AN: This picks up from SAH, where both Max and Logan independently decide
to leave Seattle. Here there is no clone to bring them together, just good
old Manticore and their sorry selves. Oh, and creepy, evil me. but hey, if
you're looking for action, it's more toward the end, so don't despair, it's
coming at some point in the story. ;-)
Ghosts of Manticore
There were very few people who would venture out into that valley, somewhere at the outskirts of Seattle, and even less who would come back to tell about it. The young woods that sprinkled the hills all around the cauldron managed to conceal the area below them as efficiently as young soldiers guarding an outpost with their life. For a short period, which meant even less in the general timeline THEY were used to, people had flooded the place with cameras, flashes and microphones. Those little scurrying figures had been less than bold though, as if sensing that there was evil looming over the ashes, that restless spirits yearned for revenge. And they had left just as quickly, microphones unused, camera lenses darkened by the ashes in the air, for the place was a dark and silent one, with no secrets to share with the ordinaries.
That particular evening, humid vapors had started to rise early from the young trees and proceeded to envelop the thicket in a stiflingly oppressive fog. The man cutting his way through the undergrowth, striving to reach the bottom of the valley, could care less, however. He was driven by anger and frustration, and even though he had known what had gone down here, he had returned to the scene, ready to face the ghosts of the past head on, to search for some closure.
Reaching an area with relatively sparse vegetation, he stopped for a second, pensive. Deep down in the valley, he could see where grass had cracked the pavement soldiers had once marched on. But the iron gate, even bent and soot covered as it was, was still on the mission. Behind it, the ruins of Manticore loomed, dark and empty.
They felt him approach, even wondered how a lone man would dare disturb the stillness with his physical presence. But as soon as he came nearer, descending to the gate, there was no reason to wonder anymore. The hushed murmur rumbling through the empty corridors spread to the whole compound calling HER forth.
"So, here he is." She didn't feel anything at the realization that she would finally meet the man who had brought about the destruction of her life's work, her dreams for the future and her very existence. No tingling of anticipation down her spine, no cribbing down her hands at the thought of the things she could have done to him. Oh, how much time she had wasted on 452, taunting her, coaxing her, threatening her. She hadn't cracked. And here he was, unbidden, daring to penetrate the stillness of a place he had crushed into the dust with only a few words. And she couldn't do anything about it. Or could she?
Watching as he crossed the threshold of what had once been an impervious gate, she noticed his unsteady gait and the lost look. So, this was supposed to be the great Eyes Only? What was he doing here? Other than struggling to stand on his own two feet?
*
Logan advanced slowly, uncertain of his direction, silently taking in his surroundings. If anyone had asked him what he was doing here, he wouldn't have had an answer. All he knew was that he was leaving Seattle, leaving it all behind, even though he would never be able to forget it. To forget her, that was.
Now that Eyes Only was gone, he would be on the run, with no clue as to where he could start again or whether he could start again at all. Once, in a similar situation, he had almost taken his own life. Today, he was going away, and he could only wish that something, someone, would stop him and give him a reason to hold on to life again. As it was, he had been headed to one of the safe houses he still had left in the woods on the outskirts of Seattle. He hadn't been aware that he had actually almost reached Manticore until it was too late to resist the temptation.
Yes, it was an incredible temptation to see the place that had turned Max into the woman she was now, cold-hearted and concerned only with herself and her own. It was a temptation to see it in ruins, yes, to actually gloat, to convince himself it couldn't hurt him - or her for that matter - anymore. Too bad they had won after all, and too bad he realized all too well, old Manticore could gloat itself looking at the shell he had become.
While this Manticore facility was newer and less well equipped, he could still project onto it all the negativity that had built up in him. Seeing metal cell doors agape, as if screaming for their inmates and pieces of barbed wire strewn around, he almost physically felt the presence of evil.
Right, Veteran Hospital. He supposed all the Manticore related things had been removed when Eyes Only had made the story public. Then what was he doing around here? He forced a bitter smile. He had become so resentful, and disgusted and negative, that he would have fit quite well in this place. Yes, that was it, he felt very much at home in this deserted place of sorrow. There was no reason to search out the Aztek and struggle to get to the safe house tonight, not in the state he was in. He'd just spend the night here.
In his grim determination, the spur of the moment decision seemed so ironically fitting, he never gave it a second thought, questioned his motives or even his sanity as he wandered around, looking for a place to crash. Neither did he notice the heavy atmosphere or the doors that opened here or closed there, as if randomly pushed by a gust of wind.
*
Neither did SHE sense, reveling in the sight of the almost broken man and intent on carrying out her final revenge, the lone biker that had left Seattle and had stopped, hesitantly, at the crossroads that would eventually lead her either back to Manticore or into a new life.
***
He woke up in a corner on a pile of rags, befuddled, drenched in sweat, searching for the reason he had become wide awake despite the profound exhaustion he was feeling. In his dream, he had seen himself, rotting away on a metal table as a Manticore project at the mercy of Lydecker and Renfro, wishing in vain for freedom, while Max was doing Eyes Only cable hacks. He grimaced. Yeah, well, he should probably cut her some slack if he ever saw her again, it couldn't have been easy. Of one thing he was glad, though, he still had his body, his freedom and his mind.
There was no light around him other than the flashlight he carried in his jacket and no sounds permeated the musty air in the room he found himself in. Guiding himself only by touch, groping around with his hands and reaching out with his feet, he felt them give way from under him, as if they had suddenly decided that Joshua's transfusion was a Manticore gift to be collected back by Manticore. He cursed, irked by the untimely bout of helplessness. At least Max could not be faulted for the quirks of her body, she was a freak created by man, he, he had turned himself into a freak.
And yet she had never complained about any of her physical shortcomings, taking them as a given, as something that should be coped with. Damn, he had left Seattle to get her out of his mind before he'd go crazy with pain and now he was still thinking of her. He cleared his mind and focused on getting back up, in the hope his legs would listen to him once again. There were numerous pieces of wood and metal, splinters and the like to be used to his heart's content. It took quite an effort for him to stand up and urge his wobbly legs on, but in the end he didn't even need a makeshift crutch.
He finally reached the door on the opposite wall, only to find it closed. Frustration began to emerge in him, as he questioned whatever had possessed him to want to spend the night in this creepy place. To top it all, he could make out a door creaking in the distance, while his wouldn't budge at all. The short sleep had allowed him to think more clearly, but anger was still getting the better of him.
*
Had she been alive, she would have chuckled out loud. Here he was, poor mortal crip, who thought he could destroy a project that had been developed throughout several centuries. It didn't matter that he had actually succeeded - at least for a while. After all, what meaning could such a short period hold, compared to the real age of Manticore? For the time being she could barely control any matter, albeit an actual body, and still she had managed to close in on him, to trap him in his own body. Yes, revenge would be fun!
She concentrated on keeping the door of the cell closed and didn't sense the other one entering the compound sheltered by the moonless sky. It was all too seldom that someone came along. THEY did sense her, however, at first in amazement that one of their own would come back to the place of destruction that had brought them all into the world only to propagate chaos. Then they admired her physical beauty, so different from their own bodies, already long gone. And finally, one of their own came forward and noticed her deep sorrow and her empty stare. She had come back, but could she really see what was going on, or was she just another lost soul to join them while still alive and breathing?
*
Max wandered aimlessly through the ruins of Manticore, wondering what in the whole wide world she had ever thought to come back to this place that meant the beginning of her end as Max Guevara. At times she couldn't even recognize herself in the whiny young woman that greeted her in the mirror every morning, and what was worse, she couldn't recognize herself in Logan's eyes, either. To him she probably seemed spiteful and mean, self- centered and uncaring. It had been best to go away, to spare him the hurt of looking at a woman he had loved but didn't recognize anymore.
She remembered, full of sorrow, how she had contended, for such a long time, that her name was Max and not X5-452. It had turned out that she was indeed X5-452, rather than Max, but she had realized that way too late, when she found herself unable to say the three words her heart had always known for the truth. Now she was here, as if to see it in ruins, yes, to actually gloat, to convince herself it couldn't hurt her - or him for that matter - anymore. It surprised her to no end when she finally realized that she had come to say good-bye, in the hope of finding her old self again.
Lost in thought, she wandered down the empty corridors, remembering faces, sounds, touching the cracked and scorched walls, without realizing that all around her, she found some doors closed, or blocked, others open or plain missing, as if someone guided her steps.
*
Facing the door all alone, angered and frustrated, made Logan want to make use of the full force the exoskeleton could provide and shred that door to pieces. Alas, his leg was stuck in that thing and while the exo might not get too damaged, his leg was too precious for him to go without. So it all boiled down to mind work again. Moving his flashlight around, he searched for a window and found none. Yeah, right, a room with a view in Manticore. But the door had hinges on the inside, so all he would need to do was to lift it up a bit. After all, it wasn't locked, it was just jammed. This simple task of finding a piece of metal to crack the door open gave him an unexpected satisfaction. It was good to stand in front of solvable problems for a change, rather than facing the type of no win situations that required Eyes Only to save the world. He went about it almost with the joy of someone who knows he's doing something useful and suddenly halted in his activity to ponder why or when he had ever stopped seeing the virus as just an obstacle that would be overcome sooner or later. It had been long before the Alec thing and he just couldn't figure out how he had let go without a fight.
*
SHE would have boiled with anger and taken it out on everyone around if she could have manifested herself physically. But this Cale, this Eyes Only, liked a challenge. So be it. She'd give him one.
*
Max descended to the basement and remembered being guided through similar corridors by Logan. He wasn't here now, but thinking of him made her quicken her pace, as if she was actually searching for something instead of aimlessly strolling around. For some reason she was getting alternately hot and cold. The environmental controls must be off, she thought, realizing that some areas were more uncomfortable than others. In fact, it was a wonder even that anything around here worked at all. After all, Renfro had torched the place, killing uncounted transgenics in the process. Suddenly she found herself thinking of that reverend who had said that transgenics had no soul. What if he had been right? She brushed the thought aside, remembering how much Logan had helped her feel human and accepted. Damn it, why did she keep thinking about him?
Pushing an open door widely open, she found herself in front of a damaged control panel leading to what seemed like a bunker. It took her a little while to pry the panel open and get to the circuitry, but her long time as a cat burglar was finally paying off. Chuckling lightly at the thought that the door might get blocked behind her, she remembered that there was no one waiting for her and barged in, curious to see what bounty the armored door had been hiding so well that it had survived a fire and subsequent police searches.
*
Behind her, THEY gathered to protect the entrance to the vault, but there was little they could do if Renfro became aware of the X5's presence.
* Logan made a final effort and the door creaked open at his strong pull. He never even considered that there might have been something else at work, especially since his way to the front gate was now clear. Coming out into the open, he was surprised to feel warmer than on the inside. But he was even more surprised to see a black Ninja on the side of the road. His heart lurched. Max! Trying to mentally berate himself for his reaction didn't yield any results. He was back inside in less than a moment, followed by a terribly cold draft that made his hand tremble on the flashlight.
*
HER rage had reached its peak. She swept through the corridors, leaving clouds of dust and destruction in her wake. 452 had dared come back! Special or not, she was up for a surprise!
*
Max had been going through the cabinets in astonishment. Logan and she, they had both thought one base was all there was to Manticore. How wrong had they been! Vials upon vials of genetic material and assorted samples of what looked like chemical concoctions of some sort were kept here safely locked away from prying eyes and proved that there was a lot more to Manticore than just gene manipulation. Incredulous, Max asked herself for the first time if there was a reason why this place hadn't been destroyed or why she had found it. As far as she could see, there wasn't really any damning material but a wealth of test results and medical substances any man would kill to get his hands on. But there was no time for her to complete that thought. Just as in the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of something she had lost all hope for, all chaos broke loose around her.
One by one, vials, papers and recipients started to shake and burst in an explosion of noise. Objects flew through the room, breaking on the walls and Max had such a hard time dodging them, that there was no way she could have noticed the man who appeared in the door, amazed at the sight before him.
"Max!" he yelled, trying to get her attention. "Max, get out!"
He had no idea what could be in those containers, but, knowing Manticore, it couldn't be anything good. However, while Max heard him, she couldn't look back to the door, since the various bottles and vials seemed to be aimed directly at her and she had a hard enough time keeping covered.
"Stay out, I can take it!" was all she managed to respond.
Logan stood in the doorway, taking the sight in for a few seconds, tempted to barge in and get her out. Just as he decided that he needed to unhinge a door to keep Max and himself covered against the content of those jars, he noticed that one area of the room was rather protected and calm without any objects flying around. Even though Max couldn't see the spot from her position, she somehow started to head that way. Logan decided to help her in the only way he could: by providing cover until they figured out the source of this onslaught.
As he worked at unhinging the next best door at hand, Logan wondered what ever was going on with him and doors today. But it seemed like it was the only surface wide enough to provide cover and function as a weapon if need may be. Right now he was more puzzled by the fact that he couldn't discern an enemy than by anything else.
By the time he got back with their cover, Max was nowhere in sight, even though the objects were still crashing against the walls and flying through the air.
He awkwardly made his way inside, looking for her, only to finally find her crouched in the quiet corner, clutching something she hid at her chest, tears streaming down her face. As soon as Logan appeared, the downpour intensified. His task was made even harder by the fact that he couldn't touch her, but finally he managed to take cover next to her.
"It's. it's Renfro", Max whispered.
Logan would have laughed if the situation hadn't been that serious and their cover hadn't risked being yanked away and used as a weapon against them.
"You're serious, aren't you?" he asked in disbelief, only to continue seconds later, pointing to her clutched hands. "Are you all right?" He had rarely seen her cry and it unsettled him.
She nodded, but kept her hands at her chest. "Any spur of the moment ideas on how to get out?"
Logan didn't have any, considering that their enemy was invisible and unpredictable.
Almost without thinking, he yelled out in frustration:
"Renfro!"
He didn't really expect her to appear, but he had to do something, so he yelled again.
"Renfro!"
As Max joined in, the downpour of objects almost halted, but the air became so heavy, it was getting increasingly difficult for Logan to breathe. All he could do was watch in silence as the woman he loved stood up to face a shadowy figure that had appeared in the doorway.
"It's director Renfro to you, 452."
"And it's Max to you." She spoke that one syllable with such force that it surprised herself. But she was not going to move down one inch. Not anymore.
"Now that the introductions are over, I want what belongs to me."
"Which is?"
"Yourself and the vial you're holding. Both are property of Manticore."
"Newsflash, there is no Manticore anymore, and you are a ghost haunting the place, in case you hadn't noticed."
"In case you hadn't noticed, I am quite real. Need I remind you or your friend over there?"
This time Logan struggled forward. "We've got the real part all right. What we don't get is why you can't let us be."
Max would never have acknowledged it, but the way he had spoken of an "us" gave her an incredible surge of energy.
"It's you who came down here to disturb the peace of the dead." Her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once and penetrate them to their bone, but neither Max, nor Logan showed any signs of being intimidated.
"Sorry, we didn't count on meeting any ghosts around here." Max's matter of fact tone belied her increasing restlessness. There was way more to this than they could see and not knowing what else waited ahead of them unsettled her. Plus, there was more at stake here than Logan knew and she had to hide it for just a while more.
"Put the vial down, come with me and I'll let him go", Renfro coaxed. For a moment, Max considered meeting her demands, but Logan stepped in again.
"She can't stay here. We'll go and never come back, okay?"
The answer was silent, short and to the point. Logan fell down on his knees, unable to breathe anymore. Max could hold out a while, but looking at the man next to her, she caved in.
"You can have me. I'm afraid you broke the vial earlier when you threw me around, though." Max opened her palm and revealed bloody shards coming out of her hand.
As hard a time as he had breathing, Logan's eyes grew wide with pain at the sight, only to be filled with surprise seconds later as another figure emerged from thin air.
Max gasped in turn.
"Eva."
"I'm here, little sister." Turning to Renfro, she thundered. "Now that is quite enough. The antigen is gone. They should be able to go in peace or we won't cooperate anymore."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly that. We know you're not allowed to keep her here and demand that you let them go."
Grumbling, Renfro looked away disgusted. "Go before I change my mind." Releasing her hold on Logan, she slowly faded away, throwing one last angry look at Max.
"Eva?" Max didn't budge an inch, so awed was she at the sight of her sister.
"Be happy, little sister and don't try to look back." With that, she faded as quickly as Renfro had, leaving both Max and Logan behind, shaken.
"Max, are you all right?"
"Yes, but this place is giving me the creeps. Let's get out."
Logan wished he could take a closer look at the room and its contents, but it wasn't like there was anything left intact, so he gave in, heading for the door.
As they walked in silence, side by side through the dark corridors of Manticore, Max couldn't help noticing how comfortable and safe she felt next to Logan. There was nothing left of the awkwardness over their Alec argument, just a quiet companionship and her burning urge to hold him tight and never let go.
Once outside, they took one last look at the compound behind them, as dark and spine chilling, as it had seemed before. Nothing had changed inside Manticore.
"How did you get here?" She broke the companionable silence, as she couldn't see any other vehicle except her Ninja.
"The Aztek's over there, on top of the hill." he pointed vaguely up North.
"What were you doing here, anyway?" she couldn't help herself.
"I could ask you the same thing, now, couldn't I?"
"I guess you could." This was getting awkward again and she hated it.
"So, are you going to give me that ride you promised me or was it just empty X5 talk?" Thankful for the lightening atmosphere, Max was tempted to aim a jab at him, but her palm still hurt like hell.
"Better even, you drive."
Logan looked at her in surprise and remembered her injuries. "How's your hand? And what was that vial anyway?"
"Just drive and I'll explain on the way."
He complied, happy to see her again in one piece and somewhat happy. They roared away, stopping only to pick up the Aztek, and then again, miles away, at the safe house.
***
As content as he was to have Max with him, Logan was getting restless while he waited for her to get more comfortable and nurse her hand.
When she came back in one of his old T- shirts, her barely dry hair on top of her head, he had to gulp at the sight and turn his eyes away. All the hurt was back, in just an instant.
Max noticed him turn away and cringed with guilt. She settled next to him on the couch, so close he brought his head up in wonder. She extended her left, uninjured hand, and let him see a small syringe, filled with clear liquid.
"What's this?"
"It's the antigen and it's yours, whether you can bring yourself to take me back or not."
Logan's eyes grew clouded with mixed feelings. As much as he loved her, they needed to settle this once and for all.
"That's not the point and you know it, Max."
She lowered her gaze and gathered the courage to tell him what had weighed heavily on her heart for the last two years.
"Logan, I love you. I always did, even if I had a very hard time showing it."
Logan closed his eyes for a second, but he never relented. He needed to know it now, all of it. "Then what about Alec?"
"I. I lied. I was trying to protect you, trying to keep my distance before I killed you for good."
"You lied, just like that."
She looked up, her eyes ablaze. "It was easier to lie than to lose you for good."
"Except that I did think I lost you for good. I'm still not convinced you're back." His tone was still somewhat harsh.
"Logan, I'm not sure it's clear for you just yet. I love you. And you won't ever lose me for good, not even when I'm dead. You saw it, I'd come back as a ghost and make your life just as miserable as it is now."
This time Logan chuckled lightly. "Is that a good thing or a bad one?"
She attempted a playful swat at him, but caught herself in time, extending her hand again.
"Which brings us back to the issue. The antigen. What is it going to be?
"What were you doing in Manticore?" He had a smirk on his face, but she had an inkling that he was half serious with all these questions. After all, she needed to gain his trust again.
"I was going to leave town and got sidetracked. What about you?"
He looked her in the eyes, surprised.
"I was coming to the safe house to think about where I could relocate. I guess I got sidetracked, too."
She smiled and hurried to fill in, for fear he'd start again.
"Any more questions I'll consider cruel and unusual punishment."
He chuckled mischievously and she could see he wanted to answer but refrained. Instead, he reached for the syringe and depressed the plunger into his arm.
"How's your hand doing?"
"Better than yours if you don't stop the questions."
She still didn't dare swat at him, although her every fiber screamed at her to hold him, hug him, and crush him into her. He hadn't asked her even one of the things that mattered, instead he had just trusted her implicitly and that told her more than she needed to know. She tried to answer some of his unspoken questions.
"It's going to take a few hours to give you immunity. My hand is okay, only the upper half of the vial broke, I managed to protect the other one."
He looked her deep in the eyes, trying to search for his answers there.
"Why were you crying?"
"I . I wasn't sure I had managed to salvage any of the antigen." She looked down again and he pressured her to face him again.
"Max, listen to me, please, once and for all. I love you. And I'd love you with or without the virus, Manticore or not, with one or one hundred ghosts on your tail. I'm not much different either. Who knows who is trying to get me at the moment. I hate to break it to you, but we're both anything but average."
Max interrupted him with a look, suddenly becoming listless and looking at her watch.
"What?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Before he had managed to sigh in relief that she wasn't telling him about some other obstacle they had to pass, she had bent over, capturing his mouth with hers and plunging in for a passionate kiss that seemed to never end.
In this one moment, she was happy and she intended to stay happy for as long as she could; that was all that counted, for her or for the figure looming high above the cabin, content with the day's work.
THE END
AN: Craving feedback, please. Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to my other fic. Don't despair. Life has been quite hectic but I did manage to write several long parts and make the story progress quite a bit. So, if you're interested, you'll see some updates before Christmas for sure. ;-)
Ghosts of Manticore
There were very few people who would venture out into that valley, somewhere at the outskirts of Seattle, and even less who would come back to tell about it. The young woods that sprinkled the hills all around the cauldron managed to conceal the area below them as efficiently as young soldiers guarding an outpost with their life. For a short period, which meant even less in the general timeline THEY were used to, people had flooded the place with cameras, flashes and microphones. Those little scurrying figures had been less than bold though, as if sensing that there was evil looming over the ashes, that restless spirits yearned for revenge. And they had left just as quickly, microphones unused, camera lenses darkened by the ashes in the air, for the place was a dark and silent one, with no secrets to share with the ordinaries.
That particular evening, humid vapors had started to rise early from the young trees and proceeded to envelop the thicket in a stiflingly oppressive fog. The man cutting his way through the undergrowth, striving to reach the bottom of the valley, could care less, however. He was driven by anger and frustration, and even though he had known what had gone down here, he had returned to the scene, ready to face the ghosts of the past head on, to search for some closure.
Reaching an area with relatively sparse vegetation, he stopped for a second, pensive. Deep down in the valley, he could see where grass had cracked the pavement soldiers had once marched on. But the iron gate, even bent and soot covered as it was, was still on the mission. Behind it, the ruins of Manticore loomed, dark and empty.
They felt him approach, even wondered how a lone man would dare disturb the stillness with his physical presence. But as soon as he came nearer, descending to the gate, there was no reason to wonder anymore. The hushed murmur rumbling through the empty corridors spread to the whole compound calling HER forth.
"So, here he is." She didn't feel anything at the realization that she would finally meet the man who had brought about the destruction of her life's work, her dreams for the future and her very existence. No tingling of anticipation down her spine, no cribbing down her hands at the thought of the things she could have done to him. Oh, how much time she had wasted on 452, taunting her, coaxing her, threatening her. She hadn't cracked. And here he was, unbidden, daring to penetrate the stillness of a place he had crushed into the dust with only a few words. And she couldn't do anything about it. Or could she?
Watching as he crossed the threshold of what had once been an impervious gate, she noticed his unsteady gait and the lost look. So, this was supposed to be the great Eyes Only? What was he doing here? Other than struggling to stand on his own two feet?
*
Logan advanced slowly, uncertain of his direction, silently taking in his surroundings. If anyone had asked him what he was doing here, he wouldn't have had an answer. All he knew was that he was leaving Seattle, leaving it all behind, even though he would never be able to forget it. To forget her, that was.
Now that Eyes Only was gone, he would be on the run, with no clue as to where he could start again or whether he could start again at all. Once, in a similar situation, he had almost taken his own life. Today, he was going away, and he could only wish that something, someone, would stop him and give him a reason to hold on to life again. As it was, he had been headed to one of the safe houses he still had left in the woods on the outskirts of Seattle. He hadn't been aware that he had actually almost reached Manticore until it was too late to resist the temptation.
Yes, it was an incredible temptation to see the place that had turned Max into the woman she was now, cold-hearted and concerned only with herself and her own. It was a temptation to see it in ruins, yes, to actually gloat, to convince himself it couldn't hurt him - or her for that matter - anymore. Too bad they had won after all, and too bad he realized all too well, old Manticore could gloat itself looking at the shell he had become.
While this Manticore facility was newer and less well equipped, he could still project onto it all the negativity that had built up in him. Seeing metal cell doors agape, as if screaming for their inmates and pieces of barbed wire strewn around, he almost physically felt the presence of evil.
Right, Veteran Hospital. He supposed all the Manticore related things had been removed when Eyes Only had made the story public. Then what was he doing around here? He forced a bitter smile. He had become so resentful, and disgusted and negative, that he would have fit quite well in this place. Yes, that was it, he felt very much at home in this deserted place of sorrow. There was no reason to search out the Aztek and struggle to get to the safe house tonight, not in the state he was in. He'd just spend the night here.
In his grim determination, the spur of the moment decision seemed so ironically fitting, he never gave it a second thought, questioned his motives or even his sanity as he wandered around, looking for a place to crash. Neither did he notice the heavy atmosphere or the doors that opened here or closed there, as if randomly pushed by a gust of wind.
*
Neither did SHE sense, reveling in the sight of the almost broken man and intent on carrying out her final revenge, the lone biker that had left Seattle and had stopped, hesitantly, at the crossroads that would eventually lead her either back to Manticore or into a new life.
***
He woke up in a corner on a pile of rags, befuddled, drenched in sweat, searching for the reason he had become wide awake despite the profound exhaustion he was feeling. In his dream, he had seen himself, rotting away on a metal table as a Manticore project at the mercy of Lydecker and Renfro, wishing in vain for freedom, while Max was doing Eyes Only cable hacks. He grimaced. Yeah, well, he should probably cut her some slack if he ever saw her again, it couldn't have been easy. Of one thing he was glad, though, he still had his body, his freedom and his mind.
There was no light around him other than the flashlight he carried in his jacket and no sounds permeated the musty air in the room he found himself in. Guiding himself only by touch, groping around with his hands and reaching out with his feet, he felt them give way from under him, as if they had suddenly decided that Joshua's transfusion was a Manticore gift to be collected back by Manticore. He cursed, irked by the untimely bout of helplessness. At least Max could not be faulted for the quirks of her body, she was a freak created by man, he, he had turned himself into a freak.
And yet she had never complained about any of her physical shortcomings, taking them as a given, as something that should be coped with. Damn, he had left Seattle to get her out of his mind before he'd go crazy with pain and now he was still thinking of her. He cleared his mind and focused on getting back up, in the hope his legs would listen to him once again. There were numerous pieces of wood and metal, splinters and the like to be used to his heart's content. It took quite an effort for him to stand up and urge his wobbly legs on, but in the end he didn't even need a makeshift crutch.
He finally reached the door on the opposite wall, only to find it closed. Frustration began to emerge in him, as he questioned whatever had possessed him to want to spend the night in this creepy place. To top it all, he could make out a door creaking in the distance, while his wouldn't budge at all. The short sleep had allowed him to think more clearly, but anger was still getting the better of him.
*
Had she been alive, she would have chuckled out loud. Here he was, poor mortal crip, who thought he could destroy a project that had been developed throughout several centuries. It didn't matter that he had actually succeeded - at least for a while. After all, what meaning could such a short period hold, compared to the real age of Manticore? For the time being she could barely control any matter, albeit an actual body, and still she had managed to close in on him, to trap him in his own body. Yes, revenge would be fun!
She concentrated on keeping the door of the cell closed and didn't sense the other one entering the compound sheltered by the moonless sky. It was all too seldom that someone came along. THEY did sense her, however, at first in amazement that one of their own would come back to the place of destruction that had brought them all into the world only to propagate chaos. Then they admired her physical beauty, so different from their own bodies, already long gone. And finally, one of their own came forward and noticed her deep sorrow and her empty stare. She had come back, but could she really see what was going on, or was she just another lost soul to join them while still alive and breathing?
*
Max wandered aimlessly through the ruins of Manticore, wondering what in the whole wide world she had ever thought to come back to this place that meant the beginning of her end as Max Guevara. At times she couldn't even recognize herself in the whiny young woman that greeted her in the mirror every morning, and what was worse, she couldn't recognize herself in Logan's eyes, either. To him she probably seemed spiteful and mean, self- centered and uncaring. It had been best to go away, to spare him the hurt of looking at a woman he had loved but didn't recognize anymore.
She remembered, full of sorrow, how she had contended, for such a long time, that her name was Max and not X5-452. It had turned out that she was indeed X5-452, rather than Max, but she had realized that way too late, when she found herself unable to say the three words her heart had always known for the truth. Now she was here, as if to see it in ruins, yes, to actually gloat, to convince herself it couldn't hurt her - or him for that matter - anymore. It surprised her to no end when she finally realized that she had come to say good-bye, in the hope of finding her old self again.
Lost in thought, she wandered down the empty corridors, remembering faces, sounds, touching the cracked and scorched walls, without realizing that all around her, she found some doors closed, or blocked, others open or plain missing, as if someone guided her steps.
*
Facing the door all alone, angered and frustrated, made Logan want to make use of the full force the exoskeleton could provide and shred that door to pieces. Alas, his leg was stuck in that thing and while the exo might not get too damaged, his leg was too precious for him to go without. So it all boiled down to mind work again. Moving his flashlight around, he searched for a window and found none. Yeah, right, a room with a view in Manticore. But the door had hinges on the inside, so all he would need to do was to lift it up a bit. After all, it wasn't locked, it was just jammed. This simple task of finding a piece of metal to crack the door open gave him an unexpected satisfaction. It was good to stand in front of solvable problems for a change, rather than facing the type of no win situations that required Eyes Only to save the world. He went about it almost with the joy of someone who knows he's doing something useful and suddenly halted in his activity to ponder why or when he had ever stopped seeing the virus as just an obstacle that would be overcome sooner or later. It had been long before the Alec thing and he just couldn't figure out how he had let go without a fight.
*
SHE would have boiled with anger and taken it out on everyone around if she could have manifested herself physically. But this Cale, this Eyes Only, liked a challenge. So be it. She'd give him one.
*
Max descended to the basement and remembered being guided through similar corridors by Logan. He wasn't here now, but thinking of him made her quicken her pace, as if she was actually searching for something instead of aimlessly strolling around. For some reason she was getting alternately hot and cold. The environmental controls must be off, she thought, realizing that some areas were more uncomfortable than others. In fact, it was a wonder even that anything around here worked at all. After all, Renfro had torched the place, killing uncounted transgenics in the process. Suddenly she found herself thinking of that reverend who had said that transgenics had no soul. What if he had been right? She brushed the thought aside, remembering how much Logan had helped her feel human and accepted. Damn it, why did she keep thinking about him?
Pushing an open door widely open, she found herself in front of a damaged control panel leading to what seemed like a bunker. It took her a little while to pry the panel open and get to the circuitry, but her long time as a cat burglar was finally paying off. Chuckling lightly at the thought that the door might get blocked behind her, she remembered that there was no one waiting for her and barged in, curious to see what bounty the armored door had been hiding so well that it had survived a fire and subsequent police searches.
*
Behind her, THEY gathered to protect the entrance to the vault, but there was little they could do if Renfro became aware of the X5's presence.
* Logan made a final effort and the door creaked open at his strong pull. He never even considered that there might have been something else at work, especially since his way to the front gate was now clear. Coming out into the open, he was surprised to feel warmer than on the inside. But he was even more surprised to see a black Ninja on the side of the road. His heart lurched. Max! Trying to mentally berate himself for his reaction didn't yield any results. He was back inside in less than a moment, followed by a terribly cold draft that made his hand tremble on the flashlight.
*
HER rage had reached its peak. She swept through the corridors, leaving clouds of dust and destruction in her wake. 452 had dared come back! Special or not, she was up for a surprise!
*
Max had been going through the cabinets in astonishment. Logan and she, they had both thought one base was all there was to Manticore. How wrong had they been! Vials upon vials of genetic material and assorted samples of what looked like chemical concoctions of some sort were kept here safely locked away from prying eyes and proved that there was a lot more to Manticore than just gene manipulation. Incredulous, Max asked herself for the first time if there was a reason why this place hadn't been destroyed or why she had found it. As far as she could see, there wasn't really any damning material but a wealth of test results and medical substances any man would kill to get his hands on. But there was no time for her to complete that thought. Just as in the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of something she had lost all hope for, all chaos broke loose around her.
One by one, vials, papers and recipients started to shake and burst in an explosion of noise. Objects flew through the room, breaking on the walls and Max had such a hard time dodging them, that there was no way she could have noticed the man who appeared in the door, amazed at the sight before him.
"Max!" he yelled, trying to get her attention. "Max, get out!"
He had no idea what could be in those containers, but, knowing Manticore, it couldn't be anything good. However, while Max heard him, she couldn't look back to the door, since the various bottles and vials seemed to be aimed directly at her and she had a hard enough time keeping covered.
"Stay out, I can take it!" was all she managed to respond.
Logan stood in the doorway, taking the sight in for a few seconds, tempted to barge in and get her out. Just as he decided that he needed to unhinge a door to keep Max and himself covered against the content of those jars, he noticed that one area of the room was rather protected and calm without any objects flying around. Even though Max couldn't see the spot from her position, she somehow started to head that way. Logan decided to help her in the only way he could: by providing cover until they figured out the source of this onslaught.
As he worked at unhinging the next best door at hand, Logan wondered what ever was going on with him and doors today. But it seemed like it was the only surface wide enough to provide cover and function as a weapon if need may be. Right now he was more puzzled by the fact that he couldn't discern an enemy than by anything else.
By the time he got back with their cover, Max was nowhere in sight, even though the objects were still crashing against the walls and flying through the air.
He awkwardly made his way inside, looking for her, only to finally find her crouched in the quiet corner, clutching something she hid at her chest, tears streaming down her face. As soon as Logan appeared, the downpour intensified. His task was made even harder by the fact that he couldn't touch her, but finally he managed to take cover next to her.
"It's. it's Renfro", Max whispered.
Logan would have laughed if the situation hadn't been that serious and their cover hadn't risked being yanked away and used as a weapon against them.
"You're serious, aren't you?" he asked in disbelief, only to continue seconds later, pointing to her clutched hands. "Are you all right?" He had rarely seen her cry and it unsettled him.
She nodded, but kept her hands at her chest. "Any spur of the moment ideas on how to get out?"
Logan didn't have any, considering that their enemy was invisible and unpredictable.
Almost without thinking, he yelled out in frustration:
"Renfro!"
He didn't really expect her to appear, but he had to do something, so he yelled again.
"Renfro!"
As Max joined in, the downpour of objects almost halted, but the air became so heavy, it was getting increasingly difficult for Logan to breathe. All he could do was watch in silence as the woman he loved stood up to face a shadowy figure that had appeared in the doorway.
"It's director Renfro to you, 452."
"And it's Max to you." She spoke that one syllable with such force that it surprised herself. But she was not going to move down one inch. Not anymore.
"Now that the introductions are over, I want what belongs to me."
"Which is?"
"Yourself and the vial you're holding. Both are property of Manticore."
"Newsflash, there is no Manticore anymore, and you are a ghost haunting the place, in case you hadn't noticed."
"In case you hadn't noticed, I am quite real. Need I remind you or your friend over there?"
This time Logan struggled forward. "We've got the real part all right. What we don't get is why you can't let us be."
Max would never have acknowledged it, but the way he had spoken of an "us" gave her an incredible surge of energy.
"It's you who came down here to disturb the peace of the dead." Her voice seemed to come from everywhere at once and penetrate them to their bone, but neither Max, nor Logan showed any signs of being intimidated.
"Sorry, we didn't count on meeting any ghosts around here." Max's matter of fact tone belied her increasing restlessness. There was way more to this than they could see and not knowing what else waited ahead of them unsettled her. Plus, there was more at stake here than Logan knew and she had to hide it for just a while more.
"Put the vial down, come with me and I'll let him go", Renfro coaxed. For a moment, Max considered meeting her demands, but Logan stepped in again.
"She can't stay here. We'll go and never come back, okay?"
The answer was silent, short and to the point. Logan fell down on his knees, unable to breathe anymore. Max could hold out a while, but looking at the man next to her, she caved in.
"You can have me. I'm afraid you broke the vial earlier when you threw me around, though." Max opened her palm and revealed bloody shards coming out of her hand.
As hard a time as he had breathing, Logan's eyes grew wide with pain at the sight, only to be filled with surprise seconds later as another figure emerged from thin air.
Max gasped in turn.
"Eva."
"I'm here, little sister." Turning to Renfro, she thundered. "Now that is quite enough. The antigen is gone. They should be able to go in peace or we won't cooperate anymore."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly that. We know you're not allowed to keep her here and demand that you let them go."
Grumbling, Renfro looked away disgusted. "Go before I change my mind." Releasing her hold on Logan, she slowly faded away, throwing one last angry look at Max.
"Eva?" Max didn't budge an inch, so awed was she at the sight of her sister.
"Be happy, little sister and don't try to look back." With that, she faded as quickly as Renfro had, leaving both Max and Logan behind, shaken.
"Max, are you all right?"
"Yes, but this place is giving me the creeps. Let's get out."
Logan wished he could take a closer look at the room and its contents, but it wasn't like there was anything left intact, so he gave in, heading for the door.
As they walked in silence, side by side through the dark corridors of Manticore, Max couldn't help noticing how comfortable and safe she felt next to Logan. There was nothing left of the awkwardness over their Alec argument, just a quiet companionship and her burning urge to hold him tight and never let go.
Once outside, they took one last look at the compound behind them, as dark and spine chilling, as it had seemed before. Nothing had changed inside Manticore.
"How did you get here?" She broke the companionable silence, as she couldn't see any other vehicle except her Ninja.
"The Aztek's over there, on top of the hill." he pointed vaguely up North.
"What were you doing here, anyway?" she couldn't help herself.
"I could ask you the same thing, now, couldn't I?"
"I guess you could." This was getting awkward again and she hated it.
"So, are you going to give me that ride you promised me or was it just empty X5 talk?" Thankful for the lightening atmosphere, Max was tempted to aim a jab at him, but her palm still hurt like hell.
"Better even, you drive."
Logan looked at her in surprise and remembered her injuries. "How's your hand? And what was that vial anyway?"
"Just drive and I'll explain on the way."
He complied, happy to see her again in one piece and somewhat happy. They roared away, stopping only to pick up the Aztek, and then again, miles away, at the safe house.
***
As content as he was to have Max with him, Logan was getting restless while he waited for her to get more comfortable and nurse her hand.
When she came back in one of his old T- shirts, her barely dry hair on top of her head, he had to gulp at the sight and turn his eyes away. All the hurt was back, in just an instant.
Max noticed him turn away and cringed with guilt. She settled next to him on the couch, so close he brought his head up in wonder. She extended her left, uninjured hand, and let him see a small syringe, filled with clear liquid.
"What's this?"
"It's the antigen and it's yours, whether you can bring yourself to take me back or not."
Logan's eyes grew clouded with mixed feelings. As much as he loved her, they needed to settle this once and for all.
"That's not the point and you know it, Max."
She lowered her gaze and gathered the courage to tell him what had weighed heavily on her heart for the last two years.
"Logan, I love you. I always did, even if I had a very hard time showing it."
Logan closed his eyes for a second, but he never relented. He needed to know it now, all of it. "Then what about Alec?"
"I. I lied. I was trying to protect you, trying to keep my distance before I killed you for good."
"You lied, just like that."
She looked up, her eyes ablaze. "It was easier to lie than to lose you for good."
"Except that I did think I lost you for good. I'm still not convinced you're back." His tone was still somewhat harsh.
"Logan, I'm not sure it's clear for you just yet. I love you. And you won't ever lose me for good, not even when I'm dead. You saw it, I'd come back as a ghost and make your life just as miserable as it is now."
This time Logan chuckled lightly. "Is that a good thing or a bad one?"
She attempted a playful swat at him, but caught herself in time, extending her hand again.
"Which brings us back to the issue. The antigen. What is it going to be?
"What were you doing in Manticore?" He had a smirk on his face, but she had an inkling that he was half serious with all these questions. After all, she needed to gain his trust again.
"I was going to leave town and got sidetracked. What about you?"
He looked her in the eyes, surprised.
"I was coming to the safe house to think about where I could relocate. I guess I got sidetracked, too."
She smiled and hurried to fill in, for fear he'd start again.
"Any more questions I'll consider cruel and unusual punishment."
He chuckled mischievously and she could see he wanted to answer but refrained. Instead, he reached for the syringe and depressed the plunger into his arm.
"How's your hand doing?"
"Better than yours if you don't stop the questions."
She still didn't dare swat at him, although her every fiber screamed at her to hold him, hug him, and crush him into her. He hadn't asked her even one of the things that mattered, instead he had just trusted her implicitly and that told her more than she needed to know. She tried to answer some of his unspoken questions.
"It's going to take a few hours to give you immunity. My hand is okay, only the upper half of the vial broke, I managed to protect the other one."
He looked her deep in the eyes, trying to search for his answers there.
"Why were you crying?"
"I . I wasn't sure I had managed to salvage any of the antigen." She looked down again and he pressured her to face him again.
"Max, listen to me, please, once and for all. I love you. And I'd love you with or without the virus, Manticore or not, with one or one hundred ghosts on your tail. I'm not much different either. Who knows who is trying to get me at the moment. I hate to break it to you, but we're both anything but average."
Max interrupted him with a look, suddenly becoming listless and looking at her watch.
"What?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Before he had managed to sigh in relief that she wasn't telling him about some other obstacle they had to pass, she had bent over, capturing his mouth with hers and plunging in for a passionate kiss that seemed to never end.
In this one moment, she was happy and she intended to stay happy for as long as she could; that was all that counted, for her or for the figure looming high above the cabin, content with the day's work.
THE END
AN: Craving feedback, please. Oh, and if you're wondering what happened to my other fic. Don't despair. Life has been quite hectic but I did manage to write several long parts and make the story progress quite a bit. So, if you're interested, you'll see some updates before Christmas for sure. ;-)