Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show Dark Angel, owned and created by James Cameron. I do, however, own any and all original characters appearing here. If you wish to use them, please ask me first.
Time Period: Before Cold Comfort, AU.
Summary: The X5s are finally getting down to business.
332340090210
by
BRIN
"If you are going through hell, keep going." - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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"X5s were created under the constant supervision of the supreme 'ruler,' I guess we could call him, of Manticore. His name was kept under ultimate secrecy, but whispers around the facility have come up with his name being Sandman or something like that. Well, Sandman was the creator of transgenics. After the first four series, he tried something totally different for his fifth series—us.
"The first four X-series were weaker, dumber, and they received little to no soldier training. We, on the other hand, were brought up as soldiers from day one. However, this Sandman guy was aware of the dangers of a superior species—if we somehow managed to find the stability of mind to do it, we could cause a lot of damage to the world.
"So he encoded into our DNA an idiot-proof plan—the expiration date. It's like a virus that grows inside us at a rate decided by our DNA structure… and when the time is right, it takes over our bodies and destroys us. The only way to prevent the expiration date is to return to Manticore and acquire the antidote… at least, that's what Black said."
Six pairs of wide eyes stared back at him in disbelief.
"Go… back to Manticore?" asked Syl, as if wanting Zack to tell her that her ears deceived her; that he hadn't really suggested they do the one thing they had swore against ever since the escape.
"It's the only way… otherwise we all die," answered Zack solemnly. "We'll die one by one, and the last to go will be driven mad by the grief. You all know it's true."
Silence.
"But… but Zack, if we go back… we might not be as lucky as before," said Krit. "I mean, they probably cracked down on security tenfold after we got out."
"They probably had no choice," replied the oldest X5. "After all, sponsors would want reassurance that it wouldn't happen again."
As they bantered back and forth, dancing around the subject of returning to Manticore nervously, Brin and Ben watched them with eerie silence. They sat a few inches away from each other on Jondy's beat-up old couch, knees touching lightly. Neither knew what to say; what to do. Were they happy? Sad? Angry? There were no answers, but the both of them vaguely felt all three emotions, which of course were mixed in with about a million others—repulsion, bliss, angst, lust, hatred… love? Maybe.
"Look, it all comes down to this: we all die, or we all live. Simple as that," concluded Zack, fed up with the petty excuses not to return to their Hell on earth.
This silenced the X5s, and they sat in thoughtful silence for a few minutes before Tinga spoke up, "We have to do it. We can do it, guys. They won't be expecting us… we'll have total surprise. AND—" she picked up the maps that Black had provided for them "—with these, we'll be able to get in and out unnoticed."
Her words rallied the X5s' courage, and Krit declared, "We should do it! If not for us, then for every poor soul they've tampered with!"
"That was very inspirational, Krit," teased Syl with an angelic smile.
"Alright, we'll take a vote," announced Zack. "All in favor of attacking the base directly and taking the antidote by force?"
All hands raised.
"Then it's settled. We head out at first light."
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Tinga and Brin sat out on the balcony, looking up at the stars that now dotted the sky as a result of the lack of electricity in the city. Sitting on two busted lawn chairs, holding hands in-between them as they had back at Manticore, nothing was said until Tinga finally asked in a low, nonchalant tone, "So what're you going to do about Ben?"
Brin kept her eyes glued to the sky as she replied, "I don't know."
"Well how do you feel about him?"
The chair creaked as Brin shifted uncomfortably, her hand dropping away from Tinga's. "It depends on what time of day it is," she said in total seriousness. "In the morning he's just dandy. In the afternoon he's intellectual and fun. In the evening he's moody, and at night he's outright scary, Tinga. He scares me sometimes, and…" She turned away, a ragged sob escaping her throat.
"Brinny," Tinga crooned quietly, pulling her little sister close. "It's okay."
"I-I never thought… something'd happen between us that way," whispered the younger X5 thickly. "I mean… we've shared like, drunken kisses before… especially around the teenage years… but…" She abruptly stopped, her face turning a peculiar shade of green, and ran to the edge of the balcony where she proceeded to empty the meager contents of her stomach.
Tinga moved over to the younger woman and held her hair back. "Brin?"
Brin coughed a few times more and spat in a feeble attempt to rid her mouth of the acidic taste. "Yes?"
"You're going to be just fine."
The words were said with such conviction and belief behind them that Brin couldn't think of a response – so instead she turned her head and vomited some more. When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and collapsed onto the chair once again. "I don't think I could handle him by myself at night," she admitted sheepishly.
"Alright, but overall… what do you feel for him? You two obviously have some kind of weird chemistry thing going on, but I can never understand it… I mean, none of us can. You guys seem like you tolerate each other's presence uneasily, but at the same time it's like you don't want to leave each others' side."
Brin frowned. "I don't know. Maybe there's something there, but I'm too scared to admit it… and not for the reasons you think. I'm scared for his sanity, Tinga. Ya know on the way here he asked me how I would commit suicide if I wanted to? He said he'd get drunk off vodka, then throw himself off the side of a building or hang himself. On top of that… when he said it, he got this look in his eye like a child in a candy store… A sort of glittering mischief – the kind they say thieves and murderers have." She shivered and rubbed her arms to make it look like she was shivering because of the cold. "So if I love him, I wouldn't tell him because I'm afraid of losing him."
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Jondy was changing into a pair of boxers and a t-shirt when a loud knock on her bedroom door startled her enough to fall over with a loud 'THUD.' Immediately, the door flew open and there stood Zack, ready for action.
"What happened?" he asked, alarmed. "Jondy?"
"Right here." Jondy held up her arm so that he could see her position behind the bed. "Don't come any closer. Toss me the shirt."
Zack stared at the shirt underneath his feet. The shirt was here. Jondy was over there. Jondy obviously wasn't wearing a shirt. His heart leapt into his throat as he bent to pick it up.
"It's getting a little bit cold," complained Jondy.
The male X5 wadded the t-shirt up and threw it at her outstretched hand, then half-turned as she sat up – facing away from him – to put it on. Her bare back gleamed in the dim light. She had angel wings tattooed over each of her shoulder blades. Underneath the wings, across the small of her back, were written the words "A WITTY SAYING PROVES NOTHING."
"Nice tattoo," commented Zack as she pulled the t-shirt over her head, covering the design.
"I got the one on my back in Spain."
"Do you have any more?"
Jondy stood up and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. "Yep. You wanna see?" She gestured for him to sit on the bed.
"Well… sure." He sat down on the edge of the creaky old bed.
"Alright," Jondy began, rolling up her sleeves to show her upper arm, "I got this one last year." It was a snake wrapped around her arm, giving the illusion of constricting her arm when she flexed her bicep. She then let her sleeve drop and rolled up the opposite arm. "This is the first one I got." On the side of her arm was a Chinese symbol. The ink was smeared a bit; she had obviously picked at the scab that was left. "The guy told me it means 'flight' or something like that, but for all I know it could mean chicken shit."
Zack smiled. "What about those on your forearms?"
Jondy looked down. "Handcuffs," she replied, pointing to the bands around her wrists. "Those are a drunken mistake. The rest were just spur-of-the-moment decisions." There were three other tattoos; two on her left forearm and one on her right. On her right was a butterfly. On her left was a wolf and a thorny rose.
"I'm impressed," admitted Zack.
"I've got three more," said Jondy with a wink. She lifted her shirt and pushed down her boxers a bit to reveal a sun tattoo around her navel.
Zack's eyes widened as he realized how low her pants were hanging on her hips, but refrained from drooling. He coughed to cover his nervousness and stood up. "I only have one." He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a Chinese symbol similar to Jondy's… and in the same spot. "Though I'm not quit sure what it means."
Jondy laughed. "Yeah, the good thing about being an X5 is you can get a tattoo virtually anywhere." She sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall to look up at him. "So what'd you come in here for in the first place?"
"I was going to ask you something."
"And that would be…?"
"If you would move after this is over."
Jondy frowned at him, snapping out of her playful mood. "Move?"
"Yeah. You've made too many calls from this place. I want you to move at least five blocks away, or at least into a new sector," said Zack seriously. "Either that, or get out of San Francisco altogether."
Jondy stared at him for a long while, then said, "Okay. You win. I'll go."
Zack nodded, stood, and left without so much as a backward glance.
And here Jondy had thought something was going on between them…
The next morning as the sun peeked over the horizon, taillights disappeared from the parking lot of Jondy's hotel building.
TBC…