Disclaimer: Dark Angel and it's characters do not belong to me. I do not use them for personal financial gain, only for my own and others' online entertainment. Please do not reproduce this work in anyway without my permission, since the new characters and plot are mine. If you would like this story for an archive or other online source, please email me for permission prior to posting.

Cruel Twists of Fate
2020



Lori was seated on a rusted park bench in front of the Space Needle. Not many people came near the abandoned building. To her, it was a metaphor for America, the image of what the once great nation had become. At the moment, she had her legs casually crossed, reading her favorite novel. To the normal passerby, she was merely a professional woman completely enthralled by her book while attempting to relax and escape the chaos of post-pulse Seattle. Although, she wasn't paying any attention to the written words in front of her. She was listening astutely to every sound. Loren wasn't exactly sure how Logan would react to her news, or if he would even come. *He* would have scolded her for that. She smiled sadly. Lori could almost hear his soft tenor ringing in her ears.

"You always need a plan, Lori."

'I'm trying,' she thought, 'but I never had the luxury of combative training, just Girl Scouts.' An unfamiliar metallic sound met her ears. She glanced up from her book and squinted into the coming twilight. "Logan? Logan Cale?" She asked, feigning complete shock.

The man stared at her for a moment, trying to place her.

Lori laughed. "Don't feel bad if you don't remember me. Loren Davis. Your grandfather and my father belonged to the same yachting club when we were younger, pre-pulse."

There was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes. "No, Lori, I haven't *forgotten* you. I didn't *recognize* you. It's hard to forget the girl who delighted in terrorizing the yacht club members. If I remember right, you put a chemical on the door knob of the men's room that caused a real scandal."

Lori laughed. "You know, I'd forgotten about that."

"I haven't. My hand was black for a week."

"My apologies." Lori offered with a smile. Logan had changed very little, except for the wheelchair. She thought it best not to ask about that. She lifted her book to her eyes again. She'd give him some time to think. Better not to flood him with information too quickly.

Logan was shocked by Lori's presence. He didn't even know she was in Seattle, and the fact that she was here seemed rather odd. But, she certainly wasn't the person for which he was waiting. Couldn't be. Logan just hoped she wouldn't scare off Max's 'benefactor '.

Fifteen minutes ticked by. Lori gazed over at Logan again. He appeared calm, although she could sense small physical movements which caused her to think he was nervous. She looked down at her book, running her finger along the title. Finally, she came to a decision. She had a plan...it wasn't a good one...but it *was* a plan. *He* would have probably had a heartattack at the sheer simplicity, but *he* wasn't here. She flinched. That hadn't been a good thought.

"Have you ever read Brave New World, Logan?" She didn't wait for a response. "It's really unbelievable. I find the subject matter frightening myself. Genetically altered individuals being tortured as children to fit their creators' twisted purpose. Being classifed by Alpha or Gamma like animals is just unimaginable. That's more terrifying than a rabid Saint Bernard or a possessed car, Huxley's better than King any day. At least to me. But than again, I've always been rather odd."

Logan stared at her. "I would have to agree with you there."

Lori frowned, not sure which comment he was agreeing with. She dropped her voice to a soft whisper. "She's all right you know. Or, as all right as she can be. She's pretty sick. I've got her on a Tryptophan IV drip. It should begin working soon. I can take you to her if you want."

"*You've* got her?" Logan seemed wary. "Where is she?"

"My place, I converted an old bomb shelter into a hospital ward for exactly this purpose."

X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4


RX was seated in the desk chair next to Max, flipping through a girlie magazine. Lori led the way into the converted shelter. It appeared identical to a hospital room, although some of the equipment was unfamiliar to Logan. RX looked up from his magazine as they entered. Guiltily, he tried to sit on it.

"Raymond Ximenes Sanchez you had better not be looking at that filth again, or I'll make you change bed pans at the hospital for two months!" Lori scolded in a purely maternal tone.

RX flinched at the sound of his full name. "Man! You're worse than a mom." He whined as he caught sight of Logan. "You brought him *here*! Man! I can't believe..."

Lori flashed him an impatient look. "Don't you have something else you should be doing right now?"

RX looked at her dejectedly. "Yeah. I'm leaving. I don't know why though, I'm the one who found her...." His grumbling faded as he escaped ear shot.

Lori shook her head in mock annoyance. She turned to Logan, he'd wheeled himself to Max's bedside. When he spoke, his voice was hushed. Somewhere, beyond the tiers of sound, she could sense a sadness which imbued his voice. He cared for Max, that was evident. She could see it so clearly in his actions. It brought a pang of loss to her heart. She'd once been the recipient of that kind of affection. No more. It had been taken away. "What's wrong with her?" Logan asked.

"She suffered a grand mal seizure. Neurology isn't my specialty, but I do know about this particular condition from...personal experience." She paused, calming her raging emotions. Now was not the time or the place to relive her memories of *him.*
Logan noticed the small gap in speaking, but he was too wrapped up in Max's ailment to worry about Lori's past.

She continued. "I had to remove her from the hospital. Number One, they'd have probably noticed her 'abnormalities.' Number Two, they wouldn't know how to treat her, I do...And, Donald Lydecker was in the building no more than ten minutes before I found her. It was too risky. I hope you aren't upset."

"Why was it so severe?" Logan continued in a strained tone.

"I believe Lydecker thought of a new way to capture the X5s, or at least a few of them. He spiked Max's Tryptophan with a chemical which would prove harmless to you and anyone not 'genetically engineered'...but which was catastrophic for her. It interacted with the seratonin levels in her brain, causing her to have a sudden, violent seizure. The pills she thought would save her, only made her condition worse."

Logan was examining Lori carefully. He couldn't help but feel paranoid about her 'miraculous' appearance.

Lori caught the tremor of his features. She laughed wryly. "Don't go thinking I'm a double agent or a spy. I hate Manticore for what they did to those kids."

As if on cue, RX sauntered back in the room. "Yo, warden, your boyfriend called." His voice carried an annoyingly teasing tone.

"My boyfriend?" Lori questioned, the amusement gone from her voice. Now there was a different tone, unidentifiable.

"Mein Fuhrer."

"The bastard, what does Lydecker want now?" There was hatred in her voice as she spoke his name.

"Still about the job."

"Tell him I'm filing for a restraining order tomorrow."

RX looked back at Max with a sigh. "She's still out cold isn't she?"

"Yes." Loren answered, preoccupied by RX's news.

"Maybe if Richie Rich kisses her she'll wake up." RX declared, scurrying out of the room before he could be reprimanded again. He knew Lori wasn't in the mood for jokes, but he couldn't resist that one.

Logan had watched the scene quietly, as RX left he spoke up. "You know Lydecker." It was more of an irate observation than a question.

"Yes, we're old nemeses. I wish the man would contract Ebola and die. The weasel wants me to go work at Manticore. He's not as smart as they think he is, or he wouldn't even be asking."

"How do I know you aren't going to turn her in the moment she wakes up?" Logan asked, his voice hard.

Lori seemed surprised. "Why would I do that? Hell, Logan, if I'd wanted to turn her over to Manticore, I would have already done it. Don't you think if *they're* the ones that did this to her that *they'd* be the ones to undo it?..." Her voice trailed off, eyes flashing. "Is that it, Logan? Do you think I did this? I know we didn't know each other well when we're were younger but...I can't believe you'd think I could do anything like this! I'm really very offended. I take Max into my home to save her from that asshole Lydecker and what do I get in return? Accusations and paranoia. Maybe RX was right...I shouldn't have brought you in on this."

Logan stared at her for a moment. "I'm sorry. You're right. If you did have anything to do with Manticore Lydecker would be here already."

"Damn straight." Lori muttered, still flustered by Logan's lack of trust.

Logan stared at Max's sleeping figure. It was odd seeing her this way, vulnerable. He'd never pictured her like that. Sure, *he'd* been placed in a vulnerable, mortal situation when a bullet had severed his spinal cord, but he'd always imagined Max as being unstoppable. She was, after all, designed to be that way.

Now, as he stared at her seemingly lifeless figure, he realized the extent of his feelings and the folly of his emotions. "How much longer will she be like this?" He asked in a voice thick with emotion despite his attempts to hide it.

Lori looked away to hide the tears in her own eyes. She could identify with Logan's pain. At least he had a body to pray over. "I'm not sure. The pills she took were laced with a very harmful chemical. From my work at the lab yesterday, I'd estimate the half life at around twelve to eighteen hours. Which, to a laeman, means that the chemical should be down to about one third of its original volume in her system by now. That, coupled with the near constant Tryptophan IV drip and the regenerative agent in her blood stream should have her up and about fairly soon. Of course, there could always be factors of which I am not currently aware."

Logan nodded absently, his gaze still fixed on Max.

"Oh great and wonderful doctor!" RX called from the hallway. "You have an urgent phone call from your superior at the hospital awaiting you in the den."

Lori sighed. "Excuse me. I'll give you some time alone with Max. Doctor's have never been able to decide if someone in a coma can hear loved ones when you speak to them. But, I'm inclined to think its perfectly logical that they can. Anyway, it makes the speaker feel better." Lori trudged up the stairs and walked calmly to the den. Despite what her exterior might suggest, inside her the anger was brewing.

X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4*X4

Lydecker was seated on the couch in the den, leafing through one of the files Lori had placed on her desk. He rose when Lori entered the room.

She walked up to him calmly, smiling sweetly.

"How are..." His question was cut off by the a stinging blow from Lori's hand.

"You bastard! How dare you!" She interrupted.

Lydecker scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do, too! God, you disgust me! I had no idea you were going to spike her Tryptophan. You didn't tell me you were going to do that. It was not part of the deal."

"How else were you going to catch her, get her in a vulnerable position?"

"I...I don't know. But, I would have found a way. I didn't need any help from you."

Lydecker turned around and walked to the fireplace, examining a family picture on the mantle. "You remind me a great deal of your father. He had the same...drive."

"Don't compare me to my father." She whispered, her eyes burning angrily. "What the hell were you doing last tonight anyway?" She shouted, changing the subject before he continued his anecdotes about her father. "I wasn't expecting *him* to attack me! I walk outside and he's on me like a doberman."

"We had to test his allegiance and the effectiveness of that program you gave me."

"Bull shit! I told you that program would work. You didn't 'have' to 'test' anything."

"Oh, but I did." He insisted, turning to look at her again. "The people at Manticore are still a little weary of you, my dear."

"They're all fools. Manticore wouldn't exist without my father. He argued for federal funding everytime there was a hearing! Getting the money back after the X1 fiasco was a major undertaking. Those...those 'things' are hideous! It's no wonder they wanted to shut you people down. Manticore owes my father a great deal."

"Yes, but you had one of the runaways in your home for years. You even mar..."

She cut him off again. "I didn't know. He told me the barcode was a gang tattoo. How was I supposed to know he was from Manticore? Father had been dead for years. He didn't discuss his job with me! He couldn't...it was classified! I only found out about Manticore *after* you and your men took what was 'yours.' Which brings me to another interesting point. I thought you told me *he* was dead. Why did you use the program on *him*? Surely you have some other X-whatever to test it on. Why him?"

Lydecker's eyebrow rose. "When you talk like that, I wonder if you still care about the man."

"Don't be an ass...Why are you here anyway? One of her friends is downstairs. You could blow the entire operation."

"We have a problem."

"A problem?"

"I think your little friend remembered something."

"What?" She swallowed quickly, hoping Lydecker hadn't noticed the hope in her voice.

"After that incident in the alley he was muttering something like 'I'm sorry.' You don't know anything about that do you?"

"Hell no!" She muttered, looking away. "Why the hell would he be apologizing?"

"I was hoping you might know."

"Well, Deck, I don't." She retorted bitterly.

Lydecker stood, crossing to a place beside her. "Why are you so distant, Lori? I remember a time when we were fairly close."

Lori gave him a sidelong glance and snorted. "Newsflash...I never liked you. Father named you my Godfather...I sure as hell didn't. I hate to be rude, but you better leave. If Max's friend find's you here I'm going to have one hell of a mess to explain...don't you think?"

Lydecker nodded saddly, turning from Lori. He stopped at the door. "I promised your father I'd look out for you, Lori. Everything I've done, I've done for you." With that, he exited the room.

Lori collapsed into a chair and sobbed. Everything he'd done? *Everything* he'd done?
She had a feeling she still didn't know *everything* that man had done to her. She'd been led to believe that *he* was dead. Now...now she'd gazed into his face. She'd lost everything. Her life had been so bleak. Was it any wonder she'd become so closed off? Was it any wonder she'd given up hope two years ago?

Stay tuned for more.....And don't forget to post a review.
If you would like to contact me..don't hesitate to email me at Ottiga@aol.com