Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
A/N:
a. This chapter will focus mainly on the development of the transgenics inside, with lots o' Max/Alec tension. The next chapter will bring out some more of the plot. Please don't yell at me! .
Summary of this chapter: Eddie helps Max get OC, Sketchy, and Logan away from Terminal City. Max takes a breather now that she doesn't have to worry about them, but her relaxation is short-lived, for total chaos erupts when she finds that having hundreds of transgenics in one place is not the best idea…especially when many of them are in heat. M/A tension.
The Siege
by
Brin
"I've got people looking to either put me in a cage for the rest of my life, turn me into a science project, or kill me. Probably all three." –Max
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Chapter 3: Turn it UpMax checked her three friends over once again. "You look disguised enough," she mumbled, adjusting Sketchy's bullet-proof vest.
It had been out of pure chance that Hank had stolen the three uniforms from the snipers he had subdued, and luckily he hadn't sold them yet. So now OC, Logan, and Sketchy stood dressed as national guards.
"Haven't we tried this already?" complained Sketchy, tugging at his helmet. "I am gonna have major helmet hair after this and you are going to buy me five bottles of my favorite shampoo, Max."
"Will do, Sketch," replied the X5, stuffing a ten-dollar bill into his hand. "Now, Normal should arrive with transportation soon after you get there so try not to be nervous."
"Yeah, but won't it look suspicious if three popos just saunter out of Terminal City like we down with the transgenics in here?" asked OC, incredulous.
Max grinned. "That's where the fun part comes in."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eddie glared at Max. "You owe me big time."
"Yeah, get in line," growled Cindy.
"If I get killed, Pick is gonna kill you," continued the anomaly. "That is, after Axle, Junky, and Hank take turns hanging you from different bodies parts from a light post."
Max laughed and patted her on the head. "Nice kitty."
Eddie hissed at her.
"You guys, this is not gonna be that hard. There is no crowd on this side of the blockade because there's no press coverage and the buildings around it are totally trashed," said the X5. She ripped a long strip of cloth from a blanket and used it to 'gag' Eddie. "Don't bite through it."
Eddie continued to glare at her. "Vrrmm rrur mmmum!"
"Sorry, I don't quite understand you," teased Max, tying Eddie's hands together with a piece of rope, then her ankles. "Now don't worry about these knots. They'll come right out, but because of that you have to be really careful." She stepped back to admire her work. "Yep, you look like an honorary captive."
"You do know she's gonna maul your eyeballs out after this, right boo?" asked OC, backing up from the brooding anomaly.
"Nah. She loves me too much," joked the X5, pinching Eddie's cheek. "Okay, so you guys ready?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Colonel Briggs!"
Colonel Davis Briggs looked up from his conversation as he heard his name being called. "Yes?"
"I'm um… Special Agent… Dimmesdale."
The colonel glanced at Terminal City, realizing that that was where the voice was coming from. "Are you in there?"
"Yes. Me and my… helpers were on a… secret mission. Very secret. Can't… say anything about it because it's so secret. We have here with us a subdued transgenic who needs to be taken… away for… testing."
Colonel Briggs looked at his comrades, who shrugged. "Okay, then. Bring it out."
The guardsmen got into position as four figures emerged from Terminal City. Three national guards and a limp transgenic bound hand and foot.
"How did you do that?" asked the colonel, staring at the transgenic.
"Well," said 'Dimmesdale,' "It wasn't easy; I'll tell you that much. This little kitty put up a good fight." He adjusted his goggles. "Now, if you don't mind, we'll just be off."
Colonel Briggs stopped him. "Wait. I've never heard of a Special Agent Dimmesdale. Can I see your badge?"
'Dimmesdale' glanced to his two companions, then dug around in his pockets. "Yeah, right here." He pulled out his badge.
"There's no ID with this," said Briggs suspiciously. "I'll need to see your ID. We had a little trouble with transgenics earlier and we just want to make sure."
"Um…" 'Dimmesdale' bit his lip. "Well…"
Suddenly, Eddie's head snapped up and she glared at Briggs, her body trying to wriggle free of her restraints.
"Whoa! You'll need to step back, Colonel. We need to get this transgenic away from this place ASAP. She could be a biohazard." 'Dimmesdale' stepped past the barricade, dragging the transgenic with him. "Thank you for your time, Colonel. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you. Our car is just ahead." And with that, they turned the corner.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Cindy hurried to help Eddie untie herself while Logan stood watch. Sketchy took off his helmet and goggles.
"You don't belong in these, girl," OC said, untying the gag. "Ain't no reason these people should accept treating ya'll like this."
Eddie slipped off the ropes around her wrists and ankles. "If only they believed that." She grabbed OC's handgun. "Will you miss this?"
"I think you be needing it more than me," replied Cindy. She pulled Eddie to her feet. "You got this?"
"Oh, yeah," Eddie cocked the trigger. "You guys gonna make it alright, 'Dimmesdale?'"
Logan chuckled. "Yeah. Normal should be here soon."
"I don't know how I am gonna live with that man," growled OC. "The guy worships Alec as a pastime."
"Well, they've most likely stormed yours and Max's apartment already and wired it so that if you ever come back they'll know," said Logan with a shrug. "And my place—or lack thereof—is out. Normal is our best bet."
"Hey, what about me?" whined Sketchy. "I have a 'place.'"
"Yeah, which hasn't had water or phone connection for over a year," said Cindy, rolling her eyes at him. "Which is understandable, since you spend most of your time sponging meals off your girlfriends anyway."
Eddie laughed. "Do you need me to stay with you until he comes?" she asked, getting down to business.
Logan shook his head. "We'll be okay. You better get back before they get worried about you."
The young anomaly smiled, gave them a rueful parting glance, then turned to climb up a nearby building.
"Whoa," mumbled Sketchy as they watched her go. "She really is part cat."
Eddie scampered up the brick swiftly and easily using only her hands. Her tail and legs hung limply beneath her as she used her claw-like nails to create holds in the wall and pull herself upward.
"Damn, I wish I could do that," said OC, her mouth hanging wide open. "I don't think even Max is that feline."
Eddie reached the top of the building, pulled herself up, and poked her head over the edge. "You're collecting flies," she called.
OC and Sketchy shut their mouths.
"Good job." The anomaly laughed. "See you later."
The three humans nodded, then jumped in surprise as a gray van turned down the ally and sped towards them. They quickly moved out of the way and the vehicle screeched to a halt a few feet away.
"You looking for a ride?" asked Normal, poking his head out. "'Cause I have a ride here, by order of Missy Miss."
"I wish I wasn't," muttered OC.
"Get in the van, you ungrateful," he said.
Logan and OC quickly got in, but Sketchy spared one more glance towards the top of the building. Eddie was still standing there, watching them.
"You know, I think this is the start of something the world has never seen," said Sketchy, wiggling his fingers at the anomaly. "Because if all of these people are like Max, maybe… Seattle isn't such a bad place to live anymore." He smiled and slowly got into the van.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eddie turned and walked away as the vehicle drove off. She crept to the other edge of the building and found five snipers posted there. Two of them were taking a break but the other three were set.
"And just when I thought I could get outta here without a bullet added to my skeleton," mumbled the transgenic irritably. She crouched low and was planning to sneak past them when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, the transgenic spotted a sixth sniper approaching with his gun aimed at her chest.
"Hold up your hands!" he shouted. When she didn't respond, he repeated, "Hold up your hands! Keep them where I can see them!"
Eddie sighed and put her hands on the top of her head. "You're making a big mistake, officer."
The sniper moved forward. "Get on your knees. Now!"
Rolling her eyes, the anomaly got down on her knees. By now the other five snipers had been alerted and three of them came over to help, stationing themselves behind Eddie in case she tried anything.
"I'm serious, officer. This is a big mistake. If you capture me, every transgenic in the city will retaliate. They'll find you, hang you by your eyeballs, and go about their merry way," she said.
"Shut up! You have no right to speak!" shouted the first sniper, moving forward. He picked up a metal bar from the ground.
"Oh come now. Just because I'm only half-human doesn't mean I don't have rights, does it, officer? You don't really believe that, do you?" she whined, poking out her bottom lip.
"I said be quiet!"
"What's your name?" asked the transgenic innocently.
After a moment's hesitation, the man replied, "Officer Hayden."
Eddie smiled. "Nice to meet you, Officer Hayden. I'm Eddie, an anomaly, but if had been born without this face and tail they probably would've called me X6-301." Her pointed ears moved back and forth as she judged the positions of the snipers.
"Yeah, I'm gonna need to some backup," she heard one of them saying into a walkie-talkie, followed by some static.
"Oh this is great," muttered the transgenic.
"Alright, Eddie, I'm going to approach and handcuff you. I want you to keep your hands on your head. Any sudden movements and we will be forced to fire," warned Officer Hayden, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
Eddie waited until he was standing right in front of her before responding, "Did you know that transgenics can move faster than a cheetah, about 90 mph?"
The officer opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly Eddie punched him in the face, elbowed him in the stomach, and kneed him in the groin in less than two seconds.
"And that, my friend, is how fast we move," she said as she ran towards the other officers like a blur, pulling their guns from their hands and knocking them unconscious. The remaining two snipers turned and started shooting, but Eddie barreled forward at top speed and hurled herself from the building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Max stared in shock as Eddie, arms held out, did a perfect swan dive from the top of the five-story building, bullets following her down. "Oh no…oh, no she did not just do that!" she said aloud, frantically looking around for something useful to do. When she found nothing, the X5 looked up hopelessly as the transhuman plummeted downward.
Eddie tucked her head and pulled her body back, causing her shoulders to strike the ground first. On impact, she threw her body forward again, rolling a few times before coming to lie flat on the ground, face-down.
"Don't be dead, don't be dead," Max cried, running over. She dragged the girl inside a nearby Terminal City building, turned her onto her back, and tapped her on the face a few times. "Eddie? Eddie!" She raised her hand to slap the seemingly unconscious girl, only to have Eddie's voice make her arm stop mid-descent.
"Don't you dare hit me again," growled the anomaly, eyes remaining closed.
Max shouted triumphantly. "You're alive! What the hell were you thinking?"
"My shoulders have been dislocated, along with my arms and fingers," mumbled Eddie, ignoring Max's rage.
The X5 cringed. "Hm…taking contortion to a whole new level?"
"Yep… Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be back in one piece."
"By all means, go ahead. I don't look forward to being killed by your boyfriend," mused the X5.
Eddie nodded and closed her eyes in concentration.
Max watched, amazed, as Eddie pulled herself back together. It looked like some invisible person was pushing the bones back into place, but in reality Eddie's muscles were contracting and relaxing, moving the bones slowly back into their sockets. She replaced first her fingers, then her arms, then her shoulders, and finally sat up. Manticore had taught this trick to its newer trainees as a way to escape from almost any kind of binding, from handcuffs to metal chains.
"Ow," groaned the young transgenic, rolling her neck and popping her fingers. "I'm going to regret that in the morning."
"Anything broken?" asked Max.
Eddie did a full check of her body. "Nope."
"Lucky."
"No, skilled."
Max laughed and helped her to her feet. "Let's get back."
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Pick was tapping his foot and drumming his fingers impatiently when he heard Eddie's laughter being carried on the wind. He looked up and saw her entering the parking garage with Max.
"There's your kitty cat," a transhuman Pick was playing cards with said, his voice teasing. "You really should put a collar on her in case she runs away."
Pick flipped him off and ran over to greet her. "Eddie!" he called, getting her attention.
Max stopped walking, allowing Eddie to meet her boyfriend halfway in a tight embrace. He spun her around and then proceeded to hold her like a baby.
"It's strange," Alec said, stepping out of the shadows to stand next to Max. "You'd never know what they are capable of by just looking at them. They seem like normal kids."
Max sighed. "Did you reach the Xs?"
"Yep. Had to kick some ass, but it worked out alright," he replied. "They're reluctant, but have agreed to provide their total cooperation for anything you might request of them."
She turned to face him and frowned. "You're hurt."
Alec shrugged. "Nothing serious."
Max gingerly touched one of the splinters in his face. "We're going to have to get that taken care of. Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him towards the makeshift medical station they had set up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eddie melted into Pick's arms. "Remind me to never let Max persuade me to do a favor for her ever again."
Pick laughed and tilted her head up. "Will do."
"I jumped from a five-story building, nearly separated my spinal cord, and dislocated my upper body."
"You what?!" cried Pick angrily. "You mean Max—"
Eddie quickly silenced him with a long, heart-felt kiss. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine," she said, laughing at the dumbfounded expression on his face. "Let's go find Axle, shall we?" She sauntered off and Pick followed, all thoughts of her injuries gone.
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"Hold still."
"But it smarts."
"I don't care. Hold still."
"Ow!"
"You big baby."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are you gonna cry?"
"No."
"I think you are."
"Shut up."
Max laughed and patted Alec on the head. "I have to get these splinters out."
Alec pouted. "But there's like a bazillion of them."
"No, there's only about ten, and if we don't take them out their your face will get infected and fall off," she said pointedly as she pulled a splinter from his cheek with the tweezers. "So you need to just sit still and deal with it. Last I checked, X5s didn't whine about splinters."
"But I just love annoying you," he said with a rakish grin.
Max shook her head. "Well, it's working." She pulled a particularly large splinter from above his eyebrow and winced as he visibly tensed. "Sorry."
"Oh, so now you're being sympathetic," he grumbled. "What, the guilt too much for you?"
"Do you want someone else to do this? Because I—"
"No, I'll stop," Alec interrupted.
Max bit her lip nervously as she moved her hand down to his lips, which had one or two splinters. Alec suddenly became very still as her fingers gently brushed his lips. She quickly pulled out the two tiny pieces of wood and checked the rest of his face. "Only a few more," she whispered, feeling her face heat up.
Alec nodded and silently allowed her to pull the remaining three splinters from underneath his eyes.
When she was done, Max pulled out a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. "This might sting a bit," she stated, pouring some of the liquid onto a cotton ball.
Alec shrank back as she touched his face. "Yeah, just a bit," he joked, trying to beak the tension.
Max quickly cleaned his wounds, then checked him over. "There. All done. You want anything for the pain?"
"I don't think we have anything like that, but they always say that a kiss will make ouchies feel better," mused Alec. He immediately clamped his jaw shut after he realized what he had just said. "I—I mean…"
Max smiled as he flushed red. She stood up. "I better go see if Mole has found anything useful… See you later." Trying unsuccessfully not to look too eager to get away from him, she hurried off.
"Yeah. See ya." Alec half-heartedly waved his hand. He sighed disgustedly. "That was lame, Alec. Good job."
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Max was checking around for Mole when she noticed something amiss. It seemed that the place was emptier than usual, without the constant, indistinct chatter from the many groups of transgenics that normally hung around this area.
A few young men ran past her, their faces alarmed. This heightened her suspicions and she picked up her pace. Several more men ran past.
"Mole!" shouted the X5, looking around. "Mole, where are you?"
Before she could say anything else, someone barreled into her at full-speed, knocking them both to the ground.
"What the hell?! Watch it, asshole!" she yelled angrily, sitting up. She was surprised to see Joshua sitting there, staring at her with a terrified face. "Joshua? What's the matter? What is everyone running from?"
Joshua jumped to his feet. "F-f-females! Lots of them! Must run! Joshua must go!"
Max grabbed his arm. "What are you talking about?"
"Ah-ah-ah, cat DNA. Females want to get busy with Joshua! Joshua must go!" He wrenched his arm free and took off.
Max thought about what he had said for a moment, then her eyes widened in horror. "Oh no…no, no, no, no… they're in heat…" She dragged her hand down her face, then her head snapped up as more terrified males ran past. "This is not good."
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Zack was sleeping on an old, beaten-up couch when he was awakened by someone running their hands along his arms. He opened his eyes to find Jondy standing there, smiling down at him. "Can I help you?" he asked sleepily.
In response, she launched herself onto the couch with him and tried to take off his shirt.
"Whoa! Whoa, slow down!" the male X5 shouted, jumping up. He sniffed the air as she looked up at him dreamily. "Pheromones?"
Wha's your name,
'Cause I'm impressed.
Can you treat me good?
I won't settle for less
You a hot boy
A rock boy
A fun toy
Tore up glock-boy
"Mm… Zack, I forgot you were always in the best shape," Jondy whispered, reaching up and touching his chest. "You have wonderful muscles…" She stood and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Remember when you finally got out? I was the first one you found… I've always had a crush on you, Zack."
Zack gulped. He had successfully dug himself into a hole. A big, gaping, bottomless, no-return hole. Jondy's pheromones were absolutely intoxicating and he couldn't bring himself to stop her anymore. She kissed him and all he could do was stand there, dumbfounded. Usually he stayed away from the other X5s when they were in heat, but she had caught him in a vulnerable situation and now…
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Pick could smell something odd coming off Eddie as they walked through Terminal City, hand-in-hand. In fact, the smell seemed to be coming from everywhere. She was looking at him funny, too… sort of drunken and dazed. Her face was flushed and her palms sweaty.
"Are you alright?" he asked. Eddie had never been like this before.
"Have I ever told you how hot you are? I mean, Junky and Hank are okay, but you are absolutely gorgeous," she said, moving closer to him.
Where you live?
Is it by yourself?
Can I move wit' you?
Do you need some help?
I cook boy
I'll give you more
I'm a fly girl
"Um…" Pick stopped walking as she started running her hands up his chest. "Eddie, are you feeling okay?"
"Mm…fine, hot boy," she whispered, moving her hands from his chest to his biceps.
And I like thoseHot boys
Baby you got
What I want
See ya'll be driving
Lexus, Jeeps, and the Benz
Hot boys
Baby you got
What I want
See 'cause ya'll be driving
Jaguars and the Bentleys
And the Rolls-Royce
Playing hardballs
With the platinum Visa
Pick gently pushed her away as her lips found the base of his neck. "Eddie, calm down."
"But you're soooo hot," she said, wrapping one of her legs around his. "Mmm…" She covered his mouth with hers and shoved him against the wall of the nearest building.
Pick tried to resist, but the scent that she was giving off was paralyzing and his body was rendered useless and he couldn't help but kiss her back.
Is that your car,
The SKA?
Are you riding alone?
Can I be your date?
Come get me
Get me
Don't diss me
Don't trick me
Eddie had almost succeeded in pulling Pick's shirt off when suddenly she was pulled off of him and punched in the face. Pick, dazed, could only watch as the girl that would've very soon been his mate fell to the ground, unconscious.
"And that is what you get for being a bad little kitty," Max said, flexing her hand. She slapped Pick a few times. "Wake up."
Pick could still smell Eddie's pheromones and he tried to get to her, but Max held him back. "Let me go," he protested, struggling with her.
"Don't make me knock you out, too," warned the X5. She slapped him again and he seemed to wake up.
"What's happening? Why is she like this?" he asked, shaking his head.
"She's in heat. Didn't they teach you this at Manticore?"
Pick shook his head vigorously, still staring down at the unconscious Eddie.
"Well, it's this cycle that animals go through to give off signals that they are fertile or ready to mate," explained Max. "It's uncontrollable… so you better get away from here. Males are totally unresisting to the smell of the pheromones that are given off and you'd only get yourself in trouble. Me and the other females that aren't in heat are going to go try and… restrain the ones that are, which is about half the female population here."
"How come this is happening to them all at once?"
Max shrugged. "Beats me. The universe has a sense of humor."
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Max, Brin, Syl, and a few other able females scoured Terminal City that night, knocking out every female who had the slightest scent of pheromones on them. Unfortunately, in some cases they were too late and the fate of several males had been sealed. Whenever they came across males they advised them to run to the parking garage on the south side of Terminal City where all the males were hiding out until it was safe to come out.
By the next morning they were exhausted, but Max was painfully aware of a new problem and had no time to rest.
She was growing flushed and felt…hot.
This realization came about at the worst of times, since the others had turned in, and she was left alone.
All alone… with several hundred males.
"Not good, not good, not good," she repeated to herself, looking for a place to lock herself inside. Unfortunately, most of the buildings lacked doors that weren't rotted or damaged. Some of them didn't even have doors.
And then… disaster struck.
"Hey, Max."
Max turned around to see Alec leaning against a wall, grinning at her. "A-Alec… you need to go. You need to go, now!"
Alec frowned. "Why?"
"I-I-I-I…" Max stuttered, quickly losing control. "You have to go."
"But I just got here," he mused, pushing himself off the wall and walking towards her.
"You don't understand! I'm in heat!"
Alec abruptly stopped walking. "Oh shit." As if on cue, he smelled the pheromones coming off her, carried by the wind. "Not good. I'll just be off."
Max approached him like a cat stalking its prey. "Mmm…Alec… run," she said, her mouth seemingly the only part of her body she had control of.
"I—uh, yeah…I should be doing that…" he mumbled, but didn't move.
I got some friendsCan they come too?
Can you hook them up
With some boys like you?
A hot boy
A rock boy
On top boy
And I like those
Hot boys
Max continued to come towards him until she was mere inches away. She gulped and pressed her hands on his chest. His hands found her hips and they leaned close. "Alec… you need to go…" she whispered, pulling back from him as she regained control of her body. "Go!"
Alec stared at her longingly for a moment.
"Look, I said go!" she cried, louder this time.
The male X5 sighed and jogged off.
Max sat down on the curb and held her head in her hands. "Control, Maxie. Control…" Her body betrayed her, however, and she jumped up to chase him. But before she could take off, there was a soft 'pop' and she slumped to the ground, fast asleep.
"Been savin' that just for you, Missy. You're lucky I wasn't standing downwind or you would be in big trouble" Mole said, coming to stand above her. He loaded another dart into his tranquilizer gun. "And you said I wouldn't need these. Sheesh."
TBC…
A/N: Sooo… Loved it? Hated it? Please share with me your opinion by clicking on the little purple box at the bottom. Thanks much! ^_^
Lyrics property of Missy Elliot from her song "Hot Boyz." This song was featured on the episode "Meow."
