Notes: Thank you to the lovely 494 for the beta of this chapter :)

Original Cindy's apartment, Sector 4

Original Cindy slid out of bed and started pulling on clothes. It took a few minutes to formulate a plan of action from the chaos of thoughts in her head; who to call, what could have happened and how she was going to help. Transgenics caught in public were still arrested on sight and Max was one of the most publicly recognizable faces around. And doggie dog's looks didn't exactly say boy next door. She had to figure out a way to get them past Sector Police without getting flagged.

Max had sounded on the verge of tears. Alec and Joshua had to be in a bad way, which probably meant they couldn't move under their own steam. Sewer travel was probably out of the question. Usually, if she needed 'moving-a-body-type-help', she'd call Max, Alec or Dawn. Dawn had become like a sister, a soul sistah. Max was her best friend but Dawn understood her like no one else. It was such a shame she wasn't a sistah of Sappho. It was as though she'd found Diamond in Dawn. It was hard not to be attracted to her. Like moths to the flame, men fell over themselves around her. The way her red-hair shimmered under light, it was as though it was something alive and when she looked at you, her expressive gray eyes could coerce you into spilling your darkest secrets. It was lucky that she and Ronan had each other. He was a cool levelheaded balance to her often impulsive desires and he also kept the persistent unwanted advances of others at bay. Not that Dawn couldn't handle them herself, it was just nice when you had someone who cared enough to vocally announce that you were spoken for. Call it primitive nature but she love watching a beat down in the name of love.

Max and Alec hadn't been around for months and considering they were the ones in need of rescuing, the first number that had come to mind was Dawn's. Phone in hand, her fingers dialed instinctively before hitting the hook button. Two days and no word. Her throat closed over. She refused to believe that her friend could have been killed. So far none of the news stations had reported anything on the disaster that had gone down inside Terminal City. It was as though they were all glad that the objects of their fears were no longer a threat. Sketchy had done a cover story, with a two-page spread for the New World Weekly, revealing in vivid detail with images what words could only begin to describe. There was not a soul left in the place, it was a barren wasteland with bloody proof of an invasion. Terminal City was enormous, it's perimeter spanned over half of Sector 7. She could only hope that most of the transgenics had escaped the carnage. She'd seen enough of them in action to know that they would have fought for survival. However the haunting emptiness, blood and shell casings pulled on her heart strings till she had to look away. She still hadn't found the nerve to risk a visit, to see it all with her own eyes. Perhaps if she didn't see it for herself, she could pretend it was just a nightmare that she'd wake up from. Right now she had to bury her fear for one friend to help another.

How she dreaded making this phone call. For a bunch of reasons, firstly because she only seemed to be calling when she needed something and second, she really didn't want to speak to her friend's other half. He was a grouch on his best days and she never could quite gauge where she stood with him.

"Hello," a drowsy feminine voice answered.

Counting herself lucky, she got the person she wanted. "Kendra, I need a huge favor."

There was a soft chuckle followed by a masculine groan in the background.

"Who is it babe?"

"Just a friend, Walter honey. Go back to sleep."

"Ah actually, you might want to run this by him first." Original Cindy grabbed a pencil and started jotting down supplies and making notes while she pressed the phone to her shoulder. Putting the receiver back to her ear, she glanced at the page.

"That bad huh. Well, I'm about to start my life-juice machine, in a couple minutes you'll have my undivided attention. In the meantime you might want to start your wish list, and I'll see what I can wring out of Walter."

Original Cindy sighed. Kendra was one of those friends that went the extra mile without being asked. She hated that she'd been so busy lately that they hadn't had a chance to catch up like they used too. Kendra was playing house with her fiancée and well, she'd been too caught up with her new transgenic friends, rebuilding the underground railroad to Terminal City to notice her friend's absence. Jam Pony's media exposure had only lasted a week, however a government car was still parked a block away. Somehow it hadn't stopped coded messages from streaming in for help. She'd passed them along to TC's HQ and helped where she could, offering temporary shelter and food till they could make their way to their people's haven.

Sandeman's old house

It had been hours since any radio contact from Max's team and Logan was beginning to sweat buckets. Fearing the worst, he began to scroll national news feeds for any coverage regarding the attack on Alcatraz. Then at 3 a.m. he hit jackpot with Channel GNW in San Francisco.

"Breaking news from Alcatraz Island. At around.1.10 am, this morning Alcatraz was breeched by an unnamed group, and thousands of transgenics were set free. We have unconfirmed reports of transhuman sightings around the city and can only assume that this act was in retaliation to the unsanctioned assault on the transgenic strong-hold two days ago. Footage of the area in Seattle clearly reveals what must have been a bloodbath. We still have no count on how many transgenic lives were lost that night. The transgenic leaders have been unreachable for information and while they have garnered little sympathy for their plight from the public, one government official had this to say,

"...(Ralph Black, White House) They were designed in a lab, but they were carried to term and birthed just like any human child. Think of it as gene therapy. Most wouldn't even bat an eye at IVF created babies and gene mapping for ideal offspring, this isn't much of stretch on that. These people are being hunted and caged like animals. How do you think they're going to react? You treat someone with hostility and disrespect, expect the same in return. If we're going to survive a civil war, we better wake up to ourselves. And make no mistake, that's where we're headed."

"The official word is that there have been no casualties during the invasion of Alcatraz Island. However there has been no government response to the question of recapture of the will bring you updates as we have them. This has been a streaming new bulletin. Reporting live from San Francisco, I'm Heather Prince for GNW. Studios, back to you."

This was not good. He had tingles from head to toe. It was always a bad sign. Max was a survivor, she'd pulled through worse scrapes than this but then again, she hadn't been herself. What if she had gotten in a tangle with White? She wasn't stronger than him, he'd almost killed her three times now and it was sheer luck that he hadn't succeeded yet. Max always played down the details but Logan had watched her back long enough to learn to read between the lines. Max was afraid of White. And Max wasn't afraid of anything. Well maybe Lydecker but that was a subject for a different day.

Logan picked up his phone and started dialing. He needed more information and he wasn't going to get it sitting on his ass. "Matt, it's Logan."

Two hours later, Sector 6

By the time Max dropped anchor and rolled out the gangplank to the jetty, she was a shivering wreak. Navigating the Strait, answering the Coast Guard hails with the appropriate updates, keeping her knots at a speed low enough not to arouse suspicion while traveling the channels to Elliot Bay, all while having the seemingly deteriorating condition of her crew at the forefront of her mind, had all taken its toll. How on earth had Mole ever made it look so easy, she wondered.

In the process of throwing scrap on board the deck and partially covering the helm from view with the sail of another boat, she heard a familiar voice call out. Searching out it's source she felt her face warm and part of her nervousness ebb. Matching the face with the voice, all her memories of her friend came flooding back. "OC."

They embraced tightly and Max felt a fresh tear slip down her cheek.

"You had me so worried. Yo' gonna make me go gray before ma time, boo."

Max pulled back and wiped her face with a small smile. "Couldn't make it to Sector 12, had to pull in early. Sorry I had to drag you out all the way to West on Garfield."

"Don't sweat it, always wanted to see a pile'a ol' relics," OC quipped with a hand on her hip. "So where are yo' boys?"

At that, Max started to tear up again. "I managed to get everyone below deck, keep them out of the cold. Do you have a ride?"

"Should be pullin' up any minute now."

True to her word, Max heard the hum of engines. A police holding van rolled to a stop a few feet from the launching ramp and there was a squad car behind it. Max couldn't stifle a laugh of surprise when she watched three of her friends climb out. Sketchy and Kendra in matching sector police get up and Normal in a suit and tie, along with a long black trench coat. Perfectly suited to the dreary Seattle weather and looking every bit the working professional. A year ago she wouldn't have considered Normal among her list of likeable acquaintances much less a friend, but now she knew better. He might be stuffy at times and could use a lot of pointers working on his communication skills, but his heart was in the right place.

"You didn't think you could make it a little easier did ya, Missy Missy?" Normal grumbled as he walked over after Sketchy.

Max smiled. "Thanks Normal."

"I'm doing this for the rock star. Where is Alec?"

Original Cindy sighed and rolled her eyes. Kendra pulled Max into a sideways hug. "Seems I'm bailing you out a bit lately. It would have been great if you'd made it to Sector 12, then we'd only be a hop away from Sector 7."

Cindy had told her of at least two safe houses near Terminal City that the Xs had used if it was too hot to make it back to home base. Getting the troops home and keeping them off the local enforcement radar had been their number one hurdle and they thought they'd had it all planned. Being way out in Sector 6 meant they had to cross through at least 3 security checkpoints to make it to a safe house or Josh's old digs.

"Sorry Kendra but the Coast Guard was about this close to busting the whole thing," Max said holding her index and thumb about a centimeter apart. "I never thought I'd say it but that good for rich white boys with too much time on their hands."

"Those Speed Demons at it again?"

Max just shrugged, whatever they called themselves, their distraction offered her enough time to pull into the nearest port and hide in the ship graveyard. The Pulse had fried all SAT-Nav and computer-controlled engines, which qualified for 80 of Americas shipping manifests. The result was harbor loads of useless flotilla. Some had been salvaged by those that had cash stashed under mattresses, vaults or bricked into walls but others had just been cast adrift or run aground.

"Thanks for coming. All of you." She met each of her friend's gazes as she motioned them to climb on board. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Normal and the rest of the gang followed her on board and down the hatch. When they caught sight of the bodies lining the corridors, wrapped in blankets and propped on bunk pillows and cushions, Max could feel the air grow colder.

"Oh merciful mother! Are they?"

"Just help me get them up," Max said cutting Normal off abruptly. She refused to believe that this was deathly grim. The image of Ray, White's son, came to mind and she saw his condition mirrored in all there faces. Ray had recovered, they would too.

Previously, Jam Pony

When he'd gotten up this morning, the hairs on his neck wouldn't flatten. It usually meant that he was in for a headache by day's end. True to his hunch, he'd gotten a phone call from Original Cindy at six thirty, just ten minutes shy from when he usually opened the front gates and rolled up the door.

"Jam Pony, how may we be of service?"

"Normal, we got a crisis-"

"Don't wanna hear it, you could have small pox, a tooth extraction, kidney transplant, whatever get a doctor's certificate and come in tomorrow," he shot off before she could make any lame excuses of her own.

"Max needs help."

Normal put his hands on his hips and pursed his lips with a frown. So the perpetually late ex-employee was in hot water, when wasn't she? "Listen, I'd love to but I've got a business to run. And look what helping Max got me the last time. You should stay out of this, you know the bullet won't miss twice." He heard her sigh and felt his resolve weakening already.

"You're a good person, Normal. Deep down under that cranky, self-serving, uptight exterior, there beats the heart of a genuine hero who'd never turn on a person in need. Max and Alec need help-"

"I know I'll live to regret this," he muttered. "Where are do you need me?" After hanging up the phone he was reminded of his father's words. "All that's needed for evil to prevail is for good men to sit around on their asses." He'd done a lot of things he never thought he could or would over the past year. Delivered a transgenic baby, unwittingly helped forge the transgenic underground railroad and spoken up for transgenic rights, what's a little rescue operation between friends? "Sky, get over here."

"Ya boss?"

"You're in charge. If this place is in ruins when I get back, you're fired." At Sky's horrified expression, Normal took off his headset and pushed it into the boy's trembling hands. "That goes for all you cretins," he yelled. "There are plenty of good legs out there just waiting for a job. Don't disappoint me."

In Sector 6, waiting at the Sector 3 checkpoint

"Well, it's showtime," Kendra said passing Normal his ID. "Let me do the talking."

The guard tapped on her window and Kendra rolled it down. "Bus' full of those freaks. A couple of them look like they've come down with something. Broke out the latex when lockin' 'em down. Here's the list of barcodes. You wanna still drag 'em out here?"

"Give us a second," he said putting the list under his arm and walking back the control booth.

"Frack, I hope Walter's done with Greta at Seattle P.D. by now."

In the van, sitting across from Original Cindy and supporting Alec's head in her lap, Max kept her fingers busy brushing through his hair.

"He'll be okay, Max. This is Alec we're talking about. The tomcat with nine lives. The guy can have women clawing each other because of his schmoozin' ways and he's the one who walks away unscathed." OC watched Max's hand still and a pained expression cross her face. She'd said the wrong thing.

At her friend's querying look, Max shook her head and schooled her features. Old thoughts and feelings were returning but as she looked at his pale face, she knew that all that had been holding her back from telling the truth before was her fear. She was afraid of being rejected, afraid of trusting someone with her heart, and Alec was the biggest player she knew. He was so comfortable in his own skin it made her see how vulnerable she was. They might have been bred to be perfect in appearance and molded into hardened war machines but inside they were about as fragile as glass. Love was something to be feared. There was no room for the emotion in their operating procedures, it clouded your judgment and made you weak. How were you supposed to process the feeling and what it meant when the mere hint of it would grant you a week of special conditioning in solitary. Her track record with love wasn't all that encouraging either. Everyone she'd ever loved was missing or dead. It was easier to keep people at arms length. She had convinced herself that it was to protect them. Now she realized that all it was doing was causing more hurt. Alec proved he loved her even when she hadn't loved him back. He'd almost died never knowing how she felt about him. Resting her hand on his chest, she could feel the rapid beat of his heart. He was strong, he'd pull through this.

Normal hadn't held back when he'd told her what he'd thought. "You were gone for what felt like a lifetime and this is the condition you bring him back in? Remind me never to put my life in your hands. Sweet lord, look at his beautiful face!"

Max could only swallow tightly. Thank heaven for small mercies that Alec was wearing long sleeves and pants. Photographic memory told her that there was a myriad of scars and bruises hidden beneath them and she didn't want to try and explain those let alone face more of Normal's accusing glares.

Bending her head close to his face, she kissed his lips softly. "I love you, Alec. You can't die on me. I need you, you hear me."

Outside the sector gate, the boom lifted and the guard stalked back over and handed back the clipboard.

"Authorization came through. Keep the letter from the Clemente on top next time."

The guard waved them through. Kendra rolled up her window and threw her ID into the middle console. "One checkpoint down. Two to go."

Sandeman's old house

Logan was waiting on the front porch when they pulled up to the curb and was heading down to meet them. They'd finally gotten through to him on the way over. Original Cindy was surprised to see him standing, much less walking, he looked like he hadn't slept in a week.

"Beverly's on her way. I think we're probably experiencing something similar to White's breeding cult ritual. Did you see any marks or welts of any kind on their skin?"

Sketchy and Max were carrying Alec up from the van between them and passed Logan on the way inside. "No, they just went down really suddenly. But I think Mole was actually the first to present any kind of symptoms. You might want to check him over first."

Logan followed them in and held open the door to the guest room. He sneezed and fished in his pocket for his handkerchief. "There's my bedroom upstairs and Josh's old room down the hall. We can clear out the kitchen and the lounge to make more room."

Max nodded in acknowledgment and brushed past him to help Normal and OC bring in the rest of their friends.

Sketchy stood by the door and looked back at Alec. "Man, I’ve never seen Alec look like that. It’s freaky. I’ve just seen him in action and I dunno, you kinda get to thinking they’re invincible, you know.”

Logan looked over at the younger man on the bed and felt his jaw tighten. He did look really bad, almost unrecognizable. Alec animated with his trademark smirk in place, Logan hadn't really noticed the fading bruising and healing cuts on his face before. Looking at him now, he looked like your average man on an express ticket to the nearest ICU.

Dr. Beverly Shankar arrived a few minutes later, just as they were laying out Ronan on couch cushions in the bathroom. Max wanted to check his wounds over. He was the worst for wear and she wanted him close to the bath, so they could hose him down if his temperature got too high. After checking only Ronan and Alec, Beverly pulled Logan and Max into Logan's den.

"I need you tell your friend's to go home. Tell them to call in sick, I'll right them certificates. They need to shower and stay away from everyone else till I can get some blood tests done."

Logan frowned. "It's that bad?"

Beverly nodded. "The two I looked at are presenting all the signs of fighting off infection. Max, they didn't come into contact with any suspicious? Were they given anything, injected or..."

"Alec wasn't on the Island and he didn't get shot or anything."

"But what about all the time you've been gone, could he have been tested with something? You don't know for sure, your memory's fuzzy, Max. Where was Alec while you were with Lydecker?" Logan asked pointedly.

Max's eyes widened, then narrowed at the implication behind his question. Alec made sure that White never found her. He spent four months enduring God only knew what kind of torture White could dish out and he'd never given her up. How dare he suggest that Alec was the cause of the problems they were facing now. He was suffering, maybe dying in that room and Logan had the nerve to suggest that he might have brought a plague to their doorstep. "If White did anything to Alec, I'm sure Lydecker would have found it when they-- wait, the light," Max exclaimed. "The whole sky lit up. Mole started complaining about heat almost straight away."

"It could be an airborne pathogen," Beverly added worriedly. "Which could mean everyone's gonna start presenting very soon."

A news update on the television caught everyone's attention.

"We go to Heather Prince at San Francisco General for more news on what sources say is the worst Emergency Crisis since the Pulse."

"We are here at San Francisco General, where over the last hour the sick continue to stream in faster than hospital staff can find beds. They've begun treating in the car park and have re-routed ambulances to other hospitals to deal with the escalating influx of patients. The CDC have been called in and we've been advised to stay behind the biohazard line. People around the city are collapsing with symptoms such as shortness of breath, high temperature, blurred vision, dizziness and rapid heartbeat. Twelve people have slipped into a coma and one elderly patient has died. Anyone feeling the onset of these symptoms should seek medical treatment immediately..."

Original Cindy started down the hallway toward them. "I just got Gem settled." Suddenly, her legs stopped supporting her weight and she fell heavily into the wall. "Whoa."

Max caught her around the waist and helped guide her to a chair. She shot an anxious glance at Dr. Shankar. "It's too soon, right?"

"It can't be a coincidence. The transgenics from Alcatraz would have made port at San Francisco, and people are suffering the same symptoms there, to what we have here. If they were infected, it's already spread." Logan peeled off his jumper and pulled at his collar. "It's getting warm in here. I'll go open some windows."

"Logan, don't." Max took his arm and walked him to his desk chair. Pushing him into it, she whirled quickly, locking eyes with Dr. Shankar. "We need to get Sandeman. This is that Coming he was trying to warn us about. He's our only hope."

"You know where he is?" Logan asked in surprise. "You might have thought to mention that sooner."

Max picked up the phone, then put it down again in frustration. "Damn it. I don't know the number."