For disclaimer see first chapter.
Terminal City - Revised
Seattle Washington – five weeks later
"Hey guys!" a voice hollered eagerly as Max and Alec strolled into T.C's command centre. "I wanted to let ya's know that we got those supplies that we needed."
"Ahh… Luke how did you get them?" the brunette asked curiously.
"Well… I sorta forgot ta tell y'all that we received a call about two days ago from a trans-human dude named Sabre and that he should be arriving today along with his unit."
"Did he tell you anything about his unit or the supplies?" she questioned suspiciously.
"Yes… two X5's, one is pregnant and an X6. And the supplies, he's got five truck loads of food rations, medical, weapons and well... you get the idea; you name it he's got it. A few of our own volunteered to meet with him just outside sector 11, to help deliver those trucks. They'll be here in about…" he quickly glanced at the clock before turning back to Max. "Thirty minutes."
Max turned to Alec, she wondered if he knew the trans-human that Luke had mentioned.
"Do you know this Sabre?"
"No, never heard of him and… well the first trans-human I had the privilege of meeting at Manticore was Joshua."
"Oh… okay well thanks for telling us Luke; just give me a buzz when he gets here. I've gotta blaze. Have to see Logan about these new ruins that just popped up so I'll see ya later." She called over her shoulder as she left.
"Okay Max." Luke replied.
"Yeah, I gotta go too pal before Normal has a fit."
"Alright, I'll call ya when they come in."
"Sure, see ya buddy."
"Bye Alec."
&
"Do you think they'll be alright getting pass the check-points with all those supplies? I mean, won't it look a bit suspicious with five semi's going in the same direction? Not to mention their destination being T.C?" the young X6 asked uneasily.
"Nah sugah, it's already been taken care of. Sabre managed to get some sector pass's so they shouldn't have any problems."
Two days ago it was decided that Sabre and the five transgenics sent from Terminal City would go ahead of them and deliver the supplies since Rogue, Gem and Dalton were to meet with a new contact of theirs in the city just in case they'd need more or anything else for that matter.
Of course, Sabre had been pissed and still was at their ridiculous idea especially since he wouldn't be there with them but he reluctantly agreed after he realized that they were right.
"Ah think we're all set ta go now." Rogue had just finished putting her hooded coat back on before she turned to a not-so-happy Sabre.
"Just be careful you three." He demanded anxiously. "And god dammit, don't attract any bloody attention." He finished gruffly, glaring at each of them before jumping up into the driver's seat of the truck.
"We will sugah. Ah'll holler if we need ya though." She replied sweetly, bestowing him with a playful wink and a cheeky grin just as she re-holstered her pistols (think Lara Croft) after re-checking their clips. He responded with a warning growl as she turned around and sauntered out of the back alley after Gem and Dalton.
It didn't take them long to conclude their business before they made their way to the appointed rendezvous. Fortunately, they got through sectors 11 and 3 without any problems but soon after they entered sector 9, they had a hard time avoiding a lot more hover-drones and sector police.
"Reckon we should stop and rest for a while?" The red-head looked about ready to collapse.
Rogue couldn't help but worry for her friend and they'd already walked three and a half miles. Being pregnant and a week overdue weren't safe for any mother to be, even a genetically empowered one.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." She puffed out stubbonly. Gem knew they had to pass through two more sectors before they'd reach their goal and she wasn't about to stop now because she was feeling a little tired.
As they moved down the next street, they noticed a couple of Sector police ahead of them stopping people at random. Rogue quickly changed direction dragging Gem and Dalton behind her. The two females hurriedly pulled up their hoods while Dalton held onto Gem's arm so she wouldn't trip as they stepped off the curb.
"You sure this is the right way?" he asked anxiously. Sabre hadn't really been specific on the exact location that they'd be picked up, only that they'd know where when they got there.
"I think so." Gem pulled out a scrunched up piece of paper from her pocket and read out the directions. "Sector 7-figured we have another click or so ahhh-" Rogue quickly made a grab for her as she suddenly doubled over in pain.
"Can ya make it?" They both asked her worriedly.
"I'll make it." She assured them even though she still kept a hold on Rogue. Moments later they barely managed to duck into a phone booth to avoid being scanned by a passing hover-drone.
"Hey Gem"
"What?"
"Rememba the night we stayed at the Motel Duboi?"
"How could I forget?" They both looked at each other, trying to keep a straight face but as soon as they glanced at Dalton, they burst into a fit of giggles.
"Will-you-two-cut-it-out?" he whined poutingly. Dalton couldn't believe that they'd bring that up now, of all places.
He had to admit though, every time he thought of that night, he couldn't help but thoroughly blush. How was he to know that the place they had stayed in five months earlier, was in fact a whore-house.
"Oh come on sugah, it wasn't that bad and anyway Ah thought it was just plain cute how ya came boundin' into our room bein' all enthusiastic lahke 'bout what ya discovered." Rogue added teasingly before she kissed him on the cheek.
"Not when you two keep reminding me of it." He huffed embarrassingly. It wasn't his fault that he didn't know that he'd been waving around a kinky sex toy, well, not until Sabre had come in and dragged him out by the collar of his shirt before giving him the third degree and a short but thorough lecture on the birds and bees.
"Come on Rogue, leave him alone or he might faint." At Gem's amused reasoning, she payed for it by getting a sharp poke to her ribs by Dalton.
"Hey, Ah'm only statin' the obvious sweetie." Rogue drawled lazily while seductively batting her eye-lashes at the X6.
"That's it! I'm not talking to either one of you now." He said to them sulkingly as they approached the street corner. Gem was about to continue their playful banter when a rusty green and yellow van skidded to a halt ahead of them.
Dalton quickly grabbed the two X5's arms and pulled them away from the vehicle, just as they were about to run off they heard the sliding door of the van open.
"Hey! Hey come back…" a voice yelled. They turned back to see a trans-human waving his hands around frantically for them to get in the van. They quickly glanced at each other to confirm their decisions before they ran back to the trans-human. "Hurry, hurry come… in…in, in, go, go" he shouted as they jumped in.
Just as he slammed the door shut, the van sped off. The three of them sat huddled together in the back seat before the half dog-half human.
"Hey, I'm Gem X5 and this is Dalton…" "X6" he answered for himself.
"Ah'm Rogue X5" She smiled just as the trans-human introduced himself. "Joshua"
"You have uh… baby?" he asked while looking intently at Gem's protruding belly.
"Yeah" she answered with a slight smile.
"When, when's the baby due?" pointing at her stomach.
"Last week. Just been keeping my legs crossed until we reach the promise land."
"Huh!" Another voice spoke up from the driver's seat. "Well, Terminal City isn't exactly the promise land… honey but uh we gotta couple of guys with some medical training…" the reptilian male known as Mole was cut off by Joshua's sudden shout.
"Watch out!" he yelled just before their van hit a reversing truck. Gem, Dalton and Rogue jolted forward before slamming back into their seats. "Is everyone fine?" Joshua asked anxiously while looking them over for any injuries.
"Yeah, I think so." Dalton replied. "You alright?" he asked Gem. "Yeah" Rogue noticed immediately that Gem was clutching her stomach before she started taking in quick short breathes.
"Gem, are ya alright?" She asked while staring worriedly at her.
"I… uh" she muttered while taking a big breathe. "I-I think my water just broke." She puffed out while gently rubbing her lower stomach. Before Rogue could say anything they all turned their attention to their driver.
"Bastard son-of-a-bitch backs out without even lookin'." Mole fumed angrily as he kept trying to kick-over the van.
"We need…we need to go…" Joshua stammered to the reptilian as he looked out the side window to see a crowd slowly gathering outside. "uh-uh we need to go" Joshua started tapping Mole on the shoulder to get his attention.
"CAN-ya hang on!?" He said irritably.
"Car starting?" yelled Gem. They watched as two men got out of the truck in front of them before they angrily moved towards their malfunctioning van.
"This is not good. We've got company" Rogue immediately noticed one of the men was carrying a crow-bar.
"We gotta, we gotta blaze now!" Joshua said quickly to Mole who was still trying to start the van.
"Man up dog! You're the one who wanted some action!" He replied sarcastically just as the driver of the pick up truck approached the driver's side of the van.
"Ahh…oh" The driver struck the front side panel of their vehicle with his crow-bar. "HEY! Punk arse, look what ya did to my truck!" He yelled angrily while pointing to the back end of his vehicle.
"Oh ow"
"Punk arse" Mole muttered coldly. He got out of the van to face off with the driver. "You mean Mister Punk arse, don't ya?" he stated mockingly, purposely flaunting his sawn-off shot-gun for all the human's to see.
"Damn… it's one of those freaks." The two men immediately backed away at the sight of Mole.
"Now that hurts." He said in a fake and overly offended tone seconds before he let off a warning shot which immediately dispersed the growing crowd.
"Say one thing for ordinaries, they know when to run." He reflected somewhat amusingly as Joshua, Gem, Rogue and Dalton stood behind him and watched the humans scattering down the side road like the hounds of hell were snapping at their heels.
"Uh… maybe we should run too" Joshua suggested.
"We don't run we fall back, let's go." Mole stated steadily before they started running in the opposite direction. Ten minutes later of dodging through side streets and alley-ways Joshua used his cell to contact his friend.
"Go for Max" said a voice.
"Little fella, little fella everything' gone sideways…t-there's crow-bar… people screaming a-a-and Gem i-is 'TRYING' to keep her legs crossed so the baby won't pop out!" he exclaimed in a rush.
"What! Where are you?" Max asked still slightly confused at his last words.
"U-uh… I-I-I'm at S-South market!"
"You're right around the corner from Jam Pony. Find Alec, he'll get you a car. Okay?" Max watched as a large group of Sector police ran passed her, desperately wanting to find the freaks that had been reported and seen running through their streets. "Joshua" she suddenly heard the familiar sounds of his phone battery dying.
"Max, Max!" he called while looking at his cell-phone confoundedly before realizing what the problem was. "Battery died. She said Jam Pony then battery died."
"Which way? Come on" Mole looked at the trans-human while he quickly grabbed Rogue's hand in turn she clutched at Dalton's just as Joshua tugged on Gem's.
"Come, come" They followed him through the alley way trying to avoid the prying eyes of the ordinaries they passed on their way. They could hear sirens and the shouts of approaching Sector police in the distance.
Five minutes later, Joshua lead them to a wide back-alley surrounded by buildings, one particular building caught their eye. There were a long row of bikes lined up against the wall; above them was a big sign with the words 'Jam Pony' on it and a faded picture of a bicycle.
They passed a few ordinaries who were attending to their bikes while others were leaving; only a few noticed their sudden appearance.
Just as they approached the business's entrance, Joshua spotted a familiar figure coming out on his bike.
"Alec" he sighed in relief while patting him on the shoulder. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Ah huh" Alec was stunned to see the big fella and Mole right in front of him as Alec's co-workers scattered, not only by the look of the freaks but of the weapons they held.
"This is Gem" he said pointing to the female he supported against his side. "She's havin' a baby"
Alec immediately looked at Gem as if accusing her of committing a crime before he spoke. "So naturally you thought of stopping by Jam Pony in broad daylight…" but Joshua cut him off.
"M-Max said to come see you… to you t-to get us a car." He said hurriedly, suddenly they heard the shrieking of tires from behind them. Alec watched the police block off the entrance of the alley, before taking aim behind their patrol car.
"Turn around, turn around… keep walking" They quickly followed Alec in the opposite direction of the patrol car before they heard the shouts.
"YOU IN THE HOOD!" An officer yelled. Mole knew that he meant him. "DROP YOUR WEAPON!" Just as they reached the other side of the alley another patrol car pulled up. "DROP YOUR WEAPON!" Alec dropped his bike in a rush to respond to the threatening officer, waving his hands out in an attempt for them not to shoot.
"Woah, woah, WOAH!" Just as Alec shouted Mole raised his weapon in the air and let off a shot before he roughly grabbed Alec by the back of his jacket and hauled him back against his chest, making it look like Alec was a hostage.
"GET BACK!" Mole warned while aiming his gun at Alec's chest. "OR HE'S DEAD!"
Joshua immediately imitated Mole's actions on Gem who quickly understood what they were trying to do. She pulled Joshua's hand that held his weapon to her chest so the police would think she was also a hostage. Rogue followed suit by releasing one of her pistols from its holster that was hidden beneath her coat and pulled Dalton in front of her as if he too was a hostage.
"Come on sugah" she whispered in his ear while guiding them into the entrance of the messenger service.
"Play along" Mole hissed to Alec as they too along with Joshua and Gem backed up into Jam Pony.
"No problem" Alec readily agreed. "Well… this should be interesting" he concluded humourlessly as he and Mole moved through the entrance and down the ramp. Rogue, Dalton and Gem were next then Joshua who quickly closed the roller-door behind them. They passed by stunned employees and an equally stunned employer.
Mole and his group reached the back entrance before Alec pulled open the door. They were the first to exit the building but as soon as they stepped out they were confronted by awaiting police, who gave them no time to take another step before they opened fire.
A stray bullet hit Alec in the shoulder before they re-entered and slammed and locked the door behind them. Moving back towards the front room they were immediately confronted by a crazed looking man aiming a gun at them.
"Hold it right there freak show!" Joshua instinctively blocked his friends from the threat in front of them.
"You're bleeding" Normal panted out to Alec, while keeping his gun trained on the freaks.
"Yeah, bullets will do that to ya" he said blankly. They could hear more patrol cars arriving outside with their blearing sirens going off.
"Okay, you're safe now" he said to Alec.
"No…" Before Normal could react, Alec blurred forward and snatched the gun from his hands. Mole immediately re-loaded his weapon gleefully and aimed it at Normal's head.
"I'm safe now." Alec said as he signalled to Mole to lower his weapon.
Alec's co-workers were shocked at their boss's 'Golden Boy' being a freak, so much so that one of them tried to leave. "No-one leaves!" Alec shouted as he watched the ordinary approach the front entrance but he was knocked down by another transgenic.
"Nobody move!" she ordered her shocked co-workers.
"Cece call base, tell them we're in trouble" with a confirming nod, Cece rushed to the phone.
"Joshua you got the front, Mole you got the back?"
"Got it" he agreed. Alec then turned to the X6. "Kid, what's your name?" "Dalton"
"Hi Dalton, why don't ya head upstairs and keep an eye on the street for me" he said wincing a little from the pain of his shoulder wound before he glanced back at Normal.
"My golden boy's a mutant" he stated in a hurt and bitter tone.
"We prefer genetically empowered." Alec replied arrogantly.
"Take me Jesus" the ordinary prayed.
"Be careful what you wish for." Mole said mockingly as he eyed Normal disdainfully.
Meanwhile, Joshua guided Gem to a battered looking orange sofa before he moved to Rogue, who was leaning against the wall; seemingly inspecting their new surroundings.
"Rogue alright?" He only managed to see the bottom half of her face since her hood covered the rest.
"I'm fine Joshua." she replied softly. Rogue removed her nap-sack and had just started on her coat when they both crossed the room to Gem. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to Joshua and the exotic looking female.
Thick silky auburn tresses cascaded down her back in soft waves, just passing her hips with two shocking white streaks framing her oval face. She wore a white form-fitting ribbed t-shirt; emphasizing her toned upper body and the swell of firm full breasts. Dark blue hipsters adorned her long toned legs accentuating her curvaceous hips. They all noticed she was well armed with two silver pistols that were secured in their holsters around her hips and upper thighs.
Ignoring the many eyes that had settled on her person, Rogue laid her coat over the back of the sofa and gathered her nap-sack up before taking a seat beside Gem and a dark skinned woman.
"Do ya need any pain relief Gem? Or how 'bout a drink?" she suggested while pulling a bottle of water from her bag. They may be super soldiers and have a higher pain threshold but it didn't mean it would hurt any less.
"Yeah, a drink will be good but I don't need any pain relief… yet."
"Sure sugah." After Rogue attended to the labouring X5, she was about to approach the male with the shoulder wound, the one Joshua had called Alec and ask if he wanted her to take a look at it but her thoughts were cut off by a dark haired woman crashing through the back window riding a hover-drone.
Rogue had already leaped up from the sofa with her pistols drawn while shielding Gem.
"Hey… who ordered a pizza?" The voice stated before she heard someone call the woman's name. "Max!"
A/N: Well there ya go. I know there's not that many changes that have been redone but even small ones can make a big difference to a story. Anyway, I've always liked this part of the episode… ya no with them all wondering if they'd be getting out of there as well as all the tension and bitchiness. Cheers. R & R.
