"Guess who's behind the proceeding’s for Project 5493?"
Alec paused trying to put his thoughts back in order.
"Tell me."
"Well, it’s a small independent lab specialising in Genetic engineering called Arcadia."
The X5 tried to show some enthusiasm.
"Oh, really! And who's been financing the whole thing?"
"I was expecting you to ask that, so I dug a little deeper and finally found the master mind... Any ideas?"
"Manticore."
"Surprise! Surprise!" Logan sounded really proud of his findings. Alec sighed.
"Do you know what Project 5493 is all about?"
No, that’s all I’ve got for now. I was lucky enough to find the Arcadia Manticore connection... They're quite good at keeping secrets, aren't they!"
Through his clouded mind, the transgenic perceived the happy and excited tone coming from Logan. So unlike him.
"Logan... Are you drunk or something?"
"No, of course not! Why do you ask?"
The man could be such a moron sometimes.
"Nothing. 'Just thought you sounded different..." Alec was trying very hard to keep his mind focused on the conversation.
"Do you have an address for me, then? "
"Yeah, and I have a few documents you might wanna take a look at as well so why don’t I bring everything over tomorrow... I have to talk to Max anyway. "
Alec cringed.C "Alright, I’ll be waiting for you! " And he hung up not taking the time to say thank you or goodbye, just wanting to put an end to the torture.

The next morning he woke up on his couch, his body sore from the awkward position he had slept in. He looked around not recognizing the furniture of his apartment. It finally dawned on him that he had spent the night in his office.
He could hear people talking outside.
It was breakfast time and being so close to the officers' mess, he could discern the tempting smell of food and coffee.
Alec slowly stood up catching site of his reflection in the glass cabinet in front of him.
He groaned, running his hand through his hair.
*I look like shit...*
But he didn't feel as bad as he looked. He had always been lucky that way...
He heard a light knock at his door, then whispers when he didn't answer. Closely followed by loud pounding.
"Can't anybody have a hangover in peace around here?" He mumbled under his breath.
As soon as he turned the lock, a very angry Gem barged in.
Alec closed the door not looking at her and sighed.
"OK, now what did you do this time?"
The young man turned around and gave her a questioning glance.
Gem crossed her hands on her chest and started tapping her feet on the floor.
"Max has been yelling at everyone that has tried to talk to her this morning..." Alec narrowed his eyes and rubbed his unshaven chin thoughtfully.
"And that would be my fault because...?"
"Because you're the biggest pain in the ass living on the face of the Earth... If you don't mind me saying so, Sir!" The woman said sourly her eyes not leaving his face.
Alec was the first to break eye contact.
"I don't know what you want me to tell you..." He said weakly, his shoulders slightly bent in resignation.
Gem didn't push the issue as she took a good look at him.
His clothes were all wrinkled, his hair was unbelievably messy and his eyes...

He had been drinking again.

She knew he could carry his drink but what worried her most was that his propensity for alcohol had worsened in the last month.
She closed the distance separating them and lightly caressed his arm.
"Alright, you're off the hook for now but when you look human again, we'll definitely be continuing this conversation..."
Alec scratched his head.
"Gee, thanks... I guess!"
Gem made a move toward the door but Alec held her back.
"Max is gonna be in Heat in a few days..."
The woman turned around brusquely.
"What? How do you...."
"Believe me, I know!"
Gem bit her lower lip thinking about the situation.
"So what are YOU going to do about it?"
Alec furrowed his brows.
"Me? Nothing... I couldn't care less. My only concern is to make sure that our leader doesn't walk around TC with the need to jump every male that crosses her path."
"Oh, really!" Gem said eyebrow raised.
"Yes, really... And you girls can give her a bit of advice on what she can do to overcome the discomfort of the situation. I believe she never had a proper Sexual Education course when she was at Manticore..."
The little woman started to laugh lightly.
"Discomfort? That's what you call it?
Ah! Men and their out-of-world reality! It's easy for you... Just a sniff at us and you get the best lay ever! WE, on the other hand, have to deal with the aftermath..."
Gem sucked her lower lip lost in her thoughts, then smiled naughtily.
"There's a very easy way to make sure Max doesn't throw herself on anyone that comes along..."
Alec rolled his eyes and snaked an arm around her frail shoulders.
"Do something for me, honey! Mind your own business..."
The small transgenic raised her hand in the air.
"Sorry! I didn't think it would be such a repulsive prospect for you!" She shrugged.
"I'll get going then... 'Gonna have a little talk with the girls."
"You do that... And - oh - if you see that man of yours, tell him I'm calling a meeting at 11.00."
Gem looked at him wickedly.
"That sounds mysterious..."
"Yeah, and don't waste your time, you're not gettin anything out of me!"
Alec opened the door for her and smiled.
"But you do realise that I only have to ask Chess and I'll know anyway..." The woman didn't move, waiting for her curiosity to be satisfied.
"Chess is a soldier above all, Gem.... He knows better than to let anyone pressure him into revealing the secrets of a mission!"
Alec started to push her out but she didn't give in.
"You're sweet Alec... Naive but sweet nonetheless. Whatever you may think, he is a man above all. And I've got moves you've never seen...."
She winked at him meaningfully and walked away.
Alec leaned on the door, drained of all his energy.
He rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"I need a shower..."

***

A bathroom. In his office.

That was the only strange request he had made when they had settled down in Terminal City. Everyone had given him a puzzled look but had complied.
He opened the shower curtain and turned the tap to let the water warm up.
Everybody had worked extremely hard to make the place as homey as possible.
They had done an amazing job to bring running water into the building; but getting the right temperature was still a question of luck. This time, when he saw himself in the mirror above the sink, his reflection was clearer. In his dishevelled beauty with his shadowed jaw set, he looked the epitome of a passionately unhappy poet. He snorted at the thought.
Alec slowly removed each piece of clothing. He first took care of his crumpled shirt and tossed it in a corner. He unfastened his leather belt and unzipped his pants before they flew in the air to join the shirt on the floor.
A few minutes’ later, boxers and socks followed the same path.
Steam was beginning to rise in the room as Alec stepped into the shower. He bowed his head and rested his palms on the wall. The spray of the shower delicately massaged his neck and shoulder blades, his sardonic mouth smiling in delight.
He was cleansing out all the tension he had accumulated throughout the past few days.
His tongue shyly dipped out to taste a drop of water on his lips. He could feel the warm waves all over his body: from his torso lightly quilted with muscles to his beautiful, hard legs.
He picked up a bottle of shower gel and poured a large blob of its content’s into his hand. The rich cream seeped into his skin, cool and soothing at first, then warming to skin temperature as Alec worked on his lightly tanned chest to make it bubble.
His fingers then rubbed the lather over his back and gently downwards. His golden legs and pale, perfectly moulded bottom were subjected to the same treatment. Not an inch of skin was forgotten. His angular face high with colour and glistening under the water looked perfectly satisfied.

It was pure heaven.

Next he poured some more liquid and worked on his hair, taking a step back from the shower spray. His long, bony fingers massaged his scalp expertly and he teased the shampoo through his hairline. He walked under the water again rinsing the rich lather from his long sinewy body.
He curled his toes and crossed his fingers beneath the water. Letting out a relaxed groan of pleasure as warm streams of water stroked his earlobes and slithered along his neck like a silk scarf dropping to the ground. Time had ceased to exist.
His long, rust-coloured lashes veiling his eyes, cheeks soaked with a red-wine flush, he just wanted to stay there forever.
He stayed in the shower until his fingers were wrinkled and his body squeaky clean.
Alec ended the process by turning down the temperature.
He came out of the shower feeling exhilarated, his skin buzzing from the powerful jets of cool water.
Naked and glorious, his freshly washed skin glistening with golden health. He picked up the blue towel that he had brought in with him and started to dry himself energetically.
Once done, he wrapped the towel around his hips and shook his wet hair like a water spaniel.
Glancing in the mirror again, he smiled with satisfaction, even if two days of not bothering to shave had left him looking like a hobo.
He ran his hand over his scruffy face and took out his razor.
He started to lather his face. The blade efficiently slid on the tender skin of his cheeks and in less than five minutes he was done.
Alec chased the last of the shaving foam down the sink with water and towelled his face.
He looked in the mirror, turning his face from left to right to check his work. "Perfect!" He said, the naughty glint back in his eyes.
Someone had told him before that Cleanliness was Godliness... He couldn't agree more.
Now he could face anyone. Even Max...

***
Max was getting really irritated. None of the four women standing in front of her wanted to talk.
*This is ridiculous!*
Max stood up straight, hands clasped in the small of her back.
"Ladies, you requested to have a private conversation with me..." She looked at her watch "... Five minutes ago. So what the Hell are you waiting for? I don't have all day!"
Ralph, Gem, DeDe and Kat looked at one another in the hope that one of them would find the courage to speak up.
The other woman was getting the feeling that there was a conspiracy building up against her. Everyone was doing a great job of pissing her off. She gritted her teeth to contain herself.
Watching Max's expression get increasingly tense, Ralph took a step forward and cleared her throat.
"Hum... We thought that... hmm... It would be a good idea to share our experience with you on how to cope with the indisposition induced by Heat..."
One dark eyebrow twitched upwards in a derisory fashion.
"That's nice girls but I have my own method: Push ups and cold showers used to work wonders on me..."
"So we heard..." Kat whispered before being cut off by Gem poking her in the ribs.
"And anyway, I started the treatment just three weeks ago. So I don't think we should worry about this right now. I have other things on my mind that are far more important than that." Max said dismissively.
"Actually, uh, you're going to be in heat in a few days..." DeDe couldn't meet the woman's eyes.
"What?! You must be kidding me!" Her jaw was slack with disbelief.
There was an awkward pause.
"How can you be so sure? I haven't shown any symptoms yet and I certainly haven’t jumped on any of the guys around..." Max looked away knowing that wasn't entirely true.
Gem came closer to her friend and put an arm around her shoulder.
"See, that's exactly the kind of thing you wouldn't be asking if we had had our little chat..."
The other girls nodded in agreement.
"Since you've never been in heat around transgenics, you wouldn't know that some of us can sense the change in your hormonal balance a long time before it actually hits you..."
Max frowned quizzically.
"Males...With a few feline genes in their cocktail in your case..."
"Who...?" She stopped in mid-sentence as the others studied their shoes with deep interest. Max closed her eyes with realisation.
"I guess we don't have much time before I start running around like a wild beast again... We should..."
They were interrupted by a light knock on the door. Before she could yell at the unwelcome visitor, the door opened to reveal Logan.
The older man looked at all the women in the room and smiled uneasily. "I'll just come back later..."
Max shook her head slightly in frustration.
"No, just stay... Do you mind if we talk about this later on, girls? "
They nodded in understanding. She had a few things to settle with "her man" first. They silently exited.
Max filled her mug with coffee. She needed the caffeine kick to get through the day.
"Do you want some?" She politely asked not looking at Logan.
"No thanks..."
She sat behind her desk and sighed.
"Are you feeling alright?" Logan frowned sensing some tension.
Max kept her eyes on the dark liquid in her mug and turned the spoon.
He could see she was upset about something... Angry maybe?
But she didn't want to open up and he felt helpless. He smiled knowing that no matter what was bothering her what he was going to tell her would cheer her up.
"I found someone that might be able to get us the cure!"
His hopeful eyes scanned her face for the first sign of joy.
Max twisted her lips in an attempt to smile.
"Oh! That's wonderful... Hum... When will we be able to get it?"
Logan pushed his glasses up trying to hide how hurt he felt by her lack of enthusiasm.
This was their chance to finally live happily ever after and this was how she reacted.
No urge to jump out of her chair with exaltation. No tears of relief and happiness. Nothing.
Just flat words said without an ounce of conviction....
Maybe it was the shock. He tried to reassure himself. He wasn't the kind to give up anyway.
He extended his gloved hand above the table and warmly squeezed Max's.
"Soon... But Pr Koumakhova needs some blood samples first."
Max cleared her voice and nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her left ear. "Alright. I'll just check with DeDe and see if we can give you a few tubes..."
All she wanted to do was end the conversation as swiftly as she could without sounding rude. She felt grumpy, tired bitchy... She knew she was behaving strangely as it was, she didn't want to start snapping at Logan as well.
After a few minutes of silence, the journalist decided that it was better to give her some time and space to think about the situation. He looked at his watch and gasped.
"I hope you don't mind... I have an appointment with Alec. I might come back in half an hour or so."
"Alec? Why do you need to see him..."
"Business... My Dear. I won't be long."
Logan put his hands on the table and stood up. Max was lost in her thoughts again. She was staring into space and didn't even look at him when he went out.
*Meeting with Alec... That couldn't be good...*
"Great! That's just what I need..."

*** Alec had made sure that Logan had returned home safely. He often wondered why he even bothered... He walked back to his office and was surprised to hear laughter inside.
The five men had not waited for his return to enter the room and had made themselves comfortable.
Dalton had chosen the fluffy couch and was reading some kind of magazine with his feet resting on the side table.
Two other X’s were playing cards on the dusty floor.
Brain 2 had found the remote control and was zapping through the different channels at the speed of light.
And of course, Chess had found Alec's seat to be the most comfortable one and was eagerly biting into a juicy red apple.
Alec repressed a smile and rolled his eyes.
*A year out of Manticore and the Super Soldiers turn into Super Slobs!*
"Gentlemen... I've summoned you here today to tell you about an important mission I am planning to organize..."
Their heads shot up with interest.
"Now, this has nothing to do with the community... This is personal. You're free to refuse my proposition. But if you do, you have to promise me not to tell anyone about it."
They all nodded in agreement.
Alec spread out several sheets of blue prints on his desk.
"This is where I wanna go." He pointed to a particular area on the map behind him. "Nevada. Ten miles from Carson City."
"How touristy! If Mole ever finds out about this, he'll never forgive you for not bringing him to this little outing in the desert..." Chess remarked with a smirk.
Alec shrugged dismissively.
"Yeah, I know... But I need him to stay here. And anyway, he'll never know." His eyes went back to the documents on his desk.
"This is Arcadia." He saw Dalton start to open his mouth. "And, no... It has nothing to do with computer games, sorry!"
The young X6 made a disappointed pout.
"Actually it's a nice little lab... And guess what its main activity is?"
Brain 2 held his head and started to rock back and forth.
"Genetics."
Everybody looked at him with amazement. Alec smiled.
"As always, you're right. And I want us to pay them a little visit and take a look around..."
He proceeded to give them all the information that he and Logan had been able to acquire so far. Followed by his proposed plan of action.
"The thing is that we think they might be keeping one of our brothers there. Not completely sure but very likely."
He stood up and leaned on his desk.
"I want to go and check it out. And maybe blow the whole thing up if it comes to that."
Nobody reacted as they allowed the information to sink in.
"So who's in?" Alec said in a low voice, suddenly unsure of the others' reaction.
Brain 2 was the first to stand up. His plump body closed the distance between them.
"We all are." Not unlike his brother, "the computer-on-legs", as Mole had so nicely called him, he was a man of very few words but always said with a purpose.
The rest of them just glanced at one another and smiled. Chess stood up and gave Alec a friendly pat on the back.
"What kind of friends would we be if we let you down on this one, huh?"
Alec felt a sense of relief wash over him as he proudly looked at his friends.
"When are we leaving?" Dalton said, excited about the idea of going out on a mission again.
"Day after tomorrow... We’ll be gone for eight days."
"Eight days? Why so long? From what you've told us this shouldn’t take us more than 48 hours..."
Chess jutted out his chin towards the blue prints.
"Not much of a surveillance system, only a few guards, light weaponry & some scientific geeks... As I see it, this should be a piece of cake!"
Alec brought his fingers to his lips and bit the skin of his thumb.
"The data we have is kind of old and lacks accuracy.... We have to make sure we don't get any unwelcome surprises. After all, it's a Manticore affiliate we're talking about. And we all know how good they are when it comes to playing dirty tricks on us..."
"Then, let's just ask Brainy..." Dalton cut in glancing at the afore mentioned.
"Alec needs to be out of town for a week..." The round-faced man stated matter-of-factly.
Everyone frowned and turned their attention back to their CO.
The young man twitched under their curious glances.
He rubbed the back of his neck in discomfort and cleared his throat.
"Yeah, well... Huh..." Was all that came out of his mouth.
The other transgenics were highly amused by the sight of him squirming in front of them, obviously trying to come up with a good justification.
After a few minutes of watching him struggle, Chess came to his rescue.
"Alright, Man... We'll stop the torture. We trust you enough not to question your decision. If you say eight days, then eight days it will be."
The rest of the group didn't seem that happy with the outcome, their curiosity screaming out for an answer. Fixit and Zero looked at Dalton questioningly.
Eventually they all shrugged at the same time indicating that they wouldn't push the issue.
After all, they were sure that they would soon find out what the mystery was all about... For nothing ever stayed secret for too long in Terminal City.

*** She had been discussing the idea of putting together some kind of Education program for the younger transgenics with Dix when she saw them across the room. The men stepped out of his office one by one, laughing at something Alec had said.
Her stomach turned into pudding as she saw his face light up.
He caught her staring and his face turned to stone, his eyes cold as ice.
She frowned and clenched her fists as her anger started to rise.
"Huh, are you listening to me, Max?" The transhuman said softly not wanting to impose himself on anyone.
She saw the look on his face and snapped back to their conversation.
"Oh, sorry, Dix... I was gone for a sec'. I've got so many things on my mind right now. It's getting crowded up here." She said in derision, tapping on the side of her head with her index finger.
Dix looked in the direction her eyes had wandered off to and his lips twisted in some kind of smile.
"Yes, I see what you mean... He does have the tendency to push everything else out of the way, doesn't he?"

-------

He smelt her before actually seeing her watching him from the opposite side of the hall. He clenched his fists and tightened his jaws.
*God! This was really getting to him...*
But curiously enough, he seemed to be the only one aware of what was going on in Max's body.
*If only...*
He rapidly returned to his shrine.

-------

Max shrugged at the comment and flicked her hair away from her face.
"So do you know what scam he's up to?" Looking at Alec's door.
Dix shook his head.
"Nope, he hasn't been very sociable these days. Really grumpy with everyone, so unlike him."
He looked at the girl before him and grinned.
"But not unlike..." He stopped when he saw her stony eyes set on him.
"Yes?"
"Nothing..." He said weakly, afraid for his life.
She gave him a suspicious look.
"Yeah, right..."
***
"Fenostol" White said looking at the sea.
The tall man beside him didn't answer and kept his eyes on the water.
"We are highly unsatisfied with your latest results Ames."
"But -"
"No excuse, Ames. Action. X5452 needs to be taken care of. If you can't solve the problem, the Conclave will have to take extreme measures."
The tall dark man finally turned to White.
"And I'm sure you don't want that, do you?"
"No, sir." The familiar clenched his fists, the expression on his face unreadable.
"Right. Better get started then."
The man handed him an envelope.
"Somebody's going to try something. Be sure to be there and prevent that from happening."
"Fenostol."
"Fenostol."
The man smirked and climbed back in his car.
The black limousine was gone in a thick cloud of smoke.
***
The grey building looked completely trivial. Cars coming in and out. A few guards patrolling the surroundings every now and then.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Alec put the infrared binoculars to his eyes and surveyed the premises.
Beside him, he heard a commotion.
Small insects were buzzing around Zero's head; he was desperately trying to wave them away. They made a sound like miniature chainsaws as they zipped by his ear and for each one he swotted away; there were two more waiting to torment him.
"Would you stop that!" Fixit whispered harshly.
Chess looked at the two of them and brought his hand up to his throat in left to right gesture.
Dalton crawled to Alec's side and tapped his watch.
They had been observing the site for two days and the younger transgenic was running out of patience.
But Alec wanted to be absolutely sure everything would go smoothly. He didn't want any mishaps.
He turned questioning eyes to Brain 2 who was peacefully sitting behind them. Brain 2 just nodded.
They all stood up silently at the same time. Five of them went down the small hill while Brain 2 stayed behind to alert them of any new arrivals and to instruct them on their moves.
Chess, Fixit and Zero took the West side, leaving the East side to Dalton and Alec.
Darkness, faithful as always, had enabled them to get though the security wire netting without a scratch.
Alec bent his neck and put his chin down close to the microphone he was wearing.
"Check Team One", he said, pressing the earpiece into his ear.
"Check Team One", he heard after a second. It was Chess' voice.
"Check Team Two", the leading X5 tested once more.
"Check Team Two", a sleepy-sounding voice came in.
Alec looked at Dalton pointing to a door. The young man immediately entered the building as swiftly as possible.
"Team Three on."
He followed his companion inside the building taking cover behind huge pipes.
"Guards coming North, Team Three. Meeting point in 45 seconds. Head for the second corridor to your left then take the staircase. Wait twenty seconds and go to the fourth floor."
Without looking behind him, Dalton followed the instructions. They could both hear footsteps close by.
Once on the stairs, Alec put a finger to his mouth, waiting for the noise to falter away.
"Team One carry on to section six. Take the vent to the first floor then standby."
Dalton looked at his watch and pointed upstairs.
The two men climbed the stairs in total silence at an incredible speed.
They exited the staircase in tandem, guns in hand, looking all around for an eventual obstacle.
*So far so good.* Alec thought winking at the blond teenager.

-------------------

"Team One. Unregistered Zone to your right. Check."
Fixit reached for the knob and realised it was locked.
He turned a questioning glance at his two team-mates.
Zero pulled out a hair-pin from one of his pockets and grinned cockily waggling his eyebrows.
Fixit gave him a dirty look while Chess rolled his eyes.
The young transgenic picked the lock and after a few seconds, the door opened.
They were hit by the sudden change of temperature on the spot.
"Team Two. It feels like a cool room... Standby...."
Fixit reached for the switch and a blue light flooded the room. They all gasped simultaneously.
"What the Hell, is that?"

-------------------

Alec and Dalton had reached their final destination when they had heard Chess' panicked voice on the radio.
"Team One. What happened?"

Silence.

Dalton looked at Alec worriedly.
"Alec you're not going to believe this..." Zero said after a minute.
"What a bunch of creeps..." Fixit let out with disgust.
"This is definitely not a normal lab..." Chess finally answered calmly.
"What is it?" Alec was beginning to fear the worst.
"They have hundreds of bottles here... and their contents seem to be... deformed babies..." Chess' usually peaceful tone sounded strangely shaky. Dalton closed his eyes horrified.
"Alright, guys... check if there's any information that we could use in there. Dalton and I will do our part so we can get back to you." Alec said seemingly unfazed.
The younger transgenic pushed open the green double-doors in front of them with a confidence he was far from feeling.
The bright fluorescent lights reflecting on the shiny white tiles burned into Alec's eyes and he screwed up his face as he tried to focus.

And there he was in the centre of the room.

The man was sprawled naked on a heavy metallic table, his wrists shackled to the table legs on one end, his feet bound with hemp ropes at the other.
His white skin was flecked with blood. His head was thrashing from side to side and he kept trying to raise his shoulders off the table like a wrestler resisting being held down for the count. He groaned like a wild beast.
Dalton closed the distance separating him from the table and brought his hand to his mouth in shock.
"Oh, my God..."
Alec was close behind.
He looked down and was not surprised to see his reflection staring back at him.