Outside

by Be Boring

CONCLUDED Kay meets Sandeman and gets more than she bargained for. Kay, an outcast X5, tries to make a life for herself outside Manticore and runs into supposedly dead or just taken off the show X5s, Max, and most of Max's enemies. Runs thru S2.

12. Recovering

Outside

By Be Boring

Chapter 12: Recovering

Kay had spent a long day trying to avoid Zack. In the couple weeks since she had found Ben, Zack had been in the worst mood possible. He had almost completely changed back into who he had been in Manticore. The sweet things about him that had made her become friends with him as Adam were now nearly all gone. He was a hardened Manticore soldier again, and most of it was because of all the fighting he was doing with Ben. Ben had been nothing but trouble for his big brother ever since his return. He was already trying to escape and Zack had just managed to stop him from killing some of the farm workers when they went for a horseback ride on the trails. Zack now had him locked in an old closet that he had managed to make 'escape-proof'. He refused to tell Kay what he had done, but she was sure he had taken drastic measures to keep Ben from getting to the outside world. She couldn't believe that Ben was so set on killing. What could possibly drive him to escape solely for the purpose of taking life?

With Ben pulling all his shenanigans, Zack was getting a serious lack of sleep and was being overworked, therefore he was not the most pleasant person to be around. He snapped at everyone and seemed to be particularly angry at her. She wasn't really sure why. Maybe he blamed her for dragging Ben back into his life, which was ridiculous because he had come into that cabin on his own, she hadn't made him. She had the feeling that if Ben kept this up much longer, that he might not live to see next week because Zack was just that angry.

Kay finally decided she had to go see Ben herself again. She wouldn't be able to talk to him like Zack could, mainly because he hated her while he respected Zack. Still, she could fight him if things got out of hand. Violence might actually be the only way to get Ben to understand that he had to stop what he was doing.

Very shortly after Zack returned from feeding Ben supper, Kay headed to the cabin. The sun would be down in a few hours and she wanted to be back by then. If she didn't, then Wendy might worry. They had become surprisingly close while Zack was in a bad mood. Wendy had a sense of humor and was great to talk to when Kay was feeling down. Everyone was still getting over Vic's death, but at least now they could joke and laugh as though nothing had happened. Wendy had been the key factor in that though. She went out of her way to talk to everyone occasionally and be friendly. People just had to cheer up with their good ole' mother bird around. Kay couldn't believe how much strength that woman had. Her husband had tried to kill her, she'd lost her son, and now a good friend, but she was still the figure of hope on the farm for everyone. She could still smile and go about her business during the day and no one could see the torrent of emotions that must be inside her. Kay wished she could handle her emotions like that, but seeing how Manticore had been against emotions altogether, it still was a hard thing for her.

When the cabin came into view, Kay looked for signs of movement. Even though she knew that Ben was locked up, there was always the chance he had gotten out. She went up to the cabin and headed inside. It was quite obvious just from taking a quick glance around that there had been many fights here recently that no one had bothered to clean up after. The couch was overturned and several windows broken. The table was missing a leg which happened to be all the way across the room and a chair lay on its side with its back smashed to pieces. Blankets were torn in the bedrooms and the mirror in the bathroom was shattered. There were handcuffs on the bed in one of the bedrooms. Kay suspected Zack had held Ben back with those for a while. Apparently Ben and Zack had fought in every room. She went to the closet where she knew Ben was hidden. She now knew what Zack had meant by making it 'escape-proof'. There were wires that looked as though they went inside. She recognized wire like that from Manticore. It gave a shock that would knock a normal person unconscious, and would certainly cause a considerable amount of pain to an X5. Kay remembered getting shocked by it once. She had been fifteen and it had made her think for a moment that she was dying. She had no desire to feel that again. She couldn't blame Ben for not getting out with that stuff on the door. She located where it was plugged in and she unplugged it. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

Before she even had the door halfway open, Ben lunged at her throat. She wasn't expecting it and the force of his weight sent her over backwards. As she fell, she bent in half and placed her feet against his hips. When they landed, she shoved up as hard as she could with her legs and sent him flying over her head. She jumped to her feet immediately and punched him as he went to stand up. While he was still stunned, she dragged him into the bedroom and handcuffed him to the bed with the handcuffs that she had noticed earlier. She took a step back and studied him. He had gone through quite a few changes since she had last seen him. He was a lot thinner now and he looked tired. Kay suspected that he had been working on escaping so much that he wasn't getting the sleep he needed and wasn't eating enough. She snuck a glance at the closet. Sure enough, there were several half eaten meals lying in the back of it. Well, if he wasn't at his top strength, she'd be able to handle him easily enough.

"Well, that sure didn't take long for you to attack. Is it becoming second nature to you now to attack first and ask questions later?"

"I thought you were Zack. I thought if I could catch him off guard then I could get away."

"No one can catch Zack off guard. Why are you so set on escaping?"

"You didn't know?"

"No. Why? Should I?"

"The reason I want to escape is the reason Zack wants me to stay locked up."

"Would you stop pussyfooting around and tell me already? I already know that you want to kill people."

"Not just any people. You."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Why would you be set on killing me?"

"You're the enemy. If it wasn't for you, Zack wouldn't be keeping me in a cage. He only did this in the first place because he wanted to protect you. I'm not interested in killing anyone else. Those people riding horses just happened to be there when I was coming for you. I was going to leave them alone but Zack caught me near them. I don't know what you've done to him, but you have screwed him up enough to make him choose you over me, his own brother. His real family."

"Oh please. I would feel truly sorry for him if you were his real family. I wish you guys would think realistically. Technically, none of us are family. You and Zack are no more of siblings than you and I are. You're not related to Max, Syl, Krit, Zane, Jondy, or any of the others. I'm not either. It's true that we're made the same way, but other than that we're not family. The only people that I would say are related to us are our clones or twins. Your only real family is Alec, and it's a good thing that you two haven't met because I think it would end up as a disaster. Zack doesn't owe you anything. He and I being closer that we used to be isn't a threat to you. I wish you would understand that, because this isn't getting you or Zack anywhere. He's the biggest grouch in the world right now and you're a homicidal maniac that's after me. You both need to stop this or you're going to end up miserable. An added bonus of you two stopping this would be that I can live, not that I think you could have killed me. In the state you're in, you probably couldn't kill a normal person."

"And who's fault do you think that is? Yours."

"No, not mine. Yours. I know you think that if Zack wasn't so protective of me that you wouldn't be trapped here, but the fact of the matter is that if you weren't so set on killing me in the first place, Zack wouldn't have to be protective of me."

Ben couldn't seem to think of anything to say. Even he could see that she definitely had a point. Still, Kay knew that didn't make him change his mind about how he felt about her. He still hated her and wanted her dead. That was more than obvious in his eyes. Kay knew she wasn't going to get anywhere tonight. Without another word to him, she turned and went back to the farm. She knew perfectly well that he could escape, but all she could hope was that if he did, he would go away. She knew it was selfish of her, but she couldn't help it.

When she made it back to her house, she instinctively looked for Wendy on the couch. That was usually where she was at the end of the day, but right now she wasn't there. Kay walked through the whole house to see if she was there, but there was no sign of her. She started to head to the main farmhouse, but then remembered that Buddy and Mary were going out tonight. Zack had headed out tonight to pick up some new horses that Buddy had bought. Kay highly doubted that Wendy would have gone with him, since everyone was avoiding him in his current mood. She went to the barn to see if Wendy was there for some reason. As she walked through it, she noticed an empty stall. She knew perfectly well that the stall belonged to Gramps, an old Morgan gelding that everyone liked to take for rides because he was the easiest to handle. She headed straight to the tack room. Sure enough, a saddle and bridle were missing. Dammit, I'm not in the mood to come looking for you tonight!

Kay was about to go back to her house, but froze halfway there. Ben! What if Wendy had come home early, found her missing, and went looking for her? Kay knew Ben could get out of those handcuffs and might even be out of them now. She couldn't take the chance that Wendy would come across him. She took off for the woods at top speed. Now that she was paying attention, there were definite signs that a horse had been out here recently. She couldn't be more that twenty minutes behind them, but that was too much time. She had nearly reached the cabin when she heard someone scream. That definitely sounded like Wendy. The scream had come from her right. Kay found herself in a clearing. There was no sign of people, but Gramps was grazing comfortably on the grass. She ignored him and looked for any clue as to which direction Ben had taken Wendy. She finally saw something shiny on the ground. As she drew closer, she knew it was Vic's Virgin Mary necklace. Wendy had kept it as a memory of him and she never took it off. Kay moved in that general direction, and finally heard some commotion from up ahead. It sounded like someone was fighting. When she finally saw what it was, she could have laughed if the situation wasn't so serious.

Ben had a good, firm hold on Wendy's arms, but she was kicking his shins like crazy as he carried her along. He was holding her easily off the ground, so she could kick away if she liked. All it seemed to be doing was annoying him. He eventually just threw her to the ground and took a good step back to avoid the next kick she aimed at him.

"Would you stop that? It's bugging me."

"You expect me to show any courtesy to you? I don't know what you're going to do, but I'm not going to make it easy for you!"

"You honestly think that those childish kicks are going to make it any harder for me?"

"You let me go, didn't you? Not that I think that'll last for long, but kicking you did something at least."

Ben sighed and picked her up again. Kay walked out to block his path, which wasn't hard considering the fact that he was carrying a feisty woman. He rolled his eyes when he saw her.

"What are you doing here?"

"Getting my friend. I suggest you let her go. I really hoped that you would stop all this nonsense, but I guess I was wrong."

"For your information, this friend of yours saw me in the woods and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm just putting her somewhere for a while so she won't bother me again. The one I want to kill is you."

"Yeah, so you've said. Why don't you just give her to me and save yourself the trouble?"

"Fine, take her."

With that, Ben dumped Wendy right on the ground at Kay's feet. Everyone looked up when Gramps wandered into their sight, staring at them in interest. Ben turned to walk away when there was a loud crashing sound and a very strange looking person ran in front of them. He didn't even glance at them as he raced past. It only took Kay a second to figure out that it was a transgenic. This one seemed to have a lot of lizard in his system. She realized that she had seen him at Manticore just after she jumped the fence. Ben's eyes widened when he saw it.

"Is that a --"

"No, it's not a Nomlie. There was never any such thing. They're just other transgenics that don't look quite as normal as we do. We need to protect them just as much as we need to protect the other X5s. Wendy, take Gramps back to the farm. That guy was running from someone, and that usually involves your dear husband. We can't let him know you're here."

Wendy nodded and took off for the horse. Kay ducked out of the way just in time to see a group of military-looking men dash across the path. As she had expected, White was right behind them. His eyes landed on Ben and widened. Kay realized that he must have thought Ben was Alec. She had no time to react as half of the men grabbed Ben while the other half went after the other transgenic. The sound of a gun being fired and a loud thud told her they had caught him. She watched as they dragged Ben away. She glanced back over her shoulder to make sure that Wendy had gotten away, then followed White.

They all ended up at what appeared to be a party for the few rich people left. She rolled her eyes when she saw that it was at a golf course. What is it with old rich folk and their golf? She also saw that there seemed to be plenty of working girls here wearing sexy dresses. She rolled her eyes again and followed White into what looked to be a mansion at the side of the course. Apparently it was a private golf course. She followed him to the living room, which could have been a football field due to its size. White seemed to be meeting one of the men from the party. The man also seemed to own the mansion.

"What is it you need, Ames?"

"I need to leave a couple transgenics in your hands until they can be moved to a better facility where we can finally get some tests done on these freaks."

"Of course. There is a safe room in the basement. You just go to the end of the hall, down the staircase, and it will be the second room on the left. It can only be opened from the outside. I'll have some of my security guards the door for you. Go out and have some fun at my party. Fenos 'tol."

"Fenos 'tol."

Kay groaned inwardly. It was one of White's breeding cult buddies. That might make things a little harder. It wouldn't surprise her if his security was part of the breeding cult as well. She walked out to watch the party for a moment. She would have to knock out that guy if she wanted to stop him from calling security. White walked past her hiding spot as he wandered out to join the party. The man of the house followed him closely. When he ran into a waiter carrying a tray of red wine, he blew up at him and headed inside to clean it off. That might buy her a little time. She spotted a woman who seemed to have had too much to drink. She would have to do. Kay walked out to her and put an arm around her waist.

"Okay, I think you should go lay down girl. You look like you're about to lose all this fancy food."

The woman didn't even look up to see who was talking to her, but just allowed herself to be pulled into the mansion. As soon as she passed out, Kay pulled off her dress and threw her into a closet halfway down the hall. Stepping into a bathroom, Kay put the dress on. At least it fit her nicely. She took a look in the mirror. It was a long black dress with spaghetti straps and what felt like a built in push-up bra. She rolled her shoulders, trying to get comfortable. She hated push-up bras. The skirt reached all the way to her ankles, and a slit on her right leg went all the way up to her hip. She frowned, knowing one wrong move would show those old geezers outside more than she wanted them to see. She liked the shoes, which were black high-heeled sandals. They gave her a little height. All in all, she looked pretty good. She had seen men's reactions to her before. According to Mary, she was a knockout.

Kay could tell some people agreed with Mary as she walked out onto the golf course. Every male head turned in her direction as she passed. She kept an eye out for White, but focused on trying to find the man of the house. She saw him walk out of the house. He must have been only a minute behind her, but he didn't seem to know that she was here. Kay walked up to him and smiled as sexily as she could. She wasn't really sure if she looked stupid or not, but she apparently didn't because he seemed impressed by her. Seeing him up close, she figured she could take him on in a fight if she had to. He appeared to be in his early fifties, with some gray hair, but was otherwise in great shape. Maybe the people from the breeding cult didn't age the same as everyone else. She slid an arm around his shoulders.

"Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?"

"I have to make a call, but I can be right with you after that."

"Can it wait? I really just want to have you to myself right now."

He grinned at her and she tried not puke. If I have to flirt with someone, why can't it be someone better looking? He seemed to think he was as impressive as he found her. That certainly wasn't true. She caught White heading in their direction out of the corner of her eye and pulled the man into the house. At least White didn't seem to have recognized her. She turned her attention back to the disgusting man beside her.

"What's your name?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Call me old fashioned, but I at least like to know names beforehand."

"Gregory, but you can call me Greg," he smiled. Ooh, I get to call him Greg. What a thrill.

She pulled him into another room to try and avoid White seeing them as he approached the house. The room looked like a trophy room. She reached out and picked up a golf club that was next to one of the trophies.

"You know, I think golf clubs are so misused. They really are kind of elegant looking, but frankly, they're useless."

Greg had no time to react before she whirled around and swung the golf club into the side of his head. As he slumped to the ground, she joked, "Well, maybe not!"

She dropped the golf club, stole the keys from Greg's pocket, and hid right behind the door as White rushed into the room. When he went to see if Greg was still alive, she slid out the door and locked it behind her with the keys. Making it to the basement was easy when she followed the instructions Greg had said before. She heard movement on the other side of the door. She unlocked it and opened it to find Ben and the lizard transgenic sitting at either side of the room with their backs to each other. The lizard guy's left leg was bandaged at his knee where he had been shot.

"Are you two enjoying yourselves?"

Both heads snapped up at her voice. Ben seemed a little shocked at the way she was dressed, but didn't say anything. She turned to the lizard guy.

"Who're you?"

"Mole, but according to this guy I'm someone named 'Nomlie'. Who's that?"

Kay grinned. "Nothing you need to worry about. I don't suppose you want out of here, unless you like being taken apart by scientists."

Mole shook his head. "No, you can get me out of here any time you want as long as it's right now."

Kay rolled her eyes and studied the chains they had used to restrain them. They were padlocked to the wall. She grinned when she saw that she held a key to fit the lock. It seemed that Greg wasn't too careful about security. He probably thought too highly of himself to think that anyone could hurt him. Once they were loose, Mole turned to her.

"How am I supposed to get out of here? I can't exactly walk straight out into the party and slide out unnoticed."

Kay thought for a moment, then remembered the closet she had shoved the drunk woman into. It had a few large coats in it with hoods. They could sneak him out in that. She motioned for him to follow her, then proceeded to find the closet. As she was helping him get the hood positioned so that no one could see his face, the zipper on the back of her dress broke. She had to grab it quickly before she flashed Mole and Ben. Neither one had noticed, but as they walked through the party for the road, she had to hold the back of her dress. Ben gestured to where everyone had parked along the road.

"I can hotwire one of those."

There was no more discussion as he broke into a car at the back of the group so that no one would notice them.

"Hey you! What are you doing?"

Kay looked up to see two security guards walking towards them. She gestured for Ben to keep going with what he was doing as Mole hid behind the car. She turned and walked up to the men.

"Hello boys. My men are having some problems getting into our car. They tell me it's almost as temperamental as me."

The guards were already checking her out. She struggled to keep a good hold on the back of the dress while trying to look as good as possible. She heard the vehicle finally start behind her, but while Mole was climbing into the back, his hood fell back and exposed his face. The guards were about to look in that direction when Kay quickly let go of her dress and let the top fall down.

"Oops, I'll have to get that fixed."

The guards were staring at her in shock. While they were still gaping, Ben pulled the car up alongside her and she jumped in while pulling her dress back up. She ignored the stunned looks she was getting from Ben and Mole. Mole finally offered a grin.

"I know you wanted to get us out and all, but I think anyone will agree that that was above and beyond the call of duty. You don't even seem embarrassed."

Kay shrugged. "We weren't made to be shy."

At that, Mole burst out laughing. Kay really wasn't sure yet what to think of him, but he seemed ok. He certainly wasn't the monster Ben thought he was. She glanced over at Ben to see what he was thinking, but his face was a blank. When he noticed her looking at him, he scowled.

"Zack wouldn't have approved of what you did back there."

Kay grinned mischievously. "Of course not. It was exposure!"

Kay and Mole cracked up while Ben rolled his eyes. She wished he would loosen up. She knew if he just smiled he would be good looking. He was great looking as it was, but way too serious. She had always found Alec to be an extremely handsome man. Annoying, but handsome. The car lapsed into silence for a while, except for Kay having Mole fix her dress, which she was surprised that he managed to do so fast. She highly doubted Renfro had taught any of her soldiers how to be seamstresses.

"Where do you want to be dropped off, Mole?"

"Just drop me off back in the States. I know that sounds like a bad idea, but that White guy followed me up here from there and hopefully won't be expecting me to go back. Besides, I can get to Terminal City. It's where most of the transgenics who don't look normal are going."

Kay nodded. She had wondered what White was doing in Canada when his job was in the U.S. She hoped he didn't stick around. She couldn't risk him finding Wendy, or her for that matter. Mole finally climbed out when they reached the border. Kay figured she would just head to Seattle for yet another visit. She seemed to be making a lot of them lately. Ben seemed to be heading for Seattle anyways. She hoped he didn't pay Max a surprise visit as well.

They were nearing the city when a woman ran in front of the car. Ben swerved the car to the right and went straight off the road. He and Kay both jumped out of the car before it collided with a tree. Kay sat up and looked for the woman. She couldn't have gone far. There was no sign of anyone, so she stood up to get a better look. She couldn't have been looking for more than five seconds when she was tackled from behind. She caught a glimpse of the shocked look on Ben's face as the person behind her knocked her to the ground. She looked back and gasped.

"Brin!"

Brin's eyes were cold as she surveyed Kay. "How do you know my name?"

"Don't you remember?"

Kay had seen Brin on several occasions in Manticore, but it was usually during an exercise that Brin led, so she most likely had never taken any notice of Kay.

"I don't know who you are, but you nearly ran me over and you know my name. I think that's a little suspicious."

Her voice didn't seem to hold any emotion. It was like she was an empty shell. Kay slowly got to her feet. She didn't want to send Brin into attack mode again. Brin's eyes were searching Kay's face. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"You're from Manticore, aren't you?"

"Yes. Maybe it's a good thing you don't remember me."

Brin looked at her harder. Her eyes widened suddenly. "You're 358."

"I prefer Kay."

"You're the enemy."

"Why does everyone say that?"

"You were sneaking out of your quarters at night. You were to be used for harvesting organs."

"Manticore is gone. Why are you bringing this up now?"

Brin's face hardened more, if that was possible. "Manticore is not gone, it's just regrouping."

"Oh really? Then why aren't you with them while they're doing it?"

Brin couldn't seem to think of an answer. Kay smiled triumphantly. "It's because they're not regrouping. Manticore is gone and you have no one to give you orders anymore. I really don't understand what your problem is with that."

"We weren't meant to live on our own. We were meant to have a C.O."

"You apparently did fine for the ten years you were out. So have the others. It's true that Manticore designed us to be soldiers, but what they forgot is that even soldiers are human. We may not fit the exact description of human, but nevertheless we are."

Brin frowned. "I'm a soldier!" That was when she dove at Kay. Kay managed to stay standing as the full weight of her sister hit her, but Brin was already attacking while Kay tried to keep her balance. After she took a deep breath, Kay blocked Brin's next punch and sent a powerful kick into her ribs. Brin went flying backwards and landed in the ditch. Ben shot Kay an angry look and ran to see if Brin was alright. She had almost forgotten he was there.

Even Ben got a shock when Brin threw an elbow into his shoulder. He stumbled backwards and stared at her, obviously stunned. Brin's attacks continued, while Ben just blocked them. He didn't want to hurt her. Kay watched for a moment. Brin was very strong, there was no doubt about that. Ben was pretty strong too, even in his half-starved and beaten state. He was able to block every move Brin threw at him. He didn't seem to be able to believe that she was trying to harm him. Kay finally stepped in and grabbed Brin by the shoulders and threw her. Naturally, Brin landed on her feet, but it gave Ben some time to back away. He wasn't going to be able to keep fighting her.

Without warning, Brin turned and took off. Kay followed closely. She knew Ben was a little ways behind her, but he wouldn't be able to keep up. She wouldn't be able to depend on him for back-up, not that she was sure she could anyways. Brin seemed to be running towards an old barn that was about three hundred yards ahead. Kay thought she saw someone else coming towards it from the other side, but she blinked and it was gone. She focused on staying on the path of her sister. It didn't take long at all to reach the barn, and Kay followed Brin's lead as she leapt onto the roof. She dropped into a hole in the ceiling. She had almost thought she'd caught a glimpse of someone's head poking over the side of the roof, but she had dropped through the hole before she could get a better look. Besides, there was more important stuff to think about at the moment.

The inside of the barn smelled like it had been unused for a while. Kay had to cover her nose to try and keep the disgusting mix of smells out. She was standing in the haymow at the moment, while Brin had already dropped off the side of it. Missing the eyes that peered over the edge of the hole in the roof, Kay jumped down to ground level. Brin had strangely disappeared, but Kay saw what looked to be a tack room over in the far corner of the barn. Perhaps Brin was hiding in there. Kay looked into it, but it wasn't her sister that she saw.

"Lydecker?"

His eyes looked up from the chair he was sitting in. It was definitely him, although he wasn't in good shape. Deep scars on his face made him nearly unrecognizable from what he used to be. His body was notably thinner than it used to be, and none of the weight loss appeared to be healthy. Clothes that looked as though he hadn't changed them since before he lost weight hung limply from his bony body. They were torn and bloodstained, but it didn't seem to be fresh. His eyes were sunk back in his head, and at the moment they were focused on her. He didn't seem to be able to see her clearly, and if he did, he didn't recognize her.

"Who are you?"

"You don't want to know."

His eyes squinted as he tried to get a better look at her. "358? I never thought I'd see you in a dress, but then again I never thought I'd see any of my kids in anything but a soldier's uniform."

Kay sneered. "We're not your kids. I'd feel sorry for anyone that had you for a father."

He smiled slightly. "You always were different. You were stronger and smarter than the others, and you had less emotion. Despite how hard we worked to fight it, you kids all came out with feelings and individual personalities. You were the only one who seemed to really be a soldier. I never saw you smile, laugh, cry, or even so much as scream. I never knew if you were keeping it all inside or if you really didn't care. Which was it?"

"That's none of your business. I thought you're supposed to be dead. What happened to that wonderful dream of mine?"

He ignored her last comment. "When I was run off the road, I thought it was over. After it happened, I was in bad shape. The whole steering unit had been shoved down and was trapping my legs, but I didn't think they were broken. My face had been thrown against the steering wheel, so that wasn't in too good of shape either. If Brin hadn't come across me and pulled me out of there, I would have still been in there when White and his men came down to see whether or not they had killed me. Brin lit the car on fire so it exploded before they could see that I wasn't in it. They then just assumed that I had died, and Brin brought me here. She knew the truth about Tinga and no longer believed I had killed her, and she's protected me since then. That's why I'm not too worried about you at the moment."

When his eyes glanced behind her, Kay whirled around and managed to block the punch that was coming at her face. Before Brin could attack further, Kay put on a burst of speed and got out the door and into the open space of the barn where she knew she could fight better. Ben was in the barn by now and was looking suspiciously at a pile of hay in the corner before they came in. Brin started attacking fiercely, and it was all Kay could do to block her. She let her mind slip back into what Max jokingly called soldier mode. She started predicting what was coming next and blocked it before it happened, which allowed her more time to get in some blows on Brin. The two women seemed to be match for each other, neither one being able to overpower the other. Kay was surprised at how much stronger Brin was now as compared to how she used to be. She knew that this was a situation where she wasn't going to be able to hold back, she'd have to go further.

As Kay fought, she forced herself to think back to when the others at Manticore beat her. Brin was usually right at the front, always trying to show off to Zack. As she let that picture freeze in her mind, a very familiar feeling came back. It was an anger that she had felt then, her longing to catch one of her siblings alone, rather than having them all on her at once. It had come back when she'd fought Zack's clone, and it was what had made her lose control and kill him so quickly. As the anger came, her strength increased. Brin managed to punch her in the face and turn her halfway around from the force. Kay kept the spin going and brought up her right leg to kick Brin firmly in the collarbone, sending her sister flying across the barn. Even though she had overpowered her, the anger was still there. A hard smile came over her face as she walked to where Brin had landed.

"Damn girl, I wish Manticore had designed me to fly like that!"

She grabbed Brin by the hair and pulled her to her feet. Her next punch sent Brin into the wall. As she went to drag her to her feet again, Ben grabbed her shoulder.

"Kay, stop it! You've already beaten her!"

Even though she knew it was true since Brin was unconscious, Kay whirled on him and grabbed him by the throat, when a little voice in the back of her head cried out in protest. What are you thinking? This is what happened last time! You've got to calm down! Kay shook her head to clear it and let him go. She was angry with herself for almost losing it again. She looked over Ben's shoulder to see that Lydecker had appeared in the doorway to the tack room.

"Not that bad, 358."

Kay was surprised when Ben spoke. "Considering the fact that she just beat one of your best soldiers while keeping that dress covering her ass, I think that 'not that bad' is a bit of an understatement."

Kay could have laughed out loud at the expression of shock on Lydecker's face. He probably hadn't expected Ben of all people to defend her. She hadn't expected that either, but she was grateful. Probably in a choice between her and Lydecker, he'd be on her side. What also made her smile about his remark was the fact that he sounded so much like Alec when he said it. Lydecker, however, was not amused.

"I would have never thought you, of all people, would be insolent. That should be announced to the public that we have sarcastic transgenic serial killers running around."

"We'll be sure to tape a 'Shoot Me' sign to your back before you make the announcement," Kay smirked. Lydecker frowned.

"You've changed too, 358. Before you never responded to insults, and that was why I thought you just didn't care, but now you're more insolent than Ben. You almost sound like Max."

"I'll take that as a compliment. After all, you never did manage to capture her yourself. She always outsmarted you. She's good at that. She can piss off anyone by outsmarting them, no matter how clever they think they are. She's still continuing her legacy today as a matter of fact. You should be proud."

"Oh believe me, I am."

"Well, I have no interest in being around you any longer than is absolutely necessary, so I think I'll be going. Have a nice life, Pops."

She turned and was about to jump back up into the haymow when she heard a distinct rustling noise behind her. She glanced back over her shoulder and saw the hay pile shift ever so slightly. Someone was hiding in it, she was sure of it. Ben and Lydecker hadn't noticed, so she walked over to the pile herself and shoved her hand inside. When she connected with something hard, warm, and hairy, she grabbed it and pulled it out. Everyone froze as she pulled Ames White from his hiding place by the hair on his head. He stood the rest of the way up and brushed the hay off his black suit, then smiled slightly.

"Listening to you people is actually quite interesting. The fighting was pretty good too. Still, I don't have to time to sit around and listen to you discussing your family history, so I think I'll just finish the job I followed you here to do."

Kay ducked just in time to avoid the fist coming at her face and she tackled him around the waist. They landed in the haystack and immediately started to try and get the gun at his hip first. Both their hands were on it, but Kay had her hands on the trigger. As soon as she was sure it was pointed away from her, she fired. The bullet grazed his leg, but he didn't even react. His focus was unbroken as he tried to wrestle the gun from her. She took hold of his left arm and wrenched it backwards. The snap rang out loud and clear in the barn, and she saw his face go pale. She pulled the gun from him and backed away from the haystack with it pointed at him.

"We are all getting out of here, and you will stay right there until I tell you to move. Got it?"

He nodded coldly, never taking his eyes off the gun. Ben gently shook Brin awake and told her she had to get Lydecker out of there. She didn't respond, but it was obvious she had heard him because she went to get Lydecker. Between Ben and Brin, they managed to get him into the haymow. Kay could hear them behind her, but she refused to take her gaze away from the man in front of her. As she heard them getting out through the hole in the roof, White spoke.

"I have to say that I haven't met as many people as determined as you to piss me off. You are hiding my wife, you've helped other transgenics escape, and on various occasions you've embarrassed me in front of the people I work with. You'll even go as far as to seduce a friend of mine and flash his security guards so you could get others away from me. I heard about that whole story from the guards themselves. Of course, they didn't know what you are. I even saw you at the mansion, I just didn't know it was you. I saw Greg going inside with you and I was coming to remind him that he had to call security to get them to guard the door, but you had him completely distracted. Of course, wearing that dress and acting like you're in heat again would distract anyone. You aren't by any chance in heat again now, are you?"

"No, but there's no point in you asking. It would take a lot more than my heat cycle to make you look appealing."

It surprised her when he actually smiled. He almost looked human. "There's that attitude again. You sure never seem to run out of things to say, do you?"

She shrugged. "What can I say? I'm talented."

When she heard everyone get off the roof, she moved backwards and jumped into the haymow, keeping the gun pointed at him at all times. She took it with her when she got out of the barn. She could see White's car in the distance. She grinned slightly and motioned for the others to come over to her. Ben could already see what she was thinking and smiled with her. She couldn't believe how fast he had seemed to accept her. They headed in that direction. Once they were inside, Kay climbed into the driver's seat.

"I want to drive this puppy. I think we'll go to Canada and dump it in a lake, seeing as how White will probably search Seattle for it first."

It wasn't too hard. Once they were across the border, they took it up on a steep hill, put it in neutral, and let it slide down. Wherever it landed would be where White would find it. As they walked towards the road, Kay wondered how she was going to explain to Buddy that they now had three more people coming to live at the farm. Oh well. She'd do it somehow. She couldn't help but smile. Her little family, no matter how hard she tried to stop it, was getting bigger.