A life less (extra)ordinary

"Joshua." called Max, treading lightly on the creaky floorboards of the house. She had decided to turn her Ninja around and come back home, since it wouldn't do her any good taking a vacation if the only thing that she could think of were the problems that she would return to. If her break was just going to be another place for her to worry, then why waste the money. "Joshua."

"Max." Joshua's slightly muffled voice responded. The gentle giant peeked at her from his lounge and looked in surprise. "What are you doing here Max? You're supposed to be out, away from here. You're supposed to be having fun." She snorted as she walked passed him, flopping into the tattered sofa. "Max didn't have fun?"

She nodded. "Just about Joshua." Looking toward the painting he was working on, she took off her coat and gloves and sighed. "That's a beautiful painting Joshua, really beautiful." For some reason, she was tired, and it took a lot to do that to an X5. It was probably from thinking on the way back, but it did her good.

"What's wrong lil' buddy?" he asked, kneeling beside her and waiting for an answer.

"What's right?" she answered standing and walking over to the painting. "I realized something while I was gone, something about all of the stuff that's happening to us. I'll never be happy, going on vacation and leaving the sector, if I know that there's still a lot here that's unfinished. Besides that, where would you, Logan an Alec be without me?"

Joshua laughed with her, putting his hair back and standing behind his best friend. "Maybe you didn't stay away for long, but I'm glad you took the trip Max. It's been a long time since I've seen you laugh." She took in his words and stared at the painting, half finished. "Wanna try?"

"Oh no, painting's not my thing. Besides, I don't want to mess it up for you." she protested, raising her arms and taking a step back. "Believe me, you don't want me near it."

"You can't mess up the painting Max. Whatever you put on it, whatever you do to it, it comes from you and how you feel. There's no right or wrong, only Max." He gestured to the pots and tubes of paint, the brushes and newspaper bits, the bottle caps and cartons.

She grinned at him as he preoccupied himself with straightening all the tools out for her. "You know Joshua, for someone so new to the world outside Manticore, you know a whole lot more than most people ever will." He smiled back, nodding his head as if silently thanking her for her kind words.

The canvas stared back at her. Max had never even remotely tried anything like painting in her life and now she was going to have to go through her own crash course. Picking up the blue tube, she squirted some of the paint onto her fingers and smeared it along the bottom of the canvas, mixing it with the already existed green paint on the side Joshua had already completed. Before it could dry, she took a beer cap and brushed glue along it's bottom, sticking it to the canvas and standing back to observe what she'd already done.

Her hands slick with paint, she was already enjoying herself. She grabbed a page of the torn up newspaper and scrunched it into a small ball, dipping it into the red pot of paint and using it as a paintbrush before plucking it onto the canvas and covering it with some of the chicken wire which she stapled on. Purple came next, mixing the three colours into a strange sort of brown which Max kind of liked. It was then that she reminded herself of why she came to Joshua's. She came because of the comfort, how he always managed to keep her smiling even when things started to suck.

Why did she feel the need to travel hundreds of kilometers to get away from it all, when the only place she needed was right under her nose. Joshua had been in and out of the room, coming in to see her laughing at her own designs and flicking paint, making a mess of the floor and walls. He didn't mind at all, anything to see her happy again. It had gotten to the point where he had offered her another canvas, one which took her only two hours to complete. For Max, the time had flown by, and she knew then why Joshua had taken such a liking to art.

"What do you think?" she asked him as he put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head at the work of art in front of him. "Well, come on Joshua, at least say something." Max urged, impatient at the time it took for him to respond.

"Max number one." laughed Joshua. She joined him, finding that her anger and her frustration had translated into her first art piece. He continued to inspect it, unaware of the tube of paint that Max had squirted into her palm and rubbed between her hands. "I like it." he said, turning into the blue covered hands of the transgenic next to him.

"Not laughing now, are you Mr. Artiste?" He tried to wipe it off, but it only got onto his hands. Mockingly glaring at her, he picked up the tube of red paint and did the same as she had done. "Joshua, what are you going to do with that?" she asked, knowing the answer but trying to buy herself some time. "Joshua... Joshua." In an instant, she turned and ran through to the next room, Joshua following with his own payback.

"Dude, I told you, you should have turned right back there!" Sketch shouted as the five of them drove along the narrow streets of the sector. They'd decided to go to a new club in the more 'up market' side of town. But their adventure had turned into a nightmare with them getting lost at every turn and Mark's car not being fitted with a GPS system. They'd been lost for the better part of an hour now, and things weren't getting anymore comfortable. Added to that, OC was still on barely speaking terms with Alec, Sketch was loosing his cool and realising more and more that the car was in fact, a confined space. He'd now successfully informed them seven times of his claustrophobic tendencies.

"Hey, Sketch, this ain't a walk in the park for the rest of us! But you'd better go peddle crazy somewhere else or bottom line, I will throw you the hell out!" OC shouted back, getting mighty annoyed at the whole thing. She'd put her best foot forward for the night, upset about not being able to patch things up with her previous date. At the rate they were going, she'd look like a damp raccoon by the time they found the place... if they found the place. "Wait, what's that?" Everyone cheered as they caught sight of the club. "Now what would any of you do without me?" she asked smugly.

They poured out, all breathing in the fresh air... well, as fresh as it could get at any rate. Parking hadn't been a problem, since cars seemed to be a thing of luxury and most people just walked. They got to the doors; a small red carpet accompanied by a bouncer on either side. There was still a line, only about fifteen people or so. None of them seemed to mind the wait. The air was cold and crisp, and just about what they needed given their trip to the club. Alec absentmindedly searched the street, happening across a familiar face in the restaurant a small way away. "You know what guys, I think I'm gonna go say hello to someone quick, so just go in if I'm not back by then." They nodded and let him leave.

Paladin. He was stopped at the door. "Excuse me sir, but unless I can see a reservation or a membership card, you're not getting inside." The thin man said, looking him over with disdain. It was obvious that he'd been doing such a job for years, and he seemed to have surmised Alec as soon as he'd stepped onto the pavement. "Why don't you try the new nightclub across the road; it would be more suited to your caliber." he smiled, with a hint of grimace.

"Actually, I'm here for a dinner date." Alec said, pissed off by the man's manner. "Kayna McIntyre is a friend of mine. Could you show me to her table?" He pulled a cold smile and waited impatiently. The man curled his lip and did as he was asked. The lighting was dim, there was a warm ambience about the lavish restaurant. The tables were decked with white cloth, shining silver cutlery and immaculately polished glassware. So this is how the other half lives? he asked himself. I could get used to this.

"I apologize for the interruption. Ms. McIntyre, there is a young gentlemen who claims to have been invited to this company." The usher said as they arrived at her table, looking back suspiciously at him as he spoke. "I wasn't sure whether or not to admit him so I thought it best to bring him inside and ask you."

She stood and looked past the man. "Alec?" For a moment, she was speechless, obviously not expecting to see him here of all places. "Yes, yes I know him Roger. Thank you." With that, he left. Alec felt somewhat triumphant as Roger slinked away, like a dog with his tail between his legs. "What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend, Kay?" The older woman at the table asked. She was old money, to be sure. It seemed that she'd held onto her wealth even after the pulse. The same applied to the man next to him, which he guessed was her husband, and the other two couples that Kay sat with. "Why don't you join us for dinner? We haven't ordered yet."

She looked at her, thinking hurriedly. "No. I'm sure that Alec..."

"I would love to." he smiled. He slid into the booth seat that Kay had occupied and patted the spot next to him. "I was just in the neighborhood and caught site of, Kay here. I'm sorry if I've intruded on your dinner." Suddenly, he had all the charm and charisma of high society. He found Kay's slightly angered expression quite amusing. After all, the only way she could justify her not wanting him at the table, would be to carry out a full explanation. Whether true or false, it would be more trouble than it was worth.

"Well Alec, my name is Henrietta, this is Lucien, over there is Roberta and her husband Phillip." Henrietta began, pointing to each person as she introduced them. "And Clarissa and her husband George. It's very nice to meet you. I must say that although we are old family friends, Kay doesn't speak much about her younger acquaintances. We sometimes wonder whether she's too busy to make any, in which case she should slow down like I always suggest."

"Really?" Alec asked, turning to her. "Well, she's a wonderful person. And she has such a sparkling personality, I can't imagine why she doesn't have droves of friends."

Kay gritted her teeth, his cockiness eating away at her. "Be that as it may, I'm often forced to commit my time elsewhere. Friends just seem to fall second place unfortunately." She forced a smiled. "Alec, why don't you tell everyone a little about yourself. Like, perhaps what you do for a living?"

"At the moment, I'm involved with an up and coming courier company. I have faith in the venture, and the service is at an excellent standard. In fact, because of my commitment I'm constantly traveling and I can tell you that it takes a lot out of anyone." He ended with a somewhat haughty laugh, bringing the other couples to a pleasant laugh with him. Again he looked to Kay, who now gave him a visible look of approval. Touché.

"I fully understand." Lucien agreed. "Just the other week I'd been flying all over Europe. By the time I was back home, I wasn't sure which way was up or down, or even which day of the week it was. But I must admit that the scenery over there is beautiful. I'm not sure whether the pulse worked to the countryside's advantage but in the south of France, there's greenery as far as the eye can see. I wonder young man, has your work ever taken you that way?"

"Excuse me." the waitress said as she reached their table. "I trust that you have had a chance to peruse the dinner menu as well as the a la carte menu." she began, placing her hands folded in front of her. "But if I may, allow me to inform you of the few changes that have been made for tonight, purely for you betterment." Almost in unison, the three couples lifted their menus a bit and listened intently.

Alec slipped his hand under the table and onto Kay's inner thigh. The corner of her mouth turned up subtly as she continued to look and listen to the waitress. His middle and index finger walked up, reaching the warmth between her thighs when she'd parted them ever so slightly. Her expression didn't change. She fought back a sigh and caught her breath as he slipped past the thin material and inside the smooth triangle. Her concentration began to blur and at some point she remembered hearing about the rump being chopped into venison. Still, she tried not to loose complete control, although every so now and then she came extremely close. Her hand gripped the well folded cloth napkin and some of the table cloth was pulled as she clenched into a fist.

"Kay?" Henrietta asked.

"Hmm?" she answered, biting her lower lip.

"They've done away with the cod platter for tonight." This seemed to disturb her. "Just yesterday I told you how I was looking forward to it so. Well, I guess I must just accept it as it is. What can you tell me about the, Story of Lamb? It looks quite interesting." she continued on, remarking here and there about it, and very rarely referring to her menu. Clarissa, Phillip, Lucien and Roberta had all taken out their small spectacles, but when exactly, Kay couldn't say. "Alec, what would you like? I imagine the lobster's good."

With his free hand, Alec had been holding the menu and looking down at it, although he wasn't at all interested in what he was reading, or rather pretending to read. "Yes Alec, would the lobster suite you?" Kay asked, unable to mask her smile but trying hard to. Unfortunately, the smile had become infectious and they were now both grinning like Cheshire cats.

"Well, I'm not sure. I suppose it depends on the wine we choose to have with our meal." he diverted.

"Oh yes of course!" George exclaimed. "I almost completely forgot about that. Tell me is there..." His words trailed off in both their minds.

Kay's legs shifted around Alec's hand; more and more as his pace began to quicken. She was biting down hard now and a soft moan escaped her lips midway between the Cabernet Sauvignon and the Barsac. When asked what was troubling her, she said, "I'm just upset that there's no cod platter." Henrietta voiced her agreement and began to ask the same questions she had started with. Finally, her legs clamped his hand as she breathed short and hard and her stomach convulsed. "How about a nice dry white? Not too heavy." she asked the table. "Dinner hasn't even been ordered and I already feel very well satisfied."

"I'm afraid I've completely forgotten that I have an appointment in a few minutes." Alec said. He used the napkin and stood. "It was very nice meeting you all." The men stood and he shook with his free hand. "Please, enjoy the rest of your night." He dropped the napkin and left, being sure to throw a gloating glance the usher's way.

"What a handsome boy." Roberta said as he walked past the large glass windows. "And so nice."

In related news; Politician Wes Gallagher was found murdered in the home office of John Albertson late last night while attending one of Albertson's annual cocktail parties. Police have yet to elaborate on the specifics of the case, however sources tell us that they already have a suspect. Gallagher was opposed to the McIntyre merger, or as some would say take over, of the technological giant Albertson Tomorrow. The question on all of our minds is, is that motive enough for murder? The decision is yours. Gallagher is survived by his wife, Lucinda Frost Gallagher.

Logan wheeled himself away from his dinner table, stopping midway to the kitchen and picking up the control for his stereo. The soft sounds of an old CD filled his apartment as he easily maneuvered his way through the kitchen, preparing his meal and humming along to the familiar tune. He hadn't turned his set on or listened to the radio the whole day. Since Max had given herself the weekend off, he thought the least he could do was give himself the day off, and it had worked. He stared out of his windows to the buildings across from him, and the backdrop of the night sky and the full moon. A knock at his door startled him. Quickly, he removed the pan from the hot plate and wiped his hands with a cloth before wheeling his way over to answer. He hadn't been expecting anyone, and he could only guess that it was Asha or Alec. Logan unlocked the door and found himself surprised at the woman who was standing in front of him.

"Mr. Logan Cale I presume." she said, extending a gloved hand.

"You presume right." said Logan, shaking her hand. "Kayna McIntyre." She nodded. "Uh... come in, please come in." He wheeled aside and let her pass, closing the door and finding her presence baffling. He allowed her to wander into the adjacent lounge and inspect it for herself as he moved in behind her.

She put her bag on the table next to her and looked around. The mood music, the dim lights, the aroma that emanated from the kitchen, all signs that he was expecting someone or that someone was already there. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" she asked, spinning around.

"No, no, not at all. Just treating myself to an evening in. Please, have a seat." She made her way to his dinner table and sat comfortably next to the place he had set for himself. "Can I get you anything? Orange juice, water, wine?"

"A glass of wine if you don't mind." Kayna absentmindedly took in his apartment while she waited for him to join her. Finally, he was at the table, placing her glass on a coaster in front of her. "I'm sure you must be curious as to why I'm here Mr. Cale, so let me cut straight to the chase. I am in need of your services."

He was still confused. "Call me Logan." he began, narrowing his eyes and trying to think of what kind of services she had in mind. "I don't know what you've been told but I don't have any services to offer Ms. McIntyre. I don't think that I've ever implied that I have."

"But you do Logan." She removed her gloves and took a sip of wine before reaching into her handbag for a brown envelope. "And please, call me Kay. Your friends have loose lips, you should see to that." she said. "Twice I was referred to you by separate people, once they failed to successfully track down my parents. Assumption on their part can be a very dangerous thing, and the authorities would be thrilled to snag a chief hacker. I can only assume they gave me the information because they thought I wasn't a threat. Anyway, I'm willing to pay you to find my mother and father, or at least find out what happened to them ."

Rubbing his chin, he picked up the envelope and opened it, his eyes widening at the amount of money inside. "Listen, Kay, I'm afraid I can't help you. Your parents have been missing for years and the police have done their best to try and find them." He closed it and slid it back to her. In honesty, he was afraid of treading the unsure and high profiled waters that any connection to her was submerged in. "What makes you think that I'll be able to do what they couldn't?"

"Because they say you're the best, you don't follow the rules and... and you know a lot more about Manticore and the Familiars than anyone else."

Max leaned against the wall of the elevator, waiting for them to reach Logan's floor. She'd backtracked into town and found the usual crew at Crash. They'd already been there for a number of hours when she'd arrived. Now Alec had all but passed out beside her in the elevator, claiming that she would have to drag his butt home if he fell asleep while she and Logan were doing their usual dance, trying to pretend that they didn't notice the tension in the air while they agreed to continue to work and press on with their good deeds for the day. Alec could be annoying, but he knew what he was talking about.

"Have you ever heard of fun?" he asked her as they walked down the corridor. "You know, that thing you do when you're not too busy working, ordering me around or pining over Logan? That thing that most people find second nature but you seem to avoid every minute of the day? That thing that forces you to take that carrot out of your ass and stop taking everything so seriously."

She glared at him, not in the mood to start a fight but knowing that she had full right to. He shrugged, deciding that his lack of conversation and persistent sleep deprivation would force him to pass out sometime soon anyway. Max took out her keys and opened the door letting Alec through before turning back and locking it again. Both of them stopped at the sound of smooth music, the dim lights, the aroma from the kitchen and candles as well as the dinner setting for two.

"Oh my God, I didn't think anyone could be so good with their hands." Max heard a woman's voice say. She instantly saw red, not sure of what she was walking into but already not liking it. "No, I mean it Logan, you're amazing. You could keep me here for days, weeks, I'm sure."

Alec recognized the voice, perking himself up as he followed Max into the lounge. "I thought you might like it. Honestly though, it's the kind of thing you learn from years of experience." came Logan's voice.

"Logan, you've made me a very happy woman." Max walked in, trying hard to stop herself from knocking whoever it was into the next century, along with Logan. "You must be Max Guevara. I don't believe I've had the pleasure." Kayna greeted, looking at her from where she sat with Logan. "Hi Alec." Her greeting was indifferent.

The two sat in front of his computer set up; they had been facing each other and talking with wide eyed enthusiasm before Max and Alec had walked in. "Max, I thought you were supposed to be on vacation." Logan said, adjusting his glasses. "What happened?"

"Nothing much." she said shortly. "What were you two doing?"

"I was just getting a uh... feel for Logan's hardware, and I must say, I'm very impressed." Kayna said, raising a brow and turning back to the console. "Much of this equipment has been obsolete for years Logan, I would never have guessed that it was still being used in such a sophisticated system, and I'm sure it must cut the costs of running all of this to a minimum."

He nodded, tapping a few keys on his keyboard. "A Jeneca tracking module. The last updated model was released three years ago, just before the company went bust. They claimed that the tracking module wouldn't be capable of supporting more than 20.1 of software. I've got it up to 62.5."

"You've tripled the module's capacity. How?"

"By 'cuff linking' the module with an upgraded interface from Xeca200. It took a while for me to figure it out but once I did, the result was a machine that could search three sectors at a time if needs be, and if I have enough power. Doing a search like that could easily short the building." he explained.

"Well what do you know, someone who speaks 'Logan'." Alec looked at Max, who wasn't at all impressed by the interest that Logan was showing in the stranger. "Hey, you're the one who broke it off with him, not the other way around." She spun on her heel and went to the kitchen, needing to cool off. As Logan noticed Max's unpleasant departure, he excused himself and followed her. "We just keep running into each other, don't we?" Alec asked.

"Either that, or you're stalking me." answered Kay.

"Max, what's wrong?" Logan asked, stopping himself and folding his arms. "Why did you cut your trip short?"

"What is it with everyone, why has something gotta be wrong for me to want to come back home?" She opened the fridge and took out a cucumber, searching the chopping block for a knife. "What if I thought that maybe I didn't need a vacation right now. What if I thought that maybe you'd need my help in solving the murder case? Nope, something's automatically gotta be wrong."

He took of his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Well yeah, something is wrong when you're chopping a cucumber with a meat cleaver for no reason." Logan pointed out. She stopped, looking at the cleaver and putting it down next to her. "Okay, well if nothing's wrong, then at least tell me what you mean by solving the murder case."

"You mean you haven't heard?" Max told him what she'd heard on the news, minus one or two details that she couldn't quite remember. What she didn't tell him was that that wasn't the only reason why she had come back to the sector, but she had a feeling she wasn't going to, at least not at that point.

"Well, I've got some news for you too. It's about Kay." Max leaned against the counter and waited for him to continue. "She wants me to find her parents, which normally I would dismiss and tell her to go to the police instead, but funny thing about those parents of hers. Her mother was a Familiar, or so she claims, and her father was donating money and supplying machinery for non other than our favorite secret government organization, Manticore."

"What?"

"Where those two names are involved, something's bound to be happening, something bad. The fact that they just disappeared already sets off alarm bells. I don't know what's going on, but I intend to find out so I'm taking the case."

Max shook her head and sighed. "I can't believe it, the daughter of a man who helped keep us in chains is standing in your lounge and you're more than willing to help her."

"What am I supposed to do Max? She can't help what her father did in the past. Look, she's agreed to pay me for it and I honestly could use the extra money but it's not just that. McIntyre Technologies has it's own pharmaceutical branch." he began, pausing as she turned and waited impatiently for him to finish.

"Yeah, so?"

"So, Kay has agreed to use some of her staff to find a cure for us." Max's heart froze for a split second, and her throat closed up at the mention of the word, cure. "I really think that this could work. She'll get some of the most acclaimed geneticists and professor's working on it and with our options about as pathetic as they come, it sounds pretty good to me."

"You know, you're awful open with someone you just met." They were silent. "Yeah, it sounds good... too good."

Channel 7 news has this, just in. Professor Henry Yamamoto was found murdered in his New York home in the early hours of the morning. According to police, no weapons were found or appeared to be used in the killing. This only days after Politician Wes Gallagher was found murdered in the home office of John Albertson. Speculations that the cases may be linked have been fueled by the fact that Professor Yamamoto was an employee of McIntyre Technologies. The suspect brought in for questioning, Kayna McIntyre.

"This is ridiculous. I have been chosen as the chief suspect because I am convenient. While I'm sure many men and women out there are convinced that I killed Wes Gallagher, I'm not sure those same men and women have paused to convict me of Professor Yamamoto's death as well. While it is by no means and admission of guilt, I understand the motive for Mr. Gallagher, but not for one of my own employees. Professor Yamamoto was a fine scientist and a valuable asset to the company. Whoever it is that is targeting me and those close to me, gauged the public's response well enough to put me in a bad light. If I cannot convince you on my word alone, then my innocence shall be my voice soon enough."

A brief clip from an earlier interview with Kayna McIntyre, who's business stocks have dropped a total of three percent, this just short of the pending merger with Albertson Tomorrow. While some stock holders believe the investigations to spell ruin for the company, many have chosen to stick by the future CEO of UniTech.

Logan typed away at his keyboard while Alec scoured his fridge for food. Apparently, being an X series made the appetite a little larger than most people's. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if he found he'd been cleaned out by lunch time. Of course it annoyed him that while he was straining his eyes and working furiously on finding out all he could about the murders, Kayna's parents, and still finding time to investigate the Familiars, Alec was kicking back and watching him do all of it.

"These are the personal business records of her father. I went searching for them earlier on this morning and found a rather coincidental correlation between him and the two homicide cases." He waited for the page to load up, Alec standing behind him and placing a hand on the desk. "Thirty years ago; Yamamoto, Gallagher and McIntyre along with three other men; Kirk, Danziger and Blaauw, started their own company which much resembled McIntyre Technologies. Ten years later there were talks of corruption, bribery, mismanagement of funds and finally the company fell apart. McIntyre had invested the most and was left to pick up the pieces. He continued to build up what he could of the train wreck and when he finally did, his five colleagues began coming up with all sorts of claims for what they believed should have been their share in McIntyre Technologies."

"They took him to court but the judge found no reason to grant a payout of even shareholder status." Alec read on. "So what do you think, McIntyre flipped out and came back from the dead or wherever the hell he's been to take revenge on them for trying to rob him?"

"Maybe, I don't know. But one thing's sure, neither of them are safe." Logan picked up the small silver cellphone next to him and punched in Max's number. "Hey, Max." he greeted as he continued to read the file on screen. "I need you to do me a favour. If you're not busy tonight, maybe you won't mind babysitting for me." He relayed the address of Lewellyn Kirk and the instructions to watch him closely and make sure that he wouldn't become the next victim.

Alec took a large bite of his sandwich and waited for Logan to hang up. "You don't think Kay is up to this do you? I mean, she has no reason to be going after them thirty years later." Still, Logan said nothing, only thinking silently as the light from the screen reflected on his spectacles. "How do you know that whoever it is is going to strike Kirk?"

"I don't, which is why you and I will be watching Danziger and Blaauw tonight."

"Great, like I couldn't think of other ways to spend the night." Alec sighed, taking yet another bite of his snack. "Seriously, if this is how you and Max spend your time, it's no wonder you're about as fun as Normal on a good day." Logan glared at him from the corner of his eye before continuing on with his work.

Max pulled her Ninja to a stop and climbed off. Even through her layers of clothing, she was still cold, rubbing the sides of her arms more out of force of habit than necessity. She'd survived colder conditions, not that it had been a particularly pleasurable experience. The time was nine-thirty, and knowing her usual stake outs, it would take at least another four hours before anything interesting happened.

Kirk had been on the move, suddenly leaving the house to come back to work. She wasn't sure why she had to keep watch, since there were guards with shiny guns patrolling every entrance. A cloud of vapor escaped her lips as she rubbed her hands together and searched for a way to keep warm. Tell me again why I gave up my vacation to stand in the freezing cold and waste my time?she thought to herself, already knowing the answer.

She flipped her hair back and sat on the seat of her bike. Coffee, warm... no hot, coffee.It had become her life's mission to protect transgenics from themselves and from others. But why the hell can't someone just plot a political assassination somewhere warm and sunny? Her head peeked over the greenery to the two guards at the main entrance, and looking at her wrist watch again, she realized only minutes had passed.

Boredom was unfortunately a feeling she hadn't yet been able to master. She tried braiding her hair, warming herself up with a few martial arts moves, testing just how far she could see and spotting a scene in a dark corner that would leave a mental image she could do without. For all intents and purposes, her time would be better spent trying to make Alec a better person, which would be a full time job all in itself. Again, she peeked over to the guards, startled to find them gone. Taking a closer look, she found them knocked unconscious, their guns some meters away from them.

"Here we go." Max made her way through the hedges, crouching low and avoiding the surveillance cameras that she'd spotted in the trees and bushes minutes after she'd arrived. The tall electric fence posed no problem. "Just like leap frog." Pushing off the ground, she cleared it without breaking a sweat and quickly chased a more concealed spot. She stopped to check over the guards, who were alive but unconscious, before noticing that the front doors hadn't been opened.

Taking a few steps back, the almost unnoticeable crack in the third floor window caught her eye. She jumped onto the ledge of a first floor window, doing the same to next and then landing where the intruder had and slipping in. The office floor was dark, desktops happily displaying bouncing screensavers and the low hum of the computer fans breaking the silence. Looking attentively, she found no cameras anywhere. Looks like they've gotten smug.

She sniffed the air, deciphering the many scents in the room to find one particular perfume to be most recent. Following it would be the easy part, but finding out what she would encounter when the trail would come to a stop, that was what had her unsettled. If it was a transgenic, her work would only just be beginning, and if it was a human, she'd have them tied up and waiting for the authorities faster than they could blink.

Max stopped at the elevator, sniffing to find that the scent lead down the staircase. Just my luck. Down she went, first one floor, then another, then another, then another. This building has definitely got more than six floors. The lower levels were more complex, baring a trademark resemblance to a government facility. Her guard went up, knowing that where there's top secret information, there are usually people guarding it. Quickly looking around the corner, she found that her work had been done for her.

"Definitely not human." she whispered, glancing at the numerous bullet holes that littered the passageway. She stepped over the guards and continued to follow the passage, pretty sure that it would probably lead up to a single doorway with impassable security systems. Max was right, with a security system to rival Fort Knox, she snapped away from the camera's view. Something was amiss, the usual flickering red light was orange, and the camera itself was stationery. Narrowing her eyes, she found a small device on the bottom, probably causing the malfunction.

She decided to go ahead, stopping in front of the door and waiting. "Alright, the hard way." The door dented in at her first punch, caving more at her second. By the time she would be through with it, there would be no door left. Again she punched, finally kicking it down. The lab was sizable, computers going, bubbling test tubes with multi-coloured liquid, experiments contained in glass jars. No one was there, in the main lab anyway. A flickering light in the distance caused Max to investigate, approaching quietly in an attempt to keep her presence unknown.

Snap

Max jumped at the sound that was all too familiar. She moved in, finding a figure standing over the lifeless body of Lewellyn Kirk. What it was, she wasn't all too sure of, but the longer she looked, the more the figure began to resemble a woman. Her skin looked like the floor grating, almost blending invisibly against it. Her eyes were black, deep pools of black that stared back at her with such coldness and curiosity. They stood perfectly still for those few seconds, neither of them saying a word, only looking. Her face was somehow covered, as well as the rest of her otherwise naked body. She seemed to have crawled out of a sci-fi novel. The story of my life. Max thought.

The woman's head tilted, inspecting Max. In the time she needed to think, Max looked down at the dead man, wanting to instantly turn away from his open eyes. The fear that they held was more than enough to tell her that whatever had happened before she'd gotten there, had scared him half to death. Taking a moment to follow Max's eyes, the woman looked back and ran forward, jumping up and grabbing onto the low light before swinging her legs forward and kicking Max to the ground.

Max snapped up, turning and following her into the main lab. She skidded to a halt, searching frantically for her attacker. "I know you're in here, you can't have gotten away that quickly." Her footsteps were made louder by the metal grating, but she didn't care for stealth at that moment. There was a shift to her left and in a split second she knew exactly who was behind it. Pouncing over the workbench she landed in front of the transgenic and blocked her punch. They wrestled, Max pushing forward and finding herself stronger than her.

The stranger moved to one side and jumped onto the workbench, cart-wheeling forward and flipping off. They stood, ready to fight, neither of them making the first move. Max punched, missing and stepping to one side to kick back on her recovery. The woman stumbled back, unable to block the onslaught of punches and kicks that followed. She flipped back, kicking Max in the jaw with both her feet before landing and taking a running start towards her. Her feet kicked through the air as Max shook her head and tried to focus on where she was before being kicked, once, twice, three times in the chest.

"That's it." The woman dropped and tried to kick again. "I don't think so." Max blocked the kick, holding onto her leg and swinging her around with ample strength, letting go and watching as she spun out of control into a shelve of equipment spare parts. "This would be a whole lot easier if we could talk it out." The response she anticipated, ducking beneath the airborne computer fan. Max continued to block her punches, the space between them where their arms should have been nothing more than a blur.

Max found the pace to be quickening, finding it difficult to keep up as she blocked punch after punch. Finally, she felt a fist connect with her chest and was flung back. As if hesitant, the woman made her way over to her, curios to see whether she was conscious. Max groaned, sitting up and holding her head. That was enough to frighten her off; Max still wary as she got up and chased after her. As Max ran, she saw that the woman who first blended into the grating, was now the luminous blue colour of the lab.

"Come back here!" Max shouted, picking up speed and trying to catch up. The chase led up the staircase, both of them taking four at a time. Sick and tired of having to see her back, Max sprang forward as they reached the ground floor of the building, both of them tumbling out and hitting the tiled floor. "What series are you?" she asked, her fists already ready for an attack. "Answer me!"

Max stopped the transgenic's first punch, and her second, clenching her teeth as she spread her arms apart and to the side. It was clear that Max was stronger, and a few seconds more would have allowed her to take her out with a well placed punch, but those were a few seconds that they didn't have. Both of them turned to the glass front doors, the guards having recovered and called for reinforcements. As the door opened both of them flipped out in opposite directions, missing the gunfire narrowly as it hit the wall behind them. Max turned to see where her 'sparring partner' had gone, squinting her eyes to find that she had blended into the wood paneling of the wall, almost invisible to the eye.

Max searched for the glasses in her jacket pocket, putting them on in an effort to conceal her identity from them. They were silent as the guards moved forward, six in total. They spread out, three to Max and three to her. When they were close enough, both of them shot up, disarming the guards with ease. Max pulled the gun of one of them, smacking him over the head with it before flipping up and landing behind the other two. She spun and kicked the second in the stomach and chest, using him as a sort of stepping ladder when she pushed up and kicked the third in the jaw.

The other three guards turned to Max, everything happening too fast for them. The woman stood up and kicked the gun from his hands, holding onto the next guard's as she punched him and pulled the card from the chain around his neck. She pulled the gun and kicked him in the solar plexus before taking the third's. He pulled out a knife, turning it in his hand and lunging forward, she moved her shoulder back and dodged, grabbing his wrists and staring at him through his dark visor. She lifted her leg and kicked his chin, still holding onto his wrists, before moving and flipping him over.

She glanced at Max before running for the computer console in the center of the room. Swiping the card, she looked back and ran for the doors, once again being followed by Max. The gates opened as they ran, the woman turning in the direction of a construction sight and trying to find a way in. She braced herself as Max lunged at her, the two of them hitting a pile of bricks on the other side of the wooden gate. The woman winced, finding that she had landed on the sharp corner of a brick.

"I'm going to ask you one more time, what series are you?" Max waited for an answer, interrupted by the reflection of the bright lights in the woman's dark eyes. She saw her shadow grow, hearing the loud roar of a truck. "That's just terrific." She turned, sighing as the trucker got out and walked over to her. "Don't mind us sir, just got a little lost."

He furrowed his brow and looked to the left and right of her. "What do you mean 'us'?"

Max turned back, finding that she was alone

End Part Two

A/n: Is there any interest out there? Oh, and thank you Canyabble for the review