Author: Restive Nature (aka Bavite)
Disclaimer: The characters and fictional placings of either of these shows do not belong to me. They belong to Cameron/ Eglee (Dark Angel), Joss Whedon (BtVS) and Whedon/ Greenwalt (AtS). Only the story belongs to me.
Rating: 13 (for now)
Genre: Crossover of DA/ BtVS
Type: WiP
Timeline/ Spoilers: Post Season 5 for Buffy. Up to LAtR for DA. Story set in DA time.
Summary: BtVS/ DA crossover. Life brings about so many changes. Especially when one has just risen from the dead.
A/N- Not all of the events that took place in Dark Angel will be present in this fiction. And there may be more time passing between events than it appeared on the show. So I guess that makes this AU.
Chapter One
May 3rd, 2021
"Tell me about him. About Ben."
Max could still hear the question, Alec’s question echoing in her mind. It was something that she’d been quietly preparing herself for from the first moment that he’d stepped into her cell back at Manticore. And then each and every time that had come and gone an opportunity had passed them by. And over time, Max had begun to believe that Alec would never ask her. He had no reason to, from his point of view, she realized belatedly. Ben didn’t loom as largely in Alec’s life that he had in Max’s. And taking it from Alec’s point of view, when Ben’s life and actions had ended up causing Alec pain, she supposed that she wouldn’t care that much about Ben’s likes and dislikes, little foibles and incidentals either. In a way, his death had started the road to Alec’s freedom. Not that he’d been aware of it.
What the fear of Manticore, both Ben’s and Max’s had forced her to do was reprehensible. On Manticore’s part. Thanks to their conversation of the evening a couple nights ago, Max had begun to let go of a little more guilt that she’d felt in her part of her brother’s death. There had been no argument from Alec when she’d finally shared the gruesome part of the tale. Just an acceptance and understanding. Somehow, Max felt that Alec’s decision that she wasn’t the monster she’d sometimes felt herself to be was almost as calming as Ben’s forgiveness would have been. For while Ben had spoken of death as escape, his words had been purged from his mouth by the deep-seated fears he’d developed about their childhood home.
Alec’s had been prompted by knowledge.
If Ben had gone back, they had only vague, half-formed ideas about what he might have endured. Max had discovered later what Psy-ops and reindoctrination included. And she’d survived it intact. But Ben was not she. And Alec was not Ben. And as different as Ben and Alec were, there were undeniable similarities. Dedication, compassion, honesty. These were traits that Max was unconsciously drawn to. Most likely because she’d been denied them in her formative years. If she really wanted to get Freudian with herself, then she’d be busy for the next few decades finding multitudes of layers about herself that could be blamed on that very conclusion.
But in finding these things in Alec, Max had felt an enormous relief. Memories of Ben had naturally tempered her first impression of Alec. And then her own fears and guilt. And finally his own natural arrogance and smart-ass attitude had compounded it. The latter had been shored up by her friend’s reactions to him. And Max had erroneously let herself try and be guided by these two different forces. Had she chosen one path, perhaps she could have made a clear, if perhaps mistaken assumption about Alec and be done with it. But she finally had all the information she needed now. He was a friend. And if he always hadn’t been in the beginning, she could certainly understand why not. But that’s what he was now. And perhaps it was time to treat him as such.
Max wondered exactly how she was going to go about doing that. It wasn’t as if she could just walk up to him and say ‘sorry for being such a bitch and smackin’ you around all the time. You’re actually cool’. Well, she could, but that just wasn’t her style. She tried to remember how she’d become friends with the people that were in her life. And for the life of her, she couldn’t really remember making overtures to them. They were the ones that had approached her. Included her, for so long that it just felt natural to be around them. They’d done the same for Alec. Bonded without realizing it.
Max gnawed at her lower lip as she thought this problem over. She knew as Cindy would put it, that she had to ‘come correct’ with Alec. She’d been treating him like crap for so long and aside from the smart-ass comments and occasional scam going sideways; there wasn’t much that Alec had actually done against her. Ergo there really wasn’t anything that she could blame on him. Max frowned as the sudden idea of the duality of her feelings about him shone clear. The desire to protect him as she hadn’t been able to protect Ben. So deep-seated that it wasn’t ever something she consciously thought about, until now. Of course this warred by the foremost knowledge that as a Manticore bred assassin, he should be able to take care of himself. So when Alec did find himself in a spot of trouble and she’d had to go bail him out, the two idealism’s warred with each other, the sensations confusing her. And then she reverted to form and got angry about it.
Max liked her life simple and it had seemed that upon her fondest wish and dream coming true, finding her siblings, things got a hell of a lot more complicated. But she wouldn’t dare blame that on her family. It was all on Manticore. And once Manticore was gone, the institution, not the idea, Max didn’t know which way to turn with the blame. And while she seemed to have taken a majority of it out on Alec, somehow it got spread around even more than that. Her resentment of Logan and Asha when she’d first returned. Her reticence in connecting with the friends she’d so dearly loved.
Max had begun to retreat from people in a way. She’d had a ready-made excuse in the virus that Manticore had injected her with to withdraw from Logan. And realizing that Alec'’ words, that they didn’t belong with ordinaries didn’t make it any less burdensome. And once the habit of not touching, not connecting with Logan had begun, it had spread to others. Max shook her head and took a long pull of her beer. If she kept up all this analyzing she’d end up crazier than a loon. She just needed to relax tonight. Find happiness in the things she could and be prepared for the rest.
And as she finally decided this, Alec happened to stroll up the stairs and plunk himself in the seat across from her. Max watched him with a wary eye. They hadn’t really talked since he’d left her apartment building the other morning. And after her encounter with Logan about that, she had wanted to take some time and think some things through. As a result, she’d been a little skittish around him. And they both knew that he was aware of it.
"Is it safe yet?" Alec asked in a soft rumble as he let his glass of scotch drift down to the table. He’d been watching Max, sitting by herself most of the evening. Cindy had sat with her a moment early in the evening before taking off after some hot chick. Max hadn’t looked desperate for company, but he felt inclined to keep an eye on her anyway. Right from the first he'’ always known that she was fairly impetuous. And that’s where she got into trouble. SO when she finally had come out of her reverie, he’d decided to take action.
"Is what safe?" she snorted, toying with her beer mug.
"Getting within ass kicking distance?" he grinned. To his surprise she grinned back and her foot shot out, jarring the leg of the seat he was on.
"You’re still not there," she teased. "Come a little closer."
Alec quickly scooted the chair back a few inches. "Uh, I don’t think so," he shook his head, his eyes dancing merrily. This was a strange twist that Max had relaxed enough to be playing around with him. It was refreshing, and a little weird.
Max laughed at the hesitant rejoinder he gave her. She waved her hand dismissively before grabbing her beer again. "You’re safe. I’m not in the mood to kick anyone’s ass." He eyed her cautiously before moving his chair forward again. "But watch out, sometimes my foot has a mind of its own," she teased again. Alec’s right eyebrow quirked up, as an answering smile tugged at his lips. She was in an odd mood tonight and he wondered at it.
"So what’s got you over here all by yourself?" he demanded softly. She shrugged.
"Just thinking," she replied non-committedly.
"About what?"
"Stuff," she grunted, although his query wasn’t really bothering her. Alec took a sip of his Scotch, and held the glass aloft, one finger pointing at her and arching both his eyebrows, inviting her to continue. Max sighed lightly. "You, me, Ben, Logan, my friends, Manticore, the transhumans… should I go on."
"Oh, that stuff," Alec grinned and then shook his head. "Nah, no need. I got ya."
Max deliberated a moment, thinking on whether she should tell Alec about what Logan had said about them. In retrospect, it was kind of funny. It hadn’t been in that moment, but looking back on it, Max felt the desire to laugh out loud. And obviously Alec could see this.
"What’s so funny?"
Max glanced up at him and smirked. "Well, Logan saw us."
Alec grimaced, not following the sudden shift. "Saw us? Saw us what?"
"The other morning," she clarified, the grin on her face widening. "At my apartment building."
"And?" he waited for her to explain why that was so monumental. She tilted her head to the side, considering him. He swallowed nervously, suddenly not liking the glint in her eyes. He took another sip of Scotch just as she announced Logan’s revelation.
"He thought we were together," she chuckled, putting heavy emphasis on the last word.
Alec choked slightly on his drink, his hand coming up to catch the slight dribble as Scotch sprayed from his mouth. "What?" he demanded loudly. But her smug, haughty features made him groan. "Damn Max, you didn’t tell him that we were?" He swore internally. It was just the sort of thing Max would have encouraged to push Logan away from her virus laden self. He leaned forward. "Cause we both know that we’d kill each other inside of an hour."
"I know," she replied enigmatically, her foot tapping idly as she watched him squirm. Finally she took pity on him. "Oh get that worried look off your face. When he said that I laughed. I mean the two of us," she gestured back and forth between them with her index finger. She didn’t finish her statement, not needing to.
But Alec seemed to be stuck on the fact that she had found the idea laughable. His male dignity just couldn’t stand for that. "Hey," he protested. "I’ll have you know that a lot of women consider me a great catch."
"Oh and should we name them?" Max taunted. "Cause there aren’t any that are coming to mind at the moment."
"Hey, I could give you a lot of names," Alec defended himself.
"If only you could remember," Max finished for him, enjoying his uncomfortable posture and the consternation on his face."
"Well, maybe I’d remember their names if their other, ah attributes weren’t more memorable," he finally managed.
"Face it Alec," Max smirked. "You enjoy getting caught all too often. It’s the sticking around that you have a problem with."
He shrugged easily. He’d long ago come to terms with certain aspects of his current lifestyle. "Where’s the fun in that?" he demanded lightly. Although in truth, the sticking around part of what could be termed grown-up relationships had been on his mind more and more. Especially since, as Max pointed out, he’d never really had one. But, he reminded himself, if they were anything like the Max and Logan show, he didn’t really want any part of it. But then thinking of Logan turned his thoughts right back to what Max had said before. "He really thought that?" he demanded worriedly.
Max just shrugged, looking thoughtful. "Well, by the time I went to see him, he was pretty drunk."
Alec nodded, "ah. About the only way he could have thought that." Now it was Max’s turn to squirm. Alec immediately drew the correct conclusion. "Oh, he thought that first and that’s why he got drunk." Max nodded miserably. "So what did you say? After you laughed, of course."
She glanced away, looking down at the mass of ordinaries moving about the room. She could easily bet a sure thing that none of their loves were so complicated. She wondered if she’d ever meet anyone with as complicated a life as hers, barring other Manticorians, of course.
"Well, it was more one of those shocked laughs, you know," she attempted to explain. "He really surprised me. Threw me for a loop. So no offense." He waved his hand, as if to say ‘none taken’ and let her continue. "He asked me to tell him that he was wrong. So I did."
"And I bet that was loads off of his mind," Alec snorted. But just as he was about to take another sip of Scotch, he caught the trace of moisture in her eyes. Keeping his face carefully neutral, he waited for her to continue.
"And then I told him that it was over," she continued softly, then glanced back at him tiredly. "And I don’t want to hear an ‘I told you so’."
"I wasn’t going to," he replied just as quietly. "Trust me Max, I may have joked about it before, but I know it hurts." He said nothing else and neither did she. When enough time had passed for Max to absorb the gentler side of Alec, he leapt to his feet and swept up the empty pitcher, noting that she was almost through with her current mug. "So, how about I buy another pitcher and we shoot some pool? Sketchy’s been avoiding me lately in that area."
Max ghosted an appreciative smile up at him. "Maybe he’s finally coming to realize that he can’t always exist on a diet of beer and weed and might actually have to buy some real food." They glanced over to where their mutual friend sat, trying to impress the ladies around him with his tales of woe. The transgenics glanced back at each other and shook their heads quickly.
"Good ol’ Sketch?" Alec chuckled. "Never." He set off quickly to the bar, loath to leave her alone for long. Whenever Max was alone, she tended to brood and he wasn’t about to let that happen. Max and her siblings hadn’t been the only ones early in Manticore life that had been taught to watch out for your fellow soldier. As he jumped down the few steps leading up to the alcove they’d been in, Alec realized that that was probably why he’d stuck around Seattle originally. She might not have been a member of his unit, but she was one of his own in the broadest sense of the word.
Alec caught the bartender’s attention and gestured in the air with the empty pitcher. The man nodded once and went back to filling the glass he was currently holding. Alec set the pitcher down and reached into his pocket for his money. He counted off the proper amount, and then a little more for some more Scotch for himself just as Original Cindy was approaching.
"Hey," she greeted boisterously. She’d noticed Alec and Max talking earlier, but when no blows, verbal or otherwise seemed to have been exchanged, she’d hung back.
"Hey Cindy," Alec greeted just as easily. He’d seen her occasional glance and was surprised that she hadn’t come over earlier in all her bulldogged protective vibe. She was certainly extremely tenacious when it came to protecting her ‘Boo’. "Buy you a drink?" he offered, then caught sight of the young redhead watching them from another table. "And your lovely friend of course," he offered with a wink.
"Not ta worry, pretty boy," Cindy chided with a wide grin as she too glanced back at her new lickety chick. "I got her covered." Alec laughed at her enthusiasm, knowing better than to push his luck. "How’s Max doin’?" she cut to the chase.
Alec threw a quick glance again up to the shadowed area in the back of the bar where he knew Max to still be. But instead of the body hidden in the dark, he found her leaning forward, her arms resting on the table as she watched the people below her with an amused expression on her face. Well, at least she hadn’t reverted to form yet. He turned back to Cindy. "You know about what happened?"
The woman nodded, but Alec didn’t say anymore. While he was pretty sure that Max would have shared with her roommate, it was a common technique of Cindy’s to say yes, even if she had no idea what was what. Then the other person would go over everything and she’d have her choice weapon, knowledge. And while he was also sure that Cindy would never use her knowledge to hurt a friend, he was also sure that he’d been the only person Max had shared with in regards to Ben.
"About Logan mistakin’ the two of ya for a couple?" she clarified. He nodded. Cindy let her wide smile play over her face, as she looked him up and down. "And all Original Cindy has to say to that is ‘nuh’ and ‘uh’. I’d have a better chance with Max than you would pretty boy."
Alec pouted immediately. "You wound me Cindy. You don’t think I have any appeal at all?"
"Nah," she laughed, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "Original just knows her girl. That’s all."
"I guess," he sighed theatrically. "But you know, if I can’t have you or Max, then I’m gonna need somebody who’ll appreciate the great package that I am." He let his eye rove around the bar. Original followed his look and gave out a bark of laughter.
"Oh no you don’t," she threatened playfully. "They all mine."
"Oh really," Alec smirked. He reached to hand the bartender the money and took the pitcher and the glass of Scotch. "Let me get this to Max and then we’ll see about that."
"Won’t do you no good," she taunted. "Original is plannin’ on layin’ down her thang and then it’ll be all over."
"Oh, you’re in trouble now, missy miss," Alec jeered as he wheeled around, yelling over his shoulder as he moved back to Max’s table. "Nobody threatens me like that and gets away with it." Her laugh followed him all the way back. He hurriedly set the pitcher in front of Max while she smiled up at him, Cindy’s laughter obviously infectious.
"What was that all about?" she demanded laughingly, reaching to pour herself a drink. Alec jerked his head to the side, indicating the pool tables.
"C’mon," he instructed, taking her beer glass from her and holding it up. "Cindy’s impugned my honor. Can’t let her get away with it," he repeated. He began to move around the way that he’d originally come and Max jumped to her feet to follow.
"What’d she say?" Max inquired. It was crowded enough in the bar that even with her heightened sense of hearing she wouldn’t have been able to filter out enough to hear any but what he’d shouted. She followed his body as he wove through the throng.
"Cindy seems to think that I have no appeal to the fair gender at all," Alec grinned back at her. "Gotta prove her wrong." He didn’t miss the roll of her eyes.
"Well at least your consistent," she mumbled, though she knew he was listening. "Once a jerk, always a jerk."
He shook his head. "What is it with you two? A guy can’t get any love." But even as he said it, he was already winking at another girl, a blonde at the other end of the bar. She’d smiled back and Alec felt the tiny part of his ego that had been offended, lift again. Yeah, he still had it. When he heard the familiar clank of balls bouncing off one another, he finally turned back to survey what Max had done. He quickly assessed the balls, realizing that she’d sunk a stripe and a solid on her break. Max ignored him as she stretched over to make her next shot. But something caught Alec’s eye.
He chose his own pool cue and leaned back to watch her play. She sank another solid and stood up to survey the table. "You know Max," he sighed, shaking his head with affected regret, speaking as if he were talking to a child. "When most people decide to get a matched set, they usually pick things that, well, you know, match."
"Huh?" her concentration was broken as he rattled off something completely incomprehensible to her.
He gestured with the chalk he’d just picked up. "Your wrist," he clarified. She glanced down. "No, the other one. Unless you got both of them done." Max looked down at the topside of her wrists, the puzzlement still there. "The tattoo," he finally said. Max grimaced at him and he stepped over to turn her right hand over. They looked down at the strange marking and Alec puzzled to make out what it was. As far as he knew, it looked like a symbol from a foreign language. He was about to ask her what it meant when he caught the absolute look of horror in her eyes. "Max?"
"I didn’t do this Alec," she panted, quickly moving from her relaxed state, back to the mild tension she’d had thrumming through her body at odd moments. She glanced back down at her wrist. "What the hell is going on?"
Alec made a split second decision then without even realizing it. He took the pool cue from Max’s hand and threw it, along with his own onto the table. He grabbed her free hand and with the other, gathered up his light denim jacket. He pulled her to the exit, Cindy, Sketchy, every other person forgotten. "Let’s go," he muttered.
Max didn’t put up much protest, other than to say, "go where?"
"Where we can figure this out," he answered. All either one knew was that something wacky was going on. And for transgenics, wacky meant danger.
Chapter Two
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