Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel
A/N: Many thanks to Shywr1ter and Lisa0316 for lending their brains for suggestions, mistake-finding and grammar knowledge. (And saving me from breaking my head by thinking about a title, Shy:-) All remaining mistakes are mine – tell me if you find them.
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Crazy Legs Cale
When Max first noticed that the strange guy at the other end of the park had a certain resemblance to Logan, she just shrugged it off. No way would Logan ever behave like the maniac over there, his feet stomping clumsily over the ground as he performed what looked like Sketchy's recent attempts at belly-dancing. No way would Logan leave the house with only a half-shaven face, the other side still covered with dried foam.
Her daydreams of Logan were really getting out of control if she was starting to see him in random males, especially loony ones like this peculiar person wearing only blue-checked pajama pants while his bare chest was exposed to the cold and moist Seattle weather.
But Max wouldn't allow a random stranger to ruin her day. She would just sit here, eat her sandwich and enjoy the rest of her lunch break with Cindy. No way would she pay attention to this oddball now waltzing right through a beautiful sand-castle, leaving behind a bunch of startled preschoolers and shocked moms.
Cindy's perplexed question ruined Max's scheme of just ignoring the madman who had now started to wave at her with long, slender, undeniably Logan-like hands as he darted closer like an old drunkard on speed. "Isn't that…?", she queried, lifting her eyebrows in disbelief.
Max's answer came with a deep sigh as she reluctantly stood up to walk over to the alien life form who seemed to have taken over Logan's body. "Logan, yes…"
Why couldn't her life be normal for one single day? What had she done wrong that her messy genetics weren't enough to deal with?
He greeted her with a forced smile, his uncoordinated bouncing reminding Max of a puppet whose strings were being jerked mercilessly. Wondering whether this was some kind of Yale fraternity ritual, she finally inquired "Logan…? What the hell…?"
Instead of answering, he jumped into the air, feet clapping together in a elegant move that would have earned him a role in one of those musicals Kendra loved.
Then he ran off full speed. Immobilized by her complete bewilderment, Max stared after his roadrunner-like figure, now turning his head to shout a breathless "Follow me!"
Even though she was losing patience with his nonsensical behavior, Max nevertheless did as she was told, glad for her superpowers that easily allowed her to catch up with his astoundingly fast pace.
With raised eyebrows waiting for an explanation, she took in his somewhat disheveled appearance, noting the chaotically laced shoes, his still wet, tousled hair, his naked arms shining with sweat even in the cool autumn temperatures… "Please tell me this isn't some new exercise program Bling dreamed up."
Looking somewhat chagrined, Logan shook his head, taking a deep breath before he launched his story. "It's the exo: it's gone crazy, developing a mind of its own."
A skeptical creasing her forehead, Max opened her mouth to tell him that such a thing was completely, absolutely and ultimately impossible. For some seconds she searched for a diplomatic way to tell Logan that it might be him who had gone crazy just the tiniest bit… until she remembered that, for someone whose superpowers and genetic makeup were just another urban legend for most, this wasn't quite the right thing to say. And so she closed her mouth, fake-smiling at Logan in the hope of hearing something reasonable that didn't involve any supernatural phenomena.
"It all started last week, the exo refusing to follow my orders, almost as if it …", Logan trailed off awkwardly, almost embarrassed. If he hadn't already been red from the exertion, Max would have thought that there was a blush coloring his face, giving his ears the hue of ripe summer tomatoes.
"… as if the exo picked up my emotions, making me cook when I should have kept working, forcing me to take a nap on the couch after lunch, go to the market when I was supposed to meet an informant and this morning, …" he sucked in the air, his complexion now that of a red-cheeked apple, "when I came out of the shower, it wouldn't even let me dress properly."
So this is what Lydecker meant with not letting your emotions taking control?
"Then, when I tried to shave, it made me go through old dancing lessons, waltz, tango, polka, knocking over the furniture. I almost cut my ear off!" Voice faltering with the lack of oxygen, Logan indignantly pointed to a dried cut, flinching as he touched.
"I wasn't even allowed to have breakfast and just when I tried to short-circuit the chip with my good, imported marmalade, it made me jog out of the door, down the stairs and then we kept running and running, all through the city, until we found…" Logan hesitated, his discomfort translating into a nervous little step-dance, "… you."
"Oh." Max stopped dead in her tracks, staring at him in dreamy incredulity as a sappy, warm happiness spread through her body, tinting her face with a crimson blush almost matching his.
Suddenly she couldn't have cared less about the unlikelihood of the exo catching Logan's emotions, or how it was possible that it received something so ethereal, when logically it shouldn't even have picked up signals from his nerves.
He had wanted to see her over everything else, had feelings for her that were stronger than his anger and idealism, than all the passionate determination of Eyes Only. He…
"Uh, Max, would you mind…" Logan's insecure voice, failing to sound unaffected as he scanned her face for the effects of his confession, brought her back to reality – or to what counted as reality these days anyway. "There's an emergency switch by my left knee, the exo won't let me get to it myself..."
It took Max a few attempts to trick Logan's crazy legs, including a ridiculously absurd somersault, but eventually transgenic super-speed succeeded over emotional technology.
Stilled mid-movement, Logan only had time to utter a relieved "thank you" before his legs collapsed under him, his lips landing on Max's with the exo's last, forceful and incredibly sneaky kick.
Max didn't fight it, her arms supporting him with all her X5 strength, as they shared a long, passionate kiss.
After all, who was she to argue with Logan's brain waves…
……. The end of this rather harmless introduction into the weirdness of my brain….