Episode 3.03 – Notta Normal Day
Jam Pony - early morning (scene music 19-2000 Gorillaz)
Normal was walking to work as usual. It was uncharacteristically bright and sunny for an early Seattle spring day and he smiled quietly to himself. As he turned the corner to Jam Pony, he saw the driver of a truck bearing the name "The Glass Company" get out and come toward him.
The young man walked up to him and said, "Sir, we installed your new safety window today. Here's the bill and your keys back. Thanks for using The Glass Company." He put the bill in Normal's hand, got back in the truck and drove away.
Normal looked at the bill and his eyes widened. "This is highway robbery," he sputtered. "Damn Max and the bike she rode in on. She's always been trouble." His smile quickly turned to a frown as he walked to the entrance. A group of messengers was waiting idly by the locked front door. "Bip bip bip. Packages wait for no one," he commented as he unlocked the door.
"We're just waiting for you and the keys. We can't deliver packages with the door locked," Andy snapped back insolently.
"Watch yourself, sparky. If I weren't down four--well, maybe three--of my best riders, you'd be out on your keister." Normal's frown deepened.
Just then, Sky rode up. "What, you're on time! Is the sky falling? Has a comet sped across the sky and unleashed some cosmic debris? To what do I owe the honor of an actual on-time appearance?" Normal stared at Sky as though he were a particularly noxious insect.
Sky simply responded, "It's payday," and rode his bike indoors.
Normal shook his head and followed him inside. It wasn't even 8 a.m., but the phone had already started ringing. Normal put on his headphones and reached for the phone. "Yes, ma'am, we will get that package and deliver it promptly. Here at Jam Pony, we pride ourselves on the service we provide to our customers. Thank you for using Jam Pony."
"Okay, you cretins, bip bip bip. This is a place of business," Normal called out as his riders straggled in for the day.
Pam, Lane, and Toby, three of the Jam Pony riders, shuffled over to a corner. "He misses her and Alec. I know he does," said Toby. He was a tall, lanky kid, about eighteen years old, with blonde hair, tattoos, and four earrings in each ear.
"Well, duh, Einstein, he's been worse than usual lately and really getting on our ass," Pam offered. "Hey Normal, any word on you-know-who?" she called.
"Max is a vexation to my life. Would have been better if I'd never met her or Golden Boy. Here, take this package and get lost, loser. Bip bip bip." He tossed a package Pam's way. She deftly caught the package and rode out the door.
"People, I don't pay you to stand around. Let's go. Hot run." Normal began throwing packages to the riders and they started making their runs for the day. Lane grabbed a package and took off up the ramp, barely missing a man and a young girl as they walked down it.
They approached the desk, looking around furtively. The man was of medium height, about twenty-two years old, with brown hair and gray eyes. The girl with him was about ten and her green eyes were clouded with pain and fear. She was holding her left arm close to her body.
"Excuse me, are you Reagan Ronald?" the man asked. "I saw you on TV. We need your help. I'm Cain, and this is Regina."
"Place of business. Help would be at the Red Cross or Salvation Army," Normal responded brusquely, turning back to his packages.
"We're relatives of one of your messengers. We need to get to her. It's a family emergency," Cain responded, stressing the word "family."
Normal looked at the twosome with the dawning realization that they were transgenics. They were looking at him for help. "Oh, for the love of Mike," was all he said.
Infirmary, Terminal City
The street on which the infirmary was located was quiet--very different from the usual din in Terminal City. Max walked down it briskly and headed through the door labeled Infirmary.
The woman in the room turned around to face Max, immediately sprang to attention, and saluted. "I'm sorry, Commander, I didn't realize it was you."
Max appeared startled by the salute and took a moment to answer, studying the woman standing in front of her. The medic was tall, with auburn hair, and had creamy skin dotted with freckles. Her long, sensitive hands were covered with smooth leather gloves.
"I'm not a commander. Please don't stand at attention or salute me."
Aveta relaxed her pose and looked at Max quizzically. "I thought you commanded the troops here, ma'am."
Max shook her head. "There's no army here, no troops, just a group of people trying to survive. We're all free to do as we please. I'm just trying to coordinate what goes on."
"So," Aveta said with impeccable logic, "you are the commander, no matter what you say."
Max sighed and raised her voice in irritation as she answered, "Commander, bike messenger, freak, whatever. Just call me Max!"
Aveta flinched at Max's raised voice.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I need some information," Max said, lowering her voice.
"It's OK. It's just my hearing is extremely heightened, which means that I have a hard time unless I'm focusing on a patient. What can I help you with?" Aveta turned her full attention to Max.
"I have some friends in Terminal City I'm worried about. They're not transgenic and I'm afraid the toxins will affect them if they stay here too long."
"You mean they're ordinaries? What are they doing here?"
"I wouldn't call them ordinaries. They risked their lives to save us and ended up stuck here," Max said curtly, being careful not to raise her voice.
"I didn't mean to offend you; I was just surprised ordinaries would be here. In order to answer your question, I'll need to process effect time, treatments, and the possibilities of prolonged exposure to the toxins here," Aveta answered slowly. She continued with a smile, "Would one of them be a tall, handsome man with sandy-colored hair, who seems to be on a mission, even though no one knows what it is?"
Max grinned, "Yes, that would be Logan. How do you know him?"
"I've talked with him before about getting medical supplies for the infirmary," responded Aveta as she turned to the door. "In fact, I hear him coming now."
Logan entered the room quietly. "Aveta, do you have the list of supplies for me?" he asked, and then turned to Max. "Hey you, what are you doing here?" Their eyes met for a moment.
"Hey yourself," Max replied with a half-smile. "I was just asking Aveta about the safety of you, OC, and Sketchy here in Terminal City."
Logan raised his eyebrow. "Just for the record, I'm not leaving Terminal City, period. You can forget it. As long as you're here, I'm here. I agree that Original Cindy and Sketchy should go. They can leave and help guide the supply shipments in."
Max started to respond, but Aveta stepped in. She quickly stripped off her gloves and took Logan's hand in hers. She held his hand for a moment as she looked at him appraisingly. "He's safe, for now. There's Manticore in him. I can feel it."
Logan quickly changed the subject. "Do you have my list?"
Aveta smiled. "This is really long, but if you can get half of what's on the list, I'll be pleased."
"Logan, we need to talk about this some more. You're not safe here." Max turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
Logan sighed. He looked at Aveta. "We'll talk later, I promise." As he turned to walk away, Aveta looked at him, her gaze lingering on his legs. She smiled enigmatically.
Jam Pony
"Who's Mike?" Regina asked with ten-year-old innocence that Manticore hadn't taken away.
"Quiet, Reggie," Cain snapped.
Normal was standing there, his eyes darting around Jam Pony.
Cain arched a brow, "Are you gonna help us, or do we hafta do this on our own?"
Normal widened his eyes and came out of his stupor. "Follow me," he said gruffly, leading them to his office. He ushered them in and quickly shut the door behind them. Sitting in his desk chair, Normal retrieved a bottle of antacids from a drawer. He chewed several quickly, despite the chalky taste. He took a deep breath and raised his eyes to the two transgenics before him, but said nothing, as if restraining himself from kicking them out.
Regina was staring at him, her eyes pleading with him. She may have been created to be a soldier, but in reality she was just a kid. They all were.
Normal sighed. "The rest of the--I suppose you people don't call yourselves transgenics--the genetically-enhanced Americans are holed up in Terminal City."
"We know," Cain replied. "We scoped it out already. Can't get within three blocks of the place on any side. The cops and the feds have it sealed off really well."
"We've been in hiding since we got to town. We saw what they did to that X5," Reggie said. Her tone was as calm as if she was talking about a children's cartoon show rather than a gruesome lynching.
"We saw you on television after 452 and the others held you hostage," Cain finished.
Normal replied, "Well, Max and her cohorts may have asked us all to stay here, and they may have threatened physical violence, but they were only doing what they had to do."
"So you're gonna help us, right?" Reggie asked, her relief visible on her angelic features.
Normal took another deep breath, looking at the two desperate people in front of him, and nodded. "Follow me. Don't talk to anyone. We'll figure out how to get you to Terminal City after I close." Before he opened his office door, he added, "And in the name of George Herbert Walker Bush, do not go anywhere."
Cain and Regina nodded and they headed out of Normal's office. As he led them to the stairs, he yelled at his employees.
"Sky! This isn't your mother's living room. Why the fire truck are you watching TV when there are packages to deliver? Find one that takes you longer to deliver than the last one! Bip bip bip! Come on, people, I'm trying to run a business here. Let's go!"
Everyone ignored him and his companions, as they usually did when he yelled, and went about their business, doing things at their own pace.
He continued to lead Reggie and Cain up the stairs. "OK, it's right in here. Try not to do too much walking around or people will hear you. I get Fed visits every so often, so stay quiet." He hesitated. "I'll bring you food later on."
He opened the door to the second floor and stopped dead in his tracks. There in the bullet-riddled room stood two individuals, twin girls of about nineteen.
"Hey, Kit. Hi, Kat," Cain said, grinning briefly at his fellow Xs.
"We heard you could get us to Terminal City," one of them said.
Normal rolled his eyes, looking skyward. "Oh, for the love of Mike!"
Living Quarters, Terminal City (scene music Butterflyz Alicia Keyes)
Joshua walked through the damp and dreary maze of tunnels that connected the Terminal City living quarters. A pharmaceutical company had previously constructed the tunnels to connect its office space inside the complex. Despite the enormity of the complex, some of the ceilings in the tunnels were too low for Joshua to walk under. "Big fella's too tall," he growled to himself as he ducked to avoid a concussion.
Rounding a final bend, Joshua stepped into the living quarters. They were divided according to species, with the Xs further divided by series number. He weaved his way among the endless sea of bedrolls, stepping over whatever belongings people had brought with them or managed to acquire in the nightly poker games that Alec and Mole orchestrated. Finally, he made his way to Gem's quarters. Gem and her daughter had been awarded one of the actual offices in the structure, to give them some privacy. With its cracked glass door and broken blinds, it was the best home they could give the first child born to the Freak Nation.
Joshua rapped lightly on the door in the event that one or both of them were sleeping.
"It's unlocked," he heard Gem call softly, and he opened the door.
Barely a second later, he yelled and slammed it shut. Covering his eyes with his hand, he heard Gem laughing and then cooing to the baby, who had started to cry when Joshua slammed the door. He gingerly uncovered his eyes. He was lucky he hadn't shattered the glass altogether.
"It's okay, Joshua," Gem called gently when the baby stopped crying.
Joshua tentatively opened the door once again. His eyes widened, but this time he resisted the urge to yelp. There before him sat Gem, nursing her infant daughter, her bare breast completely exposed except for the area covered by her child's tiny mouth. The baby's hand clutched at the skin around Gem's nipple, and she appeared to be asleep, though suckling with great gusto. Gem was gazing down at her baby lovingly and with awe.
"I still can't get used to this," she confessed quietly as Joshua closed the door behind him, this time a bit more gently.
He inched toward mother and daughter. "Does it…hurt?" he queried, as curious as a child himself.
She shrugged. "It did, at first, but I got used to it."
Joshua frowned. "You just said 'I still can't get used to this.'" He looked beyond confused.
Gem smiled but said nothing as she switched her baby from one breast to the other. Joshua shut his eyes hurriedly until he got the "All clear" from Gem. He slowly opened his eyes and sat down cross-legged on her bedroll, beside the milk crate she used as a chair. Then he simply watched in quiet admiration.
Finally, Gem said, "I never had a mother, or a father."
"Father," Joshua echoed, his voice holding a hint of longing.
She smiled at him, understanding, and continued. "And yet, when she was born, I just knew. I don't know where it came from, but I knew I had to take care of her and that my body could provide everything she needed. Warmth, nourishment, protection."
"Protection," Joshua repeated.
"You got some parrot in your cocktail?" Gem asked good-naturedly.
Joshua blushed and bowed his head.
In a delicate balancing act, Gem removed her daughter from her wet bar and pulled her shirt back down. "Do you want to burp her?" she asked, holding the dozing infant in Joshua's direction. He raised his head, excitement in his eyes. Then he reached out and gently took the baby from her mother. Tenderly, he held her to his chest, supporting her head against his shoulder and lightly patting and rubbing her back. Despite his size, he accommodated the small creature well.
"I can protect her," he blurted out after several minutes of peaceful quiet.
Gem got off the milk crate and sat next to him. She leaned her head against his arm and ran her finger up and down her baby's arm. "I know you can, Joshua," she replied, her voice sincere and grateful.
Finally, the baby let out a rather forceful burp, which was promptly followed by Joshua's boisterous laughter.
Gem couldn't help but join in as her baby settled down to sleep in the arms of her protector.
Normal looked at the two girls with something akin to horror in his eyes. "Oh, Lord, what have I gotten myself into? I deliver packages, not people! I didn't sign on to deliver people! You're going to have to leave." Normal's voice began to rise in panic, the pacing of his words staccato as he began to back toward the door.
The transgenics looked at Normal, surprised at his behavior. Cain said to him, "But you agreed to help us. We won't be able to get through the city without you. We barely got through a sector checkpoint as it is. If you won't help us, we don't have a chance."
Normal looked at Cain, his face contorted into a mask of denial. "Look, sparky, I agreed to help you and her!" he said, pointing to Regina. "There is no plan to make my place an underground railroad. The Federales are all over me like a cheap suit. I just can't afford this."
The transgenics were silent. Normal looked at Regina and his face softened. "Look, let me see what I can do. No promises, no promises."
"Thank you," a tall redhead said as she appeared from a darkened area of the room. Normal looked around and saw six more transgenics. Blanching, he hurried down the stairs and into his office, closing the door behind him. A knock at the door made him pause.
"What do you want? Go away!" he yelled.
"Normal, it's us--Sky, Pam, Lane, and Toby. We need to talk to you."
Normal flung open the door. "What do you cretins want? Can't you see I'm busy?"
Pam offered, "We know what you have upstairs. We put them up there. We need to help them; they came to us."
Normal's eyes began to bulge. "You did what?" he screeched. "Are you crazy?"
"No, we're not crazy. We need to help these guys get into Terminal City. If we don't, they're going to be killed."
"Well, just how do you propose to do that, huh? How?" Normal was in high dudgeon now.
Toby looked at Normal and said, "We'll get a message to Original Cindy and Max. We already have a plan. Lane and I are going to create a diversion, and Sky and Pam are going to sneak them into Terminal City."
"Just like that, you're going to waltz into Terminal City, right under the nose of the police and National Guard?" Normal raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah," said Lane enthusiastically. "We just need a map of the sewers around there. You think you can help us?"
Normal looked toward the heavens. "Terrific," was his response.
Command Center, Terminal City
Terminal City's nerve center was overcrowded. Logan and Luke were analyzing the latest computer readouts of the level of manpower that continued to surround Terminal City, while checking for any recognizable Familiar presence among the crowd of protesters, onlookers, vendors, sector police, and federal agents. After the Familiar infiltration, they were all more on edge and a bit more cautious. The toxicity levels didn't protect them from every outside invasion.
Mole and Alec pored over the munitions list, checking to see what they had and what they still needed. Alec and Logan's supply run had been moderately successful. Asha had at least come through with the ammo and a few handguns, despite the fact that she had allowed Terminal City to be attacked and infiltrated. However, they still needed more weapons.
Joshua was giving the baby a guided tour of the Command Center, showing her off to some of the other transgenics who were working in the area, while Gem stood off to the side, watching contentedly. Max and a few transgenics were having a meeting as she assigned some of the X6s to scavenging runs.
Suddenly, a shrill ring pierced the air. The baby began to cry and Joshua began to rock her gently, murmuring to her to quiet her as he walked in Gem's direction. Everyone looked around to see who actually had cell phone reception in the concrete structure. Logan, Alec, Max, and a few others checked their phones to see which of them was ringing.
Alec held up his phone. "It's me," he announced to everyone.
Max and Logan exchanged glances, and Max silently mouthed, "Asha."
"Hello?" Alec said, glancing at Mole and shrugging. His eyes widened a bit. "Normal?"
Max snapped her head in Alec's direction. "Huh?" She turned to Logan. "What does he want?"
Logan shrugged and grinned playfully. "His Freak Nation secret decoder ring?"
Visibly annoyed, she swatted in his direction and returned her attention to Alec, who was deep in conversation with Normal.
"Yeah. Hmm...Really? OK, hang on." Alec turned to Max. "Normal's got about a dozen of our 'family' hidden on his second floor. They want him to get them here. Sky and some of the others think they have a plan, but they might need our help."
Max snatched the phone from Alec's hands. He grunted in reply. "Normal?" she said, rather loudly. "What's the what? You're not just getting back at my ass for all the times I faked sick on ya, are ya?"
Normal growled, sounding frustrated. "Listen, Xena, Warrior Princess, I have better things to do than harbor the fugitive relatives of you and Golden Boy. Are you gonna help us or not?"
Max sighed. "What's the plan?"
As Normal filled her in on Sky's plan, Max signaled to Logan that she needed a pen and a piece of paper. He searched quickly and furtively, producing a napkin and a short remnant of a pencil. It was better than nothing. Max took the pencil and paper and wrote hastily, "Get me OC and Sketchy--NOW!"
Logan nodded and called, "Mole, we need Original Cindy and Sketchy down here ASAP."
Mole rolled his eyes. "What do you need that waste of human DNA for?"
"Just get him!" Logan and Alec snapped in unison. They exchanged quick glances, and then both glared at Mole, who took the hint and jogged off.
"Okay, okay, OKAY, Normal!" Max was saying. "I understand the plan. I was a government soldier myself once." She chuckled as she heard Normal grind his teeth. "How about we not bring any more non-transgenics into this toxic-waste dump? Tell Sky and them thanks, but I can have my people cover it and keep the Jam Pony crew off the potential casualty list. We'll hit you back to let you know who's gonna play Sojourner Truth and when." She closed the flip phone and tossed it back to Alec.
"So," Gem asked, cradling the baby, "what's the plan?"
"We gettin' busy?" Joshua piped up the look in his eyes slightly mischievous.
Max chuckled. "Not like that, big fella." She turned her attention to the assembled. "Listen, people, we've got a dozen X-series on their way here, and they need our help to get past the sector cops. I'm gonna need a team effort on this."
"You got it, Max!" someone yelled from the crowd.
"Go spread the word," Max told a few, who scampered away to spread the news and mobilize their units ASAP. She turned to Logan, Luke, Joshua, Gem, and Alec, who had moved to the same general area of the Command Center. "I'm gonna send Sketchy and Original Cindy out to get them, rather than have Sky and them try to trick their way in here. It'd be too messy that way."
"Did I hear someone say my name?" Original Cindy called as she entered the Command Center. Sketchy was at her heels, trying to avoid Mole's intimidating stare.
Max smiled at her best friend. "You sure did, girl. Ready to become an honorary black-helicopter good guy?"
Cindy raised an eyebrow. "Well, I thought I already was, but if this is the last initiation, then sign Original Cindy up."
Max chuckled at her best friend, then turned her attention to Mole. "I'm gonna need you to get Sketchy and Original Cindy out through the sewers and over to Jam Pony."
Mole merely grunted in reply. Max took that as a yes.
She looked at Sketchy. "Sketch, I'm gonna need you too on this one. Think you can hack it?"
Sketchy looked at Max, then to Alec and Logan. Finally, he looked over his shoulder at Mole, who was standing with his arms crossed.
"Well, can you?" Mole asked snidely. "Think you can pretend to be a hero just this once?"
Original Cindy smacked Sketchy upside the back of the head. "Answer them, fool."
Sketchy stared at his feet briefly before raising his head and making firm eye contact with Max. "I can hack it," he said determinedly.
Max grinned. "That's what I hoped." She raised her voice. "All right, people, let's bring 'em home!"
Max stood on the catwalk over the Command Center, while the assembled transgenics hooted, hollered, and mobilized into action. Logan watched the Freak Nation's de facto leader and smiled proudly.
END ACT I
The Atrium, Terminal City (scene music Why Do I Feel So Sad Alicia Keyes)
Logan stood in a crumbling inner courtyard that probably had served as an outdoor lunch spot on rare sunny Seattle days before the spill. He breathed in the fresh air, taking respite from the darkness of Terminal City. He sighed rather heavily and began rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck. His eyes had started to cross from staring at computers too long and he had taken a walk to stretch his legs and renew his spirits.
Ironically, it had been one of those rare sunny Seattle days, but no sooner had Logan stepped into the courtyard than the sun vanished behind a thick wall of dark and dank clouds. Once again, it was a normal day weather-wise in Seattle. He smiled as the fresh--though toxin-filled--air filled his lungs.
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