NOTE- I do appreciate constructive criticism and encourage you to tell me what I can be doing better.
However I would like to point out that; at this time I have 21 main transgenics, 5 peripheral transgenics, 9 '09ers, 2 insane military commanders, 1 dogman, 5 anomalies, 1 wheel chair bound loser and at least 5 "normal" humans to deal with. They can't all share equal screen time or each chapter would be 49 pages long with only minimal action. Those who have screen time are doing important things that need to be commented on. So if your fave characters don't show for a while, they are probably either having a pizza or having sex.
Would you like to be interrupted?
As always enjoy this and sorry for the delay.
Dedicated to SGOU.
Chapter 8 – Ill met by moonlight, proud transgenics.
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No."
"Are we there yet?"
"No… Are we there yet?"
"What are you… five?"
Pix laughed and hugged Chance closer to him as the cart trundled over the uneven road. They had hitched a lift on a truck headed back towards Seattle and it wasn't exactly noted for its comfort.
Chance snuggled closer to him, glad that they had decided to come this way again. The closer she got to home, the better she was feeling.
She had been unbearable to poor Pix for weeks and now that they were almost home it was a wonderful feeling of peace and calm that had overtaken her.
"Hey, angel," Pix soothed. "You doing okay?"
"Uh huh," she grinned up at him, feeling lighter than she had in ages. "My head aches less too."
"Good, because I was starting to think that there was something wrong with me—all the times that you put me off," he mimicked her voice. "Not tonight Pix, I have a headache. Not good for a man's self esteem you know."
Chance giggled, "You need your ego stroking the least of any man I know."
"It's not my ego I was worried about."
Chance broke into giggles again at his mutinous tone. "Sorry, baby, I swear I'll make it up to you."
"Oh, goodie!" his eyes lit up in the way they usually did when he had some mischief planned.
"Pix, what are our plans once we reach Seattle?" she bit her lip and pulled her hair down to cover her face.
"Well," he tucked her hair behind her ear, "a place to stay is first on the list followed by food and then I guess we start a search pattern."
Chance nodded, "See this is why I ran away with you. You're smart."
He looked askance at her, "You stroking my ego?"
She bit her lip mischievously, "Yup."
He nodded in satisfaction, "Carry on then."
Her eyes flickered and a groan left her lips as bright white light penetrated her eyelids.
"Where am I?" she thought a second and added, "This time."
"Well done, consciousness to sarcasm in under 60 seconds. I'm impressed."
Drew's eyes snapped open to see a grinning face staring down at her. She shot up and her hand went to her head as she waited for the world to stop spinning.
"Ooh, moving- bad idea," she hissed.
"I could have told you that."
Drew opened one eye and fixed the familiar face with a half-hearted glare.
He cleared his throat and looked slightly sheepish, "Yeah, okay. Uh, how do you feel?"
"Stop the world I want to get off," she muttered. "Dizzy, nauseous and," she glanced at him, "more than a little creeped out."
Ben smiled, "Well, I'm no Brad Pitt but I didn't think I was scary enough for women to faint at my feet. Although that could be my animal magnetism."
The grin that he shot her was pure Alec and made her heart give an uncomfortable lurch. Damn, he was so like her former CO and friend that it was unnerving.
"Brad who? Sorry," Drew gingerly sat up again. "How long have I been out?"
"About eight hours," he replied. "It was causing something of a scene to have an unconscious girl at my feet in the market so I brought you back to my place."
"Your place?" Drew looked around.
Ben's place was a small apartment about ten storeys up. The rooms were small and dark but he had added homey touches so it didn't look as dismal as it could have done. The room that Drew was in was a second bedroom and, aside from the collection of mugs on the dresser, looked just as impersonal as a motel room.
"Nice," she said weakly. "I really should be going."
"Going?" Ben chuckled, "Now just wait a minute, sweetheart, you run over to me, hug me and then faint on me and I don't even get a name?"
"I told you my name," she said remembering. "Drew."
"Drew what?"
"Just Drew," she edged to the end of the bed. "And I so have to go, thanks for the bed rest."
He put up his hand in protest, "Whoa, wait up, Drew. You cracked your head pretty bad and, to be honest, you didn't look stellar in the first place. Now I can see that you've been hurt. Don't cha think you should take it easy for a while?"
Drew looked at the concern on his face and her mind was cast back to one of the first days as Special Ops when she had fallen over in the obstacle course whilst trying to get ahead of Alec. He had slipped over her and then knelt by her side giving her the same look of concern and sympathy mixed with humour. It was unnerving to see it on this guy.
"I was in a fire, I got hurt."
"How bad," his eyes darkened. "Do you need medical attention? There are hospitals around—"
"NO!" Drew all but shouted, thinking of what could happen to her if the authorities found out who she was. At Ben's raised eyebrow she calmed slightly. "I don't like hospitals."
He grinned, "Me neither. Where are you staying in town? I could give you a ride."
Drew bit her lip, "I don't actually have anywhere just yet, but I was looking."
"Well, since I abducted you off the streets, how about you stay here tonight and look for somewhere tomorrow? If nothing else it'll give you time to rest. Plus, you know that since I didn't take advantage of you while you were unconscious you can pretty much trust me."
Drew let loose a grin, "I can hold my own."
"Against me?" Ben grinned thinking of his transgenic strength. "I don't think so."
"You'd be surprised."
"I would?"
Drew wondered for a moment whether or not to tell him but his arrogance grated and she gave in to the temptation. "You know you're not the only transgenic in town, Ben."
Ben's eyes widened and then narrowed as he slid off the bed, "What?"
"X5- 633, at your service," she bowed her head and let her smirk come to the fore. "And you, X5- 493, also known as Ben, are not as charming as you think."
Ben's eyes glittered in reluctant humour as he folded his arms over his chest, "Well, X5-633, also known as Drew, I'd like to see some I.D before I believe that you are who you say you are."
Knowing what he wanted Drew shook her head, "I wasn't spliced yesterday, Casanova, I turn my back on no-one."
He glared and the smirked, "But you seem to have no compunction about fainting on strange guys?"
It was her turn to glare, "You happen to be the clone of a dear friend. I thought you were he."
"Twin."
"What?"
"Twin, not clone."
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have an elsewhere to be."
Her arm was suddenly held in a vice-like grip and she looked up again into his eyes, curiously and mysteriously masked.
"I think not."
Drew took a breath and slid to the floor, the weight making his grip loosen and he staggered off balance. She then pulled back her leg and slammed it into his knee.
With a painful grunt Ben stumbled over her body and landed behind her in a tangle of limbs.
Drew dragged herself to her feet and made to leave but before she could take a step Ben's legs came round in an arch and scissored around her legs causing her to fall back to the ground again.
Her still tender side impacted with the carpet and long drawn-out hiss escaped her lips. "Shhh-it."
Ben rolled over her, his eyes firm as they looked down at her.
"Are you okay?"
"No," she bit out, her hand holding her aching ribs.
"Let me see," he said as he grabbed her hand.
"Get off, you don't get to touch," she snapped and he smiled.
"I'll take you to dinner afterwards and still respect you in the morning, I promise."
Despite herself her lips twitched, "Jerk."
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard worse." He tugged at her shirt, pulling it up to reveal her black and blue rib cage. He hissed in sympathy.
"How the hell did you do that? Did you go one on one with a cruise jet missile?" his hands felt cool as they traced the bruising on her side. Drew pulled away not relishing the tingle in her stomach.
"No," she replied with her usual iciness, "half of Manticore fell on me when the damn thing exploded."
"Huh, well, you're healing nicely. Could do with bed rest and… burritos?"
As he got to his feet she pulled her shirt down and stared after him. She got to her feet and followed him into the kitchen.
"Ben?"
He turned, "Yeah?"
"Huh. Just 'huh'. I tell you that Manticore is gone and you say 'huh'?"
He gave her a lop-sided grin, "Well, yeah, sweetheart, I already knew. Who do you think set the damn thing on fire?"
Her mouth dropped as he searched the kitchen cupboards. After a few seconds of silence he half-turned to see her still staring at him.
"What?"
"You set the fire?"
He shrugged, "Not alone, but yeah."
"The fire that ripped through my home, killing my family."
"Manticore wasn't your family, Drew."
A sneer made its way onto her face and her eyebrow rose high enough to touch her hairline. "I didn't think you hate your sister so much. Oh, wait, as a part of Manticore, Max obviously wasn't your family." She turned on her heel and stalked towards the door, her boot heels clicking in time to her pure fury.
"Wait, what? Drew!" Ben was suddenly in front of her. "You know Max?"
She gritted her teeth, "What does it matter? Thanks to your little pyrotechnic display she could be dead."
His head shook, "Not my Maxie."
"That Maxie was my best friend. My family. You torched the place and watched it burn without helping us out. You could be her murderer."
"Max isn't dead."
"How do you know that?"
Ben raked a hand through his hair, "I just do."
"Wrong answer!" she snapped. "Max could be dead, just like Dek and Aiden and Alec and… and B.J. and Mets and Chance and… and—" she broke off with tears streaming down her face.
Ben looked horrified for a moment and took a step closer. Drew struck out at him, catching him a blow across the chest.
Ben grabbed her arm and tugged her into his body, shielding himself whilst comforting her.
"Hey, shhh, I'm sorry, Drew. It was a mistake."
"Mis-take?" she whispered.
"We only went in to rescue Max. We were going to set off an explosion in the DNA lab and get her out under the cover of confusion. But Manticore has a… what did he call it… uh, scorched earth policy?"
Drew sniffed, "Plausible deniability. If they think we are at risk of exposure then they torch the place to deny its existence."
"In the news it was a terrorist attack on a VA hospital."
A snorted laugh made its way through her lips and Ben's twitched. "You know that was remarkably unladylike."
"Umffee."
"What?" he moved her away from his chest slightly.
"Bite me," she said clearly.
"I told you I'd be a perfect gentleman but, if you insist."
Drew pulled away and scowled at him, "You know Max never mentioned what a complete ass you are."
"What did she say about me?" he asked, his eyes glinting.
She smiled sweetly, "Nothing a lady would repeat."
At his laughter she looked towards the window seeing the day draw away. "I really have to go."
"Drew, listen, I was serious about you staying here tonight. Even more so now that I know you were Max's friend. She'll kick my ass if she finds out I let you go when you were hurt and I have a perfectly serviceable spare room."
Drew bit her lip thinking about his offer. It was tempting to just head back down the hall and fall onto that bed. She was beyond bone tired and knew that seeking out shelter for the night would result in more pain and probably lead to her sleeping in a dumpster or something. Ben was perfectly willing to share; he knew who she was so there was no awkward hiding of the barcode or holding back her strength.
For now it was the perfect solution. Plus she could always give Max news of her brother when she finally found her. Max had always spoken of her Ben like he was the love of her life.
She eyed the man as he slouched against the counter, taking in his appearance for the first time. He was wearing denim jeans and a red checked flannel shirt with the sleeves folded up to his elbows showing the dusting of light hair over his strong forearms. He was much cuter than Ed had been and she could do with looking at that over the breakfast table.
"Can you cook?"
Ben grinned, "For you, darlin', of course."
To her credit there was very little that Anna was actually afraid of; Drew notwithstanding. Through her life she had scraped by unheeded by most and unnoticed by the higher powers which suited her fine. As long as she kept her head down and tried her best she was left to her own devices and had avoided most of the situations that sparked fear into her fellow transgenics.
Unfortunately, that made the indignity of being strapped down in a van and being moved to a location to be let loose and poisoned all the more daunting and, to be honest, annoying.
Anna was annoyed.
Agent Ames White had her tied to a medieval torture device, placed in a decrepit van with his blundering side-kicks and trundled halfway across the state. And he hadn't even had the decency to remain in the same vehicle so she could kick his ass for it.
The two men with her were staring stalwartly out of the window and hadn't noticed her hands frantically twisting themselves into knots. Using a trick that Steve had taught her many years ago; she yanked on the ropes and dislocated her thumb. Then, ignoring the pain, she pushed it out of its joint and placed it flat against her palm so that she could slip her much slenderer hand through the hoops.
Now she had her hands free, it was only a matter of time before she could escape and… and, do what?
Anna sagged back against the metal frame earning herself a cursory glare by one of the men to which she stuck put her tongue in disgust. It was childish but made her feel so much better for it.
The van jerked as they hit another pot hole and Anna tapped her fingers against her restraints as she tried to come up with a plan. If only these guys would talk or something.
"Excuse me?" she said, "Don't you know that its part of the evil villain code to chat. You know unveil your evil master plan and all?"
Silence.
"You never heard of that, huh? Okay, well how about just chit-chat. What did you do on your holidays?"
Silence.
Anna glared at them as she tried to work her feet free. This wasn't helping, she needed something that would distract them.
Unbidden, an old memory worked it way into her mind.
She had been talking to Steve and Skye for an hour in the back of one of the mini-vans. If she remembered rightly, she hadn't been saying much of anything, but there was a lot of it. She'd been bored because Feen was off terrorising Techie and Feen was usually the only one to have much to do with her. She'd started off with a little speech about men-training and then dissected the Trainers personal lives, followed by a soliloquy on the workings of her chair. It had taken a whole hour but Skye had finally cracked.
"Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!"
Anna had blinked, "Excuse me?"
"How the hell can you just sit there and talk crap for a whole hour without taking a breath?" Skye's eyes were scarily wide and white.
Steve looked up, taking his fingers out of his ears, "She done?"
"Yes, done!" Skye pulled at her hair. "We are supposed to be on the watch for enemy troops or, god, something! All I wanna do is invite them in to kill you!"
Anna grinned, "Oh really?"
"Yes!" Skye screeched. "Do you have any idea how annoying you are?"
Anna inclined her head, "I dunno."
"A saint would massacre a bus load of newly baptised babies just to shut you up!"
Anna perked up, "Really?"
"Arrgh!"
Steve had attempted to soothe his sister whilst smiling at Anna who had been pleased with herself at the praise.
"You are enough to try the patience of a saint, Anna. If there is one thing you do well, its piss people off!"
Anna grinned, she had always been told to play to her strengths and, well, that could come in handy.
"So, you guys know any camping songs?"
Zan blinked blearily at B.J. who seemed to be a few inches shy of bouncing off the walls.
"C'mon, lazy ass. Today's the day that Zack arrives."
Zan lifted his coffee to his mouth and ignored his friend.
"Zan?"
He wouldn't be swayed by the annoying young man; he wouldn't rise to his totally unnatural exuberance at this time in the morning and he wouldn't smack him in the mouth either.
"Zaaaaan!"
At least not hard.
"O'way," he muttered, "Uckin'sadiss."
B.J. chuckled, "Damn, you are about as much of a morning person as Mets was," he sighed. "I bet he's having a blast."
Zan glared at him, "Mets is probably in bed with three blondes, a redhead and a goat, not up at this ungodly hour and well done to him."
B.J. blinked, "A goat?"
Zan waved his hand dismissively, "Not important."
"Well, it might be to the goat."
Zan glared at him, "Do you have any idea what the time is?"
"O-Eight thirty."
"Why am I up?"
"Because today we see if Max's dear brother Zack is one and the same as Jace's dear friend Zack and, if he is, then we know that Jace's Zack is Max's Zack and Zack is Max's Zack—it's all very simple."
It was Zan's turn to blink, "I hate you."
B.J. beamed, "Great, can we go?"
Zan stumbled to his feet, showing off his great feline grace and slapped B.J upside the head before they left the house.
As the door shut B.J. sighed, "Maybe its time to switch to decaf?"
Pix and Chance had hidden under the carriage of the truck when it stopped at the rest room on the interstate and waited until it pulled away before they started to make their way back down the road.
The truck had been heading away from Seattle and the one place that they wanted to go and so they had decided to ditch the truck and walk most of the rest of the way. That is, unless they could find a ride.
Not that either of them minded the long walk, after being cramped up inside the tight truck it was a relief to be able to stretch their legs.
Pix tucked Chance's hand in his own and swung it as they sauntered along the road.
"Do you think that everyone is looking for us?" Chance asked quietly letting him know where her thoughts were.
"Biggs probably wants my head on a pole!" Pix said cheerfully suddenly thinking of the overprotective brother of his girlfriend and his mad rages whenever he had tried to do anything with her.
Chance chuckled as they made their way down the road, "I won't let him," she comforted, "I've grown kinda attached to your head."
"Me too," Pix sighed. "It is a good head."
Chance couldn't hold back her giggles at the inappropriate conversation.
"You're crazy, you do know that right?"
"Of course," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
She was about to carry on when they both heard the squeal of tires up ahead. A grey transit van hurtled around the corner and was veering all over the road in front of them.
The tires squealed as the van lurched to the left and then over to the right side of the road, bearing towards them.
Pix grabbed Chance and pulled her out of the road and onto the grass verge on the side, safely away from the maniac driver who seemed to have lost all control of the vehicle.
As they rolled onto the grass there was an almighty crunch of metal and the back doors were torn open by a body being forcibly expelled from the back.
Pix and Chance watched in shock as an unconscious male body landed five feet away from them, his face battered and bloody.
There was the sound of flesh on flesh and a grunt before silence emerged from the back of the van broken by a pungent exclamation.
"Arrogant, tight-assed son of a BITCH!"
Pix frowned, "I know that voice."
"It just sounds annoyed," Chance said doubtfully.
Footsteps slammed on the floor of the van and then two feet dropped to the pavement. Two feet that held up an irate and battered Anna.
"See, I told you I knew that voice," Pix said pleased as he hauled Chance to her feet.
"Dumb-ass, jerk-off, schmuck witted—" Anna glanced up, tensing at the intrusion and then relaxed as she saw who it was.
"Ill met by moonlight, proud…Anna," Pix said with a smile.
She looked down, "Is he dead?"
Pix looked at the man beneath his feet, "I don't think so."
"Kill him."
Pix knelt down and snapped his neck with little effort, "Why?"
She put one hand on her hip, "PMS."
Pix shrugged, "Good enough reason for me."
"Anna!" Chance greeted finally and hugged the dark haired transgenic. "How are you?"
"Tired, hurt, and pissed off beyond belief, but better for seeing you."
Anna had always gotten along with the shy girl, as much as she had gotten along with anyone, and she was genuinely pleased to see Chance.
Pix reached over and shook her hand, "Good to see you again, Anna."
Anna half-grinned at him, "Oddly enough, you too. Been getting up to mischief?"
"Always. Although gluing saucepans to the ceiling is something that shouldn't be repeated. You too, it seems," Pix said looking around at the carnage.
"New bad guy in town goes by the name of Agent Ames White. I think he's CIA or NSA or something, but whoever he is, he is a scary character. He took me down with one blow and these guys that he has are too tough for human and yet no barcode."
Pix looked thoughtful, "Manticore side-project maybe?"
"He called me transgenic-scum; he knows us and our weaknesses, so maybe a disgruntled ex-employee gone rogue."
"What did he want with you?" Chance asked the important question.
"As far as I can tell, I was his test subject for some sort of target virus that would eradicate certain groups by targeting specific strands of DNA." Anna pushed her hair back over her shoulder and bit her lip as Pix made the connection.
"A transgenic tracking device?"
"Over a certain area, yeah. It would find, seek and destroy," Anna acknowledged.
"Well, we have to stop that!" Chance exclaimed.
"Since his test subject has escaped, hopefully that will set it back somewhat but this is a bitch of a plan."
Pix nodded. "Do you know where any of the others are?"
"I escaped with Feen and Techie."
"Feen!" Chance's eyes lit up. "Where are they?"
"There's a dump heap right in the middle of Seattle called Terminal City, quite possibly the most depressing hole outside of Solitary confinement… and about as interesting," Anna said. "They are currently there along with most of the freak, geek and loser squad that escaped the basement. Not many Xs though and none of our guys."
"Damn, no Biggs," Pix said and then considered. "But on the other hand, hey, no Biggs!"
Chance hauled back and slapped his arm, "Jerk! That's my brother you're talking about."
"Yes, and the less we see him, the less chance he has to pull out my entrails and wear them as a hat."
Even Anna found that amusing.
"So looks like we have ourselves some company back to Seattle," Pix said with a grin.
Anna looked down at the body by their feet. "Sorry, Pix, but no."
Chance blinked at her in surprise, "But Anna!"
"I will not go back to Terminal dump heap and besides, I want to check out this White scum bag, my senses tell me that he is somehow linked to Manticore and I wanna know how."
"What's so bad about Terminal City?"
Anna swallowed at Pix's question and glanced at Chance before taking Pix by the elbow and leading him away.
Bemused, Pix stared at her, "What is it, Anna?"
"There are no Special Ops in TC, Pix, and they wanted me to lead. Before you take Chance there maybe you'd better think on that. They'll want you, as reigning S.O, to lead them."
The very idea filled Pix with horror. "Me?" he squeaked. "Me lead, are you kidding?"
Anna shrugged, "Is it any more plausible than me leading?"
Pix slammed his mouth shut. Anna leading people? Real people? Okay, so she had made it into Special Ops but that was more to do with her tenacity rather than her people skills. Much like him.
Could he do that? Could he go into a place and take command?
No, that was for the Maxes and Zans of the world. Pix was the mischief maker and joker, he could no more lead than he could fly.
"See," Anna said with a smirk. "You know what I mean. No escape. So I'm not going back. I'm gonna try to work things through from this end and see where I get to. Something tells me that this Ames White guy knows more than he should and that leads me back to someone from Manticore tipping him off. I wanna know who."
Pix nodded slowly, "Well, you know where we are if you need to find us."
Anna turned back to a curious Chance who, with transgenic hearing, had heard every word Anna said anyway.
"You leaving?"
"Hell, yeah," Anna rolled her eyes. "I can't stand any more of Feen's Techie-baiting."
Chance giggled, "I can't wait to see of she still makes him do girl-talk!"
Anna hugged Chance and shook Pix's hand as she walked over to the truck and pulled out the two dead bodies. She clambered into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut before firing up the engine.
"Good luck!" Pix yelled. "Oh and, Anna?"
"Yeah?"
"Try stay in touch somehow, okay? B.J. will kick my ass if I let you go off to die."
A sweet smile crossed Anna's face at the genuine concern in Pix's voice.
"Consider it a deal. One more thing?"
"Yeah?" Chance said as she reached for Pix's hand.
"If I were you," Anna pointed at Chance and then at Pix, "I'd keep him away from Mole. Consider it a friendly warning."
And with that Anna roared out of their lives as quickly as she had come in.
Chance turned to her mate with a questioning look in her eye. "Why do I have to keep you away from moles?"
When B.J. and Zan arrived at the recruiting office it was empty of his boss and any other relation.
B.J. sighed heavily, "Well, maybe she went to meet him someplace else."
"Maybe," Zan agreed, his eyes flitting over the various surfaces and their paraphernalia.
B.J slumped into his chair and peered over the work that Jace had left for him to do. Inventories, AWOL notices, recruitment details and other administrative duties. If he put his mind to it, it would take less than twenty minutes.
Zan perched on the edge of his desk and smirked, "So this is what you do all day?"
"No, I file my nails too," B.J said sarcastically. "Work is what I do when I'm bored."
Zan grinned. "Here I thought you'd look so cute with pink nails."
B.J. gave him the one-finger salute and then grew serious, "Can you really remember what the '09ers look like? I mean it has been about ten years."
Zan thought carefully about that. "Well, I remember what they looked like back then and their mannerisms. Besides I… looked up to 599. He was a role model of sorts."
"Uh huh," B.J. looked at him suspiciously. Before he could say what was on his mind the bell above the door rang and his boss walked in, glancing over her shoulder as she came inside.
She did a double-take when she saw that B.J. wasn't alone and a stern smile came to her lips.
"Can I help you? Are you here to recruit?"
"No," B.J. added quickly. "He's my friend; he came to take me to lunch."
Zan gave him a look, "But you're paying."
B.J. scowled, "Tight ass, cheap skate."
Jace looked from one to the other and nodded, "Well, you can go for lunch now if you want."
The bell rang behind her and the door opened again.
"Jace, get your butt outta the doorway," said a strong masculine voice and a tall broad shouldered blond pushed her out of the way as he carried a huge box into the room.
He side-stepped Zan and put the box on the desk, "Thanks for helping!" he said sarcastically to the dark girl.
She scowled at him. "What, the big strong man can't handle a few bits of paper?"
He scowled at her and then turned to the other two men in the room.
Jace folded her arms, "This is my secretary, B.J., and his friend?"
"Hi," B.J. reached over to shake the tall blond man's hand ignoring the other part of Jace's introduction.
Zan stared at the man as he turned back to him. He knew this man. He knew he did. It was like seeing a young cousin all grown up. He had known the instant that he walked into the room with his light blond hair falling into his eyes and his chiselled jaw taught with the ever present tension.
He had icy blue eyes watch him and he cleared his throat, "Hi, I'm Zan."
"Nice to meet you."
Both B.J. and Zan noticed that the stranger hadn't been introduced by name.
"Zan?" Jace said into the sudden quiet. "Is that short for Alexander?"
"Nah," Zan smirked suddenly feeling mischief worthy of Pix. "Max said I reminded her of her brothers so she named me after Zack and Zane. Zan."
The effect of those words had the whole room frozen.
"And you tell me I lack tact!" B.J. exploded.
"Well, at least it wasn't 'hey my favourite number is 09, what's yours?'"
B.J. laughed, "Oh, c'mon what was wrong with that?"
"Sounds like a bad pick up line!"
"Oh and, 'sweet barcode dude, they get that off a cereal box?' was better?"
Zan started to laugh only to catch Zack's eye as he leaned against the table with his arms folded. "Sorry," he muttered. "Inappropriate humour."
"I would say it was more the timing," Zack said with a hard glint in his eye. "Do I know you?"
"X5- 219, I was with you in Wyoming," Zan explained.
"I wasn't," B.J. added randomly. "I was a sweet Atlanta baby."
Zack ran a finger over his lips as he regarded Zan, "219. I sparred with you in the field once. Almost beat me. As I remember you had a hell of a right swing."
Zan flushed in pleasure, "Still do."
"Sweet," B.J. examined his nails. "Zan's got a cru-sh!"
Zack flipped a thumb over his shoulder, "Is he always this annoying?"
"Yes," Zan and Jace said simultaneously.
"But you love me anyway," B.J. winked at Jace and Zack was shocked to see his austere sister redden.
Zack's eyebrow rose, so that was the way it was then.
"You do know that B.J. doesn't stand for William James, right?" Zan said with a smirk.
B.J. sat up straight, "Okay, so how are you these days, Zack?"
Jace folded her arms and looked intently at B.J., "So what does B.J. stand for then?"
"Nothing!" B.J. glared at Zan who just beamed.
"Oh c'mon, Big Jerk," Zan teased, "It's not a bad nick-name."
Zack's lips twitched, "Big Jerk?"
"Uh huh," Jace bit back her own grin. "Well, whoever named you that knew you well, didn't they?"
"Hey!" B.J. said indignantly. "I'm not that bad anymore."
"You mean you used to be worse?" Zack asked interestedly.
"Oh shut up," B.J. said annoyed at the amusement of the other people in the room.
"So, anyway. How did you find us and what do you want with us?" Jace asked.
B.J. shrugged still annoyed, "We don't want anything. My coming to work here was simple coincidence. I had no idea you were transgenic until I heard you talking on the phone to Zack. I remembered Max talking about her family way back when and she mentioned Zack and Jace. Odds on two linked names like 'Zack' and 'Jace' being commonplace? Slim to none."
"Well done, Sherlock," Zack said coolly. "Now tell me about Max."
"Short girl, about yay high," B.J. held up his hand to his shoulder level, "Sweet, bad temper. Kicks ass."
"Mean right hook," said Zan
"Left hook," added B.J., "Left foot, right foot. In fact, she's just plain mean. I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of her, would you Zan?"
Zan bit back a smile at Zack's obvious infuriation. "Nope, scares me."
Zack pulled off his leather jacket and glared at the boys "Can you be serious for one minute?"
B.J. pretended to consider it, "Uh, I don't think so. Zan?"
Zan shrugged, "Why are you asking me?"
Jace looked away from her brother's mounting temper. She couldn't believe these two. They didn't act like they were from Manticore. She would have expected that with ten years extra training they would be much more like her and Zack rather than Ash and Krit; much more serious and soldierly.
B.J. was nothing like that. He was funny and made her laugh. He didn't insist on his desk being militaristically neat or try to sit ram rod straight. He was relaxed and composed, whilst having the vulnerability that came from having your thoughts constantly under bombardment from your superiors.
She also couldn't believe that she had another transgenic sitting in her office for the better part of a month and she hadn't known about it. She had just thought that he was a rather sweet young man despite his sarcastic rejoinders, which she actually found amusing. She could kick herself for not picking up on the cues earlier.
"Hello!" Zack interrupted her thoughts. "Do you know where Max is now?"
"Probably with Alec," Zan shrugged. "Sorry, man, she didn't escape with us."
"Damn," Zack sagged against the desk again and Jace felt bad for him.
Zack had always been the one that was closest to Max, with the exception of Ben, and he had taken her supposed death very hard. When Ben had told them that she was actually alive and that they had left her alone and trapped for the better part of ten years it had been the first time in a long time that she had seen that light in his eyes. It was a light that only Max had ever been able to bring out in him and it had caused an ache within Jace as her idol was more excited about his dead sister than the one who was alive and who adored him.
Maybe that day was the day that she had started to let Zack go. She had held him up as her hero since the day back in Manticore that he had convinced her to go with them and escape rather than be left behind. To her he had been a saviour, a hero and role model. But to him she was just another sibling.
Max was his baby.
"Hey, I'm sure we'll find her," she said and was gifted with one of Zack's rare smiles.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Sure we will."
"She won't let her unit down," Zan added. "She'll probably find a way to make contact with us all soon. I hope it is soon because… shit!"
They all looked at him as he stood up abruptly and raked a hand through his hair.
"Zan?"
"Emma!" he explained and B.J. nodded.
"You best get back."
"Who's Emma?" Jace asked.
Zan sighed in frustration, "She's another one of our unit who escaped with us but something is wrong with her. She's empathetic and is slipping further and further into a coma. I don't know how long she'll last."
Zack stood up, "Does she have Shark DNA?"
Zan exchanged glances with B.J. "Uh yeah, I think so. She never used to sleep much."
"Jondy was the same when we came outta Manticore," Zack said as he grabbed his jacket. "Maybe I can help."
"Then let's go." Zan raced out of the office leaving B.J. and Jace staring after the two blond men.
B.J. was the first to speak, "So, coffee?"
"Dek?"
"What?"
Aiden poked his head around the door and smirked at the picture his friend made. Dek was sitting in the kitchen by the desk with papers spread all around, a pen tucked behind his ear and his brow furrowed in concentration. He looked almost, intellectual. It was a far cry from the leather-clad bad boy image that he usually portrayed.
"Aww, don't you look cute all mussed up like that?" Aiden cooed, "Just add glasses and we have a certified geek!"
"You aren't my type," Dek said distractedly. "You are too dumb and don't have the right equipment."
Aiden laughed and then pouted, "Aw, Dek you've broken my heart."
Dek gave him the one-finger salute and then grinned, "A ha!"
"Ooh, did we find out where to check next or have we uncovered a new heist?"
"The plans for that warehouse came through and I have a buyer ready for the merchandise already. All I needed was to find a safe access route which I have done. What's all this we stuff anyway? I was hard at work whilst you were…. What were you doing?"
"Phone," Aiden said coming to sit on the desk. "You know that painting we 'borrowed' to give to those wacko's that kept talking about defenestration?"
Dek looked up interest, "The Rockwell?"
"Yeah, well it hasn't arrived yet."
"No way!" Dek groaned. "I sent it by courier."
Aiden spread his hands, "Obviously not a worthy one."
"Shit!"
Dek hadn't wanted to pass the sector check-points with a hot painting on his hands and so he had enlisted the services of one of the cities courier services. It seemed like he had picked the wrong one.
He stood up and pulled his jacket from the back of the chair.
"Dek?"
"I'm going over to the courier place to see if I can find this damn painting," Dek snarled. "I will not have our business called into question because some pansy assed courier couldn't cough up in time."
Aiden looked down at the papers covering the desk, "Well, have fun, dear."
Dek's lips twitched, "Smartass, just look over those blueprints, would ya?"
As he went to leave he turned back and smirked, "And I want my dinner on the table when I get back, d'ya hear?"
The door closed before Aiden's shoe could hit it.
Icarus collapsed onto her bed in giggles, "Then Jackie said that Marcie was always that way."
"That so?" Flex bit back a grin as he pulled the covers over her.
"Uh huh, and Missy said that once we're established she'll take me into the town and show me the sights. That will be so great, won't it?"
"That it will," Flex ruffled her hair. "Now when you've climbed down from the ceiling, how about you get some shut eye?"
Icarus looked towards the window, "Oh, its way past lights-out. I should have bunked down ages—" She suddenly stopped herself and a shadow flickered over her eyes before she replaced it with a not-so-convincing beaming smile. "Night."
Flex sighed and sat on the edge of her bed, "Cari?"
"Hmm?" she looked down and bit her lip.
Flex cupped her soft flaxen hair and smiled gently. "We will have flashbacks; it's all okay, you know."
"I know," she smiled. "I feel much safer with you here, you know? It's like having family… proper family. Like you see on the television."
"Well, I hope so. It feels that way for us too," he said softly and patted her head. "Sleep tight, Cari." He switched off the light and walked down the hall peering into the other rooms. Skye was tucking an already sleeping Zephyr into his bed and kissing his unruly hair.
Flex walked down the hall and peeked into the other room to see Isacar sitting in bed with books strewn all over his bed and floor.
"Hey, pal, you are going to clear up those books in the morning right?"
"Uh huh," Isacar didn't look up from his book, his blond hair falling into his eyes.
"Isacar?"
Isacar glanced up, "Did you know that the origin of the word Poltergeist comes form the German Polter to mean noise and Geist which means spirit?"
"No I didn't know that," Flex grinned. "I thought you'd be tired from all that physical exertion."
"Oh, man, they want me to join their team!" Isacar said plaintively. "Just what I always wanted, to be a jock."
Flex laughed outright, "And here I thought that you loved all that pointless running around."
Isacar scowled at him, "Whilst physical exercise has its place to develop healthy minds and bodies, running around a field with a pigs bladder tucked under your arm is hardly conductive to restful contemplation. Did you know that the term Hooligan is taken from a 19th century Irish family of that name who delighted in chaos and disorder?"
Realising that Isacar was about to go off into another spiel Flex just nodded, "Did you know that I'm switching the light off now?"
Isacar rolled his eyes and closed his book, "Yes, sir!"
"Night, bookworm."
He closed the door and leaned on it. He waited, counting twenty seconds before opening it in time to see Isacar flicking on a torch. "Good night, Isacar!"
Isacar had the grace to look sheepish as he handed the torch over to Flex. "Right," he said and snuggled under his blanket.
Flex closed the door for a second time and chuckled to himself.
Skye watched him, "Did he have another torch?"
"Uh huh," he handed over the confiscated item and they shared a smile.
"Galen?"
"I read him a story and he's in his own bed for now," she shrugged ruefully. "I think the day was a bit too much for him. Too many people and too much noise."
He knew that she was worried about the youngest of their charges and the fact that he hadn't spoken so much as a word for months.
"We are settled now," he comforted. "We can both spend time with him."
Flex leaned over and planted a kiss on her lips. Skye looked relieved at that. "You coming to bed?" she asked, her voice husky.
"Mm, in a bit, I'm gonna see if Nyx is okay."
She giggled, "Flex the dad. Who knew?"
He sighed, "What ever happened to the ladies man, the hunk, the stud?"
"Well, I'll be waiting for him when he's done with the kids," she kissed his jaw and slunk down the hall to their bedroom.
He watched her hips sway appreciatively and then started down the stairs. He glanced around the darkened ground floor for his oldest charge and spotted a movement on the front porch.
He pushed open the screen door and stepped onto the rickety wooden porch. "Nyx?"
"Hmm," she murmured. She was sitting on the porch step with her knees drawn up against her chest and her back braced against the banister. She looked so much younger than her sixteen years sitting there with her dark eyes staring out towards the forest.
"You okay, sweetheart?"
She nodded silently and tucked her arms further around her knees, "Just thinking."
"Deep thoughts?"
"Yeah," she sighed.
Flex considered her for a moment and then sat down behind her and pulled her back so that he was sitting with her between his legs, her back resting against his chest and his arms around her middle. He rested his chin against her soft black hair.
"Wanna tell me about it?"
There was silence for a long moment and he thought that she wasn't going to answer him until she said quietly, "Things were very… grey back at Manticore. Grey, dull and lifeless. You didn't really live, you existed and you did as you were told because you were told to do it. No one ever knew anything different until we started to go on missions and read human books and we started to figure out that the guy that does the killing is always the one that gets the comeuppance. To them that's the bad guy. We are the bad guys. The grey starts to slip away and suddenly the world has shades of grey. Before you know it, you're thinking about these shades and there is a hole inside of you that doesn't quite understand but knows that something isn't right."
"Max used to call it a conscience," Flex said softly.
"Conscience," she repeated and then continued. "But you carry on, because what else is there, right? But coming out into the world…," she trailed off. "The world has not just shades of grey but reds and greens and blues. The world is all colour and so bright that it stings. It's overwhelming and incomprehensible, loud, destructive and disturbing. It makes no sense and takes no prisoners and it's relentless. I can't understand it and it won't stop and it won't go away and it hurts, Flex, it hurts." To his horror he could feel little shudders from her slight body as if she was holding back tears.
Flex held her tightly and rocked her backwards and forwards trying to offer comfort that he really didn't know how to give. He understood her completely. To someone who had lived their life in a cage the real world was horrifically real and painful and living with what you had done with the real-worlds morality pressing on you was nothing short of agonising.
It had been a blow to Flex when he had stepped into the world and found out that what was commonplace to him was seen as disturbing and evil to humans.
He stroked her long black hair as he thought of what to say, "I have no words to take away all that pain, Nyx. But I can tell you this; Manticore was hell—no, it was war. You are a survivor of war and every survivor has war wounds. You, me, Skye, even little Galen, we are all wounded in some way or other and that makes us different from humans. Humans understand what they can see and distrust what they can't. They will never understand that we did what we had to do because they weren't there and they can't see the visible signs of what we had to go through just to survive. Our scars are more invisible than what they could deal with."
"Scars?" she sniffed.
"Psy-Ops, killing, assault, solitary, all scars, Nyxie." He paused. "The world is mean and I know… I know that it hurts when you know humans would shudder in disgust at what we had to do. When I think about what Mike would do if I told him that I killed people… It hurts me but you know what?"
"What?"
"Skye knows and she loves me. Max knows and she'd kill for me. Alec, B.J., Steve, Aiden, they all knew and they were my friends. You know what I've done, do you hate me?"
Her voice was quiet, "No."
"They, the world, may not understand our shades of grey but we do and as long as we are here for each other, that's the important part."
There was silence as Flex settled back against the support beam and they listened to the quiet of the night as she thought about that.
She eventually nodded and stood up, pulling him with her. She smiled.
"Thank you, the BBQ today was hard and brought up a few cultural differences."
Flex nodded as he recalled his first mission and how much he had had to think about when he got back.
"Bed now, Princess."
They closed the porch door and quietly went up the stairs.
Before she went into her room Nyx turned to him, "Flex?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you do when it hurts too much? When your thoughts swirl and you can't make head or tail of it all?"
"I get someone to turn the volume down," he bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'm here for you, Princess."
He was granted a genuine smile from her and a swift hug before she shut her door.
Flex wandered down the hall and crawled into bed with Skye. She was already half-asleep and snuggled back against him, "You okay?" she muttered looking over her shoulder at him.
He swallowed thinking about his poor little Nyx and her pain, "Nyx is having a hard time out here."
"We'll help her," Skye promised and was rewarded by a little kiss to her nose.
Skye flipped over fully and melded her lips to his with a deep kiss.
He pulled away and bit his lip, "It's all kind loud up here right now." He tapped his forehead.
Skye nodded, "Then let me make it all go away."
He closed his eyes as she touched him and, indeed, made it all go away.
Crazy vampire slayer- I think Anna is head in a different direction to the others but fear not she will end up back home.
Angel of darkness231- Great to see that you enjoyed the BBQ. That's one for Drew and Ben!
ellenemi- No the Jason/Coco line was added much later, I really didn't have much use for her I'm afraid, although Jason is quite a sweetie.
Geminangel- I hope that Galen comes out with something profound soon. After all it wont be baby noises.
Lotamoxie- Yeah eats reviews lots! More Pix and Chance coming now and Pix is having a HUGE part in the next chapter... and unexpected one too.
Natacup- more Drew, Dek later on and the psycho's will be having a few heart to hearts soon too.
SGOU- Anna has her own special place in this story which is escalating out of my control. Glad that both the BBQ and Coco were to your liking, I know some had issues with them but I think that they worked well. Yeah Nyxie has a dark secret, which will come out later. BJ and Emma both had nocturnal problems of the same kind but Emma's problem is to do with her empathy rather than her DNA. Yeah my sister has had to relinquish her I hate Cece club since she feels sorry for her now. Sigh. My titles are a product of stress. Usually I try to think up the title after the chapter. I try to think of the overall theme and mismatch words until something feels right. Sometimes I pick words from movies or from the text. Occasionally I do have firm ideas as to what is to happen and that way I can name it beforehand—for example Chapter 11 is called Dark sarcasm because it features Drew and Ben heavily. SF chapter 12 is called Fear, surprise and ruthless efficiency. I go with what fits.
Sigma1- lol, love you too! You had time to say Hi to Coco before she was whisked off into the sunset… oh okay, I'll write more on her .
Bluejean452- cheers pet, D and B have huge parts soon.
Sweettweetybird06- LOL! Okay, I'll bear that in mind.
Chaosti- you are forgiven, I too have left it a while! My bad. More Zack soon as requested. He is a cool guy isn't he?The Greeks are an army! A baby army but still!
Erak- Grin, sorry about the length between updates but I will get better, especially when they all meet up and it will over before you know it! I know what you mean about the names, I get so confused myself. Sophie Malfoy will be pleased, she is a nice gal. Nah Cece's breeding partner left with a bunch of kids- Harley was his name.
Ronda the Immortal waitress- cheers pet. The ages etc are up on my site I think Ben is too dangerous for a romance, but a little fun? Surely you won't begrudge Drew a little kiss?
Moonlite star- LOL, you like the Greeks then! Nyxie probably could skip school, she is smart enough but has very few social skills. Anna the saviour? ROTFL!
Fangedangel- No I don't like slash pairings. Everyone is entitled to their own choices, but I'd rather not. Besides I think they are all paired up so far.
DiscordantDragon- Most people say that they love the others better than the Max/Alec story. There is a lot more going on here, that is for sure. Nyx has her own secrets which will be made clear later. Drunk Aiden? Hmm, doable.
BlackRose9- will do.
Senorita DHL- Me too, I am missing the banter of the guys and I'm hurrying chapters to get them back together again. Yes I have trouble with ALL endings… as seen by Left behind part 1…2.2b...3.and 3b! I don't know when to stop!
Jynx- She has come into her own hasn't she? I didn't like her originally but she is growing on me. Drew/Ben/Alec triangle? I think Max would have something to say about that LOL.
Shygirl1- Medic Fayth on her way to our two girls!
Kim- As Nyx said they should "dumb down" I think poor Zeph just forgot that time. People forget that BJ was Special Ops as he plays it down but he is very smart.
Guest type person- Isacar is adorable! he reminds me of a younger Aiden for some reason. Zan is coming to the end of his rope but he has help soon. Zeph's comments to that lady made me laugh, he is so cute. Don't be sincere, be scary.
Feenian- Thank you pet, Flex the family man makes me laugh since he was the biggest flirt back at Manticore. Wow lots of questions there. Some I answered here and some you will have to wait for. BJ has grown on me too! Emma's three knights? Clue ZZB.
Someone who cares- whilst I appreciate your comments and constructive criticism, I feel that you could have expressed yourself better. Please tell me what it is that you would like me to change or add or take away so that I may make appropriate changes. I would also like it if your friend could review and let me know her thoughts than read it second hand. I am sorry that neither of you like the Greeks and feel too much time is devoted to them. You can't please everybody.
Mae- Thanks for that, maybe he should have a random object, not like a blanket or doll or bear but something odd? Any suggestions?
I love Alec- Thank you for your defence and I can see both view points, I do like the Greeks and they have large parts because they show what the X's are going through as a whole and the problems that the older series are better at hiding. The next few chapters concentrate on those have large roles like Pix and Chance. I am glad that you like my stories and hope you continue to do so.
Jade k- Thanks chick, you know me and my angst! I always pull it back together though.
Mrs- Ben just appeared, but I did think it fit well. Galen is very young and had a harder time, by the time they get to Nyx or even Icarus they have developed some sort of tougher skin. Nyx has her own beau to come…
Mae- I do that too, sometimes I skip whole paragraphs—makes it better the second time I read because I see new parts.
Natasqi- Thank you for the praise I appreciate it so much, it makes me feel that much better. The later chapters are coming easier and so will be up faster- flashback ahoy!
SGOU- LOL, three in one chapter? Galen's inability to talk comes from both Manticore's programming and part to do with Trauma. He has said one word, back to Steve and then saw his saviour gunned down. And one against Drew/Ben. I am counting these ya know!
Wendy10- I'm grateful that you think it does get better. Thank you I sometimes worry that it is going stale. Action is the big thing coming soon. Enjoy!
Manema- I think that when someone steps out of their fandom it is the greatest compliment, thank you so much and I am glad that you enjoy the guys so much.
Lyndsay- thanks for the email, hope you get more time soon.
Shana- Thank you for the support.
SGOU- here's what begging does! Sorry for the wait!