Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except Ryan and the story line. Nothing else
Summary: Manticore learns that a prototype of the thought destroyed X-C series is still alive
Rating: PG-13
The Prototype
By: Serpent
Manticore headquarters
Madame X patiently waited in her office for Brin to arrive. She had heard the reports of Max escaping again and wanted to know why Brin had failed. As the X-5 entered, she could tell that Madame X was not pleased.
"At ease," Madame X said, seeing that Brin was nervous. "I called you in because I have heard the reports of X-5 452 escaping your custody."
"Yes ma'am." Brin responded.
Madame X stood in front of Brin and stared her in the eye. "How could you have let this happen?"
"She attacked me from behind ma'am," Brin answered, trying to keep her composure, "I could not defend myself. She then handcuffed me to her cell door and escaped."
"Then, I am assigning you the task of bringing her back," Madame X said, "and I will accept nothing less then full completion. Do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am," Brin answered, "I will not fail again."
"I would certainly hope not," Madame X said coldly, "and I suggest that you take one of the X-7s with you. Make sure you bring her back!"
Jam Pony Express
It had been a long and tiring day for Max. Normal was running them like ants without any breaks. She had just gotten back from one run and he would send her off with another one and it was starting to get on her nerves as well as everyone else's.
"525 Riverside," he snapped at Original Cindy as he tossed her another package, "get going."
"What is up with you today?" Original Cindy demanded, "you been running us like we were your slaves or something."
"I haven't got time to listen to your complaints," Normal retorted in his usual tone, "you deliver packages period. Now get out of my sight!"
Cindy just shook her head and went on her way. As she was going out, Max was just coming back and they met at the door.
"Watch your back boo," she said to Max, "Normal's on the rampage."
Max smiled and said, "What else is new?"
"Its about time you showed up Missy," Normal snapped as he noticed her, "I'm not paying you to stand around and talk all day." He tossed her another package and said, "1540 Centennial."
This time, Max had had just about enough. "You have too much caffeine today or what?" she demanded.
Normal just glared at her and walked away. Typical, Max thought, I just hope Logan is in a better mood today. Cause if not, there's going to be hell to pay. Seeing Normal glaring at her again, she just got back on her bike and started off. After she finished the run however, her beeper went off. Logan again, she thought as she looked at the number, and smiled, your timing couldn't be better. She got back to Jam Pony, got on her motorcycle and headed for Logans apartment building.
Logans Apartment
Later that day, Logan sat at his computer looking up some files on a gang that had been smuggling guns in and out of the country. The leader was a former army lieutenant who had several contacts in the gun smuggling business and so far, he had managed to keep out of the sights of the police. Either that or he was paying them to look the other way. His concentration was broken however when Max come around the corner.
"Hey," she said, which startled him.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Logan asked as he turned back to his computer screen.
"Oh, somebody's pissed off," Max said teasingly as she walked over to Logan and leaned over his shoulder, "what's up?"
Logan brought up the screen showing the former lieutenant's face and said, "He's been smuggling guns in and out of the country in the last few weeks. The police can't seem to find any evidence that links him to the smuggling ring."
"Paying them off right?" Max asked.
"That's what I think," Logan answered. "He operates out of Newman airfield."
"So in short, take them out right?" Max asked.
"Just get me some evidence that can put him out of business," Logan said. As Max was leaving he added, "and be careful."
Max looked over her shoulder smiling and said, "Aren't I always?"
Mobile Command Unit
The hummer moved into position in Sector 4, the area Brin knew Max would most likely be in. She turned on the surveillance equipment and started trying to locate the signal given off by the implant in the back of Max's neck. She soon picked up a signal that matched the description. It was moving quickly toward Newman airfield. She ordered the driver to follow the signal and prepare to establish a perimeter.
Newman Airfield
Max pulled up on her motorcycle outside the row of hangers. This place was all too familiar to her, she remembered the guy who was smuggling children across the world. She got off the bike and after easily leaping over the barbed wire fence, made her way into the complex. Her advanced hearing soon picked up the sounds of men's voices talking in one of the large hangers. Coming up to the hanger, she easily scaled the fire escape and made her way along the roof to a sky light overlooking a room inside. There were four men inside, the lieutenant, his accomplice and two buyers by the looks of it. A file sat on the table between them. Max knew the file was what Logan needed so she picked up a large stone from the rocky roof and tossed it down onto the cylindrical end of the building. Inside, the men were startled and all four of them left to investigate, leaving the file on the table. Could they be any more stupid, Max thought. She silently opened the skylight, slid down a rope, snatched the file, and made a quick exit. As she moved quickly down the fire escape and across the airfield, she could hear the sounds of the four arguing and blaming each other for the loss of the file. This was soon followed by sounds of gunfire. Max simply smiled to herself, started up her bike, climbed on and drove away.
Meanwhile, the hummer was moving quickly homing in like a missile on Max. Brin carefully watched the monitor and noticed the signal was moving away.
"Turn here!" she ordered to the driver who quickly obeyed. The hummer squealed around the corner into a large alleyway and raced along. According to Brins calculations, this should put them right in front of Max when she came down that street.
The Streets of Seattle
As Max drove along, she had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. For some reason, she kept thinking that she could hear an engine rumbling in the distance but it was too far away for her to determine exactly what it was. Still she pressed on, never knowing that she was driving straight into Brins trap.
Brin watched the monitor intently, waiting for the right moment to strike. The signal was coming closer and closer until finally, she commanded, "Move out now!" The hummer emerged from its hiding place and positioned itself right where Brin wanted, right in Max's path. Max quickly slammed on the brakes and came sliding to a stop just inches away from the side of the hummer. Flooring the throttle, she spun the bike around the raced away in the direction she had come from with the hummer following close behind. They raced through the dark streets of Seattle until Max was able to get a little distance between them. She turned down an alleyway between two large buildings only to discover that it was a dead end. The only escape was up. Abandoning her bike, she quickly scaled the metal balconies on the side of the building and reached the roof just as the hummer pulled up behind her bike.
"Everyone move out," Brin ordered, "establish a perimeter around this building and make sure nothing escapes!" However, just as she was about to step out of the hummer, she noticed that a second signal was registering on the monitor, not far from Max. She halted the X-7 and instructed him to intercept the second signal while she and the team intercepted Max.
The Rooftops
Max quickly moved along the roof, hoping that she could find a way to escape. But to every corner or side that she went to, she discovered that there was Manticore soldiers waiting below. The jump between the buildings was also too far for her to attempt. She soon realized that if she were to get out of this alive, she would have to fight her way out.
Meanwhile, the X-7 homed in on the second signal. He didn't really know if this was just a glitch in the systems or maybe another escapee. Still he had his orders and he wasn't about to disobey them. However, as he was silently crossing the rooftop, there was something else, watching his every move and analyzing the best attack method. He had scanned the soldier's body and knew precisely where the pressure points and the weak spots were on his body. This young man was about the same age as Max, early twenties, however he was no ordinary human being. In fact, he was not human at all. Instead of bones beneath his flesh, there was metal, microchips and computer hardware. His brain still intact inside the metallic skull controlled the systems and mechanics throughout his body. He was the first and last of a genetics experiment that was halted abruptly by the Pulse. The rest of his kind had been destroyed by the Pulse, their brains fried inside their heads by the melting computer chips, but thanks to an electrical cable, he had been brought back to life, stronger than ever before. The only damage he received was the microchip implanted in the base of his skull had been fried, so he simply pulled it out and discarded it. Now, as the X-7 moved towards him, it had all become clear, Manticore knew he was alive and they were attempting to recapture him. As the soldier came closer, he analyzed the way he moved and knew that this threat was very well trained in hand to hand combat. He soon discovered a weakness and moved around to intercept. The X-7 only had time to emerge slowly around the back of a heating unit before the thing attacked. In a matter of seconds, the X-7 was disabled and the final thing he knew was the feeling a fist punching through his chest.
Max decided to head toward the stairs that lead into the building. Once inside, she could easily slip away and escape. However, as she moved toward the exit, she heard a voice behind her she knew all too well.
"Hello little sister," Brin said as she approached. Max turned to face her without an ounce of expression on her face.
"Its time for you to come home," Brin told her.
"I'd rather die then go back there," Max said, staring right into her Manticore sister's eyes, "you should know that by now."
"That can be arranged," Brin responded.
"We'll see," Max said, assuming her fighting pose. Brin did the same and they stared each other down. Max struck first; throwing kicks and punches which Brin effectively blocked. Brin quickly struck at Maxs feet but Max jumped over her foot. Brin attacked again and this time, she was too fast for Max and landed a powerful kick to Maxs ribs. Max winced and Brin moved in, kneeing her in the stomach, and slammed her elbow into the back of Maxs neck, which sent her to the ground. Max responded by whirling around on the ground and landing a strong thrust kick to Brins chest, sending her sprawling on her back. Quickly, the two of them were back on their feet and ready to fight again when a dark shape raced past behind Max. Seeing Brin momentarily distracted, Max struck and sent Brin crashing into a brick wall behind her. She quickly ran to the side of the building and climbed down. She easily knocked the soldiers out of her way, climbed on her bike, started it up and raced away. Brin came to the ledge overlooking the road just in time to see Max racing away into the night. Frustrated, she came turned to leave when one of the soldiers came up to her.
"The X-7 is dead," the soldier reported.
"Dead?" Brin asked, "Impossible,"
"It's the truth ma'am," the soldier said, "I saw the body myself. We brought it back to the hummer." Brin wasted no time in returning to the hummer. What she saw in the back horrified her. The X-7 was laying in on his back, both of his arms were broken at the elbow and the shoulder, both legs were broken at the knees and there was a large hole in the center of his chest where whatever had attacked him had punched completely through his body. Brin quickly regained her composure and climbed into the passenger seat of the hummer and told the driver to return to Manticore headquarters. Madame X would not be happy about this.
Manticore headquarters
Madame X slowly walked around Brin who was seated in her office. She carefully read the report she had received and was in total shock. Arms and legs broken in two places, chest punched clean through, it became clear that one of her worst fears had come true.
"Is this report true?" she asked quietly.
"Yes ma'am," Brin answered.
"I don't believe it," Madame Xs voice was almost trembling with fear, "I just don't believe it."
"Pardon me for asking ma'am," Brin said, "but, what did that?"
"An X-C," Madame X answered, "the series that was created before yours. They were cyborgs, but we controlled them with a special chip implanted in the base of their skull. We had to abandon the project when we heard the Pulse was coming. We assumed that they had all been destroyed, the microchips wouldn't be able to withstand the Pulse." She paused momentarily, "but if this is true, then this one, by some miracle, survived."
"What do you suggest?" Brin asked.
Madame X stared at Brin for a moment then said coldly, "Capture him. Alive or dead."
Jam Pony Express
The following day at work, Max was still sore from the previous night encounter and while on her break told the story to Original Cindy.
"So let me break this down," Cindy said, "this bitch was a friend of yours, and these dudes that are after you changed her?"
"Something like that," Max said as she carefully rubbed her shoulder.
"You sure that shoulder of yours is ok?" Cindy asked.
Max nodded. She was still thinking about that dark thing that had distracted Brin last night. Whatever it was, by the sound of it, it could move just as fast as she could. Maybe even faster. Just then, Original Cindy looked up and past Max to the counter where she saw a strange young man walk in. He had wavy blond hair, which was a shade lighter than Zack's, piercing blue eyes and a round looking face that had no expression. He wore blue jeans, a black T-shirt and a long black coat that almost reached down to his ankles.
"Check out the Grim Reaper over there," Cindy said motioning to Max. Max turned and looked at the young man. He seemed almost cautious of his movements, as if he was not certain if he was being watched or not. His head slowly turned from left to right, watching every movement in the place. Soon afterward, Normal arrived at the desk.
"Max!" he hollered, "1325 Benson. Move it!"
"Come on Normal," Max said as she slowly got up and made her way over to the desk, "at least you could find a shred of decency and let us have a break."
"You know what you're supposed to be doing missy," Normal retorted, "now get going. Bip, bip, bip!" Max half glared at him and started walking away.
"And how can I help you?" he asked the young man.
"My name is Ryan," he answered, "and I was wondering if I could get a job here."
Normal stared at him as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"You want a job here?" he asked almost in disbelief.
"Yeah, I do," Ryan answered, a little annoyed at how Normal had responded. "Is there one available or not?"
"The last thing I need is another one of you idiots working for me," Normal said, "I've got nothing for you. Now get out of my sight!"
Ryan leaned on the counter and stared Normal in the face. "What did you call me?"
"Don't bother wasting your time with him," Max said as she had overheard what had happened, "he's just being a jerk, like always."
Ryan straightened his coat and stood up. "Jackass is more like it," he snapped, glaring into Normal's face. He turned and walked past Max and out the door. As he left, Max watched him go with a confused look. When he had straightened his coat, she noticed a small tattoo on his right forearm. It appeared to be symbols of some kind. She remembered at Manticore, they had sometimes used symbols similar to that. She decided that when her shift was over, she would ask Logan about it.
Logans Apartment
Later that night, Logan diligently worked at his computer, trying to determine what those symbols were that Max had told him about. She had said that they looked like Japanese writing. His fingers clicked away on the keyboard as he searched through all of Manticores old files. Finally, he came upon something that caught his attention. It was an old file that was dated before the Pulse had even happened and said that Manticore was perfecting the last of a series of soldier machines for combat. He brought up a picture of the first prototype and to his surprise, it was Ryan. The next picture was a shot of his right forearm with the same symbols. The caption underneath the picture read "X-C 001. Human name: Ryan." Max will need to know about this, Logan thought. He quickly wheeled over to phone and dialed Maxs cell phone number.
Meanwhile, outside the building, Ryan was driving by on his Nighthawk when his sensors intercepted Logan talking on the phone to Max. From what he could hear, he was telling her everything about him. That phone call had to be stopped; the last thing he needed was more Manticore creeps after him. He turned into an alleyway at the side of the building and stopped the bike. He looked up the side of the structure and the height and distance from the apartment flashed in his eyesight. He turned off the engine and climbed off. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching him, then he leaped six stories straight up and landed almost noiselessly on the fire escape. He silently opened the escape door and made his way down the hallway.
"I knew there was something weird about him," Maxs voice said over the speakerphone.
"However he survived the Pulse is a miracle," Logan said, "I'll try to find out where he is and I'll let you know." Just then, he heard a noise by the front door.
"What was that?" Max asked.
"I don't know," Logan said. He turned his wheelchair around to go and see what the noise was when Ryan came around the corner. Logan spun the chair around to go and get his pistol but Ryan easily caught him.
"Don't even think about it," he snapped.
"Logan?" Max asked, "are you okay?" Ryan simply raised his fist and smashed the phone, severing the connection.
"What do you want?" Logan asked, trying to hide his fear.
"I want answers," Ryan hissed as he stared into Logans face, "and for your sake, you better have the right ones."
"What do you want to know?" Logan asked.
Ryan slowly walked around Logan before he spoke. "How much is Manticore paying you to track me down?"
"I don't work for Manticore," Logan answered, "and no one is paying me anything."
"Yeah, right," Ryan said sarcastically, "so what's with all this computer equipment and cameras? I'm warning you, don't annoy me with pointless answers."
Just then, he looked up toward the window as his sensors picked up Max coming in on her bike. Ryan went to the window and peered outside. Sure enough, Max pulled up and stopped. He turned back to Logan.
"I see your reinforcements have arrived," he snapped. He came over to the wheelchair and leaned over so his face was right in Logans. "You make a sound and I'll break you in half."
Max quickly ran in the door and up the elevator to Logans apartment. Finding the door open, she cautiously went inside, looking for any sign of trouble. She moved silently, knowing that if there were an intruder in there, this would give her a chance to get the jump on him. She came around the corner and found Logan sitting by the table, with the smashed pieces of his phone on the floor in front of him.
"You okay?" she asked, "we got cut off."
Logan didn't answer and Max knew there was someone there. Ryan meanwhile slowly stepped out from behind a corner behind Logan. His eyes quickly scanned Max and instantly he knew everything about her.
"You're into a new line of work?" Max asked with her usual sarcastic tone.
"I was expecting more a challenge," Ryan retorted, "first an X-7, now an X-5. What the hell is this? You guys just toying with me or something?"
"I'll do a hell of a lot more then just toy with you," Max snapped.
"Don't do it Max," Logan warned.
Ryan snickered as he started walking slowly toward her. "I'd like to see you try," he hissed.
Max instantly attacked, throwing every combination of kicks and punches that she knew but Ryan blocked them all and with one backhand punch, he swatted Max away like she was a mere fly. She flew across the room and thudded to the floor.
"There's plenty more where that came from," she said as she quickly got up. She charged at Ryan and slid beneath his leg as he missed with a roundhouse kick and kicked him in the back, which temporarily knocked him off balance. As he turned around, she scored with a straight thrust kick to the chin, again with the same results. She struck again but this time, Ryan caught her fist, grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall, driving the air out of her lungs and held her there.
"I've had enough playing with you," he said as he watched Max struggle, "time for you to join your friend." He drew back his hand, preparing to drive it through her chest when his sensors picked up another sound, the sound of three hummers heading in their direction. He threw Max down beside Logan and glared at both of them.
"I'll deal with the two of you later," he snarled. He walked past both of them and out the front door. He ran down the stairs and out the entrance, climbed onto his bike, started it up and raced away. Max quickly raced out of the building, hopped on her bike and went after him.
The Waterfront
Max raced down the streets of Seattle, chasing after Ryan. She couldn't let him get away after what he did to Logan. The two motorcycles sped down the dark, lifeless streets until they came to a small stretch of beach by the waterfront. Max sped up and soon pulled up alongside Ryan's bike and forced him into the sandy stretch where he skidded to a stop just short of the water. Max stopped in front of him, preventing any means of escape.
"Leaving so soon?" she asked, "we were just getting to know each other."
Ryan slowly climbed off his bike as did Max.
"You just don't know when to quit do you," he said, "I guess you'll just have to learn that the hard way." He started coming up the beach toward Max when the three hummers that he had detected earlier arrived and surrounded the only exit. Soldiers quickly got out and established a perimeter around the two.
"Oh great, your backup is here," Ryan said with a disgusted tone. He calmly looked at the soldiers surrounding them and said, "alright, which one of you jackasses wants to get his ass kicked first?"
"Hold your positions," Brin ordered as she stepped in front of the lead hummer, catching both Max and Ryan's attention. She stared for a while at Max, watching her nervous eyes.
"Its time for you to come home little sister," Brin said to her, "Madame X is getting tired of chasing you around." Max didn't answer; she simply hardened her stare at Brin.
"It doesn't have to be this way," Brin continued, "if you come quietly, I promise that no harm will come to you or the machine."
Slowly, it dawned on Ryan that he had been mistaken about Max. She wasn't a Manticore spy after all; she was another fugitive like him. All that these morons were doing was tracking her and him in an attempt to bring them both back to Manticore. Max looked over her shoulder at Ryan who looked back at her. They both knew they were in this thing together and they had to work together to get out of it.
They both looked back at Brin and Ryan snapped, "Like hell we are,"
"Very well," Brin said coldly, and ordered "detain them, and use whatever means necessary!" The soldiers immediately moved in with their weapons ready. Ryan attacked first, knocking the rifles out of two soldier's hands and flooring them both, one with a crushing side kick and the other with a straight punch. Max meanwhile used her speed and agility to outsmart the soldiers and she knocked others out with punishing kicks, elbows and fists. In a matter of moments, all the soldiers were lying unconscious on the ground and only Brin remained. Ryan started up the sandy beach toward her but Max stopped him.
"She's mine," she said. Ryan looked at her and smiled.
"Be my guest," he said and backed off. The two soldiers immediately attacked each other, each one trying to beat the other to the punch. It was Max who soon got the upper hand but Brin, who knew all of Max's tactics, could easily counter the attack with her own. Finally, Brin kicked Max in the side and knocked her to the ground with a sweeping kick to her legs. With that, she moved in and was about to make the final blow when Max surprised her by landing a strong kick to the chin which knocked her off balance. Brin stumbled back dazed, and Max again struck, landing punches and elbows to Brins face and chest. When Brin tried to fight back, Max locked up her arms and threw her into the side of the hummer, knocking her out cold.
"Very impressive," Ryan said, "just as good as mine." They walked out of the beach, climbed on their bikes and raced away.
Logans Apartment
"So you survived the Pulse by being in an isolation chamber?" Logan asked.
"Once they started creating the others, they didn't have any use for me anymore," Ryan answered, "they sealed me inside that chamber as a reserve unit. I wasn't needed unless it was absolutely necessary."
"What happened when the Pulse came?" Max asked.
"I was in my chamber when it happened," Ryan said, "I didn't know what was happening because they had me on stand-by. All I felt was the shockwave when the bomb exploded in the atmosphere. The force ripped an electrical cable loose from the generator that was supplying power to my chamber and it fell on top of it. The electrical energy created a shield around it so when the Pulse came, it didn't affect me at all. But after the Pulse had gone through, a final spark from the cable hit the control panel on the side of my chamber and the electricity brought me to life. The only damage I had was the monitor chip they implanted in the back of my head was fried. I pushed open the door of my chamber and came out. That's when I realized what had happened. All the others had been destroyed, some had their brains fried inside their heads, others, their heads had exploded."
"What was the monitor chip for?" Logan asked.
"To keep our emotions stifled," Ryan answered, "having our human brains inside these metallic skulls, Madame X ordered that this chip be implanted so we would be easier to control. But when I saw all the others were gone, I knew the chip wasn't operating because for the first time, I felt a surge of anger come over me. I wanted to destroy Manticore for what they had done. They hadn't protected my brothers and sisters like they had me. I only knew one thing: I wanted revenge."
"You were alone," Max said as her own memories of Manticore flashed before her eyes, "no one there to help you or guide you."
"Yes," Ryan said, "I trusted no one." He turned and walked to the window and stared out at the dark city, "and some day I will find whoever is responsible for this."
"You're not alone anymore," Logan said, "Max and I will help you."
"Yeah," Max said as she came over to Ryan and put her hand on his shoulder, "we've got your back."
Atop the Space Needle
Later that night, Max sat alone on top of the Space Needle, thinking about what had happened.
"I can understand where Ryan is coming from," she thought to herself, "having everyone you know and trust taken away from you. I went through the same thing and am still going through it. We're sort of the same that way. Anyway, I'll help Ryan find whoever did this to his family. And I'm pretty sure he'll do the same for me."