And another chapter. I'm getting faster at the moment with updating but don't expect this to continue for too long (just enjoy it :)

Taeniaea: thanks again.

roseyangel: Glad you liked the last one. I won't forget about OC or Bling but for this chapter you'll have to do without them, sorry ;) Instead there's more about Manticore this time.

To all: Okay, let me warn you, this is not a nice chapter. It's about what happens to Max in PsyOps when Renfro is in charge of it. I hope you'll find it entertaining enough to leave me a review. Yeah, broad hint, I know ;)

Two months later

The black helicopter hovered for a moment in the air before it landed on Manticore's airfield. Three soldiers jumped out and made their way through the rain to the waiting van.

"You know, that sniper was really close", one of the soldiers – X5-494 – said when he got into the car. "We should have kept a greater distance."

"The distance was good." X5-451 started the engine. "Those Iranians still are terrible shots."

"Yeah, you would think they've learned something during the last decade but they're still shooting like they were in an amusement park", the only female soldier agreed with her CO. It was X5-154. She had grown up from the tiny girl she had been years ago and was now one of the X5 with the most outside experience. Her shoulder-length blonde hair and dark blue eyes stood in sharp contrast to the green cammo she wore but in a strange way this let her look even more attractive for any outsider. For 451 and 494 this was nothing new. 154 was their sister and they had been on many missions before. Seeing an attractive young woman in a battle dress was nothing new for them.

In the meantime they had arrived at the armory and got out. They handed over all of their weapons and ammunition to the Sergeant Major in charge and made their way to the debriefing with Major Coleman. The Major had been their instructor for most of their life whenever Lydecker wasn't around or occupied elsewhere. They trusted him and respected him for his behavior; he was always all military while around his X5 but they knew he respected them as soldiers as well and didn't punish them when not absolutely necessary. After the debriefing 154 and 494 left the room and 451 wanted to follow them and hit the showers but the Major held him back.

"451, the Colonel expects you in his office as soon as possible."

"Understood. Do you know why he wants to see me?" A few years ago even asking that question would have earned him severe punishment but during the last five or six years some of the instructors – the Colonel and Major Coleman in particular – had taught them to try and gain as much information as possible about a given order. This didn't mean the X5 started to question their orders but the learned that asking adequate questions in non-combat situations could provide them with useful information they would not have gotten otherwise. It had been strange at first that they were now allowed to ask questions but they had quickly learned what sort of question they could ask and when it was required to be quiet except for a 'yes sir!'.

Coleman shook his head. "No, just that you have to report there ASAP. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" 451 snapped at attention, saluted and waited for his superior to return the gesture before he turned on his heel and left the room.

While he made his way to Lydecker's office he was trying to find out why the Colonel wanted to see him. The mission had been a success and he usually would have to undergo several tests before Manticore would send him out again, just to be sure he was fully operational.

Which he was absolutely, by the way. He had made a full recovery from the Seattle incident and had been on top again within weeks. Only the fading scars on his right temple and his chest remembered him sometimes of that night when he had dangerously underestimated his target.

Target. That brought his thoughts back to his sister. X5-452 was still in PsyOps. She had been in there for two months now and he knew she would not be released for at least another five. Eventually her screaming had stopped for which he had been glad. That let him feel ashamed but hearing her tormented voice several hours each day had troubled him and also every other X5 who had been within earshot. They had been there, too. All of them after the '09 escape and some again after that because of mission failures or wrong behavior. They hated that place and almost all of them agreed that nobody deserved to be put in there, not even a '09er. And she was already the third of her unit who had to undergo that torture.

He shook his head and sighed silently; this was nothing he could change. When he arrived at the door to Lydecker's office he knocked slightly.

"Enter!"

He did as told and closed the door before standing at attention before his commanding officer.

"X5-451 reporting, sir!"

"At ease" Lydecker said without looking up from the notes on his desk. "How did the mission go?"

"We successfully neutralized the target, sir."

"Any complications?"

"We had to avoid several of their patrols and one sniper got quite close, but none of them was a real threat." 451 tried to sound all military but there was a slight undertone of pride in his voice. Lydecker suddenly looked up with a small smile on his face.

"Very good, soldier. Now, I'm sure you'd like to have a shower, a hot meal and some rack time but I do have another mission for you."

"Sir."

"It's quite difficult and has not been done before." Lydecker looked at him intensely. "It's not your usual 'area of operation'. You will have to improvise."

"I'm sure I can do it, sir."

The older man looked at the young X5 and smiled at his soldier's confidence.

"Good, that's what I wanted to hear. Now, as you certainly are aware of X5-452 is still undergoing reindoctrination. She is scheduled for another four months in PsyOps but I don't want to have another X5-734, that's why I want her to be released in three months from now on already. But this requires her to be ready in three months, you understand?"

451 nodded. X5-734 or Brin as she had called herself while outside Manticore had been the first of the three recaptured '09 escapees so far. PsyOps had taken such a toll on her she was now almost unable of independent actions, at least not to the amount the usual X5 should be capable of. Sure, she was loyal and efficient but she would never again be of use for deep covert operations or combat operations that required being alone in the field for several days or even weeks. They had been better with the second one but it had been mere luck. Of course the Colonel wanted to prevent 452 to become like 734, too.

"What do I have to do, sir?"

"Talk to her, try to find out what she's so reluctant of letting go her old life. Or why she hates the thought of coming back to us so much. PsyOps tried to find that out for weeks, but they don't have a clue, yet.

The X5 wasn't sure what he should think of this new order. On the one hand he was looking forward to see his sister again but on the other one he dreaded going down there, he dreaded what he would find.

"Sir" he answered hesitantly, not wanting to displease his superior, "With all due respect but I'm not sure if this is a good idea. After all I'm responsible for her being here again."

"And that's exactly why I want you to do it. I have a backup plan, too, but I think it would be best if she has somebody to talk to she already knows and you're the best choice at the moment. And besides that, you're identical to her on a genetic level; this might help you finding out what she's thinking."

"What about the other '09er." 451 was clearly not comfortable with the idea of seeing his sister while she was still in PsyOps. It would be hard enough after her release. "She would know her better than I do."

"Do you have a problem with this order, soldier?" Lydecker was now staring at him and his face hardened. Sure, Manticore had changed but this was still a military operation and he would not allow his subordinates to question or even refuse obeying orders.

451 recognized the change in his CO and straightened up. "Sir, no sir!"

"Good, then you will do as you are told. They should have finished the latest session about now so you can go there, I already informed the head scientist. Report to me today at 1900. Dismissed!"

451 saluted and quickly left the room. Once outside he had to breathe deeply and tried to calm down a little. He had to be more careful. It was hard for him and his fellow X5 to know when they could talk about their orders with the instructors and when they had to keep their mouths shut. How the hell did the ordinary soldiers do that, he was asking himself. After all they hadn't been trained their whole life to be soldiers like he had been.

He shook his head again and started walking. He only encountered one instructor and two scientists on his way down to the basement. Once there he stopped and looked around. Yes, just like he remembered it. It looked just like the rest of the base, only the lights seemed to be a little bit more dim, the air a little bit thicker. He felt his pulse quicken and remembered when he had been down here the last time, almost ten years ago. Slowly he made his way towards the section where PsyOps was located. More and more images flashed through his mind.

Cold and hard restraints biting into his flesh while he tried to get free in panic

"Is that your barcode? ANSWER ME!"

Needles and knives tearing through his flesh

Chemistry unknown to him rushing through his veins, bringing him to a new level of pain

The red laser tearing into his eye

People with black masks hitting him until he lost consciousness

The pictures of the escapees

TRAITOR

RAT

DESERTER

The sound of 154 crying from weakness and pain on the examination table next to him

DUTY DISCIPLINE MISSION

The wetness of his own tears on his face

His own voice begging his tormentors to stop

He stopped in his tracks and shook his head, feeling slightly dizzy. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure.

At least the physically worst part would be over for his sister already. The invasive actions, the beatings, the knives…they were only used during the first week, twelve days at a max, after that it was mostly drug induced hallucinations or the infamous laser. The pain was necessary to weaken the person before the real process of reindoctrination could start. After that it wasn't nice at all but it was bearable once you made it through the first week and the physical part was over.

Just when he continued walking the door at the end of the corridor opened and three men in guard uniforms left the room. But they were not the common Manticore guards. PsyOps had his own chain of command and since the '09 escape they didn't answer to the Colonel anymore but directly to Director Renfro. They were despised throughout the whole facility, not even Manticore black ops wanted to have to do anything with them.

"What are you doing here?" one of them asked menacingly when they came closer.

"Colonel Lydecker sent me. I have to talk to X5-452."

"It's all right, Steve, let him come in" one of the scientists shouted from the room.

The guard – Steve – just nodded and the three men walked past him. The young X5 could smell blood on them and it was not their own. He frowned and felt slightly disturbed. Something wasn't right, he thought when he entered PsyOps. Inside were only two scientists.

"We just finished with her, she's all yours" one of them said. "Her next session is in two hours. You can clean her up while you're here. Come on, Brian, let's give the children some private time."

The two men in their white coats left and closed the door. If they had known that it took 451 every ounce of self-discipline he had not to attack them right there they would have hurried to get out of that room instead of just walking.

When they were gone the X5 turned towards the only table that was occupied at the moment. A green curtain prevented him from seeing what was behind it but he already knew. With every step he took towards it the smell of blood, sweat and fear became more obvious. Something was wrong, terribly wrong. He briefly closed his eyes before he pushed the curtain aside.

A second later he wished he had not. It was one thing to suspect what had happened, it was a totally different thing to actually see it.

His sister lay on that table unconscious, the restraints still in place. The last time he had seen her her skin had been tanned; now it was in a sickly grey color. On her face, legs and arms he could see cuts and bruises, lots of them. Some of them blue or dark purple, others almost black and he knew the rest of her body didn't look any better. Her left eye was so swollen she would not even be able to open it if she wanted to. There was half-dried blood all over her skin and her gown and he could see the traces of tears on her cheeks.

This was wrong, this was so wrong. It had not been like that before, she hadn't been in here just for days or a week, she'd been here for two months, for god's sake, she should not anymore…

He stood there in shock for several seconds. How could they – how could anyone – do such a thing? But then again he remembered that they were nothing but meat in PsyOps' eyes. That thought let his rage against those scientists almost boil over but he managed to control himself. There were more important things to do now.

There was an IV-needle in her arm. He took it out, knowing that it was only pumping more drugs into her bruised body. He also took the rubber gag out of her mouth, tossing it aside. Carefully he loosened the restraints. There was blood on her wrists and ankles, too. He really tried not to hurt her further but suddenly she stirred.

"Don't…please." It was nothing. Not even a whisper. She only moved her swollen lips; she was too weak to actually pronounce the words.

"Shh, don't talk" he whispered to her in a soothing voice. "I'm not gonna hurt you. It's me, 451."

She moved her head a little but did not open her eyes.

"It's Wolf" he tried again forgetting about all the danger that came with using his name here in Manticore's heart itself, "your brother."

She finally opened her right eye and looked at him, her gaze unfocused, and it almost broke his heart when he saw all the despair, pain and fear that was there. He felt his own eyes starting to burn but he quickly forced his tears back. It was not his turn to feel helpless; he had to be strong for her now. She tried to say something but only managed to make a choking sound.

"Don't talk", he warned her again. "Wait."

He left her side and came back with a glass of water. He held it to her lips, much like she had done it all those weeks before in Seattle.

"It's water", he said in a low voice. "You must drink."

She obliged but started to cough after the first gulp. He took the glass away and could do nothing but wait until the coughing stopped. It made him feel almost physically in pain that he couldn't do anything while she was lying there, trying to calm down. When the coughing had stopped he tried again.

"Here. Easy now."

This time she drank more slowly and managed to empty the whole glass. He put it down and took a clean towel and poured some antiseptic on it.

"This could hurt a little bit, but I have to clean your wounds", he warned and looked at her apologetically. To his surprise she looked at him and her eyes seemed to be much more vivid than minutes before. He wondered how long those bastards hadn't given her anything to drink. Finally she nodded.

When he touched her first she hissed through clenched teeth but didn't move; she was too weak. He worked as quickly and carefully as he could but when he had cleaned and disinfected the cuts on her limbs and her face she was crying again. Silently, not making a sound but there were tears streaming down her cheeks again. He tossed the towel aside and did something he couldn't have imagined of ever doing: He slid his arms under her and lifted her off that cursed table as slowly as he could. She moaned in pain from the movement. When he was finally sitting on the floor with his back against the wall he tried to cover her body with a blanket that lay nearby.

When she was huddled up against him with her head against his chest she suddenly started shaking. He looked at her and already thought that she had a seizure when she started sobbing.

It was too much for the battle hardened soldier. All the pain, despair and fear radiating from her broke something in him and he felt his own tears dwell up. In this moment he wasn't a CO anymore, not an X5 or a soldier, he was just a brother who held his tormented sister in his arms and he felt that he was responsible for everything that had happened to her here. If only he hadn't brought her back!

"I'm so sorry" he whispered again and again. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know…it was never like that…I didn't…they shouldn't…I'm so sorry, Max, I'm so sorry…"

After minutes that felt like hours she finally calmed down. When the shaking had stopped he almost thought she had fallen asleep when she suddenly moved and tried to look at him.

"Wolf?" she asked him through tears, her voice barely audible. "Why are they doing this?"

"I don't know." He looked at her with pleading eyes a single tear running down his cheek. Never before he had felt so helpless; every sort of training he had received didn't help him and he didn't care either what Manticore would want him to do now. All that mattered was his sister. "I didn't know they would…please forgive me…forgive me…I didn't know…I didn't know…I'll make it okay…make it okay…please forgive me…"

They just sat there like that until she finally fell asleep.

Two hours later the doors suddenly opened and the two scientists along with the three PsyOps guards entered. When they saw the two X5 huddled up against each other they were surprised at the first moment, then one of the men in the white coats spoke in a stern voice:

"Why did you take her off the table? You had no order to do that! Get her back up there!"

Wolf looked at them with pure hatred in his eyes. He carefully stood up and positioned his sister against the wall so she wouldn't fall. She woke up in the process and her eyes darted back and forth between the five men and her brother.

"Wolf?" He could hear the rising panic in her voice but he had to concentrate on the guards now. He rose to full height and stood between her and the men before him, not saying a word.

"I said: get her back up!" The scientist angrily took a step towards Max but stopped dead in his tracks when a threatening and feral growl escaped the X5's throat.

"What the hell…" one of the guards said, bewildered by the young soldier's behavior.

"Well, I always told you they're nothing more than trained animals" the second scientist said after a short pause; then walked past his colleague and the guards towards Wolf and Max. "Make way, soldier, we will take care of her now!"

Wolf violently pushed him back. He stumbled over a small table and fell to the ground.

"Don't you dare touching her ever again!" the male X5 roared getting into his fighting stance.

The three guards drew their taser guns – each of them had two – and aimed at him while the first scientist was talking to somebody on the phone, probably asking for reinforcements.

"Stand down, soldier!" the leader of the small guard group shouted but Wolf only stared at him, waiting for them to make the next move. There was not much logic in his actions anymore; he couldn't take on three armed guards at once and then hope nobody would come to their aide. But it didn't matter, all he knew at the moment was that he mustn't let anyone come near Max.

Suddenly the door flew open again and three X5 poured into the room. The first was 301 followed by 494 and 154. Wolf quickly looked at them and the three guards took this as a sign to attack and fired their tasers; he managed to evade one of them but got hit by the others. Waves of electricity tore through his body. He fell to the ground screaming in pain, his vision blurred and he almost lost consciousness. Suddenly he heard more shouting, glass crashing and then suddenly the pain stopped. Strong hands lifted him up and dragged him away and out of the room. When he finally had regained his senses he was already outside the reindoctrination room. 494 and 154 were dragging him through the corridor and 301 was behind them acting like she was covering a retreat during battle.

"Let me down" he managed to say and his two fellow X5 let him carefully sink to the ground. He looked around frantically. "What happened?"

"PsyOps called for reinforcements" 494 explained. He looked confused. "When we entered the room the guards fired on you. We pushed them aside and carried you out of there. What were you doing in there anyway?"

"What? Wait…that means she's still in there?" He got to his feet at once and wanted to run to the now closed door but 301 and 154 blocked his way, holding him back.

"Let me go!" he growled but the two young women had no intention of doing so. They were already in trouble for having attacked the guards; they would not let him go back there.

"They've sealed themselves inside, you won't get in", 301 hissed angrily. What was going on with her partner? "Goddammit, will you calm down! Wolf!"

That last word brought him back to reality. He stopped struggling and took a few steps back, breathing heavily. The three X5 breathed a sigh of relief but kept their guard up. They all knew their CO was a force to be reckoned with especially when he was angry; and he seemed to be a lot more than just angry at the moment.

"Are you wounded? You've got blood on you." 154 finally asked. She sniffed. "Not yours."

"Go to the barracks", Wolf finally ordered like he hadn't heard her. "Wait for me there."

"Where are you going?" The young blond woman looked a little bit intimidated, never before she had seen her brother so angry.

"The Colonel."

And with that he darted off towards his CO's office. He didn't stop at the curious looks of any instructor or soldier standing by and didn't even bother knocking instead just opened the door and stormed into Lydecker's room. The Colonel was on the phone and looked up, first surprised, then angry.

"I will call you back", he said into the phone and then hung up. "I hope for you that you have a very good explanation for your behavior, 451."

"Colonel, due all your respect: We need to talk. Now!"

Like I said, it's not a nice chapter but hey, you all know the raiting.

Well, it was an all Wolf/Max chapter but don't worry, I didn't forget about Logan, OC and all the others. And of course you'll see what Lydecker's going to do.

Okay, let me know what you think, please!