Title:

A/N: Damn it all to hell, and the DA plot bunnies have started bouncing again. Note, this scenario popped into my head last night…I have no idea where it's going, but I'll try to

make it fun.

Disclaimer: I wish I could be that brilliant and own them.

(--)

"Alec!" An irritated cry could be heard ringing through the halls of an old, dilapidated building.

In another room not far away, a gold-green eyed transgenic sat up suddenly, his booted feet thumping heavily onto the floor as he was suddenly and most rudely roused from his cat nap. He grumbled to himself, running a hand through dark blonde hair. He could learn to hate that sound. The chair he'd been slouched in groaned a small protest as he rose.

Alec McDowell, X5-494 to some, begrudgingly left the small, damp room he'd claimed as his own. Not that anyone had fought him for it really, what with half a dozen other tiny, cramped, moldy, rodent infested rooms to be had on that floor alone. He ambled down the hallway to TC's headquarters. Right, headquarters, Alec thought with a rueful shake of his head. A couple of transhumans sitting behind roughly a handful of salvaged computer monitors did not a stellar base of operation make.

Dix smiled at him when he entered and gave a little wave. Alec waved back. He didn't think he'd seen Dix outside of HQ even once since he'd not-so-intentionally moved in. But Alec didn't stop to ponder the thought, he was looking for the source of his grating wake up call. It didn't take long to find her either. He just had to look for the largest, angry crowd.

Max stood amidst a rather sizeable group of people, some transhumans, some X-series, and one particularly scruffy ordinary that was fast becoming the bane of Alec's existence. He scowled, rotating his still healing shoulder. Rescued by an ordinary, he thought bitterly, recalling the incident at Jam Pony that had happened three days prior. I'm never going to live that down. The incident had spread like wildfire, fodder for jokes and barbs that had almost immediately worn thin on Alec's temper.

"What's the deal Maxie?" he asked with false brightness, edging his way past an obviously pissed off combat model. Dark eyes met hazel in a glower, though for once he didn't think her irritation was directed at him. Three days ago, when the children of Manticore had been preparing for a larger than life 'escape and evade' op out of TC, Max had called them back. Her words had stirred their pride and most inhabitants of TC had chosen to stay and make what they could of their shattered world. But that was before.

Three days later stubborn transgenic pride was starting to wear thin. Now not only were there angry protestors outside Terminal City's gates, but what seemed to many to be nearly all the Sector Cops in Seattle. Dix and Luke had even intercepted some com chatter indicating TC might soon become a military matter. The Manticoreans might not have been born to freedom, but Alec figured that just meant they appreciated it more than most. Besides, they were soldiers, and any good soldier looking out from the perimeter would make the smart call and make a tactical retreat.

Inspired words aside, if TC was to become the 'freak nation', they needed a clear chain of command. Max, for all her natural born leadership qualities, had more than one strike against her already. Max was an outsider. She was an 09'er, a member of a platoon they'd been taught to hate for years. The irony of Max telling anyone not to run when the going got tough wasn't lost on many. Alec didn't even really think it was lost on Max.

The fact that White's Familiar breeding cult had a proverbial target painted on her forehead was Max's second strike. Ever since those weird runes had started appearing on her skin people in TC had been asking questions. Alec knew many were of the mind that if White wanted Max that badly, then maybe the smart place to be was as far from Max as possible.

Three strikes and you're out Max, he thought, using the baseball metaphor he'd been taught in Common Verbal Usage. It didn't really matter that he'd never seen an actual game, the saying still applied.

Still, Max had a skill set that not many of the Manticore alums were privy to. She'd been outside a long time, and that counted for something now. She knew how to blend in, had connections with Ordinaries that could be of help. And she'd played 'escape and evade' with Colonel Lydecker for years and come out the victor, which everyone knew was no mean feat. She also had the transhumans, Joshua, and a somewhat reluctant Mole in her corner, something no other of the X-series had yet managed.

Alec had no doubts that Max could run TC effectively; perhaps even begin to work on public sentiment for the transgenics. The fact that she was young and hot didn't hurt her chances there. What Alec did doubt, was that anyone was going to listen to a word of her advice, especially with her closest ally being an Ordinary, and a pushy one at that.

Logan hadn't so much as let Max out of his sight in the last three days. He was always hanging around HQ, peering over Max's shoulder and making 'suggestions'. The man was out to single handedly blow whatever cred Max had, even if he didn't know it. None of the transgenics wanted a CO taking tactical advice from an Ordinary. True to form the soft whir of the exoskeleton's servos caught Alec's ear as the computer hacker moved to stand at Max's side. Alec bit back a grimace. It was like fingernails on a chalkboard, only more obnoxious.

It struck him then that the room had fallen quiet, and that everyone was looking at him a little oddly. "What?"

Max sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with one hand. "Glock here," she gestured to the brutish, black haired combat model X-5 on her left, her nose wrinkling in distaste, "wants to relegate another X-5 to be my second in command. One with more…combat experience. Mole already offered, but Glock thinks equal representation is due." Alec could hear the bitterness in her tone. The insinuation was clear; Max might have been an X-5, but she didn't represent them. "And apparently we can't schedule guard shifts until this has been cleared up."

Alec's face remained neutral. It wasn't the worst idea he'd ever heard. Max would benefit from someone to bounce ideas off of, and besides, she couldn't run everything by herself.

"Actually, I said it would be in all our best interests if she stepped aside and let a real CO take control of this situation," Glock said in a gruff, gravelly baritone.

"Yeah, well that position has been filled," Max replied icily, not backing down. Alec bit back a grin. Good for you Max.

Alec smiled thinly and turned on the other X-5. "X-5 606 right?" Alec asked. An affirming grunt was his only response. Alec remembered him from Manticore, good soldier, very cold, very lethal, though perhaps a little short on the imagination. He'd been the CO of another platoon. "Glock huh?" The brute nodded. "Like the gun?" Another nod. Alec scratched the back of his head. "Isn't that kinda like naming your Pit Bull Cujo? People are bound to have bad word association."

Glock looked at him blankly. A couple of the other X-series standing in the huddle snickered. X-5 606 had never been very popular. Alec smirked. This time he was sure Max's glower was directed at him. "Alec, can I see you in my office?" Max asked, barely restraining her temper. Alec shrugged and followed her. The soft whir behind him told him Logan had come as well.

Max's 'office' was in no better shape than Alec's. Her padded roll-y chair had a chunk of the seat missing and no wheels. Her desk tilted crazily to the left, victim of one missing leg. Max shut the door behind them. Alec watched her bemusedly as she drew her shoulders back. "Alec…I need your help," she announced finally, though she looked pained.

Alec's trademark smirk widened into a grin and he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why Maxie, never thought I'd live to see the day. Admitting you need help, my help? This is a big stepping stone in our relationship." He stressed the last word, shooting Logan a pointed glare. The hacker didn't even have the decency to look shame faced. Sure, the whole Max and him together thing had been a ploy to keep Logan safe, but Logan hadn't known that till two days ago. When he'd had the gall to hold Max's hand as Joshua raised his flag that first night, well, he'd been horning in on Alec's territory.

"Alec," Max's voice was little more than a pleading whine. That's when Alec took a better look at their fearless leader. Max looked ready to drop, dark circles plaguing bloodshot eyes, her shoulders slumped forward. She was exhausted, and for a girl with shark DNA, that meant really exhausted.

"Max, have you slept at all?"

"Sleep's overrated," she grumbled. "Getting the X-series and transhumans to work together is like pulling teeth. We still have a number of our people outside the fence, so I need to plan for tactical recon as well as a regular duty roster for guard. Not to mention that Luke and Dix could benefit from some seriously upgraded software. Then there's the whole food, water and medication shortage issue that's gonna crop up here in a few days. We need housing, and electricity and a whole host of other things to worry about, not to mention all of Seattle and the Familiars wanting us eradicated… ugh, I'll sleep when I'm dead."

"Right," he responded succinctly. "Okay, so what gives? What do you need my help on?"

Max's eyes narrowed, searching Alec's face for any hint of sarcasm. There was none. Surprise hit her, she expected Alec to connect the dots quicker than that. "Will you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Be my second in command." Maybe she wasn't the only one who needed to sleep.

"Oh." It was all he could come up with. Reasonable excuse Alec, reasonable excuse, he thought to himself. Oh come on brain you're supposed to be good at things like this. Max probably figured he'd jump at the chance to throw his weight around. It wasn't her fault she didn't know, and it wasn't like he was gonna tell her.

"Is that a yes oh, or a no oh?" Come on Alec, don't make me beg. The truth of the matter was that she'd already considered asking Alec to be her second. Glock's persistence just made her sure. "Look, the X-series know you, heck, for someone unknown reason they even seem to respect you."

"Gee Max, flattery will get you nowhere."

"Even Mole agrees you're not so bad for an X-series."

He looked over at Logan. "Does she whisper sweet nothings like this in your ear? Cuz I gotta say, I'm getting kina a warm, fuzzy feeling, right here." Alec clasped his hands over his heart in dramatic fashion.

Max suppressed a growl. He wasn't going to make this easy on her, how typical. "And I trust you to do the job, to back me up when I make the right call, and to call my ass out if I make the wrong one." There, she'd said it. And she meant it. In the year since she'd let him out he had managed to grow on her, like a fungus maybe, but grow nonetheless. She might not trust him with any valuable artifacts, but in this fight, in this war, she trusted him to have her back.

Alec's next joking reply died on his lips, and he shut his mouth with an audible snap. That had certainly come out of left field. Beside Max, Logan let out a small grunt. "Right," the computer hacker murmured to himself. Unfortunately for him, transgenic hearing let Max and Alec hear it clearly.

"We are through discussing this," Max hissed at Logan heatedly.

"Aww, were you two arguing over lil ole me?" Alec drawled.

"You gonna take the job or not Alec?" Max snapped. "I could use the help."

Just say no, just say no, just say no… The little voice in his head kept repeating the mantra. Alec let out a deep sigh. Who was he kidding? When it came to Max Alec had already decided he was more than a little masochistic. The words seemed to be forming on his lips of their own volition. He couldn't help it. "Sure Max."

She actually looked relieved. "Good." Then she paused, and Alec waited. She can't do it, he thought wickedly. He watched her, still waiting. Her eyebrow twitched.

He finally ended the stalemate after torturing her a moment longer. "You're welcome." He grinned at the expression of loathing that crossed her features. "What's the first order of business?"

"You can go tell Glock out there the second in command position is no longer vacant. And tell him he's got the late shift at guard too. And then I was thinking you and I could deliver Normal, OC and Sketch back into friendly, non-toxic territory."

Alec nodded. "Sounds like a plan but uh…" he glanced pointedly at Logan.

"I'm staying here," the hacker informed him. "Another benefit of my transfusion, passive immunity."

Oh yippee for the rest of us.

"Besides, Max needs my help." Logan grasped his latex gloved hand around hers.

Alec's right eyebrow disappeared beneath his hairline. Max needs her head examined. All you're gonna do is distract her, and my bet is piss off a whole bunch of people in the process. "Sure. All right, I'll go round up the troops and meet you at the tunnels in," he glanced at his watch, "twenty?"

"Sure," Max answered distractedly. Alec shook his head and left. She was making doe eyes at Logan again and holding his hand. Alec could only wonder why it had taken Logan, supposed brilliant man, nearly a year to come up with latex gloves, creepy as the whole thing was. As far as Alec was concerned latex was only meant to cover one part of the anatomy, and it sure as hell wasn't your hands.

Alec adopted a confidant swagger back into HQ. Glock and a few others were still milling around the aluminum fold out table that adorned the center of the room. "What? Does nobody salute when a commanding officer comes into the room anymore?" he barked, making everyone start. "Attention!" Every X-series in the room, including Glock jumped, slamming back their shoulders and giving Alec a crisp salute. "That's better," he said, amused. Okay, so maybe this gig will have some perks. "All right, so here's how this gonna go down…"

(--)

Chapter 1

Hope you guys like it so far. Please leave a review…it helps the plot bunnies you know.

Also, if you guys wouldn't mind, could someone let me know which bar code numbers are taken already? I don't want to inadvertently make someone a twin, or one of Max's siblings. Thanks!