Chapter 1: The Censoring
by: Mochaije
Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel or its characters. Other than that, the story and characters are mine.
Summary: After some telepaths break Max and Zack out of Manticore, she asks Logan to make a career-altering decision. Bold type is... Well, you'll find out so on enough! Some swearing.
Rating: PG 13
Max tried to roll over and snapped awake. She was in restraints. Not only that, she was in a hospital room--one she recognized. When she'd got appendicitis at the age of seven, she'd been in here, she'd woken up the same way. Sleeping on her side was more comfortable, but no, she was practically tied to the bed. Max relaxed and thought back to her only memory of what had happened. Yes, she'd been shot, and she passed out in Logan's arms. That was all she remembered, and even that was a bit fuzzy. What the hell had she been doing in a place where she would get shot? Max usually wasn't silly enough to let herself get shot.
She heard some vials smash and tried to focus her eyes. Yes, vials were indeed smashing. But nothing was smashing them. They rose from their places around the rooms and imploded loudly. Straining her ears, she discovered there were vials and things bursting in other rooms as well. Max closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. Vials do not smash on their own, it must've been a dream.
She'd barely taken a few breaths when her restraints loosened. Her eyes opened and she looked around. There was no one there, and yet the restraints were completely undone. Relishing in the freedom this gave her, she sat up and almost screamed in pain, then snapped herself back down. Fuck, that hurt. She raised her hospital gown with one hand and peeked at her chest. Except for a big-ass line of stitches, she was fine. The pain dissapated and the vials stopped smashing.
Get up and be a bit more quiet this time, another voice interrupted her thoughts. Max looked around, bewildered. There was no one else there, but she could hear--Actually, just stay put, we'll have to move you. Max closed her eyes and tried to make it all go away. People who were not there were talking to her, there was glass everywhere... She began to rise up from the bed then, as if she was levitating. Stay completely and totally still, the voice said to her. Max tried to push any kind of panic back and just go to sleep. This is not happening...
She woke up in a warehouse and looked around frantically. Her chest was much, much less sore and she sat up with ease. "Hello!" she yelled. Her voice echoed in the metallic-tasting air. Looking around, she found she in a small, steel dome that appeared to be barracks. Max realised she was on the top of the bunk bed near one end of the dome, with another ten or so bunk beds in the room. They all had steel frames and white bed spreads, but the pillows seemed to be pretty individual. There were backpacks slung over the corner of many bunks, but no one was in the room. Max checked her outfit--She was still wearing a gown. Ew.
She hopped off the bunk and took some shoes and pants from a neighbouring bunk. I'll return them, they won't mind... Hey, there's a shirt too. Max realised with satisfaction that the owner of the clothes was female and her size. She rummaged through the bag that she'd found the clothes in, found a hairbrush, yanked it through her hair, replaced it, and threw her gown back on her bunk so it wouldn't be taken. Now dressed in a nice pair of jeans, a fitted red t-shirt and old sneakers, she blazed across the room and stopped at the door.
Max knocked on it and it clanged. She yelled "Open sesame!" and it stared back at her. She searched for buttons on either side of the door and found none, so she began kicking at it.
"Open fuckin' sesame!" She jumped high into a spinning kick, aiming to collide with the door, which opened suddenly. The man about to walk through it fought back, grabbing her leg and throwing her to the floor. She sprang up feet first and hit him in the face, then bombarded him with a series of kicks and punches, most of which he returned, knocking her on the ground again. Shit, whoever this is, he's really bloody strong. Without thinking she jumped up and flipped him over and onto the ground, landing on him, and stared into Zack's face.
"What the hell?" The said together. Max rolled off and sat on a bunk. The door had closed while they were fighting. He sat beside her.
"What are you doing here?" Max asked, looking at him again. She looked away. "What am I doing here..."
"We both got busted out of Manticore," Zack said briskly. "We both ended up there after we tried to blow the place up. I got shot, so did you... But part of your heart collapsed and they took Brin's heart and gave it to you... Dunno how she died." His voice faltered on the last sentence.
"Smoke inhalation, I bet," Max grunted. "I sort of... Handcuffed her to something before we set the bombs off."
"So it was your fault?" Zack was back to his usual pissed-off self, it seemed.
"It's my fault anyway, I didn't fight my clone. Stupid me, asking if she knew who I was... I'm such an idiot... If I'd overpowered her, I'd be at the Crash right now instead of sitting in a steel room with my brother putting me on a guilt trip about something I can't control."
"You act like Renfro's a bitch for killing Tinga and then you kill--"
"She wasn't one of us any more, Zack," she said softly. "She would've gladly returned my favour, except, well, I've got her heart."
Zack was quiet for a moment. "Damnit Max, she was one of--"
"Just drop it," she gave him a cold look. "If I hadn't done that, she would've disarmed the bombs."
"Blowing the place up didn't get us anywhere."
Max changed the subject. "Have you been hearing anyone else's thoughts lately?" Zack stared at her for a moment as if she was insane and shook his head. "Some voice thing broke all these vials back at Manticore and lifted me up out of the bed and talked to me and I'm not sure if I'm dreamin' or not..." The large doors opened and a slim, red-headed woman walked through. She tucked her shoulder-length curls behind one ear and put a hand on her hip. The light in the room caught on a small, metallic badge on her shirt.
"Mission briefing. Room 345. I'll have to open the doors for you, seeing as you don't have the power to open them." Max and Zack glanced at each other, then followed the woman.
------
"I suppose you're wondering about us," the woman said. They seemed to be in a board room, a few minutes' walk from the barracks. It was a regular office boardroom with swivl chairs and a slide screen, but Max noticed the chair adjusted itslef to her when she sat. The metal doors to that room squeaked closed and they all cringed at the noise. Max and Zack sat across from each other at the twelve-person table.
"We're not Manticore. We're better. Slightly the same, but better," she stood in front of the table. "You see, when your group was made... X5, if I do recall... One of the lab techs snuck some stuff out for us. Basically, X5 building blocks. And I don't mean the wooden type. From your genes, we made an even more superior being. No seizures," Max rolled her eyes. "We kept Ye Olde Big Brother well intact, though. Nothing much we had to change about you, Zack. You're a product of your environment, unlike Max." Max rolled her eyes again. "Basically, we are stronger, quicker, do not go into heat--" this got another rolling eye from Max--"do not need to sleep, and can communicate with our minds. Some of us can even do that when we talk. I'm telling Sebastian about the crab legs I had last night for dinner right now."
"Yeah, you're superior. Would you mind letting us go, now? We might have places to be," Max rolled her eyes again.
"You should stop doing that or the eyes will roll right of your head." Max sighed instead and the woman continued. "My name is Ima, by the way."
"Ima Super-Duper-Revved-Up-Chick-Who-Talks-Like-She-Owns-Anyone-Below-Her?" Max said under her breath. Zack chuckled and the Ima smirked.
"My hearing and eyesight are also far superior to yours," she kept smirking, then went back to her serious expression. "You're a friend of Eyes Only, correct?" She spoke to Max.
"I know an informant."
"Well, our society depends on Manticore. Eyes Only has plans to expose them, and if he does that, they'll have to shut down and systematically kill any Manticore ties--including us. We freed you both because we know that you can get to the man behind the mask. Not to worry, though, Manticore will approve and as long as you guys are good little bunnies and don't do anything bad, we won't have to kill you." Max looked a bit worried so Zack responded.
"Basically you want us to bring down the good guy?"
"Only if it comes to that. If he broadcasts about Manticore, we're in danger. You're in danger." Ima wasn't being stern any more, but more like someone who was actually afraid for their life. "If you succeed I'll make sure Manticore never, ever brings you back as a soldier. You'd be an agent for us. You have some telepathic ability in you, we just have to find it," she was bargaining now.
"I'd have to kill him," Max said softly. "I doubt Eyes Only would give up on a cause like that, especially for Manticore helpers like yourselves."
"Pssst, Max, your life depends on it," Zack grunted. "Of course he will."
"Are you two done? Anyway, we're in a mountain right now. Your ride to Seattle has been arranged. Don't tell Eyes Only too much, just enough for him to stop the newscast." She threw a glance at Max. "Go back to Logan's alone, let Zack wait in the hallway in case he's got armed bodyguards again."
"How did you know he had a bodyguard?"
"You told me about the night you broke in," Ima smiled widely. "You told me who Eyes Only was." Max looked down. "Just go through doors where other people are entering. You're leaving from Docking Boy 6. Turrah then."
"Wait just a second," Max interrupted. "If we solve this problem for you, then Manticore leaves us be and so do you guys, agreed? We don't want Manticore to have any reason to come after us We're doing you a favour."
"You're doing yourself a favour too."
"Total immunity or you guys can just do things the hard way," she told Ima.
"Fine. Don't screw up and you guys will be--"
"Dead? Yeah, we know."
------
Zack walked through the busy corridors with his arm around Max, who had started crying a bit. "It's all my fault. I'll have to kill him or format his computer and wreck his little protect-the-down-trodden plan."
"No, you didn't. Don't start worrying until he puts us on the news," Zack said soothingly. He rubbed Max's arm with his hand as they walked. She pulled away from him and continued walking. "Are you gonna be okay?"
"Yeah," she sniffed, pulling herself together. "Oh, Manticore knows exactly who Eyes Only is and where he lives, and he's about to tell the whole world where we are and they'll have to kill us, yeah, I'll be okay." She folded her arms across her chest.
"Docking Bay 6," Zack said happily and they stood by the door, waiting for it to open. Finally, he grabbed someone from the crowd and had them open it. They walked through. It was cold outside. They seemed to be in a parking lot, but there was only one car--a rather nice, red Sportage--and they went over to it. The driver rolled down the window.
"Zack and Max?"
-----
They arrived at Foggle Towers the next morning. It had been almost a six-hour drive and Max was starting to see that Zack was badly jet-lagged. She hauled him out of the SUV with her and waved a thank-you to the driver.
"Okay, so what's the plan again?"
"You and me broke out of Manticore and came here, 'and oh, by the way Logan, pretty please don't expose Manticore's location, lest they kill me'," he smirked tiredly.
"Plan B," she said, opening the doors to the lobby. The walked through and picked the second door, the one most people just use a key for or have someone buzz in them in at.
"Plan B is Spill the Beans. I don't think Ima wants us to use that," he yawned.
"Hold on there, don't fall asleep on me just yet." The door opened with it's usual "ping ping ping" noise and she smiled. "Let's go."
-----
Max picked the lock on Logan's door with a skilled ease and crept in quietly. She threw a hand signal to Zack, telling him to stay put. He shrugged and slouched against the elevator.
Logan was sitting on the couch, watching a sitcom. It must be some old show in syndication, it's pretty damned early. He chuckled at a joke and so did she, and he jerked around. Max waved sheepishly.
"Max."
"Logan." They were silent for a few moments, and they just just looked at each other. Finally Max turned around and called to Zack to come in and go take a nap in the guestroom. When she went back to facing Logan, he was right in front of her.
"Hi."
"Hey... You, um, want some spaghetti?" They both seemed a little uncomfortable, like it had been before he kissed her on their anniversary. It worried Max a bit, so she broke the slience and kissed him. He responded out of instinct for a moment, then pulled away.
"Max..."
"What?" She asked, confused. Has he got a girlfriend or something? Geez, I die and he's dating again, barely two months later. What a prat. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. "There's someone behind whose presence will be an embarrassment I'll never live down, isn't there."
"Uh, yeah, actually. Max, meet Asha." Max turned and opened her eyes. A pretty blonde had her arms crossed on her chest, slightly hiding a nice blue shirt with wacky little pockets in a row across her bust. Below that she wore black, boot-cut pants and running shoes. Her hair was cut just below her ears. "She's with the S1W." Asha waved a bit.
"Does she know about me?" Max half-mouthed, half-whispered. Logan nodded. "Does she know about you?"
"She thinks I'm an informant he mouthed, because he knew she could read his lips. Max ran her tongue over he teeth and turned back to Logan.
"Y'know that whole blow-the-lid-off-Manticore master plan? Drop it," she told him bitterly. He looked a bit taken aback as he leaned on the back of the couch.
"Any particular reason?" Max nodded and looked at Asha. "Could you chill in the hallway for a moment? I gotta speak to my buddy in here."
"Is it about your furry little friends?" Asha suggested. Max gave her an evil look.
"Excuse me? Furry little friends?" Max put her hands on her hips.
"Um, look, I think I'll go chill in the hallway--" Asha pointed towards the still-open door as she spoke and then ran out of it, closing the door behind her. Max sighed heavily and sat down on a chair in the pseudo-living room, and Logan sat back down on the couch.
"Look, I didn't think you would actually be coming ba--"
"Don't worry about it, it's not important right at this second," she said, trying to guise her dissappointment.
"So what is so important right at this second?"
She told him the entire story, including how she would have to kill him or format his computer if he didn't agree.
"Fine," he nodded. "If your life depends on it, not a word about Manticore will pass my lips."
"Okay then, about Asha."
"She's not really my girlfriend, more of a replacement butt-kicker. I help the S1W, she kicks some ass."
"Didn't we start out like that?" Max smiled. "Ah, I get it. Don't mack on the girlfriend in front of your buddy, eh?"
Logan cringed a little at the word 'girlfriend' but nodded. "Yeah. I wouldn't 'mack' on you in front of Cindy."
"Aww, you wouldn't kiss me in public?"
"It's different when there's only one person in the room and they need to talk to you," he told her.
"Yeah, I see your point," Max smiled. "I'd better let Asha back in, huh?" Logan chuckled and nodded. Max got up and started to walk to the door, then turned to face him. "I'm sorry about being a bit of an ass," she apologized.
"It's okay," he said, getting up to follow her to the door. "And you're still my resident butt-kicker."
"Damn, I hope so. I gotta do something instead of sleeping," she laughed. Logan beat her to the door and opened it and Asha came back in.
"Hey. So what was that about, furry little friends-related business?" Asha asked innocently, obviously meaning no insult. Max looked insulted anyway.
"Excuse me?" Max spat.
"Well, y'know, you guys have animal DNA... Wouldn't be suprised if there were like, mutants or something that looked more animal than human. Even humans fuck up and stuff, y'know?" Asha looked at Logan for support once or twice and used her hands to express herself too much. Other than the fact she's a ditz, I'd better get along with her, Max thought.
"I'll see you at Crash, Logan," Max said, feeling tinges of jealousy every time Asha breathed. "I gotta bathe." She turned to Asha. "Me and my 'furry little friends' wish you the best of luck with whatever Eyes Only mission you're going to be doing tonight, Asha." She said "furry little friends" like a grade school child saying cuss words. Logan stiffened a bit.
"Uh yeah, I'll see you there," he cut in as Asha opened her mouth to talk.
"Bye," she smiled and left, then poked her head in the door. "And my furry little friends would like to meet you sometime."
-----
Max knocked at her apartment. She didn't want to scare her boo shitless by showing up after being dead. She had to wait a while and she got time to think. Wow, we're actually a couple... Neither of us is denying it or anything. Cool. The door opened and Original Cindy was standing there.
"I had this dream last night, actually. Goodbye," she said lazily, shutting the door. Max pushed it open and bear-hugged her friend, who thankfully hugged back.
"You really are back," Cindy said, releasing Max. The two girls smiled.
"We got any hot water? I feel dirty."
"What'd you do this time?" Cindy laughed. Max giggled and ransacked the linen closet for towels, finding two.
"Here we go," Max held up the towels. "You goin' to Crash tonight?" She put the towels over her arm and grabbed the shampoo and soap.
"Hell yeah, everyone's going tonight, boo," her friend smiled. "Hot boy comin', too?"
"Yup," she said. "I hope he leaves the blonde at home, though."
"Blonde?"
"Asha, the new butt-kicker." Max grabbed the shaving cream after taking a thoughtful look at the shelves. "Anyway, gotta bathe, maybe go to Jam Pony and beg for a job."
-----
"Ain't what you're wearin' just fine, boo?" Cindy stood with her hands on her hips. It was about seven o'clock in the evening and Max was getting ready to go to the Crash.
"No, I have to look nice tonight," she said, staring down at her jeans and t-shirt. She chose a tight, longer-sleeved leather jacket, a pink tank top, and a blue, long sleeved shirt. She noticed she'd forgotten something and grabbed a pair of bootcut jeans as well.
"Original Cindy gonna be straight wit' you, boo, that's exactly what you're wearin' now."
"It is not," she told her, grabbing a pair of undies from her dresser. "Alright, leave the room for a moment, pretty please," Max grinned. She felt someone else's presence in the apartment.
"Hey Max, you here?" came Zack's voice.
-----
"Well, okay, I'm goin' home. You got my plane tickets to Toronto?" Asha leaned against Logan's computer desk.
"Come by tomorrow morning, I'll have them by then," he told her.
"Awesome. So you think it's some Manticore folks tryin' to pull this off? I mean, a second Pulse... Silly fuck-ups," Asha said with disbelief.
"Yeah. I may ask Max and Zack to go with you, in case it is Manticore kids, or just strong guys." Logan logged off his computer and walked into the kitchen. Asha followed close behind.
"I'm not that weak, y'know," she smiled, grabbing a tomato from the fridge. She bit into it and chewed for a moment, then swallowed. "I just hope you won't have to broadcast about it, if it is Manticore-related. There's practically a gun hanging over your head."
"What worries me is that Max is the one holding the gun."
"Yeah..." Asha didn't really know how to respond to that.
"She said that if she succeeded with this whole Eyes Only, friend of Manticore thing, that the telepathic woman would make sure that there wouldn't be a reason for them to come after Max..."
"That either means they're going to kill her or reverse her genetic enhancements--like, Manticore wouldn't be after her if she wasn't enhanced. I wonder if reversing it is even possible," Asha spoke like she was programmed to say that, programmed to act sympathetic without being too nice. She took another bite of the tomato.
"It is possible," he said quietly. "Her sister Jace, her son was 'enhanced'... But it was backwards. Instead of helping it slowly deteriorated him, and made a barcode on the back of his neck. Easily reversed."
"I wonder if they can reverse actual enhancements. Or enhance them after birth..."
"Yup. She went to this press thing in March or so, and they had a little boy there who had been enhanced after he was born. There's only one person who would know if Max was enhanced after she was born though."
"And that is?"
"Donald Lyde-" The phone rang and Asha beat Logan to it.
"Cale residence. Oh, hello Max... Look, I'm sorry about the furry friends thing, okay? Oh, right. I'll let him know. Okay. Buh-bye now." She hung up and turned to Logan. "Aren't you supposed to be at the Crash?"
"Oh shit," he grabbed his coat and was about to leave. "You wanna come?"
"I'd better not. Who was this guy, though? Donald Lyde--"
"Donald Lydecker. See if you can find him, get him on the phone. Let yourself out when you want," he called from the hallway. The door closed and Asha walked over to the computer and signed in, then searched Logan's database.
Search: Donald Lydecker
She hit Enter and a face came up. Old, chiseled with some wrinkles. Squinty, beady eyes. She would recognize him if she saw him in the street. She searched through the file and found Lydecker's phone number.
"Hello?"
"Hello, this is a friend of Logan Cale."
"Ah. Well, you must be a friend if you actually know his name. And what in the hell do you want?" He sounded impatient, perhaps a little drunk.
"Well, I was wondering about one of your X5s..."
"Let me guess, Max." He burped loudly into the phone and Asha winced.
"Yeah, her. Was she enhanced before or after she was born?"
"What the hell?"
"Was she enhanced into an X5 after she was born, I mean."
"The only thing we did to her, before she was born, was her looks and some... Enhancements. She's a bit faster, stronger, and smarter than your average bear. But her X5 traits... That came after."
"Do you remember a child named Case? Apparently they messed with him afterwards and reversed it easily."
"Yeah, they could probably do the same to her... If they did, a regular X5 could squash her. Maybe not a regular person off the street, but..."
-----------------------
CHAPTER TWO PREVIEW
"Mmmff... What are you...breaking," he mumbled, rolling over and going back to sleep. Max got up and returned with a hand sweeper, cleaned up the broken mug. Some writing on a broken piece of glass from the mug caught her eye. The coffee cup had been one of those cheesy "Your Name in Twenty Languages", and it looked to be Logan's. She held it between her left thumb and forefinger and stared at it. The piece she had picked up showed Logan's name in beautiful cursive writing. She smashed it with those fingers alone and began shaking, suddenly aware of her immense power...