"Good night." "Thank you for your kind patronage of Shashi's Electronics Emporium." "Cheap bastard." "Hate to trouble you when you're about to close, but I need a couple of D batteries." "Fresh out." "Sorry." "Really?" "No D batteries in the whole bloomin' store, eh?" "We're closed." "Go away." "If you're gonna be rude, I'll take my patronage elsewhere." "Good." "Go." "Take it away." "Guess what." "You're having an after-hours sale." "Hey, Eddy." "D batteries." "What?" "I thought you needed some." "Hey, check this out." "Hey, I heard of these things." "Supposed to bark and walk and act just like a real dog." " It's annoying." " I don't think he likes you." "Shut up!" "I'm warning you." "C-437." "Been looking for one of these." "Boys, I think we've got a little problem." "Some Steelheads robbing an electronics store." "Why'd you want me to see it?" "Hang on." " Zack..." " Your brother's alive, Max." "You might wanna brace yourself for what comes next." "They designed her to be the perfect soldier, a human weapon." "Then she escaped." "In a future not far from now, in a broken world, she is haunted by her past." "She cannot run." "She must fight to discover her destiny." "I can't believe it." "He's alive." "You told me you saw him at Manticore." "They had been harvesting his organs." "His liver and kidneys went to an X5 wounded on a mission." "His heart - of course, as you know - went to you." "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him." "Hey." "Renfro said something about moving him to another facility." "That they had plans for him." "Looks like they were experimenting with cybernetic implants." "Probably replaced his organs with artificial ones." " How'd he end up with those Steelheads?" " Could be when Manticore shut down a lab tech unloaded him on the black market." "A genetically engineered soldier with cutting-edge cybernetics?" " Steelheads'd be all over it." " All I know is I've gotta find him." " Do you have any idea where they hang?" " Wish I did." "Been looking to take them down for months." "British Eddy and his crew are running a body-parts ring, paying off hospitals, getting their hands on organs meant for transplant candidates, then shipping them overseas for a profit." " Any leads?" " Nothin' solid." "But I put word out on the informant net." "I'll let you know as soon as anything turns up." "Thanks." " She's gonna be here in 15." " Well, let's see." "15 minutes, which is 33 minutes from when she should have been here, brings us to a grand total of 48 minutes late." "OK. 13th and Kendrick." "Hot run." " She had a doctor's appointment." " I don't pay you enough to see a doctor." "2348 Euclid, bip bip bip." "Look, she made me promise to keep it on the low-low, but... this doctor she's been seeing is a shrink." "I see." "Has the stress from her 11-to-4 job finally become too much for her?" "As a matter of fact, yeah." "She's been acting strange at home lately." "She keeps going on about violent work-related fantasies she's been having." "I hate to think what'd happen if she finds out she's been fired." " Did you say violent?" " Gave me nightmares." " What?" " I got a package for you when you're ready." " Give me five minutes." " Take whatever feels appropriate." "I'm flexible." "Very flexible." "You know you're my girl, but you have got to try harder to get here on time." "Normal was looking to fire you again." " Luckily I talked him out of it." " Thanks." "You gonna tell me what's on your mind, or am I gonna have to smack it outta you?" "It's Zack." " He's alive." " Whoa." "OK." "One might think you'd be happy to know your boy's all right." "That's the thing." "I don't know if he is." "For some reason he's running with a bunch of Steelheads." "I don't know how to reach him." "Steelheads?" " Sketchy!" " You bellowed, Your Originalness." "Tell Max about the guys that kicked your butt." "It's been a violent month for me." "Could you be a tad more specific?" "The guys with the shiny spikes comin' out of their appendages?" "Oh, those guys." "I'm afraid the specifics of that particular butt-kicking are a little hazy." " Then un-haze fast!" " I can't." " Why not?" " I promised someone I wouldn't talk about it, especially to you." " Who, Sketch?" " Have you been lifting weights?" " Who?" " I made a promise." "I promise if you don't tell me in five seconds, I'm gonna introduce your face to your colon." "Agh!" "We need to talk." "Whoa, whoa, whoa." "This is the place." " You're sure?" " Yup." "In fact, I specifically remember slamming one of their heads against this post here." " All right, can I go now?" " No." "You duped Sketchy into selling steroids." "You're lucky I don't turn you in to the cops." "I got out of all that once I heard the stuff can make your heart explode." "Once your clientele starts dying, who do you sell to?" "It made no business sense long-term." "If this is the Steelheads' turf, where are they?" " Probably tweaking each other's circuits." " Then we're gonna have to get their attention." " Please tell me you're gonna get naked." " No, you're going back into the steroid biz." " They made it clear they didn't want me here." " Imagine how ticked off they'd be to see you." "But they'll come packing this time." "No, I have zero interest in tangling with these psychos." " I'm gonna find my brother with your help." " Your brother." " That's cute, Max." " He's the closest thing to family I have." "I don't expect you to understand, but I expect your cooperation." "Or else." " Or else what?" " I tell Normal how you used Jam Pony to peddle steroids, and he'll can your ass." "No more job means no more sector pass." " How am I supposed to get around?" " I dunno." "Be hard for you to be a cat burglar." "Andy anyone?" "Anybody want some andy?" "You looking for some andy?" "You could beef up a little bit." "No?" "All right." "Andy, anybody?" "Let's get it on!" "All right." "One more time." "Oh, God, not again." "You've had that arm less than a week." "You'll break the sodding thing." "No, I can beat him, Eddy." "I know it." "Went and chopped my arm off, when all I needed was an exoharness like GI Jerk." "Cheer up, Birdy." "Maybe Santa'll bring you one for Christmas." "There." "Ought to do you for today, mate." "Blood's nice and clean." " Keepin' good care of him, aren't we, Bird?" " Yeah." "Makin' sure he don't get all rusty inside." "Our boy sure is a weird one." "Quiet." "Too quiet." "He knows when to shut his gob, that's all." " I think he's kinda cute." " Hey." "Can't you see I'm trying to watch me cartoons?" "Hey, guess who's pushin' andy again." "That frail that mangled us a couple of weeks ago at the marketplace." "Soldier." "You're movin' out." "What do you mean, you don't have it on you?" "If you give me your name and address, I'll pop it in the mail tomorrow." "You wack punk." "This is ridiculous." " Hey, you." " Finally." "You realise how long I've waited?" "Not nearly as long as I've waited for you." "Zack." "Zack." "It's me." "It's Max." "Who are you?" "Zack, it's me." "Zack." "It's Max." "Max, it's you." "You're an X5." " Show me your bar code." " Max, show it to him already." "You're 452." "I know you." "You're in my unit." "That's right." "I'm Max." "Max." "Come on." "Let's get you outta here." " What about them?" " They're not in our unit." "I'm fine." " I appreciate you doing this, Sam." " No problem." "Tell Eyes Only I'm glad to help." "I should warn you." "He's undergone radical medical procedures." "Believe me." "I've seen it all." "You might want to meet them downstairs just the same." " Neither of us want anyone asking questions." " Whatever you say." "Well, um... why don't we get started?" "Any allergies I should know about?" "Guess not." "Moving along." "Are you currently taking any prescription medication?" "Vitamin supplements?" "Anything for your skin?" "He didn't even recognise me at first." "It was like he'd never seen me before." "He took a bullet point-blank to the head." "It's logical there'd be some cognitive damage." "Zack was the leader." "Any situation, he knew what to do." "Now look at him." "He's so lost." "I'm running some additional scans on him now, but I wanted to show you these." "Most of his major organs are biosynthetic." "From what I can tell, they're more efficient and durable than the ones they replaced." " What about his arm?" " Looks like there was some nerve damage, so they grafted on an exoskeleton to enhance motor function." "This is more advanced than what you have." "Manticore was doing cutting-edge stuff." "If they're so good, how come they didn't fix it so he can remember his name?" "Memory's a tricky thing." "The various associations that form a memory are stored in different parts of the brain." "It's the temporal lobe's job to keep track of how those things are all interconnected." " And his was damaged?" " Right." "But they replaced it with a cybernetic implant, which seems capable of rebuilding those connections." " So there's a chance his memory will return?" " It's possible." "Look what happened with you." "Seeing your face wasn't enough to recognise you, but when he heard your name and read your bar code, the implant pulled the fragments together to form the memory of who you are." " If I take him to a place we've been together..." " It might trigger more memories." "He could get confused at times." "He might not be able to distinguish between an event that happened or one he dreamt of." "Some things he might lose because of tissue damage, but, that aside, there's a chance he could recover almost everything." " When will we know?" " It's hard to say." "Could take some time." "I've seen you before." "This is Logan." "It's good to see you, Zack." "You worried about Max?" "The biggest threat to her safety is you." "How do you figure?" "I remember you." "It's a good sign." " What do you mean you lost him?" " They got the drop on us." " Who's "they"?" " There was this girl revved up just like he is." " Another one of those Manticorians?" " The way she moved, had to be." "Yeah, and she took off with her boy." "I saw." "I want him back." "He cost me a pretty penny and..." "I miss him, I do." "Don't worry, Eddy." "We'll get him back." "Lux, you know where this bloke selling the andy hangs, right?" " Place called Crash." " Right then." "You two are gonna stake the place." "Next time he shows his face, you nab him." "You get him to tell you where the bird took GI Joe, then you get our boy back." " That's a good plan, Eddy." " It is, isn't it?" "So why the hell are you two standing around here for, eh?" "You don't remember?" "You came here once, looking for me." "You were hurt." "It's OK." "The doctor said it would take a while anyway." "Have a seat." "Lights out." "It's time to bunk down." "It's just a brownout." "We're not in Manticore any more." "Manticore?" "Home sweet home for the first ten years of our lives." "We ran away." "We abandoned our mission." "We got a new mission." "It's called getting a life." "It was your idea." "You looked out for us." "Made sure we were all OK." "The others." "Where are they now?" " All over the place." " Are they safe?" "Don't worry about that right now." "Just concentrate on getting better." "Come on." "You should get some sleep." "This isn't my bunk." "You can use it." "My roommate's staying with some friends." "Welcome home, Zack." "Max!" " Stay out of this." " Back off." "Max!" "X5-599, I've got a heart for you." "I'm sorry." " What's wrong?" " I remember... everything." "I failed you." "I failed all of you." "No." "I let Manticore catch Brin and kill Tinga." "That wasn't your fault." "I even let 'em kill you." "Zack." "Look at me." "What did they do to me?" "What am I?" "Feel that?" "That's you in there." "You saved my life." "That's who you are." "You're someone who will sacrifice everything to protect the ones you love." "I love you, Max." "I'll never let anything happen to you again." "I know you won't." "I know." "Up and at 'em." "What?" " It's unbelievable." " What happened?" "Nanocytes." "Circulating in his bloodstream." "Self-replicating bio-machines designed to repair tissue damage." "I've read theoretical papers on them, but to see them in action..." "If he's got nanocytes fixing things, how come they weren't doing their job yesterday?" " Got me." " It's the machine." " What machine?" " Eddy hooked me up to it almost every day." " Said it would filter my blood." " My ass!" "He was sifting out your nanocytes." "It explains why no tissue repair was going on." "It couldn't replicate in your bloodstream." "Eddy said I looked cooler with no skin." "At least we can take you out in public now." "Just gotta hook you up with a pair of shades." "Hold on a second." "Let me see something." "Close your eye for a second." "A little pressure ought to stimulate the ocular implant." "Open." "Huh." "Thought so." "It's coated with liquid crystal, the stuff they use on high def TVs." "I guess Manticore wanted you to look normal so they could send you out on missions." "Guess what." "Got a new mission." "It's called gettin' a life." " Can you believe it?" " Actually, no." "This, I'll hang onto for a while." "Doc said the nerve damage should heal soon." " Careful." "People'll think you're a Steelhead." " That's all I need!" "Speaking of which, I was wondering if you could do me a favour." " Sure thing." " Those Steelheads you were with." "Eyes Only's been trying to track them down for months." "I was hoping maybe you could tell me where Eddy and his crew were holed up." "You..." " You're Eyes Only." " Yeah." "You knew that." "Logan did that Eyes Only broadcast for us." "Remember?" " To warn the others Lydecker was onto them." " Yeah, sure." "I remember." "You helped plan our assault on Manticore." "You and Lydecker ran the operation while we went in." " That's right." " Funny how that mission went sideways." " What are you trying to say?" " I just said it." "Come on." "I'm not telling you anything." "What the hell was that?" "I don't know." "I'm so sorry." "Logan didn't deserve that." "You were way out of line." "I know." "I'm sorry." "Guess I'm still having a hard time accepting what happened." "Looking for someone else to blame besides myself." "We already talked about that, Zack." "Anyway, I'm sorry." "Remember the night we decided it was time to stop running and take down Manticore?" "We were right here." "I remember." "It seems like just yesterday." "A lot's changed since then." "Manticore's gone." " What do you mean?" " It burnt to the ground." "Don't worry." "I got everybody out." "You finished the mission." "Thanks to you." "So there's a whole lot more of us out in the world." " They're gonna need looking out for." " I was hoping you'd say that." " So much for settling down into a normal life." " What's normal, anyway?" "Yeah." "Besides, we have each other." "Like always." "I gotta swing by work." "Come on." "Wait here." "I'll just be a sec." "OK?" "OK." "Normal!" " What are you doin' to my locker?" " Your locker?" "No, uh, it was nothing." "I thought I saw a roach." "Sorry I haven't been around much the last couple of days." "Stuff I had to deal with." " Doctor appointment." " That's OK." "No problem." "I didn't want you to think I up and vanished on you again." "Take all the time you need." "After all, one's health has gotta be the most important thing." "By the way, have I told you how impressed I've been with your work lately?" " Are you feeling OK?" " I understand I've been hard on you kids, but it all comes from a place of love." "You realise that it all comes from a place of love?" "Whatever." "OK." "Max, why didn't you tell me my boy was back in town?" " Didn't know you were close." " You kidding?" "Back when he was a Jam Pony hump, he showed me shortcuts through downtown." " Helped me shave hours off my work day." " Giving you extra time to nap and get high." "Precisely." "I'm for ever in your debt." " Glad I could help." " You must come to Crash tonight." "What do you say?" " Sounds good." " Outstanding." "Eight o'clock, back room." "Last one there does a naked keg stand." "I always liked Sketchy..." "I think." "Now he has total recall, what next?" "Hook him back up at Jam Pony?" "Help get him a place?" " Livin' the dream." " I haven't really thought about it." "I'm just glad he's back." "Things are lookin' up now." "It's about time." " Who won?" " He spanked me ten-zip." " It was no big deal." " Wasn't a fair fight, what with his cyberhand." " Figure maybe I ought to get one." " Maybe you should try to get a cyberhead." " What I could really use is another beer." " I think it's my turn to buy." " I'll go with ya." " Sit down, six-dollar man." "Max, Max, Max, may I ask a question?" "There's something a little off about Brother Zack." "Like what?" " He doesn't act like any brother I've seen." " If you have something to say, spit it out." "Seems to me he's got the hots for you." "Kinky, if you ask me." " Stay out of it." " I'm just saying." "Don't." "I don't wanna know what goes on in your sick mind." " That hurts." " Truth always does." "Can I get a refill?" " Ow." " Sorry." "Wonder what's keepin' my girl." "Well, I'd give her a hand, but she'd just bite it off." "There goes her knight in shining armour." "God forbid our little Max should have to lug a heavy pitcher of beer in her delicate hands." " Hm." " What?" " Max." "Where is she?" " Had too much to drink." "Left with a couple of Steelhead friends of hers." "Hey, Eddy, think she's got nanocytes inside her like our boy did?" " Hook her up to the machine and find out." " First things first." "We find soldier boy, then we start tinkering with the both of them." "At the very least, we ought to have a fresh supply of organs for our friends overseas." " Don't worry, love." "You're not dead." " Not yet." " What do you want from me?" " We want our boy back." "Where is he?" "How should I know?" "He ran off on me." " Was she at the bar alone?" " Uh, didn't notice." " You, Tuck?" " Uh-uh." " What was she doing when you took her?" " Getting a pitcher of beer." " Oh, a pitcher?" " Well, I'm a big drinker." "Oh, shut up." "Come here." "Come here!" "It could be that our boy was there, too, and right under your noses." " You check the back room?" " I didn't know there was one." "You, Tuck?" "You twits!" "Lock her up." "Don't worry, Eddy." "This time we'll check the back, the front, the whole place." "Once I get out, everyone's gonna..." "Zack!" "Max!" "What did they do to you?" "Are you OK?" "I'm fine." "Can you get these off me?" "I don't know what I'd have done if anything had happened to you." " Zack." " I'm not gonna let anybody hurt you." "Stop it!" "What's wrong?" "I love you." "I want things to be the way they used to be with us." "Things were never like that with us." "But I remember." "It's him, isn't it?" "How can you love him and not me?" "He betrayed us, Max!" " What are you talking about?" "Who?" " Logan." "He's been working against us." "That's why the mission went wrong." " Undo these handcuffs." "We can talk..." " He's a traitor." "Believe me!" "You're wrong." "They did something to you at Manticore." " I died for you!" " Zack." "He did this to me!" " He's the reason I'm like this!" " Zack!" "Stop it!" "Now he's gonna pay for what he did... to both of us." "Zack!" "Zack!" "Zack!" " Yeah." " Get out of the apartment now!" " Max, what's wrong?" " It's Zack." "He's coming after you." "Get out!" "Liar!" " Zack, don't do this!" " Out of my way, Max." "He's gonna be OK." "Physically, anyway." " What do you mean?" " The cranial implant." "It's still working." "But the shock overloaded the circuitry." "It wiped it clean." "Then..." "He won't remember anything that happened since it was switched on." " Nothing?" " It'll be just like before." "He won't recognise your face." "Not unless he puts it together with your name, and so on and so on." "Then what?" "Everything else will play out the same way?" "Whatever Manticore did to his head to make him go after Logan is still in there." "It's a pretty safe bet that sooner or later... it'll happen again." " Can we have a minute?" " Yeah, sure." "It doesn't have to play out the same way." "Maybe this time we can make him understand I'm not a threat." "I need him, Logan." "Now more than ever." "I don't wanna lose him." "But I can't risk losing you." "I have to let him go." "I can use my contacts, give him a new identity." "He can get a fresh start somewhere else." "A chance at a normal life." "That's what he always wanted." "You're awake." " Who are you?" " It's me." "Buddy." "You don't remember me?" "Well, Doctor Carr said this might happen." " Who?" " The doc that treated you after the accident." "Said you might have some memory loss." "Your name's Adam." "Adam Thompson." "You've worked on my ranch for three years." "You were driving one of our trucks to Seattle when a tyre blew, sent you right off the road." "Any of this ringing' a bell?" "No." "Well, Doc said it might take a while." "What say we hit the road?" "Get home in good time." "Mary'll cook you up anything you want for dinner." "Sound good?" "Yeah." "Actually, it does." "Hold up." "Do I know you?" "No." "I don't think so." "I think about Zack every day, and I just hope that he's safe and happy, living the normal life he always wanted, the life he deserves to have." "Letting him go was the hardest thing I've ever done, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices to protect the ones you love." "I learned that from my brother."