Chapter Two
Crash…
"Boo, what are you wearing?" Cindy asked as Max approached.
"I'm incognito." Max said, running her fingers through her long red wig.
"So, what's the what?" Cindy asked. "Normal got a mess of boxes and stuff for you at Jam Pony. Sketchy wanted to deliver them today, idiot. Said no one would see him lugging all these boxes into Terminal City."
"Thanks, Cindy." Max said flatly.
"One other thing, Boo." Cindy said. "Ran into an old friend today."
"Who?" Max said, suddenly alarmed.
"Logan." Cindy said quickly. "Said to tell you 'hey'."
"K." Max smiled. "You didn't…"
"No." Cindy interrupted. "I didn't tell him about you and Alec. Funny though… started out as a prank to get Logan away from you."
"And now it's so much more." Max said.
"He treating you right? Or am I going to have to smack him around?" Cindy inquired.
"No." Max smiled. "He's treating me great."
"I've never seen you this happy." Cindy said. "No frowning, no sighing, no darting around and complaining. No virus."
"Nothing but two people… two souls together." Max finished.
"Oh. You got it bad girl." Cindy said.
"Ladies!" Sketchy said upon his approach. "I have beer, I have glasses, I have two beautiful women surrounding me… what more could one man ask for?"
"A life." Max said.
"A grip." Cindy added.
"A real man to show you how it's done." Alec said, walking up behind Sketchy. "Let's go babe." He said to Max.
"We'll be by Jam Pony tonight." Max said.
"We'll be there." Cindy smiled and watched Max and Alec leave Crash.
"Cute couple." Sketchy said.
"Yea." Cindy murmured.
Meanwhile…
"Do not attempt to adjust your sets. This is an Eyes-Only streaming freedom video. This cable hack can not be traced, can not be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city. Mutants among us seems to be on the cover of every newspaper from California to New York, Texas to North Dakota and all over the United States. 'Fear them' is the underlying message. But why? Why are we afraid of them? Our government made them, created them, trained them to fight our battles. They were raised with no compassion, no love, no family but themselves. We must now care for them as we would any war veteran. This has been an Eyes-Only streaming freedom video. Peace. Out."
"Fool!" A man yelled at the Television Monitor. "Those freaks are nothing but trouble. They're going to come in and take over. They're going to kill and destroy. Take out jobs and pollute the gene pool. It's disgusting. They're disgusting. They're nothing but trouble!"
"Calm down!" Another voice shouted. "You don't know what they are. Who they are."
"What? You feeling sympathetic Adam?" The first man asked.
"No." Adam replied. "I'm just saying, they're probably lost and afraid. And they're being attacked from every which way. You can't just assume because they're different, it automatically makes them evil."
"Hey, shut up!" Another man yelled.
"Yea, shut up, Adam." The first man yelled.
"You want to say that to my face?" Adam said standing to face the man. "Come one. Say it."
"Screw you!" The man said, throwing a punch toward Adam.
"Was that going to hurt?" Adam asked, clutching the man's hand in his fist. "You can't even fight me, you're going to go out and fight one of them?" Adam threw the man's hand away. "Go to hell. And take your flunkies with you." Adam said, turning and leaving the bar.
"He's nothing but trouble." The man said.
"Yea, and only been around a few months." Another man said.
"You don't think?" The first man asked.
Logan's Penthouse…
"Yea." Logan said picking up the phone.
"Hey, Logan, it's Buddy." The man said. "Look we got a little problem with our amnesia patient. He's getting a little wild about all this transgenic stuff. Having nightmares, fighting people that are speaking out against the transgenics."
"I'll try and get in touch with Max about it." Logan said. "If he starts getting dangerous, take Mary and get out of there. I'll deal with it on my end."
"Thanks." Buddy said.
"No. Thank you." Logan replied, ending the conversation.
Terminal City…
Max's smile beamed as she ran her hand across Alec's bare stomach. She watched as his chest rose and fell in a peaceful sleep. She brushed a stray strand of hair from his face and leaned over to kiss him.
"Morning." He smiled. "That's a nice way to be woken up."
"I know." Max smiled back. "I like waking you up that way." They kissed.
"Mmm." Alec groaned, "What time is it?"
"A little after midnight." Max replied.
"It's late, we need to get moving." Alec said, snuggling into Max's embrace.
"I know." Max said softly. "Hot run, Terminal City."
"Yea." Alec said.
"I'll get the teams ready." Max said, leaving the comfort of the bed.
"I'll meet you in fifteen." Alec said, pushing his hair from his eyes.
Alec watched Max intently as she walked from the room.
"Okay guys!" Max shouted as she entered the main room. "Who's on the supply run tonight?"
"We are." A small X6 shouted. "My team and a few X5 are prepared."
"Good." Max said. "This should be an easy one. Straight pick up, no problems."
"We hope." The boy said.
"Max." Mole said. "Logan's on the line for you."
"Take a message." Max snipped.
"Says it's important." Mole replied.
"What?" Max said into the phone. "We're getting ready for a supply run."
"This isn't a social call." Logan replied. "Buddy called, it's Zack."
"We take care of our own." Max said. "Tell Buddy I'll send someone to get Zack out of there."
"It's not that easy." Logan snapped.
"It is that easy. And it's none of your concern." Max yelled.
"Hey!" Logan shouted. "In case you haven't noticed Eyes-Only and I are still fighting for you!"
"Yes, you and your alter-ego. You make a wonderful couple." Max snipped. "We'll take care of our own."
"Do you need anything?" Logan asked, softer now.
"No. I have everything I need." Max said, slipping her hand into Alec's hand. "Thanks for the info. We'll get Zack out of there."
Crash…
"Boo, what are you wearing?" Cindy asked as Max approached.
"I'm incognito." Max said, running her fingers through her long red wig.
"So, what's the what?" Cindy asked. "Normal got a mess of boxes and stuff for you at Jam Pony. Sketchy wanted to deliver them today, idiot. Said no one would see him lugging all these boxes into Terminal City."
"Thanks, Cindy." Max said flatly.
"One other thing, Boo." Cindy said. "Ran into an old friend today."
"Who?" Max said, suddenly alarmed.
"Logan." Cindy said quickly. "Said to tell you 'hey'."
"K." Max smiled. "You didn't…"
"No." Cindy interrupted. "I didn't tell him about you and Alec. Funny though… started out as a prank to get Logan away from you."
"And now it's so much more." Max said.
"He treating you right? Or am I going to have to smack him around?" Cindy inquired.
"No." Max smiled. "He's treating me great."
"I've never seen you this happy." Cindy said. "No frowning, no sighing, no darting around and complaining. No virus."
"Nothing but two people… two souls together." Max finished.
"Oh. You got it bad girl." Cindy said.
"Ladies!" Sketchy said upon his approach. "I have beer, I have glasses, I have two beautiful women surrounding me… what more could one man ask for?"
"A life." Max said.
"A grip." Cindy added.
"A real man to show you how it's done." Alec said, walking up behind Sketchy. "Let's go babe." He said to Max.
"We'll be by Jam Pony tonight." Max said.
"We'll be there." Cindy smiled and watched Max and Alec leave Crash.
"Cute couple." Sketchy said.
"Yea." Cindy murmured.
Meanwhile…
"Do not attempt to adjust your sets. This is an Eyes-Only streaming freedom video. This cable hack can not be traced, can not be stopped and it is the only free voice left in the city. Mutants among us seems to be on the cover of every newspaper from California to New York, Texas to North Dakota and all over the United States. 'Fear them' is the underlying message. But why? Why are we afraid of them? Our government made them, created them, trained them to fight our battles. They were raised with no compassion, no love, no family but themselves. We must now care for them as we would any war veteran. This has been an Eyes-Only streaming freedom video. Peace. Out."
"Fool!" A man yelled at the Television Monitor. "Those freaks are nothing but trouble. They're going to come in and take over. They're going to kill and destroy. Take out jobs and pollute the gene pool. It's disgusting. They're disgusting. They're nothing but trouble!"
"Calm down!" Another voice shouted. "You don't know what they are. Who they are."
"What? You feeling sympathetic Adam?" The first man asked.
"No." Adam replied. "I'm just saying, they're probably lost and afraid. And they're being attacked from every which way. You can't just assume because they're different, it automatically makes them evil."
"Hey, shut up!" Another man yelled.
"Yea, shut up, Adam." The first man yelled.
"You want to say that to my face?" Adam said standing to face the man. "Come one. Say it."
"Screw you!" The man said, throwing a punch toward Adam.
"Was that going to hurt?" Adam asked, clutching the man's hand in his fist. "You can't even fight me, you're going to go out and fight one of them?" Adam threw the man's hand away. "Go to hell. And take your flunkies with you." Adam said, turning and leaving the bar.
"He's nothing but trouble." The man said.
"Yea, and only been around a few months." Another man said.
"You don't think?" The first man asked.
Logan's Penthouse…
"Yea." Logan said picking up the phone.
"Hey, Logan, it's Buddy." The man said. "Look we got a little problem with our amnesia patient. He's getting a little wild about all this transgenic stuff. Having nightmares, fighting people that are speaking out against the transgenics."
"I'll try and get in touch with Max about it." Logan said. "If he starts getting dangerous, take Mary and get out of there. I'll deal with it on my end."
"Thanks." Buddy said.
"No. Thank you." Logan replied, ending the conversation.
Terminal City…
Max's smile beamed as she ran her hand across Alec's bare stomach. She watched as his chest rose and fell in a peaceful sleep. She brushed a stray strand of hair from his face and leaned over to kiss him.
"Morning." He smiled. "That's a nice way to be woken up."
"I know." Max smiled back. "I like waking you up that way." They kissed.
"Mmm." Alec groaned, "What time is it?"
"A little after midnight." Max replied.
"It's late, we need to get moving." Alec said, snuggling into Max's embrace.
"I know." Max said softly. "Hot run, Terminal City."
"Yea." Alec said.
"I'll get the teams ready." Max said, leaving the comfort of the bed.
"I'll meet you in fifteen." Alec said, pushing his hair from his eyes.
Alec watched Max intently as she walked from the room.
"Okay guys!" Max shouted as she entered the main room. "Who's on the supply run tonight?"
"We are." A small X6 shouted. "My team and a few X5 are prepared."
"Good." Max said. "This should be an easy one. Straight pick up, no problems."
"We hope." The boy said.
"Max." Mole said. "Logan's on the line for you."
"Take a message." Max snipped.
"Says it's important." Mole replied.
"What?" Max said into the phone. "We're getting ready for a supply run."
"This isn't a social call." Logan replied. "Buddy called, it's Zack."
"We take care of our own." Max said. "Tell Buddy I'll send someone to get Zack out of there."
"It's not that easy." Logan snapped.
"It is that easy. And it's none of your concern." Max yelled.
"Hey!" Logan shouted. "In case you haven't noticed Eyes-Only and I are still fighting for you!"
"Yes, you and your alter-ego. You make a wonderful couple." Max snipped. "We'll take care of our own."
"Do you need anything?" Logan asked, softer now.
"No. I have everything I need." Max said, slipping her hand into Alec's hand. "Thanks for the info. We'll get Zack out of there."