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There was a knock on the door. �I�ll get it!� Max called from the bathroom, and ran out, wearing pajamas. She opened the door saw Sketchy and Herbal, which puzzled her. �Uh� hi.� She opened the door wider and let them in.

�OC invited us,� Herbal said, seeing her confusion. �And some other people.�

�Who?� 

�She didn�t tell us,� Sketchy said as he made his way to the popcorn.

Max walked over to Cindy. �I thought it was just gonna be you, me, and Kendra.�

Original Cindy turned to her. �Oh, come on. They�re our friends, too.� She leaned in a little and whispered, �And once these guys found out, Original Cindy though, �What the hell, let�s let them come.��

Max giggled. �You mean Sketchy wouldn�t stop bothering you until you invited him.�

Original Cindy nodded. �That�s what Original said, didn�t she?�

Max suddenly looked a little depressed. �If you�d have told me I could have invited Logan.�

She shook her head. �Uh-uh. No gettin� funky at this slumber party, boo.�

Max smiled and didn�t deny it. She was in love with Logan.

There was another knock. �That must be Kendra,� Max said, going to answer it.

�Um� hi,� Normal said, a bag in his hands. He wasn�t in pajamas yet.

�They�re in here,� he explained, holding the bag up.

Max couldn�t believe Cindy had invited Normal. She pointed to the bathroom, indicating he could change there, before heading back to the rest of the group, who were on the floor in a semi-circle, a bowl of popcorn in the center of them. But before she could reach them, there was another knock on the door.

It was finally Kendra. �Hi!� she said, coming in. �Look what I brought!� She held out eight cans of whipped cream, and gave one to everyone, putting the extra three in the kitchen. �Enjoy!�

But Max had other plans. She sprayed some cream at Sketchy, giving him half a beard of the stuff. He wiped it off, and whipped it at Max, but missed and hit Cindy in the eye.

�Oh, now you done it. You�ve gone and hit Original Cindy in the eye!� she said, laughing as she sprayed his nightshirt.

�What�s going on?� Normal asked as he stepped out of the bathroom in his pajamas. Everyone stopped laughing and gasped as they saw what hew wore: glow in the dark boxers with tiny ducks on them. They burst out in laughter, and Herbal aimed his cream at him, and they all joined in. 

He jumped aside and grabbed two cans of whipped cream, aiming it at them all. �Don�t think I won�t shoot because I-� He was cut off as Max sprayed his face. He laughed, which surprised them all, they sprayed his cans, not able to aim with the cream in his eyes. �Normal? Laughing?� Max thought.

Suddenly it was dark. The power had gone out. Again.

�Damnit!� Cindy said.

�Oh, man!� Everyone cried out his or her own disappointment.

However, Max�s comment was noticed the most. �I miss Logan.�

Silence. Then giggling. Then came laughter, which soon grew hysterical. Max even laughed.

�How do you come up with that in the middle of this?� Kendra asked.

�I don�t know!� Max had tears in her eyes.

�So� Max�� Sketchy began, �You�re� um��

�A genetically engineered Manticore soldier who was gone for three months because she was locked up at the place of her creation? Exactly.�

�Yup, that�s� uh� exactly what I was going to say.�

They all knew now. There was no danger of her telling it. Manitcore was no more, and she was happier than ever. She was going to marry Logan! It was all like a dream! Except� Zach was gone.

�Tell us again about how you did this again,� Original Cindy said.

The lights flickered back on. Max grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it into her mouth. She was ready to tell them again. She�d already told them so many times.

�Well�� Suddenly, she couldn�t remember. She thought hard as she chewed on the kernels. How could she complete such a thing? What had happened? She choked. There was popcorn in her throat. Suddenly, she began shaking, and everything got disfigured. The faces of all her friends combined, and she saw Logan, in his wheelchair. He got up, and began walking toward her, but she was being pulled away. She was behind a fence, and he stopped. He shrugged, and turned around. She looked frantically around for help, and saw a pile of bodies- all of the other escaped X-5s, all dead. Zach�s body was thrown on top. She screamed as she felt a pain in her chest, and her heart was ripped from her. She was thrown into the pile.

Her eyes shot open. She was on a table, with a sheet over her. She couldn�t tell where she was. It wasn�t a hospital� she gasped.

Manitcore. No, Manticore was gone. She had destroyed it. She looked around. She had tubes, wires, and other things coming out of or attached to her body. It <I>was</I> Manticore. 

She cried.