A/N: Disclaimer: Nothing but a few characters belong to me! Title is taken from a song by Bring Me The Horizon. I'm happy to say that this story is about 22 chapters long and already completed so uploads will be quick and no one will be left hanging for years on end! Please review if you're enjoying it!

One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest

(As You March To Your Death)

The Night Before the Flag Raising

"You're only going to hurt her, you know," Logan said, his voice soft and knowing. His all knowing patronizing tone grated on Alec's nerves on a good day and this wasn't his best day ever.

"Excuse me?" he asked, eyes narrowed as he turned towards Logan. He had been in the middle of organizing the census that he'd been painstakingly assembling when the cyber hacker made his unwanted appearance. He smelled of alcohol and Alec knew he shouldn't engage him but he'd had just about enough of his snide comments.

"Max. She's with you because she thinks you can understand her better than I can. I don't think you're a bad guy Alec, I mean aside from what Manticore made you do, but you're not good enough for her," he told her matter-of-factly.

Alec's blood began to boil and if asked he wouldn't be able to say if it was due to Logan's holier than thou tone or if it was due to the fact that he was doing Max a favor and kept having to put up with being talked down to for his trouble. "And you are?" he asked with irritation. Logan's eyes widened as though he were surprised that Alec finally chose to defend himself but the transgenic kept talking before he could get a word in. "You send her out on all your sketch Eye's Only missions, half the time you don't have all the proper intel. You talk down to her when she does what she was made and trained to do. You look down on her people as though she isn't just like the rest of us."

Logan's mouth opened and closed a couple times before finally finding his voice. "Max believes in what we do."

Alec laughed and was gratified to see Logan's jaw clench with anger. "Max believes in you. She does EO missions for you. I've heard stories of who she was before she met you, Logan. She knew how to have fun. You know how many times she's had fun since I've met her?" He challenged. Logan's only response was a loud glare. "I help you for her. So what really makes the two of us different?"

Max was walking towards Alec's newly claimed office to go over census reports when she heard Logan's angry voice coming from within the small room.

"The virus is what ruined her ability to have fun, Alec. Maybe if you hadn't cost us the cure you would have seen that," he said accusingly.

"No, Logan, I wouldn't have. If I hadn't cost you the cure then I'd be dead right now," she heard Alec reply without inflection. She frowned and slowly moved forward as Logan spoke again.

"That's why she will never really love you. You've wreaked havoc on her life from day one, Alec. She thinks you're what she needs right now but it won't last. You'll hurt her like you always do, wouldn't be the first time you've hurt a woman who's cared for you." Max shirked away from his tone at first, shock that he was throw something like that in Alec's face. Logan only knew about it because she had gone to him for information on Berrisford when Alec wouldn't talk to her. She had never expected him to use it against the younger man like that.

Max barged in through the door at the same time Alec spoke again. "Go sleep it off Cale," he said coldly. When Max looked at him his face was completely closed off and his eyes were ice cold. She didn't blame Logan for taking a stumbling step back. She could smell the alcohol now and things made a lot more sense.

"Max—I" Logan stuttered as he realized she was standing beside him suddenly.

"Save it Logan," she told him harshly. "Take Alec's advice and go to bed." She ignored his wounded look as he slowly nodded and left the office. She looked at Alec's statuesque face. "You okay?" she asked softly.

If Alec hadn't been so pissed off he would have laughed at the role reversal, Logan getting put in his place while Alec was spoken to as though he were about to crack. "Of course," he muttered without thought.

"I never told him about Rachel," she told him quickly. "He helped me figure out what happened with Berrisford so he must've put two and two together."

Alec shook himself out of his anger and slapped an easy going grin on his face. "Don't worry about it Maxie. It was my fault anyway, I knew he was drunk. I shouldn't have engaged him."

Max frowned. "Why did you?" she asked, irritation coloring her tone slightly.

Alec shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "It isn't easy being your fake boyfriend Max. Logan isn't taking it too well," he told her honestly. "He just caught me at a bad time. I'm tired, hungry and really want a hot shower."

Max bit her lip and nodded. She had heard some of the snide remarks Logan had been sending Alec's way and how they were more biting than the usual ribbing that took place between the two. She felt guilt. Guilt that Alec was paying for her lie and guilt that Logan was lowering himself to petty behavior that was so unlike him because of her unwillingness to tell the truth. "I'll tell him the truth before the flag raising tomorrow," she decided out loud.

Alec's eyes snapped to hers in surprise. "You don't have to do that Max," he told her reluctantly. He didn't want to continue playing this role but he didn't want her to come clean because she thought he couldn't hack it.

"No, I do. We've got bigger problems than my love life and we don't need that drama," she said sensibly. Logan would have to leave Terminal City soon and she was stuck there. Once they were unable to be around each other the problem with the virus would sort itself out and she wouldn't need Alec as a buffer anyway.

Alec nodded in agreement. "Alright Maxie."

"Don't call me that," she said out of habit, it lacked any real reproach. "Now...how's the census coming?"

Now

Zack watched X5-494 in suspicion from his place in Terminal Cities command. He had recently returned to Seattle after seeing Max doing an interview on the news while working at the farm. It triggered something and all of his memories came rushing back to him. Memories of what had happened before they blew up the DNA lab at Manticore, memories of what he had done the last time he'd seen his sister.

He remembered the look on her face when he'd walked through the gates a week earlier, the worry and dread. There were still some blank spaces in his memory, he couldn't completely recall what he knew about his other siblings. He remembered Max though, he remembered the feelings he'd had towards her since he first found her alive in Seattle a little over three years ago. His decidedly non brotherly feelings towards her.

This time around he also remembered that they'd never had that type of relationship and when she looked at him she just saw her brother. And that's why he was watching Alec. Alec wasn't their brother, he didn't grow up with them, he didn't escape with them, he didn't know them. Yet, he wore their brother's face and Zack couldn't help but think that Max should treat Alec the same way she treated him. As a brother.

Ben. Ben was one of those blank spots in Zack's memory but when he thought of his little idealistic brother he felt sorrow and dread. He felt as though he'd failed him. There was something about his feelings towards Ben that gave Zack the feeling he had been broken.

"Hey," Max greeted him as she walked up to him.

"Hey Maxie," he returned with a soft smile.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" she asked as she followed his gaze over to where Alec was telling some wild story to the guys hanging around the computers, garnering their laughter. She smiled slightly as she watched him.

"Do you know what happened to Ben?" he asked her, turning his eyes to look at her. "I can't remember what it is about him that I'm supposed to know."

Max frowned, eyes shuttering slightly as she fought against the flood of memories that threatened to overwhelm her. "Ben...he's dead," she told him quietly. She watched as his eyes widened in sorrow and confusion.

"What happened?" he asked reluctantly.

Max sighed and sat down next to him. It wasn't something she liked to relive but she knew that she owed it to Zack to let him know. She and Alec talked about Ben sometimes, he had helped her come to terms with what she'd done to his twin. "Ben was lost after Manticore, he was hurting people," she began, it was the second time she'd recounted the story in recent months.

Zack's head reeled back as flashes of memories hit him. "He was killing," he said. He could see newspaper articles that he had gathered from all over the country. Barcodes with the same number sequence tattooed on the victims over and over again. 331845739493.

Max nodded sadly. "Yes, at least eleven people throughout the country. He came to Seattle and I tried to get through to him," she paused, running a hand through her hair in agitation. "We were fighting and he got hurt. Manticore was closing in and we weren't both going to be able to get out of there."

"What happened?" Zack asked her, serious eyes drilling into hers.

"He asked me to not let him go back. He didn't want to be put with the 'nomalies. I...I did what he asked," she choked out as her eyes wandered back over to Alec. He turned slightly and locked eyes with her, frowning slightly as he noticed her unshed tears.

"Rather die than go back," Zack muttered knowingly.

Max nodded. "Yes." Zack put an arm around her and pulled her close in comfort.

"Hey Maxie, Greta needs to see us in the daycare," Alec informed her as he walked up. Max noticed Zack tense up at the intrusion but she put it down to the awkwardness following their conversation about Ben.

"Alright," she acknowledged. "See you later Zack," she said giving him a small smile as she moved out from under his arm.

When they turned the corner of the building on their way to the daycare center they'd set up Alec stopped her and pushed her up against the building, eyes searching hers. "You okay?" he asked seriously.

She smiled at his concern and nodded. "He deserved to know, he looked after us our whole lives."

Alec nodded before he bent down and kissed her quickly. "Seemed like he handled it well," he acknowledged as he broke the kiss.

"Zack's strong like that. He remembered some of it, I think he probably knew way back then that it would have to happen at sometime. Either death or recapture. Ben was too far gone to be saved by the time I found him," she admitted sadly. Alec nodded and gave her another gentle kiss before pulling her away from the building and resuming their walk towards the daycare.