Author's Note: Aight here's to all my favorite people!

Kelly

purplebunnywabbit

Djonie

FemmePhantom

Jorie

Peppet2bb

Sadly, Shellybelly23 was mysteriously absent from the list…sniffle, sniffle. I just feel so unloved. L

Anyway, here's CHAPTER 7:

I sat back on Alec's ratty, but oddly comfortable, couch; totally at ease. Somewhere along the night, we had stopped joking around and moved on to more serious matters, namely, Logan.

I'm talking to Alec about LoganStrange role reversal but definitely not surprising. We had gotten pretty close.

"So," he started from his position on the other side of the couch, with both my feet on his lap, "you really over him, huh?"

His tone was nonchalant but his eyes were constantly shifting, emphasizing his curiosity. I had to wonder why but kept it to myself.

"Been over him."

My response was short and yet it expressed so much; my denial—no our denial (Logan's and myself), acknowledgement of past mistakes, and a message that clearly stated, 'I'm ready to move on.'

He nodded in understanding and the light from the bathroom illuminated his face, giving it an aura of mystery.

"How'd you guys meet, anyway?"

My eyes lit up at the memory. "I was low on cash, so I decided to get my cat suit out of the closet—"

"Wait a minute! You stole from—"

I silenced him with a look.

"For you information, Alec, like I said, 'I was low on cash.'" He was still astonished. "Besides," I continued forcibly, "it's not like he didn't get it back. But continuing on with the story, Logan caught me—"

Another disbelieving look.

"Well," I stuttered in a so-not-defensive manner, "I was getting cocky. Survived 10 years on the run; didn't think an ordinary could catch me. Plus, he had a state-of-the-art security system."

He smirked. "I didn't say anything, Max. It was all you."

"You want me to tell you the story or not?"

He gestured with his hands for me to continue.

I cleared my throat. "Anyway, he caught me and I got away…But then it turned out he'd been researching about Manticore and suspected me as one of the famed transgenics. So he tracked me down, met me at Jam Pony, and invited me to dinner."

"And of course you said yes?" Alec questioned with a raised brow.

I rolled my eyes. "He told me it would compensate for the whole 'stealing thing.' So, he takes me to his place and gets me talking. While I'm distracted, he gets a look at my barcode, and somehow talks me into staying. End of Story."

"End of story…" He repeated, incredulousness plainly written across his features.

"End of story," I told him resolutely.

We were quiet for a moment, each of us left to our own thoughts. After some time, Alec spoke, "Tell me something about how it was before the escape."

It wasn't a statement as much as it was a question. Unlike Logan, Alec understood how it was for us transgenics, to live in constant vigilance and fear.

After careful consideration, I nodded in acquiescence and began to tell my tale.

"I was the youngest one. Because of this, I guess you could say I was the favorite. Jondy was second youngest; that was partly the reason why we were so close. She and Ben were my constant companions. Zack was the leader of the group and he was familiar with everyone…but we had a different relationship." I paused, searching for the right words. "He was my guardian, if you will. Not that Zane, Krit, or Seth weren't protective, too. It's just that with Zack, it was more intense, less duty as it was need." I grew silent as a distant and bittersweet memory came and claimed me.

Flashback: (A/N: this is pretty long so I though italics might be a little inconvenient for you. sorry for the interlude)

"Maxie! Maxie!" I whipped my head around, towards the direction Seth's voice. I was just on my way to the Mess Hall and I could feel my stomach protesting as I stopped to wait for Seth.

"Hurry up!" I called to him as he walked in a pace that would do snails everywhere proud.

He only grinned and proceeded, if possible, to walk even slower.

I glared at him and was about to continue walking when his voice came again.

"Hold on, Maxie! You gottta wait!"

I glared at him fiercely. Finally, after a couple of seconds (he started running as soon as he saw me turn around) Seth arrived.

"I got a surprise for you," he said tauntingly, eyes alight with mischief.

I just stood there, glowering. "This better be good."

He nodded enthusiastically, which I found quite annoying.

"It is. Come on!" He gestured in the direction of the woods, opposite from the Mess Hall. Right away, I conveyed my objections.

"No way, Seth," I told him stubbornly. "I'm hungry." As if on cue, my stomach growled in protest. "See?"

He pouted and gave me the puppy-dog look. I deliberately turned away, knowing full well that I'd succumb if I didn't.

"Look at me, Maxie." He sounded so desperate that I had to turn around. Big mistake. His green eyes widened in the most adorable way and his hands were clasped in front of him in the most sincere manner. "Please?"

I sighed in defeat, disgusted with myself. "This better be quick," I griped at him.

He only laughed and took my hand, dragging me into the woods with him.

The branches clawed at me and mosquitoes were constantly swarming around me, in hopes of a good feed. But my reflexes were too quick, my smacks too accurate. They didn't stand a chance.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, we arrived in front of a clearing, where a lake sat waiting, incandescent in the opaque light of dusk. It was glassy and undisturbed, perfection waiting to be marred. I couldn't believe we hadn't found it earlier.

Seth seemed to read my mind. "This is a totally unexplored part of Manticore. We're not in training grounds anymore. It's actually a hunting ground for the other transgenics."

I looked at him confused. "You know," he waved his arms around, "where older X's hunt. Sometimes the trainers even use it, too."

This time, my hackles rose and refused to back down. But I kept my voice low, just in case. "You mean there might be other animals lurking out here and here we are, defenseless?"

He snorted derisively. "We're genetically-engineered, killing machines, Max. We're hardly defenseless." But I sensed an underlying awareness in his voice and his eyes shifted around the woods in careful attention.

Snap.

I distinctly heard the sound of a twig breaking and I instinctively crouched to a fighting stance. Beside me, Seth did the same. We were deathly quiet, our senses working in overdrive.

My ears honed in and placed it to somewhere along our right. I signaled for Seth to cover my back as I approach the source of noise.

Suddenly, a huge Grizzly emerged from the tangle of bushes, not 15 feet in front of me.

I froze, rooted to the spot. Oh, my God. I could feel fear bubbling up inside me. We could disable a bomb in under 10 seconds, disarm a man in even less, but we were not trained to be nature experts…and I definitely did not want to be the next Timothy Treadwell of our generation!

In fact, if it weren't for Trainer Banns, who'd shown us pictures of his kills, we wouldn't even know what a bear was. Apparently, that type of information was unnecessary for 9-year old would-be assassins.

I looked at Seth fearfully, who was signaling for me to blur. We were about to, too, when a second bear appeared. We smelled the air; it was mating season.

Oh, crap.

We didn't know a whole lot about nature, but Trainer Banns did give us a crash course on it once, after he'd gone on one of his many hunting expeditions. All we knew was this; animals get territorial and very aggressive during mating season, when their hormones were at their peak. Seth stood protectively in front of me.

I took a calming breath. We were faster than bears, right? I signaled for us to blur-climb towards the nearest tree, about 10 yards away. Damn this clearing. 3...2...1!

The bears were unaffected, just glancing around, trying to find us. Pretty soon, they were going to be able to detect our scents. Simultaneously, Seth and I jumped down from our perch and proceeded to run like crazy out of there. We'd been running for several torturous minutes when a jolting shock shook us from head to toe. We lay there on the ground, spasms running through our bodies.

It wasn't until some time later that we were able to get back towards the barracks. By then, it was completely dark and it was time to bunk down. We had hoped to arrive unnoticed but there was no such luck

Zack was jumping down our throats—well, Seth's throat, before one of us could even take a breather. Looking at a nearby mirror, I could see why.

We were a mess; twigs and various other unmentionables clung to my hair and my clothes were covered in dirt, just as my face was. Seth was in even worse condition. He had scrapes all along his body. But Zack didn't seem to care. All he saw was me…And then he directed all blame on Seth, not even stopping to consider that it was my fault. Of course, it never was. But still. He could have asked. By then, the rest of our unit had woken up and were looking warily at each other. Obligated, I put a hand to Zack's shoulder and fastened my doe-eyes on his.

"Could we please go to sleep?" I asked him using my most adorable voice.

Just like the mosquitoes from the forest, he didn't stand a chance. When morning came, the last night's incident was forgotten, though Zack still never fully trusted Seth alone with me ever again.

I never told a single soul about what really happened that night.

End Flashback

"So you never told anyone?"

Alec's pleased voice transported me to the present. I hadn't even realized I was talking the entire time.

"Nope, not even Ben and Jondy."

He was smiling, suddenly turning thoughtful.

"Did anything out of the ordinary happen after that night?"

That was an abrupt change.

"No…" My voice trailed off. Then my transgenic memory kicked into gear.

"…yeah. My brother, Seth, and I beat Zack in hand-to-hand combat."

His eyes widened and I could understand why. X5-599 was legendary, even now, in every aspect of military training. Then his eyes darkened in dawning.

"Max," he began excitedly, "did you and Seth experience any…mood swings during the days that followed?"

I racked my brain. "Oh, yeah. I remember Jondy accusing us of having PMS." My smile turned into a frown. "Why? What's so important about that?"

But he ignored me. "During or after the escape, did something extreme happen to you?"

"Except for the seizures and then falling into the ice? Not really."

He smiled victoriously. "Thought so."

I was impatient and determined to show it. "Alec, what the hell are you talking about?"

He only smiled again, his eyes dancing; he was clearly enjoying himself. I could feel my anger beginning to build up. Turns out my hormones weren't as controlled as I'd thought. Realizing this, Alec immediately stopped smiling and put up a placating hand.

"Whoa, Max. Chill out. I'll explain everything."

I felt myself simmer down and the air wasn't so heavy anymore. I smiled at Alec. "Go ahead."

He blinked and shook himself. "Umm..."

"You were about to exlain something?" I waited expectantly.

"Oh, right. Well, see I'm sensing a pattern here. You were shocked by an electric fence and you actually beat 59—I mean, Zack, and developed PMS. In addition, you were able to survive the ice and escape even after you got your seizures." I scowled at him but he was undeterred, "Then, you were hit by a lightning bolt and you suddenly turned superwoman and got P---ahem, moody."

"Wait, you're saying that every time I get shocked, powers appear? But that can't be right since, A: I only beat Zack once and that was it. And, B: I was shocked by that electric fence a couple of months before the escape."

"The bigger the shock, the longer the effects."

"So, you're saying one lightning bolt caused a mutation in my entire molecular structure, therefore, inducing the superwoman side-effect?"

"Well, when you put it in that way—"

I cut him off. "Besides, other transgenics have been tasered before and nothing like this has ever happened to them."

"Maybe you're different."

That unnerved me. His theory basically just proved my insecurities right. But I shrugged it off, burying it deep inside my heart and to the back of my mind. "Just let it go." My words left no room for argument. Calm down, Max.

He was considerably less excited but his eyes remained thoughtful. "You got to admit, it's an interesting theory, though."

I smirked at him. "Yeah, interesting theory."

He rolled his eyes at me. "I heard you loud and clear."

I let out a discreetly relieved sight. Things were back to normal.

I looked at the clock; it was 1:30. "I better go. Plus, I told Esphialte that we'd be at his apartment early today to help him settle in."

He groaned. "Why? Why, oh God, why me?"

I felt my mouth turn up into a smile. "It's because you're a dependable, loving, and not to mention, dazzlingly dashing friend who desperately tries to be a better person despite other people's recriminations."

For once, he was speechless.

I just grinned at him. "Don't worry, I'll let myself out."

"Oh, and Alec," I added right before I shut the door, "Mole and I'll see you there somewhere around eight…"

"…so don't forget to bring breakfast."

I closed the door just before a shoe was hurled my way.

A/N: yes, I know…it's just a filler but I wanted to write a little M/A segment there…

A/N: Please Review! Ideas are welcome and greatly appreciated or even just a simple 'hi' will suffice! Just please ReViEw!!!!!