Story One – Alexandra Adams

Part 3

Marc Reed sighed, letting his arm hang limp out the window of his pickup… ah, well no. That was incorrect. It wasn't his pickup… he was a scientist, not a farmer.—As stereotypical as that sounded.—The truck was on loan. He needed something to carry his materials home and an acquaintance had offered up this truck. Taking this old thing meant he wouldn't have to rent one and being the frugal man that he was, it was an offer he couldn't turn down.

Staring down the miles of cracked asphalt ahead of him, he both mentally and physically frowned. He still had a ways to go and nothing to occupy his time. The radio was broken—but it wasn't like he liked listening to music anyway… or knew any good stations for that matter. It was just that silent drives seemed to take longer than one filled with some type of distraction whether it be music, or a conversation with another person.

He couldn't really complain though. It was his fault for wanting a house so out of the way. His job required complete concentration and space for experimentation. If he bought a house in a city or suburb there would be both limited space and multiple distractions. Neither of which he liked. He had always been a bit of a loner this way… but even a loner got tired of being… Well, a lone.

Holding in another sigh, Marc let his eyes wander toward the river bed running parallel to the road, the murky water simmering broken patterns of light under the glow of the midday sun. At least her could say there was some good scenery to look at, even if it was no he passed by frequently it was better than having to star at the concrete walls found on most highway sections. That was the one thing you could always count on finding so far away from town, beautiful places not yet touched by the destructive claws of industrialization.

His peaceful thoughts were disrupted when in the corner of his eye he spotted something lying in the sandbar. Not sure what it was at first, it was enough to compelled him to pull over and step out of the car for a looksee.

As he got closer, Marc recognized it as the form of a human being—a woman to be exact, who looked like she'd been through hell.

She was drenched, bruised, and missing an arm… and from the ridged way the end of her shoulder looked it was hacked off rather poorly. Her other hand clenching something for dear life—and upon closer inspection—he found it to be a pair of green goggles, the strap snapped. Instantly, he knelt down beside her and pressed two fingers against her neck. His eyes widened a fraction.

It was amazing but… she still had a pulse.

It was faint and weak but it was good enough for him and so picking her up gingerly he found a place for her in the flatbed.

She needed help and needed it fast.

xXx

Tension thickened under the sound of the heart monitor and its accelerated beeps. Marc did his best to take in a breath and keep a calm face, something that wasn't easy to do when your air tube was being crushed by the skeleton of a prosthetic hand. His baby blue eyes stared down into angry and confused golden ones.

The woman's attention flickered from his face to the hand, eyebrows furrowing. "Wha…?"

He attempted to swallow with great difficulty, "It'd… be easier… for me to explain, if… if you'd release me." He managed to choke out, the lack of oxygen starting to make him a bit dizzy.

Losing her grip she laid the artificial object into her real hand, lightly touching it. She barely took notice of the fresh bandages covering her body.

Rubbing his neck tenderly he took a moment to gather his breath before speaking in what he felt was a soothing voice, "I found you in the sandbank by the river and brought you here… You've been in comatose for three months since then…" He wasn't sure if she was listening, but continued, "My name is Dr. Marc Reed. I have a Doctorate in Robotic Engineering and a Masters in Anatomy, that piece of machinery right there is something I have worked on as a side project for a while, when it is done it should be a good replacement for the one you lost… however you lost it…"

She frowned, "So I'm your Guinean Pig…"

He decided it was best to change the subject, "A friend of mine is a doctor… he should be here soon… he's been monitoring you since you've been here…"

"…I don't like Doctors."

"We have to make sure you're ok. You were beat up pretty bad you know… Besides, I guarantee that you are in completely capable hands, he's one of the best." He waited for her to moment but she didn't. he exhaled, "Rest a bit, I'll wake you when he comes."

Getting up from the edge of the bed he left the guestroom and her to her thoughts.

xXx

Dr. Reed observed the check up from afar.

Dr. Oliver Steel—the man aforementioned—had been pleased to hear that his 'special patient' had finally gained consciousness, even if said patient seemed to be overly cautious of their presence… it was to be expected after all, she was alone in a room with two unfamiliar people.

The woman leaned slightly away as he checked her right eye with his light. "Do you know your name?" the albino questioned in his most convincing 'you can trust me' doctor voice.

"…Yes." She answered, squinting slightly at the brightness of the tiny flashlight.

"May I know it? It would be nice to be able to call you by name." He looked at her left eye next.

"Alexandra… Alexandra Adams."

"Pretty name." He smiled, turning the light off and scribbling something down on his clipboard.

"…I guess."

"Tell me," he started, bringing the clipboard up to his chest and crossing his arms over it, "Are you sore anywhere?"

She thought it over, "Here." She motioned to her abdomen with her left hand, "Mostly when I move around. If I stay still it's not that bad."

He nodded scribbling something else down, "That makes sense. Your ribs are still healing they were both bruised and fractured when Reed found you…" he pushed his wire frames further up his nose. "Anywhere else?"

"I… have a headache."

"Ah. That should be easy to fix, I'll get you something for that." He paused to turn and cough into his inner elbow, "Do you remember the last thing you saw or felt before you woke up here?"

Alexandra glanced out the window in thought. It took a few moments before she spoke, "Cold. I felt cold, the water was a lot more freezing than I thought it's be… I didn't try to stop myself from drowning now that I think about it… not that it would have done any good with one arm gone. I just let myself sink to the bottom…" she looked to Marc and then Oliver, "It was weird, but my last thought was how different the moon looked underwater."

"How'd you get in the water?"

"…I was pushed." She seemed to glare at the sheets.

"Pushed?"

She nodded.

"By who?"

She wouldn't say and instead glanced back out the window before closing her eyes, "Are we done?"

"We're done." Dr. Steel confirmed before giving a polite goodbye and following Marc out the room.

The two walked side by side down the hall silently, both letting the information sink in. Removing his glasses, Oliver handed over his clipboard. "She's recovering well." He said finally, when they'd gotten far enough from the room and out of ear shot. "How's that arm coming along? It looks impressive so far…"

"Fine. She used it rather well for a moment when she woke up this morning…" He pulled the collar of his lab coat down to reveal a reddish-purple bruise forming at the base of his neck.

Oliver slid his glasses back on and paused to examine Marc's neck. "She got you pretty good…"

The scientist winced slightly under the doctor's cold touch, "Yeah."

"You should ice it so the bruising doesn't get worse." He brought his hands back down to his sides and they continued walking, "So, What's your plan now that she's awake?"

Marc placed the clipboard under his arm, "After she heals, I'll finish the arm and convince her to stay. At least until she masters uses it…"

"Well, there probably won't need to be much convincing…" Oliver commented scratching his head, "She doesn't really seem like she has a place to go back to… or at least not one that she wants to go back to."

A silence pasted between them as they came up to the front door. Oliver smiled and grabbed his hat off the coat rack as Mark opened the door for him, "I'll come around again in a few days. Call me if you need me."

Closing the door behind him, the scientist scanned over the clipboard as he headed toward his lab, a hand absent mindedly brushing over his bruise.

xXx

Alex pulled the covers up to her chin and slowly turned over on her side. She'd been given painkillers but it still hurt a bit to move. The pain might have sucked but it was just another sign that this wasn't a dream.

…she was alive.

The concept was still a bit hard to grasp. As she hit those cold waters of the American, she had thought for sure that it was the end. Hell, she had welcomed it.

Now she was alive and she was pissed at herself for giving up so easily… but there was something else to be more pissed about—someone to be more pissed at, and as much as she wanted to hop out of bed, drive back home, and knock out her so-called-boyfriend… at the sometime she never wanted to meet him again. She didn't wasn't to be dragged back into the drama she was now labeling her past… Donna and Jimmy would have to deal with things on their own. She wanted no part of it.

Closing her eyes she sighed. She'd have to thank those two—Reed and Steel—they didn't have to help her, but they did. As corny as it sounded she kinda owned them her life in a way… She'd have to figure out a way to pay them back… she was never to the type to like owing people.

Her eyes eventually found their way to the metal arm at her right. It was a basic skeleton with a coil of exposed wires at the center—and it was heavy… almost like dead weight. For a split moment when she'd first woken up she'd be able to use it, but she now found that it wasn't as easy now. As she tried to move the fingers, she noticed the motions were not on par with her thoughts. They moved, but not fast enough and sometimes not the right finger. It was a weird experience, having to try and synch your thoughts with your hand… it was something that was done much earlier in life, something a baby could do and she had to re-learn it.

The thought frustrated her slightly.

At the sound of a light knock she quickly slid the arm back under the covers just as the door was gently pushed open with the tip of a patent leather shoe. Dr. Reed walked in blunderingly doing his best to balance a small full tray of food as he stuffed something back into his pocket.

Marc Reed gave the appearance of an interesting and educated person, his dark brown hair was cut short enough to keep out of his eyes but long enough to look appealing, his eyes were always narrowed as they examined their surroundings, giving the impression that he was always bothered by something, and his expression was always guarded making it hard to guess what went on in that head of his. "I thought you might be hungry…" he explained, monotone.

Alex sat up as he placed it on her lap. She raised her eyebrow almost instantly, "What's this?" She didn't bother to look up from the bowl of soup, two pieces of toast, and a cup of orange juice arranged neatly before her.

"Food." He said simply, as if the answer was just that obvious. She knew he knew that wasn't what she meant.

"Well, yeah… I can see that." She stirred a spoon around in the soup and crinkled her nose.

"Is there a problem?"

"Nothing… I'm just not a fan of veggies…" she explained, pushing the bowl away a bit.

She could have sworn she saw an amused twinkle in his eye as he pushed the bowl back, "It's good for you. Don't you want to get better?"

She frowned at his almost condescending tone. It was as if he was speaking to a child. She decided to ignore it. "Why not order Chinese or something."

"It would get cold before it even reached my doorstep." He explained sitting at the foot of her bed.

"…So we're really out of the way then." She commented in almost hidden relief. The farther she was from everything the better.

Marc noticed this but didn't point it out. Smoothing out his pants' legs, he glanced at the food and then Alex. "Tell you what." He leaned forward slightly, crossing his arms. "Put up with my food now and I'll take you out to eat when you get better, deal?"

Alex bit into a piece of toast and shrugged, "Alright."

xXx

It was quiet in the house… A little too quiet for Alex's liking… Dr. Reed had probably locked himself away in his lab in the basement. That was usually what he did around this time of day.

Two weeks she'd been lying in the same bed and the days seemed to be the same. Dr. Reed wasn't much of a conversationalist, so she rarely spoke to him unless it had to do with the food—he wasn't the best cook out there, so she tried to give him pointers. He didn't even bother asking her to elaborate on her past, which surprised her a bit. Not that she would have said anything if he had asked. It was just interesting was all.

Though her days with Reed were nothing to brag about, it wasn't all bad. The loner scientist had his good points too and there were times where he could say some really insightful things. Now that she thought about… he kinda acted like an old man, though he couldn't be more than in his mid to late-thirties.

Then there was Dr. Steel, she hadn't met him more than three or four times since their first encounter, but she probably spoke more with him in one hour than she had with Dr. Reed for a whole day. And surprisingly their conversations often had Marc as the main topic. She was curious about the guy who'd saved her life after all and Oliver was happy to give a bit on insight. Steel spoke praises of the scientist, but didn't go into much detail. He explained that it was best to get Reed to talk about it himself.

Rolling over on the bed, Alex was happy to report that the painkillers worked fine and she wasn't feeling as shitty as she had the first week. It was nice to be able to move without wincing—even if she did still feel a little stiff. An almost peaceful hum escaped her lips as she closed her eyes. She was anything but tired, but both Dr. Reed and Dr. Steel had given express orders not to leave the bed—something about putting stress on her body or whatever—and in her opinion there wasn't really much to do in a bed besides sleep.

And that had been her plan until she heard a rather loud crash coming from what she guessed was Marc's basement lab, which was odd because she'd never once heard a peep coming from down there. Opening her eyes, she sat herself up and took a moment to listen out for any other noises but the house was once again dead silent.

Frowning she glanced toward the bedroom door. It had been a pretty loud crash… it wouldn't hurt to check it out, right? Just for a minute or so… just to make sure everything was ok. Besides, no matter what they said Alex was sure that staying in bed all day couldn't be good for someone's health. A little leg stretching would do her some good.

Siding with her curiosity, Alex tossed her covers off and carefully swung her legs over the bed. She cringed slightly at the cold wooden floor underneath her toes before standing herself up.—a hand immediately going for the side table to steady herself as her legs got used to being used again.

When she felt up to it, she headed toward the door with slight difficulty before sticking her head slightly out into the hall. With a glance in both directions she found it to be both empty and much bigger than she thought it would be.

Going down the way she believed Marc always turned, she used the wall to keep steady. Her eyes scanned over a few doors, the closer ones she opened a smidge but none of them showed hide or tail of Reed… or whatever it was that made that noise. She did, however, find something interesting about the scientist. The hallways were bare besides a few paintings and a side table or two, but the rooms themselves were pretty well furnished. His taste in furniture wasn't too bad. What was even more interesting, was that so far she hadn't seen any pictures of family, friends, or even himself hanging around. Wonder why?

"Weren't you told to stay in bed, Alexandra?" A familiar reprimanding voice sighed.

Alex turned to find Marc leaning against a doorframe with grease stains smudging his face and his hair disheveled. He grabbed a cloth from his pocket and wiped his hands. Alex opened her mouth, racking her brain for an explanation. "I heard a crash… everything ok?"

"It was just something I'm working on for a client…" He stared at her for a moment and stuffed the cloth back into his coat pocket. "How long have you been on your feet?"

"I don't know… Not that long, I guess."

Pushing himself off the frame, he walked over to her and slung her arm over his shoulder. "Come on, I'll help you back to bed."

She leaned on him, "How much longer am I going to have to stay there?"

Marc didn't answer, he just smiled.

Twenty-four.

"Are you ready? I'm going to try and tap into your nervous system. You need to be able to feel what is happening to this arm or else it could get damaged without your knowledge… Understand?"

Alex nodded, but her attention wasn't really focused on what Marc was trying to explain. She was more interested in the room around her. The various beakers, beeping computers, and unfinished projects held her attention longer than the words of a stoic scientist. But who could blame her? It was her first time seeing a lab—not including the lame high school ones—and even though she wasn't into science stuff it was still interesting.

Her musings were cut off by a sharp zap that travelled up her metal arm. She hissed, her fingers flinching.

Reed looked up, "Felt that?"

She glared at the metal tool in his hand and scoffed, "Yeah."

"Good. Now we shouldn't have any problems with you damaging your arm with everyday tasks…" Leaning back into his seat, he rolled it over to one of his various desks and reached into its bottom drawer pulling out a tape measure. Rolling back he ignored the curious look he was given, "Hold out your left arm."

Alex raised an eyebrow, but did as she was told. "What's that for?"

The scientist wrapped the tape around her bicep, "I'm going to cover the skeleton and I need exact measurements if I'm going to make the right look similar to your left…" he explained scrawling his findings down on a piece of scratch paper. "I don't want to keep the wires exposed for too long. But even if the arm is covered try and keep it away from liquids, especially the joints. A little water is fine for short time exposure but the arm will short out, if it gets through the cover."

She tilted her head to the side in boredom, "Yeah, I get it. Water is bad for machines… that's something you learn as a kid."

He glanced at her face, "Alright Smartass. Just making sure you know. You're not exactly one to follow instructions…"

"Yeah, well…" she shrugged.

xXx

"I call this, Movement Therapy." Dr. Steel explained from his spot on the other side of the room. It was only easy to hear him because the space itself was empty enough for his voice to echo. Dr. Reed had kept the place cleared out just in case he ever needed it for anything, so it was a good spot for what Oliver had in mind.

"So, how does this work?" Alex asked, taking a minute to smooth out the borrowed pair of pants loosely hugging her legs and look over to Marc leaning against a far wall as he observed the session.

Oliver smiled, "Here. I'll show you. Catch this." He softly tossed a tennis ball in her direction, "Use your right hand only. Don't let it hit the ground."

The ball bounced once off her fingers before she snatched it out of the air, "You want me to play catch…? I don't see how—"

"It's going to help with your reflexes. We've got to let you get used to using it in situations where you need to react fast. You're still consciously thinking of which part of your arm needs to move. Your right arm actions are taking too long." Marc clarified from the side bar.

"Oh." She mumbled dumbly, throwing the ball back to the doctor.—It missed by a long shot and bounced off the wall a few inches from an unsuspecting Reed's head. "…Oops..."

"Do you know how to throw a baseball?" the scientist grumbled, picking the potentially dangerous projectile off the floor.

"Yeah, 'course I do. It was the arm, I swear." She explained, raising her hands defensively as she held a snicker.

"Why don't you roll it back for now?" Steel suggested catching the ball as it was thrown to him.

Alex agreed and a few more tosses were thrown and with each the woman's use of her arm got slightly better. The process, however, was a tedious one—Marc noted—and it didn't seem like much fun (Alex's constant yawning tipped that one off). It was then that he was struck with an idea and left the room.

"Where's he going?" Alex questioned, voicing the thought of both people still in the room.

"If I had to guess, I'd say the lab… He had that 'Bingo!' look on his face." Oliver guessed tossing the ball her way.

"So he's up to something?" she hummed curiously.

"Most likely."

The two paused in their game of catch as a small metal contraption was rolled in, rattling lowly over the wooden floor. Marc hauled the machine over toward Oliver, before plugging it in and dumping a bag full of balls into its basket. It didn't take long for them to guess it was a ball machine.

Alex was the first to comment, "What's that for?"

The scientist dusted off his hands, "A more challenging way to conduct this so called therapy…"

"Seems I'm being replaced." Oliver chuckled lightly.

"Alright. Step back, Oliver." Reed motioned the order with his hand and turned on the instrument before the blond could voice her complaints.

The first ball fired and barely missed nailing her side. "I don't think this is—Woah!—such a good idea, guys."

"Well, you're not supposed to dodge it, Alexandra." Marc scoffed crossing his arms as the woman yet again fumbled out of the way of an incoming projectile.

"What do you expect me to do?"

"…Catch it."

"It's coming at like—Ah!—90 miles an hour!"

"Ten. Ten miles per hour, that's less than a pro pitcher. So, stop your whining and focus." He reprimanded.

"I am focusing!" she insisted, not paying attention as a ball came whirling and bounced off her forehead. Growling she stumbled back, only to slip on one of the many tennis balls littering the floor and tumble to the floor, back first.

"…You broke her, Reed." Steel tisked as he went to his patent's side.

"She didn't focus." He commented simply, "We'll have to do it again."

Alex groaned in protest.

xXx

"Oh come on. You promised." The woman reminded, sprawling herself out on the couch.

"I know, I remember… but today I'm busy." Marc explained for what seemed like the fiftieth time, swatting an outstretched arm out of his face as he leaned over to give her one of his looks.

"But I'm hungry. Are you just going to let you guest starve?"

"Guest?" he snorted, "More like squatter."

Alex frowned and sat up, "Fine. Then at least cook something."

"Aren't there leftovers from yesterday?"

She scrunched her nose, "You mean leftovers of that overcooked pasta you made?" she shook her head, "I'd rather starve."

He glared, "Then you make something."

"How about I supervise?" she offered with a grin.

"How about no?"

"Oh come on." She pleaded, hopping off the couch, "I know how to cook, I just don't like doing it. Plus, I still haven't fully mastered how to use this remember?" she hummed, lifting her mechanical arm.

Marc sighed, "Whatever… I don't care, come on."

With that the two left for the kitchen.

xXx

Alex shifted slightly under the cool wind of a spring afternoon. Today Dr. Steel had insisted that their next phase of therapy be executed outside since it was warm enough and it wasn't a bad idea. She hadn't been outside for more than a few minutes since she'd come to, so it was nice to get some fresh air.

Her musings were interrupted by Reed clearing his throat, "Now that we've got the arm functioning properly, we've got to work on strength control. The arm I made is much stronger than your left so what we have to do is show you how to control that strength as well as strengthen your human hand. Got that?" he questioned.

Alex nodded, "Basically, Balance is what we're going for, yeah?"

"Exactly." He turned to a red-faced Oliver blowing up a rather big looking balloon-like Panda. "Finished?"

Steel paused for a minute and let out an airless, "Almost."

"While we're waiting for him we'll do this…" Marc trailed of as he grabbed a sac from behind a tree. Reaching inside he pulled out a balloon.

"And that is for…?"

He tossed it to her, "Just catch it."

Alex reached for it with both hands but applied too much pressure and it popped. "Oh, ok. I got it." She spread her legs out and squatted into a type of ready stance, "Toss me another."

This motion continued for a few more minutes with Alex popping the balloons at a ratio of 9 out of 10 times. By the time they were done every balloon in the sac was how on the ground, popped, and Oliver had finally finished blowing up the Panda.

Marc sighed and walked over to the dummy, "Maybe this will help you. Oliver thought that if it was something with a cute face you would unconsciously pull your punches. So, I want you to give it a try. Hit it."

Alex gave him an odd look, "Seriously?"

He just starred expectantly.

She exhaled, "Ok, whatever…" she landed a lazy baby punch to one of the Panda's rosy cheeks.

"What was that?" he scoffed, "Do it like you mean it."

"I though you wanted strength control?"

He rubbed his head, "Ok. Look, punch the Panda as hard as you can with your left hand."

"Why?"

"Just do it." She did and the Panda rocked back, violently slamming its head on the ground before swaying rhythmically. "Ok, now hit it just as hard with you right as hard with your right. Any harder and you'll pop the poor thing."

"Aha. Ok, I get it."

xXx

"Damn. This is your car?" Alex's impressed voice rang through the rather neat garage. She brushed her hand over a silver 2009 SSC Ultimate Aero in almost perfect condition.

"Last time I checked it was." He opened the car door and offered an impatient, "You getting in anytime soon?" before sitting at him place by the wheel.

Ignoring him she ran her hand a last time over the slick paint job and plopped into shotgun. "You should let me drive this sometime. I could show you what this baby can really do." The blond grinned.

Marc leaned an arm against the door and started the car up. "If your driving is as good as your ability to pay attention, I don't think that would be such a good idea."

Alex snapped on her seatbelt as they pulled out of the garage, "I'll have you know that I am more than capable of driving. You could even say I'm one of the best." She stated matter-of-factly. He took his eyes off the road for a moment to give her a disbelieving look and she returned it with a mock expression of hurt. "Seriously! I'll even prove it when we get back if you want me to. I've been itching to get behind the wheel for a while now."

"So, you're a motorhead?" he asked with surprising interest.

"Born and breed." She smirked confidently.

"I see."

There was something in the way he said those words that gave Alex the feeling he was up to something. The feeling stuck in the back of her mind all the way into town, but was soon forgotten as they pulled up to a pizza shop—prior to Alex's request. The trip took a total of about an hour. Why he lived so far away from civilization?—she didn't know.

"What do you want?" Marc questioned as they strolled up to the counter.

"Cheese is fine… and a Sprite." She shrugged, glancing at the Italian themed décor covering the walls. The place was small, and not very crowded, but from the wonderful smell coming from the back kitchen she could tell the pizza was pretty good.

As the scientist ordered , Alex found them a booth by the window. There wasn't really much of a view—unless you liked staring at a busy street—but she liked the natural sunlight that poured in. She smiled as Marc placed her soda down and sat in the seat across from her, "Thank you for taking me."

He took a sip of his own drink and replied with a simple, "I keep my promises." eyes trailing off to gaze at something behind her.

The two were quiet for a moment. Alex not finding words to make good conversation and Marc just not trying. Resting her head in her hand the woman glanced at him curiously, "So, what's your story?"

"Why so interested all of a sudden?"

She shrugged, "It's been months and I still don't know much about you… besides the fact you have a thing for steel." Marc nearly choked on his soda, his face showing an almost flustered expression. "What you thought I didn't know?" She grinned teasingly, "You two look good together."

"Shut up." He squeezed out an embarrassed frown. "We're not an item."

She knew he wasn't one to talk about his love life, so she thought this was a cute reaction. She never pegged him for the embarrassed type. "So, what's holding you back, Hm? It's nothing to be assumed of."

"It's not really any of your business."

"Fine." Alex held up her hands in surrender, "But don't come crying to me when Oliver gets tired of waiting."

Marc was about to retort, but stopped himself as an employee set their pizza and a few plates down on the table. Alex scrunched her nose at the scientist 's half of the pizza, "You put ham on pizza?"

"And?" Taking a few pieces and dropping them down on his plate.

She shook her head mumbling a light, "What does Steel see in you…?"

xXx

Dr. Oliver Steel pulled up to Reed's estate, a light smile forming on his pale lips at the sight of Marc and Alex speaking expressly in front of the garage door. Ever since the blond had come into their lives, Oliver noticed Marc had become more lively and more willing to communicate with people… only he felt a bit jealous that the woman was able to bring that side out of him, but also a bit thankful. He'd known Marc since college and he'd never felt more connected with the man then since Alexandra had come around. Which he couldn't help but find a bit funny, Marc had always had trouble with females, so for one to actually be the one to bring him out of his shell was a bit ironic.

Stopping a few feet short of them, he cut off the engine and stepped out, "What are you two up to?"

Alex grinned and gave him a light wave, "You're just in time to witness something amazing."

Marc grunted, "You haven't completely mastered using your arm. You'll brake it… or worse hurt yourself."

Alex rolled her eyes, "Don't worry. I've have plenty of practice. Besides, what's the point of it if I can't even use what I've learned?" She held out her hand, "Now gimme." The scientist pushed her hand away.

Oliver chuckled, "What's this all about?"

"She wants to drive my car." The scientist explained, not noticing the woman reaching into his back pocket until his keys were already dangling between her fingers. Marc reached to take them back but she retracted her hand out of his reach.

"Just let her, Reed, she's responsible enough." The doctor advised, earning him a heated glare.

"See? Steel agrees."

Marc let out a hard sight. He felt almost like a father not wanting his daughter to drive his prized car, "Don't wreck it."

He grin widened, "Sweet." Strutting inside the garage she jingled the keys happily before stepping in the car. Soon the roaring of a V8 engine echoed out the open door before Marc's Aero backed out the driveway. Alex stuck her head out from a moment to give a cocky, "Keep your eyes peeled!" and then wheeled the vehicle down the dirt road that Oliver had advanced up a moment before.

The roar disappeared for a moment as the car went out of view and when it reentered the line of sight it came down the road backward before being haphazardly flipped around in a J turn, kicking up a mountain of dust before speeding off in the opposite direction, a light but loud, "Woooo!" being heard from the driver's seat.

The next time the car was spotted it was leaning backward, its two front wheels off the ground—almost gave Marc a heart attack. Oliver patted the man on the back and gave him a sympathy glance, "Relax she's just having a little fun."

The scientist exhaled worriedly, "She's going to kill herself."

"Well, don't jinx her." The albino reprimanded, looking back to the road. "She's good though isn't she?"

"…Yeah."

Alex did a few more laps of showing off before pulling back into the garage, an impressed Oliver giving her a round of applause.

The woman smiled, "If you thought that was impressive you should see my racing."

"Alright, playtime's over. Alex, I'm hungry. Pay me back for the pizza and make those things you were bragging about the other day, I have something to speak to Oliver about."

Alex gave him a confused glance at first, but 'Oh'ed in realization. "Gotcha." She winked, "Have fun boys." She cooed before disappearing inside the house.

Reed turned to the confused Oliver, "About that cup of coffee... How's Friday sound?"

xXx

"Soooo?" Alex smirked suggestively as Marc stepped into the living room in a nice button up and some slacks.

"What?" he glared at her, obviously annoyed with her presence—as always.

"Excited for your date?" she interrogated, putting emphasis on the 't'.

He grabbed his coat out of the closet and ignored her question, "I'll be back in a few hours. Don't burn the house down."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She brushed the warning off and hopped up to help him fix the first two buttons of the shirt. "Have fun. Tell Steel I said, 'Hey' and bring me back something, yeah?" Marc nodded and she watched as he left, a hand absently reaching for the goggled hanging loosely around her neck.

The realization of the fact that she was now alone in the house didn't hit until moments after Marc's Aero was heard pulling out of the driveway. A sense of slight loneness washed over her and for a moment her mind went back to the memories of the past that she wished to forget.

Of laughing faces, late night movies, and fresh kisses. It almost made her miss the old days…

Pushing the thought from her head, she sighed, looking around the room for something to occupy her time. Though not finding anything worthwhile inside, she glanced out the window and decided a walk could do her some good.

Stepping outside she took a deep breath and stretched, letting the warm sunrays seep into her skin. Heading down the driveway she listened to the occasional tweeting of the birds and admired the trees, Reed didn't keep his yard too trimmed but the way it naturally grew had a strange beauty of its own.

As she got to the end of the pathway she noticed the flag on the mailbox was pushed up and was immediately interested. Using the excuse that she'd put the mail on the table for the scientist, she opened the grey box to find a single, white metal clasp envelope. Pulling it out she looked it over and notice two eye catching things. Not only was it priority mail, but it was from a sender titled 'Split/Second'.

xXx

"Alex." Reed called from the doorway, laptop in hand.

Said woman looked up from the thick textbook she'd found on one of Marc's bookshelves. She hadn't read it really, just skimmed. "Yeah?"

"I need you for a moment." He motioned for her to follow before heading down the hall.

Tossing one book on the table Alex lazily got up and followed with a bored sigh. "What do you need?" she questioned, catching up with his long strides.

"My client is coming—" he cut himself off to glance down at his watch, "in a few minutes. I need you to help me with something."

"Hm~? You asking for help?" That pecked her curiosity, "That's a first. What do you need done?"

"You're going to go up against my latest project." He explained leading her out to the yard.

"I'm wha—" she stopped speaking as her eyes fell upon a dark grey—maybe black—basic car body with yellow and black arrows around the body resting next to Marc's Aero. It looked almost like the car version of a test dummy. "Where were you hiding that?"

"That's not important." He placed a hand on the hood of the car. "This is a Test Driver that I've been working on for a while now… It's basically a car that can operate without a driver."

"Why'd your client ask you to build that?" she asked, trying to peek through the extremely darkened windows.

"It's a new show that they're developing, this is one of the ways they're going to pick the contestants… I don't know the details." He leaned against his invention and looked at her expectantly, "Will you do it?"

"Of course, it's the least I can do. 'sides, I've never raced a machine before… should be fun." She raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you want to use your car though?"

He nodded hesitantly, "Just try not to bang it up too much."

"If I wreck it, I'll fix it." She promised.

The two were soon drowned out by the loud spinning of rotor blades. They both looked toward the sky just as a helicopter approached from the horizon.

"That's you client?" Alex hollered over the noise, covering her eyes from the dust as the helicopter hovered over the ground.

"He always was flashy…"

They watched as the vehicle landed and cut off its engine. Two men in black suits and dark shades stepped out, followed by a male in a loud yellow silk shirt under a black vest and dark jeans. His hair was cut into a Keith Urban hairstyle. Seriously. He basically looked like a younger version of the guy. If he was going for the heartthrob look, he pulled it off pretty well.

As soon as his charcoal eyes found Marc, he smiled and through his hands up in the air, "Reed! It's good to see you again old friend." He walked over and patted the scientist roughly on the shoulders. "It's been too long." His gaze trailed over to Alex, "Well hello there." He glanced down at her mechanical appendage and pursed his lips, "Come now. Don't tell me Reed has made you one of his little projects."

Alex frowned, "I'll have you know—"

"She's a friend of mine. She got into a little accident is all… I asked her to help with the demonstration." Reed cut in before the woman could utter one of her cunning remarks, "Alexandra this is Tom Branigan. Tom this is Alexandra Adams."

There was a hint of realization that sparked in the mention of her name, "Ah. Well, nice to meet you… Alexandra."

The blond simply nodded, biting down a snarky comment.

The man's attention went to Marc's creation, "So this is what I asked for?" It was a rhetorical question of course, "I assume it works perfectly?"

The scientist nodded opening up his laptop, "The Test Driver is programmed from here. Its skill level, knowledge, and objective are modifiable depending on how hard you want it to challenge its opponent." Tom stepped close to take a look. "The Driver is also activated from this program. Based on what you command from the control panel the Driver will process the information and find the best way to execute the order."

Tom nodded sucking in the information, "Sounds good. Can we see it in action?"

"Of course." He turned to Alex, "Are you ready?"

She smirked, "I'm always ready." Slapping on her goggles, the blond stepped into the Aero. The butterfly feeling she'd always got in her gut in the past started to rise and she smiled. It was good to be behind the wheel again… where she belonged.

"3…" Tom called as both engines were started, decided to take the role as the starter. "2… 1… Go!"

The two cars took off down the yard, head to head, as the four men stood back observing. Branigan crossed his arms, watching intently. "She's as good as they say…" he commented lightly.

Marc glanced up from his laptop, slightly startled. "You know of her?"

"Sort of." He admitted, "It's my job to know the best of the best after all." Tom exhaled lightly, "Alexandra Adams is the name of a wheelman that teamed up with a mercenary. She's supposed to be dead…"

The scientist shifted uneasily, "How'd you find this out?"

The flashy man smiled, "I have my sources." He watched as the Aero narrowly made the turn around a palm tree cutting off the Test Driver. "But anyway. The reason why I brought this up is because I'm looking for the members of an Elite team for the show.—I'm sure I told you that already—She was one of the people we were keeping an eye on… You should bring her by our establishment. We're choosing on the third. It's going to be a contest of sorts."

"Knowing her she'd probably jump at the challenge…" Marc mumbled, looking back to the race. "I'll tell her about it, but it's up to her if she wants to go."

Story One – Alexandra Adams, END. Path Set