Yes, Mag went off on Trump. Treason was kind of a big deal for her when she was a US Marine. Silly that, I know in the modern day US. But for the record? 'I' am not going to tell Mag she cannot do that kind of thing no matter how many people's feelings she hurts by insulting their 'god'. I like my health. She can rant all she wants!

Pretty

Colin woke with a start, unsure for a moment where he was. Then memory flooded in and he slitted his eyes carefully, not moving. He was still sitting in the uncomfortable chair Mag had led him to. He looked right and left, but there was no one else present he could see. Then he stilled anew as Mag sat down next to him.

"One thing I miss about being human is being able to catnap." Mag said quietly as Colin stared at her. "I sleep and I rest, but napping for short periods is beyond me. At least for now." She shrugged when Colin tilted his head in inquiry. "I am working on it and we are learning a lot about ourselves as time goes by."

"Mag, what is going on?" Colin asked very quietly but Mag shook her head, just a little and he paused. She leaned close to him and whispered.

"We are in trouble, Colin." Mag's words did not surprise the man, for some reason.

"I figured something was off." Colin said slowly. "There was no way that van could have gotten to Langley Air Force base outside of Newport News from Petersburg in the time we were in it unless it flew."

"It gets worse." Mag was still quiet. "This is a military aircraft, but it not run by the military It is made up to look like one the Air Force operates." Colin stared at her and she shook her head. "The uniforms are right, but not everything is."

"Not military." Colin breathed and then hissed. "He is working with the ones I worked for."

"Why wouldn't he?" Mag asked with a shrug. "They are rich, he is rich. Rules, laws, ethics… All of those are for poor people." She sighed. "It makes me mad, but that the way the world is. At one time, when I was young and naive, I though the US was different, but it isn't. Anyone and everyone with a brain realizes that after January 6."

"You really went off on him." Colin smiled as Mag sat back.

"I was a US Marine before I was changed into this." Mag shook her head as she waved at herself. "Always Faithful, Death before Dishonor, all of that. It wasn't all that long ago, but things have changed significantly now. When I was growing up, politicians were not to be trusted. Presidents, especially. But the thought of one of them acting the part a third world tin-pot dictator was just unthinkable. Yes, we had people like Nixon and Reagan who played fast and loose with the law. We had the fine examples of Kennedy and Clinton who could not keep it in their pants, but for the most part, the head of state was a statesman. A diplomat. A seeker of compromise. Not always liked, but he was supposed to be better than the masses. Held to a higher standard." Now she slumped a bit. "Silly that."

"I didn't like him, but Obama tried." Colin said and Mag eyed him.

"Obama was brand new and didn't know how the game was supposed to be played." Mag replied, sinking back into her chair. "The younger Bush upset a lot of people with the blatant mishandling of things by his administration. If Bush hadn't been such a fool about those things, Iraq in particular, Obama wouldn't have had a chance of being elected. Not only was he the wrong skin color, but he upset the apple carts of a bunch of people in power and he lied very badly. He wanted to tell the truth in Washington DC." The Tenno sighed again. "That is a death knell for anyone's career in US politics. People hating him wasn't about the healthcare, although that didn't help. Obama didn't win his second election. The Republicans lost it because they got greedy and stupid."

"You really feel about that." Colin was bemused by this odd woman.

"Like I said, I was a Marine." Mag gave herself a shake. "Loyalty was a big deal for me. For most of us. To each other. To the Corps. To the country." Then she scoffed. "We had our share of bad apples, mind you. People who wanted legal excuse to hurt others. People who came in only to do a short term and then leave so they could put 'US Marine' on their resume. Criminals, bullies and malcontents made it through boot camp all the time despite the best efforts of the DIs. Sometimes it got kicked out of us on active duty. Sometimes it didn't. Humans are human."

"You said you are not American now." Colin said slowly and Mag nodded.

"Nor am I human. I was changed by the virus that made the monsters that attacked you in the warehouse." Mag explained. "I am no longer a member of the species Homo Sapiens."

"So… what you said to the man,…" Colin felt horror dawn as Mag nodded. "They... They want… Ick." Mag gave another shrug.

"They are thinking in biological terms. Male and female." Mag sounded calm, but her posture was tense. "That is a fundamental error. I tried to get it across to him, but I doubt he heard what I said. His voice is the only one that matters to him. I saw such so often as a Marine and now, many times as what I am. The language may change, the hair, the skin, but in the end, it is all the same. Dictators and wanna be dictators generally all talk the same no matter where they are from." Mag slumped. "I just never thought to see that kind of thing in the heart of Washington DC. I guess I am blind as anyone else."

"Yeah, he is damn good at fooling people who want to be fooled. I don't want to be. What can we do?" Colin asked, eyeing the door that Mag had used earlier. "Are we going to Florida? Oh wait. Are they listening?"

"They tried." Mag smirked as Colin eyed her. "Electronics often go haywire around me, hence why they didn't want me in the cockpit." Colin spun his head to stare at her and she shrugged. "I knew something was wrong but I wasn't sure what until the plane captain met me outside the cockpit with a sidearm on." Colin looked blank and Mag frowned. "A sidearm is a pistol."

"Wouldn't a military pilot have a pistol?" Colin asked, confused.

"Sometimes. They are not comfortable to wear for long periods, sitting down." Mag explained and Colin frowned as the thought about that. It was true. Even the best holsters would chafe or bruise with such a hard object pressed against a seat. "Fighter pilots or people who expect to need them at any time wear them in rigs designed for long term wear, but even in custom holsters, they are still uncomfortable. Transport pilots wouldn't wear them all the time if they can help it. They sit for long periods in uncomfortable chairs and even most military transport pilots I knew wouldn't wear them unless they thought they are going to need pistols. Certainly not in a hip holster and certainly not a Desert Eagle."

"Desert Eagle is .50 caliber, right?" Colin shook his head, wracking his brain, but he didn't think that was a military weapon.

"Yep." Mag made a face. "Not a weapon issued to any military pilots that I know of. Won't do anything more than piss me off unless they have Enferon." She paused and then her face twisted further. "Now that I say that? I wouldn't put it past them."

"What is Enferon?" Colin wracked his brain further, but he had only heard that once before. In the alley from that odd Russian.

"Enferon is a cocktail of chemicals that was developed by the USSR in 1987." Mag replied. "It was designed to kill anyone and anything infected by the Technocyte virus." Colin stared at her and she nodded. "They used it on me in the alley. Red gas."

"It didn't do anything to me." Colin paused and then swallowed. "Because I am not infected?"

"If you had been? It would have killed you." Mag closed her eyes for a moment, her face sad. "We gave the recipe for Enferon to everyone, because we were stupid and naive. We thought they meant it when they said they could help. Silly that."

"You gave them a chemical weapon that can kill your kind?" Colin demanded, aghast.

"Who said it will kill us?" Mag inquired in a mild voice and Colin had to smile that that. "We are not Infected. We were, but then we changed. We are different. Yeah, it can and will mess us up, but it won't kill us outright like it will the regular Infected."

"So, they could have gassed the whole warehouse." Colin wasn't sure if awe or horror was the right response.

"They planned to." Mag replied offhand and Colin stilled yet again. "Problem was, the guy they gave the remote control to was infected and he ran off before the controllers offsite could activate it. That was when they called us."

"They called you in." Colin stammered.

"Well, they couldn't contain it. They had to call it in or face an apocalypse. They are not idiots, Colin." Mag smiled to take the sting from her words. "They may be greedy, shortsighted fools, but they are not idiots. Even Trump knows that if everyone dies, he has no one to fan his ego." Colin;'s eyes went huge and Mag chuckled. "That is what I did, ranting at him. I fanned his ego and I knew he would enjoy it. Not pay as close attention to me as he should. He basks in such. Positive or negative, people are talking about him and that makes him feel good. Being ignored is the worst kind of thing for someone like him."

"Wait!" Colin couldn't believe his ears! "So, what you said, all that ranting? It was clinical?" Colin all but begged that. Mag nodded and Colin felt faint. "Why? I mean, I am programmed to hate him, but… You? Why?" He didn't quite demand that.

"I am not American, Colin." Mag was chiding him now, but gently, almost humorously. "I am not even human anymore! Why should I give a shit about some guy with delusions of godhood? America will learn or it will not. It is not my concern. I am worried about humanity, not just this significant corner of it." Colin stared at her, but her smile was too much and he felt his own lips starting to stretch.

"Not my circus, not my monkeys?" Colin was smiling and Mag nodded, her own smile huge.

"Yeah. Politics is always a mess. American politics are just as bad as anywhere else, if slightly less violent most of the time." Mag sighed, relaxing again. "I am upset. That is not a lie. I am deeply disturbed by what I saw on January 6. I knew there were elements in the US that wanted violent change. I knew his rhetoric, I saw it so often. I just never thought he would get away with it."

"He hasn't." Colin said slowly but Mag shook her head.

"He is not in jail or dead." Mag's tone said volumes of how she felt about that. "That is the only way his kind of person stops grabbing for power. The only thing that will change is the body count. Human life means as little to his kind as laws and ethics do. He will try again, and next time? He might succeed. As I say, US politics are not my problem anymore. If he is working with the people playing with the virus, though… That will be my problem."

"So, the company I worked for was testing those things." Colin said softly. Mag nodded. "And everyone was supposed to die."

"Maybe not you." Mag shrugged when Colin looked at her. "You are stronger than a human. You are faster than a human and let's face it. You are calmer than any human would be in this kind of situation."

"I was scared, but… Panic kills." Colin said very softly. "I... I think my dad taught me that, but if he wasn't really my dad…" Mag reached out and took his hand in one of hers. It felt odd. Metal? But warm, not cold.

"Whoever taught you that did you a great service." Mag said firmly as she gave his hand a squeeze. "Panic has killed far more people than bullets. Being calm in a crisis without a hell of a lot of training is a gift, Colin. Whatever else they did to you, they gave you that gift. Use it well." She released his hand and sat back again.

"Okay." Colin took three deep, cleansing breaths as his sensei had taught him. If that had been real! "Okay. So, Florida?"

"We are going West, not South." Mag replied and Colin jerked. "Don't ask." She warned.

"What do we do?" Colin asked weakly. "I mean, is even a military plane?" Mag nodded. "So… what?"

"Task Group Ten does exist, but it has nothing to do with us." Mag was quiet now and Colin was almost punch drunk. "Those airmen may or may not be members, but the pilots are not. The plane is military, a C-17,. but the pilots are not military and if you look hard, you can see what they tried to hide. For good reason."

"Oh?" Colin asked very carefully.

"I can't say how I know, but I knew as soon as I saw that sidearm that they were not US Air Force." Mag replied. "They really should have changed weapons if they wanted to keep it secret. Only one group carried those as sidearms. But they know if they try anything in here, I can and will kill them all." Not a threat, a statement.

"Who-?" Colin broke off as Mag looked at him and shook her head. He shook his. "I don't want to know, do I?"

"No."

"So, what do we do?" Colin asked, feeling bit faint. It had been a rough day. Was it still the same day?

"For now, we wait until the plane lands and then we play it by ear." Mag replied, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.

"Wherever we land, they will have a response ready for you." Colin winced as Mag scoffed. "Mag, they got you in the alley."

"Yeah, they did." Mag agreed, not concerned in the slightest. "I was worried about collateral damage with no outbreak nearby. Now? I am not so worried about collateral damage." She cracked an eye at Colin and… Wait! Was that a wink? "Besides, the view is not bad." Colin stared at her and she was eyeing him!

"Mag…" Colin was not sure how to react to this. He had flirted of course. He was male and he had- Well, he remembered having encounters with the opposite sex. Had they really happened? How would he know? He did know Mag was flirting with him and had no idea how to react! She wasn't human! Was he? She was pretty, but it was some kind of illusion, wasn't it?

"Life is short for humans, Colin." Mag reassured him as she seemed to go to sleep. Only her fingers curled up on the armrests were a hint that she was awake and aware. Her voice was now a bare whisper. "Don't give up the good along with all the bad or you wind up like me. Whoever made you wants a robotic, soulless killing machine. Do us all a favor and spit in their eye."

With that, she started to make snoring noises! But her hand was still clenched on the armrest. She was awake and ready. Yeah, right like Colin could sleep now? This might be a long flight…

Three hours later

The shift in engine noise had Colin sitting up from where he had been meditating. Whoever had taught him that, it worked. He was clearheaded despite the oddness of the situation. Here he was, on a plane he did not know, sitting beside a self proclaimed non human who didn't care about anything but fighting her own wars. She was incredibly dangerous. She had powers that defied understanding, but she was kind to him. He wasn't sure what was going on or what would happen, but he did know Mag would not leave him if she had any choice in the matter.

"Are we there yet?" Mag asked in a whiny child-like voice as she sat up in her chair. Faked. She had been awake the whole time. A bump and tires screeched underneath Colin, but he paid it little mind.

"Don't make me turn this plane around, young lady." Colin joked right back and Mag smiled wide. "So, what now?"

Colin looked around. The cabin had not changed. When he had first arrived, he hadn't realized it had no windows. It almost felt like a cell… Wait a minute. Was that a snippet of a badge on one wall? Almost covered by paint that matched the wall, but not quite? Mag looked at him as he eyed her and then she nodded.

"I am sure they have what they think is overwhelming force ready to go." Mag stood up and stretched. Colin looked away, aware that bits of his anatomy really liked the view. "I doubt we will get any answers at a landing strip. I also doubt that any goons in suits, black or otherwise, have any answers. They are just goons."

"Why do I get the feeling you could have left anytime?" Colin asked as Mag reached out to pull him to his feet. She did it without effort. "Even in mid-air."

"I may not be human anymore but just like my sister, I know the difference between right and wrong." Mag said with a shrug. "Leaving you behind at the warehouse was wrong. We knew something was wrong, but until Nyx scanned your mind today, we had no idea what. Now? We want answers and this is probably the best place to get them. If they try to hurt you, I will kill them."

Again, not a threat. A statement.

"And if they hurt you?" Colin asked. "If they gas you or whatever?"

"If they wanted to hurt me, they would not have gassed me with an aphrodisiac." Mag replied and Colin felt all the breath leave his body. "It is okay, Colin. I know how you feel. I know what you are feeling. It is okay. They are making a serious mistake and I am about to explain it to them in a way they will understand."

"An… Aphrodisiac…" Colin sputtered and then gasped as the whole cabin of under his feet moved. Mag had hold of his arm as he staggered, but he kept his balance and she nodded approval.

"Yeah." Mag shook her head as the whole cabin lowered itself out of the airplane and the pair took in the scene in front of them. The massive, empty hangar in front of them with a familiar smile-like logo. The black limo with the chauffeur in a proper tuxedo and the sign! The sign read: 'Mag and Colin'

"You have got to be kidding!" Colin stammered as Mag shook her head. The huge military aircraft they stood under as the only one on the private airstrip. Mag snickered but it held warning.

"Well, at least they don't seem to want to shoot us this time."