HIGH SCHOOL MISSIONS
Chapter 9
PREVIOUSLY ON HIGH SCHOOL MISSIONS
*** "There is a problem. One of my sources called and said that his sister's daughter was thrown out of school for no apparent reason. The school is run by Manticore people."
"So, what do we do?" Alec asked.
"We go in, undercover. Figure out how are they doing it and stop them from doing it again" Logan proposed.
*** "About the two new students, we have no available rooms sir." Stuart said.
Mr. Smith stood up "What about apartments?"
"Noting within a ten miles radius."
"They can stay with me!" Logan offered.
*** "Maxine Jane Bewer? Alecsander Cage? This way please! I'm Stuart Young, everyone calls me Stuart. I work at the school"
"Doing what?" Alec asked him.
"Oh lots of stuff, I'm everywhere you know?"
*** Alec could hear a small sound coming from somewhere in the room, he looked around, using his enhanced view, until he discovered a hidden camera on a corner of the room on top of a shelve and a bug on the light fixture.
Max shoveled the napkin in Logan's direction. It said, "Might be watching and listening."
***
"MJ?" Max asked Alec.
"It was all I could come up with so suddenly. Besides, I like it."
Max considered it "I sort of like it too but why not just Max?"
Alec shrugged, "what if they know about your name?"
Max nodded, it seemed reasonable.
*** "I take it you're the new student?" The lab teacher asked.
"Yeah, I'm MJ."
"Ok MJ, my name is Alfred Russell.
*** Alec smiled, that girl was definitely one of the 'popular ones' he was supposed to interact with. She had been playing with her blonde hair and looking at her reflection on a small mirror for the whole class.
"Nikki, could you please hand this sheets out?" The math teacher asked the self centered blonde.
"Sure Mr. Watson"
*** "I'm Luke."
"MJ" Max shook his hand.
"Pleasure. Now, let's see... what's your next class?"
"Lit. With Mr. Meisher." Max told him.
*** Max closed the orange door and stared at the girl. "How do you know so much about us? I didn't even tell you my locker number!"
Dakareth laughed "I, like every other person in this school by this time,know your name, address, locker number and schedule. The only thing left to find out is the amount of zeros on you account... give the hackers some time, we'll have it by tomorrow. You must be confused but don't worry about it MJ, that's just the way this school is... everyone is curious about everything, hard to keep secrets... unless you are elite and you have access to every piece of information and every rumor before it spreads, that way you can control communications. That my friend, is what makes people important. Don't you ever forget that."
*** Dak took Max by the arm and started pointing to the guys and girls sitting around the table.
"Ok, that's Luke, Melissa, Sean and Stephanie. You know them already Max. And that's Nikki, Iker and Leo. Alecsander you know them..."
"Please, call me Alec." He smiled at the girls sitting around the table, they where all extremely beautiful.
"Ok, Alec. The ones you don't know are Ashley, Amanda Dave and Dade."
"See that small group over there? They are our hackers. On that table to their left we have the geeks"
"They are the math and astronomy club. They can multiply amazing numbers in their heads." Dave explained.
"On our left we have the chess club and on our right we have the girls table." Dak pointed to a small group of five girls wearing their hair in pigtails tied with ribbons, their skirts were short, they wore knee high socks and had on very light makeup, their nails where painted pink.
"They seem cute." Alec commented. Dak smiled "They are... they are five of the youngest students here, really sweet kids, everyone likes them."
*** "My name is Mrs. Crick and I'm your gym teacher. For the past month we've been learning self defense."
She made a hand signal and Dak and Iker propelled themselves forward, Iker wrapped his arm around Alec's throat and Dak did the same with Max.
Neither transgenic saw that coming, they didn't have time to control their reaction. Alec flipped Iker over his shoulder effortlessly and Iker landed hard on the mats. Max did the same with Dak, only she managed to land on her feet.
*** "Maybe we should tell you the school rules. You are not allowed to date your roommate or housemate, if they find out you're dating someone on your own building you will be relocated. The teachers like to leave optional work, you know for extra credits? But most of it is really hard, mostly the geeks are the ones who do that"
"Every Friday we get a flu shot, we never get sick and no one misses school. They have been doing it for a year or so."
"As for the group rules, we take small tests every week."
"Tests? What kind of tests?" Max asked.
"We have a hat, we call it the magic hat. Someone, anonymously, comes here every week and drops 12 pieces of paper into it. If you have an idea then you may write it down and drop it in too." Ashley told them.
*** "Karaoke singing." Stephanie told them.
"Skinny dipping at the lake." Dade said.
Dak frowned at hers "Riding every ride at Six Flags"
*** "The initiation is not easy. It's designed to test your abilities and get rid of your inhibitions If you do join we will become your family, that's what the dares are for too, they help get rid of inhibitions and make you stronger."
"Alec, your mission is to seduce this girl. You will sleep with her, get to her computer and download the files named GC, OPC and AVF."
"And what happens with the girl afterwards?"
"Nothing, you tell her it was a one night thing, that you have a reputation to keep or what ever."
"MJ, you are going to strip.There's a popular strip club nearby, we need to know who goes in and out. You have to apply for a job there, go in, place a camera and then just do your work."
"If both your missions are successfully then you will tag along to every dare we have to do for this week. The final phase of your initiation will take place Saturday night. We'll tell you what it is once the time comes."
*** Alec sighed "Some of the missions back at Manticore were pretty much what I have to do now, go in, have sex with the target, obtain information and get out. They did that Max, and we needed to be comfortable with it. We had training on seducing targets, we had lovers skills, the works. Why do you think I didn't even complain when we where paired off? I was used to it Max."
*** "Something's off with the music." Alec said.
"Excuse me?" Logan asked.
"The music, on the classrooms? You know Mozart? There's something wrong with it, a little sound or something. It might be nothing, maybe the sound system is just old."
"Or maybe it's some kind of subliminal message."
*** "It's so obvious! I can't believe we didn't notice this before!" Alec sat back down "Geeks? Intelligence, Chess club? Strategists, Astronomy club?"
"Recon" Max filled in for him "Or maybe just scientist"
"What about the cute girls?" She wondered.
Max and Alec glanced at each other "Oh my god."
"What?" Logan asked.
"Psy ops" They said together.
"What about the elite?"
Max thought about it for a moment "Oh shit!"
"What?"
"They are COs!"
*** "I couldn't sleep so I tried hacking into the school's security system, you know, cameras and records and stuff. Well it turns out that it's way too tight, firewalls and codes everywhere! It's going to take some time." *** Ashley offered Max a cup of coffee and she took it. She offered one to Dak to but the pretty brunet shook her head.
*** Iker handed him a small package, Alec opened it slowly, trying not to make any noise.
It was a pill
"Sorry, I don't do drugs." Alec handed the pill back to Iker.
"Me neither, it's a caffeine pill Alec! It'll help you concentrate!"
Alec took the pill back and sighed. He really was tired and his muscles ached a little, and if it was what Iker said then what harm could it do? Not that it would harm him anyway, he was immune to drugs.
He took a deep breath and plopped the pill into his mouth.
*** A boy slowly walked up to her and sat on the seat she was saving. Max recognized him as one of the geeks
"Hey, excuse me, could you sit somewhere else? I was kind of hoping to sit next to someone." Max whispered sweetly.
"Hum... sure!" The guy stood up quickly and grabbed his bag. He started to walk away but changed his mind and turned around to face Max "My name is Tom by the..."
"Alec!" Max called to him, he had just walked in but hadn't seen her because Tom was blocking his view.
Tom stared at Alec for a moment, there was an expression on his face that Max couldn't read, but she wasn't really paying attention.
*** Logan smiled at Sasha, an idea crossing through his head "You know, I think I brought one of the projects with me, want to give it a shot?"
The girl's face brightened "Oh I would love to! I'm done with this anyway! What is it about?"
"It's very difficult though, are you sure you want it?"
The girl nodded enthusiastically
"It's about finding a cure for a virus..."
*** Max opened her eyes slowly and gasped "Alec she's beautiful!"
Alec stood proudly besides the black convertible BMW that he and Max had seen the night before. *** Max's scream was deafening, she was sweating and sobbing and screaming "NO! NO! NO!" Alec was trying to shake her awake gently but she wasn't responding.
Logan thundered down the stairs and frowned when he saw Max "What's going on?"
"She's having a nightmare and I can't wake her up!" Alec yelled at him over Max's screams. *** Alec groaned in frustration "You want to know what goes on in my nightmares? Fine! Basically Rachel just looks at me and tells me that she hates me, that I killed her, that it's all my fault, that I'm a freak, a monster, a killer, a beast, that I have no soul, that she never loved me, that no one ever will..." *** "Alec?" Dak frowned.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked, how are things going with Kat? Do you think you will be able to get her tonight?"
Alec nodded "Sure, no problem." *** "Alec! What happened?" Dak asked him.
Alec tossed her a disk and smirked "Nothing, I hope that's everything you wanted to know." *** "Take it off sugar!" One of the men close to her yelled.
"Yeah, let us see you!" Another one followed.
Max took a deep breath and unhooked her bra. *** Max bit her lip "Alec, I'm fine. Sure I'm a little shaken but you should be feeling much worse than I am!" " I didn't sleep with her."
*** "What's going on? I heard a thump." Logan walked down the stairs.
"You heard a thump? Where were you? Camping by our door?" Max snapped. *** Kat backed away slowly "Oh..."
"Kat I..."
"No, don't say anything! You're elite, I'm just a hacker. I should have known better."
"No Kat wait! I wasn't..."
Dak placed a hand on his arm "Let her go."
Alec nodded. He stood there and watched Kat run away. *** "Guys, we need a copy of whatever they play on those loudspeakers."
"Why?" Max asked Logan
"I think they are brainwashing us."
********************************************** ********************************************** ********************************************** **********************************************
DARES
*To Crash. Happy Valentine's day honey.*
_______________________________________________
"Shh..." Alec sat up quickly and closed his eyes.
Max and Logan stared at him.
"Logan, can you play that backwards and a little bit slower."
"Sure" Logan typed away and then hit play.
A strong manly voice could be heard clearly.
MISSION DUTY DISCIPLINE MISSION DUTY DISCIPLINE MISSION DUTY DISCIPLINE...
________________________________________________
Max stared at the screen, her mouth hanging open. "How come we didn't see this before?"
"Max, it's backwards and slow. There's no way anyone could have seen that coming, not even you two" Logan rubbed his temple and leaned back on his chair.
"Yeah but still, what does this mean? We're slowly being brainwashed?" Max sat down on the desk and turned to Alec "What do you think?"
"Turn it off" Alec whispered.
"Hold on, we should record this. Put it somewhere safe." Logan typed away.
"Turn it off." Alec whispered again.
Max frowned "Alec..."
"TURN IT OFF!" Alec stood up. He grabbed an ashtray from the coffee table and threw it at the computer. It slammed against the monitor, shattering into a million pieces that flew in every direction. Logan ducked under the desk in time to avoid the pieces and Max jumped as far away as she could but a piece of glass managed to embroil itself on her left hand.
"Shit! Alec!" She screamed.
Alec stood there, frozen in place. He mumbled something that sounded like an apology and flew down the stairs. Max could hear the bathroom door slamming closed behind him.
Logan went to the kitchen to get a cloth to stop the blood oozing out of Max's hand. He was about to hand it to her when she stepped back "Don't come any closer Logan, my blood is everywhere."
Logan looked down at the splashes of Max's blood and at his bare feet.
"Go upstairs and put on some shoes. I'll get Alec to clean up this mess." Max held up her good hand and Logan tossed the cloth at her. She tried to take the piece of glass out but couldn't.
"Go to Alec, he'll help you get it out." Logan told her.
Max nodded "What the hell was he thinking?"
Logan shrugged "The tape must have upset him. Go easy on him Max, I don't think he did that on purpose."
Max ignored Logan's comment, she thundered down the stairs thinking about kicking Alec's ass.
She kicked the bathroom door opened and what she saw made her heart wrench. Alec was kneeling down next to the toilet, his hair hung loosely over his sweaty forehead.
"Are you ok?" Max asked him.
Alec stood up and walked over to the sink to rinse his mouth "I'm always ok Max" He smiled at her weakly once he was done. He tried to walk by her but she stopped him by placing her good hand on his chest.
They both looked down at where her blood soaked hand was touching him. Alec glanced from her good hand to her injured one and sighed "God Max, let me take a look at that"
Max sat down on the edge of the bathtub and watched as Alec grabbed some cotton and bandages from the cabinet.
He took her hand and cleaned it with alcohol before taking the piece of glass between his fingers and pulling. Max gripped his shoulder and tried to swallow her pain filled moan.
"Max I'm so sorry." Alec apologized while he worked.
"What happened? What made you do that?" Max wanted to know.
"Bad memories. I had a rotten childhood you know?" Alec tried to crack a joke but his tone lacked it's usual sarcasm.
Max reached out with her uninjured hand and brushed a piece of hair away from his face.
"Reindocrination? Psy ops?"
Alec sighed "Both"
Max nodded. She watched as Alec wrapped her hand up on a bandage.
"All done!" Alec tried to stand up but Max held on to his hand.
"Tell me about her."
Alec frowned "About her?" He repeated the question.
"Rachel"
Alec shook Max's hand away and stood up "There's nothing to tell Max."
"Yes there is! It's still troubling you! Talking about it might make things better."
Alec spun around to face her "We've been through this Max, I don't want your pity."
Max followed him out the door and grabbed his arm, turning him around to face her once more "And you're not getting any."
Alec groaned "What do you want me to say Max? She was my job ok? She was an innocent who got caught in the line of fire and went down because of me. That's all there is to tell."
Max shook her head, her voice softening "They wouldn't have tortured you the way they did if that was all there is to know."
Alec stared at his feet, his face softening as Max's voice had just moments ago. He looked like a lost little boy and all Max wanted to do was walk up to him and wrap her arms around him but she didn't, she didn't want him to feel like she was doing it because she felt sorry for him.
"You loved her" Max whispered "She died, that's not something you can just get over."
Alec shook his head "I didn't love her Max, I'm a soldier! Soldiers don't fall in love with their targets"
Max walked up to him then and placed a hand on his shoulder "You are just human Alec. Well... maybe not JUST human but mostly human. You have a right to love and to be loved. She loved you too you know?"
Alec could feel his training slipping away. He wanted to believe Max's words, he wanted to believe that he was capable of love.
"She was the most amazing girl I had ever seen in my life. So innocent, so full of life. She made me feel... different. I was sent to kill her, I told her she was my job..."
Max saw the wetness on his eyes "You didn't kill her Alec."
"I did! If I had said something sooner, I should have fought them Max. She didn't deserve to die." He tried to blink away the tears with little success.
Max shook her head "You did everything you could Alec."
"I planted the charges, I was the one who made her go after her father!"
"Yes but you did not kill her! If you had then you wouldn't have ended up in Psy ops of it!" Max's voice was soft but at the same time a little harsh.
Alec took a deep breath "She's still dead Max."
"She's in a better place than we are Alec, she's safe now."
Alec said nothing, he sat down on his bed, his eyes still on the floor.
Max sat down next to him "What happened afterwards?"
"They took me in, they tortured me. The locked me in a tiny room with no food or water, the only thing I could hear was that deep voice repeating over and over again 'Mission, Duty, Discipline...'" Alec took a deep breath "I'm sorry I exploded the way I did."
Max shrugged "It happens to the best of us."
Alec shook his head "Once they decided I was capable of going out on missions again they sent me on a 'Valentine Mission'"
"What's that?" Max asked.
"I had to sleep with my target, then wait until she trusted me and use that against her to take her back to Manticore."
"Manticore wanted an ordinary girl? Why?"
Alec shrugged "She must have been some kind of computer geek or something, I don't know. She was just a couple of years older than Rachel but you'd never know by looking at her body, she was tiny and seemed delicate but she wasn't, she was a tough girl and her eyes... her eyes seemed so old..."
Max wondered why he was telling her all this and then she knew "When I was about to have sex with that girl all I could think about was Rachel and how much I wished I could be making love to her instead of just some stranger. I couldn't go through with it. My target identified with me quicker than anyone was expecting, I got her into Manticore in record time. The doctors were proud of me. One of them told me 'You see son? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' Well that wasn't true, not for me. A part of me died with Rachel, I'll never get that back."
Max sniffed, she wanted to say something but when she saw the wetness on his cheek she found no words for her feelings so she wrapped her arms around him instead.
Alec was a little surprised at first but he needed the contact, he craved it. So he wrapped his arms around Max's waist and buried his face on her shoulder.
Max could feel the wetness of his tears soaking her shirt and she stroked his hair. Then she said, in a voice clouded by her own tears "It's over Alec, she's safe now. Nothing can hurt her now. She died knowing that you loved her. Everything is going to be ok."
They staid like that, their arms wrapped around each other, for what seemed like hours until Alec's tears began to subside. Too tired to even think he let go of Max and laid down on his bed on top of the covers.
Max took off both their shoes before leaning towards him to kiss his forehead.
Alec took her hand in his and pulled her towards him. Max allowed him to pull her on to the bed, she welcomed his arms when they held her close to him and she closed her own eyes, allowing herself to sleep.
That was how Logan found them a few hours later when he went downstairs to check on Max, he bit his lower lip and closed his eyes for a second, then he took a blanket from the closet and covered the two transgenics with it before walking upstairs again, closing the door behind him.
**************
"Sebastian I don't know what else to do! The numbers make no sense." Logan rubbed his temples and stared at the image of his friend on the screen.
"I'll take a look at them for you but I can't promise you anything. If your transgenic friend can't see a pattern then there probably isn't one."
Logan sighed "There's still no explanation for how tired they have been lately. I had never seen Max sleep so much."
"Max is sleeping? I thought she had shark DNA."
"She does! That's what's got me so worried! She has been late for school every single day because she can't wake up. She never used to sleep for more than four hours."
Sebastian staid quiet for a second and then said "Logan, send me a copy of that tape please."
"Sure." He said and sent him a fragment of it.
"Hold on." Sebastian told Logan and he nodded.
"Bingo!" Sebastian said after a few seconds.
"What?"
"Listen to this."
A sound that made nails on a chalkboard sound like a symphony came over the loudspeakers. Logan covered his ears and groaned "Sebastian what is that?"
"That is a sound that increases your ability to retain information. It enhances your memory so to speak."
Logan frowned "Is that even possible?"
"It's experimental and very rare. It's also illegal."
Logan sighed "I can't believe they are using it on kids."
"It can have some serious side effects such as violence. Some brains just can't endure the pressure of that enhancement. That's probably why your transgenic roommates are sleeping so much, their bodies can't keep up."
"Like when Max stuck that chip on her neck, her body was going to burn out."
"This might not be as severe, the sounds might not even be the only thing Manticore is using to enhance the students."
Logan took his glasses off and tossed them at the couch "Thanks Sebastian, I'll keep my eyes open." He terminated the connection and sat back on his chair.
"Who were you talking to?" Alec asked.
Logan jumped up and turned around to face him "Jesus Alec! Don't do that!"
"Sorry." Alec knelt down besides the small spots of Max's dry blood and used a wet cloth to wipe them away.
"I was talking to Sebastian... hey come here for a second." Logan took his glasses from the couch and pulled Alec's collar away from his neck. The lines of his barcode were starting to show again.
"Damn, your barcode is coming back. Max's probably is too."
Alec sighed "I'll look for a tattoo parlor tomorrow. What were you and Sebastian talking about anyway?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow. Just go and get some sleep."
Alec shrugged "Fine. Good night."
"Night."
Logan waited until he heard Alec walk down the stairs to think about Sebastian's words.
:It can have some serious side effects such as violence. Some brains just can't endure the pressure of that enhancement:
He'd have to keep his eyes open, protecting Max was his top priority.
*************
When Max woke up she realized that she was lying by herself in Alec's bed. She sat up and found him sleeping on her bed so she got up, stretched and walked upstairs.
Logan was exercising in the living room.
"Hey Max."
"Good morning."
"Is Alec up yet?"
Max frowned "No, I don't think so."
Logan dropped the weighs and walked over to the kitchen "Can you go get him please? I want to tell you something."
Max shrugged "Sure"
She ran down the stairs and jumped into her bed, landing on top of Alec.
"Omphhhh Max get off!"
Max laughed and rolled off him. "Come on, Logan wants to talk to us."
Alec groaned but followed Max into the kitchen. Logan was making breakfast.
"Have a seat. Oh Max could you hand me that carton of milk please?"
"Sure." Max handed Logan the milk and sat down on a stool next to Alec.
"What is this about Logan?" Alec asked.
Logan sighed "Let me ask you some questions. How many students are in your math class?"
"27" Max and Alec answered at the same time.
"How many black shirts do you own?"
"Fifteen" Answered Max.
Alec raised an eyebrow "Seventeen"
Max frowned "Really?"
"Yeah, I have a black button down shirt that I almost never use..."
"Guys! Focus please." Logan told them. "What's the school's phone number?"
"555-04-21-86-53"
Logan took a deep breath "What number is printed at the bottom of this milk carton?"
"8462859765109987" Both transgenics answered at the same time.
Max turned around to face Alec, her eyes wide open.
"Logan what's going on? We didn't even look at the number."
"You did, for less than a second. They are trying to enhance our memory. That's why you two are so tired all the time, Sebastian thinks your bodies can't handle it too well."
Max rested her head on her arms and sighed "Like the incident with the Reds."
"The what?" Alec frowned.
"Long story, I'll explain later." Max told him.
"Yes, sort of like what the implant did to you only not as aggressive. You might feel kind of funky but you won't die."
"Ok, now I really want to find out about the red thing." Alec said.
Max ignored him "So it won't harm us?"
"Not really, it'll just make you tired. It can be dangerous for other people though, Sebastian said some people become violent."
Max groaned "Great, just what we need. Weird, crazy, VIOLENT kids."
*************
"MJ!" Dakareth ran up to Max and hooked arms with her.
"Hey Dak! What's up? I'm going to be late for homeroom... again."
Dakareth shrugged "Nothing's up, I just wanted to know if you're ready for Saturday."
"Saturday?"
"The dares? Roller coasters? Karaoke? Skinny dipping?"
Max swallowed a groan and smiled sweetly "Oh yeah, right. I'm ready"
Dak stopped Max with her arm and both girls stood still. Dakareth looked around for someone but there was no one there, then her eyes focused on Max's.
"Hey Max! How about a sleepover at your place today?" Ashley popped up out of nowhere, blowing a strand of her curly blonde hair away from her forehead.
"Uh?" Max shook her head.
"That's a great idea! That way we can drive to Six Flags early and get the roller coasters thing done before lunch!" Dak smiled excitedly.
"Oh girls I don't know, Alec might not feel too comfortable with all of us there."
"Well if he doesn't want to be around us gorgeous girls he can stay over at Iker's, I'm sure he won't mind!" Ashley suggested.
"Well..."
"Hey girls, what's going on?" Alec appeared behind Max and handed her a Biology book "You left this in the car." He told her.
"Oh thanks." Max smiled at him and took the book. She noticed that Dak was looking at her in a funny way but didn't say anything.
"So Alec, you don't mind us girls invading your apartment tonight do you?" Ashley asked him.
"You want to have a sleepover in our apartment?" He asked the girls.
"The boy is quick." Dak commented and winked at him.
"Well... sure, if it's ok with Max. I'll ask Mr. Cale if I can crash on his couch."
"You can stay with one of the guys!" Ashley chipped in.
"Oh no, that's ok. I'm sure Mr. Cale won't mind."
"Great! So we'll be there after school!" Dakareth smiled.
"No!" Alec jumped in "I... uh... I have to clean up my mess, I'm really sloppy."
"No big deal! If I can live with Leo's mess I can stand yours for a day." Ashley said.
"Oh I'm sure you don't want to see Alec's Magic Unicorn boxers laying on the floor." Max said "Come by at six, I'll rent some videos and buy some junk food."
The bell rang then and the four of them started running to their respective homerooms.
"Ok, we'll see you at 6 MJ!" Dak yelled.
Max reached her homeroom and was about to go inside when Alec stopped her.
"Alec, I know I shouldn't have said yes but..."
"Magic Unicorn?!" Alec whispered harshly.
Max laughed and turned away from him "I have to go to class." and with that she left him fuming in the hall.
*************
Max sat down near the back of the room and smiled. The classical music coming out of the loudspeakers made her a little uneasy but she knew she had to get used to it.
"Hi." A boy with greasy black hair waved at Max.
"Oh hey! Todd right?"
The boy closed his eyes and lowered his head "Tom."
"Oh yeah!" 'So much for enhancing my memory' She said under her breath.
A strong pair of hands covered her eyes then and she smiled.
"Iker?"
The owner of the hands remained quiet.
"Leo!" Max said but still no answer.
"Hey bro! You left your jacket in the cafeteria you idiot! Hey MJ!" Max heard a voice a few feet away and her smile widened.
"Dade!"
The guy removed his hands and laughed "Close, I'm Dave."
"Hi!" Dave's twin brother Dade sat down on the seat next to Max's.
"I need to find a way of telling you apart."
"It's easy once you get to know us." Dave took the seat in front of Max and took his jacket from his brother.
Max suddenly remembered she had been talking to Tom and turned around to face him but he was reading so she left him alone.
"So MJ, how did you manage to make it here in time today?" Dave asked.
"I bought a new alarm clock." Max lied.
"Ok kids! Settle down and let's get this over with." The teacher clapped twice to get the attention of the class.
"Get what over?" Max asked the twins.
"It's Friday, vaccine day." Dave told her.
"Vaccine day?" Max started to worry when a nurse walked in.
"Yup, against the flu. Someone must have told you about this."
"Oh yeah." Max smiled at them but inside she was panicking.
"Roll up your sleeve darling." The nurse instructed her.
"You know, I hate needles. I think I'll pass."
The nurse smiled and grabbed Max's arm "Don't be ridiculous honey, this won't hurt!"
"It really doesn't hurt. Here, you can squeeze my hand if you want." Dade offered his hand.
Max sighed and took Dade's hand just to make it seem like she really was afraid of needles.
The shot was quick and painless but Max was still worried. If they could enhance their minds with music god knows what they could do in their blood stream.
The bell rang just as the nurse finished the whole class. Max stood up so fast she almost tumbled over on purpose.
"Hey MJ are you ok?" Dade asked.
"Fine! The shot just made me a little dizzy."
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Dave told her.
"Yeah well I'm not feeling so hot right now. I think I'm going to skip math today."
Dade nodded "I'll tell Mr. Watson you're not feeling well."
"Ok, thanks!"
She rushed out of the room and walked towards Alec's homeroom as fast as she could.
*************
Alec met her halfway there, he looked cool, calm and collected but his eyes were moving around wildly, his hurry to find her was clear.
"Alec!" She spotted him first.
"Max! Are you ok?" He whispered.
"I feel fine so far, what about you."
"I feel fine too but we really need to make sure."
"I'm skipping Math." Max told him.
"And I'm skipping French. Now let's go find Logan."
"His room is right down the hall." Max pointed out.
Alec was already walking.
He knocked on Logan's open door. Students were walking in slowly and Logan was sitting on the desk waiting for everyone to settle down. He stood up and walked to the door when he saw Alec and Max standing there.
"Logan, the shots!" Max whispered urgently.
"I know, we can draw some blood and send it to Sebastian when we get home."
"Our bodies might have already absorbed whatever it is that they're giving us by then." Alec pointed out.
"Plus I'm having a slumber party tonight." Max said.
Logan raised an eyebrow "You are?"
"Long story." Max shook her head.
"You must get your barcode removed first." Logan reminded her.
"No sweat, I found a place. We'll go after school." Alec told him.
"Well, maybe you two can find a way to draw some blood right now. Go to the lab and steal some needles if you can find any."
Max nodded "We're skipping first period.
Logan sighed "I wish I could go with you but I'm the teacher."
Max smiled softly "I know."
"Come on Max, let's get out of here before someone finds us in the halls." Alec took her hand and tugged.
Max nodded and waved goodbye at Logan before walking away with Alec.
*************
"Well, I found one syringe." Max held the plunger device up.
Alec was holding two small containers in his hands "Just one?" He frowned.
Max smiled mischievously "What's the matter? Afraid you'll catch something?"
"Well... you've been out in the real world for a lot longer than I have..."
"Yeah but you've been around way more than I've been." Max pointed out.
"Yeah but still... needle sharing?"
"Fine! One of this days when you're bleeding to death and need a transfusion I'll remind you of this moment and get Joshua to give you blood."
Alec's eyes widened "Come on Maxie! You know I'm just kidding! Your blood is perfect! In every sense of the word I might add."
Max rolled her eyes and pulled up her sleeve. Suddenly Alec straightened and quieted Max down with a wave of his hand. Then she heard it too, footsteps.
Both transgenics held their breath until the footsteps moved away.
"We need to find another place to do this." Alec said.
"Where? Girl's bathroom?"
"Girl's bathroom? No way! I'm not going into one of those! Boy's bathroom."
Max rolled her eyes. "Alec you are so immature."
"I'm still not going into a girl's bathroom Max."
She sighed and walked out of the lab.
*************
"Ouch!"
"I'm trying to be gentle here!"
"It's not that! You're stepping on my foot!"
"Oh, sorry."
Alec tried to move away from Max in the tiny space the closed stall provided. She was sitting down on the closed toilet seat and he was standing in front of her.
"This position is too awkward, I can't do it like this."
"Well try! Because I can't be standing up!"
"I can't get it in!"
"Here, I'll spread my legs and you can kneel down ok?" Max tried that but Alec's legs didn't fit in the small space.
"I have an idea, straddle my lap."
Max raised an eyebrow and Alec shrugged "There's no other way, I need the leverage! I have to see what I'm doing or it's really going to hurt."
Max groaned and stood up. They bumped against each other and against the walls of the stall before they could get Alec to sit down. Max straddled his lap, resting her weight against his knees.
"Ok, that's better." Alec told her.
"Let's do this now! I can't hold on for much longer!" Max pointed at her position, it took some effort to keep her balance.
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall off! Now relax so that I can get this thing in."
Max took a deep breath while Alec inserted the needle in her arm.
"Ow that hurt!"
"Oh don't be a sissy." Alec smiled at her.
"Here, let me..." Max tried to take the needle from him.
"No no no no, you stay still and let me do all the work ok?"
Max sighed "Well hurry up! I don't want us to get caught!"
"Yeah yeah. Ok, here we go!" Alec smiled.
Max moaned, she really did hate needles.
"See? All done! I'll just get it out slowly."
Max groaned "Now I'm going to be sore for the rest of the day."
"Oh like you've never done this before!" Alec smiled.
Suddenly the toilet next to theirs flushed and someone hurried out.
Max's eyes widened and locked with Alec's. His shoulders were shaking as if he was trying really hard not to laugh.
When the intruder left Max stood up and leaned against the door of the stall.
"Oh my god. Why didn't we check to see if the stalls were empty? We didn't say any names did we?"
Alec laughed out loud "No, but can you imagine what that guy thought we were doing in here?"
Max smiled "No wonder he staid in there until we finished."
Alec laughed harder "Come on, draw my blood before someone else needs to crap."
*************
"So we'll see you around six?" Melissa asked Max.
"Yeah, I just want to clean up a little." Max smiled.
"Hey MJ, let's go!" Alec yelled from the car.
"Ok, six o'clock!" She called out to the girls and jumped into Alec's convertible.
"So where are you taking me to get this thing removed?"
Alec started the car "A tattoo parlor. They're closed until five p.m."
Max frowned "Why? And how do you know that?"
"Because people have jobs, students have classes and lazy guys get up late. Who's going to get a tattoo at 3:30? A house wife?"
Max raised an eyebrow "Alec, it's 2021! Moms have tattoos! And you didn't answer my second question."
Alec gave her a cocky grin "I have my ways Maxie."
Max grunted and crossed her arms. The rest of the ride was quiet. Finally after 15 minutes of driving Alec parked the car and got out.
The lock was almost an insult for the two gifted transgenics. Alec had it open in 3 seconds flat.
"Come on." He guided Max to the large table on the corner and turned on the laser.
"Why do I always have to go first?" She asked while unbuttoning the top of her shirt so that Alec could pull it down past her neck.
"You're a lady... sort of... and ladies go first."
Max hit his leg, which was the only part of him she could reach while lying on her stomach, and closed her eyes.
"Just do it." She said.
Alec smiled and got to work.
*************
"So I sent the blood samples to Sebastian, he'll get back to me as soon as he can..."
"Alec please pick up your dirty boxers from the floor! The girls are going to be here any minute now!" Max took a bowl of chips to the coffee table and rushed back to the tiny kitchen.
"They are not dirty! They are wet." Alec picked up the boxers along with his wet shirt and pants from the day before.
Logan, who was sitting at the top of the stairs smiled. "Hey teenagers! Focus please?"
Max smiled too "Sorry, this place is a mess! I'm not sure the girls will want us to be elite if they see how messy Alec is. I'm doing this for the mission."
"The mission? Right." Logan's smile broadened.
Alec straightened his and Max's beds and ran upstairs for the broom while Max poured some drinks.
"Pepsi?" Alec asked Max when he got back.
"We're supposed to be 17 Alec." She reminded him.
"Well yeah but still..." Alec shrugged "Alcohol is more fun!"
"Hey, is my neck still red?" Max lifted her hair.
Alec took a peek and shook his head "You're all clear!"
"Good" Max held her curly hair up with a pair of chinese sticks and straightened her tight black shirt.
"Max! If I didn't know you better I'd say you're nervous." Logan said, clearly amused.
"I'm not nervous!"
Someone knocked then and Max took a deep breath.
"Logan!"
"I'm going!" He left the basement and closed the door softly behind him.
"I'm clearing out of here too." Alec told Max.
"No!" Max stopped him. "Can you stay until everyone gets here? I don't want to be alone with one of those girls."
Alec smiled "Sure Maxie."
Max took another deep breath and opened the door.
"Hi there!" She said.
Alec sat down on the couch. 'Max acting like a real teenager. This is going to be interesting.' He thought.
*************
"...so I said, Iker you're a pig." Melissa tossed her straight black hair over her shoulder.
Amanda, who was painting Ashley's nails looked up. "No way! Why did you kiss him then?"
"I did not kiss him! Who told you that?" Melissa squeaked.
Stephanie and Amanda shared a glance "Sean."
"Well Sean is lying. Nothing happened with Iker."
"Then why did you tell me to go sleep in Sean's room?" Nikki smiled mischievously.
"Nikki!" Melissa hissed.
"Oh you bitch! You slept with Iker?" Dakareth laughed.
"I did not!"
"You did too! And I hope Iker is a god in bed because Sean snores! I don't understand how anyone can sleep in the same room as him!" Nikki leaned forward and smiled.
"So, was it good?"
Melissa sighed and looked down at her pink PJ's "It was great."
The rest of the girls squeaked and scrambled closer to her.
"Details Mel! Come on!" Dak prodded.
Max smiled, she felt so relaxed and normal. Sleepovers and teenage sex talks were only a few of the things she had missed while running away from a secret government organization.
"There's nothing to tell! I just drank a little too much."
Amanda snorted "Oh please, we all know how high your metabolism is! I would take a lot to get you drunk!"
"Well I drank a lot!"
Everyone laughed then. Max took a sip of her soda and sat back to enjoy her normal sleepover.
"So MJ, tell us about your black list." Dak smiled.
Max swallowed her Pepsi quickly in an attempt to keep it inside her body instead of spraying it all over the coffee table.
"Excuse me?"
"How many guys have you slept with? You're not a virgin are you?"
Max looked around nervously "Uh, no."
"Hey girls! I've got something for you!" Alec kicked the door open. He was carrying two large pizzas and a video.
Max sighed in relief "Let me help you with that!"
"No that's ok, I'll just put them down on the kitchen table."
Max rushed to his side anyway and took a box from him.
Alec frowned and whispered "I take it this isn't going very well."
"It was going great until a few seconds ago when Dakareth decided to ask me about my sexual history!" Max whispered back.
Alec swallowed a laugh and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. "Well, good luck with that Maxie!" He patted her on the shoulder and raised the cold drink to his lips.
"Well, I'm out for the night. I'll crash on Mr. Cale's couch if you guys need anything." Alec said that last part looking straight at Max. He grabbed his pillow and bedspread and ran up the stairs.
A chorus of "Good night Alec!" followed his retreat.
"So MJ, let's get back to the matter at hand." Melissa smiled.
Max groaned inwardly, how was she supposed to explain her heat cycles to 6 teenage girls without sounding like a whore or giving away her cover?
"Yeah! Bring over the pizza girl!" Ashley laughed.
Max laughed in relief and tossed the movie at them. Stephanie caught it without so much as blinking.
"The Exorcist? Cool!"
"Oh that movie is like 50 years old!" Ashley complained.
Amanda laughed "You're just saying that because it scares the crap out of you!"
Dak got up and dimmed the lights. Then she walked slowly to the kitchen. "Hey MJ, let me help you with the plates."
"That's ok, I've..."
Max frowned, Dakareth had a strange look on her face and it mesmerized her.
"Hey! Are you two going to get here sometime tonight? Because if you're not I'm eat the carpet I swear!" Ashley called.
Max shook her head "What was I saying?"
Dak frowned "I was going to help you with the plates... remember Max?"
"Yeah, I spaced out I guess." Max shook her head again to clear it.
"Are you feeling alright?" Dak asked.
"Fine. Let's eat!" Max gave Dak a fake smile and carried the pizzas to the coffee table.
"Shhhhh, the movie is starting!" Amanda whispered.
"When did you put it on?" Max asked.
"Just now... MJ, are you ok?"
"I'm fine, just fine." Max smiled again and sat down on the couch, resisting the urge to run upstairs to Alec and Logan. She would have to deal with her strange loss of concentration in the morning.
*************
Alec could hear Logan typing away at his computer.
"Aren't you tired?" He asked.
"Not really, I just want to look at this information one more time before going to bed." Logan leaned closer to the screen and typed some more.
Alec sighed "I have to get up early!"
"So go to sleep!" Logan replied.
"Well you're making too much noise! It's past 3 AM!" Alec complained.
"You know, you could always go downstairs and hear the girls talk about menstruation and bikini wax..."
"Good night!" Alec rolled over on the couch and covered his head with his pillow.
Logan's small laugh was the last thing he heard.
A few hours later he woke up for no apparent reason. He checked his watch, it was a little past five.
Alec had a really strange feeling so he walked to the basement door and pressed his ear against the dark wood.
Then he heard it, a small whimper.
He opened the door trying not to make too much noise and walked slowly down the stairs.
Using his night vision he was able to locate 4 girls asleep on sleeping bags all over the floor, two more girls sharing his bed and Max, alone on her bed, moaning softly.
He made his way towards her carefully and sat down on the bed. He ran his hands over the soft skin of her face, wanting her to feel the small pressure of his fingertips and wake up.
That didn't work, the whimpering only got louder so Alec climbed on to the bed next to Max and held her to him.
"Alec?"
"Shhh" He quieted her down softly.
Max opened her eyes and glanced up at him. "Was I screaming?" She mouthed.
Alec shook his head "Just whimpering." He mouthed back.
Max nodded "You can't stay here."
"I know."
Both transgenics staid still for a few moments. Alec leaned forward and kissed her forehead tenderly.
"Try to get some more sleep, you're going to need it."
Max smiled and nodded.
Alec left the basement as quietly as he had arrived and Max closed her eyes again.
A pair of clear green eyes stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before finally fluttering shut, but not until Max's breathing had evened out.
**************
"Raise and shine sleepy head!"
Max groaned and covered her head with a pillow.
"Dakareth, shut up!"
"Can't! It's late! You should be up already!" Dak jumped up and down on Max's bed.
Max groaned again and checked her watch "Dak, it's seven AM!"
"Exactly! Now go take a shower before the rest of the gang gets here! We're going to Six Flags!"
"Ok, ok fine!" Max sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Let me just go wake up Alec first."
Max realized that the rest of the girls were already showered and dressed. They were sitting around the breakfast bar drinking coffee.
Max dragged her tired feet up the stairs and towards the living room where Alec was sleeping. He had one arm under his pillow and the other one over his head.
Max shook his naked shoulders and whispered "Alec, wake up."
He grunted "Piss off Max."
She shook him harder and raised her voice "Come on Alec, it's late."
Alec groaned and grabbed her arms. In one swift move he had her trapped between his body and the couch. "Shut up woman and let me sleep."
Max sighed "We don't have time for this Alec! The guys will be here in twenty minutes and we still have to shower and eat breakfast!"
"We can do that in ten minutes."
"No we can't! We only have one shower!" Max tried to push him off her but his arms on either side of hers made it impossible for her to move much.
"Save water, shower with a friend." Alec mumbled.
"Alec!"
"Hey guys! You two really need to..." Amanda yelped, the noise startled Alec and he tumbled to the floor, hitting his head ungracefully against the coffee table.
"Hum I'll... I'll just..." Amanda opened her mouth as if she was going to say something else but she closed it again and ran down the stairs instead.
"Now look at what you've done! If she tells anyone what she just saw we're screwed!" Max growled at Alec.
He rubbed the back of his head and moaned "Max, I'm in pain here! Show me some sympathy!"
Max shook her head and pushed his neck down so that she could see the back of his head.
"There's no blood so stop whining."
Alec gave her a look "It still hurts!"
"Get over it!" Max told him and thundered down the stairs.
"Hey, is everything ok?" Logan, who was standing at the top of his stairs, asked.
"Bitchin'" Alec answered before following Max.
*************
"Wooooooohooooooo! That was wild!" Leo was jumping up and down like a kid on his birthday.
Nikki laughed "Leo calm down! If the rides don't make you lose your lunch so much jumping certainly will.
Max laughed with Nikki and looked around. They had only gone on one ride but the adrenaline rush had been amazing. She had never been on a roller coaster before that.
'And there are still nine to go' She thought with a smile.
"Hey! Let's buy some souvenirs!" Dak pointed at one of the many stores and grabbed Nikki's hand. Nikki took Max's hand and together the three girls ran to the store.
Dave, Leo and Alec walked calmly behind them rolling their eyes.
The whole park looked as if the pulse had never happened but the store was incredible. It was filled with key chains and fridge magnets and mugs and T- shirts.
Max was checking out some pencils when she felt Alec's presence behind her.
"Having fun?" He asked.
"Oh yeah." Max smiled and turned around.
"I got something for you." Alec whispered and Max noticed his hands were behind his back.
"What?"
Alec smiled and handed her a disposable camera.
"You can take all the pictures and then send the film to Original Cindy. Maybe that way she'll take pity on us and send pictures from home."
Max felt the sudden urge to hug him but instead she gave him a tender smile and said "Thanks Alec."
He shrugged and looked away.
"Hey, what else did you buy?" Max asked him.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Then why are you holding that huge bag?"
Alec smiled mischievously "That's none of your business."
Max rolled her eyes.
"Hey guys look! A sky coaster!" Leo pointed at the dangerous looking attraction and grinned.
"I think the two new kids should go first!"
Alec took Max's hand and whispered "Act scared! This is going to be fun!"
Max held up her new camera "OC will like the view!"
*************
After two ice creams, one cotton candy, a balloon, 9 roller coasters and a ridiculous cartoon drawing of him and Max Alec was ready to leave.
"No!" Max said when he suggested going home to get ready for the next dare.
"Why the hell not?"
"I want a stuffed animal." Max smiled.
Dak groaned "Max, those games are too stupid! They are a waste of money."
Dave shrugged "They are too easy Dak! Come on, I'll win you a teddy bear."
"I can win my own teddy bears thank you very much!" Dak said indignantly.
Alec smiled "What do you want MJ?"
Max pointed at a huge black bear and Alec moaned "You're going to make me carry it all the way back home aren't you?"
Max nodded enthusiastically
"It's my punishment for not telling you what's in the bag isn't it?"
Max nodded again.
"Man, you've got to win the damn thing first! That game is hard!"
Leo had a point. Inserting a tiny ring on the neck of a bottle was hard... for a normal human anyway.
Alec paid two bucks and took the three rings from the guy. He missed his first shot on purpose, making the guys laugh and the girls moan.
He smiled and widened his pupils. He calculated the speed of the wind, the weight of the ring, the force of his arm and the distance between him and the bottles before tossing the ring.
It landed perfectly on the neck of the bottle.
Max squeaked in delight as Alec told the guy which bear he wanted.
He handed it to Max, the bear was almost as tall as she only it was soft and that made it hard to carry.
"Let's toss this thing on the back seat and get going! You two need to get ready for Karaoke!" Dave suggested.
Max sighed. One down, two to go. And it was only going to get harder.
*************
"Guys! Dinner!" Logan yelled from his kitchen.
The two teenagers raced up the stairs and sat down to eat.
"What are we having?" Max asked.
"Pizza."
"Uh? What happen to the culinary miracles?" Alec frowned.
"I spent all day working on those codes." Logan explained.
"Any luck?"
"No. I think you're right Alec, there is no pattern."
Alec shrugged and grabbed a slice of pizza "We'll find something else, plus we'll know more when Sebastian gets back to you on those blood tests."
Logan sighed "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll just have to wait."
The phone rang then and Logan stood up to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Cale? It's Sasha."
Logan frowned "Oh hi. How did you get this number?"
Max raised her eyebrows and Logan mouthed "Student"
"Never mind that. I'm sorry to call you at home but I couldn't wait until Monday..."
"Hey, someone's honking." Alec pointed out.
"Oh my God, what time is it?" Max stood up and grabbed a slice of pizza.
"Late apparently." Alec raced down the stairs.
Max stuffed the pizza into her mouth and waved goodbye to Logan, he waved back and kept talking to Sasha.
"So what is it?"
"I'm almost done with the project."
"You mean the virus I gave you?" Logan held his breath.
"Yes! All I need now is a sample of subject 2's blood so that I can test my theory."
"Subject 2... is that the carrier?"
"No."
"Good. How long will the tests take?"
"About a week, just to be on the safe side."
Logan smiled "I'll get the sample for you today."
***************
"Who the hell is Michelle Branch?" Max stared at her sheet of paper and shook her head.
"Beats me, who the hell is three doors down?" Alec handed her his lyrics and she frowned.
"I really have no idea."
"MJ! What are you waiting for? You're up next!" Melissa whispered urgently as she pushed Max towards the stage.
"What? I've only heard the song once! I really can't carry the tune... Melissa, why don't you go first?"
"Uh... no." Melissa gave Max one final push towards the stage before grabbing Alec's arm and dragging him over to where Sean, Luke and Stephanie where sitting.
Max grabbed the mike one of the guys from the band offered her and closed her eyes.
The music started and she looked at the small TV that displayed the lyrics even though she knew them by heart.
And then she started to sing.
"I wanted to be like you. I wanted everything so I tried to be like you and I got swept away..."
Alec smiled and relaxed on his seat. Her voice was good, really good. Not that he was expecting anything else from Manticore's perfect creature.
Max looked around the room, everyone was staring at her and she was getting nervous.
'Focus on something' She told herself. Her gaze fell on Alec sitting on the first row. He was staring at her with a smile on his face so she locked her eyes with his and kept singing.
"I didn't know that it was so cold and you needed someone to show you the way. So I took your hand and we figured out that when the tide comes I'd take you away."
"Alec you should go backstage. You're up next." Steph whispered.
Alec barely heard her, he was too busy concentrating on Max and her beautiful voice.
"If you want to I can save you, I can take you away from here..."
"Alec, are you listening to me?" Steph whispered more urgently.
"So lonely inside, so busy out there. And all you wanted was somebody who cares..."
"Alec!" Steph tugged his sleeve, finally forcing him to look up.
"Uh?"
"You're up next."
"Oh, right." He shook his head to clear it and rushed backstage. He wanted to be there when Max finished her song.
She walked off the stage calmly but Alec could see a small tremor going through her.
"You ok?" He asked.
"I'd never done that before." She said.
Alec surrounded her with his arms and whispered in her ear "You did great."
"Alecsander Cage?" A guy with a clipboard yelled.
"Your turn." Max smiled against Alec's chest.
"Will you wait for me here?" He asked.
She nodded and leaned against the wall.
Alec took a deep breath and left to face the crowd.
Max staid where she was and just listened to his voice. She noticed that he was a really good singer.
"I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind. I left my body laying somewhere in the sands of time..."
Max walked slowly towards the stage, she staid out of view from the crowd but she was close enough for Alec to see her and he did.
He glanced at her and smiled sadly before singing the chorus of the song, skipping a few lines and therefore forcing the band to change their rhythm to keep up.
"If I go crazy then will you still call me superman. If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand. I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might Kryptonite..."
**************
"Where are we going now?" Alec asked Sean.
"You two are going with Iker, Dave, Amanda and Ashley. Skinny dipping remember?"
"Oh yeah." Alec groaned inwardly. Not that watching Max naked was going to be a problem, it was his reaction to her what concerned him.
After a while Iker picked him and Max up. They drove to the lake in silence.
Amanda, Ashley and Dave where already there when they got there.
"Hey guys! How did the Karaoke go?" Ashley asked.
"It went great." Max answered for both of them.
"Good. Let's get this over shall we?" Amanda had her straight blonde hair up in a pony tail. She took her top off without thinking twice about it. Ashley followed her example and Iker and Dave unbuttoned their pants and pushed them down their legs.
Max glanced at Alec and took a deep breath. Alec turned his back to her in respect and she smiled. She took her top off quickly, her pants and underwear followed.
Max jumped into the lake, grateful for the cloudy night. There was barely any light so the others couldn't really se her. Her pupils quickly adjusted and she smiled at the advantage.
Alec got undressed and followed Max into the lake.
Once the six teenagers were in Alec asked "Great, now what?"
Iker shrugged "Now we play."
Max's eyes went wide as Iker swam towards her.
She shrieked and splashed some water his way.
Iker laughed and splashed back. Soon the war was on and everyone was laughing despite the situation.
Dave, Iker, Amanda and Ashley seemed pretty comfortable and that made Max even more uncomfortable for some reason.
Suddenly Ashley shrieked and swam to the beach quickly.
"Hey Ash, is everything ok?" Dave asked.
"My cell phone is ringing!" She yelled before getting out of the water, her body covered only by the long blonde curls of her hair.
Alec swam towards Max while Ashley answered the phone.
"Having fun?" He whispered.
"What do you think?" She rolled her eyes.
"Hey! I'm having fun!" He smiled and looked down.
Max slapped his shoulder and moved away.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"You were looking!"
"I can't see anything!" Alec argued.
"If I can see then so can you."
Alec smiled cockily "You were looking?"
"What? No!" Max tried hard not to blush.
Alec laughed "You where!"
"No!" Max swam away from him a little more.
"Oh don't lie!" Alec lounged for her and she squeaked.
Suddenly a flash of white light shocked both transgenics. They looked up and saw Ashley holding Max's new camera.
"Why didn't you tell us you had one of this? Cameras are so much fun!"
Max sighed 'That's one picture Original Cindy is never going to get.' She thought.
"That was Dakareth. She said we have completed the dare and we should get back to the house ASAP so that this two can do the last part of their initiation." Ashley pointed at Max and Alec.
"Wait... we're not done with the initiation yet?" Max asked.
"No, you just have to do one more thing. Don't worry though, it's really easy." Dave assured her.
Alec shrugged "Let's go then!"
Max couldn't help the feeling of dread that overcame her.
*************
"So what is the last part of the initiation?" Alec asked. The whole elite was sitting in a circle around a small fire and he was sitting on a log next to Max.
"You two have done great so far but we can't let you be elite unless you do this." Dak said slowly.
"Do what?" Max had been trying to come up with the worst case scenarios for the past half hour but nothing seemed worse than what they had already done... unless they wanted her to kill someone...
"You have to spend the night in the house."
Max looked at the huge abandoned mansion in front of her and frowned. "And..."
Dakareth shrugged "And that's it. We'll lock you in and you have to spend the night in there."
"That's it?" Alec asked incredulously.
"Well... yeah! The house is haunted you know?" Iker pointed out.
Max and Alec glanced at each other and tried to keep a straight face.
"Ok, let's do it!" Max said.
"Great. You two go inside and we'll lock the door. We'll come and get you tomorrow morning."
*************
Logan had given up on the codes and instead tried to concentrate on hacking into the surveillance system but even the great Eyes Only had rough days.
He groaned when yet another "insert password" window popped up.
"This is impossible, I can't tap into a genius's mind!" Logan hit his keyboard in frustration causing the file that Alec had given him called OPC to pop up.
The first combination of letters and numbers made a light bulb go on in Logan's head.
He typed the first seven digits into the password space and hit enter.
The image on the screen changed suddenly to display a list of locations and a big title that read "Off Property Cameras."
"Woah!" Logan leaned back on his chair, there seemed to be a camera for every place where a teenager could possibly hang out. He chose the first location and entered the next seven digits on the list into the password space.
"The coffee place." Logan raised his eyebrows. Even though it was late a few teenagers were still hanging around. The video had no audio but Logan had a feeling that he could find the audio for those images somewhere else.
*************
"So what the hell are we going to do all night?" Max sat down on a dust covered chair.
"Sleep. I'm really tired." Alec stretched and offered his hand to her "Come on, let's go look around. Maybe we'll find a place to crash."
Max took his hand and stood up. She walked ahead of him, exploring the first floor with mild interest.
"Alec, don't you think this is a little strange? The last part of our initiation is to spend a few hours in a 'haunted house.' I thought this kids would know better than to believe in ghosts.
Alec nodded "I think you're right."
Max groaned "Oh god, we were supposed to be home an hour ago! Log..."
Alec pushed Max against a wall and pressed himself against her body. She was so surprised she didn't have a chance to react.
"Alec! What the..."
"There's a camera!" Alec whispered in her ear.
Max lowered her head so that her forehead was resting on his shoulder and asked "Where?"
"Three o'clock but don't stare"
Max looked around the room and she noticed the camera "Shit, do you think they can hear us too?"
"We must assume they can. Now giggle and push me away." Alec whispered against her ear again.
Max did as he told her, she pushed him away in a playful manner and giggled, straightening her clothes and hair before taking a hold of his hand and running up the stairs to explore the second floor.
*************
Logan came across seven cameras on the same location. He opened the first one and realized that it was an abandoned house.
"That's strange, why would there be cameras on an dump like that?" He asked himself and opened the second camera.
What he saw made him drop the glass of milk he was holding. Alec was pressing Max against a wall, he had his arms wrapped around her and instead of pushing him away Max was holding him closer and whispering something in his ear!"
Logan staid frozen as he saw Max push Alec away weakly. He could tell she was laughing by the way her lips moved. Then she took Alec's hand and ran up a flight of stairs, going out of the camera's range.
Even though Logan checked the other five cameras he couldn't find the transgenics anywhere. He spent the rest of the night looking through more files and wondering what they were doing alone in a big old house.
*********************************** *********************************** ***********************************
I'm sorry it took me so long to update! I swear I'll try to do it sooner.
I know you're all wondering about the couple thing so I won't drag it out any longer but before I tell you which couple won I want you all to know that no matter what way you ship I'm pretty sure you'll like the ending of this story (which won't be for quite a few more chapters) If you like the story so far I would suggest you keep reading ;) There will be NO BASHING in this story.
The votes were really one sided. (Thanks to Crash for helping me count. I love you honey!)
And the winner (for over 130 votes) is.
..
.
..
.
MAX/ALEC!!!!!
Thank you all for your votes, M/A will be the final couple on this story (In case you want to know, the ending is already written and that's why I can say that I believe most people will like it.)
Thanks again, I hope I can get the next chapter done soon.
Please be kind and review!
Chapter 9
PREVIOUSLY ON HIGH SCHOOL MISSIONS
*** "There is a problem. One of my sources called and said that his sister's daughter was thrown out of school for no apparent reason. The school is run by Manticore people."
"So, what do we do?" Alec asked.
"We go in, undercover. Figure out how are they doing it and stop them from doing it again" Logan proposed.
*** "About the two new students, we have no available rooms sir." Stuart said.
Mr. Smith stood up "What about apartments?"
"Noting within a ten miles radius."
"They can stay with me!" Logan offered.
*** "Maxine Jane Bewer? Alecsander Cage? This way please! I'm Stuart Young, everyone calls me Stuart. I work at the school"
"Doing what?" Alec asked him.
"Oh lots of stuff, I'm everywhere you know?"
*** Alec could hear a small sound coming from somewhere in the room, he looked around, using his enhanced view, until he discovered a hidden camera on a corner of the room on top of a shelve and a bug on the light fixture.
Max shoveled the napkin in Logan's direction. It said, "Might be watching and listening."
***
"MJ?" Max asked Alec.
"It was all I could come up with so suddenly. Besides, I like it."
Max considered it "I sort of like it too but why not just Max?"
Alec shrugged, "what if they know about your name?"
Max nodded, it seemed reasonable.
*** "I take it you're the new student?" The lab teacher asked.
"Yeah, I'm MJ."
"Ok MJ, my name is Alfred Russell.
*** Alec smiled, that girl was definitely one of the 'popular ones' he was supposed to interact with. She had been playing with her blonde hair and looking at her reflection on a small mirror for the whole class.
"Nikki, could you please hand this sheets out?" The math teacher asked the self centered blonde.
"Sure Mr. Watson"
*** "I'm Luke."
"MJ" Max shook his hand.
"Pleasure. Now, let's see... what's your next class?"
"Lit. With Mr. Meisher." Max told him.
*** Max closed the orange door and stared at the girl. "How do you know so much about us? I didn't even tell you my locker number!"
Dakareth laughed "I, like every other person in this school by this time,know your name, address, locker number and schedule. The only thing left to find out is the amount of zeros on you account... give the hackers some time, we'll have it by tomorrow. You must be confused but don't worry about it MJ, that's just the way this school is... everyone is curious about everything, hard to keep secrets... unless you are elite and you have access to every piece of information and every rumor before it spreads, that way you can control communications. That my friend, is what makes people important. Don't you ever forget that."
*** Dak took Max by the arm and started pointing to the guys and girls sitting around the table.
"Ok, that's Luke, Melissa, Sean and Stephanie. You know them already Max. And that's Nikki, Iker and Leo. Alecsander you know them..."
"Please, call me Alec." He smiled at the girls sitting around the table, they where all extremely beautiful.
"Ok, Alec. The ones you don't know are Ashley, Amanda Dave and Dade."
"See that small group over there? They are our hackers. On that table to their left we have the geeks"
"They are the math and astronomy club. They can multiply amazing numbers in their heads." Dave explained.
"On our left we have the chess club and on our right we have the girls table." Dak pointed to a small group of five girls wearing their hair in pigtails tied with ribbons, their skirts were short, they wore knee high socks and had on very light makeup, their nails where painted pink.
"They seem cute." Alec commented. Dak smiled "They are... they are five of the youngest students here, really sweet kids, everyone likes them."
*** "My name is Mrs. Crick and I'm your gym teacher. For the past month we've been learning self defense."
She made a hand signal and Dak and Iker propelled themselves forward, Iker wrapped his arm around Alec's throat and Dak did the same with Max.
Neither transgenic saw that coming, they didn't have time to control their reaction. Alec flipped Iker over his shoulder effortlessly and Iker landed hard on the mats. Max did the same with Dak, only she managed to land on her feet.
*** "Maybe we should tell you the school rules. You are not allowed to date your roommate or housemate, if they find out you're dating someone on your own building you will be relocated. The teachers like to leave optional work, you know for extra credits? But most of it is really hard, mostly the geeks are the ones who do that"
"Every Friday we get a flu shot, we never get sick and no one misses school. They have been doing it for a year or so."
"As for the group rules, we take small tests every week."
"Tests? What kind of tests?" Max asked.
"We have a hat, we call it the magic hat. Someone, anonymously, comes here every week and drops 12 pieces of paper into it. If you have an idea then you may write it down and drop it in too." Ashley told them.
*** "Karaoke singing." Stephanie told them.
"Skinny dipping at the lake." Dade said.
Dak frowned at hers "Riding every ride at Six Flags"
*** "The initiation is not easy. It's designed to test your abilities and get rid of your inhibitions If you do join we will become your family, that's what the dares are for too, they help get rid of inhibitions and make you stronger."
"Alec, your mission is to seduce this girl. You will sleep with her, get to her computer and download the files named GC, OPC and AVF."
"And what happens with the girl afterwards?"
"Nothing, you tell her it was a one night thing, that you have a reputation to keep or what ever."
"MJ, you are going to strip.There's a popular strip club nearby, we need to know who goes in and out. You have to apply for a job there, go in, place a camera and then just do your work."
"If both your missions are successfully then you will tag along to every dare we have to do for this week. The final phase of your initiation will take place Saturday night. We'll tell you what it is once the time comes."
*** Alec sighed "Some of the missions back at Manticore were pretty much what I have to do now, go in, have sex with the target, obtain information and get out. They did that Max, and we needed to be comfortable with it. We had training on seducing targets, we had lovers skills, the works. Why do you think I didn't even complain when we where paired off? I was used to it Max."
*** "Something's off with the music." Alec said.
"Excuse me?" Logan asked.
"The music, on the classrooms? You know Mozart? There's something wrong with it, a little sound or something. It might be nothing, maybe the sound system is just old."
"Or maybe it's some kind of subliminal message."
*** "It's so obvious! I can't believe we didn't notice this before!" Alec sat back down "Geeks? Intelligence, Chess club? Strategists, Astronomy club?"
"Recon" Max filled in for him "Or maybe just scientist"
"What about the cute girls?" She wondered.
Max and Alec glanced at each other "Oh my god."
"What?" Logan asked.
"Psy ops" They said together.
"What about the elite?"
Max thought about it for a moment "Oh shit!"
"What?"
"They are COs!"
*** "I couldn't sleep so I tried hacking into the school's security system, you know, cameras and records and stuff. Well it turns out that it's way too tight, firewalls and codes everywhere! It's going to take some time." *** Ashley offered Max a cup of coffee and she took it. She offered one to Dak to but the pretty brunet shook her head.
*** Iker handed him a small package, Alec opened it slowly, trying not to make any noise.
It was a pill
"Sorry, I don't do drugs." Alec handed the pill back to Iker.
"Me neither, it's a caffeine pill Alec! It'll help you concentrate!"
Alec took the pill back and sighed. He really was tired and his muscles ached a little, and if it was what Iker said then what harm could it do? Not that it would harm him anyway, he was immune to drugs.
He took a deep breath and plopped the pill into his mouth.
*** A boy slowly walked up to her and sat on the seat she was saving. Max recognized him as one of the geeks
"Hey, excuse me, could you sit somewhere else? I was kind of hoping to sit next to someone." Max whispered sweetly.
"Hum... sure!" The guy stood up quickly and grabbed his bag. He started to walk away but changed his mind and turned around to face Max "My name is Tom by the..."
"Alec!" Max called to him, he had just walked in but hadn't seen her because Tom was blocking his view.
Tom stared at Alec for a moment, there was an expression on his face that Max couldn't read, but she wasn't really paying attention.
*** Logan smiled at Sasha, an idea crossing through his head "You know, I think I brought one of the projects with me, want to give it a shot?"
The girl's face brightened "Oh I would love to! I'm done with this anyway! What is it about?"
"It's very difficult though, are you sure you want it?"
The girl nodded enthusiastically
"It's about finding a cure for a virus..."
*** Max opened her eyes slowly and gasped "Alec she's beautiful!"
Alec stood proudly besides the black convertible BMW that he and Max had seen the night before. *** Max's scream was deafening, she was sweating and sobbing and screaming "NO! NO! NO!" Alec was trying to shake her awake gently but she wasn't responding.
Logan thundered down the stairs and frowned when he saw Max "What's going on?"
"She's having a nightmare and I can't wake her up!" Alec yelled at him over Max's screams. *** Alec groaned in frustration "You want to know what goes on in my nightmares? Fine! Basically Rachel just looks at me and tells me that she hates me, that I killed her, that it's all my fault, that I'm a freak, a monster, a killer, a beast, that I have no soul, that she never loved me, that no one ever will..." *** "Alec?" Dak frowned.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked, how are things going with Kat? Do you think you will be able to get her tonight?"
Alec nodded "Sure, no problem." *** "Alec! What happened?" Dak asked him.
Alec tossed her a disk and smirked "Nothing, I hope that's everything you wanted to know." *** "Take it off sugar!" One of the men close to her yelled.
"Yeah, let us see you!" Another one followed.
Max took a deep breath and unhooked her bra. *** Max bit her lip "Alec, I'm fine. Sure I'm a little shaken but you should be feeling much worse than I am!" " I didn't sleep with her."
*** "What's going on? I heard a thump." Logan walked down the stairs.
"You heard a thump? Where were you? Camping by our door?" Max snapped. *** Kat backed away slowly "Oh..."
"Kat I..."
"No, don't say anything! You're elite, I'm just a hacker. I should have known better."
"No Kat wait! I wasn't..."
Dak placed a hand on his arm "Let her go."
Alec nodded. He stood there and watched Kat run away. *** "Guys, we need a copy of whatever they play on those loudspeakers."
"Why?" Max asked Logan
"I think they are brainwashing us."
********************************************** ********************************************** ********************************************** **********************************************
DARES
*To Crash. Happy Valentine's day honey.*
_______________________________________________
"Shh..." Alec sat up quickly and closed his eyes.
Max and Logan stared at him.
"Logan, can you play that backwards and a little bit slower."
"Sure" Logan typed away and then hit play.
A strong manly voice could be heard clearly.
MISSION DUTY DISCIPLINE MISSION DUTY DISCIPLINE MISSION DUTY DISCIPLINE...
________________________________________________
Max stared at the screen, her mouth hanging open. "How come we didn't see this before?"
"Max, it's backwards and slow. There's no way anyone could have seen that coming, not even you two" Logan rubbed his temple and leaned back on his chair.
"Yeah but still, what does this mean? We're slowly being brainwashed?" Max sat down on the desk and turned to Alec "What do you think?"
"Turn it off" Alec whispered.
"Hold on, we should record this. Put it somewhere safe." Logan typed away.
"Turn it off." Alec whispered again.
Max frowned "Alec..."
"TURN IT OFF!" Alec stood up. He grabbed an ashtray from the coffee table and threw it at the computer. It slammed against the monitor, shattering into a million pieces that flew in every direction. Logan ducked under the desk in time to avoid the pieces and Max jumped as far away as she could but a piece of glass managed to embroil itself on her left hand.
"Shit! Alec!" She screamed.
Alec stood there, frozen in place. He mumbled something that sounded like an apology and flew down the stairs. Max could hear the bathroom door slamming closed behind him.
Logan went to the kitchen to get a cloth to stop the blood oozing out of Max's hand. He was about to hand it to her when she stepped back "Don't come any closer Logan, my blood is everywhere."
Logan looked down at the splashes of Max's blood and at his bare feet.
"Go upstairs and put on some shoes. I'll get Alec to clean up this mess." Max held up her good hand and Logan tossed the cloth at her. She tried to take the piece of glass out but couldn't.
"Go to Alec, he'll help you get it out." Logan told her.
Max nodded "What the hell was he thinking?"
Logan shrugged "The tape must have upset him. Go easy on him Max, I don't think he did that on purpose."
Max ignored Logan's comment, she thundered down the stairs thinking about kicking Alec's ass.
She kicked the bathroom door opened and what she saw made her heart wrench. Alec was kneeling down next to the toilet, his hair hung loosely over his sweaty forehead.
"Are you ok?" Max asked him.
Alec stood up and walked over to the sink to rinse his mouth "I'm always ok Max" He smiled at her weakly once he was done. He tried to walk by her but she stopped him by placing her good hand on his chest.
They both looked down at where her blood soaked hand was touching him. Alec glanced from her good hand to her injured one and sighed "God Max, let me take a look at that"
Max sat down on the edge of the bathtub and watched as Alec grabbed some cotton and bandages from the cabinet.
He took her hand and cleaned it with alcohol before taking the piece of glass between his fingers and pulling. Max gripped his shoulder and tried to swallow her pain filled moan.
"Max I'm so sorry." Alec apologized while he worked.
"What happened? What made you do that?" Max wanted to know.
"Bad memories. I had a rotten childhood you know?" Alec tried to crack a joke but his tone lacked it's usual sarcasm.
Max reached out with her uninjured hand and brushed a piece of hair away from his face.
"Reindocrination? Psy ops?"
Alec sighed "Both"
Max nodded. She watched as Alec wrapped her hand up on a bandage.
"All done!" Alec tried to stand up but Max held on to his hand.
"Tell me about her."
Alec frowned "About her?" He repeated the question.
"Rachel"
Alec shook Max's hand away and stood up "There's nothing to tell Max."
"Yes there is! It's still troubling you! Talking about it might make things better."
Alec spun around to face her "We've been through this Max, I don't want your pity."
Max followed him out the door and grabbed his arm, turning him around to face her once more "And you're not getting any."
Alec groaned "What do you want me to say Max? She was my job ok? She was an innocent who got caught in the line of fire and went down because of me. That's all there is to tell."
Max shook her head, her voice softening "They wouldn't have tortured you the way they did if that was all there is to know."
Alec stared at his feet, his face softening as Max's voice had just moments ago. He looked like a lost little boy and all Max wanted to do was walk up to him and wrap her arms around him but she didn't, she didn't want him to feel like she was doing it because she felt sorry for him.
"You loved her" Max whispered "She died, that's not something you can just get over."
Alec shook his head "I didn't love her Max, I'm a soldier! Soldiers don't fall in love with their targets"
Max walked up to him then and placed a hand on his shoulder "You are just human Alec. Well... maybe not JUST human but mostly human. You have a right to love and to be loved. She loved you too you know?"
Alec could feel his training slipping away. He wanted to believe Max's words, he wanted to believe that he was capable of love.
"She was the most amazing girl I had ever seen in my life. So innocent, so full of life. She made me feel... different. I was sent to kill her, I told her she was my job..."
Max saw the wetness on his eyes "You didn't kill her Alec."
"I did! If I had said something sooner, I should have fought them Max. She didn't deserve to die." He tried to blink away the tears with little success.
Max shook her head "You did everything you could Alec."
"I planted the charges, I was the one who made her go after her father!"
"Yes but you did not kill her! If you had then you wouldn't have ended up in Psy ops of it!" Max's voice was soft but at the same time a little harsh.
Alec took a deep breath "She's still dead Max."
"She's in a better place than we are Alec, she's safe now."
Alec said nothing, he sat down on his bed, his eyes still on the floor.
Max sat down next to him "What happened afterwards?"
"They took me in, they tortured me. The locked me in a tiny room with no food or water, the only thing I could hear was that deep voice repeating over and over again 'Mission, Duty, Discipline...'" Alec took a deep breath "I'm sorry I exploded the way I did."
Max shrugged "It happens to the best of us."
Alec shook his head "Once they decided I was capable of going out on missions again they sent me on a 'Valentine Mission'"
"What's that?" Max asked.
"I had to sleep with my target, then wait until she trusted me and use that against her to take her back to Manticore."
"Manticore wanted an ordinary girl? Why?"
Alec shrugged "She must have been some kind of computer geek or something, I don't know. She was just a couple of years older than Rachel but you'd never know by looking at her body, she was tiny and seemed delicate but she wasn't, she was a tough girl and her eyes... her eyes seemed so old..."
Max wondered why he was telling her all this and then she knew "When I was about to have sex with that girl all I could think about was Rachel and how much I wished I could be making love to her instead of just some stranger. I couldn't go through with it. My target identified with me quicker than anyone was expecting, I got her into Manticore in record time. The doctors were proud of me. One of them told me 'You see son? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' Well that wasn't true, not for me. A part of me died with Rachel, I'll never get that back."
Max sniffed, she wanted to say something but when she saw the wetness on his cheek she found no words for her feelings so she wrapped her arms around him instead.
Alec was a little surprised at first but he needed the contact, he craved it. So he wrapped his arms around Max's waist and buried his face on her shoulder.
Max could feel the wetness of his tears soaking her shirt and she stroked his hair. Then she said, in a voice clouded by her own tears "It's over Alec, she's safe now. Nothing can hurt her now. She died knowing that you loved her. Everything is going to be ok."
They staid like that, their arms wrapped around each other, for what seemed like hours until Alec's tears began to subside. Too tired to even think he let go of Max and laid down on his bed on top of the covers.
Max took off both their shoes before leaning towards him to kiss his forehead.
Alec took her hand in his and pulled her towards him. Max allowed him to pull her on to the bed, she welcomed his arms when they held her close to him and she closed her own eyes, allowing herself to sleep.
That was how Logan found them a few hours later when he went downstairs to check on Max, he bit his lower lip and closed his eyes for a second, then he took a blanket from the closet and covered the two transgenics with it before walking upstairs again, closing the door behind him.
**************
"Sebastian I don't know what else to do! The numbers make no sense." Logan rubbed his temples and stared at the image of his friend on the screen.
"I'll take a look at them for you but I can't promise you anything. If your transgenic friend can't see a pattern then there probably isn't one."
Logan sighed "There's still no explanation for how tired they have been lately. I had never seen Max sleep so much."
"Max is sleeping? I thought she had shark DNA."
"She does! That's what's got me so worried! She has been late for school every single day because she can't wake up. She never used to sleep for more than four hours."
Sebastian staid quiet for a second and then said "Logan, send me a copy of that tape please."
"Sure." He said and sent him a fragment of it.
"Hold on." Sebastian told Logan and he nodded.
"Bingo!" Sebastian said after a few seconds.
"What?"
"Listen to this."
A sound that made nails on a chalkboard sound like a symphony came over the loudspeakers. Logan covered his ears and groaned "Sebastian what is that?"
"That is a sound that increases your ability to retain information. It enhances your memory so to speak."
Logan frowned "Is that even possible?"
"It's experimental and very rare. It's also illegal."
Logan sighed "I can't believe they are using it on kids."
"It can have some serious side effects such as violence. Some brains just can't endure the pressure of that enhancement. That's probably why your transgenic roommates are sleeping so much, their bodies can't keep up."
"Like when Max stuck that chip on her neck, her body was going to burn out."
"This might not be as severe, the sounds might not even be the only thing Manticore is using to enhance the students."
Logan took his glasses off and tossed them at the couch "Thanks Sebastian, I'll keep my eyes open." He terminated the connection and sat back on his chair.
"Who were you talking to?" Alec asked.
Logan jumped up and turned around to face him "Jesus Alec! Don't do that!"
"Sorry." Alec knelt down besides the small spots of Max's dry blood and used a wet cloth to wipe them away.
"I was talking to Sebastian... hey come here for a second." Logan took his glasses from the couch and pulled Alec's collar away from his neck. The lines of his barcode were starting to show again.
"Damn, your barcode is coming back. Max's probably is too."
Alec sighed "I'll look for a tattoo parlor tomorrow. What were you and Sebastian talking about anyway?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow. Just go and get some sleep."
Alec shrugged "Fine. Good night."
"Night."
Logan waited until he heard Alec walk down the stairs to think about Sebastian's words.
:It can have some serious side effects such as violence. Some brains just can't endure the pressure of that enhancement:
He'd have to keep his eyes open, protecting Max was his top priority.
*************
When Max woke up she realized that she was lying by herself in Alec's bed. She sat up and found him sleeping on her bed so she got up, stretched and walked upstairs.
Logan was exercising in the living room.
"Hey Max."
"Good morning."
"Is Alec up yet?"
Max frowned "No, I don't think so."
Logan dropped the weighs and walked over to the kitchen "Can you go get him please? I want to tell you something."
Max shrugged "Sure"
She ran down the stairs and jumped into her bed, landing on top of Alec.
"Omphhhh Max get off!"
Max laughed and rolled off him. "Come on, Logan wants to talk to us."
Alec groaned but followed Max into the kitchen. Logan was making breakfast.
"Have a seat. Oh Max could you hand me that carton of milk please?"
"Sure." Max handed Logan the milk and sat down on a stool next to Alec.
"What is this about Logan?" Alec asked.
Logan sighed "Let me ask you some questions. How many students are in your math class?"
"27" Max and Alec answered at the same time.
"How many black shirts do you own?"
"Fifteen" Answered Max.
Alec raised an eyebrow "Seventeen"
Max frowned "Really?"
"Yeah, I have a black button down shirt that I almost never use..."
"Guys! Focus please." Logan told them. "What's the school's phone number?"
"555-04-21-86-53"
Logan took a deep breath "What number is printed at the bottom of this milk carton?"
"8462859765109987" Both transgenics answered at the same time.
Max turned around to face Alec, her eyes wide open.
"Logan what's going on? We didn't even look at the number."
"You did, for less than a second. They are trying to enhance our memory. That's why you two are so tired all the time, Sebastian thinks your bodies can't handle it too well."
Max rested her head on her arms and sighed "Like the incident with the Reds."
"The what?" Alec frowned.
"Long story, I'll explain later." Max told him.
"Yes, sort of like what the implant did to you only not as aggressive. You might feel kind of funky but you won't die."
"Ok, now I really want to find out about the red thing." Alec said.
Max ignored him "So it won't harm us?"
"Not really, it'll just make you tired. It can be dangerous for other people though, Sebastian said some people become violent."
Max groaned "Great, just what we need. Weird, crazy, VIOLENT kids."
*************
"MJ!" Dakareth ran up to Max and hooked arms with her.
"Hey Dak! What's up? I'm going to be late for homeroom... again."
Dakareth shrugged "Nothing's up, I just wanted to know if you're ready for Saturday."
"Saturday?"
"The dares? Roller coasters? Karaoke? Skinny dipping?"
Max swallowed a groan and smiled sweetly "Oh yeah, right. I'm ready"
Dak stopped Max with her arm and both girls stood still. Dakareth looked around for someone but there was no one there, then her eyes focused on Max's.
"Hey Max! How about a sleepover at your place today?" Ashley popped up out of nowhere, blowing a strand of her curly blonde hair away from her forehead.
"Uh?" Max shook her head.
"That's a great idea! That way we can drive to Six Flags early and get the roller coasters thing done before lunch!" Dak smiled excitedly.
"Oh girls I don't know, Alec might not feel too comfortable with all of us there."
"Well if he doesn't want to be around us gorgeous girls he can stay over at Iker's, I'm sure he won't mind!" Ashley suggested.
"Well..."
"Hey girls, what's going on?" Alec appeared behind Max and handed her a Biology book "You left this in the car." He told her.
"Oh thanks." Max smiled at him and took the book. She noticed that Dak was looking at her in a funny way but didn't say anything.
"So Alec, you don't mind us girls invading your apartment tonight do you?" Ashley asked him.
"You want to have a sleepover in our apartment?" He asked the girls.
"The boy is quick." Dak commented and winked at him.
"Well... sure, if it's ok with Max. I'll ask Mr. Cale if I can crash on his couch."
"You can stay with one of the guys!" Ashley chipped in.
"Oh no, that's ok. I'm sure Mr. Cale won't mind."
"Great! So we'll be there after school!" Dakareth smiled.
"No!" Alec jumped in "I... uh... I have to clean up my mess, I'm really sloppy."
"No big deal! If I can live with Leo's mess I can stand yours for a day." Ashley said.
"Oh I'm sure you don't want to see Alec's Magic Unicorn boxers laying on the floor." Max said "Come by at six, I'll rent some videos and buy some junk food."
The bell rang then and the four of them started running to their respective homerooms.
"Ok, we'll see you at 6 MJ!" Dak yelled.
Max reached her homeroom and was about to go inside when Alec stopped her.
"Alec, I know I shouldn't have said yes but..."
"Magic Unicorn?!" Alec whispered harshly.
Max laughed and turned away from him "I have to go to class." and with that she left him fuming in the hall.
*************
Max sat down near the back of the room and smiled. The classical music coming out of the loudspeakers made her a little uneasy but she knew she had to get used to it.
"Hi." A boy with greasy black hair waved at Max.
"Oh hey! Todd right?"
The boy closed his eyes and lowered his head "Tom."
"Oh yeah!" 'So much for enhancing my memory' She said under her breath.
A strong pair of hands covered her eyes then and she smiled.
"Iker?"
The owner of the hands remained quiet.
"Leo!" Max said but still no answer.
"Hey bro! You left your jacket in the cafeteria you idiot! Hey MJ!" Max heard a voice a few feet away and her smile widened.
"Dade!"
The guy removed his hands and laughed "Close, I'm Dave."
"Hi!" Dave's twin brother Dade sat down on the seat next to Max's.
"I need to find a way of telling you apart."
"It's easy once you get to know us." Dave took the seat in front of Max and took his jacket from his brother.
Max suddenly remembered she had been talking to Tom and turned around to face him but he was reading so she left him alone.
"So MJ, how did you manage to make it here in time today?" Dave asked.
"I bought a new alarm clock." Max lied.
"Ok kids! Settle down and let's get this over with." The teacher clapped twice to get the attention of the class.
"Get what over?" Max asked the twins.
"It's Friday, vaccine day." Dave told her.
"Vaccine day?" Max started to worry when a nurse walked in.
"Yup, against the flu. Someone must have told you about this."
"Oh yeah." Max smiled at them but inside she was panicking.
"Roll up your sleeve darling." The nurse instructed her.
"You know, I hate needles. I think I'll pass."
The nurse smiled and grabbed Max's arm "Don't be ridiculous honey, this won't hurt!"
"It really doesn't hurt. Here, you can squeeze my hand if you want." Dade offered his hand.
Max sighed and took Dade's hand just to make it seem like she really was afraid of needles.
The shot was quick and painless but Max was still worried. If they could enhance their minds with music god knows what they could do in their blood stream.
The bell rang just as the nurse finished the whole class. Max stood up so fast she almost tumbled over on purpose.
"Hey MJ are you ok?" Dade asked.
"Fine! The shot just made me a little dizzy."
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Dave told her.
"Yeah well I'm not feeling so hot right now. I think I'm going to skip math today."
Dade nodded "I'll tell Mr. Watson you're not feeling well."
"Ok, thanks!"
She rushed out of the room and walked towards Alec's homeroom as fast as she could.
*************
Alec met her halfway there, he looked cool, calm and collected but his eyes were moving around wildly, his hurry to find her was clear.
"Alec!" She spotted him first.
"Max! Are you ok?" He whispered.
"I feel fine so far, what about you."
"I feel fine too but we really need to make sure."
"I'm skipping Math." Max told him.
"And I'm skipping French. Now let's go find Logan."
"His room is right down the hall." Max pointed out.
Alec was already walking.
He knocked on Logan's open door. Students were walking in slowly and Logan was sitting on the desk waiting for everyone to settle down. He stood up and walked to the door when he saw Alec and Max standing there.
"Logan, the shots!" Max whispered urgently.
"I know, we can draw some blood and send it to Sebastian when we get home."
"Our bodies might have already absorbed whatever it is that they're giving us by then." Alec pointed out.
"Plus I'm having a slumber party tonight." Max said.
Logan raised an eyebrow "You are?"
"Long story." Max shook her head.
"You must get your barcode removed first." Logan reminded her.
"No sweat, I found a place. We'll go after school." Alec told him.
"Well, maybe you two can find a way to draw some blood right now. Go to the lab and steal some needles if you can find any."
Max nodded "We're skipping first period.
Logan sighed "I wish I could go with you but I'm the teacher."
Max smiled softly "I know."
"Come on Max, let's get out of here before someone finds us in the halls." Alec took her hand and tugged.
Max nodded and waved goodbye at Logan before walking away with Alec.
*************
"Well, I found one syringe." Max held the plunger device up.
Alec was holding two small containers in his hands "Just one?" He frowned.
Max smiled mischievously "What's the matter? Afraid you'll catch something?"
"Well... you've been out in the real world for a lot longer than I have..."
"Yeah but you've been around way more than I've been." Max pointed out.
"Yeah but still... needle sharing?"
"Fine! One of this days when you're bleeding to death and need a transfusion I'll remind you of this moment and get Joshua to give you blood."
Alec's eyes widened "Come on Maxie! You know I'm just kidding! Your blood is perfect! In every sense of the word I might add."
Max rolled her eyes and pulled up her sleeve. Suddenly Alec straightened and quieted Max down with a wave of his hand. Then she heard it too, footsteps.
Both transgenics held their breath until the footsteps moved away.
"We need to find another place to do this." Alec said.
"Where? Girl's bathroom?"
"Girl's bathroom? No way! I'm not going into one of those! Boy's bathroom."
Max rolled her eyes. "Alec you are so immature."
"I'm still not going into a girl's bathroom Max."
She sighed and walked out of the lab.
*************
"Ouch!"
"I'm trying to be gentle here!"
"It's not that! You're stepping on my foot!"
"Oh, sorry."
Alec tried to move away from Max in the tiny space the closed stall provided. She was sitting down on the closed toilet seat and he was standing in front of her.
"This position is too awkward, I can't do it like this."
"Well try! Because I can't be standing up!"
"I can't get it in!"
"Here, I'll spread my legs and you can kneel down ok?" Max tried that but Alec's legs didn't fit in the small space.
"I have an idea, straddle my lap."
Max raised an eyebrow and Alec shrugged "There's no other way, I need the leverage! I have to see what I'm doing or it's really going to hurt."
Max groaned and stood up. They bumped against each other and against the walls of the stall before they could get Alec to sit down. Max straddled his lap, resting her weight against his knees.
"Ok, that's better." Alec told her.
"Let's do this now! I can't hold on for much longer!" Max pointed at her position, it took some effort to keep her balance.
"Don't worry, I won't let you fall off! Now relax so that I can get this thing in."
Max took a deep breath while Alec inserted the needle in her arm.
"Ow that hurt!"
"Oh don't be a sissy." Alec smiled at her.
"Here, let me..." Max tried to take the needle from him.
"No no no no, you stay still and let me do all the work ok?"
Max sighed "Well hurry up! I don't want us to get caught!"
"Yeah yeah. Ok, here we go!" Alec smiled.
Max moaned, she really did hate needles.
"See? All done! I'll just get it out slowly."
Max groaned "Now I'm going to be sore for the rest of the day."
"Oh like you've never done this before!" Alec smiled.
Suddenly the toilet next to theirs flushed and someone hurried out.
Max's eyes widened and locked with Alec's. His shoulders were shaking as if he was trying really hard not to laugh.
When the intruder left Max stood up and leaned against the door of the stall.
"Oh my god. Why didn't we check to see if the stalls were empty? We didn't say any names did we?"
Alec laughed out loud "No, but can you imagine what that guy thought we were doing in here?"
Max smiled "No wonder he staid in there until we finished."
Alec laughed harder "Come on, draw my blood before someone else needs to crap."
*************
"So we'll see you around six?" Melissa asked Max.
"Yeah, I just want to clean up a little." Max smiled.
"Hey MJ, let's go!" Alec yelled from the car.
"Ok, six o'clock!" She called out to the girls and jumped into Alec's convertible.
"So where are you taking me to get this thing removed?"
Alec started the car "A tattoo parlor. They're closed until five p.m."
Max frowned "Why? And how do you know that?"
"Because people have jobs, students have classes and lazy guys get up late. Who's going to get a tattoo at 3:30? A house wife?"
Max raised an eyebrow "Alec, it's 2021! Moms have tattoos! And you didn't answer my second question."
Alec gave her a cocky grin "I have my ways Maxie."
Max grunted and crossed her arms. The rest of the ride was quiet. Finally after 15 minutes of driving Alec parked the car and got out.
The lock was almost an insult for the two gifted transgenics. Alec had it open in 3 seconds flat.
"Come on." He guided Max to the large table on the corner and turned on the laser.
"Why do I always have to go first?" She asked while unbuttoning the top of her shirt so that Alec could pull it down past her neck.
"You're a lady... sort of... and ladies go first."
Max hit his leg, which was the only part of him she could reach while lying on her stomach, and closed her eyes.
"Just do it." She said.
Alec smiled and got to work.
*************
"So I sent the blood samples to Sebastian, he'll get back to me as soon as he can..."
"Alec please pick up your dirty boxers from the floor! The girls are going to be here any minute now!" Max took a bowl of chips to the coffee table and rushed back to the tiny kitchen.
"They are not dirty! They are wet." Alec picked up the boxers along with his wet shirt and pants from the day before.
Logan, who was sitting at the top of the stairs smiled. "Hey teenagers! Focus please?"
Max smiled too "Sorry, this place is a mess! I'm not sure the girls will want us to be elite if they see how messy Alec is. I'm doing this for the mission."
"The mission? Right." Logan's smile broadened.
Alec straightened his and Max's beds and ran upstairs for the broom while Max poured some drinks.
"Pepsi?" Alec asked Max when he got back.
"We're supposed to be 17 Alec." She reminded him.
"Well yeah but still..." Alec shrugged "Alcohol is more fun!"
"Hey, is my neck still red?" Max lifted her hair.
Alec took a peek and shook his head "You're all clear!"
"Good" Max held her curly hair up with a pair of chinese sticks and straightened her tight black shirt.
"Max! If I didn't know you better I'd say you're nervous." Logan said, clearly amused.
"I'm not nervous!"
Someone knocked then and Max took a deep breath.
"Logan!"
"I'm going!" He left the basement and closed the door softly behind him.
"I'm clearing out of here too." Alec told Max.
"No!" Max stopped him. "Can you stay until everyone gets here? I don't want to be alone with one of those girls."
Alec smiled "Sure Maxie."
Max took another deep breath and opened the door.
"Hi there!" She said.
Alec sat down on the couch. 'Max acting like a real teenager. This is going to be interesting.' He thought.
*************
"...so I said, Iker you're a pig." Melissa tossed her straight black hair over her shoulder.
Amanda, who was painting Ashley's nails looked up. "No way! Why did you kiss him then?"
"I did not kiss him! Who told you that?" Melissa squeaked.
Stephanie and Amanda shared a glance "Sean."
"Well Sean is lying. Nothing happened with Iker."
"Then why did you tell me to go sleep in Sean's room?" Nikki smiled mischievously.
"Nikki!" Melissa hissed.
"Oh you bitch! You slept with Iker?" Dakareth laughed.
"I did not!"
"You did too! And I hope Iker is a god in bed because Sean snores! I don't understand how anyone can sleep in the same room as him!" Nikki leaned forward and smiled.
"So, was it good?"
Melissa sighed and looked down at her pink PJ's "It was great."
The rest of the girls squeaked and scrambled closer to her.
"Details Mel! Come on!" Dak prodded.
Max smiled, she felt so relaxed and normal. Sleepovers and teenage sex talks were only a few of the things she had missed while running away from a secret government organization.
"There's nothing to tell! I just drank a little too much."
Amanda snorted "Oh please, we all know how high your metabolism is! I would take a lot to get you drunk!"
"Well I drank a lot!"
Everyone laughed then. Max took a sip of her soda and sat back to enjoy her normal sleepover.
"So MJ, tell us about your black list." Dak smiled.
Max swallowed her Pepsi quickly in an attempt to keep it inside her body instead of spraying it all over the coffee table.
"Excuse me?"
"How many guys have you slept with? You're not a virgin are you?"
Max looked around nervously "Uh, no."
"Hey girls! I've got something for you!" Alec kicked the door open. He was carrying two large pizzas and a video.
Max sighed in relief "Let me help you with that!"
"No that's ok, I'll just put them down on the kitchen table."
Max rushed to his side anyway and took a box from him.
Alec frowned and whispered "I take it this isn't going very well."
"It was going great until a few seconds ago when Dakareth decided to ask me about my sexual history!" Max whispered back.
Alec swallowed a laugh and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. "Well, good luck with that Maxie!" He patted her on the shoulder and raised the cold drink to his lips.
"Well, I'm out for the night. I'll crash on Mr. Cale's couch if you guys need anything." Alec said that last part looking straight at Max. He grabbed his pillow and bedspread and ran up the stairs.
A chorus of "Good night Alec!" followed his retreat.
"So MJ, let's get back to the matter at hand." Melissa smiled.
Max groaned inwardly, how was she supposed to explain her heat cycles to 6 teenage girls without sounding like a whore or giving away her cover?
"Yeah! Bring over the pizza girl!" Ashley laughed.
Max laughed in relief and tossed the movie at them. Stephanie caught it without so much as blinking.
"The Exorcist? Cool!"
"Oh that movie is like 50 years old!" Ashley complained.
Amanda laughed "You're just saying that because it scares the crap out of you!"
Dak got up and dimmed the lights. Then she walked slowly to the kitchen. "Hey MJ, let me help you with the plates."
"That's ok, I've..."
Max frowned, Dakareth had a strange look on her face and it mesmerized her.
"Hey! Are you two going to get here sometime tonight? Because if you're not I'm eat the carpet I swear!" Ashley called.
Max shook her head "What was I saying?"
Dak frowned "I was going to help you with the plates... remember Max?"
"Yeah, I spaced out I guess." Max shook her head again to clear it.
"Are you feeling alright?" Dak asked.
"Fine. Let's eat!" Max gave Dak a fake smile and carried the pizzas to the coffee table.
"Shhhhh, the movie is starting!" Amanda whispered.
"When did you put it on?" Max asked.
"Just now... MJ, are you ok?"
"I'm fine, just fine." Max smiled again and sat down on the couch, resisting the urge to run upstairs to Alec and Logan. She would have to deal with her strange loss of concentration in the morning.
*************
Alec could hear Logan typing away at his computer.
"Aren't you tired?" He asked.
"Not really, I just want to look at this information one more time before going to bed." Logan leaned closer to the screen and typed some more.
Alec sighed "I have to get up early!"
"So go to sleep!" Logan replied.
"Well you're making too much noise! It's past 3 AM!" Alec complained.
"You know, you could always go downstairs and hear the girls talk about menstruation and bikini wax..."
"Good night!" Alec rolled over on the couch and covered his head with his pillow.
Logan's small laugh was the last thing he heard.
A few hours later he woke up for no apparent reason. He checked his watch, it was a little past five.
Alec had a really strange feeling so he walked to the basement door and pressed his ear against the dark wood.
Then he heard it, a small whimper.
He opened the door trying not to make too much noise and walked slowly down the stairs.
Using his night vision he was able to locate 4 girls asleep on sleeping bags all over the floor, two more girls sharing his bed and Max, alone on her bed, moaning softly.
He made his way towards her carefully and sat down on the bed. He ran his hands over the soft skin of her face, wanting her to feel the small pressure of his fingertips and wake up.
That didn't work, the whimpering only got louder so Alec climbed on to the bed next to Max and held her to him.
"Alec?"
"Shhh" He quieted her down softly.
Max opened her eyes and glanced up at him. "Was I screaming?" She mouthed.
Alec shook his head "Just whimpering." He mouthed back.
Max nodded "You can't stay here."
"I know."
Both transgenics staid still for a few moments. Alec leaned forward and kissed her forehead tenderly.
"Try to get some more sleep, you're going to need it."
Max smiled and nodded.
Alec left the basement as quietly as he had arrived and Max closed her eyes again.
A pair of clear green eyes stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before finally fluttering shut, but not until Max's breathing had evened out.
**************
"Raise and shine sleepy head!"
Max groaned and covered her head with a pillow.
"Dakareth, shut up!"
"Can't! It's late! You should be up already!" Dak jumped up and down on Max's bed.
Max groaned again and checked her watch "Dak, it's seven AM!"
"Exactly! Now go take a shower before the rest of the gang gets here! We're going to Six Flags!"
"Ok, ok fine!" Max sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Let me just go wake up Alec first."
Max realized that the rest of the girls were already showered and dressed. They were sitting around the breakfast bar drinking coffee.
Max dragged her tired feet up the stairs and towards the living room where Alec was sleeping. He had one arm under his pillow and the other one over his head.
Max shook his naked shoulders and whispered "Alec, wake up."
He grunted "Piss off Max."
She shook him harder and raised her voice "Come on Alec, it's late."
Alec groaned and grabbed her arms. In one swift move he had her trapped between his body and the couch. "Shut up woman and let me sleep."
Max sighed "We don't have time for this Alec! The guys will be here in twenty minutes and we still have to shower and eat breakfast!"
"We can do that in ten minutes."
"No we can't! We only have one shower!" Max tried to push him off her but his arms on either side of hers made it impossible for her to move much.
"Save water, shower with a friend." Alec mumbled.
"Alec!"
"Hey guys! You two really need to..." Amanda yelped, the noise startled Alec and he tumbled to the floor, hitting his head ungracefully against the coffee table.
"Hum I'll... I'll just..." Amanda opened her mouth as if she was going to say something else but she closed it again and ran down the stairs instead.
"Now look at what you've done! If she tells anyone what she just saw we're screwed!" Max growled at Alec.
He rubbed the back of his head and moaned "Max, I'm in pain here! Show me some sympathy!"
Max shook her head and pushed his neck down so that she could see the back of his head.
"There's no blood so stop whining."
Alec gave her a look "It still hurts!"
"Get over it!" Max told him and thundered down the stairs.
"Hey, is everything ok?" Logan, who was standing at the top of his stairs, asked.
"Bitchin'" Alec answered before following Max.
*************
"Wooooooohooooooo! That was wild!" Leo was jumping up and down like a kid on his birthday.
Nikki laughed "Leo calm down! If the rides don't make you lose your lunch so much jumping certainly will.
Max laughed with Nikki and looked around. They had only gone on one ride but the adrenaline rush had been amazing. She had never been on a roller coaster before that.
'And there are still nine to go' She thought with a smile.
"Hey! Let's buy some souvenirs!" Dak pointed at one of the many stores and grabbed Nikki's hand. Nikki took Max's hand and together the three girls ran to the store.
Dave, Leo and Alec walked calmly behind them rolling their eyes.
The whole park looked as if the pulse had never happened but the store was incredible. It was filled with key chains and fridge magnets and mugs and T- shirts.
Max was checking out some pencils when she felt Alec's presence behind her.
"Having fun?" He asked.
"Oh yeah." Max smiled and turned around.
"I got something for you." Alec whispered and Max noticed his hands were behind his back.
"What?"
Alec smiled and handed her a disposable camera.
"You can take all the pictures and then send the film to Original Cindy. Maybe that way she'll take pity on us and send pictures from home."
Max felt the sudden urge to hug him but instead she gave him a tender smile and said "Thanks Alec."
He shrugged and looked away.
"Hey, what else did you buy?" Max asked him.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? Then why are you holding that huge bag?"
Alec smiled mischievously "That's none of your business."
Max rolled her eyes.
"Hey guys look! A sky coaster!" Leo pointed at the dangerous looking attraction and grinned.
"I think the two new kids should go first!"
Alec took Max's hand and whispered "Act scared! This is going to be fun!"
Max held up her new camera "OC will like the view!"
*************
After two ice creams, one cotton candy, a balloon, 9 roller coasters and a ridiculous cartoon drawing of him and Max Alec was ready to leave.
"No!" Max said when he suggested going home to get ready for the next dare.
"Why the hell not?"
"I want a stuffed animal." Max smiled.
Dak groaned "Max, those games are too stupid! They are a waste of money."
Dave shrugged "They are too easy Dak! Come on, I'll win you a teddy bear."
"I can win my own teddy bears thank you very much!" Dak said indignantly.
Alec smiled "What do you want MJ?"
Max pointed at a huge black bear and Alec moaned "You're going to make me carry it all the way back home aren't you?"
Max nodded enthusiastically
"It's my punishment for not telling you what's in the bag isn't it?"
Max nodded again.
"Man, you've got to win the damn thing first! That game is hard!"
Leo had a point. Inserting a tiny ring on the neck of a bottle was hard... for a normal human anyway.
Alec paid two bucks and took the three rings from the guy. He missed his first shot on purpose, making the guys laugh and the girls moan.
He smiled and widened his pupils. He calculated the speed of the wind, the weight of the ring, the force of his arm and the distance between him and the bottles before tossing the ring.
It landed perfectly on the neck of the bottle.
Max squeaked in delight as Alec told the guy which bear he wanted.
He handed it to Max, the bear was almost as tall as she only it was soft and that made it hard to carry.
"Let's toss this thing on the back seat and get going! You two need to get ready for Karaoke!" Dave suggested.
Max sighed. One down, two to go. And it was only going to get harder.
*************
"Guys! Dinner!" Logan yelled from his kitchen.
The two teenagers raced up the stairs and sat down to eat.
"What are we having?" Max asked.
"Pizza."
"Uh? What happen to the culinary miracles?" Alec frowned.
"I spent all day working on those codes." Logan explained.
"Any luck?"
"No. I think you're right Alec, there is no pattern."
Alec shrugged and grabbed a slice of pizza "We'll find something else, plus we'll know more when Sebastian gets back to you on those blood tests."
Logan sighed "Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll just have to wait."
The phone rang then and Logan stood up to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Cale? It's Sasha."
Logan frowned "Oh hi. How did you get this number?"
Max raised her eyebrows and Logan mouthed "Student"
"Never mind that. I'm sorry to call you at home but I couldn't wait until Monday..."
"Hey, someone's honking." Alec pointed out.
"Oh my God, what time is it?" Max stood up and grabbed a slice of pizza.
"Late apparently." Alec raced down the stairs.
Max stuffed the pizza into her mouth and waved goodbye to Logan, he waved back and kept talking to Sasha.
"So what is it?"
"I'm almost done with the project."
"You mean the virus I gave you?" Logan held his breath.
"Yes! All I need now is a sample of subject 2's blood so that I can test my theory."
"Subject 2... is that the carrier?"
"No."
"Good. How long will the tests take?"
"About a week, just to be on the safe side."
Logan smiled "I'll get the sample for you today."
***************
"Who the hell is Michelle Branch?" Max stared at her sheet of paper and shook her head.
"Beats me, who the hell is three doors down?" Alec handed her his lyrics and she frowned.
"I really have no idea."
"MJ! What are you waiting for? You're up next!" Melissa whispered urgently as she pushed Max towards the stage.
"What? I've only heard the song once! I really can't carry the tune... Melissa, why don't you go first?"
"Uh... no." Melissa gave Max one final push towards the stage before grabbing Alec's arm and dragging him over to where Sean, Luke and Stephanie where sitting.
Max grabbed the mike one of the guys from the band offered her and closed her eyes.
The music started and she looked at the small TV that displayed the lyrics even though she knew them by heart.
And then she started to sing.
"I wanted to be like you. I wanted everything so I tried to be like you and I got swept away..."
Alec smiled and relaxed on his seat. Her voice was good, really good. Not that he was expecting anything else from Manticore's perfect creature.
Max looked around the room, everyone was staring at her and she was getting nervous.
'Focus on something' She told herself. Her gaze fell on Alec sitting on the first row. He was staring at her with a smile on his face so she locked her eyes with his and kept singing.
"I didn't know that it was so cold and you needed someone to show you the way. So I took your hand and we figured out that when the tide comes I'd take you away."
"Alec you should go backstage. You're up next." Steph whispered.
Alec barely heard her, he was too busy concentrating on Max and her beautiful voice.
"If you want to I can save you, I can take you away from here..."
"Alec, are you listening to me?" Steph whispered more urgently.
"So lonely inside, so busy out there. And all you wanted was somebody who cares..."
"Alec!" Steph tugged his sleeve, finally forcing him to look up.
"Uh?"
"You're up next."
"Oh, right." He shook his head to clear it and rushed backstage. He wanted to be there when Max finished her song.
She walked off the stage calmly but Alec could see a small tremor going through her.
"You ok?" He asked.
"I'd never done that before." She said.
Alec surrounded her with his arms and whispered in her ear "You did great."
"Alecsander Cage?" A guy with a clipboard yelled.
"Your turn." Max smiled against Alec's chest.
"Will you wait for me here?" He asked.
She nodded and leaned against the wall.
Alec took a deep breath and left to face the crowd.
Max staid where she was and just listened to his voice. She noticed that he was a really good singer.
"I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind. I left my body laying somewhere in the sands of time..."
Max walked slowly towards the stage, she staid out of view from the crowd but she was close enough for Alec to see her and he did.
He glanced at her and smiled sadly before singing the chorus of the song, skipping a few lines and therefore forcing the band to change their rhythm to keep up.
"If I go crazy then will you still call me superman. If I'm alive and well will you be there holding my hand. I'll keep you by my side with my superhuman might Kryptonite..."
**************
"Where are we going now?" Alec asked Sean.
"You two are going with Iker, Dave, Amanda and Ashley. Skinny dipping remember?"
"Oh yeah." Alec groaned inwardly. Not that watching Max naked was going to be a problem, it was his reaction to her what concerned him.
After a while Iker picked him and Max up. They drove to the lake in silence.
Amanda, Ashley and Dave where already there when they got there.
"Hey guys! How did the Karaoke go?" Ashley asked.
"It went great." Max answered for both of them.
"Good. Let's get this over shall we?" Amanda had her straight blonde hair up in a pony tail. She took her top off without thinking twice about it. Ashley followed her example and Iker and Dave unbuttoned their pants and pushed them down their legs.
Max glanced at Alec and took a deep breath. Alec turned his back to her in respect and she smiled. She took her top off quickly, her pants and underwear followed.
Max jumped into the lake, grateful for the cloudy night. There was barely any light so the others couldn't really se her. Her pupils quickly adjusted and she smiled at the advantage.
Alec got undressed and followed Max into the lake.
Once the six teenagers were in Alec asked "Great, now what?"
Iker shrugged "Now we play."
Max's eyes went wide as Iker swam towards her.
She shrieked and splashed some water his way.
Iker laughed and splashed back. Soon the war was on and everyone was laughing despite the situation.
Dave, Iker, Amanda and Ashley seemed pretty comfortable and that made Max even more uncomfortable for some reason.
Suddenly Ashley shrieked and swam to the beach quickly.
"Hey Ash, is everything ok?" Dave asked.
"My cell phone is ringing!" She yelled before getting out of the water, her body covered only by the long blonde curls of her hair.
Alec swam towards Max while Ashley answered the phone.
"Having fun?" He whispered.
"What do you think?" She rolled her eyes.
"Hey! I'm having fun!" He smiled and looked down.
Max slapped his shoulder and moved away.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"You were looking!"
"I can't see anything!" Alec argued.
"If I can see then so can you."
Alec smiled cockily "You were looking?"
"What? No!" Max tried hard not to blush.
Alec laughed "You where!"
"No!" Max swam away from him a little more.
"Oh don't lie!" Alec lounged for her and she squeaked.
Suddenly a flash of white light shocked both transgenics. They looked up and saw Ashley holding Max's new camera.
"Why didn't you tell us you had one of this? Cameras are so much fun!"
Max sighed 'That's one picture Original Cindy is never going to get.' She thought.
"That was Dakareth. She said we have completed the dare and we should get back to the house ASAP so that this two can do the last part of their initiation." Ashley pointed at Max and Alec.
"Wait... we're not done with the initiation yet?" Max asked.
"No, you just have to do one more thing. Don't worry though, it's really easy." Dave assured her.
Alec shrugged "Let's go then!"
Max couldn't help the feeling of dread that overcame her.
*************
"So what is the last part of the initiation?" Alec asked. The whole elite was sitting in a circle around a small fire and he was sitting on a log next to Max.
"You two have done great so far but we can't let you be elite unless you do this." Dak said slowly.
"Do what?" Max had been trying to come up with the worst case scenarios for the past half hour but nothing seemed worse than what they had already done... unless they wanted her to kill someone...
"You have to spend the night in the house."
Max looked at the huge abandoned mansion in front of her and frowned. "And..."
Dakareth shrugged "And that's it. We'll lock you in and you have to spend the night in there."
"That's it?" Alec asked incredulously.
"Well... yeah! The house is haunted you know?" Iker pointed out.
Max and Alec glanced at each other and tried to keep a straight face.
"Ok, let's do it!" Max said.
"Great. You two go inside and we'll lock the door. We'll come and get you tomorrow morning."
*************
Logan had given up on the codes and instead tried to concentrate on hacking into the surveillance system but even the great Eyes Only had rough days.
He groaned when yet another "insert password" window popped up.
"This is impossible, I can't tap into a genius's mind!" Logan hit his keyboard in frustration causing the file that Alec had given him called OPC to pop up.
The first combination of letters and numbers made a light bulb go on in Logan's head.
He typed the first seven digits into the password space and hit enter.
The image on the screen changed suddenly to display a list of locations and a big title that read "Off Property Cameras."
"Woah!" Logan leaned back on his chair, there seemed to be a camera for every place where a teenager could possibly hang out. He chose the first location and entered the next seven digits on the list into the password space.
"The coffee place." Logan raised his eyebrows. Even though it was late a few teenagers were still hanging around. The video had no audio but Logan had a feeling that he could find the audio for those images somewhere else.
*************
"So what the hell are we going to do all night?" Max sat down on a dust covered chair.
"Sleep. I'm really tired." Alec stretched and offered his hand to her "Come on, let's go look around. Maybe we'll find a place to crash."
Max took his hand and stood up. She walked ahead of him, exploring the first floor with mild interest.
"Alec, don't you think this is a little strange? The last part of our initiation is to spend a few hours in a 'haunted house.' I thought this kids would know better than to believe in ghosts.
Alec nodded "I think you're right."
Max groaned "Oh god, we were supposed to be home an hour ago! Log..."
Alec pushed Max against a wall and pressed himself against her body. She was so surprised she didn't have a chance to react.
"Alec! What the..."
"There's a camera!" Alec whispered in her ear.
Max lowered her head so that her forehead was resting on his shoulder and asked "Where?"
"Three o'clock but don't stare"
Max looked around the room and she noticed the camera "Shit, do you think they can hear us too?"
"We must assume they can. Now giggle and push me away." Alec whispered against her ear again.
Max did as he told her, she pushed him away in a playful manner and giggled, straightening her clothes and hair before taking a hold of his hand and running up the stairs to explore the second floor.
*************
Logan came across seven cameras on the same location. He opened the first one and realized that it was an abandoned house.
"That's strange, why would there be cameras on an dump like that?" He asked himself and opened the second camera.
What he saw made him drop the glass of milk he was holding. Alec was pressing Max against a wall, he had his arms wrapped around her and instead of pushing him away Max was holding him closer and whispering something in his ear!"
Logan staid frozen as he saw Max push Alec away weakly. He could tell she was laughing by the way her lips moved. Then she took Alec's hand and ran up a flight of stairs, going out of the camera's range.
Even though Logan checked the other five cameras he couldn't find the transgenics anywhere. He spent the rest of the night looking through more files and wondering what they were doing alone in a big old house.
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I'm sorry it took me so long to update! I swear I'll try to do it sooner.
I know you're all wondering about the couple thing so I won't drag it out any longer but before I tell you which couple won I want you all to know that no matter what way you ship I'm pretty sure you'll like the ending of this story (which won't be for quite a few more chapters) If you like the story so far I would suggest you keep reading ;) There will be NO BASHING in this story.
The votes were really one sided. (Thanks to Crash for helping me count. I love you honey!)
And the winner (for over 130 votes) is.
..
.
..
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MAX/ALEC!!!!!
Thank you all for your votes, M/A will be the final couple on this story (In case you want to know, the ending is already written and that's why I can say that I believe most people will like it.)
Thanks again, I hope I can get the next chapter done soon.
Please be kind and review!