Disclaimer: I own it. Really. Hehehe! I don't but I sure wish I did.

A/N: My longest Dark Angel story!! I hope you like it!!


Proud

He collapsed on the hard bench. It was like heaven to his sore and aching body. All the adrenaline he was producing over what seemed like forever, in reality only half a day, left him feeling unbelievablely tired. Forget the bench. He wanted a bed.

He waited for Logan to start up the car. He could hear him saying "Clear the barricades! Clear the barricades! Yes, that's exactly what he wanted to go home. He wished things had never gotten so complicated.

"Nice and easy." Max said making his head come back up from where it was resting on his chest. Just I little while longer. he pleaded to himself. Trying to keep the haze from taking over his vision.

"Move, move! Let's go. Let's move it! Move! Move! Move!!" Logan irritating voice drilled into his consciousness.

"We're clear!" Max said a slight smile forming on her face. Logan laugher cut into what going to say. Making him forget.

"It's all good." was all he could come up with. Knowing the things definitely not good at all. Far from it.

"Just for the record that chick was kicking your ass." Thanks Logan for reminding me. Nothing like adding a little insult to injury. Kicking man while he's down. Make him sound like a weakling in front of Max. Show her once again he can't take of himself.

"I had her. I was just setting her up." He felt anger swell up in his chest blocking out the fatigue. A least for a few minutes. "All right head for Terminal City." she said.The tiredness came sweeping back with a sudden crash.

Making him suddenly very dizzy. Without thinking he lay his on Max's shoulder.

"Alec! she growled annoyed.

"Right." he said and moved his head to lean on the side of the truck. Too tired to quibble.

His hazy reality was interrupted by the very shrill sound of the police sirens. He jerked falling off his seat. He shakily got back up and sat on the other side of the truck. Refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"We've got company." No , really Logan. And he was really tempted to say that aloud too.

"Stop you vehicles now or you will be fired upon. Pull over now or we will use deadly force to stop you."

"Don't stop. Keep moving." were Max's calm but forceful orders. He looked at Max then back at the police cars. Wondering what plan Max would pull out of her sleeve this time.

They drove in silence except for the insistent noise of the police vehicles.

"Go straight through the gates." Max determined voice said as the gates of Terminal City appeared in their view.

"Hold on." Logan told the trangenics.

As they slammed through the gates, his head bashed the back to the truck. He bit his lip from crying out. His world literally spinning. He was pretty sure he hit the same place as the Muscle Maniac had thrown him through the glass crashing his head on the floor. The way his head was throbbing.

They'd stopped. Why had they stopped? The piercing sound of the police cars got louder then stopped too. What a relief!

"Throw your weapons out. And let me see your hands." He was thoroughly confused.

"Throw your weapons out. Now!" That was bad!

"You heard the man." Wait! What did she just say?

"Well this sucks." Mole muttered. He couldn't agree more heartily.

"I fought the law and the law won." Alec commented.

"Throw your weapons out and put your hand where I can see them. Throw them out. Do it!" Couldn't they see they were cooperating.

"Step away from the vehicle. Keep those hands up. Do it! Put your hands up. Keep them up. Keep those hands up." Joshua helped him climb out as they all filed into the police view their hands over their heads.

"Step out of the vehicle and keep your hands up." He was dizzy. His world tilted and his head pounded. The insistent barking of repeated orders made him want to scream.

"Get down on your knees." He happily abided. Too bad he couldn't lay on the cold hard dirty ground.

"And put your hands on your head. Get down on your knees. Do it!!" He groaned. What was Max doing?

"452?" How did he know her barcode?

"You can call me Max."

He was desperately trying not to fall flat on his face. The ground was hard and cold. Making his already sore knees hurt like hell. His whole body was screaming in agony. There was few times in his life that he felt like crying. But, this was one of them.

"I think you better get down on the ground." He was amazed by the fact he ws still lucite.

"Actually, I think you should probably go."

"I'm not going to tell you again."

"I'm not going to tell you again." Go Max! You tell him!

A few short seconds later, transgenics surrounded the officers on every side.The astonished faces of the police gave him enough strength to pull his wretched body off the ground.

"You can try to arrest us all. But, you guys might want to call it a night and go have a beer."

"Right. All right everybody. Let's back it up." A tired smirk danced on his lips as the police retreated. "Back it up Outside the fence. Let's move!"

"You kept today from turning into a bloodbath and I respect that.

"You held up your end too." She said bluntly.

"But you haven't won anything. This is going to get real ugly and this is way over my head now. These people's lives depend on the decisions that you make right now." His vision was fading fast. He was so cold. He started shivering. His body was going into a delayed shock.

"I pray you make the right ones. Max." And with that he started up his car and left. His car fading into the back ground as everyone turned to look at Max.

"Escape and Evade." Mole said taking charge. "We divide up into teams. Pick an azimuth and go to ground."

"No, we stay here." She objected.

"In a couple hours, the perimeter will be completely locked down."

Stay. Go. The really didn't care. He really wanted to sit down.

"Tanks. National guards. Every cop within a hundred miles." Mole said stating what everyone already knew. Bringing their fears to life.

"We'd dig our own grave Max." A trangenic said.

"Mole is right. If we move nw they'll never to able to catch us all."

Except he knew she would never go for that. One captured. One killed ws one to many.

"Where are we going to go?" Silence. No one said a word. But everyone was thinking the same thing.

"I can't stop anyone from leaving. But I'm through running and hiding and being afraid." I'm not going to give my life like that anymore. Aren't you tired of living in darkness? Don't you want to feel the sun on your face?" He did. Every since she saved him Manticore. He had. She had given him freedom and now he would stand by her no matter what.

"Have a place of your own where you can walk down the street without being afraid? They made us. And they trained us to be soldiers. To defend this country. It's time to face us and take responsibility. Instead of trying to sweep us away like garbage." He wanted to hold her.

"So, they call us freaks.Who cares? Today, I am proud to be a freak. And today, we are going to make a stand. Right here. Who's with me!" She raised her hand in a fist. He was He was so proud of her.

"What the hell!" And Mole raised his fist.

"Right on." Was the last thing he heard as his world turned into oblivion.

He stand by her. But, right now he really had to sleep.


Wow!! It's so long!! I'm so proud of himself!! I hope you liked it!!