The young Maverick watched the human strapped to the table. He was slightly interested by the man's looks. Not that he was attractive in the least, in fact, he was quite the opposite.

But someone with billions of dollars in assets could afford the latest and greatest in bio sculpting. David Herkowitz could have looked like a movie star, if he'd cared to. But instead, he was getting by with what nature had given him. A large Maverick with an ostrich like form was fussing over him. The Maverick smiled to himself as he thought about how hard it had been to find a Maverick with any kind of human medical knowledge. Most Mavericks were only concerned with how to end life.

He shifted irritable as the ostrich brushed past him. The room was far too small for this kind of operation, but it had been the best available. His mistress was keeping her little project secret from everyone else until she could triumphantly display it to Sigma, and that meant few people could know what was going on.

But small or not, the equipment fit, and they were almost ready for the transference. The new body was strapped to a second table, with steel instead of leather. The Maverick looked at the ostrich again, and his right hand touched the buster on his left arm.

Then the base shook, and he swore as the dissonance of electronic warfare hit his senses. The ostrich panicked entirely and ran out with a squeak. The Maverick just gazed after him a moment, then laughed softly.

Stepping forward to the controls, he began to implement his own plan…

Jennie snarled as she sliced through low level Mavericks like butter. She was going to find the person running this base and-

Kzt…fzzt…Jennie! Slow…kzt! The communicators were suffering from an EMP bomb that had been set off earlier. Jennie snarled again, but got the idea and obediently slowed down to let the rest catch up.

"Woo, Jennie! A little torqued?" Axl said gaily as he reached her side. X and Zero had split from them, exploring other parts of the base while the last member of their team had stayed with the medic at the entrance. They would come deeper when one of them found something that needed her skill.

"You think?" she snarled back, and then winced as a bomb unexpectedly detonated near her. Axl used his copy shot, and then had fun throwing a few bombs of his own.

Then they reached a large, familiar door. Axl laughed, and touched his gun fondly.

"Ready to face a Maverick General, Jennie?" There was no doubt what lay behind this door. Jennie grinned, exhilarated.

"I was born ready! Let's do it!" They both reached the door simultaneously and jetted through as it opened.

The beautiful Maverick burst into the room just as the new Reploid began to stir.

"He's done? Good! Where's Split Ostrich?" she demanded of her subordinate. He shrugged.

"He split." Her glare at him could have taken the finish off furniture, and she didn't seem to realize that he didn't care in the least.

"Don't be cute," she snapped. "Have you infected him with the virus yet?" She quickly walked over to the David, who regarded her with horror. Very obvious horror. "He's not infected yet! What are you waiting for? We need to get out of here!"

His lips tightened at those words, and he made a final decision. One of the things he had always despised most about her was her penchant for escaping any situation completely unmarked. She might justify it by saying she wasn't a combat model but he knew the truth. She didn't have an ounce of physical courage.

"I was waiting for you," he said calmly. "And now that you're here…" He turned around, and leveled his buster at her startled face. "Goodbye, mistress."

She had just enough time to scream.

"What was that?" Jennie said, startled. A high, thin scream had managed to penetrate the room they had just entered. The big Maverick in front of them looked just as surprised… and far more concerned, glancing between them and the way out. He was wolflike, with an ugly rat tail, and Jennie had the uncomfortable feeling that he had the mange. She disliked the thought of touching him, even to rip his head off.

"Never mind it!" Axl said as he fired on the Maverick, who howled and leaped to attack. Jennie jumped back to avoid a swipe of a huge paw.

He's FAST! Jennie thought as he managed to avoid several of Axl's shots. Her own were going wild, too, which was a truly great achievement on the Maverick's part. He had a nasty habit of seeming to be a little off from where he was supposed to be. Jennie's eyes narrowed as she suddenly wondered if that was literally the case. Some kind of optical illusion power?

She started deliberately firing a bit off from her target, and was rewarded with a yelp of pain.

"Axl! He isn't where he appears to be, he's a bit to the side! Try to the left or right!" The actual side seemed to switch randomly, so they would have a bit of trouble, but now that they knew the problem it wouldn't be too bad.

"Thanks!" He called back to her, trying to circle around to hit the Maverick from behind. Jennie gritted her teeth as she dived in, resigning herself to a long fight. This one wouldn't go down easily.

As it turned out, she was wrong about that. The other door suddenly opened, and a Maverick in green and yellow calmly stepped through. Behind him was someone achingly familiar, and Jennie felt as if her heart had stopped.

"David!" She screamed, and the battle paused as everyone turned to look at what she was staring at. David flashed her a familiar half-smile. He was unarmored, but carrying a massive cannon… something she had seen him working on at his house.

"Hi, Jennie." He said calmly, then turned slightly and triggered the cannon. The recoil jerked it right out of his hands, slamming it into the wall… the beam had lastly only a fraction of a second.

And had neatly punched through the Maverick General, who slowly collapsed into a heap of blood and mangy fur before his reactor gave up. The explosion briefly lit up the room.

"What…?" Axl said, confused, as he aimed at the young Maverick. The Maverick just looked at him, almost indifferent. Jennie was just as confused. Her brother had come out with a Maverick… was he infected, or not?

"It's a long story, but he's on our side." David said with a weary grin. "Can we get out of here? We can explain it later." Axl and Jennie exchanged a glance, then looked at the Maverick. They didn't trust him at all, but…

"Alright… this way!" Jennie led the way, while Axl took up the rear. On their side or not, they'd keep an eye on the Maverick…