A/N- This has been in my head for a few days and I'm dying to get it out! Crossover with the Dark Angel Universe. Transgenics will play with Vampires. Yay! Pairing is Bella/Edward. Bella is a transgenic obviously. Set a decade in the future in accordance with the Dark Angel universe. The Pulse happened, but it didn't effect the Cullens much. Don't own Twilight or Dark Angel.
January 20, 2019
X5-477 walked purposefully towards Forks Highs administration building. The parking lot was pretty empty, save for a few cars that probably belonged to teachers and her own transportation, a midnight blue Kawasaki Ninja. The motorcycle had been 'liberated' from a spoiled rich idiot who couldn't possibly take care of it like she could. The act of 'liberating' the beauty also served as a bonding moment between her and Max, one of her true genetic siblings.
Thinking of that day served to put a smile on her face. Max had reminded X5-477 of the name she had been given so long ago by her unit mates. Bella. Such a simple name, yet it meant the world to her as she heard her sister say it, with shock written on her face. Bella couldn't blame Max, she was shocked as hell to see her too.
One Week Prior
X5-477 was at a bar in Seattle, trying to figure out what she was going to tell her handler. She had begun to make mistakes with her mission, not for lack of training, just a lack interest in getting naked with a sleazeball. Her orders were to infiltrate and possibly eliminate an up and coming politician, one that screamed Republican ideals loudly, in hopes of drawing in voters that wanted a return of America the Great Super Power. Manticore needed to make sure that this politician would not expose them and perhaps even support their covert operation.
The politician, as X5-477 figured out, was a far cry from a staunch right-wing, morally conservative Republican as one could get. Frank Beatty was as debauched as anyone X5-477 had ever seen in her 19 years. She had been chosen for the mission because she could pass for younger or older as the situation demanded, and apparently Beatty liked 'em young.
That thought sent shivers up her spine. She tried to think of something else as she began watching a nearby pool game. A beautiful girl was lining up her shot with obvious precision. X5-477 watched as she ran the table, sinking in shot after shot with a smile playing on her lips. She looked so familiar!
The shaggy headed blond man that was shaking his head ruefully at the girl with a pool stick in his hand let out a low whistle.
"How do you always do that Max?" He asked, truly baffled. Max? Why did that name ring a bell?
"You know me Sketchy. I like to win." Max's voice was oddly reminiscent to X5-477. Curiosity got the best of her and she strode over to the tables and decided to figure this out. Screw her current sick mission, she wanted answers and she was sure that this Max had something.
"Mind if I challenge the winner?" X5-477 asked as Max sunk the Eight ball, officially ending the game. Max looked at her appraisingly, a flicker of tentative recognition sparking in her eyes.
"Sure."Max said simply. "You can break."
X5-477 knew pool inside and out thanks to her best friend and C.O X5-494. She stifled her smirk and took the pool stick from Sketchy, quickly lining up her shot and breaking with precision that would do her best friend proud.
She ran the table, much like Max had run it while playing with Sketchy. She decided she wanted to get a chance to confirm her suspicions. She missed an easy shot and tried to look sad about it. Max looked disconcerted but began to line up her shot.
As Max leaned over, quick as lightening X5-477 swept the hair away from Max's neck and as her eyes aligned with the barcode that had been hidden, recognition dawned on her.
X5-452.
Memories flooded her and she stood as still as a statue for a moment, trying to gather her wits. Max hadn't been able to prevent the sneak and peek at her barcode but she could certainly silence this girl. She roughly grabbed X5-477 by the upper arm and slammed her way to the back of the bar and into the alley outside.
"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Max yelled at the unresisting girl in front of her.
The girl's lip trembled slightly and her eyes filled slightly with unshed tears. Silently, she turned around and lifted her long mahogany hair away from her own neck. Max let out a gasp.
"Bella?" was all Max could manage. Bella turned back around and nodded. The next thing Bella knew she found herself in a tight hug.
"What happened? I thought that you were dead, you never came back from Med-Bay after you and Jack were carried off. Is Jack alive too? How did you escape?" Max let out in a rush.
Pain gripped Bella as she thought of her unit mate. Her memories seemed to be flooding back to her in torrents, and she was sure she had been made to forget about her unit and Max by Manticore.
"Slow down. Max, I'm just starting to remember what happened but I'm positive Jack had a grand-mal seizure. He really is dead. I think I had a smaller seizure but they learned from Jack and fixed me up. Maxie, I haven't escaped. You guys left me behind remember? There was no chance for escape after you guys left." Bella said softly, no recrimination in her voice, though Max still winced at the thought of leaving her actual genetic sister behind.
"I'm sorry baby sister. Zack gave the order and we all just went."Max said sadly."Wait, if you haven't escaped what are you doing here? If they sent you for me than I'm sorry sis, but you have to kill me before I get dragged back there!"
"Relax. Im on a deep-cover mission. Minimal contact with base. No storm troopers to bust up our little parade." Bella smiled wryly at her sister. She ached to ask Max about her fraternal twin, Krit. Bella wondered if she should tell Max about her own twin sister Sam. Bella's genetic mother and surrogate gave Manticore four children, two sets of twins. Max and Sam were first, then came Krit and Bella. Genetic siblings.
"While that's a relief, you are not going back there."Max said seriously. Bella didn't quite know what she meant. Max understood the look of confusion on her face and answered simply. "You are out now. You will stay out."
That was when Bella's world changed. Max took her back to her rundown apartment and questioned her relentlessly. Bella did the same. They discussed the idea of Bella staying free and come up with a plan. While Manticore would sweep around looking for a rogue Bella in Seattle and other major cities they would surely skip over small towns.
They had gone to Logan to help set her up. He was forging identification and falsifying a back story. They decided that Canada was out of the question and the settled on a town far enough from Seattle to be safe but close enough if things went fubar. Forks, Washington.
Bella appreciated Logan's help but was uncomfortable being around him and Max. She knew Max inside and out and Logan was not someone she had ever pictured her big sister with. He was too arrogant, self-righteous and selfish. She now pictured Max with her own best friend, X5-494.
Bella voiced her thoughts to Max one night before she left. They had been pulling heists all week to fund Bella's new life and they had just gotten a good 20 thousand dollars from their latest adventure. She tried to be delicate with her words, but subtlety wasn't natural for her when speaking to her siblings.
"Max, I hate to break it to you, but Logan is a douche. He has a wack sense of power that has gone to his head. He is soooo not right for you sis."
Max's eyes darkened in anger. Shit.
"What?" Max's voice was low and dangerous. But Bella was too concerned for her sister's ultimate happiness to be concerned with her temporary anger.
"Honestly, He's not good for you. I don't think even you notice it, but you change when you're around him. Like you try to this goody-goody that actually gives a shit about stroking his Eyes Only Ego. When its just you and me, or us and your friends you are you. When you're around him, you are fake. Look, I'm sorry. If you don't want to hear it I won't bring it up but maybe you should think about it." Bella ended softly.
Max visibly softened and relaxed. "Okay, you win. I'll think about what you said." She grumbled under breath.
"Great! When you decide to ditch the loser, lemme know. I know THE perfect guy for you!" Bella exclaimed excitedly. Max couldnt help but chuckle.
The next morning, with a backpack full of cash, couple changes of clothes, forged identification, and papers saying she was legally emancipated Bella said good-bye to her big sister. Before Bella roared away, she tossed Max a cell phone.
"Got you a present. Don't give Loggie Bear the number. I've seen how much that stalker pages you. This is so you can call me and I can call you if we ever get jammed up. I got your back, so don't hesitate to call if you need me. I'll come back quicker than you can blink. Love you sis, and thanks. Call me soon!" and with that, Bella roared away on her Ninja.
"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked, snapping Bella out of her memory induced trance.
"I'm a new student. Bella Swan." She smiled politely.
Bella got her schedule and listened to her instructions before exiting. She watched as the parking lot filled. The cars were all pretty beat up, but they were better than some she had seen in Seattle. While the Pulse had wreaked havoc on America as a whole it seemed to skip the smaller towns completely. She even noticed some designer labels.
The bell rang, signaling an end to her musings about this sleepy town. She headed to her first class, noticing the intense stares she was receiving from the whole student body. Figures they would react to her like she was an alien. Sure, she was a genetically engineered killing machine but she was at least from the planet Earth.
Bella got her slip signed by her instructor and she quickly sat in the back row away from prying eyes.
She began to doodle aimlessly as she waited for class to start. Suddenly her sensitive transgenic nose was hit with a sweet smell, like daisies and sunshine. She looked to her right, in the direction of the smell and saw a small pixie looking creature.
Creature was the best way to describe her. Bella instantly knew she was not human. She was far too perfect to be human. Too perfect even to be transgenic. Under Bella's enhanced trangenic eyesight she could see no blemishes, only an expanse of perfect uber-pale skin. Her topaz eyes looked other worldly and her smile showed off her obviously razor sharp teeth. The animal in Bella could sense the threat. The human in Bella sensed the pixie's eagerness to make friends with her. Her instincts warred, but in the end Bella returned the pixie's smile.
"Hi, I'm Alice. Alice Cullen. You must be Bella. We are going to be best friends!" Alice literally bounced in her seat. Bella couldn't help but laugh. She had never had a female best friend. She had her sisters and her unit mates and X5-494, but no female best friend.
She ignored her animal side and sincerely said, "I can't wait." This made Alice smile wider.
They sat quietly after that and payed attention to the teacher. The work was far too easy for Bella, who had the I.Q of a genius thanks to Manticore's gene splicing. But she would suffer through high school to lay low and be free with her sister and her hopefully soon to be reunited family.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Alice stiffen and she appeared to be completely in another place. Her eyes were glazed and she was sketching something on the paper in front of her. A face emerged from the sketch. Bella controlled her gasp.
Elizabeth Renfro's face began to emerge from Alice's deft strokes. Manticore's very own Satan, the director of the hellish facility that Bella called home for 19 years. Shit.
Bella quickly left the classroom, controlling her instinct to blur away from Forks. She calmed her speeding heart and with a quick goodbye to Alice she went on to her next classes. Kids tried to make small talk, which Bella largely ignored, too focused on the sketch Alice drew to engage with others.
Lunch rolled around and Bella made her way to the cafeteria. She piled food onto her tray, hardly paying attention to what she was grabbing. After she paid she allowed herself to dragged away by a girl in her math class, Jessica Stanley. She knew every kids name in the cafeteria, thanks to her transgenic memory. She wasn't fond of Jessica, she was trained to read people and Jessica was giving off 'leech' vibes. But Bella allowed herself to be towed along in hopes of blending in.
She sat at a crowded table with others she had met or seen in her classes and tried to ignore her urge to roll her eyes. She quickly assessed the cafeteria's exit points and with an emergency escape plan in mind began to relax slightly. You could take the girl out of Manticore but you couldn't take the Manticore out of the girl.
Questions reigned down on Bella and she was quick to spill her fake story. Her mother had died giving birth to her and her dad was an important businessman that traveled mainly in Europe. He felt bad for stringing his daughter along and let her get emancipated so she could stay in one place. She had no siblings and she lived modestly. Quickly tiring of the questions she glanced around the cafeteria and spotted Alice smiling and waving at her from a table that housed four other inhumanly beautiful people.
Bella waved back and returned the smile. Jessica noticed and asked her how she knew the Cullen's.
"Alice is in my English class. She's nice."
"Oh. You're not related to them are you? You're just as beautiful as they are." Jessica said with a hint of envy.
"Nope. I'm just friends with Alice." Bella replied. As if Alice could hear her at her great distance she smiled impossibly wider. The blond girl that sat next to a huge curly haired male glared at Bella. Bella didn't finch under the glare and returned the stare with no qualms. The blond haired female looked down.
Ha! I'm alpha to the beauty queen! Bella inwardly crowed. Bella smirked and continued. She was Alpha to all the females in Manticore and quite a few males as well. She knew that Max was equal in her Alpha ranking and felt pride that in that fact.
She continued her perusal of Alice's table mates. Aside from the Beauty queen and the Beast there was a blond boy with his arm around Alice. With her enhanced vision she could see crescent scars littering his face, neck, and arms. She furrowed her brow trying to think what could have made those marks.
Finally she saw a bronze haired male. His perfect features were a sight to behold even for a transgenic used to gazing on perfection. He was obviously tall and leaner than the other two males, but his muscle was easily discerned from the way his t-shirt clung to his frame. She caught his eye. He was looking at her with intense concentration his own brow furrowed.
Bella broke eye contact as Jessica whispered that Edward Cullen was staring at her.
"Which one is he?" She asked.
"The bronze haired one. I guess you know Alice, the others are..." Jessica explained that Scar-boy was Jasper Hale, twin brother of Beauty queen, a.k.a Rosalie, while the Beast was Emmett Cullen.
"It's kind of twisted. They were all adopted by Doctor Cullen and his wife, but they are all dating each other. Rosalie and Emmett are together and Jasper and Alice. Edward is the only single one, but I wouldn't waste your time, I think he's gay. He doesn't date any of the girls here." Jessica finished her cruel narration of the Cullen family.
Bella glared at her but was startled out of it when he heard a subsonic growl coming from the Cullen Table. Edward was glaring daggers at Jessica and his lips were parted. No way in hell a human could make that sound. And these guys were not transgenics. So what were they?
"Sounds like you got turned down Jessica. Just because he didn't go for you doesn't make him gay. And whats so twisted about them dating each other? They are obviously not blood related. You don't know what twisted is." Bella couldn't stop the words from spilling out. She watched Jessica's face morph from shock to embarrassment to anger. She didn't want to stick around so she got her belongings and left the table.
Bella made her way to her locker and opened it, quickly placing unneeded books in. She smelled that daisy smell again and without looking she said, "What's up Alice?" She slammed her locker shut in time to see the shocked look on her face.
"How did you know it was me?"
Bella cursed herself. A normal human wouldn't be able to smell her. She had made no sounds in her approach either, but Bella could pretend she had.
"Um, I heard you of course." Bella lied effortlessly. Being a Manticore alum meant you were an expert at lying.
"Sure you did, but how did you know it was me without looking" Alice persisted.
"I just told off Jessica Stanley and I'm sure she has the school hating me by now so I figured you would be the only one immune to her evil persuasion." That was a good one, Bella congratulated herself on her quick thinking.
Alice still looked at her suspiciously but began to smile brightly as well.
"I heard what you said in there. Thanks. It meant a lot. But what did you mean about her not knowing what twisted meant, you said it like you do." Alice looked at her with concern.
Time to deflect, Bella thought.
"What do you mean you heard? You were all the way across the cafeteria, how could you hear?" Bella questioned, avoiding Alice's question. It was Alice's turn to squirm.
"Silly Bella. After you left the caf was in an uproar. I heard it second hand of course." She smiled.
So Alice was an expert at lying too. Interesting.
"To answer your question, I've seen a lot of stuff in my life. That's all I meant." A half-lie. Not bad.
Before Alice could question further the bell rang. Time for Biology. She began to walk away quickly calling out another hasty goodbye.
After she got her slip signed she headed to an empty lab table and waited impatiently for class to start. She glanced out the window and watched the rain fall until she heard the quick soft footsteps of her lab partner. Without looking at the other occupant of her table she acquainted herself with their scent. It reminded her of Alice's scent with its sweetness. Yet it was masculine and woodsy. Like rosewood and clean air. She breathed in deeply and turned to her lab partner. It was Edward Cullen.
He was still looking at her with confusion but she saw his lips quirk into a small smile.
"I'm Edward Cullen. You must be Bella." His voice was deep and smooth. Heaven to listen to.
"That's me. Nice to meet you Edward. I've met your sister Alice. She's a sweet girl."
"Yes she is. She wouldn't stop talking about you at lunch. By the way, Thank you for your defense of my family. We get those comments quite a bit and I know it meant a lot to Alice that you stood up for her." His voice sent a shiver up Bella's spine.
"It was no big deal. Like I said, I've seen twisted and love like your siblings seem to have isn't at all what twisted looks like. Also, I'm positive you aren't gay, you just seem to have taste."
Edwards chuckle made Bella's hear soar slightly.
"Taste?" He questioned.
"Yeah. If Jessica Stanley is the best this school has its no wonder you haven't dated. She may not be hideous but her personality leaves much to be desired."
"I'm glad you can see that. Not many look past the exterior to see whats going on beneath." Edward looked at Bella with new respect.
"I've lived my life having to do that. Perfection on the outside is a perfect cover for darkness within." Bella replied thinking about her fellow transgenics and their training to be soldiers, killers while sporting angelic faces to fool the world.
She noticed Edward stiffen. She hit a nerve. But why? Before she could question him the lab assignment was passed out and they began to work quietly. Both sped through their work with flawless answers to show for it at the end.
"So what brings you here? When you were looking out the window you seemed so sad. You don't like the rain?" Edward asked as soon as he saw that Bella was done.
"I hate rain." It must be the cat in her. She went on to tell him her fabricated story. He looked at her with raised brows.
"Really? So your dad just let you live on your own? And before here you lived in Arizona?"
Technically she had 'lived' in Arizona before coming to Washington. She had a mission there that lasted about a month.
"Uh huh."
"Interesting. You must miss your dad."
"Naw. He was kind of a drill sergeant." Bella giggled at her inside joke. Lydecker was the closest thing she had to a dad (eww) and he was a drill sergeant.
"I see." He seemed to be trying to read between the lines. He was obviously coming up empty. The bell rang and Bella hopped up and left, faster than she intended. As she turned the corner to leave she saw a look of shock on Edward's face. Crap. She must have blurred a little.
She ran to Gym at a normal speed and got the last of her signatures. She got to sit this class out so she sat by and watched her classmates fumble around trying to play volleyball. Jessica was throwing glares at her consistently, which Bella ignored.
Finally the long day ended with the final bell ringing clearly. She once again walked to the office to drop off her signed sheet before heading to the parking lot to her baby. As she walked to her bike she passed the Cullen's Volvo. Alice bounced over to her.
"Bella! Wanna come over to my house later and hang out? Or we can go shopping!" She said excitedly.
Bella smiled apologetically. "Sorry Alice, I just got into town yesterday and I still need to set up my house and go to the grocery store for food. How about another time?"
Alice frowned slightly but then perked back up. " No problem! Tomorrow?"
Bella laughed and nodded, before continuing on and towards her bike. With her transgenic hearing she picked up the conversation the the Cullen's were having in her wake.
"See, I told you she smells different. Her scent isn't fully human. I've never smelt anything like it. She is also incredibly smart and I swear I saw her move as fast as we do." She heard Edward whisper to his siblings.
"Then what is she?"
Bella hopped on her bike and tore away from the school so fast she heard a few gasps. She didn't care. Her reflexes were amazing and if she did take a spill her body would heal incredibly fast.
She made it to her house in record time. Her small one bedroom cottage was cozy and secure. She had fibbed when she told Alice she needed to set up. She had taken care of that all last night. She had set up her bed and other necessities in strategic locations to utilize the space in case she needed to defend herself from anyone. She had hidden her weapons all throughout the house and outside, in case she needed them.
She always kept a knife tucked into her combat boots and she had a gun on her body as well. She had enough food to last for a few days but she decided she wanted to explore the woods surrounding her cottage so that if she needed to escape and evade she would be ready.
Taking her leather jacket off she put two Glocks in the back of her jeans covering them with her loose fitting black plain v-neck shirt. She jogged towards the woods and began to scan the area all the while making plans for places to hide and areas to use as leverage in an attack. She jogged deeper into the forest when she smelled a faintly sweet scent. It smelled like a Cullen, but why would they be in the forest this deep. She heard a sudden growl and quickly turned towards the sound.
She froze for a split second before blurring away from the sound. The growl became louder and she knew that she would have to turn and fight. She zigzagged as she ran, making sure she presented herself as no easy target before reaching into the waistband of her jeans and grabbing her guns. She took the safety off and tried to use the element of surprise as she spun around in time to see a giant bear looming above her. She pulled the triggers consecutively in order to stop the bears advance. The shots didn't seem to affect the bear much.
Her instincts took over and she quickly flipped over the bear, landing behind it and snapped its neck with ease.
Her heart was thudding loudly and she tried to catch her breath when she saw him.
His eyes were boring into hers and she knew that he had seen it all. Damn. She heard a twig snap behind her and her eyes found another pair filled with the same shock.
"Edward? Jasper? What are you guys doing here?"She croaked out.