"Can't Deny Destiny"
Chapter 4
Rogue Angel Disclaimer and such see Chapter 1
NOTE: We'll differenciate Max Guevera and Max Evans by calling them Maxie and Maxwell (respectively)... Hopefully it should remove some of the confusion. ***** At the airstrip Jondy didn't turn the car off, but she hopped out and walked away from the car, Maxwell in tow. Damn, this boy is hot, Jondy thought to herself. A bit young but damn. "What's up?" Maxwell asked. "It's not about Liz, is it?" "In a way it is. I know about what you are. Liz told me and your secret is safe, as long as you keep our secret." Maxwell tensed, he didn't know how to take that. "What secret?" With implication to his own. Jondy turned around and lifted her hair, her barcode drew Maxwell's eyes. "This one. You're going to see a lot of them." "What does that mean?" "We were part of a government program to create genetically perfect soldiers. They would take human DNA and animal DNA and combine them, we're the result." Maxwell grinned. "Right, and I'm King Tut." "Not Tut but you are a king and Liz is a genetically programmed killing machine. Do you care for a demonstration?" Maxwell nodded. Jondy took a good ten steps back from Maxwell. "Ready?" "Yeah." "Ok," Jondy said. She blurred and she was now in front of Maxwell. He had barely seen her move. He was in complete shock. "Why doesn't Liz have one of those tattoo things?" "Because she gets the barcode removed every fifteen days. It's a very painful procedure. Most of us don't do it and just hide it, but she did a lot to be normal." "How many of you are there?" "You'll meet somewhere between ten and twelve. But there are many of us. We're the fifth generation and there are at least nine. The facility that created us burnt down while back. Some of the younger ones were killed by the government and all of us are on the run. They test on us, we're feared... Much like you would be if you were discovered, I believe." "You're going out on a limb to let us come here." "Yes, especially since I'm the Commanding Officer of the group that is present." "You're a Commanding Officer? You're barely my age." "A bit older actually. Still, by the age of six, we could kill a grown man with him being armed and us not." Maxwell nodded. "Your secret's safe. I'll tell the others not to tell. Except for Jesse." "Who's that?" "He's the one with darker skin." "Wearing a white shirt?" "Yeah, I think so. How did you know?" "He's standing on this side of the car." Maxwell looked over, they were too far away for him to see. "I'll take your word for it." "Why won't you tell him?" "He doesn't even know our secret." "Well, I'd suggest you break it to him nicely because he's going to find out about us and probably about you too." Maxwell quieted for a second. "It'll be taken care of." Jondy stuck her hand out and Maxwell shook it. "I've got your back now. You ever need a hand and Liz can't cover it for you, I will." "You coming?" a voice yelled from the car. "That'd be Michael," Maxwell said. "Is he your hot head?" Maxwell smiled. "I've got two. Him and Isabel. They're like me." Jondy smiled at the meaning. "Good to know. As a warning, my hot heads are Zack, Brin, Faith, Dax, and sometimes me. You know what, scratch that... We're all hot heads." "We better head back," Maxwell said with a grin, Jondy wasn't half as evil as Maria had warned him. She was very protective of her group, as he was. He and Jondy were on the same page in that aspect. They returned to the car and Maxwell quickly introduced his companions and Jondy. Upon seeing Jondy, Maria didn't feel threatened by her. About five minutes on the road, Jesse leaned forward. "What exactly do you do?" "I'm a bartender mostly." She looked to Maxwell. Maxwell reached back and put his hand on Isabel's leg. She felt him try to make a connection, she let him. In her mind's eye she saw him standing in his usual worried pose. "What?" Isabel asked. "You have to tell Jesse the truth." "I thought you didn't want him to know," she retorted. "A lot of secrets are going to be shared and it'd be best if he heard the truth from you now instead of in a side conversation." "A what?" "Jondy and her family know about us." "How?" "Liz... But Liz has an equally deep secret. You tell Jesse our secret and Jondy will tell her family's." "I don't like this." "I don't either but you gain trust by giving trust. You do or I will." "Fine." She shoved his hand off of her leg and broke the connection. She took a deep breath. "Jesse, honey, there's something I have to tell you." Jondy pulled the car over. "What?" Jesse asked. He saw shock on a few faces and understanding on Jondy's and Maxwell's. "I can't think of an easy way to say this--" she began but Michael interrupted. "Then don't." "I have to. We're not from around here," Isabel said. "Where are you from?" Jesse asked skeptically. Isabel pointed up. "Canada?" he asked. She lifted her hand higher. "I don't understand," Jesse said. "You love me, right?" "Yes, of course I do." "Then promise me, what you hear now you'll never tell a soul." "I promise." "Even my Dad." Jesse took a deep breath. "I swear. You can tell me anything." "Maxwell, Michael, and I have otherworldly origins." Jesse laughed. "Right." Maxwell made his hand glow. "Our ship crashed in the Roswell Crash in the 1940's. We woke from hibernation pods after the Pulse." Jesse looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "And you never told me this? Am I the only person who doesn't know?" "Pretty much," Jondy said, "And that's not all." "What? You're an alien too?" Jesse asked in near hysterics. "No... The group that you're going to meet tonight is made up of mostly my kind." "What is your kind?" Michael asked. "Genetically engineered killing machines created by the United States government. Most of us you'll meet escaped a few months before the Pulse, in short." The car grew silent. Maxwell broke the silence. "They have as much to lose as we do. Jondy's putting her family in danger so we can be here." "Liz is one of your kind?" Maria asked. Jondy nodded. "Well Liz is coming back, so what does it matter?" Maria demanded. Jondy did not say anything. "She's not coming back?" Maria asked in realization. "Ask her. I can't speak for her. But everyone in this car has something to lose by telling either secret. If you tell anyone about aliens, Jesse, then you lose Isabel. If anyone tells about my family, Liz will be killed. The people looking for us are not looking for a test subject, they're looking to wipe Transgenics off the face of the Earth, to erase the evidence of their test subjects. Do I have your oath of silence?" "You have mine," Maxwell said. "Mine too," Kyle said from the back, speaking for the first time. "Mine," Isabel said. "Even though I think you're a bitch, I won't tell," Maria said. "I don't like this," Michael said. "But if Maxwell and Izzy are in, then count me too." "What about it Jesse?" Maxwell asked. "I won't tell a soul," he said looking at Isabel. "About either subject." "Good. I didn't feel like killing anyone tonight," Jondy said with a grin. "Oh, Bull shit," Maria said. Before Maria could blink she felt two slaps on her leg and a soft pat on her face. She looked at Jondy, she didn't move. She met Jondy's eyes. Jondy raised an eyebrow and grinned. Maria clenched her teeth. Jondy turned around and drove back to the hotel. She helped everyone unload and then she returned the car. When she came back, the group was barely ten feet from where they had started. "Um. Where are we supposed to go?" Isabel asked. Jondy grinned. "Sorry. You can put your stuff in my room till we figure out where everyone's going." Everyone picked up their bags. Maria had trouble lifting hers. "Can I help?" Jondy asked. "Yeah," Maria replied after noticing it was a sincere offer. Jondy lifted the bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Shit, did you pack the whole town of Roswell in here?" "Close," Michael said. "Maxwell, Jesse, Kyle, and I all had to load it in the car on the way to airport." Jondy lead them to her room. They put their stuff in there and then she went to Zack's room. The same group was in there, along with all the other X-5s and Original Cindy. Jondy walked into the room, after signaling the others to wait. "I thought you were gonna sleep," Faith said as she noticed Jondy. "I couldn't. I got a call. Liz, you can do the explaining." Maxwell stepped out from behind the corner. "Stand down," Jondy ordered. Maxwell hardly noticed everyone tense. He made room for the others to come out. Liz was up and running to him instantaneously. They kissed. Jondy caught Zane's glance as Maxwell and Liz kissed. "I would like to know who they are," Zack said in a very rude voice. "And what they are doing here." "They're Liz's friends. I gave the ok," Jondy said. "And they know about us." Everyone, minus the four girls who were there first, started talking at once. Maxwell lifted his hand and it was glowing. Everyone silenced. Liz spoke up. "This is Maxwell. He's my boyfriend." "What's with the glowy hand thing?" Alec asked. Shit he looks like Ben, Jondy thought. And damn, look at Faith. She digs the boy. "Me, my sister Isabel, and our friend Michael are from another planet," Maxwell said. He was quite surprised at how well the group took it. "Ok, I'll do introductions," Jondy said. "Starting from the door, that's Jesse, Isabel, Kyle, Maria, Michael, Maxwell, Liz, Me. Ok, from the wall. Zane, Krit, Grix, Dax, Jace, Brin, Alec, Faith, Maxie, Zack, Original Cindy. Damn, am I good?" Jondy said in a grin. Dax, a very black man, threw a pillow at her. "So humble too." The Roswell group began to mingle. The sun was soon up and bright in the sky, everyone was still wide awake. Kyle, Grix, and Jondy got into a conversation about football for God only knows why. Then the idea struck. "Who wants to play football?" Jondy asked the group. She counted the group quickly, "We've got even teams... Let's play." The group all kinda agreed to it. "Jondy's a captain," Faith said, "since she came up with the idea." "Ok, who's second captain?" Jondy asked. "I'll be second captain," Zane said. "Where are we gonna play?" Krit asked. "There's a huge field down the street. And this hotel's far out of the way," Original Cindy said. "So ya'll super people can use your powers and be safe." The group filed out of the room, Kyle grabbed his football and they made their way to the field. When they got to the field, they found it secluded and efficient. "Ok. Syl, count off a hundred yards and mark it some way." Syl took off running. She found it was marked almost exactly a hundred yards with two barrels. She ran back. "Done. The barrels down there are a hundred yards, the pole and the fence over there make it even." "Thanks. Ok, full contact. One rule, whoever breaks a human is in big trouble," Jondy said pointing at the X-5s. "Got it?" A muttered 'yeah' came from the group. "Zane, just to make it fair, we start with non-Manticore first." He nodded. "You pick first." The teams ended up split Jondy, Maxie, Grix, Krit, Faith, Jace, Maxwell, Kyle, Isabel, and Original Cindy versus Zane, Zack, Dax, Alec, Brin, Syl, Liz, Michael, Jessie, and Maria. Zane's team had the ball first. The game was very intense. The "human" players were beginning to get tired. So with the score tied, Zane and Jondy agreed that the next touchdown would win. Jondy's team had the ball on about their own twenty. The teams were in huddles. Maxwell was on Jondy's left, doubled over and breathing hard. "Don't you people ever get tired?" he asked. "Not even sweating," Krit said with a clout on Maxwell's back. "Except for Jondy," Isabel noted. "Not sweating, I'm wet. Nobody's covering my ass so Zack and Zane keep leveling me. The grass is wet, therefore I get wet. But it ends now. This is our last play. What's killing us is Syl. She's the fastest, so Jace and Krit level her. Kyle, my wonderful tight end, you're a blocker now. You, Maxwell, and Grix will form a shield around me. OC and Izzy, run a button hook, run out and turn. You're diversions. The real play is Maxie. Run like fucking hell to our goal, when you get there catch the ball. If Syl's not down she'll catch my girl, no one else has the speed. Run and catch. Got it?" "What about me?" Faith asked. "You? You throw. I'm gonna shuttle it to you and you launch it. If you can handle it, little sis?" "Since when am I little sis? I'm older." "By five minutes, but I'm taller." Krit interjected with a grin. "I'm older and taller than you. Beat that." Jondy and Faith rolled their eyes. "You can handle it?" Jondy asked, ignoring Krit. "I'm on it," Faith said grinning. Everyone nodded and they clapped. They moved to the line of scrimmage. Grix got ready to snap it to Jondy. Jondy coughed, Zane noticed and stood from his crouch. Jondy recovered and called for the ball. Before Syl could take a step Krit and Jace had pinned her to the ground. Zack tried to break through Grix and Kyle, Zane recovered from his moment and made his way towards Jondy. She tossed it to Faith who no one had noticed. Zack broke through and tackled Jondy, Zane on them both in a second. "No mercy, little sis," Zack said, getting up. "No ball, big bro," Jondy replied in a smart tone. Zack looked over to see Faith launch the ball in the air. Maxie stood alone in their end zone. "She's not gonna catch it," Zane said. "Right, a genetically perfect killing machine dropping a perfect pass like that... I see that happening. And after she drops it, I'll be elected king of the world," Kyle said sarcastically as he helped Jondy up. As Kyle had predicted Maxie caught the pass and Jondy's team won. Everyone was full of energy as they returned back to the hotel. Jondy walked way behind everyone. No one really noticed. Except for Zane, who had slowed to walk with Jondy. The group disappeared into the hotel, Jondy wasn't more than ten feet from the field. A cough escaped her lips. "What was that?" he asked. Jondy looked up with a shocked look on her face. "Nothing." "We both know it wasn't nothing." "Well it was, nothing to talk about." He stopped her, his hand on her shoulder. "Why do we keep playing these games?" "You know why." "Yeah and the options you gave me sucked." "Well that's all you get." "Can't I make my own decisions about how I want to handle this?" "No. That's an order." "Pulling rank, that's cute. I'm serious, Jon. I don't want to sit back and watch this happen to you. I'd rather be with you." "You're going to lose me in the end anyway, what does it matter if you're there till then?" "It matters the world to me. It's not fair pushing me away." "Here's a lesson you should have learned long ago, life is not fair. If it was we would have parents, live in neighborhoods like I've read about, there wouldn't have been a Pulse, and we could be together. Life sucks, then you die. Get over it." Zane turned and took a few steps and then came back. "I'm not going to let you push me away. Get that, Jon. I love you too much to let you do that." "If you loved me then you'd stay away." "I should just tell Maxie or Zack what's going on..." "No. Please, I beg you, never tell them. Don't tell anyone, not till..." "You're not being fair, you should tell them. One of them might know how to fix it." "There was one way to fix it. Go back. That was the option. Since Manticore's gone I'd have to find someone who worked there, just as bad as going back. I'm not going back. You saw what they did to Zack, he's struggling to remember things. And look at Brin, she's trying but to her we're still the enemy. And Tinga, she's dead because of them. I would rather die than go back." "Looks like you made that decision already. You're a pathetic commanding officer." "I'm relinquishing command to Krit before he leaves." "At least you've given up that obsession with that old man and the book." Jondy looked towards the hotel. Zane caught the meaning of that. "You told them. It's not real, Jondy. It's called a coincidence. We can't have a destiny, we were created, not born." "We can. Just because you don't want to believe it doesn't mean it's not real." "What I want to believe in is us, and you getting better." "You need to reevaluate your beliefs then." "Shit, you're acting like Ben with his Blue Lady obsession. That turned him into a serial killer." "I still believe in her. I believe in fate," Jondy said. "I'm going to do what I have to do, and don't you try to stop me." "I don't want to stop you. I want to love you." "You already said you do." "Shit, Jon, stop." "No. You." Jondy walked past him and broke into a run. She sprinted the whole way back to the hotel. Zane watched her. "Fuck," he yelled. Once he was calmed a bit, he returned to the hotel. As he entered the room he could feel Jondy's icy stare. Maxie's pager went off. "Anyone know where my pager is?" Maxie asked. Michael found it and tossed it to her. "It's Logan, surprise," Alec said in a smart tone. "Can I use your phone?" Maxie asked him. He handed her the phone and Maxie exited quickly. Without drawing attention to the subject, everyone looked at Zack quickly. He was furious. "You rang, I'm hitting you back. But Logan you know I'm with my family right now." "I'm not Logan," Buffy's voice rang through. "My name's Buffy." "Where is he?" "Where's Faith?" "I don't know who you're talking about." "Like Hell you don't. She's a killer, as you know. I know you're hiding her. So we have a deal?" "What deal?" "Faith for your boy." "No deal." "My friends and I can be very persuasive." Jondy walked up to Maxie. "Oh, can you hold. I'm on someone else's cell and they got a beep. Call waiting is a bitch, isn't it." Maxie put her hand over the phone. "Faith's friend Buffy has Logan. She will release Logan for Faith." "Not happening. You called him back and she picked up. Bitch is at his crib. There's twenty of us. We'll get Logan and not lose Faith. Tell her the deal's on. Exchange it at a safe place that we pick and cover like all hell." Maxie nodded and lifted the phone to her ear. "You still there, Buffy?" She accented the name. "Who was on the other line?" "None of your damn business. Ok, I'll play your game but I choose where we do the exchange." "Fine." "3157 Mercer Street. Meet there at eleven PM." "Deal, no tricks or Wheels dies." Maxie rolled her eyes and hung up. She tossed the phone to Jondy who was already walking into the room. Her personality was already changed to military mode.
Rogue Angel Disclaimer and such see Chapter 1
NOTE: We'll differenciate Max Guevera and Max Evans by calling them Maxie and Maxwell (respectively)... Hopefully it should remove some of the confusion. ***** At the airstrip Jondy didn't turn the car off, but she hopped out and walked away from the car, Maxwell in tow. Damn, this boy is hot, Jondy thought to herself. A bit young but damn. "What's up?" Maxwell asked. "It's not about Liz, is it?" "In a way it is. I know about what you are. Liz told me and your secret is safe, as long as you keep our secret." Maxwell tensed, he didn't know how to take that. "What secret?" With implication to his own. Jondy turned around and lifted her hair, her barcode drew Maxwell's eyes. "This one. You're going to see a lot of them." "What does that mean?" "We were part of a government program to create genetically perfect soldiers. They would take human DNA and animal DNA and combine them, we're the result." Maxwell grinned. "Right, and I'm King Tut." "Not Tut but you are a king and Liz is a genetically programmed killing machine. Do you care for a demonstration?" Maxwell nodded. Jondy took a good ten steps back from Maxwell. "Ready?" "Yeah." "Ok," Jondy said. She blurred and she was now in front of Maxwell. He had barely seen her move. He was in complete shock. "Why doesn't Liz have one of those tattoo things?" "Because she gets the barcode removed every fifteen days. It's a very painful procedure. Most of us don't do it and just hide it, but she did a lot to be normal." "How many of you are there?" "You'll meet somewhere between ten and twelve. But there are many of us. We're the fifth generation and there are at least nine. The facility that created us burnt down while back. Some of the younger ones were killed by the government and all of us are on the run. They test on us, we're feared... Much like you would be if you were discovered, I believe." "You're going out on a limb to let us come here." "Yes, especially since I'm the Commanding Officer of the group that is present." "You're a Commanding Officer? You're barely my age." "A bit older actually. Still, by the age of six, we could kill a grown man with him being armed and us not." Maxwell nodded. "Your secret's safe. I'll tell the others not to tell. Except for Jesse." "Who's that?" "He's the one with darker skin." "Wearing a white shirt?" "Yeah, I think so. How did you know?" "He's standing on this side of the car." Maxwell looked over, they were too far away for him to see. "I'll take your word for it." "Why won't you tell him?" "He doesn't even know our secret." "Well, I'd suggest you break it to him nicely because he's going to find out about us and probably about you too." Maxwell quieted for a second. "It'll be taken care of." Jondy stuck her hand out and Maxwell shook it. "I've got your back now. You ever need a hand and Liz can't cover it for you, I will." "You coming?" a voice yelled from the car. "That'd be Michael," Maxwell said. "Is he your hot head?" Maxwell smiled. "I've got two. Him and Isabel. They're like me." Jondy smiled at the meaning. "Good to know. As a warning, my hot heads are Zack, Brin, Faith, Dax, and sometimes me. You know what, scratch that... We're all hot heads." "We better head back," Maxwell said with a grin, Jondy wasn't half as evil as Maria had warned him. She was very protective of her group, as he was. He and Jondy were on the same page in that aspect. They returned to the car and Maxwell quickly introduced his companions and Jondy. Upon seeing Jondy, Maria didn't feel threatened by her. About five minutes on the road, Jesse leaned forward. "What exactly do you do?" "I'm a bartender mostly." She looked to Maxwell. Maxwell reached back and put his hand on Isabel's leg. She felt him try to make a connection, she let him. In her mind's eye she saw him standing in his usual worried pose. "What?" Isabel asked. "You have to tell Jesse the truth." "I thought you didn't want him to know," she retorted. "A lot of secrets are going to be shared and it'd be best if he heard the truth from you now instead of in a side conversation." "A what?" "Jondy and her family know about us." "How?" "Liz... But Liz has an equally deep secret. You tell Jesse our secret and Jondy will tell her family's." "I don't like this." "I don't either but you gain trust by giving trust. You do or I will." "Fine." She shoved his hand off of her leg and broke the connection. She took a deep breath. "Jesse, honey, there's something I have to tell you." Jondy pulled the car over. "What?" Jesse asked. He saw shock on a few faces and understanding on Jondy's and Maxwell's. "I can't think of an easy way to say this--" she began but Michael interrupted. "Then don't." "I have to. We're not from around here," Isabel said. "Where are you from?" Jesse asked skeptically. Isabel pointed up. "Canada?" he asked. She lifted her hand higher. "I don't understand," Jesse said. "You love me, right?" "Yes, of course I do." "Then promise me, what you hear now you'll never tell a soul." "I promise." "Even my Dad." Jesse took a deep breath. "I swear. You can tell me anything." "Maxwell, Michael, and I have otherworldly origins." Jesse laughed. "Right." Maxwell made his hand glow. "Our ship crashed in the Roswell Crash in the 1940's. We woke from hibernation pods after the Pulse." Jesse looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "And you never told me this? Am I the only person who doesn't know?" "Pretty much," Jondy said, "And that's not all." "What? You're an alien too?" Jesse asked in near hysterics. "No... The group that you're going to meet tonight is made up of mostly my kind." "What is your kind?" Michael asked. "Genetically engineered killing machines created by the United States government. Most of us you'll meet escaped a few months before the Pulse, in short." The car grew silent. Maxwell broke the silence. "They have as much to lose as we do. Jondy's putting her family in danger so we can be here." "Liz is one of your kind?" Maria asked. Jondy nodded. "Well Liz is coming back, so what does it matter?" Maria demanded. Jondy did not say anything. "She's not coming back?" Maria asked in realization. "Ask her. I can't speak for her. But everyone in this car has something to lose by telling either secret. If you tell anyone about aliens, Jesse, then you lose Isabel. If anyone tells about my family, Liz will be killed. The people looking for us are not looking for a test subject, they're looking to wipe Transgenics off the face of the Earth, to erase the evidence of their test subjects. Do I have your oath of silence?" "You have mine," Maxwell said. "Mine too," Kyle said from the back, speaking for the first time. "Mine," Isabel said. "Even though I think you're a bitch, I won't tell," Maria said. "I don't like this," Michael said. "But if Maxwell and Izzy are in, then count me too." "What about it Jesse?" Maxwell asked. "I won't tell a soul," he said looking at Isabel. "About either subject." "Good. I didn't feel like killing anyone tonight," Jondy said with a grin. "Oh, Bull shit," Maria said. Before Maria could blink she felt two slaps on her leg and a soft pat on her face. She looked at Jondy, she didn't move. She met Jondy's eyes. Jondy raised an eyebrow and grinned. Maria clenched her teeth. Jondy turned around and drove back to the hotel. She helped everyone unload and then she returned the car. When she came back, the group was barely ten feet from where they had started. "Um. Where are we supposed to go?" Isabel asked. Jondy grinned. "Sorry. You can put your stuff in my room till we figure out where everyone's going." Everyone picked up their bags. Maria had trouble lifting hers. "Can I help?" Jondy asked. "Yeah," Maria replied after noticing it was a sincere offer. Jondy lifted the bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Shit, did you pack the whole town of Roswell in here?" "Close," Michael said. "Maxwell, Jesse, Kyle, and I all had to load it in the car on the way to airport." Jondy lead them to her room. They put their stuff in there and then she went to Zack's room. The same group was in there, along with all the other X-5s and Original Cindy. Jondy walked into the room, after signaling the others to wait. "I thought you were gonna sleep," Faith said as she noticed Jondy. "I couldn't. I got a call. Liz, you can do the explaining." Maxwell stepped out from behind the corner. "Stand down," Jondy ordered. Maxwell hardly noticed everyone tense. He made room for the others to come out. Liz was up and running to him instantaneously. They kissed. Jondy caught Zane's glance as Maxwell and Liz kissed. "I would like to know who they are," Zack said in a very rude voice. "And what they are doing here." "They're Liz's friends. I gave the ok," Jondy said. "And they know about us." Everyone, minus the four girls who were there first, started talking at once. Maxwell lifted his hand and it was glowing. Everyone silenced. Liz spoke up. "This is Maxwell. He's my boyfriend." "What's with the glowy hand thing?" Alec asked. Shit he looks like Ben, Jondy thought. And damn, look at Faith. She digs the boy. "Me, my sister Isabel, and our friend Michael are from another planet," Maxwell said. He was quite surprised at how well the group took it. "Ok, I'll do introductions," Jondy said. "Starting from the door, that's Jesse, Isabel, Kyle, Maria, Michael, Maxwell, Liz, Me. Ok, from the wall. Zane, Krit, Grix, Dax, Jace, Brin, Alec, Faith, Maxie, Zack, Original Cindy. Damn, am I good?" Jondy said in a grin. Dax, a very black man, threw a pillow at her. "So humble too." The Roswell group began to mingle. The sun was soon up and bright in the sky, everyone was still wide awake. Kyle, Grix, and Jondy got into a conversation about football for God only knows why. Then the idea struck. "Who wants to play football?" Jondy asked the group. She counted the group quickly, "We've got even teams... Let's play." The group all kinda agreed to it. "Jondy's a captain," Faith said, "since she came up with the idea." "Ok, who's second captain?" Jondy asked. "I'll be second captain," Zane said. "Where are we gonna play?" Krit asked. "There's a huge field down the street. And this hotel's far out of the way," Original Cindy said. "So ya'll super people can use your powers and be safe." The group filed out of the room, Kyle grabbed his football and they made their way to the field. When they got to the field, they found it secluded and efficient. "Ok. Syl, count off a hundred yards and mark it some way." Syl took off running. She found it was marked almost exactly a hundred yards with two barrels. She ran back. "Done. The barrels down there are a hundred yards, the pole and the fence over there make it even." "Thanks. Ok, full contact. One rule, whoever breaks a human is in big trouble," Jondy said pointing at the X-5s. "Got it?" A muttered 'yeah' came from the group. "Zane, just to make it fair, we start with non-Manticore first." He nodded. "You pick first." The teams ended up split Jondy, Maxie, Grix, Krit, Faith, Jace, Maxwell, Kyle, Isabel, and Original Cindy versus Zane, Zack, Dax, Alec, Brin, Syl, Liz, Michael, Jessie, and Maria. Zane's team had the ball first. The game was very intense. The "human" players were beginning to get tired. So with the score tied, Zane and Jondy agreed that the next touchdown would win. Jondy's team had the ball on about their own twenty. The teams were in huddles. Maxwell was on Jondy's left, doubled over and breathing hard. "Don't you people ever get tired?" he asked. "Not even sweating," Krit said with a clout on Maxwell's back. "Except for Jondy," Isabel noted. "Not sweating, I'm wet. Nobody's covering my ass so Zack and Zane keep leveling me. The grass is wet, therefore I get wet. But it ends now. This is our last play. What's killing us is Syl. She's the fastest, so Jace and Krit level her. Kyle, my wonderful tight end, you're a blocker now. You, Maxwell, and Grix will form a shield around me. OC and Izzy, run a button hook, run out and turn. You're diversions. The real play is Maxie. Run like fucking hell to our goal, when you get there catch the ball. If Syl's not down she'll catch my girl, no one else has the speed. Run and catch. Got it?" "What about me?" Faith asked. "You? You throw. I'm gonna shuttle it to you and you launch it. If you can handle it, little sis?" "Since when am I little sis? I'm older." "By five minutes, but I'm taller." Krit interjected with a grin. "I'm older and taller than you. Beat that." Jondy and Faith rolled their eyes. "You can handle it?" Jondy asked, ignoring Krit. "I'm on it," Faith said grinning. Everyone nodded and they clapped. They moved to the line of scrimmage. Grix got ready to snap it to Jondy. Jondy coughed, Zane noticed and stood from his crouch. Jondy recovered and called for the ball. Before Syl could take a step Krit and Jace had pinned her to the ground. Zack tried to break through Grix and Kyle, Zane recovered from his moment and made his way towards Jondy. She tossed it to Faith who no one had noticed. Zack broke through and tackled Jondy, Zane on them both in a second. "No mercy, little sis," Zack said, getting up. "No ball, big bro," Jondy replied in a smart tone. Zack looked over to see Faith launch the ball in the air. Maxie stood alone in their end zone. "She's not gonna catch it," Zane said. "Right, a genetically perfect killing machine dropping a perfect pass like that... I see that happening. And after she drops it, I'll be elected king of the world," Kyle said sarcastically as he helped Jondy up. As Kyle had predicted Maxie caught the pass and Jondy's team won. Everyone was full of energy as they returned back to the hotel. Jondy walked way behind everyone. No one really noticed. Except for Zane, who had slowed to walk with Jondy. The group disappeared into the hotel, Jondy wasn't more than ten feet from the field. A cough escaped her lips. "What was that?" he asked. Jondy looked up with a shocked look on her face. "Nothing." "We both know it wasn't nothing." "Well it was, nothing to talk about." He stopped her, his hand on her shoulder. "Why do we keep playing these games?" "You know why." "Yeah and the options you gave me sucked." "Well that's all you get." "Can't I make my own decisions about how I want to handle this?" "No. That's an order." "Pulling rank, that's cute. I'm serious, Jon. I don't want to sit back and watch this happen to you. I'd rather be with you." "You're going to lose me in the end anyway, what does it matter if you're there till then?" "It matters the world to me. It's not fair pushing me away." "Here's a lesson you should have learned long ago, life is not fair. If it was we would have parents, live in neighborhoods like I've read about, there wouldn't have been a Pulse, and we could be together. Life sucks, then you die. Get over it." Zane turned and took a few steps and then came back. "I'm not going to let you push me away. Get that, Jon. I love you too much to let you do that." "If you loved me then you'd stay away." "I should just tell Maxie or Zack what's going on..." "No. Please, I beg you, never tell them. Don't tell anyone, not till..." "You're not being fair, you should tell them. One of them might know how to fix it." "There was one way to fix it. Go back. That was the option. Since Manticore's gone I'd have to find someone who worked there, just as bad as going back. I'm not going back. You saw what they did to Zack, he's struggling to remember things. And look at Brin, she's trying but to her we're still the enemy. And Tinga, she's dead because of them. I would rather die than go back." "Looks like you made that decision already. You're a pathetic commanding officer." "I'm relinquishing command to Krit before he leaves." "At least you've given up that obsession with that old man and the book." Jondy looked towards the hotel. Zane caught the meaning of that. "You told them. It's not real, Jondy. It's called a coincidence. We can't have a destiny, we were created, not born." "We can. Just because you don't want to believe it doesn't mean it's not real." "What I want to believe in is us, and you getting better." "You need to reevaluate your beliefs then." "Shit, you're acting like Ben with his Blue Lady obsession. That turned him into a serial killer." "I still believe in her. I believe in fate," Jondy said. "I'm going to do what I have to do, and don't you try to stop me." "I don't want to stop you. I want to love you." "You already said you do." "Shit, Jon, stop." "No. You." Jondy walked past him and broke into a run. She sprinted the whole way back to the hotel. Zane watched her. "Fuck," he yelled. Once he was calmed a bit, he returned to the hotel. As he entered the room he could feel Jondy's icy stare. Maxie's pager went off. "Anyone know where my pager is?" Maxie asked. Michael found it and tossed it to her. "It's Logan, surprise," Alec said in a smart tone. "Can I use your phone?" Maxie asked him. He handed her the phone and Maxie exited quickly. Without drawing attention to the subject, everyone looked at Zack quickly. He was furious. "You rang, I'm hitting you back. But Logan you know I'm with my family right now." "I'm not Logan," Buffy's voice rang through. "My name's Buffy." "Where is he?" "Where's Faith?" "I don't know who you're talking about." "Like Hell you don't. She's a killer, as you know. I know you're hiding her. So we have a deal?" "What deal?" "Faith for your boy." "No deal." "My friends and I can be very persuasive." Jondy walked up to Maxie. "Oh, can you hold. I'm on someone else's cell and they got a beep. Call waiting is a bitch, isn't it." Maxie put her hand over the phone. "Faith's friend Buffy has Logan. She will release Logan for Faith." "Not happening. You called him back and she picked up. Bitch is at his crib. There's twenty of us. We'll get Logan and not lose Faith. Tell her the deal's on. Exchange it at a safe place that we pick and cover like all hell." Maxie nodded and lifted the phone to her ear. "You still there, Buffy?" She accented the name. "Who was on the other line?" "None of your damn business. Ok, I'll play your game but I choose where we do the exchange." "Fine." "3157 Mercer Street. Meet there at eleven PM." "Deal, no tricks or Wheels dies." Maxie rolled her eyes and hung up. She tossed the phone to Jondy who was already walking into the room. Her personality was already changed to military mode.