So… it's been a while. Yeah. No real explanation, but hopefully this makes up for it.

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Max, OC, Sketchy, Alec, and Biggs sat around a table in Crash, laughing loudly and enjoying the two large pitchers of beer Max had ordered. Alec and Biggs had told a carefully edited story of how they knew each other, saying only that they had worked a few jobs together before Alec moved to Seattle and started working for Jam Pony. Cindy knew the real story and Sketchy knew better than to ask about the details of any of Alec's previous "work," so they left it at that.

Max was thoroughly enjoying their evening of normalcy away from Terminal City. It was refreshing to simply hang out with her friends and not worry about the mounting danger that faced her and the rest of the Transgenics. She never thought she would feel this way, but she almost missed the old days where it was just her, hiding from Manticore. Not her hiding Manticore from the rest of the world.

Max was jerked from her reverie when Alec stood, grabbing the empty pitchers. "I'll go get us some more beer," he announced, heading toward the bar.

Sketchy stood as well, moving in the same direction. "I'll tag along," he said.

A few moments later OC scooted back her chair, saying, "I'm gonna go use the ladies' room. Be right back."

Max suddenly found herself alone with Biggs, who looked as uncomfortable as she felt. She didn't know him well at all, but the fact that he seemed to be so close to Alec made her wary. And if the way the other X-5 looked at her was any indication, he knew very well of Max and Alec's rocky (at best) relationship.

She was contemplating giving an excuse of her own to leave the table when Biggs spoke up. "So, you and 494—" he cut himself off, shaking his head. "You and Alec. How long have you been working together?"

Something about the question made her uneasy, but she answered anyway. "A little less than a year. But 'working together' is a pretty strong term." Biggs frowned, his eyes wandering to Alec, who was currently leaning against the bar talking up some scantily-clad girl. Max huffed. "Unbelievable," she muttered, turning away.

Biggs' frown deepened and he turned his gaze back on her. "Don't you think you're a little too hard on him?" he demanded.

She gaped. Too hard on Alec? "Look, I know you like him, but he deserves it. His attitude had nearly gotten people killed before."

"He's not such a bad guy, really. Manticore really messed him up, but considering what all he went through I'd say he turned out alright."

Max snorted. "Manticore messed with everyone. That's no excuse for his attitude."

Biggs' eyes flashed. "You have no idea what it was like after your unit escaped. Things got a lot worse than anything you ever saw."

Max blinked, surprised at the anger in his voice. She remembered Alec saying something like that during the whole thing with Berrisford. "Still, that doesn't excuse his arrogance. You were there as long as he was and you didn't turn out to be a selfish bastard," she snapped.

"I didn't go through Psy-Ops three times," he hissed.

"Three times? He only ever mentioned one…."

"Yeah, well, he's not one to really talk about his past, especially the painful parts." He sighed. "Which one did he mention?"

"After Ben—493—killed all those people. He said they wanted to make sure the insanity wasn't genetic."

"That was the third one," he said. "We all hated them for that. He'd been through more than enough. That was when he really changed." Biggs' eyes were distant as he spoke.

"Who's we?" she asked, her curiosity piqued. Apparently the two X-5s were a lot closer than she had thought.

"Our unit," he said, looking back at her. "He was our CO when we were younger." Max's eyes widened and if she hadn't had so much control over her emotions she was sure her mouth would have fallen open. "He never told you? I guess it really isn't surprising. He never even liked to talk to us about it."

She looked over at Alec again, frowning. He was a CO? "You said 'when we were younger.' What happened?"

He looked away, but Max didn't miss t he darkening of his expression. "Your unit happened," he said quietly. "After you all escaped, all the twins were sent to Psy-Ops for six months. Since Alec was a CO, he got the worst of it. They wanted to make sure he wasn't going to lead us in an escape. When he came back, he was so different. He tried to lead us, but he was so terrified of messing up that he could barely function with them around. It wasn't long before they took away his position and sent him back to Basics. When he got back to the unit he was just one of us. They made 437 the CO, and he was good, but he was no 494." His voice trailed off, and he cleared his throat. "He still took care of us, though. He looked out for us on missions and stood up for us against Lydecker and the rest. Eventually they let him lead small teams on missions, and even do some solo ops. Of course, that's what led to Psy-Ops two."

Max's eyes widened. "The Berrisford mission," she said.

Biggs looked at her again. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"He, uh, met up with them again recently. Mr. Berrisford is still alive, and he tried to kill him."

"Damn," Biggs muttered. "He came back from that one totally screwed up. We couldn't believe what they said about him. Alec had never botched a mission. Ever. Another six months in Psy-Ops and they had him back in line. He didn't go on anymore solo missions, though, and he didn't lead anymore teams. It wasn't until the last time that he stopped caring, though." He ran a hand through his hair as though trying to keep his emotions in check. "They didn't even tell us why they took him that time. He just disappeared, and came back six months later totally defeated. He had always been a team player, but now he only looked out for himself. He acted like he was in control, but he always followed orders, like a zombie. He didn't do missions with the unit after that, and barely ever went on away missions. It wasn't long after that you showed up and burned the place down." A heavy silence stretched between them as Max tried to process what she had just learned about Alec. "So… just take it easy, okay? He had it bad, real bad. No one can blame him for being the way he is."

Max didn't have a chance to reply before their friends got back. Alec placed the pitchers back on the table, taking his chair next to Biggs. "So what did you all talk about while we were gone?" It was asked innocently enough, but Max caught the look in his eyes as he studied the expression on her face.

"Nothing interesting," Biggs said with a smile, and the conversation moved on. But Max couldn't stop staring at Alec or thinking over what she had just learned about him.

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So this one is pretty much Alec-centric, but it always seemed to me that Alec and Biggs had a lot of history. So… this is my take on it. Thanks for reading!