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Notes:What if life in manticore went very differently for Max after "and Jesus bought the casserole". What if Manticore had discovered a new way to deal with problematic X5's? Basically- an alternate reality.
Chapter 1Max had been in Manticore for almost three months. She had been through all types of torture she knew of, but still held on the hope that one day she would get out, one day someone would come to save her. But there was always that nagging at the back of her mind, repeating the same taunts- Ah, but no one will come, will they? They all think you're dead! Even Logan, Krit and Sil, even Lydecker. Max had not given Renfro anything, she had kept all the secrets that she held within both her mind and heart, and slowly, as she had been taught, Max was forgetting them. Every memory of her outside life, everything that she would otherwise eventually betray to the enemy. Again this produced a voice in her head, reminding her that once she lost that, she would have nothing left to hold on to, and she would belong to Manticore. But that doesn't matter, she sighed inwardly, as long as they are safe, as long as it is not possible for me to betray them, it doesn't matter what happens to me.
Renfro knew what Max was doing. She knew that in time, X5-452 would be hers. However, she also knew enough about Max to be sure that once she had gained Renfro's trust, the chances are Max would be able to recall the memories, and turn against Manticore once more. This presented a problem, so she had teams of scientists working overtime to figure out an alternative. After a further two months of torture, and traditional methods, Renfro hit the jackpot.
"When the procedure is complete, emotions will mean nothing to her. She's a fighter, so it'll take time, but she will snap, and then, she will be your perfect soldier, to do with what you will." Renfro smiled grimly, looking through the sound proof glass at the thin, limp form that was once Max Guevara.
"So what are we waiting for?"
"Just your command Ma'am." She nodded,
"Then do it."
A year later
"Logan? You up already?" Bling yawned; they'd been working late last night so he'd stayed over. Logan looked slightly guilty.
"No, actually, I'm still up." Bling shook his head and looked over Logan's shoulder, catching a glimpse of the file Logan had just closed. He looked at his friend in disbelief.
"Manticore? You're looking into Manticore, again? Logan, this shit is gonna get you killed, just like it nearly has done plenty of times!" Logan would not meet Bling's eyes, but he answered.
"I have to Bling. I'm eyes-only, eyes-only takes out the bad guys, Manticore are bad guys."
"Yeah right. You don't seriously think I'm gonna believe that that is all this is. It's still all about her. Isn't it? Logan, it's been nearly a year and a half. She is dead. I'm sorry, ok? She was a good friend, but she's gone. You have to let go!" Logan bought up a snap shot of the video footage from the attack on Manticore on the screen. It was a clear view of Max's face, looking up at the camera. Logan touched it gently.
"I can't. I can't help feeling that some how she is still out there."
"But she's not, Logan! She's dead! She died in your arms!" Logan spun round, screaming in his friends face,
"I KNOW! Of course I know that! But it's not that easy Bling. I've continued with life, I've left her behind, but it doesn't mean I'm gonna forget the best, most amazing person I ever met in my life. I loved her Bling, and if it takes me the rest of my life to destroy Manticore for taking her away from me, then so be it."
Manticore-
The X5 group were all lined up in the yard for inspection. Each of them stood perfectly straight, perfectly still. There were gaps in the line in places, due to the effects of the breeding program that had replaced the DNA lab. Renfro walked along the line and as she came to each soldier, they would salute. She ordered,
"State your designation." And they answered with their X-number. Moving along the line, Renfro came to a short girl with dark hair, tied roughly back in ponytail.
"State your designation." The X-5 answered immediately,
"X-5452, Ma'am!" Renfro smiled, she couldn't help it. She was very proud of her triumph over 452. The soldier before her was emotionless, driven only by orders, and only looking out for those assigned to her group. She was ruthless, and she belonged to Manticore. An X-5 had come to 452 about two months ago, asking for help in escape, she had actually been sent, as a test, but of course 452 did not know that. She had smiled at the girl, then punched her lights out. When 452 reported to Renfro with the unconscious 'traitor' in her arms, Renfro finally knew that she had won.
"452!" she barked,
"Ma'am?"
"Report to my office. I will join you after inspection."
"Yes Ma'am." She answered, saluting again, then marching toward the building. This will be fun, thought Renfro, Almost…poetic. What better way to seal 452's imprisonment? What better way to deal with eyes-only once and for all?
452 rode towards Seattle, one thought in her mind, the mission. She had been ordered to take the information Manticore had so far collected on the cyber journalist known only as 'Eyes-Only', find him, and kill him. She'd been told that the search had been consolidated to two or three sectors of Seattle, so that's where she was headed. This was a deep cover mission. She was to rent an apartment, wear civi's and only report in once a week for an up date. She didn't intend to be out in this filthy, diseased, corrupt world for anywhere near a week though.
Two days later, she was set up in a small room in the centre of town. She had two laptop computers and plenty of other hi-tech equipment that only the government could possible afford. She sat on the hard bed and went through all the eyes-only files, again and again. Just waiting for the small square TV to be interrupted by a hack. The stills of previous hacks that she now held in her hand stirred nothing in the shell that used to be a lively, friendly girl. She had told Renfro that she had no idea who eyes-only was, and she was being entirely truthful. 452 knew that Eyes-only mightn't do another hack for weeks, but she still felt that tracing a hack would be quicker than chasing his informants across the whole of America. However, minutes later, the screen flickered, and those familiar blue eyes starred out from it. 452 went immediately to the computer, typing frantically, she soon found a link. Knowing that time was ticking away, knowing that it had been declared many times that it was not possible to track eyes-only, 452 continued relentlessly. Eventually she reached the blockade of security measures he'd set up, and she froze, just for a moment. She'd never seen much complex defences before, not in any training. But the next second, she found herself typing once more, slipping silently through eyes-only's drag nets, totally unaware of how she knew what to do.
Logan watched the clock carefully as he spoke, knowing that going over sixty seconds would get him caught. Under sixty, no one except him would be able to track this hack. And that was only because he knew the exact measures he'd taken to prevent tracking. 55, 56, 57,
"Peace…out." He cut the connection with one second to go, and smiled.
Only a few miles away, 452 had a similar expression as she looked at the address on the screen. The Pent-House, Fogle Towers. Bingo!
Without a thought to the ease in which she'd broken through Eyes-Only's systems, 452 headed to the address, planning to finish the mission and get back to base, where she would be praised for destroying Eyes-only so quickly. She made her way to the rooftop of "Fogle Towers", in the centre of sector 9, the high-rise district. Fancy, she thought as she crossed the roof, it figures though. Some one as dirty as Eyes only, with as much equipment as eyes only must have, would have to be a rich bitch, no doubt about it. She found a skylight, removed it, and listened intently for any sound from within. Silence. She lowered herself down carefully, headfirst, to quickly scan the scene. The penthouse was dark, but the skylight opened onto a passage along one side, so she could not tell whether anyone was home. Only one way to find out… She came back up, and descended on a rope. As she touched down, she flung the rope back up through the skylight. This would make a quick exit slightly riskier, but she had a weird gut feeling that leaving the rope hanging would get her caught. With no more sound than a shadow, 452 began to search the apartment. Reaching the living room area, she very nearly missed the figure standing by the dark window. She held her breath without even meaning to. His back to her, the man had a good figure, he was tall, but she could not make out hair colour in the dark. The man stood completely still and seemed to be deep in thought. 452 reached for her silenced hand gun and levelled it at her target.
"Hands where I can see them. Turn round very slowly and walk into the light." She flipped the light switch beside her at the same time. The man jumped, but was not dumb enough to spin round. 452 knew that letting him see her was risky, but the rest of her brain was yelling other orders. You have to determine whether or not this is really eyes-only. Don't worry about letting him see you, he wont live to tell anyone. And then another voice, one that she did not understand… I have to see him…
Logan began to turn very slowly round, his hands held up in the air. His head was ringing from those few words, because it was impossible, ridiculous, but he knew that voice. He would know that voice anywhere. When the intruder came into view, he saw a beautiful girl, about twenty, with long dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was dressed all in black, and her face… her face was the most radiant thing he had ever seen. It was a face that came to him every night in his dreams, and nightmares, it was a face that he had longed to behold in person for a year and a half, and it was masked in terrible confusion.
452 found her breath coming quicker, her heart thumping so loud she thought it might deafen her, and she didn't know why. When the man had turned, she was shocked by the effect it had on her. She could not tear her gaze from those crystal blue eyes. She knew now that this was after all eyes-only, she had studied the stills for days and would know those eyes anywhere. What she couldn't work out was why his face was a stricken jumble of emotion. Terror was the obvious one, but woven into it was joy, longing, confusion, and dread. But the latter, she could tell, was not dread of her, but of something else. Not of the fact that he was very close to being shot, but perhaps that she was going to shoot him? Well that makes no sense. We've never met. It's him, just finish it. Then the odd voice returned, but it's him. 452, sick of this ridiculous confusion, decided to get on with it, finish the job, then return to Manticore to figure out what was going on. Do the job, ask questions later. But as she was about to, as she placed her finger on the trigger and took aim, he gasped,
"Max?" and her world fell apart around her. She still didn't understand it; she really had no idea why she was acting like this over a stranger. In fact, not only a stranger, a threat to national security who must be destroyed before he does some serious damage, or that's what you've been told, taunted the odd voice, who gave you permission to set up shop in my head? She almost yelled it mentally, at the same time as knowing how crazy that was. She took aim again, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not pull the trigger. She physically could not do it.
Logan watched in confusion as his love seemed to fight herself. He did not understand how she was alive, or what exactly was happening, but he did know, however terrifying it was, that if he hadn't said "Max" a minute ago, he'd probably be dead now. But he could see the pain she was in, even though he wasn't sure of the cause of the pain. He wanted to help her. He reached out one hand, saying
"Max…"
"Shut up! Hands up!" She snapped, actually shaking now. He did as he was told. Then 452 continued, she seemed to be talking more to herself than to him, but she spoke out loud. The real reason was that her head was so full of thoughts that out loud was the only way to hear herself. "I have a job to do. I must eliminate Eyes-Only!" Then to him "You are Eyes only, right?" it seemed like a plea, and in his shocked state, Logan answered immediately, and truthfully,
"Yes."
"Then… then… you are my target, I have to kill you."