Of Wolves and Devils: A Dark Angel Fanfiction Story
Episode 22:
Previously...
Kendra highlighted, "well... I still don't know entirely what it is you do. Maybe it is better left like that for me to sleep. But, I know you're fighting for good people around and out. For us. And whatever these ZFA whacks are, I know you'll give them hell. You and Logan."
Nervously, Max thought out loud, "faint laugh. Don't laugh. But, more and more...with all the good we've gone and done for the downtrodden... I keep thinking maybe there is a beating heart in there. And, I still don't know if I'm ready. Okay. More like fifty percent of a heart. But...yeah."
Logan brightly smiles, "well...I'm surprised. I mean, I kind of always knew it was more like that. But, I know it's not a easy thing for you to admit." Blushing a little, Max goes, "thanks."
Logan asked uncertainly, "Max?" Max told him, "Logan...we got to blaze. All of us."
Max and Logan ran like hell...as the whole apartment was going up in flames.
Even with her dazed state...Scalpel violently slashed into Max's side.
Max coughed violently: Clutching her dark red liquid dripping side, her vision blurring fast.
Teary eyed, Logan cried out, "Max!"
In that moment... PennyBlade stabbed him in the side: Slashing his exoskeleton's other arm off.
Logan went down...coughing violently and clutching his dark red liquid dripping side.
In Max's head... Madame X's ghost pushed on, "he was quite a man, your boyfriend Logan. He must've loved you very much...to sacrifice his heart to someone who didn't have one."
Tears fell more and more from Max's eyes. She shouted, "no. No! ! !"
Max came to: Lying on a black cushioned operating table...with Cai standing there.
Teary eyed, Max angrily muttered, "Cai. What is this? What the hell are you doing to me?!"
With hints of sick satisfaction, John McGinnis said, "a eye for a eye. Now I'll make you pay for turning Lydecker away from what was right and taking my eye."
Presently...
Max starts to feel a chill down her body.
Not wanting to show it... Max goes on to highlight, "really? You wanted to kill me for being in your way for months. And now, you give this bitch more power to kick your ass? Faint laugh. Truth is, I think you're all more whack than I thought."
With cold fury in her more mechanical voice...Cai says, "yes, Max. We have gone to much nǔlì to try to kill you. But, you left us jíshǎo choice! He wanted you alive. But, that may change very sù."
With a kind of nervous glare, Max taunts, "why? You Chinese guys thinking of blabbering at me to death? Cause you're already halfway there."
Cai concludes, "your parallel processing. We've know since Logan Cale tapped into our main satellite: That night you and X5-599 tried to rescue your fellow shìbīng."
In black and white... Max thinks back to when she and Zack went into a high level Manticore lab to try to save Tinga...when Logan hacked into a satellite with what seemed to be "just cloud cover".
Very much stunned... Max mutters, "you mean that satellite and the news over it was all just a whack decoy by the Russians you're in good with? I take it you went to start up your own Manticore with these cybernetic asses after Manticore had gone down?"
Cai eerily smirks, "Siligater Металл. They've been on the winning side from the beginning."
Kind of amused, John McGinnis admits, "still...you're wrong about me. They found me. They gave me my cybernetic eye, and a damn good paycheck for keeping their cybernetics up to speed after you killed Daisy. And once the world falls to the ZFA, I get to go back home and start all over again."
Max adds bitterly, "sounds nice. But, I just got to ask: How do you know me?"
John McGinnis coldly asks, "have you even asked yourself why you have parallel processing? Why you never really sleep in both hemispheres like most people?"
Max just faintly scoffs, "all of us got parallel processing. Not really that big of a dealio."
The shivering is suddenly getting worse quick. The little hairs are standing up.
John McGinnis concludes, "faint laugh. Only acutely. You have the real deal. You sure you don't remember those nights, alone with scientists on the bed?"
In a bright tint... Max thinks back to when she was just a kid: Lying on a operating table, with red and blue plastic cup like things over her head...and dark red liquid soaked scalpels and tasers held by scientists in mostly white astronaut like suits.
Max comments, "yeah. They were testing me just like the others. So?"
With a creepy smile... John McGinnis reveals, "it wasn't only a test. I was part of Manticore's administration: Off the books. You were the best in the class. The implant was meant to record your neural testing and track your progress. After the escape, there wasn't much left to work with. The Neuropsych department almost didn't happen. But, we got through it: With help from me."
Max looks sick, and not just because of the shivers.
On the verge of tears... It all hits her, "oh god. You tested on me just so you can brainwash my brothers and sisters to be more "ten-hut"?!"
She starts groaning in pain and shaking violently: More than she ever thought possible.
Her eyes feel they're burning no matter how fast she reactively blinks.
The surgical tubes tear off and crash away with dark red liquid soaked surgical tools from a operating table. The holes in her burn of solidifying metal.
Cai eerily smiles wide at Max's suffering.
John McGinnis says coldly, "not so cute now, is it? I want you to lose control of your life and know it. You cells keep healing you. But, the thing with your cells...is that any liquid alien to them can be attacked. They can extract the liquid metal before there's any permanent damage. They'll give you a temporary implant so you can fight again until the job is done. But, only if you cooperate with them. Give it long enough, and you and everyone you care about will die."
Max tries to rock back and forth like she often does. But, she falls back on the bed: Sniffling hard...fighting back the urge to sob and kind of failing at it.
Under her burning tears... She mutters furiously, "I... Violent groan! I will kill all of you. You understand?! After I get all this metal out... Violent groan! You're first, you son of a bitch! Violent cough! Violent groan! Violent groan!"
Cai places a white stars lined dark blue soda machine styled chest by her violently shaking side.
After a bit... Max coughs violently again. But, she turns herself face up.
She grabs the edges of the bed, shaking and glaring furiously at them as she barely sits up.
Some nervousness is across Cai's face. But, she ignores it.
With a glare, Cai pressures her, "this is your last chance, Max. You're highly skilled in telecommunications. You'll know this is real yīngdài'ěr."
Max snarikly adds, "what? No speech on tripping over your military intelligence run asses?"
Cai says condescendingly, "aside from Mister McGinnis, we're all bīngzú. We only speak "western" with our allies to get things done. Even you'd be impressed with the fāxiǎng we come up with together. The trackers and you being alive were only some. But, we've never been good at speeches."
Kind of sarcastic, Max mutters, "so you're not even good at plans yourself. Shame."
Cai is about to wring her neck. But, with some more mechanical whirls, she forces herself back.
Max shakily opens the chest: With the top as the curved in flatscreen, and the rest of the small supercomputer with just a touch pad to scroll through a database and a gold power button on top.
There's a very dark red shaded screen and video files of ZFA pager relayed intel: With captions in Chinese, English, Russian, and plenty of golden Chinese inscriptions along the tapestry styled sides.
She sees a video capture: Of the heavy duty smart missiles fired at her a few weeks ago.
She scrolls through another video. And, with widened burning eyes...she sniffles hard at it.
From Japan, Europe, Australia, Canada, and America... There's livestreams of underwater cams: Of some dropped down waterproof smart missile launchers, with black sunglasses tinted DNA scanner locks aimed at where Eyes Only agents and Max's X-5 family are resting or coming in for the night.
But, even with the wave of mixed feelings washing through her... Max's curiosity surges through: Grasping for something...anything she can do to break free from all of this.
From some black and white security videos from late 2009 narrated over in Chinese... She begrudgingly puts on the English captioning: Cause she can't exactly read the lips of a unseen narrator.
She quickly finds this to be of interest:
In ancient times, China was once full of prosperity and humanity.
It was once full of Rén, Yì , Lǐ, Zhì , Xìn: The Five Constants of Confucian ethics.
But, with "westerners" and their advances in technology defying and polluting the web of nature and life we've lived by for so long in social harmony...there was influence and corruption.
Rulers were becoming more corrupt and hungry for power. Soon, the "People's Republic" of China was established. And, even their own army suffered from their poisonous ways.
Screams and the sound of gunshots cuts through the narration: With many sped by public Chinese peaceful protests and riots on the cobblestone paved streets.
We realized in order to bring back social harmony... And to free the world from western influence and corruption in favor of a fair society... We had to retake it by force.
ZFA pager relayed intel goes by: Of killing Alexander Lukashenko, Vladmir Putin, and other greatly disliked politicians in their black cars by ripping the cars to shreds and shooting whoever is left.
In 2009, they were establishing kind relations with Russia. We turned in secret to a Russian hardware company with a specialty for metalwork: Siligater Металл.
It was paid well out of the "People's Republic" of China's yuan on the pretense "it's what they wanted". No one questioned it until it was too late.
The sound of gunshots cuts through the narration: Across some mostly white great hall styled high level buildings, with guns going off from dark green uniformed Chinese military from both sides.
Then... Every light is seen to have gone out. No emergency systems. No alarms.
Their liquid metal filled missiles had hit China's power. Soon, all western corruption was dead.
No security system. No warning for the corrupt.
We agreed to let Siligater Металл keep the technology. It was expanded to include cybernetics and neural nets with Russian and Chinese implants from their rapidly acquired companies for us.
Our freedoms were secure at last: Religiously, lawfully, commercially...and sexually.
We no longer had need for lawyers, judges, and "western" politics. They're dead to us.
The chosen few that aren't with corrupt beliefs are free from "westerners".
A rustic red tinted Chinese flag goes by...with Z of A written across in yellow.
But, to stay ahead of them...we keep under the radar: Until the final day comes.
Until the day when there truly will be Zìrú For All.
Max takes a long hard look at all of it.
She tears up with bittersweet tears in her eyes: Suddenly not sure whether to feel sorry for them.
But...then reality kicks her in her violently shaking ass. And, Max's glare returns.
With a deep sigh... Max concludes, "okay. It'll kill me in a whole other way. But, it's better than all of us not surviving."
With a cold smile, John McGinnis figures, "I knew you'd see it our way."
Max insists, "I'll take down Eyes Only. But, only on two conditions."
Cai argues furiously, "bùshì! She's going to try to kill us if we do. I should...!"
She admits somberly, "no: I'm not. Not this time. Sniffle! I'm used to being on the run. I know by now when something is too broken to fix in this broken world."
Some tears fall from Max's face.
John McGinnis turns to Cai, "I'd let her talk. You can kill her if you have to."
Cai firmly says, "fine. Talk!"
Max voices, "I'll take them down. But, I'm not killing them. Violent groan. They're my family."
Cai argues, "why not? They've killed some of our best soldiers: Least of all my sister Kai!"
Even as Max looks ready to come apart... She breaks it down, "cause without EMP guns, the informant net, or Sydney Bloom's own private ramjet, they're even competition for commerce. Oh, they'll still try to stop you from firing another Pulse on our asses. But, they wouldn't get the chance. Least then Eyes Only can get another shot at fitting in in your new Galactic Empire...along with me."
Sounding eerily calm now, Cai reasons, "ok. But, if you don't take them all out, you're dead. Then Logan. Then the others. Remember: We'll be seeing every move you make. Don't try anything."
Max answers back, "done. Violent groan. Doesn't mean I got to like it though."
John McGinnis picks up a extra box full of surgical tools, laying them on the operating table.
John McGinnis coldly reflects, "I know it. I know you don't. I really don't care how: Just as long as I can get a life back and you're stuck living with what you lost."
Max glares his direction. She declares, "if we meet again... I'll kill you."
John McGinnis just faintly laughs, "you won't. You'll try. But, I'll be too well protected."
Max starts to lie back down...knowing too well whatever anesthetic Cai is injecting in her is for.
Max mutters back, "yeah. Keep telling yourself that."
She falls unconscious again: Long enough for a very dark brown spherical implant with little red and yellow blinking lights to be surgically put in her head...where the Manticore implant once was.
Around this time, back in Seattle...
Logan has come to...on a faintly familiar hospital bed with dark green tiles around.
He expected to be in worse shape. But, there was nothing serious: Just a dark red soaked cast around his side...which was more scary in its own way to him.
His remaining exoskeleton arm's straps are patched back up with his torn up beyond repair shirt.
He's quickly realized where he is: Sebastian's warehouse.
Sebastian is gone. He left soon as he heard about the prison riots and smart missiles going down.
Shane is lying by the closed warehouse door, keeping watch and eating a peanut butter sandwich.
Logan nervously sighs, sitting on the bed while going through some Eyes Only classified files.
He stops looking though when he hears arguing in the other room.
Syl, Zane, Krit, and Sketchy are gathered around the dead monitor. Sketchy can barely even look up from sitting on the floor, shaking with deadly nervousness.
Teary eyed, Syl lowly mutters, "no! We can't just give up on Max like this!"
Zane nervously faces Krit, "Krit... If there's even a chance, we have to save her!"
Teary eyed, Krit argues cuttingly, "with what? They got one of the backup discs. There's no spare jets. Max is dead. By the time Sydney gets here...she already will be. We can't run this time: We're as good as dead. I don't like it either. But..."
With a slight glare, Logan determinedly figures, "no. She's not dead. We're not."
Sketchy looks up: Teary eyed.
He argues nervously, "how are you so sure man? From where I am... Sniffle. It looks hopeless."
Logan heavily sighs, with his arms crossed as he leans against the doorway in.
He thinks out loud, "guys...I know it looks that way. Still... Faint laugh. Whatever is behind those rubber masks the ZFA puts on... They broke into our communications more than once: Not to mention my apartment. They didn't take the discs then. Why would they start...now?"
He then hits on something. And suddenly, he finds it hard to look up.
Syl asks nervously, "what's wrong, Logan?"
Logan concludes frustratedly, "it was right there under all the hacks."
A little nervous, Zane questions, "what hacks? I'm...I'm just trying to keep up."
Logan summarizes, "daily Chinese propaganda, the crackdowns after the Pulse... They're all lies: Put out for any government spy that "happens" to get ahold of them. Thing is it likely goes both ways."
Starting to get up... Sketchy uneasily realizes, "wait. You mean like a spy satellite?"
His teary eyes start to dry. He sounds calmer, knowing Logan isn't going to just do nothing.
Turning back to him, Syl faintly smiles, "glad to have you back, Sketch."
Sketchy awkwardly says, "yeah. It's good I am. But, you helped." Syl adds, "thanks."
They hug each other close.
They look like they're about to kiss, swept up in the moment. But...
Zane is quick to point out, "it's good you're both better. But, we should hear what he has to say."
Sketchy and Syl pull away a bit, both looking kind of red in the face. Krit just rolls his eyes.
Logan faintly smiles. He just says, "thanks."
He solemnly continues, "we thought it might have been the Russians. They've been working on a lot of upgrades in cybersecurity. But, they weren't even hit by the Pulse. Still...it still didn't seem to really add up: Until tonight."
Syl and Zane both mutter nervously, "damn." Logan mutters, "yeah."
More confidently, Logan brings up, "but... Heavy sigh. What's important now is we're alive. And when Sydney gets back, we're going to China. None of us want Max dead. So, until we know for sure... Sniffle. We got to at least try to get her back. We got to take down the ZFA, whatever it takes. And even if we don't come back from this...we'll at least have done the right thing by saving the world."
Everyone else in the room solemnly smile and smirk to themselves.
Krit asks firmly, "ok. What's the plan?"
Logan answers simply, "I'll contact Sydney. See if we can get in touch with Seth and Tinga."
Syl reasons, "maybe they'll make it before we do. But, what about communications?"
Logan remarks lightly, "if anyone can hack her way past the Great Wall of China's automatic defenses, it's Sydney. I think we'll be ok."
Sounding more ok, Syl straight up says, "sure. I just wanted to be sure we're not going into another bomb. I want to shoot down some more of those cybernetic rats: Not us."
With a faint smile, Logan solemnly concludes, "sure."
Zane goes to check on Shane. Syl and Krit start loading up their rifles. Logan gets out his cellular phone and starts dialing. And, Sketchy nervously looks out one of the windows to the barbed wire fence: Not sure what else to do now but wait.
Not long after, back in China...
Max is clutching her side, groaning violently as she's walking down a long open rustic red arched dark green planked palace corridor. She's being escorted out into a marble courtyard by two joint commanders of the ZFA royal guard.
One is Chuàn Diǎn: Who has blade launchers all over his ghostly pale body and patches of burnt looking short black hair. The other is Luóxuán: Who has two xun lei chongs built in his arms and brownish streaked black medium hair. Only for him, his xun lei chongs has the sickly gray liquid metal mounted shielding as built-in bucklers and Chinese spearheads as blades to load into the musket tubes.
Solidified liquid metal roofs on Chinese pagoda towers of rustic red to sky blue tower above the long corridors making up the center of the ZFA's ribbed gray flat roofed military stronghold: Going from open windows with briefly seen nudist Chinese couples making out and human prisoners in shackles being beaten to death by metal studded Chinese paper fans...to Post-Pulse American refugees and Chinese teenagers playing target practice on balconies with little stone statues of the Devil, Christ, Ashtar Sheran of the Universe People, and Buddha with rustic red to bright yellow cybernetic arms.
The blocky courtyard is around a bubbling pool of coolant, sealed by a glass tank. Pinkish and green Chinese trees with bent branches stand at the corners. Rustic red Chinese lanterns hang over it all.
The main guard of ZFA's royal guard is standing around in lines of five: Standing still and facing down in respect to their commanders. They wear dark underglazed blue emperor styled tank armor plate enforced dress robes, with ceramic white lined sleeves and fold out Samurai swords in them.
Another tear falls from Max's face as she's escorted further on: Into a curving up roller coaster tunnel styled launch gate with a dark red Chinese dragon painted down it.
There's a opening into the darkness of the launch gate, with recently dosed in coolant the only glow inside a mostly white scramjet with black shuttle like engines.
Chuàn Diǎn emotionlessly hands Max some rustic red arctic gloves, before he and the rest of the royal guard slowly walk away.
Max puts on the gloves before prying the scramjet door open and slamming it behind her.
As the scramjet starts up the heavy duty conveyor belt, she buckles up.
It has a curved black tinted computer screen for windows relayed from built in cameras, and a phone dial styled grayish yellow wheel for controls.
Some grenades are by Max as requested. But, she completely ignores the gun to the left.
Teary eyed still, Max deeply sighs to herself.
She's thinking to herself, "too bad this isn't a Jetsons episode where I'm straight up sure getting a happy ending. Sniffle! I would have loved playing with this jet thing."
When the yellow lights light up at the end of the tunnel, she starts up the engines.
She rotates the dial to change the computer screen from visual to zoomed infrared as it soars up into the edge of the atmosphere. The balls of stars on the screen look so close.
With everything else going wrong tonight, Max didn't want to crash into a comet or something.
In twenty minutes, the scramjet is already diving into the clouds...back for Post-Pulse America.
After twenty minutes, at Sebastian's warehouse...
The other room's window is sheeted over with the bedsheet. But, past the two silhouettes... Sketchy and Syl's groans of sexual volumes aren't fooling anyone.
Neither is a stopwatch beep a few minutes later.
Syl's soon getting her rifle. And both of them are in their clothes soon after.
Krit, Logan, and Zane are ready. Logan's got Sebastian's backup disc of the informant net barely sticking out of his pocket, and his patched up exoskeleton arm on and ready.
Over his cellular phone, Logan checks, "Sydney? Did you get back ok?"
Sydney and Duncan are getting out of her ramjet, with Duncan with his pistol out and ready.
Over comm, Sydney answers, "uneasy chuckle. Yeah. We're ok. We're ready to go if you..."
Then... A grenade goes off.
The ramjet explodes in flames, knocking Sydney and Duncan violently against the ground.
There's some barking. But, it quickly gives way to a soft thud.
All Logan gets is static.
Over his cellular phone, he calls out, "Sydney? Duncan? Talk to me! Damn."
He hangs up.
Looking very nervous, Sketchy asks, "what happened?"
Teary eyed, Logan heavily sighs. He deduces, "that's what we're just about to find out, Sketch."
He instructs them, "Krit, Syl, Zane... Get outside. If there's a ZFA guy out there, bring him alive without a self destruct. We got to find out how they're planning a second pulse and when."
They just nod solemnly as they head out.
Sketchy is about to say something, when Logan nervously turns to him.
Sketchy asks just as nervously, "ok. If this is about me and Syl having..."
Logan insists, "no, Sketchy. Here's the disc. If they make it inside, I'll hold them off."
Sketchy takes the disc and pockets it.
He realizes, "you want me to run out fast and guard it with my life until it gets to James Cabot."
Logan figures, "exactly. You might be our only hope in protecting Eyes Only's future."
He punches a hole through a window with his exoskeleton arm and slams off the jagged pieces.
Sketchy awkwardly faintly smiles, "sure. Sounds like a lot to ask of me. But, I'm man enough for the job." Logan solemnly concludes, "thanks, Sketch."
Outside...
A teary eyed Zane signals Krit and Syl to circle around for the burning wreckage of the ramjet. He stays with Shane's body a foot away to check her vital signs.
To Zane's relief, Shane is breathing ok: She just has some ruffled fur from a sleeper hold.
Shane is about to get up again, rifle ready.
But then...a rustic red gloved fist punches him out from the side of a tree. He falls to the ground.
Syl and Krit are checking Sydney's and Duncan's pulses, who are both lying on the ground.
The back of their clothes are burnt. There's some purplish bruises on their foreheads.
With some relief, Krit deduces, "they're alive. Just knocked out from the blast."
Syl quickly realizes nervously, "almost like it was timed that way."
They both get up...seeing Max standing there.
She's got the rustic red gloves on as she's holding Sydney's EMP crossbow, charged and ready.
She stands there, trying to put up a brave front. But, all she ends up doing is bending over herself: Sobbing. Hesitating at the thought of them seeing her like this.
Syl and Krit stand there: Too shocked to say much of anything.
Teary eyed, Syl asks worriedly, "Max?"
Under her tears... Max mumbles, "I'm so sorry. I...have no choice!"
Krit asks nervously, "why? Did you get triggered?"
Max shakily kind of admits, "I don't want to be. But...I have no choice."
Syl is quick to fire. But, Max holds out the crossbow as a shield: Unleashing a electric flare.
Syl sharply groans, reactively covering her throbbing eyes and dropping the gun.
Krit tackles Max on the ground, trying to get her in a sleeper hold with his gun against her neck.
Nervously, Krit tries to assure her, "we want to help you Max. But, only if you can let us!"
Max almost lets the sleeper hold take hold: Welcoming it even.
But, on the edge of unconsciousness, her eyes feel they're burning up again. And, it reminds her all too much of what she came back for.
Max side jump spins her whole body over, slamming Krit violently against the groan.
He goes down...groaning violently before a teary eyed Max slams his own gun into his head.
Krit falls unconscious as Max run charges into the warehouse.
Sketchy makes a break for it through the window: Not even turning around to realize who's there. Max flip kicks Logan's exoskeleton arm into the wall...snapping the strap completely off as it lands right in a newly formed hole in the wall.
Logan winces as he clutches his rope burned arm, dropping the gun.
Max lands on her feet.
She throws off a grenade: Destroying the exoskeleton arm and taking out Sketchy from fallout.
Logan quickly grabs his gun...aiming it for Max.
He stands there: Shocked and teary eyed, ears still ringing from the explosion.
Logan shakily voices, "Max. I don't know what the hell is going on. But... Sniffle! I don't want to lose you. Please don't make me do this."
Max can't even look up. She can't help but sob and sob: Even as she readies her fists.
After some uncomfortable silence... Max shakily admits, "oh god, I'm so sorry. Sniffle! It's not what I want either, Logan. I want to come back. Really. But... Sniffle! I have no choice."
Max side spin kicks the rifle away as it fires: Going off into the dead monitor.
She punches him out. And, all goes black.
Fifteen minutes later...
Everyone's sitting around in chairs, holding up cold water bottles and ice packs over their heads.
Syl is seeing again. But, she's got a headache.
They all got slowly fading pulsing headaches. All except Shane, who's just sound asleep.
Krit asks restlessly, "tell me again. Why didn't you get her?"
Glaringly, Syl mutters back, "if it wasn't for my nictating membranes, I'd be blind now. As soon as I could see again, she was gone! Oh. And, yeah. I didn't see you do any better."
There's some awkward silence. Most everyone looks teary eyed.
Sketchy heavily sighs. He somberly figures, "well... Sniffle. Our numbers are up. But, we tried. No disc, no ramjet, no phones, no EMP slingshots... And whatever's up with Max, she's gone."
Syl concludes, "maybe. I don't want to admit it. But, maybe you're right. Still... Sniffle! I can't believe she'd just want to show up to kick our asses."
Zane recalls nervously, "you also said she was crying...and that you saw traces of fresh solid liquid metal around her body. I could be wrong. But, it sounds like the ZFA was forcing her to do it."
Duncan reasons, "yeah. Sounds plausible in a very creepy kind of way."
Very nervously, Logan figures out, "yeah. Max is nearly dead one minute. Then she wakes up infused with liquid metal. It kind of makes sense. But, the ZFA... They've never not tried to kill us before. And, why would she ever feel forced to work with...?"
In black and white... He was thinking back to some things Max had said many months ago:
Zack was warning Logan, "stay out of this."
Logan pointed out, "in case you haven't caught on by now, this girl is gonna do what she's gonna do, no matter what you or anyone else says. Now you've got two choices: Back off or pitch in."
Max added snarkily, "what he said."
Max solemnly said, "I know you're not too chill with what's going on tonight. It's a bitch psyching yourself up for battle when people are throwing around words like "deathwatch"."
Logan mostly assured her, "well, I think I know you well enough by now. There's no stopping you if there's something you need to do, especially when it comes to your family."
Presently...
There's another awkward silence.
Logan realizes, "damn. I don't know what the ZFA threatened us with. But, when it comes to her family... There's nothing Max wouldn't do to protect us."
Zane concludes, "wow. Ok. You think she strong armed the ZFA to go easier on us?"
With a faint smile, Logan comments, "I wouldn't put it past her."
Syl faintly smirks, "they must be really pissed off with Eyes Only. That I can believe."
Krit then hits on something, "still..." Sketchy wonders, "what?"
Krit brings up kind of nervously, "the ZFA might be slowly killing her. Recently injected liquid metal would be a foreign agent to our stem cells..."
Logan finishes tensely, "...and her cells would attack the new ones. And now we can't even get there in time to get her out of this."
With a faint smile though... Sydney hints knowingly, "well...maybe we don't got to."
Around this time...
Max is at the controls flying the scramjet...when Cai's voice comes over a greenish plastic tube like loosely cobbled together comlink coming out from under her catsuit.
She says cuttingly, "good work. Your next assignment is...to..."
Max tries to raise the signal with the controls. But...a familiar voice echoes in her head, "Max. I know how you felt you had to do what you did. But, you don't have to any more."
In memory flashes, in the not too distant past with the Eyes Only base in Southern California...
Samantha is cautiously walking around the darkness, pistol out and ready.
The monitors and hurled smashed in keyboards are sparking off like crazy as the only lights.
She fast walks down the dark corridor, finding several agents on night watch down on the floor.
She checks one of their vital signs. They're just knocked out.
Then, she hears a distant sounding familiar voice.
Samantha gets behind a corner. She peeks over it...finding Max there on her greenish comlink.
With her free hand, she hurls one of the agents's guns as far away as possible.
Samantha looks fairly shocked. But, as she's about to fire a warning shot...
Teary eyed, Max mutters harshly, "ok. I cleaned it out, you cybernetic bastards! Sniffle! I'm going to Logan's and getting this hell of a bitch over with. Not how this works. You so much as come, I'll kill you! That's not even going into all kinds of killing on your asses if you piss me off more than I already am by holding my family at gunpoint. Understand?! Faint scoff. Yeah. Well, I'm not sorry."
She tucks away the comlink and fast walks further down the corridor.
Presently...
Max slows the scramjet, letting it glide over the clouds.
She turns around.
And, standing by her now is a faintly smiling Samantha...wearing her velcro purple gloves and the black rimmed sunglasses with cycling red.
Teary eyed, Max realizes, "Samantha?!"
They hug each other tight.
After some long minutes...they pull away.
Samantha tries to apologize, "sorry I didn't warn you before connecting with the implant. But..."
Max insists apologetically, "no. I'm sorry. Sniffle! I...didn't think I'd have friends left after..."
Samantha mostly assures her, "well... Moderate sigh. Maybe they are more than a little sore. But, even if it's just us that knows...I'll explain for you. They'll understand then. Ok?"
Max solemnly answers, "thank you." Samantha adds, "sure."
Turning back to tonight... Max concludes, "we should go to China before they send off liquid metal infused plastic missiles on the power plants of the western half of the world. With this jet thing, at least we got a chance in hell to stop them."
Samantha remarks, "so that's how they've gone and sent a Pulse? A crapful of metallic splatter?"
Max figures nervously, "looks like. Long story." Samantha concludes, "yeah. I'm sure it is."
Max is about to go to the control again...when she turns back to her.
Max wonders, "Samantha?" Samantha asks uneasily, "yeah?"
Max uncomfortably supposes, "I know this might be kind of a crappy shot on my ass. But...I want you to short circuit the implant in me."
Under the sunglasses, a few tears fall from Samantha's face.
Samantha somberly voices, "Max... Why are you getting so hard on yourself when I can just keep the connection on in VR? You're like a sister to me and Sydney. I don't want you to die! Sniffle."
Finding it harder to look up... Max heavily sighs.
She voices uncomfortably, "I understand. But...I sure as hell don't want another neural implant to kick my ass. If I'm going to get myself killed, I'd like to be damned for the bitch I really am. Not for implants. Not for commerce or survival. I know: I'm talking like I'm bent. Maybe I am. Sniffle. Still... Long as Logan is out there surviving... He'll kick their asses for me if it comes to it. He's my messiah, and I am his dark angel. Hell, with his show, he could kick the whole world on its ass. And, I love him to hell and back for it...among other things. So, if I don't come back... Please. Tell him?"
With mixed feelings, Samantha says, "well... I don't want you to die. But...you told me once about fighting some golden men. I'm sure we can find parts around. But...promise me something?"
Max asks uncertainly, "yeah?"
Samantha double checks, "stay close to me?"
With a faint smile, Max says, "okay."
Fifteen minutes or so later...
The scramjet touches down in the launch gate.
The two joint commanders and most of the ZFA's royal guard naturally goes to take a look.
Max has also tossed the rustic red gloves off while she's at it: Back to her jet black ones.
Max walks out of the scramjet, not even closing the door behind her. She's got metal beams torn out of the scramjet all across her seizing legs and arms, with wires holding them up.
She groans violently against the beams. But, she keeps going: With Samantha right behind her.
At the sight of the incoming ZFA royal guard... Max pauses a little.
She hurls her last grenade into the scramjet. And, Max and Samantha run.
The commanders are knocked away. Jet pieces and bursts of flame and coolant pierce through most of the royal guard's bodies...killing them in explosions of metal and dark red liquid soaked parts.
Max takes some deep breaths against one of the pinkish trees in the courtyard.
Samantha asks with concern, "you ok?" Max just faintly nods, "as I can be."
Then... A hole opens up from under the marble.
Tinga and Seth are climbing up: Looking really grimy and carrying some EMP crossbows.
With a faint smile, Tinga realizes, "Max." Max greets them, "hey."
Tinga just has to ask, "you ok?"
Seth reasons, "yeah. You ok? You haven't been down like this since Brazil."
Max quickly explains, "afraid it's worse. Long story. Deep sigh. Let's get this bitch over with."
She shakily signals Tinga and Seth to take the corridors left and right. Then Max and Samantha start fast walking for a corridor further down.
The coolant's cooling away the fire. Most of the royal guard is clutching their dark red liquid and motor oil dripping sides, groaning violently as they're charging out of the smoke with their swords out.
Tinga and Seth fire off their EMP crossbows, hitting several of the ZFA royal guard as flashes of trails of dark red liquid and motor oil fly up.
Chuàn Diǎn fires several blades from his body at Seth. But, he swiftly tumbles out of the way.
He tackles Seth into a coming down plank. He coughs violently as Chuàn Diǎn punches him.
But, in the dust... Seth side high kicks him into the pool of coolant. The glass shatters.
He tries to swim out quick. But, he screams...as he falls frozen solid into the depths below.
Tinga's EMP crossbow is shot away by Luóxuán firing off his built in xun lei chongs. She faintly sighs as she gets out her two pistols: Duck tumbling for him as several more spears are fired.
Tinga fires at Luóxuán from the ground. But, he deflects them easy with his mounted shielding.
She then fires the ceiling down on him...taking him out in a cloud of dust.
Max leads Samantha over to a bright red lit control room she passed before.
PennyBlade and Scalpel are guarding the moon gate to it. Some Chinese screens are past them.
Samantha fires her gun at Scalpel from behind a plank.
Scalpel clutches her side, with dark red liquid and motor oil dripping from it.
PennyBlade throws her last penny blade at Max. But, she blocks it with one of her arm planks.
Max grabs the penny blade in mid-air...as she high jump kicks her through the Chinese screens.
Scalpel is charging at her.
Max lands on the floor...as she throws the penny blade into Scalpel's head.
A trail of dark red liquid flies from Scalpel's head as she falls over dead.
At seeing John McGinnis under all the screens... Max angrily drags him up and snaps his neck.
He falls dead.
Samantha slams down a Chinese screen on top of PennyBlade...knocking her out.
Max then finds a open white stars lined rustic red supercomputer chest: Keyboard and all.
The screen shows the plastic wrapped missiles of liquid metal and bare metal framing coming out of the atmosphere: Coming down for power plants across the western world.
Max fights the growing burning impulse in her with a sharp groan, holding herself over the chest.
Samantha asks nervously, "Max?"
Max insists determinedly, "I...violent groan...know! I...violent groan...can do this."
Her vision is blurring fast from all the strain. Her eyes feel they're burning up.
Cai angrily fires a hypersonic blast from the courtyard.
With just seconds to go...Samantha fires into Cai's side: Setting off her aim and collapsing the wall several doors down.
In the chaos...James Cabot's EMP crossbow shoots down Cai from behind. She falls down dead.
With fifty seconds left... Max quickly presses her clenched knuckles against the keyboard.
The smart missile launchers from earlier briefly show on the screen.
Max targets the plastic wrapped missiles...and fires with a slamming fist.
The smart missiles explode into the plastic wrapped missiles: Exploding in bursts of fire and vaporizing liquid metal over evacuated city blocks. And, across all the emergency shelters of America and Europe...sighs of relief and tears of joys are heard.
Then... Max collapses.
And, as James Cabot's military troop comes rushing in with a stretcher... All goes black.
Several hours later, as late night gives rise to dawn...
Max comes to. In her head, music from 2001: A Space Odyssey starts to fade.
She finds herself on a bright white red lined space plane: With the Canadian sign up...and a lot of plastic wrapped like needle mounted microscopes from blue carts around the stretcher she's lying on.
A dark red liquid soaked cast is around her sides. A smaller dark red liquid soaked cast is around her head.
Logan is sitting by her, faintly smiling.
With his hand softly moving in her hair... Logan greets her, "hey. How's my revved up girl?"
With a faint grin... Max remarks, "ok: Now that I got nothing to be sorry for. My boyfriend knows the real score and the real me, got the best class seat in town..."
Not taking his hand away... Logan faintly smirks.
He says, "you're welcome."
With some worry in her voice, Max checks, "Logan... Did I save the world?"
Logan takes his hand away.
He sees Max with a hand on his. He faintly smiles: Holding her hand a little tighter.
Logan assures, "faint chuckle. Yeah. The ZFA is gone. Soon as they lost China, the rest were easy to take down. Belarus is starting to play nice: No more murderers. The recombinant DNA process extracted the liquid metal from your system. The implant's out. The war is over, Max."
Max faintly grins, "good. Thank you: For not giving up on me."
He adds, "you're welcome. And, thanks to us...everyone has got all the time in the world to celebrate."
They both just stay like that for a while: Just faintly grinning at each other.
Logan was right.
Whatever happens now... The world can only get better from here.
And, for the first time in a decade... Everyone can celebrate.
The End…Or The Start Of More Mirth With Max and Eyes Only?
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