Timeline: Post - �And
Jesus brought a Casserole�
Author�s notes: This is one of two endings to �And Jesus Brought a
Casserole� that I intend to commission, because I believe that we�re dealing
with a half-dozen ways to go on this thing.
Renfro � Madame X or Madame Bitch for those who didn�t catch the
name during the finale.
Manticore
Infirmary
�X5-599,
I have a heart for you.� Zack said as he raised his gun to his head, and his
finger tightened on the trigger, I love you Maxie, I�m your CO, its my
fault you get shot, time for me to take what was meant for me but hit you.
A single gunshot pierced the silence of the air, but it was not Zack�s gun that fired, his gun clattered to the floor as Brin walked in carrying a Walther P99 in one hand, a tranquilliser gun in the other that had fired into Zack�s neck, putting him out. Following Brin was a body bag marked X5-656, Tinga�s body lay in it, ripe for organ harvesting.
�You!
Get that heart out of that X5 in the body bag now and transplant it into X5-452,
move! Strap this one down and tend his wound, then isolate him, X5-734, get
three more X5�s to act as guards, post two for each of these X5s, do it
now!� Renfro snapped at Brin, and the medical team and guards leapt into
action.
�Keep
that X5 alive, she is crucial, save her life or I will relieve you of yours.�
Renfro continued as she stared at the doctors who hurried to move Tinga to a
nearby operating table to remove her heart, while hooking Max up to a series of
life support machines to continue blood flow and breath for her.
************
�Logan,
you here?� Bling called as he entered Logan�s apartment, Logan had told
Bling that he needed to take some time off for the past week, saying that he
needed to do some serious thinking. More like some serious drinking, look at
this mess!
A
trio of whiskey bottles were in a trash bin by the kitchen counter, about twenty
to thirty beer bottles lay scattered around the kitchen as well. Turning into
Logan�s living room, Bling found Logan with another pair of beer bottles next
to him, another bottle of gin, and a half-empty bottle of vodka sat in Logan�s
lap. Logan himself was sprawled across the couch, the trash bin next to it stank
of vomit, splashes of alcohol were on Logan�s clothes, as was some vomit,
Logan�s stubble had merged into a ratty beard.
�Get
up!� Bling snapped at Logan, who waved away Bling with a half-hearted gesture
of his hand, Bling went for a more forceful method by grabbing Logan and hauling
him from his position to his feet.
�...Hey
Bling, want some of this?� Logan slurred as he raised the vodka bottle. Bling
grabbed the bottle and tossed it into the trashcan that was half-full of vomit,
and then dragged Logan away to the bathroom.
�Get
your ass out of those metal legs and haul yourself into that shower right
now!� Bling yelled into Logan�s ear as he dumped him into Logan�s private
bathroom and set him down on the toilet seat.
�Where�d
you put my drink?� Logan slurred, still halfway into the effects of the
alcohol he had consumed.
�Forget
about your fucking drinks, you�re not taking one more goddamn drop, get in
that shower and clean yourself up and get out of this drunken stupor dumbass.�
Bling snapped at him.
�What�s
the point, she isn�t coming back.� Logan mumbled.
�Do
you think that Max wanted you to spend the rest of your life on a fucking
bender? Life goes on.� Bling yelled at Logan as Logan lolled his head to the
counter of his bathroom.
�Not this time, she�s all I had.� Logan mumbled again, defeating himself
from ever doing anything ever again.
�Get your skinny white ass into that shower before I beat it, you�re not
ending your life now.� Bling yelled at him once again and shook Logan
violently.
�Go
ahead, put me out of my fucking misery already.� Logan uttered as he just sat
their complacent about everyone and everything.
The
solid crack of Bling�s fist smashing into the right side of Logan�s face
jarred him, the alcohol helped dull the pain, but the blow stung severely, as
Logan�s head snapped around.
�Get
your ass in that shower or your death will be painful that you will wish that
Max had just told you to fuck off and then gone on to fuck a few losers in a
damn bar, now!� Bling yelled at Logan as he slammed the door to Logan�s
bathroom and left Logan to pull himself together.
Logan
managed to gain enough control over his body to pull himself out of his clothes
and detach the exoskeleton, then sat on the bathroom seat as cold water drummed
down on him, clearing his senses.
After
pulling himself out of the shower and fumbling to dry himself with bad balance
and motor control, then dressing himself and strapping the exoskeleton back on,
he staggeringly made his way to the kitchen, where Bling was clearing away the
liqueur and beer bottles while coffee brewed.
�You
sure as hell drank enough, how do you feel?� Bling commented as he put beer
bottles into a trash bag.
�Like
I was run over by a stampeding herd of elephants who then proceeded to do a tap
dancing number on my head.� Logan muttered as he slumped against the fridge.
�A
weeklong bender will do that to you, once that coffee is ready, you�re
drinking the damn pot, I made it strong too, you have to pull yourself
together.� Bling remarked as he finished putting away all the liquor bottles.
�No
fucking point either way, its not like anyone is going to come see me, Eyes Only
is finished and so am I.� Logan muttered as he mused over his past week of
drinking and angst.
�Do
you think that Max would want it this way? For her to die, and you to just end
up being a self-pitying alcoholic?� Bling�s words jarred Logan back to life.
�Well she isn�t here to let us know, she�s dead or being reprogrammed,
either way I have lost her.� Logan said continuing on his angst.
�We
both know that Max would want you to try and move on and get it together,
because if you don�t I will kick your skinny ass around until you do.� Bling
continued, forcing Logan to come out of his suicidal state.
�You
don�t understand, she was everything to me and now she�s gone, nothing can
help that.� Logan uttered as he sank to the floor, the exoskeleton�s parts
whirring to aid the motion.
�You
will help that, because Eyes Only will expose Manticore and the evils of it, you
will let people know of Max�s memory, and exact vengeance for what they did to
Max.� Bling snapped at Logan as he hauled Logan to his feet once more.
�Fine, but it doesn�t change the fact that Max is dead, what happens after I
pay Manticore back for all of this?� Logan said as he grabbed the coffee pot
and poured himself a cup.
�Figure
it out then, right now you have to find those X5�s that Zack was protecting,
and let them know what happened, inform the world about Manticore, and honour
Max�s memory, which means no more drinking.� Bling said as Logan took a gulp
of the strong liquid.
�Fine,
but after that, you can�t stop me from doing what I want, keep that in
mind.� Logan muttered as the caffeine flooded his system.
�If
you still feel like killing or drinking yourself into depression, go ahead,
because I�ll have done all I can to help you, that�s all I can do.� Bling
said as Logan continued to sip the strong liquid.
�First
things first, if Krit and Syl come by, tell them that I may need them to help
track down their brothers and sisters, second, lock up all my booze, I don�t
want to see one damn drop until I finish this.� Logan started as he mused over
what he needed to do to pay back Manticore and free Max of concerns about her
family, wherever she was, strapped down in Manticore, or floating around in
heaven.
**************
�I blow my fucking head off to save Max and God still sends me to hell, I really hate that fucker now.� Zack muttered to himself as he awoke, strapped into a bed into the hospital section of Manticore.
�You�ve
not lost your mortal coil just yet brother, you�re at Manticore and you were
taken out before you ever pulled the trigger.� Brin announced, she sat in a
chair by the door, their brother Thomas, who also never escaped that night, sat
in the corner opposite to Brin.
�What
about Max?� Zack asked hopeful that they had found a donor.
�She�s
dead, and it is all on your head, you should have been there to stop the X7 from
shooting her, its your fault for having us leave Manticore, and its your fault
that I just got a kidney donation from her.� Thomas announced and lifted his
shirt, revealing a tracery of stitches on his abdomen.
�NO!�
Zack screamed and fumbled against his restraints, but they held him fast, he
knew he was still weak and was most likely pumped with drugs that would slow
him, and he was also outnumbered. I had all that speed, if I had just pulled
that trigger a little faster Max would still be alive, now she�s giving organs
out to our fucking turncoat siblings!
�There
is no point in fighting all of this, you will be retrained into Manticore and
you will return to where you were supposed to be, the leader of our group.�
Brin said cutting at Zack�s resolve.
�Not
in this lifetime, I�ll kill you and that bitch for letting Max die.� Zack
snapped fighting with all his fury. Use it against them, and they will have a
hard time retraining you, Manticore is the enemy.
�We�ll leave you to think about what happened to Max and how it was your fault, we have to report to a debriefing.� Thomas announced as he and Brin stood up and walked out the door, six guards each equipped with tasers replaced them.
�Status
of X5-599?� Renfro asked as Thomas and Brin left the room that Zack was
contained in.
�He
is highly resistant and will not be retrained easily, although I believe the use
of X5-452 against him will work very well.� Brin reported quickly.
�As
will use of X5-599 against X5-452, she is convinced that he gave his life to
save her, she will crack under the pressure soon enough, especially after seeing
her sister dying in her arms a few weeks ago, and her brother five weeks ago.�
Renfro commented as she remembered her first little session with Max, and then
using field reports that Tac soldiers had filed about the deaths of X5-493 and
X5-656.
�When
can we expect to have X5-452 and X5-599 combat-qualified?� Brin asked eagerly,
hoping her siblings would join her soon.
�It
could take some time, they�ve been corrupted by the outside world for over
eleven years and regard us as the enemy. You may use a contingent of X5�s of
your choosing to help retrain them, punishment methods at your discretion, but
make sure not to damage anything vital.� Renfro responded as she remembered
checking on Max, she may have been hurt by Zack�s sacrifice, but it might
well just drive her to hold out longer and strengthen her resolve.
�Yes
Ma�am, we will do everything in our power to make sure that X5-452 and X5-599
become fully operational and model soldiers.� Thomas announced as he spun on
his heel and walked off towards the X5 barracks to organize some X5s together to
train Max and Zack.
�One
last question Ma�am, in regards to Tinga, I mean X5-656, when can the X5 group
have a funeral for her?� Brin asked before departing with Thomas.
�It
will be some time yet, we have to continue analysis to confirm that the genetic
disorder that affected X5-656 will not affect anyone else, it was a rather
debilitating disease that your sister suffered from.� Renfro replied with a
simple lie that she kept well hidden, one good look at X5-656 and they will
know that something is up.
�Thank you for the information Ma�am, we will see to the retraining of X5-452 and X5-599 immediately.� Brin said as he spun on her heel and took up her pace to catch up to Thomas.
�She
says that Tinga is not ready for burial yet, some tests still have to be run
apparently.� Brin mentioned to Thomas as they rounded the corridor.
�She
said that two weeks ago, and she said that it was for organ harvesting and the
genes that affected Tinga are not shared with any of us.� Thomas replied,
remembering when he requested two weeks ago to oversee the burial of Tinga.
�Maybe
the lab mixed some information up, it could be a mistake.� Brin offered as an
explanation.
�Maybe,
but I�m not so sure yet.� Thomas finished as they entered the barracks of
the X5 group.
