Spoilers: Takes place after the episode Freak Nation.
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the original characters.
Chapter One: Aftermath
Prologue
Seattle, Washington D.C. November 28, 2022
Terminal City, the city that the transgenics of Seattle had once called their home now lay in ruins, along with the blood caked bodies of the soldiers who engaged in the war. A pair of searching brown eyes swept through the destroyed city, looking desperately for any sign of survivors. But to no avail.
Max stood, trembling from head to foot. The aftermath of the war had beyond shaken her. A guilty shadow now followed her. The reason why so many were lying in their graves right now was because of her... "I'm so sorry," she whispered to the twilight, dropping down to her knees in a helpless heap. She knelt on the roof of the building that was once TC's Command Center. The roof that no longer held the flag that Joshua had painted...
Flashback
'Hey Joshua," Max greeted the transhuman who grinned at her. 'Watcha doin'?'
'It's a flag, our flag.' Joshua smiled soberly at her, before explaining his masterpiece. He started by pointing to the barcode. 'This is you, me, even them. Its all of us.' He paused before moving on to the black stripe. 'This is where we came from, where they tried to keep us.'
'In the dark.' Max whispered, remembering all the times she had spent hiding from the police, all the times she had spent in the dark cells of Manticore.
Joshua nodded. 'Secret.' He pointed to the red stripe. 'This is where we are now, because our blood is being spilled.'
Max shut her eyes for a split second, remembering those who didn't quite make it. Ben, Zack, Tinga...She opened them again and saw Joshua gesturing to the white stripe. 'This is where we want to go.'
'Into the light.' Max continued for him. They were sick of hiding. It was time that they had their own lives. But how can that be when the rest of the world wanted them dead?
End Flashback
'Into the light'. The words echoed in her head. They had done just that. Exposed themselves to the world that was the reality of the lives of many. But the second they walked out into the world, they were rejected. They were dubbed as 'freaks', freaks who were an insult to nature. An insult to humanity. A danger to everyone.
'And its all my fault'. Max thought. It was she who released them all from Manticore. She brought them out into the world. She had thought that they would be safe here, that they would finally have a chance to live a normal life, that they would have a sense of freedom and belonging. But she was wrong.
The occurrence that every transgenic and transhuman had feared for, had taken place, right in the middle of Terminal City...right in the middle of their own home. War had erupted. The government had attacked with more than three hundred armed men. And with only a hundred transgenics with nothing to defend themselves save for a gun each...
They knew that they were fighting a losing battle, but nevertheless, they plunged into it, exuding more confidence and determination than anyone of them truly felt... She stood up and once again faced the graveyard that stretched on below her...
Flashback
Police cars swarmed into the frontage of Terminal City, facing the 'trannies' who stood unwaveringly in front of them, their eyes alight with purpose.
Clemente signaled to his fellow cops. "All right, let's back it up people! Outside the fence! Move!" And as swiftly as the cars had driven into their 'territory', they once again disappeared, leaving Clemente alone with his car, weaponless. He climbed out of it, his face set in a neutral expression. But his eyes betrayed his reverence.
"You kept today from turning into a bloodbath," he addressed Max who watched him warily. "And I respect that But you haven't won anything. This is gonna get real ugly, and this is way over my head now. These people's lives depend on the decisions that you make right now. I pray you make the right ones...Max."
End Flashback
Clemente was right. It 'did' get real ugly. And the whole city of transgenics had depended on her. Depended on her to make the right decisions. 'And look where my decisions took us...a battlefield filled with the dead bodies of my people.'
Tears welled up in Max's eyes, and for the first time in so many months, they fell.
And she wept.
"Dead End"
Alec watched her from across the roof, respecting her privacy. Beside him stood Logan, Joshua, and two other X5s: Devon, and Kade. All of them wearing the same grim expressions. Out of the hundred of their brethren, only the five of them survived. And each of them carried guilty hearts. Alec knew that it truly wasn't their fault. But they couldn't help feeling accountable of the lives they neglected to help. The fact that they survived and the others didn't was a lot to take in.
"What are we going to do now?" Devon asked, in a helpless tone. His jet- black hair stood up in all directions, and his face was covered in dirt. Alec remembered him from Manticore. He used to be the Commanding Officer of one of the units. And the verity that he didn't know what to do proved the vulnerability of situation. The cops would be back by tomorrow, cleaning up the mess. And Alec knew that if they didn't clear out of here soon, they were going to be wiped out as well. But where would they go? That was the big question.
"I wouldn't be surprised if today's incident is on international news now," Alec said, watching his breath came out as a misty fog. Evening was setting in, and it was starting to get very cold. "And I doubt we'll be able to go anywhere without getting caught. Every exit from Seattle would be heavily guarded, no doubt."
"We're trapped," Kade, a petite blonde who was tending a bullet wound to the arm said. Other than Kade, none of them were wounded, which only increased the feeling of guilt on their shoulders. Alec shut his eyes for a split second, remembering the terrified look on Mole's face when he was bombarded by several gun shots. The two of them had pushed through the battle together, and it pained Alec to his comrade fall.
"Are we going to die, Middle fella?" Joshua whimpered, his sad expression showing the puppy in him. Alec turned to look at his canine friend, opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. 'Are we going to die?' He asked himself. Even he didn't know that answer.
Kade sympathized the transhuman and patted him soothing only the arm. "Don't worry Josh, we're not going to die." She said confidently, and in a low voice that only the two other X5s could hear said: "We're going to die."
"No we're not," Devon said, although his voice trembled as he spoke.
"You know, I always thought I was going to have sex before I died." Logan said wistfully, eyeing Kade who jumped back several steps, her expression stricken with horror. If the situation wasn't so serious, Alec would've found the fact that Logan hadn't had any, amusing.
"Logan, can't you make passports for us or something?" Alec asked, his head spinning, looking for a country that was unaware of the existence of transgenics.
Logan broke out of whatever fantasy he was having and stared at Alec. "Where would you go? Like you said, today's incident would be on international news. The countries' entry areas would be surely watched."
Alec shrugged, already feeling defeated. "I dunno, the North Pole?" Kade snorted.
"And how the hell are we gonna survive 'there'? Eat penguins?" a new voice asked, dubiously. Five pairs of eyes turned to look at the person who had joined their little group.
"Max," Alec breathed, staring at her. Her dark brown hair was damp with sweat. And there was blood on her blue jacket. There were dark circles under her eyes which were slightly red from her crying. She would've looked like shit if it wasn't for the smile that was on her face. It was a weak smile, but nevertheless, a genuine one.
"Are you okay?" Logan immediately asked, moving closer to Max but at a good enough distance.
Max nodded, but her smile vanished. "Yeah." She glanced over at the land beyond the building they were standing on, and said: "I figured that there was no use crying over what was lost. What's done is done. What's lost is lost. There's nothing we can do to change what happened, to change the ordinary's feelings towards us transgenics." Her eyes flitted upward briefly. "Today, our family's blood was spilled," They ducked their head in respect. "But they're souls have moved on to the Good Place. They can rest there now. Manticore may have told us that we don't have souls, that we're simply just animals. But the war earlier have proved them wrong. We held our own well, we worked together as one. As a family. We may have lost the war. But our souls will never be lost."
"That was quite a speech, Maxie." Alec said, impressed. He always knew that Max had a thing for speeches. They may be really long at times, but they struck everybody right in the heart.
"And she's right," Kade said, smiling. The three other males were nodding in agreement.
"So where do you suggest we head to?" Alec asked, "Since you contradicted my suggestion of flying to the North Pole...wait a second—you're not scared of penguins, are you?"
Max raised an eyebrow. "I'm a genetically enhanced super soldier, Alec. Of course I'm afraid of penguins."
"Ah yes, sarcasm." Alec said, with a grin. Max's speech, certainly lifted the heavy weight of his shoulder. And he rather felt amiable right now.
"Maybe we should drive off to Vancouver," Devon said, thoughtfully. "It's the closest city to Seattle. And we could lay low there for a while until we come up with a much better plan."
"Why don't we just come up with a much better plan now?" Kade asked, punching Devon playfully on the shoulder. He scowled at her, but his eyes were laughing. Alec realized that Max's words of wisdom had made the guilt that surrounded them evaporate.
"Devon's plan doesn't sound so bad," Max said, her head tilted to one side in deep contemplation. Alec guessed that a plan was already forming in her head. Alec knew for a fact that Max was an expert on Escape and Evade. "Vancouver was one of the cities that was thoroughly affected by the Pulse. As far as I know, they're running low on weaponry and security. And since there are five of us, it won't be too hard to clear the sector point."
"Max's right," Alec agreed, recalling one of his Manticore away-missions in Vancouver. With his superior memory, he could easily map out Vancouver in his head, and every other building that existed there. "There's this old warehouse a few meters into Vancouver. I've passed it a few times on one of my missions there. It's obviously never been used for years. The five of us could crash there for a while."
Logan looked slightly affronted by their planning. "What do you mean the five of you? I'm coming with you guys." He said, testing his exoskeleton to see if it was still working. Alec didn't say anything, those exos saved his life during the fight with White and the Phalanx.
"Logan, you can't. It's too dangerous." Max countered. "There is a huge possibility that White would be here in TC, finding my dead body and Alec's. When he realizes that were still alive...he won't stop hunting us down." Alec almost forgot about White. He himself had been captured by White once, and if it wasn't for Max. He'd be as good as dead. And he had no intention of getting caught—again. Because only hell knew if he was going to get out of White's clutches alive.
"Max, I'm a grown man. I'm willing to take the risk," Logan resisted.
"A grown man who hasn't had sex," Alec murmured under his breath. Devon must have heard him because he snickered. Fortunately, Logan didn't notice.
"This is no time to play the hero Logan, you're staying. And that's final." Max said in a tone that brooked no arguments.
Nevertheless, Logan kept on insisting. "But I may never see you again," he whined. "And I haven't found the cure for the virus. You can't leave me here—not yet."
"Not when you haven't had sex yet," Alec muttered again in a low tone. This time, Devon and Kade didn't bother to hide their laughter. Logan ignored them. So did Max, who took a step closer to Logan, daring to be as close as possible.
"Logan, this is for the best." Max said, her gaze unwavering as she stared Logan straight in the eye. Logan looked away, the hurt apparent in his face.
"Fine—but at least take this," he said pulling out what vaguely looked like a thousand dollar bill out of his inner jacket pocket. Alec's vision zeroed on it, and this time he caught the numbers: 1000 clearly printed on the top right corner of the crumpled green bill.
'Trust Logan to go to war carrying one thousand dollars in his pocket'. Alec thought dryly. But hey, he wasn't complaining. He wasn't complaining one bit. It wasn't that big of a amount, but it would be enough for the five transgenics to survive for the next couple of days. Max took it without question, probably knowing that if she didn't, Logan would never leave.
"Now, go before anyone sees you with us," Max said. Logan inhaled deeply before nodding at Max, and shaking Alec's hand and whispering to him so that only he could hear. "Take care of her for me. Treat her right...I know that you're the only one who would be able to keep her happy."
And Logan turned his heel and left. Until he was only a tiny black dot from a distance.
"You still got your bikes?" she asked all of them. They nodded almost immediately. They were careful enough to stash their rides in a well-hidden place in TC just in case someone wanted them dead and they had to make a quick getaway. That time came right about now. "Let's blaze people."
A/N: Please review people!!!
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the original characters.
Chapter One: Aftermath
Prologue
Seattle, Washington D.C. November 28, 2022
Terminal City, the city that the transgenics of Seattle had once called their home now lay in ruins, along with the blood caked bodies of the soldiers who engaged in the war. A pair of searching brown eyes swept through the destroyed city, looking desperately for any sign of survivors. But to no avail.
Max stood, trembling from head to foot. The aftermath of the war had beyond shaken her. A guilty shadow now followed her. The reason why so many were lying in their graves right now was because of her... "I'm so sorry," she whispered to the twilight, dropping down to her knees in a helpless heap. She knelt on the roof of the building that was once TC's Command Center. The roof that no longer held the flag that Joshua had painted...
Flashback
'Hey Joshua," Max greeted the transhuman who grinned at her. 'Watcha doin'?'
'It's a flag, our flag.' Joshua smiled soberly at her, before explaining his masterpiece. He started by pointing to the barcode. 'This is you, me, even them. Its all of us.' He paused before moving on to the black stripe. 'This is where we came from, where they tried to keep us.'
'In the dark.' Max whispered, remembering all the times she had spent hiding from the police, all the times she had spent in the dark cells of Manticore.
Joshua nodded. 'Secret.' He pointed to the red stripe. 'This is where we are now, because our blood is being spilled.'
Max shut her eyes for a split second, remembering those who didn't quite make it. Ben, Zack, Tinga...She opened them again and saw Joshua gesturing to the white stripe. 'This is where we want to go.'
'Into the light.' Max continued for him. They were sick of hiding. It was time that they had their own lives. But how can that be when the rest of the world wanted them dead?
End Flashback
'Into the light'. The words echoed in her head. They had done just that. Exposed themselves to the world that was the reality of the lives of many. But the second they walked out into the world, they were rejected. They were dubbed as 'freaks', freaks who were an insult to nature. An insult to humanity. A danger to everyone.
'And its all my fault'. Max thought. It was she who released them all from Manticore. She brought them out into the world. She had thought that they would be safe here, that they would finally have a chance to live a normal life, that they would have a sense of freedom and belonging. But she was wrong.
The occurrence that every transgenic and transhuman had feared for, had taken place, right in the middle of Terminal City...right in the middle of their own home. War had erupted. The government had attacked with more than three hundred armed men. And with only a hundred transgenics with nothing to defend themselves save for a gun each...
They knew that they were fighting a losing battle, but nevertheless, they plunged into it, exuding more confidence and determination than anyone of them truly felt... She stood up and once again faced the graveyard that stretched on below her...
Flashback
Police cars swarmed into the frontage of Terminal City, facing the 'trannies' who stood unwaveringly in front of them, their eyes alight with purpose.
Clemente signaled to his fellow cops. "All right, let's back it up people! Outside the fence! Move!" And as swiftly as the cars had driven into their 'territory', they once again disappeared, leaving Clemente alone with his car, weaponless. He climbed out of it, his face set in a neutral expression. But his eyes betrayed his reverence.
"You kept today from turning into a bloodbath," he addressed Max who watched him warily. "And I respect that But you haven't won anything. This is gonna get real ugly, and this is way over my head now. These people's lives depend on the decisions that you make right now. I pray you make the right ones...Max."
End Flashback
Clemente was right. It 'did' get real ugly. And the whole city of transgenics had depended on her. Depended on her to make the right decisions. 'And look where my decisions took us...a battlefield filled with the dead bodies of my people.'
Tears welled up in Max's eyes, and for the first time in so many months, they fell.
And she wept.
"Dead End"
Alec watched her from across the roof, respecting her privacy. Beside him stood Logan, Joshua, and two other X5s: Devon, and Kade. All of them wearing the same grim expressions. Out of the hundred of their brethren, only the five of them survived. And each of them carried guilty hearts. Alec knew that it truly wasn't their fault. But they couldn't help feeling accountable of the lives they neglected to help. The fact that they survived and the others didn't was a lot to take in.
"What are we going to do now?" Devon asked, in a helpless tone. His jet- black hair stood up in all directions, and his face was covered in dirt. Alec remembered him from Manticore. He used to be the Commanding Officer of one of the units. And the verity that he didn't know what to do proved the vulnerability of situation. The cops would be back by tomorrow, cleaning up the mess. And Alec knew that if they didn't clear out of here soon, they were going to be wiped out as well. But where would they go? That was the big question.
"I wouldn't be surprised if today's incident is on international news now," Alec said, watching his breath came out as a misty fog. Evening was setting in, and it was starting to get very cold. "And I doubt we'll be able to go anywhere without getting caught. Every exit from Seattle would be heavily guarded, no doubt."
"We're trapped," Kade, a petite blonde who was tending a bullet wound to the arm said. Other than Kade, none of them were wounded, which only increased the feeling of guilt on their shoulders. Alec shut his eyes for a split second, remembering the terrified look on Mole's face when he was bombarded by several gun shots. The two of them had pushed through the battle together, and it pained Alec to his comrade fall.
"Are we going to die, Middle fella?" Joshua whimpered, his sad expression showing the puppy in him. Alec turned to look at his canine friend, opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. 'Are we going to die?' He asked himself. Even he didn't know that answer.
Kade sympathized the transhuman and patted him soothing only the arm. "Don't worry Josh, we're not going to die." She said confidently, and in a low voice that only the two other X5s could hear said: "We're going to die."
"No we're not," Devon said, although his voice trembled as he spoke.
"You know, I always thought I was going to have sex before I died." Logan said wistfully, eyeing Kade who jumped back several steps, her expression stricken with horror. If the situation wasn't so serious, Alec would've found the fact that Logan hadn't had any, amusing.
"Logan, can't you make passports for us or something?" Alec asked, his head spinning, looking for a country that was unaware of the existence of transgenics.
Logan broke out of whatever fantasy he was having and stared at Alec. "Where would you go? Like you said, today's incident would be on international news. The countries' entry areas would be surely watched."
Alec shrugged, already feeling defeated. "I dunno, the North Pole?" Kade snorted.
"And how the hell are we gonna survive 'there'? Eat penguins?" a new voice asked, dubiously. Five pairs of eyes turned to look at the person who had joined their little group.
"Max," Alec breathed, staring at her. Her dark brown hair was damp with sweat. And there was blood on her blue jacket. There were dark circles under her eyes which were slightly red from her crying. She would've looked like shit if it wasn't for the smile that was on her face. It was a weak smile, but nevertheless, a genuine one.
"Are you okay?" Logan immediately asked, moving closer to Max but at a good enough distance.
Max nodded, but her smile vanished. "Yeah." She glanced over at the land beyond the building they were standing on, and said: "I figured that there was no use crying over what was lost. What's done is done. What's lost is lost. There's nothing we can do to change what happened, to change the ordinary's feelings towards us transgenics." Her eyes flitted upward briefly. "Today, our family's blood was spilled," They ducked their head in respect. "But they're souls have moved on to the Good Place. They can rest there now. Manticore may have told us that we don't have souls, that we're simply just animals. But the war earlier have proved them wrong. We held our own well, we worked together as one. As a family. We may have lost the war. But our souls will never be lost."
"That was quite a speech, Maxie." Alec said, impressed. He always knew that Max had a thing for speeches. They may be really long at times, but they struck everybody right in the heart.
"And she's right," Kade said, smiling. The three other males were nodding in agreement.
"So where do you suggest we head to?" Alec asked, "Since you contradicted my suggestion of flying to the North Pole...wait a second—you're not scared of penguins, are you?"
Max raised an eyebrow. "I'm a genetically enhanced super soldier, Alec. Of course I'm afraid of penguins."
"Ah yes, sarcasm." Alec said, with a grin. Max's speech, certainly lifted the heavy weight of his shoulder. And he rather felt amiable right now.
"Maybe we should drive off to Vancouver," Devon said, thoughtfully. "It's the closest city to Seattle. And we could lay low there for a while until we come up with a much better plan."
"Why don't we just come up with a much better plan now?" Kade asked, punching Devon playfully on the shoulder. He scowled at her, but his eyes were laughing. Alec realized that Max's words of wisdom had made the guilt that surrounded them evaporate.
"Devon's plan doesn't sound so bad," Max said, her head tilted to one side in deep contemplation. Alec guessed that a plan was already forming in her head. Alec knew for a fact that Max was an expert on Escape and Evade. "Vancouver was one of the cities that was thoroughly affected by the Pulse. As far as I know, they're running low on weaponry and security. And since there are five of us, it won't be too hard to clear the sector point."
"Max's right," Alec agreed, recalling one of his Manticore away-missions in Vancouver. With his superior memory, he could easily map out Vancouver in his head, and every other building that existed there. "There's this old warehouse a few meters into Vancouver. I've passed it a few times on one of my missions there. It's obviously never been used for years. The five of us could crash there for a while."
Logan looked slightly affronted by their planning. "What do you mean the five of you? I'm coming with you guys." He said, testing his exoskeleton to see if it was still working. Alec didn't say anything, those exos saved his life during the fight with White and the Phalanx.
"Logan, you can't. It's too dangerous." Max countered. "There is a huge possibility that White would be here in TC, finding my dead body and Alec's. When he realizes that were still alive...he won't stop hunting us down." Alec almost forgot about White. He himself had been captured by White once, and if it wasn't for Max. He'd be as good as dead. And he had no intention of getting caught—again. Because only hell knew if he was going to get out of White's clutches alive.
"Max, I'm a grown man. I'm willing to take the risk," Logan resisted.
"A grown man who hasn't had sex," Alec murmured under his breath. Devon must have heard him because he snickered. Fortunately, Logan didn't notice.
"This is no time to play the hero Logan, you're staying. And that's final." Max said in a tone that brooked no arguments.
Nevertheless, Logan kept on insisting. "But I may never see you again," he whined. "And I haven't found the cure for the virus. You can't leave me here—not yet."
"Not when you haven't had sex yet," Alec muttered again in a low tone. This time, Devon and Kade didn't bother to hide their laughter. Logan ignored them. So did Max, who took a step closer to Logan, daring to be as close as possible.
"Logan, this is for the best." Max said, her gaze unwavering as she stared Logan straight in the eye. Logan looked away, the hurt apparent in his face.
"Fine—but at least take this," he said pulling out what vaguely looked like a thousand dollar bill out of his inner jacket pocket. Alec's vision zeroed on it, and this time he caught the numbers: 1000 clearly printed on the top right corner of the crumpled green bill.
'Trust Logan to go to war carrying one thousand dollars in his pocket'. Alec thought dryly. But hey, he wasn't complaining. He wasn't complaining one bit. It wasn't that big of a amount, but it would be enough for the five transgenics to survive for the next couple of days. Max took it without question, probably knowing that if she didn't, Logan would never leave.
"Now, go before anyone sees you with us," Max said. Logan inhaled deeply before nodding at Max, and shaking Alec's hand and whispering to him so that only he could hear. "Take care of her for me. Treat her right...I know that you're the only one who would be able to keep her happy."
And Logan turned his heel and left. Until he was only a tiny black dot from a distance.
"You still got your bikes?" she asked all of them. They nodded almost immediately. They were careful enough to stash their rides in a well-hidden place in TC just in case someone wanted them dead and they had to make a quick getaway. That time came right about now. "Let's blaze people."
A/N: Please review people!!!