Disclaimer: I don't own Blade or any of its characters. I do Max, Xavier, Rev, and Cam, so no stealing!

Chapter 22: Aftermath of an Ass Kicking

Later that day, Blade, Max, and Abby entered Nightstalkers headquarters. Blade and Max were hauling King between them as Abby opened the door and called for help. Dex and Hedges immediately rushed to meet them, relieving them of King. Exhausted and covered in blood, Abby retired to her room, stripping off her clothes to take a shower.

"Well, that was a total fucking waste," Max commented, watching as Dex and Hedges patched up King. "Drake got away, and we didn't learn a single fucking thing."

"Yeah, we did," he replied, correcting her previous statement.

"Oh, yeah? What?"

"That he'll be back." With that pleasant note, Blade walked away.

"Oh, great. Just fucking fantastic," she mumbled.

"How is he?" Abby asked as she came down the stairs, freshly changed and hairs soaking wet.

"I think he'll be okay. He won't be able to hunting with us again for a bit, but I think he'll be fine," Max told her calmly, but worried nonetheless. Abby could tell that she was concerned about King, and whether or not any permanent damage had been done.

Both women walked over to Blade and waited until Dex and Hedges left with encouraging smiles to enter. He was going to be just fine. Walking into the room, they saw King drowsing on a cot, his shirt off and his shoulder patched up and bandaged. Walking around to his right side, Max took his hand in hers and smiled as he opened his eyes. He smiled briefly at her before looking around and saw Blade at the doorway with Abby behind him.

"Hey, Blade, I gotta a question for 'ya," he began seriously. "Say we're successful. Say we wipe the vampires out. What happens then? You ever ask yourself that? I mean, I don't…somehow I don't picture you teaching karate at the local Y," he joked weakly, staring at Blade, who just turned around and left as if nothing had happened. "He hates me, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Abby replied, walking over to his left side with a smile.

"No way, he's just…Blade," Max told him, not really sure how to describe the Daywalker.

"Whatever you say, sugar butt. Whatever you say," he replied, closing his eyes with a deep sigh. "So, which one of you is gonna play nurse maid and give me sponge baths while I'm recovering?" Max and Abby shared a looked, and Abby just shook her head in amusement before walking out. Standing up, Max kissed King's lips gently and he opened his eyes to look at her.

"I am," she told him, and he smiled at her before pulling her down for a more passionate kiss. "Is that payment for services rendered? I haven't even started working yet."

"No, that's a down payment. The real thing will come later, when I'm back at full strength," he replied, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Max smirked, and kissed him again.

"Get some sleep," she told as she walked to the door. "I'll be back later."

It was in the lab that Max found Blade and Abby. They were there with Sommerfield and Hedges, consulting on what had happened, and on what little information they had uncovered.

"So basically we're in an arms race. They're using Drake's DNA to build themselves a better Vampire," Hedges summed up.

"And we need his blood to kill them," Blade concluded with a nod to Hedges before turning to Sommerfield. "How's this weapon of yours coming along?"

"We're almost there," she replied, and gestured to a series of ampule-like prototypes. Max was almost certain she'd see the completed version of the device later on. "The virus is harmless to humans. So we decided to go after the vampires' food source. The one thing we know for sure about vampires is that they have to drink blood. If we manage to pull this off, we'll be able to contaminate every blood source on the planet. They won't have anyone left to feed on."

"Doesn't do us any good if we don't have time to finish it," Abby stated pointedly. "We can't just sit here. We need to take the battle to them." Sommerfield lowered her head, thinking.

"If the Vampires are trying to isolate the hereditary factor in Drake that makes him immune to sunlight, they'll require certain kinds of laboratory equipment and provisions. For instance, there's an enzyme called Taq Polymerase. And there are only a limited number of suppliers," she explained. "Give me a few hours. I'll see if I can't hunt us up some leads."

Max had followed Blade that night to the storage area. She was used to seeing him inject himself, and he didn't seem to mind her watching. He used the pneumatic injector Sommerfield had made him, and looked down at the device in silent wonder. Unlike the needles that he had used before, there was no pain and no violent spasms. His body simply accepted the serum without a fight.

"Why do you do that?" Max looked over and saw Zoë sidle up next to Blade, watching him in fascination.

"There's something bad inside of me. This keeps it from getting out," he explained as simply as possible, and Max was a little shocked at how kind he was to the child. After all, Blade wasn't exactly the kind of guy you pictured with kids.

"Why can't you just be nice?" she asked.

"Good question," Max mumbled to herself, knowing full well that Blade had probably heard her.

"Because the world's not nice," he replied.

"Come on, Zoë," Max called, walking over to the odd pair. "Let's go get you something to eat, huh? And then Blade and I can go see if your mommy has any leads for us. That sound good to you?" Zoë nodded and waved bye to Blade before taking Max's hand and following her to the kitchen.

"Max," Zoë began quietly as Max made her a sandwich, "is King going to be okay?"

"Yeah, sweetie. King's gonna pull through just fine," she told her with a smile, setting a sandwich in front of her and running her hand through the child's soft hair.

"Is Blade going to stay with us?" she asked.

"Oh, um, I don't know, sweetie. If he wants to, I'm sure we can make room," she replied, knowing that Blade wouldn't stay, but she didn't want to crush the girl's hopes. It was then that she realized how odd the question was. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I like him. He's nice," she said simply. Just hearing those words made Max smile a bit. A child thought that Blade was nice? That was both funny and frightening.

"I think I've got a lead," Sommerfield told them later that night in the lab. She stood at her computers, reading a tactile Braille display. Blade, Max, and Abby were nearby, waiting patiently. "Biomedica Enterprises. They've been buying up all sorts of supplies – Taq Polymerase, bone marrow growth supplement, genetic sequencing enzymes."

"You want a party favor?" Hedges questioned, looking at Abby.

"Hollow sevens, silver points," she told him simply.

"Done," he replied, walking away to do as told rather proudly.

"You ready to go?" Blade asked, turning to Max.

"I'm not going," she replied simply, unconcerned. This earned her an odd look from Blade. "I'm gonna stay here, with King," she elaborated. It was those words that made Blade pull her aside.

"What the hell is going on with you? You're getting soft, Max," he stated to her, as if to warn her about something.

"I…I love him, Eric," she replied, ignoring the scowl he sent her way for using his real name.

"Saying things like that'll get you and the people around you killed," he warned her seriously, knowing it was true from personal experience. "You're young. You don't even know what love is."

"Like you do!" she countered hotly. "I know I loved Whistler. He's the one that sent me here, Blade. He introduced me to King, Abby, and the others behind your back months ago. He trusted me to put you on the right path, just like you did me. You need them, Eric."

"I don't need them," he argued.

"Oh, I think you do. I think you need them more than you're willing to admit."

"I don't need them," he repeated. "I don't need anyone."

"I guess that means you don't need me either," she retorted, testing the waters.

"You're damn right I don't need you," he replied. The shock and hurt that Max felt faded as she kept on her calm, cool exterior.

"Then why'd you save me?" she questioned, and had to bite down a smirk when she saw Blade falter. He didn't have an answer. "I'll see you when you get back, and we can talk about ending this "partnership" since you obviously don't want me around anymore," she told him, and turned to walk to the infirmary and King. "Happy hunting," she called over her shoulder.

P.S.: Four pages total.