Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel or any of it's contents. I do own Ephialtes, though.

And a special thanks to the generous reviews:

FemmePhantom

djonie

pepper2bb

I was pretty disappointed w/ the last chapter...so I decided to write another one! Okay i hope you guys like it!

Alrright ppl here's Chapter Six:

Max's P.O.V:

Did I imagine it? I must have. Yet something—my instincts most probably, kept telling me that I didn't. Or maybe it's just mere coincidence. I'm sure people think, 'Ephialtes,' almost everyday, right? Uhuh. Yep, still the Queen of Denial. I decided to push it to the back of my mind; it wasn't something to stress over.

"I'm guessing you're X-5?"

"As X-5 as you," he answered, giving me a knowing look.

I swear, I think my heart just skipped a beat. What did he mean by that? Does he know? Everyone had their eyes trained on me; now was not the time to freak out. Huh. Nice choice of words. Paranoia. That's all there is to it.

"I'll show you to your new home," I said after a moment of indecision. "It doesn't exactly advertise '4-stars' but it's better than a 10' by 10' concrete prison."

He smiled politely but his eyes remained alert and calculating. But this was no unusual thing. Even now, no one's completely let down his or her guard, including myself.

I turned towards the rest of the transgenics. "I guess this signals the end of the fight. I expect you all to welcome Ephialtes." My gaze zeroed in on Cecile and Genoa who were giving Ephialtes what to them, I'm sure, were considered to be seductive looks. I spared a glance at him. He looked unaffected and even a little annoyed. My respect for him immediately escalated.

"Come on," I called to him, nodding to the direction of the back door.

On our way out, Alec caught my arm. His gentle but firm grip was oddly comforting. "Nice moves there, Maxie. Where'd you learn to fight like that?" His eyes were probing. I sent Ephialtes a quick look, signaling for Alec to push this exchange back to a later time.

He gave me a curt nod before disappearing off to hang with Mole.

"I'll look over the police report and try to find any familiar findings," he called over his shoulder.

I let out a breath of relief; at least I had delayed what was sure to be an awkward conversation. I started walking again towards a dilapidated building that was once a popular inn. The only source of light was a lone lamppost about 500 yards away. Dix and Anton had installed it a couple of days after Freak Nation been born to bring some light into the darkness around us.

I looked behind me. Ephialtes was a couple feet back, assessing his surroundings. Not that there was much to assess. Equally run-down commercial buildings encompassed the ruin that contained his new home, along with dozens of trash littering the streets.

"So, you like it so far?"

"It's...different."

"Hmmm. I'm detecting a lot of enthusiasm on your part."

"And a lot of sarcasm on yours."

I admit; I'm pretty impressed. This boy's got a functioning brain.

After climbing several staircases, we arrived in front of doorframe. Note that I say doorframe, and not door. But the list was just starting.

The entire room reeked. And I don't mean rotten eggs kind of stinky. I'm talking about better-get-some-morphine-60-times-worse-for-people-with-already-heightened-smell kind of reeking. There was an impressive amount of fungi growing in the room and several hundred other unmentionables.

"Uhhh..."

"The name's Max."

"Right. Well, Max, I love the place."

I gave him disbelieving look. He was sheepish.

"It's far better than my previous...dwelling."

I raise a brow. "What was it? A box?"

The apartment had sturdy enough walls and there was a lot of space. The kitchen still contained its original appliances like a dishwasher, sink, and a funky-looking fridge. The living room housed a functioning lamp and a smelly but comfy sofa. But the advantages pretty much ended there. The bedroom had a putrid scent, there were lots of creatures that housed themselves in every crevice of the apartment, and, of course, there was the fungus.

"Nope. Worse: it was the sidewalk." I gaped at him and he shrugged, looking down.

"Well," I said resignedly, "guess I'll leave now so that you can do...whatever you do."

He nodded. "Thanks for everything."

"Hey, you're family now; we look out for one another here at T.C."

For a moment, something flickered in his eyes. Was it regret? Fear? Uncertainty? I couldn't tell. It happened so quickly; I almost thought I'd imagined it.

"Oh, and I almost forgot. Some guys named Alec and Mole will be here early tomorrow morning to give you running water, electricity, and some disinfectant And a mattress." I paused. "You alright with sleeping on a futon?"

"Like I said, it's better than concrete."

I beamed at him encouragingly. "I really think you'll like it here, Ephialtes."

He gave me a forced smile. "I have no doubt."

I was about to leave when he spoke again. "You smell the fungi, I trust?"

I froze and turned around slowly, forcing myself to look indifferent. "What?" It turns out I hadn't misinterpreted anything; he knew.

"I heard you sniffing around. Then, I saw that paperweight from a window." My worst fears confirmed.

My eyes hardened and I could feel my nails digging into my palm. "You were spying on me?"

He shook his head. "I was scoping out the place first, making sure it was safe before I made my home here. Standard procedure. No one noticed me; everyone had jobs to do. I just happened to glance up your window and--"

"How can no one no notice you? We have pretty tight security!" My initial doubts about him were dwindling every time he opened his mouth to talk sense, but it never hurt to make sure.

"I was Special Ops."

"Oh." I made a mental note to talk security with Mole later. "But still..."

"Don't worry; I won't tell anyone." The pressure around my heart decreased.

"What makes you think I care?"

He laughed. "You're not very good at lying, Max."

I was stunned. There was no way around this guy. "You don't think it's freaky?"

"Hell, yeah. But it's also pretty cool. Besides, it's not very unusual. You remember Psy-Ops, right? Plus, you could beat up anyone now...Except me," he added, almost as an afterthought. I was about to ask how he knew about the fight but then I remembered; he was Special Ops. He would have deduced as much the moment he went through the entrance. I opted to roll my eyes instead; guys are all the same.

"Well, I'm gonna thank you since you shouldn't have been spying in the first place..."

He smirked.

"...But I'm going to anyway. So, thanks. Just make sure you don't tell anyone."

With that, I began my slow descent down the stairs. I had plenty of time to think. Maybe Ephialtes wasn't so bad, after all. He was the first person to know and he hadn't bowled over. Maybe I would be able to tell everyone without having them panic. But this weird feeling in my gut concerning Ephialtes wouldn't go away, no matter how reliable he deemed to be. It's probably just my imagination. I swept the thought to the back of my mind.

My new powers weren't as much of a problem as I once thought. Ephialtes really gave me a new perspective on things. They were actually a real kick to have around. Now, I can sneak up on people and scare 'em. The whole mind reading thing is pretty creepy but it doesn't come up very often; I can't even control it yet. Dix advised me to try some mediating. It was supposed to help me concentrate. But it's not nearly as bad as my telekinetic powers. One time, Mole got me so pissed a nearby light bulb shattered. Good thing everyone passed it as being overheated. But, of course, I knew better.

Also, I noticed I've gotten so much stronger and more agile. Take the blurring incident, for example. I really needed to tell Alec about all this. Despite what Ephialtes had said, I've never heard of a lightning bolt with a superwoman side effect.

That's when I realized something; Ephialtes might have known about my physical prowess but he shouldn't have known about my heightened senses. He was probably just taking a wild guess; I hadn't exactly been inconspicuous with my sniffing. Being Special Ops, he's probably already aware of the whole lightning bolt incident, too; transgenics are known to gossip.

After taking a detour to Mole's apartment and telling him about Ephialtes and tighter security--leaving out the part about my powers, of course, I found myself standing outside Alec's door. Based on the noise, he was in the shower singing some pre-pulse song...and he had a really bad roach and rat problem. I decided to wait until he was done and dressed.

Who am I kidding? I'm just stalling. Before I could think twice, I grabbed the door handle and rushed through.

Pop!

Whoops. In my haste, I accidentally yanked off the doorknob. This was not my day.

The shower had stopped running. Then, Alec appeared wearing nothing but a blue towel.

I swallowed heavily, my gaze drawn to his incredibly sculpted chest. He was silhouetted brilliantly behind the bathroom's fluorescent lighting. I could see individual water droplets rolling slowly from his chest down past his belly button and onward until it disappeared behind the blue towel to what was underneath. I gulped.

"Uhh, Max?"

I looked up at Alec. He was breathing heavily and I could hear the fast beating of his heart, smell the musky scent that was so uniquely his. And then I saw his eyes.

When he's mischievous and feeling light, the golden flecks of his eyes seem to twinkle, emphasized against the green background. When he's serious, they're a beautiful intense green. If he's angry, then his eyes get darker. The green and golden flecks blend together to create and almost brownish hue. But now...I've only seen this color once, during that fateful night, before the thunderbolt.

What I see now, I could only describe as primal. His eyes seemed to glow gold. That beautiful, intense green was completely erased and his pupils were dilated to amazing proportions. All in all, it had the effect of two shining suns, smack-dab in the middle of his face. His perfect face. From the corner of my eye, I could see one of his throw pillows beginning to levitate.

That brought my senses crashing down. I cleared my throat loudly and he jumped about a feet back, looking startled. He recovered admirably well.

"Hey, Max. See something you like?" He waggled his eyebrows.

My face flushed heatedly and I could feel my tempter start to rise. Apparently, not all my senses had come crashing down. Without warning, the throw pillow I'd seen earlier darted through the air to collide with his face. Okay, too late to turn back now.

The pillow dropped to the floor soundlessly. Tick, tock, tick, tock. There it was again. Mocking. Oh, the irony of it all.

For a minute, that was the only sound in the room. Finally, Alec spoke.

"How'd you do it?"

Those few words; so incredibly simple. But it was a lot more complicated than it appeared. My previous insecurities had returned.

First off, I'd just started to accept myself as a transgenic. Then, everyone had only started to accept me. I mean, to them I'm just this freakishly strong part shark-cat-human, everyday girl. Around people that are exactly like me, it's easier to be myself.

Then, boom!

One thunderbolt and I'm suddenly different from everyone else. I can run faster, endure harsher conditions, and move objects from across the room! Sure, Psy-Ops soldiers were possibly capable of such things (and familiars, but I refuse to acknowledge that) but I've never heard of an X-5 turned P.O soldier through a lightning bolt. How can anyone else accept me when I can't even tolerate myself?

I took a deep breath. But I'm not alone. Circumstances are different. Now, I have Alec. And I needed to trust him. Plus, Ephialtes already knew.

"I guess you saw me blurring, huh?"

"Yeah." His voice was steady and his heartbeat was normal. I took this as a good sign.

"Well, the thunderbolt kind of had some..." I paused, searching for the right words, "...interesting side effects."

"Like god-like powers?"

"Not exactly."

"Does this have anything to do with the broken paperweight and the shattered light bulb?"

I looked up at him, surprised.

He only shrugged. "Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not stupid."

"I know, Alec. I know."

Suddenly, the weight around me had lifted and I suddenly found it easier to breath.

"Well, the side effects included heightened senses, speed, agility, and endurance. How's that for starters?"

"Don't forget the weird mind-powers," he said matter-of-factly. But his eyes twinkled gold, belying his seriousness.

"Oh, yeah. The 'weird mind powers.' Thanks, Alec. Way to be supportive." Without even realizing it, we had fallen into our comfortable banter.

He refused to disappoint. "Well, you know me, Max. Super-supportive and all."

"And then there's me turned superwoman."

He grinned and his eyes turned mockingly serious. "You were always superwoman to me, Max."

"Aw, shucks. It's a Wal-Mart moment."

He burst out laughing.

"What'd I do?"

He took a couple of moments to compose himself. "It's Hallmark, not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a grocery store."

I could feel the color rushing to my cheeks, and I ducked my head. But then I started cracking up, too. It felt so good to let loose. Our laughter rang throughout the rest of the night.

I could feel my spirits start to soar. It's amazing what a couple minutes with Alec would do to me.

It turns out things wouldn't be so bad, after all.

A/N: well, whaddya think? please, please, PLEASE review! it really keeps me going, y'know? plus it tells me what i'm doing wrong and all that jazz so i can improve on what i nd t improve! plus it makes me feel really, really good...please review!