Chapter 12: Copycat
I try very hard, but I can't make it all the way back to Terminal City. The pain is bad, but the real problem is I can tell I've lost too much blood. My vision goes blurry and my control of the bike slips a little. The wet streets do the rest. The next thing I know, I'm skidding across the pavement, desperately trying to keep from rolling onto my injured leg. I clutch at the injury, feeling my pant leg soaking through with blood. I vaguely realize that I lost my gun somewhere in the crash, but I can't move much less go look for it.
I shut my eyes tightly for a second, willing myself to get a handle on the pain. It's just one little bullet wound and it isn't safe to stay here. I have to get it together and get back to Terminal City. I open my eyes again and find myself looking up into a pair of big, brown ones. For a second I think it's Max before I realize that it's the male transgenic we helped her to rescue. It looks like the tables have now turned.
"Can you move?" he asks, lifting the motorcycle off of me.
I nod silently, struggling to get up and gasping when I put weight on my leg. Of course it had to be my bad leg. That's just my luck. The other X5 grabs my arm and supports my weight. I look up and see Kira's bike a few feet away. Kira is looking at me worriedly.
"I can follow you on your bike. You just hang on." he instructs, helping me over to Kira and onto the seat behind my best friend.
I wrap my arms around Kira and hold tight. I try not to think about how the side I skidded on feels like it's on fire or the shooting pain running up my leg or the blood that's soaking into my sock. I try to focus all my thoughts instead on keeping the muscles in my arms taut. The last thing I need is another spill, especially since I'm sure White is probably not far behind us. I don't even realize that we're back at Terminal City until Kira pries my arms loose and gets off the bike. I struggle to follow, but my leg caves and I land with a splash on the ground. The impact sends pain washing over me and everything goes black.
Time. I don't know what time it is. My eyes fly open as panic surges through me. I struggle to get up, unsure of where I am. Strong hands push me back down.
"It's okay. You're safe." a familiar voice says.
"Kira? Where am I? What time is it?" I ask quickly, not struggling against her anymore, but still feeling anxious.
"You're in the infirmary. It's almost 2330. You've been out for awhile. You took a pretty bad fall off that bike." she reports.
2330. Alec still has time. I relax. And now, I feel the pain. I groan as it washes over me.
"Shit." I remark.
My left arm and side still burn a bit, but they are now wrapped in bandages. I prop myself up on my right elbow so I can look at my leg. The pant leg is ripped off, exposing the place where I was shot. It's wrapped in gauze, as well, but a large red stain is clearly visible. At least the stain doesn't appear to be spreading.
"We cauterized the wound while you were out." Kira informs me.
Well, at least I can be thankful that I was unconscious for that.
"Do you need anything?" Kira asks, getting up, "I told Max I would go get her when you came to."
"Dry clothes would be nice." I mumble.
"I'll get you some." she promises, immediately heading out.
I look around the rest of the infirmary while she's gone. Counting the bed I'm lying in, there are six beds in the room, three on each side. I realize that these are the first real beds I've seen with both a mattress and a bed frame, since we arrived at Terminal City. I would probably feel more comfortable lying here if it wasn't for the injuries. Then again, maybe not. The infirmary was never a comforting place to be at Manticore and I certainly spent enough time there. I shiver as I remember that cold, sterile place where we were torn apart as often as we were patched up.
"Do you think it's nerve damage?" one of the men in the white lab coats asked another as they stood over me on the exam table, discussing the less than satisfactory healing my leg has demonstrated.
"In an X5?" the other asked skeptically.
"More tests, then?" the first asked, picking up the clipboard from the table nearby.
The idea of more tests made me want to run and hide, but I knew there was nowhere to go and any disobedience would only lead to something far worse. So, I said nothing and remained motionless as they decided my fate.
"More tests." the second man nodded, "We'll figure out what's wrong with the leg if we have to cut it off."
I take a deep breath and remind myself that this place isn't like that. This isn't Manticore.
Besides myself, there aren't many other people here. Transgenics heal fast so only immediate care for serious wounds is really needed. A pregnant woman occupies a bed across the room from me and another woman is giving some pills to a violently shaking man in another bed near the door. Other than that, the room is empty of people. It's more occupied by medical supplies than people, although truly those aren't in vast quantities either, which isn't really shocking since this is a makeshift infirmary that was setup on the fly in an abandoned toxic sector of the city. Just another reason why the mission Alec is on is so important.
The woman who gave pills to the seizing transgenic strides over to me.
"I don't think we've officially met." she says, holding out her hand, "I'm Lena, X3. I'm basically the closest thing to a doctor around here."
I try not to show my surprise. I didn't think there were any X3s left. After the failure of the X2s, the X3s were merely an attempt to get back on the right track. They were a success in that sense, but were deemed not very useful otherwise and not many were created. I assumed that they were all destroyed and used for research.
Lena sees the shocked expression on my face and sighs.
"I know. An X3, oh my God." she says sarcastically.
I wince apologetically, "Sorry."
"I'm used to it," she shrugs and begins to unwrap the gauze bandage on my leg, "You X5s never saw much of us. Or at least, you never knew that you did. Manticore decided that the X3 unit would be best suited to field medic duties. We were the ones that took care of you kids when you shot yourselves up or got attacked by the dogs. You just never knew we weren't Ordinaries like the other doctors."
I focus on Lena's face, staring at her intently. I realize that I've seen her before.
"You were there when I was getting stitched up after 494 shoved me on that rock."
Lena pauses to look up at me for a moment, but then returns her focus to her work.
"I was." she acknowledges as she removes the old bandage and examines the wound, "You're X5-613, if I remember right. And I should. That's about the one thing we're good at is remembering things."
This is all a bit of a shock, but it's exactly the sort of cold, calculating logic characteristic of Manticore. Manticore would want to make the most of the X3 situation. By making them field medics, they could send an X3 into a dangerous combat scenario and not have to worry about the consequences that would accompany an Ordinary doctor being hurt or killed. There would be no family to inform if an X3 died.
"The pavement did a number on your arm and side. It's going to sting like a bitch for a couple of days. I can try giving you some painkillers, but they haven't helped the other X5s much. The best thing for you to do is to keep fresh bandages on everything and give the leg a little time to heal before you start jumping ten-foot fences, okay?" Lena instructs as she finishes her inspection of the bullet wound and begins to rewrap it with a fresh bandage.
I grit my teeth as she presses a clean piece of gauze onto my wound before rewrapping it.
"I hate that White." I growl as she works.
"I got news for you, we all do." Lena says, straightening as she finishes. She gestures at the pregnant woman across the room, "He's the reason I had to sedate her. She's scared to give birth to her baby when that asshole's about to lead a bunch of men in here after us."
Lena turns her back to me, but I can still see the tension in her posture.
"I hope Max or Alec kills him." she says angrily.
I don't say anything and Lena doesn't continue. She stalks off across the room to check on her other patients in silence. I'm not sure if she's what I expected an X3 to be like or not. She seems more...normal...than most X-series. Probably because she spent more time with Ordinaries in Manticore than the rest of us.
I put Lena out of my mind as Max, Kira, and the two transgenics we rescued walk in.
"Are you okay?" Max asks, eyes moving from one bandage to another.
"I'm fine. Just a little banged up." I say, offering her a shaky smile.
"I need to thank you, Jess. Without you and Kira, me and my sibs would have been dead or in a cage by now, getting interrogated by my good pal Ames White." Max says.
"Sibs?" I ask, confused.
"Jess, meet Krit and Syl. They were part of my unit at Manticore, my brothers and sisters." Max explains, gesturing at the pair next to her, a happy smile brightening her features as she looks at them.
"Yeah, me and Syl owe you guys one. We've spent about a year trying to find the others. You know, since Zack... Well, anyway, we've been having a really tough time, especially after our cover was blown. Then we heard about transgenics gathering in Terminal City. Seattle's always been Maxie's turf, but we thought she was dead. We didn't think you'd be here, running things." the tall brunette, Krit, smiles at Max, "Anyway, we thought we might get lucky and find someone or someone who had seen someone. We just didn't think the city would be so...mean."
"Not exactly red carpet treatment." the blonde, Syl, agrees.
"Seattle's kind of turned into Transgenic Central and the natives aren't exactly friendly." Max nods, "But my girl, Jess, had our backs."
"I brought your clothes." Kira interjects, holding out the clean outfit.
I reach for the clothes, then grimace as I realize what a pain it's going to be to get them on. Still, I'd rather tough it out and get out of my dirty, wet, partially destroyed ensemble.
"Could someone help me to a bathroom or something?" I ask, hating that I need help, but figuring asking for some assistance is still less embarrassing than collapsing again.
Kira immediately offers her hand, just like I knew she would.
"Hey." Max says, making me freeze in the process of getting up, "Once you've changed, back to bed. Alec will kill me if I not only let you get shot, but I don't make sure you get better."
"But..." I begin to protest.
"Don't make me court-martial you." Max threatens, her mouth quirking with a grin.
"Fine." I sigh, "But let me know when the raiding party gets back."
"You had a party without us?" Syl pouts.
"You didn't RSVP." Max retorts.
I ignore the antics of Max and her unit members, or siblings as she described them, concentrating on getting up instead. Kira takes most of my weight by putting my arm around her shoulders, but I'm feeling somewhat stronger already. I can put a little weight on my leg without an explosion of pain and now that I'm no longer losing blood, I don't feel as dizzy or weak. Kira steers me towards the back of the building where I see a door. Kira opens it for me and I enter a small bathroom. I lean against the wall and nod to her. She closes the door for me.
Carefully, I struggle out of my wet clothes, sitting down on the toilet seat when standing becomes too difficult. Finally, I'm dressed in clean, dry clothes. I look at myself in the mirror. My hair is a tangled mess and the left side of my face is dirty from resting it on the roadway after my fall. I turn on the water and scoop some in one hand, splashing it on my face and cleaning off most of the dirt. I then run a hand through my hair, combing out some of the tangles, before I turn to the door.
Kira comes to my assistance as soon as I open the door. Krit, Syl, and Max are still standing near my bed, now talking with Lena. They all look at me as I approach and I can feel multiple sets of eyes critically assessing my limp.
"She'll be fine. Just give her some time." Lena assures them.
"I am fine." I correct as I get back into bed as ordered.
I suppose that getting back into bed isn't the worst thing in the world. I am feeling pretty tired. X5s tend to sleep more when they need to recuperate and my eyes already feel heavy.
"Come get me when the raiding party gets back." I remind them before letting my eyes close and drifting back to sleep.
Someone's shaking me. I open my eyes although it feels like I just closed them a moment before. Kira's leaning over me and I can instantly tell from the look on her face that something is wrong.
"Kira? What is it?" I demand.
She looks upset. She glances to my right and I follow her gaze to see that the bed next to mine is now occupied by a familiar form.
"Alec!" I exclaim, immediately shifting back on my bed so I can get a better look at him.
Alec slowly turns his head to look at me. He tries to smile, but it's obvious he's in pain.
"Hey, baby. What's up?" he asks, his voice more of a groan than anything.
"Alec, what happened?" I demand, my eyes racing over him, trying to assess the extent of his injuries. Unfortunately, the blanket covering him obscures most of his form from my eyes.
"Well, I did something stupid." he says, wincing as he tries to move into a more comfortable position.
"Kira?" I turn quickly to my friend for an explanation.
"You're not the only one who got shot tonight." she says, frowning.
I turn back to Alec.
"Are you okay?"
"Fantast...ow!" he says and collapses back onto his bed.
"Stop moving." Lena snaps as she appears back at his side. She abruptly injects a syringe into his shoulder, not bothering to be gentle about it, "I told you I'd sedate you if you didn't quit being stupid."
"But doc…" Alec protests, but his words are already starting to slur from whatever she gave him. I imagine it must be whatever Kira used to knock me out during my heat.
"Where was he shot?" I turn back to Kira, needing more intel.
"The stomach. He was lucky, it missed his organs. But it did bust a rib."
I look at Alec again worriedly, but he's already unconscious. I gulp anxiously past the lump of worry in my throat.
"He'll be alright, Jess." Kira assures me.
That doesn't make me any less concerned.
"Is there anything I can do?" I ask, feeling desperate to do something to help.
"You can stay here. Max's orders, remember? I'm covering your duties today."
"You don't expect me to just lay around here all day, do you?"
She has to know I'll go nuts just laying here. I have to do something.
"Well, that's what you're going to do."
"Like hell." I reply, getting out of bed.
"Look, Alec's going to want you here when he wakes up." Kira says quickly.
I glare at her. That's a cheap shot and she knows it.
"Then, I'll do something here. I'm sure the raiding party brought back medical supplies. I'll help Lena put them away." I announce, looking over to Lena for support.
"Swell." Lena replies dryly, not even bothering to glance my way as she walks off.
I shift my eyes to Kira, giving her a look that says not to argue with me. She sighs and nods.
"Alright. Whatever. I have to go, so be careful. Don't try to lift a car or anything while I'm gone."
I roll my eyes at my friend and she smiles slightly before heading for the door.
Now that Lena has wandered off and Kira is gone, I turn my attention back to Alec. His face is creased with pain even in sleep. I move carefully over to his bed and look down at him. I brush wet hair off his forehead and gently move the blanket so I can take a closer look at his bandages. His shirt was removed so they could deal with the wound without any interference and his abdomen is firmly wrapped. His wound is still bleeding, a slowly spreading red stain on the white of the bandage. Aside from that he looks okay. I take a moment to let that sink in. He'll be okay.
Suddenly, my eyes narrow and I'm startled to realize that Alec has a healing bullet wound on his shoulder, as well. Thinking back, I realize that I've seen it before, back when I saw him undressed during my heat, but I was way too preoccupied with other thoughts for it to register. It looks like it's healing well, but it bothers me that he's been shot twice in what appears to be a short period of time.
Tearing myself away from him for a moment, I limp across the room to retrieve a chair. It feels like quite a feat to me and I'm filled with a sense of satisfaction when I sit down next to Alec's bed. If I'm recovering this quickly, Alec should be better soon, as well.
"How could you get yourself shot?" I ask him quietly, "You're 494, for God's sake. What did you get drunk before you hit the place? Idiot."
Alec remains asleep. I lean my elbows on his bed.
"At least I was shot by the head of some super-cult. You were shot by a run-of-the-mill bad guy. That's got to be depressing." I smirk at him, "Yeah, I know, you'll get me back for that, but it was worth it. I mean, here you go again with the showing me up thing. I got shot so you had to get shot worse? Always stealing my thunder. Copycat."
I fold my arms and rest my chin on top of them, taking care not to put too much weight on the bandaged left one. I resolve myself to sit and watch silently until he becomes conscious. Or until Lena comes back. Whichever comes first.
It turns out that Lena returns before Alec wakes up. I straighten in my chair as she walks in. She's carrying a large crate and appears to be straining slightly under the weight. She sets the box down soon after she enters and stretches her back. She looks over and sees me next to Alec.
"Well, if you're finally out of bed, here's the stuff from the raid." she says, emphasis on the 'finally.'
I'm not sure if she's being disdainful or just teasing. It's hard to get a read on her gruff personality. I just shrug in reply, "Needed time to recuperate, I guess."
She doesn't continue the conversation, simply turning, opening the lid on the crate, and beginning to put away the contents. I get to my feet and limp towards her.
"How can I help?" I ask.
"You asked for it." Lena says, and begins piling things into my arms.
The pile grows almost as high as my head before Lena motions for me to follow her. I struggle to keep my limp to a minimum so that I won't jostle the pile. Finally, Lena begins to remove the supplies in my arms and places them into cabinets and drawers.
"Round two." Lena quips, heading back to the crate.
I dutifully follow after her. It takes eight rounds to completely empty the crate and put everything away how Lena wants it. By round five, my leg is starting to hurt, but I press on until the job is done. As soon as the crate is empty, I return to my chair and collapse in it. I'm frustrated by the wound more than anything at this point. I just want it to hurry up and heal. At least this leg wound won't take as much time to heal as the one Alec once dealt me.
"Here." Lena throws me a roll of gauze and some cotton, "You can change it this time."
I pull my leg up and rest it on the edge of Alec's bed. Pulling up my pant leg, I see that I did in fact need a fresh bandage. I pull off the old dressing and inspect the wound. It's a rather small wound for all the trouble it's caused. I probably shouldn't be feeling it so much. But I've done a number on this leg once before. It probably can't handle the injury as well as it should.
I begin to press a fresh piece of cotton over the wound, but Lena stops me.
"Wait. You should put some of this on it, too." she says, coming over and handing me a small spray bottle, "It'll keep it from getting infected."
I nod and spray my leg with the liquid. I inhale sharply at the sting of the antiseptic, but within moments, the fresh bandage is on. I put my leg back down and notice that Alec's eyes are open and he's watching me.
"Pretty bullet wound. Bet mine's better." he comments, smiling.
"You'll be wishing we could trade when you try and get up again." I predict.
"Get up? Do I look like a masochist? I'm going to stay right here for as long as I can and enjoy myself." he crosses his arms behind his head, wincing slightly as he contracts his stomach muscles to lift his head, "It'll be fun. Especially if Max feels guilty."
"You know, she's right. You are a jackass." I comment.
"What can I say? So, how'd you get that beauty anyway? I was half-expecting you to try and follow me."
I blink in surprise.
"That is actually what I was planning to do. But I got sidetracked. Max needed my help to save two X5s who got caught in the middle of a mob after a tangle with the cops. White showed up before we could split and tried to take me out. He's a better shot than I thought." I explain.
Alec frowns, his eyes sparking with hatred at the mention of White.
"One more reason for me to kill him." he says darkly.
"Hate to interrupt your assassination plans, but I've got to have a look at your own little scratch." Lena says with her usual dry tone, returning to Alec's bedside, "You know some people try dodging the bullets."
"Must be my animal magnetism." Alec jokes, "Attracts the ladies and the bullets."
She takes the spray bottle, cotton, and wrapping from me and places it next to Alec where she can easily reach it. She then begins to undo Alec's bandage.
"This is going to hurt." she warns before jostling him to get the bandage out from under him.
Alec makes no sound throughout the process of changing his bandages, but his face gets rather pale and his hands are clenched in fists so tight that his knuckles are white. I feel like it's a pretty clear indication of how much pain he's in when Alec gets quiet.
"All done." Lena announces finally.
"You're lucky I like it rough, doc." Alec tries to make another joke, but his voice is strained.
She gives him a patronizing smile and goes to check on the pregnant woman who is now awake and seems relatively calm.
"You okay?" I ask.
"Me? Always. It takes more than a bullet and a busted rib to take me down." he boasts cockily.
I smile, figuring if he feels good enough to be cocky, then he must be fine.
"So." he says, pulling a cell phone out of his jeans, "Want to see if we get room service?"
I watch, amused, as Alec quickly dials a number.
"Maxie? Yeah, I'm okay, I guess. It hurts pretty bad to move. I actually almost fainted when doc changed my bandage. But poor Jess can barely walk. No, don't worry about it, Max. It's not your fault we're bullet-ridden. No. Actually, we're kind of hungry. Starving, in fact. Do you think you could bring us something? You're the best, Maxie. See you when you get here." Alec hangs up the phone with a huge grin on his face.
"You're horrible. Despicable."
"A genius?"
I smile at him, "Well, I am starving."
"Just remember to look pitiful when she gets here."
"I'll try." I promise.
"So, do I look as bad as I think I do?" Alec asks, attempting to comb his hair with his fingers.
"Not too bad. A drowned rat comes to mind." I tease.
Alec makes a face.
"Hey, you're one to talk. When's the last time you saw a brush, huh?" Alec retorts.
"At least my clothes are clean."
"Well, if you're looking for an excuse to get my clothes off, be my guest." he replies with a smirk.
"As if. You smell." I shoot back, wrinkling my nose at him.
"You're not exactly powder fresh either, sweetheart."
"I'm so glad you're okay." I admit.
"You have no idea." he agrees.
"Will I hurt you if I give you a hug?"
"It'd be worth it."
He smiles and I hug him as gently as I can. I try not to notice that he isn't wearing a shirt, but the thought won't be pushed aside. I pull away, feeling slightly disgusted with myself. Here he is, hurt and in pain, and I'm checking him out. I should be thinking only of his welfare right now.
"Let's not get shot again." Alec suggests.
"Sounds like a plan." I reply, but I'm no longer focused on the conversation.
"Hello? Earth to Jess. You even here?" Alec asks, immediately noticing my distance.
"Sorry. Just a little distracted."
Alec looks at me curiously for a moment, then changes the subject.
"So, I...uh...never apologized for that thing I said earlier about you being…you know, a liability." he says awkwardly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
I shake my head, "It's okay. I get it."
"So…forgive me?" Alec asks.
"Seems like you've been punished enough already." I reply, "When did you get winged in the shoulder?"
"Oh, that." Alec glances over at the shoulder in question, shrugging it slightly, "Don't worry about it. That was last week. It's fine."
"Well, Lena's right. Stop being such a bullet sponge." I admonish him.
"I will if you will." he replies, raising a brow.
"Deal." I agree.