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Twisted Angel	By : Melody21 Category: 1 through F > Dark Angel Views: 2933 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Angel, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Title: Twisted Angel
Author: Mc Ice
Rating: R, NC-17
Show: Dark Angel
Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure
Type: WIP
Pairing: M/A
Summary: Wonder what would happen if someone took away any
of your values, morality and conscious? Where a world in which the leader of a
nation gets turned on them and is the sole carrier for salvation gets turned
into their own damnation. Witness Max as the revved up being she was told she
would be but fighting for the wrong side. Familiar and transgenics are both on
opposing sides against the once loved leader.

They
sped through the streets taking the turns only a transgenic could pull off at
their speed, using their quick reflexes and balance. Taunting eachother as they
were neck and neck down the last street headed straight into TC. Max smirked as
she caught site of a ramp up ahead and quickly processing speed and velocity,
her smile brightened, calling out and knowing Alec would hear her �Alec� she
purred �I�m getting all hot and wet�

Startled
Alec turned to look at her incredulously.

Smirking
and using his momentary distraction she cut in front of him. Revving her baby
one more time she aligned her bike with the ramp and zoomed past a bewildered
Alec, jumping the fence and landing gracefully on the other side before
speeding off out of site.

Alec
who was too stunned at first quickly followed after her, shaking his head he
mumbled �evil vixen� under his breath, all the while his smile never wavered.

As
the happy transgenic arrived at TC�s abandoned parking lot he noticed Max
leaning casually against the pillar next to her bike smirking superiorly and
blowing on her fingernails.

�Why
hello slow poke, what was it that you said� she drawled then snapping her
fingers as if she remembered �oh that�s right. Last one here was a smelly egg
fart!� she then proceeded to do a victory dance and song. �Alec�s a smelly egg
fart yea! Alec�s a smelly egg fart yea! Alec�s a smelly egg fart yea oh Alec�s
a smelly egg fart yea-�

Stopping
to laugh at him she opened her mouth and started wiggling her hips, she was
gonna start again.

Shaking
his head and sighing before she could start he said in mock disappointment.
�And ladies and gentleman of Transgenic Central this is our leader�

�Hey!
You�re just a sore loser� she poked her tongue out at him.

He
smirked �don�t tease me with that unless your gonna use it� then clasping his
hands together he mocked with her as she screamed out �Pig!� then dismounted
his bike quickly to avoid her hit.

Laughing
he ran away from her indifferent yet playful mood �what�s the matter Maxie, you
embarrassed I figured you out? Always knew those many times you hit me were
just a ploy so you could touch me�

Staring
at him in disbelief she gave chase �what?! NO!�

�Denial,
denial, denial� he chanted tauntingly at her. Then stopping abruptly she ran
straight into his back and bounced right off on her ass.

Laughing
at her disgruntled look and shock he held onto his stomach as he laughed at
her. �You should have seen- umpf!�

Max
was now the one laughing as he stared solemnly at the roof from off his back no
longer laughing. Rubbing his elbows as he cringed at the surprise and swiftness
she had taken him down by. He had used his elbows because he was caught off
guard to break the fall properly. Something the proud CO was not happy to
admit.

Pouting
and still rubbing his elbows he turned to look at the hysterical Max. �Not
funny, you hurt my elbows�

Calming
down a bit she smiled at him. It took his breath away as she crawled slowly
towards him and rested her head on his chest keeping eye contact. She was
smiling genuinely and the happiness and spark in her eyes took his breath away,
she was beautiful like this.

�Aww
poor baby!� she mocked drawing small patterns on his chest lightly �that was a
classic though, kinda disappointed in you Mr. CO� as she raised her eyes back
to his �didn�t even see it comin� then as much as she could she shook her head
chin still on his chest �tsk, tsk�

Alec
just scowled at her before grabbing her shoulders to fast for the human eye and
flipped her over him making sure to roll with her so he sat straddling her. Max
screeched at the sudden movement.

�How�s
that for not seeing it comin� he smirked down at her.

�Whatever,
you�re just a sore loser but its okay I won�t push you too much, can�t afford
to put you out because I damaged your ego. I understand how crippling it would
be for someone like you-eep!�

Max
got cut off with hysterical laughter as Alec proceeded to torture her with his
fingers, finding her most sensitive spots relentlessly.

�Stop!�
Max withered under him �Please!�

�Nope!�
he smirked at her not stopping his torture.

�Please
Alec I�m gonna piss my pants� she tried batting him away from her without
success because next thing she knew her wrists were being held with one strong
hand.

�What
a charming thing to say Maxie�

�umpf...Pleease!
Stop, please, please� Gasping out loud then laughing some more.

�Not
until you say that I�m the best!� he stopped momentarily and looked down at her
flushed face in awe.

�What?
Hell no!�

Alec
just started up the tickling. �Please stop!�

�Not
until you admit it�

�Argh...alright!
Alec you are the best� Alec kept tickling her for a bit more then just stopped.
As he looked down at the tired female beneath him he smiled gently.

Max
was breathless but content. Sighing she pushed at Alec to get off her.

�Ass�
she mumbled rolling to her side not even caring that she was lying on the
ground.

Shaking
her head Max looked over to Alec who lay next to her with a smirk on his face.
Noticing that it wasn�t his normal smirk of indifference, it was more like a
half smile that was softer and kinder. She moved over to him and resumed her
earlier position with her chin on his chest and locked eyes with him.

After
a beat of just looking at eachother Max broke away first and leant over to kiss
his forehead before she got up and offered her hand down to him. �C�mon we
gotta get moving�

He
accepted her hand and got up and dusted himself off. �Yea let�s get going� then
smirking he said �hmm at least I can say with some truth that I have rolled
around with you� he then wriggled his eyebrows.

�Ick...
Pig!� she rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand dragging him along in
exasperation.

As
they strolled along, Alec stole glances at Max as she was unsucceedingly attempting
to do the same. Small smiles played on both their lips and everyone milling
about in the streets noticed. As the elected leader it was no doubt that she
turned heads, transhuman and X series alike but normally she paid little
attention as possible and avoided eye contact with as less people as necessary.
Part of her defense to not get too attached, but as Alec and Max walked along
she smiled and waved at everyone to their delight.

It
was no secret that she held herself off emotionally but to have her glance and
take the time to say hello was very uncharacteristic of her, despite her
indestructible emotional barriers it was no secret that Max was made in the lab
as someone people fell in love with; respect and admiration usually followed in
that combination. Her looks were not the basis for the surrounding populace to
fall for this girl, she uncannily attracted and hooked people onto her
unintentionally and left them wanting more.

In
the beginning of the siege they all had mistrust toward her because she was an
09� escapee but over time they had learnt to trust her judgment and come to
love her. She was full of life and radiated passion that it was hard not to,
thus backing up the hypothesis of her existence to make people unavoidably love
her.

Alec
on the other hand everyone already was in association with; anyone who was
located in the Wyoming base of course. He was constantly praised and
acknowledged by their superiors and his team mates and younger X series knew
all about him. The glories and the disgraces, X5-494 was the epitome of the
perfect soldier, he excelled at everything and was granted mission leave
earlier than anyone. He had accomplished so much and now as the second in
command at Terminal City all transgenics had faith that their leader�s will be
able to make things right. With the backing and support of 494 the
Wyoming based transgenics trusted him to show Max the ways in which she had
missed training to be a soldier while living on the outside, individuality
making it that much easier in trusting the rogue.

It
was no secret that Max and Alec were the most lusted after X-5�s in the whole
city because of their ranks, status, popularity amongst the troops and
undeniable beauty.

Max
the ever famous hard head was �supposedly� indifferent and oblivious to such
things while Alec soaked it up and took it to his advantage. The nation of TC
knew of Alec�s feelings towards Max, it was pretty obvious but they also knew
of his Casanova ways. He wouldn�t be celibate in the process of waiting for her
to wake up, albeit after Max�s first official speech in presenting a united
force Alec has been noticeably less with his man-whore syndrome and more
focused on backing up his leader and helping out in TC. Not to say that there
hadn�t been opportunities, Max was of course off the market but Alec on the
other hand was not and that led many X-5 women wanting and lusting after the
Alfa Male.

Max
was still wearing her jacket and the sleeves covered the bracelet but he had a
sense of pride everytime it unceremoniously peeked out and caught the suns
rays, making it glint prettily. She looked so beautiful and light hearted that
he couldn�t help but stare at her, he knew she knew about this and didn�t care
because he saw the soft smile that graced her lips.

As
they finally made it to Head Quarters Max stood out the front and latched her
slender fingers around Alec�s wrist gently signaling him to stop.

As
he turned to look at her he saw her shift slightly, raising an eyebrow at her
he patiently waited as she gathered enough courage to look at him. Noticing
that she still held his wrist she moved her hand and laced their fingers
finally looking at his hazel eyes.

�Alec...�
she started off then cleared her throat. A tell tale sign she was nervous he
surmised internally. He gently squeezed her reassuring her about his support
and comfort.

As
she gazed into his eyes she saw the care and unabashed loyalty shining through
making her relax slightly. She was never good with expressing her feelings but
she wanted, needed Alec to know how much she appreciated him for making
her feel so cherished and loved even though it was not his job to do so. Taking
a deep breath �I just wanted to say thank you again for the gift� she shyly
looked away but kept a firm grip on his hand as if the joining gave her the
strength �I want you to know that I refuse to take it off my wrist until you
tell me to, sorta like an omen on a day to day basis of how persistently
annoying your presence is� she allowed him to stir a moment before her quirky
smirk appeared and she gave a gentle squeeze to his hand assuring him it was a
joke before returning to her serious face �It�s a part of me now.... like you
are� she whispered the last part knowing he would understand the depth of that
comment.

Standing
on tiptoes she leaned over and gave his check a light kiss then unlaced their
fingers and wrapped her arms around his neck relaxing into his arms. After the
initial shock wore off he encircled her tiny waist within his arms and nuzzled
her shoulder whispering contentedly �Thanks Maxie�.

They
stood like that for a few more moments allowing Alec to put to memory her
scent, a slight tint of vanilla with the undeniable scent of just Max. As they
pulled away from eachother and looked into eachothers eyes lost in their happy
thoughts they were startled when an urgent sounding voice called out to Max.

Alec
looked over Max�s shoulder as a young X-7 came barreling towards her. As soon
as he reached her he stood at attention and proceeded in an urgent yet monotone
voice.

�Ma�am
we have a situation concerning Ray and another X-7 ma�am�

Snapping
at the sound of Ray�s name, she asked urgently �where?�

�Down
by the mess hall ma�am�

As
soon as he pointed out the way Max blurred as fast as she could in that
direction, cursing herself for not stopping by TC earlier this week as guilt
and worry settled into her being overtaking her once blissful mood. As she
approached the building she could hear cheering and the sound of scuffling
emanating from within TC�s designated cafeteria. Not slowing down in the
slightest she banged open the door and was greeted with the many shouts and
cheering of a clustered group in the centre of the room, obviously surrounding
a fist-fight.

Her
paranoia escalated as she heard the tale end of the current calls from the
excited group.

�Yay!
Go for it Tim. Teach the little serpent a lesson� screamed out one voice

�How�s
it feel Familiar to get your ass kicked by transgenic filth?� taunted another.

�What�s
the matter Ray? Daddy didn�t teach you to fight?� came a harsh voice.

�Stop
it Tim! He never did anything to you!� some girl pleaded.

�Tim
Stop! Max will seriously get pissed!� a voice tried to reason.

In
the center of the Mess hall young Ray White was on his feet trying to block the
punches coming his way, while nursing his side a little from when the boy in
front of him had kicked him. He really couldn�t understand what he did to upset
the boy; he was just eating and joking around with Liz when the boy had roughly
pushed him to the floor from his spot on the bench seat. His piece of toast
flying out of his fingers and he had knocked his funny bone on the floor. All
up his right arm tingles swept through. Groaning at the sensation he turned
when the boy had grabbed onto his shirt and lifted him to his feet.

�Think
your better than us huh?� then with that Ray felt a strong fist hit his stomach
almost making him want to hurl up any breakfast he just digested.

Croaking
from his bent over position he looked startled at the boy �what? I never said I
was�

The
boy just laughed harshly and that�s when Ray noticed the rest of the crowd
surrounding them with Liz struggling to break through the males. They were all
young ranging from 7 to 10 yr olds. Ray was only 8 but he knew the basics of
fighting, had learnt from his new mommy and from watching his dad. But he still
didn�t have the proper training to hold off the angry X-7.

�That�s
what you think Familiar! You come to our home and think you own everything,
like you belong� he taunted �but you don�t! You�re the enemy! And shouldn�t
even be allowed to be here!�

�I
don�t think I own everything!� Ray shouted back indignant.

Tim
as the X-7 was formally known as was new to TC and had heard about the young
Familiar residing here. He had immediately disliked him and had watched every
move he made. He saw the young boy play with the beautiful X-7 girl and was
slightly pissed because he shouldn�t even be allowed to mingle with his kind.

Slowly
circling eachother sizing eachother up Tim just glowered.

�The
only reason you�re here is because of Max, no one likes you! You should just
leave�

Bristling
with the insult Ray stood stiffly and faced Tim before in a deadly calmed voice
said �you�re wrong�

Smirking
at Ray he just shrugged and said condescendingly �says the Familiar who kills
our kind�

Outraged
Ray lunged at him all the while screaming �I�m not like that!�

After
that it was just a bunch of punches and kicks while people on the side line
either cheered or attempted to break it up. They lost track of time and both
boys were hurting, Ray had a small cut on his lip and he was sure to have a
black eye when this was over, he was slightly hunched over his right side
trying to protect it while deflecting the other boy�s punches.

Tim
on the other hand wasn�t as bad just a bruised up face and a cut lip. He saw
that Ray was favoring his right side and went in for the blow. As he swept out
Rays feet and straddled him he raised his fist and was about to end it when
suddenly a force so strong threw him roughly across the room.

A
booming voice called out in the room. As Max stood seething from where Tim had
previously stood a deadly quiet settled over.

�I
said stand down!�

Tim
looked up from his disgruntled position on the other side of the hall in
surprise before he quickly stood to attention and ignored the wince he felt in
his side and head from his impromptu flight. Max was glaring at him dangerously
behind her now present soldier mask.

Stalking
over to him slowly and calmly she reveled in the fact that she was emanating
hostility and maternal protectiveness. Tim gulped but kept his position. He
finally felt the shame of his actions catch up with him and wished he could
take it back as his leader�s disappointment and anger radiated from her to him.

�There
had better be a fucking good explanation for this soldier!� Max said harshly
without any grimace as she used profanity in front of the soldier and
controlled her rapid morbid desire to violently pound into him all the while
her insides screamed at her to run back to Ray and see if he was alright, but
like second nature which she had developed it would be a blow in her authority
to do such things, she knew what she had to do first. Take control and act like
their leader. Age was not an issue; insubordination is not allowed and should
be dealt with immediately as what was drilled and taught to her all to clearly
at a young age. She knew there would be more break outs towards Ray if she
didn�t set the rules, and as she glared at the young boy in front of her she
knew she could never go to the extreme extent of punishment as was common at
Manticore not that she could anyway. She glared at him ruthlessly behind her
emotional wall and took charge instead.

The
young boy watched with a tremble of fear as his leader�s cold eyes stared him
down and his gaze wavered under her intense scrutiny before his military
training took in and he stood at attention gazing at a spot just behind her
shoulder; mentally chiding himself for slipping and falling into the life of a
commoner.

�Well?�
she barked.

Standing
even straighter than he was he answered her. �No ma�am there is no good reason
for my actions ma�am�

�Well
then what the hell were you thinking?!�

�Max
calm down� Alec tried to sooth her before she flicked her eyes towards him and
he saw the pain and turmoil this situation was causing her. He had just stood
behind her to the side observing but he could tell Max was struggling to
understand why this had happened and the absolute rage she was bottling up so
she had some semblance of control. As the Nations leader it meant she was to
assure everyone that they were all equals and ranked accordingly with the same
respect as any other. At the moment Max�s maternal instincts and common sense
were warring with eachother. The Transgenics were all delegated ranks
accordingly but Max was the one with final word and everyone had agreed to this
but as she stood there she knew that she had to act like a leader and not let
her personal issues come forth. There was no favoritism allowed she knew that
and she hated not being able to just give in and run to her little boy.

Smiling
ruefully to himself despite the situation *Man guess there�s no questioning
that she�s mother material* then snapping out of it, not that anyone would
have noticed Alec had slapped on his emotionless stoic face, he listened to
what the X-7 had to say.

�Ma�am
I just wanted to prove that a Familiar should have no place here in Transgenic
Central ma�am�

�Oh
and I suppose you think you can run this city better than me? Am I correct?�
her tone void of emotion asked sharply.

Looking
at her startled he quickly went back to position �No ma�am of course not�
confused at the 180 in conversation.

�Then
stop trying to take matters into you�re own hands! Am I not correct soldier
that you knew of Rays and mine relationship?� She waited a beat before
continuing �Then I am to assume soldier that you had planned to basically
disregard your leader�s authority and pursue matters out of you�re own hands�
Max then looked harshly around the room taking in slight joy at the flinches
when her gaze landed on them. �Ray is not like them!� She spoke a tad bit
louder addressing the whole room �Yes, he may be a familiar but he isn�t like
his brethren!� Staring them down �Anyone against my opinion? If there is the
slightest mistrust coming from you towards me step forward now, coz I�m telling
you right now that your actions here today make it all to clear of the way you
trust my actions. Does anyone have a problem with my position and lead?�
sneering she looked at everyone and continued �I mean its obvious that you
don�t like the way I lead by the disrespectful actions occurring today, so I�ll
tell you what, you don�t want me, step forward and tell me why, I aint got no
problems with opinions people� she looked around the room at the many young
faces all acting out their soldier training to the tee. Noticing their
hesitation she snapped �Well?�

An
immediate chorus of �No ma�am� reverted around the room.

�Anyone
that touches him again has to answer to me, is that clear?� a collective chorus
of �yes ma�am� was heard. She turned her icy glare back at the X-7. �Is that
clear soldier� she snapped.

�Yes
ma�am�

Nodding
she dismissed him �Get out of my sight, and spread the word!� then with that
she walked back to Ray who was now being cradled by Liz, the young girl who had
taken a liking to him.

Before
she got there she heard the X-7 call out to her.

�ma�am�
he said in a low voice still at attention.

She
just raised an eyebrow when she turned to look at him still emotionless.

�Ma�am
you�re a great leader and I'll follow you and your every command there�s no
doubt the respect we all have for you� hesitating his next words �I...we
just don�t understand why you love this familiar ma�am, he�s was born a pure
Familiar and last time I checked they�re a hater of our kind�

Sighing
she noticed that it was just Alec, Ray, Liz and the X-7 left in the room with
her. �At ease� she walked over to him crouching slightly finally showing her
emotions on her beautiful face. Grabbing his hand gently as he stood there
�Look I don�t expect you to understand, its none of your business the
going-on�s with my personal life, but I want you to know that my loyalty is
with transgenics� she watched him nod, not even hesitating and smiled inwardly
�Then trust my decision with Ray, he is a familiar, but like I said he�s not
like them, I care for him because of that and also because he�s just a little
boy just like you are, we are being taught to understand the warped mind of
ordinaries and their decisions concerning us, but cant you see that what you
are doing towards Ray is exactly the same thing as what the ordinaries do
towards us? I like to think our kind are somewhat above all the stereotypical
bullshit, and if what your saying about you�re loyalty is true� she watched as
he nodded to give her his back up of his earlier statement �then I suggest you
stop following what you were once taught and look deeper than the cave-man
period of �fight now ask later� syndrome�� she looked at him softly and
squeezed his hand then stood up. �Understand? He�s a good kid, he�s different
from us, but were all different there�s so much more to him than just being a
familiar...umm sorry what was your name?�

�Tim
ma�am�

�Tim�
she rolled the name off her tongue and looked at him �suites you, anyway if you
don�t like him leave him be, I meant what I said before, lay a hand on him
again you�ll answer to me�

�Yes
ma�am� he said shamefully �I am sorry ma�am�

�Good,
then we understand eachother, you seem like a good kid Tim so stay out of
trouble okay� Max looked at him and saw the eagerness of approval shining in
the depth of his ice blue eyes but couldn�t bring herself at the moment to do
it, instead she gave him a small smile and said casually �I�ll catch ya round,
but next time you see Ray you either say your sorry to him because frankly its
not me that needs an apology, or you leave him alone� with a final warning
glance she turned back towards Ray.

Gently
crouching beside Liz she told her gently that she could now leave. She looked
down at the blonde boy and saw his many cuts and bruises and she felt his pain
like it were her own, shaking off the idea of wanting to shed a tear she was
once again shaking with rage at the absurdity of the situation, she tried to
control her emotions. *it�s not like he feels the extent of the pain, and he
heals just as quickly as we do*

Ray
had taken the basic course of withstanding pain in the time he spent at the
breeding cult school, and she had never been so grateful because of it. He was
hurt she could tell from her training in first aid, he probably had some
bruised ribs but nothing that his genes wouldn�t fix quickly. Sighing and
getting that anger back she brushed aside his hair from his face.

�Hey
baby� she said softly while caressing his brow �so... I leave for awhile and
you get yourself into trouble huh?� she teased lightly while holding out her
arms to him.

�Urgh!�
he groaned as he made his way into her lap �I swear I didn�t start it!� Ray
said defensively in a little boys tone laced with indignation. He wrapped his
arms around her.

�He
just came up to me, I didn�t do anything wrong, he kept yelling at me about not
being here and wanting me gone� he said in a sad voice still trying to maintain
his indifferent persona.

Max
just looked down at the tired little boy and sighed �I know sweetie C�mon,
let�s get you to Luke so he can check you out�

�No!�
he started wriggling to get out of her grasp but she held on �Mommy I�m fine I
just want to go home, I don�t want to see anyone else, I want to be with you
and sleep I�ll heal, I heal just as quick as you and plus I don�t feel
anything� he looked up at her with a distinguished pout and she relented.

�Ray...�
she started but he cut her off.

�I�m
tired� he pressed. �Please� he said meekly putting his head in the crook of her
neck.

�It�ll
be real quick Ray, I�m not going anywhere� she said soothingly.

Jerking
in response of what she just said he remembered his earlier anger at her for
being absent. Its not that he couldn�t look after himself he knew how to do
that, but he just needed her presence there. He escaped her fast enough so that
she didn�t have a chance to hold on and prevent him from leaving her.

�But
you did� he cried out now instantly charged up �for a whole fuckin week you
left!� he stood before her eye�s blazing under his unshed tears and defiant
mask.

Max
stared at him startled at his complete change of mood and use of the �F� word.

�You
left! You left! You weren�t here to tuck me in, or read to me, or talk to me, I
waited for you to come back every night! I missed you and you didn�t once miss
me I know because everytime I woke up you weren�t there like mom�s should be,
you�re just like the boy who beat me up, you hate me because I�m different� he
looked to the ground and whispered hoarsely �because I�m a familiar� then he
went back to being angry with her �just go leave again I don�t need you
anyway!� he looked at her and glared with contempt. He looked about him
silently telling himself to not shed the tears and be strong like his dead
father. He spotted Alec and just turned his face the other way.

Ray
blamed him and that ordinary for keeping Max away and he hated them both.

Max
had listened to his childish ramblings with shock, each sentence cutting into
her heart and sending bolts of pain throughout her whole body. She ached all
over and knew that she couldn�t deny her absence or justify reasons for why she
stayed at her apartment outside TC but as she looked at the struggling defiant
young boy in front of her she regretted it with her whole being. He had accused
her with the naiveness of a young child babbling away small nothings that were
everything to him and testimony that he was anything but ready and able to be
independent.

She
wasn�t blind; most TC residents didn�t like him because he was Whites son and
only tolerated him because he was with her. The blonde haired boy had
unexpectedly wormed his way into her heart and had guaranteed himself the
unconditional love Max never knew she was capable of. As she looked at him
pleadingly she thought about where he would go; A Foster home? They would eat
him alive and send him to some child laborer company. She refused to even
contemplate such a thing as a shiver ran down her.

She
had abused his loyalty and love which hurt him and now he doubted her love, a
love that she herself could not understand in retrospect. The bond that had
occurred between them was surprising and her maternal instincts just kicked in.
Max reached out to him cautiously fearing rejection.

�Ray
no...Baby that�s not true at all, I know I wasn�t here for awhile but I had to
work and I had missions to do-�

�What
for roller boy?� Ray snorted.

Alec
tensed and waited with baited breath for Max�s response but was startled at her
brush off to such a comment. He guessed she was just focusing on the matter at
hand.

�I�m
not justifying my actions but I need you to know that I do love you. I never
meant to hurt you Ray or make it seem like I abandoned you� She struggled to
know what else to say, *what else could she say?* She looked at
him then bowing her head in defeat when he just glared at her feeling her heart
being torn apart. She guessed she deserved this but she never would guess that
she could feel so hurt and as if she had failed this bad in her whole life
before this moment.

�I
never cared that you were a familiar� she whispered hoarsely, the emotional
overload taking it toll before she cleared her thoughts and continued �you know
that.� Head still bowed �I know you�re smart enough to know that if I promise
you to not leave again that it will inevitably be broken. Your intelligent that
way� she chanced a smile his way, still getting no response from the now
apparently disinterested child �but I won�t leave you unless I have to, I�ll
always come back for you... I thought you knew that. Guess I misread that one
ey?� pausing and taking another breath �You should know that I have things to
do baby, I�m so sorry Ray. I really am�

Alec
saw Max close to breaking down and went to move to her but then changed his
mind at seeing the way she sagged and knew that his offer of comfort wasn�t
welcomed. She needed Ray. He knew that before but he saw it now first hand by
her emotional breakdown. It took a lot to break her and he knew that because
she refused and defied anything that made her remotely weak.

Ray
struggled to be angry but he looked down at the woman he looked upto, the
person he saw as his mother and felt a pain in his chest. He hated being angry
with her but he was so scared at night and he missed her so much yet she never
came. He knew he was being unreasonable, he knew that she had other priorities
besides him but it hurt knowing they were more important than him. Ray shook
his head at his selfishness and felt ashamed as he looked at Max as she cried
weakly in front of him. He didn�t want to disappoint her and promised himself
to be stronger and less dependant although he knew he would want her to be with
him always he would make her proud by not sounding selfish again.

Feeling
like his chest would explode he let out a small sob and ran into her arms
wrapping his arms around her neck causing Max to fall on her back. She
immediately wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back soothingly.

�I�m
sorry mommy, don�t cry, I know you love me� he cried into her chest from his
position lying on top of her �I was just angry I�m sorry please don�t cry
please� he just kept crying and Max whispered in his ear soothingly �Its okay
baby� repeatedly. �Shhhh, it�s alright� while wiping her eyes dry and using her
other hand to rub his back lightly.

�I�m
sorry� he repeated softly as the emotional and physical strain came down on him
leaving him weak and tired. He held onto her more tightly as she got up not
wanting to leave her.

�I
love you Ray� she said when she stood and shifted him into a more comfortable
position. She rubbed her check lightly on the side of his head then turned her
head more and gave him a motherly kiss on the check. He had tears running down
his face still but he had calmed down from his big sob fest.

He
mumbled back to her as she started walking to the entrance �love you mum� then
realizing she had started to walk he replied urgently �No goin to Luke! Want to
go home okay?� he requested in a small voice.

�Yes
baby� she said calming him �were going home� With that he nodded and drifted
off.

�But
I�m still getting Luke to check up on you from our place� she told him silently.
When
they arrived home he was sleeping in her arms. Smiling contently she tried not
jostling him which was easy for a transgenic.

Ray
had tightly wrapped his arms around Max and laid his head on her shoulder, she
felt the tears he shed before on her neck. Rubbing his back Max looked at Alec
with a heartbroken expression. He sighed and realized that her little high from
this morning was now extinguished. He wanted to go out and find that young X-7
and pound into him because of it, well not really coz he was only 9 but he
would love to see him punished instead of just being verbally abused.

He
opened her apartment door for them and walked beside her silently and watched
as she tried to lay him on her bed which was noticeably the one he had been sleeping
on while she was away. After tucking him in and watching as he curled up into
the pillow and holding onto it she kissed his forehead and left the room
silently.

She
looked at Alec and told him to go find Luke and send him to her then start
arranging for a meeting in half an hour.

Nodding
he reached for her hand and squeezed gently reassuring her everything would be
okay. She smiled softly at him then went inside her room again closing the door
softly behind her.

�Hey
baby, were home� she said softly as she crawled into bed behind spooning him.
She had lain on her side with one arm draped around his small waist and the
other bent on her pillow to keep her head up. �I love you lil guy� She said
softly brushing the hair out of his face. She spent awhile just listening to
him breath softly beside her and felt a pang as she remembered their fight
earlier. �I�ll never leave you� smiling ruefully �you�re stuck with my
transgenic stubborn ass�

�Max!
Is that anyway to talk to an 8 yr old boy� someone from the doorway said
scandalously and teasing.

She
was shoved out of her motherly trance at the sound of the voice and immediately
her motherly instincts took over. Jumping out of bed and resuming a fighting
stance; all without jostling the bed and jerking the bundle curled on its side
sleeping. Her eyes zeroed in on an impressed yet cautious Luke. He raised his
eyebrow at her.

�Hmm
impressive� the double meaning statement hung in the air for a moment as Max
contemplated it. She didn�t know if he meant her agility skills or her motherly
and slightly alert persona.

Deciding
to just ignore it completely she looked at Luke and slipped her leader face on
�Ray was in a fight, can you check him out for me while I attend a meeting?�

Realizing
that Max was in no mood to play around he nodded �sure no problem Max�

Softening
her face slightly she looked at him and gave a small smile �thanks Luke I
really appreciate this� she turned back to look at Ray one more time and
crouched beside his running her fingers softly down his face then whispered
quietly that she would be back before standing up and squaring her shoulders.
�If he wakes up just tell him I�m at HQ ok?�

�Sure�
He proceeded to go over and sit softly besides the little boy unpacking a few
bandages and disinfectants from the bag he was carrying. Looking at Ray he was
slightly disgruntled being so close to a Familiar.

�He
wont bite you know� Max said devoid of emotion leaning against the doorframe
watching him with cold eyes.

Startled
that she was still here he looked at the ground avoiding her eyes �that�s why
he�s in this situation because to us he�s the freak� shaking her head from side
to side she smiled with no humor �isn�t that so funny, were the freaks to
ordinaries and he�s a freak to us� slowing her voice down �He�s a fucking child
Luke he wont kill you�

�Max-�
he started apologizing.

�They
wanted him gone, thought he was a danger, a threat� she continued softly as if
he didn�t say anything �this X-7 boy thought he would bring it upon
himself to teach the �snake� how unwelcome he was at freak central, aint
that just ironic?�

Luke
looked at her and saw that she had so much pain in her eyes as she told him
this. At that moment he respected her so much more for choosing to be their leader
while mothering a Familiar in a place that hated him and carrying out all the
pain the little boy was causing her. He felt ashamed and compelled to see what
was so special about this little boy that had grabbed his leader�s heart.

�Look
whatever� she said exasperated with this conversation. �Just check up on him
and wait until he gets up or I come back, can you do that?�

�Yes
ma�am� the X-5 replied wanting to make it up to her.

�Good�
she then turned around and left. He sighed and looked down at the little boy
before thoroughly yet gently checking his many bumps and cuts.

As
she walked into HQ the murmurs dwindled and she unconsciously ran her fingers
through her hair. The room�s occupants were looking at her expectantly as she
strolled to the front of the room to address all of them. As she got there she
took off her jacket and put it on the back of her chair. She glanced at Alec
and he gave her an encouraging smile, she gave him a small smile back then
cleared her throat looking about the room.

�Hey
all, I know I�ve been MIA for awhile, but I had every confidence that you could
manage without me am I right?� at the various nods she continued �I called this
meeting to round up any issues that are needed to be addressed and also to
aware people of the new system going out, but before all that I need an update
on our food quantity, meds, money, population growth and weapon supply. Josh
what�s happening with the food?�

The
big guy stepped forward �We are needing more food soon, but right now we doing
alright, low on drinks and meat though, organized already for supply run, pick
up in 2 days�

Nodding
she approved the plans and looked at Sarah an X-5 that joined them 3 months
ago. She was head of the medical department. �We are getting daily blood donors
filling up our blood banks and were slowly infiltrating the local hospital
getting the equipment we need slowly as to not cause suspicion, but we have
gotten a contact to give us the rest of our medical needs. Within the week the
exchange will happen. So we now have an almost functioning hospital near the
Mess hall. We also scouted the abandoned building and found many cots that just
need mattresses that will also be coming with the supplies the transgenics that
got surgery training are stepping forward and we now have at least 5 able
surgeons in TC ma�am�

Amazed
she smiled at Sarah in appreciation �Great work Sarah, when is the exchange and
how much is it costing us?�

Blushing
at the slight praise �It�s 250,000 ma�am and I�ve organized a group to go out
on Thursday to watch the exchange�

�I
want your team to see me or Alec so we know who�s going okay? Josh you too I
want a team organized to accompany you. We can�t afford to trust anyone on the
outside, were doing this as a basic op. Understood?� she looked around the room
at the silent soldiers who nodded. �Good� Max nodded at them then looked at
Mole �how�s our weaponry supply�

�The
weapons are enough to supply this nation with two guns each and then some, we
have also scored some other goodies like AKA�s, sniper guns, machine guns,
electrodes, knives, sound blasters, grenades, double edged swords, oh and Alec
I know you�ll love this, we got our hands on some Japanese samurai swords
Katana�s and.... Nunchaku�s� smirking at Alec�s instant perked fascination Mole
continued �the new heat activated ray gun�s that they�ve brought out� Mole
smirked in self satisfaction �were getting another shipment tomorrow with ammo
and such, the store rooms have been relocated to one of the buildings near the
pub and HQ for easier access amongst surprise visits also each knew resident is
assigned one gun to them from the beginning� Mole looked at her and Alec
expectantly.

�Great
work pal� Alec said while Max just nodded her head in agreement. He looked
indifferent but inside he was proud for making them happy. He didn�t like them
at first but he saw the work they did and found himself respecting them,
especially Max; the 09� escapee who had gained the confidence of a Nation who
was taught to hate her. He looked out for her like she was his little sister.

She
treated him with respect and he adored her, she was so full of life when she
finally got into her leadership mode, greeting and giving people the sense of
belonging and respect they never got at Manticore. He could tell from the
beginning it was futile trying to fight falling for her, she was easy to love
and care about and everyone here would die for the feisty vixen he was sure of
that.

She
went out of her way to welcome everyone warmly and make them apart of the cause
but she never got to close, she would leave them wanting. He smiled ruefully at
that, her ability to lead was natural and people followed her because she
ignited the fight within them to stand up for them selves.

Mole
looked around the room and noticed the many X-5 males staring at her adoringly.
Shaking his head he could never understand the choice of men she fell for, an
ordinary and a familiar. Mole could tolerate the familiar because he was at
least a little boy but the ordinary was another story. Many of the occupants of
TC had tried getting Max hooked up with one of her own, subtly of course but to
no avail.

Not
to say the males didn�t try of course, sometimes it was amusing how many would
try to come onto the beautiful leader, but everyone knew that she was off
limits and not because of Logan but because of Alec, their second in command.
He was the one she was supposed to be with and everyone knew that. Didn�t deter
the many males that wanted her though but they still all knew.

Mole
had zoned out the rest of the meeting and was watching the transgenics milling
around again after being dismissed.

�Did
you catch the end bit Mole?� Alec asked cheekily �or were you to busy staring
at our beloved leader?�

�Piss
off Alec I wasn�t staring� he growled.

�Suure
you weren�t� he drawled out. �But just so you know I�d wipe the bit of drool
right there� Alec indicated the side of his mouth �then report to Dix and get
your name on the roster so we can tally how many residents we have� Alec
chuckled as he headed towards Max�s office.

Mole
just glared at him and was about to scream something quite unsuitable for the
little boy that just entered the room. He noticed the dishelved little boy
walking in heading towards Max�s office sleepily but still with the aura of
indifference that Mole was quite used to seeing from the little familiar. Mole
knew his place and never said or did anything to Ray but he had to admit that
once you saw him and Max interact there was no question that he wasn�t any
threat to the transgenics.

Mole
took notice of his appearance and saw that he looked bad; he had a cut on his
upper lip and a wrapped wrist, he also walked favoring his left leg and
slightly blocking his right side. He was pouting and Mole let slip a smile at
how cute he looked before shaking the idea off and once again scowling
menacingly, heading to Dix so he could explain this roster bullshit to him.

Ray
was snapped awake before glaring heatedly as he saw Alec stood over Max as she
looked at the maps in front of her. He pouted at the fact she was here when he
woke up and had to see Luke looking at him instead of her welcoming face.

He
admired his �mother� as she quickly scanned the maps tracing her finger over
the many lines and stuff on the paper. She kept tucking a stray hair behind her
ear and she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. She mumbled something to
Alec as she pointed something out and he nodded then pointed to something else.
She furrowed her eyebrows even more then looked up smiling and nodding her
head, she turned around and gave Alec an approving smile and hugged him, that�s
when Ray noticed the sparkly bracelet she was wearing, and he knew he hadn�t
seen it before. His scowl intensifying he kept watching the scene.

Max
was concentrating trying to figure out the best way of placing the men around
the pick up place for the Meds and food without being noticed. She decided that
she would get them exchanged so it could happen simultaneously. Although she
was quite secure with her skills Max knew her talents, and arranging for a
basic op wasn�t one of them, sure she could plan a heist, but that was only to
suit her. She wasn�t used to organizing such a big group extravaganza. That was
always Zack�s job, and now she was depended upon to do it. Shaking her head and
tucking the strand of loose hair she concentrated more trying to figure the
best positions in which to place her men. Alec had just pointed out a few spots
helping her out and she was grateful for having his support. He was usually the
one who got her to see where and how to do things like this, subtly helping and
teaching her the stuff she missed out on without saying it out loud.

That�s
why he was second in command, because as many people have told her 494 was a
born leader, and was bred the skills to lead and organize, yet they looked to
her and not him for guidance. She knew that it was really him doing all the
leadership stuff, yet he never complained and just helped her be the best she
could be without making it seem she was incompetent. She really admired him for
that, knowing he had her back without asking for anything in return but her
friendship. Smiling she turned to him and gave him a hug content to feel the
comfort after this morning and laid her head on his shoulder knowing he
understood her need for the embrace.

Suddenly
someone cleared their throat rudely.

Stunned
she disentangled herself from him and turned towards the door annoyed opening
her mouth to rip into whoever was there. Her face broke out into a loving grin
at who was there and she walked around her desk and crouched down opening her
arms and waited for Ray to walk into them before standing up and balancing him
on her hip.

�Hey
little guy� she ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead �have a nice sleep?�

He
pouted and said indignantly �you weren�t there�

Sighing
�Ray I had a meeting baby. I had to leave� she said reasoning with him. He
nodded dismissively then laid his tired head on her shoulder �you got Luke to
check on me when I was asleep, you�re sneaky� he tsked.

Max
laughed and smile �Pfft, that�s not sneaky I�m just smart, your stubborn and
wouldn�t have let Luke look at you when awake am I right� she said knowingly,
he just shrugged and avoided her eyes still keeping the slight pout. �So I was
glad you fell asleep though your healing well the bruises have faded slightly�
she said while running soft fingers over his bruised cheek before changing the
subject and smiled at him ruefully �I missed your beautiful blues though,
c�mere let me look� she shifted his head by putting and tracing her finger
under his chin and waited for his eyes to meet hers, he was still pouting
adorably so she mocked his pout and pulled a face. He broke out into a tired
smile after just glaring at her.

�Hey!
Don�t tease me� he said indignantly.

�But
your more handsome when you smile� she said and smiled as he blushed lightly
and looked away complaining.

�Muumm!�
he cried in boyish embarrassment.

Laughing
again she shifted him again �alright babe, I gotta work you wana stay or
leave?� he just answered her by strengthening his hold on her.

�Alright
guess your staying�

�Humph�
he said from the crook of her shoulder tiredly �meany� he mumbled before
closing his eyes and dozing off again at her tender touch and slight rocking.

She
smiled motherly at him before walking back to Alec. �Sorry� she mumbled softly.

�No
problem mama� he said teasingly.

�Hey!�
she said indignant, before soothing Ray by humming to him and rocking him more.
Then more quietly she glared at him and repeated her �hey!�.

Alec
just smirked and raised an eyebrow. �Hmmm always wondered where he got that
from� then mockingly and placing a hand on a hip �hey!�

Max
glared at him �whatever� she said dismissively. Luke then knocked on the door
and poked his head in.

�Hey
Luke� Alec said cheerily claiming a seat on the couch.

�Hey
Alec, what up man?� he replied as he stepped in noticing it was okay.

�Nothing
man, just mother hen here trying to organize a surveillance crew for the Medical
pickup, while rocking her baby boy� he leaned conspiriously over to Luke then
looked both left then right as if checking for someone �you think I could get
him to order her to get laid, she�s wound up so tight it�s a wonder how she can
walk� nodding and grinning before he yelped in surprise as Max pinched him on
the underside of his arm.

�Hey!
Woman ever heard of a joke� he pouted �that really hurt�

�Oh
shut up you big baby, before you wake the real one up, and FYI he does not
control me� she glared at him trying to pull of her �don�t fuck with me� pose
but failing because of the little boy nestled in her arms.

�Okay,
great!� Luke said amused and slightly scared that he�ll be caught in the cross
fire of one of Max and Alec�s infamous fights.

Turning
his attention to Max �well the �real baby�s� okay, he just has a bruised side
and a sprained wrist but everything else isn�t major, wont even know he was in
a fight within a couple of hours. His healing is just as good as yours; the
swelling of his eye has already gone down considerably� he pointed out as Max
was looking over him.

�Thanks
Luke� she said before sitting on the couch next to Alec, Ray still in her arms.
He stirred slightly then went back to sleeping. �He wasn�t any trouble when he
woke up was he?�

�Oh
nah, he was just sour that he saw me instead of you, got straight out of bed as
soon as I said where you were like he wasn�t in any pain�

�That�s
probably because he wasn�t, he was taught to withstand and block the pain out�
she traced patterns on his back lightly. �He�s getting really good at that� she
said to no one in particular.

Luke
studied the little bundle in her arms critically �Amazing, maybe we could learn
how to do that and use it against them�

Max
narrowed her eyes at the use of �them�.

Luke
shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat as if he was coffing �you know
against the familiars�

Alec
butted in before Max could tap into her motherly instincts and rip into Luke �I
think that would be great Maxie, if we could learn the extent of their pain
threshold we could have the upper hand on them, we would be superior to them in
fighting its just our pain acknowledgement that fucks us up�

�Yea
I guess� she relented as she looked between the two males �I�ll ask Ray when he
wakes up ok?� she looked at Ray snuggled against her �and Alec... don�t swear
in front of him�

Rolling
his eyes at her he addressed Luke. �Oh! Luke report to Dix will ya, Max set up
a system that will access the necessary units more easily, we need to get your
name, designation, address and skills typed into the system. He�ll explain the
rest when you get there� Alec said as he noticed Luke raise his eyebrow at
�address�. TC wasn�t grided properly so Max had stayed up sometime this week
after an EO mission to identify the streets and buildings, she had conducted
her own recon and looked at TC from all angles and with the help of Logan she
got an aerial view as well as her own personal Intel. She was making it more
like a city than an abandoned part of Seattle. He beamed at her when she told
him what she had done, she was nervous as if he would laugh at her. Smiling at
the memory he remembered that she was so pretty smiling at him the way she did
when he accepted her plans for TC. Almost like seeking approval even though she
got last word on how TC would be run anyway.

Dismissing
Luke he then paid attention to Max and the idea�s she threw out to him. She
learnt fast and he grew proud of her as the days went by. She was handling
things with such ease, it would seem she was never absent from the Manticore
teachings. She almost gave him a run for his money in the fast learning
department; he held the record for being a fast self learner at Manticore but
she was stiff competition. At first she was so clueless at how things went like
strategic planning, heading mission deployments pretty basic stuff, now she
knew how to handle herself, she was still a bit self conscious, but he helped
boost her confidence by telling her it was great and suggesting things she could
do to make the missions run smoother. But other than that she had it down and
he was left to just admire her.

Pausing
to watch for a beat Luke then turned and left the small family alone. It was
picture perfect Alec had outstretched one arm placing it on the back of the
couch behind Max, and Max had leant slightly on him to get comfortable and held
some more papers in front of them discussing softly to one another as Ray lay
slumped in her arms.

A
little while latter Max had left Ray with Alec in her office so she could do
the rounds. She often went out and about having small conversations with
everyone making them feel welcomed, she enjoyed it and with her memory she had
memorized everyone�s names, designations and specialty. Often when she was strolling
along she would send smiles and wave at them not particularly going anywhere
but looking out for new people. She loved being their leader at times like
this, just friendly conversation and an equalness that was amongst them all.
No-one was better than another and she loved how they banded together in making
TC their home.

Over
time they had put out cleaning crews and organized the place up, she now had a
fully functioning City at her disposal; electricity and running water at their
beck and call thanks to their skills in hacking into neighboring power stations
and major water lines. They didn�t have to worry bout bills and stuff because
they had set up the water and electricity system to which enabled them to place
a couple of extra cents to rich peoples accounts, making it impossible to trace
back to them. The water system had taken a bit longer to succeed due to the
fact that the new water systems ran outside of TC perimeters thanks to the
radioactivity spill and new council management. Max had arranged a group in
which built a new pipe line that connected from the old water system to the new
discreetly so they could also tap into water without using the old Boiling
method.

She
smiled finally thanking Manticore for the training they had taught them. She
would never admit it to Logan but even an X-8 could out hack him. With their
superior reading and typing ability they were great at hacking superior codes
and evading particular barriers.

Max
had decided earlier on to get training started again making sure that the
younger series were getting the same training as the older ones had, catching
them up so that they could defend themselves physically and mentally at top
condition. As a bonus it was also a way to keep them structured and occupied during
the day, she didn�t want them to end up stir crazy so she sent word out for
Alfa males to set up a training room and start teaching fighting maneuvers and
strategic planning.

With
that thought she let her mind linger to her sudden growth in strength and
ability, she had noticed for awhile now that she was becoming quicker and
stronger than the average transgenic. She never trained explicitly like the
rest of TC, having had a schedule with that excluded the martial arts training
from her new organized time table of chores and tasks.

She
had refused to be apart of it claiming she was too busy with more commanding
duties, but in all seriousness she felt this vague fear that the abnormality of
her new acquired skills would just generate more of a spectacle than what she
wanted. So she remained aloof about it and merely brushed it aside as just a
phase.

Her
ability to come out of the place two nights ago for that B&E assignment was
baffling though; she had punched through a 6 inch double window with just one
strike when she recalled a few weeks back that when she had done that same
thing she was left with an ache in her right wrist. When doing the same action
a few weeks later and breaking through it like it was nothing left a girl
shaken at the discovery, she brushed it off to adrenalin though but knew some
freaky things was happening to her, the ability to think and process quicker
and efficiently like it seemed she wasn�t thinking at all just letting her
senses and instincts take over her body without thought.

Max
also noticed that she seemed to make time slow down considerably around her
when she blurred from place to place as if it weren�t her that was speeding up
it was time slowing down.

It
scared her because she didn�t know what was happening, its not like she didn�t
want the new found talents its just she didn�t know why she was the only one
getting them. Learning new things and executing them at above transgenic level
was amazing, yet she couldn�t get why she felt an impending fear that came with
her new skills, she also contemplated the arrival of the new ruins adorning her
skin. Usually with her anything good always seemed to fuck her around tenfold.
Perhaps these new signs were explanation to her sudden weirdness.

Deciding
for once to not let this discourage her she went to the local training room in
defiance and watched the X-5s and X-6s duel in the middle of the room while
another group of X-7 and X-8 were being taught how to jump to high places in
one leap.

Max
paid attention to them for awhile egging on a young girl as it was her turn to
try and leap up to the second floor. *that�s right...gain some speed centre
your body then push off imaging your center lift with you* she watched as the
girl made it to the second story and pulled her tongue playfully at the boy she
had been previously chatting to before being called on. Smirking after he
glared at her it was his turn to now jump. Mentally cheering him on as well as
he flawlessly landed on the second story in front of his girl friend. They both
high fived and went to sit further back so they could continue their talk.

Smiling
Max stood in the doorway letting her gaze languidly slide across the room away
from the young X series to the dueling men. She recognized all of the males currently
working on the mats and stood in awe at how graceful they all looked when
fighting eachother.

Jayce
the Alfa heading the class stood on the sides, arms crossed in front of him
shouting out orders at all of them and pointing out flaws to their maneuvers.
He would demonstrate the proper way before standing back and watching them
until they corrected and succeeded with the technique or maneuver.

Max
mentally pulled from the back of her memory and remembered that Jayce was the
highest at hand to hand in his division at Manticore. When he first came to TC
and had their welcoming chat he had brought it up in the conversation.

Looking
around the room at the various matches going on she was fascinated at their
various techniques and style instantly memorizing moves and processing it
unconsciously. Smiling she remembered the exhilaration she felt when sparring
and training exercises were dealt to her, despite the harsh conditions in which
her group were taught in and before her escape she had gloried in the feel of
power and strength that exuded from her when paired up with one of her brothers
or sisters.

Suddenly
she heard Jayce stop them and they all went into formation in four perfect rows
at ease waiting for Jayce to instruct them further. Watching in pride at the
troops Max waited a beat before she was just about to step out again. as she
turned to leave she heard Jayce call out to her.

�Max!
Hold up� he started jogging over to her. All heads turned to stare curiously at
Max as Jayce approached her.

The
training room�s main floor was just the bottom room of a studio building
located next to the hospital. It was a big enough room to allow 50 training
transgenics fight it out with space. It was a two story building. Max supposed
it was an abandoned hype Club due to the open space and wide room. On adjacent
sides there was a floor space over looking the middle ground almost like a
balcony but with enough room to fit 20 people on both sides. Most the fighting
happened on ground floor anyway and the second story was used for when the
middle floor was too packed to fight on it.

�Hey
Jayce� Max said tentively �I hope I didn�t disturb your class�

�Nah�
he said dismissively with a hand gesture before giving her his most charming
smile �course not, not everyday we see our leader here�

Smiling
and relaxing a bit �yea I know but I had to check the place out sometime�
looking about admirably �it�s wonderful, Alec did a good job with this place�
then turning back to look at Jayce �Its great the way they�re shaping up Jayce,
you�re doing a great job� she praised him � so alright imma blaze-� she started
saying wit a smile.

�No
wait, how bout you take me on? I was just about to start combating with the
class anyway� he smiled down at her charmingly �think you can take me�

Max
rolled her eyes playing along.

�Pfft!
You�ll be eating the mat in no time buddy� she reverted into her over confident
stance. One hand on hip, cocked to one side with a smirk and eye brow raise.
�think your ego can take me?� then she just looked at him while he
smirked at her.

�I
don�t know Jayce , I do have a lot of other things to do...� she said
uncertainly shattering the image of self-assurance.

�C�mon�
he egged her on good naturedly �I need a challenge and I heard you were the
best out here� he gave her a look saying �yea right� �even though I have 10 yrs
training on you prove it to me� slipping from the disbelieving to the uncanny
annoying look that screamed �tell me I�m wrong�.

Shrugging
off the unease that settled with in her she stood up to the challenge.

�Yeah
well I got 10 years of street smarts on you� she walked towards the ring making
sure her �don�t fuck with me� attitude was in place. Swaying her hips
enticingly she slightly let herself drown in the exhilarated feelings
overcoming her. Tugging off her jacket and letting it rest at the bottom of the
ring she entered it and glanced around while proceeding to stretch out her
muscles in anticipation to the work out they�ll inevitably get.

realizing
that this is just what she had needed she let herself relax slightly and
mentally told herself this was a great way to calm her down about any
abnormalities in her abilities. The rest of the room�s occupants had already
made space for the fight. As Max was getting ready she realized that there
seemed to be more people than what she remembered, shrugging it off she went to
face Jayce who was now giving her that cocky grin that adorned Alec�s face as
well as most X-5 males. She concluded that it was part of their genetic make up
and taught to them at an early age as a means to piss her off. Everytime Alec
was about to piss her off he seemed to automatically adapt that cheeky smirk
that was currently on Jayce�s face.

�So
mister� she said as she approached him predatorily. �How do you want me� she
said cheekily then outright laughed at his sudden gaping face.

�Using
your sexual prowess is a dirty trick Max� Jayce pouted before they started
automatically circling eachother. Max swept her eye�s up and down his body
rakishly as if she were checking him out but she was internally frustrated to
find his stance had no flaws or openings in which she could make the first
attack at.

�Why?
Jayce you saying you think of your leader sexually?� she looked at him as if
she were appalled but never breaking her defensive position. �Is that anyway to
behave soldier?�

�You
really have the distracting enemy part down Max, maybe you�d realize how
difficult this is if you harbored a certain anatomy of the Male species�

Raising
an eyebrow �so you blame you�re inevitable defeat on your dick� she looked at
him as if he were from another planet �on what planet does that make any sense
Jayce?�

Finally
caving into the hopelessness of finding a weakness Jayce took a stab at her,
thus gradually beginning their dance. �It makes *punch* sense to *kick*
us Males *punch* Max�

Deflecting
all his advances she upped the tempo with a vicious backhand followed through
with a roundhouse kick to his head. �uh-huh and these males you talk
about� she raised an eyebrow smirking at his current shock of her getting in
the first hit �do they suck as much as you do mister top of his class�

�Oh
don�t worry sweet cheeks� he gave her the once over �I haven�t even started
yet�

�Bring
it on�

With
that he then launched himself at her with a fury. Punching and kicking at her
with all his transgenic speed and strength; coming up with moves to fast for
the ordinary eye and striking at his leader with a passion only to be deflected
each time.

Max
laughed and finally decided to let go and enjoy the second nature dance that
Jayce and her were now sharing. She didn�t have the slightest trouble keeping
up with the Alfa in his moves, speed and strength. she constantly tried to find
an opening for her to- *Ahh here we are* immediately launching her self
at him after his last roundhouse uppercut combo failed she went over to him and
took him from his blind side and threw a forceful blow to his ribs before
turning his body with hers to face outward with his back to her chest and then
kicked out his left knee and hooking her foot around his right ankle
effectively rendering him face first on the floor with her straddling his lower
back and holding his left arm high enough to render him unable to move.

In
succession, breathing harshly and letting the thin sheen of sweat roll of her
nose she whispered conspiriously with him �too bad there aren�t any spills, I�d
mop them up with your ass right about now� she said triumphantly. Then sitting
back casually without breaking her hold or grip on him once she raised her
voice �you give Mr. Top of his class?�

�umpf�
was all she could get out from the struggling man under her.

�What�
she said cheekily.

�Yes!�
with that Max let him go.

He
grumped at her in mock pout before a delightful smile lit up his face.

�Well,
well I guess the rogue can beat the best of us after all� he looked at her
admirably and gave her a hug �cheating with her gorgeousness but winning none
the less� he let her go and his smile widened at her slight blush.

�Whatever
Jayce, we were made gorgeous, plus mister I think you were holding back, you
are the top of hand to hand division�

�Well
yea, but you won fair and square I wasn�t holding back, maybe got distracted a
few times but focused on the objective like I was taught none the less. Plus as
if I�d want to lose to a female� he said scrunching up his face in mock disgust
�even if you are gorgeous, it a major blow to a man�s ego�

Growling
in mock indignation �Dude you�re really bordering on being a sexist here� then
shrugging �but hey on behalf of the female population it just goes to show that
we really do kick ass� she smirked at him triumphantly at his lack of an
argument.

�It
was a quick match though, I like your form and style, very unsuspecting and
wild� he changed the subject instead.

He
then leered at her �very worth it though if I got to get all sweaty with you
Max�

�Ick
I stand corrected and just as I was about to dub you normal you go and prove
that you�re just like Alec� she looked at him �did Manticore pull the males
aside in a crash course and teach them individually lame innuendoes 101?�

�Nah,
its all natural charm babe sorry to disappoint� he went and put his arm around
her.

She
looked at his arm on her shoulder, and then turned to him to give him an evil
yet humorous look.

�Really
huh?�

Before
Jayce could react he was on the ground looking up at Max�s cheeky smile.

He
just smiled at her just as evilly. �Times like this I wish you were wearing a
skirt� he then rolled out of the way of her small kick and flipped to his feet
quickly chuckling.

�Pig!�

Max
shook her head at him and finally noticed the crowd that surrounded them.
Clearing her throat at the sudden nervousness she usually got when knowing your
being criticized and watched. She strengthened her resolve and turned back to
Jayce �Uhh imma blaze, it was fun� turning to go she looked back at him one
last time �thanks Jayce� she whispered to him kindly knowing he would never
know the double meaning behind her words also knowing he would be the only one
to hear her. At his confused look she got out of the ring and gave several
smiles and hello�s to the parting crowd leaving an awe struck Alfa behind to
stare at her retreating back.

As
Max continued down TC she was still on her high from the fight. She had to
admit that despite the easy going nature between Jayce and her she was a little
startled by it. She was used to soldiers being emotionally cut off, but as she
looked around and studied everyone around her , it seemed as if she was the
only one having trouble opening up to people. Alec seemed to fit into his role
so easily, chatting people up and gaining respect like that, but its not to say
she wasn�t friendly because she was its just that there was always that
cautious wall she put up. Surrounding Transgenics saw it and although she may
be their leader she wasn�t their friend on a level as Alec�s. She didn�t know
if that bothered her or not anymore. A few months ago she would have said yes
flat out, but circumstances have made changes in her life. She now had a little
boy to look after, she let her Genetic abilities in without thinking she was
freak, and also she was really warming up to her leader role.

Sighing
Max decided that she would head back to HQ. When she walked in the door Dix
immediately called out to her.

�Hey
what�s up?� she said as she walked over to him.

�I
thought you wanted to take shots of your ruins...I gave Alec the digital camera
and its all fired up to go�

�Oh...yeah.
Cool! Thanks Dix� with that Max walked over to her office door. Hesitating with
her hand poised over the door knob a bit unsure of why, she then slowly opened
the door.

She
smiled at the image she encountered before her. Obviously Ray had tired Alec
out and the room was three times as messy as it was when she left, but she
couldn�t bring herself to actually be angry with the chaos. As she gazed down
at Alec and Ray sleeping on the floor amidst the pile of paper with a piece of
paper stuck on Alec�s cheek while Ray had used Alec�s back as a pillow she felt
a peace slide over her putting a stop to her thoughts of the fight and
questioning her abilities once more.

Not
wanting to disturb them she knelt beside Alec, then laid down next to him
making sure not to make to much noise in case another scene from earlier
occurred. Max blushed as she remembered what happened and smiled again at the
two Males sleeping next to her.

Max
had probably drifted off after awhile because next thing she knew she was on
the couch in her office and Alec and Ray were quietly arguing over who had made
most mess.

�You
are in so much trouble; mum is so gonna kick your ass at the state her office
is in�

�Hey
this is as much your fault as it is mine mister don�t play the blame game with
me� Alec stopped in his sentence before childishly continuing �I�m older�

Max
could almost imagine the two boys with their tongue poked at eachother in
boyish resentfulness. She then heard Ray speak up softly.

�Yea
but she loves me, and you always get blamed coz I�m younger�

�humph�
was all Alec could say before she heard the slight buzzing and ruffles of paper
as they were quickly being picked up and stacked.

She
chanced to open one eye slightly to see what was going on. Ray had quickly run
around the room picking up the papers from the floor while Alec was blurring
with his hands to put them in neat piles on her desk, Ray then walked around
and silently lifted her turned over chair and garbage bin, before shoving the
crumpled up pieces of paper back in, he then moved the chair over behind the
desk and playfully pushed at Alec to get him to move.

Alec
still pouting over his lost verbal battle to an 8 yr old held still. *uh-oh*
Max thought as she saw the glint of Rays mischievous smirk cross his face.
Sensing that he was about to look at her Max made sure she kept her face
peaceful and her posture at ease after her instincts told her that Ray had
looked away Max opened her eye again slightly and watched Ray �accidentally�
trip over the garbage bin into the desk thus pushing the neat piles of paper
about on the desk in an unorganized heap.

At
first Alec could do nothing but stare at the desk in shock before his gaze
slowly looked at the innocent looking boy then once again back at the desk.

�Opps,
sorry I tripped� Ray said unconvincingly innocent.

Max
was getting worried at Alec�s lack of movement before he dashed after Ray so
quickly that it startled Max to a sitting position. She watched as Alec caught
Ray and proceeded to tickle torture him.

Ray
squealed in delight and broke out into a fit of laughter as Alec ruthlessly
tickled his sides.

�Muuum!�
Ray cried out amongst his giggles.

Max
took the second to contemplate her options; stop the laughter and fun or join
in? She chose the later and immediately sat besides Alec winking at him as she
too moved in to tickle him.

�Noooooo!�
laughing even harder and wriggling around on the ground �traitor�

�I�m
sorry honey, what? I can�t hear you through your laughter what did you say?�

She
turned to Alec �did he say he wanted more? Coz that�s what I got what about
you?�

�Noooo!
Please okay... okay I�ll be good... I swear!� Ray said in between giggles and
trying to get the four hands off him unsuccessfully.

Smirking
down at him �whose the best?�

Ray
stopped to look at him like he was crazy before he broke out into another fit
of giggles as Max continues her tickling fingers.

�C�mon
Ray whose the best?� Alec said as he smiled down at Ray.

Ray
knew what he had to say to get him out of this as he saw his mum and Alec above
him and Max�s fingers digging into all the places she knew would make him laugh
hardest.

�Stop!
Stop! Okay, okay....� breathing out a shaky breath he looked at Alec then his
mum before looking back at Alec the first hint of his smirk back. Alec looked
at him slightly puzzled.

�you
are the best� Alec stopped his tickling immediately �after my mum!� Ray said
triumphantly before Alec felt him self on the receiving end of the tickle
torture.

He
had his wrist held above him by Max as Ray climbed on top of him and found his
sensitive spot just below his armpits; looking at Max through his laughter
trying to pull off a convincing hurt face he gasped out.

�unhg!
Traitor�

Smiling
down at him mischievously �you better believe it baby, no one messes with
Ray...or did you not get the memo� Giggling at Alec�s continued jaunty laughter
she held on for a few more beat before finally telling Ray to stop.

She
let go of Alec before warning him she wouldn�t hesitate to kick his ass if he
even contemplated trying to tickle her again. Then she looked at Ray �and you
mister, I want you to clean that mess you �accidentally� made on my desk before
I ground you�

Ray
pouted and trudged over to the desk mumbling �great, back to mum mode�

Alec
just chuckled before quickly shutting up and went to clean the spilt trash on
the ground at Max�s deliberate pointing finger. Alec also trudged over to it
mumbling �I�m not a baby, friggen female!�

Max
just shook her head and smiled before walking over and picking up the digital
camera and kissing Ray who was still grumbling about something on the forehead
before walking over to Alec and doing the same.

With
the camera in hand she once again left the two alone in her office to seek out
someone else to take the pictures of her ruins, somewhat hopeful they could be
good enough to keep her office clean this time. After 6 steps out of the office
she heard a loud crash before more laughter and shouting began. Stopping mid
stride she tilted her head to the side before just ignoring it and kept on
walking.
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Twisted Angel