to hear."

"Go ahead," she said after a moment.

That decision was regretted when she heard a gunshot and a yelp. It could have belonged to either Alec or Dalton. She couldn't be sure. "Heard enough?" White asked smugly.

"So you shot someone. You're a jerk. I already knew that," she said, trying to buy time to think.

"Playing difficult? Fine." She heard him pull the phone away from his ear, then his voice quietly saying, "494, tell her you're here or I'll shoot you again." There was no response. Then, White said, "Tell her you're here or I'll shoot the kid."

The unmistakable sound of a gun cocking was heard, and finally, Alec's voice: "Fine. I'm here. Leave him alone."

Alec sounded okay, but that didn't mean anything; he was very good at lying and at faking things. Max had as much proof as she was going to get. "What do you want?" she asked into the phone.

"To meet," White replied, the sound of a triumphant grin evident in his tone. "I'll call you with the details in an hour." And then the line disconnected.

Pulling Alec's phone away from her ear slowly and mechanically, Max glanced up at Dix and Joshua, who were concernedly waiting. "I was right about Murphy," she snapped as she collapsed back into her chair.