Explosion: Heat

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any characters featured in either of the seasons.

Summary: After an explosive fight with Alec followed by an attack on Terminal City, Max finds things very different afterwards.

Max ran. She ran like she had all those years ago, away from the pain of Manticore. Now she ran from the pain of Alec, the pain of seeing him with another girl. Even though her rational part of her mind told she and he weren't together, it didn't stop her heart's rational of he had hurt her and she should run. When she finally stopped, not out of breath, she looked at where she was. She was in the extremely run down area of T.C. These buildings weren't occupied at any rate, the perfect place to run and hide. Walking into the tallest she zoned into her own world as she walked automatically to the top of the building. Going through the motions of going to a high place to think, Max found a spot to sit and she began to feel again. Pain. Tears.

Alec stood at the window in his apartment and stared at the run down city. Once again he was thinking of nothing but Max. Nadia was asleep now, while he was wide awake. He wasn't in love with her by any means, and he doubted she was with him. But it was nice to have companionship with someone who understood where you came from, literally and figuratively. Crossing his arms over his chest Alec closed his eyes and began to remember.

Max was dry, she couldn't cry anymore. She felt dehydrated. Wiping away the last trace of tears she hugged herself and started thinking about her time with Alec, her Alec. The one who wasn't here anymore. She missed him. She missed knowing he was there no matter and she always had a place to go whenever she needed to vent or felt lonely. She knew, like herself, he had his moments of loneliness and would never outright say it.

"Not liking everything are ya?" Alec's voice rang out from behind her. Whipping around she saw him leaning against an air vent with a relaxed air around him.

"I'm dreaming aren't I," it wasn't a question, more of a statement to herself. Alec just smiled and watched her with his intense eyes. "So what now? Am I suppose to be learning the error of my ways or learn to right the wrong? What?!"

"Now Maxie what's wrong? You wanted this," Alec pushed off the vent and swaggered towards her. Max stood up in response to his movements and waited for him to reach her, "you repeatedly wished for things to be different, here you go! Why do you not see this is a gift?"

"Because it's not! I was angry when I said those things!"

"Ah...true you were, but it's often believed that in anger the truth comes through." He countered stopping and holding up his finger and shaking it to her, "or would it be a Freudian slip of the tongue?" Max just stared at him.

"Why are you here? Anytime you show up I don't understand what you want or who you are."

"I'm Alec, I'm the Alec you hate and love, in your mind's eye." Alec responded shrugging his shoulders, "you created this place, not me." Walking to the edge of the building a few feet away from her, Alec looked down, "interesting choice of place to come for running and hiding."

"What do you mean?" Max questioned as he smiled a smile that spoke he knew something she didn't.

"Your journal," he said simply before jumping over the edge. Running to look over, Alec was gone and Max was left with more confusion.

When Max woke up she was still on top of the building, glancing over her shoulder she saw the air vent right where it was before, but with no Alec leaning on it. Blinking her eyes a few time she slowly stood up and realized for the first time, that it was light out. Hugging herself she slowly walked to leave the building to go to command and start another day in the life she didn't know or want.

Time dredged on, and little happened. Max never got her answers about her journal entry from Alec or why she was where she was from the other Alec. Slowly she found herself fall into a routine of habit that seemed to robotic, and slowly she felt herself turning to herself and away from others.

Max looked around her, she was in her office in the middle of the day. It was hustling and bustling with life and survival. Looking to left she saw her messy desk, then turned to look to her right at the other desk. There sat Alec with a set of earphones and was listening to some music, unaware of her staring at him. Feeling weird she swallowed before she walked over to Alec and touched him, or attempted to. He didn't move or register her touch which caused to recoil and start to panic. "Hey Alec you busy?" Looking to the door there stood Nadia smiling at the second in command. Taking off his headphones he nodded and motioned her into the office, "what cha up to?" She asked reaching his desk and sitting on the corner.

"Just trying to make headway, what's up?" Alec asked leaning back into his chair.

"Just was wondering if you maybe wanted to take a break and...I don't know...go somewhere with me?" She asked with the body language of a flirt with the tone of softness. A deadly combination for a lot of men who thought with their heads and no their brains.

"Like?"Alec asked not letting on whether or not he understood her insinuation.

"My place, yours or anywhere in between," Nadia leaned forward to where their noses where almost touching, "if you haven't caught on by now, I want you, very much." Leaning forward she pressed her lips firmly against his while stroking her hands his chest and cupping his head.

"What the hell!" Max snapped her attention to the door again, there she stood. Pissed. Nadia jumped and looked like a deer caught in head lights while Alec looked like he just wanted to shoot himself.

"Gotta go!" Nadia scampered out of the office and slammed the door behind. Max watched herself storm of to Alec and start yelling at him. Suddenly she realized what was going on. It was the last day she spent with her Alec, their fight from earlier in the day, before she had found out about the run. She had caught Alec in the office with Nadia and she had been sent off the edge.

"Could you be anymore of a slut? Seriously! This is my office too!" Max ranted to Alec.

"First of all, I wasn't doing anything! She kissed me!"

"Oh right! Poor victimized you! I can't believe you!" Max seethed stalking out of the office leaving Alec leaning over his desk and rubbing his eyes, looking defeated and down.

"What I put up with," he muttered before standing up and walking out of the office towards a conference room with his cell in his hand, "Max when you get this message meet me in C-1." He said simply as he walked into the room and laid out some plans and files. 30 minutes later he once again tried to call Max and he was greeted with her voice mail, "drama queen," he groaned slamming the device on the table.

"Hey Dix, call in Op-team C, would ya?" Alec yelled next door, Dix turned and gave him a thumbs up through the window and started calling in the team requested. "Alright here's the plan, med-bay is low on supplies listed on the sheets you have and we need more clothes for the younger generations, both Freaks and X's. These are the floor plans of the 2 places I want you guys to hit, simultaneously. Get what we need and get out, nothing extra that can we get later." Alec explained to the 10 X5-6's standing around the extended table.

"When you want to commence?" An X5 named John questioned while taking in the floor plans.

"Yesterday preferably. Today, 2 hours," Alec replied, "anything else?" No one said anything, "alright set up divide teams. John, Mae your team leaders, when you're ready meet me at Gate 5." Alec finished before walking out of the room. Max followed him as he walked through command doing little things of checking in of things or instructing others to do something.

3 hours later the team returned to with one injured, "what happened?" Alec questioned as the injured operative, Sally, was being carried by John.

"A guard shot her in the leg, nothing serious," John informed.

"Ok, take her to med, check in and then everyone meet me for debrief." Sure enough not 10 minutes later the team was back in the conference room and telling Alec everything that had happened on their run. Everything had gone smoothly, everything needed was required, nothing more or less. Max leaned against the wall and watched as he took everything he was told in. when he was about to say something she saw herself storm in and began ordering everyone out of the room and looked at Alec like he was a dead man walking. He walked out with the others, ignoring her. Rushing after herself and Alec Max saw an all to familiar scene.

"I can't believe you did a run without my consent!" Max raged as Alec continued to ignore her, which only fueled her further into a pit of rage. "You stupid worthless imbecile! I wish I had just let your head explode!" That did it.

"First of all bitch, you were too busy making mooky eyes at that damned ordinary that your worship! The run needed to be done and since I'm technically 2nd in command, I made the decision! No one got hurt fatally! Second of all, I didn't ask you to save my life! You did that and ever since then you've held it over my head, literally!" Max saw Alec's eyes, that were usually laughing, were blazing in furry and would make anyone wise to back down. Unfortunately Max wasn't and didn't.

"You are a fuck up, an anomaly!" She retaliated, "you've been nothing but trouble since Manticore! I wish I had never met you or saved your sorry pathetic ass!" Max glared at self as she heard her saying that, she wished she hadn't said that or any of it, but she had.

"Fine, wish granted," he muttered right in her face, then turned rigidly and walked away from her, while also getting the last word in. still standing in her place, Max watched herself stand there pissed beyond belief and snarling at his retreating form. Max's eyes widened when she realized what was to come next, and sure enough it did.

But before that thought could go any further a large explosion racked through the already tormented buildings of the Freak Nation. "ATTACK!" Some shouted over screams and shattering metal and rock.

"IN COMING!" Another voice came out just before another explosion hit another end of T.C. Immediately in defensive mode, Max watched as she started helping her fellow transgenics and getting ready for the raid that was sure to follow.

Sure enough familiars followed, clearing the protection gates that surrounded the Transgenic city, and once they landed they were met with very pissed off people. The battle began.

Helplessly Max watched as she fought endlessly, watched as her friends and comrades fought against the snake cult. Turning her attention to where she knew Alec would be she watched and he fought his way from cultist to cultist, never stopping or waiting for them to get a strike in before he could. Looking back at herself she saw herself fall.

"What the hell?" Max said out loud, she was in her apartment on her couch breathing hard and sweating beads. It had felt so real, as if she had relieved every moment leading up to blacking out. It made think of the real reason she had been pissed that day, Alec with Nadia. Resting her arms on her knees Max thought about what happened before she had walked into hers and Alec's office and saw Nadia there. She was going to talk to him about taking their relationship further, past friends. But her anger had flared and she had jumped to conclusions and ignored what her heart was telling her.

Licking her lips, she crawled out of bed and walked to her miniature bathroom. Why was she sweating so much? Oh shit!

"Heat!"

A.N.- Tell me what you think please!