If anyone has written this idea already and wishes for me to stop, then do tell me so that I may discontinue this. However, I ask that you wait a bit longer to see if my idea really is different. I really hope we can compromise, 'cause I'm actually very excited of this story.
I do not own Maximum Ride, the character or the books.
Fang rushed down the hall, Nudge and Angel kicking mercilessly at his heels. Iggy and Gazzy followed behind, planting bombs here or there that should blow this School to smithereens after they were done with it.
Knocking out another whitecoat, Fang bounded down steps, crashed through exits, and eventually halted at a plain, white door. A plain white door that held their leader captive. Not even locks could hold back the Flock as they tore down the door, raptor eyes sweeping the dark room, landing on a single crate holding a trembling figure.
Fang flung himself at the cage, but Angel beat him to it. Her little fingers flew over the latch and nearly tore the crate apart in her rush to open it.
"Max!" she exclaimed, swinging the door wide open, waiting for her beloved 'mom' to clump her with a hug.
Max's next words scared every bird-kid to the core. "Who are you?" she asked.
Though her voice was tough and held an attitude only Maximum Ride could acquire, the rest of the Flock began to doubt this Max's identity. Could this be a clone? Maybe Max II? But if this was a fraud, then shouldn't she be attempting to deceive them?
Angel rummaged through this Max's mind and found…nothing. With her now enhanced mind reading abilities, Angel had expected to find memories of the flock, of Jeb, of something. But she found nothing but pain. Excruciating pain. Angel retreated to her own mind hastily after the first second of Max's only memory.
"No… What's going on?" Angel gasped. Then, to her horror, tears began forming in her blue eyes. "Max… What happened to you?"
"What? What is it?" Iggy asked urgently.
"I don't—"
Angel got no farther, for at that moment, a voice rang out through the speakers, calling for Erasers and Flyboys to hunt down any avian-hybrid in the area.
"Angel, we don't have time for explanations. Just tell me one thing." Fang looked at Angel and questioned, with deadly seriousness, "Is this the real Max?"
Angel, aware that everything from now 'till the end of time depended on her answer, said with firmness few six-year-olds could have, "Yes, this is Max."
Fang waited for any doubt to waver through her eyes. He had to be sure. If they screwed up now, if they left with the false Max and the real one was left behind, everything would've been for nothing. All their planning in the past few days had been for Max's sake, and if they had wasted all their effort on the wrong Max…
Life isn't worth living if their Max was gone.
"Fang," Angel looked at her temporary leader with conviction, "something is wrong with this Max, but I know that she is still our Max."
Nodding, Fang turned to Max and held out his hand. She cringed back slightly before narrowing her eyes defiantly.
"Who are you?" she repeated.
Sighing, Fang grabbed her by her wrist and dragged the struggling Max out of her crate. Weak and malnourished, Max couldn't hold up her resistance for long.
Five bird-kids flew out the nearest window, their momentarily out-of-action leader in the arms of their second-in-command. They sped away as the first explosion was heard, leaving behind them the detonating School and a few pursuing Flyboys. The robots did not chase them for long and suddenly turned tail and flew back to the smoking School.
------------------------------------------------
Max was beginning to feel heavier in his arms. Fang searched rather desperately for a cave of some sort.
Almost as though he had acquired Angel's ability to read minds, Iggy exclaimed exactly what Fang needed to here, "A cave at two O'clock!"
Sure enough, a dark opening zoomed into view as they neared it. How the heck Iggy managed to figure that out when his five companions who can actually see didn't was beyond Fang. Probably echolocation or something along those lines. Iggy's hearing was beginning to evolve even more so that he may make-do with the disability of his eyes.
Shuffling into the cave, the flock immediately set to work like their tradition demands. Pretty soon, they had a fire going and food they had stolen from the School. But as hungry as they were, they only ate because they knew their bodies needed it; none of them actually enjoyed the aroma and flavor of their meal. In fact, everything tasted quite bland.
Why were they so pessimistic? Well, they were mutants on the run. They had monsters after them. And, oh, yeah, their leader was totally out of it and in an unstable condition. Jeezums, who wouldn't be gloomy?
Fang had covered Max with way too many blankets for comfort; even in this fairly dark situation, the flock couldn't hold back a smirk each time Fang glanced at Max's figure.
Max stirred several times during the flock's night, and they can all trust Fang to pop up before them every time. Either he was having an uncharacteristic nervous breakdown or his hormones were raging like hell. Whatever the reason may be, Fang was far too jumpy for his own good.
It seemed that besides the snoozing Max, not one other mutant can sleep. They gathered around Max, watching and listening to her.
When Max's face grimaced with pain—probably from a nightmare—Nudge reached out tenderly and ran a comforting hand along her back. Then the 11-year-old cringed back, her eyes wide.
"Nudge?" asked Gazzy.
Not answering, Nudge scrambled onto her knees, leaning over Max hesitantly. She grabbed the hem of Max's shirt and pulled it back.
Other gasps echoed around the cave.
"What?" asked Iggy. "What is it?"
Nudge smooth her hands down Max's bare back. "Where are her wings?"
Okay, so not really that good. But I'm sure that with practice, I'll come around. No flames, please.
I know how this story will end. I know why Max doesn't remember anything, and I know why she doesn't have wings. I…just don't know how to word it out at the moment. Oh well, I'll figure something out. So, if you're interested, please have patience.