Niva sat on the balcony; her arms wrapped around he legs as she calmly watched the sun rise over New York City. She took a deep breath, and after holding it a moment, released it to watch the white mist scatter into the early morning air.

For the first time in well over fifty years, the forever-burning lights of New York were dimmed, no matter how temporary. With the current energy crisis, electricity was at a premium, something only the very rich could afford, and even those that could were under strict mandatory conservation laws, threats of incarceration against those accused of power jacking. Niva momentarily glanced over her shoulder through the clear sliding glass door into Ben's penthouse. At least eight lamps burned in the living room, the kitchen was brightly lit, and god knows where else the man was using the much sought after energy. Ben seemed like the kind of man who would leave a light on while he went to the store, while some poor family in Queens couldn't eat because they couldn't cook their food. It was, as usual, the rich and powerful that survived the energy crisis, and the normal people like herself that suffered the consequences of their selfishness.

Niva swore lightly under her breath as he thoughts trailed off. Why was she wondering about the Electricity Shortage of 2020 when she'd almost gotten her sister killed tonight?

A single tear escaped Niva's green eyes as she watched the sun rise.


Ben couldn't take the silence anymore. It was deafening. And it seemed he was the only one who found the events of the night in the least disturbing. Zack was asleep, lightly, but quiet none the less on the couch. The last he'd checked on the happy couple, if you could call them that under the circumstances, Max was deeply asleep in Logan's arms, who was asleep himself. Niva had quickly disappeared after Max and Logan went to sleep. So, all this stuff, Max helping save her fugitive family, Max falling into the apartment soaking wet and hypothermic, it wasn't enough to disturb there sleeping patterns. It kind of made you wonder what would.

He needed air. It wasn't looking like he'd be able to get pissy drunk in the next couple of hours, who knew when the military might bust down your door, or some more killing machines might walk in the door. Not the time to be blindly drunk, if you asked him. He knew Max, he'd met her six months ago, he'd hung out at a bar with her, he'd practically shoved her and Logan together, for Christ sake. And now he finds out that she is a medical experiment gone wrong, trained to kill in multiple types of hand to hand combat, every type of gun imaginable, explosives…. he had hooked his best friend up with a killer. The thought ran through Ben's head and made his stomach turn.

Ben pushed himself off the chair and pulled open the balcony door, the cold air rushing across his face, biting his skin like a slap. The sun was just finishing it's rise, the sky a beautiful color of violet. As she walked over to the railing and leaned against it, scanning the sky, he didn't notice Niva curled up in a chair behind him.

Dark hair looking like it was about two weeks late for a hair cut, the exact color hard to tell in the dim light, Niva observed as she quickly wiped away the tears that had stained her face. He had broad shoulders, narrow waist; he had the physique of a football player with the height of a basketball player. He was a good looking man, Niva recalled, but he could be Dylan F**king Douglas, and be the reigning king of Hollywood, and Niva didn't care, she just wanted to be alone.

"Looks like this is turning out to be a popular place tonight." Ben jumped about three feet out of his skin when Niva spoke from behind him. Speak of the killing machine.

"God." Ben said as he turned. "You certainly are quiet."

"It's all in the training." She said flippantly, who'd already gotten the 411 on Ben's position as far as the X5s went from Zack, who was told by Logan in those long hours that they waited for Max. 'Enemy territory.' Niva thought sardonically. 'He already thinks all we do is run around going KILL! KILL! KILL! I wonder how surprised he'd if I knocked him over the railing? Nah, he's probably expecting it by now.'

"Yeah." Ben said running his hand through his hair, uncomfortable at the mention of Manticore.

"So tell me," Niva said as she examined her nails. Her manicure was totally shot. "How long have you known Logan?"

"Since college." Ben said carefully, not knowing quite how much he should be telling her. Friend or foe, the jury was still out.

"So you can give me the story on him and Max?" She said offhandedly, milking him for info that he wasn't about to ask Zack anymore about Max and Logan, whose most common answer was an manly man unintelligible grunt.

"Uh…they're living together." Ben muttered, turning back to face the sky.

Niva closed her eyes and sighed. "Figures."

Ben turned back to look at her. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just figures that I see Max for the first time in eleven years and I manage to f**k her life up royally."

Ben stared at her as he crossed his arms, not in accusation but in battle against the cold. "What do you mean? It seems to me you saved her life."

The reality of the situation was; if Niva hadn't been there, then Max would be dead. Zack might have been trained to be the commanding officer, but Niva was the one who'd been trained to be the field doctor. Manticore couldn't have their multimillion-dollar killing machines get killed in the field. Zack wouldn't have known what the hell to do, and if Ben or Logan were faced with the situation, they'd probably dump Max into a hot bath and kill her on the spot.

But at the same time, Niva knew she was fully responsible for Max being hurt. She'd been trying to save her, all because she couldn't take a simple order from Zack. For the first time in her life, she dared to ignore an order from Zack, and the next thing she knew a TAC team had her surrounded and even with Zack's help, they both would have been killed in a matter of moments. It was one thing when they were only trying to capture them, but when that TAC team had specific orders to kill, it was quite another.

So in came Max, the tables had turned, she was safe, but Max is missing. So much for rebellion. If she'd simply listened to Zack and gotten out of the city when he warned her that Manticore was closing in, Max wouldn't have ended up taking a swim in the Hudson Bay.

What a way to spend Christmas morning, your long lost sister's life in your hands knowing that she is inches from death. Max had been so much worse off then Niva dared let on. It was obvious that she and Zack were the only ones who wouldn't have completely shut down if Niva have put into words what it was like to feel Max's pulse get fainter and fainter as they struggled to raise her core temp. Logan, who Niva had no idea the extent the extent of his and Max's relationship at the time, only knowing that their must be on for Max to call out for him in her hypothermic delusions. Ben had looked like he was on thin ice, excuse the pun, but he'd stayed in control and did what he was told when he was told to, which earned him a small once of respect in Niva's book. If only he weren't working for the enemy.

"I might have saved her life." Niva said after a couple of minuets. "But what does she have to live for now? Manticore knows she's in New York, so she'll have to leave, and leave Logan behind, unless she wants to get him killed to, all because I couldn't follow a simple order." Niva sighed, willing the tears that threatened to rise away. "Figures the one sister who has a semi-normal life, I go and screw here over."

"They don't live in New York. They live in Seattle." Ben commented. "They're only out here because I asked them to help…" Ben trailed off as he turned away from Niva again.

"Oh, I know all about you," Niva said, her voice turning frigid as the air swirling around them. "You helped get my a** in trouble. Nice try, but when you go running back to Manticore, do me a favor and tell those f**ks that they'll never take me alive. Only way I'll go back to that hellhole is in a body bag." Ben was almost sure he heard her make a hissing sound. "And if you even try and hurt Max I swear to--"

"Look, I'm not going to turn you in." Ben snapped. "Especially not Max, so why don't you back off."

Niva froze. Why did she instantly believe him? She knew better than that. "When did you decide that we deserve to be among civilized society?"

Ben looked up. "I…I have no idea." He smiled briefly, and Niva's eyes almost rolled into the back of her head. Well, he wasn't Dylan Douglas, but he'd do. "I came out here still believing to worst, I have don't idea when I changed my mind."

Niva studied him a moment. It looked like he was in his own little world of thought. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go check Max's vitals. Make sure she isn't having any complications or anything." Niva saw that her words weren't even phasing Ben, so she simply got up and walked away, into the apartment.

Ben stared off into space blankly, deep in thought of what he'd gotten himself tangled up into. He was so deep in thought that he didn't see Niva walking around his living room, turning off lamps.

A/N: Dylan Douglas is Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglases son, just used the name.