Out of the Future

Chapter 14: Perfection



After picking up a new ride (Dark blue mini van), some new clothes and bandages,( and also reassuring Original Cindy that they were still, in fact, alive) The six of them headed out of town, it would have preferably been four, but Logan and Asha had managed to bring themselves along anyhow.

"Is this is the right way?" asked Logan when they were on the highway.

"Yeah," said Jesse.

Logan was driving and Asha was up front with him. The middle of the van was occupied by Rachel and Jesse, Max and Alec were at the back.

"Owww that hurts," whined Rachel as Jesse rebandaged her hand.

When they had stopped at the S1W Headquarters, they had done their best to fix them up. Logan had made up something to explain their injuries, not to keen on getting into the whole time-travel stuff. They had then gotten a new ride and headed out of the city.

"How long to the motel?" asked Alec.

"An hour or two," said Rachel settling back into her seat and cradling her hand.

"What are we supposed to do for a couple of hours?"

"How about those two tell us the entire story," suggested Logan glancing at the X9's quickly in the review mirror.

"How about let's start with your hand," said Alec.

"What about her hand?" asked Max.

"Can I start from the beginning?" asked Rachel interrupting them.

"Okay shoot," said Alec.

"We're listening," said Logan.

"Long story short: Mom and Dad were made for each other."

"RACHEL!" said Jesse.

"What? It's true, and I'm not going through forty odd years of genetic engineering and the science behind it, as if …my hand hurts," she whined leaning on his shoulder.

"Made for each other how?" asked Logan in an oddly calm voice.

"Well it's a lot of genetics and biology really," said Jesse, "Max has no junk DNA so it doesn't screw up anything that Alec could give to any child of theirs."

"Hi," said Rachel waving.

"That's it?!" asked Max, "The whole reason I have no junk DNA is for him?"

"That's only half of it," said Jesse, "The fact thst you have those ruins on your skin and have no junk DNA was quite a long shot. Manticore didn't think it would happen with the X5's but lo and behold they got it right. And who better to protect Perfection than you?"

"Perfection?" asked Max.

"Me," said Rachel, "I'm everything Manticore was striving for, when I was younger it was like I was as normal as any X9 could be, then boom I hit twelve. No one knew anything about it but I remember the first time I put my arm through a wall, barely felt anything. Freaked me out big time but there was pain so don't go thinking I'm like White and his cult loonies. And then there's my barcode, X9's usually aren't born with one, same goes for any transgenic born naturally. Why Jesse has one I have no clue so don't ask. That's it."

"You caught a freaking bullet explain that oh future daughter of mine," said Alec.

"She what?!" said Logan turning around.

"Watch the road!" Asha told him.

"Oh. Right," said Logan putting his hands back on the steering wheel.

"Sorry for bringing it up, no big deal actually except she caught a bullet fired not even ten feet away from her, dug it out of her hand and dropped it," said Alec

"And that's not a big deal?!" said Max.

"I was being sarcastic Maxie."

"Don't call me that!"

"It looks better than last time."

"Last time?" said Alec fending off Max's fist, "she's done that before?"

"The last time," said Jesse, "the bullet almost went straight through her hand, and the force of it sent her into the side of a car. Not to mention Ray White was standing almost more than twenty-five feet away."

"No other transgenic can do that can they?" asked Logan.

"No, we do it all the time," said Alec.

"I'm one of a kind," said Rachel, "and I'm tired."

"Go to sleep."

"Make me," said Rachel snuggling closer to Jesse and wrapping his arm around her.

"You're crazy," he told her.

"Shut up," she said smiling, "it's a family thing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Alec.

"Manticore wanted a perfect soldier," said Max, "she's it isn't she?"

"Sandeman created transgenics to fight the Familiars and to stop their 'coming' he was a brilliant man but the scientists started out too big," started Jesse and then continuing, " They made the transhumans first, trying to create a perfect being with animal reflexes so that we'd have an advantage. Joshua was first, he has the strength to rival any Familiar but the problem was that during the recombinate DNA testing he not only took on canine traits and characteristics, but physical appearance as well. People are scared of things that are different and Joshua is definitly different. While Familiars walk around looking like normal people.

"Then came the X-series Manticore was finally getting it right and they hit paydirt with the X5's. Not only did they look human but the feline DNA enhanced everything. Eyesight, agility, speed, accuracy, hearing, flexibility, the only drawback was Heat. When the X5's were created Sandeman began the Chimaera Project, engineering certain females with a slightly different genetic code each time. Tinga was one of them, Max is definitly one of them and my Mother was the third. Tinga's son Case was the first one to start showing hereditary transgenic traits from his Mother. I started showing more hence my barcode, intelligence, and I can fight too."

"Kicked your ass the last time," muttered Rachel.

"I thought you were sleeping."

"Your boring lame-ass story almost put me to sleep if you kept talking about genetics I would have been out completely, yeah I kicked your ass and you know it."

"Anyway," said Jesse, "The junk DNA got less and less, and then Max had none, they got it right. Only Sandeman and another associate knew about it at the time, Renfro was the last person with Manticore to know."

"So if Max was born with no junk DNA and there were other attempts then how does Alec fit in?" asked Logan.

"Good question buddy," said Alec, "if Maxie was perfect already then how were we made for each other?"

"Manticore gave you the same genetic coding for perfection that they gave Max except with a few modifications so that your genetics would mix the right way and equel Rachel."

"I'm a math equation whoohoo," she said.

"Why do you sound drunk?"

"Why do you sound drunk?" said Rachel, "I'm trying to sleep so shut up!"

"It's from those scratches isn't it?" asked Jesse.

". . . no . . ."

"Rachel…"

"Jesse shut up and finish your damned story!"

"Fine then," he said turning around to face Max and Alec, "Long Story short: You're the most genetically compatible X-series ever built."
"A match made in Manticore now shut up!" whined Rachel nestling even closer to Jesse. . . that is if she could get any closer to him than she already was.

Everyone was silent for the next half an hour until they were sure that Rachel was out.

"How much further?" asked Logan, he was the first to have spoken in thirty minutes.

"A few more minutes from here," said Jesse, "it's on the other end of a nice little town."

"What's she capable of?" asked Max.

"Rachel? Damn, well, I've seen her get up after being thrown out a three story window after denting the roof of the car she landed on, she's tough but Koiohla's giving her a run for her money. Cerberus has to be brought down before they can make something that none of us can beat."

"No kidding," said Alec.

"Is that the town?" asked Logan.

"That's it," said Jesse.

They slowed down and turned off of the highway into a town and down to the motel. It was pretty nice looking and homey. They parked and got out to stretch their legs and get some rooms.

"Jesse, no," whined Rachel sleepily as she was carried out of the van, "I was comfy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: Here's chapter 14, sorry it's kind of short and boring, but there's revelations and a big fight coming up so maybe that will make up for all the talking, unless you liked the talking that is. Stay tuned for . . .

Chapter 15: Denial, Eavesdropping, and Seizures

-v