The moment that she got far enough from the site of the crash that even her acute senses could not pick up the rank smell she was surrounded. The enemy was everywhere she turned! Moving along the crowded city streets as if they all had an agenda. She knew only that she needed to become inconspicuous. A six year old barefoot, with a bald head dressed in a drab gray hospital gown with a Manticore symbol over her heart was not all that inconspicuous in this new territory. Hostile territory. Enemy territory. The enemy was far too numerous for her training to handle. Overwhelmed she ran her hand over her freshly shaved head and decided to climb to the top of a near by building to hide out. Maybe they'd come looking for her, recover her and save her but it had been three days and no one had come. Perhaps they assumed she was dead and she was on her own just like the X-5's. The X-5's those traitors' deserters of the family who were dangerous and the enemy. She huddled against the ledge of the building this was the first time she'd gone without her medication and a seizure racked her body to the core. It was a myth passed down from generation to generation of Lydecker killing an X-5 for having really bad seizures. None of them had ever had a seizure. She didn't want to die and she feared this shaking would kill her. She'd heard plenty about these attacks but had never had one. Fear was also something new to her. She didn't like it as the world shook around her. Her name was Shade, her designation Beta, the second in command, and her barcode number was X8-823360471508. Manticore had gotten smarter since the escape of the X-5's. Her barcode was on the outside of her left wrist, on the inside of her right wrist was an inferred light sensitive copy of the code that was visible only under exposure to a special light. These barcodes were not as easy to hide and there was no way to remove the inferred one. All of the ten x-8's in her unit had three designations; their barcode number, a letter of the Greek alphabet which told of their rank, and the pet names they had given each other. All their names referred to colors in some way. Obsidian was the Alpha, the CO of the group. Then there was Shade herself. Next came Jade, Violet, Shadow, Ruby, Cole, Hue, Malachite and Tabby the baby of the family. Shade wished one of them was with her now to face the world outside of Manticore.
Acquiring clothing would be her first priority she needed to rid herself of the Manticore issue gown. Once she stopped shaking she dusted herself off and stood wondering how to go about fixing this problem as she watched people passing by on the street below. Without knowing it the enemy might actually help her out I some way by donating the clothes off their back to her. She searched the street for children of her age without any luck. Then suddenly a coughing fit hit her along with a sharp pain in her side. All the X-8's had an upgrade from the pervious generations, their DNA was not only spliced with Feline DNA but with some kind of fish as well resulting in their having gills as well as all the advantages the feline DNA gave the x-5's. The shots they had received daily at Manticore must have helped suppress the seizures as well as keep their gills lubricated. She needed clothing as well as a bath, shower or a dip in the pool something like that or else she might begin to suffocate. She honed in her sights so that she could see into individual apartments in the building across the way. In one a blonde woman was talking to a bunch of kids. They would be able to supply her with clothes. She trained her hearing in on what was going on inside of the room.
"That's all for today kids." The blonde woman said. He kids paid her in various ways and began to head for home.
Shade saw her chance and picked a boy about her size and followed him home. She stole into his room on the second floor after he had left it to go and speak with his mother a foreign word to her, but Shade saw her as the authority figure of the dwelling. She grabbed two pairs of black pants and two long sleeved black shirts. She changed into her new clothes on the balcony and stuffed her gown into a backpack she had also taken along with the spare change of clothes. Then she dropped down to the street and wandered until she got to a high fence with people in uniforms she recognized.
She ran up to them. "Sir X8-823360471508 reporting in, sir. I'd like to go home."
"Do you have a sector pass?" The soldier at the gate asked.
"A what?" She shook her head. "Sir, no sir."
"Then son I suggest you go home and find your parents you can't pass here."
Stunned and dejected she slumped down against the fence.
*
Max was just returning back to Jam Pony Headquarters after a run when she heard it.
""Sir X8-823360471508 reporting in, sir."
Her eyes were drawn to a young girl with a shaved head and she pushed her way through the check point declaring she was a messenger and flashing her sector pass then went over to the rejected child. "On your feet soldier." She snapped he order.
The young girl jumped up before she had time to think about where the order had come from. She glared up at the woman who had issued the order. "Why should I listen to you?"
"Because I can help you." The woman smiled and tired to take the girls hand.
The girl pulled away from the stranger's touch dropping into a defensive stance. "Hands off civilian!"
The woman bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. "Sorry, relax."
The child nodded moving into the at ease positing but didn't let her guard down.
"Can I talk to you?" The woman asked.
The child shrugged assuming a face which said `why should I?'.
The woman turned her head slightly and in a movement to quick for the normal eye to follow she flashed the girl her barcode and quickly covered it with her hair.
"Traitor! Deserter!" The child screamed at the top of her lungs confirming Max's suspicions. "Liar!"
"Quiet!" Max snapped. "Who else can help you? These army jerks sure won't"
The child glared at the woman. ""Ma'am X8-823360471508 Beta, the family calls me Shade."
"Max." The woman extended her hand to the child.
Shade simply stared down at Max's hand. "Designation?"
Max sighed. "X5-332960073452."
"You are an X-5." Shade gasped.
"And you're not _"Max nodded.
"An X-8." Shade said with pride then started to shake a spike of fear registering on her face.
Max reached out to hold the child, they were already drawing the attention of the sector police. "Come on sis."
Max guided both the child and her bike away from the checkpoint. Once they were far enough away from the check point Max took a bottle of Tryptophan out of her bag and held a few the pills out to the child.
Shade kept her mouth clamped shut wrapping her arms around herself and just starred down at them.
"It's Typtophan . It helps with the seizures." She offered them to Shade again.
"T-the stuff in milk?" She shook violently sitting down on the ground the moment Max had let her go.
"Yeah, just take them." Max insisted.
Shade shook her head. Traitors could not be trusted.
"It's not going to hurt you." Max offered. "I take them every day."
Still Shade refused.
"Look." Max popped a few into her own mouth and swallowed them down. "There fine nothing happened."
"They r-really h-help?" Shade shook her eyes conveying her fear.
"Yeah they do kido." Max nodded and still Shade resisted.
"I'm f-fine." Shade insisted.
Max hated doing this but if it was the only way then she would have to pull rank o the child to help her. "Take it that's an order."
Shade couldn't disobey an order from a superior. Traitor, deserter, liar or not this Max still held seniority over her. So she swallowed down the handful offered to her and a few moments later the shaking stopped.
"Thank you Ma'am." She said reluctantly.
"Now," Max nodded acknowledgement as she hopped back on her bike. "You're coming with me one way or another." Max smirked. "It's you're choice."
"I'm stronger then you are." Shade spoke up.
Max suppressed a laugh. "I'm sure you are but I still outrank you."
Shade bit her bottom lip. "It's better then being alone I guess."
Max nodded and pulled the child up onto her handlebars. From where she sat Max saw no barcode on the back of her neck. "Shade where's your barcode?"
Shade didn't answer.
Max sighed. "I asked you a question soldier."
"Ma'am it's classif-" Shade held on tightly as they went over a bump. "It's on left wrist." She held it up to show Max and suppressed a cough.
"Interesting. You okay Shade?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am."
*
Sitting at his computer Logan heard the door to his penthouse apartment click open. "Hey Max I'm in here."
Max half guided half-forced Shade into the room. Shade coughed explosively bringing a droplet of saliva and blood up and on to her chin.
Logan spun around surprised at the sound. "Max are you getting _ Hey who do we have here?" Logan smiled at the child.
"Logan Cale meet Shade my little sister." Max nudged the child forward.
Shade stood where she was glaring up at Logan. "He's a civilian." She gripped.
Logan clicked his tongue. "Another miracle of Manticore technology." He winked. "Nick to meet you kido."
A slight twitch in Shade's cheek was the only reaction he got as the child moved to wipe off her chin.
"Are you okay dear?" Logan asked.
Shade shrugged stiffly and coughed again a hand moving to her left side.
Max turned on Logan. "I thought you said Manticore was shut down?"
"What I said was that Vivadyne labs and the Wyoming base were shut down not that the projects had stopped."
"Where'd you come from?" Max turned to the child who was still holding her side.
"Congo air force base." She answered begrudgingly.
Max reached for the child shirt. "What happened to your side?"
"Nothing." Shade filched away from Max's touch coughing again and wincing despite her protest.
"Don't lie to me soldier." Max pressed.
"I was being transferred back to Manticore from a hospital facility and a storm blew the helicopter off course and caused us to crash."
"Hospital facility for what?" Logan asked.
Shade remained silent.
"He asked you a question." Max snapped.
"I had a gill infection, but I was better and they were taking me back to-"
"Gill infection?" Max grabbed at Shade's shirt and pulled it up to reveal the red swollen gills on the girl's sides. "Shit! Well they don't look much better to me."
"They hurt." Shade confided.
"Would a bath help?" Logan asked trying to brig an authoritative quality to his voice.
"It might." Shade shrugged.
"Gills." Max simply shook her head.
"They got tired of the X-6's only being able to hold their breath for only six minuets. The X-7's had to spend all their time in tanks of water because of it but we came out just right." Shade grinned proudly.
"The bathroom's through there." Logan pointed.
After a moment Shade mustered up a softly spoken "Thanks" and then headed off in the direction he indicated.
*
Once Max was sure that Shade was in the bathroom she spoke up softly knowing the child really wasn't out of earshot. It was hard to speak so that a Manticore child could not hear you when you were in the same building but Max was hopping that the running water would help.
"I can't let her go back even if she wants to it just wouldn't be right."
"What are you going to do?" Logan asked.
"What do you mean?" Max countered.
"Do you want me to find her a safe house?"
"No." Max said softly. "I don't want her to grow up like I did. I'll understand her better."
"Okay but if you change your mind-"
"Yeah, I know." Max smiled a bit. "What I would appreciate you doing is finding something we can give her so that those gills don't give her no more problems."
Logan nodded. "Her body might actually try and reject them without the Manticore meds. But I'll see what I can do." He turned back to the computer screen.
Max sighed and looked over Logan's shoulder. "My training didn't prepare me for this. I can't even cook let alone take care of a kid. Logan what am I going to do?"
"I'll help you Max." Busily typing he shrugged. "Besides talking to her and preserving the family."
Max snapped her fingers. "Zack, perfect! Only no it will take like three years to get into touch with him."
Logan smirked. "Not that long" He tossed her the phone "Call Matt, tell him to call Jace, She'll leave Zack your pager number. It shouldn't take too long."
"I just wish I ad an easier way to get in touch with him." Max sighed.
When her pager finally went off Max could tell he had given her a payphone number but at this point she didn't care. "Look Zack I need you to meet someone and it's kind of a life or death matter."
"What's wrong Maxie? Are you okay?"
"I'm alright but you really have to come and see for yourself that's all I can say." She sounded almost apologetic.
"I'll be there tomorrow night." She could almost hear Zack scowling.
"I'll be at Logan's." Max answered.
"Maybe sooner." Zack hung up the phone.
*
The water felt so good. It soothed her aching gills and made her hyper. She knew it let more oxygen into her blood and that was the scientific reason but she didn't care. Shade had more important things on her mind. Things that troubled her. For being the enemy Max and this Logan guy weren't so bad. They were very nice and she didn't think it was a deception tactic either it seemed genuine. She wrapped herself in a big blue fuzzy robe that had the letter LC monogrammed into it. It was soft and smelt good and felt nice against her skin. Maybe she had died in the helicopter crash and this was the good place. Maybe she was kidding herself and this Logan guy was just really loaded.
"Shade you almost done? Logan made us hot chocolate." Max tapped on the door.
"Just coming out." Shade answered. She was more comfortable in the robe then the clothes she had because it was closer to the gown she was used to, but she didn't think Max would like her wearing the gown. She stuffed the stolen clothes into the backpack she had also taken she headed back out into the main room. Shade bounced from foot to foot then marched in place watching Max drink the Cocoa she'd refused.
Max looked up at the child. She was making her nervous. "Sit down!" She barked it like and order without meaning to do so and saw Logan jump in his chair still searching for a supplement that might help the girl.
"But I want to play." Shade sat down next to Max begrudgingly.
Play? As a child Max had never known the meaning of the word. "Like what?"
"Can we use him as prey?" Shade gestured at Logan. "I promise not to hurt him, badly." She was whispering so that only Max could hear her.
"No." Max said softly but sternly. "Oh, no. You can't play with him."
Shade looked Logan over again bouncing lightly in her seat. "You're right her wouldn't be much of a challenge anyway."
"That's not what I meant." Max snapped. "I don't want to see him hurt."
"Bingo!" Logan turned to Max. "I may have found something. So what were you two ladies talking about?"
"Nothing." Came a clipped simple reply in sync.
"I don't think I want to know anyway." Logan couldn't help but laugh. "I ordered the stuff so it should be here soon. They used it pre-pulse for beta's who had gill infections its called Maracyn."
"Good." Max nodded. "And thanks."
Shade turned on Max hopping up to her feet. "Let's spar."
"Not in here. I don't want to break anything." Max shook her head and Logan couldn't help but smile.
"Outside then?" Shade hopped from one foot to the other throwing fake punches.
"The roof would work," Logan suggested although he'd rather have seen them fight. "In here's fine really just so long as you are careful."
"No." Max yawned a slight twinge at the back of her skull.
"Afraid I'll beat you?" Shade smirked.
"No, I just don't feel-" Max began to shake a seizure taking hold of her body.
Logan turned to Shade. "Go and get her pills."
Shade stood frozen on the spot staring mouth agape at Max.
"Shade, Now!" Logan yelled forcefully going to Max's side.
Shade took off like a shot, grabbed the pills from Max's bag and was standing in front of Max with a handful before Logan blinked. "Max take the medicine." She tried to force the pills into Max's mouth and Max took the pills swallowing them down dry.
Shade then did something that surprised all that were present. She crawled her way into Max's lap leaning back against her and wrapping the older girl's arms around herself. She wanted to be part of this in her own way and tried to hold Max still. She looked up at Max and then stared down at the broken mug at her feet. Slowly the seizure stopped taking too long for Logan to bear but Max actually came out of it quicker then she usually did.
"Max are you okay?" Shade asked compassionately a little bit out of character for the young soldier.
"Yeah I'm fine kido." Max wrapped her arms tightly around the girl.
"That was a bad one..." Shade said and nodded. It had lasted much longer then the ones she had suffered.
"Actually it wasn't too bad." Max said after looking at the clock.
Logan nodded in agreement with Max. "Max's seizures are usually much worse."
Shade's face remained clad in that expressionless Manticore mask but her eye betrayed her true feelings of fear. "They get worse when you're older?"
Max nodded. "Actually it gets worse the longer your off the Manticore meds but the Typtophan helps alot."
"I don't like it." Shade coughed.
"It's a fact of life outside the wall." Max answered.
"I want to go back." Shade insisted. "You can't keep me here."
"No." Max said simply. "They think you're dead and if you return you'll most surely be terminated. You've been on the outside too long. They'll think they won't be able to recondition you. You've been tainted, prejudiced."
Shade stared up at Max taking in everything she said and becoming increasingly frustrated. She began to shake slightly a few lone tears streaming down her face and cried. "That's not fair! You're lying!" She broke away from Max's grasp and began passing the room in order to compose herself. Finally and with some resignation she asked in a dejected voice. "Then what's going to happen to me?"
Max shrugged. "You can stay with Logan and me if you want to but I'm going to discuss it all with Zack."
"You know Zack?" Shades eyes widened. Zack had become some sort of a myth to the x-series still at Manticore much like the seizures and the nomalies.
"Of course." Max scoffed. "He is our CO and I have him coming here to meet you."
"I know he's the CO of the X-5's he lead the escape." Shade looked awed. "He wants to meet me?" Shade couldn't believe it.
"He's the best choice." Max shrugged.
"Is it true he runs faster then a normal X-5?" Shade asked excitedly.
"Not really." Max quirked an eyebrow.
"But he can read peoples minds, right?"
"No." Max laughed.
"Can he really pick up an entire building?" Shade's eyes were excited but she stifled a yawn it had been a long few days.
"No." Max laughed. "Zack's no superman."
"He's got to be able to he carried all twelve of you over the perimeter fence, that's why only twelve made it out." Shade nodded.
"He didn't do that either." Max shook her head watching Shade yawn. "I think it may be lights out time, soldier. You'll see Zack soon enough."
"No." Shade shook her head. "I want to be awake when Zack gets here."
Max laughed. "Is there any shark, bat or night crawler DNA in your cocktail Shade?"
Logan stifled a laugh.
"Huh?" Shade shook her head confused.
"How often do you usually sleep Shade?" Max smiled at her.
"Two or three hours a night sometimes only everyother night." Shade pulled herself back up on to the couch.
"Do you know where you are?" Max asked her.
"No." Shade situated herself on the end of the couch so that she was near Logan and next to Max.
"Do you know where Seattle is?" Max asked.
"On a map, sure." Shade nodded.
"Alright do you know where Oregon is?"
"At least 1000 clicks away." Shade nodded.
"How long would that trip take?" Max asked.
"About a day or two on foot Ma'am." Shade yawned for a moment she had been back in geography class at Manticore.
"That's where Zack is now." Max smirked. "Do you still want to stay up?"
"No. Not really." Shade shrugged. "But I don't want to go to bed yet."
"That's understandable." Logan spoke up. "It's your first night of freedom. We should celebrate. How do ice cream sundaes sound?"
Max licked her lips. "Perfect Logan."
Shade stayed silent and nodded following Max's cue while Logan went into the kitchen to get the sundaes. He came back with a tray with three sundaes on it. Chocolate and Cookies 'n Cream ice cream with hot fudge, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry. Shade looked from the dish in front of her up to Max for a cue as to what to do. She gathered that she was supposed to eat it because Logan had given her a spoon, but she had never seen the confection before. Logan smiled watching the two of them.
Max picked up her cherry and put it into her mouth pulling the fruit from the stem. Shade eyed Max and then did the same thing her eyes widening at the sweet flavor. Max realized she was being watched and decided to play a little game with the child. Max put the stem into her mouth and tied it in a knot sticking her tongue out at Shade showing her the product of her handy work. Shade mimicked Max and laughed sticking out her tongue. Max then untied the stem and stuck out her tongue at Shade who followed suit doing the same thing. Shade then took it on her own and double knotted the stem and then showed it to Max sticking out her tongue. Max laughed and mimicked her action before untying it in her mouth and seting the stem on the table on her napkin. Shade did the same thing Laughing. Logan laughed and blushed turning away from the spectacle in front of him. He wondered vaguely if Max knew what this action meant and what its implications were doing to him. He looked away and breathed deeply to calm himself down before reaching for his own sundae.
Shade whispered something to Max and made a few hand signals. Max turned and struck the child softly.
"That was uncalled for Shade." Max said simply and the child laughed.
Logan didn't think he wanted to know what they were discussing.
"He smells excited." Shade whispered to Max so that Logan couldn't hear her. Distinct emotions gave off different pheromones that their noses could distinguish between. Fear was another one that smelt very strong.
"I know. Ignore it." Max answered in the same tone.
Max reached for her spoon and began eating the sundae watching Shade out of the corner of her eye. Shade mimicked Max then stopped with the first spoonful still in her mouth.
"By the grace of the Blue Lady I've never tasted anything so good." Shade gasped her eyes wide. There was the hint of a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
"What did you say?" Max snapped dropping her spoon back into the dish suddenly serious.
"We found her alter and some janitor told us all about her when he saw us with her card. We even left her our baby teeth. There was this history class all about Manticore's previous project. It even covered series X-5 even though you're traitors. There were even some X-5's left to tell us about it, help fill in the gaps. Brin never remembered and thought it was all useless but Braden and Rhea remembered." Shade blurted out in between mouthfuls of sundae.
Max closed her eyes for a moment thinking. "You knew about us?"
Shade nodded. "It's and honor to meet one of you." The end part was said under her breath. Conditioning was hard to break but they had tried to learn everything they could about their older siblings. "Deserter, traitor, liar."
Max shook her head at the words Logan didn't hear. "Do I seem so bad to you Shade? Right now I'm all that's keeping you alive and safe. Manticore is the enemy."
Logan cocked an eyebrow at Max's sudden and seemingly un provoked sopa box podium speech.
"I know, it's hard. We liked you all well enough... "Shade shrugged. "Except the nomies."
"Nomalies." Max corrected her and caught Logan yawning. "When you're done with dessert I think that it's time for you and Logan to get to bed. You can sleep in the guestroom Shade."
"What about you?" The girl asked.
"I don't sleep."
Shade nodded. "Right. You and Jondy and Krit."
"Right." Max sighed.
Logan cleaned up, kissed Shade on top of the head, said goodnight to Max and went into his own bedroom. Shade stiffened at Logan's kiss and then turned to Max.
"G'night Logan." Shade called down the hallway. "Good night X5-452, Max." Shade saluted Max and went into the guestroom.
"Goodnight Shade." Max shook her head and flopped down on to the couch.