Recap - Suddenly an alarm sounded, the loud sirens affected the X-5s sensitive hearing and they cringed in pain. "MAX!!! WE NEED YOU DOWN HERE!" Mole yelled, his eyes quickly flicked at the strangers taking in the situation, apparently he considered it safe enough. "We're being attacked" he rasped.
Max dashed out, "Move it Alec!" He nodded at the confused newcomers "Welcome to Terminal City" then he walked out.
Chapter 2- Attack
Max strode up to Dix "Report"
"A couple of dozen 'concerned citizens' decided to take matters into their own hands. They got hold of some weapons somehow and breached the perimeter, that big hole your friends here made", Dix glanced at Syl and the others that had followed Max "didn't help either, but it would've happened anyway"
"Threat?"
"Not really, but they could cause some damage. For all we know this is a diversion, White could come busting in at any moment"
"How many?"
"'Bout three dozen and some, 9 at the breach caused by the jeep, 14 by the warehouse, 6 at the old checkpoint, and 10 near the old bio-engineering lab"
"Right, we'll take care of it. I want a full alert on, everybody on guard. Zane, Syl, you guys take the ones at the breach." They nodded the affirmative "You're unfamiliar with the territory, take Dalton. I don't want any civilian causalities on our hands, we don't need to give them more reasons to 'neutralise' us" Max indicated the young X-6 that had been waiting for his orders.
"You guys packing?" Dalton asked, "Always" came Zane's easy reply.
"Krit, Jondy you guys take the ones at the lab. Take Lian" Max indicated a blonde X-5 that had taken refuge in TC earlier but was now an active member of the team, she was also awaiting orders "Same rules apply, avoid killing if you can".
"What about you?" Krit enquired.
"Alec and me will take the ones by the warehouse. Rhian, Shane you too" she beckoned to the redheaded and brunette X-6s respectively.
"Mole I want you to round up as many people as you need and take the ones at the checkpoint. Clear? Everybody move out!"
"Sure leave the leftovers for us" muttered Mole miffed at getting only 6 ordinaries to take out.
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Max and her team stealthily approached the warehouse; they could hear the raucous noises the ordinaries were making a mile away, they seemed to be trashing everything in sight. Unfortunately not even transgenics could see through walls (or at least we haven't seen any that can), Max decided to move in; that warehouse had not been checked for salvageable items yet but she had a feeling that they wouldn't want the ordinaries to get a hold of anything in there. She used military hand signals to indicate that they split into pairs and circle around to opposite sides then attack. Alec automatically followed her but she stopped him with a hand to the chest and shoved him away, she point toward the opposite side then she beckoned Shane to come with her. Alec hid his hurt feelings and led Rhian down the other way.
Max reached an entrance, the noises were much louder now and making her wince "Ready?" she whispered "On three, 1…"
"2" On the other side Alec had just reached his destination "…3"
They both jumped in at almost exactly the same time; Max kicked down the door, Alec just opened it "Well hello" he grinned maliciously at the startled ordinaries before leaping into them and laying out one after another.
Max lost no time jumping into the fray, she took down one guy with a spinning kick then decked another to temporarily take him out of the fight them proceeded to attack with a flurry of punches and kicks. Not far away Shane had a particularly ugly ordinary in a headlock counting down the seconds until he passed out and at the same time planting vicious kicks on those that dared venture near him. Rhian seemed to be enjoying it, taking down one opponent after another; she savoured the fight- they all did, it's what they were built for.
One ordinary finally wised up to the fact that there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to win, he scurried up the scaffolding until he got to the second landing and ran towards the nearest exit as he saw it. Max noticed, so did Alec. She didn't even need to ask, she ran towards him and he steepled his hands to boost her up, she used her transgenic strength to leap, caught a hold of the raised platform, pulled herself up and chased after the person. She caught up to him and tripped him up, then performing the chokehold to knock him unconscious. A line that Normal used to use *well probably still does* popped into her head "Easy-peasy Japaneesy" she sang out. "Finally lost it, huh Maxie?" she turned around to face a grinning Alec, "All clear down there?" "Pretty much, there was just one guy left when I came up here"
Max started to grin, then one clear shot rang out in the dusky air.
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Zane, Syl and Dalton made it to the breach just fine, they didn't encounter any stray ordinaries. The invaders were proceeding inward, destroying whatever they saw and whooping as they did it. They were nothing more than street bullies. Syl winced as they toppled a water tank; it didn't take a genius to figure out that right about now that water was a million bucks a drop as far as anyone was concerned; Dalton swore under his breath.
"Three to one, no problems here" Zane whispered
Syl grinned "Let's get 'em"
Zane blurred into the bunch, knocking two unconscious as he whacked them on his way to the center. Dalton managed to knock off four of them using a pole he'd found somewhere or the other. Syl was taking on three at once, a feral urge possessing her as she nimbly punched, kicked and rammed her assailants unconscious. It was all over in 5 minutes.
"Well that was easy" Syl was grinning from ear to ear, then suddenly that grin disappeared "Zane, get down!" she screamed. Too late, just as she screamed a bullet left the gun of the sniper on the roof outside the perimeter heading straight for him. Two more followed in quick succession, time seemed to slow as they raced towards him. Zane went down.
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"It came from the west side" Alec said as soon as he heard the shot.
"That's where Zane, Syl and Dalton are!" Max cried, Alec could see concern etching every part of her. "We have to get there, now" Her tone brooked no arguments. They two transgenics blurred down to the X-6s, ordered them to follow then blurred off again.
When they got there they found Syl ducking behind some iron crates and Dalton pressed up against the wall. There seemed to be an all out shooting match going on. "Max take cover!!" Syl screamed. Her entire team quickly complied, ducking behind the nearest solid structures they could find. Alec and Max somehow found themselves behind a garbage bin; Alec quickly scanned the area to find the shooters then responded with shots of his own.
"What happened?" Max asked, she knew Syl could hear her through the noise.
"They got Zane" she replied softly, even with her enhanced hearing Max had trouble interpreting that but she was hoping she heard wrong.
"They what?"
"They got Zane" Syl said, louder this time.
Max slumped against the garbage bin just processing what she had heard: images of Tinga cold and dead in her arms floated unbidden in her mind, Ben blood trickling out of his mouth as he finally joined his Blue Lady, Eva's small lifeless form on the floor, Zack gone forever. Max let out a primal cry of rage and pain, she grabbed Alec's spare gun, jumped out from behind her cover, took aim and fired. There were three snipers, she used three bullets, when she finished there were no more snipers. Alec just gaped; Max reflected with some wry humour that she'd never seen him look that stupid before. She went to look at the body of her brother.
He was splayed out in the street, *what an undignified way for a soldier to die* she thought *taken from the back* she ran her fingers lovingly through his hair thinking about all the times in Manticore when her older brother protected her. Zane had been one of the select few Zack trusted to take care of the others, she just reminisced- the search and destroy lessons, nights when she didn't need sleep and was bored, the talks she'd had with him… then Max noticed something, he was still bleeding. Dead men don't bleed, she quickly checked his pulse and got a very faint beat. He was alive.
She turned to where she knew Dix had placed a camera and quickly signaled into it that she needed assistance, she hoped someone was watching. Then she just crouched beside her brother and waited
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