Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, but I'd like to, and it's the thought that counts, right? ;-)

Summary: Updates Mondays and Thursdays.

Doppelganger

Chapter Eleven

After stopping by a store and picking up Quip a new outfit, just new sneakers, a pair of jeans and a light blue long-sleeve (Max swore she'd do more shopping while she was supposed to be at work), they drove over to Jam Pony, the bike messenger place where Max and Alec worked. Quip actually knew about Jam Pony; she had seen bike messengers from there around the city, always going somewhere with those shoulder bags. And they got through the sector gates easier than anyone else. If Quip had been older, she would have stolen one of the passes, but no one was going to mistake a seven-year-old for a twenty-year-old.

Jam Pony was one of the busiest places Quip had ever been. Soup kitchens and orphanages were pretty orderly compared to this…mess. Adults were walking in and out of the building, jumping on and off bikes, tires squealed, music played, the TV blared. People shouted at each other, fist-bumped, ran out the door pushing bikes, yelled something back before disappearing down the street. And over it all, the man with glasses and a sweater-vest was shouting orders, throwing packages at people and making demands.

It actually looked like fun.

Quip stuck close to Alec as he maneuvered his way through the people and bikes to get to the front desk where the blond man was. Alec had said his name was Normal, which Quip thought was not a good name. Of course he was normal. There was no way he could be a transgenic, not with glasses and excess fat that served no purpose.

The blond man looked at Max and Alec with disdain as the three of them walked up to the counter. He shuffled through some of the packages and envelopes around before pulling out a manila envelope and flinging it at Alec. Alec caught it before it could whack him in the face. Quip thought the blond man was borderline crazy, if not just rude.

The blond guy, Normal, didn't even look at them while he talked. "Missy-miss, fired. Small, misplaced street urchin, out. Alec, hot run to East Street. Double time, bip, bip, bip!"

"Whatever, Normal," Max said, rolling her eyes and walking towards the lockers in the back of the room. On the way over, she was stopped by a tall guy with shaggy blond hair and a goatee who seemed unhappy that someone named OC had forced him into covering for her and Alec. Quip stopped eavesdropping on their conversation when both of them looked at her; Max smiled at her and then went over to the lockers.

Alec leaned against the counter, looking like he owned the place instead of just worked there. "Hey, Normal, could you do me a favor?"

"You're my favorite degenerate, Alec, but I make it a habit to not do favors for employees," Normal said. He grabbed two more packages and hurled them at two people who were trying to leave. "42nd and Carpenter. Shoo!" They both gave him hateful scowls that would have gotten Quip six months in solitary if she had looked at a superior like that back at Manticore. Normal ignored them as he glanced back at Alec. "What do you want?"

"Nothing much-"

Normal flicked his eyes to Quip again and made a face. "You, scat! We don't give handouts, free food or hugs, so get. Scam someone else, vagabond!" He waved his arms at her as if trying to scare off a cat.

Quip crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at Alec. She didn't scam people. They just gave her stuff.

"Actually," Alec said, smirking at Normal, "This is my sister. I'm babysitting for my parents for the week while they take a trip to the countryside." He put his hand on her head, but she batted it away and put her hands on her hips. She wasn't pet-able.

"This is your urchin? This is why you missed work?" Normal stared at her through his thick glasses, and she stared right back. Normal blinked first. "Doesn't look a thing like you."

Alec shrugged. "What can I say? She missed out on all the good genes."

Her foot landed on his ankle before she knew she was moving. He didn't wince or even make a noise, but he shot her a split-second grimace before looking back at Normal with a winning smile. Jerk.

"Could she stay here?" he asked, "I mean, I'll be back at the end of the day and everything, and you won't even know she's here. Swear."

Normal hurled a few more packages at the bike messengers before turning his attention back to Alec. "It's against company policies to have a child on the premises," he said. He started riffle through some papers and envelopes, ignoring Alec.

Quip looked around the room and caught a trio of the bike messenger girls looking at her, grinning and tittering to each other. She looked up at Alec, but he wasn't paying her attention. Sighing, she reached up and tugged on his shirt sleeve. He crouched down to her level.

"What?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"I don't have to stay here," she hissed at him, "I can go. I'll be fine alone."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Yeah, no, I don't think so. I'm not letting a seven-year-old stay alone in my apartment. You'll wreck something."

"Will not! And I don't have to go to your apartment."

"Somehow I don't think roaming the streets is actually a good idea for you right now." He stood back up, bumping her gently in the back of the head with the heel of his palm as he did so.

Quip crossed her arms over her chest. This wasn't fair. No had taken care of her since she had gotten out of Manticore. Now here he was, bossing her around like he was her superior. Just because some guy might or might not be after her didn't mean he would get her. She was an X8, no human was going to catch her.

Alec turned back to the desk. "Normal, come on, it's not like she's going to be a pain," he said, "I was going to leave her with a friend, but she really wanted to come meet you."

That caught Normal's attention. He stopped going through the letters and papers and looked up at Alec. "She wanted to meet me?" He narrowed his eyes at her, but she stood her ground. "Why?"

"I told her about my boss, and how he's such a great guy and how he supported me when I was boxing, and how he went to Harvard, and man, the kid was excited. She wanted to meet you…" Alec shook his head and knelt down next to Quip. "Sorry, kiddo, but I guess Normal doesn't have time today." He winked at her.

Huh? Oh… Pouting, she let her head drop and her shoulders droop.

"Aw…okay," she said. She added a sniffle for effect, knowing that it usually sent adults into a sympathetic panic.

Normal put everything down on the desk. "Wait. I mean, what did she want to know?"

Alec stood up, his face falling into a serious mask. "She just likes meeting influential people, you know? She likes hearing their stories, but I can take her back home."

Normal grabbed another package and handed it to Alec. "You're already late for the East Street run. She can stay here, if she stays quiet and doesn't distract the staff. If there's one thing I don't need, it's another distraction for the riffraff."

"She'll be a mouse," Alec said, holding up his hands and smiling.

"I don't like mice," Normal grumbled. He walked out from behind the desk and stomped off to berate some "degenerates."

"Fair enough," Alec said, shrugging. He grinned at Quip. "At least he's letting you stay."

"I don't wanna stay," Quip said. "Can't I go back to the apartment? Or with you?"

Alec shook his head. "Nah, I don't have a baby seat on my bike."

She shot him a glare. "I don't need a baby seat. I could…"

"Sit on the handle bars?" he finished when she couldn't come up with anything. He smiled at her. "I know you've got awesome balance and everything, but I don't want to chance it. It'll be fine here, they're…decent. Just stay out of the bathrooms, and you'll be okay."

Quip didn't want to know what happened in the bathrooms. She followed Alec as he walked over to the rack and grabbed his bike. It was one of the nicer ones.

While Alec checked the tires and the chain, the three bike messengers that had been looking at them earlier approached, looking sort of like a pack of predators instead of people. Quip instinctively moved closer to Alec, one of her own pack. Strength in numbers, right?

The one in front, a redhead with multiple ponytails and a sleeveless top, stopped in front of them and beamed at Quip. "Oh, my God, Alec, she's adorable!"

"Huh?" Alec looked up from the bike as Quip stepped behind him. Usually she used her looks to her advantage, but right now she felt out of place and reliant on the older transgenic. It wasn't the best feeling. "Oh, the kid?"

"Hell yeah!" said the redhead. She squatted down to get on Quip's level, but Quip only retreated closer to the bike rack and Alec. "What a sweetheart!"

"Must not be related to Alec, then," said a second woman. She was shorter than the other two women and had a mousy face with hair to match tied back in a braid.

Alec rolled his eyes at her. "Because you're just a treasure, right, Hermione?" The mousy-faced girl glared at him and tossed her long braid.

"Where did you find her?" asked a girl with blond hair. She was a little chubby, but it made her look nicer than the other two. In Manticore, though, she would have been doing extra laps. She looked at Quip with a warm smile. "I've never seen such a cute kid, look at those eyes! Is she yours?"

Alec smirked and shook his head. "Nah, she's my sister," he said, "She's a little shy." He nudged Quip with his knee. "Say hey, short stuff."

"Hi," Quip said obediently.

"Oooo, I could eat her up!" the redhead declared, clapping her hands together. She seemed to be a few cartridges short of a full ammunition belt. She leaned forward, and Quip felt like all those red ponytails were going to attack her. "How old are you, sweetie?"

"Seven," Quip answered. She looked up at Alec. Why couldn't he just take her with him? The look on his face was easy to read: smile and endure. He was going to owe her after this.

"Oh, she is so cute! Can I have her?" The redhead reached a hand out to Quip, and she disappeared behind Alec's bike probably faster than the humans' eyes could track.

"Ooo, skittish, isn't she?" the redhead exclaimed, blinking as she stood up. Alec shot Quip a reproving look, but she pretended to be interested in the spokes on his bike. She wasn't ashamed of running. That woman was…not cool.

"She just isn't very good around strangers," Alec said.

Quip made a face. That was a lie. She was really good with strangers…but these Jam Pony people were strange.

"Aww, that's so cute," said the redhead, "What's her name?"

"Quip," answered Alec. He leaned against the bike rack and grinned at the women. "Dad wanted to keep with the clever theme."

"That's silly," said the mouse-faced woman, Hermione, "Quip isn't a real name."

"We can't all be named after characters in children's books," Alec said, "But damn, wouldn't that be nice?"

The mouse-faced woman scowled at him and then flounced off, her braid swinging behind her back. Alec snickered and looked back at the other two women. "What's got her panty's in a twist?"

"Maybe it's the fact that you don't want to get in them," said the redhead as she straightened up and brushed her hands off on her jeans.

Alec wrinkled his nose. "Ugh, no way. That woman hates me."

"No, she love-hates you," said the redhead, "Big difference."

"Sexually-driven, lustful employees Leah and Emma!" Normal yelled from the window, "Rears in gear, hot runs to Laird and Beeman! Bip, bip, bip!" He waved a couple packages in the air and glared at them.

The redhead brushed a few free strands of hair back from her face. "Geez, I hate him. But it's a job, you know?"

"We all know," the blond-haired woman said. She sighed as she looked at Quip. "I want one just like her…"

The two women headed over to get their packages, and Alec turned to Quip. "Wanna come out from behind the bike?"

"Defensive maneuver," she muttered as she skirted the bike and came to his side.

Alec snorted. "Manticore brat."

"You too," she replied. She rubbed her squeaky new sneakers together. "Can I—"

"You'll be fine here, I swear," Alec said, "And you're not allowed to leave, by the way. Consider it an order, if that'll make you feel better."

Quip shoved a lock of dark blond hair and frowned up at him. "It doesn't."

"Sorry," he said. "Look, I'll make it up to you later, okay?"

"Fine."

"Good!" He roughly ruffled her hair before yanking his bike away from the others. They walked over to the counter, Quip following behind Alec with her feet dragging. Alec grabbed her and put her on the counter. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"You neither," she replied. She pulled her legs into a cross-legged position and put her elbows on her knees. She watched as he rode out of the doorway. He raised his hand and saluted her roguishly before disappearing behind the side of the building.

"And there he goes, the great, golden warrior," Normal said in an extremely reverent tone. He clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth and sighed. "Not one like him. Not one." He shook his finger at Quip. "You're lucky he's your brother."

She scrunched up her nose, and Normal crossed his arms over his chest. "What? You are, little missy-miss." Turning around, he shouted at couple more of his workers before whipping back toward her. "So, what's your moniker?"

"Quip," she replied reluctantly.

He raised an eyebrow, probably surprised that she knew what 'moniker' meant. "That's a nickname," he finally grumbled, "What's your real name?"

"My real name is Quip," she said, flicking her eyes up at him. It was better than a string of numbers and letters, wasn't it?

"Quip. A clever, usually taunting remark. Or a witty or funny observation or response usually made on the spur of the moment. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary." He tossed a pile of letters on top of one of the boxes. "Not a name."

"It's my name, and I like it," Quip replied. When he frowned at her, she added a soft, obligatory, "Sir."

That seemed to make him extremely happy. He puffed out his chest and gave a smug smile. "You have manners. Good to see that the entire world hasn't lost them."

He moved around for a few minutes, avoiding the part of the counter where she as sitting, obviously trying to ignore that she was there. Quip contented herself with watching the Jam Pony employees, picking up on their relationships and behaviors, things that Manticore had taught her to look for.

"Well," Normal finally said, walking towards her with a frown on his face. The frown actually seemed to be his permanent facial expression. "If you're going to stay here, you might as well make yourself useful." He handed her a stack of papers and a stamp. "Take a paper and stamp here, in this box. And make sure it's straight. That should be simple enough. Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir," Quip said, adding the sir just because it seemed to put him in a better mood.

Normal allowed himself a half-smile. "Maybe you won't grow up to be like the rest of these delinquents." He gave a curt nod and then jerked his head up to glare at some employees that had started doing tricks on their bikes. "Hey, moronic nimrods, cease and desist with the company property!"

Quip sighed and looked toward the door way. Alec had better come back soon. Or else.

A/N: See, longer chapter. ^_^ Thanks for the reviews everyone, I appreciate them greatly! Sorry if I haven't been replying individually lately, I've been super busy at school. It's all I can do to get an update out. I'll try my best to reply to this chapter's reviews!