OKAY, so some major revision is taking place. I read through and tried to keep everything pretty much the same for all of those who have already read the story, but I started this over three years ago…and most of you know that your writing style changes a lot in that amount of time. I was literally wincing as I read through it. Bleh. It took all of my self-restraint not to just delete the whole thing. It still bothers me, but any more revisions and it would have been a totally different story.

This is a Max/Alec story, so there might be some Logan bashing. I'll try to keep it minimized to the best of my ability. No matter how much easier it would be to just kill him off…

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel. This is what you would be seeing on TV if I did. Enjoy.

During Freak Nation... THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY TO TC FROM THE JAMPONY SEIGE

The only escape route for the cops was to their rear. And by the time all the transgenics made their appearance known, over one hundred of them had the officers in the sights of their guns.

Max watched Clemente's face as the realization hit, that his forces were hopelessly outgunned.

"You can try to arrest us all," Max suggested, her arms widening to include all the transgenics, "but you guys might want to call it a night...and go have a beer."

Clemente needed only a second to make up his mind, "Back it up! Outside the fence, people. Let's go, move it back!"

The officers looked from the transgenics to their leader, then started looking at one another.

"NOW!" Clemente yelled not even moving his eyes from Max.

Cops began holstering their weapons, jumping into cars, and soon police cruisers were moving in every direction as they tried to find the fastest way out of TC. As the long line of cars broke and headed for the gate, Clemente watched them for a moment, then cautiously holstered his pistol and turned toward Max. Walking slowly, he crossed the short distance to her.

Barely a foot from her, he said, "You kept today from turning into a bloodbath...and I respect that..."

She gave him a slight nod. "You held up your end too."

The detective's face remained a solemn mask. "...but you haven't won anything. This is going to get ugly...and it's way over my head now. These people's lives depend on the decisions you make next."

Their eyes locked.

He went on: "And I pray you make the right ones..."

She stared at him, waiting.

"...Max."

She was unprepared for the swell of pride she got when he said her name. Why couldn't more of the "ordinaries" be like this one? Yes, they were on different teams, but in the way he had said her name she could tell they were not enemies.

Turning on his heel, Clemente got into his car, dropped it into reverse, and backed out of the building toward the gate of TC.

The lights weren't even out of sight before Mole-ever the hotheaded activist-went to work. "Escape and evade. We divide into teams, pick a compass point, and go to ground."

Max surprised even herself when the words jumped out of her mouth: "No!...We stay here."

Mole spun to face her, his harsh-sounding voice even harsher than usual. "In a couple of hours that perimeter'll be totally locked down...tanks, National Guard, and every cop within a hundred miles."

Stepping forward, Dix-the transgenic with a face like a pile of lumpy mashed potatoes and a half-assed goggle-cummonocle strapped to his one good eye-said, "We'll be digging our own grave."

"Mole's right," said Luke, a transgenic with a cue ball for a head, red bags under his black eyes, and huge flaps over his tiny ears. "We move now, they won't be able to catch us all."

"Where are you going to go?" Max asked, then turning her attention to the misfit crowd, she added, "Look-I can't stop anyone from leaving. But I'm through with running and hiding and being afraid." Making her point with a forceful pirouette, she said, "I'm not gonna live like that anymore. Aren't you tired of living in darkness?"

She saw a few nods and heard a few scattered mumbles of agreement.

"Don't you want to feel the sun on your face? Don't you want to have a place of your own? A place where you can walk down the street without being afraid?"

The noises of agreement grew louder.

"They made us and they trained us to be soldiers...to defend this country. It's time they face us and take responsibility for us instead of trying to sweep us away like garbage. We were made in America. And we aren't going anywhere."

Original Cindy, nodding, said, "Speak your word."

Max looked at her for a split second, loving her sister, who had been with her since the very beginning; then she went on: "They call us freaks? Well, okay. Today...I'm proud to be a freak. And today, we're gonna make our stand, right here."

Looking around her, she studied the faces, so many faces, of those she knew and those she didn't know, but in her heart they were all her family. "Who's with me?" Calmly, Max raised a fist in the air.

Joshua's fist shot up instantly and Original Cindy's and Alec's and Logan's and one by one the others, even Dix and Luke. This was a solidarity none of them had ever known, not even back at Manticore. They were together, proud and defiant. Finally, only Mole stood alone, arms at his sides.

Max studied the lizard-faced commando. As she watched him gazing from face to face, she could see he felt it too-brotherhood was in the air. Sisterhood too.

Slowly, his fist rose in the air and something like a grin appeared on that lizard face as he said, "Aw, what the hell..."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Turning to Mole she said, "Pick out some volunteers for sentry duty to go with the ones you had before. We're gonna need tighter security." He nodded in response. Max continued, "Dix. Luke. I want you to find some way to get water and food."

"Sure thing, Max." She heard. "Rest of you...get some sleep, things aren't gonna get messy for a while...Alec." When he looked at her, she motioned for him to follow as she walked out of the room.

She led him to a quiet room that resembled the one where they found CJ. She shook her head..."Déjà vu," she mumbled under her breath. Alec gave her a questioning look, but she pretended not to notice.

Patting the table as she walked past it, she said, "Hop on."

She heard Alec sit on the table as she continued walking to get the First Aid kit. When she turned back to him with it in her hands, she saw him visibly pale with a terrified look on his face.

Probably thinking about Bullet, she thought, also remembering the day she cauterized his leg wound. She momentarily wondered about what might have happened to the obedient little troopers. It was a dangerous trait to have when you were mixed in with an organization like Manticore. As cold-hearted as it may sound, she really hoped that their nearly getting shot by their supposed commanding officers had opened their eyes a little to the real world…whatever that was.

"Earth to Max," she heard. She looked up to see Alec watching her intently. His brow was a little sweaty and his complexion was sallow. The dark bruises under his eyes made her realize how long they had been running on adrenaline and fear alone.

"I am flattered that you would give me Earth, but I'll settle for TC." she responded cheekily with a very "alec-like" smirk. It was nice to know he wasn't in so much pain that he could still joke with her. Good sign, definitely a good sign.

Then she remembered she was holding a First Aid kit, and not just for the fun of it. She walked the rest of the way to him and set it down on the table.

She pulled his shirt up, only hesitating a moment when she heard him hiss in pain. There was nothing to do for it; it had to be done.

"Ya, well, nothing's too good for my Maxie," he said tightly through gritted teeth.

Without missing a beat, she chided, "Don't call me that." It was an automatic response.

Max knew he was just trying to forget his pain, but she had also told him that she hated it. Of course, he didn't know that only her unit had those privileges. But every time Alec said it, it caused unbearable pain with the memories it wrenched up: "This is for you Maxie, so you'll finally understand why I'm doing this."..."Fight them Maxie, don't let them win. X5-599. I've got a heart for you."..."Stay out of his way Maxie, or he'll come for you to."

"...Max?..." She shook her head. Damn. That was the second time she'd zoned-out in the last five minutes.

"Yeah, Alec?" Max asked impatiently. It was a good scare tactic that worked wonders on most people. Alec was definitely an exception, but he sometimes played the rules.

He shook his head, "Never mind."

Max didn't mind the silence that fell upon them; it was comforting considering all they had been through...

"So," Alec started. Max sighed, So much for that, she thought.

"What?" she demanded without looking up from what she was doing.

"Well, I was just wonderin...how'd you know White's men were coming...none of the rest of us heard anything, and Joshua's really got a nice set of ears. What with his being a dog 'n all. But there was Dalton and Mole too… Hell, I didn't even see anything, and I was on the look-out. It only took them seconds to climb the outer wall. It was like you could read their minds…or see the future…or…"

Max wanted to laugh. She knew Alec too well. He always babbles on when he's nervous. He did have a good point though. Knowing about White's men coming hadn't freaked her out at the time; she was worried about keeping everyone safe. Then later she hadn't had time to think about it. Thinking about it now made her a little uneasy. Was this another one of Sandeman's surprises? It was her body, dammit! She was a real person. He had no right to go play Scrabble with her DNA.

Alec glanced at her while he was talking and knew she wasn't paying attention, so he casually added, "So I'm real hot and you're obsessed with my ass, right?..."

Max was so deep in her thoughts, she hadn't realized Alec had stopped talking and was now looking at her expecting an answer. Oh...

Because Max didn't want to get caught spacing out again-she replied, "Ya I know. Weird huh...I just don't know why."

There, Max thought, satisfied with herself. That sounded like a pretty good answer.

Alec burst out laughing, and so did some other people...

Confused, Alec turned to see Mole, Sketchy, and OC standing in the doorway. He shrugged, looked at Max's face, and started laughing again.

Max stood there the whole time confused, wondering if it was something she said.

OC looked at her confused face and said, "Boo, you gotta quit spacin' it cuz one a these days you gonna regret it."

So much for not getting caught, Max thought, and then wondered what was so funny.

"Hey Alec, what did you ask anyway?" she asked.

He shrugged her off. "Oh nothin...just something I've always suspected." He said, while sharing a knowing smile with the rest of the people in the room.

It made Max mad when they exploded into laughter again. She smiled and not-so-gently stuck an alcohol-soaked cotton ball on Alec's wound.

Ahh...sweet revenge.

"Shit! What the hell was that for!" he yelped.

Max, in the sweetest of voices, replied, "Why, Alec, that was a disinfectant…for disinfecting wounds." She smiled a smile that reached all the way to her eyes.

OC laughed, ignoring Alec's glare. It was good to see her Boo acting the way she used to, before she was recaptured by Manticore.

Alec got tired of everyone enjoying his pain, so he asked, "Any specific reason you guys came down here, or did ya just miss me too much?"

Mole made something like a snort, and then said, "You wish Princess."

Sketchy jumped in before Alec could reply to his hated nickname. "Actually, Joshua is painting a flag for TC."

Max and Alec got quiet, admiring the fact that even though it was something so small, Joshua always seemed to know what to do to bring everyone together and put them in a better mood.

"We'll be up as soon as we're finished, k?" Max said.

"Aiight, jus fix 'em up good Boo." OC said walking out the door with the others.

They stayed there until they couldn't hear them anymore. Alec, who had never been a very patient person, even if he didn't want to get sewn up, was the first to break the silence. Surprise, surprise.

"This is gonna hurt, isn't it?" Alec asked even though he didn't want an answer.

"Like a bitch," was all she said, before blurring to sew him up.

It had taken her less than a second, and by the time she finished, tied the knot, and cut the string, he was just starting to feel the pain. He yelled.

Max stood there, watching him scream. It took him a couple seconds for him to realize she was already done, and when he stopped screaming and jerked his face to her, she arched an eyebrow and smirked.

"You can't do that!"

"Do what?" she asked innocently.

He waved his hands in the air, as if the idea was too insane to react calmly. Maybe it was. "Blur to sew somebody shut."

"Looks like I just did," Max said distractedly while admiring her handiwork and nodding in satisfaction, "It's a pretty neat trick."

"But you coulda KILLED me!" he shouted.

Max barely refrained from rolling her eyes. She threw him his shirt. "Come on, we've got a flag to go see."

"Don't think this conversation is over," he warned pulling his shirt on, slowly over the wound.

"Whatever you say..." Max got a mischievous grin on when she remembered Mole's nickname for him… She waited till he had his shirt halfway on.

"..Princess," She added while blurring out of the room.

She was in the middle of the hall when she heard him running after her, yelling like a banshee. She did something she hadn't done since her return to Manticore-she laughed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Max stood with most of the other transgenics on top a building in TC. They were all gathered around to watch Joshua's flag while Joshua was around to watch their reactions. This new unity had done strange things to them. It had created a good-Samaritan kind of brotherhood. It was unspoken, but everyone was prepared to look pleased because it was obvious Joshua was very proud of his work. But to say everyone was truly amazed would be an understatement.

The sun seemed to make the flag glow. Everyone was speechless, heck-even Mole got out a cigar and puffed it with a swelling pride.

They all seemed to be in a better mood. This shithole, known as TC, had become very special to the transgenics. It was something that they, for the first time in their lives, could call their own. For better or worse, they had something worth living-or dying for.

Joshua had symbolized the transgenic nation perfectly. The transgenics were a wide stretching dove in flight, leaving the black third (which stood for Manticore and secrets), flying in the middle third (which was red to show the blood that was being spilled), and heading towards the top third where they wanted to go…"Into the light," Max said to herself, "It's perfect."

She heard Logan roll up beside her.

"Tell Alec your welcome for me. I mean, I know he stole you from me, so I definitely didn't have to save his life, but I did anyway. The least he could do is apologize," he said calmly.

Max felt herself freeze. It had been a long day. Over twenty-hours of running on adrenaline, so people were bound to be letting their less composed sides show. Had it really been yesterday that she had let him run his rubbery latex gloves along her back? The runes seemed like such a lifetime ago. She knew that and understood completely. Transgenics were made for these situations, and she was positive even OC and Sketchy were feeling the pressure right about now. Even still, anger was bubbling up inside her, so she counted backwards from fifty clenching and unclenching her fists…and then did it again.

When she finally felt like she had control over her anger, she turned to Logan, "You don't do the right thing, just to do it anymore?" she asked blandly. He looked a little chagrined. She didn't care though. She had been under too much pressure lately. More so than most…and especially more so than Logan. He wasn't the supposed chosen one, the only savior of the world. "Let me break this down for you: I am not a prize, so quit talking like I'm some blonde bimbo who didn't have any say in the matter. Alec couldn't 'steal' me from you because we weren't like that, remember? And, you're right. You didn't have to jump in front of him to save his life, because Alec would've just stood by and laughed if you had been killed. You know what? I gotta blaze." To Joshua she said, "Kickass flag, big fella."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A

Punch. Kick. Max smiled to herself, sure this wasn't the Space Needle, but it sure helped her to blow off some steam.

She punched the bag again. Alec smirked at her venting methods and looked around. It appeared to be an old gymnasium converted halfway into a work-out room. It had matted floors, punching bags, and showers off to the side in rooms divided by gender.

Alec looked back at Max. He had heard the quiet fight between her and Logan and followed her here; he'd never felt so proud in his life than he did at the fact that Max had stood up for him. But unfortunately, he also saw Max trying to control her anger. Nothing weird about that at all, but when it's directed to Logan…well, little red warning lights go up.

Suddenly, he saw Max's face scrunch up as she got even more mad, if that was possible.

She started yelling, "Doesn't he know," punch, "I'm," punch, "the only one," punch, "allowed to call," punch, "Alec," punch, "a screw-up?" punch, punch, PUNCH. The bag broke from its hook and flew to the wall.

Max and Alec both smiled in satisfaction.

Then, Alec decided that that little comment was just too good to let by, "So, you do appreciate me."

Max just stared at the bag on the ground-not bothering to turn around. "Wouldn't you like to know."

She smirked, knowing that it'd only make him even more curious. She decided look to back at him to make sure it had. Alec's face was all scrunched up and his eyebrows were creased together in confusion. Max couldn't help it; she laughed, despite her sour mood.

"So, what brings you here?" Max asked as she moved over to pick up the fallen punching bag.

"Well, you got me pretty scared to tell you the truth," Alec admitted.

She sent him a half-glare, half-questioning look, so he hurried on before she forgot the bag on the floor and went back to using him as her human punching bag.

"You see, you've laughed like twice now-and in the same day I might add. And then…I see you stomp off from a fight with Roller boy-Eyes Only." He finished giving her a "what's going on" look.

"I'm sorry, would you prefer I go back to being blindly in love with Eyes Only, and beat you instead of a punching bag?" she said sweetly.

"Oh no, no, no," he said holding his hands up. "I just wanted-…" Alec stopped and squinted his eyes at her. "Why are you avoiding the question by scaring me?"

"Maybe I don't wanna answer it, Al-ec."

"Ok, suit yourself," he said, then mumbled under his breath, "And she tells me I have a problem with keeping things in."

"What was that?"

"Nothing," he said quickly, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hey. . ." Max said, suddenly looking unsure of herself. This of course sparked Alec's complete attention. He impatiently waited for her to continue, fighting with all his restraint to keep from prodding her. She took a ridiculously long time to continue, in which Alec wondered if she had been doing it on purpose, before she finally said, "You know, my fighting skills are beyond rusty, could you train me?"

"What? Where did this come from?"

"Back at Manticore, when I was recaptured, they tried to get me caught up, but there's a lot you miss in ten years. I mean, I know you hold back whenever we fight. And with this siege going on…I'll need to know how to take care of Familiars…" she trailed off seeing his look.

He couldn't believe it…well of course he held back whenever they fought; aside from the ten years of intense training he had on her, and he'd rather die than tell her this, but – she's a girl. He just didn't think she noticed. She never showed that she noticed. And he never showed that he noticed her not noticing his holding back…confusing. He assumed she thought that she was the queen of the world. Maybe he was the one with a big head……

"Never mind, it was a stupid idea." she said when the silence dragged out. She turned back to the punching bag and hunched over to pick it up off the floor.

Alec snapped out of his thoughts and blurred over to her. He block-punched her in the shoulder and sent her flying before she could even turn around.

She hit the wall, then the mat. For a second she just laid there on her back.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Max. You've been away from Mommy Manticore too long. You left yourself completely vulnerable. What would Renfro say?"

Understanding lit Max's eyes as she realized that this was Alec's way of saying he had agreed to train her. She smiled and got up.

"Actually, I hope it'd piss her off." Max said truthfully and grinned before blurring towards him. Something nagged at her, and when she realized what it was, the grin on her face was replaced with a look of panic. She just barely stopped her punch before it hit his bullet wound.

"Shit. Maybe you better wait till your shoulder heals…" Max said.

Alec was looking down at his shoulder, nodding his head in agreement, so he missed the note of guilt in her voice. When he looked up, however, it was hard to miss it. Her eyes could be so expressive when she let them.

"Oh…hey, it's ok…I forgot too," he tried, but he knew he didn't convince her. She shook him off.

"Well, gotta blaze," she said heading to the door with a sort of defeated posture. Alec immediately felt responsible. She opened the door halfway and yelled back," And by the way, you left your whole side completely vulnerable."

He definitely liked this Max better. Once again she paused to turn around. "Oh, and…happy birthday."

Alec winced. "Oh, you heard about that?"

Max grinned. "Cindy might have mentioned Normal's attempt at making you a cake that wouldn't harm your golden physique."

Cheeky little thing. She flashed him one last smile and ducked out for good.

Alec watched the door shut behind her and continued staring at it long after she had gone.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AA

Max made her way down the street. A little boy was letting an even younger girl rest her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped securely around her shoulders while she slept. One of the desert X2 series, whom had been here longer, was letting a group of newbie X6's crash in his bed, trying to communicate to the best of its ability with a series of clicks. The children seemed frightened of it at first, but then one of the teenage girls took charge, stepping forward and taking his hand. Around the corner an intermixed group of X5's and Nomlies were gathered round a fire someone had started in a trashcan. The X5's didn't seem to notice the abnormalities of their counter-company's physical appearance.

All around transgenics were either asleep or making themselves comfortable in their new home. Home…

The thought alone gave Max all the warmth she needed to ignore the bite in the early Seattle wind.

What she would've given if she could've stayed in that moment, because the happiness she felt was sucked out of her, as if by vacuum, the minute she saw the perimeter fence.

It was teeming with police and even a few tanks. The National Guard had been called in already. It was flattering, really, to know they warranted high enough on the security threats to reach the top dogs. Beyond it, if that wasn't bad enough, were hundreds of protestors with signs stating: KILL THE FREAKS, THEY'RE NOT HUMAN, THEY DON'T NEED RIGHTS, and GO BACK TO WHERE YOUR FROM.

Max sighed to herself. You could feel the energy in the air. It was a bitter mixture of anticipation, suspense, hatred…and all in that awful cocktail, there was still a little hope. It was a confusing mix, and all of it was giving her the jitters, making her head pound.

The gym may be good for anger, but we have a cavalry of transgenic haters out there. Some of which may try to negotiate…she needed a plan. She had taken on the heavy burden of leadership, and all these people's lives were on her hands the minute she gave her speech.

Where to think?

Ten minutes later Max found herself headed back towards the gym, because ironically, it was the tallest building in TC. And tall places helped clear her head.

Max could've scaled the wall from the ground outside, if she was feeling particularly zealous, but she also wanted to see if Alec had left. She just didn't want him knowing where her thinking place was so he could try and annoy me all the time, Max told herself.

Once she had searched and found the main part to be empty, she headed up.

There was no official door that led to the roof. The ladder that used to lead to the top had long ago broken off. In the end, and faced with no other choice, Max had to scale the wall about five feet to get to the top.

She was in a fit about how her luck seemed to be going, until she got up there and sat down. It was only six stories up, five stories were the gym and the last top floor was an apartment. Not very high in even building standards, and practically a Tonka toy when held in thought with the Space Needle, but it was enough to disappear from everyone.

She looked around the late, or early, sky and breathed in the cool air.

She wondered how everything could look so peaceful, yet she could feel so nervous. She didn't really want to lead TC, but they had believed in her dream, and that gave her an immeasurable amount of pleasure. She would probably even die if it meant they could live in peace.

Then slowly realization dawned on her- she had taken responsibility of all the transgenics again. When she freed them from Manticore it was only her duty to keep them out of trouble, but she had just put them into another siege. One that probably wasn't going to end anytime soon or in a very favorable way for them.

If she was right, and the police called to negotiate, then they need some kind of bargaining chip, or else her people were going to be on the very short end of the stick.

Thinking about what they would possibly do to get that little bargaining chip only brought back her headache.

She shook her head and tried to clear her mind like she had intended. It was impossible feat, but it never stopped her from trying.

She looked out over the city and could just barely make out the Needle from here. It stood tall like a dismal beacon, a dull North Star in this Post-Pulse world, there to give her some sort of guidance.

I never really knew of the responsibility it took to be a leader. Zack always made it look so easy. I'd sure as hell like to ask him how he dealt with the pressure. He was a kid at the time and in the first day I had already lead my people into a world of hostility, through a hostage situation, and placed them in the middle of a siege. Not a promising start. Maybe it's genetic, she smirked, Zack's ability to see all the consequences of each decision he made. It didn't matter. He had given so much to them. Much more than anyone in their unit could understand. He didn't want to have his memories taken, but he deserved the break. And wherever he was…well, I hope it's sunny.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to the wind. "For everything."

Little did she know that as she said that, somewhere on a farm, a man had awakened from a deep sleep to be unwillingly bombarded with his missing memories.