A/N- I was asked for some couple not to go through hell and have fun for a change. So say a brief hello to Coco- enjoy. Here is the BBQ and other fun stuff.
Chapter 7- Second verse same as first.
Anna opened her eyes and immediately wished that she hadn't. She was tied down to a contraption that looked like something from a science fiction kinky catalogue. It was a long metal table standing upright with claw like straps tied over her chest to keep her vertical, the metal was icy and uncomfortable and she had an aching urge to use the toilet.
Oh, there was also a man standing in front of her.
"Rise and shine."
"I'd rather not," she replied flatly and let her eyes drift away from him. The room was a large one as far as she could see from where she was tied up. It was a lab like the bio ones she had seen at Manticore, full of electrical equipment and more glass bottles and beakers than you could shake a stick at.
The dark haired man smirked at her and moved out of the way so that she could see the rest of the room. There was a scruffy looking nerd over in one corner holding a can of coke like a safety blanket and several men in suits scattered around the room.
The scruffy man had his hands clenched.
"I did say that there would be three steps in this process, Mr. White. Step one: Target the pathogen to a single individual, expose him to it via airborne dispersal, make sure he's the only one it affects. Went off without a hitch, did it not?"
Out of the corner of her eye Anna saw one of the tall men place a can on top of one of the humming machines. The scruffy guy broke off in irritation.
"Uh, excuse me--could you not put that there, please? That is a very expensive piece of equipment."
Without an expression the man removed the can.
"Thank you. Step two: Target the pathogen to a specific race of people. The Chinese at the bus stop. I used, uh, gene expression on the base pair for the epicanthic fold--you know, the, uh, the eyelid. Worked perfectly. No one died but them, yes?"
Anna was getting a bad feeling about this guy and not just his dubious fashion sense. He exuded intellectual desperation. The same sort that she had seen on last minute dissertation students at university, eager to prove their knowledge wasn't the result of belated plagiarism; a sort of desperate 3am, two-hours-before-hand-in edginess that came from too much coffee and too little sleep. It wasn't attractive at the best of times and right now, with her tied to this torture trap, it made Anna a little more than uneasy.
Then of course there was that little matter of the dark haired man presently sitting in the chair in front of her with his legs stretched out like he hadn't a care in the world. There was something more to him that met the eye and she knew it. Ignore, for a moment, the fact that he had knocked her out without seemingly breaking a sweat. Ignore the way that he coolly watched everything as if cataloguing it for a later date and ignore the way that he seemed to know her. What mostly pushed that feeling home was the fact that he scared her.
Anna was scared of him.
And that didn't sit well at all.
He was definitely one to pay attention to and so she tuned back to the enlightening conversation.
"Your technology is very impressive, Cyril, but let's move on to step three."
The man—Cyril—smirked. "I'm ready. See, it was—it was easy with the Chinese. I had specific gene sequences that I could target. But the kids you're targeting, he chuckled, "Wow… that was tough. See, because, uh, they're just a little bit of everything, aren't they? In the end—"
The dark haired man sighed impatiently. "Cyril!"
"In the end, I targeted their immunological surveillance cells—"
"Cyril!" he snapped and stood up. "Action is character. Show me some. I showed you, didn't I?"
"Yes," Cyril nodded nervously.
"I paid you half, up front. I gave you everything that you asked for. Now it's time for you to show me. This is your test subject."
He pointed to Anna, wide-eyed with understanding.
"No way!" she screamed. "No way at all. I didn't get through that… that hell to be used as a guinea pig."
"Shut up."
"Bite me!"
He rolled his eyes and turned back to Cyril ignoring her string of obscenities.
"You couldn't have sedated her?" Cyril asked in disgust.
"Let me worry about Miss Manners here. You have the test ready by tomorrow."
"No problem. We could do it right now, if you'd like."
He shook his head, "No. I want to do it in the field. I want to know for sure. Plus I have to avoid certain… associates who don't know about the trial."
"Well, you're the boss. I can manufacture enough to blanket the entire western seaboard by Friday. How you disperse it is, of course, up to you, Agent White."
"I have a plan."
"Great, by the weekend, there won't be a transgenic left alive from here to San Diego.
"Good. Maybe I'll play a round of golf on Sunday."
Anna's eyes widened impossibly further at his callous remark.
"Uh hello this is extermination of an entire race, you Nazi!"
The man was suddenly an inch away from her, menace gleaming in his eyes and fury on his face.
"You transgenics scum aren't fit to be called human. Animals," he spat.
"Someone has issues!" she retorted. "Wassup White, one of those animals steal your girlfriend or…" she looked him up and down, "your boyfriend?"
"You all think you are so damn funny, Manticore wasn't worth the spit on my shoe and neither are you, your fellow trash or Ly— those who led you."
Anna froze, "No one led us."
"I'm sure your handlers will be sorry to hear that."
He stalked away ignoring her as he continued to talk to Cyril about his plans and left Anna with a sinking feeling that there was more to what he had said… or not said.
She was in trouble.
---
Coco had never been in love before. It was hard to have any sort of feelings while she was in Manticore but out here, when she was surrounded by the feel of Jason… it was easy to see how humans lived and died for love.
Jason tucked his hand into hers as they walked down the street, hands swinging.
They had been on another date and she was feeling happy and content with her lot in life. She couldn't believe how lucky she was and hoped that nothing would ever happen to break this sensation of bliss.
"Hey," Jason broke into her thoughts. "How about ice cream?"
Coco smiled at the man who held her heart, "That sounds wonderful."
---
Skye and Flex were both used to going on undercover missions and had grown accustomed to the feelings that deception caused. However their charges weren't so familiar and anticipated that afternoon's mission with trepidation.
"I think I'm going to be sick!" Icarus complained as they drove down the street in Flex's new car. It wasn't the "babe magnet" red sports car that he had longed for but a respectable truck suitable for his new family. He shook his head as he thought about it again. Who'd have thought Flex- the family man.
"You'll be fine, Cari," he soothed and concentrated on driving down the windy street.
"It'll be fun!" Zeph enthused causing Flex to chuckle at him.
Skye suddenly twirled in the front seat to look at the Greeks, "Okay, everyone remember the ground rules here?"
"No blurring!" piped up Zeph immediately.
"No fighting," Icarus giggled.
"No sarcasm," Isacar added doubtfully.
"And definitely no disembowelling," Nyx finished dryly.
"Does tend to put a damper on the evening," Isacar remarked and Flex bit his lip in stifled amusement.
Skye looked out of the window and clutched Galen tighter as she hid her own grin at Icarus's wry humour.
The house that they pulled up in front of was a standard wooden slatted homey kind of place with a wrap around porch and a powder blue door.
"Here we go," Skye breathed and pushed the door open.
They all piled out of the truck and stood on masse outside the front door.
"Show no fear!" grinned Zeph.
Flex grimly met Skye's eyes recalling the standard phrase from their training assignments-- 'Show no fear' had been their watchword to which they had to adhere at all costs or suffer the penalty of Psy Ops.
They had learned it well.
Flex reached up and knocked the door and held his breath.
They didn't have to wait long as Mike opened the door wearing a blue striped apron with Kiss the cook emblazoned on it.
"Hey Flex, you made it! Great—are you any good at grilling?"
He could make a suspect crack in less than five minutes but somehow he didn't think Mike wanted help with interrogation techniques.
"Uh, possibly."
Mike sighed in relief. "Thank God, I was charring everything in sight. Come in!"
Ah, cooking! Oh wait, cooking?
He had a sudden memory of Life skills class back at Manticore and Dek refusing point blank to eat anything of his—ever!
Skye gave him an equally horrified look as she walked in the door.
"Say no," she whispered. "Remember what we said about disembowelling!"
Flex cleared his throat, "Uh, you remember Skye?"
Mike grinned, "Charmed, sweetheart, call me Mike."
"Hi," she said almost shyly.
"These are the kids; Nyx," Nyx nodded, "Icarus and Isacar."
Mike grinned, "Which is which?"
"I'm Icarus," she beamed and gave a little jump. "I am so pleased to meet you."
Isacar gave his sister an odd look and held out his hand, "Isacar, less enthusiastic but still pleased."
Mike choked on a laugh as he shook Isacar's hand. "Pleasure."
Zeph suddenly spoke up, "Why?"
Mike looked down at the dark haired young boy who stared quizzically up at him. "Why what?"
"Why kiss the cook? Is that required? Is that even hygienic?"
Mike stared down at his apron, "It's a joke."
Zeph shrugged. "I don't get it," he sighed. "Adults bewilder me."
Flex bit back his grin and introduced him, "Mike, this little fireball is Zeph-- Zephyr." Mike nodded at Zephyr and smiled heartily.
"Clever kid."
Zeph beamed widely, liking this man who didn't look down on him.
"And this?" Mike gestured to the small child hiding behind Skye's legs.
"Galen," Skye answered tucking the boy's hand in hers. "He's… shy."
Understatement, thought Mike as the dark haired boy shook in trepidation as Mike's eyes drifted over him. "Well," he said, "come on in and meet everyone."
They exchanged glances quickly and as one walked into the house and the door shut behind them.
"So, Skye, my wife is in the yard and cooking up a storm. Her name is Marcie and she makes a mean fruit salad. Do you cook?"
"Occasionally," Skye admitted stroking Galen's trembling form. "I'm more than glad to leave it to Nyx and Icarus though."
"I love to cook!" enthused Icarus. "I never used to get much chance back at M… my old home, of course it's very different to cook for an entire family, I'm sure your wife must be great at it."
Isacar winced at the high decibel and leaned towards Nyx, "Did someone slip something into her breakfast?"
"Helium?" Nyx offered. "She's better than a dog-whistle. However it is most aggravating. I may slap her."
Icarus shot Nyx a quick glare but never stopped chattering.
Isacar hid a grin and walked besides Flex into the garden. He stopped on the threshold and knew that his fellow "siblings" had also frozen. The yard was bigger than their house and was filled—filled!—with people. Kids screamed and scrambled at one end throwing some sort of ball back and forth whilst grown ups hung around a smouldering grill and a huge table filled with bowls and cups.
"Welcome to chaos!" laughed Mike, not seeing the hesitant and, frankly unnerved glances that the children shot each other.
"Chaos is home," Nyx added under her breath shakily.
"Wow! Lots of kids," Zeph edged closer to Skye in an uncharacteristic show of nerves.
Mike noticed however and smiled, "Oh, they are all great kids. You'll get along great. Uh, HEY JESSE!"
Galen clutched Skye like a lifeline as a tall boy with curly blond hair raced up and skidded to a halt, "Yeah, dad?"
"This is Zeph, why don't you show him around?"
Jesse eyed the other youth with a wrinkled nose. "Zeph?
"Uh huh, short for Zephyr."
Jesse shrugged, "You wanna climb trees?"
Zeph's eyes lit up, "Yes!"
Jesse beamed in approval, "Okay then!"
Zeph slipped away from Skye and started to race after the blond boy.
Skye called quickly, "Zeph?" he spun. "Slowly," she added and he nodded in understanding.
"My daughter, Missy is around here somewhere too, Icarus… that is a pretty name."
"Missy sounds a nice name too," Icarus offered.
"Sounds like the name for a dog," remarked Nyx in an aside to Isacar who chuckled.
"Missy?" Flex grinned.
"Short for Melissa," Mike explained.
"Well, Mikey, don't make our guests stand in the doorway!"
Mike twitched and turned to face his wife. Marcie was a slim woman with dark hair pulled back in a pony tail and dressed in smart trousers and shirt. She had a smiling face which still managed to be somewhat stern.
"Hi," she said. "I'm Marcie. Welcome to our home. You must be Flex, Mike talks so much about you!"
"Really?" Flex asked worriedly.
"Can't do a thing wrong in his opinion, I'm almost jealous. He sings your praises to high heaven."
Skye watched in tender amusement as Flex blushed. Back in Manticore they were never thanked or told that they were appreciated, or even that they had done a good job. It was a first to be praised and she knew that Flex was feeling that for the first time.
"Um, uh, thanks," he managed to stammer.
"Mom?" They watched as a tall blonde girl walked up behind Marcie. "Corey's allergic to nuts; does the Florida salad contain pistachios?"
"No, honey," Marcie said.
"Shame," the girl added quietly.
"Melissa!" Marcie snapped. "Behave; these are guests from dad's work."
Missy eyed Flex appreciatively and the turned her gaze from Skye to Isacar, quickly bypassed a cool looking Nyx and settled on Icarus.
"Hi, I'm Missy."
"Icarus," she put out her hand. "Nice to meet you."
The two blondes looked at each other for a second as if gauging the other's sincerity and then Missy smiled.
"Come and meet the guys, they'll love you." She looked at Nyx uncertainly, "You can come too."
"No, thank you." Nyx smiled and Missy swallowed.
Icarus grabbed hold of Missy's arm, "So, tell me all about you."
"Helium overload," Isacar choked.
"I still maintain that she needs a slap," Nyx added.
Marcie grinned at Skye, "Skye is it? Well, you have to try some of my chilli chive sauce. It is to die for."
Skye smiled uncertainly, "Uh, well Flex—"
"Can have a beer with the boys," Marcie stated firmly. "I want to get to know you."
It seemed to Skye that she had no choice in this and with an odd sense of panic she capitulated and followed the dark haired woman across the green.
"Should I be afraid?" Flex asked Mike as Marcie started chatting faster.
"Marcie is mostly harmless," Mike grinned. "But so are snakes."
Flex sighed, "Oh, Skye can deal with snakes. It's girl talk that worries her."
Mike looked nonplussed and then shrugged, "Come and watch me incinerate animals."
Flex nodded and followed in his wake leaving Nyx and Isacar staring after him.
"I assume that he thinks we are responsible enough to take care of ourselves," Nyx observed dryly.
"Or we're antisocial enough not to be bothered with."
Nyx turned to Isacar, "That's very cynical."
"Are you impressed?"
"Very."
Isacar grinned and pushed his icy blond hair away from his eyes. "Let's go and try that mean fruit salad."
Nyx followed him, "How is it mean?"
"Perhaps they were nasty grapes and selfish pineapples?"
She eyed him, "I find your sense of humour odd."
Isacar grinned, "Great. Most of the great players of the world were misunderstood."
"Oh, I understand you perfectly. I just find you strange."
"Well that could work; all the greats had some sort of disease, either of the body or of the mind. Nietzsche, Keats, Byron."
"What's yours?"
"Minor Oedipal complex," he grinned wolfishly.
Nyx turned to face him, "You do realize that Skye isn't your mother?"
Isacar pouted, "Ruined another good plan."
"Like I said, strange."
They arrived at the table laden with food and drink and grabbed plates. They walked along the table edge and Isacar passed comments on the various dishes trying to startle the severe Nyx into laughter.
"It's no use," she told him simply. "Manticore didn't program me with a sense of humour."
"Program? Tell me Nyxie, do you think of yourself as a robot?"
"No," she raised an eyebrow. "But call me Nyxie again and I shall… what was that phrase… exterminate?"
Isacar grinned at the memory of watching some 20th century science fiction show with her; some grammatically incorrect show about a doctor who travelled through time. Highly inconceivable but fun for someone who had never watched television before.
He opened his mouth to retort but was distracted by the sound of whistling. He dropped his plate and spun to catch a ball inches away from the back of his head.
"Wow, dude, cool catch!" Two young teens raced up to him.
"Dude?" Nyx mouthed at an amused Isacar.
"Hey, wanna play?" one asked and Isacar looked pained.
"Play what?"
"Football, dude," the taller of the two said. "Come on over and we'll pick sides again."
Isacar bit his lip, "Okay then, let me just clean this up."
They raced away and called their team mates to one point, gesturing back at him.
"Football?" Nyx hid a smile.
Isacar sighed and rolled his eyes, "Why couldn't they have invited me to a poetry reading or a study group? A Discussion of Boyle's law or Pythagorean algorithms? Why something as Neanderthal as kicking a pigs bladder over a field?"
"Apparently teenage boys would rather expend energy in pointless exertions of the physical kind than expand their mind," Nyx shrugged. "You don't have to join in."
"I am supposed to be maintaining the subterfuge that I am a normal teenage boy," he reminded her.
"Then by all means go and… frolic."
He sighed and stood up, brushing grass off his trousers, "Once more unto the breach dear friends, wish me luck."
"Try not to kill anyone," Nyx remarked dryly. "Nothing will kill our cover faster than a corpse."
"Duly noted," he sighed and walked over to the group of boys.
Nyx watched him go with a smile on her face.
----
He had half moons tracking all over his palms from clenching his fists too tight and his eyes looked so bloodshot and dull that he could have passed for a corpse.
B.J. splashed icy water onto his face and noted absently the hands that shook in fierce abandonment.
He stepped back and leaned hard against the wall, his head tilted back to stare at the ceiling of the grey tiles. A tear slipped from his eye and slid into the dampness that his freshly washed hair made at his nape.
He bit his jaw tightly and clenched his hands again.
He heard a muffled cry from down the hall and knew that Emma was upset again, maybe even it was his fault, being unable to control his reactions to his dreams and thoughts.
They were all he thought about now, day and night, he had flashbacks to being tortured and poked. He was constantly in fear of discovery by his boss, even if during daylight hours he never let slip the cocky, confident façade that had served him so very well these past few years.
When he was away from the flat it wasn't so bad, but the guilt of leaving Zan to take care of Emma ate at him when the dreams didn't. It was only at the office when he had been given a task and was under pressure that he could finally relax.
The truth was that he felt he was coming apart at the seams and that scared him more than any of his dreams dared to do.
Back in Manticore they had all heard the story of a transgenic that went insane. It wasn't a pretty story. Apparently he had been one of Lydecker's favourites, according to legend anyway, and had escaped along with the '09ers. The outside world had started to drive him crazy and he had taken to murder, caught by the authorities and subsequently escaped to live life on the streets babbling like a lunatic and eating rats.
He had no idea how much of that was true and the one time that he had dared to bring it up with Max she punched him in the jaw and told him not to be such an idiot.
He didn't bring it up again.
But now, standing in his bathroom and feeling like the whole world was out to get him, he wished he had. Then maybe he would have had something to make this transition easier. Maybe he would have had some idea of what it feels like to be out in the 'normal' world and how to know if you need certification.
B.J. shuddered and raked his hands through his hair again; glaring at himself in the mirror and grimacing as the dingy bathroom light made him look like a corpse.
He pushed open the bathroom door and headed into the kitchen, the dim light from the dawn filtering through the blinds.
Zan was sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee and staring out of the window.
"Hey," B.J. said as he grabbed the steaming pot. "What are you doing up?"
"Watching the sun," Zan replied absently. "I didn't hear you get in last night."
"Came in at about one, said goodnight to Emma," B.J. shrugged.
"You're up after five hours sleep?"
"I didn't drop off until three, so make that two hours sleep and the answer is yes."
"Shit, B.J., how the hell can you stay awake, you didn't have Shark DNA did ya?"
"No," B.J. managed a rough grin, "But I have a cute boss. Looking at her is better than falling asleep."
Zan chuckled dryly, "Should have known."
B.J. looked at his friend carefully. There were huge bags under Zan's eyes and his skin looked dry and ragged. His normally soft blond hair was looking like straw and his frame sagged in the chair.
"You okay, pal?"
"Emma," Zan paused for a second. "I love her but I don't know how much more I can do for her."
B.J. felt his throat go dry. He knew that she had gotten progressively worse and neither of them could figure out why. She would lay moaning and crying all night, letting the bad emotions and feelings of the world surround her. She wasn't even fighting it, which they knew she could if she would just try. It seemed like, without her full family around, she was content just to lie there until she went insane and there was nothing that anyone could do about it.
B.J. smiled wanly at Zan and slumped into the chair next to him.
"It's not your fault, Zan."
"No?" Zan replied bitterly. "I'm just the poor sucker that she won't wake up for or talk to. Obviously I'm not enough for her to want to survive."
"That's not it at all!" B.J. said horrified. "Who knows what combinations of DNA that Manticore instilled in us? Maybe we even have some sort of built in self-destruct button that we can't see. It's possible that we all have an expiration date to go with the barcode."
"Thanks, B.J." Zan spat, "I didn't need to hear that. If I'd have wanted to listen to conspiracy theories I would have gone after Pix."
"I'm serious," B.J leaned forward. "Who's to say that we could only live as long as they allow us to? What if they fed us pills along with our food that enabled us to survive and without those pills we die."
Zan regarded him for a long moment, "Is there something you want to tell me, B.J.?"
B.J. just shrugged and sat back again, "Just a bunch of what-ifs."
"Well the '09ers seem to be okay, so if we do have an expiration date, it's not for a good ten years. Plenty of time to drink and make merry."
Thinking of his thoughts of the insane '09er in the bathroom this didn't exactly cheer B.J. up.
"If they are even alive," he said bitterly.
"Well, Max said that she'd seen her brother Ben and he'd told her that, other than the one she knew was dead, the others were alive. That was just last year."
"Yeah," B.J. chewed his lip and frowned, something occurring to him. "What were the names of her other brothers?"
"Uh, Ben, Krit, Ash, Zane, Zack, Seth and uh… Jondy… no, wait, that was a girl."
B.J. blinked, "Zack?"
"Pretty common name," Zan shrugged, "I was named after the guy too… well, him and Zane. Max said I reminded her of him. Tall, blond and great looking." He grinned.
B.J. was staring into space oddly, "Zack… Zack."
Zan sat back and waited.
"Max had sisters didn't she?"
"Yeah, Jondy, Syl, uh… Jace, Brin…Tingle, Tangle… Tinga!"
"What are the odds that Jace is a common name?"
"Slim to none, why?"
"My boss was on the phone to a Zack the other day talking about files and recruitment lists, classified files."
"Really?"
"My boss, Jacenette Knightsbridge, 'call me Jace'," he mocked quietly and looked up at Zan. "Coincidence?"
Zan leaned forward, his coffee forgotten. "So you think that this Jace and Zack are Max's siblings?"
"Could be," he nodded. "I mean it'd make sense. What better way of keeping an eye on what the military is doing that to have someone in a position to check new recruits and timetables out? Manoeuvres and whatever else and then to pass it on to the leader?"
"Phew!" Zan sat back. "Does she have a barcode?"
"Never thought to check, I mean she's hot. She has the standard military sense of humour."
"I didn't know they had one."
"Exactly. And she always takes care to have her hair in a thick braid down her back and wears high collared shirts."
Zan's face registered his amusement, "I see your observation skills are top notch… or is she that cute?"
"She's that cute," B.J. grinned.
"You know I vaguely recall some of the '09ers maybe I'd recognise her."
B.J. stared at Zan, "You know I forget sometimes that you were one of the Wyoming lot."
"Oh and were we so different?" Zan laughed.
"Well, us Atlantans thought the Seattle-ers were easy and the Wyoming lot were all freaks."
Zan hauled back and punched B.J. in the shoulder. "Well, from us freaks, I suggest that I come to work with you tomorrow. Maybe I can recognise your boss," he thought for a second. "If I remember 119 accurately, she was quite a looker. Blonde with big pouty lips."
"That's not Jace," remarked B.J. dryly, rubbing his arm in annoyance. "And it's a good idea for an idiot, think you can spare the time away from Emma?"
Zan glanced at the closed bedroom door, "To be honest, I don't think my being here is any good, so I guess so. As long as I'm not away too long. Besides, I wanted to see you actually do some work!"
"Hey!" B.J. laughed. "Whose money are we living off now? Maybe I should charge you rent."
"Bite me!"
"Not with someone else's teeth," B.J. was feeling better now. It wasn't the same as fighting with Dek and Aiden but Zan was still a fun sparring partner. "Ever heard of a shower?"
Zan's eyes narrowed, "I see someone has a death wish."
B.J. smirked, "Well, someone had to befriend Anna."
----
"Joshua?" Carrot called as he walked into the house. He stopped in amazement as his mind registered the differences between what he had left and what was now. He had left Joshua in a wreck of a house, coated with dust and ransacked beyond repair. What he walked into now was a great house filled with bright sunshine and nary a piece of dust to be seen. The floor was clear and there was nothing ransacked about the place.
"Hey!" he smiled as he saw his big friend edge around the door with a smile.
"Carrot fella."
"I see you cleaned up some," Carrot grinned. "Hygiene, it's so underrated these days."
"Pretty house under mess," Joshua nodded. "Father liked to be tidy."
"Yeah, I guess having a top secret genetics lab would make you slightly anal about tidiness. Wouldn't want anything to contaminate DNA. Who knows what would happen if a dust mite got in there?"
"Mite!" Joshua added his percent to the conversation and Carrot smiled absently.
"I told Tara about you. She's all for keeping you hidden and a secret from Lo…. Unsavoury types."
Joshua pouted, "Lay low?"
"Just for a while, pal. Once this whole dog-boy thing had cleared up some, I can get you a mask and we can get out."
Joshua's eyes lit up, "Out?"
"Yeah, Walkies," Carrot grinned and handed him a bag. "In the meantime, here are some cans of stuff. Food, you know. Should keep you going a while."
"Little dogs?"
"Yup and something called Spagettios and some fruit thing that Cece threw in. Possibly even some Spam—" he paused, "Best not get excited about that."
"Carrot worried about friends," Joshua pointed to Carrot's frown.
"Yeah, Cece doesn't look too good. She won't say anything but its obvious that she isn't feeling too well. See, we— me and Tara—have never been close to Cece and I think she finds it hard to talk to us about stuff. But the poor girl is getting paler and more secluded. Tara's wondering if it's something to do with her animal DNA but I don't know. All I'm certain about is that transgenics don't get sick."
"Do," Joshua nodded and rifled through the bag. "Father said make sick if new and hard. Must be strong for us."
Carrot looked at him, "New and hard?"
Joshua searched for the words, "Inside old, outside new. Little fella old, Carrot fella new. Little dogs old… Spam new."
"New stuff… new situations?" Carrot thought on that. "So new and difficult circumstances… wait, stress? Stressful circumstances can make us sick?"
"If virus strong."
"So like humans I guess our immune system is rendered weaker by stressful situations but still the bug has to be a strong one for us to succumb?" he nodded. "Makes sense."
"Strong bugs," Joshua grinned, his big teeth showing. "Maybe something in father's books."
Carrot looked up at the large dog-man, "Father's books?"
Joshua pointed enthusiastically to the hundreds of books that littered every surface and the bookshelves that ran the walls.
"Genetics?" Carrot asked as he moved closer to the shelves.
Joshua grinned widely at the distracted tone in his new friend's voice. He had someone else to read with now.
----
Zeph climbed as high as he could into the tree and watched as the older, bigger boys tried to catch up with him.
He knew he was faster and better by design but he had taken Skye's words to heart and was careful not to blur, even though it was difficult. He had so much energy he felt like it was bursting inside him, making him crazy if he couldn't use at least some of it.
"Hey Zeph, can you reach the top?"
"Sure!" he yelled back and scrambled through the lower branches towards his goal.
As he made it out of the dense foliage Zeph turned his face towards the breeze and the smells of the place, letting his enhanced senses spur him higher.
The place was divine. It wasn't like Manticore, where he'd been told to shut up, to sit down and learn before being thrown out into the cold to show them that he was better. Here people laughed instead of screamed and it seemed that they actually wanted to be there and near each other. Jesse was fun and kept telling him something about this school place which sounded a lot like Manticore, only Jesse said that teachers weren't allowed to hit the kids, which was new.
As he glanced over the field he could see Icarus laughing with a large group of girls and Isacar throwing a red ball to another boy who ran away with it. He saw Nyx watching him sedately and Flex standing next to a metal tin which was emitting billows of smoke. The guy in the odd apron was laughing though so it couldn't have been too bad.
He glanced around until he could see her and smiled. Skye.
There was something about her that made him feel safe and comforted. She smelled good too, to his senses she was like honey and peaches and he got the sense that she would protect him at all costs. Flex, too, was a protector but it was Skye who got his vote. She was the one who had lifted him away from danger and made him smile.
He liked Skye.
"Hey Zeph, dad's burnt the BBQ, he says we can eat the leftovers, come down."
"Okay!"
Zeph let himself slip and slither his way down until he was about ten foot off the ground and then he tucked himself into a ball, rolling down the braches like he had been taught so get himself closer to the ground.
As he wasn't paying attention to his balance, as he got closer he got caught on a twig and his shirt wrenched his arm so that he toppled out of the tree and to the floor.
"Ow, doppelter Fluch!" he swore in German as he hit the ground, momentarily winding himself. He knew that that was a stupid thing to do and he berated himself as if waiting for the trainers to tell him that he would be sent to solitary for such an infraction, after all, who didn't know how to fall out of a tree with feline grace? He was such an idiot, he knew that you had to check the angle of incline and ensure that debris wouldn't offset your course, what had he been thinking? He felt a shadow move over him and winced.
He opened one eye to see not a red-faced angry trainer ready to yell at him but a woman in a big paisley coloured dress standing over him.
"Ooh, you poor ickle treasure, did you hurt your poor ickle self?"
Zeph stood up and brushed off his trousers, "Thank you, ma'am, but the agony has somewhat abated. I appreciate your concern."
He walked over to where Jesse was waiting leaving the paisley woman with her mouth wide open.
"Hey Nyxie, how's it going?"
The dark skinned girl turned to see Flex leaning over the fence with a bottle of beer in his hand and a plate of something black and smoking.
"Cajun style?" she guessed.
"No, I just burned it," he shrugged, "Me and Life Skills didn't get on. Here's a life skills hint for ya, never eat anything I cook." He tipped the meat… ex-meat onto the ground for one of the many dogs that roamed the area. "What are you doing?"
"I was watching the game," she gestured to the field where the young men and boys were throwing some sort of ball to each other. "I must own to finding it perplexing."
Flex watched them for a few seconds, "I think the aim is—"
"Oh, I understand the objective and the execution," she added, "but the reasoning is beyond me. Fitness would be very well, but is made redundant by the empty calories of the alcohol that is being consumed. Training is neither needed nor appreciated by non-military or athletics and I can't fathom that being covered in dirt is in the least enjoyable and yet they are laughing. I am … baffled."
Flex hid a smile as he moved closer and wrapped his arm around the fence, "I think it's a release of testosterone that makes it so enthusiastic and they like being together. There is also the exhilaration of competition."
"I see," Nyx inclined her head. "For the want of something more… intellectual I suppose it is acceptable."
"C'mon, Nyx, haven't you ever wanted to do anything that didn't directly relate to the mission?"
"Counterproductive," she shrugged. "The mission is all that there is."
Flex's easy going face was troubled by her calm acceptance of Manticore's mandate. In truth it was that Nyx worried him the most out of all of his 'kids'. She was the most serious and straight-laced and had more 'Manticore' in her that any soldier he had ever seen. Even Tara and Carrot had more life-spark that she seemed to and Tara had been the consummate soldier at the start. She had joined Special Ops and Unit 8 and was confused and a little out of her depth by the easy camaraderie and love in the group. But once she had latched onto Carrot and had joined in with the easy banter and games she had been just like the rest of them and they had loved her as much as they did each other—especially Carrot. He recalled her more than once saying that something was counterproductive or ridiculous.
But Tara had had almost 20 years of indoctrination of Manticore's beliefs and ideals and Nyx had barely 16, transgenics were usually less jaded up to the age of 18. His Nyxie was old before her time and it showed in her eyes.
"Nyx?"
She looked down at him from her perch on the fence. "Yes, Sir?"
"Flex," he reminded, "Not sir. We aren't at Manticore any more, Nyx, you can do whatever you want to. It doesn't have to be productive or even smart. You can be young and stupid or just carefree."
"No," she contradicted simply. "I can't."
There was a sadness in her eyes that made him want to pull her close and hug her. So he did.
Her slight body stiffened at the unexpected intrusion and she tried to push him away. Unfortunately Flex was born with Bear DNA and hugged like one. Nyx was forced into accepting the hug and did so tentatively, her arms unsure as they touched his back.
"If you ever want to talk."
"About what?" she said, her voice muffled by his shirt.
"About anything."
Nyx pulled away and gave him the small smile that made his heart hurt for her, "Now why would I want to that?"
"Consider the offer open," he said and ruffled her hair. Her smile grew more natural and she nodded.
"Thank you."
"Hey, Flex, that's where you got to. Hey, who's this?"
Flex and Nyx turned to see one of Flex's work mates, holding two beer bottles.
"Oh hey, Danny. This is Nyx. Nyx, Danny," he introduced.
Danny looked her over, "Niece, cousin?"
"Daughter, kind of," Flex corrected.
At Danny's raised eyebrow Flex sighed.
"See, me and Skye were brought up at this orphanage in Southern Seattle…"
"So you and Flex attended the same school?" Mira Freyden asked politely, her golden locks spilling over her shoulder as she glanced to where Flex stood with his arms around Nyx.
The circle of women around Skye made her nervous in their intensity. Oh, they had been nice and polite but she was beginning to feel like she was in one long Psy-Ops test. Marcie was chatting with her like they had been old friends when Mira had waltzed over to ask who the 'hunk' was. She wasn't impressed with Skye at all or maybe it was the fact that Skye was with that hunk.
"Orphanage," Skye corrected, keeping to their cover story. "We grew up there, didn't get adopted and so we stayed on to help out when we got older. After the pulse there really wasn't much else to do anyway."
Mira smiled, "A state orphanage?
"Private."
Her eyes widened, "Oh, you poor dear."
Skye smiled blithely, "It wasn't all bad."
"Not all bad?" Danny said incredulously. "How's that? From what I've heard those places were like a slice of hell."
"More like a Dickensian nightmare," Nyx intercepted.
Danny's eyebrow's raised, "Dickensian? Damn, she's a smart cookie."
Flex choked on a laugh as Nyx remained unamused. "Well, maybe it was that bad. But we survived. Until one of the little darlings had enough and put a match to the place."
"Arson?" Mira gaped.
"He had a history of mental problems and had been told that he had to return to his abusive foster father," Skye explained. "To… Pix, it was the only way out. So he poured gasoline over the administration desk and flicked a match. The whole place went up in flames."
Flex shuddered at the thought of seeing his childhood home burning. "It was like something out of a horror movie. Kids trapped inside and sirens wailing."
Nyx shuffled closer to him.
"In the confusion we found some of our charges and left before they could reassign us to another orphanage."
"My hero," Icarus said, coming up behind him.
"Mine too!" Danny said fluttering his lashes. "Damn, Flex, you are a damn hero. Five kids and a girl all in one shot. My hat off to ya, pal."
"They are good kids," Flex said pulling Nyx close to him.
"I should hope they are perfect darlings!" Mira said as Marcie wiped a tear.
"The poor things! Oh you poor thing!"
Skye felt uncomfortable with the stares. "Seriously it's nice now. Icarus and Nyx do a lot of the cooking and washing. Isacar helps out a lot with Zeph who has far too much energy for either me or Flex."
"And this little one?" Marcie gestured down to Galen who had a tight grip on Skye's leg looking frightened at the faces staring down at him.
"Galen hasn't said a word since the fire," Skye answered picking him up in her arms and holding him close, his tense little body relaxing somewhat as her scent penetrated.
"You know, Skye," Mrs. Sylvester looked up from her martini and fixed her with a stern yet patient look. "I understand that you haven't long been out in the world and you have undertaken a great deal upon yourself to take care of these children. But it seems to me that what they need is structure and discipline. I strongly advise you to enrol them in school."
"School." Skye's flat tone let Mrs. Sylvester know what she thought of that.
"I know the headmistress for the local school, a Madam Dervish."
"Sounds…calming."
Mrs. Sylvester let a smile slip, "She is an old bridge partner and she is definitely a calming influence on the school. She would be only too happy to enrol your charges."
"We have no form of identification," Skye adlibbed. "No birth certificates and I think most of the rest of our papers were destroyed in the fire. We escaped pretty much with the clothes on our back."
"My dear, after the pulse many papers were lost. This is no longer a problem."
Skye began to get the sinking feeling that this woman could put one over on her faster than Lydecker and Renfro together.
"Well, I uh… I need to talk over this with Flex and the Greeks."
"Greeks?"
"The kids, their names all are some derivative of Greek mythology."
"How… quaint," Mira smirked. "Did they chose their names or did you?"
"Oh, shut it, Mira," Sophie Malfoy said. She was a tall, bright woman with long soft brown hair and an enchanting smile who had taken an instant like to Skye and Flex and was trying to coax Galen to eat some cake. "Quit being a bitch for half a heartbeat, for the novelty if nothing else."
Mira flushed and stalked away and Skye exchanged a grateful but amused glance with Sophie.
"She bugs me," Sophie shrugged. "I can't quite explain why but there is something about her that always makes me want to punch her. If her Craig wasn't such friends with my Danny, I'm sure I'd just… ugh!"
Skye laughed knowing what she meant.
"There was this girl back at the orphanage called Feen, she drove me crazy. She wasn't so much a bitch but she could talk both legs off a donkey and then get him to walk afterwards. As much as I adored my friend her non-stop chatter made me want to choke her. She started dating a friend of my brother's and suddenly I'm supposed to be best friends with her. Nuh-uh."
Sophie nodded, "I understand what you mean. Does your brother know that you dislike her so much?"
The sudden thought of Steve closed up her throat, "D-did. My brother died in… in the fire."
Sophie's hand flew to her mouth, "Oh, I am so sorry! Trust me to open my mouth and put my foot in it."
"It's… okay. I'm trying to…" Skye trailed off and hugged Galen tighter to her.
Sophie looked around searching for a new topic to take the haunted look out of Skye's eyes. "You know Flex is gorgeous and all but he never would have struck me as the fatherly type if I hadn't seen him with those kids. Adorable."
Skye looked up and across the field to see her beloved Flex wrestling with Zeph and some of the other boys whilst calling something out to a bemused Nyx.
A smile made its way over her face, "He is, isn't he?"
Sophie hid her grin with her cup.
----
Cece's hands shook as she crouched by the toilet. She was scared. More scared than she remembered being before in her life.
It was one thing to be sick and back in Manticore where they had doctors who knew what transgenics were and who could help them out. It was quite another to be in the big bad world where every authority figure was a nightmare waiting to happen. Psy-Ops had nothing on what a human with a scalpel and a grudge could do.
She hadn't been feeling good since the fire but she put that down to smoke inhalation and maybe she had hit her head. But the headaches had come with a vengeance and she was wondering if her barcode had an expiry date on it.
The headaches had grown in intensity to a dervish and each day was an exercise in pain and frustration as there seemed to be no end to it. Cece woke most nights nauseated from the pain and willing to tear off her own head to stop it. Her head hurt so much that chewing was impossible and she had to abandon her idea of not telling Tara when her plates of food went uneaten.
Tara, frantic with worry, had begun to make soft foods that she could swallow without effort; soups, stews, casserole and mashed vegetables.
Her stomach had started to ache through the lack of proper food and they were all in despair.
Cece swiped a tear from her cheeks as she huddled on the cold tile floor. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right, how could she have gone through everything only to fall at the last hurdle? She couldn't die here, she just couldn't.
The bathroom door opened and Tara's head peered around the jamb.
"Hey," she said softly. "Feeling any better?"
Cece shook her head tightly, "Sick, dizzy."
Tara bit her lip and that look of concern flooded her eyes. "You'll do better off the floor."
Cece chuckled mirthlessly, "Can't move."
Tara pushed the door open and walked in. She knelt down at Cece's side and wrapped her arms under her legs and behind her head. With hardly a grunt of effort, she lifted Cece off the floor and carried her through to the bedroom and laid her on the bed.
"Heavy?" Cece muttered wearily.
"One of the perks of being a super-woman," Tara said softly as she stroked the hair off Cece's head. "Ce, do you remember if you have Shark DNA or any other animal strain?"
"Hnmmo," she whispered as quietly as she could. Tara bit her lip again and stroked her head.
Tears filled Tara's eyes as she headed to the bathroom and came back with a wet cloth. She laid it on Cece's head and pulled the waste-paper basket closer.
"Anx."
"You're welcome," Tara switched off the light and closed the door quietly behind her.
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Thank you all who reviewd- you keep me going.
Sigma1- That they were, Feen and Techie always make me giggle! Sorry to leave Drew's situation until next time. It'll be worth it, trust me!
Angel of Darkness231- Nah, sarcasm rarely counts. My family always say that I could get away with murder- which is great if someone has annoyed you. Plus if you think about it, all the research that I do for DA on guns, for Harry Potter on poisons and CSI on fingerprinting theoretically I'm sure I could actually get away with … I'm scaring you now.
Moonlite star- More of the Greeks here, hope you liked that! Anna is more than capable of saving herself as we shall see. Hehe solve the familiar puzzle- struck me as funny.
Givenalias- Mean- yes, Genius okay then, I'll take that! Hopefully I will get to update sooner.
Natacup82- Good in a bad way or bad in a good way? Hmm, interesting. Yes it was White that got Anna ooh badbadman! And Drew should be fine with Ben… for now.
Geminangel- You do get all sorts because there are, like, ten stories going on at any one time- its crazy!
Jade-K- I think Manticore gave them more manners than to get it over their faces but I was still fun to write the BBQ. Dek and Aiden will play MUCH bigger roles- as you can tell, I adore my two guys! Sunny and Biggs will be pencilled in again soon.
Crazy-Vampireslayer- I can tell you now that some characters from this story will be making their way over to SF before long. So watch that. As for Logan bashing- hmm, I can do that!
Lynn-50670- What crazy thing am I going to do? Sellotape Pix to a chicken and… oh wait, wrong dream.
Fangedangel- this chapter was much longer for ya, how was that? Anna was moping too much to use her training!
Feenian- Okay maybe not dark so much as dramatic. Yes Drew and Ben together is gonna be a blast! Drew won't hesitate to slap him if he deserves it!
SGOU- If they can go into the jungle and come out with not only a whole new platoon but with Max and Alec talking to each other again- I think they can handle a BBQ- or not. I would love to have a Dek/ Aiden tale- wouldn't that be cool? I would never kill Anna- although I did say that about Steve and Metz. smile No Anna did seem to have things easier didn't she? Emma isn't doing so well but we have hope in the form of her two (soon three) knights in shining armour. Glad that you still love Techie and Feen- me too! Especially Techie. LOL- the two psycho's together I can't wait! As for your wish list- yes, yes, I'm confiscating your crystal ball, yes, hell yes! Yes, very well thanks, fun, uh not soon, see above. Phew, you don't want much do you?
Guest type person- Yes Emma had Shark DNA and that is part of her problem- which you will find out next chapter. If you get caught laughing, tell them that the voices in your head made a joke- that usually clears people away fast.
Ganko- I think Anna is getting more than her share of fans with this storyline- which goes to show that I have absolutely no control over my characters at all. Josh and Carrot are great together. Not feeling the love for White though!
Senorita- DHL- her ya go, pet.
Honey00- Anna has enough brass to take care of herself, I'm not planning on killing her… although that is what I said about Steve and Metz… I hope you keep enjoying.
BlueJean452- Oh yeah, Drew and Ben were planned almost in MAH , I have my idea for them- it'll be fun. No P/C or D/B here but lots on the next chapter for you.
Crimsonshadoe- LOL sounds like a line from Sunset beach! Evil twins clutches! Hmm, really and what if Anna finds another interest? You don't like BJ and Jace? Why? Anna hid her "gift" from everyone back at Manticore because they didn't think of her like that. She has the ability to sense when people are near, what sex they are and how they feel- not on as big a scale as Emma but still.
Starr Light1- Here ya go, a nice BBQ and I even wrote about Coco just for you. See she had ice cream with sprinkles, syrup and no added angst.
Natasqi- I was chained to my computer but then I got hungry and had to be set free. Green peace heard about my conditions and there was a review and an inquisition- it was a big old mess. Now I have strict Geneva rules to adhere to. sigh
Erak- I did spring it on you all. Mwah ha ha Drew and Ben! Oh that'll be great- I can exercise my latent psychopathic tendencies… not that I have any you understand.
Elfie- It just happened- plus I kept getting confused between Icarus and Isacar- a nickname makes things easier. Yes I love Dek and Aiden- they are such perfect characters. Yup Ames has Anna- hah good luck Ames! Try being an introvert when dating an extrovert- poor Techie! See Drew and Ben should get along well. Crazy people and thank you for remembering the jungle- that'll come in handy. I am not sure that I have room for any more characters- we'll have to see what happens.
Mae- Sorry you had to wait, I thought I had said in authors notes. Obviously not- glad you enjoy this though. Galen was in bed with a teddy bear. Any names for the bear spring to mind?