Title: Much ado about genetics
Author: misslara
Rating: PG-13

Show: Dark Angel
Genre: Action
Type: WiP, AU
Disclaimer: None of DA is mine, trust me season 2 would've been very different if it had been.

Pairing: Alec/Max (eventually, way to much to deal with first)
Summary: In response to the instinct challenge from NWP. My first plot, hope you like it.

A/N: Many thanks go out to Lyra for giving me the positive feedback I needed to work up the courage to post. In this AU, everything from season 2 happened I just made some changes, like Biggs dying. That was just plain wrong, and don't even get me started on FN. There was so much wrong with episode urgh! Ok I'll stop now before it turns into a rant.

Prologue

Alec struggled against the darkness that enveloped him. His eyelids seemed too heavy to lift but he felt an urgency to open his eyes. He just couldn't remember why opening them was so urgent. His instincts told him he was surrounded by transgenics implying safety. Finding his eyelids uncooperative he tried to move his arms and legs. Those seemed to be working just fine, this shift of focus made him more aware of the sounds around him. He strained his hearing and yes, he definitely heard people talking but he couldn't make out what they were saying. The voices sounded concerned though.

As he was struggling to hear what was going on around him the fog seemed to lift and he could now hear what was being said, he strained to get information about where he was.

"I hope he wakes up soon, I need to debrief him, get some more leads. The X6's weren't much help. We need to start soon before the trail turns cold."

Alec smiled to himself, that was Mole, then he frowned, what was this about following a trail... oh right, they had been on a mission to save a bunch of X6's that were being held in the harbour district. Something had gone wrong though, but since he was hearing Mole he must be back at TC. That meant everything had worked out.

"So what does a guy have to do to get some service in this joint?" Alec opened his eyes expecting to see his friends. Looking around the room he could see Mole, Joshua and Biggs standing at the foot of the bed while a medic was checking his bandages. He was expecting them to smile at him in return and he looked around for Max. Since all the ordinaries had been back on the outside, even Logan, they had come to a truce and Alec was hoping she'd care enough to check in on him as well. She wasn't there; Alec assumed she'd gone ahead to HQ to start making the X6's feel at home.

"Medium fella is awake!" Joshua was beside him in two strides and not shy to show his emotions. He was very happy that his second friend in life was alright and took Alec into a big hug to celebrate.

"Oempf, yeah Josh, I'm feeling much better. You weren't worried about me were ya? You know us felines, we always land on our feet."

The medic stepped in closer as Joshua let go and checked Alec's vitals. "I know you're eager to ask him questions but let me check him out and then he's all yours."

Leaning back to let the medic do his job Alec noticed the concern etched on the faces of his comrades. Anxious to find out why, he looked at the medic pointedly till the man decided he was finished and scurried out of the room.

"So what's with the long faces? Max hasn't started her capital punishment program again has she?" No matter what Alec might've expected to follow at his flippant comment, it wasn't the howl of pain that came from Joshua in response. Seeing Alec looking at him questioningly, Joshua turned and fled the room, he didn't want to be there when Alec was told of Max's fate.

"Max isn't here, Alec, she ... mmm she didn't make it back." Mole was never more reluctant to be the bearer of bad news. Everyone knew how Alec felt about Max, even if the man didn't know himself, and Mole wasn't sure how he'd take it.

"What, she got stuck on the space needle again and now she can't get back into TC?"

Mole shared a look with Biggs and taking pity on the lizard the X5 took over.

"Alec, I'm sorry man, but Max is dead. White shot her and dragged her onto a boat. We found her body in the river ..... with her barcode sliced off."

"NO!!!" Alec lunged at his friend and the medic rushed back into the room with a strong tranquilizer.

White dragged Max by the hair below deck and locked her into the waiting cage. He turned towards the lingering familiars.

"Toss the body into the bay and contact the conclave. Tell them we are on our way to the meeting point. I will guard the prisoner myself."

He dismissed them and walked over to a bucket, picking it up he tossed the contents at the unconscious body. Max got up with a start and tried to adopt a defensive stance inside the cage. She didn't bother to wipe the long strands of wet hair away from her face. Focusing instead on her captor. Inwardly she groaned, she knew exactly what was ahead and wasn't looking forward to it.

"Where is my son?"

"Who?"

"Look, 452, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. I have 5 hours till I hand you over to the conclave. At that point you'll wish I killed you. Now if you tell me where my son is I'll make sure you die without pain."

"You're all talk aint ya? You just yap, yap, yap, I know some one else who does that. Very annoying."

"One more chance, 452, where is my son?"

"You know, you really shouldn't lose your family."

White pulled out his gun and pointed it at Max. "You only need to be breathing, they said nothing about injuries". He fired without hesitation.

Max felt the bullet pass through the fleshy part of her lower leg and clenched her teeth. This was going to hurt but all she needed to do was bear it till the others came to save her. A trickle of blood made its way down her leg into her sock.

"Where is my son?"

Max merely glared at the man in front of her. In response White brought up the gun again and fired. The bullet passed just below her right shoulder blade. It hurt like hell but it wouldn't kill her.

"Where is my son?"

Max had to clench her teeth together to remain standing and could only glare. White then holstered his gun and walked over to a set of jumper cables conveniently placed below the cage. White brought them together and sparks flew. The sparks illuminated the dimly lit room and Max took the opportunity to check her surroundings. She could see the porthole and nothing but ocean outside. That was bad, but Max had confidence that her family would find her. Then White attached them to the bars of her cage and jolts of electricity started flowing through her body driving all thoughts from her mind.

Max quickly fell unconscious from the blood loss and White left the room. He ordered the boat to turn around and left to make a call.

Max struggled against the darkness that enveloped her. Her eyelids seemed too heavy to lift but she felt an urgency to open them. She just couldn't remember why opening them was so urgent. Slowly she felt her eyes open but she couldn't see anything. She tried moving her arms but those seemed heavy as well, she couldn't feel anything, couldn't hear anything. She moved her hand to her face and quickly blinked when her finger touched her open eye. Ok so her eyes were open they just couldn't see anything. Or feel anything. She brought her hand to her mouth and she tasted the wetness on her fingers.

That brought back a memory of when she had been a child. She had been here before, it had given her nightmares ever since. In her mind she knew she was in a sensory deprivation tank, that was why she couldn't see, hear or feel anything, but the panic was starting to overcome her. She knew she needed to keep her sanity so she started to count back from 1000, afterwards she went over the exercises Lydecker had her do as a child. She thought of everything to keep her sanity but made sure she kept her mouth closed, not wanting to give away any information.

3 weeks later

"What do you mean, they are demanding access? Why would an ordinary want access to TC? Just because there's peace between us doesn't mean we want tourists."

"Well, sir, the kid has a barcode, just not one I've ever seen before. And they're demanding to see Max." The X6 managed to look nonchalant before his commander but inside he was shaking like a leaf. He did not want to be here but he lost the coin toss.

"What do you mean a barcode you haven't seen before? Everyone from the Seattle facility is accounted for" Alec was losing his patience, he had been on edge all week and he didn't need this today of all days. Besides, focusing on the first sentence allowed him the opportunity to avoid thinking about....

"Well, yes sir, but this barcode was a female's so we're assuming he's her child."

"So are you going to tell me the designation or are you just going to stand there?"

"X5-453, sir"

"WHAT!!!!! Show them into the introduction building. I'll meet them there."

Alec followed the smaller man out into the main hall and took long strides to the wall lined with computers.

"DIX!"

"You bellowed?"

"Funny. Now there's a kid out there with the barcode of Max's clone, how?" Alec's voice was devoid of any emotion, making it clear to the figure in front of him that now was not the time for jokes.

Dix turned on his heels and dropped into his chair, his fingers already typing away at the keyboard in front of him.

"X5-453, or Sam, was under orders to guard one of the top scientists of Manticore. She was still there when Manticore burned. According to these files she wasn't a part of the breeding program. In short, I have no idea"

Alec sighed, this was not what he needed.

"Anything on our other project?"

"No, Alec, no sign, sorry"

The dark-haired man looked around anxiously at the guards watching him and his son. The little child seemed much more at ease and looked around with eager eyes at everything around him. He squirmed his hand free from the tall man standing beside him and made his way over to the guards. Before Philip could stop him the kid stood in front of one of the guards and tugged at his pants.

"My name is Sam, what's yours?"

Before anyone could answer him Alec came through the door with a woman in a labcoat trailing behind. Alec held up his hand and faced the man with disdain.

"Our medic will draw some blood from the child to establish her parentage. Once that is completed we'll talk. Not before."

The woman held out her hand and little Sam took it without hesitation.

"Don't worry daddy, I'll be back." Sam said in a sunny voice.

An hour later Sam was playing in a corner of the infirmary while being watched by Gem and Alec.

"Alec, there's no disputing he's transgenic. He's got the reflexes and he's well advanced for his age. I wonder how he ended up with an ordinary though."

Although they'd been whispering Sam looked up from his corner and walked over to the two X5 watching him.

"Mummy said I couldn't show anyone what I could do but mummy is gone now. She said that if she ever couldn't come back that I should come here. That mummy's sister would take care of me."

Alec and Gem shared a look; at Alec's nod Gem left the infirmary and went to collect the child's father. Meanwhile Alec walked over to he console the same woman from before was working behind. Without turning the woman started speaking.

"Well, the child parentage is interesting to say the least. It's definitely X5 offspring, with X5-453, Sam and X5-534, Seth."

When Gem returned with Philip in tow, Alec gestured towards a couple of chairs and motioned for the man to sit down.

"Thank you, I apologize for coming up to your doorstep like this but Sam told me I needed to bring her son here if anything happened to her. She was arrested by the border police when we tried to get into Canada and turned over to the NSA. I haven't been able to find her since and I was hoping you'd know how to find her."

Alec's mind made the connections quickly and raced to HQ, bursting through the doors without pause and headed straight for Dix.

"Did we check the DNA for the body picked up from the harbour?"

"Alec? Ehm, no we didn't. There didn't seem any need."

Alec paced the room furiously the trail was cold. He needed to think outside the box but how?