Dysfunctional -- Chapter 11

Disclaimer:  The TV show Dark Angel, all of the characters that appeared on it (Alec, Biggs, Renfro, etc.), and everything else that has to do with the show belong to their respective owners, not to me.  No money is being made off of this fic.  I only own the original characters (X5-121, etc.).

Notes:  Spoiler-ish stuff for "Hit A Sista Back."

A year-and-a-half later...

Director Renfro sat at her desk in her office, looking over some reports when there was a knock at her door.  "Come in."

"I'm sorry to interrupt, ma'am," the doctor said.  "But the final X-series female who'd successfully participated in the program has given birth."

Renfro looked up.  "What is the status of X4-990's offspring?"

"Stillborn, ma'am," the doctor replied.  "It must have happened recently because we detected a fetal heartbeat during 990's last examination prior to giving birth.  I'm sorry."

"No need for you to be sorry, doctor," Renfro assured him.  "What about 990?"

"We performed a C-section on 990, so she has no idea about the death of her offspring," the doctor reported.

"Good, keep it that way," Renfro said.  She sighed and looked back at the reports.  "This is disappointing.  More than two hundred X-series females total participated in the program and when it was ended six months ago, only thirty-four of them conceived.  Twenty stillborn births now counting X4-990 and another five died shortly after birth from various genetic defects due to the mix of X3, X4, or X5 DNA with normal human genetics.  The human female soldiers who participated had a much higher conception rate but the results were otherwise identical to those achieved by the successful X-series females.  Lydecker and Warren have similar numbers."

"The surviving live births are healthy," the doctor said helpfully.  "On both the human and X-series' side.  They're developing normally."

Renfro raised an eyebrow.  "Developing normally, but on whose scale?"

"On a human scale, ma'am," the doctor admitted.  "When the X-series were born, they showed their abilities nearly as soon as we began to test them.  We anticipated these mixed progeny to display their abilities a little slower than a normal X-series, but they haven't exhibited anything out of the ordinary yet.  All of them appear to be normal human children, except for their DNA."

"I see," Renfro said.  "Thank you for the report, doctor."  She gestured to the door.  "Dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am."  The doctor nodded in acknowledgement before he left the office.

Renfro closed folder that contained the report that she'd been reading and shook her head.  "Very dissapointing."  The phone on her desk rang and she picked it up and answered it.  "Director Elizabeth Renfro speaking.  Yes, how are you?  I have the report in front of me and I got an update on the last one of the X-series females here who sucessfully conceived."  Renfro opened the folder again.  "The X-series females have only about a two percent success rate conceiving with a completely human male when unprotected and when not in heat.  When in heat, the success rate goes up to approximately twenty percent."  She listed the rest of the data.  "...stillborn.  That officially concludes this experiment.  They range in age from one month to seventeen months.  Nine from the X-series females, the rest from the humans.  No, not a single one of them has developed traits yet.  They weren't even born with barcodes.  None of them were.  I see.  Yes, I see.  How are we going to arrange this?  Very well.  No, I agree with you completely.  Soldiers though they are, we don't want to risk it.  Has Lydecker or Warren been informed yet?  Lydecker has, Warren hasn't?  I see.  Yes, I will make the arrangements for this facility the moment after I get off of the phone with you.  Absolutely.  I will see you at the next meeting.  Good-bye."  She hung up the phone and pulled a PDA out of one of the drawers of her desk.  She tapped the screen a few times before she set it down and picked up the phone again.  "Hello.  This is Director Elizabeth Renfro from Manticore's facility in Seattle.  I need to arrange a pick up.  What needs to be picked up?  The results of the breeding program that we recently conducted.  Thirty-nine children, ranging in age from one to seventeen months."  A faint smile crossed her face.  "I need them to be picked up for disposal..."

TBC

More notes:  I'm sorry this is so short!