tigriswolf | Smart Girl - DA fic

Title: Smart Girl
Fandom: Dark Angel
Disclaimer: Not my characters. Quotes are from “Hello, Goodbye”. Just for fun.
Warnings: AU; timeline—somewhen after “Hello, Goodbye”
Pairings: none
Rating: PG-13
Wordcount: 462
Point of view: second

Alec: You really think I could do it? You think I could murder someone in cold blood?
Max: Yes, Alec, I think you could.

You were never too impressed with her brains. You’d expected something more after all the buildup—if she’d escaped once, shouldn’t she be one of the best? If she’d eluded capture for as long she had, shouldn’t she be clever, wise, smart?

Of course, she didn’t escape alone. There were others, like the leader who Manticore kept for parts and then turned into a cyborg that nearly killed you. And there was your twin, the insane serial killer.

She thought Manticore would let her escape again. She thought they didn’t know exactly what she was doing, that they weren’t watching every single move she made, counting every breath.

She thought you were on her side. She thought, after everything, that you would help her. She thought—ah, but she was fool.

It never seemed to occur to her that you went easy on her. That you let her confidence build, that you quietly and constantly added to her arrogance. That you had plans of your own.

Honestly, was it so hard to believe that an extra ten years of training, of brainwashing, of torture wouldn’t make you better than her? That your act ended the night the facility burned?

Or, better yet, that your act was entirely for Manticore at all?

The hardest thing you ever did was not ramming that knife into her eye. Not tearing open her throat or carving out her heart, not spilling her blood onto the ground.

White, at least, should have known better. Should have recognized a fellow actor, should have expected that something was up, wrong.

She trusted you. They all did, by the end. You think she might have even loved you a little. Fool. Only one time did you ever think she had potential, and then she proved you wrong.

Back when you were blamed for Benny-boy’s killings, she believed you’d done it. Believed that such horrendous leanings were in the blood you and your twin shared.

So you asked if she thought you really could kill someone so coldly and she said, “Yes.”

You wanted to say, “Smart girl.” You didn’t, though. You just continued on with the act.

And her doe-eyes ask, Why are you doing this?

You smirk and don’t dignify her with a response.

You never were too impressed with her brains, but even a fool should understand about vengeance.

She killed your brother. You kill her. Simple math, such an easy equation.

She’d thought you were on her side. She died without knowing you could have been, once, except for his death.

And only once did you ever even consider telling her “Smart girl.”