Metamorphosis I: Regression

Rating: R

Show: Dark Angel

Genre: Comedy/Action/Angst

Type: WIP/Series

Summary: When Alec takes one for Max, innocence is reborn.

Disclaimer: I don't own them.

Spoilers: At least through 'Exposure'

A/N: I really don't know where – or even if – this story fits into the canon.  By the end of this story, it may end up AU.  I'm pretty sure it will be AU by part two of this planned trilogy.  Basically, my plan is to ignore things I don't want to deal with and just make the story work on its own.  Wish me luck.

******** Chapter 1: Bad Plan

"Oh, this is just great."

"Quiet."

"They're not here.  I told you this was a setup."

"Shut up, Alec!"

"But did you listen to me?  No.  I swear, it's like I'm not even here."

"I wish.  Now would you shut up?  I'm trying to listen."

Max pressed her ear to the bottom of the metal air shaft.  Even with her enhanced hearing she could just barely make out the voices of Ames White and his men echoing up from the ground of the hollow old warehouse three stories below.  The warehouse was supposed to contain several captured X-series awaiting transport, but, as far as Max and Alec had been able to determine, there were no transgenics on site.

"Where'd Logan get the intel from anyway?"

"The Informant Net."

"Figures."

Max lifted her head and craned it around to scowl at Alec.  "What's that supposed to mean?"

Alec rolled his eyes in exasperation.  "Did it ever occur to you, Max, that White might be aware that Eyes Only is a close, personal friend of yours?  And that maybe, just maybe, the conniving psychopath might feed false information to said self-righteous cyberjournalist in order to get his hands on you?"

Max just stared at him, the scowl on her face deepening.  She opened her mouth to deliver what was sure to be a scathing comeback, when a metallic scream pierced the air.  Max's eyes widened as the tight space shifted around them.  Alec simply raised an eyebrow and uttered one word.

"Fuck."

Their entire section of the air shaft plummeted toward the ground.

Alec pulled Max's body to his chest.  He had just enough time to slam back against the top of the tube.  The force of their combined weight added to gravity and Alec's transgenic strength ripped a hole in the metal.  They shot out in a tight ball of limbs.  As soon as they were clear of the cylinder, Max and Alec pushed off of one another.  With the agility that only cats possess, they flipped through the air to land on opposite sides of the warehouse. 

There was momentary chaos among the agents as they dodged falling debris.  Alec took out three of them before they even knew what was happening.  The others regained their wits and focused on taking him down.  Alec blurred from one opponent to another before they could fully close on him.  All his senses were heightened, his training and instincts took over.  Even with their guns, they couldn't gain the upper hand.  After all, Alec was a weapon.

Though his concentration was taken up by the battle, he was aware of what Max might think of his actions, of causes and consequences.  He disarmed and disabled rather than killed.  From the sounds White's men were making on Max's side of the building, he could tell that his partner in crime was faring just as well.  When the threat immediately surrounding him had been neutralized, giving him a moment to catch his breath, Alec turned to see how Max was coming along. 

She was a vision.  Max had landed on a platform that stood against a wall of windows a good eight feet above the ground level.  The rising sun shone through another set of windows behind Alec, its golden rays piercing the gloom of the warehouse to illuminate Max and her opponents like a spotlight.  Max was all exquisite grace and speed, punching and kicking, turning and flipping.  Her dark hair reflected the light, swinging around her like a moving halo of liquid bronze.  She knocked one burly man into two of his fellows.  The three fell like dominos and Max turned to face the next aggressor.

"Beautiful," Alec whispered.  He began making his way toward her when he noticed that the agents' firearms were firmly holstered.

Why aren't they using their guns?  And where the hell is White?

As if Alec's thought had summoned him, Special Agent Ames White, the bane of transgenic existence, appeared on the ground floor just to the left of the platform.  What happened next took less than thirty seconds.  To Alec it felt like an eternity in slow motion.  Alec was already blurring toward Max when he saw the black, high-powered rifle in the White's hand.  Alec was closer to Max than he was to White, but he still wasn't sure he'd reach her in time.  Max was oblivious to everything except the four agents whose asses she was kicking at that moment. 

Just as Alec reached the bottom of the steel columns supporting the platform, White raised the rifle and aimed at Max through the milling agents still surrounding her.  Alec didn't break his stride, did not stop nor hesitate.  One moment his feet were on the ground and the next he was airborne as he sprang up to the platform.  White was still aiming, but slow and steady could kill Max. 

Alec blurred once more, jumping over fallen bodies and tossing men aside in his effort to get to her before White's bullet did.  When reached a surprised Max he did more than shove her aside.  Alec lifted a her with little effort and threw her at the bank of tall windows lining the platform.  She went through the glass with a resounding crash and a startled yell.

He was just in time.  Half a second later, White's shot found a target.  A stinging pressure pierced Alec through his sweater to the flesh just below his collarbone. The force of it slammed him off his feet and backwards out the window.

Max and Alec plunged toward the dark water of the lake that bordered the warehouse. Shards of glass and gunfire rained down after them. They breached the waves in controlled dives and swam straight down into the shadowy depths.  Alec's chest burned like hell, and the fire was rapidly spreading.  He tried to concentrate on following Max's lead.
They surfaced just beneath the warehouse's old dock.  The planks above them were thick and the early morning shadows hid them well.  The wood creaked in protest as Agent White and his men thundered across it. 

White's menacing voice sounded out, "I want them found.  Do you understand me?  I want 452 brought to me unharmed."

"What about the other one, sir?"

"Bring him as well."

"Dead or alive?"

White rolled his eyes.  "No difference.  I'm sure the labs would be interested in any effects on that normal freak's system either way."
Alec blinked as the world's edges became fuzzy. When blinking didn't work, he shook his head to clear it. That just made the world tilt on its side and spin. He tried to focus on Max treading water in front of him, her face lifted toward the dock above. He concentrated on moving his arm from his
side toward her. It felt like he was forcing his way through rubber cement instead of water.
He opened his mouth to call to her, but no more than a breathy whisper emerged.  "Max…" 

His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he sank into the water.

TBC