What if it had've been Sam and Dean that found Max, not Hannah? How much would that one little difference have to Max's life? Warnings listed inside. Slightly AU 'The Pulse'
Okay, this is my first crossover fanfiction.
In this the Pulse didn't happen on such a large scale, it just wiped out New York and Boston. Max never meets Logan. Possible pairing of Max with one of the other X5's. Haven't decided who yet.
Warnings: Trigger warnings: PTSD, flash backs, abuse, violence, torture.
One Little Difference
Chapter 1:
March, 2009
It was incredibly cold that night. It had been Zack's idea to escape. As cold and as scared as Max was, she couldn't bring herself to regret it. Max was running through the snow. She had lost sight of the others. The ice water that Max had fallen into still chilled her bones as she ran through the forest surrounding Manticore. She could hear the guns blasting from behind her. Max prayed to the Blue Lady that her brothers and sisters made it out alive.
Max was cold and drenched when she finally made it to the main road. She was only in her thin pants and hospital like gown shirt, with bare feet. Luckily, it was impossible for her to catch pneumonia or a cold.
Max saw the lights of a car heading toward her, music blaring from the stereo. The music nearly covered the sound of the helicopters blades chopping through the air. The car came to a sudden stop and Max was temporarily blinded by the head lights. The music from the car was turned down.
"What the hell?" A voice said from inside the car. Max only heard it due to her advanced hearing capabilities.
The passenger side door opened slowly and Max slid into her defensive position, ready for a fight.
"Don't trust anyone," Lydecker's voice floated into her mind. "Civilians cannot be trusted."
An incredibly tall man with shaggy brown hair stepped out of the car and moved towards her.
He seemed to notice her defensive stance. "Hey, are you okay?" The man asked. Max didn't respond. "Sweetheart? Do you need help? Want us to call the police?"
Max's eyes widened. If the police found her, they would send her straight back to Manticore, and that couldn't happen. "No!" Max said. Surprise flashed across the tall man's face. "No police!"
"Okay, no police then. Look, um, I'm Sam and the other guy in the car is my brother Dean. What's your name?" Sam asked.
"X5-452." Her mind whispered. "M-Max." Max replied. By this point, Sam and Dean had noticed the helicopter and sounds of gunfire. Sam and Dean exchanged a look.
"Max? Okay, well, Max? Do you need to get out of here?" Sam asked.
Max looked at them. She considered running from them, but she heard the sounds of soldiers moving closer. Better not risk it. If these two men decided to hurt her, Max calculated how easily it would be to overpower them.
"Yes." Max replied. Sam extended a hand to her.
Sam took in the girl's appearance. Shaved head like a Marine, wearing a hospital gown and some pants, plus she was dripping wet. This girl had gone through something terrible from the look of her.
"Well, hop in then." Sam said, gesturing to the car. "There's a blanket on the seat ."
Max nodded and moved towards the Impala, opening the door and sliding in. Dean started to drive again. Suddenly, the inside of the Impala was lit up with the lights of a car behind them. Max could see that it was a Manticore Humvee, so she slid off the seat and crouched in the foot well, pulling the blanket over her head. This did not go unnoticed by the two men in the front seat.
Luckily, the Humvee passed them by, not even stopping to check if the Impala had an extra occupant. Max slid the blanket off and sat on the seat.
Once they were safely out of the area, Sam turned and looked at Max. Max didn't want to have to answer questions. The first order was, if you were separated from your unit, then Manticore didn't exist. These men couldn't know and would have to be killed if they discovered who she was.
"So, Max. Why were you out there in the snow?" Sam asked.
"I was running away," Max replied, looking out the window.
Sam and Dean glanced at each other. They had heard the gun fire and they had heard the helicopter. The Humvee driving passed the Impala hadn't escaped their notice either. The boys were very suspicious of the whole situation. They had noticed the way Max held herself. Like a soldier. Sam had seen her defensive stance, as if ready to jump straight into combat.
"Running from what?" Dean asked, not taking his eyes off the road. Max had to think of a cover story fast. No way could she trust either of these men.
"My father," Max replied. Yes, that was good. She was running from her horrible abusive father who trained her as a soldier.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"He was mean to me," Max replied. She knew that that sounded pathetic, but she was an 11 year old girl, the two men would most likely believe the story.
"He was mean to you?" Dean asked, frowning.
"Yes. He wouldn't stop." Max replied, still looking out the window. Sam and Dean glanced at each other.
"What do you mean he wouldn't stop?" Dean asked.
"Training me. As a soldier." Max replied. Dean let out an angry sigh, but didn't say anything else.
"Do you know why he was training you?" Sam asked. Dean surveyed Max through the rear view mirror.
"He wants me to join the army when I grow up." Max replied. Max smiled internally. Technically, she wasn't lying. She had escaped because her father AKA Lydecker was training her to become a soldier.
"Is that why you ran away?" Sam asked.
"Yes." Max lied. Sam and Dean knew there was more to this than Max was telling them. You don't send helicopters and soldiers after a single runaway girl.
They didn't say anything for the next few hours. Max knew they were heading east, but not much more than that. She had never left the compound before, so all of this was new to her.
Dean pulled up to a semi-decent looking motel and stopped the car. Dean turned around and faced Max. "Okay, we're gonna bunk down here for the rest of the day. I assume you've had a long night and need sleep. Me'n Sam here are gonna buy you some proper clothes. I'll check us in." Dean said, getting out of the car.
Dean returned shortly after. "Okay, we're in room 206." He said. "Come on."
Max got out of the car, still wrapped up in the blanket, and walked a little ahead of Sam and Dean. Unfortunately, the blanket didn't cover the bar-code at the base of her neck. Sam and Dean saw the bar-code and shared another look.
"Max!" Dean said, throwing the key to Max. She turned just in time and caught it with impossibly fast reflexes.
"Whoa," Sam murmured quietly. Sam and Dean looked at each other, surprised by Max's ability. Max turned and opened the door to their motel room.
The room itself was nice. There were two large queens, a small kitchenette and a bathroom leading off a small sitting area. Sam put the bags down by the door.
"Why don't you take a shower and Dean and I will be back with some clothes. What size are you?" Sam asked.
"Small-medium, sir." Max replied. Sam nodded. He rummaged in his bag and pulled out a large clean pair of boxer shorts and an old t-shirt. He threw the clothes at Max.
"These should do you until we get back." Sam said.
"Yeah, and don't leave the room. Don't wanna lose you." Dean said, walking out of the room.
"Yes, sir." Max replied.
Sam let out a sigh. "You don't have to call us 'sir' you know. Just call us by our names, yeah?" Sam said.
"Yes sir. I mean, yes Sam." Max replied. Sam smiled and shook his head.
"See you in a bit." Sam said, closing the motel door behind him.
Max walked into the bathroom and saw that she was covered in splotches of mud. Max let out a sigh and began to take of her clothes. She got into the shower and stood under its comforting warmth. She couldn't believe it. She'd gotten away. Max got out of the water exactly three minutes after, changing into the clothes Sam had given her.
Max had never worn civies before. It was strange. The fabric didn't itch and it felt soft on her skin. It was early morning, 0700 and Max knew that she couldn't go to sleep. So she moved into the main room of the motel and began to do push-ups, feeling restless with too much energy. Max continued her exercises for half an hour before she started to feel her hands shake. She couldn't breathe as her body began to convulse. Max crawled into the bathroom, needing to feel the cool tile under her body. The convulsions grew worse.
Suddenly, the door to the motel opened and Sam and Dean walked in.
"Max? Where are you?" Sam called.
"Damn, has she bolted?" Dean asked.
Sam thought he heard something and raised his hand for silence and Dean just gave him a bitch face.
A whimpering noise was coming from the bathroom. Sam and Dean looked at each other. Sam moved to the bathroom door and knocked on it.
"Max?" Sam asked, worried. He knocked again. "Max, are you alright?" There was still no answer and the boys were getting worried.
"Okay, we're coming in then." Dean said, moving forward and opening the door.
There was Max, curled up on the floor, shaking violently.
"I think she's having a seizure. Max? Max? Can you hear me?" Sam said, moving towards her, checking her pulse.
"Y-yes!" She said.
"Do you have anyway to stop the seizure?" Sam asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.
"T-tryptophan pills." Max spat out.
"But that's just an amino acid!" Sam said. "Are you deficient?"
Max nodded. "There's something wrong in my brain." She said. Sam turned to Dean.
"You should be able to find some in the chemist down the road." Sam said. Dean nodded and left the bathroom.
"Is there anything I can do?" Sam asked.
"Stay with me." Max whimpered. Sam gripped her hand.
"Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." Sam replied.
Ten minutes later, Dean was back. He handed Sam the pills and a bottle of water. Sam put the pill in Max's mouth and helped her drink the water. After a minute or two, the tryptophan kicked in and Max stopped convulsing. Her eyes fluttered shut and she fell asleep.
Okay, what did you think for this first chapter? I hope I managed to write Max okay. Please review! :D