Alec where are you? I’m coming to you… I can’t organise hundreds of Transgenic with in the next half-hour... Do you have the details?... What the hells going on? Alec what’s happened?…

 Mole felt no fear. An untouchable soul, hidden within walls of pure iron. And nothing could penetrate them. But Alec had pushed through, using nothing but his unsteady voice. He suddenly became aware of the ever-bearing presence around him. Feeling unsteady on his feet, slightly hot, he moved towards the command.

~~~~~

"They’ll be listening about us on the discovery channel." He had recovered half his dignity while entering Terminal City’s main headquarters. And had ruefully pushed unwanted rubbish off the computers’ desk. Then the look he’d given Dix told of emotions that didn’t want to expressed.

"I’m guessing your work out didn’t go to well"

 Mole grunted, his green fist slamming hard against the work unit. The sudden outburst of emotions startled Dix. Mole squared his shoulders, his only form of superiority seeming laying within his appearance. Dix let the question drop, not expecting an answer. Feeling the complexity of Mole was beyond his thinking capacity right now.

"I’m gonna need you too round up every Transgenic, emergency meeting."

"What! I can’t just..."

 "Don’t argue with me, get it done!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Her silver eyes breathing mischief over her small round features, for the second time Jace lifted her gaze, catching Moles eyes, and once again crimson red flecked his green cheeks. What little power she had, she used it fully to her advantage. Bending her head to one side, the purple lizard descended on her pray.

"Doesn’t look to healthy, does it." Jace asked, her gaze tilting towards TC’s main set of computers. The middle, and probably most important flashed warning lights that sent daggers through Moles dark eyes. The expression he wore was one of grim defiance.

"It was built by a norm, the thing’s probably rigged."

She laughed; doubting norms knew their creations would one day be housed within Terminal City, especially as a defence against their own species. Still, it didn’t mean they couldn’t hate their inventions. The computer was a primitive thing, a gift from the back end of a track, as Alec had put it.

She was sleek, purple with hints of green defining her already perfect features. Her seductive charm was more than a match against a grumpy old washing machine, as she liked to put it. Creaking as he worked, breaking down on every opportunity. There was nothing better than a good challenge.

But Jaces mood drowned under the medical notes Dix handed her. Scribbled handwriting washed over the papers white background. She couldn’t stop the grown, as the one piece became seven.

"It’s going to be a long night." She replied with the smallest hint of annoyance.

"Check your list against Moles, some of the names got muddled in the rush," Dix said.

She chuckled, allowing the irritation to drop. Thanking Dix she moved towards the green Transhuman. Instantly noticing her friends drawn appearance.

"How does your group look?" He asked. But his gaze remained elsewhere, still to preoccupied with the broken computer. "I’m not even getting reception!" As he screamed into the headpiece clinging to his green scull, Jace tilted her head towards the computers’ screen. The sparks eventually subsided revealing a lone figure, a cocky grin planted over his human features. She held back the urge to wave towards the X5 who’d positioned himself beneath TC’s only working camera. Alec’s shadowed figure smiled back.

Turning away from the X5, Jace’s gaze caught the Transhumans dark eyes. "Out of all the Transgenic here, less than half of them have medical training. And out of them half only know basic field med. I’ve got about four trained meds, when infirmary’s up and running I’ll have them swapping shifts. As for the infirmary it’s self, I’ve been given twenty-two mechanics, diggers etc. Should be up and running within the next two weeks." She leant over his shoulder, almost touching his face. "What’s yours look like?" She asked.

Caching his eyes, and leaning in harder, her tail slowly attaching itself to his lower leg. Jace behave yourself. The washing machine’s busy.

Moving her hands around his own pages, Mole slowly let go, allowing her eyes to skim the contents. Figures aligned the borders with number and designations. Names printed under lists. The top one, water tanks written as the heading, had the most designations. She lowered her vision, coming to command, and living quarters, again, lists of names under them. Max’s name and designation popped up under Water tanks, along with Moles. Alec and Dix under communications, and hers under infirmary. It was going to be a long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan watched her, his eyes hovering other the beautiful figure clad in black. Shifting his gaze towards the other X5, it occurred to him how small and waif like she looked against Alec’s larger figure. But Max was still able to show her authority against Alec’s once higher command, and a mind and body worth twenty-two years of training. Her voice raised over the crowd, and with centimetres in front of the fellow X5, Max began to grasp onto the leading role she had claimed when the sleeping world awoke to their existence.

~~~~

"Twelve days ago water supplies connected with TC began to fail. We put it down to blockages, loose metal, rats. We were kidding ourselves. Five days ago most of TC was without fresh water. Some of us grew concerned, while others were to closed minded to see the danger, ‘if it doesn’t effect me its not my problem’." The statement hit home. Knowing the guilt she felt wasn’t going to fade, expectance gave her the courage to face the nation she was leading, protecting...killing. She remained silence long enough to move towards Alec, feeling him tense as her body pushed up against his. She continued. "We were led to believe that the problem wasn’t with the piping but the tanks. We worked up action plans for a number of different possibilities, blocked tubing, leaking vents letting in sewage... small splits."

~~~~

Dix saw the dissuasion within her sorrowed eyes. The look of pain that flickered over her features as her gaze found Logan, was one of confused helplessness. The norms’ eyes that had once showed affection and love slowly glazed over with pain...betrayal... and hatred, as Max laced her fingers through Alec’s, her grasp tightening, as he drew back. The anguish, which flickered within Logan’s eyes, as he turned away, only caused her to tighten her hold, maybe afraid of what might happen if she were to let go.

~~~~

She caught Alec’s eyes. Please play along. She pleaded silently. Dark green specks lit his hazel orbs. The truth to them betraying the X5’s hidden emotions. She turned back towards the crowd, one gaze less. ‘It’s for the best’ echoing throughout her mind.

"This morning scouts came back from a recon mission. Alec had sent them out to assess the damages to our escape routs caused by the last protester attack. After increasing concern over the water shortage they were ordered to take a detour towards the north site. The pipe supplying TC with its main water supply has split; the force of the break has destroyed tank ‘B’ and brought half the building down onto tank ‘A’. The main pipe was destroyed, and the back up pipe is now buried under a good 100 tons of brick, metal and flooded mud" Max finished, allowing Alec to take central stage, her fingers never leaving his hand.

"After resent events we’ve begin to reassess our situation. For a long time we’ve neglected the fact that TC’s our home, and were going to be stuck here for a long time. We have no proper living quarters and are in desperate need for a working infirmary. The room located in the middle of south sight is no good under attack, as its open and unprotected. Over the last hour we’ve been putting you all into groups, depending on your training. The majority of you will be with Max and Mole over in the north site. The water supply is our main worry, and we should have the full details within the next hour. As for the rest of you, you’ve been divided between infirmary, living quarters, and command." Alec stopped, unnerved by the transgenics sudden silence, as if waiting for a command he couldn’t give. "Mole and Dix will give you the full details".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Logan hated him; there was no need to look up to see it in the older mans eyes, he could feel it. But it wasn’t that, which hurt. It was seeing Max staring at him through her dark eyes, pleading with her soul for him to play along. Then she would reach out, her soft flesh trailing his exposed arms. He forced himself not to flinch, not to react to her gentle touches. He continued to tell himself that there was no emotion behind them, just a black void of despair. It was all a game, nothing was real anymore. He was nothing more than a diversion to Max, and a traitor to Logan. He felt like both.

Trailing his fingers through hers, he led them out of command, and into the loneliest part of TC. Ironic, it suited his own soul, lonely. She wasn’t prepared to break the silence, so he shattered it himself.

"This isn’t going to work, you can’t keep lying to him..."

"I’m not talking to you about this" "Were going to talk about this,"

"No Alec… We have to deal with what’s important. Were dying OK. TC’s already dead… were going to deal with what’s important. Can you do that?" He said nothing; she pushed harder, more force in her voice. "Alec, can you do that?" He backed down. But his gaze never faulted. His hazel eyes never distinguishing the truth behind them. All he could do was grit his teeth and pray a scream wouldn’t penetrate them.

 "Yes"

"Good…" her eyes never left his face. "Your needed out on cameras." She refused to let the superiority drop from her features. And as she turned away from him, all she could do was close her eyes and block the pain she had caused.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flecked and burnt the colours dull and no longer beautiful, Joshua sniffed at his latest creation. His tender paw running along the colours, fingers taking in their texture and coldness. A memory surfaced. His mind wondered back towards the painting, while his senses detected the presence of a small boy. Not turning from his work, the dog like creature flashed a mouthful of canines in a sign of greeting towards the X6.

"What is it?" Delton asked.

"Was Max and Alec, caught fire. Couldn’t put it out at time"

"I think it still looks good. It isn’t all black. I can see blue."

"Yes the sky, blackness Max and Alec. Confusion, pain. But the sky shines on them"

Delton turned his trained eyes towards the two X5s, their minds and bodes oblivious to the many watching eyes shrouding their presence. His childlike vision taking on a more feline perspective, there facial figures finally glowed through the darkness.

"They don’t look confused"

"They don’t want us to worry, they’re hiding."

 Delton picked up their voices, his sensitive perception closing around their sound waves.

 "What’s wrong with them?"

 "Joshua doesn’t now, but will soon." There was determination behind his voice. Delton believed him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Boo need help?"

"What?" Alec had neither time nor patience when Original Cindy moved from the shadows, her smaller frame blocking the X5 from moving through commands only door.

"OC I’m busy" He flinched as his larger body pushed past hers, but with seconds, OC had regained all posture with an expression that would cut through any unworthy man.

"Sorry Boo, but OC need’s ya’ to do her some small favours"

"Aren’t you suppose to be somewhere?" The X5 asked as he moved further from command. But OC continued to tail her friend. Not stopping as he collected the headpiece that would serve as communication between Dix and himself, Alec stole a glance towards his human counterpart. The worried expression she wore broke through his defences, and Alec’s emotionless face crumbled. "Ahh, please don’t look at me like that. I’m not the bad guy here"

"What you tell your self Boo. Now I need you to be strait me, and tell OC what’s been buggin your fine transgenic hide." The question had been raised, and Alec flinched at OC’s strong gaze.

"I’m needed out on camera’s."

"Don’t change the subject Boo."

"OC this isn’t the time for a one to one. Can we talk about this later?"

"Always running, what my Boo’s have in common."

"I’m nothing like Max. And we have nothing in common. She ran because she couldn’t take it." He wasn’t shocked by his outburst, and made no attempt to control the anger crushing through his thoughts. But his mind turned oblivious to OC’s slightly shocked then angered expression.

"No she ran cos it wa’ usin’ her." OC shot back, suddenly over aware of the transgenic bulk leaning over her smaller frame.

"And what’s she doing to me?"

"This is a two way thing Boy. It don’t work if you don’t play, but you are. And you know that it’s destroying what ya both have."

"And what’s that? Ha. Tell me OC. Tell me what we have that’s possibly worth fighting for. Because I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. She uses me for her own intentions, tells me I’m a screw up when I don’t lie right. And at the end of the day when things get to tough she runs back to the person I’m suppose to be protecting against her revved up nuclear DNA. And then everything I go through for Logons better good is a waste of time"

"And does that hurt?"

Alec was suddenly jolted from his angered daze, as the sympathy that hung within OC’s voice entered the most primitive parts of his brain.

"More than Manticore" She had to strain to hear it, as his voice razed bearly over a whisper. But it was there, and so was the loss, and anguish that accompanied it.

"OC’s gota rethink her words" He surprised her then. As the anger slowly faded with the small smile that touched the corner of his lips. And his eyes, brightening under their hazel green glow, put warmth to her own features. "What?"

"I don’t hate her"

"I know Boo."

"She still thinks she responsible for us. For what’s happening in TC"

"She’s just made some mistakes. We all made mistakes, we underestimated TC’s potential... We all let this happen, Max just doesn’t see that."

"When Max let us out, she felt she had to protect both us and the world. And most of the transgenics don’t see the good side to that. In their eyes it’s just another form of control."

"Boo’s gota let go of her strings"

"Max can’t do that..."

"Then exceptions are gona have to be made boy. And OC gona be seeing to that. So if you once try to bust her mood with you sorry act, then OC will whip your fine hide and teach you a lesson on how to play nice. Got me?"

"You’re a manipulative piece of work. You planned your little talk the whole time"

"Down to the dime. I had your fine ass the second you excepted Max couldn’t change, and then the whole exception speech followed. I’ve been reciting it since passing Max in the corridor, after the little tisk, tisk between you two. Plus Josh hinted paws would fly"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~