Max didn't know how exactly she had put herself in this situation. One minute she had been telling everyone to stay and fight. The next, they had raised a flag proudly marking Terminal City as their so-called 'Freak Nation'.
Logan had held her hand, the latex chafing against her skin.
'Now look what you've gone and done,' he'd whispered under his breath, loud enough for her to hear.
Yeah, what indeed.
Because suddenly every transgenic in sight was looking to her to lead them, to try and make sense of what was happening outside the barbed wire fence they had found themselves holed up in. She didn't need to glance out the window to see the squad cars lined up outside, or the men in uniform patrolling with their semi-automatics. It had been three days since Seattle had laid siege to TC and already Max knew that time was running out. There were just too many transgenics and too supply for the demand. Food, medicine, water, electricity, ammunition, guns, grenades…the last part of that thought made her sigh.
It was like they had traded one war for another. At least, that was what it felt like to her.
Scowling down at the mound of paperwork gracing her small makeshift desk, Max decided that she needed a break. Stretch her legs and get some blood pumping. If there was one thing Max hated more than anything, it was being still for long periods of time. She knew Alec felt the same way because she had noticed on more than one occasion how he jiggled his knee or fidgeted with his fingers during briefings. It was weird, Max thought absently as she climbed to her feet, because she'd seen more than one cat simply curl up in a ball and lie there.
Must be some screwed up Manticore thing, she thought derisively to herself.
'What's your designation?' Renfro demanded.
'You can kiss my transgenic ass,' Max told the blonde woman defiantly. She wasn't a barcode, not just a bunch of lines tattooed onto the back of her neck. She was Max. The tiny space became smaller as the two plates of metal pressed down and Max contorted her body, her neck straining as she folded her arms and legs into a better position.
'Leave her in there for a week,' she heard Renfro say before the metal doors had slid shut, plunging her into darkness.
Shaking her head violently, Max sucked in a breath and told herself that she wasn't somewhere constrictive or dark.
'Hey Max,' Dix called and she looked up, sending a small smile towards the transhuman located in front of a bank of computers. With Logan's help they had managed to get servers and computers running. It provided a vital source of information of the ordinary world and Max was grateful for Eyes Only.
When was the last time you spoke to Logan huh?
Shoving the thought to the side almost as soon as it entered her head, Max walked over to where Dix was. Whatever the non-state of her relationship was with Logan, it could wait. There were a lot more important things to worry about than her love life. Or lack of it.
'Any luck?' She asked. Dix hacked away at the keyboard in front of him. Max saw streams of numbers flash onscreen, barely paying attention to the code. Dix had been attempting to hack through the city's firewall so that they could access the hover drones scattered throughout Seattle. Apparently it required more sophisticated hardware than they had on hand but Dix said he would make do.
'Maybe another couple of hours?' Dix answered. Max clapped him on the back.
'You know where Alec is?' She questioned, remembering the way the other transgenic had favoured his shoulder yesterday.
'He's at the gym I think,' Dix replied and Max rolled her eyes.
'Typical. You'd think the number of times he gets his ass shot, he'd make sure he's all healed up before doing anything stupid,' she muttered under her breath. Dix flashed her a grin as she headed off towards the small building located a few blocks down.
When she reached the gym Max wasn't surprised to see Alec sparring with Dalton. The kid had grown attached to the older man, even going so far as to shadow him around much to Alec's chagrin. Max, on the other hand, knew better.
After that day at the forest, she thought that her and Alec had become friends. Sure they still took each other's heads off but this time there wasn't any real malice behind their words. Max actually kind of looked forward to crossing swords with Alec. He usually gave as good as he got. After the siege at Jam Pony, Max had been grateful for a friendly face in a sea of unknowns.
'You've got to put your weight behind it. These guys aren't going to be selling you chocolate mint cookies,' Alec told Dalton. The teenager practically flew towards Alec with his next punch and Max noted the way Alec winced.
'You're actually giving pointers on how to kick your ass now?' Max called out. Both men paused and Max felt her stomach quiver slightly when Alec sent her a genuine smile. Dalton's eyes widened and he glanced over at Alec, as if he wasn't sure what to do in Max's presence.
'Don't worry man. You don't have to bow or scrape right now,' Alec assured him.
'Shut up,' Max grumbled, shoving his good shoulder lightly. 'Hey Dalton. How's Gem and Regina?' It still freaked Max out that Gem had named her daughter after Normal.
'Alright. Gina doesn't stop crying though,' Dalton informed her, wrinkling her nose. Swinging his gaze back and forth between the two, the lanky teen gave them both a mock salute before heading towards the exit.
'What the hell? Do I scare him or something?' Max asked, studying Dalton's back. Alec chuckled.
'He thinks you're an Amazonian princess.'
Max wrinkled her nose. 'You saying I look like a man or something?'
'You sure hit like one,' he retorted, reaching down to pick up the weights on the floor. Max pushed him away and snatched them up easily, fixing him with an irritated look.
'Did you forget you got shot idiot?' She bit out, spinning around to place the dumbbells along the rack against the wall.
'Oh, is that what that burning pain was?'
Max didn't deign that with a reply, running her fingers along the rusty metal. She heard Alec shift behind her, heard his footsteps before he was right there by her side.
'So why so serious?' His voice was low but light. Max allowed herself to glimpse him out of the corner of her eye, saw the way his dark blonde hair was falling into his eyes.
'You need a haircut,' she said.
'It's just the two of us Maxie,' Alec replied, undeterred. Max felt her fingers tighten against the sharp edge of the frame, felt the metal bite into her skin.
She wanted to tell him that she wasn't cut out to be a leader, that these people needed someone who actually knew what she was doing to give them some direction. Not a girl who had spent most of her life looking over her shoulder, looking out for herself.
'Nothing,' she finally admitted, voice quiet. 'Just been a long day, you know?'
'Yeah,' Alec said and there was no missing the skepticism in his voice. 'I have those reports from Mole we can go-'
A loud popping sound, a sound they were both far too familiar with, interrupted him. Max barely blinked before Alec blurred away from her line of sight, her legs following him without hesitation. Her pupils dilated and contracted, seeing the sector policeman with his gun raised up and his hand still on the trigger. There was a small knot of people starting to gather on their side of the fence.
'Shit,' she heard Alec curse when the smell of blood filled her nostrils. Her pace quickened and she pushed through two X6s, her breath stopping in her lungs when she saw the figure lying prone at their feet.
'Mole,' she whispered and saw Alec kneel beside the transhuman, press a finger to try and find a pulse.
'Get a medic. Now,' Max barked and one of the transgenics hurried off. The other stood rigidly by her side a few feet away, muscles tense.
Just one war for another.