parallax23 | Just Another 48 Hours -- Chapter 7 (Reply)

Chapter 7: The Youth of the Freak Nation

May 6, 2021

The air was electric with restless. Only a few hours stood between them and the raising of the flag. This would be their real stand. The one they took only a few nights ago had been a promise to each other that they would stand together. Raising the flag was a declaration to the outside world. This was their home, their life, and they were going to fight for it. Maybe even die for it.

_________________________________________________________

Alec could feel the adrenaline running through his veins as he helped to make the final arrangements of the night. It was just him and Max going over the final details.

Logan had needed some sleep after the long day that they had. He wasn’t used to the long and torturous hours that they had been trained to endure. Max had caught him looking overwrought and insisted that he go to bed while she took care of the rest. Her insistence hadn’t been cold or distant. It was dripping with concern and gentleness. Alec could see where this was heading and swore under his breath. He knew that this was going to happen. As nauseatingly sweet as this all was, it wasn’t the time or place for it.

It was no wonder that while Max and Logan were on good terms, Logan had no clue that Max had chosen Alec as her SIC. Or that they were in the middle of an impromptu meeting in the middle of Command while Logan was asleep.

“So what’s your official title? You’ve been doing quite a bit around here,” Mole asked Alec, which was what had caught everyone’s attention.

Alec turned to Max, who came up beside him.

“Well,” Max said, “if you’ll have me, I’d like to be you Commanding Officer. With Alec as my Second.”

Hushed whispers flooded the crowded Command Center. The place was constantly busy no matter what hour of the day it was. Max couldn’t gauge their response. This was why she hadn’t been looking forward to having to take the reins, preferring her de facto position. What if they really didn’t want her? She couldn’t bring herself to listen to what they were saying.

The chattering carried on for a few more minutes before Alec cleared his throat.

“Well?”

Everyone stopped talking and turned to face him. Max was nervous and hoped that it was hidden behind her stern expression. How could she have thought that they would let her lead them?

“Well, what?” inquired Mole.

“Do you want us to be your Commanding Officers?” Max asked, her impatience getting the best of her.

A smirk crossed Mole’s face, then he bit down on his cigar. “We already talked about this. You’re it, kids. We didn’t realize you were still talking about that.”

His words were followed by a chorus of affirmations.

Max smiled and turned to Alec. “You all in?”

“Like you gave me much of a choice?” he said nonchalantly and put his arm around her, pulling her tightly to his side.

“You guys are the one who got us together,” Luke said. “Max broke us out of that hell hole. Alec made us see we’re transgenics, X-series or transhuman, it doesn’t make a difference – we’re all freaks.”

“You did whatever it took to help us, even if it meant exposing yourselves,” said the Arctic division guy who now went by the name Gelid. “Most of us owe our lives to you.”

“Yeah, go Max and Alec!” Joshua howled.

“That and nobody else is stupid enough to pull something like this,” Mole pointed out.

“Ain’t that the truth!” came a voice from the back of the room.

“Aw, don’t you know how to make a guy feel special?” Alec quipped. “Exactly the kind of people Max would lead. Ha! How do you like a taste of your own—”

Max’s elbow finished the sentence for him. He winced a little.

“We’re all dead,” came another voice.

“Well, it was nice knowing ya,” was another response.

Max just rolled her eyes.

“And what are we going to call this place?” asked Luke.

“Transgenic City?” someone suggested.

“Transgenic City?” repeated Alec, seeing if he liked the sound of it. “Well, it sounds cooler than Freak Nation. Then there was my idea – Monsters, Inc.”

“Wasn’t that a Disney movie?” asked Max.

“Well you’re always going on about your Disney ending,” Alec said.

“We’re not changing the name,” Max informed them.

“Fine,” Alec relented. Then in a louder voice said, “Let’s hear it for Terminal City people!”

Right on cue, the crowd erupted into half-hearted snickers and sighs. Alec did know how to work a room.

As the crowd dissipated, Max looked at her watch. She finally had some spare time to check in on Cindy before going with Logan to the roof. It was late, so she was probably at Gem’s place trying to get some rest. That was why Dalton was the one to open the door when Max knocked.

Gem had left Dalton and Original Cindy to watch over the newly named Eve. The name had been inspired by a movie Dalton had seen about animated robots, one of which was a sweetly destructive robot named EVE. Gem had appreciated that – a tough as nails deadly heroine that blew things up and had a soft spot for those that cared about her.

Dalton had a feeling Max didn’t want him to follow her into the bedroom where Original Cindy had put the baby down for a nap, so he went to put on some coffee for them. Max usually liked coffee.

She gently rapped lightly on the door before entering the dimly lit room. Cindy had been lying down beside the sleeping infant on a mattress, and sat up when Max came in.

“Hey there,” Max greeted her in a soft voice.

“Hey boo. Haven’t seen you all day. Is it show time already?” Cindy asked sleepily.

“Nope,” Max said, taking a seat on blanket that was spread the floor. “Just finally found some time for my homegirl, which is important too.”

Original Cindy glanced over to make sure Eve was still asleep before turning back to Max. “So, what’s on ya mind?”

“Oh, you know the usual trials and tribulations of leading group of genetic experiments in the fight for freedom. Nothing out of the ordinary. But I came here to check on you,” Max told her. “Not feeling queasy or developing rashes in strange places?”

“Not yet,” replied Cindy. “But I’m figuring you need me, Sketchy and Logan to go so it don’t happen.”

“Yeah.” Max looked down at the floor. “Logan’s going to try to stay. I can feel it. And he can’t.”

“Logan is a grown man. He can make his own decisions. Of course, that fake fling with Alec woulda come in handy right about now,” Cindy pointed out.

“Oh yeah,” Max emphatically agreed. “But Alec’s my SIC now, which Logan would probably feel is the same thing.”

O.C. hadn’t been expecting this revelation, and was dumbfounded for a moment trying to process it. Then she said, “Pinch me ’cause I must be dreamin’. Ain’t no way you made Pretty Boy your second. And what do you mean by Logan ‘would probably’ be upset?”

Max’s silence answered for her.

“You haven’t told Logan yet.”

Max steeled herself to respond. “It’s not his business. This is Terminal City business. And Alec is the best choice, hands down. Everyone agreed.”

She saw Original Cindy raise an eyebrow in curiosity. “What do you mean by ‘everyone’?”

“We ran it by the other transgenics, and they’re all for it,” Max told her.

Then it dawned on her how it sounded. They had waited for Logan to doze off before electing their leaders. A wave of guilt rushed over her. It may not have been his business, but it was pretty messed up that they had gone behind his back to establish their positions.

When it was all going down, Max had felt uninhibited about giving out official stations. This was Terminal City business, not Logan’s new pet cause. He would’ve wanted ballots. Then he would have wanted her to be called mayor or president or something much more democratic. And Logan wouldn’t be happy to know that Alec had been chosen for SIC without more thought being put into it.

But that wasn’t what Cindy was getting at.

“You know, ever since you busted Alec outta jail that night, you two been actin’ kinda funny. You been less ‘I’m gonna put that boy in a world of hurt.’ And he’s been around you more than usual without the smack-worthy comments and hitting on anything in a skirt. Now this. Is there something you ain’t tellin’ me?”

Dalton’s ears perked up at Cindy’s question and he forgot all about the boiling water. There wasn’t anything going on between Max and Alec, was there? No, he would’ve seen it. But Dalton still crept over to the door to hear the confirmation from Max herself.

“Cindy, there’s a lot of stuff I can’t tell you,” Max confessed, moving closer to her friend. “But me and Alec? We’re just friends.”

Dalton let out a desperate sigh of relief.

“You know you can tell me anything,” O.C. offered.

“I know. But Alec… He gets it. He’s the only person who knows both sides, idiot that he is,” Max tried to explain. “We’ve been working together a lot to get Terminal City on its feet lately, that’s all. Less because we want to, but more that we have to.”

To Dalton and Original Cindy, it seemed like a reasonable explanation. Even if it felt like an incomplete one.

Cindy had not been as involved with the transgenic cause as Alec was. It had been too dangerous and even she knew she would be a liability if the chips were down. But she did what she could support her friends.

Alec could go to Terminal City without worry. He knew he belonged there, and wouldn’t die from exposure to who knew what was crawling around there. He had gone on rescue missions and come back without a scratch on him. It was Alec that Joshua was such good friends with. Cindy had heard how he and Max had been there when White had killed Josh’s friend Annie. Max had been with Alec when they saw Biggs’ body hanging like an animal’s after being beaten to death, all because he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And who knew what else she didn’t talk about?

In spite of their closeness, Max had remained enigmatic about her past. Original Cindy had decided to let Max tell her about it on her own terms. She couldn’t imagine what it was like then, or how it was now to live as an enemy of the state.

Alec had been close to Max since Cindy had met him. The boy didn’t get attached to anyone for too long, but for some reason was not far from Max. Once Cindy had found out that his moniker had been bestowed upon him by Max, she imagined that they probably meant more to each other than either would like to let on. Max and Alec had come to an agreement in the last few weeks to assist the other transgenics which only made them seem closer.

Cindy also knew about some of the earlier incidents where Alec had betrayed Max that had made her wary of him. Her personal experience with him proved he was like every other man alive, except more slippery. The hostility between Max and Alec came from the fact that they both liked to keep a lot to themselves, especially when it came to their past. Original Cindy wasn’t sure she was brave enough to want to know the details, since she figured it was bad enough to scare the hell out of two of the bravest people she knew.

The thing about Max and Alec was that they were often most vulnerable around each other. They couldn’t hide what they were from one another. It was probably why they grated each other’s nerves so much.

“I get it,” O.C. said. “When did you and Alec come to this decision anyway?”

Max sighed. “I asked him last night, but he told me the answer today.”

“Well, he better have your back or he’ll have me to contend with,” Cindy replied.

“I bet,” Max laughed. “Anyway, I need to go wake Logan up… And O.C.? Thanks. You know, for bein’ here and all that.”

“Anytime boo,” said Cindy. “See you in a few.”

Max hugged her. Then she stood up and walked toward the door. Dalton had heard her moving in his direction, but somehow it hadn’t quite registered that he was leaning on the door and would have to move. He had been too busy wondering what secrets Max had saved for Alec. That was why when Max opened the door Dalton tumbled onto the ground in front of her feet. His quick reflexes had caused him to use his hands to brace the fall and prevented his face from colliding with the floor.

Dalton rolled over onto his back as Max crouched down beside him. Then she smacked the top of his head.

“Kid, did you fail basic recon back at Manticore?” Max asked dryly.

He chose not to answer and just lay there as Max walked out of the apartment. Original Cindy just looked down at him and shook her head.

_________________________________________________________

Max walked the block and a half over to Joshua’s place, where Alec, Sketchy and Logan were still staying. As she made her way over there, other transgenics were out and about in the dark streets. They weren’t afraid or hiding their faces as they walked past her. They smiled and nodded in her direction, which she happily returned. This was what raising the flag was about.

She opened on the door of the apartment. She never knocked on Josh’s door even when he lived in Sandeman’s house or when she went over to Alec’s or Logan’s apartments. She would just let herself in. This wasn’t going to be any different. That didn’t stop her from being nervous about seeing Logan, who she still had to tell to leave once the flag was raised.

Alec was standing in front of the door, already dressed and holding her emergency overnight bag.

“Heard you coming a mile away,” he said, handing her the bag. “Bathroom’s free, better get in there quick before Sketchy gets up.”

“Hey, as long as you’re not in there admiring your reflection, I figure I’ve got enough time,” Max said.

Before Alec could respond, Logan’s head peeked out of the bedroom. Joshua was still at Command and Sketchy was still asleep, so when her expression went blank, it could only mean one thing. Alec turned around to see Logan in the doorway. He was not going to get in the middle of this again. He had done so well avoiding Logan the entire time he was in the apartment. He turned back to Max.

“I’ll see you up there,” Alec said, taking her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. Then he left the apartment.

Max smiled at Logan. “Hey, I’m gonna get changed. Why don’t you wake Sketchy in the meantime?”

He responded with a curt nod in her direction before disappearing into the room to do as she had requested. It took a few tries to rouse Sketchy from his deep sleep, but he finally managed to do it.

As Logan changed his clothes, he couldn’t get the image of Max’s hand in Alec’s out of his mind. He wondered if it had been a subtle dig at him and the virus situation. Whether it was or it wasn’t, Logan couldn’t help feeling jealous that he couldn’t touch her.

It made him envy Alec even more. For Eyes Only missions, Logan would sit in the car while Max was squarely in the heat of the action. Alec went along with her, armed and ready for a fight. Alec knew the Manticore side she tried so hard to hide from Logan, and he didn’t flinch. Alec could challenge her in a fight or chess without worrying how badly she’d kick his ass. He had been gifted with special abilities, and all he used them for was picking up women, gambling and stealing. Life wasn’t fair.

Worst of all? Alec could touch her when Logan couldn’t. He could squeeze her hand, take a smack across the head, grab her to see if her barcode needed a touch-up… That was why Logan had been so quick to believe that Max had been seeing Alec. Logan was honest enough with himself that he had been trying to measure up to Max since day one, and being in that wheelchair had nearly destroyed his soul. She claimed it didn’t matter to her. But it mattered to him.

When Logan had thought he lost her, it stopped mattering whether he was as strong or fast as she was. He had lost her. Even when he had her back, she had pulled away from him thanks to the virus. There had been a looming presence of waiting for the other shoe to drop, with her walking out of his life forever when he had run into that Rafer guy at Crash. She had other options than him, he had become all too aware of that night.

After pulling on his sweater, Logan reached under the blankets that he used as a bed. He had kept a box of latex gloves from the ambulance they had taken that night. Seeing Alec squeeze Max’s hand like that, Logan decided that he couldn’t lose her again.

He wasn’t ready to let go.