The Second Key

By Be Boring

Chapter 12: Escape

Brin woke up feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. There was nothing better than sleeping with good thoughts, it always seemed to wind up giving you good dreams. As if the morning couldn't feel any better, Zack pushed open the bedroom door and walked in with a tray of food. Brin sat up with a teasing grin.

"Do I even dare try it?"

He chuckled as he set the tray down. "I didn't make it, Sandeman did. He asked me to bring it up to you. Did you really think I would come up with something like this?"

"I knew it wasn't your type of thing to do. You should take some lessons from the old man, I might forgive you faster if you spoil me."

"Then I'll start taking notes right away." He grabbed one of the biscuits off her tray and took a bite. Brin smacked his hand.

"Didn't anyone teach you not to take other people's food?"

"Manticore taught us to take what we required. Don't I require food?"

Brin rolled her eyes. Sometimes there was no talking to that man. "Did you feed Chelsea?"

He smiled at the mention of the little girl's name. "She's downstairs bugging the hell out of Sandeman, that's why I came up here. That kid is a bottomless pit." He said this as he was grabbing another biscuit.

"Sounds like someone else I know," she hinted while she stole her biscuit back out of his hand. He frowned for a moment, then reached out and picked up a sausage from her plate. Brin threw her hands into the air with exasperation.

"Why don't you just take the tray and I'll go down and get my own breakfast!"

He lifted her tray off her lap. "Sounds good to me."

Brin sighed and slid out of the bed, making sure to hit him on the back of the head on her way out. He laughed and got up to follow her, always making his chewing sounds loud enough for her to hear. Brin just rolled her eyes and hurried into the kitchen, she knew from past experience that Zack could be immature like a child. She was willing to bet Chelsea was much more grown-up. Then again, maybe not.

The second they stepped into the kitchen, an egg went flying past their heads. Brin couldn't believe the mess that was in the kitchen. "What is going on here?"

Sandeman and Chelsea looked up from the table, where more of their food had been thrown around than eaten. Sandeman straightened up, trying to look somewhat dignified despite the butter she could see in the remainder of his hair.

"We're testing her transgenic skills. This seems to be her talent."

Chelsea broke down in giggles while Brin struggled to keep a straight face. If she had any hope of having an adult conversation with these people, it was gone now. It was hard to believe she was around a 24-year-old X5 and an old man in his seventies or eighties, both of them seemed to be at Chelsea's level right now.

"I'm going to talk to Max, you guys can clean this up yourself."

Chelsea's face was the picture of innocence as she looked up at the young woman. "How come you can't help?"

"Because I just got back to this house. I shouldn't have to take any responsibility here for at least another week."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Run that by me again?"

"You heard me!" Brin called over her shoulder as she headed out the door. She couldn't wait to get to Max's, at least the IQ level should be higher there.

Kay's morning was heading along a similar track to Brin's, her roommates were locked in the middle of a wrestling match when she woke up.

"You're going to lose!"

"I will not!"

"Wanna bet?"

"Yeah!"

"I got a hundred bucks to waste right now, do you?"

Kay rolled her eyes. "Sketchy, he's six years old. Do you really think he has a hundred bucks to spend on this?"

Sketchy looked up at her with wide eyes, giving Ray the time to tackle his chest and knock him over. "Sure he does, don't all six-year-olds have that? Fine, why don't you lend him a hundred bucks? Who would you bet on?"

"My bet's on the kid."

"Thanks for the support."

"You're welcome."

Kay walked past the pair on the floor as she headed for the bathroom. Just as she was shutting the door, Sketchy called after her, "There's no hot water!"

"Well, if that isn't just great," she grumbled as she stripped and turned on the water. Sure enough, the water was freezing. In fact, it felt more like ice cubes rushing out of the faucet onto her. This'll be the last shower I take here!

The shower left her feeling anything but refreshed, but at least she was clean. It seemed like she had been filthy during her time hiding in Terminal City. After all, she couldn't just run into someone's house and use their shower. That was something she would have felt weird doing. There are some things in life that even an X5 won't sink to doing.

Despite how cold it was that day, Sketchy's living room felt amazingly warm after the shower. She felt like going back to bed, she didn't want to face what she knew she would have to do. Since Mole was no longer around and Kay still needed the other transgenics to help her with catching Familiars, she knew she would have to take care of the transgenics herself. That was something she didn't want to do, they would turn her into their leader. Her other choice was Sate, he had been leading the psy-ops for a while now, but she didn't trust that guy in the least. He gave her a strange feeling, and she always trusted her instincts. They were usually on the money.

Sketchy was grumbling to himself while he got dressed, not shy at all about Kay being right there. Kay raised an eyebrow.

"What are you going on about?"

He frowned. "That kid's only six and he still managed to beat me in a fake wrestling match! You should have seen how fast he moved, and he's got a grip like iron!"

"That doesn't really surprise me," she muttered unconsciously to herself, not even aware she'd spoken out loud.

Sketchy cocked his head to the side. "Why doesn't it surprise you?"

Her eyes widened as her mind quickly rushed through the millions of answers she could have given him. She finally settled on "It's not that hard to seem fast and strong compared to you, not that I can see anyways."

He threw a sock at her and continued dressing, nearly falling over as he tried to get his pants on. Kay grinned, he had no sense of balance. She couldn't believe he had agreed to let her and Ray stay here, but it was only temporary after all. Besides, she was slowly forming some plans for him. A reporter for a popular magazine could be useful for her cause.

"Going to work?"

"Yeah, Normal will shoot me if I don't show up on time. You wouldn't believe how bad he's got since your people got locked up in Terminal City, he lost over half his workers because of that, and he's been missing having his golden boy around."

"I can guarantee that Alec isn't missing him at all."

"What are you going to do all day?"

She shrugged. "I've got a few things going on for today."

"Anything big?"

"Nah, nothing important." She smirked to herself when his back was turned. If he only knew.

Joshua was walking around lazily, he had no one to talk to. He hadn't seen Mole all day, Alec and Jondy were hanging out together, and Max and Brin were in Max's apartment. He'd been more lonely than usual lately, the whole reason he had wanted to come to Terminal City was to have people to talk to and that just hadn't happened lately. It felt like people had stopped caring about him.

"Hey Joshua! You doing anything?"

Joshua turned his head eagerly, then grinned when he saw Gem walking after him with her daughter Tahira in her arms. Joshua loved Tahira's name, it was Arabic for 'pure'. Gem gave her that name because she wanted her daughter to grow up without the inner pain of being hated. Of course in Terminal City the little girl was truly loved. Every time she smiled she got everyone in the room to smile with her. Still, they called her Ty for short simply because Tahira just didn't sound like a little girl's name.

"What's up, Gem?"

The pretty young X5 looked rather worn out. Her hair was tousled and there were bags under her eyes, which was rare for any transgenic. They were supposed to be able to go on without sleep for long periods of time. Still, she had been so busy lately. Since Max had been focused on her own family problems, Gem had pretty much been running the show. She was a good leader, there was no doubt about that, but she had been so busy that she barely had time for her child anymore.

"Could you watch Ty for a little while? I have to talk to a group of people who seem to think we are going to be taken over by the psy-ops. I don't need anyone leaving this place and bringing more bad news to ordinaries about us."

"Why do they think psy-ops will take over?"

"That incident in the Rec Center yesterday has them a little freaked out. Don't worry, I'll sort things out. I just need someone to keep an eye on Ty."

"I can do it," he said eagerly. He liked helping out people close to him, it made him feel good.

"Ok, you know where I live. Here's the key, her milk's in the fridge, diapers are in the closet in the bathroom, and her crib and some other clothes are in the living room. You'll be able to see them right away. If she gets fussy, just pick her up and bounce her a little bit. Not too hard, ok big guy?" She knew the tall dog-man wasn't even close to knowing his own strength.

He nodded and held out his arms, his face looking like a little boy at Christmas as she handed Ty over to him. The little girl's green eyes peered up at him lovingly, she was more than used to Joshua by now.

"Just be careful with my girl, ok?"

Joshua smiled and put an arm around her quickly to give her a short squeeze that nearly made her eyes pop out of her head. "Joshua be careful."

She walked away, praying to God that Joshua did a good job.

There was nothing for her to worry about, Joshua nearly spoiled little Tahira. He loved playing with her, her little giggle made him feel special. Everyone in Terminal City swore that she saved that strange little giggle just for him. He only had to change her diaper once, which actually didn't go too bad. He wasn't sure if the diaper was on backwards or not, but there was no one he could ask. Gem had been one of the earliest X5s to go into labor, so there weren't that many transgenic mothers around for him to ask for help.

The bottle feeding didn't go too badly, but for some reason Ty just didn't want to go to sleep after she was done eating. Joshua finally pulled out some of Gem's CDs that she had collected and put one in. He had seen Luke fuss with music several times before, so he at least knew how to run a CD player.

It turned out to be a song called 'Only Time' by Enya. Joshua breathed a sigh of relief as Ty finally drifted off to sleep. He slowly sat down on the couch with her, not sure how he would get her into the crib without waking her up. He was looking down at her innocent little face as he thought, when his head finally just plopped down and he was snoring like a tractor.

Sate sat outside the Rec Center with about thirty other psy-ops. Some of them had telekinesis like him, but many of the others had mind altering abilities. They were the ones he knew would really come in handy.

"You all know what to do?"

He got several nods, then he slipped in. He couldn't exactly go unnoticed, but he didn't want to. Before he had even made it ten steps into the building, there was a loud shriek. He smiled chillingly, he knew who that was. He turned and focused his eyes on little Chelsea, who was now cowering behind Zack.

Zack didn't recognize the other man, but he could tell he fit the description of the psy-ops who had wreaked havoc in here yesterday. He didn't like the way Sate was looking at Chelsea, it was like she was a piece of meat. He reached down and put a hand on Chelsea's shoulder, hoping to calm her down. She had just relaxed when suddenly she was torn out from under his fingers and went sliding across the floor to Sate's outstretched arms.

Sate picked the little girl up easily, she wasn't really fighting. In fact, she wasn't moving at all, she was too terrified to move. That was how he liked it to be. He gave a rather charming smile to Zack.

"I don't suppose you want her back?"

Zack's blue eyes flashed dangerously. He didn't like anybody messing with someone who was his responsibility. "Drop her."

"I will eventually, but there's no telling how high up I'll be when I do it."

Zack tensed up when he saw Sate glance over towards the window. A face was there for a moment, but when they noticed him looking they pulled away. He returned his eyes to Sate.

"What's the point of this?"

"What's the point? I must say, you aren't the brightest one to ever come out of Manticore."

"And I suppose you think you are?"

Sate's eerily charming smile never left his face. "No, I don't think I am. In fact, I know I'm not."

Before Zack could reply, all the new tables in the room went flying towards him. He had to throw himself out of the way to avoid being crushed. Everyone in the room took off for the door, they didn't want to stick around for a repeat performance of yesterday. That was where the real problems started.

The first person to reach the door suddenly swung around hit the man behind him. His eyes were wide with shock as he did it, but that didn't matter. The one who got punched tackled him and sent him tumbling to the ground. It started happening with the rest as well, as soon as they reached the door they punched the first one behind them. Sate watched with a smirk as transgenic after transgenic started fighting one another. People were flying in every which direction, completely forgetting that they were running from a telekinetic man.

Zack took his chance while Sate was distracted and snatched Chelsea out from under his arm. The poor kid was barely conscious, she was scared so bad that she had nearly passed out. Sate whirled around furiously, he wasn't done with that kid yet. Zack's back hit the wall so hard that he saw stars, then he could feel something trying to pull Chelsea away from him. He braced his entire body and threw all his strength into holding onto her.

Sate couldn't believe it, that X5 was actually managing to hold onto the kid. His head was starting to hurt from the effort he was putting into trying to pull her away. He finally just stopped, giving his head a rest. Zack's body nearly slumped against the wall, he was thoroughly exhausted. That was worse than all out fighting. He had to run a hand over his face to wipe the sweat from his eyes, it was starting to burn him like crazy.

Now the transgenics weren't just hitting each other, they were throwing insults around. The first people to do it were shocked at what was coming out of their mouths, but soon everyone was joining in because they were angry. Soon it was an all out war between the people, none of them cared how it had gotten started.

One psy-ops woman leaned close to Zeke and whispered "They're easier to trick than the ordinaries!"

Zeke frowned and turned away from her. He agreed with her wholly, these freaks were very easy to trick. He still didn't like it though, weren't they all supposed to be on the same side? He didn't see the point in hurting the people they were supposed to be working with. It wasn't like it was getting them anywhere.

He felt strange being here. He had come with every intention to help Sate scare the shit out of these idiots, but now he was the only one not doing anything. It was when Sate stepped outside that he got himself out of there. He didn't know the other man very well, but he had the feeling he wouldn't like the fact that he wasn't helping out. He didn't notice Sate's eyes burning into his back as he slid around the corner.

Sate was less than happy with having a traitor, but he didn't have time to deal with him right now. Not to worry though, Zeke would pay later. At the moment Sate was more than amused at the antics of the battling transhumans. It was so easy to play with their minds that it wasn't even funny.

"Simpletons," he chuckled to himself, making sure they could all hear him. The fighting stopped so suddenly it was as if someone had flipped a switch. Every person there realized right then that they were being controlled as easily as ventriloquist dummies. Sate wanted to stick around and play with them a little longer, but something caught his eye.

Sandeman leaned on his cane heavily as he turned the corner. His ears, although not as sensitive as the transgenics', had picked up the commotion at the Rec Center. The first thing he saw was the cut up and bloody transgenics standing around, then his eyes fell on Sate. For some reason his heart seemed to stop right there. Who was that man? He looked so familiar, but Sandeman just couldn't place him. The height was one thing he recognized, but it was the eyes more than anything else. Those frightening blue eyes, what was it about them that struck something in him?

Sate froze at the sight of the old man. As much as he wanted to keep having fun, it was time to go. He signaled to the other psy-ops to move out, then turned and headed in the opposite direction. He could feel Sandeman's eyes on his back, then he paled. He couldn't let him see his barcode! He lengthened his step almost beyond the point where anyone else would have been able to keep up with him and remain at a walk.

Sandeman could see the barcode of the tall man walking away from him. His eyes struggled to focus in on it, trying to see the designation. Maybe that would help him remember who he was. He couldn't quite get it to become clear to him, but something was strange about it. He just couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something wrong with that barcode. He tried to get a closer look, but Sate was gone before he got the chance. That was when the other transgenics took off.

Both Joshua and Tahira were fast asleep on the couch when the door was suddenly thrown open. Joshua awoke to find himself facing Petey, a rather eccentric fox-like man who seemed to have way too much energy. Joshua normally didn't mind him, but he didn't like that he was barging into Gem's home.

"What do you want?" he growled threateningly, not fazing Petey in the least.

"Psy-ops are going to take over Terminal City!"

Joshua growled again. "Gem said it's not true."

"I don't care what she said, they made another attack today. This time there was lots of them, and they made us all go nuts! I'm telling you man, we can't stay in this place!"

Joshua nearly sent the other man into the wall when Petey jumped on him to get him to follow him out the door. That was when Ty woke up and started screaming. Joshua shot Petey a deadly look, then turned his attention to the little girl.

Petey stood there for a moment, shuffling his weight back and forth to each foot, then decided quickly what to do. Opening the door behind him for a quick getaway, he reached out and took Ty from Joshua's arms before he even knew what had happened and took off down the hall. Joshua was in shock for a moment, then he took off after Petey. Gem had asked him to take care of her baby and by God he was going to do it.

Petey finally made it out of the building and headed down one of the side streets. He didn't know the different roads in Terminal City, but he knew the general direction he wanted to go.

Kay was quickly approaching Terminal City, she could already see the flag that they had raised. She was more than ready to just get this over with, it would be a long time ahead of her and she wanted to get started on it as soon as possible. The sooner it was started, the sooner it could get finished. That was what she hoped anyway.

The soldiers around the city didn't notice the redhead that was standing beneath them and Kay decided to leave it that way for now. She didn't want to cause trouble before the fun started. As of yet she couldn't hear anyone approaching in the sewers, but that was soon to change she was sure. Sate would have started early so it could all be over with by noon. It may have seemed like a stupid move to other people, but that was why they were doing it. No one was going to expect them to make an escape in broad daylight, especially this early when there was still plenty of light left in the day so they could be caught. That was just the chance they would have to take.

Ray was sitting not too far back, where she had told him to wait. She couldn't just leave him alone at Sketchy's place, that would have been too dangerous. He would just have to tag along with her until they could find something better to do with him. The only thing that bothered her was that if the Familiars showed up they might try and take him away. She couldn't let that happen for Wendy's sake. She wasn't going to let her friend's son go back to those crazy people.

After several minutes, Sate finally stepped into her view from the other side of the fence. He looked surprised to see her, she had figured he would. He was supposed to meet Mole here, but considering the circumstances that wasn't possible. Sate's eyes flicked upward towards the guards, then he walked so he was standing right next to the fence. Kay walked forward until they were facing each other. His eyes ran over her, then over Ray behind her.

"What are you doing here? This wasn't what we planned."

"Well some other things happened that we didn't plan either, that's why I'm here. Are they going to be coming out soon?"

"I should think so. They're going insane thinking about how easily we can manipulate their minds. We took full advantage of that today."

"I don't care what you did, as long as they're coming out. What time are you getting your people out?"

"As soon as we're sure that every other transgenic who planned on getting out does so. You know that as soon as it gets around that the psy-ops are gone that no one else will be bothering to escape."

"Thank you Mr. Obvious, I didn't realize that before," she quipped sarcastically. She saw his eyes flash, he obviously didn't like being mocked, but she didn't really care. As soon as they were out, the ball was in her court. What he liked or didn't like wouldn't matter then. He turned and stalked away, leaving Kay to wait for his move. That was one thing she didn't like, the ball wasn't in her court yet, it was in his right now.

Ray watched all this nervously, he didn't like that other man. He was too scary for a little boy. He didn't even want to be here, he wished he could have gone home with his dad. He had waited for a long time to see him again, but it had only lasted a couple minutes. He wanted it to last longer next time.

Ames sat down in the tiny room he was in. This wasn't going well at all. It hadn't taken him long to reach the Conclave, but they refused to believe that Ray was alive. They figured the transgenics had messed with his head and he was no longer sane. That was ridiculous, he was upset but not insane. His mental state was perfectly normal.

He had seen Thula's smirk when she heard what was going on. She had never liked him, the fact that he had left the Phalanxes just plain pissed her off. It made her happier when she heard that he couldn't take down X5-452, it gave her a chance to show off to him. She liked proving that she was superior to him, but she didn't get her chance with 452. That stupid X5 had handcuffed her to a column before she could do anything. Ames had never said anything to her about it, but she knew it had amused him. She was one up on him now that he seemed to be crazy as a loon.

Ames just didn't understand why they refused to believe Ray was alive. He could see why they might not believe him at first, but it was like they wouldn't even let the idea enter their minds. They just looked at him like he had three heads and then took on the attitude of talking to a child, telling him that his son had died and that he needed to accept it. By now he had given up even trying to convince them. It was a waste of his time.

The door opened suddenly, surprising him and making him jump slightly. Lenore stepped into the room, studying his face. Despite the fact that she was a high priestess he'd known for many years, he'd never liked her. He hated how she seemed to take pleasure in ordering him around. Being one of the Conclave's messengers seemed to make her think that she was better than him. That was one of the reasons he wished he hadn't left the Phalanxes, it would have given him authority over her.

"Ames, you are free to go when you like."

"Does this mean you don't think I'm certifiable?" he snapped irritably. Her eyes looked on him disapprovingly, lack of respect like that was not tolerated by her.

"We have received confirmation that your son is alive and in the hands of the transgenics. He was spotted by one of our people."

Ames felt a slight rush of excitement. He just hoped they were going to help him get his son back. "Does the Conclave give me permission to retrieve him?" Whether or not they let him, he would do it anyways. He just figured he might as well keep up a respectable attitude for the sake of appearances.

"Not yet. We have other plans for you at this time. Seeing as how 452 is locked away, we don't need you to remain as a federal agent. The Conclave requests that you rejoin the Phalanxes, we have important plans for you and your replacement is not suitable for the job."

"What kind of plans?"

"I assume that since you've been in captivity you haven't heard about the latest transgenic problem."

"What about the transgenics?"

"Have you heard about the X2s?"

"I've been told some about them, but not much. All I know is that they're considered the major mistakes of the X series. Weren't most of them killed off?"

"All but four. Lately, these four have gone on a killing spree. It hasn't been random either as many people think. They've killed people all around the country, mauling them like animals so most people assume it's an animal attack. The problem is that all these people have been our brothers and sisters. I don't know how the X2s have been able to separate them from other people, but somehow they've managed it. They've killed over thirty of our people, three here in Seattle. One was very recent, but the other two were right after Manticore was burned down, so they figured out how to tell us apart very early. Despite the fact that they don't look like the rest of the X series, they are every bit as strong if not stronger. That's why we need the Phalanxes on this, and I mean with you as part of them. A second class Familiar would never be able to go up against these things."

"What makes you think I'll go along with this? I can see why these things worry you, and under normal circumstances they would worry me too, but compared to my son they aren't important to me."

"Help us with this and we will help you get your son back, I promise you."

Ames wasn't sure what to do. He wanted Ray back, but his chances of succeeding on his own were low. He needed his people for this, but he wasn't sure if he could trust Lenore. She had been known to go back on her word. Come to think of it, so had he. Still, he didn't have any other options.

"Fine, but I want this business done with soon."

Kay glanced at her watch, it was almost 10:00. What was taking so long? Ray hadn't said anything, but she knew he was bored out of his mind. Who could blame him? She was just as bored as he was.

A gunshot being fired snapped her wide awake. It had come from somewhere in the sewers, they must be coming. It's about time! It was muffled, so the soldiers above didn't hear it. After the first shot, several more were fired. After a short time, the shots stopped and she could clearly hear running footsteps. They were rather heavy, so she was willing to bet it was the soldiers that were stationed down there. So much for wanting to protect their country, it sounded more to her like they just wanted to save their own asses.

When a manhole cover was shoved from its original position and the soldiers lifted themselves out, Kay easily delivered some kicks to knock them out. They weren't expecting anyone to be waiting for them, so she didn't meet any resistance. Pulling their unconscious bodies away from the opening, she peered down to see Joshua standing below her surrounded by several other terrified-looking transgenics. He wasn't even looking up at her, he seemed to be looking for someone else.

"Hey Josh, what's going on down there?"

His head snapped up, then his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. She smiled, she had figured he didn't know she was alive. Max wouldn't have told him because that would involve telling him about everything she had been doing while she was gone.

"Kay! Are you an angel?"

Kay smiled wider at his innocence. "No big guy, I'm real. What's going on?"

"Others are scared. Petey was scared too, but he took Ty. Gem said to watch Ty."

Kay was surprised, she knew who Ty was from her times spying on the Rec Center. Someone had run off with the kid? "Why don't you guys come up here, it's not safe for you down there. It won't take long for more soldiers to show up." She knew that wasn't true, none of the other soldiers were aware that they were here, but these people wouldn't listen to her unless they were scared for their lives.

Joshua stood back as others climbed up the ladder into the sunlight. He watched each one, then nearly jumped on Petey when he spotted him. Petey scrambled up the ladder as fast as he could, only to have Kay pull Ty out of his arms. The poor kid was screaming at the top of her lungs. Kay bounced her around a bit as the last of the runaways finally made it up out of the sewers, then handed her off to Joshua so she could get to Ray.

A female member of the Polar Division stepped over to her. "Where are we going to go?"

"Just hold on, I have an idea. It'll just take a little while, but hopefully it will get the job done. Can you do me a favor and find as many X series in the group as you can? I would shout but I don't want to take the chance of being heard."

The woman nodded and headed off into the crowd. Kay pulled Ray to her side as she walked back over to the fence around Terminal City. Sate stepped out from the behind one of the buildings, making sure the hood of his sweater covered his face so they didn't recognize him.

"What time should the rest of us come out?"

"When I show back up. I should be back in an hour or two. Just keep your people hidden for now, ok?"

He nodded, but his eyes still struck her as cold as she turned away. When the Polar woman came back with her findings, he had disappeared. The woman had about fifteen of the X series with her. That impressed Kay, there were only about twenty-two X series in Terminal City

"Ok people, listen up. In a couple minutes I will have clearance for all of you to make it through the city without being stopped. You need to make it to this address." She held up a slip of paper and let everyone get a good look at it. "Most of you can head out right away, but I'll need a couple of you to stick around. I'll need your help in getting these other people out of here. Do I have anyone who'll agree to stay?"

Two stepped forward confidently. Good, we have at least a few people here who don't discriminate against the freaks. One was a tall, Hispanic man, the other was a much shorter, raven-haired woman. They looked like the typical people running around in Seattle, so she figured they would do.

"What's your names?"

"Jackie."

"Kito."

Kay tensed at the last one. She should have recognized him sooner, she had lived with him for so long and nearly lost her virginity to him. "Can you two manage a semi?"

They raised their eyebrows. Jackie answered first. "I've never done it, but I can handle it."

Kito nodded. "Me too."

"Good. If the rest of you will just wait a little bit, we'll have your passes to get through the city."

It wasn't even five minutes later that Normal showed up. She smiled sweetly. "I was wondering when you would get here."

Normal walked towards her stiffly, obviously not feeling comfortable around all the transgenics that were here. Just because he didn't hate them anymore didn't mean that he was at ease around them. "I hope you're happy, twenty sector passes aren't the easiest things to come with without raising suspicion."

"You can keep five of them, we only need fifteen. Do you have the keys?"

He pulled them out of his pockets. "The drivers can come with me and we'll bring back bikes for the rest. I hope you appreciate all this good stuff I'm doing for your people."

"Aw, come on, you're doing it for a good cause."

"I don't aim to be the Martin Luther King Jr. for the transgenics."

Kay snorted. "That's Max's job, not yours."

Normal rolled his eyes. "If she's Martin Luther King Jr., then who are you?"

She grinned. "A less religious Moses, and I am leading my people out of captivity."

He rolled his eyes again and walked off with Kito and Jackie. It didn't take long for them to return, this time with two semis large enough to fit the Rec Center into. Normal hopped out of his car, which had been behind them, and opened the back of one of the semis to reveal fourteen bikes. All the other X series put on their passes and climbed onto the bikes, then rode off. Kay stood up where all the other transhumans could see her.

"Everyone, I want you to split yourselves up as evenly as possible and get into the back of one of the semis. It won't be long before you're in safety, so don't worry."

She watched as people started filing into the semis, then made sure everyone was evenly distributed. She wanted the ride to be comfortable for them. She was about to follow Normal to his car when Joshua ran down to her.

"Can you take Ty? Big truck might scare her."

Kay smiled and took the baby into her arms. "Sure big guy, I'll take good care of her."

He smiled and went back into the semi, then the doors were shut. She felt a little bad that he had to get in the middle of all of this, but it was too late to turn back now. She slid into Normal's car with him, she was going with him so he could give her a ride back to Terminal City once she was sure everyone was settled in. They didn't have to hurry, the psy-ops were currently getting their barcodes removed so they could pass through the city.

The drive was nerve-wracking for her, she didn't want anything to go wrong. She would prefer if people never knew that Terminal City was now emptied of over half its occupants. It would be safer for Ray if it remained that way.

Once Logan's old apartment building came into view, her fears started to fade away. She knew this was as good a place as any to hide, everyone had moved out of it after White's people shot up the place. It had been empty for almost two months now. It had enough room to hide them all. It would be a tight fit, but they would manage. Besides, she planned for the X series and psy-ops to eventually find their own places to live. That would make living here a little easier.

With every X series standing guard, all the transhumans managed to make it inside safely. Not even one hoverdrone made an appearance, to Kay's great relief. This had been scary enough, but she knew the other half wasn't going to be so pretty either.