A/N: Thank you for your patience and your comments. I still can't believe so many people are reading this fic.
I have to inform you the updating isn't going to get faster, sorry guys, writers blocks and life can be such a bitch sometimes. Excuse the swearing.
orphyfets: If you saw DA then you know pretty much what's going to happen.
jamy21: Thanks so much for the betaing, girl. Well, no need to reply to your questions since you already know the answers. :p
*shiri&jensen4ever*: I'm a sadist and a cliffhanger addict. You thought the last part was bad? You're so going to hate me for this one. *evil laugh*
Taniapretender: Sorry for the slow update, my life's been kinda crazy those last months. Hope you don't get bored with this part.
Pandas2001: Happens to the best of us.
Aussietrueblue: I'm not the only one cruel. Stop using sad smileys.
Queen Fee: Alec is in the next part. I swear.
Carter13: Read what I said before! I already answered this question at least 10 times. *tear hair out* Argh! lol.
KiaraAlexisKlay: Michael and contradictions go in pair. My opinion though.
'puppy dog eyes with big golden tears shimmering in the light' Kristin, you're just evil, lol.
Liz2Infinity: Thanks.
WomanofMystery: I know, I remember you asked me not to kill her but I had to. Dramatic tension and all. Tinga is one of my favorite X5 too. Sorry but happy you found the fairytale good.
GLCW2: Happy to see you reading, you're going to love this part. Your assumptions are good too but hush I won't tell you more.
Amelia: I'm trying.
Luna_Seer: No spoilers. Sorry.
Bip: First, thank you for your kind words. Second, I love your banner (though the former one was prettier). Did you know that the actress playing Meg in SPN as also played in DA as Syl (a blonde X5)? I'm a polarist too you know, though my last fics have been x-tremer. I admit lately I've been thinking to writing a xover DA polar, I've been talking to death about it with Lisa. I know, that's not serious or responsible since I've got already two stories to update but truth is I don't really care.
Kitten: It's good to see you still like this fic.
Rachelg224: It's coming.
~
PART ELEVEN
Lux was startled by Max's scream of rage; she stepped aside just in time to see her sister throw a chair against the case, destroying Tinga's prison. She watched the green fluid rushing out, licking the soles of her boots, tuning out Logan's warnings and Max's cries. Her heart fluttered like a bird in a cage, her attention primly focused on the sound of approaching footsteps outside instead of Max rocking the lifeless body of their sister. She couldn't allow herself to grieve, she had to get them out of here and Max wasn't in any state to make any decision.
Seconds were ticking by and she had no plan. Absolutely nothing. A wave of helplessness washed over her, blood beating fast inside her temples as she frantically searched for a way to escape. First: prevent those outside from entering, try to gain few minutes to think. The door. She needed to block the door. She began to work on one of the computers, cursing softly when she realized she wouldn't have the time to lock the door manually. Three feet. She had to find something, she had to. Her whole body was a bundle of nerves. Two feet. The tension was mounting, her hands were burning. One foot. Her heart was in her throat as the door hissed opened.
She had no idea why, when she heard the door opening itself, she raised her right hand, but she did. It felt surreal, impossible. She was a genius, that or it was just a freaking miracle. Currently the door might be open however Lydecker and his soldiers were still outside, unable to pass the green shield she had created. She never wanted to thank her ex boyfriend so much for changing her. She only hoped the wall would hold for few minutes. Breathing through her teeth, she stared at Lydecker who seemed quite taken aback by her and Tinga's presences.
"Liz Parker." stated Lydecker. "I knew there was something familiar about you."
"Shut up," she cut, snorting. "You knew absolutely nothing until now. If you had, Brin wouldn't have spent all those months trailing after Tess Harding."
"You recognized your sister. Very good, you always were a sharp one. What have you been up to?" wondered Lydecker as he bumped his hand against the green shield.
"I don't think it's the time or place to play twenty questions," shot back the brunette, sweat pearling on her brow. Damnit, she never thought using alien's powers was so difficult and besides she had no idea how she created the shield in first place. She didn't know what to do or even think to keep it working. One thing was sure the green and yellow currents running through her hand were draining her out.
"Max," called Liz, letting the gun fall from her left hand as she used it to steady her shaking right arm. The electricity, the currents of energy or whatever it was, were getting more intense and more difficult to control.
"Max, snap out of it! Don't force me to come and kick your ass!" growled Lux.
Her shout seemed to finally cut through her sister's shock. Max blinked and lowered Tinga down, standing up and staring in disbelief at the green shield preventing Lydecker and his team to enter in the silo.
"Get out," ordered Lux, motioning towards the ropes with a shake of her head.
"What about you?"
"One capture is better than two," she replied. "Don't worry, I'll find a way. Just go."
"You won't be able to," countered Lydecker. "The whole perimeter is guarded, the only thing which isn't under control yet is the access of this silo and it's just a question of time before it's over. You're looking a little green, you're sure you're alright Lux, or maybe Liz fits better now?"
"Fuck you," snapped the brunette on the verge of throwing up.
Black spots were dancing in front of her vision; he was right, she wasn't going to be able to stop them for long. Max and she shared a glance; they had no option, but they weren't going down without a fight. Lux gritted her teeth together, breathing through sharp pained gasps; her whole arm felt as if it was pierced by thousands of white hot needles. The shield was faltering. She patted her back pocket, swearing when she discovered she managed to lose her second gun when she fought the guards earlier. She eyed the other gun not even one foot away but she couldn't grab it with her arm shaking like that.
"Max, the gun."
Her sister seemed on the verge of refusing but Lux didn't give her time to argue.
"For Christ's sake, the man killed our sister, give me the freaking gun!"
Max obeyed and put the gun in Lux's hand as the shield disappeared. The two X5's ran at opposite sides of the silo as Lydecker and his team entered. Lux didn't lose any time and fired, putting a bullet right between the eyes of one of the soldiers. She heard Max gasp in pain as she was tazzered and Lux cursed the fact her sister didn't want to use weapons. She managed to aim a shot at Lydecker before the rest of the soldiers shoot their tasers on her. The last thing she saw before falling unconscious was Lydecker, still alive, holding his bleeding arm. And the bastard had the nerve to look as if he wanted to comfort her.
~
All their lives they feared the Dark Sorcerer, what they ignored was that a new villain had entered the play and this one was far more powerful than their childhood tormentor. The Snow Queen was a cruel woman and had plans for every last of them. One of her minions warned her about the events happening in the silo so she ordered her men to keep the Dark Sorcerer under guard and to retrieve the two rogue girls who escaped the hell she now controlled.
But the Dark Sorcerer didn't admit defeat so easily, with his most trusted men he managed to snatch his kids right under the nose of the Queen. The Snow Queen was furious and dead set on destroying her opponent. She didn't hesitate to spread lies about the death of Sleeping Beauty at Greta, one of her relatives, then she unleashed the grieving soldier on the Sorcerer's back.
She smiled as she waited, soon she would win the game and create her own army.
~
In Logan's apartment, Zack was getting bandages for his wound. The tension in the room was thick; he had planned this mission because he hadn't wanted to lose one of their own, in the end he lost three. He didn't know how but somehow he decided this mess was Cale's fault.
"What the hell happened?" fired Zack, "We got in no problem. Next thing I know, Lydecker's guys are all over the place."
"I gave you a heads up as soon as I saw them coming," argued Logan, barely controling his temper either. "Why didn't you get them out of there?"
"I tried. I couldn't get to them."
"We shouldn't have gone in."
"We didn't have a choice. They had Tinga."
"And now Lydecker has Max and Lux. We've got to find them."
The man really had a talent for stating the obvious, but picking a fight now wouldn't help matters.
"I contacted Krit and Syl. They're on their way."
"So if Lydecker's in the wind and he's got Max and Lux with him, what's his plan?"
That was exactly what Zack was wondering. Lydecker's actions puzzled the X5, they were completely erratic. The Lydecker he knew would never have gone against Manticore, he dedicated half of his life to the place. It didn't make any sense, he killed the guards at the silo, took Max and Lux and now had certainly half of Manticore on his heels. The more Zack thought about it, the more he felt dreadful about the whole situation because it looked like Lydecker had no plan.
~
Meanwhile, at a cheap motel called Yum Yum Tree, Lydecker was busy talking to the clerk.
"You understand my instructions now?"
"I never had anyone take over the whole place before."
"No maid service," ordered Lydecker, laying a bill on the counter. "No wake-up call." Another bill. "No mints on the pillow." Another bill.
"No worries," replied the cleck, taking the money eagerly. "We pride ourselves as much on our discretion as we do on our lack of amenities."
The whole situation felt surreal, here he was making more in one night than he usually did in one month. It didn't matter if the guy was among the mob or doing some kind of shady deal because, hello, with so much money the clerk was ready to look the other way. He took out a set of keys, pausing briefly when he saw through the window two guys dressed like soldiers carrying two unconscious dark-haired women out of a hummer.
"My nieces have a drinking problem," explained Lydecker as he took out another bill and placed it on the counter.
The motel clerk nodded, giving the keys to him, knowing instinctively to keep his trap shut.
"Enjoy your stay."
~
The Sorcerer discovered Snow Queen's goal and tried to make her admit she was killing his kids. They argued over the phone, but his threats fell into deaf ears when she told him he was already dead. Nothing and nobody would jeopardize her plans.
~
The first thing Lux was aware of was the loud pounding inside her skull, then the scratch of the unfamiliar comforter against her cheek. She slowly opened her eyes, noticing Max unconscious next to her on the bed they were sharing. The brunette tried to reach her sister only to discover her right hand was handcuffed to the bed. She tugged at the chain, testing its resistance.
"I see you're awake."
She jumped at the unexpected voice and turned her head to see Lydecker sitting in a chair, staring at her intently, clearly inhibited.
"Those were some impressive tricks you did back there," he commented. "Care to tell me how you got them?"
"Not really."
"It's all right, doesn't really matter. I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he assured. "I'm not stupid, it's only a matter of time before one of my soldiers blutter out what you did in the silo to save his life. They may be loyal to me, but confronted with death, survival's instinct always wins. You remember that night I sat with you in the infirmary, when Max and you got sick? I shouldn't have been there. I shouldn't have shown favoritism. But the both of you. . . you're special to me. I hope you know that. If you knew how much I loved her, you'd understand. Sometimes . . . I wish I could take you away from all this, where they couldn't do anything to you. There's no other way," he assured, retrieving a gun from his pocket and pointing it toward Lux. "This won't hurt, and I'll be right behind you."
The brunette's eyes widened as she realized Lydecker intended to kill her. Suddenly wide awake, she kicked Lydecker off the chair with her leg.
"What did you do to Tinga, you son of a bitch?"
"It wasn't me. You think I could do something like that to her? To any of you? You kids had no idea how much you meant to me."
"Had a funny way of showing it," piped Max, blinking groggily.
"I was trying to build something. Think of it-instead of sending a thousand troops into battle and losing a hundred . . . sending ten perfect soldiers and losing none."
"Spare us your altruistic dreams," cut Lux.
"Yeah," continued Max. "Are we supposed to feel bad that we bailed on you? Messed up your whole vision thing?"
"I'd rather see Manticore die than let her pervert it. That's all it would take, a few perfect soldiers to bring the whole thing crashing down on her."
"Is this some kind of new torture thing?" inquired Max. "Lock people up in a cheap motel and babble at them until they crack?"
"You'll see. I'm telling the truth. When they bust that door down and blow my head off and drag you back to Manticore for reprogramming . . . unless she has other plans for you."
"She?"
"The bitch that murdered your sister."
"It really wasn't you?" questioned Max, unsure.
"Don't listen to him, Max. It's a trick," countered Lux, sending daggers at Lydecker. "He always lies."
Lydecker watched Lux with something akin to pity and he really was lucky the cuffs forced her to stay on the bed because he would be dead for daring to look at her like that.
"Let me know when you hear them coming. You'll know before I do and remember -- that offer still stands," he said, holding out the gun at Lux.
~
The minions of the Snow Queen managed to track down the Sorcerer, thanks to the implant in the head of one of his kids. Greta was immediately informed and led the assault of the motel, her heart may be frozen but vengeance was a dish best served cold. The Sorcerer would pay for the murder of her sister, he was going to beg for his death after she was finished with him. Then she would bring her other sisters to the Queen and later her sisters would realize Manticore wasn't so bad. But her projects were cut short when she found room 12 of the Yum Yum Tree motel empty.
~
Lux watched the landscape lit up by the morning's sun through the car's window; it had been a close call back at the motel, thanks to Max's convincing Lydecker freed them just before Manticore's alpha team burst into the place. They weren't out of the woods yet, long story short: Max was tracked down by Manticore because of the Red's implant and Lydecker was still with them. He should be powerless, cuffed and blindfolded in the backseat of the car but he still managed to fill her sister's head with nonsense.
"I don't know, Max," she said after awhile. "This idea is pure suicide. Hell, I'm insane for even considering it."
"You know I'm right," replied Max, driving the hummer in the direction of Logan's place, careful to avoid sector patrols. "They'll never stop looking for us. They'll hunt us down one by one until we're either dead or in a cage. Aren't you tired of always looking over your shoulder?"
Of course she was, they all were. She watched Lydecker through the rear mirror, he acted way too calm for a prisoner. It was him who planted the idea in Max's head and she was wary because of it.
"I don't like it," she countered. "No one can assure us he won't switch sides. For all we know it could be just a trap."
"I don't think he's playing us," stated Max, shaking her head. "Looks to me like one of his bosses wants him dead in a big way."
True, the little confession of Lydecker earlier didn't feel like an act. In fact, she had seen so many emotions on his usually blank front that it had been more than disconcerting. All her life, she had viewed Lydecker as a cold emotionless bastard, but back at the motel he had looked strangely human.
"Alright," she conceded, "but you're the one convincing Zack."
Max nodded, smiling as she parked on a street near Logan's apartment. She headed hurriedly toward the building while Lux waited in the hummer with Lydecker. The brunette tapped her fingers distractedly against her thigh, watching Lydecker silently. It was easier to stare at him when she didn't have to see his eyes. Soon, she felt unnerved by the silence and wished Max was back already. In the end the question plaguing her for hours left her mouth.
"Back at the motel . . ." she began.
"Don't remind me. I still feel sick."
"Yeah, me, too." she agreed. "It seemed like you were going to tell me . . . you were my . . ."
"Father?" he finished, snorting. "I would never presume to pollute the gene pool."
"I can't tell you what a relief that is for me," commented Lux, breathing easier.
"I did love somebody once . . . deeply. In my eyes, she approached perfection. When she was murdered, I kept a small part of her alive . . . in you and Max."
"You're telling me we're some kind of clone of an old girlfriend?" asked the brunette, horrified.
"No. Not a copy. More . . . inspired by. She was my wife. You have her eyes."
"Well, don't mistake me for her. The first wrong move you make and you're dust," she warned coldly. "Max might have problems with guns but I have none."
"At least I've done my job well on you."
His statement made her stomach churn, he sounded so proud it made her sick, she was ready to throw an acid retort but Max chose to come back at that moment.
"I saw Bling, they're not here. We're going to be at the place in two hours, tops," informed Max, starting the hummer.
~
Few hours later,
Seattle, Sector 7
Krit and Syl arrived at the abandoned warehouse where Zack and Logan were waiting. After making the inventory of their weapons and receiving a tip from one of Logan's contacts about the possible location of Lydecker, Krit, Syl and Zack were ready to leave when a Manticore hummer barged into the warehouse. Immediately they trained their weapons on the hummer, but lowered them when they saw Max and Lux behind the windshield. The two brunettes got out of the car and greeted the last newcomers warmly. They informed the others about Tinga's death, then Max opened the back door of the hummer, dragging Lydecker out and taking his blindfold off. Lux crossed her arms across her chest, waiting for Max to explain her plan.
"You said you needed a few perfect soldiers," stated Max to Lydecker. "--well, here we are."
"What are you talking about?" inquired Zack.
"He's going to help us."
Here we go, thought Lux, time to drop the bomb.
"Help us what?" asked Krit, puzzled.
"Take down Manticore." answered Max.
There was a moment of silence and everyone began firing questions at the same time. Like Lux suspected, Zack was adamantly against the idea. However Max's arguments were pretty convincing and after several minutes of heated discussion they all were listening Lydecker list the defense capabilities of Manticore and memorizing the map he drew.
"Hang on," stopped Zack "there's something we need to know."
"Who murdered our sister?" asked Krit.
"The new director," replied Lydecker. "Name's Renfro. She's a real piece of work."
"Why'd she do it?" questioned Max.
"I don't know." answered the ex colonel.
The end of his sentence was punctuated by the sound of a bird cawing. All X5's turned at the same time to watch a black crow land on a beam at the tope of the warehouse. For a moment, they were all frozen, remembering years ago when they saw a similar bird just before Scott was killed during an exercise in the woods. Seeing one now wasn't good at all. Zack tried to shoot the crow but missed and the bird flew away. They stayed silent for a few minutes before dismissing the incident. It didn't mean anything, it was just a bird.
The rest of the day was passed preparing for the mission; at one point Max and Krit went outside to search the van Manticore was using to track Max's implant. They found it and dismantled the scanning equipment. They came back to the warehouse with the van and Lydecker decided to use it for QG during the mission. Logan immediately began to do the required modifications on it. Lydecker went over the kind of resistance the X5's were going to meet inside of Manticore, saying they were fortunate because most of the X series had been deployed in various parts of the world. Still remained the problem of clearance to access to the labs, since Lydecker had been more or less fired his didn't worked. That's why he needed to see one of his 'buddies' before the mission.
"Like we're just going to let you walk out of here and drop a dime on us," said Zack.
"If you don't trust me . . ."
"That's a given," cut Krit, glaring.
"Then one of you should come with me." declared the older man.
Lux shook her head, no way she was going to be stuck with him in a car again. She went outside the warehouse, trying to calm herself but her entire body was stiff. She leaned against the wall of the warehouse, closing her eyes briefly; she needed to stay focused on the mission. The fact that Lydecker made her skin crawl didn't matter, he was just a mean to an end.
"Hey." Lux opened her eyes to see Max staring at her with concern. "You okay?"
"As much as I can be with him in the same room as me."
"Don't worry, I'm the one going with him to see his pal."
"Picked the short straw, Maxie?" wondered the brunette.
"Somebody has to do it," stated her sister, shrugging. "I wanted to ask you something. At the silo the thing you did..."
"Drop it Max," cut Lux.
"How?"
"I'll explain later. But don't mention it now, Zack would just freak."
"Fine," conceded Max. "Later, not never."
"Sure," replied Lux as Max headed toward the hummer where Lydecker was waiting.
~
After Max's departure, Lux decided it was the perfect time to call Michael. She took her cellphone, dialing the number she knew by heart, ignoring Zack's reproachful gaze.
"C'mon, pick up Michael," she muttered under her breath as she paced.
"Guerin."
"Hey, it's me."
"It's good to hear your voice, I was getting worried," he admitted.
"Sorry. Got a little delayed."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah."
"You swear?"
"Not even a scratch."
"How did it go? Did you find Tinga?"
"Yes, we found her." she managed to utter, swallowing heavily.
"And?"
"We were too late," explained the brunette, biting her lips nearly hard enough to taste blood. "She's dead."
"Shit," cursed Michael.
"I'm sorry Liz."
"Me too," she replied. "What about you? How are things on your side?"
"The others are on a rampage, they're sure you've been abducted by the Skins. Maria is sniffing cedar oil vials by the dozen, Max is beating himself for dragging you into the whole alien mess, Isabel is trying to reassure Alex, Kyle is blaming Max and Tess is trying to keep Kyle from killing her ex-husband," he told her.
"Your parents are pretty worried too, usually you warn them before disappearing. When are you coming home?"
Home. He was right, Roswell was her home now. Ten years ago, she would never have believed she would ever get so emotionally attached to one place. She felt bad for making her parents and friends worry but there was little she could do to remedy the situation right now.
"I was partly calling about that," she announced, rubbing her neck nervously. "There's been a slight change of plan."
"Change?" parroted Michael.
"What change?" Pause.
"I'm not going to like it, am I?"
"Probably not."
"Fill me in."
"Last night things got a little awry, Max and I got captured by Lydecker and Zack was forced to call two of my siblings for help. Long story short: we managed to get away with Lydecker as our prisoner. Turns out he's not the one who killed Tinga and he's also got Manticore on his back. He said some interesting things we can't ignore, in the end my siblings and I decided to take down Manticore so no, I don't think I'll be home today."
"Wait a minute, you can't be serious."
"Yes, I am. That way Tinga's death won't be vain."
"Liz, you can't trust Lydecker. I met the guy, remember? He's going to double-cross you the first chance he gets," countered Michael.
"He's spent the last decade looking for you."
"That's true but someone very important at Manticore wants him dead so he's going to do everything possible to save his ass. Survival instinct and all. Like he said, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend', besides he knows the facility and its defensive capabilities like the back of his hand. He can get us inside."
"And how many of your siblings will be here?"
"We're going to be five, that should be enough."
"Five?" repeated her friend incredulously.
"What kind of damage can you do with that?"
"We'll take out the DNA lab," replied Lux. "Destroy their ability to develop a new generation of soldiers. When we escaped back in 2009, they almost shut the place down. That's nothing compared to what will happen if we can take out the lab. There'll be a war of finger-pointing, funding will disappear and Manticore will cease to exist." The brunette stopped to see if Michael had other arguments before sending the final blow.
"I think it's worth a shot. I'm tired of always being wary of every stranger who sets foot at the Crashdown, I just want to be a normal girl."
"You're right," admitted her friend with a tired sigh,
"though you'll never be an average girl Parker."
"You have a point," she replied, her mouth curling up.
"I want to help this time."
"You can't, the mission is tonight. Even if you left Roswell now you wouldn't arrive in time, besides you don't know where I am. And even if you could, to participate you would be forced to tell your secret to Zack."
"Bullshit, you know I wouldn't hesitate to... Hold on a second, when did you planned the mission?" questioned Michael suspiciously.
"A couple of hours ago," she replied honestly, "I'm not going to say I'm sorry. I've already involved you too much in my problems, if something happened to you I would never forgive myself."
"And don't you think I feel the same way?" he snapped back.
"What if something happens to you tonight? How do you think I would feel knowing I might, scratch that, would have made a difference if you had let me?"
"I'm a realist. We have a good plan but no one knows what could happen. I'm not willing to take the risk of having you captured or killed by Manticore. You might hate me for this but I just won't, I care about you too much so please, don't make this any harder than it already is."
Her voice broke at the end of her sentence and she cursed silently for this show of weakness.
"The second it's over you call me," stated Michael in a voice that was strangely rough.
"You hear me? I mean it."
"I don't think I'll be able to do that at the second. We'll be in the woods, no phone signal there, but I'll call you when I'm back in the city," promised the brunette. "The mission should be over by 5:00AM, the time we get back... I'll call you by 7:00AM."
"I'll be waiting. Be careful."
"I promise. Michael..." she began.
'I made a shield like Max. I don't know what's happening to me and it scares the hell out of me.' She took a shaky breath, closing her eyes briefly. "For what it's worth I wish you were here."
She cleared her throat.
"Anyway I'd better go, I still need to study the facility's map. Bye." she said, hanging up, not even waiting to see if he had something else to say. She couldn't allow herself to think of her friends in Roswell, she remembered, wiping her sweaty hands on her jeans. Her mind had to be on the mission, only on the mission.
~
A few hours later, Max arrived at the warehouse with a few boxes of pizza just as Lux was finishing up inspecting her motorcycle for possible damages; she had been lucky to find it where she had parked it, unattended near the tunnel near the silo. She had needed it since her whole stash of weapons was in the truck. Krit had driven her there with Logan's car earlier.
"Chow down, my grunts, mess is on," announced Max to the rest of her siblings as she offered the boxes.
"Pineapple," commented Lux licking her lips avidly, "I love you sis."
"Careful, Lux," said Krit with a grin. "You know what they say: One minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips."
"You're such a jerk!" huffed the brunette, slapping his arm hard though the corners of her mouth were twitching up. Proclaiming she wanted to enjoy her slices of pizza in peace, she headed to the back of the warehouse.
Meanwhile, sitting near the Animal Control van, Logan quietly observed the X5 for several minutes.
"I don't know how they can eat at a time like this."
"An army marches on its stomach."
"You must be pumped about tonight 'cause this is what they were made to do, right?" he inquired, sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"It's very gratifying watching kids realize their purpose in life," replied Lydecker, ignoring the tone of the cyber-journalist.
"You have any idea how twisted that is?"
"And why exactly are you here?" wondered the older man. "It's . . . not your fight . . . but neither was the terrorist attack on the genetics conference. I remember you. It's all about her . . . isn't it? You're in love with her."
"Can I have a screwdriver, please?"
Lydecker gave Logan a screwdriver and patted him on the shoulder.
"It's all right, son. I understand."
"All right, people, listen up," announced Lydecker. "We've got a lot of work to do before we move out."
Despite Lydecker's words, Max left the warehouse with Logan for half a hour. Needless to say Zack wasn't a happy camper. During that time Syl and Lux went behind some old crates to change into their camouflage gear then they sparred until Max's return. When they came back, Max went to change into her gear and Lux took it as an opportunity to talk to the cyber journalist.
"Logan, I know we just met each other but could you do me a favor?"
"Depends what it is," he replied.
So far Lux was the only X5 who had struck up a conversation with him, Krit and Syl had greeted and acknowledged him but that was it. Logan couldn't help but be amazed at Manticore's ingeniousness, no one would ever suspect Lux to be a well trained soldier. She was the walking cliche of the girl next door, petite dark-haired girl with deep doe eyes, when you saw her you wanted to protect her. Max, unlike her sister, couldn't pull off this impression of innocence. He observed her as she dug into her coat and retrieved an envelope.
"In case something happened to me could you make sure Michael Guerin receives this letter?" she asked. "He's living in Roswell, New Mexico."
"Sure, though I hope it won't be necessary."
"Me too."
Logan found himself curious.
"You and him, are you...?
"Oh no, we're not like that. He's... It's complicated. He knows about the whole X5 thing so I guess you could say he's... er, my best friend."
"I see," replied Logan, smiling as he put the envelope in his coat. "Complicated, huh?"
"Something like that."
~
Gillette, Wyoming
Manticore, 4:00AM
After going over their respective tasks, the rendezvous’ time and point one last time, the five X5's quietly headed toward Manticore. In less than one hour if everything went according to the plan, the nightmare should be over. Logan had infiltrated the internal surveillance system of the place, rendering them invisible on Manticore's footage while still being able to monitor them. Zack had received the lab clearance from Lydecker, they were good. Still, the possibility of running into Brin was high and Lux was determined to help her sister this time.
By 4:15AM, they were standing on the hill, looking down at the building. This was it, the place where it all began. The place where they were created, Lux remembered, where they learnt to kill without a single remorse. There had been so much pain there, so much fear, tears and blood. The only light had been the unit, her family.
"This is for Tinga," stated Max.
They all nodded, running down the hill and leaping over the fences. Then they separated into two groups, Krit and Syl heading toward the generators and Zack, Lux and Max toward the DNA lab. Zack was taking the lead and Lux covering the rear since Max was weaponless. The hallway was deserted, it was the one they used to take when Lydecker made them train in the court outside. Lux could feel her hair standing at the base of her neck as they passed in front of the surgery room. Manticore's scientists dissected Jack there, in fact, every one in their unit did a little trip in this room. A phantom scent of antiseptic suddenly assaulted her nostrils and she had to fight against the urge to retch. She glanced at her two siblings in front of her, ready to bet they were experiencing their own flashbacks.
Syl and Krit made it to the generators without encountering the slightest problem as Zack, Max and Lux, after a quick check in with Logan, reached the entrance to the DNA lab. Lux slightly gritted her teeth when she realized a bloody eye was in the container Lydecker had given to Zack. She was really glad she hadn't been the one charged to stay with Lydecker when he was 'visiting' his buddy. She might be able to kill without blinking an eye but bloody body parts were just gross.
She let out a relieved sigh when the identification cam fell for their trick and the computer opened the door. They entered and stared. The room was wide, immense even, the walls were made of lightened glass cases, each marked with a barcode. It was unbelievable, inside of each case was a vial of the X's genetic material. Lux's mouth fell open when she found her own designation, she let her fingers trail on another case. X5-493. Ben.
"Max, it's you," stated Zack. "And me... and Brin... and Tinga."
"No," cut Max sharply. "Tinga's dead. Come on."
They snapped out of their trance and started placing the explosives around the lab.
~
The Snow Queen was surrounded by idiots. If you want something done well, you better had to do it yourself. That good old saying was true, she realized as she interrogated the brainless Jim. The man had no dignity, he was whining about his eye instead of taking it like a man and talking about Lydecker's motivations. A useless ape was what he was. She could feel a headache arrive; she tuned out his yapping as her phone rang. She listened as one of her drones rambled, her mood growing darker. Jim's eye had just been scanned into the DNA lab. There was a breach, intruders were in Manticore and she was ready to bet her right hand Lydecker was behind it. Well, the intruders were going to be sorry because Manticore was going on full alert. She was going to let out the X7's on them, they weren't going to know what hit them.
~
Meanwhile, the two groups of X5's were done setting the charges.
"The target is primed," informed Zack.
"Okay, get out of there," replied Logan.
"We are on the move," stated Lux.
The end of her sentence was punctuated by the loud sound of an alarm going off. Damnit, she thought, they had been so careful.
"We've got an alarm," said Zack.
"Withdraw to the perimeter," barked Lydecker in their earpieces. "Withdraw to the perimeter. We've been made. All units withdraw."
Krit and Syl rogered the order and left the generators room.
"Logan out," said Max.
"This is not good," informed Lydecker as he watched the monitor showing the young X7's mobilizing. If his X5's ran into them, they were done. The X7's were stronger, faster and designed with hive minds and they hadn't spent the last decade untrained. The ex military officer ordered Logan to hack into the control panel at corridor seven alpha, to lock down ward C-16. Logan managed to do it but it wouldn't stop the X7's long since they were already pounding on their cell door. Logan and Lydecker watched the two groups of X5's running in the corridors, hoping they would manage to get out before the X7's were free.
Meanwhile Brin walked into Madame X's office, to find her behind her computer.
"We've got teams sweeping the compound, but according to control, there's no one out there," she announced.
"Yeah, that's because they hacked a fake feed into the damn surveillance system," snapped Renfro. "But X6-777 is currently resolving our little hacker's problem."
Madame X was now able to go into the video feed that was hacked. A feeling of dread washed over her as she rewind it to the part where the three X5's were placing the bombs in the DNA lab.
"God, no! Get down there and disable those charges. Now!"
Brin sprinted out of the office in direction of the lab. She was fuming, she had recognized the third face on the video with Max and Zack. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid for not seeing it sooner, Elizabeth Parker, Liz, was no one else than Lux. She had been fooled once, it wasn't going to happen twice.
~
During that time, the X7's had picked up a bench and were pounding down their cell door. Max, Lux and Zack ran at top speed past the room seconds before the kids busted the door open. The X7's ran off in both directions. On the monitor, Logan saw that soldiers were coming down the corridor behind Krit and Syl.
"Syl, Krit, unfriendliness behind you. 25 meters and closing."
"Take them out," ordered Lydecker.
Krit and Syl shoot the men down, heading toward the exit just when Lydecker spotted Brin on the monitor.
"It's Brin. She's heading for the lab."
"Which way is she coming?" asked Max.
"They're onto us," stated Zack. "There's no time."
"I won't let her take one for good ol' Manticore. Which way?" snapped Max.
Lydecker looked over at Logan, who decided to tell her.
"Back the way you came, first corridor on your left."
"Go," ordered Max to Lux and Zack.
"No Max." cut Lux, grabbing her arm. "I'm the one going after Brin, I owe her."
Max hesitated for half a second before nodding.
"Be careful."
"I'll see you outside," affirmed Lux before running in the direction indicated by Logan. A rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins as she spotted her sister.
"Brin!" yelled the brunette, making the X5 stop as she was rushing toward the lab.
"You," she hissed with disgust.
Lux didn't give Brin time to take another step, she dodged a punch aimed at her face and knocked her sister's head against the wall. Taking advantage of Brin's disorientation, she handcuffed her right wrist to a leaden bar door. Keeping Lydecker's handcuffs had been a good move.
"Someday you'll thank me for this."
"You have no idea what you're doing. That's us back there," argued Brin.
"No, that's us out there!" shouted Lux as she pointed outside. "Come with me."
"Never."
"Kyle misses you," stated the brunette, trying to catch a glimpse of emotion on Brin's face.
"He doesn't mean anything to me. He was a pawn, a mean to an end. Nothing more, nothing less."
Her mind was made, realized Lux with a pang in her chest. The alarm was still blaring, X7's were heading her way, there was nothing more she could do for Brin.
"I'm sorry," she told Brin. "Logan, detonate the charges now before another X5 gets sent to the lab. I'm clear."
"You're still in the building."
"I'm far enough," she told him as she began to run down the hall.
She was going to take the corridor on her left when she heard a sharp noise behind her. She turned her head, realizing too late it was the sound of her sister dislocating her thumb to rid herself of the cuffs. The brunette cursed as Brin took off in direction of the labs. Logan could detonate the charges at any second, Lux had to stop Brin because clearly her sister was ready to sacrifice herself for this damned DNA lab.
"We've got a problem. Logan can you hear me?! Logan?!" yelled Lux in her headset. No voice answered her, her question only met the sound of static. "Shit."
She could only count on herself on this one. She had to catch up with Brin before the explosives went off. Too bad Brin had already a head start.
"Brin!" she called, following her sister as fast as she could.
She was aware that she should run in the other direction, out of Manticore but she couldn't leave Brin.
"No, wait!" shouted Lux as Brin arrived at the doorframe of the lab and went inside.
Lux entered just in time to see Brin heading toward the beeping charges, knowing the detonation was soon going to follow. She grabbed Brin's arm, trying to drag her out, their gazes locked and everything went to hell. There was a second where everything was quiet, noise free, no sound of static, not even the maddened beat of her racing heart. Then there was this blinding light followed by a violent pulse; the earth shook under her feet and she raised her hand, attempting to build a shield to protect her sister and herself. But the explosion was too fast, too strong, the shield broke under the pressure. She screamed as she felt her limbs being pushed apart under the strength of the explosion, her body being forced against a pressure it couldn't bear. Shards of glass flew everywhere and each nerve in her body transmitted unfathomed pain before her world turned black.
***
***
Roswell, New Mexico,
One week later
History books laid forgotten on the table, M.Donovan's expectations could go to hell. Michael had bigger problems than writing a paper on the Civil War. It made a week since Liz left for God knows where to destroy a secret government agency, a week without a word from her. She had promised to call him, hell, he had spent all day staring at his phone, willing it to ring, the whole situation stunk. He couldn't stop replaying the last time he talked to her, he should have pressured her more about where she was heading. Yeah, should have, could have. He had no idea what to do, he was the only one who knew the real cause of her disappearance, the whole group thought it was alien related.
Her parents were worried sick too, they went to Valenti, the police did some research but nothing. The Crashdown was still open but sometimes when Michael was working at the grill, he could hear Nancy sobbing upstairs. Since Liz's motorcycle was gone, the police couldn't rule away the possibility Liz had run away; which was of course total bullshit. Something bad happened, Michael knew it but he had no way to find out more. He also faced the dilemma of his promise toward Liz, should he tell the truth to the others or not?
He sighed, rubbing his temples tiredly, staring blankly at the milk bottle. He was sure somewhere someone must be laughing his ass off. Yeah, this was certainly the part of some huge fucking cosmic joke. It all started two weeks ago with a bottle of milk, a picture of a pretty dark-haired young woman painted on it and now ended with another bottle of milk with a picture of another cute brunette on it. He observed the wide smile and the twinkling eyes with a pang in his chest, reading once again the inscription he knew by heart.
'HAVE YOU SEEN OUR DAUGHTER? MISSING/ ELIZABETH PARKER AGE 17/ MISSING SINCE FEB 07/2020'.
A knock at his door cut through his musings. Michael rushed to the door, hoping to face a familiar brunette behind it. The spark of hope died when he saw a stranger waiting on his doorstep. Immediately he sized down the guy, tall, in his late twenties, didn't appear to be a second Agent Pierce but you couldn't be cautious enough.
"Michael Guerin?"
"What do you want?" he asked gruffly. "And who are you?"
"My name is Logan Cale, I'm a friend of Lux."
Acid rolled inside his empty stomach and he stepped aside.
"Come in," he stated, his throat closing in at the significance of the man's presence in his apartment. "Alright, take a seat and let's cut the crap."
"Fine," replied Logan sitting, seeming unbothered by his lack of civilities. "You certainly realized that if I'm here it's because I've got bad news. Lux made me promise to give you this."
The cyber journalist retrieved a letter from his pocket and put it on the coffee table, if Michael's hands shook as he grabbed the envelope Logan didn't mention it. Noting the reluctance the younger man showed at opening the letter in front of him, Logan decided to be blunt, a smart aleck female voice in his head saying
'get it over with quick, like pulling off a bandage.'. If Michael wanted the ability to mourn in private Logan would gladly give it to him, he deserved it.
"I'm sorry to tell you this but she's dead."
Logan watched Michael's jaw twitched but besides that, there was no sign the younger man heard him. After several minutes of silence, Michael glanced at him.
"How?" he asked in a raspy voice.
"There was an explosion," explained Logan. "Lux died trying to save one of her sisters."
Michael nodded. "I take it you're not one of them then."
"No," replied Logan with a rueful smile. "I was friend with one of them. She... didn't survive either."
"Who was she?"
"Her name was Max."
"She talked a little about her. Here, Lux was called Liz," Michael absently stated. More silence. "Brin?"
Even though Michael didn't elaborate Logan knew he was asking about which sister Lux tried to save.
"Yes."
"Did they manage to do it?" inquired Michael. "Destroy the lab?"
"Yes," replied Logan.
"What went wrong? She said they had a bulletproof plan."
"There were complications," admitted Logan. "They managed to set the charges but the alarm was given. Lydecker's Intel was wrong, a unit of X7's were still in Manticore, they're younger and better than the X5 series so Lydecker ordered Max and the others to leave the building. But we noticed Brin heading toward the DNA lab, Lux decided to stop her, she went back and managed to cuff her sister to a door. Then she told Lydecker and I to detonate the charges before Renfro, the new director of Manticore, sent another X5 in the lab. Then Lydecker got hesitant, I gave him a little persuasion with a gun against his temple. During this little fight, my attention left the monitor and I realized too late I had lost contact with Lux. I was unable to reaccess the camera feeds or make radio signal pass in the building. Max left Zack in the woods and tried to return to Manticore to see where Lux was. Finally I managed to reenter the cameras control room, just when Lydecker detonated the charges and I was able to see Lux running after Brin in the lab a fraction of second before it exploded. No one could survive that, not even an X5. Zack got recaptured by an X7 in the woods but Max wasn't so lucky, she was killed by one of them."
The teenager's face at the end of Logan's story was ashen.
"I'm sorry for not coming sooner, I was out of it for awhile," admitted Logan. "I've still got Lux's motorcycle, along with her sister's, I was wondering if you wanted it."
"I don't really have a place right now," replied Michael. "Could you keep it for awhile?"
"Sure," said the older man. "Here is my card. Well, I'd better go if I want to reach Seattle before tonight."
"Is that where Manticore is?" asked Michael. "Seattle?"
Logan watched the younger man, able to see vengeance was the only thing in his mind. To be honest, he felt the same way.
"I think there is a reason Lux didn't tell you where it was," reasoned the cyber journalist. "You're grieving right now, it might lead to irresponsible actions which are only going to get you into trouble."
"Don't you dare telling me what I'm feeling," snapped Michael, taking advantage of the few inches he had over Logan. "You don't know me."
"That's true," admitted Logan calmly. "Don't bother, I'll find my way out," he continued, standing up and leaving the apartment.
Michael stared at the closing door then at the envelope. A couple of minutes passed before he was brave enough to rip the seam of the envelope. He unfolded the letter carefully, it was going to be the last thing he was ever going to receive from her. He couldn't seem to be able to quite grasp that fact yet. Taking a deep breath, he began to read.
Michael,
If you are reading this letter, it either means I'm dead or worse, back in Manticore. First, I want to say don't blame yourself I've made my choice and second, don't be angry at me for not accepting your help. I only wanted to protect you, that's what friends do, right?
I'm writing this letter sitting on an old crate and eating a slice of pizza. If there is any stain, it's not intentional. Writing this letter isn't easy, I don't remember half the things I want to say. Guess I'm suffering from writers block. I can't believe I'm here, in a few hours we're taking down Manticore, it doesn't seem to be real. There is a part of me who's thrilled because this place needs to be destroyed, we can't let them get away with what they did to Tinga, to us and the other people they hurt; but I need to be honest, there is also a huge part of me that's scared. I have a bad feeling about this mission, it's stupid because we have a bullet proof plan but it's still there, this nagging feeling inside my guts. Besides I saw a crow, it's a bad omen. Don't laugh at me, I'm not pulling an Eric Draven on you, it's true. Last time I saw a crow someone close to me died.
But I'm losing my focus here, being a little emotional, anyway the most important is I'll miss you Michael, maybe more than you'll ever know. You might not realize it but I value our friendship, relationship, whatever we have, above everything else. You are the first person to whom I confessed my past and even if it was under duress at first it still counted. You accepted me for who I was, knowing I was a soldier, a killer never drove you away and I can't thank you enough for that.
I love you, weird how three little words can hold such meaning. Yes, I love you and I'm sorry for not telling you sooner and face to face. I don't know which type of love I feel, I might have been outside of Manticore for the past ten years but I'm rather new at the whole feelings department. (I'm not saying I don't love my parents or Maria, Alex and the others but it's different. You're special, it sounds lame but you know the real me.) Anyway I love you like a brother, of that I'm sure, and maybe with time it could have turned into something more. Too bad we'll never find out.
I don't know if you remember but once I called you my Knight in Shining Armor and in a sense you were. You were there for me, tried to protect and comfort me, it was nice the time it lasted. The only thing I regret is my hypocrisy, I've never been completely honest with you and I'm sorry. You see, I used to view my past through fairytales, casting myself in the role of the princess even though I never deserved the title. It was easier, felt less real as if it didn't happened to me. Rapunzel, Snow White, Gretel, I was them, I was among the good guys and battled against the villains. It was simple, good or evil, black or white. Truth is, life is no fairy tale, everything is in shades of gray. I'm not an innocent Michael, I'm not a good person, I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. Things even there I can't tell you. Is it wrong of me? Not wanting to break the image you have of me even if it's slightly crooked? But you deserve the truth. Someone close to me once told me I was a wolf in sheep's clothing and I believe he was right. I don't think I ever deserved your friendship but I'm glad you gave it to me, what I'm trying to say is don't do anything inconsiderate to avenge me. I'm not worth it, you don't owe me anything, you don't have to prove anything. Don't try to go against Manticore, besides, without knowing its location your chance to find it is 0%. I hope you understand and that maybe not now but later you'll forgive me for not letting you satisfy your need for vengeance.
One last thing I have a favor to ask. My journal is hidden behind a loose brick of my balcony's wall. In the same place, there is also a letter for my parents. I'll be eternally grateful if you could put it on my Dad's desk in his study without being seen. Don't tell the others, I know it's not fair to ask for your silence but it wouldn't change the situation. They would only feel betrayed. I shouldn't even be writing this but I wanted a chance to say goodbye. I've also put the bracelet in the envelope, I don't want Manticore taking another thing away from me again.
In conclusion, I suppose some Buddhism proverbs would be appropriate but since I'm not the expert I'm settling for something cheesy. Be happy, Michael, live your life the fullest and be happy. Life is too short to waste it, take care of yourself first for once, you don't have to protect everyone. Zack is beginning to send me glares so I guess I'm going to stop there.
Love, Liz (you're the only person with whom this name really meant something)
PS: I wish I told you sooner.
~
It was one thing to wonder if she was dead or alive, it was another thing altogether to know for sure. There was no hope left now. She was gone. Gone. Fuck.
He wanted to kick her ass for this letter. Not worth it, he snorted at that passage. Liz might have had some animal DNA in her genes but she had been one of the most human people he ever met. Hank had been 100% human and looked at how he turned out. She was right on one point though, he was pissed by the fact she wouldn't let him have his vengeance. However it wasn't the strongest emotion he was experiencing at the moment. He stared at the bracelet lying in his palm until his vision got blurry.
There was a sudden serie of loud crunchy noises. Michael sighed, rubbing his hand hard against his face, his fingers returning wet.
Tomorrow he would have to buy some new light bulbs.
-TBC-
Don't go all depressed on me. Oh yeah, and don't die on me too.