The Only Way Out: Does It Really Matter?

By

Kel

Part One

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't presume to own Dark Angel, I could never have the genius to come up with it, or the stupidity to cancel it. I DO own my original characters.

Author's Note: You guys know where some of the transgenics, other than the X series, were specifically designed to be different, to perform tasks that in many cases the X's couldn't? For example Gill Guy and Girl, they were designed for underwater mission stuff, and Mole was designed for desert warfare stuff, and Luke for digging trenches, and that Arctic guy for Arctic stuff. Well, I'm gonna lump all the different kinds of the specifically designed transgenics into one group called the SU. (Specialty Unit. Ex: If Mole's number was 429, he'd be Specialty Unit 429, or SU-429.)

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"Dac, I don't wanna go in yet," Val protested softly as they approached TC Headquarters.

Dac stopped his pace and turned around to look at her. "Why not?" he asked her.

Val shrugged, her black leather outfit creaking with the movement. She nervously played with the end of the purple plaid tie that was tied loosely around her neck. She scuffed the toe of her second-hand, black Nike sneaker in the dirt. Dac approached her slowly. "Val?" he prompted.

Val smiled softly. "It won't be just us anymore," she elaborated quietly. If Dac had not had genetically enhanced hearing, he wouldn't have been able to pick it out.

"It hasn't been just us for very long," he pointed out, running his hand softly through her straight blonde hair and rubbing a strand between his fingers.

"That's exactly my point," Val told him, placing her hand gently on his chest, now adorned in a loose black button up t-shirt. With buttons. "It's just . . . these past few months have been . . . I dunno, fun. And . . . and I want to hold onto that for a while longer." Ever since Manticore had burned to the ground, the two of them hadn't had any contact with others of their kind, always laying low, never leaving each other's side. "I mean . . . back there it was just us a lot of the time, but we could never . . ."

"Be free," Dac finished for her. Being the only two SU's with their 'talents', the two of them had grown up in each other's presence at Manticore, but had never been allowed to be close. They had trained together, and occasionally with the X5's because of their similarities to the group, but they had had two different cells, and had often had their own individual training exercises and missions. They held the strength, speed, agility, and enhanced senses of an X5, in fact, they essentially were X5's except they had a few attributed talents coded into their DNA that you would not find in any X5. So that meant that they had to do double the work of an X5. They had regular training, but theirs had to be much more vigorous to shorten training time, leaving room for other 'activities.' Upon escaping Manticore, the two of them had had no idea how to handle 'spare time,' and almost all concepts of the outside had been unfamiliar to them, but they had always known one thing. They were family, brother and sister, but more than a brother and sister ever could be . . . should be. They were the only constant that each had left in an ever changing world. And they could not be pried apart with the jaws of life.

"Tell you what," Dac said, "we'll find a place to stay, and we'll sleep on it, see how we're feeling tomorrow."

Val smiled softly up at him. "Sounds good to me," she murmured.

A grin slid onto Dac's face. His black eyes seemed to light up, as much as entirely black eyes could. "I thought it might." He captured her lips in a swift kiss. When he pulled back, she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him back, kissing him again, soft and long. Eventually, she left him go.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I love doing you favours," Dac responded happily.

********

"How can you stand him?? He's such a jerk!" Blake fumed. "He's an arrogant, stubborn, judgmental prick with a stick the length of the Canadian boarder rammed up his-"

"Blake," Max interjected, "he was just a bit stressed out, that's all!"

"That's all, huh? Then what right does he have to talk to me like I'm dirt??!!" Blake was yelling now. The two of them were in Max's office, where Max attempted to calm down her sister while Alec had been escorted to the infirmary to get his foot checked out. "If I had a gun, I'd-"

"Blake!"

"What!!?"

"Stop!" Max yelled, grabbing Blake by the shoulders. "You're right, he shouldn't have talked to you like that. It was arrogant and mean. But don't let him drag you down like this! Don't stoop to his level."

Blake took several deep breaths and counted to ten in an attempt to calm herself. "Fine." She left the room. Max sighed deeply and dropped into a chair. She leaned down, placing her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. So, Blake's temper hadn't gone anywhere.

********

After choosing an empty apartment in the building they had gotten their clothes from, Dac and Val cuddled up in the warm fluffy bed. It was surprisingly comfortable for a bed in an abandoned apartment building. Of course, they had carefully selected it to be just that.

They wore their more comfortable newfound clothing, a black t-shirt and boxers for Dac, and baby blue teddy bear pajamas for Val. Val lay spooned up against Dac's chest under the covers, her back to him, his arm over her, and their fingers intertwined.

Val sighed contentedly. She and Dac had slept like this almost every night they slept since Manticore had burned down. She always found security in his arms. Her thoughts drifted to nights when she had instead lain scared and alone in the cold atmosphere of Manticore. She shivered slightly at the memories.

Dac squeezed her gently to him. The action came so naturally to him, it was like breathing. The two of them weren't even sure if they were a couple, but they were almost as close.

Val smiled slightly. She also remembered a time when such an expression could earn her some time in isolation. She had always found that no matter how much she didn't want to, when she found herself thinking of life at Manticore, she couldn't stop. If they had known of her lack of mental discipline, they would've thought something was wrong with her. Val shivered again.

"Val?" Dac whispered tentatively. "What're you thinking about?" Of course, he already knew, but he thought it might help if she could say it herself. Sometimes the first step to getting over something was admitting you had a problem in the first place. Everyone from Manticore definitely had problems.

Softly, so softly Dac almost couldn't hear the words, Val began to sing. "Sometimes . . . is never quite enough . . . If you're flawless, then you'll win my love. . . ."

Dac picked up on what song she was singing. "Tolerance," he corrected.

"Don't forget to win first place, don't forget to keep that smile on your face. . . ." Val continued.

In a deep, yet soft baritone, Dac echoed, "Wipe that smile off your face. . . ."

Val continued the real version of the song, while Dac added in corrections and revisions to fit who they were. "Be a good boy . . . Try a little harder . . . You've got to measure up . . . Make me prouder . . ."

Dac began to tap his leg along with the beat that played in both their heads, as the volume of the music increased, and Val continued. "How long before you screw it up? How many times do I have to tell you to hurry up? With everything I do for you . . ."

". . . Put you through," Dac sang.

"The least you can do is keep quiet . . ."

". . . Shut up . . ."

"Be a good girl . . ." Val continued.

"Soldier . . ." Dac corrected.

"You gotta try a little harder . . ."

"A whole lot harder . . ."

"That simply wasn't good enough . . . To make us proud. . . ." The song sped up, and Val's voice grew hoarse, in keeping with the original song. "I'll live through you, I'll-"

"Don't," Dac spoke, interrupting her.

"Don't what?" Val asked, turning to look him in the eyes.

"You have such a beautiful voice, don't waste it like that."

"Dac, the voice is supposed to be hoarse, that's how the song goes. And besides, I don't have a voice," Val protested.

"Yes, you do. You don't have to copy voices every damn time." Dac was growing angry with her, as if they had been through this many times in the past.

"Fine, I'll stop," Val spat back at him.

"Thank you," Dac's voice had gone soft, truly thankful that she had stopped.

Val sighed. She turned her back to him again. They lay there in silence for several minutes. Val's voice broke the spell, or perhaps enhanced it, echoing softly about the room, bouncing off the still walls, the only sound that could be heard. She sang, more quietly than before. "Be a good b- soldier. . . Push a little farther now . . . That wasn't fast enough to make us happy . . . We'll love you . .."

"Tolerate you," Dac cut in.

"Just the way you are . . . if you're perfect."

"They're gone, remember," Dac whispered. "You don't have to do their bidding, you don't have to make them happy anymore. You don't have to live up to their expectations. You can make your own expectations."

Val sighed softly. "I'm working on it."

The two of them eventually fell into a peaceful sleep, in each others' arms.

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