Breeding Partners, or Not!

Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters do not belong to me. This fan-fiction had been written purely for entertainment purposes. No infringement had been intended and no profit had been made out of this.

Breeding Partners…or not - Chapter 5

(By elle6778)


“You’re all sick, you, Renfro, Manticore…all of you! If you think for a minute that I’m going to calm down and let you rape me, you’re sadly mistaken. I’m not one of you, unfeeling and heartless soldiers, just treating this as another so-called mission. It is not JUST another mission, dumbass! It’s my body you’re talking about here. Mine! Not Manticore’s. Not yours!” she yelled in outrage.

The hand holding her wrists suddenly tightened to the point of pain. Max felt a stab of fear when she realised that he easily held her immobile using only one of his hands to hold both her wrists over her head. She tried to push him off again by bucking her body against his, but he did not budge.

Well, he would have to move at some point if he wanted to complete this stupid mission. Max knew that she have to just wait for a suitable opening for her to get away from him.

She brought her eyes up just in time to see his eyes flickering uncertainly.

Why did he look so hesitant? Max wondered, breathing hard from the effort of pushing Alec off.

Was he finally developing a conscience? She almost snorted. Fat chance. From what she had seen, Alec was one hundred percent Manticore. The perfect soldier.

He had ripped her top down the middle, her sports bra exposed, but he was not looking down. His head was tilted to the side as he looked at her with a thoughtful expression.

“What? No smart-ass remarks this time?” Max taunted. Was she getting though to him after all? A small seed of hope flared inside her. Maybe the guy was not as amoral as she had thought him to be.

A second of silence passed between them before he smirked, shattering her small hope. His eyes hardened as he said softly, but clearly, “Listen to me, 452. You’re an X-Series Prototype, designed by Manticore. Bred in Manticore. Trained in Manticore. You’re a super-soldier, not quite human, not quite animal. Yes, your body is not mine. But it’s not yours either, whatever you might want to think.”

Max blinked incredulously, not quite believing what she was hearing. Alec had never spoken in such serious tone before. She opened her mouth to retort, but he was not done yet.

“Project Manticore is the reason why you’re here today. Without Manticore, you won’t exist. You said that I’m unfeeling and heartless because I want to carry out my mission. I don’t know about heartless and unfeeling. But you’re right about one thing. This is JUST another mission to me.” He brought his face close to hers, his expression unyielding, and hissed, “I’ve been on missions where I killed people, young and old, male and female. This is what I do. I specialise in assassination. So don’t think for a second that I intend to fail this one simple mission just because you’re reluctant to do your part. Do you get me?”

Her heart thudded erratically, she did not know why. Fear? Most probably, much ash she hated to admit it. But she refused to let him have the satisfaction of seeing it.

Straightening her spine, she said, careful to inject the correct amount of mockery in her voice, “Are you done? Funny, I didn’t know that you could actually string that many words together. Quite a speech you have there.”

Ignoring her jibe, Alec said, “I don’t know why you insist on fighting. Don’t you understand that we’re soldiers, and that basically means following orders?”

Max glared at him and spat, “You tell yourself whatever you want to justify your own sick actions, but there’s no way I’m buying all that crap, asshole. Save your breath.”

“Fine. You want to do it the hard way, I see,” Alec said levelly, his expression hard.

Suddenly, he let go of her wrist only to twist around abruptly. Max suddenly found herself tossed as carelessly as a rag-doll onto her bunk. The bedsprings groaned in protest under the impact before she bounced sideways. She swallowed her pain as her injured shoulder hit the wall. Before she could move away, Alec pressed himself down on her, effectively immobilising her. It all happened in seconds.

His hand went between them, unsnapping her pant and unzipping them rapidly. A surge of blinding panic descended upon her, rendering her temporarily silent.

He was grasping her waistband in his hands to pull her pants down when Max finally found her voice. “Get off me!” she yelled, trying to buck him off her.

She tried to head-butt him but expecting her actions, he had tilted his head and shoulders away from her. His legs were aligned with hers, his knees holding her limbs down, but she continued to struggle, twisting from side to side.

Alec made a frustrated sound. “Stay still,” he ordered roughly.

“Or what?” she snarled, her arms snaking between them in an attempt to push him off. Her hand came into contact with the hard, rippling muscles of his abdomen and she had to force herself to ignore the answering female heat, the sign of betrayal of her own body.

Alec did not answer. She could see the chords in his throat straining as he struggled to pull her pants down.

“Damn it,” he swore aloud when her pants refused to slide past her hips. Their combined weight was making it difficult for him to undress her.

And then he lifted himself up.

Unrestrained, Max sat up immediately but before she could escape, Alec grasped her shoulders, trying to force her face down onto the mattress. She kicked out, her legs scissoring.

Alec did not move back soon enough. The impact of her feet against his thigh knocked him over, causing him to fall heavily onto the floor. Before he could get up, she got to her feet and blurred to the door.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he sounded amused as he stood up, much to Max’s disgust.

“Away from you, as if it’s not obvious,” she replied, her eyes flashing angrily. Her hand quickly went down to re-fasten her pants, not wanting to remain exposed to his gaze.

Alec smirked knowingly. “What? You’re shy?”

Max glared at him wordlessly.

He took a step towards her.

And she stepped back until she felt the cold metal door against her back.

Alec raised an eyebrow. “See, nowhere to run,” he said just before he lunged at her.

Max dodged, blurring past him a little before she twisted around, trying to backhand him. Alec grabbed her hand, stopping it just inches before it hit his face. Undeterred, Max kicked out at him, her leg sailing high in mid-air. Releasing her hand, Alec ducked and then moved back away from her.

Why was he not fighting back, she thought in confusion. All he had done so far was to block and avoid her hits. What was he up to?

Not wanting to waste anymore time wondering, she lashed out with her arms, aiming for his head. He sidestepped, turned around and grabbed her from the behind with both arms, lifting her off the floor. Max found herself immobile with his arms wrapped tight around her.

“Let me go!” she yelled in outrage.

“Ask nicely,” he said cheerfully.

“Bite me!” she snarled.

“Be patient. I’ll get to that in a minute,” he replied, smirking.

“Stop being such a smart-ass!”

“Hey, I can’t help being smart.”

She wanted to scream in frustration. Alec still held her, but at least her feet were on the ground now. Bringing her feet up, she tried to kick backwards at him.

“Give it up. You know it’s hopeless,” Alec advised, sounding oddly gentle.

“No!” Max snapped, renewing her struggles.

Then without warning, he pushed her face first down to the floor next to the bunk. Max could feel his weight on her back as Alec began to unfasten and then pull down her pants with one hand, ignoring her protests. She tried to push herself up, but he was too heavy, too strong and too intent on getting his mission done. Her wrist was held captive over her head.

She froze when she felt his hand skimming the back of her bare thighs, moving up to caress her rounded panty-clad backside. An unwanted hot flare of desire exploded in her senses. His touch was surprisingly soft, but she could feel every contact like a hot brand marking her.

He lowered himself, partially lying on her back. She could feel the evidence of his arousal pressing against her through his pants. Another unwanted burst of feminine response washed over her. She gritted her teeth, trying to ignore her traitorous hormones.

And then she felt his lips on the back of her neck, exactly where her barcode was. His teeth scraped her skin roughly before he suckled it using his lips. Max swallowed a strangled moan at the sensation coursing through her body.

His hands travelled down her body, brushing against the side of her breast through the thin material of her bra, making her breath hitch in her throat. She felt him push his right hand between her and the hard floor, and the next thing she knew, he was kneading her breast roughly. An involuntary moan escaped her lips.

Max knew that she could not let it continue. It was all so wrong, but she could not help responding. It had felt like a long time since she had any physical contact of this sort and her body craved it. But she refused to let Manticore win. She needed to get Alec off her and she needed to do it now.

Max felt Alec’s breath against her ears, making her break out in goosebumps, before she heard a mocking, “Giving up so soon?”

She stiffened and immediately retorted, “Not a chance!”

Pushing up against him, Max twisted her body in an attempt to escape. A few moves later, all she managed to do was to flip herself onto her back. She glared at Alec as he smirked.

“Even better,” he uttered softly. One of his hands pinned her wrist over her head while another came down to caress her breast.

Gritting her teeth, Max hissed angrily, “Don’t touch me!”

“The mission requires me to touch you, whether you like it or not. I’m just trying to make it more pleasant for you,” Alec explained impatiently.

“I don’t need you to make things pleasant for me. I want you to remove yourself from me,” she spat, her face twisted in disgust. It bothered her that her body was responding to his touch so eagerly. But it bothered her even more that apart from the slight increase in his heart-rate and the dilation of his pupils, he appeared completely calm and unaffected whilst she struggled to maintain her composure. Max almost snorted. What else did she expect anyway? This was just a mission to him, she thought as she shot him a murderous glare.

Alec raised his eyebrows. “Or perhaps you don’t need further stimulation because you already had enough?” he said. The hand on her breast began to move down her stomach slowly as she forced herself to keep eye contact with him. There was no chance that she would let him know how much she was affected by his touch.

“I said, don’t touch me!” she snarled, straining away from him.

Alec smirked, his hand dipping lower. There was no mistaking his destination. Alarmed, she lifted her hips, trying to twist away from his searching hands.

But it was futile.

Max hissed in outrage, her eyes flashing dangerously. She was still weak from her injury and he was too strong for her to fight off in her vulnerable position. And the bastard knew it well enough to take advantage of the situation, she raged silently.

He pressed his body down to still her movements and buried his face at the side of her neck as his hand reached the apex of her thighs to slip beneath her underwear.

The touch of his fingers was not tentative, but confident, like he knew exactly what he was doing, even within the constraints of the tight fabric. It was bad enough that he would have known that she was very aroused from the what he could feel, but she refused to let him see it in her face. Max squeezed her eyes shut, hiding the desire reflected in them as he skilfully stroked her.

She could feel him pressing against her right thigh though his pants, grinding erotically. Her head felt light and she was breathing hard as his fingers sped up in time with the movements of his hips. A loud groan emitted from Alec suddenly gave her a second of clarity, reminding her that she was supposed to be a reluctant party in this.

Opening her eyes, she blinked wildly, trying to remember what she was supposed to do know. She had a plan all thought out before he came in. What was it? The movement of his fingers was like a drug, making it difficult for her to think.

Yes, focus, Max, she told herself silently. Her fuzzy brain struggled to cope as she forced herself to ignore the feeling Alec was coaxing out of her body.

Then it suddenly came to her.

The rod. The metal rod.

Max blinked open her eyes, her gaze clouded from passion. Alec was still touching her intimately, his lips tugging at the soft skin under her ear, making it difficult for her to keep track of her thoughts.

Her hand reached out under her bunk, feeling around for the loose rod she had left there earlier. Come on, Max urged herself as her fingers skimmed the metal grillage which supported the mattress. A second later her fingers touched what she was looking for.

She pulled it out slowly, careful not to alert Alec to her activity. The weapon now held securely in one hand, Max took a deep breath.

Then she pushed with all her might against him.

Obviously surprised by her sudden action, Alec rolled off her, uttering, “What th-”

Max jumped to her feet instantly. She held the metal rod with one hand, the sharp tip pointed at him.

“Back off,” she warned, her voice hard.

Alec held his hands up and smirked. “Or what? You’re going to stab me?” he mocked, stepping forward.

Max forced herself to ignore the bulge at the front of his pants, the evidence that he was still very aroused. She was not any better off than he was. “Don’t push me,” she said tersely.

Max had expected what was coming next. After all that was what they were taught if they found themselves at knifepoint. His leg swung in an arc towards her as if in slow motion.

Max waited until his leg almost reached the metal rod before she whipped around in a circle in the same direction, bringing the weapon out of his reach.

And then she attacked.

He did not expect it.

The sound of metal ripping through flesh echoed in the small cell.

She stood still, almost feeling as if she could not move if she had wanted to. And then Alec turned an accusing pair of hazel eyes at her. Her eyes swept down his face, his neck and further down to his hand against his midsection.

She blinked slowly.

Dark, thick blood oozed out, seeping out slowly between his fingers.

Regret flowed through her like an avalanche. She did not expect herself to feel this much. He had been trying to force himself on her after all. She was defending herself. So why the hell did it feel so wrong? What was this place doing to her?

The metal rod was still gripped tightly in her fist. She was holding it as if her life depended on it. Max watched his lips compress tightly as his eyes landed on the cause of his injury, but he did not say a single word to her. No harsh words of recrimination.

Nothing.

Why?

And then abruptly, he turned to the door, staggering a little as he sucked in a ragged breath.

“Guards!” he yelled through the bars.

A moment later, two uniformed guards opened the door. Their eyes widened as they surveyed the bloody mess around Alec’s midsection. And then they looked at her in confusion, registering her near-nakedness.

“What the hell happened here?” one of the guard asked, scowling. And then he saw the metal rod, still held by Max.

Alec just shrugged.

The other guard nodded to Alec. “Head for the infirmary at once,” he said, gesturing at his fellow guard to go with Alec.

Max watched silently as the guard grabbed Alec’s shoulder, presumably to help him to get to the infirmary.

Turning to Max, eyeing the metal rod warily, the other guard ordered, “Drop it.”

Max considered ignoring him, but what was the point? All the guards carried tasers. And tasers were much more effective than the metal rod.

The metal rod fell with a loud clank against the concrete floor.

“Come with me,” he said in a clipped tone as he took out his taser.

She nodded, and then stooped down to pick up her tattered t-shirt and pants, quickly putting it on, uncomfortable under the watchful eyes of the guard. Tattered clothing was better than none at all.

As she stepped out of her cell, for some unfathomable reason, all Max could think about was Alec.

……………………….

Alec stared straight ahead at the white wall as the nurse cleaned his wound with a lump of cotton soaked in some antiseptic.

He barely felt the sting as the nurse proceeded to stitch up the gaping gash. His mind was occupied, thinking about what had taken place in his breeding partner’s cell. She had surprised him.

Again.

He had a weird feeling when she had stabbed him. If he had not known better, he would have guessed that he felt almost betrayed by her actions. But it did not make sense. There was no reason for him to feel betrayed. It must be just the shock of a foreign object in his midsection coupled with the loss of blood, he surmised.

The funny thing was, a part of him felt as if he deserved it for being so half-hearted tonight. The mission was a pain to carry out because of his reluctant breeding partner, but he knew that he had felt even less enthusiastic about carrying out his orders after Max’s accusation.

Alec frowned. The girl was making him feel guilty about something he should not feel guilty about and he did not like it. He was not doing anything wrong. And he had bluntly spelled it out for her this time, telling her what her obligations to Manticore were. But he guessed that by her actions, it had not registered in her stubborn head.

He had to admit that it had been harder to keep his objectivity in check today, for some reason. His hormones seemed to react to her purely on an instinctive level, like a heat-seeking missile to a hot object. He guessed that at least his body found hers desirable. It could be worse, he supposed. And judging from the evidence he had found while touching her, it was clear that she had found him desirable too. Very desirable, no matter what she said to the contrary.

Perhaps he could use it to his advantage the next time they met.

………………………

Day 5

The hinge to his door squealed, telling him that someone, probably a guard was entering his cell.

Alec sat up, his midsection throbbing dully. He resisted the urge to groan. They could not possibly expect him to get up to go to his breeding partner in his condition. It had only been twenty hours since he had gotten himself stabbed by that psycho chick, barely any time for him to heal, let alone gather up enough strength for another fight.

“Director Renfro wants to see you,” the guards said.

Alec did not know if he should be relieved or not. Would he prefer a confrontation with Max, or with Renfro? Not that he would have any choice in the matter anyway.

He stood up, mentally shrugging, and followed the guard out.

Five minutes later, he found himself in front of Renfro’s office. He knocked, entering after she called out for him to do so.

“X5-494, ma’am,” he said, snapping a salute.

Renfro was sitting behind her desk, her sharp eyes watching Alec as he stood at attention in front of her.

“At ease,” she finally said, allowing Alec to relax slightly.

“You must be wondering why you’re here,” she started.

Alec kept his face impassive.

“I have stressed to you the importance of the Breeding Programme. And yet you’ve persistently failed in your attempts to complete the mission assigned to you. Five days, and yet no result. Not even a successful copulation. I am… disappointed. What do you have to say for yourself, 494?” Renfro asked.

“Ma’am, I have attempted copulation with X5-452 for the past four nights, but encountered complications each time,” Alec said, sounding calmer than he actually felt. Renfro was not going to let him off lightly, he knew.

“Complications? Specifically, a knee to the groin, strangulation and a stab wound, you mean?” Renfro asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied tightly, cursing Max in his head.

“Perhaps you would prefer it if you were assigned another partner?” she asked.

What was this? A trick question? Alec did not believe that Renfro would offer him such an easy way out. Calmly, in an almost indifferent tone, he said, “I have no objection if that benefits the Breeding Programme, ma’am.”

Renfro smiled frostily. “No. Based on your DNAs, the two of you are most compatible. I would have assigned you to X5-453, her genetic twin. However, X5-453 is currently on a long-term deep-cover mission.”

What was Renfro playing at, Alec thought irritably. Why did she mention a swap if she had no intention of doing so? Anyway, he was not sure that he wanted to pair up with someone who looked exactly like Max. For all he knew, she would probably be just as annoying.

“However, we have decided on another course of action. A solution to the problem,” Renfro said, her eyes remained fixed on him, as if she wanted to study his reaction to her next words.

Alec waited for her to continue.

And when she told him of Manticore’s latest plan, Alec wondered why he suddenly felt a little disturbed.


t.b.c.


A/N: Renfro’s evil plan coming up next! Stay tuned! And please drop me a review, I love to know what you think!