Max was frustrated. She wasn't bored, no, splitting her time between her new duties in the infirmary and keeping an eye on Alec certainly kept her occupied. No, she was frustrated because the damn idiot was still unconscious, and it had been idays/i. And she ineeded/i to talk to him.

It had happened as soon as she followed Clinic into the makeshift hospital and was presented with the clothing Alec had been wearing—most of it cut away, but the pockets were intact. Clinic had hurried her off, then, insisting that she joined her siblings in getting the cleanup effort started. Once assigned to a work crew, she didn't see Alec for a day and a half, and by then he had been moved into the base infirmary. It was a vast improvement over the improvised one in the (short) battle, but it had also been a common area—they couldn't be sure a cultist wouldn't try holding injured people hostage. The place also gave her the wiggens; antiseptic was not a smell associated with fond memories.

It had been another day before they had managed to make Command and the surrounding areas serviceable: there had been practically 'round the clock rotating shifts of various Xs, transhumans and anomalies. Max had just been given the all clear to return to her quarters when Syl had dashed up, handing a hand-written piece of paper detailing her schedule and training: Ben had assigned her to the rather understaffed infirmary with the dual purpose of sending personal where it was most needed, and keeping her close when (iif/i) Alec woke up.

Syl had reminded her that she had an hour till her shift, and she should probably clean up, and Max agreed, hurrying inside her room. She had been running late—she always seemed to—when she had knocked into the bundle of clothes Alec had been wearing during the attack. A small black box, scuffed and smeared with soot, fell from a pocket of what used to be his jeans.

She felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. No matter what she tried to tell herself (iIt's Rachael's locket, or earrings, or a bracelet/i), she iknew/i what that box was, and what it contained. All of what she had been seeing as his hot-and-cold routine had been a fight between—well, to quote iStar Wars/i, 'The good of the many outweighs the good of the few, or the one'* or some bullshit. All those times he looked away, hand in his pocket—

She couldn't bring herself to open the box. Instead, she carried it in her hip pouch, on her person at all times. And even now, sitting next to Alec, another two days after that fateful discovery…she wanted to scream. Wanted him to open his eyes. iI want you to ask me! I want it to be true! I want you to explain this!/i her mind screamed. She knew he had pulled away from most of the human habits he developed as soon as they had been safe in TC; everything from the way he walked to the way he greeted most people had shifted to something that had honestly reminded her of Ben when she had first found him. Feral. Feline.

Max fucking hated it. She hated everything that Manticore had made them, hated everything that made her more animal than human, hated the fact that she was starting to question of being ihuman/i was even the right choice for her. This small, black box was a representation of everything he had been doing for her, every instinct he had been fighting.

Zane had been teaching her basic medical triage, and Clinic—supplied with the new information Dix had found—had been explaining some of the strange biology that made them so different. One of the first things Clinic had taught her was how to deal with mated pairs: Felix and Keegan had been a rather poignant lesson. She had remembered during the battle how both Mole and Clinic had warned her unit not to divulge the status of Keegan to Felix or he might lose it; she wasn't prepared for seeing it. About halfway through her first day in the infirmary, Clinic had called for her help in the burn ward. This ward was quiet, transgenics healed quickly from most burns, and had needed their internal or more severe injuries treated. The only residents in the burn ward were Keegan and two other X series that were too burned to identify. The room itself made her nauseous; it stank of burned flesh and quite often blood. The fact she had been sent in to help remove Felix from the ward was also not very endearing. The male had kicked, fought, snarled, growled—even slashed at Max with what she thought was a small knife—before Clinic was able to subdue him with a tranquilizer… all because they needed to move Keegan for surgery. Felix hadn't wanted to be separated from her for any reason, and had then stalked the corridor until she had been wheeled back into the burn room. The lesson had been an easy one: when it comes to mates, transgenics were ifar/i more animal than human, and rational reasoning was pretty much lost on them.

She knew Alec was more animal than human, knew that he was an excellent actor, knew that every one of his unit subscribed to the mating and claiming ideas. She knew most of his unit were mated. So why was he propos…

Alec's finger twitched.

Max was on her feet, yelling for Clinic, even as she leaned closer, willing him to move his finger again. She heard someone continuing her yell for Clinic, and what seemed like hours passed. Carefully, she reached out, gently holding his hand. She heard Clinic skid to a stop at the door, but she shook her head, tears falling. "False alarm." However, Clinic was already in the room, checking the ancient machines that were monitoring everything from his brain waves to his pulse. "Clinic, I think I imagined it."

Dry, weak fingers gave her hand a small, but definite, squeeze. Her eyes shot to Alec's face, where he was blinking against the light, moving as if the air was as thick as molasses. He made an attempt at a smile, "What's a guy gotta do to get some food around here?*"

"Oh you stupid idiot!" Max burst out, moving to hug him gingerly. She pressed a kiss to his forehead before pulling back to look into his still glazed eyes. "Alec, you're awake!"

"Yeah. And hungry, though that part is going unnoticed. Ow, Clinic, stop." He made to brush her away, but his arm seemed to only get half the message. Cocking an eyebrow. "Ok, one, why am I on morphine and two, how the fuck long was I out?"

"A little under a week." Max supplied, taking her seat beside his bed again, though keeping their fingers entwined. "We were all worried you weren't going to wake up."

Alec frowned, and looked over at Clinic, who rolled her eyes. "I itold/i you your concussion wasn't completely healed. And then you took a reinforced wall to the back of your skull. Fractured."

"How did I manage that?"

"Shockwave. " Clinic ignored the new arrival, but Max started. Ben was holding himself differently, and he gave her a small smile before looking back at Alec. "Heard you were awake. We were on our way to Command when the first explosion went off. You grabbed the door as the shockwave hit."

"Yeah, whatever," Alec spared a smile at Max before pushing himself into a seated position, despite Clinic's protests. "Updates?"

Ben opened his mouth to answer, but Max cut him off, "How do you know he knows what's going on? Didn't you say Gamma Unit was last on the need to know basis."

"Maxie, glaring hurts, so please, stop making me do it." Alec groaned. "Besides, I have a nose. Not only did Ben risk his skin to save imine/i, he smells like the council." Alec looked back towards his clone. "Pulled you in for strategy."

Ben nodded. "Cleanup has been progressing at the standard rate. We lucked out because Felix found two of the explosives they had planned to set off, limiting the damage. Housing units are completely intact and everyone has moved back into their quarters. Infirmary is still pretty full, but it's mostly shrapnel and concussive injuries." Only now did Ben shift uncomfortably. "Any chance of you being up and around soon?"

Alec's eyes narrowed, even as Clinic sputtered. "What happened to Felix and Keegan."

"Keegan was at ground zero for the first blast—she isn't out of the burn unit yet—and Felix…"

Despite Clinic's protests, Alec pulled the iv from his arm, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I need a wheelchair."

"No! Alec, you need to stay in bed!" Max stood, but Ben was pushing her out of the way, wheeling in the requested object. "Ben! Why are you helping him?"

"Because iI'm/i not an alpha." Ben said, helping Alec into the chair. "I've been sitting on the council, but trust me, I'm not able to run this place. Besides, my new rank is kinda…contested."

"Stigma of Gamma Unit." Alec agreed, looking annoyed that his hospital gown wasn't covering his knees. "And where the fuck are my clothes? I can't go to command flashing everyone."

Clinic pulled the brake on the wheel chair, forcing Alec to stop, and started unwinding the bandage around. "You're not going anywhere until I check that the fragments have fused and there is no swelling. But your clothes are gone; I gave them to Max to dispose of."

A look of horror flickered across his face, but Max already knew what he was so worried about. She leaned over his chair, carefully avoiding being in Clinic's way, and pressed the scuffed black box into his hand. "It was in your jeans." He looked up at her, his expression confused, "I didn't peek." She teased, surprised to find a smile creeping across her features.

And apparently it was contagious, as Alec was grinning, despite the fact Clinic was rewrapping his skull as if it had personally insulted her. "Losing that would have been bad." He smirked at her. "So…you think you'd be up for dinner at the mess hall later?"

"Uh…about that." Ben started, pushing Alec's wheelchair towards the door. "Felix kinda blew it up."

Alec's "iWhat/i?!" echoed down the hall way, and Max couldn't help but grin at Clinic, who looked amused, despite herself.

Max had waited days for the his explanation, but somehow, with him being awake, she figured she could keep her curiosity in check for a few more hours.

"Alec's in Command." Biggs said, carefully placing a hand on Felix's shoulder. The other male made no response. "Felix, man, staring at her is not going to help her skin grow faster." Although, Biggs had to admit there was a vast improvement in the week since Keegan had sustained what had ended up being third degree burns on sixty percent of her body. The stem cells in their blood—with the addition of the Med-X4's super blood—were repairing the damage far faster than any human could hope for. As far as Biggs knew, they hadn't even performed any skin-grafts. But that didn't stop the new flesh from being incredibly weak and prone to infection. "You're needed, man."

"What am I going to do if she doesn't make it?" Felix's voice was quiet, rough from disuse. "I can't…I can't even think right now."

"She's going to wake up. Keegan's a fighter—remember when she took out that X2 with a broken arm and a dislocated jaw? "

"This is a bit different."

Biggs glanced back at the plastic rectangle that enclosed Keegan's bed. "Yeah, a bit. But that doesn't make her any less of a fighter."

A ghost of a smile passed over Felix's face. "No, it doesn't." Finally, he looked up at Biggs, looking resigned. "So tell me where I'm needed, Darklighter*."

Biggs shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Command. Alec may be back…but he's not winning any foot races, and I'm pretty sure Clinic's going to pull her medical rank if he stays out too long." Grasping his fiend's shoulder, he gave him a smile, "Keegan is in good hands. And she knows you're needed elsewhere."

It was reluctant, but still Felix followed.

"X4-881?" Alec looked confused for a second, "Isn't he the one who ended up in the hole because he actually convinced the undercover operatives they iwere/i their covers?"

Felix rolled his eyes. "If you're going to question every fucking fact, I'm heading back to Keegan."

Alec grabbed his arm, frowning when Felix's momentum dragged his wheelchair a bit. "Bro, chill. I'm just…surprised."

"Why?" Shilo asked, puzzling over the papers salvaged from what Logan had described as their base. "All those Psy-ops people were nuts."

"Because X4-881 was a twin. And X4-882 was decommissioned for a god-complex." Alec frowned at the files in his lap, "Can we get a lower table? Or can some one pass me the stills from the security feeds?" he ignored the snickers, and held his hand out expectantly. It only took a second for the files to be there. "Logan said all the cultists were in the mess hall?"

"I wouldn't have made it go 'boom' otherwise." Felix snapped. "Eyes Only was damn sure it was the only way to get them to stop."

There was a long, pregnant silence, and then Alec looked towards Ben. "You were suspicious when you caught him on the security cameras…was anyone walking with him when he got that wide berth?"

"Not that I could see."

"Shoulda looked lower." Alec held up one of the stills, and Ben grabbed it, scanning the lower half—

"Who the fuck is that kid?" For there was a small figure walking almost directly behind Logan, as if attempting to hide himself from the security camera. "I iknew/i it wasn't him they were scared of."

"iThat/i," Alec said as he gestured for Ben to pass the photo around, "Is X4-882."

"Fuck, I remember him from the Basement." Felix cursed, fingers crumpling the photo slightly. "The one who kept making the anomalies commit suicide." There was a collective gasp as some of the rumors that had circulated way back when were proven true. "And there's no chance in hell he was in there when I blew it."

"He shouldn't have survived if he was within a yard of the mess hall," Ben looked painfully hopeful, "I double checked the blast points specifically, and Felix had the entire placed rigged to drop where it was."

"And iyou/i don't know 882. Fucking little anti-christ." Felix growled. "I can't fucking ibelieve/i I actually thought Logan was in control."

"Confirmation that there are no child-sized transgenics visible on the security cameras after Logan starts speaking to Felix." Dix announced from his little corner. "But our original count stands: forty including Logan and X4-881."

Alec snarled, throwing the files in his hands, and then cursing the wave of vertigo the movement had caused. "It can never be that easy."

"I want people combing through the X7s and 8s—triple check designations and barcodes." Felix called to a small transgenic by the door. He nodded, and dashed out, presumably to gather his unit and follow orders.

"Why the fuck is he so small?" Ben asked, looking towards Dix, "I mean, he's an X4 and he's maybe the size of the X8s." Dix gave a little shrug, and Ben sighed, starting back towards the personal shifts he was supposed to be organizing.

"It's because Manticore watched too many horror movies." Alec said, wheeling himself towards Ben's makeshift desk. "Ever see iThe Omen/i? I wouldn't be surprised if 882 had the triple six birthmark too. I think Manticore only designated him 882 because 666 would have been too obvious."

Ben frowned, "I'm sure it would be hilarious if I had actually iseen/i iThe Omen/i."

Both Alec and Felix looked scandalized. "It's a iclassic/i. Perfect example of a slow, hostile takeover while maintaining your cover." Alec said, still looking shocked.

"And decently scary horror movie." Felix agreed.

"But the point is," Alec said, "Damien was a ichild/i. People iwanted/i to take him in, to care for him. And, hey, Dix, pull up the most recent pic of X4-882 Manticore had."

A few keystrokes later, and Dix was waving Ben over. "Holy shit. That's how he got Cale." X4-882 was identical to 881 but in miniature—he looked like he was nine. And, like all of Manticore's human-looking soldiers, he was exceptionally attractive. "Probably pretended to be a scared X8."

"And it would be just like 882 to have someone order their own suicide." Alec and Felix shared a look. "Poor Logan."

"And I bet 882 is just iloving/i this. All those people dead, for ihim/i." Felix was seething. "I would love to rip that little piece—"

Biggs stood up, placing a hand on Felix's shoulder. "Easy, you're still really amped."

Alec waved him off. "I need to get some food. Seriously. Ben, hold down the fort with Biggs till Felix and I get back, eh?"

Felix looked surprised for a second, "Wait, what?"

"You're wheeling me to wherever the food is now." Alec repeated. "And I do mean inow/i."

Felix bristled a little at the pull of rank, but grabbed the handles on Alec's wheel chair and gave it a push. "Meals are in the gym now."

"Awesome." Alec waited until Felix had pushed him completely out of view of command before he turned in his chair, ignoring the pain in his skull. "How's Keegan. Really."

His older clone looked away, letting go of the wheelchair to lean against the wall. "They honestly don't know if she's going to make it. She's stable, but the new skin is weak, and she's been prone to infections because of all the crap that got in while she was being moved." His voice was trembling. "And I can't get that iscent/i out of my head. Of her, burned—cook—" Felix gagged, and Alec was very glad his brother had not eaten recently. "You can't imagine."

"Her scent will come back. Don't you worry." Alec hoped he sounded braver than he felt; he knew Felix needed him to be strong, but Keegan was like a sister to him. Her death would be a blow to the entire unit.

Felix accepted the words, but Alec didn't know if he took any comfort from them. However, a minute later, Felix was pushing him towards the gym, where the smell of food was already teasing them. "Max is in there." He said.

Alec swallowed hard. "I know."

"You're going to do it."

"Yep."

A long pause. "You isure/i you don't want fireworks?"

Alec reached backwards and swatted at his older brother. "I think we've had enough explosions."

Felix shrugged, pulling open the door to the gym and allowing Alec to roll himself in. "Eh, explosions are like zombies: there are never too many." He gave him a small smile. "Good luck, little brother."

Alec took a deep breath, trying to steady himself as his eyes sought out Max—sitting at a table near the middle with the rest of her off duty unit. "Yeah, thanks." He started to roll forward when Felix's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"She'll say yes."

He swallowed hard. "I ireally/i fucking hope so."

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

*If you don't know that's iactually/i from bStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan/b, then shame, shame, shame.

*And this is from the live action iTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/i movie. Again, more shame if you don't know it.

*Biggs Darklighter (Red 3) is Luke Skywalker's best friend that dies maybe 10 minutes after we meet him in iStar Wars Episode IV: a New Hope/i. I ireally/i think that's where the writer's got his name. There is no shame if you don't get this reference, as it's kinda obscure in the fact that his character is only fleshed out in the expanded universe (aka the officially licensed and cannon books, comics and such that George Lucas ignored when he decided to make the prequels).

bTBC/b