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Max and Alec pulled their motorcycles into the entrance to Terminal City shortly after midnight. Pausing at the fence, his booted feet balancing the bike, Alec nodded in the direction of Logan's apartment building, and in a raised voice to be heard above the engine asked, "Is this the part where you tell me it was fun, but you're goin' back to him again?"

Max shut off her bike, and Alec did likewise. Removing the amber goggles she was wearing, she swiped hair out of her eyes and looked toward Logan's pad.

Alec told himself everything was fine, that Max wouldn't do this to him -- but his heart was still racing as he waited for her to say something.

Finally, she glanced over at him, an impish smile on her full lips. "Don't have much confidence in yourself, do you? Why? You think that after a roll in the hay with you I'd be ready for a change of scenery again?"

"Max," Alec said wearily, "It's not like you haven't pulled the rug out from under my feet before. We've had this conversation so many times in the past, sometimes I think it goes on even when we're not around. To Logan, or not to Logan, that is the question."

"Not anymore, it isn't," Max said.

She was looking at him in a way Alec never thought Max would.

"Then what is the question?" he asked.

"Your place or mine?"

Alec grinned. "Yours," he said. "I've got a roommate, remember? Unless, of course, you wanna give Joshua a heart attack. He's real modest you know. If he ever walked in on the two of us gettin' busy the big guy would be embarrassed to death."

"My place then," Max agreed. "But--" She held up a warning finger. "I'm back from my brief vacation. Tomorrow we both go to work. You need to push city council to pass that medical bill for us, and I need to give you a little help."

"Help how?" Alec asked suspiciously.

"Help with Ms. Horny Brown," Max replied easily.

The thought of Max taking on Melissa Brown over him made Alec grin all over again. Nothin' like a good cat fight to liven things up for a man.

Max saw, and apparently knew what he was thinking. "Stop that," she chided as she kick started her bike again. Then, more loudly, "You're not God's gift to women, Alec, no matter how highly you rate yourself."

"We'll see 'bout that," Alec promised with a wink as he, too, revved his bike and followed Max into their Terminal City world.

*****

Billie, Annie's guide dog, ran up to greet Alec with wagging tail as he approached Joshua's outside booth in the art market the following morning. He and Joshua had found the golden retriever a few months earlier, bedraggled, wandering the streets, and eating out of garbage cans. Her harness and tags still on, there'd been no doubt about the dog's identity. Alec had been dubious about trying to keep a "pet" in Terminal City -- another mouth to feed when so many of them were going hungry -- but he couldn't stand the look in Joshua's eyes when he'd suggested they simply take her to the pound.

And so Joshua now had a dog -- one who'd finally even gotten used to Alec's "cat" scent, although it had taken her nearly three days to stop barking at him every time he tried to pet her.

"Hi, Billie," Alec said, stooping to stroke the golden retriever's silken head. He was in an extremely good mood. But then how could he not be after waking up with Max in his arms? He only hoped every night with his new girlfriend would be as wonderful as the past two. Damn, I'm actually a bit sore ...

Billie nuzzled him and whined. Alec's eyes met Joshua's, and his friend tossed him a biscuit that he deftly caught and offered to the dog. Daintily, she took the treat from his fingers.

"How's sales?" Alec asked, standing up and wiping his hands on his jeans.

Joshua shrugged. "Not good today. Sold one yesterday though." The dog man eyed the X5. "Alec not come home last night, or the night before."

"Max and I went on a little road trip," Alec said. "But you knew I'd be gone."

"You and Max?"

Alec shrugged his shoulders in his jacket, not wanting to make a big deal out of the new status quo in inner circle relationships. "Yeah," he finally said. "Me and Max."

Joshua grinned. "You and Max ... gettin' busy?" He then made an obscene gesture with his middle finger.

Alec's eyebrows rose in surprise. Where the heck had Joshua picked that up from? Grabbing the big guy's hand, he quietly explained to his friend what that gesture meant in terms the naive dog man could understand. Joshua then hung his head in shame, and Billie, sensing her master's sadness, whimpered.

"Josh," Alec said, clapping his friend on the back. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean anything by it. God knows you've forgiven me for a lot worse. And as for Max and me ..." He thought a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Let's just say we're dating, okay?"

Somewhat mollified, Joshua stopped sniffling and nodded.

"Thatta, boy!" Alec said gleefully, egging on his friend's better humor, wanting it to match his own. "You say you sold a painting yesterday?"

"One," Joshua said. He looked over at where Dix was minding another outside booth. "Dix and Luke sold two sculptures, too."

"Business is improving," Alec said, putting a positive spin on things.

"But Alec," Joshua said. "We're not rolling in dough."

"Give it time, my friend," Alec said, encouraging Joshua in that special always-optimistic way he had. "You'll be world famous before you know it. All you need is the right kind of P.R. and that's where I--"

The sound of squealing tires made Alec turn. The street booths were located at the back of a deep overhang in front of the building. Inside were rooms the artists used for storage and sales on inclement weather days, as well as the coffee shop on the first floor. The wide open layout out front was nice for customers, but, as Mole had pointed out when they'd decided to open the Arts and Crafts Mall, a tactical problem to defend.

A battered black van pulled up just outside the Terminal City gates. No sooner had to wheels stopped rolling, than the back doors burst open and several all-too-familiar figures piled out.

"I don't believe this," Alec said, shaking his head.

Mole, chewing on a cigar as usual, stepped up beside him. "Should I get the PK90's?"

"Not yet," Alec said, his hazel-green eyes narrowing as he watched some old "friends" approach. "But get my back, and stay ready."

"You got it," Mole said, clapping Alec's leather clad shoulder with a heavy hand then heading back to his space where Alec knew the lizard-man kept an eclectic assortment of weapons.

Sauntering up to the market was a white-haired, nose-ringed, cyber-tech junkie Steelhead named British Eddy whom Alec had tangled with a couple of times before.

"Thought it was about time we paid our old business associate a little visit," Eddy said by way of greeting. Bird, another Steelhead who had wild eyes and a wicked cyber arm, and Tuck, a tall, black cyber-tech with needles protruding from his bald head and the dead expression of a junkie, flanked their boss.

Joshua started out from around behind his counter, a worried look on his face. However, Alec waved him back, subtly signaling with his hand, "Mine," meaning he'd handle this. He was, after all, TC's elected leader.

Understanding, Joshua backed off, although other Manticore alum were also watching the intruders with wary eyes. The few mall customers had already vanished.

"Well, well, well," Alec said, walking out to greet their guests. "If it isn't the Three Stooges. Come down to do a little gift shoppin' for the missus?" His eyes went to Lux who he could see sitting in the back of the van -- a bald-headed implant freak of a chick who had needles for fingernails. Rarely in his life had Alec been completely put off by a woman, but that one definitely gave him the creeps.

"What we came down here for," Eddy said, "is to claim our new turf."

Alec did a double-take, then smiled broadly, figuring this had to be some kind of joke. "Your turf?" he said. "Take a look around, pal. This is Freak territory. Or don't you watch the news?"

"Not anymore it ain't," Eddy said, acting extremely proud of himself for some reason. "Juarez, in person, gave us jurisdiction just this morning."

Alec knew Max frowned on the notion that the Manticore people could be classified as a "clan" or a "gang." But he also knew that's exactly what they were -- legal status and council representation not withstanding. The "Freaks" were indeed his clan -- his family -- and to all intent and purposes Max was his clan leader, the matriarch, and he (elected leadership position not withstanding) her first-in-command. That's just how it worked in the streets, no matter what fancy way Max tried to make the rest of the world look at the mutants. Apparently, even the Steelheads accepted the status quo, which is why they were throwing down with this turf challenge nonsense.

"Come on guys," Alec said, smiling and being his most reasonable as he walked toward Eddy with hands out, showing he didn't have a weapon. "You don't wanna fight us. We're highly trained, genetically engineered supersoldiers, for God's sake. Any one of us could eat you three for breakfast." Behind him Joshua snarled, punctuating his words.

Alec gave a short sharp laugh at the sound, but his eyes were locked with Eddy's.

"I'll tell you what," Eddy said in his best British accent. "Me, Bird, and Tuck here will let you Freaks keep your little art gallery open. All you have to do is hand over sixty percent of your take. In return, you'll have our protection." Eddy motioned with his hand, and six more Steelheads climbed out of the van along with Lux who'd already primed her finger talons. Catching Alec's eye, she gave him a seductive wink, and touched one of the needles first to her crotch, then to her tongue, her meaning obvious.

"I'll just bet you'd like to, sweetheart," Alec muttered under his breath, shuddering a little at the thought of those needles near any significant body part of his.

He looked at Eddy. "Like I said before, are you guys out of your fuckin' minds? Believe me, you don't wanna throw down with me and mine. Now, why don't you folk be good little Steelheads and go tweak your circuits somewhere else?"

Eddy was surveying the art market, taking in Joshua, Mole, Dix, and some of the others. Gem was standing in the doorway of the coffee shop she ran, Eve in her arms.

"Don't look like such a tough crowd to me," Eddy said, moving toward Alec with a jaunty swagger.

"I've kicked your ass before," Alec said evenly, a strange light in his now hooded eyes that should have been a warning to the Steelhead. He cracked his knuckles. "Looks like I'm gonna hafta kick it again."

"You and what army?" Bird taunted. The small statured, dark haired Steelhead with bulging eyes and a cyber arm was grinning hugely, obviously proud of what he considered courage.

"This army!" Mole snarled from behind Alec. There was the click of a gun being cocked, followed by several others, as state-of-the-art automatic weapons that had been stashed behind the counters appeared like magic in the hands of half a dozen mutants.

Alec didn't bother turning around. He knew full well that Mole and the others already had the Steelheads in their sites, and that this fight was over before it had even begun.

"This is Freak Nation turf," Alec said levelly. "Get out now, or die."

British Eddy, his eyes round, took in the well-armed band of mutants, seemingly weighing his options. His own men were packing of course, but these frells didn't look likely to back down easily, and, like most bullies, he wasn't keen on taking casualties.

"This ain't over!" Eddy swore as he signaled his men to get back into the van. "We'll be back, and next time we won't be so polite!"

"That was too easy," Alec said out of the corner of his mouth to Mole who'd stepped up beside him as the van full of Steelheads drove away.

"Easy!" the lizard-man said. "I don't call talkin' down a dozen cyber junkies with pop guns lookin' for a fight easy. How'd you know they'd give in?"

Alec shrugged. "Experience. You might say Eddy and I are old acquaintances." He glanced up at his friend. "They probably will be back. We need to stay on high alert, and make sure everyone's armed who's outside the main gates."

"Wonder why they didn't help?" Mole said, nodding his head in the direction of the police detail patrolling Terminal City's main entrance. The cops had to have seen what was happening, but had made no move to intervene.

"Did you really expect them to?" Alec said tiredly, running a hand through his hair as he followed Mole back under the overhang. "Max might have high hopes for this peaceful coexistence with ordinaries thing, but there's reality, and then there's reality."

"I hear ya, brother," Mole said. "Those cops won't life a finger to help us when it comes down to real bullets."

"Which is why we take care of ourselves," Alec said with a grim smile.

*****

The artists were packing it in for the day, shutting down their booths, when once again there was the sound of squealing tires.

"What now?" Alec said tiredly as he put down the accounting book he was trying to make sense of. Joshua tried as hard as he could to keep an accurate record of his sales, but it all looked like gibberish to the X5.

But then he saw the black van. "Incoming!" Alec yelled as he grabbed a sawed-off shotgun from behind Joshua's booth. Apparently Eddy hadn't been bluffing when he said he'd be back. It surprised Alec, however, that the Steelheads were bold enough to move against them twice in one day. Then again, twilight was a good time to attack ordinaries, the dim light giving the aggressor an advantage. However, Eddy apparently hadn't taken into account the fact the mutants could see as well at dusk as they could at noon.

"Take cover!" Mole yelled, waving an arm at Gem who was chasing Eve. The newly walking toddler had escaped from her mother and was running on chubby little legs toward the front of the market and the street.

"Eve!" Gem screamed.

Alec's genetically enhanced vision zoomed in on the front van window and the wicked looking snout of a machine gun. The baby was in the direct line of fire. Tossing aside his own weapon, he blurred, snatched up the little girl, then dove sideways just as the first round of bullets hit the front of the market.

"Gem!" Alec called out, as he rolled on the ground with the baby in his arms. She was there in a heartbeat, taking the crying child from him, then quickly ducking behind a sturdy counter where they'd both be safe.

Alec leaped to his feet using a martial arts "kip" and landed ready for battle, his eyes searching for the enemy even as the sound of more gunfire made his ears ring.

"Alec!" Joshua called. "Watch out!"

The warning came a fraction of a second too late. Alec turned, and saw Eddy's grinning face peering out of the rear of the van, a machine gun cradled in his arms. Then the muzzle of the weapon spit fire.

The impact of the bullet hitting him threw Alec viciously backwards off his feet, his body crashing through a counter and overturning several shelves of pottery as Luke scrambled to get out of the way.

It felt to Alec as if he was falling for a very long time before he finally hit the ground. Then he was lying on his back looking up at the dark rafters, the world around him oddly muted, the sounds of continued gunfire and the screams of his people muffled and far away. Mortally wounded, the X5 couldn't move ... couldn't breathe. He was drowning, unable to surface for air. His vision shimmered--

And suddenly everything that was Alec -- his very existence -- vanished in a flash of blinding white light.

Mercifully, there wasn't any pain at all.