Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but I wish I did! Just playing with them for a while.
Summary: Set during season two. A mysterious message from a supposedly dead Lydecker ends up being a trap that Max waltzes straight into. Will Alec be able to save 452, or will his attempt only end up risking his life as well? Hurt/Empathic!Alec.
A/N: This story is dedicated to scifigeek22.
"We're going," Max continued, this time addressing Renfro. "If you want to stop us, you'll have to kill us and then it's game over to Sandeman's little plan. So what's it gonna be?"
Renfro took a moment to think over Max's proposal. Neither option was all that appealing, but when her eyes drifted to the beaten and broken transgenic held tightly by the dog-like giant, she knew she only had one real choice.
"He needs you," she states softly, indicating Alec before turning back to Max. "And I need both of you, so for that reason alone, I will let you go. For now. But don't for one second think this is the end, 452. It's merely the beginning."
Max didn't want to contemplate what those ominous words meant, but she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth either. She nodded.
At that very moment, the tiny scientist appeared from the adjoining supply room, syringe in hand. He froze when he realized how significantly the tables had turned in his absence. "Madame?" he questioned, looking to Renfro for further instructions.
"494 will be receiving treatment elsewhere for a while, Dr. Bradbury," Renfro confirmed.
"And his second round of antibiotics?" He raised the needle up to where everyone could see it. Max instinctively took a step to her right, putting herself between the doctor and Alec.
Renfro rolled her eyes. "Contrary to what you may think, 452, the last thing we want is for your mate to die. He's too important to us. You might want to reconsider before he gets any worse."
"He's a transgenic," Max stated simply. "We were designed to heal. Alec will be just fine without your drugs screwin' with his system."
"On average, I'd say you'd be correct. But even an advanced immune system like yours has its limits, and I'm relatively certain we passed those about three hours ago. To be honest, I'm amazed he's conscious right now."
Max gazed over her shoulder at Alec and took in his ragged, washed-out appearance; the way his head was carefully cradled against Joshua's broad chest, and how the painful looking tremors continued to race up and down his spine, forcing his limbs to spasm occasionally.
As she watched, another bead of sweat trickled past his hairline and down his temple. The skin of his torso that wasn't hidden by Josh's haphazardly donned coat glistened wherever the bright medical lights reflected off his damp body. His barely open eyes were bloodshot and it was clearly taking all of his energy just to stay awake. In short, the poor guy was a mess.
Sparing the needle one more glance, Max glared at the scientist. "What are the antibiotics for?" she demanded.
"The gunshot wound he sustained to his left shoulder," Bradbury supplied. "It went straight through his scapula and left a lot of debris behind so without the proper treatment, he could easily get an infection in his current state. Judging by his fever, he probably already has one."
Max was so wrapped up in her thoughts that it took her a moment to realize Alec was saying something. She turned to him again, this time taking in his expression of fear and the fervent shaking of his head.
"N-no more, M-Max," he whimpered, his feverish eyes dancing from the syringe to his savior. "D-don' let 'im."
Now she was torn. She didn't want to put Alec through any more stress than necessary, but on the other hand, only Manticore knew what they had done to him in her absence and only they would have the proper medicine to fix it. But they also had the medicine to make it much worse. Who was she supposed to trust?
"Give it here," she commanded, holding her hand out to the scientist and moving towards him so that the man wouldn't have to get any closer to Alec. She practically pried the needle from the guy's hand and inspected it carefully. Field Med taught her just about everything she needed to know about first aid and proper procedures for administering vaccines.
She immediately picked up on the fact that it was a large gauge needle, which, under normal circumstances, would be completely unnecessary. Something wasn't right here… Ah ha. Found it.
There was a small metal ball floating in the liquid. Max recognized it immediately as an advanced tracking device used by Manticore when they sent operatives out on important missions or if they were a potential flight risk.
She threw the needle across the room and felt a sense of satisfaction when it shattered against the wall mere inches from where the scientist stood. He ducked and looked back at her, wide-eyed.
"Thanks, but no thanks. You'll have to try better than that." She locked eyes with Renfro. "We're done here. I suggest you call off your dogs before you have a blood-bath on your hands." Max ushered Joshua and his precious cargo towards the door.
As Renfro led them safely through the hallways, the other Manticore residents gathered to watch, waiting eagerly for the attack order to come. After the first few twists and turns, Alec started to regain some of his strength, though it was mostly due to adrenaline.
He needed to be on his guard right now. An entire life's worth of training demanded it from him. He pushed weakly against Josh's chest. "I can walk, big guy. Put me down."
Okay, so maybe that was a bit of a lie, and if the trans-human actually obeyed, Alec would probably fall flat on his face. But with everyone's eyes glued to him, Alec refused to look so pathetic in front of the other soldiers. That was like dangling a trapped mouse in front of a starving cat.
Josh's only response was to tighten his grip, stilling Alec's minute struggles. "Alec lay low. Joshua will keep you safe." Alec continued to squirm a while longer, but to no avail.
Mole stood in a doorway as they passed, making sure White's men didn't interfere with the escape plan, and he snorted when he saw 494's predicament. He dipped his head slightly in acknowledgment when their eyes met.
Alec groaned in defeat as he slumped back down into Josh's arms, a pink hue tainting his cheeks that had nothing to do with the fever. "This is so embarrassing…" he mumbled.
Renfro escorted the small team right out through the front gates, telling her people to stand down and let them pass unharmed. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when they reached the edge of the grass leading into the surrounding woods. Renfro called to Max from just inside the barricade. "I'll see you soon, 452."
Max refused to dignify the woman with an answer. Within seconds, she, Joshua, and Alec disappeared into the forest. Renfro watched them walk away until they were out of sight. Moments later, White came up beside her, a satisfied grin on his face. "Well played, Madame."
The disfigured woman smirked. "They can run, but they can't hide."
White held up a monitoring device that beeped as a red dot made its way through the surrounding area. "I'll have a team standing by to bring them all in."
DA-DA-DA
They were halfway through the woods when Alec felt the telltale burning in the back of his head. He squeezed his eyes shut and hissed through gritted teeth. He thought the connection was painful before, back when the visions first started out.
But this was an all-new level of pain now that there were no holds barred and the walls that had been designed to protect him had been so carelessly torn down by Manticore. He was helpless against the onslaught of images.
White was standing next to Renfro, a satisfied grin on his face. "Well played, Madame."
The disfigured woman smirked. "They can run, but they can't hide."
White held up a monitoring device that beeped as a red dot made its way through the surrounding area. "I'll have a team standing by to bring them all in."
"Good work, Ames. Let's hope it pays off. I want them back here by tonight."
Alec gasped in air, his lungs refusing to cooperate. He blinked up into the bright sunlight, then a head moved into his vision, leaning over him and shielding his sensitive eyes from the burning rays of the sun.
"Alec?" Max called, looking very worried as she pressed two fingers against the thrumming pulse in his neck. "Alec, what's wrong? What did you see?"
"T-trap," he choked out, pulling Max's hand away from his throat. His skin was crawling and the pressure of her fingers was making him lightheaded, not to mention impeding his speech. "It's a trap. White's men are followin' us."
Max frowned. "Well that's no surprise. I hardly expected them to just let us walk away for good. Don't worry though. We'll lose them."
"No. They know where we are, Max. They're trackin' us somehow."
"But I didn't let them tag you, Alec. I caught onto their devious little plan, remember? Unless…"
"I don't like the sound of that."
"Unless the one I smashed was just a decoy." Max froze. "Of course. They knew I'd see it and they were hoping it'd stop me from searching for other trackers. That scientist guy… He said second round of antibiotics. They must've tagged you before we showed up."
"Great." Alec blinked again and he was suddenly seeing himself through Max's eyes. "Ah crap…" His body was fighting the tenth level treatment with a vengeance and Max's close proximity was making their connection overwhelmingly strong.
He seized in Joshua's arms, back arching as his brain fought to keep itself from ripping apart. "God, Max… Make it stop. Please! Just make it stop!"
"Hang on, Alec. We're gonna get you help. I know it hurts but you need to stay with me." She carded her hand through his hair, rubbing her thumb soothingly over his forehead.
Max briefly entertained the idea of knocking him out to spare him any additional agony until they got back to Logan's place, and apparently the brief thought was all it took for Alec to catch it. His eyes widened at the thought of her taking a swing at him, then darkened as he realized it was the closest option he had to salvation.
"Do it."
"Alec, I…"
"I'm beggin' you, Maxie. Please. Just do it."
She nodded once, then drew her fist back and let it fly straight into his stubbled jaw. Alec was out before the pain could even register.
"Max?" Josh questioned, having no idea what had just happened between the two transgenics.
"Let's go, Big Fella. We've gotta keep moving."
Max and Joshua hoofed it through the rough terrain until they reached the rally point where Logan waited with bated breath. He broke out into a relieved smile when he saw Max emerge but his face fell again when a limp Alec was carried into view.
"What happened?" he asked as they clambered into the back of his van. "Is he…?"
"He's alive," Max verified, helping Joshua situate the unconscious transgenic on the floor. "But it's bad, Logan. He can't control the connection and it's stronger than ever now. We need to get him back to your place ASAP, and he's going to need medical attention."
"On it." Logan threw the vehicle into drive while pulling out his cell phone to alert Dr. Sam Carr of their predicament. Sam agreed to meet them at Logan's apartment within the hour.
Logan glanced up into the rearview mirror and watched as Max eased Alec's left hand onto his stomach and placed hers over it. If pressed, she would say she was doing it to keep his wounded shoulder from getting jostled too much as they traveled down the bumpy roads. But he knew it was her way of letting Alec know that he wasn't alone.
"How'd you get out of there?" Logan felt obligated to ask.
"Renfro escorted us out," Max replied. "To be honest, it all seemed a little too easy."
Logan frowned. "You don't think this is some sort of trap, do you?"
"That's exactly what this is. Alec says we're being tracked, and his visions haven't been wrong yet. I just have to figure out how they're doing it. Joshua, help me get the jacket off him. Watch his shoulder though."
Joshua easily pulled Alec up and rested him against his chest again, pawing the jacket off the transgenic's arms in the process. Max slid closer and began her inspection, lifting each arm carefully and running her fingers over every puncture wound she could see, searching for any hard bumps beneath Alec's skin that could be implanted technology of some sort.
Next, she checked the back of his neck, remembering all too well the little explosive White had embedded near Alec's brain stem a few months back but there wasn't even a scar to show for it now.
Her fingers glided strategically across his chest and over his abdomen. The heat that was emanating from his body made her cringe but she'd be lying if she said the smooth muscles beneath her fingertips didn't stir something deep inside of her. As OC once told her, Manticore sure knew how to make 'em pretty. Damn, she was glad Alec was unconscious for this.
Pulling her hands back, she shot a look towards Logan who was already staring at her in the mirror, a hurt look of realization in his eyes. The man didn't miss much. She'd answer to him later though. Now was not the time to deal with conflicting emotions. They were all in danger until the tracker was found and destroyed.
She huffed in annoyance when her search didn't end with positive results. "I don't see anything. It's not here."
"They could've stuck something to your clothing instead," Logan suggested, trying to get his head on track again. "You'll all have to change when we get back and then burn those outfits to be safe."
Max frowned in mock sadness. "Damn. I really liked this shirt too…"
Silence filled the van for a while as everyone's minds ran off in different directions. Eventually, Logan's throat clearing brought them all back to the here and now.
"Max, what're we gonna do when he wakes up?"
She shook her head, absently playing with Alec's hair as she contemplated how many wires had been crossed inside his skull thanks to Manticore. "I dunno. But we better think of somethin' fast."
Between the three of them, they were easily able to manhandle Alec up into Logan's apartment safely. But they were surprised to find they weren't the first people to arrive. A man stood in the far corner, more or less concealed by shadows as he took in the scenic view through the tall windows.
"Hey!" Max called out the moment her senses caught onto the intruder. "Who the hell are…?"
Her jaw dropped as the man turned, a small smile gracing his wizened face. "Hello, Max. It's been a while."
TBC
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