A/N: I'm BACK!!! *jumps up and down* I know it took me absolutely ages to get the next chapter up, but I had to rewrite it and uni and the real world got in the way for a while. Feel free to hate the real world *feels waves of hate pouring through the screen* Now that's what I'm talking about. Now, if I were to mention Logan, I'm sure I'd be knocked out right about now *smirks* Ah, the insanity of my ramblings, how I've missed this. Right, on with the story. Thanks to Roonblah and FridayAngel for volunteering to help beta my stuff. The following chapters contain excessive sarcasm, one-liners and violence *grins evilly* Party time…

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Chapter fifty: Catching Bullets

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'The gentler sex sure can pack a wallop when she has a mind to.'

-Normal (The Berrisford Agenda)

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'I'm just a freedom fighter

No remorse

Raging on in holy war

Soon there'll come a day

When you're face to face with me

Face to face with me'

-Creed (Freedom Fighter)

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Her scream went unheard, covered up by the roaring of the angry crowd below on the other levels. They couldn't help her now, and Erin couldn't help them. She couldn't help anyone. Her shaking limbs hit the concrete repeatedly, no doubt bruising all the way to the bone.

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In the infirmary, the tray of Erin's blood began to subtly shake and its contents began to boil. The blood seemed to writhe in the tray, bubbles growing and bursting. The movements grew stronger and stronger and made the small tray slide towards the edge of the table. However, it didn't reach it. Instead, it suddenly exploded in a shower of glass and blood, showering the table and floor. Jondy would not be pleased.

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The hunger coursed though her veins and her blood began to coat the concrete below her body. A normal human would've passed out from the blood loss by now, but Erin wasn't normal in any sense. Not anymore. Perhaps she had never been.

Her scream was cut off and turned into raging snarls, inhuman sounding as the craving grew to higher peaks until all she could think of was hunger and pain.

And then suddenly, it stopped. Its sudden disappearance left her gasping on the floor in an aching heap of battered limbs as sight and sound rushed back painfully.

After a minute of lying on the cold concrete and getting her breath back, Erin slowly flipped herself over onto her stomach and then got to her knees. When no dizziness assaulted her, she slowly stood up, only to stagger for a whole different reason.

She was different, a change had taken place and she would never, ever be the same again. She knew this with a sudden clarity as she looked down at her blood-covered arms.

"This is fuckin' weird" she rasped as she looked down at her arms to stare at the tattoos that had appeared there underneath her own blood. They looked similar to Celtic designs, leaning towards the more exotic. Erin glared at her skin. They were probably Minoan. As soon as the thought entered her head she knew it was true.

Erin closed her eyes and winced at the sudden change in sound. Her hearing was… better. She could hear… everything. Down below she could hear the crowds as they continued to yell- could pick out the voices of Alec, Zack and the others. She could hear guns being primed for shooting. A shuffling of feet set apart from the crowds near the entrance to the garage. Her sense of smell was better too. Sweat and blood and mould and dirt and animal all mixed into one. Erin wrinkled up her nose. Not a particularly nice smell. And her eyesight- Erin opened her eyes. Wow. Her eyesight was definitely better. She could see right down to the minute scratches on the wall in front of her.

"This might not be so bad after all" Erin grinned then stopped as something else hit her. Not an enhanced sense… a need. Her eyes flickered with something before resting on the crowd below her and she licked her lips.

Blood. Erin wanted blood. She wanted to see it, to smell it, to feel flesh tearing and bones breaking beneath her hands. She wanted to cause pain. The rational part of her brain was screaming at her- telling her that she shouldn't be feeling this, that it wasn't human and she would never have wanted to do whatever it was she wanted to do right now. Erin ignored the rational part of her brain- the urge to kill too strong for her to disregard. Another part of her brain told her that once this craving was gone, she would be able to think, to feel human once again.

Erin flexed her hands, feeling a strength in them that hadn't been there before. She would satisfy this hunger tonight. She lifted her head and sniffed. Her enhanced senses told her that the Familiars had a different smell to the transgenics. The transgenics had an animal scent to them; each depending on what DNA had been added to the mix. The Ordinaries- Erin could smell them amongst the transgenics below, had a different smell- their emotions of fear and shock adding to the aroma and just that alone told Erin that they would be easy prey should she wish to hunt them. Instead, she sniffed and focused on another smell. Nervousness, defiance. Yes, that would be her prey. They would suffer and bleed and then she would kill the rest.

Erin walked to the stairwell door, moving more silently than a transgenic ever could. She opened the door and stepped onto the stairs, letting the door close softly behind her as she paused, sniffed the air again and inhaled the scent of her prey.

"Time to crash the party."

She grinned and the look in her eyes wasn't human as she slid on her shades, hiding those eyes from the world. But then, neither was she.

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6 floors below, 10 soldiers died silently. No emotion could be viewed on their faces, no look of fear, shock or recognition. They hadn't known they were about to die, all within 10 seconds of each other, only the muffled sound of breaking bone giving away anything had happened at all. It was the sound of their necks snapping, their lives being cut short by one person, one thing that had never been named, only feared in times long gone.

Erin looked down at the last one in her arms calmly, no look of horror or remorse for what she'd done as she laid him silently on the floor. She began to pile the soldiers up methodically and silently. She smiled when she spotted something and she knelt to remove its casing from a dead man's belt and fit it on the back of her own in the small of her back. She pulled it out and smiled at the blade. It was a knife. A very big and very sharp knife- think 'Rambo'. She examined it with the eye of a hunter and tested its weight in her hand even as some small part of what remained of the old Erin screamed in the back of her mind, and wept for what she had just done and was about to do. The new Erin began to move away from the scene. The new Erin wouldn't listen. The new Erin didn't care about consequences… for now.

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Back on the 6th floor, Erin crouched on the wall like a big cat, looking down at her prey with cold, calculating eyes. Not far from her was a pulley system that had been there before the transgenic arrived. Someone had fitted it to haul heavy loads to whatever floor they wanted it on. Erin didn't know why they put it there. There were perfectly fine, if slightly cracked ramps going to each floor. After all, how did the cars get there?

A loud rumbling sound filled the damp air and there was a flash of lighting, reflecting off of her shades and making her seem almost feral in the glow from the torches below. The storm was almost on them.

White was still talking, still mocking the transgenics as he hurt their leader. He was enjoying himself. Everything was going to plan and he had everyone right where he wanted them.

Max staggered again, not making a sound as White kicked her hard, breaking a few ribs in the process. She straightened again as, with resignation, Max realized, that despite all of her family and friends being right there with her, they couldn't do anything to save her unless White slipped up. He didn't seem to be wanting to do that anytime soon.

With a soft sigh, Max raised her head and stood up straight and defiant. She gave her family and friends one last look. Her eyes lingering on Alec. His face changed and he began to shake his head. He had to take care of everyone now. Max gave him a small smile before looking at Zack beside him. He was shaking his head also as Krit, Zane and Tawney held him back. She let what she felt for him, what she had finally figured out, show in her eyes before turning away. She couldn't look at him anymore, not and still go through with this. Alec wouldn't give the order unless she was safe… or couldn't be saved.

Max swallowed. If she would die, she'd die with dignity and her usual style. She would be remembered, the '09er, the one who'd set them free and set them on the road to being truly alive.

She allowed a smirk to form on her lips as she looked at White through tangled hair and a black eye. "C'mon then, White." She challenged as his eyes met hers. "You gonna kill me or just stand here talking all day?"

Erin stood up fluidly in one movement.

"You want to die so badly, 452?" White smiled briefly, seeing the change in her eyes.

Max shrugged and hid the pain it caused to rack her small frame.

"Who wants to live forever anyway?"

Erin tensed at the oh so familiar words, remembering someone who used to say something very similar to her. She gritted her teeth.

White smiled "I can help you out with that." He lifted his gun and aimed it at her head.

Taking a deep breath without removing her eyes from her target, Erin launched herself off of the ledge.

"Goodbye, 452." With a satisfied smile on his face, White fired.

Erin fell through the air, her body somersaulting and spinning, the ground coming up to meet her as the floors full of transgenics flashed passed her vision. Like a cat, her body spun upright, twisting through the air and Erin hit the floor silently, landing in a crouch, her knees bending to take the impact, her hands flat on the floor, but Erin wasn't dead. She wasn't even injured by the drop to the ground 6 floors below. Yet Erin didn't really even spare this fact a thought as her head was already turning, her eyes intent on one thing. She was already standing up just as everyone had barely begun to register another presence within the circle of guns. Erin focused on White and Max, the rage and adrenaline racing through her system, and she moved.

There was nothing but silence.

Next Chapter: Identities Revealed

No more previews for this rest of this trilogy. Sorry, but that'd just ruin it.

A/N:I know I said that this chapter was a long one- it was. But I decided that I should split it up yet AGAIN. It meant I could get this bit up and make people stop bugging me about updating. I know you guys like my fic and I really appreciate it, but it gets a bit annoying when, even after I post an AN saying that it's being written, I still get emails from people asking me when I'm going to update. University and family responsibilities come before fan fiction. Sorry guys.

Okay, to everyone who emailed me, well, as you can see, I've FINALLY managed to update. I just hope you're still reading. Okay, on with the notes:

Marty: DUDE! Alec IS manly! Ask the reviewers! Anyway, yep, evil computer. Lost over 40 pages of work so now I've had to start rewriting it all again and I don't think it's anyway NEAR as good as it was before cos before I'd been working on it for months. Why did it have to be that disk that got wiped? I wouldn't have minded if it was my uni assignments *sniffles*

Fire panther: Wow, you read my fic FIRST?! Thanks! Well, Logan will be mentioned, as you can see from this chapter, but for the rest of this fic, he won't be mentioned a lot. He'll be in the sequel… sadly. I did want to kill him off, so many people wanted it to be a painful and humiliating death… Sadly, the storyline won't allow it. L Anyway, glad there's another DA fan out there *puts on Churchill voice (kinda scary really)* We will not surrender! We will not give up! Dark Angel will survive…. Okay, I could go on like this for AGES.

MaxCat452: Aww *hugs* Thank you!!!!

goldstranger: *nods* I absolutely HATE my computer write now. As it is, I'm now saving my stuff on disk, CDs and the hard drive. If it happens again, I will be prepared.

messymissy: Thanks dude J

Jenny08: Thank you! Glad there's someone else who likes my fic! I have a big goofy grin on my face now.

Cat X5-989: I'm not mad at you dude, as you can see, here it is. Sorry it took so long, but I had to re-write it, and as you can tell, it's pretty long. Also, I had uni and exams and stuff to deal with.