AN: this is an AU Alec never met Max and the breeding program never happened. Alec also was raised differently from all the other manticore children.

Disclaimer: I don't own dark angel or for whom the bell tolls by Metallica.

It was another cold and dark Seattle night, the winds billowed as men marched screaming for the blood of the transgenic monsters. While many where walking the streets in a little dark alley to the side five men with steel sticking out of various parts of the body stood over the quivering body of a gagged young women her red hair slowing around her head as she tried to stay away from these men while trying to break the handcuffs that held her wrists behind her back. She wasn't a particularly unique women but she was beautiful with red hair and shining blue eyes. Her body was petite showing ample curves. The truly unique part of this woman was the bar code that was tattooed across the back of her neck marking her as a transgenic. While the men's eyes where all glued to her lust showing in their eyes making their intentions known to everyone, her eyes flowed to the only other body in the alley. A young dark haired male, hanging from a street lamp, blood pooling under his feet, from the bullet holes that crisscrossed his body, blood dripped from the indent in his head where one of the men had smashed his metal covered arm into it. But the most prominent and grievous wound was on his chest, where the word transgenic was carved into him, the only saving grace for this man was that he was dead.

The five men stood at different heights the first and closest to her was about five foot two with piercings through eyelids and ears as well as a chain wrapped around his arm. The next was just a little bit taller with one eye pierced but his ears where covered in piercings as well as two tattoos on his arm brass knuckles sitting across his fingers, the other two were much the same with only minor differences. But the fifth one the leader was different he was decorated in more piercings then most had ever seen, tattoos covering almost every inch of his body, both of his legs and arms had where covered by metal hardware that made it so he could run faster jump higher and hit harder than any human. Which is how they had managed to best the two super human solders who had been out of Manticore for nearly a year now, and their instincts in poor disarray, a dark, sadistic grin came to the leaders face as he looked at the other four men.

"Well boys have at it, but no one releases inside her. We don't want to plague ourselves with this filth." The leader says smiling as his men began to move towards tonight's play thing.

"Thanks boss, who wants where on this bitch." Said the smallest as he began to rip the woman's blouse open, exposing her black silk bra to the world as the steel heads eyes glared at her lust shining through while she tried to beg through her gag tears streaming from her eyes trying to get them to stop. It wasn't till they started to remove her skirt that the silence of the night was broken by the sounds of bells, followed by an electric guitar.

"What the hell is that?"Asked the middle steelhead.

"Sounds like an old song hey boss isn't this the song that was playing at your brothers funeral?" asked the shortest one.

"Yes for whom the bell tolls." Said the leader.

The song resounded throughout the alley way as the five men heard the song of handcuffs breaking, they spun towards the sound expecting to see the women up and ready to fight, but instead she sat there stunned as she looked at her now free wrists. It took minutes for them to notice the other person now standing in the alley. A tall man head resting against his chest his arms crossed over his chest, and feet set wide, though most wouldn't recognize it this man was set and ready to fight. His clothes were unlike what you'd expect to see, clothed in black combat boots resting under a set of black jeans, with two gun holsters, one strapped to each thigh. A black 9mm sat in one while in the other rested a sawed off double barrel shotgun. The belt was black with a red buckle that had an image of the grim reaper on it. His shirt was grey nothing exceedingly unique about it unless you got close enough to see the word death imprinted right over the heart, his final piece of clothing being a midnight black jacket, with two large images of scythes crossing over the back. Nothing and everything about this man screamed danger.

"What we got here some hero wannabe." Scoffed the leader, as all the rest of his men began to snicker while pulling out their weapons.

"leave." Flowed from his mouth the voice strong and firm as he finally opened his eyes turning to look at the women. "I said leave women, now go." He said voice powerful and commanding. In the next second the women was up and running for the exit of the alley way buttoning up her shirt as she went words of thanks flying from her mouth as she ran.

"Hey freak that was a little bitch now whose going to replace her. Maybe we'll just kill you and then go find some other bitch to have fun with. Oh I get it your one of them freaks to aren't ya." The leader smiled as he began advancing only to stop the instant that the stranger's eyes locked on him, ice cold calculating green eyes flecked with so much gold that at that moment they glowed an ominous gold.

"Yes and no" said the man his voice now echoing through the alley a dark haunting voice that the men will hear in their nightmares for the rest of their lives. "Yes I'm a transgenic but I'm different, made different and raised different." As the short steelhead began to open his mouth the transgenic hand flew to his gun and as the song ended four shot rang out connecting through the knees of two of the steelheads, as well as the shoulders of two others. During the seconds that the other four steel heads where being shot the leader went to the side and flung himself at the stranger, fist flying into a hit that would probably kill the man. But at the last second, the stranger turned and grabbed the leaders punch a small sinister smirk splitting his face. Before he clenched his hand crushing the leaders robotic augmentations into his skin before also crushing the man's hand until bone and metal where one, and bloody pieces where sticking out of the man's flesh.

"Y-y-you're a monster aren't you." Said the leader as he gained control over his screams, blood dripping from his now useless hand, he fought to keep the scream that was ripping at his throat down as he watched the man pull a knife from the sheath on his back.

"No I'm not a monster you are, me I've been told that I'm death. Now that the introductions are out of the way, you want to know what I'm going to do with my knife; I've seen you staring at it. See I'm going to make sure that everyone knows what you did for the rest of your life." The man that Identified himself as death said. Before bringing his knife up and making two quick cuts into the man's face before walking over to the other four and repeating the process, leaving five identical inverted crosses on their face. "Now everyone will know the sin that you committed. No man can kill for free." Death said as he disappeared into the night leaving five men who passed out from the excessive amount of pain that their bodies had been put through.

The next day was one of the first sunny days that Seattle had seen in years as a large group of people swirled around the alley where five steelheads where being removed and placed into ambulances before a body bag was carried out the paramedics muttering about a transgenic being dead. As five sector police walked into the alley.

"This is the fifth time this week, every time somebody goes and kills a freak the next day where carrying out people all muttering about death. And now the feds are sending down some freaking detective. What's next's." Muttered one of the sector police.

"Shut up Walter, this detective probably won't know jack shit so the two of us brick wall him and then he leaves without fucking anything up for us." Said the other sector police office.

"Good idea john." Walter grinned.

"That'd be a great idea if you where working with someone who was near your level of intelligence me on the other hand well let's just say if you're going to get it the way of my investigation then pack your dumb inbred asses up and leave." Came a dark clearly irritated voice from behind the two sector police, who spun to face the voice only to find a young man who couldn't be older than twenty standing behind them. The strangers clothes where what they first noticed as he stood in a black suit, with a black tie, the perfectly straight not a piece out of place the only flaw was his belt buckle instead of the FBI standard buckle he had a red buckle with an image of the grim reaper on it. Both sector police if asked would admit that the man was attractive his short cut dirty blond hair, and green eyes with small flecks of gold in them, covered by a thin pair of glasses. "I'm special agent Alec McDowell, and I don't give a fuck who you are I want to know what happened here and then I want you to gone." Said Alec before walking into the alley, the two sector police following behind him.

"well as I'm sure you know agent many people have been taking the transgenic threat into their own hands and five times this past week when someone has killed one of the beasts someone has come and beat the people always leaving behind an inverted cross on the cheek marking them as the men who have killed a transgenic." Said john as he look at the back of the young man.

"I see, I want all the data on all the assaults sent to my motel room immediately I'm going to go read over them and then I will get back to you in the morning." Said Alec as he turned and began walking out of the alley.

"And what do you want us to do special agent." Asked Walter a glare fixed on the young man.

"truthfully I don't give a shit what you do, go eat more donuts, or scam some poor broads, hell go fuck each other for all I care, just stay the hell out of my way." With that Alec walked over and climbed into his red 64 mustang. Burn it to the ground floating from the speakers as the car was started and drove off a small smile on Alec's face. "Only a little longer and then I can stop, then I can be done."