A/N: Thanks everyone who read this, and an extra big thanks to those who left comments!

Tash: Don't worry, it will be =] Only Max is her usual oblivious self for a little bit longer. Hopefully when Max/Alec makes an appearance it'll make it all worth it, because it's going to be pretty dramatic... =]

LEMarauder: Thank you! I'm really glad to know I'm on the right track with the characters =] Me too, although I would've loved to see MA develop in Season 3... Such a shame they didn't get that far!

A/N2: This is all unbeta'd by the way, so every single mistake is a result of my stupid brain. I'd also like to just warn you that this kept refusing to save so I had to write each line about six times before it would save, so if there are any weird bits or things that don't make sense, that's why. Also it's a much longer chapter than the first one, so I hope it's not too long!

'Max, if you don't sit down you're going to wear a hole in the floor.' Alec's tone was light, but she could tell he was getting irritated.

'Shut up,' she growled at him, her own patience wearing thin.

'I'm just saying, pacing around at 100 miles per hour isn't going to make Logan all better, so you might as well sit down and save my sanity.'

Max groaned, but she knew he was right. Nothing she did now was going to help Logan. His life was in the hands of the doctors at the hospital, and she couldn't even go there, be there for him. Because someone somewhere had decided she was a freak. Dangerous. Disgusting. Animal.

She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all.

'I can't just sit around and do nothing,' she snapped.

'Okay then, fine. In that case you can come here and give me a hand.'

Her curiosity got the better of her. Hey, she was part cat after all. 'What are you doing?'

Alec rolled his eyes. 'I'm cross-referencing all the Breeding Cult's known movements over the last couple of days, trying to see if they had anything to do with this.'

She was at his shoulder in a second, peering at the computer screen in front of him. It was an old and beaten up machine, nothing like Logan's nice, sleek systems (now trashed and lying strewn over his floor - not that she was thinking about that), but it served its purpose and seemed unfazed by all the radiation in the area, so it was the best they could hope for.

'I didn't know we were tracking the Breeding Cult,' she mused, scrutinizing the series of red dots that each represented a place Ames White had been two recently.

Alec raised an eyebrow. 'We're not.'

'So how... ?'

'Well. We're not. Logan is. He just doesn't know it.'

'What?! So you've stolen Logan's technology now, is that it?'

Alec shrugged. 'Nah. Luke and I hacked it.'

Max didn't know if she wanted to yell at him for being so dishonest or congratulate him on his foresight. Although it probably hadn't been foresight at all. He's probably just been bored one night and decided to do it for a laugh. Or to irritate Logan. It sounded like the kind of stupid, irresponsible, frustratingly Alec-y thing he'd do.

'Since when did you know about computers?'

'Since I was trained to at Manticore. You don't know everything about me, Max.' He said it lightly, but Max sensed that there was some other emotion hidden just beneath the surface, just deep enough that she couldn't see it. Not for the first time, she wondered just how much he kept hidden from her, hidden from the world. When she really thought about it, she really didn't know very much about Alec at all.

She shook herself mentally. Time enough for that later. Alec wasn't top priority right now. Alec was never top priority. He was just Alec.

'What can I do to help?'

Three hours later and they were no further forward - in fact, they were back to square one as their Breeding Cult lead had turned into absolutely nothing.

'But if it's not White, then who is it?' Max practically moaned. Who but the Breeding Cult would go to such extremes to get at her? Who but the Breeding Cult knew of Logan's involvement with the transgenics and could have found out where he was living? Who but the Breeding Cult, with their twisted, sick sense of humor, would have left the barely-alive Logan for her to find?

'Hey, it doesn't have to be because of us, right?' Alec said, more perky than he had any right to be in Max's opinion. 'I'm sure Eyes Only has a ton of enemies who'd like to get at him for something or other.'

'He called me in the middle of the night, Alec, to tell me that he thinks he's found the cure. And then he's mysteriously attacked on the same night?'

Alec shrugged. 'Coincidence?'

'Yeah, right,' Max scoffed. 'Since when do coincidences happen around us? This was the Breeding Cult, I can just tell, but just knowing doesn't help us at all.'

She stood up again and for a horrible moment Alec thought she was about to start pacing - again - but then he was miraculously saved by her mobile ringing. She whipped it out immediately, answering it in a smooth movement.

'Hello?'

'Max? It's Dr Carr,' Alec heard from the other end of the line. His trangenic hearing meant he could eavesdrop on the whole conversation, even if half of it did sound slightly tinny and squashed.

Max would have paled if she didn't have such good control of herself. As it was, she felt slightly queasy. 'Hit me with the worst, Doc. How's he doing?'

Sam sighed. 'It could be worse, Max. He's doing okay, under the circumstances. I've got him on a drip and he's taking antibiotics. He's got a fever, and a high temperature, and...'

'What? Tell me.'

'You're not going to like this, I'm afraid. But right now, whatever he's got is something we've only come across once before. It's your virus, Max.'

Max felt numb. 'What?'

'Are you sure you didn't touch him at any point? Or come into any contact with him? Did you share any food?'

She shook her head, feeling slightly dizzy. 'No. He was just like that when we arrived. I didn't do anything.' Her voice came out quiet and subdued, and it sounded like it was coming from a very long way away.

Logan was infected with her virus. After all this time, all the precautions they'd taken, all the ways they'd struggled to stay safe, he was infected with the virus after all. The deadly virus.

'Is there anything you can do for him?' she asked, heart in her throat.

'We can try the transfusion again, if Alec comes in. But...'

'But?'

'Well. When he took the blood last time it allowed him to walk for a short time, didn't it? But then he became immune to the antibodies in the blood, the effects diminished and he returned to his original state. What I'm worried about is that this will happen more quickly this time, possibly even before the blood transfusion has had a chance to work... I'm sorry, Max. It's just a hunch, but I think you need to be prepared. We might have run out of second chances.'

'Max-' Alec began softly when she hung up, but she stopped him with a gesture.

'Don't, Alec. Just... don't, okay? We're going to help him. We're going to get help. And he's going to recover. He has to.'

Alec nodded sharply. He recognized the determination in the other transgenic's voice, and when Max was determined there was no force in heaven of hell that could stop her. It was one of the things he liked most about her. Also one of the most frustrating things. But he recognized it now, and knew there was no point arguing.

Max was trying to reassure herself that everything was going to be okay, and who was he to take that away from her?

'If he's infected with the virus...' Max began thoughtfully, then speeding up as she became more sure of herself. 'If he's infected with the virus, then won't the cure help him?'

'Yeah, maybe... But Max, we don't know where that is.'

'No, we don't, but Logan called me out tonight because he'd found it. If we can get to his house and search through all the stuff then we might be able to find some sort of a clue as to where it is, right?'

'That's a long shot, Max, and you know it. Sounds pretty risky to me. I mean, it's probably not the real cure anyway. And even if by some miracle we manage to find it, there's no guarantee that it will even help him. The cure's designed for you, to stop your virus from killing him, rather then to save him when he's already infected.'

'I know... But it's a chance. And right now it's the only one we've got.'

Alec sighed. 'Okay, fine. Count me in.'

'No. You need to go to the hospital and give Logan your blood.'

'Aw, come on, there are plenty of other transgenics who-'

'Please, Alec. I don't know them. It needs to be you.'

He looked her in the eye, scrutinizing her, and he knew that what she really meant was I don't trust them like I trust you.

'Okay then. But after that I'm coming straight to Logan's and giving you a hand. And you're not doing anything stupid without me, 'cause I don't want to miss out on all the fun, alright?'

Max smirked. 'Okay then, hero-boy.'

Logan's house was a complete tip, and Max's heart sank when she opened the door and saw it all. There was no way she'd ever find anything in here. Not if she looked for a thousand lifetimes. And Logan didn't have a thousand lifetimes. He only had this one, and it was fast running out.

At least he wasn't alone. Alec had managed not to get arrested right when he was most needed this time, which, y'know, is always helpful. Although Max knew she couldn't be mad at him for that when technically it had been Ben's fault.

She thought about the conversation they'd had back then. Some guy with Ben's face... He'd been right. It did make things harder for her. She was always expecting him to be Ben, wanting him to be Ben, desperate to see the shadows of Alec's twin in his face, but it never happened. They might have been the same, but in reality they couldn't have been more different. Ben had always been quiet, dreamy, full of hope and honesty and light. He had lived through stories and faith. He had given them all hope.

Alec... Alec was a pain in the ass. He was cocky and flirty and frustrating. He was a trouble magnet, and she couldn't ever really rely on him, not like she could on Logan, but... Every now and again she got just a glimpse of the man he really was, or the man he could be, she wasn't sure which. And it made everything more complicated. It was a wonder she was still putting up with him.

Agh. And now she was thinking about Alec again when it was Logan who was currently dying. She felt like smacking herself. She really was a heartless bitch. It was a wonder Alec was still putting up with her.

It took her a long time to search Logan's study. His workspace was never tidy at the best of times, and especially not after he'd just been attacked by whoever it was. The Familiars. Of course it was them. Who else could it be?

In the hospital, Alec was asking himself the same thing.

Max seemed so certain this was White's doing, and sure, it made sense, but something didn't quite add up. Something told him that this wasn't them... Maybe his hunch was wrong. He'd been wrong before, plenty of times, but there was just something about this that felt... just a little bit dodgy.

Logan was sleeping peacefully now, although his skin still had an unhealthy yellowish sheen to it. Alec had given him all the blood he could safely lose (he'd felt slightly woozy and lightheaded afterwards but that was probably just down to lack of sleep), but there was still the risk that it wouldn't be enough. He hoped it would. Max would be even more of a bitch if Logan died.

He and Logan weren't friends, exactly. They put up with each other because of Max, and it was a relationship that had just about worked so far. Logan was a good man, and Alec respected that. He was a guy who was trustworthy, responsible, and never hurt the ones he loved, and these were traits Alec recognized that he didn't have. No wonder Max loved Logan. And she did, she really did. He hated to think what she'd be like if Logan died.

But in Alec's opinion, the two could never last. Quite apart from the fact that they couldn't touch right now without Logan dying, Max would never be able to be Max with Logan. It wasn't that he was a bad man, it was that he was too good. He had never shot someone, never killed someone, never felt that terrible stage of fear and pain where you will do anything, denounce anyone, hurt anyone, kill anyone, just to make it stop. People who hadn't grown up at Manticore would never be able to understand. It wasn't their fault, it was just a fact.

Like the fact that Max would always want to be an Ordinary around Logan. She would always be denying that primal, instinctual, animalistic part of herself that craved adventure, excitement, passion. It wasn't so much that Logan was a cripple, although of course that must have made things extra-difficult, it was more his personality, his gentleness, his kindness, his generosity. And they were all good traits. But they weren't exciting.

Logan would never be enough for Max. She needed someone who understood her, someone she could be herself around. Someone who-

He was snapped out of his dark thoughts by the sound of his mobile ringing, and speak of the devil, it was Max.

'Hey, you found anything yet?' he asked casually, a grin in his voice.

'I think I might've, actually.'

'Yeah?'

'It's an address for a doctor, ex-Manticore. Judging from his notes, Logan seems to think that she had something to do with making the virus.'

'She?'

'Focus on the important stuff why don't you, Alec. How's Logan doing?'

'He's fine. Who's the doctor?'

'Yvonne Carlson. Ringing any bells?'

'This may come as a surprise to you, but I wasn't actually on first name terms with all of the Manticore doctors.'

'Shame. This is more than a coincidence, Alec. I have to go and talk to her, see what she knows.'

'Oh no you don't. If this Carlson chick helped make the virus then she's seen your file, which means there's a good chance she's seen your picture. If you go striding in there then the alarm bells will all go off and she'll disappear, go to ground.'

'What are you saying, exactly?'

'That there's no way you're doing this alone.'

'You'll come with me?'

'Are you insane? Danger, adventure, Manticore... Wouldn't miss it for the world.'

'Talk me through the plan once more.'

They were standing in a darkened alleyway opposite the address Max had found in Logan's apartment, which had led to a second-floor flat in Sector 7. It was just coming up for 6:30am, which apparently Max deemed suitable calling hours because she was sending Alec in straight away.

Although right now he felt like ripping his hair out. 'Seriously, Max? 'Cause I think I can remem-'

'Again.'

Alec sighed, but the look on her face left no room for argument. This was Logan they were talking about. There would be no second chances, so she couldn't risk him screwing up.

It sort of hurt, how little faith she had in him, even after all this time. Although it no longer came as much of a surprise.

'Okay, fine. The plan is: I go in there, distract this Carlson lady, while you sneak in the back and have a look for anything that might be the cure. I miss anything?'

Max rolled her eyes. 'That's the basic gist of it, although you kinda missed out all the details.'

'I've done this kind of thing before, Max. I know what I'm doing.'

She looked worried, almost like she was going to argue, but then she just nodded. 'We haven't got time to waste, anyway. I'll text you when I'm done.'

'Sure.' He turned to leave, cross the road and start the operation, but then he stopped, feeling like he should say something more, reassure her somehow. 'This is gonna work, Max. Logan's gonna be okay.'

She didn't know whether to smile or frown. Alec always managed to catch her off-guard, especially when he was... well, nice. Sometimes he was just a pain in the ass - scratch that, most of the time he was a pain in the ass - but then there were those moments when she caught a glimpse of so much more, just beneath the surface. But it was only for a second, and it was only a shadow, and she never knew if it was real or imagined, so she cleared her throat awkwardly and said:'Just... don't screw up, okay?'

Alec felt his throat tighten, so he grinned a grin he didn't mean and spoke with false gaiety. 'Well, I might want to make things just a little more interesting, y'know? I mean, wouldn't want you getting bored, right?'

She moved to smack him lightly and he ducked out of the way, amusement dancing in his eyes. 'Good to know you're so worried about my health. I'm flattered.'

'Just get in there, idiot.'

'With pleasure, ma'am.' He performed a mocking salute that made Max feel ill, although not so much from all her old memories that it brought up as from the fact that it looked to easy, so natural coming from him. It was so easy to forget he'd been in Manticore for ten years longer than she had.

But Alec realized none of this as he turned and loped across the dark street to the apartment of the good Doc on the other side. Hopefully this would all go to plan, and they'd be back at the hospital in an hour or so, with the cure in hand. Logan would be fine, and everything would return to normal. Although, not quite normal. Max would probably spend more time outside of TC with Logan... Trust her to leave all the heavy lifting to him... It would be the end of an era, really. He idly considered moving on. TC wouldn't hold the same attraction for him if he wasn't being moaned at by Max pretty much 24/7.

He reached the door, and pressed the button to buzz for Dr Carlson's apartment. No time for idle thoughts right now. He was on a mission, just like he'd been trained. In many ways, it felt easy to just slip back into his own role. It felt familiar. Comforting, even.

The speaker beneath the buzzer crackled, and a woman's voice came through the system, sounding rather faint and tinny.

'Dr Carlson's office, state your name and business.'

Quick, clear, and to the point. Alec switched off the charm in favor of copying her style. 'The name's Alec McDowell. I'm here to speak to you about Manticore.'

He was met with silence for a moment. Good. She was surprised. Caught off-guard.

'I don't want to hurt you, Dr Carlson. I'm just here to talk.'

'Are you a journalist?' to her credit, she didn't sound rattled, and if Alec hadn't been trained to listen for the quietest tremors in a person's voice, he would've said she was nothing less than perfectly calm. Unfortunately for her, he had.

'No ma'am. But we do share a mutual... friend.'

Another silence, this time longer than the last. Alec waited, shifting his weight slightly between the balls of his feet, poised to run if he got the slightest whiff of danger. Running wasn't usually his tactic, but he was essentially a recon model, made for undercover work and quick, quiet assassinations. He wasn't built like some of the heavier 'tank' models, with their large muscles, imposing height, and fists of steel. He could hold his own in a fight, sure, but he wasn't superhuman. Well. He was still bound by the laws of physics, anyway.

As it turned out, he didn't need to run. The door was buzzed open and he walked quickly into the hallway of the building before Carlson changed her mind and locked him out again. It was a pretty average block, nicer than his digs, less nice than Logan's old home, so about normal middle-ish-class. It needed a new paint job, and the carpet was a little shabby, but he couldn't see any dirt on the walls or suspicious stains on the ceiling, so that was a plus.

He made it up the stairs two at a time, quickly texting Max to tell her he'd gotten in as he did so. They hadn't had enough time to get the radio set from TC or this wouldn't have been an issue.

Dr Carlson's apartment was the first on the right, and he stopped for a moment, mentally taking stock of the situation and missing the reassuring pressure of a gun against his lower back. Max had forbidden it. Something about 'going there in the spirit of peace'. While she was sneaking in the back. Whatever. She just didn't like guns.

Which he could understand. But still. He'd rather have one in his hand than one pointed at him. He'd been on the wrong end of a gun once too often for that not to be the case.

He knocked, and the door opened a moment later to reveal a woman in her late forties. Her hair was silver and cropped short, her face half in shadow, although what he could see of it was neat and well-proportioned, lacking the wrinkles of age without having that stretched appearance you get with plastic surgery. 'Well-preserved' was an adjective that could describe her pretty well.

Also 'hardy'. She looked like a no-nonsense kind of woman.

'Come in,' she said, ushering him into the apartment and closing the door behind him. He blinked a couple of times in the darkness, the lack of light a stark contrast to the brightness of the hallway outside, and it was so disorientating he almost missed the sound of the lock being engaged on the door.

He whirled round, but there didn't seem to be any threat. She just stood there, feet firmly planted, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

'Well? Start talking.'

'Listen, I don't want any trouble, I was just coming here to-'

'That's not gonna work, pretty boy. You're one of them, aren't you?'

How could she-?

She shouldn't have known that. It wasn't much of a leap to make, granted, but still. Warning bells began sounding in the depths of Alec's brain, and if there was one thing he'd learnt, it was to follow his instincts. He was part cat. They weren't often far wrong.

But then, Max was probably in the building now. If he left, there was a high chance of Dr Carlson finding her, and then the whole plan was screwed to hell. He'd just have to adapt the plan.

'Yeah.'

'Designation?'

'X5-494.' It came out easily, familiar on his tongue. It was only afterwards that he realized he should probably have only given her his name, his real name, Alec. She couldn't have used that against him.

Carlson seemed interested. '494?'

'Yeah.'

'I heard about your original, the one they cloned you from. Shame.'

He bristled, but forced himself to smile easily. 'Hey, it makes everything more interesting knowing your twin went insane. Just keeping the fun alive.'

She seemed amused at this. He thought this was probably a good sign. Probably.

'There is no cure, you know.'

He stiffened. 'What?'

'There's no cure.' She shrugged. 'Not that I know of, anyway. So you might as well call off your friend back there who's currently going through my closet.'

How could she know about Max? Alec shot a panicked glance towards the door, but he knew it was locked. If Carlson knew about Max...

He had been sure she'd known too much. About him, about Ben... This had all been too easy.

This was a trap.

He should've listened to his warning bells.

Carlson smiled at the expressions chasing over the transgenic's face. Such a perfect creation. Such sharp intelligence, brilliant physicality, created to protect the human race against the oncoming apocalypse, and yet Sandeman had not stayed long enough to witness the creation of the oncoming apocalypse. So he had never realized that his own transgenics would bring it about.

When 452 had burned Manticore down and White had killed all those he could get his hands on, she had been worried. Worried that the one transgenic they needed had been caught in the crossfire, and it would all be for nothing. That the comet would come, signalling the readiness of the sleeping virus, and they would not be able to do anything about it.

Alec should have seen the other person in the room. Should have known Carlson would never see a suspected transgenic alone. As it was, he didn't realize X5-786 was there until it was too late. And, unlike him, 786 was a combat model.

The blow came sharp and he crumpled. He didn't stand a chance.

'Oh, 494,' Carlson purred smugly. 'You should have recognized me.'

A/N: Dun dun duuuun! Thank you again everyone who read and reviewed, it really does mean a lot to me =] Hopefully the next chapter will be coming along soon, because this is where stuff really gets exciting!