Chapter 10:
May crept down the stairs as quietly as possible. She didn't want anyone to know that she was going down to the cage. They had never really trusted her after they caught her spying and there was no need to give them a reason to throw her out again.
"Who's there?" He called out.
"Shhhh…Mega, it's me, May." She whispered in response.
Mega watched her approach the cage from his place on the floor and made no move to rise at her approach.
"What are you doing here; I thought you were a respected Mallrat again? You wouldn't want them to catch you down here consorting with the enemy, would you?" He said in his usual cold, sarcastic manner.
"Most of them are at the hotel with Ram. There's some kind of problem with the computer apparently."
"Yes, there is…They were down here earlier interrogating me about it. They want my help of course. Ha! That's funny isn't it? They rebel against the Technos take the city back by force, and then they want my help with things go wrong."
"Are you going to help them, Mega," May asked softly.
"I don't know. I haven't decided yet." He said coolly, then at last he rose from his place on the floor and came toward her. He wrapped his hands around hers on the bars of the cage and looked her in the eye, then asked her softly, "What do you think I should do?"
May gave him a strange, searching look. This didn't sound like Mega. Was he playing her again? Deciding that she would go along with the conversation and trust him for now she replied softly, "I think you should help them. They may not appreciate you now, but maybe they will if you do this. Maybe they'll let you out of here, let you go your own way. Maybe I could come with you."
Mega looked down at her. No emotion visible on his face. "Yes, but it could be dangerous going up against Ram's computer. I might not come out of it."
"Of course you will," May said quickly, "You're the leader of the Technos aren't you. You're a genius with computers, even better than Ram."
"May, if something should happen to me will you do something for me?" He said in that same, cold, precise, Techno manner of his.
May looked up into his eyes and thought of the Mallrats, they weren't her friends. Mega had promised to be her friend, hadn't he? But he had lied to her, played her, manipulated her not just into spying for him, but into his bed as well. She had trusted him, slept with him. Now what would she do? Help the man who had betrayed them all…Right now, looking up into his face through the bars of the cage it seemed the best choice.
Seeing the answer in her eyes, Mega didn't wait for her answer, "I don't want to die a prisoner, May. I don't want to die as Josh. I'm Mega now, the leader of the Technos, not Slade's little baby brother. I don't want the Mallrats to bury me or Slade to cry at my grave about how he could've saved me if he hadn't left all those years ago. It's over and done. I want to die a Techno and be mourned by my own tribe, the people who look up to me and respect me," Mega took a breath and continued, "If I should die May, press this button on my wristband. This will send a signal to the remaining Technos. They'll come and take my body and give me a proper Techno send off. Will you do this for me May?"
"Yes, Mega, I'll do it."
"Josh!" Slade called out on his way down the stairs.
"Go…" Mega said urgently to May and gave her hand a final squeeze. May turned away from the cage quickly and ran to hide behind a nearby crate. She watched as Slade, Amber and Jay opened the cage and dragged Mega away. What would happen now? Would he die as he feared? She had to get to the hotel as quickly as possible.
As she ran down through the city streets toward the hotel she thought of all the time she had spent with Mega. She wasn't stupid; she knew he couldn't be trusted. She knew he had lied to her about so many things. He had used her and then discarded her, and now he was using her again. But this was different…this was death.
As she entered Ram's control room she saw him, slumped in the chair, gone…Slade was weeping, the others looked on in respectful silence. Ebony appeared at Slade's side and pulled him into a tearful embrace. May took this opportunity to approach him. His eyes were closed behind the frames of his glasses. His face looked worn and haunted, as if he'd just fought a most tiring battle and lost. She touched his hand, it was still warm, but he had not been dead long. Before the others could observe what she was doing she pressed the button on his wristband...
May awoke in Salene's arms crying anew at what she had done. She had helped him, aided in his escape. She was the reason that he wasn't dead…and then there was the baby…a strangled sob tore from her throat.
Salene awake next to her, "May, what's wrong? Honey are you ok?"
May was too distraught to talk; she sat up in bed, reliving the explosion, seeing Mega on the street, looking into those cold, emotionless, Techno eyes.
"It's ok May," Salene said soothingly, wrapping her arms around her and kissing her lightly on the forehead.
As her sobs quieted May began to realize who was holding her, and kissing her. In her distressed state she forgot about their past and their restrictions and thought only of the moment and her need. As she raised her lips to Salene's the other girl made no move to pull way. Whether this was because Salene was also lost in the moment or because she did not know what was about to happen, May did not know. As their lips met, a strong feeling of rightness came over May. This was how it was supposed to be between them. The baby kicked in her belly and she deepened the kiss. Salene did not protest, or pull away, but raised her hand to touch May's face.
"What the Hell!" came a loud cry from the doorway.
Startled, the two girls broke apart quickly and turned to stare in surprise at a furious Lex.