Chapter 5: Stand by me

When Max waltzed into the command center with Jondy at her back, more than one person was a little surprised to see her. The most surprised might have been Alec, whether he could theoretically sense her approach or not. His jaw certainly dropped in the most noticeable manner before he pulled himself together.

"Hey, Max," he said. His voice sounded strangely loud in his own ears.

"Alec," she replied equivocally.

"Didn't expect to see you up and about today," this time he sounded awkward even to the rest of the TC transgenics in the command center.

Max could feel that guilt again. Alec could be infuriating. "You are so self- centered," she snapped. "This isn't about you or your stupid guilt—this isn't even about me. This is about Terminal City, and if you want to keep me away you'd better be prepared to do a lot more damage than you did yesterday." Approval was radiating from everyone and being sucked away by an angry black hole surrounding Alec.

"That's right," he spat back, "I forgot—Max can't show weakness. Max can't let anyone help her. She needs to save the day even if she is the one in the most pain."

The wall around Max cracked so visibly as she drew a breath replenishing the wind knocked from her lungs by Alec's attack that several transgenics in the Command Center had to reign in their instinct to physically restrain Alec.

"Alec," Jondy snapped, "Chill. You have absolutely no right to talk to Max that way, so can it. She's just trying to do her job."

Alec looked even angrier than he had a moment before, then he was just a soldier completely faceless. "Right. You're, right, I'm sorry, Max. You have every right to be here."

Max wasn't listening. She looked like she was going to throw up. Jondy put a hand on her arm. "Are you okay, Max?"

"Am I okay?" Max looked up at her sister. There was a murderous gleam in her eye suddenly. "Back off him! He can talk to me any way he wants. It's none of your business how he talks to me."

Jondy resisted the urge to jerk away from the angry transgenic and instead wrapped an arm around her sister's waist. "I'm sorry, Alec." Alec's mask had broken slightly to show confusion. Jondy was still looking at him with a small measure of hostility, but it didn't come through in her voice.

Alec looked around at the other transgenics. He made a decision. "It's all good," he answered with a congenial grin. "We've got something a whole lot more important to do, as much fun as airing our dirty laundry in command is, let's get on with it."

"Right," Max agreed. "Have you assembled the court?"

"Yes," he answered, "everyone's been assembled. I'd assumed we'd be working with four judges, but an odd number will make majority a lot easier to come by."

"Four judges?" asked Max. "Don't you mean we will be working with three judges? We can't judge this crime, Alec."

"Why not," he asked impassively. "It's part of our job description."

"You know why not," she growled, undeterred. "I know I wouldn't be able to deal out justice in this scenario."

"You said you needed to be here for this," he argued, still emotionless in expression, but Max could feel the underlying pool of magma. Alec wasn't just mad; there was a logical anger that intended to do everything in his power to exact disproportional vengeance. Alec had considerable power in Terminal City, power that Max couldn't let him use for this.

"I do, and I will be here. I plan to present evidence and make absolutely sure justice is served, but I can't be the one to decide how they are punished, to decide how much they transgressed. We both know you can't be either."

"You don't know what I am and am not capable of Maxie," he growled.

"Of all the things you could accuse me of in this moment, that's not one I'd even imagine you picking," she snapped.

Alec ignored her, his voice low and dangerous because if he lost control others might start agreeing with Max about his ability to judge fairly. "What do they deserve Max? They're just as responsible for hurting you as I am. What deserves to happen to them?"

Her pain returned just as easily as she'd pushed it away. Did he need to bring it up? Did he need to use their bond, to force her to feel his own protective instincts? The attack on two fronts was too much, especially when a very large part of Max wanted exactly the same thing. "They deserve to be shot," she growled shoving him back.

Straight backed, Alec just smiled blandly at her, "and Terminal City will see justice done."

That response was enough to set Max back to her own emotions. She couldn't risk bloodshed. She couldn't risk Terminal City. "There's a reason victims don't get to sit on the ordinary jury, Alec," she growled. "I know I'm not impartial and so I have extracted myself from the proceedings. Can you honestly tell me that you're not doing this for revenge? Can you look me in the eye and tell me you aren't doing this out of guilt?" Max smiled. It was not a kind expression. "If you hurt them, will it make you feel better about how much you are hurting me?" She'd figured out how he'd projected and it wasn't hard to hit him. It had never been difficult to lash out at Alec. He staggered visibly under the pain of unrequited love.

Jondy watched as Max did something to hurt Alec, but she didn't interfere. The two needed to air things out sooner or later or they would lose their friendship. It was just a lucky break they'd started this soon, and Jondy wasn't about to waste months by interrupting just because they were in the middle of the command center.

Alec straightened, staring at Max with real tears teasing the corners of his eyes. "What was that?" he asked, his voice trembling under his obvious efforts to keep it steady.

Max looked even angrier than before. "What? So you found someone other than yourself to blame and now I'm supposed to pretend… what? That you aren't stuck with me? That we aren't stuck like this?"

"Stuck like what, Maxie?" asked Alec, his voice sounded vulnerable to Jondy, but Max didn't seem to notice. She was on a rant.

"Don't play dumb with me, mister!" she snapped. "You can have your stupid guilt and you idiotic vengeance quest, but even with them you're bright enough to know what I'm talking about."

Alec just starred at Max while Jondy and the rest of the command center watched the unfolding drama.

"You are bright enough to know what I'm talking about," Max said again, this time uncertainty bringing a quiver to her voice.

Alec continued to look at Max, his soldierly face slipping to reveal an expression of fear that bordered on longing.

"There is no way you couldn't know what I'm talking about," Max whispered completely immune to the number of people staring at her curiously. The only person in her world was Alec, and he was getting closer to her.

"Max," he whispered finally, his eyes wavering gently as he opened up and washed her away with a slow tidal wave of emotion. "I'm in love with you."

"Oh Alec," she murmured, her face inches from Alec's. "We're not very straightforward people, are we?"

His lips twitched into a smirk as they closed to capture his target. "That's not your line, Maxie."

"Oh no?" she mumbled. Her eyes drifting nearly shut so she could bask in the open warmth of feeling emanating from her mate. "Enlighten me."

"Something like, 'I love you, too,'" Alec suggested. He pulled away slightly when she tried to close the final distance.

"How about 'Shut up and kiss me, pretty boy'?" she asked, grabbing his shirt with one fist and crushing her lips up to his.

X5-494 pulled his mate to his body, kissing her, claiming her publicly and thoroughly enjoying the hooting catcalls of his well intentioned comrades.

"Okay," Max said, puling away with a grin on her face, "I think we have work to do, people." The laughing crowd didn't make a move to disperse. In fact, they were now clapping. Max's irritating mate simply smirked and leaned in to kiss her again. She jerked her head back, "I said bip, people."

"Oh, fine," he grumbled, letting her go.