Boys Will Be Boys
by Inzane
Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I still didn't own Dark Angel. Dammit.
Summary: Just how much trouble can two transgenic teenage boys get into? A story about my favorite X-6's from The Friggin' Cure universe, Dalton and Oscar.
Warning: Language--maybe a little harsher than my usual standard--and some mild violence.
Chapter 4: The Great Escape
Max stepped into the club that had become known to all the transgenics as Eos. It served as a bar, rec hall, movie theater, and just general place to unwind. Alec and Mole had been the ones to come up with the idea for the place, insisting that they could all use a morale booster. Max had been shocked at first that Mole had been involved, as his idea of unwinding usually involved cleaning his guns. But the transhuman recognized the tension that had been building among the people he now considered his brethren (even the X-series), and had worked with the X-5 to come up with the idea. It had taken them a while to requisition… a.k.a. steal… the stuff they needed for the place, but now it was fully outfitted with all manner of things transgenics could use to distract them from the harsh reality of their lives.
Alec had come up with the unusual name for the place. Max remembered coming across the pair before the place had officially opened, after about five months of being holed up in TC. She hadn't even been with Alec back then, but looking back at that time, she could see now that she had been slowly falling for Alec for several months. Mole had been holding a ladder while Alec nailed a sign--hand-painted by Joshua--above the door with the three cryptic letters.
"Eos? What's that supposed to mean? Isn't that a Greek goddess or something?"
Max tilted up her head, trying hard to keep her eyes on the sign and not on Alec's ass, which, positioned on the ladder as he was, was directly in her line of sight. She was mildly alarmed by how difficult it was not to look. This was Alec, after all. Pain-in-the-ass Alec. She in no way had any designs on his ass, or any other part of his anatomy. She ignored the way his biceps flexed as he pounded a nail into the wall. And she steadily ignored the fact that her pulse beat just a little bit faster.
Alec paused his hammering and turned to face her. Her heart gave a little stutter when her eyes trailed from the sign to his face. His hair was in messy disarray, his eyes were blazing with excitement, and he had several nails held in his mouth. She told herself that her heart didn't skip a beat because he looked so boyishly cute. No, that couldn't be it. Had to be just a random thing.
Alec said something, but it came out as a mumble because he tried to talk with the nails still in his mouth, as he was busy holding the sign in place with one hand and the hammer with the other. He must have assumed Max understood him, for he turned back, made a minor adjustment to straighten the sign, and then began pounding again.
Max looked to Mole, raising her eyebrows in a silent request for a translation.
Mole rolled his eyes at Alec, then turned to Max. "Eos. As in E. O. S. End Of Shift. Your SIC here came up with the dumbass name. I had nothin' to do with it."
At Mole's disparaging remarks on the name of the new transgenic hangout, Alec stopped hammering and glared down at him. He opened his mouth to speak, but had apparently forgotten about the nails he was holding in his mouth. Alec tried to catch them, but they clattered to the ground.
Max couldn't help but laugh. With all the tension going on with the military camped on their doorstep and the ordinaries screaming for their blood, it felt good to laugh about something.
"I'll have you know, that name took a lot of thought," Alec said in an offended tone.
Dumbass or not, Alec's name for the place had rung true, for it was pretty much where everyone went after their shift ended. Max both hoped and dreaded that she would find the person she was looking for inside.
She spotted her target immediately. Hard to miss that flame-red hair. Max took a deep breath, tilted her head from side to side to loosen her muscles, then stalked across the room toward Zev, the whole time silently telling herself to resist the urge to plant her fist in the Border Patrol Commander's pretty face.
Zev was talking to some guy, an X-series. He was fairly new in TC, and Max was pretty sure his name was Jake. He must have been informed about the little grudge Max and Zev had going, because when he spotted Max approaching, he quickly made an excuse to get out of there. Others in the club took notice as well, and backed off to a safe distance, yet well within range to catch the possible show. She saw Zev glance at her, then hang her head and shake it.
Max slid into the seat next to Zev at the bar. She gave her head a sharp jerk to flip her ponytail over her shoulder. "Zev," she said in a clipped tone.
"Max," Zev replied, eyes narrowed and her tone equally clipped.
Max tried to think of a way to tell Zev about the problem. She had confirmed that Oscar was missing from TC, and was therefore currently in police custody with Dalton, so this whole this affected Zev as well, since she was Oscar's direct superior. The problem was, Max was really having a hard time getting her teeth to unclench for long enough to give her nemesis the 411.
Zev apparently did not have the same problem, and spoke first.
"Is it not enough that you've made my life completely miserable, that you gotta go and ruin my chances for having a nice, warm, male body in my bed tonight?"
Max wrinkled her forehead. This was not how she wanted to start out this conversation. She needed Zev's help. She hadn't wanted to antagonize her, but apparently Max's mere presence was enough to do that.
Zev sighed, and continued. "Look, Max, I've buried myself in all the shit jobs you've been given' me, and I haven't said a word. I've stayed out of your hair. I've avoided Alec like the fuckin' plague. It's been six months! What more do you want from me?!" Zev'd had enough of Max's shit, and she was done lying down and just taking it. It was time to end this shit between them, one way or another.
Max closed her eyes and counted to ten. She really needed to get over this overwhelming hatred she had for Zev.
"Look, Zev, I know I've been a little harsh on you…"
Zev interrupted with a bitter bark of laugh. "If that isn't a fuckin' understatement, I don't know what is."
Max ignored her, trying hard to maintain her cool. "… and I realize that some of it may have been uncalled for. I know you know how to do your job. I also know how persuasive Alec can be. It's hard to stand up against his style of persuasion."
Max stared off into space, remembering when she had confronted Zev about letting Alec out of TC. Remembering the fury she had felt when she smelled Alec's scent on Zev, knowing exactly what kind of persuasion he had used on her. Remembering placing the blame for Alec getting shot on Zev, because she'd had no one else to blame at the time.
Zev looked hard at Max, and could practically see the memories run behind her eyes. The redhead's eyes opened wider in shock at the sudden realization that hit her right between them. She wondered how she could not have seen it before. But the way Max said the word persuasion made her realize exactly what Max's problem was.
"It was never about me letting him out, was it? Not really. I mean, he was bound and determined to get out, and he would have found another way even if I hadn't let him go. It was because of that kiss."
Max gave an offended sniff, but had to look away. Zev had hit the nail on the head. But Max could not, would not, admit that the grudge she had been holding against the woman was completely personal. Over a kiss that had happened before she and Alec had even hooked up. A personal grudge over a man wouldn't be very leader-like of her, now would it?
"As if," Max huffed, but she had to stop herself from cringing at the tone of her voice, which clearly declared the falsehood of her words.
Zev let out a peal of triumphant laughter that had several male heads turning her way. "That's it! I can't believe it! Well, yeah, now that I think about it, I guess I can, especially after what you did to that skank Tara. I am such a dumbass!" Zev shook her head at her own stupidity. Her guilt over her part in what had happened to Alec had prevented her from seeing the truth.
Max frowned, and couldn't think of anything to say that would make her actions toward Zev the past couple of months seem less petty. Hearing the words from Zev's mouth, she realized just how petty she had been.
Zev nodded to the transhuman bartender, holding up two fingers. He came over and planted two beers on the bar in front of her. (Thanks to Alec's resourcefulness and his fondness for alcohol, the EOS bar had been well stocked for months.) Zev used one finger to push one of the beers over to Max.
Max stared at the bottle, recognizing it as a peace offering. She wanted to accept it, knew that she should, that it is what a true leader would do, but she couldn't get the image of Alec kissing Zev out of her head.
Zev watched Max stare at the bottle, and could sense her reluctance. Even though Max had made her life hellish the past couple of months, she could understand where she was coming from. Zev knew that if she had a guy like Alec, she would wanna beat down the competition--past, present, or future.
"You know," Zev said quietly, so only Max would hear, "Alec didn't kiss me that night. I kissed him. Think I shocked the hell out of him, too." She saw Max's eyes widen at this revelation, but could also see the suspicion on her face. After all, Max knew Alec better than anyone. "Oh, he returned the kiss, all right," Zev added, "eventually. His means of persuasion, like you said. But I could tell his heart wasn't in it. He'd already given it to you, you see."
Max hung her head and sighed. It felt like a weight had lifted from her shoulders. Then she slowly raised her head, picked up the beer, and took a sip. She decided it was time to swallow her pride.
"Thanks, Zev."
Zev let out a breath of relief. Now that they had smoked the proverbial peace pipe, she hoped that Max would quit riding her ass.
Fuck hope. She wasn't leaving something like that up to chance.
"Great. Now that we've come to an understanding, you mind laying off all the shit assignments you've been sending my way? 'Cause I've been so worn out, that if I managed to convince a guy to warm my bed, I'd be too damn tired to enjoy it."
Max frowned and put the bottle back down on the bar, reminded that she was here for other business.
"I'm afraid I've got one more shit assignment for you, Zev. I need your help, and I don't think you're gonna like what I gotta tell ya. It's about your boy Oscar."
Dalton and Oscar sat slouched in the chairs in front of Officer Jenkins' desk, both boys looking surly, and Dalton downright hostile. The cop had been trying to coerce parent phone numbers from them for the past hour, but hadn't been able to even get the boys' names, much less a means of parental contact. Her partner had bailed on her a while ago, claiming seniority and telling her that she could handle them on her own.
These kids were really starting to piss her off. She just wanted to foist them off on their parents and go the hell home.
"Look," Jenkins said, running a hand through formerly perfect hair that was becoming increasingly disheveled, "I'm really getting sick of the silent act you boys've got going here, and frankly, I'm sick of lookin' at your faces. I'm sure you'd like to get out of this place just as much as I do right now, so why don't we cut the crap? You boys bein' underage and in that club just earns you a slap on the wrist. Some community service, you'll be free to go. But I need to get your information for my report, and, as I've already told you multiple times, I can't release minors except to the custody of a parent or legal guardian, so I'm gonna need to contact your parents."
By the time she finished, Jenkins was speaking through clenched teeth. She was pretty sure she heard a snicker from behind her. She rolled her eyes to heaven, asking for a little divine intervention on this one. Every cop left in the bullpen was probably listening in, taking bets on whether or not she could get these kids to crack. Odds had probably shifted in the little punks' favor about a half an hour ago. She'd even run their prints in the hope that these boys might have tussled with the law before, but that hadn't panned out. She was about ready to take a blow to her ego, give up, and dump these kids on Child Services. Before she did that, though, Jenkins decided that she'd better consult with her captain. Maybe he could take one last run at them.
"Fine. If that's the way you're gonna play it, then I guess I'll have to bring out the big guns." Jenkins stood up, glaring down at the two large pains in her ass. "You two stay right there, and don't even think about trying to make a run for it. There are at least ten cops between you and the exit."
Jenkins turned and walked toward her captain's office, a smug smile on her face. She'd let them stew for a while, then talk to her captain. Little assholes were probably quaking in their boots.
Dalton waited until the most annoying Officer Jenkins was out of earshot, then muttered out of the side of his mouth to Oscar while scanning the room for possible escape routes. "Damn, I thought she'd never leave. How is it we end up with the one cop in Seattle who actually does her job? It is just un-fucking-fair."
Oscar let his head fall over the back of the chair so that he was staring up at the ceiling. He had long passed freak out mode and had fallen into a sort of numbed shock. "When has anything in our lives ever been fair, Dalton?" he asked in a tired, listless tone.
Dalton ran a hand over his face, doing a quick run through of his life up to this point. "Yeah, I guess you got a point there." Dalton turned to Oscar, then narrowed his eyes at what he saw.
"OW!" Oscar jerked up as he received a sharp jab to the ribs from Dalton. "What the hell was that for?"
Dalton leaned over, his face angry. He lowered his voice so only Oscar would be able to hear him. "You gotta get your head back in the game, dammit. You can't zone out on me now. If we're gonna get outta this, then I'm gonna need your help!" Dalton paused dramatically for a moment, then leaned a bit closer. "You don't want Max to come in here and have to save our asses, do you?"
Oscar shuddered at the thought. Max scared the hell out of him, and the thought of her having to come to the rescue… no, just no. The X-6 mentally shook himself. He'd gone against his better judgement and broken the rules. They'd gotten caught, and now they were just gonna have to deal with it. Dalton was right. He was a soldier, a transgenic. He and Dalton had the skills and the know-how to get out of this, and they had to do it fast before someone in TC got wind of what happened. They just needed to come up with a plan.
"Okay, so here's what I'm thinkin'," Dalton began, a smirk on his face, "you pretend you're gonna throw up, or even better yet, do it for real. Then you'll get to make for the bathroom, I'll play all concerned and have to go with to keep an eye on you, and we can find a way out."
Oscar drew back his head, incredulous. He wanted to tell Dalton it was a dumbass idea, but was having trouble finding the courage to do so. Instinctively, he recognized Dalton as an alpha and automatically wanted to give in to his plan.
Oscar ground his teeth. It was a dumb fucking plan.
"Why should I be the one to get sick?" Just tell'm his plan sucks ass, you fuckin' coward!
"'Cause, Oscar, with that baby face and those big brown eyes, they'll totally buy it. Me, I look like trouble." Dalton seemed kind of proud of the fact he looked like trouble. He'd changed a lot from the innocent-looking kid that had walked into Jam Pony with a very pregnant Gem, it seemed like ages ago.
Oscar bit his bottom lip for a moment, having a furious internal battle with himself. He was tired of being the one to always back down, tired of all of his little mental hang-ups that kept holding him back, making him an outsider even among his own people. For once, he was gonna take a stand.
"No way. That is a stupid plan. No way we'd get away with it. Cops aren't that dumb."
Dalton drew his head back and raised his eyebrows in shock. Oscar was standing up to him. That was practically unheard of. Oscar never stood up to anybody. Shock was replaced by mild anger. He hadn't put a whole lot of thought into his plan, but he didn't think it was that bad.
Both boys glared at each other, then the argument began in earnest.
Officer Jenkins stood in her captain's office, staring out its glass window at the two boys now standing in front of her desk, squaring off face to face. They appeared to be having a heated discussion, accompanied by a lot of finger pointing and a few shoves. She wondered if these kids were brothers, or just good friends. The way that they acted around each other reminded her of her younger brothers.
"You gotta be fuckin' kidding me, Jenkins. You mean you can't get two punkass kids to talk? You can't even get their fuckin' names?"
Jenkins felt the color rising in her cheeks, and tried to ignore it. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Sir, these boys are amazingly resistant to the subtle interrogation techniques I used, and they're stubborn as hell. Even the younger kid. He looked all panicky and I kept thinking he was gonna crack, but no dice."
The captain squinted, trying to size up the two kids that had one of his best officers asking for help.
"Christ, those boys can't even be sixteen yet. Probably don't even know how to drive." He turned on Jenkins, staring down at her from his impressive six-foot-four frame. "You got another ten minutes to get those kids to crack, and if not, turn 'em over to child services. I can't have you wasting your time on some dumb kids out to have stupid fun."
Jenkins clenched her teeth. She was never going to hear the end of it. If these kids beat her, she would be razzed about it for years. "Sir, I thought if you could..."
The captain interrupted her, leveling a finger at her face. "Uh uh. I am not a babysitter, Jenkins. If you can't handle it, then I suggest you turn 'em over to someone who can. McManis over in child services'll handle 'em. Dismissed." With that final word, the captain turned his back on her and returned to his desk.
"Yes, sir," Jenkins said. She straightened her shoulders, and headed back out to do battle.
While Officer Jenkins was trying unsuccessfully to enlist her captain' help, Dalton and Oscar had been arguing about Dalton's plan in earnest. Oscar had pointed out the problems with the plan, and Dalton, being the alpha male that he was, couldn't help but get defensive. The argument quickly degenerated into a minor shoving match, curses, and insults; they questioned each others' intelligence, manhood, abilities... the typical idiotic male posturing that had more to do with denigrating your opponent and really had nothing to do with the situation at hand.
Dalton came back to his senses enough to realize that they had gotten loud enough to be overheard, and they were wasting time. They had to dispense with the bitchfest and get back on target.
"So my plan's stupid, huh?" Dalton lowered his voice and said angrily, poking a finger into Oscar's chest. "Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas. You're such hot shit. You think you could do better?"
Oscar flicked his eyes past Dalton, and saw that Officer Jenkins was headed back their way. He smiled as a sudden flash of inspiration hit him. "Yeah. I can."
Oscar looked back at Dalton, his eyes bright with excitement. This could totally work, as long as Dalton backed him up on it. "You still got those bruises from training the other day? You know, when I wiped the floor with your ass?" Belatedly, Oscar thought he should have left that last bit out.
Dalton's eyes narrowed, and he bared his teeth. Alec had showed them a new move in training the other day, and it was one of the rare occasions when Dalton had trouble getting it, but Oscar had immediately mastered it and had indeed wiped the floor with his ass. He and Oscar were usually pretty evenly matched, but not on that day. Alec, of course, had made Dalton keep trying until he had gotten it right, so Oscar had beaten him six times before he finally mastered the move. It had really pissed him off.
"Yeah. Why?" he replied stiffly.
Oscar grabbed Dalton by his biceps and gave him a little excited shake, taking another look over the other boy's shoulder at the swiftly approaching Jenkins.
"Just back me up. You'll know when," he muttered.
Dalton grabbed Oscar's wrists at hearing his own words from earlier that evening thrown back at him. "You sonofa..." He quickly cut off his words as Jenkins arrived, and both boys turned to face her, fake smiles on their faces.
Jenkins drew up short, suspicious of the sudden change in the pair. "All right, guys. What's the deal. You ready to cooperate?"
Dalton glanced at Oscar, crossing his arms and pursing his lips, waiting for whatever big show his fellow X-6 had planned. And it better be fuckin' good. He raised his eyebrows in shock and dropped his arms as he saw Oscar's eyes begin to well up with unshed--and what Dalton knew was completely fake--tears.
"Please," Oscar began, his lower lip trembling just slightly, nothing too over the top, "don't call our Dad."
Jenkins crossed over to her desk and sat on the edge of it, crossing her arms. "So you two are brothers, huh? Funny, you don't look a lot alike."
Oscar took a deep breath, and let it out. "We have different mothers. Both left us with our deadbeat asshole of a father. That's why we couldn't tell you anything. He'll lay into us something fierce if he finds out where we've been, much less that we're in police custody."
Jenkins stared at the teenager, watching his face for any signs of dishonesty, but she didn't catch anything. The taller boy stood behind his brother, looking apprehensive.
Oscar turned his head to look at Dalton, his face full of concern. "Show her the bruises."
Inwardly, Dalton was laughing his ass off. He'd gotten the gist of Oscar's plan, and he had to admit, it was pure genius. He figured he knew what part he was supposed to play in the scheme of things.
"What? No," Dalton replied, shaking his head and widening his eyes. He took a hesitant step backwards.
"Show her," Oscar insisted, grabbing Dalton lightly by the arm.
Dalton's face showed reluctance and shame as he grasped the hem of his shirt and lifted, exposing his stomach and lower chest. There was a rainbow of fading bruises plastered across his body. He managed to keep from smiling when he heard Officer Jenkins suck in a shocked breath at the sight of them. And I'd like to thank the Academy... he thought.
Oscar turned back to Jenkins, his face completely earnest. "Our old man, he lost his job, and he's not dealing very well. He just tends to take it out on us, sometimes. My big brother, he tries to shield me from him, and you can see what that gets him. So, you see why we can't give you our Dad's number? He has to come down here to pick us up from a police station, it's gonna be a lot worse than those few bruises my brother has. I know he'll take the brunt of it, like he always does, and I can't allow that to happen. Not this time."
Jenkins leaned forward, earlier annoyance completely replaced with concern. "If your father is abusing you, you should report it. No one has the right to do that to you."
Oscar shook his head, looking sad. "We've heard that one before. Always seem to end up right back there with him." Oscar ducked his head for a moment, then gave Dalton a meaningful look, which almost had Dalton busting out laughing, though no one would ever had known it from the steely look on his face. Oscar then turned his head back to Jenkins.
"My brother here tried to stop me from going to that place, but I wouldn't listen, and he followed me there to make sure I didn't get into any trouble. I guess that didn't work too well, huh?"
Oscar moved to stand in front of Dalton and crossed his arms, and his face took on a look of stubborn defiance. "I'm sorry, but I can't give you that number. I gotta protect my brother."
Officer Jenkins sighed, then gave the boys a small smile. "I can understand where you're coming from, but I'm afraid I still can't release you. I'm going to have to take you up to Child Protective Services. I just can't allow you to go back into that abusive situation."
Dalton huffed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, we know the drill. Not like we haven't been through it before. But you go ahead and do what you gotta do. Just don't expect us to be happy about it."
As Jenkins got up and moved around her desk to sit down and place a call to the Child Protective Services Department, Dalton and Oscar sat back down and plastered twin looks of grim acceptance on their faces.
Zev dropped back through the pothole to land in a crouch next to Max.
"They're not here. Looks like they managed to get themselves transferred to Child Protective Services. I assume they're planning to make a break for it at some point."
Max was trying to keep her anger in check. She needed to keep her wits about her when outside of TC. After all, White was still out there somewhere. She let out an exasperated breath.
"Okay. That should make things a little easier. I say we head over in that direction. If they make it out, fine, we'll snag 'em when they hit the tunnels. But I tell you, if we have to go in there and rescue them, they are seriously gonna regret the day their testosterone-driven little asses hit puberty."
"I'm so feelin' you on that one," Zev replied.
Zev held out her fist to Max, and Max hesitated for just a second before slamming her own fist down on top of it, then holding hers out so Zev could do the same. It felt a little weird, not hating Zev with an all-consuming passion. She wasn't sure if they would ever be friends, but at least they now they understood each other a little better. The two women shared a look, then blurred down the tunnel, hunting wayward transgenic boys.
Officer Jenkins drove Dalton and Oscar over to the building that held Child Protective Services, as well as the temporary home for those kids who had yet to be assigned foster care. She escorted the two boys inside the building, then happily turned them over to CPS. She felt bad for the kids, but frankly, she was glad to be rid of them. They had given her nothing but trouble since she picked them up.
The X-6s sat in a sort of waiting room with two other boys. Everyone was waiting their turn to meet with the psychologist on call, who had yet to arrive. There was a forty-something man sitting at a desk near the door, apparently serving as a combination admin/guard.
Dalton nodded his head to the other two boys waiting with them. The guys were older, maybe seventeen or so, and they were both sporting several bruises and cuts. He mentally labeled one as Butch and the other as Bruiser. "Whatcha fellas in for?" Dalton asked casually.
"Fighting, dipshit," Butch replied, holding an icepack to his jaw.
"Hey, just makin' conversation," Dalton replied, frowning. He swung his head over to Oscar and asked quietly, "Now what?"
Oscar eyed the guard at the door. "I dunno. We need a distraction or something so we can slip out."
"Yeah," Dalton said, "but we gotta have something plausible so they don't question how two kids our age were able to sneak out under the eye of big, tough security they have in this place." The words big and tough came out dripping with sarcasm, accompanied by an eye roll. The security might be tough to get around for the average teenager, but it would be a cakewalk for two transgenics. "I'll tell ya," Dalton added, "pretending to be ordinary is a fuckin' pain in the ass."
"Copy that," Oscar replied. He turned to Dalton and raised his eyebrows in question. "Fight?"
Dalton nodded. "It's what we do best." Dalton glanced over at the two older boys across the room. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"
Oscar jerked his head to flip his hair out of his eyes and sized up the competition. The success of his earlier plan to get them out of the police station had boosted his confidence, and he was feeling pretty good at this point.
"Absolutely," Oscar replied. "You wanna start?"
"You kiddin' me?" Dalton asked with a smirk. "I love startin' shit. Let's get this show on the road."
At that, Dalton stood up in a huff, took a few angry steps, and then whipped back around to face Oscar.
"You know, little brother," he said in a tone loud enough to be overheard by the guy at the door, "I'm really getting' tired of stickin' up for your ass. I mean, look what it's fuckin' got me… a bunch of bruises from the old man, and now they're gonna throw us back in the system. I shoulda just let you go and left the old man pound on your ass for once."
Oscar stood and got up in Dalton's face. "Yeah, well, no one asked you to come after me."
Dalton gave Oscar a light shove, and saw that the guard attention was definitely on them now. He raised his voice even louder. "Get real. A pussy like you? Probably would've ended up face down in a gutter somewhere you didn't have me lookin' out for you. Hell, those guys over there," Dalton hiked a thumb over his shoulder, indicating Butch and Bruiser, "would probably make you their bitch if I wasn't here to stop 'em."
The bitch comment got the other boys' attention, and they started to make some noise of protest, but Oscar started back in on Dalton, cutting them off.
"Who you callin' a pussy?!" Oscar growled, and gave Dalton a harder shove, causing him to stumble back a few steps, bringing him in range of Butch and Bruiser.
"Oh, that's it!" Dalton yelled, then launched himself at Oscar. The X-6s began throwing punches, making sure to keep the fight toned down to average human abilities.
The guard at the door stood, looking irritated. "You boys stop that right now and settle down!"
Dalton and Oscar ignored him, and continued to fight, each letting the other land a few hits to make it look convincing. Oscar then tackled Dalton, crashing the both of them into the other two boys.
"Hey, what the fuck?" Bruiser exclaimed, then received a supposedly accidental but actually perfectly planned elbow to the face from Dalton. "You little cocksucker!"
With that, the other pair joined in the fray, and suddenly there was a free-for-all.
The guard's face contorted in anger, and he stomped toward the fight. "Goddammit! I said stop!" He reached in and tried to separate the combatants. Just at that moment, Oscar signaled Dalton with a slight widening of his eyes, then launched a fist directly toward his face. Dalton ducked at the last possible moment, and Oscar's fist landed right dead center of the guard's face. The fight came to a screaming halt as all four boys watched the guard's eyes roll up into his head before he crumpled in a heap to the floor.
"Jesus H. Christ! I can't believe you fuckin' did that!" Butch exclaimed. "You are dead meat, man! When he wakes up, he's gonna be royally pissed! Your ass is toast!"
"Fellas," Dalton said, clapping a friendly hand on Butch's shoulder, "we don't plan to hang around and wait for that to happen." Dalton and Oscar made a break for the door. Dalton turned around, walking backwards so he could address the boys left in the room. "Thanks for the assist, guys. 'Preciate it." He gave them a smirk, turned, and chased after Oscar.
After dispatching the guard, the X-6s easily made it out of the building. They stuck to back alleys until they could find a convenient sewer access point that would lead them back to TC.
As they found the entry point they wanted and slipped into the tunnels, Dalton turned to Oscar and looked at him as if he'd never seen him before. "I can't believe you, man," he said in a shocked tone.
Oscar, who'd been extremely proud of his actions that night, let his head fall forward, crestfallen, as he waited for Dalton to yell at him or blame him for things going sideways.
Dalton's next words were excited, accompanied by a boyish grin. "That bit at the cop station was the best bullshit ever!" Oscar's head whipped back up, startled by the praise when he was expecting the complete opposite.
"You're like a liar extraordinaire!" Dalton continued. "You had them eatin' outta your hand! It was fuckin' amazing! Who are you, man, and what have you done with Oscar, 'cause that was so not like you!"
Oscar smiled shyly and glanced over at Dalton. "Maybe you're a bad influence."
Dalton narrowed his eyes and gave his fellow X-6 an appraising look. "Or maybe, you're not really the meek little transgenic you pretend to be." A mischievous smirk crossed Dalton's face. "Race you back?"
At a silent signal between the genetically engineered teenagers, they tore off down the tunnel, laughing. A solid friendship was born.
The race came to a skidding halt as the rounded a corner to come suddenly face to face with Max and Zev. Both women looked extremely pissed.
"Oh, hell," Dalton muttered, letting his head fall forward in defeat. Oscar, at the sight of Max and his direct superior, felt his knees go weak and he suddenly found himself landing hard on his ass, sending up a small spray of water. Dalton just shook his head. There'd be no help coming from Oscar's direction. Being caught breaking the rules by two of the most badass chicks in TC probably fried his synapses or something.
Max took a menacing step forward, eyes flashing with fury. Zev stood behind Max, arms crossed, looking completely ready to back Max up.
"You boys have no idea what hell is," Max said coldly, "but you're about to find out."
Goddammit! Dalton thought. If I had only gotten that blowjob, it might've been worth whatever damage Max plans to do to me.
Dalton swallowed hard at the evil gleam in Max's eye. He'd seen that look turned on Alec before, and it had never ended well for him. Dalton cringed.
Or maybe not.
A/N: You know, I originally claimed this was going to be a short fic, but I still have two more chapters to go, so maybe not so short. Seems to be par for the course with me. The Friggin' Cure was originally going to be a oneshot, and if you read it, well, you know how that turned out.
Oh, and I don't watch cop shows either, so I had to wing all of the police procedure stuff. (In case you're wondering, I am very anti-doctor/lawyer/cop shows.)
