DISCLAIMER: All DARK ANGEL characters belong to James Cameron and Charles Eglee (Cameron Eglee Productions) and DARK ANGEL itself belongs to FOX.

ARCHIVE: No

Artwork courtesy of Valjean & JensenAckles.org

Max loved Logan for a lot of reasons, many of them complicated, like the fact she felt responsible for putting him in that wheelchair, and the fact he'd just tried to kill himself because of her. Oh, she loved him for other things too ... good things ... his selflessness, his righteous fights, the sweetness of his nature and his soul. Yes, there were many, many reasons she loved Logan Cale, and that had to count for something.

With Alec ... with Alec it was far less complex. Max realized now that she loved Alec, quite simply, because he was her mate. She'd known that the night she'd offered herself to him in the hotel room, and she suspected Alec had known it long before then -- or at least sensed their connection. Perhaps even back at Manticore ...

But Alec had seen how badly she wanted to be in love with Logan ... how she practically worshipped the man. So, like the good guy he truly was at heart, X5-494 had stepped aside and -- up until now -- ignored his instincts, stayed out of her way and banished her from his mind. He'd tried to live his own life, attempting to find satisfaction in the arms of many women, none of whom he'd been designed to be with.

Sad. But now, Max knew she had a chance to put things right ... to go where she truly belonged ... if only she could find the courage to let go of one man in order to find joy in the arms of another.

And if only she could find him ... Alec ...

But Alec was gone, leaving Terminal City and his friends and family behind forever, and Max hadn't the slightest clue where to start looking.

*****

He recognized the smell before he even opened his eyes -- antiseptic ... medicinal ... pungent -- the odors of childhood nightmares that had actually been his reality. Keeping his lids tightly closed, as if that would somehow ward off the monsters he knew were right there, he tried to move. As expected, he was tethered ... like an animal.

Facing reality at last, Alec blinked and looked up into harsh glaring light. Moving on the periphery of his vision were men wearing latex gloves. Doctors? Maybe surgeons? He felt like he'd been unconscious for a very long time, and that frightened him. But not as much as the man standing beside the examining table he was strapped to.

"How long?" Alec asked hoarsely, eying the I.V. dripping into the big vein of his right arm. His mouth was dry, but he'd obviously been kept hydrated. Then again, he was their six million dollar prize ...

"Three days," Lydecker said, his gravelly voice conversational. "I had you kept sedated until you were ready."

Alec didn't understand. Glancing down at himself, he saw that he was barefoot and clothed in green hospital scrubs.

"You've had a complete physical," the Colonel continued. "You're in excellent health, by the way. No sign of progeria or other genetic anomalies or drifts."

"I could'a told you that," Alec replied, wondering when the other shoe was going to drop ... when the horror would begin.

"You'll make an excellent addition to my stable of X5s."

"I'll die before I take orders from you again," Alec said softly, meaning every word.

To his surprise, the Colonel smiled. "If that's your choice, then so be it, 494. You're free to leave my New Manticore whenever you want." The older man eyed him closely. "Of course you won't live very long if you do."

"Because you'll kill me," Alec said. "Go ahead. Do your worst. I've been through your reindoctrination program twice already. It won't work this time either. I'll never be your obedient little soldier boy again."

"I have no intention of trying to brainwash you, 494," Lydecker said, his voice quite reasonable. "You're right. That would be an exercise in futility where you're concerned. However, I do have another way to bring my rogue X5 to heel, so to speak."

Alec had a headache -- a bad one. He supposed it was from lack of tryptophan, but it was odd how the pain was shooting up the back of his neck and down his spine.

"Tell me, 494," Lydecker said. "Does your head hurt?"

Alec's brows drew down in a scowl.

"I can see that it does," the Colonel said, smiling in a way that sent chills down the X5's aching spine. "Your muscles are starting to hurt, too, right?"

Subtly, Alec nodded.

"As I said, you've been with me for three days. The poison is beginning to work."

"What poison?" Alec said, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. "What are you talkin' about?"

"The very special poison I administered to you the moment you were brought down and captured," Lydecker said, his voice still quite amiable. "You're dying, 494. The pain you feel in your head and back is just the beginning. Slowly, over the next twenty-four hours, your nervous system begin to fall apart. Seizures will be the least of it. Then, your internal organs will start to liquefy. The end won't be pretty, when it comes in a day or two. You'll hemorrhage ... convulse ... go insane with the agony ... Oh, and finally you'll die, but not before you beg someone ... anyone ... to put you out of your misery."

"Why?" Alec had to wonder as he realized he was listening to the words of a mad man. "You paid a lot of money for me. Why kill me?"

Which is when Lydecker held up a hypodermic needle, its tip dripping yellow liquid. "Oh, I don't intend for you to die, 494. In fact, I'm betting your survival instincts won't allow it. Because, you see, there's an antidote to the poison in your body." He squeezed a few drops out of the needle.

"And if I want it, I have to agree to be your slave," Alec said, understanding now just what kind of Hell he'd fallen into.

"Exactly," Lydecker replied, the grin widening on his cruel mouth. "I'll have you back in the fold, 494, or you won't be allowed to exist. However, since you're theoretically a free citizen of the United States, I'm giving you this choice. What will it be? Obedience? Or a slow agonizing death?"

Alec felt a tremor race through his limbs followed by a lightening bolt of pain. His stomach hurt too, and he thought he tasted blood on the back of his tongue. He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.

"Deal," Alec said. "Give me the antidote and I work for you."

Lydecker pursed his lips and nodded. "I thought you'd see things my way," he said, laying the hypodermic needle in a case, closing the lid, and tucking it into his jacket pocket. "You always were a quick study, even as a child."

"Hey!" Alec said, wondering why the hypo had been put away. "I just agreed to your terms!"

"Oh, I'm not going to let you die," Lydecker said. "But I do think you need to experience the -- shall we say -- full spectrum of just what this little potion in your blood stream can do." He cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, and did I mention that the antidote isn't a permanent cure? It will have to be administered every three days for the rest of your life to keep the poison's effects at bay."

Alec's heart turned over in his chest, then began racing, and it had nothing to do with the effects of the poison. "Every three days?" he said. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I never kid," Lydecker said. "Once every three days for the rest of your life you'll have to come to me for an injection. Otherwise, the poison will overwhelm your body's defenses and you'll die horribly."

Every three days! Alec felt like he was going to vomit. Talk about having him by the short hairs ...

"In other words," Lydecker said. "If you're thinking about running away, 494, you won't get far. He smiled again. "You're my bitch now, son."

"You fucking bastard!" Alec snarled.

However, Lydecker was through -- for now. But he glanced back over his shoulder as he was leaving, tossing off an order to the pair of armed guards watching over the shackled prisoner. "Call me when he can't scream any more." Then, to Alec, "Which is when you and I are going to have a little conversation regarding duty, loyalty, and your life -- or death -- as my soldier at New Manticore."

End Part I