Author's note: I originally planned to skip straight over all the fight and rescue scene, but after I posted over on Raising Hell, I felt as if the story were lacking because of it. So, I took a day off from posting another chapter to try and come up with something. And this is the result. So, in this chapter, we still glaze over most of the fight scene, and most of it remains the same as it did in the show, but poor Alec gets wounded in the process. Oh, and Max and Alec kind of bond.
Music suggestions: 'Let's get it started' by Black Eyed Peas.
Disclaimer: There's a formal, all-encompassing disclaimer in chapter one.
Showdown
Alec shadowed Max as they set a brisk pace down the theater's maintenance level, Joshua, Dieter, and Kat completing the diamond formation around him. They all listened intently to Max's directions.
Max halted them as she doled out directions for the search of the headless assassin.
"Joshua, you take the basement." Max began, looking to her right as she spoke.
She noted Alec's eyeroll from the corner of her eye moments before Joshua complained.
"Joshua in basement. Always the plan." Joshua grumbled after a frustrated huff.
"Fine, then take the roof." Max corrected impatiently.
She then turned and gave the basement to Dieter and backstage to Kat and Alec. She assigned herself the catwalks. After all, it was her mission, she should get to choose her own search area.
That was when Kat began to complain, claiming to be better suited for the catwalks. Her frazzled nerves began snapping in quick succession. She felt Alec take a step back from her, along with a few chuckles.
"How about you do what I say, and we don't have a problem." Max snapped angrily, pulling rank. She leaned forward towards Kat, waiting for the feline woman to rebuke her again. A pregnant pause had the tension between the two women practically crackling in the air.
Joshua leaned in to Alec's ear conspiratorily and remarked, "Cat fight."
Alec snorted in response but said nothing in agreement. Kat broke the intense staring contest, giving up the argument by turning her face away with an angry pout.
"Alright. Break." Max commanded. The group scattered in all directions.
ooohooaoloo*oloowooo*ooeooeonoo*
Max came to sharply at someone calling out her name. That asshole had knocked her out. Which, frankly, didn't make any sense considering the body technically couldn't see her in the first place. Fighting off unconsciousness, she stood and looked for the source of the voice.
"Max, go!" Alec called out urgently, pointing up. Quickly shifting her gaze to where he pointed, her body began moving towards the ropes extending into the ceiling once again.
Sally's body was in position, waiting for the perfect shot, it would seem. The body couldn't seem to figure out the priest's exact location.
Max was flying through the air for the second time as Sally began calling to Father MacCallister, allowing the business end of the assassin to hone in.
One shot rang out as she swooped in feet first, knocking the rifle and Sally's body back a few steps.
Max turned to look in horror as Alec fell to his knees, surprise etched on his face. She didn't have much time to dwell on the fact, though, as Sally's body moved in, punching and kicking. She heard shuffling sounds along with outraged complaints and assumed that the rest of her team had swooped in and carted the priest off to safety. She could only hope that Alec's injury was superficial and that he'd went for cover as well.
The fight ended as abruptly as it had started when she pinned Sally's body against the railing, kicking him full force in the family jewels. And before he could recover, a secondary kick was delievered, propelling him over the edge to land with a resounding thud on the stage below.
That would teach Sally to never piss her off.
oohoooaooloo*oolooowoo*ooeooeooono*
"I'm just saying, Max. I've got a feeling that this isn't gonna be the last time I get shot if I keep sticking close to you." Alec stated morbidly, sitting on the tailgate of the open ambulance and slumping over slightly from exhaustion and blood loss.
"Then I guess you must be hightailing it outta here as soon as you get the chance." Max replied in as neutral tone as she could muster, leaning against one of the open doors and facing Alec as the paramedic checked Alec's wound. The pangs of remorse those thoughts gave her almost made her want to take the words back. There had to be some other explanation because missing Alec was absurd.
She could only describe the neon yellow color that streaked quickly through Alec's aura as panic. The chalky grey color of intense pain had settled into his aura for the foreseeable future. And worst of all, she recognized the slate grey of resignation making its way to the surface. All of these were visible only to her for some unexplained reason. At the moment, she was glad for the ability, because otherwise, Alec was as blank as an untouched painting canvas.
"Nah. You kidding?" Alec said, waving the suggestion away like a pesky mosquito, he then winced minutely as the paramedic dabbed alcohol on his shoulder in preparation to bandage him up. "Now that we've let out all the crazies, someone's gotta be around to get your back. And, no offense, but I don't see anyone else lining up for the position."
"Funny. Ha ha. You see me laughin'?" Max quipped dryly, looking down at her boots. She then stuffed her hands in her pockets and shifted back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Listen. Thanks for, you know, looking out for me like that. Otherwise, we'd have a priest in a body bag right now."
"Don't worry about it, Max. I know you'd do the same if our positions were reversed." Alec returned, the look in his eyes uncertain as they met Max's.
The hesitation before she spoke said volumes. "Of course." Max replied with a forced aloof smile. She then jerked her head in the direction of the rest of their congregation. "I'm gonna go check on the others. You gonna be alright?"
Nodding affirmatively, Alec turned his attention towards the paramedic, dismissing Max and allowing her to leave.
oohooaooloo*oolooowoo*ooeooeoonooo*
I think that subconsciously, Max would realize that after all those years alone, it would be good to have someone that would look out for her, maybe even be able to protect her as an equal. And so far, the only other person around that can physically be at her back, and has actually bailed her out of a few jams, is Alec. So I came up with that last scene. What gets skipped between here and the next chapter? Logan and Asha stealing credit and looking to get hitched, as well as Normal sending in the po-po calvary to arrest all the "evil-doing" transgenics. Up next, Max has a decision to make, and Max has a revelation.
