A/N: As always I have to thank Sorrow. I got extremely stuck at some points during this chapter and she guided me through them. Not to sound like a broken record, but thanks for the continuing reviews. This chapter is a little longer and a little all over the place, but hopefully you're still enjoying the story and how it's moving along. I do have plans of where it is going, but I'm sure you all know how it is when you write something and it triggers another thought. Anywho! Please review and enjoy! - Mel
It had been three months since the events of Jam Pony and the decision to take charge and claim Terminal City as theirs. To stop running, to stop hiding. To try and live. But at this moment, all Max wanted to do was go back to her old apartment and not have to say goodbye to Original Cindy again.
"Don't be gettin' that face on you Boo!" Cindy brought an arm around Max's back. "You know this ain't goodbye forever and besides, you know those funny inventions that they've called a phone? They've updated those from two cans and string now, so maybe you could remember to use one a little more?"
"I will, I promise, it's just been a little-"
"It's ok Max, I know."
The two friends turned and embraced one another in a hug to end all hugs.
"Need…air!" Cindy was laughing as Max released her. She looked over to Alec as he explained to Sketchy what was to be done if stopped by Sector Police. Again. "What have you been training this girl to do?"
"Meditate."
"Meditate?" OC raised an eyebrow at him and rose her hand, "Whatever sugar."
Alec walked toward her laughing. He took her in his arms and gave her a warm hug. Cindy moved back and took his face in her hands.
"You look after my girl ok?" She whispered the message, but Max could hear, a smile and slight roll of the eyes expressing her thoughts. She didn't need Alec to take care of her. It was more then likely going to be her looking out for him. And everyone else in TC.
Alec answered Cindy's question with the slightest of nods. He then wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her so tightly he lifted her off the ground, laughing and shaking her from side to side. OC pulled her hands above her head and slapped them into Alec's arms trying to make him let go, only causing him to laugh and shake her harder. She turned her hands into fists and pounded his arms a little harder. Finally her let her go and rubbed his not close to being remotely sore arms, putting on a pouting face for good measure.
"Don't you give me that puppy dog look! Original Cindy is No Man's Land and you just stepped over the threshold." OC tried to stay mad, but Alec curled his lips further and started to make short, soft puppy sounds. Cindy gave in and started to laugh. "You're worse than Joshua, you know that?"
Alec placed his hands in his pockets and bounced on his feet, delivering one of his trademark smiles.
"Hey, where is Joshua?" Sketchy came stumbling over to from the car that had been organised for the pairs return to Seattle.
"He was still out when we left." Max smiled at the thought of Joshua, sleeping as though he had no troubles. Dreaming in peace.
"Bummer. Well tell him we said goodbye." He moved toward Max and gave her a hug.
"We will." Max pushed Sketchy's right shoulder softly, "Now go on. You guys have to get out of here. You know how to get out, what to do?"
"Yeah Alec's gone through it with me like five, ten times." Sketchy rolled his eyes.
"Twelve actually." Alec looked at Max, who was trying not to laugh.
OC took Max in her arms one last time. "And he went through it with me twice."
Max laughed slightly as she released Cindy and walked her to the car. The other two in toe. She opened the door for her and closed it when she was inside. Sketchy got into the drivers seat, as Alec shut the door for him.
"You two be careful now ok?" Alec squatted at the side of the car as he spoke, his arms resting on the open window.
"Always am." OC gave him a matter of fact smile. She then turned to Max, taking her hand. "You take care ok?" Max nodded and smiled at her, tears welling in her eyes. "And do me a favour, be sure to give him a good ass whooping for the roaming hands."
Max laughed as she heard the engine start and pushed herself away from the car. "Consider it done."
"Seeya Max."
"Bye Sketchy."
"Seeya buddy." Alec gave Sketchy a nod to his farewell.
Cindy was still waving when the car turned a nearby corner. Max and Alec stood side by side, waving back.
"I hope they will be ok."
"They'll be fine." Alec's answer was fast and Max took it as being dismissive.
"Well you could maybe care a little more."
Alec turned to face her. "I do care Max. I just know they'll be fine."
"How do you know that?"
"Cause I sent a group of X6's to follow them out into the safe zone."
He gave her a satisfied smile, turned and started to walk back to headquarters. Max stood still, watching him walk away. Sometimes she just didn't get him. Or maybe it was the other way around. Maybe it was only sometimes that she did get him. She shrugged the thought away and ran to catch up.
"Thanks for getting them here last night. And for coming to…"
Alec stopped dead in his tracks. It took Max a few moments to realise he'd stopped. When she did she turned, giving him a questioning look. Alec shrugged and continued to move, walking past her.
"What was that about?" Max took a few quick steps to catch up to him again.
"I just had a funny feeling that's all."
"What kind of funny feeling?" Max instinctively looked around her, surveying the area for any pending trouble. There was none.
"The kind of funny feeling one gets when Max apologises."
He knew it was coming and flinched back before her hand could connect with his arm, causing her to miss. Max came to a standstill laughing.
"What?" Alec was confused.
"You flinched like a little girl!"
"I did not flinch like a girl!" Max raised her eyebrows and continued to chuckle. "I flinched like a very manly man thank you very much."
"The point is that you flinched!" Max was now in her trademark stance.
"Well it's simple pain association theory Max! Keep getting hit in the same place, you're body is going to stop doing what's causing the pain."
"Then why haven't you stopped annoying me?"
Alec didn't have an answer. Not straight away anyway. He smiled and took in a deep thoughtful breath. Well that's the look he was going for anyway. "A man's got to live up to his name."
"Please." Max spat the comment at him. "I really should have called you Dick."
"Well, it could have been more fun to live up to." He bounced his eyebrows and gave a half smirk.
"Last name Wad!"
"Oh, that hurts Maxie." He brought his hands over his heart. "You know if I had named you I would have called you Butch."
Alec instinctively flinched back again, but instead of a punch to the arm, he felt a boot to the shin.
"I'm sorry, who's the little girl?" Max laughed as he bent down to rub his leg. "Oh that's it."
Alec sprang forward, but Max had already taken off. They ran the five blocks back to HQ at full transgenic speed. Max stopped at the entrance way, hardly puffing.
"Yeah so who's the big sissy girl," She turned behind her, looking for Alec, "now."
He wasn't behind her. She turned around in a full circle, but he was nowhere to be seen.
"Alec!" She continued to look around, but found nothing. "Alec! Come on! This is so not funny!" *God, why does he always have to be such a pain in the a-*
She turned quickly as she heard a whistle coming from above. She looked up to the building across from Headquarters. Alec was hanging out of the third story window.
"You really have lost you're touch haven't you Maxie! Rule number 12, never lose site of your enemy."
"I didn't realise you were my enemy!" Max yelled back at him, hands instinctively going to her hips.
"You never know who you're enemy is Max!"
Her face suddenly went blank, her eyes darkened as the scenes from two days before resurfaced in her mind. The gun, the person holding it, the laughter. Alec was yelling something out to her but she didn't here it. Instead, she threw up.
Alec came sailing down from the side of the building. He guided himself down the rusty drainpipe, barely touching it as he floated down to the ground. Once his feet connected with dirt, he was immediately at Max's side. She pushed him away.
"I'm fine."
"Yes, I can see that as you fashion the softer side of chunks."
He went to her side once more, but she pushed him away again.
"I said I'm fine." She snapped at him and he raised his hands above his head in innocence.
"Just trying to help Max."
"Yeah well I don't need your help." She looked at him coldly. "I need your absence."
Alec stepped back like he was hit by a ten tonne truck. A shadow moving across his eyes. He had uttered those exact words to Max once and they returned to him like the sharpest shards of ice. The shadow of his eyes grew darker as she continued to stare at him blankly.
"Fine. I'll be in the training area. It's been set up on the third floor of that building."
He pointed to the window he was in early. He then turned his back on her and walked away, never looking back.
************************
She had taken about half an hour to cool down and get the spew taste out of her mouth. Now Max was ready to face him again. Ready to train. Why did she have to be such a bitch. *Cause he brings it out in you.* There were only so many times that excuse could work for her and it was wearing thin. She had to learn to control her emotions better, to become a better leader. The real world really had softened her and that was what these training sessions were for. To harden her up, help her lead better. She just wasn't sure if she'd be successful.
She took in several deep breaths and walked into the training area. She couldn't believe what she saw. The room was decked out like a full fledged gym. Pre-pulse. How did Alec manage to get all of these things? And in one day? *Scam*. She laughed at the thought. The guy did know how to drive a good bargain.
She slowly walked around the area inspecting all the new equipment. There was a line of three treadmills along the far wall. Max was glad to see there were no extra apparatuses fitted to the machines to monitor their breathing. Those things were hell back at Manticore. In the far left end of the room was a large boxing ring, obviously for sparring. In the right corner there were several ropes falling from the ceiling. There was another room to the right that appeared to be filled with floor mats. Max walked into the room, looking for Alec.
"Alec?" She spoke softly as she glanced around the room. Her eyes grew cold with what she saw.
Alec stood pressed against another female X-5. His hands wrapped around her arms as he showed her a blocking manoeuvre.
"Yeah that's it. That's good." The two laughed at one another and Alec put an arm around her shoulder. "So you coming to TransC later?"
The female X-5 didn't answer. She was busy watching the steam erupt from Max's neck. Alec looked around slowly and faced the same horrible scene.
"Max?"
"We're supposed to be training!" Max was not happy.
"Excuse me?" Alec wasn't ready to take any of her shit at this point. He took his hand away from the X-5 and crossed both arms in front of him.
"You know, training. Manoeuvres, weapons, meda-friggin-tation! The whole reason you set up this place." She mimicked his stance, arms crossed in front of her.
"Yeah, I get the meaning of the word Max! What I don't get is why you're in here all steamed up!" He released one of his crossed arms and moved it up and down the line of her body. "You asked for my absence, so I gave it! What was that wrong? Was I supposed to come crawling to your side again? Make sure the precious leader is alright?!"
"I'm gonna go." The female X-5 quietly started to leave, feeling the tension in the room was rising just a little too high for her liking.
"NO!" She jumped a mile high when Max and Alec yelled at her in unison. "I'LL GO!" Again they spoke together.
Max shot red hot streams of fire in Alec's direction. Alec stopping them with his icy cold stare.
"No really." With that the girl was gone.
Max and Alec didn't notice, they just continued to glare at one another. Alec, as usual broke the silence, but there was no witty comment to be heard.
"I think you should leave Max, before either of us says something we'll regret." She stared blankly at him. "Go. Now. There's no training for today."
She was about to open her mouth in protest but thought better of it. Instead she turned and left in silence.
Alec walked across to the wall and engaged his fist in an intimate moment with the gip rock.
************************
Max stormed into her quarters, picking up the first thing she saw and throwing it against the wall. The only unfortunate thing was that it wasn't the wall, it was Joshua. He had been waiting for her to return, sad he had missed saying goodbye to OC and Sketchy. The glass hit Joshua in the face and smashed as it connected with the floor.
Blood immediately started to escape the large gash under Joshua's left eye and he whimpered at the pain.
"Oh god! Joshua, I'm so sorry."
He quickly moved away from her as she tried to bring her hand to his face. He slid across the wall and hurried out of the room.
Max reached out for him, but he was gone. She slowly slumped across to her bed and fell onto the mattress. She curled herself into the foetal position and began to cry.
*********************
"Geeze, who mugged you Joshua?" Mole headed over to the big guy when he saw him retreat to his corner, blood trickling down his face.
"It's nothing." Joshua turned away from Mole, trying to hide his wound.
"Yeah. Nothin' like a great huge gash on your face!" Mole took the cigar from his mouth and looked a little closer. Joshua growled at him. "Down boy."
Dix headed over to see what the growling was about. "Hey Joshua what's all th- oh boy, who gave you that shiner?"
"Joshua make Max unhappy."
"So she took it out on you by what, hitting your face against a wall?" Mole returned his cigar to his mouth, his last word becoming muffled, but obvious. "Bitch."
"Not wall. Glass."
"Oh and that makes it all better." Mole started to pace back and forth.
"I think that needs to be looked at Joshua." Dix made the suggestion.
Joshua nodded and started to get up, but was stopped by the pacing Mole.
"I'm sick of all this crap! Having to constantly deal with her mood swings! Having to tiptoe around her all the time because she's 'the one'. Cause she's our leader? Some leader!"
"Max take care of us!" Joshua stood over Mole. His face hurt, but he wasn't going to let Mole insult his friend. "Max one of us."
"My reptilian ass she's one of us! She has no idea what it's like to be us. She'd scream if she found a dry scale on her leg, let alone all over her body! She has you fooled Joshua. You think she let us out of Manticore because she wanted to! It was out of guilt, pure guilt!"
"That's not true. Max loves us." Joshua began to raise his voice and moved closer to Mole until they were standing chest to chest.
"Oh, she loves us does she? Well I must have missed the Valentine's Day card." Mole pushed against Joshua, unintimidated by his height. "She looks down upon us Joshua. You think if they hadn't seen what she looked like, wouldn't be searching for her, she'd be leading us right now? She'd be running! Saving herself! Forgetting about all this, forgetting about you."
Joshua grabbed Mole by the front of his shirt and pulled him over his head, growling loudly. Dix jumped up, trying to break them apart. He was unsuccessful.
"Woooaaaah! Fellas, fellas." Alec came running into the compound and immediately forced Joshua to let Mole down. "What the hell is going on here?"
Mole ripped the cigar out of his mouth. "Dog boy here is just as blind as you are. Can't see how selfish that bitch is?"
Alec now grabbed Moles shirt and pulled him just millimetres away from his face.
"That bitch's name is Max. And she is your leader and you will respect that."
"And should I respect what she did to Joshua?"
Mole tilted his head in Joshua's direction. Alec let him go as he took a look at Joshua's face, he scrunched his own in pain.
"She really do that?"
Joshua nodded.
"She threw a glass." Alec hadn't even noticed Dix was there until he spoke up.
"Well, let's go clean it up huh Josh?" Joshua nodded and moved toward the medical bay. Alec turned to Mole, pointing at his chest. "And you settle the hell down. If I hear you disrespecting Max again, you will answer to me." Mole snorted air out of his nose. "I mean it Mole, you've never seen me angry and trust me when I say you don't want to."
Alec's eyes turned cold as Mole took his threat a little more seriously. He shrugged it off and lit a fresh cigar. He walked over to Dix and patted him on the shoulder.
"Let's go Dix."
Dix gave Alec an uncomfortable smile and shuffled off behind the lizard king.
Alec stared toward Max's room and saw a shadow moving around inside. He sighed heavily and went to help Joshua.