Dark Angel Revised
The Circle of Life
"And you're sure that the child is displaying traits." Lydecker didn't look up from his computer at the ice queen standing in the doorway of his office. He'd anticipated this visit from the first moment he received the call that X5-656 and her family escaped and even worse was helped by at least three other X5s. And Renfro didn't disappoint. He was informed not five minutes after he hung up that she was on her way from Manticore. But he was prepared for the reaming because he had something on her conduct as well.
"All reports strongly indicated so." Colonel Lydecker answered nonchalantly.
"But you weren't able to confirm yourself." Lydecker stifled a wince at Renfro's leading question.
"I was planning on going under in two days." He said.
"And now it's too late." Ahh here it comes, he thought.
"It's not too
late." Lydecker answered with waning confidence. "We'll find them."
"Aw Deck, if your role of being
such a joke wasn't so stale, I'd still be laughing. But now it's just plain boring. And do you know why it's boring?" Renfro
asked sweetly causing Lydecker to inwardly seethe. So many unforeseen circumstances and
pressured situations he could weather without so much as batting an
eyelash. But he did have his limits and
the haughty manner of Director Elizabeth Renfro was one of them. However knowing he had a card of his own to
pull, he was able to remain silent and let her continue.
Every opportunity you had you failed. The committee only tolerates you because of the results you barely managed to achieve with the X5s that weren't able to escape." Renfro glided further into his office forcing him to look up at her from his seated position. "But enough is enough. You've got one more chance, Deck. Either we see results next time or you can kiss this office and all its perks goodbye." That said Renfro waited a beat for a response or to simply gloat he couldn't be sure. He didn't plan on dignifying anything she said with a response so he remained silent. However when she turned to leave he spoke up.
"Where did you send X5-734?" Renfro stopped but didn't turn around so he continued. "And before you deny it I checked the video surveillance I know you gave the orders." He finished smugly.
"Her location is classified as is my reason for sending her there."
"And 821?" Lydecker prodded. Renfro turned and faced him. "After the Adriana Lourdes mission she was confined to Psych Ops. I checked her file she's been removed five months ahead of schedule, again by you."
"821?" She raised an eyebrow in question. "Ah yes, the female unit that got herself into a bit of trouble. Not to worry her condition has been noted and she's being treated with the proper care."
"Where is she?" The colonel asked calmly.
"It's classified." Renfro smirked.
"The hell it is!" Lydecker exploded finally sick of her games. "The X5s are my responsibility! Protocol states that I clear my kids before they get sent on a mission or out of the facility."
"No, Donald, that's where you're wrong or have you forgotten who's over whom." Renfro answered. Her demeanor unruffled despite Lydecker's rage. "As director I can send your kids, my merchandise, any place I damn well please and I don't need your permission or opinion on the matter before hand."
"What the hell are you playing at, lady?"
Renfro shrugged. "It's nothing to concern yourself with, Deck. You've got enough on your plate fumbling with the job you have now. Don't complicate things by sticking your nose in affairs that are way way above and beyond you."
This time when Renfro turned to leave, he didn't stop her.
"Alec." Max moaned before collapsing against his heaving chest. Satiated once more, the two lovers lay as their heartbeats slowed to match the tempo of the raindrops still falling outside of their shelter. The treacherous storm had abated hours ago but Max and Alec were in no hurry to leave each others bodies and end their session of rampant love making.
"Who knew?" Max sighed as she snuggled closer to her man.
"Knew what?" Alec said drowsily as he traced patterns on Max's back.
"Knew how great it would be to give in." She answered. "All those times before, the urge was so strong. It was agony. And to think all it'd take was a few hours of mind blowing gong banging to put a stop to it." Max turned sparkling eyes up to Alec. "Why was it again that we didn't do this before?"
Alec smiled. "You
know why."
"Oh yeah." Max smiled back.
"About that Max." Alec began more seriously. "You know things haven't really changed. We're still pretty much where we were when we first hooked up."
"I know." Max sighed. "But I feel too good to regret this. Can't we just deal with the consequences later?" She pleaded.
Alec shrugged. "Fine by me. Sides, we could be making an issue out of nothing. You've had sex in heat before right."
Max stiffened slightly before nodding.
"And you didn't get pregnant then, right."
"I don't want to talk about that either." She said with finality and then withdrew from Alec's warmth and stood up. She shivered before stretching. "Come on. We better get a move on."
Alec stared at her a moment before nodding.
They dressed in silence. Stepping out of the shack, still neither commented but both were relieved to see that the rain was now a light drizzle as they walked to the tree where they stashed Max's Ninja under.
"Oh man," Max whined.
"What is it?" Alec's eyes darted around the bike to see if it had been damaged in any way.
"I don't know if I'm gonna be able to straddle that thing and ride it for miles after our work out from before."
Alec couldn't help smirking with masculine pride.
"No worries." He said before leaning down to place a kiss on her cheek. "I'll drive first and you can ride sideways."
That arrangement suited them fine for the first one hundred miles. By the time they reached a fuel truck, Max was less sore and knew she'd be able to drive after they gassed up and ate. And Alec, who had been surprised and delighted that she let him drive her bike for as long as she did, couldn't complain about handing over the keys.
The diner was just down the road from the fuel truck and the two decided to sit down to a big meal instead of grabbing something small to take on the road. They hadn't eaten in a while and the hours of sex they had engaged in not long ago had worked up their appetite even more.
"You think Tinga, Charlie, and Case are okay?" Max asked after she swallowed a french fry.
"Oh yeah, they'll do great. And if not, their little guy will keep 'em in line."
"You really liked Case, huh."
"He's a cute kid."
"Yeah he is."
"Special too."
Max chuckled. To hear Alec talk it was like Case was his own son.
"I'm serious. In fact that's why I think Manticore was hell bent on capturing not only Tinga but Charlie and Case."
"What do you mean?" She asked realizing she had misinterpreted his praise of Case before.
"Case is half human and half X5. They did experiments with that kind of mix back in Manticore. In fact that was part of our lessons on safe sex and why it was so dangerous to breed with humans. Every now and then a normal regular human kid would result but for the most part there were a lot of problems: deformities and such."
"That's awful."
"It really was." Alec agreed. "But anyway, it looks like Case is taking after his mother. As far as I know that never happened when they combined human and X5 DNA in the lab."
"Are you sure Case has X5 characteristics."
Alec shrugged. "He remembered a number sequence exactly from over a year ago." Max's eyes widened. "Something tells me it's rare that regular human ankle biters can do that."
"Alec." Max said seriously. "You do know how much more important it is we take out Manticore. It's bad enough they won't stop coming after us. But at least we were born there, born…slaves." She said disgustedly. "But our children, our families they were born free. Manticore has no right to them yet they don't care. They'll only ever see us and ours as property. I'm not gonna let them get away with this."
Alec reached across the table and placed his hands over Max's trembling ones that had nothing to do with a lack of Tryptophan.
"You know I'm on board with you Max. We're gonna be free of Manticore. Every last one of us. No matter what it takes."
Max nodded and then smiled hopefully as Alec's confident words assured her.
After leaving the diner, they drove straight to Seattle making no more stops. Although Max's biggest cravings for sex were over, there was still a residual dull throbbing that she wanted Alec to attend to. So they decided to head by her place to get a change of clothes before spending the rest of the night at his roommate-less pad thus ensuring they wouldn't disturb or be disturbed.
As soon as they entered her hallway Max saw the light under her front door telling her that Kendra was home.
"Honey, I'm home." Max sang as she flung open her door.
"It's about damn time." A very non-Kendra voice answered back.
Max paused briefly before shrugging and continuing on her way deeper into her apartment. "What are you doing here, Zack?" She asked nonchalantly as she dumped her bag just outside of her bedroom. She then flopped on the couch next to her big brother and waited for an answer.
"Got a lead on Brin." Zack responded stiffly but instead of looking at her, his eyes were on Alec's ruffling through Max's refrigerator. Irritated by the sight and not sure why he had to settle for clenching his jaw before turning to Max. His eyes instantly softened but his voice was still clipped. "My source says she's being held at a research facility they've set up inside a converted silo near the municipal border. I did some recon and there's minimal security. I think it'd be the perfect place to get her out."
"Does your source know why she's there in the first place?"
"No idea. He did say it wasn't under Lydecker's orders. Said the new director, Renfro or something, gave the order."
"Alec?" Max questioned when she saw the seemingly disinterested transgenic suddenly pop his head up from behind the refrigerator and stare at them with wide eyes. "You know who this Renfro guy is?"
"She." Alec corrected. "But believe me you wouldn't know it from her reputation. To say she's ruthless would be like saying Lydecker was annoyed when you guys escaped back in '09."
"Figures someone like that would be picked to head up Manticore." Max huffed.
"Doesn't matter who's in charge, our objective is to get Brin." Zack cut in. "We'll make the grab tonight. It takes fifteen minutes to get there so we'll move out now." Zack stood up. But when Max didn't move he looked down at her sitting casually on the couch.
"Tinga and her family are fine by the way." She informed to which Zack grunted what Max assumed was approval. "And not to hold up the mission, oh great and wise C.O. by being all girly but I need to get out of these clothes." Max stood up and stretched, taking a discreet sniff of her underarm before dropping both arms to her sides. "A shower would be nice too but I'm willing to put that off at least." And with that she turned and was about to head towards her bedroom.
"Max wait. We really need to leave n—" Zack said as he reached out to stop Max from walking away only to find his grasp on her broken and Alec suddenly standing in front of him. Zack blinked in confusion. When Max was talking to him, to Zack, Alec had always been easy to ignore. And for a moment there he had forgotten the other man was in the room. It seemed unimaginable now considering the formidable presence of the man now standing in between Max and him. The way Alec's eyes were burning into his, it took every ounce of strength Zack had to fight the urge to shrink back in fear.
"Go ahead and shower, Max." Alec ordered without taking his eyes off of Zack. "We'll both feel better once you do." He continued in the same detached tone. Max cast wide eyes between the two men and nodded even though neither was looking at her to see her response.
When Max closed her bathroom door, the tension between the two men eased significantly.
"You really should know better, Zack." Alec said easily before taking Max's former seat on the couch.
"What are you talking about?"
"Zack come on. I'm not gonna spell it out." When Zack continued to stare at him, Alec rolled his eyes and sighed. "H-E-A-T." When Zack's eyes remained confused Alec rolled his again and was about to explain but Zack spoke instead.
"She's wh-" And then it dawned on him. "Oh!" He practically shouted before looking back towards the bathroom and then at Alec in a near panic. "She's in heat." He said still amazed.
"Yeah, heat." Alec mocked. "Actually she's just coming out of it, but I can still smell her so I know you can too and as her mate you should know how close to killing you I was for touching her."
"Oh. Yeah. Whatever." Zack said agitatedly. Truth was he didn't recognize the pheromones signaling that Max was in heat or coming out of a heat cycle as Alec had said. One possible reason being that he was always intoxicated by Max's scent and now that he thought about it, it did seem slightly sweeter but he just thought it was some new perfume. He could also blame his naivety on the fact that he'd never been around any of his female unit members while they were in heat. He knew about the pheromones, however, thanks to a tale from Zane on how he and Tinga almost went at it the first time she went into heat. They had been paired off during the night of the escape and had remained together until Zack had found them and split them up years later. Tinga was thirteen and Zane was twelve when it happened. Luckily it worked out that way because since Zane hadn't gone all the way through puberty yet, he was still smaller and much weaker than Tinga. The pheromones hit Zane before Tinga felt the effects and he was all over her. Not knowing why he was suddenly groping her, she threw him into a wall, knocking him unconscious instantly. Zane just remembered waking up hours later to find her gone. She didn't come back for days. Tinga never shared with Zack her side of the story but then again he hadn't implied that he had been all that interested. From the way Zane had vividly described to Zack how it felt, Zack just counted himself fortunate that he never had the experience.
Alec watched, with dawning realization, Zack stalk around the living room nervously. He didn't know. At first he felt somewhat mollified that Zack hadn't intentionally tried to crouch on his territory. Then he felt a little bad for being so hard on the poor guy. With how G.I. Joe Zack could be, Alec sometimes forgot that he had been one of the 2009 escapees and therefore missed some of Manticore's wonderful biology lessons.
They both looked up when Max entered the living room freshly showered and carrying her boots in her hand. "You boys behave yourselves?"
"Its all good." Alec replied happily before jumping up. "So Max do you have anything of mine here I can change into? My clothes are still wet too."
"Yeah, check my bottom draw." She said while lacing up her boots. "You want some coffee?" She asked Zack after she was done with her boots.
"Ugh sure." Zack muttered. Max raised an eyebrow at the wide berth Zack was giving her as she moved around the kitchenette preparing the brew, but didn't comment. They kept the silence going as they waited for Alec to get out of the shower even after the coffee was done. Zack seemed broody and Max left him to it considering she was not in the greatest of moods her self since her plans to alleviate the last bit of tension her heat caused fell through. But then again, they were interrupted for a good reason Max thought as the anticipation of seeing Brin again began to grow.
"So have you given any more thought to Alec's and my idea to take down Manticore for good?"
"It's a great dream, Maxie, and believe me I've thought about it. But I don't know if we can take on something that big."
"We can Zack. I know we can. Think about it, we escaped them and we were only kids. Imagine what we could do now. If we brought the war home to them now they wouldn't know what hit them."
"What could we do Max, huh?" Zack spat. "Blow up the building! Do you really think it's that simple; that Manticore is just one building. Face it, we wouldn't even know where to begin to make sure they couldn't just pack up and start somewhere else like they did after we escaped."
"So that's it. You're resigned to just be on the run for the rest of our lives."
"Max."
"No Zack. I know we don't have it all figured out yet, but at least Alec and I are trying. We're trying to find out who's really behind Manticore and that's really all I'm asking for your help for. You say you're already in contact with someone on the inside, that's the kinda info we need. I'm not asking you to blow anything up…yet. Just whether or not you're on board." A twinkle formed in Max eyes as she hid a smile and continued in the same serious tone "Because if you're not part of the solution, you're apart of the—"
"Shut up." Zack smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Hey," Max grinned back. "I remember that was one of your favorite quotes to annoy us with back in the bad ole days."
"Whatever." His smile getting even bigger as he said it. "And yes, I'm in." He added gently. "Whatever you want to do, Maxie, you can count on me."
"Thanks Zack." She whispered sincerely.
"Well isn't this cozy." The two X5s perched on stools at the kitchen counter looked up to see Alec standing in Max's doorway.
"Coffee?" Max asked while holding up an empty cup and the kettle.
"Nah, I'm already wired enough." He then clapped his hands together. "So we ready to get this mission started."
"Hell yeah." Max said jumping off her stool.
"Have a seat, Peter."
Agent Peter Sandoval calmly did as he was told even while his innards were fluttering. Colonel Lydecker calling him by his first name was never a good sign.
"What can you tell me about this?" Lydecker asked after placing a print out in front of the other man.
"Nothing, sir." Agent Sandoval asserted after thoroughly scanning the paper.
"You mean to tell me, you have no idea why the X5s on that list were relocated without my authority."
"Sorry."
"Do you not find anything peculiar about the list?" Sandoval studied it again and figured it would be in his best interest to not look like a complete idiot by not stating the obvious."
"They're all female."
"That's right and?"
"And?" At Lydecker's nod, Sandoval's eyes dropped
back down to the piece of paper. He then
picked it up and brought it closer to his face before putting it back on the
desk. "I don't—"
"Wrong!" Donald Lydecker roared as he slammed his hand
down on the table ruffling the paper and Agent Peter Sandoval. "Peter,"
Lydecker began returning to a conversational tone. "I know Renfro ordered you to sign out a few
of the names on this list and I know she ordered you to keep it a secret from
me. But now is the time for you to
remember who you work for. Renfro is up
to something and it has nothing to do with the good of Manticore. She's double dealing. I wouldn't be surprised if she was selling
the units to foreign governments." Sandoval's
eyes widened.
"Colonel, I—"
Lydecker's hand in the air was enough to silence the other man. "I know Renfro assured you that her purposes were legit. I bet you didn't even question her."
"She's the director." Sandoval stammered. "I didn't think—"
"I know this Agent Sandoval. You've always had this project's best interests in mind. Now, it's time to reevaluate and choose sides, Peter. Renfro has been removing female X5s to undisclosed locations and signing my name to the orders meanwhile I helped build this project and brought it to where it is today." Lydecker made a steeple of his hands and leaned back in his chair. "Where are your loyalties, Peter?"
"I only know where 734 is." Sandoval said after a brief pause. "I escorted her there myself. She's here in Seattle; a silo near the municipal border, northeast of check point K."
"It's vital we get to the bottom of this Agent Sandoval. You did the right thing." Lydecker's mouth curved upwards in an attempt at a reassuring smile. "Dismissed."
Peter Sandoval stood and with a curt nod to Lydecker he left. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure he had done the right thing although his shoulders did feel lighter as if some burden was lifted. After all he did think it was strange when Renfro first approached him with her orders. But she was the Director so he followed them.
And it didn't hurt that he found her domineering ways sexy as hell too.
Back in his office, Lydecker made a call summoning his two most trusted operatives. Having no idea what Renfro was up to, he was essentially flying blind. He wouldn't wait a second longer to check out the place Sandoval said X5-734 was and he knew he'd need back up.
"See." Zack whispered as he pointed upwards. "Only two men covering the roof. There's also only two at each door."
Alec nodded. "I only saw three jeeps which means there are probably even less inside."
"So the plan is we each take an entry way." Zack added. "I'll stay on the roof and keep watch." He reached in his pack and pulled out three devices. "Clip these on." Max and Alec took the com links and did as they were told. "We go silent. Only use them if you get in trouble."
After three curt nods the trio crept away from the overturned tracker that had served as their cover towards the silo. Once closer, Zack broke off from Max and Alec and hurried over to the ladder to the roof. He put the silencer on his gun before tucking it in his pants in order to make the climb. Before stepping onto the roof, he made two clean shots dropping the soldiers stationed there.
Alec signaled to Max where he was heading and the two split off. When Alec saw the two guards standing by the entryway and not facing him, he pressed himself against the building and silently slid towards them. He crept up behind them and debated for several seconds as he watched the oblivious soldiers focused on only what was in front of them whether or not he should take them out or go inside without bothering. Deciding he'd rather not risk the door squeaking and alerting them of his presence, he stepped up and bashed their heads together.
On the other side of the structure, Max had already dispatched her opposition and was inside. A man in a white coat sat in front of a large console equipped with several monitors and two computers. The console blocked most of her view but she could see at least three more soldiers standing guard in various areas of the large round room. None of them had their gun at the ready so Max sprang into action.
With what probably looked like the work of the cartoon Tasmanian devil, Max blurred around the silo in a semi circle, dispatching the three soldiers in her path. The lab tech had little time to blink let alone call for help before Max grabbed him and smashed his face into his desk.
And that's when Max saw her.
In the center of the room stood three large tubular vats. Two contained nothing, but the one Max was riveted on was filled to the brim with greenish liquid.
And her sister, Brin.
The rage that gripped Max at seeing her sister stripped and lifeless with grotesque tubes seemingly growing out of every follicle allowed Max to only concentrate on one thing and that was freeing her sister from the atrocity.
She grabbed the closest thing to her which turned out to be the unconscious lab's technician's chair, and with an inhuman cry used it to shatter the container her sister was in.
Zack cursed under his breath when he saw from the roof the humvee approaching the silo.
"Guys, we got company. Did you find Brin?"
Alec halted from picking the lock to the door to answer Zack.
"I'm not in yet." Alec answered. "Max, you there?"
"Max." Zack whispered harshly when she didn't answer.
"How far away?" Alec asked.
"Less than five minutes, we gotta move now. Max!"
"I'm going in." Alec told Zack when they still didn't get any response from Max.
"I'll go down and run interference if I have to." Zack said irritably. "It's just the one, but they're may be more on the way."
Alec entered the silo just in time to see Max pull a wet, discolored nude woman into her arms.
"Max?" He asked his tone of voice giving away his confusion at the situation.
"Brin." He heard Max softly sob. Alec took a step closer and his heart clenched at the sight.
No heat radiated from the limp woman in Max's arms and Alec knew. The woman, Brin, was dead. They were too late.
What had happened was Alec's second thought. He looked around the room, taking in the four unconscious men before going back to the middle where Max sat still clutching her sister. It was then that he noticed that the tubes lying on the floor and dangling from the broken contraption were connected to Brin. This was a level of sickness Alec should have been prepared for knowing Manticore but the sight still chilled him to the bone.
"Alec!" Alec heard someone hiss his name from behind and turned to see Zack in the doorway. "What the hell are you doing?" Zack continued. "Why couldn't I get through to you?"
Alec looked down startled to see his finger pressed against the response button making it impossible for Zack to communicate with them. He had meant to tell Zack their status the moment he saw Max but he had been so rattled by the sight, he forgot.
"They're coming. Is Max there or Brin?"
"They're both here." Alec answered somberly.
"Good." Zack said stepping all the way inside. "We gotta go out the back. They're gonna pull in here any second and when they see the bodies they'll call—"He stopped short. "Brin" Zack breathed when he took in the scene in the center of the room.
He ran and dropped to his knees beside Max and Brin.
"Is she---" But by Max's vacant look he knew he didn't have to finish. They failed. Zack angrily blinked in an effort to rid the tears welling in his eyes. He was about to pull Max away when the sound of car doors slamming snapped his attention towards the door he had just entered through. He stood and drew his gun. Alec too readied himself and faced the door. Max, however, remained on the floor unable to let Brin go. However she was quiet and that was the main thing they all needed to be.
We're not alone. Lydecker thought when he took in the two downed soldiers by the door. He drew his gun before signaling O'Neil to follow him and Hayland to go around back.
Inside the silo, Alec and Zack heard the footsteps approaching. They also heard one break off and head around back so Zack turned to face that way while Alec kept focused on the front.
Soundlessly Zack moved towards the back where the footsteps were approaching and Alec moved equally silent behind the door.
A cry and a thump from across the room where Zack was sent two men rushing in through the door Alec hid behind.
Alec quickly snapped the neck of the one dressed in combat gear, but when he recognized Lydecker as the second man instead of giving him the same treatment as the soldier before him, Alec grabbed him by his collar and thrust him into the nearest wall. Not letting go, he then took his gun and pressed it under Lydecker's throat.
"One question." Alec got out through clenched teeth. "Why?"
"I don't know what you're talking about 494. I—"Alec pulled him forward and then banged him back into the wall shutting him up. He then grabbed him and dragged him over to Brin.
"Why!" He shouted while shoving him closer. Alec was almost shaking with rage. Back when they made the decision to leave Brin to Lydecker and Manticore he swore to Max that she would be better off and that they'd eventually rescue her. But he had been wrong.
Lydecker too was truly shocked and horrified by the sight. Two emotions so unfamiliar to him yet they clearly showed. Wide-eyed and shaking it took him incredible effort to get his throat to work.
"I didn't…I couldn't do this. I had no idea." He managed to get out unable to take his eyes off of 734's discolored body lolling lifeless in the other woman's arms.
"Liar!" Zack screamed storming over to them with his gun raised and pointed at Lydecker.
"I swear Zack this is not my doing. I came here to see what the hell was going on because Brin was removed from Manticore without my orders. I swear if I had known, I would have killed that bitch Renfro the moment I saw her." Lydecker explained.
The gun in Zack's hand wavered slightly but then a second later three heads snapped up suddenly and then a shot was fired. A formerly unconscious soldier slumped dead, the hand gripping the radio he had whispered into for help went slack and the walkie-talkie dropped to the floor.
A voice on the other end began talking louder and after lowering the gun he had just fired, Zack walked over and crushed the radio with his boot.
"They'll be on their way now." Zack said stoically, the blinding rage from a moment ago completely evaporated. "We gotta get out of here."
"What about him?" Alec gestured towards Lydecker. The Colonel's eyes widened when Zack held up his gun again.
"No." Max said speaking for the first time thus silencing them all. "We take him with us. He's gonna tell us everything he knows to help us take down Manticore for good." Her tone brokered no argument and the other two X5s acquiesced.
They wrapped Brin in the lab tech's white coat and took her as well not wanting to leave her body there for Manticore to take and further degrade. Zack carried her and Alec bound Lydecker's hands and pulled him out to his jeep where they all got in and sped away before reinforcements arrived.
"Why was our sister murdered?" Max asked. The quiet way in which she asked the question belied the rage churning inside of her.
Lydecker shook his head. Hands and feet bound to a chair, the only thing different from the last time he was in this position with the same three X5s was the absence of a blindfold. They were in one of Logan's safe houses. The same one they stayed in to protect Lauren Briganza during their first mission for "Eyes Only."
Logan had also made arrangements for Brin. They all decided it would be best to cremate Brin's body since they didn't want to bury her in an unmarked grave especially, with their lives of constant running, not knowing if and when they would be able to tend to her burial site. The urn was something that could be carried around easily and more important with Brin's body now ashes, Manticore or anyone else would not be able to use or exploit her remains.
"I don't know." Lydecker rasped. "Unless…"He trailed off.
"Unless what, you son of a bitch." Max yelled snapping at last and grabbing Lydecker up by the collar of his jacket. Lydecker turned wide eyes towards Zack and Alec but neither man made a move to intervene.
"Unless she discovered something." Lydecker choked out since Max's hold on his jacket collar was causing the material to strangle him.
"She who!" Max shouted. "Brin." She lifted him higher and then shook him.
"No." Lydecker got out, his face rapidly going from red to blue. "Renfro." He squeezed out. Max held on a fraction of a second longer before tossing him back into his chair which broke under the force and left Lydecker sprawled on the floor.
He took several labored breaths as he slowly gathered himself up into a sitting position. Leaning his head against the wall with his eyes closed, he began to speak in a strained voice.
"You know originally the project was only supposed to create male soldiers." Max's eyes snapped to Lydecker's now open ones and their gazes held. "The first and second generations were failures because the testosterone levels were too high when mixed with the male animals. Those that survived usually went crazy as soon as they hit puberty and we'd have to put them down."
Max was confused as to why he was telling them this but she was also intrigued. This was essential her family history. She chanced a glance back at Zack and Alec and saw that they too seemed fascinated.
"It wasn't until the X4s that we realized that because the DNA mix was so unstable tampering with the sex to predetermine it was what caused a lot of the undesirable results. With that solved, a new embryo was created designated X5. There were, of course, still a lot of problems. The seizures, progeria, were the last of a long line of conditions your generation were inflicted with and we lost a lot of prototypes but we knew that if we perfected the X5 sequence the viable results would be just what we had hoped for. We debated whether or not to destroy all the female embryos but we discovered that the body chemistry of the male and females took to the prenatal engineering in slightly different ways and we wanted to see the long term results. Plus with the process of making the X5 recombinant DNA so expensive and tedious, we also decided it would be beneficial in the long run to see if successful breeding was possible."
"This is all very fascinating Donald," Max said snidely after finally losing her patience. "But if you don't mind, how about we save the bedtime story for another night and you answer my original question."
"I was getting to that."
"Get there faster."
"The years after you were born, we were still finding out about your flaws and capabilities. And it was your capabilities that made X5 our crowing achievement. But it was also what made you dangerously valuable. When the fact that your blood has regenerative properties was leaked, foreign governments everywhere were scrambling to get a hold of information on our project. What I'm guessing is that Renfro may have found something else in your makeup that she wants."
"What?"
"I don't know. So far I've come up empty. Brin is not the first X5 to disappear from the facility without my permission. Three others have been removed. So far the only common thread other than being X5 is that they are all females." Lydecker paused to let that sink in before starting again. "Those tanks in that silo were extraction chambers. We used those on the lower series whenever we needed genetic material to make you and the series after you. But Renfro drained Brin completely. I have no idea why she would do that. She must have been desperate to get everything she needed from one X5 meaning she's on a deadline."
"But she was the director why couldn't she just order small extractions from everyone." Alec asked.
"She knows I would never approve. I have final say on what happens with the X5 and she knows how much you kids mean to me."
"Yeah right." Max disagreed heatedly. "You sure had a funny way of showing it. I remember experimenting on us was no big deal. And I remember you standing there watching so don't tell me she thought you wouldn't be able to stomach whatever new sick thing she wanted to test out on us."
"Those experiments served a purpose. We were finding ways to make you better, stronger. We were making you into soldiers. She knows I would never agree to willingly risk your lives for just anything and especially not anything personal. She knows everything I do as far as the project is with this country's best interest in mind."
"Spare me." Max muttered.
"Believe me. I was trying to build something. Think of it. Instead of sending a thousand soldiers into battle and losing one hundred, imagine sending in ten perfect soldiers and losing none." Lydecker made eye contact with each of the X5s before landing back on Max. "I know you feel you have no reason to trust me or believe me but I would give my life rather than see this project perverted or end up in enemy hands. I fear Renfro will do both. Her reach and influence are long and she may not even be the one that's giving the orders so just taking her out is not an option."
"So what are you saying?" Zack asked.
"I'm saying I'd rather see this project stopped then let Renfro's plans come to fruition. I'll help you take down Manticore permanently."
"How?"
"Remember when you kids escaped," At their nods he continued. "It almost shut down the project completely. The same thing will happen if we destroy the DNA lab."
"How do we know they won't move and start elsewhere. We already know there is more than just one facility." Max asked.
Lydecker looked at 494. "True but only one location does the genetic engineering."
"Why would they put all their eggs in one basket?"
"Simple. They don't have a choice. Each one of you is worth millions even before training. The process that goes into making you is time consuming and expensive, and like I said before, extremely unstable. The process would be ruined if they had to wait for parts and materials to be sent from other labs not to mention if any of those samples were damaged or stolen. It's much less risk to keep materials in one facility. You're all born in the same place and only after a certain age spread to be trained independently in different facilities."
"How many facilities are there?" Alec questioned.
"Six, although one facility has no X5 unit."
"Why?"
"Not enough left to make a full unit." Lydecker shrugged. "That's another reason why the capture of the 2009 escapees was so important. You're a dwindling breed. Of the 84 X5s created, thirty were lost. You twelve that escaped. The other eighteen deceased. With Renfro exterminating Brin and possibly others, it won't be long before your entire kind's gone."
"They haven't made more X5 since us." Max asked somewhat stunned.
"When we saw the seizure problem in the young X5 and then the progeria we started working on series 6. They had more alterations but to stabilize it some other talents were sacrificed. They're not as promising as the X5. We then began the process of cloning a new generation of X5. However the escape halted that. It was figured that the clones would be a flight risk as well. When we reindoctrinated the twins of the escapees," Again Lydecker looked at Alec. "We discovered a possible reason for the escape was you were too independent in thinking so the twins were simplified by ceasing officer training and individual specializations. We had to make you think that you were weapons and nothing more."
Alec nodded slowly when a memory surfaced of a beating he received for using the pronoun I.
"But you were so intelligent it was hard to tell if you kids really bought what we were feeding you or just playing along to avoid punishment. Guess it was the latter in your case 494." Alec shrugged in response. "We decided to go ahead with the cloning of X5 when a way to make them have hive minds was perfected. We already see that these X7 are stronger and faster than you were at their age. They may even be stronger and faster than you are now."
"How many generations are there?"
"X8s were the last to be created although the process of making X9 are in the early stage of development."
"The X7s sound like just what Manticore ordered." Max shrugged. "Why make different generations after them?"
"They serve their purpose but their strange behavior makes it impossible for them to assimilate. Plus they are extremely vulnerable. Because of their hive minds, if you take out one you either incapacitate the rest of the group for a dangerous amount of time and in one case it actually killed the entire group."
"The body cannot live without the mind." Alec quoted.
"Exactly."
"Why would they risk that?" Zack asked.
"In straight combat, it is nearly impossible for anyone to take them out."
"So what's the deal with the X8?" Max asked.
"They're clones of the X6 only with slight modifications in an effort to be more like X5 but again they fell short."
"Guess you only get one shot at perfection and us X5 were it." Alec joked.
"In a way you're exactly right which is why I can't allow Renfro to go around killing you off."
"Okay so the production of all these different generations takes place at one facility." Max summarized.
"Correct."
"What happens after we blow it up?"
"After the finger pointing, they'll decide whether or not they should keep the project running. But I doubt they'll receive any more funds that would be sufficient enough to keep it going."
"And if they decide not to?"
"It will be destroyed."
"So what happens to all the transgenics still at Manticore?" Max asked alarmed.
"Destroyed."
"Well we don't want that!"
"It won't happen. Blowing up the lab is only the first part of the mission. While their trying to get their act together, the facilities will be more vulnerable and that's the time to strike the different ones in order to free the rest."
"This all sounds
way too risky. I don't like it."
"There's no I in team, Zack"
"No Zack's right." Alec asserted. "We really need to think this through."
"No time for that."
"Why not?" Max asked.
"I'm your only chance of gaining access to the DNA lab. One of my agents knew where I was going which only gives us about a day head start before he informs Renfro. After the mess they're going to find at the silo, if I don't show up by that time they'll think I've been compromised. Voluntarily or not, it doesn't matter. They'll yank my clearance."
"So we do this now." Alec said.
"Either that or we don't do it at all which means Manticore's gonna be on our ass for the rest of our lives." Max said.
"You okay?" Max jumped. She had been so deep in thought she hadn't heard him approach her.
"I'm fine." She answered with a quick glance in his direction.
Alec nodded although she didn't see it having already focused her attention back to staring out the window.
He and Zack had left a few hours ago to gather any necessary supplies they could find in order to run the mission while Max stayed with Lydecker. The Colonel was no longer bound but it had been made clear that they still didn't entirely trust him. Alec found him seated quietly in the corner just as they had left him. Max was on the other side of the room as far away from him as possible in the small quarters. Judging by the slight tension in the air, Alec guessed that any attempts made by Lydecker to initiate conversation were quickly shut down by Max either ignoring him or answering in a way that made the Colonel wish she had ignored him.
"Were you able to get anything good?" She asked quietly still staring out of the window.
"We did okay." Alec shrugged. "Zack already had a couple of P90s and we were able to get a few nice Russian-made rgn-3s down at the docks."
"Where's Zack now?"
"Phone. He said he was going to see if he could get any of the others."
When Max only nodded, Alec looked down at her and tried to read her mood. He expected her to be much more excited at the idea that she might be able to see more of her "siblings" soon not to mention more excited that they were possibly hours away from being entirely free of Manticore.
"Max."
"Hmmm."
"You sure you're okay."
"Positive."
Alec had no choice but to take that. He looked back out at the night through the window and saw his first clue as to what might have had Max so reticent. Way in the distance the Space Needle loomed. During the day it was clearly visible but at night it took the eyes of a transgenic to witness the structure. Ben. Alec thought. He was used to these bouts of grief from Max over her brother who happened to be his twin but he didn't think now was the time for it.
"Max." He sighed.
"Would you rather have a boy or a girl?" Max's sudden question took him completely off guard.
"Huh?"
"I was just thinking if it would be a lot different raising a boy or a girl and if one would be harder or easier than the other."
Alec blinked. He'd been way off. She hadn't been grieving over her brother she had been thinking about their possible child. He smiled.
"Doesn't matter. It's not like we're gonna just stop at one." Alec said as he moved in even closer. "You know, I've always wanted to start my own band." He reached out and tickled her stomach.
Max squealed and then sent a horrified look over to Lydecker who was, as she suspected, watching them closely.
"Knock it off." She pushed his hand away but couldn't quite do the same thing with her smile. Alec's grin grew but he pulled his hands away.
"Maybe you shouldn't do this." He said soberly a few moments later.
"What? Why not?"
"Max, there really is a chance you might be pregnant I—"
"Alec, even if I am," She interrupted. "I'm only, like what, a day pregnant. I think I can handle myself despite being that far along."
"It's not about you
being able to handle yourself. I know
you can. It's just…well…I'd already hate
to lose you…if I lost you and our baby I…"
"Hey." Max reached up and laid a soft small hand
against Alec's cheek not caring whether Lydecker was watching or not. "You're not gonna lose me. We'll all be fine. We'll be better than fine because after
tonight the world is going to be a lot different for us. We'll be so much closer to being completely
free. No more running, hiding. We'll be free."
"I love you." Alec declared huskily. Max's eyes widened. They rarely said that too each other. She guessed it was because their love for each other was just a fact of life, but a little verbal reassurance every now and then never hurt any one.
"I l---"
"I just got off the phone with Tinga." Zack's voice cut in. "She's on her way."
"Tinga?" Max immediately stepped away from Alec and faced Zack. "She was just shot. She's not one hundred percent."
"Yeah but since we're on such a time crunch, she's closest." Zack spit back. "Anyway she's not going in. She said she can jack a news van from a station near her. She'll rig it up and run the op from in there. She's gonna meet us at 0400."
"You tell her about Lydecker helping us." Zack nodded and Max continued. "Good. Wouldn't want her snapping his neck the second she sees him. That'd put a real kink in the plans."
"Would it really be such a bad idea?" Zack said.
"Zack, we need him." Max whispered harshly.
"I can't believe you're so willing to trust him Max." Zack whispered back. "This is the man that's been hunting us down, making our lives hell even after escaping from the hell he put us through when we were under his command."
"He's willing to help us." Max argued back.
"I can't believe you think he's had some kind of epiphany just because of what happened to Brin." Zack volleyed back.
"In his own strange way, I think Lydecker really does care about us."
"Bullshit." Zack bellowed causing the man in question to look over at the three X5s.
"I've gotta go with Zack on this one, baby." Alec said quietly causing both Max and Zack to look at him in surprise.
"You think Lydecker's setting us up?" Max asked.
"No. At least not really. I think he's on the level about taking Manticore down but I think he's got his own agenda." Alec lowered his voice even more. "Destroying the lab while Renfro's the director is going to reflect really badly on her. This may be personal revenge for Lydecker. But he's not wrong about the backlash. This is still the thing that could cripple Manticore for good. I'm not saying I trust Lydecker. He may have an even bigger stake in Manticore going down than we do, but like they taught us the enemy of my enemy is my friend so I say we go for it. We want to take down Manticore and so does Lydecker. He knows the facility and its defensive capabilities so not only can he get us in but he can tell us exactly where we need to go."
"Let's just hope it's not to our own personal cellblocks." Zack muttered.
"Have faith, Zackie." Alec smirked. "With Tinga monitoring us on the outside we'll know way ahead of time to get out if things go sideways."
"I'm in." Tinga called out from inside the former news van. It was parked on a ridge only a few clicks from Manticore. Zack, Alec, Max, and Lydecker stood outside of it passing around a map and making last minute plans. "I've accessed the internal surveillance system." Tinga continued. "I'm copying loops into each camera feed so they won't be able to see you, but I will. We can steer you around any obstacles."
"Great." Zack answered. "Alright, everyone know what they need to do." When he received three nods, he finished. "Let's move out."
Lydecker climbed into the van with Tinga while Max, Zack, and Alec took off into the night towards Manticore.
It wasn't until she saw the giant facility staring back at her in the distance that Max felt her first twinge of nerves. She heard stories about people going back to visit places they spent their childhood and finding that everything looked smaller than what they remembered. This wasn't the case for her. If anything Manticore looked twice as big in reality as it did in her nightmares.
She took a deep breath and then another when the first one didn't work. She then felt a tug on her hand. Looking down and then up at Alec's questioning eyes, she realized she had stopped walking. Zack was a few feet ahead of them looking back with the same questioning eyes as Alec's.
"Sorry, lost focus there for a second."
"You gonna be okay." Alec asked.
"Yeah. Have to be. This is for Brin and our future." Max pulled away from Alec and straightened up. "Come on."
"You were the last one to speak with him right."
"Well I…I…might
have been."
"Agent Sandoval I know it's
early." Renfro said as she stood up and
walked around her desk until she was directly in front of him. "I'm sorry I pulled you out of bed, but this
business with Lydecker is extremely important."
The director perched herself at the edge of her desk and crossed her
legs. "Now think, Peter, what is it that
he said he was going to do before he disappeared several hours ago."
With great effort, Agent Sandoval, pulled his eyes from Renfro's legs to look her in the face. "He didn't say anything to me about that."
"Mr. Sandoval." Renfro leaned towards him. "Four soldiers are dead and an X5 unit is missing along with Lydecker. Clearly you can see what's happening. I know it's hard to admit." Renfro placed a manicured hand against Peter Sandoval's collar and adjusted it making the man tense up in all the wrong places. Again he had to remind himself to stare her in the first rather than at the cleavage brought to his attention when she leaned towards him. "But Lydecker played you. I'm almost certain that he's double crossing Manticore. The disappearance of him along with the X5 proves it. You and I have got to contain him before it's too late. So tell me," Renfro gracefully pulled away and sat up again. "Where is he?"
Zack, working solo, made his way down service corridor four carrying a backpack full of charges. He reached the main generator first and quickly laid a few charges. He then made his way to the auxiliary generator.
"Zack, enemy's approaching opposite you." Tinga's voice crackled in his ear. "Twenty five meters away. Take the door on your left." Zack quickly picked the lock of the door Tinga instructed him to and stepped inside the empty room. He waited until the three conventional soldiers passed him by before easing out and continuing onward.
On the other side of the compound, Max and Alec had just come out of the air shaft from the basement. As they headed towards the DNA lab, Max couldn't help taking in her surroundings.
They were really back at Manticore. She wanted to be focused on the task at hand, but with each crevice they passed, painful memories from her childhood assaulted her. Sensing her mood change, Alec turned back towards her.
"Max, you okay." When he received no answer, he stopped and faced her fully. "Max?"
"Sorry." Max shook her head. "I'm fine." Alec stared at her. "Really." She tried to assure him but then sighed. "Must be harder for you huh, to me it only seems like yesterday but for you it was, almost literally."
Alec attempted a smile. "I'm good." He said and turned away. "They can't hurt me anymore." She heard him whisper before taking off again down the hall.
She followed.
They reached the lab a short while later and with Lydecker's ID card, bypassed the system.
The brightly lit room was a complete contrast from the dark halls they had just come from and it took a moment for their eyes to adjust. Once they did it took another moment to make sense of what they were seeing.
Wall to wall glass cases occupied the room. Each shelve contained a small vile filled with liquid which was marked by a barcode number.
Max saw hers and looked up at Alec surprised to see him smiling. He pointed to the one next to hers and Max couldn't help smiling too at seeing his barcode number. Their eyes locked and for the first time, Max felt a slight reluctance to destroy what was essentially them. But a wink from Alec was all it took to get her head back in the game. It wasn't them. Those vials contained future slaves of Manticore. What they were doing was ensuring freedom for all those already enslaved.
Working in opposite directions, Max and Alec quickly set up the charges to be detonated by Tinga once they were clear.
"All set." Alec voiced.
"Yep. Let's blaze."
"He said you couldn't be trusted and that he was going to the silo to try and figure out what you were up to." Sandoval broke. "I don't know for sure where he is now. But I know of a couple places he might be."
Renfro sighed. "Very well. Where?"
"He has a---" The buzz of Renfro's phone interrupted Sandoval.
"You wanted to be informed immediately if and when Donald Lydecker was on the premises. His card was just scanned through." The voice on the other end of the phone informed Renfro.
"Excellent. Call security and have him escorted to my office." Renfro hopped off her desk and went back around to her computer. "Looks like this can be straightened out momentarily." She said to Sandoval. "He's here."
Staring through her computer at the different sections of the compound, Renfro missed the alarmed look that passed over Lydecker's employee.
"Dennis." Renfro said after buzzing her secretary. "Where is Lydecker? I don't see him."
"He just scanned himself into the DNA lab." Renfro's secretary answered back after a pause. Renfro typed a few commands to bring the DNA lab up closer but it still showed the same sight. It was completely empty of people.
"Damn it!" Renfro yelled.
"What?" Sandoval stood and circled the desk to stand next to her.
"Either we just spent 25 million dollars on a surveillance system that doesn't work or there's been a breach." Renfro stated as she furiously began typing.
"Why can't we see him?"
"Someone hacked a fake feed into the damn system!" Renfro yelled as she found the foreign sequence and cleared it. A girl and a boy dressed in fatigues and fitting the description of X5 popped on the screen. Renfro ran the footage back some and gasped.
"Oh no." Renfro turned alarmed eyes to Sandoval. "Mobilize the X7s and get 931 in there to disable those charges now!" She ordered and Agent Sandoval quickly left to do her bidding.
Zack, Max and Alec were each halfway to their exit points when they heard the alarms go off.
"We've got an alarm." Zack spoke into this com.
"Withdraw to the perimeter. Withdraw to the perimeter. We've been made." Lydecker answered back. "All units withdraw."
"Roger that." Alec responded for both him and Max.
"I'm almost out." Zack said as he ran towards the door that led to the shaft he came in through.
"This is not good." Lydecker said as he stared at the monitor from his seat next to Tinga. "Hack into the control panel at corridor seven alpha. We've got to lock down ward c-16."
"Why? What's wrong?" Tinga asked as she began typing.
"Must've been a last-minute change in deployment--there's still a contingent of x7s in the building."
"Those kids?" Tinga asked still confused by Lydecker's alarm when she took a quick glance at the monitor.
"They're stronger, faster and designed with hive minds. We don't want our people tangling with them."
Tinga shrugged and continued to try an override the system. But a shout in her earpiece stopped her.
"Zack!" Tinga cried when she saw him go down a few feet from his exit.
"What is it!" Max yelled after hearing Tinga's exclamation.
"Zack's down."
"Where?"
"End of corridor four." Tinga answered.
"Is he—"
"No. It hit him in the leg and he took out the soldier that shot him. But he's struggling."
Max turned but Alec grabbed her before she could sprint off. "I'll take care of it. You get out of here. Don't worry. I'll meet you at the van with Zack." Max nodded in agreement realizing that if Zack had to be carried, Alec would probably have an easier time. The two then took off in opposite directions.
Alec was approaching the DNA lab when he saw someone punching in the codes to open the door. He recognized the kid from the squad of X6s he sometimes had to instruct back during his days at Manticore.
Blurring towards him, 931 didn't know what hit him when Alec knocked him out and then carried him away from the danger zone. After laying the unconscious kid down, Alec continued towards Zack.
He wasn't where Tinga said he was so Alec followed the trail of blood. Zack had managed to make it half way through the shaft before Alec caught up with him.
"Here." Alec said after tearing off the strap from his back pack. He then tied it around Zack's thigh.
"Thanks." Zack rasped.
"No problem." Throwing Zack's arm over his shoulder, Alec helped the older man onto his feet and the two took off again.
They made it into the woods and were almost to the van when Zack's leg gave out. He stumbled and Alec's grip on him caused him to go down as well. Alec was back on his feet a second later.
The X7 watching them saw his opportunity when the uninjured man reached down to help up the other one. Not giving him the chance, the X7 sprang into action with a flying kick that landed square in Alec's temple.
Alec's unconscious body dropped half way on top of Zack's.
"I'm on my way." Max said into her com link as she ran through the woods. She could still feel the heat from the explosions that rocked the facility moments ago. Just up ahead she could see the news van. She was about to ask about Alec and Zack when the sound of twigs breaking near her gave her pause. She slowed down and cautiously proceeded. However the sound of a gunshot not far away stopped her completely.
Max looked back towards the sound and tried to see where it had come from. Smoke and forest were all that greeted her. She thought about heading back but then the sound of footsteps getting closer drew her attention back in front of her.
Max's eyes widened as a small figure stepped through the clearing opposite her.
Zack's shot hit the X7 in the shoulder. But the force knocked his small body down. The log that met his head knocked him out instantly.
Painfully rising to his feet, Zack scanned the trees for anymore X7. When he saw none, he hoisted Alec's unconscious form over his shoulder and continued towards the van.
By the time he got there, he was close to passing out himself. Alec's extra weight caused the tourniquet to fall away and blood had been flowing out of the wound for some time.
"Where's Max?" He asked after dumping Alec's body in the back of the van
"She's not with you." Lydecker said.
"Do you see her!" Zack yelled and then swayed from the exertion.
"I'll go and try to find her." Lydecker said when no response was received after Tinga's several attempts at calling for Max through her com link.
Zack looked down at his leg then at Alec's unconscious form and then over at Tinga's bandaged side before nodding at Lydecker.
"Bring her back. No matter what bring her back." Zack said gruffly.
"I'll try." Lydecker nodded before heading off into the night.
It was surreal seeing someone that looked just like her raise a gun intending to shoot her down. Would that be considered suicide? That irrational thought flitted through Max's brain as she poised to blur.
But it was too late.
White hot pain reached her first followed by a change in her angle of view as she found herself down on the ground and now looking up at, well, herself. How did this happen? Max thought as she looked up and stared into her own eyes. She had been anticipating her clone's shot. Her eyes had been locked on her younger version's trigger finger the whole time and she swore she never saw it move.
Max heard more footsteps and looked over and found her questions answered. Staring down at her, with gun still smoking was Zack. Only it was a Zack from ten years ago.
Seconds passed as more surrounded her. Zane, Jody, Eva. All looking down at her but not with the understanding eyes of the siblings she remembered. There was no love here. They were here to harm her.
Max tried to get up but the pain was too great. She didn't want to look down for fear that she'd find half her leg missing.
Suddenly Zack, Eva, and Seth bent down and grabbed hold of her upper body and through the painful jostling of Syl, Krit, and Mar grabbing her lower body she was relieved to see she had both her legs intact. Although the one where all the pain radiated from was covered in blood where the bullet must have either pierced through or remained lodged. Seeing that it was whole meant that she still had a chance to escape. For that Max was very grateful. She even smiled right before she passed out.
The End
COMMERCIAL: Check out my new M/A video. It is to the song "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence and it tells the story of Alec comforting Max after a traumatic run-in with Ames
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well that was the end of part two. Hope you enjoyed it. I have to plan out and outline all the things I want to see happen in Part Three so it might take awhile before a new chapter is up again. I'm also open for suggestions so feel free to suggest away. I already know I plan on bringing in the Reds at some point and that there will be no runes although the idea that there's something special in Max's DNA is already in development however as you can see from Lydecker's speech it's going to be something that either all the female X5s have or just a select few. What that is, I still have to work out. And I'm still debating on whether to bring in transhumans like Joshua and Mole. I'm also not sure when or if I'm going to put in the Lydecker and Max talk where Max finds out that Lydecker made sure she had his wife's eyes. It didn't occur in this chapter even though it was based on AJBAC because I feel that a lot of Max's questions and searches for her family were out of a loneliness and emptiness from being by herself and on the run. But in this story she has Alec so the void is filled which to me means she's not as curious about finding out about her mom, moms, dads, whatever. Anyways enough explaining.
Thank you especially to all those who took the time to review:
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Bye for now!