For disclaimer, please see Chapter One. I've seen all available episodes of Dark Angel now, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes that it had never ended! Oh well, at least we can all read (or write about) our own versions of what could have happened.

Reivin - I'm glad you liked it! TFR.

BlueAngel137 - Lol, thanks for the praise! I tried to make the X4s a little scary, pleased that they came across that way! TFR.

kill bill rocks - Thanks for the Mexican wave, very much appreciated. I'm glad that you think Max's character is believable; I'm trying to make it happen! TFR.

GuestTypePerson - Huh. Okay, well I'm happy that you like it! I hope this is a quick enough update for you. TFR.

--Chapter Three--

Max surprised even herself that night; she slept for another six hours straight. Although she knew that when she was hurt she tended to sleep more, the extent of her exhaustion suggested that there had been something slightly more wrong with her than a few broken ribs. Speculating that it could always be an after-effect of being sedated, she put it out of her mind.

She'd woken to the reveille at 0530, a constant in the daily life at Manticore. The transgenics in the barracks would now be getting dressed in their fatigues, preparing for inspection. Max sat up on her bed. She was dressed in a regulation gown, and she hadn't seen any other clothing in her cell last night. In fact, her cell was completely bare save for her iron foldaway bed and sheets; isolation cells didn't even have windows, hence the necessity for the ventilation grills between the rooms. Max heard the transgenic in the room next to her put on his boots with a resounding thud, and then stand at attention by the bed.

Sure enough, just over a minute later, all the doors in the isolation wing slid open with a dull hiss. The sturdy footfalls of several guards came down from each end of the corridor, stopping at each door. Max's room was near the right hand end of the block, and as the guards reached her cell they didn't stop. One peeled off from the end of the formation and stood in her open door, facing the outside, not even making eye contact with her.

Max quickly assessed her options. In her current state, with her several fractures and possible internal bleeding, she didn't have enough energy or stamina to take out all the guards. One, maybe two she could manage, but there were at least five in her corridor alone. Not to mention that if any of the other transgenics had a fierce loyalty to Manticore then they would prove to be much more difficult competition. No, now was definitely not the time to attempt to overpower the guards. The best thing she could do right now would be to stay quiet and compliant, to bide her time and wait for her moment. So she waited.

Max saw all the other transgenics march past her door and out of the block. They were a range of ages, races, both girls and boys. They youngest were merely toddlers, two or three years old, whereas the eldest were in their late teens. There didn't seem to be anything about them to suggest why they were in confinement, they were all so different and seemed perfectly trained. When they had all left the block, followed by the other guards, the man outside Max's cell turned around. He was one of the largest guards that Manticore had to offer; clearly they still viewed her as an escape risk. That didn't really look good for Max; she was obviously in line for some time in Psy-Ops. The guard took a pile of clothes from the corridor and a pair of military issue boots and dropped them just inside Max's cell, his eyes not leaving her the entire time. He walked out of the cell, looked to his left and gave a small hand gesture. All the doors in the block slid closed again with the same pneumatic hiss. The guard removed the CCTV camera from outside Max's cell and walked out of the block.

Max picked up the clothes and changed quickly. She had clean underwear, a sports bra and some thick woollen socks. The fatigues were new and stiff, grey as opposed to khaki due to the icy terrain around Wyoming, and a tank top to match. The boots were also new, and to Max's surprise they fitted her perfectly, all the clothes did. Max supposed that her measurements must have been taken whilst she was sedated, a thought that made her slightly uneasy. There was something she really didn't like about not knowing what had happened to her. If there was one thing that Max hated, it was not being in control. She supposed that it was something to do with feeling so out of control for all those years at Manticore, since she'd escaped she'd learnt so much about everything, both inside and outside the facility. It had taken her nearly two years to get things settled in her head, she'd only just begun to feel confident about who she actually was and everything that had happened to her so far. Now was really not the time she'd wanted to be back at Manticore, where almost all of her confusion stemmed from. In fact, she thought, smiling slightly at the irony, she'd never really wanted to be back at Manticore. Ever.

Five minutes later the huge guard came back to her cell, finding her sitting on her bed the same way that she had been since she'd regained consciousness. Max looked up, to her surprise he opened the cell door and came in.

'X5-452,' he said, his eyes slightly above his line of sight; the classic soldier pose. 'Fall in.'

Max stood up, ignoring the screaming pain in her abdomen and ribs. She stood at ease, looking directly ahead. Although she really hated what she was doing, she was smart enough to play along. She hadn't eaten anything last night, and her concentration was starting to wane, her head becoming fuzzy. After all, she knew what would happen if she continued to fight the system. She doubted, however, that she'd be able to fool everybody.

The guard pivoted to face the door. 'Follow me,' he said, marching out of the cell.

Max followed, falling in with his footsteps instinctively. They marched through several doors and corridors, the route familiar. The guard left Max when Lydecker opened his office door.

--End of Chapter Three--