Title: M.I.A
Author: Lexie Jayne
Rating: PG
Characters: Jondy/Zane; Max/Alec; Syl/Krit; Logan, Zack.
Summary: Jondy vanishes, risking the lives of her loved ones, Max is faced with a new future and Terminal City faces it's biggest challenge yet the return of old enemies and allies. WIP. JZ, SK, MA
Feedback: Would be lovely if you feel inclined.
Notes: Exams suck. I have two more left to do - French and English Extn - so, wish me luck! I have a lot of half done song fics, and new chapters and a certain third part of a trilogy to edit and put up soon. Don't think for a moment I've abandoned any of my Dark Angel fic. They will be all finished eventually, I promise.
Warnings: Language
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to James Cameron. I make no profit from this fan based venture. I only own Tanner, Micah, Sway and the character of Tawny. The name of Tawny is borrowed from the ever excellent Kara. Everyone else belongs to James Cameron.
Max paced her small 'apartment' space, glaring at the cell phone that lay completely silent on her bed. Logan hadn't called. He hadn't returned any of her messages, or checked up on her. The rational side of her brain said that maybe, up where the cabin was, Logan couldn't get reception for his phone. That side of her brain also pointed out that maybe this was fate letting her know that she and Logan just weren't meant to be.
She threw herself down in a chair, continuing to glare at the phone. How could he? After all those promises, he went and left her all alone, when she needed him the most, as clichéd as it sounded…
"He's sleeping with Asha," a voice broke into her thoughts.
"Alec. Have you heard of knocking?" Max said with a bored expression across her face, looking up at Alec, who was leaning against the doorframe.
"It's a concept entirely foreign to me," Alec replied angelically. "But I thought it was about time you know Logan's kickin' it with Asha. The whole transgenic babe thing lost its appeal when he couldn't take advantage of … your muscle control." Alec gave Max a wicked grin.
Max grabbed the closest object to her – the cell phone Logan had given her – and hurled it at Alec. Alec jumped back, and the phone hit the door frame and fell to the floor.
"Uh, you killed the bad phone, Maxie," Alec said, looking at the phone, lying on the floor in three pieces.
Max looked at the phone in horror. "Logan gave that to me," she said softly. Alec picked the pieces up and held them out to her.
"Maybe you could fix it?" he said, almost sheepishly. "The manufacturers would take accidents into account."
Max examined the pieces and fished out the SIM card from the phone. "I guess if I can find a new phone…" she said, sighing, before turning on Alec. "If YOU hadn't…"
Alec held his hands up in defense. "I was offering my opinion! I did nothing wrong! I didn't tell you to kill your phone! I like phones! I was planning on stealing that phone!"
Max frowned, and tossed the pieces of phone onto her bed. "Great. Now I can't call Logan. He can't call me. No supplies, no leads, no help from Eyes Only. Satisfied?"
Alec looked at Max, her hands on her hips, her lips twisted into a pout and her dark hair framing her face…
"Not even nearly," he said quietly, looking directly into her eyes.
Max froze for a moment, looking directly into Alec's eyes. Sure, he could be annoying. But he'd grown on her, and now… well, she looked forward to seeing him, he was something reliable in her life - the one reliable thing in her life, at the moment. Logan wasn't returning her calls, even when her mobile phone was in one piece.
"I've gotta go," Max said abruptly, almost rudely, and instantly regretted it. "I'll see you later."
Alec nodded once, and looked at the ground, in almost an embarrassed way. "Yeah. Later Maxie."
Max slipped out of her apartment block, into the main 'street' of Terminal City. Dirt and grime was everywhere. The buildings were falling down around the transgenics and they had no supplies – food was rationed to the last grain of rice, no building supplies to repair the buildings…
A few X6s were hunched against a wall, talking softly. A cat nomalie lead two X9s into a building. It was quiet here.
"Max!"
Zane jogged up beside her, balancing an alert looking Tanner on his hip.
"What are you doing up?" Max asked. "Thought you were putting Tanner down?"
"I did. She slept and now she's awake," Zane said, grinning tiredly. "She only sleeps four hours a night or something. Jondy usually spent the early hours of the morning walking with her, or reading to her. Trying to get her to sleep. Must be that shark DNA or something. What's up?"
"Nothing," Max said, smiling at Tanner, who was bundled up in a pink tracksuit, with a little pink cap covering her head. "Nothing's wrong."
"I didn't say anything was wrong," Zane said gently, slinging his other arm around Max's shoulders. "So, what is wrong, baby sister?"
Max leant against her brother. Zane was so solid. Always there. He always protected Jondy, always defended the others. Always offering advice if it was asked for.
"Logan hasn't called," Max said slowly. Never mind he couldn't now, thanks to her spectacular aim and Alec's Manticore reflexes. "I'm wondering if it's worth it, waiting for him. We've already waited so long…"
"It's been hard?" Zane asked.
"A genetically targeted retro virus," Max said grimly. "Renfro infected me when I was back at Manticore."
Zane nodded. "Makes sense, really. It's pretty cool, if you think about it."
Max turned around with an incredulous expression on her face. "Zane!" She smacked him upside the head. "They were the bad guys! Manticore!"
"Maxie!" Zane gave her a wounded expression, rubbing his head. "I'm just saying! Thinking of creating a virus that would kill Logan when you two kissed was pretty ingenious. I'm not saying it was right, but it was clever."
Max made a face. "I can't say I think of Manticore as highly as you obviously do, Zane," she said moodily. "I might just go…"
"Maxie," Zane said. "Wait. Talk to me."
Before Max could leave, Tanner leant over and grabbed Max's hair in her tiny hand and looked at Max directly in the eyes. Max sighed, and untangled her hair from Tanner's tiny fist.
"I don't know what to do Zane," she said quietly. "Do I wait around for Logan?"
"Or?" Zane prompted.
"There's someone else. A maybe," Max replied, looking at the ground.
Zane motioned to a set of steps, as he sat down, setting Tanner down on the ground. "Come sit, Max."
Max sat next to her big brother, resting her head against his shoulder, "So what do I do, Zane? I think I love Logan. But I think there might be something with Al… the other person, too."
Zane raised his eyebrows at the slip but didn't call attention to it, his gaze firmly fixed on his infant daughter who was rolling in the dirt. "I honestly don't know, Max. For me, it was always Jondy. Even when we were kids, I think. I took a risk telling her, I guess," Zane looked at the ground. "I never ever forgot a moment I spent with her. I should've told her I loved her more when she was here." He sighed, touching Tanner's soft hair.
"She's coming back, Zane," Max said, with more conviction than she felt. "I am not losing another sister."
Zane nodded a grim expression on his face. "I won't get my hopes up," he said quietly. "And Maxie?"
"Yeah?"
"Whoever the other guy is, go for it. If you're questioning how you feel about Logan for this guy, you aren't in love with Logan," Zane looked up at her, an unreadable expression on his face. "The minute you meet the person you're meant for, everyone else sort of fades in comparison. It's worth the risk."
Max smiled, half to herself. "I guess, in theory. But in practice?"
Zane shrugged. "Can't tell you how to feel, baby sister. You've done stuff like this before. Escaped from a government lab, come face to face with Lydecker, gone back to Manticore, burnt the place down. Deciding which guy to date sort of pales in comparison, dontcha think?"
Before Max could reply, Alec appeared.
"Max, we just got a call," he said, looking solemn for the first time since Zane had arrived. "Two X5s, stated their designations as X5-701 and X5-471. Said that they had located X5-599, that someone has been keeping tabs on him, and they would be in touch in a week."
Max frowned. "They couldn't speak to me?"
"Nah. Lousy connection," Alec shrugged. "Seems to me no one knows the value of a good mobile phone these days."
"I did, until you killed it," Max retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Was I the one who threw the poor thing against the wall?" Alec replied, mimicking her tone and pose. "No. And it was a good phone, Maxie! It must've cost Logan a few dubloons. Of course, it could be because of that wicked guilt complex he's been toting for the last few weeks."
Max gave Alec a dark look. "Logan hasn't been kicking it with Asha. And I do not want to hear about it again."
Alec shrugged. "Only trying to protect you, Maxie."
Zane scooped Tanner off the ground and watched the two X5s banter back and forth.
"Since when have you ever wanted to protect me? I seem to remember having to fight you in a boxing match. Didn't seem much on protecting me then."
"Hey! I didn't want to fight you! I remember telling you I didn't want to fight you! It was you who fought me! And kicked me in the groin!"
"All because you couldn't resist looking to see a topless woman!"
"There was no topless woman!"
Max rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. "Whatever. I'm gonna catch some sleep and we'll organize some recon for White's latest base of ops at 0700, okay?"
Zane bit back laughter. "Night, Maxie. Hope you're feeling better," he kissed her cheek and adjusted his grip on his daughter. "You two make a very cute couple."
"Shut up, Zane."
