The shrill sound a telephone could be heard through the thin walls. It rang for about ten minutes before the shrilling stopped only to start up again two minutes later. Loud groans were heard throughout the apartment complex followed by fist pounding against the wall and loud shouts telling the idiot inside to pick up the phone. It wasn't until the phone stopped ringing then they went back to their normal lives, not at all once putting a single thought to the real reason why the phone hadn't been picked up. No one took time to go check on the person who lived there. They just simply went back to their normal lives.

Max swore as she began to pace along the hallway. Logan shot her a glance, watching her movement for a few minutes while trying to upload some new software. She swore again as she flicked her cell phone shut. She took a few seconds to take a minute to breathe before she dialed the number again. She then was back to pacing. It was then that Logan took the moment to interrupt the transgenic. "Hey, Max, just let him be," he said to her, as he finished uploading the program and started to get to work, his fingers flying over the keys. "You need to…"

"Logan you tell me to relax one more time, and I'm going to have to hurt you," Max replied as she glanced over at him. She had once been head over heels for him. Now not so much. It had taken a back seat to everything else that was going on at Terminal City. She let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. She caught the end of it and simply glanced at it. She could see split ends but she didn't have time to even think about them right now. She had other important issues to deal with. She flipped open her cell phone and dialed the number one more time.

A knock on the door stopped her from pacing. She glanced up to see a woman standing there. She rolled her eyes as she moved past her, listening to the phone. The woman shot her a look before moving toward Logan's side. "What's up with Max?" she asked, as she set down the bag of groceries she had been carrying. "She seems…"

"It's Alec," Logan replied, as he slowly got to his feet and went over to see what she had. He watched her out of the corner of the eye. He could see her facial expressions in the reflection of the window she was standing in front of. She had a mixed look on her face, one of terror and one of worry and concern.

"Like that's new," his companion muttered causing Logan to glance over in her direction. She had come a long way since he had found her on the streets trying to live. She had been his legs when he had been stuck in that god-awful wheel chair. She had been his companion and his friend when he needed one the most. She had been there when Max was not. "I mean come on. She's always muttering about how he is and what not." She picked up a loaf of bread out of the bag. "It might just be better for them to get it on and over with. That way there is not so much tension between the two of them anymore."

"Asha, eww…" Logan muttered, as he reached out and took the bag from the table. "That is something that I don't want to ever think about."

"What do you think happens when she's in heat?" Asha asked, glancing over at Logan. He had come a long way since the day she had first meet him. He had been so down by the fact that Max was no longer in his life. That she was gone. She had been there when Max tried to kill him and she would still be there for him no matter what happened between them. Her loyalties were with Logan, not Max, not her cause, not the transgenics.

"I so am not even going to think about that," Logan muttered. He shot a glance over to see that Max had stopped pacing. Her face had fallen. He took a step toward her. "Max, what is it?"

Max's head snapped up when she heard Logan's voice. She had zoned out when she had heard the news from Mole. News she didn't know how to take. She sniffled a bit, before she took a moment to collect her thoughts. She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "It's nothing," she said softly, as she grabbed onto her coat where she had thrown it. She slipped it on, and headed for the door only to be stopped by Logan. "Logan, I don't have time for this. I have to go."

"Max stop." Logan grabbed her arm forcing her to stop. She shot him an arched look before yanking her arm out of his hold. "Max…!" She headed toward the door, digging for her keys as she went. "Max, he's not worth it."

At those words, Max stopped and slowly turned around to face him. "Funny the others would say the same thing about you." She flipped her hair over the collar of her jacket. "I'm sorry Logan that you think that we aren't spending enough quality time together. But in truth, my loyalties are not toward you and your cause anymore. I have my own to worry about."

"You were not born to lead an army." Logan stopped himself short. He watched as she stopped within inches of the door. He then watched as she went from one form to the other, slipping back into the hardcore Manticore solider she had been born and raised as. He watched as anger filled her eyes as she moved quickly from the door to stand in front of him. "Max, you and I both know that this war isn't going to end well."

"I remember some dude saying this once," she replied softly. Both Logan and Asha could hear the emotion tagged to that. "The night is always darkest before the dawn." She shot a glance over at Asha. "And unlike you guys, we live in the night. We know what is going to happen at dawn." She slid her hands into her back pockets. "Yes it's true, I never did ask to be their leader, but it's something that I can't turn down. I was made the way I am for a reason. I can't say that I'm actually proud to be from Manticore, but right now it's better than being some type of a run of the mill kid."

"Hey!" Asha replied as she moved toward Max. "What makes you all better than us?"

That got Max to chuckle. "Is it the fact that we're faster, stronger, and smarter than the rest of you."

"Careful Max," Logan whispered. She simply ignored him. She reached into the bag of groceries and pulled out an orange. He watched her play with it for a few moments before she turned to leave. "Max, we're not done talking."

"On the contrary, Logan, I was done talking a long time ago." Max opened the door and shot him a look. "You just haven't caught up yet."

"I have to ask this. What happened to Alec?"

"He got shot while trying to protect a group of school children from getting killed." Max slid the orange in her pocket. "Now we have to go find him before the rest of the world does."

That got Asha's head to snap up. "I thought he had visitation duties today." She shot Logan a questionable look. "I mean after all he is…"

"Pip's missing…" Max took a deep breath. She had seen how Logan grew jealous of them around when they were around Pip. He has envious of her and at the same time spite her. She had been the child of both her and Alec, not his and Max. She had then seen the darker side of him then. "Or even dead. I really don't want to think about the fact that I've lost one of my good friends and even my daughter." Logan and Asha shot a glance over at Max. "I have to go."

"Max…" Logan started only to stop when she stopped at the door. Her hand was mere inches from the door handle. "You and I both know that since the fight, you and Alec have grown farther apart than anything." He smirked then. "You guys are always fighting."

"And yet we're strongest when we are together." She bit down on her bottom lip before turning to gaze over at Logan. "And here I thought you'd be happy for me, for us. I know that this wasn't the life you envisioned for us." She shrugged then, taking a second to fix the collar of her jacket. "But it's not how life turned out. But both Alec and I know better than to abandon anyone behind. Pip is our child and we will do our best to protect her the best and only way that we know."

"And what way is that?" Logan shook his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You guys threw her into a war. She will never have a normal childhood."

That got Max to chuckle. "I'm sorry Logan, but look around. Normal is not a thing for the normal anymore. We all weren't born with a silver spoon." She opened the door then. "Pip's got a better childhood than we did. We're a family, Logan. It's not perfect but we're making it do."

"If you say so…"

"Yeah, I do say so." She slid through the door allowing it to shut as she went. She took a second after the door clicked shut behind her to catch her thoughts. She sniffled a bit before pushing away from the door, her hand sliding into her pocket for her cell phone. She had things to do. She had to do what she was born to do. She had to take charge of the situation and come out as the victor. She had to do this for Alec, and for Pip. They were family.

until next time...