A/n: Thanks for your reviews, guys. Apparently Reilynn likes being corrupted; she's given me full permission to be evil again. Although probably not this evil.
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Chapter 19: Hell Hath No Fury…
The other transgenics and Logan formed a rough ring around the two women as Max and Thula circled one another warily, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
"No one interfere," said Max. "This is between me and her."
Thula cracked. She sprang forward, her fist flying towards Max's face. The X5 ducked easily under the blow, turning as she did to plant a well-aimed elbow into her opponent's midriff. Thula tried to seize her by the throat but Max was too fast for her; all she got for her efforts was a few strands of dark hair.
"Come on, bitch," said Max. "Is that all you got?" A primal growl came from Thula's throat as she attacked again. This assault was too fast to see; all Logan could make out was a blur of blows and blocks among a swirl of hair, black and red mingling until he could no longer tell where one finished and the other began.Thula managed to get past Max's guard, kicking her in the stomach and sending her to the floor. "You spoke too soon, 452," she said with a smirk. "Logan belongs to me."
Max rolled over, getting up onto her elbows. Her dark eyes burned as she spoke to her rival through a curtain of hair. "Like hell he does, familiar," she spat, jumping up from the floor. She performed a perfect flip over Thula's head, twisting in the air so she was facing her enemy's back on landing. Then Max lashed out, kicking Thula in the back of one knee and getting her in a headlock as it buckled. "Give up yet?"
"Never," gasped Thula, smashing her head backwards into Max's face. The X5 was forced to release her and they closed again, each of them determined to defeat her opponent and claim the prize.
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Normal was met by Sketchy outside Sebastian's place. "Do we have any word on Max yet?" He asked anxiously.
"Dunno, man, Cindy made me wait out here for you. Come on, I'm as worried as you are." Sketchy led Normal inside, the older man looking around at the laboratory surroundings with confusion.
"What is this place?" He asked.
"Belongs to one of Logan's friends. He's been helping Max out with some stuff…" Sketchy was drowned out by what was clearly Original Cindy's voice.
"You did what!" The two of them hurried around the corner as Sandeman tried to reply, looking decidedly unsettled. Sketchy could see why; Cindy was right up in his face, hands on hips, looking up at the old man with a glare that could cut through steel.
"The colonel was really the only person I could send… we need to find someone very urgently and he knows where she is…"
"Cindy, we had to," said the computerised voice of Sebastian.
"You let that murderin military son of a bitch out of your sight, knowin what he's capable of, Sebastian. Don't think I won't kick your ass because of that chair; it never helped Logan any."
"Uh, guys?" Said Sketchy timidly. Everyone turned to look at him. "What's going on?"
"What's goin on is that these two let Lydecker blaze," snapped Original Cindy.
"We had good reason," said Sandeman. "If you'll let me get a word in edgeways."
"Ok, shoot," said Cindy, throwing up her hands and stalking away to flop into a chair, arms folded. "But it had better be good."
"As yet, we have no word from the battlefield on whether Max has survived or not," Sandeman said, in the tone of one who has been trying to explain this for some time. "And if she dies, the rest of the human race is doomed, apart from the familiars and the transgenics."
"Tell us something we don't know," said Cindy.
"However, there is a chance that one other individual may be able to fulfil the same purpose I designed Max for."
"Who?" Asked Sketchy.
"The surrogate who carried her to term."
There was a long, shocked pause.
"You're saying that the antibodies may have been exchanged during the pregnancy?" Said Sebastian.
"In theory, it's possible. The antibodies that produce the enzyme to destroy the poison are an intrinsic part of Max's physiology. It's common for the mother's antibodies to be passed to the foetus in utero; there's no reason why it couldn't happen the other way around."
"But I thought Max had to be exposed to the poison before she started to make the cure," said Cindy, confused.
"The antibodies make the cure when exposed to the poison," explained Sandeman. "But the antibodies themselves are always present in the bloodstream. Anyone who has had blood to blood contact with Max will have them."
"Then Logan does too," Cindy told him. "She gave him a blood transfusion once."
"We may well need all three of them," said Sandeman gravely. "If the coming is too soon… it could be not even Max will be able to stop it."
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Watching Max fight for her life on his account was more than Logan could stand. He took Thula's gun from Joshua and aimed it at the two women, but they were moving so fast that he couldn't fire without risking hitting his love.
Then Thula managed to get a grip on her enemy and slammed Max into the floor on her back. She drew back a foot to kick her prone rival in the ribs as Logan took his chance and shot her in the shoulder. The familiar spun from the force of the bullet but managed to stay on her feet.
Max took her chance to stand as Thula clutched at her wound, staring at Logan in disbelief. "But…" she managed, blood pouring through her fingers. "But why? We were destined to be together…"
"I've never been big on destiny," said Logan. "I always preferred to make my own decisions. Max, are you ok?"
"Apart from being pissed, I'm fine. What happened to 'the universe is right on schedule'?"
"I did say I wasn't into figuring out why bad things happen."
"I told you not to interfere, Logan."
"You really think I could just stand there and watch you get hurt when I could stop it?"
"You thought I'd lose to that?"
"No, I just like your face the shape it is. Thula, leave now and we won't stop you."
"Speak for yourself," said Max.
"Hey, she did save my life, remember. We owe her the same courtesy."
Max rolled her eyes. "Would it kill you not to be noble for once?"
"I did just shoot an unarmed woman who I've been leading on for the last couple of weeks."
Max sighed. "Ok. Thula, get out of my face and we won't kill you."
"And go where? You and your freak friends have just destroyed my home; my people…"
"Look, honey," said Max. "Either you haul your muscle-bound ass the hell out of here or we kill you. What's it gonna be?"
In answer, Thula dived towards Max, determined to kill her. But in her rage she had forgotten all else.
Logan shot her in the chest and the familiar collapsed at Max's feet.
"Come on," said Max, looking down at Thula with something close to pity. "We need to go meet up with Alec." She took Logan's hand and pulled him away, followed by the rest of her team.
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Alec poked his head around a corner, pulling back quickly as bullets sprayed the wall. He poked his gun around instead and began to fire blindly down the corridor.
"Damn," he exclaimed, as the ammo ran dry. "Hey, kid! Need a reload up here." The X6 behind him passed his leader a new magazine. Even as he did, Alec heard a faint tinkling sound. A grenade rolled along the floor and into view. "Down!" He yelled, pulling the X6 with him to the ground.
The fireball rolled over them, filling the corridor with the smell of singed hair. Alec beat out the small fire in his jacket and spoke to the boy beside him. "That was a close one, huh, kid? Kid?" He shook the boy gently and then noticed the piece of shrapnel embedded in his neck, obliterating his barcode. The boy had died instantly.
Alec stood slowly. "Everyone else all right?" He asked his team. There was a chorus of assent. "Good." He took two grenades of his own from his belt and stuck them together with a lump of C4. "Then let's have ourselves some payback." He pulled out the pins and hurled the makeshift missile towards the familiars sheltering behind a table at the end of the next corridor.
It flew over their heads and landed in what was, unbeknown to Alec, the familiar's main arsenal. They'd eventually managed to prise it open despite the fact that Logan had locked the door down.
The explosion ripped through the building, making it shake ominously as the walls began to collapse.
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Evil Cliffhanger Woman is back with a vengeance! (Insert evil laughter here; I can't spell it.)