Hello all, and welcome back to the *ahem, cough* innocent little story of Eve and Leo and company. I don't have much too say, so on with the hormones - I mean show!
**************************************************************
Chapter 18
Zack's POV
Wow. That's amazing. That is just... impressive.
Those two are like magnets with limbs. I've never seen two X series together when one was in heat. Sure, I've accidentally checked up on one of my sisters while she was peaked, but I could always detect it with enough time to turn around and stay in the next town over until I was sure she was done. The consequences of such careless actions would have horrible repercussions. I'll admit that years ago when I was head over heels for Max I would sometimes allow myself the fantasy once in awhile that we would be able to actually be together in the end. But that was before Logan got her pregnant, and Max kept the baby, that was before I was so thankful for those two events. I wouldn't trade Eve for Max, ever. Eve... she keeps me human, makes me proud of what I am. Eve gives me so much happiness. She is my family, she appreciates what I do, I'm closer to her than to my brother Zane, or my sister Syl, or my whole Manticore unit put together.
That is why I am not going to let some X8 waltz in here and take her away. That's why I am not going to let him take advantage of her heat. That's why I am most defiantly not going to let that boy touch her the way he is touching her right now.
I was so shocked when the door was kicked in that I didn't react at all. Neither did Logan, of course. We just stood there gawking as Eve strode in, her face flushed and her hair blown askew. Her shirt had at some point been discarded, and she was just in her favorite tank top and jeans. My first impression was that she had been attacked, but I soon noticed that Leo was staring at her like she was a fountain in the middle of the Sahara desert. They had both been breathing heavily, and I'm pretty sure Logan hadn't been breathing at all. Actually, I'm starting to worry because I haven't noticed him breathe since Eve stepped inside the apartment. But I'm not concentrating on him, I am concentrating on Eve and Leo.
They meet in a flash of speed in the middle of the living room. They are very, very close... Too close. Their chests are meeting, and I feel a flash of anger mixed with nausea as that, that bastard leans down to sniff her neck for pheromones. I can't see Eve's face from here, and I begin to glance around for something to throw, something to shoot at Leo. As I see the two dive into a heated kiss, I notice Logan isn't by my side anymore. I glance down, suspecting for a moment that he fainted, but he isn't in a heap on the floor. I suppress the sudden self-contempt I feel at the fact that Logan recovered quicker than I.
Suddenly there is a 'pop' sound, and Leo jerks, tenses, and falls to the hard wood floor. Eve stands there for a moment, alone, looking barely aware of her swollen lips and tousled hair along with her wrinkled shirt, staring at her fallen companion.
I look up to see Logan standing tall and confident, aiming a small hand-held tranquilizer gun I bought for the penthouse a week ago. Realization just barely dawns on my niece as he pulls the trigger and she slouches down to the ground, leaning on the X8 before finally falling across his midsection.
Logan simply stares for a moment before walking over to and giving me the tranquilizer gun, laying it carefully in my open palm. I gaze at the small weapon a moment before meeting Logan's eyes again, and I nod curtly, making sure to keep my mouth in a straight line.
"I just shot my daughter." He says finally, in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Oh, come on Logan. It was a dart. She'll wake up in a half-hour or so, relax." I shake my head, then square my shoulders deliberately, leaving Logan's side and walking over to the two teenagers. "Well, I suppose our lil' Evie has finally grown up, hm?" I mutter condescendingly, smirking a little.
All Logan can do is groan and collapse into the nearest chair, his hand clutching his forehead. So I just scoop up Eve and lay her on the couch next to the chair Logan is in, then walk back over to Leo and drag him to the guest bedroom.
When I come back into the living room, Logan is pretty much in the same position, except that he is staring at Eve's unconscious form. I shrug lightly to myself and turn to leave, when Logan's voice catches my attention.
"You lied to me about Eve being heat. Why'd you feel the need to do that?" I turn around, setting my features in a well-practiced militant stance.
"I'm sure you already know that, Logan." He glances up, giving me an exasperated glare. "Fine, because I was sure you, being the loving over protective father you are, would over react and... For lack of a better term, freak out." He mutters something that I pick up as 'I'm not that over protective...' I choose to ignore it and continue. "It's not the easiest thing for a dear ol' dad to choke down, his daughter falling into a state of constant unbridled-" He holds up his hand for me to stop, so I cut him a break and do as he wishes.
"All right, thank you for your concern," His tone sounds sarcastic. "But I would have appreciated knowing, despite the... awkwardness." He shakes his head slowly, standing to stretch a bit before setting his features. "Anyway, in your little chat with Sebastian did you two come up with anything?"
"Yeah, actually we did. You may have figured it out by now, but the seizure she had earlier tonight had to do with the heat."
"But how are they connected?" He interrupts.
"Her chemicals are already so off the charts, that the chemical chaos caused by heat probably threw the rest of her body off for a minute before she adjusted. It will be a convenient warning sign in the future, for her and you." He nods briefly before sighing.
"Okay then, now how are we going to handle this?"
I pause for a moment, pulling up my knowledge of cycles to the front of my mind, trying to work something out in my head. I absently scratch my arm while I am processing, and Logan stands patiently a few feet from me. I try different possibilities in my mind, but dismiss most of them thoughtfully. We don't have the funding for that. He can already get out of the handcuffs. I don't know any storage facilities around here. That one might kill Leo.
"Okay, I've got it, and it won't harm either of them in any way." Logan relaxes at my words a bit, but I catch him shoot a glare at the sleeping X8. It's always good to know that he hasn't gone completely soft, as I once suspected. He still manages to harbor a few aggressive intentions every now and then. There may be hope for him yet. I look down at my niece and the boy. The kid has a small frown on his face, I suspect that his body is trying to still fight the drugs in his system. Eve just looks tired; she is probably exhausted from all of the stress on her body she had had to deal with the past day.
Suddenly the door slams open, and I am overwhelmed with a dangerous sense of deja-vu. But it is just Max, her eyes wide and panicked, as she holds the door open tensely.
"Eve's coming! Is she here yet? Watch out for that boy!"
"Calm down, Max!" I yell over her rants. "It's all right, we have them both sedated. Everything is fine." Her old friend, the black proud lesbian comes running up behind Max, panting and clutching her side.
"Damn sugah! I know you all freakin' over your little boo, but try and remember that Original ain't got your tripped up body!" Ah yes, Original Cindy, proud yet horrible grammar. "But I wouldn't mind, fo' sure..." She mutters, and I smirk. I secretly always liked this woman. She was confident and sure, and had a don't-take-shit-from-anybody attitude, a lot like Max used to display, and is starting to regain. Not to mention the fact that she takes good care of my favorite niece.
Finally Max notices Eve lying unconscious on the couch next to Logan and walks over to perch herself on the side of the furniture. I get distracted for a moment, forgetting what Logan and I had been discussing, when Max begins to run her fingers through Eve's hair. The gesture is so gentle and loving that I am dumbfounded by it. I have obviously always been aware of an X5's heightened instincts, but to see Max display such a basic, primal action the idea now amazes me.
I glance up at my pseudo-sister's face and catch the love that saturates her expression as she strokes her daughter's scalp slowly and gently. Her lips part a bit and Max begins to make soft, whisper-like cooing sounds. I simply gaze at the two, forgetting that they are human for a moment, and I recall an image from a long time ago, when I was first a free man.
I was only about fourteen at the time, but I was nearly fully developed due to my genes. I had been living on the outside for around two years and I had stopped at a small gas station for food. The pulse was still slightly new and America was working on rebuilding mainly, so there was no gas in the pumps. The store was pretty much deserted, except for the pimply teenage girl behind the counter and a young mother with a toddler boy, who I remember quite clearly. The kid had on bright blue overalls with a rip in the knee, showing off a small multicolor band-aid on his skin underneath. His shirt was red and white striped, with a pink stain on the right sleeve. His mother, who I think was in khakis and a tank top (lavender or pink) was pulling him out of the store roughly by one arm. The kid was upset, clutching a small square of paper to his chest and wailing about something called "Mudder's Tay".
As the couple had passed me, the woman reached down to her son and wrenched the paper out of his hand and let it drop to the floor. I glanced up at the cashier, who was pretending not to notice, reading some magazine with a picture of another teenager, one that was decidedly more attractive than the reader, on the cover. After the store quieted again, I reached down to the dirty vinyl floor and picked up the thing that had held the boy's interest.
It was a card, or what I would later find to be so. On the front was a photograph of a lioness, a very beautiful one, lying in the tall golden grass, calmly licking her small cub clean. The cub was asleep with a content look on its feline face, just basking in the glow of being protected and alive with its mother. I couldn't tell you what the inside said exactly, something about a mother's love stretching to all species, it doesn't matter. The quote wasn't nearly as profound as that photograph. I had always wanted a normal life, with a home for all my brothers and sisters, and with a mother. A father wasn't ever important to me, probably because Lydecker had shown us that a dominating male figure has to be hostile and cruel, unless one of our own. But at the beginning of my teenage years, I tried not to give it much thought as I stuffed the crumpled card into my back pocket along with a few candy bars and made my way out of the store, the cashier never giving me so much as a glance.
I mentally shake myself, trying to restore some sense to the present day, and the present predicaments. Cindy is tapping her foot impatiently, looking around the room at the rest of us. I follow her gaze and see that Logan has also adopted a wistful look to his face, watching his lover and daughter together.
Something so simple should never have distracted me as much as that, and I immediately draw the conclusion that I am going soft. My training is slipping, after all, it's been almost seventeen years since I was last at Manticore, even longer since I was training and in combat. I feel my mentality harden at the memories of the torture and physical demands and psychological battles. Now I'm ready to think straight, to work this situation out for a result of maximum success.
Eve's heat is merely a set back, it'll only last about two days at the most, so I can deal with it. Our restraints left over from Leo are still in the guest bedroom, and I'll have to use them on Eve. Leo won't be responsive to the pheromones as long as the emitter is indisposed. Or at least he won't be as... Enthusiastic.
"Okay people," I say in my best commanding voice, which I might add is a damn good one a that, "We need to do a switch off of sorts. We have the wrong kid restrained, Eve needs to be constantly tied down and sedated through the next forty-eight hours. Leo isn't much to worry about, he's already shown us that he isn't going to run, so we have no choice but to allow him to be up and about as he has been."
"Permission to speak, sir." Max says teasingly, looking up at me through her eyelashes with a silly pout. I hold in an answering smile.
"Granted, soldier." This earns me a grin from her, and she shakes her head lightly, still touching Eve's hair delicately. "Well, our number one weapon against Leo so far has been Eve, if she's doped up the whole time, then there is absolutely nothing holding Leo back from doing whatever he damn well pleases with us. This might be the chance he's been waiting for."
I mentally commend Max for her logic, but I'm two steps ahead of her. "Yeah, but which do you want more? The chance that Leo is untrustworthy, or the two of them running off together to a nice alley in South Market, and making themselves a litter of enhanced kittens?"
Logan stiffens, as I suspected he would do, then turns to me. "You know Zack, I see what your saying and unbelievable as it may seem, I whole-heartedly agree."
*********
Zack cont'
It's been about an hour since we switched the positions of the kids. Eve is now belted down to her bed, sleeping heavily with the help of an extra dose of tranquilizer. Logan had refused to strap her onto the guest bed where Leo had been stationed just twenty four hours ago. Now Leo is on the couch and starting to come around groggily.
Max has been pacing the hard wood floor in front of the large window for the past thirteen minutes. Logan is in the next room typing quickly on his laptop. Cindy had been complaining rather loudly of boredom, so I suggested a movie to watch, one I had never seen before. It was from Logan's pre-pulse collection, and I mainly selected it for its cover. So without asking what it was about I popped it in the DVD player as fast as I could to finally get Cindy to quiet down.
So now as the two of us watch Terminator, we fight over the popcorn and cola. It's rather childish, but I really need o kill time before Leo is fully alert, the idea has me nervous. Although I assured Logan and Max that everything will be fine, I actually have no idea how the boy will react to his... mate being out cold.
"Now listen here, Soldier Boy," Cindy says angrily, wagging her index finger in my face for emphasis, "I was the one who popped the damn corn, so I get the first dibs!" I want to laugh desperately, but I keep a straight face, holding our stare/glare and yank lightly at the bowl.
"But I got us the drinks!" I protest, making an effort to keep my voice from wavering with laughter. "That requires more work than just pushing a few random buttons on the microwave."
"No, sugah. There is nuddin random about those buttons. That hi-tech microwave Roller Boy got is a bitch to figure out! Damn confused Original Cindy, straight up." I can't hold back any longer and feel a smile break across my face.
I turn as I sense movement, Leo is slowly sitting up rubbing his head with his palm. He grimaces as he lightly explores the wound that the puncture of the drugs caused. Everyone freezes to watch him, and it takes him a moment to get his awareness together.
His senses obviously return when he suddenly jumps over the back of the couch and struggles to get his balance, taking a defensive position near the window. After a few moments of silence he simply groans and hobbles back onto the couch, sighing quietly.
"Hey, um, Logan," Leo hasn't called us by our names very often, he hasn't really ever had the need too. "Can I get some Advil or something? I've got a pounding headache and I..." But he just trails off at the pensive look on Logan's face. Huffing a bit, the young chimera heaves himself off the cushions and half-limps into one of the bathrooms. Max crosses her arms and I notice that she has shielded her face of emotions. Without so much as a glance at any of us she slowly follows the kid. I hear some grumbling and the rattle of a bottle of pills as Leo searches for some medicine.
The tension in the room has recently increased about ten folds, even Cindy doesn't want to talk. Logan is staring off in to space again, leaning on the door jam with his arms crossed loosely over his chest. The man looks his age at the moment, something I'm not used too. I realize that Logan has aged well, and doesn't usually look like he is the father of a sixteen-year-old, but at this time I can see the tired bags under his eyes and the small wrinkles along his eyes.
My head turns to observe Leo stepping out of the bathroom, tossing back the Advil or whatever, as Max still stands nearby, threateningly. He pauses for a moment after swallowing, his eyes go a bit wider as I watch. He sniffs the air lightly and I stiffen. Here it comes.
I notice that Max's arm muscles are flexed, she noticed also. I assume Logan did too, because he's glancing around nervously. Without any more warning, the teenager strides past Max and in to Eve's bedroom. Max tries to grab his arm, but he fends off the gesture.
I rush over and peer inside over the top of Max's head to see what he will do. Leo is just standing at the foot of my niece's bed, his head slightly bowed. His shoulder blades are tense; I can see it through his tank top. I glance at Eve. She looks beautiful, with her fire-red hair framing her face against the pillow, and the dark pine green comforter draped over her, concealing the black and gray buckles and straps that hold her down. Yet I think that Leo knows that she is bound.
"I can... still smell her, you know." I'll admit his voice slightly startles me. Leo walks to the side of the bed and gazes at the girl in it. I feel my eyes narrow in suspicion. He bites his lip, hard, I presume because the surrounding flesh turns white with lack of blood. "The tranquilizer doesn't change it that much. The pheromone flow only tapers off a small amount when the... female sleeps. Then again, most of the time the female doesn't sleep anyway." He remarks mirthlessly.
I take a step forward. One thing I don't like is innuendos. Especially from some son of a bitch heated up boy who wants to ravage my favorite family member. I hold back as much rage as possible as he extends one hand to the comforter, lightly grazing the area where the blanket covers Eve's hand. He flattens his hand, then starts to move it to the side, close to Eve's stomach. I can truly feel the anger boiling up inside me-
"No." He whispers harshly, but I have the feeling he isn't really speaking to Max or me. Ignoring us further, he shakes his head and pulls his hand away. This movement is performed with what seems to be a great deal of effort. The anger inside me converts immediately to confusion. Heat isn't exactly easily resistible. Why would he be fighting it so hard? I hear him panting lightly, and Max is taken aback, I can see her expression to my side. Then her face and eyes soften and I'm even more confused than before. Turning back to the two younger chimeras, I watch dumbfounded as Leo strides out of the room with a determined look on his face, hands fisted at his sides. I leave Max at the door to Eve's room and follow Leo, finding him in the computer room.
He's pulling out large sheets of paper from a stack that Logan has for Eyes Only. He doesn't even acknowledge my presence as he sets the papers on a clear space of one of the desks and grabs a black marker. He bites off he cap and begins to draw furiously. I see his lips move and I pick up a few mumbles, but nothing decipherable.
I've had enough of the charades. "I'm done following you around as you rant. What the hell are you doing, kid?" He gives me a short glare and continues drawing. Then he grabs a ruler nearby and uses it as a straight edge. My patience is wearing thin. "Well? Are you going to answer me, or just wallow in your sexual frustration?"
Now glaring at the paper, he says, "I'm drawing up blueprints from memory."
"Of?" I ask through clenched teeth.
"Manticore." Huh?
"Why?" There can only be one reason why he would...
"Well, we might just need them when we invade Manticore, won't we?"
**********************************************************************
I'm really really sorry (really really really) that this took sooooo long. I know that you are all really pissed at me, but I'm trying to redeem myself! I've got the rest of the story planned out, o I won't get such severe writers block again. One more thing - (in a Mr. Rogers voice) "Won't you be my reader?" Still? Forgive me and review?