Legal Disclaimer: I don't any of the characters in this story that appear in the hit syndicated TV show, Dark Angel, which are owned by James Cameron. I do, however, own the original characters featured in this story. If you wish to use them, please ask me. Don't own the lyrics to "Splurge" by Nelly.
Summary: The Xs quickly get settled into their new 'life' while the anomalies discover something interesting in the rubble that was once Manticore.
A/N: Ya know, I have big plans for this story… but I have suddenly developed what should be called writer's ADD and I can't decide what story I want to continue or what…
Binge
By
Brin
"The graveyards are full of indispensable men." - Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
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splurge (splûrj)
v. intr.
To indulge in an extravagant expense or luxury.
To be showy or ostentatious.
v. tr.
To spend extravagantly or wastefully.
n.
An extravagant display.
An expensive indulgence; a spree.
Chapter 2: Wreckage
Pick glared over the counter at the ugly old man who was trying to cheat them. "Look, Sir, I understand the Pulse has been hard, but it's been ten years. Bagels just don't cost ten dollars anymore."
"Ten dollars, no less," repeated the old man in a raspy old voice. "Pay up or leave, kid. The nearest bagel place is in the next town."
Grumbling, Pick forked over thirty dollars and received three warm, just-out-of-the-oven blueberry bagels. He then left the store with his two companions, who nibbled on their treats nervously. Manticore had never had bagels; only Pick was familiar with them since he had been introduced to them on an outside mission.
"If we can catch a ride, we'll be in Seattle in no time," announced the CO, taking a large bite out of his bagel.
"We don't have any money," said Junky.
Pick looked at him and sighed. "Well then we'll get some. Watch and learn." He looked around the bustling marketplace, grinned as he found what he was looking for, and strode forward with purpose.
Hank and Junky watched, perplexed, as Pick maneuvered through the crowd, almost unnoticed, and then rammed straight into a young woman with a large purse. Apples flew everywhere as she dropped her things.
"Oh! I'm so sorry!" exclaimed Pick with a horrified look on his face. He bent down and began picking up her things, "Here, let me help you."
"That's alright, really," said the young woman as she shoveled her things back into her purse and rounded up the apples. "Thanks."
"Sorry 'bout that!" called the X6 as she disappeared into the crowd again. He then made his way back to Hank and Junky. "See, guys, it's as simple as pie." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet—the wallet he had stolen from the young woman.
"You're a genius," declared Hank, grabbing the wallet. "Sheesh! She's got… three hundred dollars in here! What's a woman doing carrying around that much cash?"
Pick smiled. "Ah, that's the art of choosing who you steal from. Gotta pick the ones who look like they're not so miserable… and what's more, we can always use her credit cards by checking the receipts in there to see what her signature looks like."
"But… isn't that illegal?" Junky interrupted, eyes wide. "How about we just take the cash, guys? It's enough."
"What, you going soft on me?" asked Pick with a disapproving look. "It's a dog-eat-dog world out there. Shit happens, and that lady will be fine." He sighed at the unsure look still lingering on his companion's face and said, "Okay, how about we spend only half the money in her bank account?"
"Fine," said Junky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rubble that was once Manticore lay silent in the morning light. Only the shell of the building remained; a few pipes, some reinforced walls. The burnt smell still lingered heavily in the air, and ash was swept around by the wind like small tornadoes. The anomalies were giddy at the sight of it – of their Hell on earth burnt to the ground and forever ruined.
"Come on. Look for anything useful," said Tegan, interrupting the somber silence that had befallen the group.
Eddie found David grasping her hand tightly as they picked through the debris, careful of crumbling ceilings and faulty walls. His orange eyes darted here and there nervously. They had ventured for a few minutes, silence all around them, when they came to the middle of the building. There was a young man there, lying on a medical table with his arms spread on both sides of him. He had a large scar down the front of him, and was covered with cement dust and debris.
"What is it?" asked David, eyeing the robotic eye.
"Uhh…" Eddie lifted the young man's head and peeked at the back of his neck. "X5."
"Is he… dead?"
On cue, the robotic eye came to life and a exoskeleton-hand shot out, grabbing Eddie around the neck and raising her into the air. The X5 sat up, letting the debris and dust fall from him, and said in a monotone, "Who are you?"
"Hey! Let her go!" cried David, hitting the X5's arm with his little paws. "Let her go, you big bully!"
Eddie choked and gasped for breath, eyes bulging, as the X5's metallic fingers tightened around her throat and threatened to crush her esophagus.
The X5 swung his legs over the edge of the hospital bed and stood, bringing Eddie with him as if she were nothing more than a silly rag doll. He looked down at David and brushed him aside with one swift kick, sending the young anomaly flying into the already crumbling wall and causing it to collapse down upon him.
"No!" choked Eddie, kicking at her attacker's chest with both clawed feet. She twisted and struggled against him, but his exoskeleton was at least five times stronger than her, whether or not his arm worked. "Let… me… go!"
Then something slammed into the X5 from behind, causing him to topple forward and lose his grip on Eddie. The cat anomaly crumpled to the ground, knocked unconscious.
Axle grappled with the X5, wrestling him into walls and across the floor with all the strength he could manage. Tegan was not far behind, and she soon lunged herself into the fight as well. Combined, the monkey and dog anomaly eventually got the X5 pinned to the ground. Axle reached down and removed the exoskeleton, preventing the young man from causing further damage with it.
"Mkay, tough guy, let's see how good you are without the bionic arm here," growled Axle as he twisted a pipe around the X5's hands like handcuffs. "I'll watch him, Tegan."
The monkey anomaly nodded and walked over to Eddie. She checked for a pulse and, satisfied that she other catlike girl wasn't going to die, walked over to dig David out from underneath the crumbled wall. The tiger boy wasn't badly hurt, only a bit shaken. She pulled him out of the pile of drywall and brushed the dust from his hair. "Are you okay?"
He nodded, orange eyes filled with worry. "Where's Eddie?"
"She's fine, just got the wind knocked out of her," said Tegan, pointing to the unconscious cat anomaly. "Everything's under control."
David nodded again and walked over to Eddie. He shook her gently. "Hey, wake up."
Eddie groaned in pain, her hands feeling the finger marks around her throat, and opened one eye. "You okay, squirt?" she asked in a scratchy voice, then coughed.
"Yep. Are you?"
"I'll be fine."
"Let's go find some water," suggested David, worriedly examining the purple marks forming around his friend's neck.
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Pick settled himself against the bus window and adjusted his new pair of sunglasses. Junky and Hank sat in the seat opposite him, stiff as boards in their new clothes. "Hey guys, lighten up a bit. It's just a bus ride," said the CO X6. He, himself, wore a leather jacket with a white shirt and carpenter khakis. "You look like you're gonna die or something."
"Never been on a bus before," stated Junky in a trancelike voice. "How long until we get to Seattle?"
"About an hour," replied Pick. He smirked. "I'm going to take a nap. You two wake me up when we get there." With that, he dug a baseball cap out of his bag and put it over his face, soon falling fast asleep.
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"Hey, look at this," called David to Eddie, who was standing a few rooms away. "What is it?"
Eddie wandered over to him. "That's the room where they kept all our vitamins," she said in a matter-of-factly tone. Before them was a small room with thick cement walls, made to last through fires. It stood like a bomb shelter in the middle of a war zone. "We should get it open; see if there's anything useful there."
"The door's melted," pointed out the tiger anomaly, gesturing to the steel door.
"Well then we're just going to have to make due, huh?" replied Eddie. She dug around in the debris a bit, then jumped back up with a triumphant yell, holding a lead pipe. "Watch and learn, kid." The cat anomaly walked up to the small room, examined the cement around the room, then abruptly swung out with the pipe. It smashed against the weakened cement with enough force to created a deep rut. She then pulled back and did it again, in the same place, deepening the hole.
"Uhhh… I don't think that's safe," said David, shifting from foot to foot nervously.
Eddie paid no attention to him and hit the wall again with the pipe. This swing penetrated the entire wall, and the top portion came crumbling down into a pile dust and pebbles. "See, kiddo? It's all in the wrist," mused the cat anomaly, hopping over the bottom portion of the wall and into the room.
David was close behind. "What are we going to do with this stuff?" he asked, pulling a bottle of tryptophan off the shelf.
"Sell it, probably. Some of this shit is major bodybuilding supplements," replied Eddie, discreetly pocketing a bottle of mineral replacement and a syringe.
"Didn't you have to take supplements, Eddie?" asked David. "I mean, from what Joshua said… you were always taken upstairs. He says Lydecker liked you the most."
"Lydecker didn't like the 'nomlies. I was an experiment; they put something my brain that made me dependent on their chemical replacement shit."
"Why'd they do that?"
"They were trying to figure out how to cure the X5 dependency on tryptophan. Once they found out, they kept me alive for X6 experiments," said Eddie solemnly. She pocketed the required replacements and took a deep breath. "These will last me about a year. Let's go tell Tegan what we found."
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"Pick. Pick, wake up."
Grumbling, the CO X6 opened sleepy eyes to see Hank and Junky staring down at him. "We there?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
Pick sat up and rubbed his face before getting off the bus. Their bags were sitting on the ground next to the bus, and he picked up his newly-purchased duffel bag full of newly-purchased clothes and toothbrushes. The three X6s then walked a few blocks down to the hotel they had made reservations at. It was the nicest hotel in Seattle, but after the Pulse… nice was sorely downgraded.
"Hi, I'm Jack Adams and I'm here with my brothers to check into our room," said Pick to the lady behind the steel-barred window.
She typed a few things on her beat-up old computer and then handed them three keys. "You are on the third floor, rooms 319 through 321. I hope your stay is enjoyable."
"Thank you," He glanced down at her nametag and winked, "Marissa."
Flustered, the young woman nervously smiled back.
"That was disgusting," whispered Junky as they walked towards the elevator.
"Yeah, but isn't it great?" replied Pick with a grin. He pressed the "up" button. "Oh, if I forgot to mention it to you guys, we'll be finding a permanent residence soon. Some 'friends' of mine from an outside mission recently 'abandoned' their home, though nobody else knows that it's empty, if you follow me."
Hank laughed as they stepped onto the creaky old elevator. "You think we'll have much trouble?"
"Nope, I think we'll have this town wrapped around our fingers in no time," replied Pick with a grin. "Besides, several other X6 units are headed here. Seattle won't have a clue what hit them."
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"Are you sure this is what we're supposed to be doing?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Are you sure you're sure?"
"Shut up, Dalton."
The X6 shut his mouth and groaned at his X5 companion. "Gem, I'm tired. I'm hungry, too. Are you sure command isn't going to contact us?"
"I'm sure."
"Are you sure you're sure?"
"DALTON!"
"I was just checking."
Gem rolled her eyes and let out a breath, rustling her damp bangs. "Look, I was told that there's going to be a regrouping somewhere outside Seattle, but we were instructed to keep low profiles until some kind of message came about to tell us where to go."
"So you steal a car?"
"That guy won't miss it." Gem turned the rusty old Honda Civic down a dirt road going straight through the forest. A sign passed saying SEATTLE – 75 MILES. "And it's not my fault that you had us going in the wrong direction all day yesterday. I thought X6s had a good sense of direction."
"Hey, you didn't say anything! I was too preoccupied yesterday, what with our home burning to the ground," grumbled Dalton. He crossed his arms over his chest and slumped down in the seat.
"Yeah well maybe I'll just toss you on the side of the road," the X5 snapped.
"Guys, guys, that's enough! Can't a girl get any sleep around here?" complained a voice from the backseat.
"CeCe, you're no help either," said Dalton.
A blonde head appeared in the rearview mirror. "You two need to spend less time around each other," she declared, ruffling her sleep-tousled hair. "Or maybe you just need to spend more time with each other."
"No!" said the other X5 and X6 at the same time.
"Well, whatever you do, stop with all the goddamn arguing!" said CeCe bitterly.
"We weren't arguing," announced Dalton in a matter-of-factly tone.
"Yes we were, and you started it!" replied Gem.
CeCe groaned and mumbled under her breath, "Oh fuck it…" She then flopped back down on the seat and went back to sleep.
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After scouring what was left of Manticore for anything useful or of value, the anomalies met up in the forest to discuss what they should do with the survivors they had found – three X5s and a half-alive X7.
Tegan, who everyone now looked up to as their leader, quieted everyone and said, "These X5s owe us their lives, and they can help us get what we need, save Grumpy over there." She pointed at Zack with her chin.
"Yeah, but what's to stop them from betraying us?" asked Mole, narrowing his eyes at the X5s bitterly.
"We'll just have to trust them," said Axle sternly. He looked at the Xs and knelt close to the only female, an X5, "What's your name?"
She was bound with the steel framing from one of the bunks, and heavily pregnant. She wasn't going anywhere. "I don't have a name."
"Designation, then?"
"X5-669."
"Mmmhmm," said Tegan thoughtfully, then turned to David. "Name?"
"Jackie," he replied, puffing his chest out proudly.
"Jackie it is then," declared the monkey anomaly. "Now, Jackie, we need you to do something for us, okay?"
"No! I won't serve the 'nomlies, you filthy beasts!" she cried.
"Mood swings," commented Eddie with a grin.
"Well then I guess we'll just have to eat you," said Axle, winking at Tegan. He stood up and glanced around as if he was looking for something. "Anyone got matches?"
"Hey! You can't eat me! I'm an X5! I'm pregnant!"
"We know," said Dix with a snicker.
She glared daggers at him, but, realizing they were simply toying with her mind to make a point of their current power over her, slumped against the tree. In her seventh month of pregnancy, her distended belly was beginning to weigh heavily and any kind of fight would result in a loss for her. She had no choice. "Fine. I don't think they'll do it, though." She gestured to the other two X5s, who were watching silently.
"That's right, we won't," said the one with the bionic eye.
"Yep," added the other one, who was missing his left hand. "You 'nomlies can all go to Hell."
"We're takin you down with us," growled Mole.
"Alright! That's enough!" interrupted Tegan. "One X5 is all we need. We can leave the others to fend for themselves, and maybe keep the X7."
"Fine," barked the robotic X5.
"Fine," replied Tegan in a high, mocking voice. "You little shit."
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Meanwhile, things were going pretty well for the X6s. Pick got a few hundred dollars out of the young woman's bank account, expertly maneuvering the law, and decided that he and his companions should go barhopping. They found an entire street full of bars on both sides, and worked their way from one end to another.
Pre-Pulse bars, which were now simply ignored by the law officials since they, themselves, often attended the parties and such, were much more… sinful than they had been before. They had brighter lights, louder music, and less-dressed dancers. Hookers prowled the streets looking for men with the most money, wearing little to no clothing and ranging in ages from fourteen to thirty.
"Whoo, check this one out," said Pick, pointing to a club with a line that seemed longer than all the others. He walked over, Junky and Hank glued to his heels, and whispered something in the bouncer's ear. The older man smiled and held out his hand, which Pick slipped a few hundred dollar bills into, and then stepped back to allow them to enter.
"I knew we'd see things eye to eye," commented the X6 as he entered.
This club was definitely more exclusive than the others, with more rich old men with anywhere from three to twenty beautiful young women hanging on their arms. The drinks were less watery and there was even a live band performing a Pre-Pulse favorite.
You see the magazines and me on your TV screen and you think
you know me but you really don't you don't even know but I, I'm
feeling good bout myself so I, I splurge a little Hey!
You see the money and the, the cars and diamonds and ya, ya think
it make me but it really don't. It really, really don't. But I, I'm feeling'
good about myself, so I, I splurge a little Hey!
Pick excused himself from his nervous companions and moved onto the dance floor, eyes searching left and right for a partner. He quickly found one – a beautiful redhead with dazzling green eyes. She rubbed up against him, her small hands traveling up his body and down his pants.
I think the time has come for me to have some fun, I'm bout to peel
back the top and blaze in da sun. What the fuck I'd had done my
momma's only son I went from slangin to bangin to yellin number 1.
I love my fans to death until my last breath. That's why when I
perform I give till there's nothin left. No competition my, opposition
gonna feel the pain. More complications relationships ain't gonna
be the same. Do they know the fame and all that it can bring? If they
attracted to Nelly then who like Cornell Haynes? I'm poppin collars from
California to D.C . I'm in the VIP Louie bottles and Hennessey's. I'm
putting mileage on 20 inches and 23's I'm flipping out my keys, I'm
flipping down the screens. I'm about to spread my wings, tryin to
fulfill my dreams. With anything that I want if I don't I got the means.
Enjoying himself, Pick wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, his hands traveling where he knew they shouldn't, and he bent to kiss her neck. In response, she moved closer to him, one leg wrapping around his. She smiled up at him, drunken off her ass, and brushed the nape of his neck with her fingers. Her smile widened. "You're an X6."
Pick froze.
You see the magazines and see me on you TV screen and
you think you know me but your really don't you don't even know
but I, I'm feelin good about myself so I splurge a little Hey!
You see the money and the, the cars and diamonds and you,
you think it makes me but it really don't. It really, really don't.
but I, I'm feeling good about myself so I splurge a little Hey!
"Who are you?" he asked, stepping back.
She grabbed his hand and let his fingers feel the back of her neck. "X5. Welcome to Seattle."
Pick relaxed, feeling the rough barcode, and smiled. "Well isn't that a coincidence?
You think you know me but you really don't know. If I could walk
through the club like everything be for sho. And I'll get 1
little girl, 2 little girls tryin to tryin to get me to dance, I'll get
Three little girls four little girls pullin on my pants damn! It
feels good when everything's ok and it's beautiful sight when
everything goes you're way. And I could walk in the mountains
and I still get Valet . Vokal baluer and my suede ballets. I'm
feelin good it's only right I deserve to spread the love through
all my peeps it's only right that I splurge. And any nigga trippin
out, I leave 'em right by da curb. And I don't wanna sleep
momma so Goodnight and good word. I'm on a mission and
It's startin like a mystery. And I ain't stoppin till I go down in
history. Now who ever said you knows, you dealin with a pimp fo' sho.
N.E double L .Y. Ok now here it go!
The X5 smiled back and resumed dancing, but didn't release her hold on his hand. She moved it up and down her body suggestively, and after awhile he couldn't stand it anymore.
"Let's take this somewhere more… private," he suggested into her ear.
"Just what I was thinking," replied the female X5.
You read the magazines and heard I made a scene. believe
it or not I swear I'm just a human being. I'm doing human things.
cause only humans change. They label me a role model cause
I appeal to teens. It really ain't that strange now that i think about
it, I came to play the game and changed everything about it. I'm feelin
better than ever without that lotto shit. I wake up early like
hit cooler like lets go buy some shit. You dressed the hottest
fits drivin the hottest whips, We got the baddest chicks. Yo with the
widest hips. Donating money to families calling me last shit. They screamin war
I'm like fuck it go buy a battle ship. Bring it up that Mississippi
if you really wanna come and get me. tell them nigga's don't
tip me cause I'll squeeze them shit still empty. Take shot like niggas with
frisbees. Who the juice I hear ya'll gon pimp me. You niggas must
be gifted! Makin' an innocent nigga plead guilty.
As the song ended, the two of them left the bar and headed towards the hotel Pick was staying in. They hadn't gone two blocks, however, when a group of men stepped out from the shadows in front of them.
"Hey loser!" yelled one of them. He had a thick metal chain in his hand. "Why don't you let the pretty little lady go and run along home? She needs a real man tonight."
Pick ignored them as he walked by, but they followed.
"Yeah, pretty boy. Come on, she wants a good fuck. We'll take care of everything for you, dipshit," said another, bouncing a baseball bat against his palm.
When he still didn't respond, one of them grabbed his shoulders.
"Yo dipshit! I said—"
WHAM!
The man fell to the ground with a broken nose, courtesy of the X6's fist. Immediately, the other men – there was about ten of them – charged forward. Pick jumped high into the air and kicked the first in the face, then came down with both feet onto the second's chest. Appearing as if he were walking through midair, the X6 put his other foot out and jumped off the third man's face, causing him to fall back onto his comrades. Pick spun around in the air and landed behind them. He grabbed the first head he could get his hands onto and twisted, hearing the satisfying crack of his neck breaking. The men that were left saw their comrade fall to the ground, dead, and stared at Pick with fearful eyes.
"What are you?" said one of them, backing up. "Let's get out of here!"
The others didn't have to be told twice, and they ran off into the darkness with their tails between their legs.
"Good show!" exclaimed the female X5, clapping her hands.
Pick walked over and scooped her up into his arms. "Now, let's get back before anyone else decides to get their ass kicked…"
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Eddie sat hidden in a tree as news crews and police scoured the destroyed Manticore base, using floodlights to illuminate the night. Beside her sat Axle, and beside him was Tegan. A shaky friendship was established between the three of them.
"Do you think they'll expose us?" whispered Eddie.
"No. What's left of Manticore would cover it all up," replied Tegan thoughtfully. She scratched the back of her neck and added, "Besides, I bet you Manticore doesn't even appear on the radar; they probably had this place covered up as a hospital or something."
"What do we do now?" asked the cat anomaly, ducking as a floodlight swung a bit in the night wind and flashed a light on their tree.
"I think we'll have to resort to less… orthodox ways of surviving. I hear the road going through the forest gets little traffic, and there's a campsite somewhere around here… We'll have to steal our way through."
"And if we get caught?" Axle licked his jowls, his eyes showing his doubt.
"We won't. We're almost as good as the X-series, and if they can do it without being seen, we can too. All we gotta do is wait for our time." Tegan put a hand on the dog anomaly's shoulder. "I'm headin down."
"I'll come with," said Eddie, swinging her legs over the side of the branch. "You staying here?"
"I wanna make sure they don't find anything unusual."
"Okay, whatever."
The two anomalies jumped from the tree, falling ten feet down, and took off in the darkness with their heads down. They passed dangerously close to a wandering cameraman, but they moved so quickly that he barely heard them go by. When they finally reached the entrance to the sewer, they pulled off the lid and Eddie jumped down, quickly followed by Tegan.
"That was close," commented Eddie, brushing her hands against her fatigues.
"Get some sleep," replied the monkey anomaly. "I'll wait up for Axle."
Eddie smiled and made her way into their temporary home, eyes raking the crowd for David. He was lying fast asleep in the same spot as the night before, and she went over to curl up around him protectively, pointedly ignoring the stares of the male cat anomaly. The moment her head dropped down, she was asleep.
