BEEP- I'm sorry Fayth is not in to take your call. I am officially in hiding. If you'd like to leave a message, please leave a review at the end of the story and I will get back to you. BEEP.
Chapter 18- Suffer a little
The meeting broke up pretty quickly once Pix had made his escape and the various transgenics realised that they had things that they had to do.
Max and Alec decided that they'd take Pix's example and get some air and Alec wanted to ask Normal about taking on some additional workers.
The rest of the gang scattered to continue their assignments, and to make sure that Zack and Emma were all right, or at least in one piece.
As they filed out of the room Dek came and stood in front of Ben, blocking his exit with half a smile.
"Hey, Ben, can we talk?"
Ben looked at him, running the gamut of possible responses to that through his head.
He settled for the marginally polite: "No" and tried to walk by.
Dek sidestepped in front of him. "I'm serious."
Ben eyed him. "In that outfit?"
Dek smirked, amused. "And here I thought fashion wasn't one of your hot-spots," he looked Ben up and down. "Go figure."
"I was about to, but some dumb ass stood in the way."
"Ain't that a bitch?" Dek shook his head mock-sadly.
Ben struggled not to smile. He really didn't want to like Dek. Dek was right up there with Alec on his list of people he wanted to see eviscerated.
"You wanted something, Dick?"
Dek let that slide. "I just wanted to say thanks for looking after Drew."
"My pleasure," Ben leered, hoping to antagonise him. "Really."
Dek watched him carefully and then grinned. "You're cute."
"You're not my type!" Ben maintained, somewhat taken aback. "And shame on you for hitting on me."
Dek really struggled to hold back a smile at Ben's words. When Drew had told him that she had slept with some guy he had been both hurt and dispirited. They had spent most of the night just talking, explaining where they had been and what they had been doing and Dek had gained a greater insight into the man who had not only taken her into his home, but into his heart.
He couldn't fault the man's taste and had hoped to let the guy know that there were no hard feelings on his part.
He had expected to find a somewhat solitary, almost scary man who hated him on sight.
He hadn't expected to find a kindred spirit with the same sense of humour and attitudes that he, himself had. He hadn't expected to like Ben.
Dek pouted at Ben, his eyes glittering. "Tease."
"I'm not a tease," Ben said, tongue firmly in cheek. "I'm just a reminder of what you can't have." He shook his head quickly. "Look, pal, I really don't have time for any macho pissing contest. If I wanted to trade insults with a moron, I'd find my twin."
Dek laughed and inclined his head. "I think you'll find that Alec is good for many things—"
"Cannon fodder?" suggested Ben.
"I was going to say target practice, but yours works too." Dek regarded him oddly. "Great minds obviously think alike."
"So do evil geniuses," Ben retorted quickly.
"All I'm saying is that we could be friends."
And Dek had a feeling that they would be. Good friends.
"Are you a glutton for punishment?" Ben wanted to know. "I've been sleeping with your girlfriend."
"So have I." Dek shrugged. "As long as you don't touch her again I'd say it proves you have taste. Drew said you like Max, guess who she has been sleeping with?"
Ben was impressed despite his irritation at Dek's casual confession. "You? Not 49-dork?"
"49-dork," Dek chuckled. "I gotta use that one. Alec was a little off recently and Max needed a shoulder to lean on."
"Good shoulders?"
"Waterproof. It's the shoulder pads." Dek laughed. "Girls go nuts."
"Obviously."
Dek sobered slightly. "You seem to be a few soldiers short of a platoon yourself."
Ben found himself staring at Drew's boyfriend with growing suspicions that weren't welcome. "I guess you could say that our perceptions of reality may differ slightly."
"The thing is, I know that you took care of Drew when she needed it. I appreciate that, but I love her and have done for years."
Ben and Dek stood there in the silent room and weighed each other up.
He was sure that he loved Drew, well as much as he was able, but seeing the sincerity in this man's eyes he wondered if it had been love after all.
Whatever it had been, it had been powerful and real and Ben missed it. But he had seen the raw pain in Drew's eyes whenever she spoke about Dek and the fact that this man would go out of his way to make nice with someone that he should have, by all rights, wanted dead, was enough to make Ben think twice about his original plan to pursue Drew.
Ben sighed. "When you're done talking in circles, be sure and let me know, Dick, I'm tired."
"Drew's told me about you, all about you."
"I doubt that," Ben began, thinking about their chase on the rooftops and his odd habits of mutilating people.
"Don't," Dek said abruptly with a knowing nod. "No secrets here."
Ben swallowed. "Everything?"
"Let's just say that orthodontists have supplanted clowns as my nightmare of choice."
"Great," Ben raked a hand through his hair. He had wanted to pass himself off with some degree of credibility here. He was aware that both Max and Alec… and Zack, knew of his extra-curricular activities but Max loved him too much and Alec was too noble to say anything to anyone else. Zack was far too arrogant to say much of anything that he didn't have to. He had assumed that after what he and Drew had shared that she would be more circumspect with his secrets.
Obviously not.
"Bitch."
Dek's mouth lifted in a half-smile. "Yeah, but she's my bitch… in a non-prison movie kind of way."
"I'd like for her to hear you say that."
Dek shuddered dramatically and Ben laughed suddenly feeling better about all of this.
Dek was a good guy. He had been expecting to hand Drew back to some asshole like….well, like Zack, or Alec, actually.
To find that Dek was actually more like him than he was comfortable with was something of a shock and eased the resentment he had been feeling towards the guy.
"So, what is it you want from me, Dick? The old "stay away from my girl' line?"
"If I had to say that she wouldn't be my girl," Dek finished the line and the two men nodded approvingly at each other.
Ben raked a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his neck in a absent gesture. Did he want Drew that badly? Or was she a substitute for Max? Did he want to screw up a potential friendship over something that would have petered out soon anyway?
He looked Dek up and down.
"I really wanted to dislike you," Ben confessed.
"Go for it. Hell, I still hate you."
"Promise?" Ben said hopefully and enjoyed the solidarity as Dek grinned.
"Oddly that makes me feel better," Ben said.
Dek nodded. "You can't argue with a sick mind."
"At least not safely."
There was an odd kind of peace between them; a peace that came from knowing that they were surprisingly similar and had only the girl's welfare in mind.
Dek actually found himself hoping that Ben would get over Drew quickly so that they could be friends. He imagined Ben would be a great partner in Alec-bating.
"Maybe once you've gotten rid of your feelings for my girl we could hang out, go… drinking."
"Get tattoos?" Ben asked innocently and was rewarded when Dek shivered.
"Get real."
Ben turned to leave.
Dek thought about the meeting that they had just finished and the way that Ben had seemed to deliberately bait Alec.
"You know, I don't care much for Alec, either."
Ben froze and glanced over his shoulder. "Really?"
"Really. Let's just say that we've clashed more than once. He's a good guy, though. Handsome too. Not as good looking as me, obviously."
Ben's face split into a grin. "I'm sure we could do a pity drink or something."
"Thank you for befriending me, sir," Dek simpered mockingly.
Ben shrugged. "It's a thankless job. But I have a lot of Karma to burn off."
"Karma, calories," Dek shook his head as he looked at Ben's non-existent stomach. "We can make it a Lite beer."
Ben suggested something anatomically impossible and left Dek laughing in pure delight.
Dammit. He liked Dek; that wasn't in the plan.
When he walked out of the door the first thing he saw was Drew pacing outside, biting her lip.
She turned as soon as she heard him and her face flushed a little.
"Ben? Listen, I'm sor—"
Ben held his hand up thinking about Drew and the guy within the room who was probably listening.
Dek was an okay guy, one he could see himself getting along with— providing he got over Drew.
He didn't have very many male friends and could see Dek being one of the few.
Drew had also told Dek about some of his more unsavoury habits and that hurt. He dredged up the pain he had felt when he realised that she had spilled his secrets and he pushed it at her.
"You told him about me. Everything."
She shifted uneasily. "I needed a clean slate."
"So you let me get branded? Preconceived notions."
Drew protested. "Dek isn't like that."
"Newsflash, sweetheart, everyone is like that."
Suddenly he reminded her of the Ben she had seen for the first time on the lightning-lit roof, scaring her more than anything ever had before.
"I'm not," she reached for his arm. "I want us to be—"
"Friends?" Ben grinned bitterly. "I'll cut you some slack because of what we had. But friends don't betray each others secrets, Drew. Or maybe they do, I have to admit that it been a while since I had any."
"You never said that you wanted to keep it to yourself," she said, getting annoyed. "I told Dek because he wanted to know who you were. If that pisses you off then maybe that's your incentive to keep you hands out of someone's goddamn mouth!"
And there was his Drew.
Little ball of fire.
He laughed. "Maybe."
She was thrown by his acquiescence. "Oh. Okay."
"What were you sorry about anyway?" he referred to her opening words. "Obviously not about telling Dek."
"No, I'm sorry that they started in on you about the fire. Zack's idea."
Ah that. She was talking about when the others had blamed Ben, Zack and Jace for starting the fire and burning their family. They had blamed him for trying to get Max out.
Blamed him for needing her.
That was something that he would never, ever, apologise for. Seeing Max again was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he needed no deliverance and no intervention.
He'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Ben touched her arm. "You defended me."
She looked down at the floor. "Yeah, I did, I—"
"Don't," he said flatly.
And walked away.
>>>>
Pix took a deep breath, tasting some of his first free air since walking into Terminal City and assuming command.
He stretched and thanked his lucky barcode that his business with Logan hadn't taken very long at all.
The man had been more than thrilled to have some new information to impart, some new bad guys to uncover and some actual proof this time. He'd practically snatched the files from Pix's hand and shooed him out the door, throwing a sandwich at him with such absent-mindedness that Pix wondered if every single transgenic had stolen food from him at one time or another.
Pix was now taking the opportunity to have some well deserved alone time. It felt like he had been surrounded by people all day everyday and he was sick and tired of being answerable to everyone else, despite his being the alleged leader.
He was tired of having to come up with answers that he didn't have; of trying to be the leader that Max assumed he wanted to be and of pretending that he, who had never really listened in lessons, knew what he was doing.
He often wondered why he didn't just take Anna's advice and run as far and as fast as his legs could carry him in the opposite direction, but put it down to the fact that, at the time, Chance had needed him to stay more than she'd needed him to leave and now his family were there.
He couldn't leave them, anymore than he'd been able to forget them for that brief period that they had been apart.
Besides, he'd miss Max and Dek if he did go.
The thought of Max made him think of Alec and the way that Ben seemed to dislike him exceedingly.
Ben might have thought he was being surreptitious with his anti-Alec propaganda, but he didn't know that Pix had spent the majority of his life thinking outside the box and listening to what people didn't say.
It was obvious that Ben was much the same in being able to see what went beneath the obvious, and Pix had more than a sneaking suspicion that he knew Ben's agenda and why he was so against Alec.
Didn't mean that the man didn't have some valid points, Pix thought as he recalled Alec's behaviour. Alec had turned down the C.O. position of Terminal City then thought he could turn around and tell Pix what to do.
If he wanted to be in charge then why the hell didn't he just take the damn position of Pix's hands?
If he doesn't want the job then why couldn't he keep his mouth shut and let Pix get on with it?
Pix rubbed his eyes and attempted to put the thoughts out of his head as he tried to enjoy the fresh air.
>>>>
Otto waited silently as his eyes scanned the heat images that the machine terminal in front of him was putting out.
The thermal scan showed glowing figures walking about and he was looking for any signs of white among the ghostly blue figures on the screen.
"How are we doing?" he asked to a technician who was searching the other side of the city.
"Nothing yet," he answered as he touched the transmitter in his ear. "Positions report."
"Six, got nothing."
"Four, negative."
"Nine, ditto."
The technician frowned. "Position Twelve?"
"Control this is Position Twelve."
"You got something?"
Otto leaned in closer as the tech altered the image to show whatever the man in position twelve was scanning with his hand held device over the other side of the city.
It was the image of a lady outline in white with 100.2 degrees written under her.
"Think so." There was a brief pause. "Never mind. Just an old lady with the flu."
Otto watched as the ghostly white image of an old lady wiped her nose and shuffled along.
"Roger, Position Twelve."
The technician shrugged and looked back up at Otto. "It's slow going but we will find some, sir."
Otto nodded. He knew that this method was meticulous and slow going but it yielded better results than just expecting the transgenics to show up and offer themselves up.
Not that he expected many.
If he were a transgenic he would have gotten out of the city as soon as possible and even sooner than that if he'd known about White.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Speak of the devil.
Otto turned around. "Just routine surveillance with new methods, sir. Authorised by Colonel Lydecker."
When in doubt, pass the blame to someone higher in power.
Ames White's eyes narrowed. "Oh really. What new method?"
"Thermal imager," the technician filled in. "Transgenics have a higher core temperature. We should be able to differentiate them in a crowd."
White blinked and almost seemed wrong footed for a moment. "Whose bright idea was this?"
"Mine, sir." Otto said and White eyed him.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, Otto, but aren't you on my pay roll?"
Otto swallowed. "I—"
Before he could attempt to extract himself from his precarious position, without revealing that he trusted his 'superior' as far as he could throw him, there was a crackle of static and the radio buzzed to life.
"Wait a minute!" said Position Twelve. "Check it out."
Otto, White and the technician, who had been eagerly watching the drama and not the screen, all turned back to the image.
There, clear as day, was a tall figure ambling down the street, his hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched against the slight chill in the air.
He was bright white against the screen and had a thermal temperature of 101.8 degrees.
"Copy Position Twelve. We see him. Stay on him."
"Where's Twelve?" White demanded, his mobile already in his hands.
Otto paused.
"Gottleib?" White threatened.
"Sector Eight. North side."
"Thank you," White said sarcastically. "All Units this is Agent White, I want full surveillance pinpointed on Sector Eight and a full Recall Team in five."
He switched off the phone and turned to Otto. "We'll be talking about this later."
He stormed off and the technician turned to Otto bitterly.
"So much for covert op."
Otto nodded ruefully and turned back to the screen.
>>>>
Pix yawned as he walked down the street, his mind twirling and feeling the breeze rush down his exposed neck. He realised that that meant that his barcode was exposed and he swiftly huddled back under his lightweight jacket, hoping that no one had caught sight of the telltale markings.
Well, no one was screaming about freaks, mutants and monsters so he was probably all right, for now.
Even if that garbage collector was staring at him oddly from the corner of his eye.
And the street vendor.
Pix's heartbeat sped up and his sixth sense began to prickle the back of his neck.
Taking a deep breath he inclined his head and filtered out all of the drone of traffic, the chatter of people and the animal noises and concentrated solely on any and all electrical noises.
There was a faint buzz from a nearby hover drone, probably three blocks away. There were a few fizzes from overhead electrical wires and crackles from a nearby radio.
He listened—really listened— the way that Manticore had taught him and that's when he caught it.
Underneath all of the noise there was a faint hiss of short waves; the same kind that were used for high grade walkie-talkies that had no place on random streets of Seattle.
Without much conscious thought he turned intently to the source of the noise and his eyes caught the startled look of the man in the car, his hands on some high-tech piece of machinery pointed straight at Pix.
>>>>
The white image, on Otto's screen, stopped suddenly in the street and his head turned quickly, fixing directly on the man holding the imager. His head swung over to another of their plants and Otto heard another Position swear.
"Shit!" Otto responded. "He's made us!" He grabbed the controls. "Listen up, people, you've been made. All Units converge."
The Sector cop that had been standing to one side spoke up. "Control this is Position Nine, we are in pursuit."
"Copy that, Position Nine. Calling in back-up."
The technician shivered. "This is about to get ugly."
>>>>
He was being hunted.
All instincts in Pix screamed at him in that one instant, making his eyes almost glow green with the overwhelming animalistic impulse of flight or fight.
Street Vendor, man in the car, garbage collector, two cops on the corner and a hover drone ahead. He was outnumbered and had to get his ass back to base.
Now.
He clenched and unclenched his fists and turned on his heel, starting to run.
"Freeze!" yelled a cop from in front of him, aiming a gun. From overhead there was a loud buzz as the hover drone sped towards him, flashing something in his face.
Pix barely even spared the object a glance as he leaped to one side and disappeared down an alley.
>>>>
White growled as the police radioed in that they had lost the mark.
How much trouble could to be to catch one damned freak? Maybe he'd have to give them a hand.
He swore and grabbed his cell, enraged at their ineptitude.
"News desk?" he inquired, changing his voice as much as he could. He grinned as he emulated Ben's sweeping drawl. "Yeah, this is Derek Zimoya, I'm in Sector eight and this guy has a barcode. The cops are chasing him and I think the hover drone snapped a shot!"
He hung up before they could verify his number or ask how he had gotten theirs.
Now he knew that the news desk would feed into all of the hover drone footage and pick up a picture of the transgenic scum, getting his ugly mug out there on the news.
It would make it that much harder to scuttle back into the woodwork, wouldn't it?
He grinned as he tucked the cell back into his jacket pocket. "Who's the superior species now, huh?"
>>>>
Alec and Max were just enjoying the fact that they were together. Alec had been welcomed back to Jam Pony with something akin to hero worship and even he found that a little embarrassing. Normal was almost in tears at the idea of having his prize "rooster" back in the henhouse, let alone the idea of having more of Alec's fighter buddies similarly to be employed at his place of business.
Max almost mentioned the fact that Alec had a twin brother who might be interested, but figured that Normal's heart wouldn't take the news.
They had left Jam Pony with Sketchy's well wishes, O.C.'s hugs and a well of good feeling.
Alec was even brave enough to reach down and clasp Max's hand as they walked down the side walk, talking about everything and nothing.
"So, O.C knows that you are a transgenic?" Alec whistled. "That's a surprise."
Max grinned thinking of her conversation with the dark-skinned woman who stood up and told her straight up that she knew about Max's secret.
"It was a shock all right," Max replied. "But she was surprisingly okay with it all."
She cocked her head thinking for a second. "I think she was more annoyed at the fact that I hadn't told her, more than anything."
Alec nodded. "I see how keeping secrets can screw things up."
Max registered the odd tone of his voice. "Alec?"
"Did you see how Pix was with me?" he asked.
"How?" Max was slightly distracted by some gorgeous bike covers in one window.
"He was off," Alec frowned. "So was Zan. I think your brother has turned them against me."
Max shook her head absently. "Just because you and Zack—"
"I was talking about Ben," he interrupted and Max swung her gaze to him.
"Ben?" she said startled. "What does he have to do with Pix and Zan; they'd never met before two days ago. I hardly think he's gonna turn them against you. Sheesh, talk about childish."
Alec glowered at her. "Ben doesn't like me."
"Neither does Zack. Neither does Mole… but then I don't think he likes anyone much," she thought about it. "Except Feen and let me tell you how odd that is—"
"Max!" Alec called. "Not to be self-centred or anything but can we get back to talking about me."
Max shrugged. "So, Ben doesn't like you. You're hardly his number one fan but you're not turning people against him. He's your twin, Alec. He may be a bit—defensive, but he's not a bad guy."
Alec gave her a look. "He ripped people's teeth out for a living."
Max narrowed her eyes. "It's easy, let me show you how."
He held his hands up, humour returning to him. "I still think he's out to get me."
"So am I," Max said with a pretty smile.
Alec waggled his brows and gave a wolfish smile. "I don't mind your kind of 'getting'."
Max rolled her eyes. "Okay, so what was the thing with Pix?"
Alec thought about it. "He was snappy and kinda mean. Back in TC, he has never got nasty before."
Max looked down at their entwined hands. "Alec, I think he was probably annoyed at me. After all I was the one who was revealed to be a little runaway, again," she muttered despondently. "He was probably disappointed."
"No," Alec refuted. "It was before that came out."
"Are you saying I am a runaway?" she arched an eyebrow at him, letting him know that he was on thin ice and Alec laughed.
"Beautiful sunshine, Max, lovely day, you wanna start a fight?"
"Do you think I'm a runaway?" she said squeezing his hand tighter until she heard the bones creak.
"Ahhh…no," Alec said wincing at the pain in his bones. Max gave a satisfied smile until Alec yanked her into a nearby alley and kissed her senseless.
>>>>
Feen idly flicked the channel, her feet draped over the edge of the command terminal.
"Boring, boring, boring." She sighed and tilted her head back to fix her friends with a baleful glance. "When are you gonna set me up with cable?"
Techie ignored her and continued twisting pieces of wire together.
"Dix?" Feen whined plaintively and turned to the monocle man. "Cable?"
The man didn't bother looking up. "It's on my list of things to do."
"Really?" she perked up.
"Yeah, right after complete surveillance of every sector, building a car and, oh yeah, world peace."
Feen pouted. "Mole! He's being mean."
Mole hid a grin behind his cigar. "Give over, Princess, you have to do better than that, can't you do it yourself? What did they teach your pretty ass in Manticore?"
She eyed him. "How to kick yours."
"Bring it on," Mole laughed and Feen grinned.
She had finished her rotations and security detail and now she was looking for something to keep her occupied. Dix and Luke were monitoring screens. Techie and his new best friend, one of Flex's little kids, Isacar, were twisting even more twisty bits of wire together. Zan was currently sitting with Max's brother, Ben, talking in low voices and Feen was bored.
She flicked a few more channels before Zan reached over and grabbed the remote off her.
"Knock it off, Feen; some of us are trying to concentrate!"
Feen rolled her eyes and turned to Techie. "What'cha doing?"
"Calibrating," he answered distractedly.
She rolled her eyes knowing better than to try to get a longer answer out of him. She tried his new side-kick Isacar.
"What are you doing?"
"Ignoring you," he answered honestly, tucking a strand of ice-blond hair behind his ears and pretending not to see her sticking her tongue out at him.
"Chance!" Feen said gleefully as her friend came over. "Save me from mindless boredom."
"You could always help me with the kids?" Chance offered knowing full well that Feen would rather be terminally bored.
"Allergies," Feen waved away the idea.
"Allergies?" Zan laughed. "To what?"
"Baby germs, infants, formula, kids in general." Feen shrugged. "Take your pick, really."
Zan's laugh was full and throaty and it felt good to hear it after so long.
Feen beamed and even Chance found herself smiling despite her unease at how long Pix had been gone.
"Has Zan finally cracked?" Flex asked from somewhere down on the floor.
"No, what are you doing here?" Zan asked. "I thought you were doing something with your brats."
"Greeks," Flex corrected. "I was just coming to get Isacar for lunch."
Zan peered at Isacar with interest. "Well, he's a little stringy. Tell Skye that she'd be better off with Cece's chicken soup."
"My sides ache with the sheer effort of merriment," Isacar deadpanned. "Cease and desist your humour lest I keel over."
"Smart-ass," Flex reprimanded fondly.
Ben just watched their interactions with bemusement. "You remind me of Max when she was younger."
"Little Max?" Chance laughed. "Imagine that."
Zan's eyes lit up. "Ooh, I have just realised that we have an expert on baby Max. You know what this means?"
Flex, too, had a glint in his eyes as he leaped over the banister to land by his friend. "Blackmail potential!"
The two men stared at Ben with beseeching expressions and he couldn't help but laugh.
A devilish look crossed Ben's face before he assumed an expression of innocence. "You mean Maxie didn't tell you about the teddy bear thing?"
Flex clasped his hands together in delight. "I have a new best friend!"
Dix shook his head, realising that he would never understand the X-series as long as he lived.
He flicked his attention back to the television as Feen clicked the channels again.
Click.
"Of course I do, Monty—"
Click.
"It's not your baby—"
Click.
"99 of household germs—"
Click.
"We'll find dad, Dean. But Jess—"
Click.
"We'll repeat this important bulletin again. If you see this individual, please alert the authorities immediately."
"SHIT!" Feen practically fell off her chair and all eyes turned to the screen.
"What?"
Feen looked frantically at an ashen Chance.
"It's Pix."
Chance's stomach dropped to her feet as a picture of Pix flashed onto the screen, his eyes dark and worried.
The anchorwoman didn't know or care about the distress she was causing several people in the forsaken city as she continued in her bland monotone. "This alleged transgenic is considered to be a dangerous fugitive and should not be approached under any circumstances. It is unclear if the suspect is armed."
There was a moment of silence before an explosion of noise erupted around the command centre with Chance in the middle.
Ben hurried over to the girl's side.
"Chance?"
"Call Alec," she gasped, her lungs on fire. "Please, someone call Alec."
>>>>
When Alec finally broke away they were both breathing hard.
"Max?"
He gave a smug smirk as she blinked rapidly.
"Hmm?" She reached for him again, slipping her hands into his back pockets and touching her favourite part of him.
It was a perfect moment in an imperfect world.
Of course, it couldn't last.
Alec's cell played loudly and Max held back a laugh as he let her go to reach for it.
"Alec?" she grinned, unable to hide her amusement. "Please tell me that your cell doesn't play the Harry Potter theme tune?"
Alec ducked his head sheepishly. "It doesn't."
"Liar," Max walked out of the alley to window shop as he answered his phone, following her into the bright sunshine.
"Yeah, Alec here." He rolled his eyes. "Hey Zan, what's up?"
Max's attention would have been captured by the suddenly straightened posture of her mate if her focus hadn't been on the screens in the window and the images flashing on them.
"Alec?" Max's tone was urgent.
"Hold on," he said seriously as he listened to Zan's words, his face growing more serious and his eyes darkening. "Where, when?"
"Alec."
"Not now, Max," he snapped. "Shit."
Max spun on her heel and grabbed him by the elbow almost throwing him into the window of the shop she had been looking at.
Alec was about to yell at her when he saw what she had been staring at.
Pix's face, clear as day on the plasma screen television.
"What did Zan say? Is Pix okay? Has he checked in? Is he on his way?" Max exploded. "Damn, what the hell was he thinking!"
Alec let out a curse as loud as he dared and grabbed Max's elbow in a crushing grip. He marched her back to the alleyway, their dispositions very different from when he had done so before. There was no thought of stolen kisses now as she yanked her arm out of his grip.
"Where the hell is he?" she hissed, her eyes wild.
"Zan said that he was on his way back from Logan's."
"Sector Eight," Max said and went to move off but he caught her hand.
"Max, Max?"
Max couldn't see the blatant murder that was written on her face, but Alec could and for one of the only times in his life, he was scared of Max. Her eyes reminded him of tigers just before they pounced, pure black but for slivers of flecked gold. Her teeth were somehow more pronounced; although that could have been the way her lips were curled back in a feral snarl.
Her hands were curled into claws and she looked every inch the feline that she was taken from.
"What?" she practically yelled. "We have to go find him!"
"And we will," Alec soothed in the kind of tone that Max associated with someone trying to tame a wild animal. "But if you out in public looking like that. People. Will. Kill. You."
Max visibly shook from head to toe, her whole body trembling with the effort to calm down.
"Calm down, baby," he shushed and stroked her hair. "We'll find him, I promise."
There was something about the way that Alec said that that made Max suck in huge gulping breaths, like she had been drowning before and hadn't even known it.
The thing was that Max didn't know what was going on and Alec did. He had read the report that Tara had complied back in Manticore detailing all of their animalistic traits. He'd wanted to know more about why they reacted in certain ways in certain situations; like when they had all poured all over Max when she was upset.
After taking in the majority of Tara's report, he researched even deeper; looking into ways animals interacted just in case there were more instances than they knew of. He was well aware that some animals acted instinctively with hate and protectiveness when one of their kin was threatened and he realised that, with their recent argument, Max was on edge where Pix was concerned.
Add those two factors together and you get Max overreacting at the thought that Pix might be in danger.
Guilt was a powerful force.
"Shh," Alec rocked her back and forth until some semblance of normality had returned and she moved away, shaking herself.
"Okay. I'm okay."
Alec merely smiled softly. Sure she was.
"Let's go find him."
>>>>
Pix was cornered and he knew it. The men had been watching from every corner and no matter where he went, he found his way blocked.
Two blocks into a chase someone yelled out "transgenic freak" and pointed at him. Unfortunately he was right in front of a gang of thugs with a metal cup proclaiming "Humans against mutants". They'd taken one look at him and…Well, things got ugly real fast.
Instinct overrode training as they got closer and Pix made several stupid mistakes and ended up trapped in a dead end with no way of jumping or climbing over the sixty foot wall.
"Shit!" he cursed and spun in a wild circle like a cornered animal, his eyes desperately searching for a way out.
From the mouth of the alley, shadows moved into play and Pix's wild eyes counted at least twelve men holding sticks and makeshift bats.
He swallowed.
"You guys have the wrong guy!" he held up his hands. "I mean, c'mon, is this the face of a mutant? I haven't got feline DNA… Hey, I'm lactose intolerant!"
His lame attempt at misdirection wasn't working and they came closer; he could smell the stale scent of their sweat and old beer, a lethal combination of alcohol and stupidity.
The men moved closer. "You freaks need to go back to where you came from."
"Okay!" Pix forced a smile and held his hands up. "I'll go."
"We'll help," one lifted his weapon, a jagged scar over his face proclaiming that he was used to this kind of situation.
"No, no, no," Pix shook his head. "No need, fellas. But my country and I thank you for your assistance."
"Smart ass!" one hissed and Pix could feel the sweat trickling down his back.
"Look, there are hover drones all over," he tried to reason. "If you beat me to death they'll have evidence of murder one."
Scarface grinned. "Who's gonna care? It ain't murder if it ain't human."
Pix gave up. If he was going to go down, he was doing it on his terms. "I see that logic, along with looks, bypassed you gentlemen. I assure you that, despite media representation, my pedigree is far superior to yours."
"We're going to kill you."
Pix shrugged. "Whatever gets you off. There is just one thing I have to know."
"What?"
"Were your parents related before they were married?"
White smiled from his vantage point just west of the alley as he heard the first punch land with a sickening crunch and his eyes flitted to the hover drones as they edged above the alley, capturing the fight and broadcasting it to the nation.
He stepped back as there was a move back towards the main street and four men dragged a bloodied transgenic into the square where they dropped him.
The transgenic surged sluggishly to his feet and kicked out at the nearest man, managing to send him sprawling backwards into his buddies.
>>>>
Metres above them, the hover drone cameras whirled and clicked.
>>>>
Her eyes were riveted to the screen as the footage was shown.
As soon as Pix's picture was shown Chance had wanted to leave, to run and find him, joining the team that had assembled almost faster than the speed of light, but she was stopped by Zan who, reasonably, pointed out that she was far too overwrought to make any kind of sensible decision and, in fact, she would only be jeopardizing Pix.
Tearfully she had agreed to stay behind, seeing the wisdom of his words.
That was until she had seen the hover drone footage.
At first it showed Pix cornered in an alley, shooting wise cracks and for an impossible moment she wondered if he'd manage to joke his way out of it.
Then one of the men swung a baseball bat at him and all hell broke loose.
Chance refused to let them change the channel and kept her eyes glued to the screen as Zan grabbed a gun and hollered for back up.
She didn't know or care if there was a god of transgenics, but she prayed.
She prayed as Mole and Zan left the centre; she prayed as Tara followed, screaming for supplies and she prayed as Feen moved beside her for moral support.
With each swing, each crack and each fist imploding into his face sent knives into her heart and her nails cut half-moons into her palms as her hands clenched in fear, in pain and in desperation.
Chance's breath came hard and fast, her eyes never moving from the static-filled screen as the picture of Pix flickered in and out.
Her hands clutched at her shirt as if trying to claw out the pain that was spreading throughout her body.
Thick, hot tears rolled down her face and dripped off her chin, but she remained oblivious to everything save that one metal box; the box that showed the face of the man that she loved more than creation itself.
Her breath caught as she watched two burly men grab hold of Pix's shirt, tearing it to reveal the unflawed perfection that she had run her hands over just this morning.
A gash marred the soft skin and blood, red as any human's, ran freely from the wound.
Pix crumpled to the ground and dark shadows overtook him, blocking out his picture from her view.
A soft keening filled the room as Chance rocked backwards and forwards grabbing frantically at anything to keep her grounded, to let reality reassert itself.
There was no way that this could be happening.
Hard hands took her shoulders and Chance reached back, grasping anything and her back met a hard solid chest; firm and real.
Her head shook faster and faster as the arms pulled her in tight, rocking her like a child.
Ben tightened his grip on the shaking girl as she began to tremble in earnest and it was all he could do to hold on when she began to fight to reach the screen.
Sobs fought their way up her tight throat, rubbed raw from the muffled screams she was holding back. A choked anguished cry fled her lips, starling everyone in the room who had turned to silence.
"NO!" she screamed and her knees gave way. Those same strong arms caught her and held her, letting her bury her head in a shoulder of comfort.
A large hand blocked her view of the screen and she battled to keep her eyes on Pix.
"No, no," soothed the voice as the body rocked back and forth. "Don't watch. Don't watch it."
"Pix," she wailed. "D—!"
Her voice reduced to animalistic howls, ragged weeping was all that came from the girl as she slid to the floor, wrapped in the arms of her comforter.
>>>>
Pix's vision spun in and out as his body returned to auto-pilot. A punch landed in his solar plexus and even though Pix gasped, 418 retaliated with a fist in a face.
He stumbled, his leg broken and pressed one hand to his aching chest, battered by impact with a wall. He was fading fast and knew it.
A quick twist of his hands had him snapping the neck of one of his attackers but it was too little too late. He was overrun and even though they were human, metal pipes and wooden boards evened the odds somewhat.
A burning pain exploded down one shoulder as it was wrenched from its socket and a scream was torn from a throat that bruised and bleeding.
Pix choked on the blood that ran slickly down his throat and spat deep red liquid over whoever was nearest.
A last sign of defiance.
A baseball bat to the back of the head had him falling to broken knees, like he was praying, and a metal pipe to the jaw switched out the lights.
>>>>
In the end it wasn't hard to find Pix. They just followed the screams and the throng of people who gathered to the scene like spectators at a macabre accident.
The humans who prided themselves on their civilisation wanted to watch someone get killed and flocked like it was a Sunday picnic.
The night was creeping in, adding a far more sinister element to the already frightening situation with shadows dancing amongst the crowds like demons.
By the time Max and Alec had found them, the street was full and all they could hear were the yells of encouragement from down the front. They split up to try to get to Pix, each coming from a different side in the vain hopes that the crowds would be thinner from one corner.
Max watched from the sidelines, battling as hard as could to get to Pix, but the crowd was too big. She rammed her elbows into bodies and screamed his name, fighting the people who had assembled to watch the death of a transgenic.
"Damn you," she choked, her words hard. "MOVE!"
Alec was having as much trouble from the other end, too many bodies and not enough room to manoeuvre. He, being taller than Max, could see what was happening and his stomach turned as yet another fist ploughed into Pix's face, spurting blood over the nearest horde member.
The cheers and jeers of the crowd echoed like death-knells in his sensitive ears and he hated each and every one of these people with an intensity that he hadn't felt since Manticore.
Max leaped up on the back of the nearest person, desperately needing confirmation of what she suspected and, as her knees made contact with someone's kidneys, she cleared the crowds and caught sight of Pix.
Breath rushed out of Max's body like a gush of wind. His face, his beautiful face, was a mass of blood, his lips were torn and his hair was in chunks, masses of his chestnut locks scattered at his feet.
His arm was hanging at an odd angle proclaiming it broken and his sweet mischievous eyes were shut, blood matting those long lashes closed. Someone had ripped his shirt and scraped something down his back leaving it in shreds, blood soaking the shirt Chance had brought as a present for him.
He was indistinguishable from the man who had sat in the command centre with her that morning, joking about Dek and Aiden.
Now he looked like a mass of meat—disjointed and broken.
Oh, God. They broke him.
"String him up!" someone yelled and there was a chorus of cheers.
"No!" Max heard Alec's yell from the other side of the crowd and it spurred her to move faster.
She brought her fists down in an almighty force on the person she was sitting on, knocking him to the floor.
Surging forwards into the crowds, Max let her rage take her even as it all seemed to be going in slow motion. She used her fists and nails, teeth and legs as she tried desperately to fight the crowds, not caring that she was ridiculously outnumbered.
Her clawed hands snapped a neck and a shocked scream from one side of her had people moving away from her.
A flare of light caught her gaze and her head turned instinctively as someone poured gasoline on a bonfire, a wooden 'X' obscenely obvious.
Behind the flaming cross was a hangman's noose.
And they were dragging Pix's lifeless body towards it.
Pushing onwards through the crowds Max felt like she had that day in Manticore when she had fallen through the ice; helpless, hopeless and swimming against the current towards her destruction.
Yells were muffled and the sound echoed in her head like a dull roar.
"NO!" she screamed; her throat raw from the smoke starting to billow over the masses.
Max stumbled and glanced down to see a wooden fragment, splintered and somehow missed from the morbid inferno.
Her hands grasped its rotted beams, splinters jabbing her with poisoned barbs, and she swung it, scattering those in front of her as they felt the hard impact.
Like a demon possessed, Max swung and slammed, creating space around her where there had been none, enough room to kick and jump forwards, getting ever closer to those carrying the body of her dearest friend.
With a primal war cry Max leaped into the air, higher than she had ever jumped and soared over the crowds, landing within feet of the object of her frantic attentions.
Two men had hold of Pix's arms, dragging him like a bloody sack of potatoes. They turned at hearing Max's approach and started in surprise at the pretty girl brandishing a plank of wood like it was a baseball bat.
"Put. Him. Down," she growled, sounding feral, not knowing that blood streamed down her face, made shiny by the flickering flames making her look like the monster they proclaimed her to be.
"You one of them?" one sneered, obviously thinking what he could do to such a pretty transgenic before he killed her.
"I'm the worst," she snarled as she pulled back the wood. With all her heart and all her strength Max thrust the impromptu stake forward, straight into the belly of the attacker—and through it.
The screams faded into silence and the only sound was the crackling of the flames behind them and the far away wail of a siren.
In slow, meticulous movements, the man stared down at the stake that protruded from his body.
The crowd hushed at the spectacle of the man's pale face staring incomprehensibly at the wood adorning his body and then back up at the cold face of Max. He coughed once and blood dribbled from his mouth, spreading down his chin, staining his shirt with his own blood, undistinguishable from Pix's.
With a choked sound he fell to his knees, his body as motionless as Pix.
Silence filled the crowd as Max turned her evil gaze to the other man who had been frozen by sight of his friend's body dropping to the floor.
A dark stain spread over the front of his trousers as he met those piercing eyes, proclaiming that this was not a happy person; that this was not a person to mess with; that this was danger personified. This was the reason that man shouldn't mess with nature because, at some point, nature would fight back.
Max snarled, her teeth showing and he dropped Pix's other arm, stepping back quickly.
Max turned slowly as he tried to make it to the safety of the crowd, her eyes following his every move until she was face on with the hoards.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Alec finally make his way through the stationary mob, knocking aside a cameraman who knew he had his Pulitzer in his hand as the conflict escalated.
Alec knelt in front of Pix, his eyes closing at the badly beaten man.
"God, Max," he retched as he tried to find some indication of life, his hands sliding in the thick fluid as he tried to hold his friend.
"Is he alive?" Max asked, her eyes intent on the hostile factions in front of her who were gathering courage from the sheer numbers that they had.
Alec tried desperately to find a pulse, his fingers sliding over the neck, slick with spilled life-blood.
"Max, I, I— can't— find," he spoke brokenly, all thought of machismo gone.
Manticore had taught them to how to survive, how to suffer and how to keep silent, but it hadn't taught them how to cope with love lost, how to cope with hearts broken or souls shattered. And even a transgenic broke at the final indignity.
Death.
Max's heart lay shattered at her feet as Alec's ragged breaths heaved behind her and, for the first time since that woods so long ago, 452 came out to play.
452 looked up through the eyes of Max to survey the crowds.
Guilty. Every single one of them was guilty.
And she would make them pay.
Drawing up every ounce of anger, every slice of pain and every inch of hate, Max advanced on the crowds wanting to make them hurt like she did.
The crowds seemed scared but willing to believe in mass over might until a roar erupted from the left and the right.
The crowds spun trying to source the noise and gasped as three trucks pulled up, headlights blazing against the night sky.
Blinking at the bright light each person watched as figures emerged from the machines.
Figures silhouetted in the dark as monsters from their darkest nightmares.
Frightened snivels and screams filled the night air as people jostled from left to right knowing that they were surrounded, but trying to flee. They were still larger on number but fear gripped them.
And guns evened the odds somewhat.
Max nodded at the reinforcements as Tara hurtled from the truck on the right with her bag, racing to kneel by Pix's side.
"Fucking traffic." Max had never heard Tara use such language and it added an essence of surrealism to the already hellish situation.
Mole hurried over to Max and handed her a gun, eliciting scared whimpers from the crowd.
"Scared now, we're not so defenceless?" Max sneered pitilessly. "Should have thought of that before."
Max waited until the engines rumbled to a halt and then allowed her attention back to the crowds who trembled at her fury.
She turned to the man who had dragged Pix's body and stared him right in the eye.
"I. Know. You. Now," she said softly, scarily. "Your face is here." She tapped the side of her head. "There is nowhere that you can go. There is nowhere that you can hide. Should you run, I will hunt you down."
"Transgenic scum!" a voice called from somewhere in the middle of the crowd and Max's head spun towards it.
"Come here and say that."
No one moved.
"Cowards," she spat. "That's what you all are. He was one, ONE, against all of you. He wasn't the one lynching an innocent man."
"You're not human!"
"So he was made in a lab. Invitro testing has been done for generations," she yelled. "Your children benefit from what was tested on us. Hypocrites!"
Max spied the camera man intent on her and she strode over, grabbing him by the hair.
"You want an exclusive, is that what you want?"
The scared man nodded and she yanked his hair, dragging him over to the bloody body of her friend.
She grabbed the lens of the camera and focused it on the battered face of her friend and leader.
"See that? You see your 'humanity'. He was going out for groceries for the children you starve and you do this. What colour is this?"
The man stared at the blood that littered her hands, the blood that surrounded the ground, and the blood that dripped down her face.
"What colour?" she all but screamed.
"Red."
"Why is that different to you?" Max asked, her eyes on his ignoring the camera as her tortured eyes were shown the world over. "We bleed. We hurt. We want to be left alone. We haven't hurt you but, by God, you are making it easy to. We were made to be soldiers and we have fought for you and your country and this is the thanks we get? You—you—you say we are monsters?" Her voice went hoarse as she looked at Pix's body. "Look at him. LOOK AT HIM! There's your story."
"Max!" Tara said urgently and Max released the cameraman who darted back into the crowd, glad to be away from the woman who scared and humbled him.
"I got a pulse."
Max's heart pounded.
"It's faint, but it's there," Tara exclaimed breathlessly. "We have to get him to TC. Now."
Max nodded and Alec and three other X's gently lifted Pix.
"Careful, don't puncture anything," Tara instructed, a calmness filling her as she switched to doctor mode.
The crowds parted like the Red Sea as the procession edged through to the larger truck, Tara jumping in to stabilise her patient.
"Alec?" Max asked, her eyes never moving from the crowds.
"I'm going," he said in a voice so clear and stable that it settled the nerves she was feeling at letting Pix out of her sight.
She half-turned to look at him, expecting some sort of warning about not blowing their cover or watching the camera's, or at least a caution to be careful; but after a quick searching of her eyes Alec just smiled ruefully.
"I'll take care of things at home," he said in a low voice. "Trust me and… and do what you need to."
Max nodded and watched as Alec clambered into the back of the truck, his hands immediately drenched in Pix's blood as he helped to staunch the flow.
"Atta boy," Mole whispered approvingly.
The eyes of all watched as the truck roared to life and sped out of the area like a bat out of hell.
Max closed her eyes, hope spreading through her. The murmur of voices alerted her to her audience and Max opened her eyes.
"We wanted to be left alone. If you insist on dragging us into the light, don't blame us if you don't like the view." She headed towards them and they, as one, stepped back. "We would have been happy in retirement. But you changed all that and I'm here to tell you now, that if he dies because of what you've done, nothing will keep me from dusting off my governmentally appointed skills and hunting each and every single one of you down and doing the same to you as you've done to him. Photographic memory," she tapped her head again mockingly. "Your tax dollars at work."
She sauntered over to the truck and climbed in slamming the door as the truck squealed out of the square.
>>
Max leaned her head against the glass window watching as the lights flickered by.
No one wanted to interrupt her silent reverie and they were all more than shocked at seeing their leader act like that.
It was almost as if she had regressed to primitive animalistic rage and it scared them as much as impressed them because they knew that within themselves lay the potential to be the same.
It wasn't until Jace, the designated driver, swerved that Max realised something was wrong.
"What?" she snapped tiredly and Jace straightened her shoulders, feeling unnerved by her baby sister.
"We're being followed."
Max's temper, unleashed by the scene she had witnessed and too tired reign in, exploded and she reached over and grabbed a gun from the rack. "Then let's ditch the sons of bitches."
"Amen," Mole said around his cigar and kicked out the back panel of the truck. He leaned out and took aim.
"Warning shot." Max cautioned and he snorted, aiming wide and taking a pot-shot at the road.
A flash of light was their only warning and Mole called to duck as the black sedan returned fire.
Jace swung the truck out of the way of the shots and skidded around a corner.
"Evasive action," she warned. "Everyone not currently engaged in killing their asses, get your damn seat belt on."
"Tires," was Max's next instruction and a round of ammunition was spent on blowing out the car's wheels.
Mole swore as Jace swerved again, making him miss.
"Who the hell taught you how to drive, missy?"
"Same person who taught you how to dress, asshole," Jace shot back as she avoided yet another dilapidated building.
"Save the flirting for back at TC," Max yelled over the roar of wind of sputter of gunfire. "I don't care if they know where we are but I'll be damned if I let them in my home."
Jace spared her a glance. "Straight home?"
Max made a split second decision. They'd find out where the transgenics were housed sooner or later and it was imperative that she make it back. If Pix was… didn't make it, then they'd need a strong leader.
Alec could do it, but if she was dead then would he?
She didn't want to find out.
"Terminal city. But faster than them."
"Yes, ma'am," Jace responded automatically.
Max peered out the back window amidst the three transgenics returning fire and let her super senses out towards the car.
She let out a blue streak of swear words in every language she knew and then made up a few.
"Ames White!" she spat after she'd impressed Mole with her profanity. "You shoot that two-faced, inbred schmuck and I'll buy you lunch every day for the rest of your life."
"Deal," Mole said as he aimed at the driver.
The bullet bounced off the windshield.
"Damn."
The two cars were locked in combat as Ames White let his henchmen return, with force, the fire that they received. Tires screeched in the night air and bullet's rebounded off walls and embedded themselves in the metal of the car frame.
"Max," Jace called. "There is no way that we are going to get inside without them following us, they are too damn close."
Max nodded. "Head left; let's try to get in from the back."
But Ames White was determined not to let them go and Max swore again as he remained close, forcing them down a blind alley.
"He's a plague in my ass!" she said through gritted teeth.
The end of the alley was blocked off and there was only the way they had come in and an offshoot that they could flee down.
She was about to issue new orders to Jace when she heard the sound of a new car engine purring towards them and her heart sank as she didn't recognise the registration of the car that swept through the side alley, effectively barricading them in.
It looked like White had backup.
The three cars stopped, the new car between her and White, cutting off access to the street.
Jace could only move if White reversed and the new car edged out of the way.
They were trapped.
"Shit." Max slammed her hands on the dashboard as they skidded to a halt.
"You know," Mole said acerbically as he reloaded. "Chases do nothing for your vocabulary, Princess."
Max glared at him. "Go forth and perform deviant acts of nature with a walrus. I have slightly more important things to worry about than my vocabulary!"
"Tension is no excuse for sloppy grammar," Mole sneered and Jace realised that he was trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Besides, a walrus?"
Max shook her head. She was in no mood to play games.
"Why aren't they making a move?"
Jace shook her head and faced the other car trying to gauge its threat potential. A smile slowly spread over her face.
"What's so damn funny, missy?" Mole asked around his cigar.
"It is reinforcements. But not for them."
Max frowned and focused on the windshield. She zeroed in on a blonde woman at the steering wheel and a dark-haired man with olive skin in the passenger side.
Someone else was in the back but she couldn't see who.
"Transgenics?" she asked, her mood lightening. "I don't recognise them."
Jace grinned. "I do."
The rear door to the new car opened and out walked an impossibly tall woman with masses of curly red hair and legs up to her neck, emphasized by tight blue jeans and a short mid-riff bearing shirt. Over her shoulder was slung an AK47 and she sauntered into the square like a cowboy at the O.K. Corral.
"Yo, asshole!" she yelled at Ames White's windshield. "This Missy from the City tells ya to move ya scrap heap before I make it like swiss, 'kay?"
"Missy from the city?" Max asked absently, her eyes on the red head.
"I'm Special Agent Ames White and you are interfering in government business!" White called from his car. "Reverse back into the next alley, miss."
"I don't care if you president of the goddamn galaxy. I'm going nowhere 'til you move, pretty boy."
"If she is transgenic," Max noted, "she'll make a good friend for Mole."
"Love those legs," he drooled.
But Max's attention was on the woman as she strolled nonchalantly towards the Agent's car and put her boot on the hood.
"Ma'am, I'll not tell you again!" White called, not really seeing the gun with Max's harsh headlights blaring straight through his windshield.
"Ma'am?" she laughed and bent down, peering at him. "Only the boys call me ma'am when I kick their ass. Like this."
And with that she pushed with her foot, unexpectedly sending White's car skidding back a good twenty feet.
"She's transgenic!" White screamed even as she ducked and rolled the barrage of fire, coming up on the other side blazing. The blonde in the car edged forward into the space left by the retraction of White's car and Jace squealed into action, sliding past and into the side alley, hurtling around the corner and racing to the entrance of Terminal City.
The doors opened for them like magic, almost as if someone had been waiting and watching and they were out of the car with the gates closing before they had moved more than a few feet.
Max turned to Jace as she slammed the car door. "Will your friends be okay?"
Jace nodded. "I imagine they'll be right behind us."
She hadn't even finished speaking before a squeal of tires alerted them to the impending presence of another car.
Max halted in her attempt to get to the medical bay where she knew Pix would be already.
"Shall I admit?" the guard yelled down to her.
"Car make and registration?"
"Ford, green one, reg says uh… SQ RU U."
"Sqruu?" Max frowned. That didn't sound like White.
"Screw you," Jace filled in. "It's them."
"Open up!" Max called, stepping back as she wondered who their rescuers were, and the gates parted enough for the green ford to fly in. It screamed to a halt and smoke poured from the engine.
The side door opened and the olive skinned man jumped out, slinging an assault rifle over his head. The driver followed in a whirl of blonde hair.
"Yo, witch!" she yelled as she kicked the rear door. "Kiss my fumes is not what I would call leaving gracefully!"
The rear door opened and the red-head stomped out. "Excuse the fuse, girl. I got them off our tail!"
"You got them good and mad!" the blonde gestured to the hood of the ford. "They shot up my ride, Jon, how good's that gonna look on PTA day, huh?"
The red-head shrugged. "Tell them you work in inner city areas."
"I find that hard, see. They banned advanced weaponry in my catchment area!"
"Guys!" the man interrupted.
"What!" they yelled simultaneously.
He gestured to where they were being watched curiously.
"First impression?"
"Pff!" dismissed the red-head. "We're the damn cavalry, K, don't need an entrance."
"And yet you manage one all the same."
Max was about to leave Jace to welcome their new recruits but froze as Zack walked out into the courtyard.
All three of them suddenly stood straighter as if in deference and it suddenly dawned on Max who they must be.
The red-headed Amazon turned to her. "Hey, sorry for the noise level, doll. It's been a long drive."
Zack grinned as Syl gave Jondy a disgusted look.
"Hey, I'm Syl," she introduced. "This is Krit and Jondy."
Zack laughed as he realised that none of his siblings had any idea who they were talking to.
"Syl, Krit, Jon, this is Max."
"Hi, Ma—Max?" Jondy did a double take. "Max as in Maxie?"
"Quick, ain't she?" Mole said around his cigar.
"Baby girl!" Jondy laughed and hurried over to Max, throwing her arms around her.
Max blinked at the thought of her sweet, shy sister growing up to be this bold, brash red-head.
"Hi," she managed and extracted herself from the hug, looking at her old siblings.
Old siblings, new siblings, Zack and Jondy, Pix and Alec. Suddenly she didn't want to deal with any of this; all she wanted to do was run as far and as fast as she could.
But Pix needed her.
She held up her hands as Syl and Krit advanced to hug her. "Sorry guys, one of mine has been injured. We'll catch up later, 'kay?" she backed away. "Jace, take them to Alec, he'll assign rooms."
She turned around and raced for the infirmary.
"Hey, Max!" Krit mock-waved as she disappeared. "Nice to see you."
"Leave it," Zack said with a shake of his head. "Things are very complicated here right now. She'll talk later."
"Ice," Jondy said with a shrug.
"How did you know to come rescue us?" Jace asked with a frown.
"Got the box on," Syl explained. "Krit and Jondy were fighting over the tuner and we picked up the local news detailing a car chase with transgenics."
"Life ain't fun without a car chase!" Jondy said. "It was like being back home."
"Transgenic, transvestite," Krit pretended to weigh the two in his hands and Jondy reached over to flick his ear.
"Well I hope Max gets some chance to talk to us," Syl replied, ignoring the other two.
"I'm sure she will. It's hard being leader," Jace said with an edge of mischief and the three newcomers froze.
"Max is the leader?"
tbc...
I'm hiding.
Susamaroos
Pinkflipflop3- Glad you liked the last chapter. Hope you felt this was worth the wait too. Even if it was slightly um… mean?
Toniboo
Geminangel
Bluejean452- More interaction between the 09ers and Spec Ops coming up. They will be fast paced because of the action within the next three chapters. Added some M/A moments too.
Chimera- Don't I always? big grin . Enjoy.
Spuffyshipper- M/A is the best ship in DA. Can't believe you ship Spuffy still! She was evil to him! LOL. We can agree to disagree.
Feenian- Great to hear from you again. Actually this update was much faster than the others- only 21/2 weeks since last one.
AlbaHolly
WerrieAnna- I know, I can't believe it's almost the end. It over a years work! Px knew what he was doing. Don't forget that he's smarter than we all give him credit for. C'mon, everyone loves a rebel I'm not sure if we'll see coco. But I invite you to the wedding. Hope you enjoy the chapter and more MA moments.
Mae- Hope you had a great day, pet. Did you get what you wanted?
Caboodle- Don't kill anyone? Are you sure? Really sure?
Sigma1
AngelOfDarkness231
BlackRose9- LOL. Don't hold back, tell Ben how you really feel. I think that because there is so much going on and they have grown apart somewhat that there isn't as much camaraderie as before. I will change that shortly.
A reader- Hey pet, nice to hear from you again. Nice take, as well, on Ben's helpfulness—everyone else is being mean to my poor Ben. He is great isn't he? I hope he'll settle down soon.
Sweettweety06- Why are you in a rut? Anything I can do to help? Ahem… not kill Pix? Are you sure? You have remembered the show well and that is what happened with Biggs etc… I hope you didn't cry too hard at this chapter. Have tissues and eagerly await the next chapter.
Crazy-Vampire-Slayer
Mely's the name- Sneaky maybe but idiot? Do not malign my dearest Ben so! I realised after your review that we haven't heard much of Alec and so I purposely added more Alec scenes and dialogue. He'll play a more active role again soon. So thanks for that. just remember that I only have so much room per chapter! Et Voila more Krit!
Ronda TIW
Dawn's Heart
Moonlite Star
Kim- Oops! Dek is just a wonderful guy and he gets a few great one-liners within the next few chapters. Ben was the storyteller and I think he knows how to play to an audience. Watch this space for more machinations. More soon… but not too much more.
EganOne-
Ganko- You're welcome pet. Glad to see you back, darling. Pix is smarter than we give him credit for so watch this space on how he actually reacts to this. Remember he is the joker of Manticore. As for Zan… cute—not too bright though. Update was faster this time. I am so enjoying the end!
Charlotte- Thank you so much. Sorry to say that it will be some time before we see Pix's tricks. I adore him too, but we'll have to see if he recovers first. Thank you for reminding me to update too!