Disclaimer: Alrighty, this is the deal

Disclaimer: Alrighty, this is the deal. I have a job (that I totally am bored in-but I make okay money.) That job is NOT writing for DA…as you probably know (but how I wish to hell it was). I don't own any of the characters (except for Logan ….mmmmm-just try to convince me otherwise!), and I sure as hell don't make any money off of this-unless some of you would like to send me a check for all my hard work…??? ;) If so, email me, and we can talk! =P

A/N (Also known as Hobbes' blubbering): Okay, I know I've been serious lacking in updating, and I am sooo sorry. You all know that my boyfriend's grandmother died, and that took up a lot of the past 2 weeks. Then, I wasn't quite content with the way the last chapter came out. I wish I had 'fleshed' it out more than I did. Ah, well. Anyways, I LOVED the season finale. It had everything I like in it: romance, action, drama, angst, and a knife twisting surprise at the end. Just remember, my peeps, Max was captured in my fic first! So if anything I write mirrors at all what happens in the upcoming season, know that I have had this stuff planned out since I began writing this little story of mine!

Special Thanks to: BlackWolf, for his help with weapons (and I am going to need your help soon again, Blacky!), Zig for his beta-reading expertise, and a wonderful plot idea I used earlier in the story. To all my wonderful reviewers; I know I've said this before, but thank you all for your absolutely wonderful and inspiring reviews. You guys keep me going. J I can never thank you guys enough. J

Okay, without any further blabbering, on to Chapter 14!

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The Enemy Within

Chapter 14

Washed Away

The truck came to a halt in front of them, shielding Original Cindy and Logan from the aim of several guns carried by the Manticore henchmen. Logan looked on in astonishment as Zack and Bling jumped out of the passenger side door, both armed with weapons that were slung dangerously from straps over their shoulders.

A blinding blue light surrounded them all. For a minute, Logan thought he was dying, or possibly even dead already, before realizing it was only lightning that had lit the early morning sky. A deafening crash of thunder confirmed that it was just nature, and a not a bullet slicing through with deadly force.

Over the loud rumble, Zack ordered Cindy to get Logan to the Aztek.

"But Zack, what about y-" Original Cindy began, before she was cut off by gunshots. She flinched as Zack and Bling turned their backs and began returning the soldiers fire with their own.

"Cindy, just get him out of here!" Zack shouted in a pause between gunfire and nodding toward Logan. There was no sense in arguing with him as he reloaded behind the armored vehicle. He was all soldier now. "You know where to meet later. Get outta here!" With that, he turned back toward there assailants and began firing again. Cindy turned and wheeled Logan as fast as she could toward his car, her breath coming in small gasps.

The sky flashed repeatedly and the thunder blended in with the explosions behind Logan and Cindy. A hard, fat drop of rain hit Logan on his arm, and for a minute, time seemed to stand still. He looked down and became fascinated with the newly wet spot on his skin. They were nearing the Aztek and all hell was breaking loose behind them, but he barely acknowledged it. It was as if his mind was overloaded with everything that had happened over the past couple of days, and now that tiny, innocent speck of rain that clung him was the breaking point. He was amazed at the way it seemed to sit on his skin, hanging for dear life on top of the hair of his left forearm. Raising his right hand ever so slowly, he brushed the drop away. With that gesture, an emptiness settled over him –in him- and he couldn't explain why.

"Not good", he whispered to no one, and to everyone. He had shocked himself by speaking, as if saying the words aloud, as if by speaking he had somehow sealed a dark and deadly fate.

"Logan! LOGAN!" Original Cindy practically shouted in his ear. He jerked in his chair and raised startled eyes at her. He hadn't realized that they were now standing beside the passenger door of the Aztek. Cindy was obviously expecting him to help her get himself in the vehicle as fast as humanly possible, yet he seemed in no hurry to get away from this hell hole. The rain was now pouring down on them, drenching and unrelenting in its mission to water the earth. His hair meshed to his head, and water clung to his lashes as he continued to stare unanswering at the woman in front of him.

"Look, Original Cindy ain't no weakling, but even she can't get your skinny white ass in this car without your help. Now come on!" Her words were meant to be strong and commanding, but her shaking voice belied her false bravado. She was desperately worried about leaving Zack and Bling here, but Logan was in no shape to take on a Manticore army right now, nor was he in any shape to drive himself out of here. It was obvious the stress was taking it's toll on him, as well as the medications he was still reeling from. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

The sound of gunshots were still raging in a rapid fire war behind them, pausing only briefly every now and then for reloading of weapons or interruption for the nauseating sound of a man screaming his final words. Logan glanced back at Zack and Bling, who were holding down the fort.

"We can't leave them! They'll be slaughtered out there!" he shouted to Cindy.

"We have no choice! You are in no condition to go out there and play Cowboy and Indians!"

"They're going to die because they were saving me! I've got to help them-"

"Logan, you'll only slow them down. The best way to help them is leave" She knew was being harsh, but they didn't have time to argue about it. "Zack's trained for this. He will get them back to us. I'm not letting you go back there!" She opened up the Aztek's door, ending the debate. "Now help me get you in so we can get the hell outta here!" She grabbed him from under his arms and did most of the work as the worked to get him inside.

Logan slowly climbed in, not only because he was still in agonizing pain, but also because he was reluctant to leave his best friend and Max's brother to fight his fight. But Cindy was right. He would only slow them down. He was a cripple who could barely see out of his swollen eyes and couldn't move without tears forming from the effort.

When he was settled in his seat decently, Cindy shut his door. The sound was eerie; one minute, the sound of bullets, rain, wind, and thunder were deafening and all encompassing. The next, everything was muffled and distant, reminding him of listening to a tv show that was on in a different room. You could hear it, but it was a distant thought. Not real. Once again, Logan's stomach sank as if they door shutting was another omen that things were going to get much worse. He fought off the urge to open the door and go to Zack and Bling, never wishing more than he did now that his legs still worked.

Behind him, Cindy raised the hatchback and threw the wheelchair in the back, before appearing again on the driver's side and jumping into the seat. Putting the car in reverse, she gave him a small, unsteady smile.

"Let's get you outta this bitch." She punched the gas, and they set off. He was amazed by the young woman beside him. She was no doubt scared out of her mind, but she was acting efficiently. They had wasted no more than two minutes-three at the most –after walking away from the now bloody scene behind them to driving off the premises.

Yet, even while thinking those thoughts, Logan eyes stayed focused on the rearview mirror as they hauled ass through the parking lot, his gaze never leaving the two men that had saved his life.

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"Zack, I'm running out of ammo here!" Bling shouted. They had been in this hellacious battle for what seemed like a lifetime. Hiding behind the cover of the truck, Bling re-loaded as quick as possible. He was scared, and his breath was coming in heaves. In all of his life, he could never have predicted he would never be involved in such a scene as this. It was surreal, and it seemed almost as if he were not really here. He couldn't be participating in such an outrageous situation as this. He was a physical therapist, for Christ's sakes, not some warrior with blood on his hands.

"Just keep going! They're wearing down!" Zack ordered, as he ducked behind the vehicle. Bling nodded and stepped around to cover Zack.

Zack figured they were doing well. They had taken down two thirds of the men they had confronted. If they could just last another five minutes, then they would be able to set the explosives and haul ass out of here. Then this facility would be just a huge hole in the ground, and they would be on step closer to getting Max bac-

" ARRRRRRGGGGHHH," Bling screamed in agony and slumped to the ground. Zack looked up from reloading and immediately hurried over to the other man, dragging Bling behind the truck to shield him completely from their attackers. Bling grabbed his stomach in pain and just as quickly pulled his hand away before looking down in terrified horror. The torrential rain cleaned the blood that was flowing freely from the grotesque wound that where Bling's hand had briefly touched.

"Damn." Bling sighed. He looked shocked and scared, yet at the same time, Bling seemed to accept that it was his fate. He raised his eyes toward Zack, and spoke quietly and clearly. "Get her back, Zack. You and Logan-get her back. Don't let this be in vain." Bling choked out as blood bubbled through his esophagus and spilled over. He forced himself to speak again. "Don't let them win…" One single teardrop slid down his cheek, before the precipitation washed it away. Bling rapidly blinked the rain and tears from his eyes two times. After blinking the third time his eyes just stayed open and he didn't blink anymore.

Zack swallowed hard as an unbridled fury slammed into him. With a primal rage he hadn't known since he was confined behind the walls of Manticore, he leapt and began firing on the men in front of him, the men responsible for taking the life of the man who lay on the pavement beside him. Unknowingly, Zack screamed animalistically as he showered the men with deadly force. He didn't know how long he lasted there; whether it was ten seconds or ten minutes, but he didn't stop until every last one of the bastards were dead. These men who had destroyed so many lives in a misguided sense of patriotism. Some of them had families waiting at home-wives they would never kiss again; sons and daughters they would never hug goodbye; mothers that would never have another opportunity to nag them about one thing or another. Others were loners-they had no one waiting at home every night and the closest family their fellow militants. Yet none of that mattered. Zack didn't discriminate in whom he mercilessly killed. All he knew is that each on of them represented everything he had hated about himself all of his life. The fact that he was half human; the fact that he couldn't control his body's actions half the time; the fact that half his 'family' was hiding throughout the country, constantly running from a force that was always two steps behind; the fact that he could never have a normal life; the fact that the woman he loved was no doubt being tortured in the most inhumane ways to become an ideal soldier again. And most importantly at the moment, -the fact that the blood no longer pumped life into Bling. No, that blood only streamed out into a puddle mixed with blood and water.

"You killed us! You killed all of us." He cried out as he sprayed his deadly bullets into the hapless bodies of the soldiers. What he was saying shouldn't have made sense, but it did to Zack. In a way, he was dead before he was born-all of his brothers and sisters were. All doomed to a life no one should live. He kept shooting until he completely ran out of ammo, pausing only briefly in between rounds to reload. All were dead long before that, but he kept on firing, wanting to kill the ghosts of his past and present. He stopped only when he had no bullets left to fire at all.

Finally, he took the small detonator out of his pocket and gripped it tightly in his left hand. Then he crouched down to pick up the lifeless body from the slippery concrete. He wasn't going to leave a fellow fallen soldier like that. Bling deserved a proper goodbye, not this. He unconsciously thanked the abilities that would allow him to carry the weight back to the cabin without any difficulty.

"I'm sorry." Zack said brokenly to the man he had known for less than two days, but had come to respect for his loyalty and courage. It was the first time in a long time-hell, maybe his whole life- that he could remember uttering those two words. He walked across the parking lot with the weight of the man in his arms and the weight of the world on his shoulders. Death permeated the soggy air, and lightning and thunder continued to crash down around him. Lightning and thunder were distant in the sky, and the rain eased up. The storm was coming to an end. Like all things. Everything came to an end sooner or later.

At the gate they had crashed through earlier, Zack pressed the button. The loud explosion didn't faze him and he kept walking without looking back. The mission was complete, but it had come with an expensive. He didn't even realize that the wetness on his face was caused by his own tears, not the drops of rain that he blamed it on.

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Cindy paced nervously by the window of the cabin. It had seemed like an eternity since she and Logan had left Zack and Bling to deal with the soldiers, and she was getting worried. Outside, the rain had stopped completely, but the sky was still gray and threatening. It would probably be like this all day, but that wasn't uncommon in Seattle.

She glanced over at Logan, who was dazedly rolling himself back and forth in his wheelchair, lost in his own world. Lord knew what the man was thinking about, but she knew he sure had enough to ponder for the next decade. And that was with just thoughts about Max. She had bandaged him up as much as she could, but didn't give him any medicine. He no doubt still had some in his system, and if they guy never even took a Tylenol for the rest of his life, she couldn't blame him. She walked over to him and gave him a small smile.

"Original Cindy is going to make some tea. Want any?" she asked softly. He didn't bother looking up at her, and only responded by giving her an almost imperceptible shake of his head. She sighed and walked to the kitchen. She had to keep herself busy or she would go insane.

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Logan was thinking a million things at once, yet no one thought was prevalent in his mind.

...Max. Still with those monsters…

…Bling…Zack...

…How we gonna get her back?

…Where is Zack and Bling? They should be back by now…

…death…

…something's not right…

…oh, Max…I promise you, when this is all over, you will never have to hide again..I'll figure it out somehow…

The door opened, and immediately Logan snapped out of his internal dwellings. Standing in the entry, a drenched, stony faced Zack stood. In his arms was a lifeless body. Bling's body.

"Oh my God." Logan breathed. Zack said nothing and walked to the couch. Gently he lowered Bling on it, not caring if any of the blood stained. Original Cindy returned to the living room at that moment and promptly dropped her glass. She made a helpless noise as her hand flew to her mouth.

"Nooooo," she cried and stumbled back into the kitchen. She cut her foot on the glass of the mug that had crashed to the floor in the process, but it seem to phase her in her attempts to leave

"He's dead." Zack told Logan flatly without looking at him. Then, as if sensing Logan might want to be alone with his best friend, he walked back out the front entrance.

Slowly, Logan rolled over to where Bling's body lay. The man's eyes were still open, though they were unseeing and lifeless. Bling had sacrificed himself for Logan, and Logan had never even told Bling that he was his best friend, his confidante, and his motivator. Bling had been there for him when Logan had been so alone those first months after he had become paralyzed. If not for Bling encouraging him on, giving him confidence in himself and giving him hope, he would have no doubt put a bullet through his brain and ended it all. But Bling had saved him. He had saved him in so many ways, and now he had done it again. This time, though, Bling hadn't been able to save himself.

"DAMN IT!" Logan screamed at the top of his lungs, staring at Bling through watering eyes. "DAMN YOU! I'M NOT WORTH IT!" He heaved in a breath and turned toward the ceiling, as if speaking to God himself. "I'M NOT WORTH IT, DO YOU HEAR ME?" He choked back a sob, then finished limply, "I'm not worth it..." The tears were there, though Logan didn't allow them to spill over. He reached his hand over to Bling's eyes and gently shut them. Then, he simply sat by his best friend, not thinking, not speaking and barely breathing. Just being. And it hurt, because just being was more than Bling would do ever again.

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…Max stared at the man. He didn't know she was there. In fact, she wasn't really there. She knew she was dreaming, she just wasn't sure of what. The man in front of her had spiky blond hair, and cerulean blue eyes that were hidden behind silver rimmed glasses and swollen eyelids. Whoever he was looked like he had spent the past few days through some long, drawn out torture. He was black and blue all over, and he was confined to a wheelchair. However, there was no denying he was handsome-even given the givens. Something tickled at the back of her mind, but she couldn't grasp on to whatever it was. She couldn't help feeling that she knew him, somehow. Like they had met before in a previous lifetime or something like that. She could almost remember. It was like she was reaching for the memory, but she was reaching with the wrong hand.

The man was sad and the reason was obvious. In front of him, on a couch, lay a thick, bald black man. A man who was very obviously dead from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The guy in the wheelchair looked utterly hopeless and beaten-not just physically but spiritually as well. She walked over to him and lay a hand on his shoulder, as if to console him. He looked up at her-no through her- and whispered her name.

"Max?"

"Logan" she rasped, and for one instant, she remembered everything. It all came back in a rush, but just as quickly, it was gone. And once it was, she couldn't get it back again.

She lifted her hand and slowly backed away from the captivating stranger. He looked confused, but now had a small hopeful glint in his eye. That hadn' t been there before. And he was still staring through her. She was merely and observer in this lucid dream, not a participant, but he seemed to sense her somehow. She couldn't seem to back away quickly enough, yet she moved slow. She couldn't turn around. The man's eyes drew her in, haunted her, held her prisoner. And she was powerless in them...

She awoke in a sweat, bolting upright in her rigid barrack. The darkness was thick, but her capabilities didn't fail her. She was able to see everything with ease in the small room she was in.

Something was trying to tickle her memory, no doubt from dream she just had, but she was still medicated enough not to have the strength or the will to dwell on it. She lowered herself back down on her cot, struggling to remember the vision that must have had a profound effect on her, but she couldn't. Sleep started to beckon her again, and she was vulnerable to it because of the medication. She embraced it, and as she sunk back into it's welcoming arms, she had a small flicker of recognition.

"Logan." She whispered the name aloud, but it the word held no meaning for her. Then, she was under, and everything was forgotten.

The name Logan was now a distant memory once again. One that had no room in X5-452's mind.

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A/N: Alrighty, let me know what you think. And review!! Please!! I love getting reviews. And I won't be such a slacker on this story anymore.

And REMEMBER! I had Max captured before the DA writers did, so THERE! *sticks tongue out* at writers =P