Author's Note: Look! Finally, I wrote another chapter. I am so incredibly sorry this took so long. My life got exceptionally crazy (I graduated, etc) and the story got away from me. But it's back, for your reading pleasure. Obviously, I began writing this before the last six episodes of the season so this has spoilers up to "Haven" but stops after that Every episode that happened after that ("Pollo Loco" et all) hasn't happened in this universe this story is in. Oh and by the way, I figured out who the Johnny character is-he's Ben. Ben never went bad, Tinga never had Case nor was she married to Charlie. Lydecker's still the anti-Christ, and neither Max nor Zack died at Manticore. And now that I've seen Krit and Syl I will know how to better write them-notice I didn't use any pronouns with their names last time, being that I didn't know who had been cast in those roles?
Author's note 2: If I have any misinformation in my stories (for example, my explanation of what MI-Fi is/was, please understand I have no comprehension of covert ops and intelligence agencies and am just going on what I thought the fool thing was). As always thanks to Lady Callie and Evil Twin for betaing. Aiight kidz, enough of my babbling...on with the show!
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Max sighed and wrenched her wrists a little.
Nothing.
The handcuffs were secure. They were made out of some super metal that she couldn't break, even with her X-5 strength. Her ankles had become so swollen that Lydecker had been forced to remove the restraints from them. She half suspected he was almost ready to remove the handcuffs too. He knew she wouldn't run. She couldn't. She was too great with child. She was also too weak. Constant bed rest and repeated sedation may have been beneficial for the child within her, but Max had no strength left. Her legs were weak from disuse, even though Abby did some light physical therapy on her similar to what Bling used to do with Logan.
Logan. Had they really shared a dream or had it been a side effect of all the drugs she was on? Not only were they pumping her with sedatives on a regular basis, but they were also giving her seratonin supplements and prenatal vitamins intravenously. She was sure there were nutrients in her food, but she had no choice but to eat them. She couldn't starve her baby. All she could do was hope Logan would find them before it was time for her to deliver. Faith in that was all that kept her from killing herself and her child. She would rather they both die then end up in Lydecker's hands. But as long as Logan was still out there and had everyone looking for her, then there was still be a chance. She couldn't harm her child. Especially not when her child's father was hell bent on finding them.
Max knew, however, there was not much time left. She was nearing her eighth month. With each day, she could feel the child within her grow increasingly active, as though she were preparing for something. Abby had told her yesterday that the baby had "dropped." In other words, Little Boo was facing head down as everything was set for the birth. Max just prayed that her child knew enough not to arrive before Logan could rescue them.
Their baby was strong. Of that, Max had no doubt. At the beginning of her pregnancy, Max and Logan had feared that their baby would be weak, like Tinga's little boy. Now Max was certain their child was strong. She had survived Max's seizure and coma, and the abduction. In many ways, Max knew that the baby was probably stronger than she was. Logan had told her before the abduction that the baby had been sapping her seratonin. The baby was taking what she needed from Max. Of that, Max was glad. She had been afraid her body would defend itself against her child. Instead, it was giving the baby everything it needed.
But because of this, Max knew that there was a chance that she herself would not survive the birth. Or if she did, it would be a long and difficult birth that would probably require a long recovery. Max had no doubt that her X-5 genes, as much as they nearly killed her, had kept her alive. Anyone else, any mere human, would not have survived such a pregnancy. It was the definition of high risk.
Being cooped up in a warehouse by Colonel Patton and the Niece of Mengelo gave her lots of time to think and dwell.
Max closed her eyes and spoke silently to her child, "It's okay little one. Daddy's going to find us. He's going to bring Uncle Zack and Aunt Tinga and all your other aunts and uncles who already love you so much and they're gonna get us out of here. Then we can go home and be safe. Please don't think of making an appearance until we're home baby. It's not safe here. You can't be born yet. Please wait."
"Time for lunch," Abby said, walking into the room with a metal tray and a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.
Max's eyes flew open and she was glad she had been having the conversation with her daughter via her inner monologue.
Abby set the tray on a swinging table she had borrowed from the hospital and placed it in front of Max. Lydecker's niece took the keys to the cuffs from her pocket and undid one of Max's restraints so that she could feed herself. "Eat up," the woman said, smiling. "You and your baby need to be strong." She uncovered the tray to reveal a grilled cheese sandwich, a pickle, and an apple. Two glasses, one with milk and one with water, sat next to the plate.
Begrudgingly, Max picked up the sandwich and took a bite. "You stay the hell away from my baby," she murmured.
"Now now now," Abby said, placing the stethoscope in her ears and warming the metal part. She lifted Max's T-shirt and listened to the sounds in her belly. After a few moments, she asked, "Would you like to listen?"
Max swallowed her food and nodded. Truthfully, she listened to her baby's heartbeat at night via her own enhanced hearing. But she was determined to play to good patient. No use pissing them off before Logan came and saved them.
***********
The Avengers assembled on a hill that overlooked the warehouse. The hill was thickly covered with tall grass and weeds, giving them easy camouflage. They were gathered around the motorcycles and Bling and Logan's cars, making last minute arrangements. Cindy was sitting in the Aztec, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, listening as her boo's family planned her rescue.
Johnny had the bomb squad equipment on the hood of Logan's car, next to one of Logan's laptops.
"I've hacked into an old M.I. Fi satellite with a working infrared camera. It should pass over in about five minutes, giving us some better idea of what kind of hardware they've booby trapped the place with," Logan said to his in-laws, all of whom looked primed for battle. They were in small groups, based on their assignments. Bling was with Jace and Zane, discussing how they would capture Abby. Syl, Jondy and Tinga had been assigned to Lydecker, while Krit and Brin were going to help Johnny with the explosives. Original Cindy was going to wait for her signal to bring the car around, while Logan and Zack were going to go in through the back.
"It's up," Logan called. The X-5s gathered around the laptop, looking at the infrared readout from the satellite. MI-Fi had been an intelligence agency similar to the CIA and the KGB during the Cold War of the Twentieth Century. It disbanded in the wake of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Rumor had it on the Informant Net that MI-Fi and others had spawned a super secret intelligence agency for covert ops and anti-terrorism from the 1960s up until the time of the Pulse. According to the rumors Logan had read, said super agency was exterminated when they failed to stop the Pulse. Nevertheless, Logan had been able to hack into the spy satellite. The warehouse was long and rectangular. The front half of it was heavily booby trapped by landmines and trigger wire bombs.
"I'll stay here and navigate you around the bombs," Johnny said to his brother and sister who nodded.
"Once you get through the mine field, is there a way you can detonate them all at once?" Zack asked. "It would create a diversion to get the other teams in."
Johnny nodded, "There'll all relatively small charges. Big enough to take a limb, but not big enough to take out the warehouse. It looks like if you set one off, they'll all go off."
"That should give us the diversion we need," Jondy said. "Cause if I'm seeing things right, it looks like Lydecker is here." She pointed to a small-portioned room two thirds of the way in where a large warm figure lay, apparently resting. "That's too big to be a woman."
"Max is nearly eight months pregnant," Krit joked.
Logan chuckled in spite of himself.
"It's Lydecker," Zack said firmly, all business. "Jondy, take your team and enter through the south windows the minute the bombs go off. They should be enough of a distraction so that it will be an easy capture." He looked at his brothers and sisters. "Use any force necessary. We need him dead this time." Jondy, Syl, and Tinga nodded.
"So where's Nurse Hatchet?" Bling asked.
"Back here," Logan pointed to another portioned room. There are two smaller heat signatures. It's got to be Max and Abby."
"It's Max all right," Bling said, looking at the readout. "Her heat signature ain't small my friend. That's your wife and your child."
"Wait!" Brin said. "Look. They've got the back booby trapped too."
Zack frowned and looked at the screen. "Johnny, what kind of explosives are we looking at now?"
Johnny squinted, "Laser beam triggers. Walk through one, the whole set of them go boom."
"How are we supposed to get through those?" Logan asked.
Brin smiled, "I've got your back on this one. Johnny, they don't have a huge punch right? They're not going to blow up the whole building?"
Johnny analyzed the data, "Negative."
"Okay," Brin said. "I'll go with Logan and Zack. Johnny can guide Krit around the mine field in the front."
"Once you're clear," Zack said to his brother. "Wait until my order to detonate the charges."
Krit nodded.
"Aiight, children," Original Cindy said from the car. "Are we ready to get this bitch under way or what?"
Zack looked at the assembled, "You know what to do. Go in, terminate Lydecker, apprehend the nurse, and get Max out." He nodded brusquely. "Fall out."
Krit got low and ran down the hill toward the front of the complex. Jondy, Jace, and Tinga ran at breakneck speed towards the south windows, making sure to stay out of Lydecker's sight. Bling, Zane, and Jace went with Logan, Zack and Brin towards the back. With hand signals, Zack directed Jace's team to head for the west windows, which were near the portioned room in which Max was being held. They would enter from the front and get Abby while Zack and Logan would enter from the back.
"All teams, report," Zack said.
"Alpha team, ready," Jace said.
"Beta team, ready," Syl said.
"I'm in position," Krit said.
"Okay, Johnny," Zack commanded. "Guide him through."
The teams listened quietly as Johnny steered his brother through the labyrinth of explosives. It took a good five minutes to safely guide him through. Logan held his breath until he heard Krit say, "Okay, I'm on the other side."
Zack nodded to Brin and Logan and they began making their way into the back entrance. "Delta team, on the move," Zack said into his headpiece. He cocked his gun, as did Brin, and motioned Logan to stand clear. Counting down from three on his fingers, Zack and Brin opened the door and aimed their weapons, in case anyone else was there they had not detected. Save the explosives, it was clear.
Logan raised a brow, "Now what?"
***********
Inside the warehouse, Max smiled at the strong sound of her daughter's heartbeat. After a few moments, Abby removed the stethoscope from Max's ears and said, "Okay, finish up your meal." Like an obedient patient, Max did as she was told, her hearing still in tune with her baby's heartbeat. As she had all those months ago, Max found that her own heartbeat was in perfect synchronicity with her child's. Her eyes bulged when she heard a third heartbeat in time with theirs.
Logan's.
Max gasped.
Abby regarded her curiously, "Something wrong?"
Max shook her head, "The baby has hiccups and it startled me."
Abby smiled and nudged Max's glass of milk towards her, "Drink up."
Max picked up the glass and zeroed in her hearing. Sure enough, it was Logan's heartbeat, in perfect rhythm with hers. He was here. That meant everyone else was too. The rescue was going to happen. Soon. Setting down the glass, Max looked at Abby. "I need to go to the bathroom."
Abby nodded and unlocked Max's other handcuff. Then she took a gun from her waistband and trained it on Max. "Let's go."
Cautiously, Max slid out of bed, unsteady on her feet. She steadied herself on the bedside table and began slowly making her way towards the port-a-john on the other side of the partition.
************
"All teams, hold!" Johnny said.
""What's going on?" Zack asked.
"Max and Abby are on the move," the X-5 reported.
"We've been made," Jace said.
"No," Johnny said. "It looks like they're headed for the bathroom."
"Max is eight months pregnant," Zane said, chuckling.
"She knows we're here," Logan said.
Zack looked at him and sighed. "Alright. Little Sister's making sure she's free of restraints. No one move in until they've cleared the bathroom."
Each X-5 and Logan held their collective breath, waiting for Johnny's report. After several minutes, it came, "Okay, they're on their way back."
"Lydecker?" Jondy asked.
"Still asleep," her brother reported.
Zack nodded to Brin. The X-5 calmly walked through the entrance and crouched, picking up some dirt. She shook it around in the palm of her hand and lowered her lips to her skin, blowing the dirt into the beams. After examining the grid of beams for a moment, Brin turned and looked at Logan and Zack.
"Duck," she said, backing up, rubbing her hands together.
"All teams, get ready," Zack said. He looked at Brin, "Krit, Johnny, all teams, on my mark." He took a deep breath and nodded to Logan. "Three, two one."
"Mark."
Logan took shelter behind a pile of sawdust. Peering over the top, he saw Brin inhale deeply, her entire chest heaving with the effort. Seconds later she was running at top speed. Logan's eyes opened wide as he began to think she was not going to stop. However, just before she would have hit the beams, Brin jumped. More like...sprang. Landing on the other side of the first horizontal beam, the nimble Chimera did not waste any time in waiting for the bomb detonated by the vertical beam to go off; she back-hand springged over each laser, off the ground before the bombs had time to detonate. They were not too destructive, set to remove a foot at the least, a leg at the most. Just as Johnny had estimated.
From the front of the complex, Logan heard explosions as well. He knew Krit had taken stones from his pocket and thrown them onto the mines, hitting each target with genetically engineered precision.
"Alpha and beta teams, advance," Zack commanded.
***********
It seemed as though the world was ending. Every bomb in the place was going off, all at once. They had just made it back inside the makeshift bedroom when the world exploded. Abby looked around in shock. "What the hell?" Just then, they heard breaking glass and Lydecker yelling.
Abby turned to Max and pointed the gun at her, "You bitch."
Max stared at the gun, "Sorry sweetie. Looks like I'm going home." Her bravado was a façade. She inwardly prayed her rescuers would arrive before Abby pulled the trigger, or Lydecker got there with reinforcements.
What Max didn't know was that Lydecker was in the middle of a fight of his own. Awakened by the sound of explosions, he had found three of his kids training guns at him. The three women had no nonsense looks on their faces, daring him to fight back. He sat straight up on his cot and said, "So you've come to take me in huh?"
"No," Jondy said. "We've come to kill you."
"You're not going to get away with what you did to our sister," Tinga sneered.
"What did I do?" Lydecker asked, slowly rising from his bed, even though three rifles were trained on him. "I was trying to help you kids, stop the seizures." He stopped in front of a small table. "You have no idea what you kids mean to me."
"Save it," Syl snapped.
Suddenly, Lydecker pulled a gun off the table and trained it on them. "I'm not going down without a fight," he said.
Jondy looked at her sisters and smiled, "Then we'll give you a fight, Deck."
Truly, the fight was unmatched. Lydecker may have taught his kids their fighting techniques, but he was only human. Not to mention he was scarred and disabled. Had he been at full health, the fight would have been a bit more equally matched. But fighting three genetically enhanced females in his physical condition was suicide.
But Donald Lydecker was a soldier. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Jace and Zane leapt through the glass, with Bling close behind, and made a dash for the room where Abby had a gun trained on Max. They broke down the partition and aimed their weapons at Abby.
"Max, go!" Bling yelled.
Abby spun around and began firing her weapon at the two X-5s and Bling. Stray bullets ricocheted off steel beams and wooden walls. The X-5s, however, did not fire back. Max was slow in escaping, slowed down by her weight and child, and would have been easily hit by their bullets. Instead, they dove for cover, Jace taking Bling down with her.
Max ambled behind the bed and took cover. "I'm clear!" she yelled to her brother and sister.
With feral roars, Jace and Zane popped to their feet, firing at the nurse. In truth, they didn't want her dead, but immobilized. Many of their bullets simply whizzed by her, but it was enough to unnerve her and send her to the floor, cowering in hear. She cried out as a bullet grazed her leg. Bling walked over to her and looked down at her whimpering frame.
"Some nurse you are," he muttered, and clocked her over the head with the butt of his rifle.
During the hale of bullets, Zack and Logan had advanced towards Max's location. Zack broke down the back wall of the partition during the gunfire and pushed Logan through, keeping his brother in law close to the ground, knowing Max would never forgive him if anything happened to her husband.
Logan spotted Max hiding behind the bed and crawled towards her. "Max!" he cried.
Max gasped when she saw him and through herself into his arms, weeping. He kissed her face and eyes, never stopping touching her. They had been apart for too long.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his worry shining brightly in his eyes. "Did they hurt you?" Logan began searching her for bruises and wounds. "You didn't get hit did you?"
"I'm fine," Max said, falling into her husband's arms. "We're both fine. Everything's okay now." She held on tightly to Logan, her head at his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Logan nearly wept to have his wife back in his arms. He felt the growth of her belly pressed against his body and felt the child move within her. Their family was once again reunited. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent. It was an aphrodisiac, a fragrance that had been missing too long. Feeling his wife in his arms, their child within her, reunited after so long, was overwhelming for long. He tightened his embrace and began to weep. "It's okay now," he repeated softly, crying into her hair. "It's okay now."
Zack, for his part, kept the couple covered during the firefight. Seeing their display of emotion and outright joy at being reunited made him uncomfortable. He felt as though he was intruding. He stood and looked at his siblings.
"She's out," Zane announced.
"All teams, report," Zack said, stepping away from his sister and brother-in-law to give them a bit of privacy.
"I'm making my way back towards the rendezvous point," Krit announced.
"All explosives have been neutralized," Johnny said.
"Cindy, get on the move," Brin said.
"Comin' sugah," Cindy replied from the Aztec.
"Lydecker's been terminated," Jondy said, her voice ringing across the Comm units.
Zack's breath caught, "Repeat."
"Lydecker's been terminated," Jondy said again, the joy creeping into her voice.
"He's dead Zack," Tinga said.
"It's over," Syl muttered.
Logan kissed Max's temple, their tears subsiding. "Ready to go home?" he asked.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Yes we are."
Logan helped Max to her feet, keeping an arm securely around her waist. But weeks of disuse had begun to atrophy Max's leg muscles and after the strenuousness of walking to and from the bathroom, they gave out. Max let out a cry and Logan immediately caught her. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Maybe we should get you to a hospital."
"I'm fine," Max said, holding on to him. "My legs are just a little weak. I haven't really walked in a month."
Zack stepped towards them. "You want me to do it?" he asked Logan.
Logan smiled, knowing Zack wasn't trying to be overbearing. "No," he replied. "I got her." He slung one of Max's arms around his neck and crouched, scooping her up in his arms. She held on tightly, burying her face in Logan's neck.
"Wait!" she cried, halting Logan in his tracks.
"What's the matter Maxie?" Brin asked, coming into the room.
"Where's Lydecker?" Max asked, her eyes wild.
Logan, Zack, and the other X-5s exchanged looks.
"Where is he?" Max asked, her voice edged with anger and hysteria.
"Max, calm down," Logan said softly. "The baby-"
"The baby's fine," Max snapped. "Where is Lydecker?" She looked at Zack. "Tell me!"
Zack stepped towards her, "He's dead Maxie. Jondy's team took him out."
Max let out a sigh of relief and said firmly, "I want to see him."
Logan knew better than to argue. He followed Zack and carried her into the other part of the warehouse. Jondy, Syl, and Tinga were standing over Lydecker's body, which was covered by a blanket. "The face," Max said. "I want to see his face."
Logan set her down in front of him, holding her tightly from behind. Tinga stooped down and pulled the blanket away from his face. The scarred skin was splattered with blood and his eyelids were closed. You couldn't even tell which one was missing an eyeball behind it.
"It's over, honey," Logan whispered in her ear. "It's finally over."
"He's gone, Maxie," Jondy said.
Max looked away from Lydecker's body and into her husband's eyes, "Take me home Logan, please. I don't want to be here anymore."
Kissing Max's forehead, Logan once again scooped her up in his arms. "Cindy, you here?" he asked.
"I'm in the back, Moneybags." Original Cindy replied. "You got my boo?"
"Hey Cindy," Max said into her husband's Comm unit.
"Hey boo," Cindy said, the smile audible over the connection.
"All units, fall back," Johnny said. "Police approaching."
"Okay, everybody get gone," Zack commanded.
"What about the nurse?" Tinga asked.
"Matt will take care of her," Bling said, coming into the room. "But we all have to go. Now."
The X-5s all jogged out of the building, some following Max and Logan, some coming the way they had came. However, all managed to make sure their egress route took them past Lydecker's body. Just as Max had needed closure, so did they. They needed to know it was over. And seeing his bullet-riddled body brought them that closure. He was most definitely gone. Their nightmare had finally ended.
"See you later little sister," Tinga called as she and Jondy rode away on her motorcycle. Krit and Johnny had already made tracks, while Syl, Jace, Zane and Brin piled into Bling's SUV, calling similar greetings of gladness and farewell to their sister, who was safe in the arms of her husband in the backseat of their car. Zack climbed into the front seat next to Original Cindy.
"Where to Miss Daisy?" Original Cindy asked, chuckling.
"Home," Max and Logan said in unison.
"You're absolute sure you don't need to be checked out by a doctor?" Zack asked.
"I'm okay big brother," Max said. "I've been poked and prodded enough by medical types over the last month. I just want to go home."
Logan kissed her cheek and held her tighter, "Take us home Cindy."
"No problem boo," she answered, steering the car towards Foggle Towers. In the side mirrors, Zack watched the cops pull up and surround the building. Good thing a contingent of X-5s had made their job easier. He wondered what they would think when they found an unconscious nurse with a gunshot wound and dead man already presumed dead.
Cindy looked in the rearview mirror and saw Max and Logan cuddling in the back seat, their hands on her belly. "If that isn't a Hallmark card, I don't know what is," she remarked.
Zack turned and looked at his sister and her family. "It's all good now huh?"
"Yeah," Original Cindy said. "It's all good." She smiled and looked at Max's brother. "Original Cindy thinks it's gonna be all good, all the time from now on." By the looks of things in the backseat, Max resting against Logan's chest, her eyes closed, Logan's chin resting atop her head, his fingers laced with hers on her pregnant stomach as she lazily traced patterns on one of his arms, Original Cindy felt in her gut that things for her boos were going to be okay.
Author's note 2: If I have any misinformation in my stories (for example, my explanation of what MI-Fi is/was, please understand I have no comprehension of covert ops and intelligence agencies and am just going on what I thought the fool thing was). As always thanks to Lady Callie and Evil Twin for betaing. Aiight kidz, enough of my babbling...on with the show!
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Max sighed and wrenched her wrists a little.
Nothing.
The handcuffs were secure. They were made out of some super metal that she couldn't break, even with her X-5 strength. Her ankles had become so swollen that Lydecker had been forced to remove the restraints from them. She half suspected he was almost ready to remove the handcuffs too. He knew she wouldn't run. She couldn't. She was too great with child. She was also too weak. Constant bed rest and repeated sedation may have been beneficial for the child within her, but Max had no strength left. Her legs were weak from disuse, even though Abby did some light physical therapy on her similar to what Bling used to do with Logan.
Logan. Had they really shared a dream or had it been a side effect of all the drugs she was on? Not only were they pumping her with sedatives on a regular basis, but they were also giving her seratonin supplements and prenatal vitamins intravenously. She was sure there were nutrients in her food, but she had no choice but to eat them. She couldn't starve her baby. All she could do was hope Logan would find them before it was time for her to deliver. Faith in that was all that kept her from killing herself and her child. She would rather they both die then end up in Lydecker's hands. But as long as Logan was still out there and had everyone looking for her, then there was still be a chance. She couldn't harm her child. Especially not when her child's father was hell bent on finding them.
Max knew, however, there was not much time left. She was nearing her eighth month. With each day, she could feel the child within her grow increasingly active, as though she were preparing for something. Abby had told her yesterday that the baby had "dropped." In other words, Little Boo was facing head down as everything was set for the birth. Max just prayed that her child knew enough not to arrive before Logan could rescue them.
Their baby was strong. Of that, Max had no doubt. At the beginning of her pregnancy, Max and Logan had feared that their baby would be weak, like Tinga's little boy. Now Max was certain their child was strong. She had survived Max's seizure and coma, and the abduction. In many ways, Max knew that the baby was probably stronger than she was. Logan had told her before the abduction that the baby had been sapping her seratonin. The baby was taking what she needed from Max. Of that, Max was glad. She had been afraid her body would defend itself against her child. Instead, it was giving the baby everything it needed.
But because of this, Max knew that there was a chance that she herself would not survive the birth. Or if she did, it would be a long and difficult birth that would probably require a long recovery. Max had no doubt that her X-5 genes, as much as they nearly killed her, had kept her alive. Anyone else, any mere human, would not have survived such a pregnancy. It was the definition of high risk.
Being cooped up in a warehouse by Colonel Patton and the Niece of Mengelo gave her lots of time to think and dwell.
Max closed her eyes and spoke silently to her child, "It's okay little one. Daddy's going to find us. He's going to bring Uncle Zack and Aunt Tinga and all your other aunts and uncles who already love you so much and they're gonna get us out of here. Then we can go home and be safe. Please don't think of making an appearance until we're home baby. It's not safe here. You can't be born yet. Please wait."
"Time for lunch," Abby said, walking into the room with a metal tray and a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.
Max's eyes flew open and she was glad she had been having the conversation with her daughter via her inner monologue.
Abby set the tray on a swinging table she had borrowed from the hospital and placed it in front of Max. Lydecker's niece took the keys to the cuffs from her pocket and undid one of Max's restraints so that she could feed herself. "Eat up," the woman said, smiling. "You and your baby need to be strong." She uncovered the tray to reveal a grilled cheese sandwich, a pickle, and an apple. Two glasses, one with milk and one with water, sat next to the plate.
Begrudgingly, Max picked up the sandwich and took a bite. "You stay the hell away from my baby," she murmured.
"Now now now," Abby said, placing the stethoscope in her ears and warming the metal part. She lifted Max's T-shirt and listened to the sounds in her belly. After a few moments, she asked, "Would you like to listen?"
Max swallowed her food and nodded. Truthfully, she listened to her baby's heartbeat at night via her own enhanced hearing. But she was determined to play to good patient. No use pissing them off before Logan came and saved them.
***********
The Avengers assembled on a hill that overlooked the warehouse. The hill was thickly covered with tall grass and weeds, giving them easy camouflage. They were gathered around the motorcycles and Bling and Logan's cars, making last minute arrangements. Cindy was sitting in the Aztec, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, listening as her boo's family planned her rescue.
Johnny had the bomb squad equipment on the hood of Logan's car, next to one of Logan's laptops.
"I've hacked into an old M.I. Fi satellite with a working infrared camera. It should pass over in about five minutes, giving us some better idea of what kind of hardware they've booby trapped the place with," Logan said to his in-laws, all of whom looked primed for battle. They were in small groups, based on their assignments. Bling was with Jace and Zane, discussing how they would capture Abby. Syl, Jondy and Tinga had been assigned to Lydecker, while Krit and Brin were going to help Johnny with the explosives. Original Cindy was going to wait for her signal to bring the car around, while Logan and Zack were going to go in through the back.
"It's up," Logan called. The X-5s gathered around the laptop, looking at the infrared readout from the satellite. MI-Fi had been an intelligence agency similar to the CIA and the KGB during the Cold War of the Twentieth Century. It disbanded in the wake of the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Rumor had it on the Informant Net that MI-Fi and others had spawned a super secret intelligence agency for covert ops and anti-terrorism from the 1960s up until the time of the Pulse. According to the rumors Logan had read, said super agency was exterminated when they failed to stop the Pulse. Nevertheless, Logan had been able to hack into the spy satellite. The warehouse was long and rectangular. The front half of it was heavily booby trapped by landmines and trigger wire bombs.
"I'll stay here and navigate you around the bombs," Johnny said to his brother and sister who nodded.
"Once you get through the mine field, is there a way you can detonate them all at once?" Zack asked. "It would create a diversion to get the other teams in."
Johnny nodded, "There'll all relatively small charges. Big enough to take a limb, but not big enough to take out the warehouse. It looks like if you set one off, they'll all go off."
"That should give us the diversion we need," Jondy said. "Cause if I'm seeing things right, it looks like Lydecker is here." She pointed to a small-portioned room two thirds of the way in where a large warm figure lay, apparently resting. "That's too big to be a woman."
"Max is nearly eight months pregnant," Krit joked.
Logan chuckled in spite of himself.
"It's Lydecker," Zack said firmly, all business. "Jondy, take your team and enter through the south windows the minute the bombs go off. They should be enough of a distraction so that it will be an easy capture." He looked at his brothers and sisters. "Use any force necessary. We need him dead this time." Jondy, Syl, and Tinga nodded.
"So where's Nurse Hatchet?" Bling asked.
"Back here," Logan pointed to another portioned room. There are two smaller heat signatures. It's got to be Max and Abby."
"It's Max all right," Bling said, looking at the readout. "Her heat signature ain't small my friend. That's your wife and your child."
"Wait!" Brin said. "Look. They've got the back booby trapped too."
Zack frowned and looked at the screen. "Johnny, what kind of explosives are we looking at now?"
Johnny squinted, "Laser beam triggers. Walk through one, the whole set of them go boom."
"How are we supposed to get through those?" Logan asked.
Brin smiled, "I've got your back on this one. Johnny, they don't have a huge punch right? They're not going to blow up the whole building?"
Johnny analyzed the data, "Negative."
"Okay," Brin said. "I'll go with Logan and Zack. Johnny can guide Krit around the mine field in the front."
"Once you're clear," Zack said to his brother. "Wait until my order to detonate the charges."
Krit nodded.
"Aiight, children," Original Cindy said from the car. "Are we ready to get this bitch under way or what?"
Zack looked at the assembled, "You know what to do. Go in, terminate Lydecker, apprehend the nurse, and get Max out." He nodded brusquely. "Fall out."
Krit got low and ran down the hill toward the front of the complex. Jondy, Jace, and Tinga ran at breakneck speed towards the south windows, making sure to stay out of Lydecker's sight. Bling, Zane, and Jace went with Logan, Zack and Brin towards the back. With hand signals, Zack directed Jace's team to head for the west windows, which were near the portioned room in which Max was being held. They would enter from the front and get Abby while Zack and Logan would enter from the back.
"All teams, report," Zack said.
"Alpha team, ready," Jace said.
"Beta team, ready," Syl said.
"I'm in position," Krit said.
"Okay, Johnny," Zack commanded. "Guide him through."
The teams listened quietly as Johnny steered his brother through the labyrinth of explosives. It took a good five minutes to safely guide him through. Logan held his breath until he heard Krit say, "Okay, I'm on the other side."
Zack nodded to Brin and Logan and they began making their way into the back entrance. "Delta team, on the move," Zack said into his headpiece. He cocked his gun, as did Brin, and motioned Logan to stand clear. Counting down from three on his fingers, Zack and Brin opened the door and aimed their weapons, in case anyone else was there they had not detected. Save the explosives, it was clear.
Logan raised a brow, "Now what?"
***********
Inside the warehouse, Max smiled at the strong sound of her daughter's heartbeat. After a few moments, Abby removed the stethoscope from Max's ears and said, "Okay, finish up your meal." Like an obedient patient, Max did as she was told, her hearing still in tune with her baby's heartbeat. As she had all those months ago, Max found that her own heartbeat was in perfect synchronicity with her child's. Her eyes bulged when she heard a third heartbeat in time with theirs.
Logan's.
Max gasped.
Abby regarded her curiously, "Something wrong?"
Max shook her head, "The baby has hiccups and it startled me."
Abby smiled and nudged Max's glass of milk towards her, "Drink up."
Max picked up the glass and zeroed in her hearing. Sure enough, it was Logan's heartbeat, in perfect rhythm with hers. He was here. That meant everyone else was too. The rescue was going to happen. Soon. Setting down the glass, Max looked at Abby. "I need to go to the bathroom."
Abby nodded and unlocked Max's other handcuff. Then she took a gun from her waistband and trained it on Max. "Let's go."
Cautiously, Max slid out of bed, unsteady on her feet. She steadied herself on the bedside table and began slowly making her way towards the port-a-john on the other side of the partition.
************
"All teams, hold!" Johnny said.
""What's going on?" Zack asked.
"Max and Abby are on the move," the X-5 reported.
"We've been made," Jace said.
"No," Johnny said. "It looks like they're headed for the bathroom."
"Max is eight months pregnant," Zane said, chuckling.
"She knows we're here," Logan said.
Zack looked at him and sighed. "Alright. Little Sister's making sure she's free of restraints. No one move in until they've cleared the bathroom."
Each X-5 and Logan held their collective breath, waiting for Johnny's report. After several minutes, it came, "Okay, they're on their way back."
"Lydecker?" Jondy asked.
"Still asleep," her brother reported.
Zack nodded to Brin. The X-5 calmly walked through the entrance and crouched, picking up some dirt. She shook it around in the palm of her hand and lowered her lips to her skin, blowing the dirt into the beams. After examining the grid of beams for a moment, Brin turned and looked at Logan and Zack.
"Duck," she said, backing up, rubbing her hands together.
"All teams, get ready," Zack said. He looked at Brin, "Krit, Johnny, all teams, on my mark." He took a deep breath and nodded to Logan. "Three, two one."
"Mark."
Logan took shelter behind a pile of sawdust. Peering over the top, he saw Brin inhale deeply, her entire chest heaving with the effort. Seconds later she was running at top speed. Logan's eyes opened wide as he began to think she was not going to stop. However, just before she would have hit the beams, Brin jumped. More like...sprang. Landing on the other side of the first horizontal beam, the nimble Chimera did not waste any time in waiting for the bomb detonated by the vertical beam to go off; she back-hand springged over each laser, off the ground before the bombs had time to detonate. They were not too destructive, set to remove a foot at the least, a leg at the most. Just as Johnny had estimated.
From the front of the complex, Logan heard explosions as well. He knew Krit had taken stones from his pocket and thrown them onto the mines, hitting each target with genetically engineered precision.
"Alpha and beta teams, advance," Zack commanded.
***********
It seemed as though the world was ending. Every bomb in the place was going off, all at once. They had just made it back inside the makeshift bedroom when the world exploded. Abby looked around in shock. "What the hell?" Just then, they heard breaking glass and Lydecker yelling.
Abby turned to Max and pointed the gun at her, "You bitch."
Max stared at the gun, "Sorry sweetie. Looks like I'm going home." Her bravado was a façade. She inwardly prayed her rescuers would arrive before Abby pulled the trigger, or Lydecker got there with reinforcements.
What Max didn't know was that Lydecker was in the middle of a fight of his own. Awakened by the sound of explosions, he had found three of his kids training guns at him. The three women had no nonsense looks on their faces, daring him to fight back. He sat straight up on his cot and said, "So you've come to take me in huh?"
"No," Jondy said. "We've come to kill you."
"You're not going to get away with what you did to our sister," Tinga sneered.
"What did I do?" Lydecker asked, slowly rising from his bed, even though three rifles were trained on him. "I was trying to help you kids, stop the seizures." He stopped in front of a small table. "You have no idea what you kids mean to me."
"Save it," Syl snapped.
Suddenly, Lydecker pulled a gun off the table and trained it on them. "I'm not going down without a fight," he said.
Jondy looked at her sisters and smiled, "Then we'll give you a fight, Deck."
Truly, the fight was unmatched. Lydecker may have taught his kids their fighting techniques, but he was only human. Not to mention he was scarred and disabled. Had he been at full health, the fight would have been a bit more equally matched. But fighting three genetically enhanced females in his physical condition was suicide.
But Donald Lydecker was a soldier. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.
Jace and Zane leapt through the glass, with Bling close behind, and made a dash for the room where Abby had a gun trained on Max. They broke down the partition and aimed their weapons at Abby.
"Max, go!" Bling yelled.
Abby spun around and began firing her weapon at the two X-5s and Bling. Stray bullets ricocheted off steel beams and wooden walls. The X-5s, however, did not fire back. Max was slow in escaping, slowed down by her weight and child, and would have been easily hit by their bullets. Instead, they dove for cover, Jace taking Bling down with her.
Max ambled behind the bed and took cover. "I'm clear!" she yelled to her brother and sister.
With feral roars, Jace and Zane popped to their feet, firing at the nurse. In truth, they didn't want her dead, but immobilized. Many of their bullets simply whizzed by her, but it was enough to unnerve her and send her to the floor, cowering in hear. She cried out as a bullet grazed her leg. Bling walked over to her and looked down at her whimpering frame.
"Some nurse you are," he muttered, and clocked her over the head with the butt of his rifle.
During the hale of bullets, Zack and Logan had advanced towards Max's location. Zack broke down the back wall of the partition during the gunfire and pushed Logan through, keeping his brother in law close to the ground, knowing Max would never forgive him if anything happened to her husband.
Logan spotted Max hiding behind the bed and crawled towards her. "Max!" he cried.
Max gasped when she saw him and through herself into his arms, weeping. He kissed her face and eyes, never stopping touching her. They had been apart for too long.
"Are you alright?" he asked, his worry shining brightly in his eyes. "Did they hurt you?" Logan began searching her for bruises and wounds. "You didn't get hit did you?"
"I'm fine," Max said, falling into her husband's arms. "We're both fine. Everything's okay now." She held on tightly to Logan, her head at his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Logan nearly wept to have his wife back in his arms. He felt the growth of her belly pressed against his body and felt the child move within her. Their family was once again reunited. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled her scent. It was an aphrodisiac, a fragrance that had been missing too long. Feeling his wife in his arms, their child within her, reunited after so long, was overwhelming for long. He tightened his embrace and began to weep. "It's okay now," he repeated softly, crying into her hair. "It's okay now."
Zack, for his part, kept the couple covered during the firefight. Seeing their display of emotion and outright joy at being reunited made him uncomfortable. He felt as though he was intruding. He stood and looked at his siblings.
"She's out," Zane announced.
"All teams, report," Zack said, stepping away from his sister and brother-in-law to give them a bit of privacy.
"I'm making my way back towards the rendezvous point," Krit announced.
"All explosives have been neutralized," Johnny said.
"Cindy, get on the move," Brin said.
"Comin' sugah," Cindy replied from the Aztec.
"Lydecker's been terminated," Jondy said, her voice ringing across the Comm units.
Zack's breath caught, "Repeat."
"Lydecker's been terminated," Jondy said again, the joy creeping into her voice.
"He's dead Zack," Tinga said.
"It's over," Syl muttered.
Logan kissed Max's temple, their tears subsiding. "Ready to go home?" he asked.
She looked up at him and smiled, "Yes we are."
Logan helped Max to her feet, keeping an arm securely around her waist. But weeks of disuse had begun to atrophy Max's leg muscles and after the strenuousness of walking to and from the bathroom, they gave out. Max let out a cry and Logan immediately caught her. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern in his voice. "Maybe we should get you to a hospital."
"I'm fine," Max said, holding on to him. "My legs are just a little weak. I haven't really walked in a month."
Zack stepped towards them. "You want me to do it?" he asked Logan.
Logan smiled, knowing Zack wasn't trying to be overbearing. "No," he replied. "I got her." He slung one of Max's arms around his neck and crouched, scooping her up in his arms. She held on tightly, burying her face in Logan's neck.
"Wait!" she cried, halting Logan in his tracks.
"What's the matter Maxie?" Brin asked, coming into the room.
"Where's Lydecker?" Max asked, her eyes wild.
Logan, Zack, and the other X-5s exchanged looks.
"Where is he?" Max asked, her voice edged with anger and hysteria.
"Max, calm down," Logan said softly. "The baby-"
"The baby's fine," Max snapped. "Where is Lydecker?" She looked at Zack. "Tell me!"
Zack stepped towards her, "He's dead Maxie. Jondy's team took him out."
Max let out a sigh of relief and said firmly, "I want to see him."
Logan knew better than to argue. He followed Zack and carried her into the other part of the warehouse. Jondy, Syl, and Tinga were standing over Lydecker's body, which was covered by a blanket. "The face," Max said. "I want to see his face."
Logan set her down in front of him, holding her tightly from behind. Tinga stooped down and pulled the blanket away from his face. The scarred skin was splattered with blood and his eyelids were closed. You couldn't even tell which one was missing an eyeball behind it.
"It's over, honey," Logan whispered in her ear. "It's finally over."
"He's gone, Maxie," Jondy said.
Max looked away from Lydecker's body and into her husband's eyes, "Take me home Logan, please. I don't want to be here anymore."
Kissing Max's forehead, Logan once again scooped her up in his arms. "Cindy, you here?" he asked.
"I'm in the back, Moneybags." Original Cindy replied. "You got my boo?"
"Hey Cindy," Max said into her husband's Comm unit.
"Hey boo," Cindy said, the smile audible over the connection.
"All units, fall back," Johnny said. "Police approaching."
"Okay, everybody get gone," Zack commanded.
"What about the nurse?" Tinga asked.
"Matt will take care of her," Bling said, coming into the room. "But we all have to go. Now."
The X-5s all jogged out of the building, some following Max and Logan, some coming the way they had came. However, all managed to make sure their egress route took them past Lydecker's body. Just as Max had needed closure, so did they. They needed to know it was over. And seeing his bullet-riddled body brought them that closure. He was most definitely gone. Their nightmare had finally ended.
"See you later little sister," Tinga called as she and Jondy rode away on her motorcycle. Krit and Johnny had already made tracks, while Syl, Jace, Zane and Brin piled into Bling's SUV, calling similar greetings of gladness and farewell to their sister, who was safe in the arms of her husband in the backseat of their car. Zack climbed into the front seat next to Original Cindy.
"Where to Miss Daisy?" Original Cindy asked, chuckling.
"Home," Max and Logan said in unison.
"You're absolute sure you don't need to be checked out by a doctor?" Zack asked.
"I'm okay big brother," Max said. "I've been poked and prodded enough by medical types over the last month. I just want to go home."
Logan kissed her cheek and held her tighter, "Take us home Cindy."
"No problem boo," she answered, steering the car towards Foggle Towers. In the side mirrors, Zack watched the cops pull up and surround the building. Good thing a contingent of X-5s had made their job easier. He wondered what they would think when they found an unconscious nurse with a gunshot wound and dead man already presumed dead.
Cindy looked in the rearview mirror and saw Max and Logan cuddling in the back seat, their hands on her belly. "If that isn't a Hallmark card, I don't know what is," she remarked.
Zack turned and looked at his sister and her family. "It's all good now huh?"
"Yeah," Original Cindy said. "It's all good." She smiled and looked at Max's brother. "Original Cindy thinks it's gonna be all good, all the time from now on." By the looks of things in the backseat, Max resting against Logan's chest, her eyes closed, Logan's chin resting atop her head, his fingers laced with hers on her pregnant stomach as she lazily traced patterns on one of his arms, Original Cindy felt in her gut that things for her boos were going to be okay.