Lydecker was right. Once she only thought of her powers as part of herself, just like her strength, her vision, her photographic memory. It was just an extension of her capacities, another muscle that she could flex the way she wanted. And flex it she did. If anyone had told her 2 years ago, that Lydecker would be on her side. Well, she didn't know how she would have reacted. As weird (there really was no other way to describe the situation) as it was, she was training with Lydecker and she was getting better at grasping all the possibilities that her powers gave her.
"Good." said Lydecker as she finished an exercise that she called, 'backseat driving'.
"What do you mean good ? I was better than good !". She was getting praise from her childhood tormentor and she was thriving on it. It was just one more bizarre thing in her genetically engineered like of a superhuman created to save the world. Despite herself, the hours that she had spent with the older man had given her a new perspective on him. Now she just had a small cringe at his sight, which was something she never thought would happen.
"Do you think that you're going to perform in the same environment the day of the Coming? In a chair with everyone attending to your needs like some royalty? People are going to try to kill you! There are going to be gunshots, shouts, cries! So many things are going to distract you! »
Again, Lydecker was right.
« There will be millions of information that are going to come at you and you have to be able to process those pieces of information and discard them! You will be right in the middle of the battle soldier! People you care about are going to die! Right in front of you! And you won't be able to do anything about it. » She looked at Ames in the corner of the room.
"Don't look at him !" snapped Lydecker. He can't perform this task for you ! was not said, but she heard it loud and clear nonetheless. The colonel looked tired. They were all tired. She was tired. Constantly using her power had taken a toll on her but she had no choice but train if she wanted to survive on D-Day.
"You're strong Max. You have always been strong. And these powers of yours, they are not new. They were a part of you from the beginning." he continued. It explained why Zack had such a hard time making her toe the line. As much as her former CO was the leader of their unit, she was undoubtedly more powerful than him. "The only one stopping you from being more powerful is you !" Lydecker concluded. It seemed like he wanted to add something, but thought better of it, turned around, and exited the room.
The problem with her power was that now, even when people didn't say things aloud, she still heard them, and as she was still very much fixed on Lydecker, she knew exactly what he'd wanted to add. But knowing that didn't help her predicament.
The truth was, that she had to come to terms with the fact that half of her friends were going to die. Possibly more. For the first time in her life, she understood, really understood the weight on Zack's shoulders. To have the lives of your comrades in your hands. And it was harder than she had ever thought. Would she have been given a choice of what she would become, a soldier was not on her list. She had literally escaped that life, and for a long time pretended that she was nothing more but a burglar and a JamPony messenger. Destiny, fate whatever you called it had decided otherwise, and she was slowly coming to the realization that it was her blood to be a leader. With all that being leader intakes.
All of her training would not change that people she loved were going to die. They were asking her which options would allow them to win with the least number of casualties. In her naiveté, she was trying to come up with an option that would allow their team to lose no one.
She looked at Ames. She knew he was going to come with her. It wasn't up to debate. If the situations were reversed, she would come because that was the kind of people they were, that was the kind of team they were, the kind of couple they were.
"You could die," she whispered.
He took a deep breath and acquiesced. "Yes, I could. There is a distinct possibility that I will die."
"I don't want it to be by my hand." He looked up. "I don't want it to be because I couldn't..."
"Shh..." He squeezed her hand in comfort. "If I die, it won't be your hand." he paused and added. "It will be by your brain."
Despite herself, she released a laugh. "It's not funny," she said between laughs.
"You are not a princess and I am not a prince. This is not a fairytale." he continued more seriously. "The fact that we've had the times that we had, that's nothing short of a miracle!" He kissed her softly, putting in that kiss all the love he felt for her. "We were never going to ride into the sunset and live happily ever after."
She smiled as her tears continued to fall. "No. That's not us."
"Do what you have to do. Survive. Live for me." He put his hands on her bulging stomach. "Live for our sons," he whispered in her ear.
"Max, I..." Ian spluttered as he witnessed their intimacy. "Sorry." He turned around. His actions made Max smile. He was the most socially awkward she had ever met. "We need to..."
"I'll be there Ian." Another side effect of her growing powers, the baby had grown faster. The medical team was monitoring her closely. Her son was going to come into the world by C section, to keep him and her safe.
They made their way slowly to the medical bay. Today, they were going to meet their son. Not once did Ames let go of her hand during the two hours of labor. And as their son cried his way into the world they cried with him. Tomorrow they were going to war, but for now, they were just a family. If Ames was going to die, at least, he would have met his youngest. As they looked in the eyes of their newborn, they knew that he was going to be special.
"This is not the direction I thought my life was going to go." Ames chuckled with the baby in his arms, his attention divided between Max laying on the bed and his son.
"Do you think that I ever thought that I would have a kid? Let alone one with you?" Max replied with mirth in her eyes. "I never thought that I would have a kid." she insisted. "Now I have two!" It warmed his heart that she considered Ray hers. "I always thought that I would get caught one day and that I would die alone as a lab rat," she stated matter of factly. "In Manticore's basement or somewhere else in the world."
"We lead an interesting life." her mate joked. She smirked in answer.
"Yes, we do."
"I'm happy Max," he whispered reverently. "Thank you for giving me this, with you, with Ray, with this little guy."
She nodded. "Speaking of which: what are we going to call him."
"We are not calling him with any of the stupid names you've come up with." he immediately objected.
She smiled, very much amused. "Don't worry. I won't choose the name. Ray already has one."
He looked up at her and at his oldest son, asleep on the bed next to her.
"He did, did he?"
She nodded.
"He said since he has an old name. His little brother too should have an old name."
"Oh." her partner smiled.
"He said we should call him Oliver."
Ames looked down at his baby son, "Oliver…" he tested. "It suits him."
"Ray will be glad to know that we agree on that name."
"Hi Oliver, I'm your father." and as demanding as his mother, Oliver shrieked to be fed.