AN: Wow guys! Thank you so much to all of you who have reviewed so far. Your encouragement keeps me inspired to keep going, and my oh my have you guys inspired me with this chapter! So thank you so much, and I hope I did you guys justice so you'll all keep with me through this to see where it goes! Now, if you're up for it, listen to Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Mix)by Rob Dougan while you read this chapter. This is the song I just played over and over again while I wrote it, so I guess it suits the chapter (especially the last segment). So without further adieu, here you go guys!

Also, minor warning for needles in this one. It's not that big of a scene, and it's nothing horrific, but if you have problems with that, you've been warned to expect it!

xxxx

"Why would you ask me that," Alec questioned lowly, his voice full of defensive hostility.

"C'mon, Alec; it's not hard to figure out. You only got like this once Dix brought up Psy-Ops. Must have been pretty terrible to get you to react like this," Max said, her tone turning slightly challenging while she crossed her arms under her chest. "So…what happened?"

He smiled at her then, but there was nothing happy about it. There wasn't even a trace of his usual sarcasm or mockery. This smile was just bitter, cold, and angry. Maybe trying to challenge him wasn't the right approach…

"Which time would you like to know about? The time when we were nine, and you and your little brothers and sisters made a break for it, leaving your twins to take the fall? They locked us up in Psy-Ops for six months to make sure we weren't a liability," Alec said quietly. His smooth voice sounded so calm, it almost masked the dark growl that rumbled in his throat with each word, anger teetering on the verge of murderous as he took a single step closer to Max. Instinctually, she took a step back and circled around his side to get a better vantage point, but he followed her like a magnet dancing around it's opposite.

"Or the time I failed my mission, and they punished me for two months for falling in love with Rachel," he snarled a bit louder, and Max flinched at the words. She knew he had loved Rachel, but he'd never admitted it straight to her face, and the way he said it – with so much bitter malice behind the words, it made her heart bleed for him.

"Or how about…" he suddenly whispered as he stepped into her, fully invading her personal space. She hadn't realized until it was too late that he had effectively cornered her back against the shambled brick wall lining one edge of the alley they had somehow slipped in to. His voice was eerily quiet when he continued, "When they brought Ben back. After you snapped his neck, and they did an autopsy on him. They threw me back in Psy-Ops for another six months…just to make sure I couldn't be pushed to the same recklessness."

Max couldn't take her eyes off of him, horror, disbelief, and shame written in every inch of her face. She wanted to scream, run away, or beat him down out of an instinctual fear that those words boiled up in her gut. The implication was too much, the accusatory glare in his unwavering sage eyes drowning her beneath the stark color. If he had been locked up after Ben was returned to Manticore, then that meant he had been in Psy-Ops up until right before he'd been assigned as her breeding partner.

"You never told me that," she whispered so quietly, it suggested she was suddenly afraid of her own voice. He sneered at her, never letting up an inch from her, never letting his glare waver from her, not even to blink.

"Yeah well, maybe I was trying to protect you, Max," he said slowly. The truth was, Alec hadn't been able to tell her about it when they were first assigned together; it was against the reprogramming. After that, they had been estranged frenemies, and it wasn't like it had mattered anymore. Then, she told him about Ben, and once that was out in the open between them, there was no reason for him to burden her guilty conscious further. Now though, he had to clench his fists at his sides just to keep from punching her, and his own fucked up head found the sickest pleasure in the verbal stabbing he gave her. He watched it play out over her face, and he hated the way he reveled in it, this twisted defense mechanism he had. 'Still a monster,' he thought, but what the fuck did it matter?

"I'm sorry," she whispered, fighting the tear that threatened to slip over her eyelash.

"No you're not. Not yet, because you still don't understand. But you know what? I'm not giving you the privilege of understanding because you're just playing games with me," Alec said chidingly. Max snapped back to herself, her defensive walls rising around her, and she tensed up where she stood. Anger flashed in her eyes, and she pulled her fists up at her sides in preparation for a fight.

"What the fuck, Alec," she spat, clearly irate over the accusation. Here she was just trying to help this asshole, actually sympathizing with him despite his bitterness, and he was shoving it in her face. Just like the old Alec, before their heart-to-hearts and camaraderie-building battles.

"Oh come on, Max. Do you really take me for that much of an imbecile," he sneered, and she gave a noncommittal shrug of admittance. He laughed bitterly at that, and dipped his chin a little lower to hover closer to her cheeks that his lips danced around, as if considering whether to take a bite out of her or not. His eyes narrowed before he said, "you mean to tell me that little show you put on was for everyone? Or just me?"

She could feel his hot breath against her skin when he spoke, and the hairs on the back of her neck rose like the hackles of a dog. She could push him away if she wanted; she should push him away, but her body wasn't listening. It acted against her in every way imaginable, heating up against the body heat he radiated, so close to her she could brush against him if she tilted forward but a single inch. But they weren't touching, just hovering, and it was maddening to her. Her throat had gone dry, and her heartbeat was hammering in her ears, quicker and quicker. She felt faint and wired all at the same time, and she had to swallow heavily before she was able to find her voice again.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered hoarsely. Her skin prickled with goose bumps as he leaned a little closer, and she shrunk back against the wall to try and keep what little barrier was left. His lips came to hover just above her ear, skin so close she could nearly feel their softness against her lobe.

"You wanna lie to me Max, that's fine. Just make sure you're not lying to yourself," he whispered roughly into her ear, the deep drag of his voice shooting goose bumps straight down the length of her neck. She would have shivered beneath him if she hadn't bit down on her own tongue to quell the sensation. It was harder to keep the noise clawing it's way up her throat at bay when he tilted his head a little to bring his nose to scantly brush across her cheek in a teasing, almost tender way.

"Do yourself a favor," he murmured against her skin, before he finally pulled back from her enough to look at her. Their gazes locked for a moment, and Alec's nostrils flared a little at the intoxicating scent of her growing arousal. His jaw clenched for a moment when she gave him that defiant look, every fiber of her fighting what her instincts told her she wanted. It was magnificent, but he was still too angry to succumb to her bullshit and let her get away with it. In the blink of an eye, he took a step away from her and reached across his chest to grab her right shoulder, before he shoved her off the wall and out of the alleyway. "Fuck off," he snapped as she stumbled a few feet. When she whipped around to face him, eyes wide and mouth agape in shock, he glared back at her stubbornly.

Her blood boiled beneath the surface, the only thing keeping her from lashing out at him with claws and teeth being the stupor her brain was still stuck in because of his roller-coaster behavior.

"Take the rest of the day off, Alec. Clear your head," she snapped pointedly, voice suddenly cold and authoritative. He smirked at her, and suddenly stood rigid before her, hand coming up to give her a mocking salute.

"Yes, Ma'am!" And it took everything she had to glare at him calmly, turn away and not look back as she stalked back toward Command Central without him. His smile fell immediately, a glower darkening his face, before he turned away from her and stormed off into the alleyway.

When Max returned to Command, her mind was miles away. She couldn't concentrate on the meeting as Mole argued for Ordinaries to be banned from Terminal City, and Joshua advocated for visitation rights for the well-behaved friends they had. She couldn't comment when Dix brought up thievery, or when an X6 spoke on violence regulations. There were just too many other things on her mind. Alec was acting like a freak with hardwiring issues, a loose gasket about to fucking blow. Logan was ready to try for the cure again, which she wanted. Oh God, did she want it, to finally be done with the dance and free-for-all fear for his life every time they were in the same room together.

But now there was something else, something much darker stewing beneath the surface.

She could feel her pulse thump appreciatively at it, just from the mere thought. Her chest clenched in yearning for it, and her veins constricted as she fought to ignore it. A deep, unsteady breath rushed into her lungs when her skin prickled at the absence of sensation. Of touch and heat, feeling cornered by seas of green and firm hands claiming her in every way they wanted. The yearning thrumming in her muscles was bordering on a dangerous need, and it scared her because she only had a few hours left in her heat cycle. This kind of unbridled lust shouldn't be so strong still.

Then, there was the guilt and sorrow coating everything like a poisonous sugar. Alec had spent his life in Manticore, with only a little over a year of freedom. She knew there was a lot of darkness in him; Joshua had been the first one to help her see that. Alec was always so carefree and facetious though, that she often forgot how dark that black pit got. It seemed he hadn't healed as well as she had thought, and she just realized how little she really knew about Manticore. She had spent only a few months there before she broke out and freed everyone else; she knew nothing of the horrors Alec had been subjected to. Nothing at all.

"Max?"

"Hm," Max said, finally snapping out of her stupor to look up at Mole. Blankly, she registered that everyone was looking at her curiously.

"You gonna weigh in on this ever?" Mole asked expectantly, the slight bob in his head indicating he was slightly annoyed. She blinked at him a moment, before she glared straight ahead of her.

"Sorry guys….but I can't do this today. There's something I gotta do. Write up what you have so far, and leave it in my office. I'll look over it tonight, and we'll reconvene tomorrow morning. Take the rest of the afternoon off, if you want," Max said, as she gathered her things up and slipped her coat on. There was some protest, but she ignored it wholeheartedly until she was out the door. The only one who was eerily quiet was Joshua, who kept a knowing stare on Max's back. He had made a promise though, so he said nothing as he watched his friend go.

Alec sat atop the old tower Max frequented often in the night. But it was midday now, and he vaguely noted that the city looked much prettier at night from this vantage point. He had only come up here a few times with Max; it was her spot, and he wasn't trying to intrude. He couldn't deny that it was nice to have it to himself for now though. Time passed by indefinitely for him, his green eyes merely watching the patterns of people go by below him without much thought running through his head. It was easier that way. He didn't know how long he had been there when he heard his phone ringing in his pocket.

"Y'ello," he chirped.

"Hey, my man. I'm outside the club now. There's no sign of Grenade's hummer. I just talked to the owner, and he said it's been impounded for being left on the street too long," Sketchy said from the other end. Alec's face remained void of any expression as he ran a finger across his upper lip, mind lost in thought for a moment.

"Sketchy, we're going back to that club tonight," Alec said suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"Because I need you to see if you can spot that woman again. Maybe she can give us something to go on," Alec said. Before he hung up, he added, "Don't invite the girls."

The ride over to Logan's did little to quell her nerves, but it was enough that she no longer felt like slamming her fist into something. She parked her bike outside of Joshua's old house, and Logan's new hideout. A heavy breath eased in and out of her to steady her nerves before she climbed up the steps and opened the door.

"Anybody home," she called as she shut the door behind her. She heard scuffling, and then heavy steps jogging their way toward her.

"Hey! I'm glad you could make it," Logan said cheerily, smiling at her as he came forward to take her bag from her. She almost flinched away from him, but she still had her jacket on, and Logan was already wearing a pair of rubber gloves over his hands. Forcing the tension to ease out of her muscles, she smiled back to him and let him take her pack. As she walked through the foyer, she kept having to remind herself to forget about Alec, and to erase all thoughts of telling Logan what happened between them from her head.

"So who's this new doctor you found," she asked to distract herself. A smile spread over her face as she looked up to some of the Joshua's paintings decorating the walls. It warmed her heart that Logan had not only kept them, but put them up on display around the house.

"Dr. Hazzaman. He's a friend of Dr. Shankar's. Specializes in biochemistry and biological warfare," Logan said, as he finished setting up his little medical kit. Max glanced at him from across the room, and let a small, airy chuckle leave her.

"Dr. Hazzaman? Sounds like a bad joke from a crook who smokes too much reefer," Max joked. Logan stopped what he was doing, finally finished, and stood to look at Max. A small, unsure laugh left him as he placed his hands against his hips.

"Yeeeeah, well. He turned down Manticore for a job at the Genetics Lab…in Terminal City," Logan said almost teasingly, his eyes brightening a little when Max looked at him disbelievingly. He smiled wider, and nodded a little, before saying, "worked there before it became uninhabitable for us. If anyone else is qualified to figure this out, it's him."

Max nodded to him. "Right," she conceded, finally stepping forward and shedding her jacket off. She threw it onto a chair, and let out an easier breath. This was exactly what she needed, and a more genuine smile took over her lips as she stepped closer to Logan. Even when thing were really bad, and he only seemed to make it worse, there was something about Logan that made her feel better. It was odd, and she couldn't explain it, but it was true. She'd say it was safety she felt with him, but that was pretty irrelevant now since them being in close proximity was now anything but safe. But there was just something about the familiarity they had that made her feel secure, even when she felt insecure about her standings with him.

For a moment, she could forget the outside world existed.

She rolled her sleeves up passed her elbows and over her biceps until both her veins were showing. Logan brought a reverent hand up, and gripped ahold of her left forearm. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, and a small, bittersweet smile passed between the two. They both longed for the contact to be skin on skin, because this poor substitute was a horrible comparison. But at least it was something.

That was starting to not be enough, and they both knew it.

Which was exactly why they were here, trying again to overcome this trying obstacle. Max sat down on a chair, and Logan sat across from her as he brought her arm to splay across the table. Their eyes fell to her arm as Logan swabbed it clean with some water. She almost laughed a little, because it was really unnecessary, but she kept quiet as he brought a needle to her skin and gently pierced into her vein. The sensation of loss was muted easily with her transgenic pain suppression, and she looked up to him as her blood was drawn into a vile.

"You alright? You seem a bit deflated today," Logan asked, though his focus remained on his task. She stared at his face for a moment, silently marveling at his ability to pick her apart so well. Over two years, and he knew her well enough to pick things up, even when she hid them. It wasn't an infallible ability, but with any luck, perhaps it would become one, one day. She smiled a little to him as he switched the full vile with an empty one.

"Yeah," she said absently, eyelashes fluttering to hide the turmoil in her eyes. A moment of stupidity surged in her gut, urging her to tell him the truth, but she choked it down just as quickly. Instead, she decided to help mask her troubles with a half-truth. "It's just Alec."

At that name, Logan let his gaze briefly glance to Max's distant face. He may have been made aware nothing was going on between the two of them, but that didn't mean the name no longer made him a bit edgy. He didn't hate Alec or anything; they had come a long way from that, but he didn't hold any rivers of fondness for the boy either. "Is he okay," Logan asked quietly, as he inserted the third and final vile into place for Max's blood.

"Yeah…I mean, I don't know."

"Did you guys have a fight," Logan tried again, and Max fidgeted a little, eyes darting into her lap as she rubbed her thumb into the palm of her hand that had blood being drawn from it's veins.

"Yeah. It was this stupid meeting about laws for Terminal City, and Dix mentioned Psy-Ops. Alec kinda lost it after that, tore into me pretty good before taking off," Max recounted dully. Logan tied the tourniquet off before capping the last sample of blood. He looked up to Max briefly with a sympathetic smile, before he pulled the needle out and placed a small piece of gauze over the puncture hole. Barely a drop of blood seeped into it before it healed over.

"He's still got a lot of scars to work through from Manticore. He'll be alright, Maxie," Logan assured her soothingly as he placed his equipment down. She continued to frown and stare at the table, even as he took both her hands in his own.

"Yeah, I know….it's just, I have no idea what he went through. What they all went through. I mean, I was only there for a few months, and yeah it sucked pretty bad when we were kids. But they all have so much-"

"Hey," Logan said, cutting off her self-wallowing rant before she fell too deep in her grief. He rubbed soothing circles into her hands, which would have felt much better if not laced with the sterile feeling of gloves between them. It was a sacrifice they would hopefully not have to deal with for much longer. Finally, she came to look at him with sad eyes, and he only smiled to her even kinder.

"You freed them from that. And maybe you don't know what they went through, and you can't take it back for them… But you made sure they won't have to go through it again. You gave them a new home, safe from Manticore and prejudice from others who don't understand them. It will take time Maxie, but they'll all heal from what Manticore did to them. In time, you'll see. You saved them all," Logan assured her, and she managed to muster a small smile to him. She was so thankful for him, it brought tears to her eyes that she refused to shed, because they would fall for grief in the way she had betrayed him, and she couldn't handle that right now.

"Yeah…and now I have to save everyone else," Max said gloomily, referring to the cryptic prophecy still tattooed onto her skin in letters from a language no one knew how to speak, save for the one she didn't want to know. White. A thick, foreboding tension fell over the two about the mysteries lurking around the corner for them. All they could do was stare into each others eyes and pray for this moment to keep them free from that dread, while both of them were silently worrying over it.

Alec and Sketchy got to the club around 9pm. It was just as crowded as the night before, which seemed to delight Sketchy because there were more innocent girls for him to creep on. Alec wasn't in the hunting mood tonight, not in that way, anyway. They made their way through the first floor to get to the bar. Even though he wasn't looking for any action, didn't mean he couldn't multitask. He could wingman for Sketchy while they kept an eye out for the one they were looking for, and he never turned down alcohol. It wasn't like he could get drunk easily anyway.

After about three shots, two beers, and some hearty conversation, Sketchy nudged Alec's elbow before he nodded across the spacious room. Leaning closer to his transgenic friend (even though it was unnecessary), he said, "That's her, over there. Blonde in the red dress."

Alec looked up and followed his friend's gesture, tilting his head left then right to try and see through the shifting people. He could make out her profile, and only bits and pieces of her. When his eyes dilated to zoom in on her, his pupils were briefly shocked by how her platinum locks glowed in the black light, before they adjusted to smooth out the contrast. Her face was covered by the strands, so he couldn't see what she looked like, but he mapped out her profile and how the crimson silk covering her skin clung to her curvaceous body just the right way. Glancing to Sketchy briefly, he clasped his friend on the shoulder and pointed toward the bar. Sketchy nodded and ushered him off.

The transgenic smoothly maneuvered through the thriving dance floor, and slipped his way into a space at the bar. It opened up to him a moment later when two women sauntered off, and he smiled lazily as he rolled his torso into the edge of the counter. He dropped his glass to the counter, and shoved it forward slightly to get the bartender's attention. There were many patrons shouting and volleying for drinks around him, causing Alec to snort at their desperation.

He didn't have to wait long for attention to be drawn to him, but it wasn't from the bartender that he received the scrutiny. A looming sensation pushed into his left side, and Alec turned his head to see the blonde chick staring straight at him, only a mere foot away. She was casually leaning against the counter with one elbow, her entire body facing him in a leisurely manner than invited him to feast his eyes on her vivacious form. He wasn't shy about it either as his eyes trailed down the length of her dress, the slit at it's hem slanted to show off more of her left leg, which was conveniently pushed toward him to splay perfect porcelain flesh to him. A broad smirk lazily passed over his face, and his eyes slowly trailed up, briefly settling on her plump, perky breasts, before he took in her exotic face.

"Well, just the one I was waiting for," Alec said cheekily. The woman smiled at him, showcasing perfectly white, straight teeth, and 'Holy fuck, this chick really IS hot.' She still had a bit of baby fat to her cheeks, which rounded them out nicely, but the rest of her face was angular and slender, smooth skin coating every curve. Her lips were thin and pulled up into a dazzling smile that only accentuated her natural beauty. Her eyes framed a tiny nose, and were the bluest sapphire he had ever seen.

"Am I, now," she said back cheerily, and he was thoroughly surprised to find she had an English accent. When his eyes widened slightly, the woman smiled and leaned forward. Alec had the initial instinct to look down and catch her growing cleavage, but the way her eyes held to him stopped the trail of his gaze in it's tracks. She leaned close enough so he was forced to stare into nothing but her eyes, and the blue in them seemed to swell around him. He felt his breath catch as those sapphires pierced through his very soul, absorbing any thoughts he had of everything else, except the woman before him. His mouth parted slightly, as if he had to suddenly pant for air, but nothing seemed to quench his thirst for life except the suddenly intoxicating pheromones wafting off this mystery woman.

"Yeah," he said, throat catching awkwardly around his voice to constrict the sound of it. Christ, he sounded like a goddamn prepubescent teen! Clearing his throat a little, he offered a nervous smile before he chuckled a little awkwardly. Her smile widened a little.

"What for?"

"What?"

"What are you waiting for me for," she asked again as she tilted her head a little. Not once had her gaze broken from him, and he found he couldn't look away from the swirling blue of her eyes. Everything felt fuzzy all of a sudden; the club, the music, even his own head falling into background noise as the woman before him consumed all his awareness.

"Uhhh," he stammered, awed into a damn stupor as the woman's features only became more striking against the darkness around her. She seemed to glow with this heavenly aura, that even her dress sparkled before his eyes. 'Fucking stunning.' And then she was laughing, the most heavenly sound he'd ever heard. In a shy manner he found too fucking adorable, she briefly turned her face away from him to stifle her giggles into the counter, before she came back to herself and smirked at him.

"Sorry. That probably sounded really confusing," she admitted bashfully, and Alec couldn't help but chuckle along with her dopily. He was grinning ear to ear now like a drunken schoolboy.

"No, it's okay," he assured her with a dazed and slightly strung out voice. Blinking a few times rapidly, Alec finally seemed to regain some of his wits. He remembered why he wanted to talk to her, but hadn't really gained his conversation skills back, so just blurted out what he wanted to know tactlessly; "Were you with a guy last night? He's about five-eight, scraggly brown hair, dark eyes…goes by the name of Grenade?"

"Mmmm, nope. Doesn't ring a bell," the woman said, the smile on her gorgeous face briefly replaced with a contemplative frown. It was Alec's turn to frown.

"Well, you see. My friend over there," Alec said, leaning backward to point a finger at Sketchy, whom had found his way into coaxing some brunette to have a drink with him. 'Go Sketch-ball,' Alec thought briefly, a bit of pride returning his smile to his face as he looked back to the woman he had staring at him curiously. "Says he saw you last night dancing with him. He's our friend, you see, and I'm trying to find him," Alec explained. A perplexed look overtook the woman's face.

"You mean he's missing," she asked, voice squeaky with alarm. Alec's brows rose a little in surprise.

"Not sure. That's what I'm trying to find out, which is why I thought you could help me?" The woman frowned at him, looking down at the counter before she shook her head a little.

"It wasn't me dancing with him, sorry Love. But maybe it was my sister," the woman said, that sexy accent causing her velvety voice to punch the words into Alec's gut. Her deep ocean eyes flickered up to him, chin still tilted downward to give her a strangely mischievous look that Alec couldn't help but smirk wryly at.

"You have a sister," he asked impishly, which the woman nodded to. "Is she here tonight?" Unfortunately, the woman shook her head at this question, and that caused Alec to frown.

"She's home tonight," the woman said. As she spoke, she slowly twisted against the counter until her back was pressing into it, elbows folded behind her to keep her upright. This invariably led to her breasts pushing out, which Alec's eyes were instantly drawn to, dangling so teasingly in the air for him.

"Wanna take me home to meet her," he found himself mindlessly saying. She smirked slightly, tilting her head just enough to cast her devilish eyes on him, watching him stare at her breasts unhindered. With a single step, she rose to her full height and simultaneously came closer to him. It pushed her breasts just under his chin, and Alec's breath hitched as he watched them bounce to him. He had to fight off the urge to just sink his face into her cleavage right then and there, when he felt her slender fingers curl around his wrist. Surprised, he blinked his eyes up to her face, and instantly lost himself in her mystifying gaze again. He was definitely drowning, but it felt so blissful he didn't want it to stop.

She turned away from him then, and her fingers slid into his hand as she walked away. The moment she pulled on him, he obediently followed after the sharp, jutting sway of her hips with his feet and his eyes. She led him through the dancers, and up the ledge on the first floor, before the pair made their way out the side entrance of the club. It led into an alleyway behind the club, big enough that dump trucks could squeeze in to, to collect the trash the few times they got the damn things loaded with enough gas. There wasn't much to see, but another run down building on the other side, and another empty alleyway across the fence to their right. Toward the left, it emptied out into one of the side streets that wrapped around the far side of the club.

"Hey what's your name, anyway," Alec suddenly asked, before he was forcefully shoved into the wall of the club they just left. With a startled grunt, he watched her with curious eyes as she dug her hands into his sides to keep him still. Her glinting eyes cast a daring look up to his face.

"Lily. My name's Lily," she said seductively, before she leaned forward and crashed her mouth into his. A groan instantly left him at her heavenly taste, and his hands found their way to her hips to bring her closer as she deepened the kiss with an eager tongue. For a moment, all the world consisted of was this passionate lip-lock, and Alec's hands roamed up her back to feel spots of flesh through the open back of her dress. He knew he was supposed to be doing something, but he couldn't seem to grasp what it was anymore as Lily overwhelmed all his senses with her divinity.

"Aah!" he suddenly yelped, breaking their kiss to shove her back a little when he felt a sharp sting at his left side. Keeping one hand wrapped around her shoulder, he looked down at his own body to see a small object protruding from his thin sweater. Brows furrowing slightly, he pinched two fingers around it with his left hand, and carefully plucked the dart out of his flesh.

"There's enough to put three tigers down in that. Think it'll be enough for you," Lily asked sweetly, tilting her head a little as she watched Alec's eyes wander back to her face. His eyes were already hazy, and he looked like an idiot blinking at her so bleakly like that. It almost made her smile, watching him fight to keep consciousness against the fog already clouding his judgment, but his grip on her shoulder tightened. Alec jerked forward slightly and brought his left hand up, fingers curling around the dart in a fist as he mustered all the strength he had left to punch her.

Quicker than he could move in his tranquilized state, she unzipped her wristlet and chucked it away to unsheathe a Taser, that she mercilessly jammed into Alec's right side. The X5's entire body went rigid, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head as his body convulsed with the electricity painfully forcing its way through his nerves. The tremors were so severe, Alec couldn't even scream out, every muscle seizing tight enough to strangle him.

"Guess not," Lily mused childishly, before she pulled the Taser out of him and watched him fall lifelessly to the ground. His muscles immediately gave out, slumping into dead weight from the tranquilizers now thickly coating his consciousness. Only a few inconsistent muscle spasms from his shot nerves indicated he was still alive. Lily looked away from him then, down the next alleyway to make sure the coast was still clear as a dark van backed into the crime scene from the side street. It stopped just a few feet from Alec, and the back doors opened to reveal three large, typical linebacker-shaped men. They clamored out of the vehicle and surrounded the X5, before lifting him up and chucking him into the back of the van.

"What about the boy," Lily said, nodding her head toward the club they were about to leave behind. One of the grunts stopped to cast a dull glance at her. He grunted a little.

"What about him?"

"He made me. Should we do something about him," Lily spoke nonchalantly. The man hummed a little, and cast a half-hearted glance at the side door.

"He's just a human. Hardly worth our time. Besides, we've met our quota on test subjects with this one. There's no reason for you to hunt here anymore," the male said, before he turned and climbed into the back of the van. Lily hummed under her breath in contemplation, her keen eyes staring at the door for a moment longer. Then, she turned, and with the same sway in her hips, she walked up to the van and climbed in while her arms elegantly reached out for the doors on either side of her. She shut them behind her, and the van took off down the street without a witness in sight.

AN: OMG WUT?! NO WAY! An actual plot is forming! Don't worry guys, I promise you'll get some answers as to wtf just happened in the next episode. Poor Alec though, in trouble again haha! Will he make it out on his own? Stay tuned to find out! Questions, comments, suggestions, guesses, please feel free to leave them all for me! I love and appreciate each one, and they give me the strength to go on with the story! Thanks so much. Till next time ;D