X5-471 part 5
thanks for all the great feed back. Hope you like this part,

Thanks to greywizard for beta reading it.

Seattle.
Manticore forward base
Two weeks later

Aims White walked into the Office looking at the other agents working around him. Some were Normal Humans, barely worth his attention. Others were Familiars like him, Mystically Altered humans.

"Agent White," one of the agents called to him, "We have picked up three more last night. Mostly anomalies. But a few of the others are turning themselves in."

"Good. Kill them, but save a sample of the DNA for the files. This place is a total loss. We will start over new, somewhere else."

"We also have a bit of a problem."

"What?"

"We have at least two rogue X5's in Seattle."

"Oh, who are they?."

"452 and 471."

"452 is one of the older ones from class of 89, wasn't it? Don't know about 471."

"452 was one of the runaways. She keeps popping up here. 471 just went rogue; we don't know why. He was on a mission in New Orleans, taking care of a Dr. Hudson."

Now that is a name I know, White thought. Dr. Hudson was very outspoken in Manticore; he was fighting the changes they were making in it to make it more open. Manticore was not about to be weakened by people like him.

"Well, we don't have to worry about him, now," White said. "And when his family was killed with him, the others that were outspoken were silenced with them.

"Ok, how do you know they're here?"

"There was a mugging at an ATM down town. FBI looked through the tapes from the camera there. They found some faces in the background. So, someone there screwed up for them and a gift for us. In the background, we have 471 and 452 sitting on bikes."
"What were they doing?"

"Looks like they work at a messenger service. We are tracking them down as we speak."

"Do not contact 'til you have them both together. We get one, the other will probably run."

"Yes, sir"

JAM PONY

Same day.

Max and Xander walked into the Pony, Max pushing her bike. Looking around, she saw Alec talking to another Rider.

"Hold on, Xan. Need to talk to the Jerk."

"Ok, I talk to Normal about a bike again. Need to buy one before much longer."

Max walked over to Alec. "You, don't move."

"What did I do this time?" Alec said with a huff and rolling his eyes.

Max waited for the driver to walk off, then said, "What can you tell me about Transgenic mating?"

"Why?"

"Don't worry, I just want to know."

"Ok. Manticore didn't want us to mate, but a few of the doctors in the early runs did, so they worked it into our DNA, figuring that later doctors could work it without starting over. They did work it back until it doesn't happen very often - just when two of us have compatible DNA for better next generation."

Looking closely at Max, then up to Xander as he was talking to Normal, "Well, well, well. Not just asking, huh? You and him?"

She looked up at him, the anger raising in her eyes. "What else? I need to know facts."

Shaking his head, Alec said, "Ok, first, you will be hyper-aware of each other. Sometimes, it'll be almost like you can read each other's minds, but that'll just be your awareness of each other. Next, you'll be able to tell where each other are, the general direction, that sort of thing, and whether you're close or distant.

"And you'll be able to enter each other's dreams, sometimes, too," he informed her. "It was a test that they later perfected with the Hive minds from the X7's.

"That's about it. There isn't anything else that I'm aware of, anyway. Oh, and you'll like to smell each other – that's a pheromone thing. It'll also turn you both on."

As they were talking, Xander was walking up behind Alec.

"So how was it last night? Did he push the right buttons? Be too bad if he couldn't do it right," Alec commented with a smile on his face.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed him around the neck and pulled him back, and Xander whispered into his ear, "You really don't want to hear the answer to that."

Looking over his shoulder into the dark eyes of Xander, Alec realized that the tall brunet was one the few hybrids that Manticore put out that didn't care one way or the other, and could kill and walk away not worrying about it.

While Alec did care, he always did what was best for him. He would kill if he had to, but didn't like it. But Xander didn't care; he'd kill something, then eat over the corpse. It was a scary look to see him looking at you.

"It's cool, man. Just kidding. Well, Max, I'll be on my way."

And with that, he took off.

"You don't need to defend my honor like that. I can take care of myself!"

"Hey, I always watch out for my girls."

"Girls... I am not anyone's girl."

"Yes, you are. You are one of mine, and no one messes with mine, if I can help it."

"Hey, I can take care of myself."

"I know. But I want to take care of you."

Max didn't know what to say about that. She had never had someone want to take care of her, like that. Then it hit her.

"Girls? As in, more than one?"
Xander could hear her eyes getting green as she spoke.

"Yes, I have a couple of them. Most of them in Sunnydale."

"Uh huh. And just who are these girls?"

"Well, You're my number one. Then there's O. C. coming up behind you. Then there're Willow and Buffy. They are like my sisters. You, most definitely are not."

"Hot Run!" yelled Normal. "New guy, here you go. 39430 Lexington. Bip bip bip."

"We will finish this later," Max said as Xander grabbed a bike and headed out the door.

Max went over to the break area, grabbed a coffee and watched as Alec left on a run.

As she sat drinking coffee, thinking about what she had learned, the back and front doors burst open and cops poured in. Max was up and heading for the door, when White stepped up and knocked her down. As she was laying there, one of the agent hit her with a dart. She instantly slumped back down on the floor, and couldn't move. She could still, feel but not move.

"Where is the other one?"

Pulling up a record, one of the agents said, "He just left."

"I said, I didn't want to go in until both were here."

"Yes, sir,. We did wait; we just missed him when he went outside."

OUTSIDE.

As Xander took off on the run, he noticed that a van parked across the street from the Jam Pony didn't belong. He was two blocks away when realization hit him.

Black van, tinted windows. Manticore!

He stopped, turned around and headed back as fast as he could. His first impulse was that he had to get Max out.

471, though, was whispering in his ear. This is a bad ideal. You don't have enough Intel. You need to pull back.

All Xander knew, though, was that he needed to get to Max.
Just as he hit the Corner, Alec stopped him.

"It's too late. They've got her in the Van."

"And you let them?"

"I didn't let them! There were too many."

"Where are they taking her?"

"Don't know. But I will. You lay low. I'll follow them."

"No, we will follow them."

OUTSIDE MANTICORE FORWARD BASE

Alec and Xander watched as the vans pulled into the base and the gates closed.

From where they were they were standing, they could see Max dragged from the Van. A guard just dropped her on the ground. Max was looking around but couldn't move. Her hands and feet were shackled together with a short length of chain. She couldn't walk, only hop.

The wind shifted and there was the spicy smell of Xander. Looking up, she could see him and Alec across the street, watching. Alec had a hand on Xander's shoulder holding him back.

Good, he's free. That's all that matters right now, she thought to herself.

Xander was straining under Alec's hand. He knew he could never get to Max right now, but he would get her out as soon as he could.

"Come on. We've got someone to see," said Alec. "He can get information on this place."

"Why would he?" Xander asked.

"Logan would do anything for Max."

That name again. Logan must be someone close to Max.

LATER AT LOGAN'S APARTMENT

Logan was working over his computer, scanning for anything about Manticore or their bases, when he heard a noise. Turning around, he saw Alec and someone he didn't know standing behind him, making him jump in his Chair.

"God, Don't you people ever knock?" he said.

"Why? With the locks you have on the door, it's like having them open any way," Alec said.

"So who need cash now?"

"No one. Manticore's got our girl again."

"Max? Where is she?"

"Manticore has a base set up over at the old prison on Wilshire. We need some info on it."

Turning back to the computer, Logan pulled up a new window and started to type away at it.

"I found the Blue prints for it, and some of the Request for armament for the FBI. That's who is officially there."

Xander was walking around the room. Max's scent was all over the place. She must have been here a lot.

He started to think about Logan. The way he acted. Boyfriend. That who he was. And Xander had just bonded with the woman he loved. How did he get himself into these things?

First with Buffy and Angel. Not that he stood a chance there. Then with Willow. Sure, she was like a sister to him, but maybe they could have had something more. But she ran back to Oz and he lost Cordy.

Love can suck. Love. Did he love Max? He had just met her. His DNA said, be with her, but he didn't know her. Another thing to get sorted out later. Getting Max out of Manticore's hands was first. Then he would see what happened.

Logan looked up as Xander walked around the living room.

"Who's the guy?" he asked Alec.

Alec looked at him. "Guess you can say, in a way, that's Max's husband."

"WHAT!"

"Yeah. It's a Manticore thing," he said with a smile.

"When did this Happen?"
Then he remembered what Max had said, that she was in heat and found someone else because she could not come to him.

So, this was the someone else. Not much to look at, he thought, and then he saw the eyes.

The guy's eyes said nothing would stop him. He would fight to his last breath and then push on. Those eyes would back down the most powerful people in the world.

Alec was looking between Xander and Logan.

Oh, This will be fun, he thought as they looked at each other.

"You got the plans to the Place?" were the first words Xander had said since he had arrived at the apartment.

"Yeah, right here." Logan showed him a computer screen with the blueprints on it.

Xander looked at it, then nodded his head. He saw a hole in the plans. One not taken into consideration for Transgenics when the place was built. The building at the rear wall was close enough to jump to from a building across the street.

"Ok. Right there," he said, pointing to the screen. And now, I am gone."

"What?" both Logan and Alec said, looking at the plans. They didn't see it.

"I jump from here to here, and I am in."

"You can't go in alone."

"Why not? I can find her in there easy enough, and one man moves faster that two. Or three."

"You need someone outside with a car. To get her away."

"What about you? Why are you doing this?"

"Payback. They hurt her. I hurt them more."

"We're gonna get along fine," Xander grinned at him.

MANTICORE FORWARD BASE

Agent White was sitting looking at Max who was lying in a cage.
"Transgenic scum. What a piece of trash."

Shaking his head, he moved off to his office.

"Prepare her for transport. She'll be on her way out of here soon."

More agents rolled a box in. Pulling out stun sticks, they hit her, making her jump and gasp in pain. When she couldn't move any more, they pulled her out of the cage and boxed her up. Then the box was moved to the transport area.

OUTSIDE

Xander was standing on the building behind the prison, watching a few cars and trucks come and go out of the main gate.

It would be a long jump, but he could make it. The problem he would have was the fall. The building he was jumping to was at least four stories shorter than the one he was on now.

This is for Max, she's one of my girls. The most important one.

Backing up, he took a running start then, flew up into the air. In the back of his mind, an idle thought appeared.

I wonder if Spider man felt this way the first time he jumped from building to building.

He landed hard, almost knocking the wind out of him, but he pulled himself up.

The mission. The mission, was the main thought uppermost in his mind. Get Max out.

The Xander part of his brain moved back and let the 471 take over. He moved up to the rooftop door. Like most prison doors, it was built to take a lot of punishment before giving in, but also like most prison doors, it was build to keep things in, not out.

Xander pulled out a small prybar, and hooked the hinges, forcing them out. Once in the stairwell, he quickly made his way down.

He could smell Max's scent in the air, but it didn't feel right; it was more like a shadow of her scent. Was she hurt? He didn't know, so he moved off down the hall, finally coming to a locked door. He needed a key to get through all these doors. He would find a guard; they would have what he need.

He saw one walking toward him.

He was sloppy, Xander thought. He is inside and thinks no one's around. Well, time to change that perception. I could rush him, but he could alert the others before I get to him with just one shot.

Xander reached behind his back and pulled out a dagger, then he waited til he was in range. The guard stopped and took out a pack of cigarettes. Once both hand were occupied, Xander threw the dagger.

It silently flew through and hit the guard in the left eye, sinking deep into his brain.

Xander rushed over grabbed up the guard, then dragged into a hiding spot before pulling off his keys and going through his pockets. After he got every thing he needed, he looked down at the Guard.

"You know cigarettes will kill you," he said, then turned follow Max's trail through the prison.

He found the cell she had been kept in. But she was long gone.

"Well, if it's not 471," a voice behind him said.

Looking over his shoulder, there was Agent White.

"Looks like you get the Bitch and the Dogs just knock on your door."

"Where is she?"

"Don't worry, she's not dead. We want her for Breeding. You know, got to keep the good animals, then kill the rest. We need some of you animals, the others we don't. Guess were you fit in that plan? You are just a mutt. She is a Pure breed."

"Were is she?" Xander said, almost growling.

"We sent her to another base not far from here," White said, not showing the least bit of concern for the look Xander was giving him.

"Where?"

"Sunnydale."

Xander's mind froze. Sunnydale? Home?

While Xander was standing there, White stuck at him, knocking him to ground.

Xander struck back with a leg swept that knocked White to the ground. Both were back to their feet in seconds, and started to circle each other.
White dropped into a fighting stance that Xander had never seen before, but his moves were just like a Transgenic. Xander fell back into the Manticore hand to hand style.

They kicked and flipped around, almost seeming to fly sometimes. After trading blows, Xander realized that White was not feeling the blows like he should, but he was.

But even before Manticore got his hands on him, he had always fought bigger and meaner creatures - vampires, zombies, demons - and he always got back up.

Just then three more Agents burst in, and they all dropped into fighting stances like White's.

Xander knew then, it was a lost fight. He needed to get out. He let White hit him again, knocking him down, while they moved in.

He pulled the pins on the tear gas canisters he had gotten from the dead guard. As the smoke filled the room, Xander blurred out the door and headed for the main gate.

At the Gate, the Guards were starting to close it, but Xander blurred between them just as they touched. Outside, he saw Logan's car sitting on in a parking lot. Running to it, he jumped in.

"GO! GO!" he yelled at Logan.

Pulling out, Logan said, "Were is Max?"

"They already moved her."

"Where? How long?"

"Don't know how long, but where is Sunnydale."

"Where is that?"

And then Xander knew. He remembered every thing.

"It's home..." he said in a quiet voice.

MAX'S APARTMENT.

White's people had torn the place apart, looking for anything they could find about other Transgenics. Xander was looking around, too, for anything he could get that was not broken, to take with him to find Max. O. C. looked through the door of the apartment.

"Hey, where is my Boo at?"

"They've still got her. But not for long."
"She's on her way to another city and I'm just getting some of her things so she will have them when I get her out."

"Here," O. C. said handing a set of keys. "Her bike is down stairs, it's the Ninja. It's her life, so don't you go breaking it."

"Hey, O. C. You'll always be my girl. Just take it easy. I'll get her out."

Later that night

Xander was riding Max's bike out of Seattle, heading south. He could feel a pull - he was heading home.

He just didn't know if it was Max or Sunnydale that was home now.