Authors Note: So here is Chapter 3, sorry for the delay I blame it on the fact that I broke the 3 button on my laptop and had to thumb tack it back on. The 3 button is crucial while writing. That was sarcasm it's hard to express on the computer.

Once again I own nothing and Dark Angel nor its characters belong to me.

Ms. Joan watched Sketchy closely as he spoke. His words buzzed around her head, like a chorus of crickets chirping merrily to the night sky. There was no way she could possibly turn away; something in the man's eyes compelled her to look on.

She had only been teaching for a few years. Her colleagues called her an idealist and her students thought of her as the new teacher that wanted to make learning "fun". If she could achieve only a fraction of the attention her students were giving this man she could easily get tenure before that cocky jerk Mr. Roberts.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Sketchy pulled over a chair from an empty desk and sat down with a pant; standing had begun to take its toll on the man. Sketchy crossed then uncrossed his legs several times before starting again.

"I used to go to this crappy bar every other night back before the war. It was called Crash and that's exactly what we did there. You see, the bar was leveled years back after a car bombing got carried away." His voice sounded whimsical as if the total destruction of a bar was commonplace.

"I hadn't realized" he said with a laugh that sounds more like a sob "how much that bar meant to me until I went there a few months back to see they had built a Pet Store where it once stood." He stopped again and took another deep breath. "When I close my eyes I can still see Alec stalking around the pool tables with a Cheshire cat grin and a devil may care attitude."

Hey Sketch, buddy, you got the next round right?

Sketchy hoped the class couldn't hear the waver in his voice or see the sweat on his brow. "Max and OC used to sit at this ridiculously small table towards the back; they'd laugh and talk for hours. I had never seen Max smile the way she did while we were all together at Crash."

Boo, you really are screwy in the head if you plan on letting hot boy over here take your money again.

Most of the class was confused over the mention of the new names, but Ms. Joan knew the names well, Max and Alec were the proverbial leaders of the transgenic movement. She was shocked that this ordinary looking man knew the two most notorious transgenics ever.

"There's no more Crash, no more crappy beer, or dirty pool tables. There's a Pet Store now, where animals are kept in small cages, locked away from freedom." A small sad smile formed on his face and he closed his eyes and rested for just a second. "I can't help but believe the universe runs on irony."

END

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon. fingers crossed