"Robert, Max, I'm afraid things are worse
than we imagined, there is a new stage of Manticore that Lydecker is starting
up, and what it is, it's not good." Logan said, letting it sink, these two
had suffered greatly at the hands of Manticore, they needed to relax into the
truth first. Robert had been made invincible, Max was a super-fast soldier with
incredible intellect, but the way they got their abilities, they would both
willingly trade it in for a normal life.
"Stage 3 of Manticore is the gathering of all X5's, then
taking the best genetic patterns from each of them, they recombine them to
create a new generation, the X6 group. These kids will be stronger, faster, and
generally better than an X5 in every way, Lydecker has already created a
brainwashing program to induct these kids to follow Manticore leadership.
Once these kids are born, they belong to him, forever, nothing will be
unable to do what they have done to them." Logan said, Robert cursed and
slammed his fist down on a desk, but he didn't break it, he was holding in his
strength and rage, Max was shocked and terrified.
"So what, as long as the X5's are free
and clear, he can't do shit, I'll stop him, or die trying, the X5's will never
be recaptured, not if I can help it." Robert said as he got up and paced,
analysing the situation.
"Robert, it's not that simple, eight X5's
have been captured, only four remain on the outside, but I have good news about
one of them, I believe you can still save one of them." Logan said, hoping
to stop Robert from doing something stupid like charging into Manticore guns
blazing, he was hard to kill, but he still could die should they hit him hard
enough.
�Son of a fucking bitch, I spend thirteen
years of my fucking life trying to stop those fucking Manticore assholes and all
those attempts I stopped barely slowed them down!� Robert snapped, letting
loose the cursing tongue he had developed in his military time.
"Eight, EIGHT! Eight of my brothers and
sisters have been captured, how could this happen, Lydecker should never have
been able to get us!" Max snapped, she couldn't believe so many of her
siblings had been caught, Logan wheeled up to her and tried to comfort her, but
she was full of rage.
"Max, obsessing over losing your siblings
won't help, Lydecker managed to pin some of them down, others came in with the
ageing disease, Zack turned himself in, others gave up." Logan said, hoping
he could help her handle all of this.
"I don�t care, why would they turn
themselves in? Manticore was pure torture, they knew it, why would they
willingly go back?" Max snapped again, not believing that her siblings
would willingly go back.
"Better the prison you know then the one
you don�t, look here, two of them came back because they could no longer
withstand the seizures. Max, you were lucky, the seizures are bad for you, but
these seizures were an order of magnitude worse, and they were far more
frequent. Two of these kids came back because of it, they couldn't take it
anymore, another turned herself in, Lydecker was closing in on her, so she
decide to make sure no one got hurt, and turned herself in at a military
checkpoint. She knew Lydecker would torture the hell out of them if he found out
they knew her. I saw Lydecker's methods on those records, I've seen him go to
work, he would have shown no mercy, I was on the receiving end of one, for my
'training'. I resolved to survive, but her friends can't handle what I can, so
she saved them, and sacrificed herself." Robert said, his military
background was fading for the moment, what was left of him that was human, and
had compassion, started to trickle in.
"I don't care, is there anything we can
do about this, I can't let everyone be taken back to Manticore, I won't be alone
in this world, no other siblings near me." Max said, and Logan pulled her
into a hug as she shed tears.
"There is a possibility, approximately
140 miles due north of here, is a military base where the X5 prototype known as
593107653642, is being held, what can you tell us about her, she is the one who
turned herself in." Robert said as he continued to browse into the
Manticore network, finding where they hid their kids.
"My god, that's Andrea, she was the most
compassionate member of our group, Zack always was bothered by it, but if her
friends were in trouble, she never failed to protect them though." Max
said, starting to remember her time at Manticore, again.
*Max flashes back*
They
were going through live fire exercises, explosions were everywhere, Colin,
afraid to move, was camped out in trench, not moving at all. One Manticore guard
came up to him and kicked him to get out of the trench and moving again, but he
was petrified, and the guard was about to hit him with the butt of his gun.
Andrea charged him, kicked hard, knocking him out, and signalled with
Colin, got him to move again and the exercise continued. She disappeared for two
days, Lydecker was not happy she beat up on a guard, and was slapped down, she
never showed resistance for a long time afterward, Lydecker was brutal, even
with his valuable "kids."
*End the flashback*
"We can still stop the convoy, two
Hummers with six guards in each have been assigned to an armoured car, the car
contains what is being listed as 'cargo' with her barcode number. If we ride
full-tilt on our motorcycles, we can catch the convoy, and stop it, anything
that hurts Lydecker and protects the X5 group is okay with me, we have two hours
before they depart." Robert said as Max took in the information, shaken by
it all.
Max didn't have Robert's military background
to help him absorb, or his twenty years of additional life experience, he was
far more grizzled, hardened by combat, he also didn't share any links with the
X5's. Of course, that was only true if one discounted his self-appointed crusade
to keep the X5's safe, and their time at Manticore, but he was there for three
months, not nine years of his childhood. Max suddenly went stiff, then started
shaking, she was having a seizure, and Logan could tell it was a bad one.
"There's a bottle of Tryptophan in the
medicine cabinet in the bathroom, get it!" Logan said as he grabbed Max as
she fell to the floor, and helped ease her down.
Robert dodged out of the room with his long
strides, got the Tryptophan, and came back, the cap off, pills in his hand.
Logan took the pills and offered them to Max, she took them, but the seizure
remained, but calmed after a few minutes, but still there. Realising the floor
was not exactly the best place for a seizure victim, Robert scooped Max up and
carried her to Logan's couch, and set her down gently.
"How long do these seizures last, is
there any memory loss, or permanent damage as a result?" Robert asked, he
had seen X5's suffer from seizures before, but he knew nothing of the effects.
"Too long, Max loses her strength, speed,
and other abilities while in a seizure state, but there has been no permanent
damage." Logan replied as he wheeled up next to Max, she was still shaking,
but her lips could at least move again.
"Don't g-go, don't go�" Were Max's
words as her body continued to seize, this is the only reason Logan needed to
hate Lydecker, his eagerness to create his warriors were premature so his
scientists couldn't iron out all the flaws in his perfect soldiers. He felt so
much for Max, even more when she seized, Max felt so weak in this state, and
was, suffering, but not able to sleep. Max was going through a bad seizure, but
she knew it was all right, Logan was there with her, and he would never let
anything happen to her, she knew it.
Robert knew better than to eavesdrop, and Max
didn't need two men to care for her, he cursed Lydecker, had he not altered him
so much, he could have used his own genetic code to stabilize Max. All his
genetic pattern could do is kill Max in short order. Robert cursed Lydecker, he
could heal himself from a thousand wounds, but Max could not be helped by his
godlike genetics. He remembered when he and Jon had visited that genetics lab
that was run by a friend, he had been relieved to find out that he could still
bear children. It seemed that part of his genetic code would prevent the child
from gaining his abilities until he was in his teens, according to the analysis.
He never really planned for a family, he would outlive any woman he took as his
wife by god knows how many centuries, and he had never planned for a family
before anyways. His lifestyle was not one of social interaction, but should an
accident happen, at least the child would not be labelled a freak and shipped
off to some lab when it was two days old.
His friend was more relieved, Jon was far more
sociable, and got along with people, he and Jon had known each other for over
twenty years. They were friends because their interests overlapped, an interest
in weapons and technology, history of warfare, humour was the same, but never
was Robert sociable like Jon was.
God,
if I ever have to put up with anything like this, at least it's with Logan
Max thought as she went through the throes of the seizure, comforted that Logan
was there for her. His presence helped ease the pain, his being there, as he
patted her head with his hand, as he caught the occasional curl in her dark
hair, if she wasn't so weak then, she would leap onto him, embrace him, but she
couldn't.
The hours ticked by, it was now 7:30 PM, Max
had been in the seizure for an hour and a half, a bad one, and Robert had
prepared himself for the trip. He had loaded his sidearms, checked and loaded
his MP5k, ready for a fight, and got out some of his explosive tricks, preparing
for heavy resistance.
"Logan, could you help me up, I'm getting
a backsore lying here." Max said, the seizure was over, and she was
recovering quickly now, her powers back in form.
"Are you sure, is the seizure past for sure, or are you just being proud and stubborn because one of your sister's is in trouble?" Logan asked, he knew Max too well, she was fanatical when it came to her siblings, and keeping them safe.
"If I was still in the seizure, could I
do this?" Max said as she jumped straight up five feet, nearly bashing her
head on the ceiling, but it guaranteed her abilities were back.
"I would have preferred a less dramatic
demonstration, are you sure you're up to this? I know there's nothing I can do
to make you stop, so just take some Tryptophan, cautionary measure, and bring
some with you, I don�t want to have Robert carry you back." Logan said as
he wheeled up to her, and grabbed her arm.
"I'm a big girl Logan, I can take care of
myself, the seizure is past, I'll take the Tryptophan, don't worry so much, I'll
be back soon, and we can pick up where we left of." Max said as she bent
down and kissed him, it held for a bit, until Robert interrupted.
"I hate to break up this hallmark moment,
but we have an X5 to rescue, and piss off Lydecker, shall we?" Robert said,
he was wearing a leather trench coat, concealed were his explosives and guns, he
put on a pair of sunglasses with a blood-red tint to them, just like him
Max thought.
As the two left, Logan wheeled himself back to
his computer, he still had access to Manticore, and he would milk this
opportunity for all it was worth. He slammed his right leg against the desk as
he swung to face his screens, then exclaimed "Ah!", what
the hell, let's try that again he swung his chair, and it hit his leg again,
ow! Dammit, that hurt, what is going on?
Wait a minute, access X5 files, blood factors� bingo! Says here that the X5
group was designed to have nerve cells produced in their blood, but regeneration
would take time if they do not have recovery time with Manticore technology. My
god, Max's transfusion is repairing my spinal cord, but I still can't move these
damn things, maybe the effects wore off? I can't very well ask Max to give me a
boost every week until I'm doing the 400-meter hurdles, it's probably burned out
of my body already. Should I ask Max about this, no, don't bother her with your
problems, find your own way, there must be a way to start walking again. Logan
thought as he browsed Manticore, carefully covering his tracks, and as he read,
it seemed that the Tracker program was reduced dramatically after Robert. Thank
god for that, I don�t even want to think about losing Max to a walking tank
and Manticore Logan thought as he continued to access the Manticore files.
As he worked for hours, digging deep into Manticore's secrets, he felt a
tingling in his toes, but then it was gone damn
he thought, there must be some way to speed this up, but how? Maybe there
was something here about retired Manticore doctors he thought, and searched,
hoping for answers. Hmmm, it may be closed down a bit, but apparently they
have a test group going now, but the majority has already kicked off, and the
doctors are furious about not being able to repeat past results, and Lydecker is
breathing down their necks about it.
**********
�How goes T-14?� Lydecker asked the attending doctor.
�Not well, four subjects dead already, but
the other three are hanging in.� The doctor replied as he checked his sheet.
�Good, how far along are they in the
process?� Lydecker grunted as he wondered if he might actually produce his
feat that his team accomplished thirteen years previous.
�A week or two and they will be at full
capacity, but we can rush it if you need to.� The doctor answered as he
checked the process for how far the new Trackers have gone in the procedure.
�Rush it, there have been rumours of
superhumans floating around recently, Seattle especially, including the Red
Series, I need an equalizer to fight my kids and the Red�s.� Lydecker
demanded as he waved off concern over the patient�s well being.
�We can push the barrier and speed the
entire process up, but the unfortunate result could mean fatalities, we push
these men hard enough as it is.� The doctor replied nodding to the three men
on the other side of the one-way mirror.
�I don�t really care, just get it done,
and get it done by whatever means necessary, I want those three operational as
fast as you can do that, no excuses, or I�ll find someone who will carry the
procedure out.� Lydecker snapped as his hand fell to his holstered P99.
�That won�t be necessary, you�ll have
them up and about by the end of the week sir.� The doctor quickly shot out as
he closed the chart of one of the new Tracker candidates and called his
assistants to continue the modifications to the subjects.
**********
As Max and Robert walked to their motorcycles,
Robert decided to bring it up once more.
"I can tell you and Logan are interested in each other as
of right now, but don't push it Max, otherwise it'll go to crap." Robert
said, and Max turned to him, looking shocked.
"Don�t start, I've been in a fucking
hunk of metal with wheels like he has, I know how useless he feels, don't push
him, or he'll push you away." Robert said, cutting her off before she could
respond.
"Are you telling me that Logan is going
to push away the woman who cares about him, and told him that chair doesn't
matter?" Max responded, seeing what Robert was getting at.
"You've never been in a chair, you will
never know what it's like, to lose the feeling in your legs, not being able to
move them. I felt useless in a chair, which is why I volunteered for the Tracker
program, I wanted my legs back so badly, I could almost feel them, but even that
was mere phantom pain. My friend and I felt useless, we were ready to do
anything to get our legs back, Logan feels inadequate, his pride is wounded, and
that will stick until he walks again." Robert responded, as he mounted his
bike and revved it up.
"Alright, I get the picture, I won't push
him, I've seen him get upset about his injury and I don't need to add to it, so
let's just do this." Max said as she fired up her cycle and peeled out,
heading for the base, Robert followed, and they were on their way.
They rode quickly, blazing at top speed down
the highway until Robert picked up a scent, then veered suddenly, Max was
puzzled, but followed, knowing that Robert was picking up on the trail. Robert
had given Max a radio to keep in contact with on the road, and he fired it up.
"Max, I smell your sister, I know her
scent, saved her once from Lydecker, but it seems I couldn�t do it this time,
the scent is a bit weak, they must be thirty miles ahead, lets blast into high
gear!" Robert said as he brought his bike up to top gear, and went
flat-out, Max followed, hoping it was not to late.
They spent long minutes chasing the convoy and
then finally it came into view, but it was more heavily guarded than either
Robert or Max thought. Three Hummers were with the armoured car, one more than
they thought, this would be difficult, Robert mused, then remembered, he thought
back to a pre-pulse movie, MI-2, and readied himself, pulled out a pistol, and
accelerated. He was now catching up to the Hummer, they were only doing
sixty-five miles an hour, a speed his bike could double, he used his enhanced
sight, aimed, and fired. The shot hit dead-on, the gas tank was hit, and the
Hummer exploded violently, Robert had already passed the Hummer, he had shot
from ahead, and Max had sped by as well. He signalled Max to get ready for some
more, and he sped up, racing to the front of the convoy, went right in front of
the lead Hummer, and activated one of his napalm devices, and almost lazily let
it fly out of his hand. The device hit dead-on, the whole front of the Hummer
was on fire, it swerved, went out of control, and into the deadly roll-over that
killed the drivers of SUVs so quickly, and the vehicle went off the road.
The armoured car and remaining Hummer slowed down, hoping to engage the
two on the ground, they decelerated, and stopped, Max had been behind the Hummer
the whole time, and Robert was now turning around, both ready to end it.
The Hummer stopped, and as men got out, Max
charged, moving with the incredible speed of an X5, she dispatched one, two,
three men in short order, without breaking a sweat. The other three were on the
other side of the Hummer, and were coming around, the safeties off their guns.
Robert lifted his MP5 and dispatched of the man that was getting his gun into
position, a stream of lead ending the threat. Max now sped around and dealt with
the last two, she hit with incredible force, she flipped back and her legs
caught the first man in the face, knocking him back, then she leapt beside him,
and kicked him in the head, knocking him out. The second man had dropped his
MP5, but he now had his sidearm free, and was firing at Robert, he took several
rounds in the chest, until Max came up behind him, and smashed him in the back
of the head, knocking him out cold.
"Doesn�t getting shot hurt? Or does the
Tracker program involve you losing your sense of pain?" Max asked, he had
been shot several times now, it never seemed to faze him.
"It hurt's like a damn bitch, but I've
been shot dozens, if not hundreds of times, stabbed, punched, kicked, smashed
with metal objects. I feel it every damn time, it hurts, I just take the pain
in, I don�t let it get me, it's an art, absorbing pain without letting it
affect you, I mastered it in Delta Force, you just don't let it get to
you." Robert said as he grunted, the healing powers were coming into
effect, sealing the wounds, and consuming the bullets.
The driver and the guard in the truck got out,
and before they could fire, Robert coldly cut them down with a burst of
submachine gun fire. His controlled bursts blew the chest open of one man,
leaving his insides visible to all, and a piece of brain slurred out of the
other man's head.
"Don�t you ever feel remorse about what
you do?" Max demanded, she wanted to know, why was Robert's style like
that?
"I did that to protect an X5, these men
were US soldiers most likely, they took an oath to defend the country, not take
kids away and torture and experiment on them. I am protecting the X5 group, the
way I know how, I am keeping you X5's out of Lydecker's hands, if you would
prefer, I could go back to my role as Tracker, disable you and Andrea, then haul
you back to Manticore. I have a responsibility to protect you kids, it's dirty,
but I have to do it, blood will be spilled, I can't avoid that. It's just what I
do, you have to understand my world, I killed drug dealers, terrorists, and
dictators, I killed the men under their command, I am simply dealing with
terrorists who would make war on children." Robert responded, but Max was
not satisfied.
"That doesn�t make it any easier to
accept, you take life with an uncertain ease." Max said, hoping she would
break through to him.
"If you don�t like it, then perhaps you would prefer it
that all your brothers and sisters were at Manticore, because without my
intervention, that would have happened." Robert said, keeping his position.
�What makes you believe that you have to
kill anybody who gets in your way to accomplish that goal?� Max said putting
her hands on her hips.
�They try and kill me, its called self-defence
and defence of others.� Robert answered as he flipped the fire selector on his
MP5k to safe.
�You would really take ten lives if it meant
saving one X5?� Max asked.
�Only if those people were attacking you or
myself, I do not involve civilians in my battles, that is the work of
terrorists, not soldiers.� Robert answered as he slipped his MP5k back into
his jacket.
�So you will kill anyone who tries to hurt
or capture the X5 group?� Max asked, putting the issue in a simple yes/no
format.
�That�s one way of putting it, but I do
not always kill my foes, I have dealt with many opponents in hand-to-hand
combat, but I have taken many lives to defend X5 and will continue to do so.�
Robert answered as he took a step towards the armoured truck that contained
Andrea.
�It really doesn�t bother you much taking
lives?� Max said glaring at him.
�Better their lives than yours or my own,
Manticore will stop at nothing to grab you and your siblings so they can use you
as unstoppable assassins, I�m just stopping them, with deadly force.� Robert
replied as he threw out the heartless accusations but you�re quite close to
the truth there.
Robert walked over to the back of the car, and
grabbed the handle for the door, and ripped the door off, he cast it aside, and
looked inside. There she was, the X5 he had kept out of Lydecker's hands four
years previous and then had turned herself in nobly, but now she was free.
Andrea saw him, and immediately started fighting her manacles, trying to get
free, but they held her fast, they were strapping her against the back wall of
the car. He reached down at one of the manacles, and ripped it right out, and
then the rest, Andrea looked at him, then ran out of the car.
"No! Wait!" Robert said, but Max
stopped her, Andrea saw Max, and backed away scared.
"Who are you, what are you going to do to
me?� Andrea yelped as Max grabbed her arm.
�Andrea, its me, Max.� Max said grabbing a
hold of Andrea and preventing her from running, as Robert started walking back
from the armoured car.
Andrea twisted out of Max�s grip and grasped
Max�s right arm, twisted it high behind Max�s back, and then she saw the
flash of Max�s barcode, and stopped, letting go of Max�s arm.
�Thank god, Max, when I turned myself in, I
never thought I�d�� Andrea said as she collapsed into Max�s arms and
wept. The weeping stop as her eyes flashed up, and saw Robert�s implacable
form continuing towards her, she shied away, using Max as a shield.
�Who�s that?� Andrea said as she saw
Robert flip off his red-tinted sunglasses and put them away in the pocket of his
jacket.
"Andrea, this guy escaped from Lydecker
thirteen years ago, his name is Robert, he was made that way thirteen years ago,
he was made to track us, but he refused. He saw what Lydecker did to us, and
tried to free us, but failed, he's made it his mission since the escape to
protect us, four years ago. Robert has stopped Lydecker from catching you
already, and just did it again. He's also done it at least twenty times for our
brothers and sisters, and saved me here in Seattle, and just helped free you,
does that sound like one of Lydecker's creations to you?" Max said as she
stood next to Robert, Andrea didn�t lose the look of fear in her eyes, Robert
was an imposing figure, but that fear runs much deeper than just my size,
can�t say I blame her though for not wanting to go back to that hellhole.
�As glad as I am to see that you have found
one of your siblings Max, we have to vacate these premises immediately, Lydecker
will be coming, with a lot of firepower.� Robert said, announcing what was
going to come if they didn�t leave soon. Andrea was still hesitant, still
unsure about Robert, as her eyes flickered to a pair of broken bodies he stood
next to.
"Andrea, this guy saved my life, he has
put himself at risk to save you, twice now, and has done it, if you can't trust
him, you can't trust me either." Max said, hoping to convince her sister
that it was all right.
"I don't seem to have much choice here,
but I'd rather take my chances with you and the tank then Lydecker, where
to?" Andrea said, realising her options were very limited.
"We go back to Seattle, we know someone
who can help you, he's a friend, and knows all about X5 and he's our best shot
at finding our family as well." Max said, as Andrea followed her and got on
Max's Ninja, while Robert mounted his own T-Sport. Andrea thought to herself what
if this was part of Lydecker's plot, to break me? Have my own sister betray me
by trying to sell me to some foreign power, So Manticore looks like a safe haven
apart from the rest of the world? Andrea resolved not to trust these people
completely, but Max seemed sincere, and she hoped her sister was true to her
word about Robert.
As they rode back Robert thought to himself were
you expecting a warm welcome? Jesus fucking Christ, you've scared all of these
kids away from you, of course she's going to be suspicious. Just get her into
the city, then get her out, get her to Canada, and Deck never touches her. Max
seemed a bit concerned about my killing all those men, can�t say I blame her,
but I have been a bit more bloodthirsty than usual these days, guess its all
part of being me. Just remember, should you fall out of control of yourself, you
have to stop yourself. Robert thought as he rode, following Max's lead.
Max had her own thoughts as she rode down the
highway as Andrea clutched to Max for support. I hope Robert is going to realise what he�s doing and hold himself a
bit more in check. Hopefully Andrea can stay for a bit, I doubt she'll take the
news about the other's well, but she will survive, I hope. Robert scared the
shit out of Andrea, can�t say I blame Andrea though, Robert is an imposing
figure, and we still don�t know his whole story. Robert is right about Logan,
he knows, and Logan is losing his pride, isn't there some way he can walk again?
Fuck! I want that man to get his life back, he deserves it, he spends his time
locked away, trying to save the world, he deserves to walk like everyone else!
You want him so bad, but with his self-confidence down the shitter, we could
never consummate our feelings for one another, he'd feel to inadequate, him
bound to a wheelchair, you being the most advanced female on the planet, he
would never consider it. Max thought to her as she rode, Andrea clutched to
her as she rode, hanging on, they would arrive at Logan's soon enough, and
another of her siblings was saved from Lydecker. Robert had saved her sibling
from Manticore, and she had finally crossed that boundary with Logan, not a
bad day at all Max thought as the wind whipped at her as she rode.
***********
"They what!" Lydecker yelled as the
man delivered the report, an unidentified man and woman had freed one of his
kids. The woman was described, he knew it was Max from the description, the
other man, he wasn't an X5, probably a friend, with military training, had
helped her. This was not good for him, he needed every last one of those kids,
but he knew she would go back to Seattle, she is still there, after all this
time, why?
"Assemble yourselves, we're going to
Seattle, this time, we get them all." Lydecker said into his Tac radio to
his Tac team leaders. This I�ll get them all, all of my kids, then
Stage 3 begins, and Manticore becomes the most powerful military base in
existence, and make this country a powerhouse once again, no country would dare
oppose us when X6 becomes active. I�ll need some extra agents in on this one,
my Tac leaders will never pin all of those kids down by themselves, but others
should prove able for the task at hand. Lydecker thought as he paced back
and forth through his office at Manticore.
******************
A man rode through Seattle driving his BMW X5,
pretty nice fucking ride if I do say so myself as he admired the vehicle.
It had been modified with bullet-resistant panels and glass and he carried
plenty of weapons in back. He was finally going to find who he had set out
looking for, wouldn't Lydecker be surprised after his mission had been executed,
then again, so would a few others He thought to himself as he continued to
drive.
This is the most hare-brained
crazy-assed long-term plan you�ve ever cooked up, but thanks to intelligence
contacts, all the assets are guaranteed to be in place, and if it all plays out,
someone should live a fulfilling life for once.
