Disclaimer: Dark Angel still isn't mine. No matter how many times I beg for it... :(
Story: Um, more plot-thickening, humorous madness? ...Yeah, that's about it.
A/N: Hi, guys! Hopefully, this post will work better than the last one, where the site was being all weird and forced this fic to, like, the tenth spot before anyone could see that it existed. For those of you who did notice it, thanks for stopping by and reading! Thanks especially to you lovely reviewers: solidarity, dooski, and purplebunnywabbit! Quite honestly, I have been in a massive writing funk lately, and you guys are pretty much the only reason why I'm posting this right now. I'm hoping this post and any reviews for it will give my muse a swift kick in the butt, for this and all my other WIPs. That being said, thanks again, and happy reading!

Stranded!

Chapter 2

"C'mon, Cindy! I know you have a good singing voice beneath that bad-ass female front! Ninety-six pitchers of beer on the wall, ninety-six pitchers of beer! Chug one down, wipe off a frown, ninety-five pit-"

"Will you shut it already, wiggy? Ain't nobody on this plane wanna be stuck for nine hours wit some foo' who can't stop yappin'!"

"But it's not really mindless yapping, see. It's more like - "

"Calvin Simon Theodore, if you don't plug your pie hole with some immovable object within the next five seconds, you will find yourself outside of this plane, floating with the grace of a ceramic toilet bowl," Normal intoned in the monotone he used when he was irritated beyond belief. Which was roughly once every minute at Jam Pony.

Sketchy pouted and glared at his boss before lowering his head and muttering under his breath lamely, "Yeah, you would know how a toilet floats..."

Max rolled her eyes for the hundredth time since they took off. "Nine hours. Stuck with this. I shoulda stayed home, and to hell with Hawaii."

Alec heard her mumbling and left his seat by Asha to sit in the empty seat next to Max. Asha clucked her tongue in indignation and turned to watch the clouds roll by the window.

"Hey, Maxie!" he greeted cheerfully. Max groaned. "What, this seat taken?" he asked, knowing she had the two seats to herself. Max chose to ignore him. "Aw, c'mon, Max. I know you'd much rather sit with Logan on this lovely plane ride, but he's kinda busy piloting it. Surely you wouldn't be so rude as to deny me the pleasure of your company, right?"

He leaned closer to her and spoke out of the corner of his mouth in a low, confidential rumble. "It's pretty boring listening to Normal brag about me to Asha. He doesn't know we've already met," he added quietly with a knowing look. "I mean, I can't help it that I was designed to be a genetic piece of perfection! Plus, Normal's constant admiration is a little unsettling, y'know what I mean? Of course, I'm used to it from the ladies, but... that just crosses way too many lines outside of my comfort zone..."

Max turned to face Alec directly in her seat. "Question: do you ever stop talking?"

Alec feigned a hurt look and placed his hand over his heart. "Maxie, I'm crushed! I know I'm no Logan," he added with mocking awe in his tone, "but I also can't help it that Logan was raised a rich boy and got his pilot's license at the age of 18 when the rest of the world was driving cars, now, can I?"

Max shot him a burning glare. "Are you actually expecting me to agree with you? Because if you are, don't hold your breath, Pretty Boy," she said coldly.

"It's OK, Max. I can hold my breath for a long time," he retorted with an arrogant smirk.

Max turned to face the front of the plane and rolled her eyes.

Alec's face became a picture of deep thought. "Actually, I never expect anything even close to resembling agreement from you, Max. Most of the time, it's more like some sort of physical reaction you seem to have to me...," he trailed off, smiling mischievously at her.

Max shot him a sidelong glare and smacked him upside the head, hard.

"Ah! Like that!" Alec cried, pointing at Max accusingly while rubbing the offending spot.

Just then, Zack came up from his seat in the back of the plane and stood in the aisle next to Alec's back, gaze locked on Max. Max looked up at him expectantly, and Alec turned around in his seat to follow Max's eyes. Alec's spirits deflated somewhat under Zack's cold, emotionless vibes. "Zack! Hey there, bro!" he said cheerfully with a cheesy grin.

Zack's eyes roved over to scan Alec's sarcastic face for a second before disregarding him completely and returning to Max. "Max, I need to talk to you." Alec's affronted sniff and glare didn't even make a 'blip' on his radar.

Max looked confused. "Okay, so... talk, then."

Zack glanced at Alec for a bit. "Um... in private."

"Zack, we're on a closed, very small airplane, in case you didn't notice. There is no 'private' here, and if there was, I'd lock myself in there."

The big X5 still looked uncomfortable.

Max sighed. "Look, whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Alec." Alec looked at Max in pure shock. Max locked eyes with him as she continued. "He's an idiot, but he knows that if he even thinks something stupid, I'll kick his ass."

Alec grimaced at her. Figures.

Zack gave Alec a questioning, assessing look before nodding slightly. Still, he focused on Max as he said, "We're being followed."

"What?!" Max and Alec said in unison.

Max glared at Alec and turned back to Zack. "What do you mean, being followed? We're in a plane, for god's sake! Who the hell could be following us?"

Zack shrugged. "Manticore, maybe. Probably. I wouldn't put it past them. Or some other government agency. I can't say for sure. Regardless, there's a small black jet behind us, following closely. They've been tailing for nearly an hour."

"An hour?! Why did you wait so long to tell me? Logan could've taken some alternate route, tried to lose 'em!" Max snapped.

Alec turned a level look to Max. "Yeah, sorta like ditching them in some dark alley. Take a right at the next stoplight instead of left, and then make a U-turn when they're not looking, yes?" he said in pure sarcasm.

"Shuttup!" Max snapped at him, reddening in embarrassment. She turned back to Zack. "We have to tell Logan!"

Zack glared. "Why? What good could that possibly do? He'd just freak out and wouldn't be able to fly the plane straight."

Alec laughed as Max glared at her brother. "Gosh, Zack. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Zack frowned now. "It's Logan I don't have too much faith in, not you. I'd put my life in your hands, Max," he said honestly. Alec struggled to keep a straight face.

Max looked worried. "What do we do now?"

Zack shrugged expansively as he said, "There's not a whole lot we can do. We're stuck pretty bad here. On this plane, with no exits or alternate routes, we're sitting ducks." He shut his eyes and shook his head at the floor, muttering, "I knew we never should've done this..."

Alec gave him a disbelieving look. "What, you know all this because Manticore put flight radar in your DNA? Or do you have some X-ray vision we should know about?" Max smacked him hard, again on the head. "Ow! Would you cut that out? That shit hurts after a while, Max!"

"Then stop being such an idiot!" She turned back to Zack. "Are you sure about this? I mean, being followed?"

Zack frowned again. "Yes, I'm sure that we're being followed. Why else would that plane stay behind us for so long a time? Nothing else makes sense. Besides, it's a stealth plane, meant for secrecy and subtlety, for creeping up on the enemy."

"Then how did you see it?" asked Alec, more serious this time.

Zack looked toward the heavens, as if asking for patience in controlling his temper. He looked back to Max and answered, "I looked out the window and scoped the sky, because my Manticore-given soldier instincts told me that someone was following me."

"Oooo, is that kinda like having spider-sense?" Alec asked impudently. Max swatted his shoulder.

Zack shot him a frozen glare and turned back to Max. "Look, I just thought you should know. Be on your guard," Zack added before turning to go back to his seat.

After Zack left, Max turned on Alec angrily. "And what the hell was that all about? What's your problem? Why were you treating Zack like that?"

"Gee, so many questions... Which one should I answer first?"

"Pick one," Max bit out in a menacing tone.

"Well, Max, I don't like that he thought he couldn't share such simple information with me. It's not like I didn't know about his 'spider-sense' already. I'd be at the class reunion, too, if ya know what I mean," Alec said seriously.

Max snorted.

"Plus, I really don't think the guy likes me," he continued.

"Gee. I wonder why."

Alec opened his mouth to let fly some sarcastic retort, but he snapped it shut as he and Max both turned to look out the small window on the other side of the plane. Zack stood in his seat and looked in the same direction.

Asha looked between the tense transgenics worriedly, and Sketchy and OC stopped chatting to stare, alert, at Max. Normal finally looked up from his magazine.

"What's - ?"

"Shhh!" Max hissed as she held up a finger, eyes trained on the window. Her transgenic ears were picking up a very, very bad sound for passengers on an airplane.

Suddenly, everyone's eyes widened as they saw it. "Sweet mother of Jesus!"

"Oh... fu - !"

A/N: Yes, this is the end of the "Dark Angel" gang. They all die in a terrible, fiery plane crash that is capable of destroying islands... ...and small kittens. Puppies, too. (In case you're not a cat person...)

...OK, maybe not. I'll think about it. ...OK! So I'm totally kidding! You'll just have to wait and see what happens next. :)