AN: Here is some more on Psyche. In this chapter there is a bit of a flashback (dah!), they don't have names as of yet. When they get their names I'll post 'em up so you know who's who.
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"Quick every one, come and watch." The twelve little girls and boys rushed to the windows of their barracks, noses pressed to the glass to see what 281, their CO, was so caught up about. 501 looked out the glass, scouting the outside forest, looking for any movement.
"Over there, to the right." 739, the SIC pointed to where she saw movement. They all averted their eyes to the right and watched as a contingent of X-5s walked out of the forest, holding four grown men in grey outfits, hostage. Lydecker walked out of the shadows and gave them all a command that the X-6s in the barracks couldn't hear from so far away.
452, 656 and 493 let the men go and they stood up to fight. 599 gave the other children around him a few hand signals and the men were all dead within moments. Lydecker clapped a hand onto 599's shoulder in congratulations and they formed two lines behind him, as he took them to the shower. Each child from seven to nine years old was saturated in blood.
"Wow, they did that in less than ninety seconds." 325 exclaimed, her little head bobbing in excitement. Her bright brown eyes were filled with wonder.
"I want to grow up to be just like them." 476 cried, placing his tiny hands back on the window and looking out again to see a clean up crew cleaning up the mess.
"We will." Replied 281. "We will."
~~~
"Logan huh?" Max rolled her eyes. "Nice name."
"Wait till..."
"Shut up Alec." He was cut off even before he started the sentence. Just then the elevator stopped. The three transgenics got out and strolled up to the penthouse front door. Max bent down and quickly picked the lock.
"You do this often?" Psyche asked. She got a grin in response. Max got up and went inside the penthouse, Psyche and Alec following her.
"Hey Logan. What's up man?" Alec yelled out before Max could even open her mouth. She shot daggers at him and went to find Logan. Psyche laughed at their bickering and proceeded to look around his apartment.
"Logan?" Max wandered through the rooms of his apartment. She found him in his computer room. 'Hmm, I'm so surprised.' "Hey."
"Hey, what's up?" He replied, looking up at her as she stood in the doorway, acutely aware of the virus that separated them.
"Alec is a total idiot." She replied instantly. He grinned at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh, and I got Psyche to help us with the mission. She's waiting out in the lounge room with Alec." As an after thought added, "I hope she kills him."
Logan got up slowly, the whirring of the exoskeleton loud to the ear. He walked out of the room, gliding past Max, making sure they didn't touch. There was a smash, some yelling and Max and Logan were running into the lounge room.
There stood Psyche holding an eighteenth Century vase, ready to throw it at a cowering Alec. Behind him were the remnants of another vase, smashed to pieces on the wall.
"Psyche, put that down right now." Max's voice startled her into putting the vase down quickly onto the small table she had picked it up from. Max then turned menacingly to Alec and pointed a finger at him. "And you...what the hell did you do to her?"
"Nothing." He replied, standing up so he could look at her. "I swear. She just started to throw things at me and all I had were my Manticore reflexes to save me from her..."
"Liar." Psyche shouted. "He commented on my...erm..." Her voice softened to a normal tone. "...on a part of my body that I prefer was not commented on."
"So you threw an eighteenth Century vase at him? One that I could get over sixty grand for on the Black Market?" Psyche shrugged at Max's anger.
"No big deal, I'll get him another one." She replied, flopping down on a big couch in the middle of the room and curled her hair around one finger.
"That's not the point. His mother gave that to him before she died." Instantly Max's hand went up to finger the necklace around her neck that Logan had given her after she had lifted it from his Aunt Margo. "You had no right to smash it."
Max stormed out of the room. Logan sighed loudly at the guilty looking Psyche and thankfully Alec had the decency to start cleaning up the broken vase. Logan told him where the dustpan and broom were and where the bin was. Psyche wiggled in her chair in guilt, then sighing in resignation got up.
"I'm really sorry Logan. I'll replace it." Psyche looked up at him. She really was sorry. She had known Logan less than a few minutes and had already cost him over sixty thousand dollars. "I'd better go and talk to Max."
She left him in the lounge room supervising Alec and the cleanup. She walked through the large apartment to finally find Max in the dining room on the phone. Max looked over she shoulder and saw Psyche.
"We won't be back in today...we picked up this annoying rash while we where there." Max smirked at Psyche. "I'm covered in spots...no way am I checking Alec...yes Normal, I'll be back as soon as the rash disappears...mhmm, I'll get Original Cindy to drop the signature in to you...bye."
"Hey, I am not a rash." Psyche pouted, her red lips prominent on her face. "I came to apologise, but now I forget what I'm apologising for."
"Smashing Logan's vase." Max reminded her, crossing her arms and waiting for the reply.
"Then I should be apologising to Logan." Psyche replied, her voice rising. She turned to leave the room but Max was at her side in a flash, gripping her arm and preventing her from leaving.
"No Psyche. You should be apologising to me. I was bringing a young talented Manticore thief to help us bring down Manticore once and for all. Instead, I bring an adolescent and skittish young girl that explodes at the slightest thing Alec says, which might I add, I have to put up with too, and you smash a sixty thousand dollar eighteenth Century vase." Max's voice rose in volume and intensity. She rounded on the young girl who was startled into submission. "I should be apologising to Logan. If you are going to be so immature, you can leave."