Okay, ten days and a new laptop later (damn, I already miss my old one) I continue this story. I know it has been a long time and I am really, really sorry. Murphy's law has been proved right once again.

I was really surprised to see many of my old readers again and of course I was pleased to see new ones, too. I hope you're all still out there and can forgive me for this delay.

Geminangel: Glad you like them. Sorry for the delay and I hope your exams are going well.

coolkitty154: Thanks to you, too, and as I said already; sorry you had to wait so long.

JOUNOUCHI sama: Welcome back. Thanks for the offer but at the moment I won't write anything except for this story. As you can see I sometimes even have trouble to keep it up with this one. But perhaps I will get back to your offer one day.

tylee17: There you are. I'm really glad to have you back again and of course thanks for your review. And of course you'll get to see more of Kyla and Wolf, but not in this chapter yet. Don't worry I have many things planned for them. I hope you stick with me through this whole story like you did with Hunting an Angel. Thanks again and enjoy.

c00kiemonster: Well, updating soon I didn't but I hope you're still out there. Thanks to you, too.

Taeniaea: There you are again. Welcome back and thank you.

452max: Welcome back, too. Glad to see you here. Sorry for the delay to you, too, but I hope you can still enjoy this chapter.

roseyangel: You're welcome. And by the way, you surely earned it. Thanks for your review, too.

Divine Fighter: You'll have to be a little bit patient until they get their hands on Renfro but don't worry, I haven't forgotten about her.

Dark Yellow Dino: Welcome on board and thanks to you, too.

As I said before I will not post the char list in every chapter but only when there were significant changes.

Now I really hope you're all still reading this. A new chapter is up, read and enjoy.


Chapter one: To War Again

She sat perfectly still while she let her eyes wander over the small clearing. She had been here for about an hour now, acting as her team's scout, and it seemed like there was nothing alive around her except for her teammates who had arrived only minutes ago. It was utterly quiet here, so deep in the mountains. That had been one of the first things she had noticed after they had arrived. During the night there was almost no noise to be heard, not like it had been back in the woods around Manticore. The only thing she could hear now was the soft whisper of a rather cool wind caressing her skin and making her shudder slightly.

"451, this is 452" Max whispered into her micro "I'm ready."

She could hear her teammates voicing their affirmatives over wireless as well and she felt how her body tensed up even more than it already was. Although it was night and new moon the stars above her provided more than enough light for her enhanced sight so she could already see the entrance to the underground bunker they had to infiltrate and after a long and uncomfortable day she wanted nothing more than to get there, grab their target and get out again and back home to get a hot shower and a real meal.

She almost sighed at that thought but forced her mind to concentrate on the task at hand. She knew they couldn't afford to underestimate their enemy. A week ago already one of their missions had gone bad and she didn't want that to happen ever again. To her left she caught a glimpse of Kyla and Nova advancing and getting into position as well and only seconds later the whole team had checked in and announced that they were ready. Without making a sound Max checked her weapon and readied herself for the assault.

There were a dozen X5s posted all around the small and fairly well hidden entrance now and usually Max would have felt more than confident that they would be able to accomplish this mission without problems. Manticore transgenics were some of the finest infantry soldiers the world had ever seen and there were only a handful of adversaries they had to fear. Unfortunately they were going against exactly one of those adversaries at the moment.

"Blue squad" she could finally hear her brother's calm but stern voice over wireless, "advance and take defensive positions around the entrance! Red squad: Cover them!"

Without making a sound six dark figures rose from behind their covers and approached the target quickly. Max – as a member of red squad – stayed behind and watched her surroundings, searching for any sign of their enemy with her finger on the trigger. She still didn't like guns but she knew that sometimes they were necessary and if any adversary would chose to show himself while blue squad was in the open it was her job to spot him first and assure the safety of her team members.

Fortunately that wasn't necessary. All six transgenics reached the entrance without problems and took their positions around it, securing their surroundings. Even in the dark Max could make out Jondy's quick and self-confident movements and Alec's small signals as he coordinated his squad's movements before he announced over wireless once again:

"Blue squad all clear. You can come"

"Roger that, blue leader" Wolf's answer was clear and void of emotions. Max knew her brother cared about the whole team much more than he would ever admit but while in combat his lack of emotions still surprised her sometimes. Back at Manticore just like his partner Kyla he'd had the reputation to be one of the most coldhearted and calculating X5 throughout the whole facility. And one of the most dangerous. But she wasn't given time to think about her brother's characteristic traits anymore; once again his voice came over radio loud and clear. "Red squad advance and join blue. Alec, you cover us!"

"Roger that!" was Alec's only response.

The second half of her team left their covers and Max was quick to follow them. When they reached the entrance and were – for the moment – safe again she quickly glanced around. Nothing had changed, nothing had moved and yet she couldn't get rid of the feeling that something was wrong. Their cover was good, their escape route planned and she doubted anyone would have thought of this small entrance in years but still she felt like something bad was gonna happen.

"Listen up!" Wolf's whisper came from behind her. His voice was so low an ordinary human wouldn't even hear it but for the transgenics it was no problem to understand him clearly. "I'm going in with red squad. Alec, you stay here and secure the entrance."

"Got it!" the brown-haired Alec replied as quietly as his CO but Max could hear the small note of annoyance in his voice. A few days ago the leader of blue squad had complained that he rarely got to see any action and that his squad almost always had to stay behind as backup. It was clear to everyone that he had only wailed about it to annoy Wolf and Kyla. Red squad would always be the first to go in and Wolf as the team's CO would usually join them. But Alec wouldn't be Alec if he'd just accepted that without some snide remarks and everybody knew that and just grinned or ignored him.

The five members of the red squad – Brin, Blade, Artemis and Max with Kyla as their leader – gathered around the entrance as did Wolf as the team's commanding officer. Kyla looked at Max's brother for some sort of confirmation and he just nodded, knowing that she would even see that tiny signal in the darkness. Slowly the female X5 opened the entrance and peeked inside but couldn't detect any sort of danger so she gave the all clear signal. Wolf nodded at her to advance and the shorthaired transgenic slowly entered the dark corridor that would lead them further underground and to their target.

That was when all hell broke loose. Somebody inside the corridor opened fire without warning and Kyla's body jerked back and fell to the ground. As if this had be the attack signal Max's team suddenly took fire, muzzle flashes and gunshots tearing through the night from all around them. Jondy got hit as did Havoc and Artemis before any of them could react. Max spotted one of their attackers and opened fire on him, growling when she saw him fall, and also the rest of her team finally recovered from the first shock and defended themselves at the best of their capabilities, but it was hopeless.

Their enemies had them trapped and almost surrounded. How the hell had they done that? There had been no sign of them. Max hadn't heard or smelled them at all and she was an X5, goddammit! They were in a better position and while the transgenics had gathered at one point it seemed their attackers were everywhere and not even with their enhanced eyesight it was easy to discover all of the hidden shooters. After some seconds Blade and Brin fell as well and Max got hit into the shoulder. Almost immediately her right arm became numb and she almost dropped her weapon.

"Retreat to position two, five hundred…!" she heard Wolf shout and looked up just in time to see how he caught a bullet himself. His body jerked back violently and he dropped to his knees and then fell on his side, not moving anymore. Max grabbed her gun with her left hand and tried to get a clean shot at one of the shooters she had spotted but before she could pull the trigger she got hit by two shots in the chest almost simultaneously. She fell and before everything went dark the only thing she could think was:

'Not again!'


"Do you want to tell me that we have no idea where they are?" a very angry Director Renfro snarled at the man who stood before her desk.

"Yes, ma'am" Agent Sandoval replied and tried not to show how uneasy he felt. "After Seattle we lost them."

"Agent Sandoval" the blond haired woman growled in a dangerously low voice. "I have twelve X5s, one X7 and four men of Manticore black ops – one of them Lydecker himself – who are on the run from Manticore and I want them back! I don't care what you have to do. Use every contact we have, bribe every damned informant and if necessary shot somebody but find them!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"What about our contacts in Europe?"

"Nothing until now, but we don't have enough men over there to cover every airport and harbor."

'No, Manticore can't, of course, but perhaps I can', Renfro thought. Lydecker had sent teams to Europe before, so why shouldn't he try and hide there now? She would take care of that.

"Continue your search. Now get out!"

Sandoval was quick to obey; being around Renfro was always dangerous but since Lydecker and the others had fled it was like permanently running the gauntlet. As soon as he had left Renfro let out an angry and frustrated hiss. Not only was the committee after her ever since Lydecker and a whole team – a whole team! – of trained X-series had escaped but the council was worried as well and wanted to have the rogue X5s and all who were with them destroyed; except for X5-452 and the X7, of course. And her jaw still hurt although it had been fixed. If she ever got her hands on Lydecker again she would make sure he would suffer beyond imagination before his death.


The first thing she felt when she woke up was a splash of icy water on her face. Startled she opened her eyes and swore. Then she got aware of a grinning young man in uniform looking down at her.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty. Time to wake up!"

"I swear to god, Mike" Max hissed and wiped the cold liquid from her face, "if you ever do that again you can kiss some very important body parts of yours goodbye!"

"That's Lieutenant Linder for you. And you said that the last time already" he said and his grin grew even wider while he offered her a helping hand. Still scowling at him she took it and stood up. Almost immediately she felt dizzy again and stumbled but Mike held her and made sure she wouldn't fall again until she felt safe to stand on her own again.

"Those stun shots are a real bitch" she muttered and looked around. It was early in the morning and they were at the small mountain lake near Fortress Delta. The other X5s were lying unconsciously on the grass and it looked like the rest of Mike's platoon – who had been playing the part of their 'enemies' during the training mission – was about to wake them up and Max could see they used the same method Mike had used on her. A few minutes and some rather harsh curses and maledictions later Max's siblings were on their feet again.

"How the hell" Wolf began after some seconds "did you know where we would attack? That entrance hasn't been used in years!"

All twelve X5s looked at Mike expectantly but he just shook his head.

"Company secret" was all he said.

"Yeah, right!" Jace snorted. "Come on, how did you do it?"

"Maybe I'll tell you another time" the young man grinned but before any of the former Manticore soldiers could say anything he continued. "Okay, cut it. We have to be back for the debriefing in four hours so I suggest we use the time to relax for a change. Cedric, get a fire going and set perimeter guards. And the rest of you; clean your equipment and the weapons. And then I suggest we eat something, I'm starving."

About half an hour later the twelve X5s and seven SRTU soldiers – or Deltas, as they called themselves – were sitting around a fire, talking, laughing and just enjoying the fact that they had nothing to do for once. One would have thought they were just a group of hikers if not for the weapons and the military equipment. Max just sat there, staring into the flames with a quiet smile and listening to the conversations going on around her. Her thoughts travelled back to the events that had taken place three weeks ago when they had arrived here.


"And you are sure nobody followed you?" Wolf's voice was tense and just like the rest of his siblings he kept looking out for any possible enemy that might have followed them and just waited for his chance to report back to Renfro; a difficult task in a terminal as busy as the one at the airport of Geneva.

"Yeah, I'm sure" Kyla insisted. Her group had been the last to arrive and while she could understand her partner's concern she almost felt a little bit insulted he thought she wouldn't have noticed if one of Renfro's men had followed them. They had made it out of the United States and to Switzerland without problems and until now it really looked like they'd got rid of that witch and her spawns for the moment. But they knew they couldn't let their guard down.

Suddenly a young man in civilian clothing and with cropped short brown hair approached them. Max noticed how Wolf and Kyla breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little bit herself; so this was their contact. The young man looked at all of them and frowned when he saw Kara. The young X7 returned his stare without showing any emotion and Max had to hold back a laugh upon seeing the confused expression on the man's face; apparently nobody had told him that a child would be with them. Nevertheless their contact regained his composure almost immediately.

"I'm Lieutenant Mike Linder, Delta two-six" the young man informed them. "Who of you is Colonel Lydecker?"

"I am" Lydecker answered calmly and took a step forward.

"Is your team complete, sir?"

"Yes, we all made it."

"Very good" Linder nodded shortly. Max didn't know why but he seemed nervous. "Follow me!"

Without waiting for an answer he turned around and started walking, obviously not wanting to waste any time. Wolf and Kyla grabbed their bags and followed him without question; that was all it took for the rest of the transgenics to follow as well and Lydecker and his men did as well. On their way outside Max suddenly noticed several men and women who glanced in their direction from time to time but somehow just didn't belong there.

"Are those your men?" Wolf asked Linder and the brown-haired man nodded.

"We had some difficulties since you were here last time, Wolf" he answered briskly. "They're here for your security. I'll explain it later."

Wolf just nodded and they continued walking until they left the terminal and were out on the airfield again. Three Cougar helicopters in camouflage color guarded by a dozen soldiers were waiting for them. Without explanation Linder divided them in three groups and only minutes later the helicopters took off towards the mountains.

Max was in the first one, together with Wolf, Kyla and Bear. Linder was there, too, and she could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't feeling comfortable at all, looking out of the small window all the time and searching the ground below them for something. And she wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Not to be rude, Mike" Kyla shouted over the noise of the helicopter's engine, "but what's going on?"

"We were attacked a few days ago" the young Lieutenant replied without looking at her. "Almost cost us a whole group. I'll feel better when we're back home."

"Attack? From whom?"

"What do you think?" Linder answered and finally looked at her, giving her a strange smirk. "I'll explain when we're home."

The rest of the flight passed in silence and when they finally arrived at Fortress Delta Max was as surprised as Wolf and Kyla had been the first time when suddenly the seemingly solid ground beneath them moved and revealed the huge hidden hangar of the fortress. One after the other the three Cougars landed safely inside the complex and Mike Linder finally seemed to relax. When the doors opened the all jumped out of the helicopter and the whole team including Coleman, O'Neill and Hayden with Max's X7 clone at his side gathered around Lydecker.

"Okay" the Lieutenant began "first of all welcome to my country and to Fortress Delta. I'd like to apologize for my recent behavior but we're all a little bit nervous at the moment. Those are Sergeant Mark and Corporal Dehler. They will show you your rooms while I'll inform Colonel Meyer of your arrival. There will be a briefing in two hours where all your questions will be answered. I'm really sorry for the rather unpleasant greeting, I hope you'll understand."

"No problem, Lieutenant" Lydecker assured the younger man and then turned to the X5s. "Well, you heard it. Wolf, Kyla, lead the way, you've been here before."

"Understood, sir."

"Sir?" The one man Lieutenant Linder had referred to, Sergeant Mark, stepped forward. "Follow me, please."

Two hours later they all sat in one of the briefing rooms and waited for Colonel Meyer, the commander of Fortress Delta, and Lydecker to arrive. Max was still trying to wrap her mind around all the things she had seen since they had arrived. This bunker wasn't just a military installation; it was almost an underground copy of the Manticore facility in Wyoming. They had been given quarters next to each other in one of the vacant parts of the fortress and on their way there she had seen many things that reminded her of the facility near Gilette in a very weird and awkward way. And she was sure she hadn't even seen half of this installation.

Before she could ponder any longer about the blatant similarity of Manticore and Fortress Delta the door opened and Meyer and Lydecker appeared. Every man and woman in the room jumped on their feet and snapped at attention.

"At ease" Meyer ordered with a stern but still almost low voice. "Have a seat."

They all complied and then looked at the commanding officer of this base who seemed to be about the same age as Lydecker and wore a similar facial expression; concentrated and determined.

"My name is Colonel Meyer, I am the commander of Fortress Delta, as most of you probably know already. And I'm fairly sure you all know that this is the headquarters of the SRTU, the Silent Response and Tactical Unit. I have agreed to allow you to stay here although you all are traitors, at least if you believe the official statement of your military. Why I did so is not of your concern and I assure you you'll have to leave as soon as you start making trouble, I hope I made myself clear."

After this more than explicit warning Meyer paused for a moment and looked at all of them before he continued.

"Now, I'm sure you have a lot of questions but I have to discuss this with Colonel Lydecker first and I'm also quite sure you need some time to recover. If you need anything ask Lieutenant Linder. You are free to move around the base except for the restricted areas which are guarded. Don't try to enter there; the guards have very clear instructions to hold back anybody without the correct clearance, if necessary with deadly force. Get some rest; as far as I know you deserve it. Are there any questions that cannot wait until tomorrow?"

He paused for some seconds but nobody spoke up. "Very well. Lieutenant Linder, take care of our guests. Dismissed! Deck, care for a walk?"

"Not at all, Chris" Lydecker replied and while unit two followed Mike Linder out of the room the two old officers had disappeared into the maze of corridors, remembering old times and discussing the current situation.


That had been three weeks ago and since then much had changed. Max and her siblings had learned about Fortress Delta, the SRTU and its soldiers, their origin and history. They were transgenics, just like she and the others were. Not even Meyer knew exactly how but apparently information about the Manticore project had been leaked to the Europeans in the late nineties and upon learning about the possibility of creating enhanced infantry soldiers the British together with Germany, France and Switzerland had created their own Manticore. Each country had at least one base like Fortress Delta but nowadays they hardly ever contacted each other, feeling more comfortable to keep their business to themselves.

There were however two significant differences between the Deltas and the X5s.

First of all the Deltas had been created primarily for combat missions. They were stronger and faster than the average X5. In a direct fight only Blade, Kyla and Wolf were able to keep up with them. On the other hand the Manticore transgenics were better when it came to missions like infiltration or information search.

And second – and that was something that bothered Max and her siblings to no end – was the fact that the Europeans had been able to create their soldiers without the flaws the X5s had to deal with. They had no seizures, no heat. When the British got their hands on the information about Manticore they were able to get rid of those problems just like it had been done with the X6 and X7 series. The seizures were not a problem at the moment – Meyer made sure they got enough tryptophan – but Max dreaded her next heat and she knew the other female X5s did as well.

Meyer had been reluctant to give them too much information about the SRTU's past but Mike and most of his soldiers didn't mind their questions and had answered rather freely. Max quickly glanced at the young Lieutenant and had to admit that she liked him. He – and the other Deltas too – had welcomed them as if they were long lost relatives; which they were after all, in some weird way. They had befriended rather quickly and after one week the X5s and Deltas acted as if they had known each other for a long time. Perhaps it was because they shared a similar fate; they all were genetically enhanced soldiers, protecting a world who didn't even know they existed and people who would probably be disgusted if finding out about them. Whatever it was, if felt nice to have a place where you are welcome and where people understood what you are and what it meant to be an enhanced killing-machine nobody knows about.

And while Fortress Delta seemed to be just like Manticore hidden underground that had only been her first impression. Sure, the Deltas trained and lived in the giant bunker and the training areas and classrooms looked just like she knew it from the Wyoming facility but other than that there were many differences.

First of all the quarters were much more comfortable than what the X5s had known for their entire life. Sure, still military style but more comfortable. Every platoon had its own section with showers, a training room and – and that had been a major surprise for the Manticore soldiers – a rec room. When Mike had first showed them theirs they hadn't believed their eyes. It wasn't much; three armchairs and two couches, a table and chairs and a small stereo. Unlike the rest of the base and their quarters which were – while better than in Wyoming – definitely still military grey and cold this room seemed warm and peaceful. It almost reminded Max of her old apartment in Seattle and when she shared a look with Brin and Jondy she could clearly see they remembered their own time outside Manticore.

"Even our lives are not just about fighting and killing" Mike had said in a low voice upon seeing what impression this sort of luxury made on the X5s. It wasn't the furniture but the meaning of this room: Their superiors allowed them to have privacy, to have a room for themselves, something which didn't serve any military purpose. It meant that they weren't just soldiers but human beings. "Even we need to lie back once in a while."

Yes, Fortress Delta definitely was another place than Manticore. Sure, the soldiers were still drilled beyond imagination, the punishments were harsh and the discipline the Deltas showed was outstanding but if the work was done and the mission accomplished their superiors still allowed them to have small moments of peace and to be together like the family they were.

However, when Jondy had asked Mike about their missions and their past when he had been in the rec room with unit two a few days later he had become very serious in the blink of an eye. Jondy had already apologized and was afraid that she had asked something she wasn't supposed to know but Mike just shook his head and breathed deeply before he had told them about the SRTU's past. It hadn't been pretty.

Having been made for combat they had been deployed to the battlefield during the Russian-European war in 2014 at the age of thirteen or fourteen years. Mike didn't go into the details but they learned that after the war had ended one year later nine of the fifteen platoons the SRTU once had were destroyed. After that revelation nobody had spoken a word for several minutes until Mike had continued. Since the war the Deltas had been assigned missions much like the X5s; assassination, search and destroy, infiltration. They were probably not as good as the X5s in the last one but – as Mike noted with a casual smile – still good enough for most of the 'greedy and horny' ordinaries. That had finally broken the ice and since that day the Deltas and X5s had accepted each other almost as if they were part of the same unit.

"A penny for your thoughts, Max" Mike's voice suddenly brought her back to reality. She briefly looked at him and smiled.

"I was just thinking" she answered. "Much has happened since we arrived."

"Sure it has" he agreed and nodded. "But I hope it's mostly good things."

"If you call being knocked out twice by your damned stun shots a good thing" Alec interrupted and shot the Deltas who grinned broadly a nasty look. "Can't you just use paintballs like everybody else?"

"And where would be the fun?" another Delta – a blond woman – asked smirking.

"Fun? Did you just say fun?" Alec asked. "Those things hurt like hell! I'm sure I'm gonna have bruises again!"

He rubbed his chest as if to prove his words.

"Aww, poor baby" the Delta teased. "Want me to kiss it better?"

"Carol!" Mike shook his head before a grinning Alec could answer and sighed. "Stop flirting!"

"Just making fun, Ares, don't worry" Carol replied and winked at her leader.

"Yeah, right" he snorted. "By the way; I got hit by those things more often than you and I'm still alive. It's a good experience, it's more realistic. This was your second training mission against us and you get better. We know this terrain since we have been children and believe me; you're not the first ones who tried to enter through that entrance. We just have the home field advantage here but don't worry, one day you'll probably even win."

Alec mumbled something Max couldn't understand but Jondy who sat next to him suddenly hit him on the head.

"Ouch! Jondy, what the…" Alec exclaimed and shot Max's sister an annoyed glare. "Why do I always get hit? It's either you or Max! I'm not a punching bag!"

"Perhaps you just deserve it?" Kyla suggested with a mean smile. She was leaning against Wolf and they both looked very relaxed and happy. But of course Alec couldn't just let it be like that.

"What makes you say such a mean thing to one of your soldiers, Kyla?" he asked with mock hurt in his voice. "Do you already miss your bunk so much you have to hurt me?"

At the last sentence he shot both Wolf and Kyla suggestive glances and the rest of the unit grinned quietly. The relationship between their CO and 2IC was an open secret but usually nobody talked about it. Kyla opened her mouth to protest but before she could say anything Nova stepped in, not wanting this peaceful moment to be disturbed by an argument.

"You know, Alec" the blond medic said, "if I were you I wouldn't ask them too much about their privacy. Or to put it a little bit more bluntly: At least they get some, unlike somebody else."

At this several X5s and Deltas laughed out loud and Alec just shook his head like in defeat but he smiled at Nova and gave her a small nod. It was not like he didn't think Wolf and Kyla deserved their happiness, but he still was Alec; he had to tease people, it was just a part of himself.

After that short intermezzo everybody relaxed again and the young soldiers enjoyed their free time to the full. But like always this short period of happiness and recreation had to come to an end.

"Delta unit one and X5 unit two" they all suddenly heard Colonel Meyer's voice over wireless. "Abandon training mission and come back to Delta Fortress immediately."

Everybody had tensed up upon hearing the Delta commander's voice. It sounded stern and tense. Either something had happened or they had finally received new orders. Wolf and Mike Linder aka Ares shared a brief look and both men nodded. An attack on the Delta Fortress was highly unlikely so there was only one other choice why Meyer would order them to come back at once.

They had to go to war again.


Okay, not a bad cliffhanger. Perhaps I'm really getting old ;) Nah, don't think so.

Tell me what you think, please. Those of you who have known me for some time now know I always need motivation aka reviews :)