Yup, I'm getting faster, but as I said, don't get used to this. I'm getting new recruits today and well...let's just say they're always trouble at the beginning ;)

Taeniaea: Thanks again, you're one of the fastest each time :)

Alan Grey: There you are again! It's always a pleasure to read your reviews. Sniper's the right word for Logan at the moment, you'll find out why in this chapter. Sorry about the other 09er, you're all wrong. You'll find out in this chapter, too. About Lydecker and Wolf: I always thought that a good leader is one that demands much from you but never somebody who wants to break you. I try to make both of them a little bit like that. And Renfro? Let's just say she will be in trouble during the next chapters. I'm still thinking about all the other suggestions you made so far and I haven't decided yet. Sorry about that but I will need some time, hope you don't feel insulted! ;) Hope to read a review from you again soon! Thank you very much!!

Divine Fighter: Yeah, I really am trying not to make Wolf one of the bad guys, he's Max biological brother, after all, he can't be that bad, can he ;) Yes, there will be something about Brin, but not yet. Just a little patience, please! Thank you again!

To say Donaly Lydecker was furious would have been the understatement of the century. The man storming through the grey corridors of Manticore was boiling with rage. He had been angry with 451 to have stormed into his office without warning and had already thought about putting him in PsyOps along with Max; enough was enough, he had given some freedom to his soldiers but there were things that just couldn't be tolerated. Upon seeing the serious face of his top operator he had changed his mind and decided to listen what the young X5 had to say. He had been skeptical at first but when the young man had finished his face had been red with anger and he knew if only half of the things his soldier had told him were true heads would roll. Literally.

Now he was on his way to PsyOps and the three X5 who were with him had to watch it if they wanted to keep up with him; on his left was 451. The CO of unit two, Max's future unit, had a stone cold expression on his face and didn't look left or right once. The blond 154 marched to his right and seemed to be nervous. She didn't show it but Lydecker knew the youngest member of unit two hated being in unknown situations. Nevertheless he needed her to take care of Max if she was really injured as badly as 451 had described it and Lydecker didn't doubt it one second; the boy had never lied to him.

Behind him he could hear the steady steps of 301. He had argued with himself if he really wanted her to be on this weird sort of mission but decided she would be the best choice to handle 451 if he would go off the rails.

The older man felt something else under his boiling rage. Fear. Renfro had assured him Max would undergo exactly the same procedure like 210 but apparently that bitch had lied. Again. He was afraid that there had already been done too much damage to his Max; that she would never be the same again. Or that she would even…

No! He violently shook his head. He wouldn't even think about that. He would make sure she would be alright!

They entered the basement and marched towards the still closed door of the reindoctrination room. The head scientist had told him on the phone that they had sealed themselves in and would only open to him. When they reached the door the small group stopped.

"Now" Lydecker began in his best command voice. "I want everybody to be clear about this. We will enter that room and you will do nothing if not ordered by me, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the three X5 answered in unison.

"Good. 154, as soon as we get in there you are to take care of 452. You will not leave her side until I tell you to, got it?"

"Loud and clear, Colonel." The blond girl nodded and seemed to grow more confident. She was her unit's official medic and this was a job perfectly made for her.

"451 and 301 you are only here to provide assistance to 154 if she needs it. Don't do anything else unless I say so, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir!" Kyla replied and looked to her partner for confirmation.

"451?"

"Crystal, sir." Wolf's voice was blank of any emotion and he looked at the Colonel with cold eyes. He wouldn't do anything out of his own motivation but he was looking forward to one of the five bastards in that room to do something stupid.

Lydecker nodded after some seconds and turned towards the intercom left to the door and pressed a button. He waited a few moments for the connection to establish.

"PsyOps, this is Lydecker. I'm standing before the door, open up!"

"Is that really you, sir?" came the doubtful answer from one of the guards seconds later.

"Yes, it's me, open the door, dammit!"

The three X5 exchanged surprised glances; they didn't hear the Colonel cursing often.

A few seconds later they heard somebody approaching the door and several locks being unlocked before one of the scientists, the one Wolf had attacked earlier, opened the door a little. He smiled relieved when he saw the Colonel but his expression changed to a more anxious one when he saw Wolf standing there, too.

"Colonel, I…" he began but was cut off by a very impatient Lydecker who just took a step forward and pushed the door fully open.

"Just shut up and let me in" the older man snarled forcing his entry. Inside the other scientist and the three guards were looking at him with relief and expectation but they straightened up when they saw the three X5 following him.

"Colonel, why…" the guard leader began but like before Lydecker interrupted him.

"What do you not understand when I say 'shut up'? That goes for all of you! Now, where is she?"

When none of the five men answered seemingly too puzzled by the Colonel's behavior Wolf pointed towards the closed curtain. 154 understood well enough and made her way over there. When she opened the curtain a little everyone in the room could hear her gasp.

"I'm gonna need some help" she called out after a few seconds. "301, can you come over here?"

"Coming" Kyla said and left the Colonel's side. When she reached the examination table Wolf heard her murmur: "What the hell…?"

"Colonel, what are you doing?" the leading scientist addressed Lydecker. "X5-452 has been placed under the command of PsyOps."

"And she will be placed here again if the accusations I've heard earlier prove to be false." The head of the Wyoming facility looked at the man in his white coat coldly. From the corner of his eyes he could see Kyla lifting up Max and walking towards the door with 154 behind her. One of the guards took a step forward to hold her back but Wolf was quickly to step in between them. Astonished the man stumbled back and reached for his baton but froze when he saw the grim smirk on the X5's face.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you" the Colonel said icily. The guard looked at him and finally stepped back. "Some of my soldiers will escort you to your quarters; until they arrive you will stay in this room. Good evening, gentleman!"

He signed Wolf to get out and followed the two female X5. Both were waiting for them in the corridor with Kyla still having Max in her arms. The Colonel approached her and looked at the unconscious form of his child. Max's body was wrapped in a blanket but the bruises on her face and the wounds on her ankles and feet told him enough.

"How is she" he asked 154 in a hoarse voice. The blond X5 looked at him with incertitude and shook her head.

"Her pulse is low and from I can say until now she has several rips. I'm not sure but there may be some internal bleeding, too. Sir, she needs immediate medical attention"

"Bring her to the medical wing and assist Doctor Cottle if needed. 301, you go with her and secure the door. Nobody gets in except the medical staff or people who are with me, is that clear?"

"All clear, Colonel!" The short haired woman nodded towards 154 and together they ran towards sickbay.

"Colonel, I…" Wolf began but Lydecker nodded already.

"I know what you want to say. You're with 301 tonight, go!"

Wolf nodded shortly and raced after the others. Lydecker watched him leaving and shook his head. That boy certainly cared about those under his command and every other X5, too.

He felt like screaming at the top of his lungs but his military training held the rage against the ones who had hurt his Max and the fear he felt for his child at bay. He sighed frustrated and made his way to his office. There were some calls to be made. That thought brought a grim smile to his lips. It was payback time!

In Seattle Logan was sitting in his office and spoke into the camera:

"…exact location and the officials behind project Manticore are yet to be revealed but they cannot hide forever."

He turned off the camera and was about to begin editing the recording when somebody behind him cleared his throat. He turned around to see Original Cindy standing in the doorway.

"Hey, OC" he smiled, "I didn't hear you. How are you?"

"You seemed to be quite occupied", she nodded towards his computers. "So, you're going public?"

"Yeah, I think it's time to start the action" Logan meant with a sly grin and wheeled himself out of the office towards the kitchen. "Why? Do you think it's too early?"

"I don't know; you have more experience on that field."

Logan looked at his friend and couldn't help but continue grinning. It had been about two months now since he had told OC everything he knew about Manticore and the X5. Of course the woman had been incredulous and skeptical at the beginning, had almost hit him when she had heard the first time her best friend should be a genetically enhanced killing-machine, but when he had showed her some of his records and revealed to her that he was Eyes Only she had started to believe him. With enough time she had also remembered some occasions when Max had acted in ways an ordinary human being would or could not. It had been strange at first. That girl had been her friend for years and had never told her about her true nature. Of course OC felt a little bit offended for her friend's lack of trust but then again when thinking about it long enough she also saw why Max had never told her. People were afraid of things they didn't know or couldn't understand. She being a lesbian knew that better than almost anybody else.

So she became a member of the Eyes Only informant network. Whenever she wasn't working for Jam Pony she came to the Foggle Towers and helped Logan in his search for their friend. The poor guy spent almost all of his time looking for her. He had almost forgotten about all his other work until one day that woman from the S1W – Asha – had called and asked what was going on. Since then he had even doubled his work: On the one hand he still spent hours, days even weeks for his search for Max but on the other hand he had continued his crusade as Eyes Only. Asha had been right; if he stopped making his appearance as cyber-journalist and then suddenly came up with the Manticore story after months of silence it would be obvious for every Manticore operator – at least for the ones that had seen him and Max together – who Eyes Only really was and he would be dead within hours. So Logan had – with the help of Bling, OC, Asha and his informants – continued his never-ending fight against crime, corruption and injustice to keep his cover intact while frantically searching for the friend he had lost.

"Where's Bling?" OC suddenly asked while Logan was making coffee.

"Shopping." That short answer earned him a muffled laugh and he looked at Max's former co-worker with another sly grin. "Hey, even Eyes Only has to eat sometimes."

"Glad you finally remembered that", OC retorted suddenly looking more serious. During the first weeks that boy had barely eaten and was quickly falling apart until she, Asha and Bling had helped him back on his feet. Or, well, back into that exoskeleton of his. He noticed her serious glance and nodded.

"I know I haven't been too easy to be around the last few weeks. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Original Cindy understands. After all you were always trying to get my boo out of that hole", Cindy tried to lighten the mood. "Had any luck?"

"Nope. They really are good when it comes to that hiding thing. I've got a piece here and another one there but nothing really useful. That's part of why I want to go public with this now. Perhaps it will make them nervous enough to make a mistake." He handed her over a cup of hot coffee.

"Let's hope so." OC took a few sips and suddenly had a very pleased look on her face. "Why didn't I know earlier that being and top secret Eyes Only operative has so many advantages?"

"Like?"

"Fresh coffee", she answered almost dreamily. "You have no idea but I think I'm addicted to this stuff by now."

"Just make sure you never come near his fridge then" an amused voice from the door suddenly said, "or you'll eat yourself to death."

"Bling!" OC exclaimed happily and embraced the big man in a tight hug. She was still strictly into women only but if she would have the choice Bling would be her brother for a long time by now. She had liked that man with his calm and congenial behavior from the beginning and was always glad to see him. "It's been some time!"

"Hey there!" he laughed. "You alright?"

"Of course! Just unnerving your boss! The usual."

"I'm sure of that. Logan? I saw Asha on the market. She told me she had something about that judge the two of you are after."

"Great!" Logan sighed rubbing his eyes. Now his report about Manticore would have to wait even longer. It was one thing to know that what he was doing was the right thing but actually doing it while knowing Max back in that personal hell of hers was just…he sighed again.

OC felt his inner turmoil and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Easy there, superboy. We will get her out."

He looked at her and then at Bling who was eyeing him sympathetically before he finally nodded. "Yeah, we will get her out. Okay, Bling, what did she say?"

Max slowly opened her eyes but all she could see was a blurry white. White? She suddenly felt confused. PsyOps wasn't white. It was all grey and cold but she didn't feel cold either. She felt warm and comfortable like that table under her had suddenly become very soft. She blinked a few times until her eyes adjusted to the bright light. She wasn't in PsyOps anymore, or at least it didn't look like PsyOps. She was lying in a bed with a thick blanket covering her body. The room was small but bigger than the cell the guards had brought her to between the sessions and it didn't smell of blood and fear. On the wall were several x-ray pictures and besides the bed were several monitors. She tried to move but found out that she was still in restraints. It didn't bother her anymore, she was almost used to them now, but they were not like the black restraints that had been used on her during all those weeks. Sure, they held her in place but they didn't hurt.

Suddenly she heard footsteps approaching and felt her pulse rise again. They were here again! They would hurt her again and she still had no possibility of escape. Outside the door she heard a man saying something but it didn't sound like one of the scientists or guards that had come to her until now. The door opened and a man in a white coat she had never seen before entered and closed the door behind him. He had white hair and his face proved of a hard life, yet his eyes seemed kind. But Max did not let her be fooled again. She had a minute tops before he would start hurting her. She tried to get up and away but the restraints held her back and suddenly her whole body was in pain. She hissed through clenched teeth and fell back onto the bed.

"Now, now!" the white haired man said in a mixture of slight annoyance and concern. "It's a little bit too early for you to get up, young lady."

She looked at him but didn't make a sound. During the last two months she had learned that speaking only meant more pain, more beating, more cutting. She had sworn to herself not to show her fear but that had been in another life, when she had been Max Guevara. Now she even had problems sometimes to remember that name. She looked at the man and her eyes held the fear of what he would do to her. She could do nothing, couldn't move, couldn't defend herself, the restraints made sure of that.

He looked at her for some seconds until he spoke again.

"My name is Doctor Cottle, I'm the head physician of this facility. I'm not PsyOps." His voice was deep and gruff but she couldn't help but thinking about this man to be much more comforting than anyone in PsyOps had been. But she kept looking at him with distrust. He continued. "I'm here to help you. I know it's hard to believe for you after what you've been through, but I really do. You've been here for two days now, since your fellow X5 brought you in."

Fellow X5? She didn't know anyone here? Or did she? The last days were nothing but a blur to her.

"You have three broken rips and a concussion. Other than that you had countless bruises and cuts all over your body when they brought you in." He had turned towards the x-rays on the wall but now turned towards her again. "Don't worry, we were able to fix all of your broken bones and with enough time your body should be able to heal completely." He looked at her intensely but Max saw something in his eyes she had almost forgotten it existed. Sympathy. "Now, I'm really sorry for what happened to you and I want you to know that neither I nor anyone of my staff knew of what they were doing to you down there until they brought you here. But we are in charge of you now and I will assure you get the best care possible. But for that I have to examine you, you understand?"

Max just kept staring at him without moving. After a few seconds of silence Cottle smiled sadly.

"I see you're still afraid of me. Don't worry, I understand. Now, as you must know, Colonel Lydecker gave the order that nobody is allowed to do anything without your approval. So, if I will approach you now it is only because I have to check on your IV. I will not do anything further without you saying yes, is that okay for you?"

Lydecker ordered such a thing? It did sound so ludicrous she almost believed it to be true. But that man seemed so nice. None of the PsyOps people had ever talked to her like that and if he was PsyOps why should he bother asking for her permission? She bit on her lip and looked at him with sudden incertitude.

"Did you understand, 452?" he asked again when she didn't answer. "If you don't want me to do that it's okay, I will leave and come back later when you feel better about it. But your injuries need medical attention."

She shot him an incredulous glance. He really seemed to be serious.

"Did you understand, what I said, 452? If you don't want me to do it I will go now. What do you say?"

She watched him for a few more seconds until she finally nodded reluctantly. What could he do with the IV and anyway, what could she do to stop him.

"Okay", he smiled reassuringly and approached her slowly trying not to scare her further. Her eyes followed every movement he made. He checked if the IV was still in place and the medicaments flowing as they should. When he checked the needle in her arm and touched her she jerked and whimpered slightly. He took a step back and held his arms up like in surrender.

"I'm sorry; I didn't want to scare you." He paused and waited until she had calmed down before he spoke again: "Now, I have to check on the injuries on your limbs. I will have to remove the blanket but I will put it back as soon as I'm finished. You okay with that?"

It took her less time to nod this time but she still was reluctant. When he took the blanket away she could see that she wore another nightgown that went down almost to her knees, but this one wasn't blood stained and it smelled like it had been fresh out of the laundry only hours ago. Still, she felt very vulnerable like that, tied down and almost unable to move but somehow she felt a very slight confidence towards the older doctor. He didn't touch her this time, just looked at the injuries very closely. She lifted her head and took a look at her arms and legs. What she saw almost made her feel sick. Her limbs were blue and purple and yellow all over and she saw all the cuts for the first time in weeks.

"Don't look, girl, it doesn't do you any good" Cottle suddenly said very softly. She obliged and let her head sink back into the pillow. When he was done Cottle wanted to shift her nightgown a little bit to have a better look at the wounds on her thighs but Max suddenly jerked back violently and whimpered again totally scared. He backed off. "I'm sorry, girl, I'm sorry."

He waited again until she had calmed down a little bit but he could clearly see that she was more scared again.

"You don't want me to do that?" She viciously shook her head. "Okay, then I won't do it. Don't worry, it's all right. 451, please come in!"

Max didn't know what to think anymore. All she knew about Manticore was that she had been tortured since the day they had brought her back and none of her actions, her words and her pleas had stopped them and now there was this old man who stopped doing what he had to do in his job just because she told him not to? Was she going crazy?

The door opened again and a young man with short hair and grey eyes. He wore a black uniform and approached the bed slowly. It took her a few seconds to recognize him. It was 451, Wolf, her brother. She knew she had seen him before they had brought her back to Manticore; he had been the one that brought her back. But had she seen him after that again? She wasn't sure.

"Okay, 452" Cottle spoke up again. "I have to check the bandages on your wrists and ankles but for that I have to loosen the restraints. 451 is just here to help me, do you understand? Are you okay with this?"

She nodded again but her eyes rested focused on her brother. He avoided her gaze and seemed to be only concentrated on his task. He loosened the restraints on her ankles and stepped back so Cottle could do his work. When the older man nodded he closed the restraints again but made sure they were not too tight. He then proceeded and did the same thing with the restraints on her wrists. He was so close she could clearly smell him. His touch, his smell, being so close to him, it remembered her of something but she wasn't sure, what it was. When Cottle bent down to check the bandages images started flashing through her head.

"I'm so sorry…I didn't know…I'm so sorry, Max"

A single tear running down his cheek

"Please forgive me"

When Wolf bent down to tie her arms to the bed again she suddenly reached out and touched his hand. He looked up surprised and for the first times their eyes met. They remained like that for about half a minute before Max spoke, her voice hoarse:

"Wolf? Were you…down there?" she whispered hesitantly, "with me?"

He swallowed hard and she could see something new in his eyes. Guilt. And also shame. Finally he nodded.

"Yeah, I've been there." His voice sounded as hoarse has hers like he hadn't spoken a word in a long time. "I'm so sorry, Max."

When he had finished his task he suddenly turned towards Cottle who looked at them with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Don't worry", the old man said and chuckled slightly despite the seriousness in his voice. "Your secret's safe with me."

Wolf seemed to relax and even Max felt relieved somehow. She didn't remember much at the moment but she knew names were something forbidden in this place.

The two men put the blanket back on her and she couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief. Before they left Cottle turned one last time towards her.

"There's somebody outside who would like to talk to you. Don't worry, 451 will be right outside and you can send her away anytime you want. I will look after you again in a few hours. Goodbye, 452."

The two of them left the room but Wolf glanced back at her one last time but looked away as soon as her eyes found his. But he wasn't fast enough and Max got a glimpse of that guilt and shame in his eyes again. Why should he…?

She didn't finish that straight of thoughts before a young woman about her age in the same uniform that Wolf wore entered the room and closed the door. She approached Max slowly and finally took a seat on a chair next to her bed. Max eyed her and couldn't help but think that she knew that woman. She had short brown hair and green eyes. She had a small scar on her forehead and looked at Max with a mixture of joy and sadness.

"Hello, baby-sister" she finally said smiling.

Max could only stare at her until her lips move and she whispered the name she thought to have forgotten: "Jondy."

Okay, so Max's back awake and even found one of her siblings. I'm back to being nice again.

So, tell me what you think, please!!