Me: I don't have much to say, so I'll cut right to it.

Shout-outs to: Sierra156 (and we're not the only ones!) and flash5335 (welcome back!)

Welcome to the new Itex. The older Dylan's words continued to play over and over in my head. What did he mean the new Itex? I thought we'd destroyed them.

And there was something strange about this other Dylan. Dr. Hans had said Dylan was a clone, but of someone that had died. Something didn't add up.

When he didn't continue I realized that he, the Director, was waiting for a response. "What the hell are you talking about? If I remember correctly, we already destroyed you morons. And where the hell did you come from? You're supposed to be dead."

The Director sat calmly until the last part. He looked genuinely surprised. "Where did you hear that from?" He inquired.

"He," I said, pointing to our Dylan, "was cloned from somebody that died in a car accident. And you," I continued, pointing to the Director, "are not dead." I crossed my arms.

And where did you hear that?

The Voice. No, it couldn't be…

"And where did you hear that?" he echoed. He was smiling strangely at me, as if we were sharing some big secret. Maybe we are, I thought.

"Dr. Gunther-Hagen," our Dylan called out, passionate rage burning in his eyes. Dr. Hans had been his father figure.

"So that's what he told you," the Director said, as if that somehow explained everything.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dylan questioned angrily.

The Director sighed, and looked at me. "Perhaps I should explain. As you know, Itex used to be an organization that performed illegal testing, before you destroyed it.

"After that, worked to recreate ourselves, but we were split in two. Half of us realized our mistakes, and wanting to right our wrongs, test only on willing subjects.

"The other half wanted to continue what we had been doing, only worse and more extreme. Eventually, our differences drove us apart. Those of us that wanted to test legally recreated Itex, with me at the lead. Everyone else formed the basis of the Doomsday Group.

"From the beginning, I realized that we had to destroy them if we wanted to stop them. I understood that you, Max, are the game changer, so to speak. I needed to get to you, gain your trust so you could help us. That's when I reached out to Dr. Gunther-Hagen, and old colleague of mine. I gave him the task of creating a clone of me infused with avian DNA. I told him that the clone had to be physically matured to as close to 14 as possible. He succeeded, and made sure that you got close to gain each other's trust, so I could "meet" you while still working. It turned out later that he was a traitor, and he was working for the Doomsday Group. Despite what he had done for them, they executed him.

"We had the advantage over them until the mastered their mass mind-control device a few months ago and came up with a guise. Since then, they've become too powerful, and we needed your help immediately. I apologize for the way we got you here but we had no other choice. And I know for a fact, Max, that if we had just told you, you would have refused to come in. Don't even try to deny it.

"Please, Max. Help us. I promise we have changed. Everyone here that has been tested on volunteered, without any force. We have the signed documents right here. Max, help us do what you were always intended to do. Help us save the world. All of our sources will be available to you." He paused, waiting for my response.

"Hell no."

"Max, please," he said, his voice desperate. "We can and will help you."

"I said no."

"Max, we have reason to believe that the Doomsday Group is going to attack LA, and then perform a public execution of three people. Think carefully, Max. Does the Doomsday Group have three people you care about?" Ella, Mom, and Jeb.

I gritted my teeth and glared at him. "You're lying."

The Director stood up. "But what if I'm not? Is it worth it? Do you really want to risk their lives just to spite me?" I said nothing. "Please, Max, we have a helicopter prepared to fly you their right now." I remained silent. "Max, I swear, we have changed. I've let tests be conducted on myself." We were all dead silent, so quiet that I could hear whitecoats shoes hitting the floor, papers rumpling, the squeaks of wheels on carts.

"You have to stop the Doomsday Group and save the world, anyways, Max. I'm offering you help," he said more quietly, almost whispering.

I sighed. He wouldn't let us leave until I said yes. "Fine. I still don't trust you, but I guess I have no choice."

The Director's, or I guess Dylan's, face fell. "Hopefully I can change that in the future." I saw him glance to the side, something he'd done during his speech to us. I followed his gaze, and I saw what he was looking at, which slightly disturbed me.

He was shooting sideways glances at Fang.

Fang: You make me sound like the bad guy.

Me: Nah, but it's important regarding the plot later on. So just in case you got lost or confused:

Max finds out that the new Director of Itex was the original Dylan, and that Itex is now made of changed whitecoats, while the DG was formed by scientists that broke away from Itex. In the end, Max decides to work with them. In short.

Fang: That was the worst summary ever.

Me: You live to insult me, don't you?

Fang: Until you let me go, yeah.

Me: You'll never learn, will you?

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-MaximumX and Fang