I followed Kira sullenly towards a nightclub. She had adjusted to life on the outside so much better than I. Ironic since it had been my idea to leave.

“I’m not going back, 772.”

She hadn’t understood what I was talking about back then. But she had come with me anyway. 772 had always been my only true friend. She had always shown such utter devotion. When 494 had left me in the woods, she had spent 38 minutes looking for me until she had been captured herself.

494. I’d thought about him so often since our last encounter. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing, how he was surviving back at Manticore. Did he regret not coming with me? Had he been punished badly for allowing me to escape? Had they sent him to psy-ops? Did he hate me now?

I mentally shook myself and cut off my thoughts of 494, redirecting my thought process back to its original track before I had digressed.

772, Kira, my best friend. No, she hadn’t known why I had needed to leave Manticore, but once she had joined me on the outside, she had easily assimilated her new life. And I knew that she, too, now understood what Manticore had been lacking. That was why I couldn’t let her be recaptured. She was my responsibility.

Which was why I felt obligated to go with her to this nightclub instead of remaining at home, staring blankly out the window all night like I had planned.

“Cheer up, Jess.” Kira prodded me.

Jess. It was my name. Yet I still thought of myself as 613. I couldn’t help it. I hated it, but I couldn’t help it.

I forced a smile.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

I envied Kira sometimes. I envied her ability to adapt so easily. I envied how free she seemed. Free of Manticore. I envied how normal she appeared to be. Even though I knew that none of these things were completely true, she wasn’t normal or completely free or completely adjusted to her new life, I envied her anyways.

Kira charmed her way past the bouncer and I followed her inside into the dimly lit building. I had moved us to a new city again. I was careful to keep us moving now, always trying to erase any trace of where we had been. I did not want to go up against Manticore again. I would not be so lucky next time.

“I need a drink.” I called over the music to Kira.

She nodded and headed to the dance floor.

I sat down at the bar and scanned the building as I waited for the bartender. I was very cautious these days. Bordering paranoia. But I had to be. I had to keep us safe.

I ordered a strong alcoholic beverage even though I knew it would have no effect on me.

I turned my back to the bar and checked out the people in the room.

My drink shattered on the floor.

I was lying on my belly in the dirt, hiding behind a bush. My breath caught as his eyes locked on mine.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

I tried to back slowly behind the edge of the building, but my movement attracted his attention and his eyes locked on me.

I rose from my seat and slowly walked across the room. He still hadn’t noticed me. He was busy talking smoothly to a scantily clad blonde. He seemed so different from the last time I had seen him and yet it couldn’t be anyone else.

“494.” I breathed when I was about six feet from him.

He whipped around to face me and his eyes went wide.

“Who’s this?” the girl demanded. When 494 didn’t respond, she continued, “Hello? Alec?”

“Beat it, toots.” 494 snapped.

The girl gasped indignantly and stomped off. Neither of us made a move.

“What are you doing here?” I asked finally.

“I could ask you the same.”

“How many others are there?”

“Quite a few.”

“How much time do I have before they’ve secured the perimeter?”

“Plenty.”

I blinked. His answer didn’t make sense.

He must have sensed my confusion because he elaborated.

“No one’s tracking you.” he continued, “In fact, you two are the ones who have me cornered.”

So he had noticed Kira closing on him from behind.

“What’s going on, 494?” I demanded.

He glanced around nervously and shushed me.

“It’s Alec now. And I’m not on any mission. Well, except to get laid. I’m a free man now.”

I was astounded. How could this have happened? Could he really have left after he had turned down my offer of escape? What could have changed his mind?

As if sensing my thoughts he said, “A friend of mine...well, friend is a bit strong...acquaintance...cohort...associate..., goes by Max a.k.a. 452, got the place burned to the ground. Set all kinds of X’s and other transgenics loose on the world.”

This was unbelievable intel. Manticore, burned to the ground? My brain was having trouble processing it all.

“Manticore’s gone?” Kira asked, sounding as astounded as I felt.

“Ashes to ashes, baby. But we’ve still got plenty of problems. Look, this is not the best place for a debriefing. Follow me.” 494...Alec...ordered.

Kira glanced at me questioningly and I nodded. We both followed 494.

He was acting so differently and yet somehow I knew that he was still hiding the same tormented 494 inside. I sensed that he had simply adopted a nonchalant attitude, cocky grin, and suggestive eyes to replace his cold demeanor and emotionless Manticore persona.

“Are you sure this isn’t a trap?” Kira whispered to me.

“I know 494.” I replied.

“You think you do.” she corrected.

“Talking about me?” 494 called easily, “I know...I’m irresistible.”

Neither of us reacted to his comment. He rolled his eyes.

“Okay. So you don’t trust me. Understandable. I mean, the last time we met I was trying to capture you and take you back to Manticore. But that was then, this is now. Time’s change. I don’t work for the man anymore. And I can prove it if you let me.”

I raised an eyebrow at Kira. She looked away. She had never understood my connection with 494. She’d spent a lot of time and energy trying to make me forget him. She now obviously believed that my foolish sentiments would get us into trouble.

We soon arrived at an apartment building after traveling the streets quickly in silence. 494 led us upstairs and unlocked the door to a room. He made sure to swing the door all the way open so that Kira and I had a clear view of the inside of the apartment. He knew we would want to check out the place before cornering ourselves inside.

“See, no soldiers, no Lydecker, no tasers. Just my home, sweet home.” he said, spreading his arms and standing in the middle of the apartment.

I entered slowly and Kira followed warily after. After cautiously scanning the whole place with my eyes and listening intently for any telltale noises, I relaxed.

Kira, on the other hand, did not.

“Well, go ahead and prove it already.” she snapped, still standing in a ready stance, prepared for a fight.

494 retrieved a videotape and inserted it in the television. A moment later a news report came on reporting the destruction of a veteran’s hospital by the terrorist group S1W. I immediately recognized Manticore. So it was true. Manticore was gone.

“Don’t get too excited.” 494 warned as he turned off the television, “Manticore may not be hunting you down anymore, but Agent White and his band of freaky familiars are. Plus,...our covers been totally blown and the general public knows all about us and hates us to boot. You guys should really keep up on the news.”

I blinked a few more times in surprise.

“What?” I asked finally.

494 sighed.

“This guy named White is part of this breeding cult that good ol’ Sandeman, the creator of Manticore, happened to be a part of once upon a time. Now his miffed buddies hate us and want to, you know, wipe us off the face of the planet. So, they exposed us and set all the ordinaries against us. We’ve been living down in Terminal City, blockaded off from the rest of existence for awhile. Regular people can’t stay down there too long or they get sick, but transgenics can take the heat.”

“If all that is true, then why are you on the outside and not in Terminal City?” Kira demanded suspiciously.

“Because I can sneak out. X-series look like everyone else. We can blend in. So it’s our job to get supplies.” he explained.

“So you were at a nightclub...?” she questioned, eyes still narrowed.

494 gave us a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Detour?” he offered.

“I can’t believe this.” I muttered to myself.

“Believe it.” 494 said firmly, “World’s a different place for us now. You thought you had it tough when Manticore was out to get you? Try living your life when everyone on the planet wants you dead.”

I didn’t bother to explain to 494 that it wasn’t just that shocking bit of news that had my reeling. It was also his attitude. Sure, he was still self-assured, cocky, and sarcastic. But he was also...sheepish? That did not fit with the star of Manticore, 494. The outside had sure changed him.

“So, what do we do now?” I asked.

“Come on. I’ll take you down to TC. We’ve got everything set up down there. Besides, Original Cindy should be home soon. Wouldn’t want her to know I was crashing her apartment, now would we?” he said, ushering us out the door.

I noticed now, as 494 led the way back outside, that he was careful to keep the collar of his jacket turned up to cover his barcode. And the way he kept glancing around for any sign of danger.

As we walked the streets of Seattle, I was now able to identify what was so different about this city. What we had missed in the week we spent on the road. The tension in the air was almost palpable. Everyone glanced at everyone else with a degree of suspicion.

The crowds thinned and the number of police grew as the buildings became more dilapidated. 494 signaled behind his back to us to be careful and gestured ahead at a tall barb-wired fence. Kira and I followed him cautiously as he snuck past the police and threw a chink in the fencing.

“Welcome to Terminal City.” he announced after we had both made it through and he had replaced the sign covering the hole in the fence.

The city wasn’t much. Everything was in a state of disrepair. The streets and buildings were filthy, littered with trash. The air smelled funny and the place gave off a slightly hostile feel. I felt like I was being watched.

“It’s okay, Dix. They’re cool. X-5.” 494 said, waving.

A figure separated himself from the dark shadows of a building and nodded at 494. The figure was obviously one of Manticore’s strange mutations. He held a large shotgun.

“Max is looking for you.” he called before melting back into the darkness.

“Great.” 494 muttered sarcastically, “What did I do wrong now?”

Kira and I maintained our silence as we followed 494 deeper into Terminal City and finally into a building that, from the looks of the equipment inside, was serving as their headquarters.

“Alec! Where the hell have you been? You had better have gotten the gas I sent you to get or I’m gonna...” a furious looking brunette stormed up to us, glaring eyes fixed on 494.

“Kick my ass. I know, I know.” 494 finished for her, rolling his eyes, “The night is young. I’ll get it.”

The brunette looked about to punch 494 in the face. I was surprised when he grabbed me by the shoulders and yanked me in front of him.

“Now, Max. We have company.” he scolded.

So this must be 452.

She immediately changed temperaments as she looked from me to Kira.

“X-5?” she asked.

I nodded.

“613.” I said, then gestured at Kira, “772.”

452 frowned.

“We use names around here. Numbers are Manticore’s thing.”

“Jess.” I corrected myself, “Kira.”

“I’m Max. I take it you’ve already been introduced to this dingbat.” she said, smacking 494 in the back of the head.

“Ow!” he said even though it couldn’t have really hurt him.

“I know 494.” I said for the second time that night.

“Alec.” 494 insisted.

“I’m sorry. Alec.” I nodded, trying hard to replace the designation with the name in my head.

“You’ve met before.” 452 said, glancing from me to 494 to Kira curiously.

“Don’t be so nosy, Max.” 494 said quickly before either Kira or I could respond.

452 raised an eyebrow at that, but shrugged and didn’t push the subject.

“Well, welcome to transgenic central.” she said instead, “It’s nothing fancy, but it works. You can make yourself at home, but report back for your duties. We’ve all got jobs to do to keep this place running. Right, Alec?”

“I’ll get it!” 494 said, sounding harassed.

“You better.” 452 snapped, then turned back to us, “Be careful around the fence and do not go outside without checking in here first. It’s dangerous out there. We gotta lay low.”

“That’s Maxie’s catch phrase.” 494 whispered.

“Shut up!” 452 snapped at him.

He flashed her a smile.

“What?” he asked innocently.

452 rolled her eyes and stomped away.

“She’s got a thing for me.” 494 said conspiratorially, but loud enough that his voice carried to 452 across the room.

“Oh, please.” she replied, “In your dreams.”

494 winked, as if that proved he was right. Kira and I were still too astounded to respond.

“Well.” 494 said, clapping his hands together and ignoring our unresponsiveness, “Let’s find you a place to sleep, shall we?”

Once again we followed 494.

“We’ve been doing our best to score some mattresses, but complete beds are hard to get unfortunately. Hope you don’t mind. But we’ve got plenty of space, at least. And privacy. And you don’t have to hide what you are.” 494 paused and glanced at me.

“So, yeah. Besides all the people wanting to kill us outside the fence, it’s not too bad.” he finished awkwardly.

He stopped in front of a building covered in graffiti with the windows boarded up.

“This is empty. I know it looks...”

“It’s great.” I interrupted.

494 smiled. I made a decision.

“Kira, will you check it out?” I asked.

Kira sighed, knowing I was really giving her an order. She gave me her ‘Please, be careful’ look before disappearing inside the building.

“I need to talk to you.” we both said at the same time.

494 smiled slightly. I looked down.

“I’ve thought about you a lot.” I said quietly when he didn’t speak, “Wondered what happened to you. If they sent you back to psy-ops because you let me escape.”

“Don’t.” 494 interrupted, “Whatever punishment I received was my own doing. It wasn’t you fault. In fact, I need to thank you.”

“Thank me?”

I was very confused.

“Seeing you and how much freedom meant to you...and then talking to you about Rachel. I never spoke a word about that to anyone before then. You have no idea.”

He seemed to be having a lot of trouble finding words. I was amazed.

“And I wanted to see you again, but I did not want you to get captured. I just kept hoping that I’d get sent on a mission and I’d see you. You always had such spirit. Spirit that didn’t make sense at Manticore and yet you had it. I could never understand it.” he said, “But I respected you for it.”

I didn’t know what to say, but he had finished and was looking at me expectantly.

“I hated you so much.” I blurted finally. He looked surprised and upset, but I continued, “You were everything I wasn’t. Everything we were made to be. But then I saw the emotion in your eyes, the torment that Manticore was to even you, the perfect 494 whose only flaw was that his twin was a traitor. That’s when I knew for sure that Manticore was wrong. And I couldn’t hate you anymore because you were only doing what you were made to do. You didn’t know anything else and you couldn’t help yourself even though it was destroying you. I could at least leave.”

“I’m glad you’re here, 613.” 494 said.

“I’m glad you’re free, 494.” I replied.

“Jess.”

“Alec.”

We stared a each other in silence, simply understanding each other. Finally, 494 cleared his throat and looked away.

“Well, I’d better go get that gas before Max throws a hissy fit.” he said.

“Okay.”

“See you around?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, later.”

“Later.”

494 turned and began to walk away. I watched him until he disappeared around a building, then turned and went inside to join Kira. I couldn’t believe what had happened tonight. So much had changed in such a short period of time. It was hard to believe. Just as with the last time I had seen 494, my world had changed.