18th and 19th Sept 2003

Phalanx

Set the day after "Freak Nation"

Ames' thoughts on the Jam Pony fiasco. And how he got out of his bind.

Chapter 4

Ames and Thula lead, as the Phalanx walks toward the building.

"Remember, our primary target is 452." Ames reminds them.

"What about the hostages?" Thula asks.

"Let's show the viewers at home what the mutant menace does to innocent people. Take out the hostages, the freaks, the kid...take out anything with a pulse." Ames instructs the Phalanx. It'll make my job easier, if the humans continue to do the killing!

Thula nods, completely unconcerned with Ames' answer. Humans and freaks are something to be used and killed. She and three members of her Phalanx team begin climbing the outer wall of the building. They soon scale it and reach the roof. The four Phalanx enter from the ceiling, via a hatch that once was a skylight. They lower themselves on ropes. Guns drawn, they start searching. Just as they had worked out with Ames via phone and fax, after he obtained the police's blueprints of the building. Following the plan, one of the Phalanx opens a side door and lets his team mate and Ames in, all six continue to search.

The Familiars hear muffled moans and slowly head toward the noise, which is coming from behind a glass partition. The lizard , 452, and 494, were hiding upon the ceiling, they drop down, and start fighting the Phalanx. 452 fights Thula, 494 starts fighting Anna and the lizard is squaring off with John! The fourth Phalanx Ruben is taken by surprise by the dog man, he's growling and snarling, and they begin to fight. Olivier the fifth Phalanx member is standing near the glass partition behind which Logan Cale is hiding. Cale stands up and fires at him through the glass. The Phalanx falls to the ground. Cale runs out of ammunition and starts to reload.

Ames is watching this as he gets into position to shoot. Thats it Phalanx! Keep 'em busy and I'll pick 'em off one by one.. 452 first, then 494.... Lizard freak suddenly turns having defeated John and fires at Ames, who ducks, and while the lizard man continues to shoot, John recovering quickly, grabs him from behind and forcibly shoves him into a shelf.

Anna shoves 494 through a glass partition. Dog man bashes Ruben's head into a wall and then a column, then effortlessly throws him across the room. Anna and 494 are still fighting. Thula loses her helmet. She and 452 circle each other, 452 kicks Thula's gun away.

"452." Thula said, it was almost a hiss.

"Just bring it." 452 replied

Thula and 452 begin to fight in ernest.

Damn it! I can't get a clear shot at any of them! Ames fumed then was distracted as the lizard knocked out John and came after him again. They start to fight. Ames is still aware of what is happening to the other Familiars.

452 lands several blows on Thula. Thula kicks 452 to the floor and then throws her through a glass partition. Thula jumps from a desk and wraps her legs around 452's neck, they both fall to the ground. While Cale is reloading, Olivier rises from the ground and pulls him through the glass partition. Dog man knocks out Ruben and heads for Ames and the lizard.

Oh shit! Ames thinks as he realises who the freak coming at him is.

Olivier punches Cale and throws him through the glass again. Thula shoves 452 headfirst through another glass partition. Oliveir punches Cale several times. before the dog man grabs him and hurls him across the room. Thula swings a chair at 452 who ducks, the chair smashes into a partition, it breaks, shattering glass over those hiding behind the desk.

Ames kicks the lizard. Then hears....

Male voice: "Okay, it's time to push now. Come on. Push push push push push, with all your might, all your might, all your might..."

452 and Thula continue to fight. Both completely engrossed in the combat.

Male voice: "All right, it's coming. It's coming."

Thula backflips onto 452 and knocks her to the floor.

Ames knocks the lizard down with a large, metal milk can and begins kicking him. Forgetting about the dog man in his joy at having defeated the lizard transgenic and at having at it at his mercy. Mercy Ha! I ain't got any! Ames laughs to himself, and so engrossed is he, that he is taken unaware when, dog man suddenly grabs him from behind and shoves him up against a wall. Dog man is about to strike Ames, but stops when he recognises him and realises he is facing the blind girl's killer. He roars with rage, bashes Ames against the wall, and then slams him into a shelf.

Anna swings a mannequin at 494. He ducks, they continue to fight, slamming through a glass partition in the process.

Male voice: "Okay, the baby's coming out. I can see the head. Now you really gotta bear down, now. Really bear down. Time to push now."

452 and Thula keep fighting. Anna kicks 494 in the head, he falls to the ground. As she is about to hit him with a mannequin leg, Cale comes over and kicks her hard. Thanks to his exoskeleton, she goes flying across the room, and lands next to the woman in labour.

Male voice: "Bear down hard, now, honey. Bear down hard." The woman in labour punches out Anna. "That's it. Good."

Dog freak breaks a desk over Ames. Ames sees, a Nubian woman and a white boy sitting on Anna while they handcuff her, as he staggers from the impact of the desk.

Male voice: "Go! Push push push push push push push push push!"

Ames hears the baby cry.... Dog man's beating is getting to him, he's becoming less aware of the goings on around him. His main thoughts center on his survival. He doesn't care about the survival of the Phalanx.

Thula leans over 452, punching her repeatedly. 452 sneaks some handcuffs out of Thula's pocket and gets a cuff around one of Thula's wrists. Thula stands up, pulling 452 with her, and starts to choke her. 452 uses a column to flip over so that she is out of the choke hold and standing behind Thula. She swings Thula by one arm so that Thula ends up wrapped around the column and then handcuffs her other wrist. Thula is now standing with her arms around the column, wrists cuffed together. She struggles, and tries to kick at 452, but doesn't succeed. Thula is unable to break the handcuffs.

Dog man, snarling, throws Ames through a thin wall, then picks him up and throws him again. Ames blacks out for a few moments. Ames regains consciousness and sees that except for Thula, who is still handcuffed around the column post, the Phalanx are now all lying on the floor. Some are unconscious. Cale, 494, and the lizard disarm them and check to make sure the fight is over.

Cale yells at a conscious Phalanx member "Stay down!"

" Max! Clear!" Shouts 494

"Clear!" the lizard man also responds

The dog man, still snarling, bends Ames backwards over his knee. Ames can hears his back cracking. I'm dead! Father's killed me!

"Joshua, no. Joshua, no!" 452 yells running over she tries to restrain Joshua. "Joshua, no!"

"He deserves to die! He killed Annie!" The dog man all but howled

"No. He deserves to die, a lot. But if you kill him now, the only thing people will remember about today is how some transgenic killed a human being in cold blood...and then they'll never stop hunting us." 452 reasoned. Not happy about letting White live, but they had no choice.

The dog man takes a moment to consider this, and then drops Ames to the ground. He plants his foot on Ames' neck to restrain him, and 452 leans in close to speak to Ames.

"Bring around your muscle queens anytime. I'll be happy to kick their ass." She told him

"We are not finished." Ames ground out, from his dislocated jaw, glaring at her. Why'd she let me go! Sure it'd look bad, but leaving me alive is just plain dumb!....She should've let him kill me! Ames started to tell her so.....What the hell am I thinking! He thought and quickly closed his slightly open mouth! Biting down on his planned retort!

"Fe'nos tol, bitch." Was 452's reply as she flicked him on the nose and then goes over to join the new mother and the others.

Ames makes a mental note that the mother is an X5. Damn the freak brat doesn't have a barcode! The transgenic filth strip him and the Phalanx of all but their underwear and use packaging tape to bind them around a column and to gag them. When I get out of here you freaks and your human allies are going to beg me to kill you! You'll be in so much pain! Ames continued to fume as 494, and two other humans, dressed as Phalanx make their escape with the trasgenics, whilst pretending to have them under arrest. He could hear every word Cale uttered! Using His name to get what he wanted. He loves 452! I'll kill her slowly and make him watch! She'll regret making the dog freak release me! I'll make them tell me where the hell my son is!

"Weapons down! Hold your fire! Team coming out!" Cale yells, as he opens the door all the way and walks out. "Let's go. Federal agents! Step back!" Cale ordered as he leads the trangenics and humans through the cops, towards the Phalanx van and an ambulance parked nearby. "I need you back. Move! Move! We may have a biohazard here, people. Make a hole. Make a hole. Move! Move! Let's go." To Clemente. "Agent White wants your people in there to secure the crime scene ASAP. Let's go! Let's go! Let's go, let's go!" 452, Dog man, and Lizard man are led into the back of the van. The boy, new mother, and the baby are led into the back of the ambulance.

(Ames added what Otto had told him to what he knew from Logan's words.)

"We're going to need to commandeer this ambulance." (To Clemente) "Agent White is not a man who likes to be kept waiting, Detective." Cale warned.

Ames hearing that true comment again started struggling to be free, it was no good, the transgenics hadn't taken any chances with the bonds. Dismemberment! Dissection! Vivisection!.....

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