Prophecy -- Chapter 2

Disclaimer:  The TV shows Dark Angel and Supernatural, all of the characters that appeared on them, and everything else that has to do with the shows belong to their respective owners, not to me.  No money is being made off of this fic.  I only own the original characters (Dylan/X6-175, etc.).

“Thank goodness we were able to get away,” Alec mumbled as he and Max pulled their motorcycles to a stop alongside a road just outside of Seattle.  “If I’d had to listen to Mole bitch and moan about the crowds outside for another second, heads were going to be rolling and I’ll let you guess who one of them was going to be.”

Max nodded.  “Tell me about it.  God, I wish that they would just quit their bitching and actually do something about it.”  She frowned.  “Not that they don’t do their share, but…I guess I can’t really blame them.  I should just be grateful that they don’t complain about me being an ‘09er anymore.”

“Nothing puts your priorities in order quite like being hunted by somebody that’s even freakier than we are,” Alec agreed.  “Speaking of which—“  He winced when Max smacked him across the back of his head.  “What gives, Max?  I didn’t say anything.”

“I know exactly where you were going to be going, ass,” Max said.  “And I haven’t heard from Logan since we had that bitch of a fight yesterday.”  She sighed.

“I’m sorry,” Alec apologized.  He smiled sadly at her.  “You really miss him, don’t you?”

“Yeah, I do,” Max admitted.  “It’s not as if he’s all that far away physically—he’s still in Seattle—but it feels like we’re light years apart.  Sounds stupid, doesn’t it?  We broke up.  He cheated on me.  I probably should be dancing for joy right now.”  She smiled sweetly at Alec.  “Poles and nudity not being involved.”

“Darn it,” Alec said, pretending to be disappointed.  He and Max laughed.  “At least I’ve got my dreams.”

“Hang onto those, pretty boy, because that’s all you’re gonna have,” Max told him.

Alec’s eyebrows went up.  “Pretty boy?  Somebody’s been spending just a bit too much time around Mole lately.”

“Oh, shut up,” Max said.  She made a disgusted face.  “That man has been even worse than normal lately.  I wish I knew what bug crawled up his ass and died.  I swear, if he comes up to me and bitches about our weapons supply one more time, I’m going to give him one hell of a smackdown.  Does he think that just because I don’t like to use guns that I don’t know how they work or how much the rest of us need to have them on hand?  I check weapons inventory once a week, not to mention the fact that you, him, and at least three others check on our stock as well and we all come up with the same numbers that Mole does and to us, they’re in the acceptable range.  But not for Mole, oh no.”  Max shook her head.  “I’m sorry for dumping on you yet again.”

“No harm done, Max,” Alec assured her.  “Really.  I understand.”  He grinned wickedly.  “Women love to talk to me.  Why should you be different?”  He laughed and ducked the swipe that Max took at him.

Dylan sighed in aggravation when he heard his motorcycle’s engine start to sputter underneath him.  Oh, great.  Why couldn’t it have lasted another few miles until I’d actually gotten into the city?  It sounded like it would have before.  He pulled over to the side of the road, turned off the engine, climbed off of the bike, and stared at it thoughtfully.  Take it or leave it?  Hell, I’ll leave it.  I’ll be faster on foot without it and if that bit of smoke is any indication, I don’t think it’s going to be a quick fix when I finally find a garage.

He dragged the bike completely off of the road before continuing on his way.  It could be worse.  At least I only have less than ten miles before I hit the outskirts of Seattle.  I’ll probably find a store or gas station before even get that far.  Then I’ll hitch a ride most of the rest of the way to Terminal City.  Home sweet home…or close enough to it.

A noise caught his attention, but Dylan only paused briefly before shaking his head and adjusting the backpack that he wore on his shoulders.  Turned off the road.  Thanks a lot.  Gee, somebody’s crabbier than 510 was when he’d gotten back from that assignment out in Boston.  I can practically hear 494 teasing 510 about what had gone down.  It did sound pretty funny!  I hope those guys are in Terminal City.  It’ll be like old times.

Dylan kicked a small rock with one of his sneakers and watched amusedly as the rock sailed several feet before skidding to a stop on the ground.  I wonder what Terminal City’s going to be like.  The information that I got from that X4 was a little patchy, but it seems like there’s a pretty good cross section of the Manticore population located there.  X-series, transhumans, and anomalies in the same general area?  I never was as freaked out by the non-X-series’ as others were, but I remember that 398 was terrified of those guys.  I just never understood the point in being scared of them.  The doctors scared me more, and they are human!

He stopped suddenly.  Car coming!  It’s slowing down…damn, it’s stopping short of my position.  Dylan frowned.  Something’s not right here.  Why would they get out of their car?  There’s nothing back there.  He ducked behind a nearby bush, his eyes and ears alert.

“Are you sure that this is where Brother White said to set this up?” an annoyed male voice asked.

“Absolutely,” an equally aggravated voice replied.  “This road is one of the major roads leading into Seattle from the Northeast.  It would be perfect for transgenics to head into the city from that direction.”

Dylan felt his heart slam into his throat.  Oh, crap!  I’ve got to get out of here.  I need to warn the people in Terminal City about this.

“This equipment will work, won’t it?” a third voice questioned skeptically.

“Of course it will,” the second voice said.  “It’s one of the few things that Brother White has actually gotten right since this whole mess began.  We were able to trap one transgenic in Seattle using this several months ago and three more down in California since then.  It’s proven technology.”

How about I prove to get the hell out of here? Dylan thought as he silently slipped out from behind the bush, continuing in the direction that he’d been going in before, being careful not to be seen by anybody that could have been along the road.

“We’ve got a hit on the scanner already,” the first voice said.  “Down about twenty-five yards, it’s the size of a human, but it’s body temperature is above one-hundred degrees.”

Oh, fuck!  Dylan didn’t waste anymore time and bolted straight for the woods.

“I think that we should hit a bank while we’re out here,” Alec said.  “Nothing major that would require at least a day or two of planning, but some small operation that we can pop in on with a minimum of preparation and still pull off without a sweat.  We could always use some spending money.”

Max grinned.  “We might as well use our play time constructively.  I’m always up for something like that.  It’s been too long since I’ve gotten the chance to take my favorite hobby back up.  Do you know of any places right off the top of your head that we could hit or should we pick it when we see—“  Max stopped suddenly and she and Alec quickly got out of sight when they heard a car approaching them.  The two X5s held their breath as it slowed before coming to a stop not far from where they were hiding.  A few moments later, a man stepped out of the car, carrying a briefcase.  The man placed the case on the roof of the car and was about to open it when he pulled out a walkie-talkie.

“Yes?”

“Fenos’tol.”  Alec and Max froze and exchanged a nervous glance at that single word.

“Fenos’tol,” the man replied.  “What is it?”

“We’ve picked up a transgenic on the thermal scanner,” the person on the other end said.

“No,” Alec barely whispered.  Just like Biggs.  Anger filled him and he started to get up, but Max held him back.  Alec glared at her until Max cocked her head in the direction of the Familiar.  Alec nodded, understanding what she was trying to tell him, and stayed where he was.

The Familiar frowned and patted the gun tucked into the waistband of his pants.  “Are you sure that it’s one of those pieces of filth and not some hitchhiker with a fever?”

“It’s confirmed to be a transgenic,” the other Familiar said.  “It’s moving at a speed estimated to be that of an X5 or X6.  It headed down into the woods and it’s now heading southwest, parallel to the road.  We’re in pursuit and heading towards your position.  Meet up with us as soon as you are able.  Try to intercept the transgenic if you can.  If not, join us chasing its filthy hide.”

“Yes, sir.”  The Familiar had barely gotten the words out before Alec’s fist collided violently with his head.  Alec quickly snatched the walkie-talkie and the gun before racing off into the woods, Max hot on his heels.

Nobody else is going to die because a scanner caught them, he thought.  Nobody.

Dylan tore through the woods at full speed.  He could hear this three pursuers behind him.  How the hell are they keeping up with me?  They can’t be human!  Dylan could hear the Familars gain on him and nearly panicked.  They’re gaining on me!  They’re as fast as an X5.  He’d always been one of the fastest X6s, but even with his long legs, Dylan had never quite been able to match an X5’s speed.  Oh God, they’re going to catch me in a minute or two at this rate.  I’m screwed!  He continued to run for all that he was worth.  Somebody help me!

Alec continued blur through the woods.  Getting close, getting close…if I’m right, I should be hitting the intercept point pretty soon.  I hope I make it before they do.  It’ll be our best chance at saving the other transgenic.  His stolen walkie-talkie suddenly came to life.

“Brother Jacobs, we’ve got a visual on the target.  It is a male X-series.  Upon interception, you are to terminate.”

Gritting his teeth, Alec continued on, adrenaline fueling his run until he felt like he was almost flying.  The transgenic won’t be the one who’s getting terminated.  Not on my watch.

Dylan forced himself to run faster, despite the burning sensation in his lungs.  Even I won’t be able to sustain this pace for that much longer.  I don’t want to--  He suddenly dove to the left as a gunshot echoed in the woods.  He heard a body fall to the ground and looked up.  Instinct kicked in as a second shot sounded and Dylan grabbed the fallen Familiar’s gun and shot the third of his pursuers before that man could shoot the person who’d saved him.  He sighed in relief and looked over at the man who’d taken two of the Familars out and his jaw dropped in surprise.

Alec grinned and tucked his stolen gun into the waistband of his jeans.  “Long time, no see, huh?”

“I can’t believe it!”  Dylan dropped his own gun and ran over to and hugged Alec.  “I haven’t seen you since before the fire, 494!  I’ve been worried as hell.  How have you been?”

“Worse,” Alec replied, hugging Dylan tightly before releasing him.  “And I go by Alec these days.”

“I’m Dylan,” Dylan said.

“Hi, Dylan, nice to meet you,” Alec joked.  The two old friends laughed.  Alec turned and saw Max standing there.  “Oh, Dylan, this is Max, otherwise known as X5-452.  She’s one of my best friends these days and she’s in charge back at Terminal City.  Max, this is Dylan, he’s X6-175, that friend that I was telling you about.”

“Alec gave me plenty of 411 on you,” Max said, walking over and shaking Dylan’s hand.  “Nice to meet the guy in person.”

“Likewise,” Dylan agreed.  His eyes sparkled wickedly and he glanced over towards Alec before focusing back on Max.  What the heck.  I can’t resist.  “You kicked the crap out of Alec when you first met him, right?”  He couldn’t hold back the laugh when he saw the look of outrage on Alec’s face.

“No, completely kicking his ass came later,” Max said.

“Can we move on?” Alec asked.

“Sorry, man,” Dylan said.  “Speaking of which, where’s 510?”  He caught the pained looks on both Max and Alec’s faces and held his breath.  “He’s…you know where he is, right?”

“His name was Biggs,” Max said quietly.

She didn’t say ‘was,’ did she?  “Was Biggs?”

“Yeah, was,” Alec confirmed softly.  “Biggs died a few months ago.”  He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.  “He was tagged by one of those scanners that you were just spotted with, only it happened to him in the middle of Seattle.  It…”  He glanced at Dylan and felt his heart break for his friend.  The expression on Dylan’s face reminded Alec of a puppy that had been kicked in the stomach.  “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” Dylan managed to say.

“We should be getting back,” Max suggested after a moment.  “There could be reinforcements heading this way.”

“She’s right,” Alec said.  He took a deep breath to get himself under control.  “Dylan, do you mind riding on the back of a motorcycle?”

Dylan shook his head.  “No, that’s fine.”

“Good,” Alec said.  “You can jump on the back of mine.  Let’s get out of here.”

TBC