A/N: Hey y'all, sup? This story is a little….peculiar….so, here it goes. Hope you enjoy it! Oh, and what does R&R mean? Is it rate and review? That's what I'm guessing. I'm slow sometimes. Anyway, enjoy my story 8D

DISCLAIMER: I do not own M. Ride or any of the characters

CLAIMER: This is my plot, if it's similar to other peoples, sorry. ALSO MY CHARACTERS TOO

This story takes place after Angel.

~2XA

Chapter 1: Angel's Monster

So there I was, flying along with the flock without a care in the world. I'm not scared, or worried, or even really…hungry for that matter. So why do I fell like at any moment something is going to go wrong? We're on our way to meet Fang's Gang (Ha, I am starting to like the ring of that…dang it somebody slap me) at one of those safe houses CSM had for us. Iggy and Gazzy are chasing each other around, careful to keep wings apart. Dylan, Nudge, and Angel are laughing like there is no tomorrow. I sighed, smiling. I just kept flying ahead, trying to ignore their laughter and focus on any possible danger. I wanted to let go, and laugh, and have fun, but I just couldn't. Something was bothering me…Suddenly Angel flew up next to me. I smiled at her, and she grinned widely. We had just gotten her back. They had found her cowering, sick, and malnourished behind some big bank. No one knew how she got there, and she wouldn't tell us, so we stopped asking.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about Max, why don't you just calm down and giggle more," Angel laughed, doing a little air flip. I grinned at her, but didn't say anything. I was still keeping my eye out for whatever was bothering me. Angel sighed. "Have some fun Max, come on or you'll regret it." Angel flew back over to Nudge, and the two watched Gazzy mess with Iggy by speaking in Nudge, Angel, and Dylan's voice and flying all around.

"He-ha! You'll never stop me, for I am the ultimate sorceress! Queen Latifah!" Gazzy said in Angel's voice, sticking his hands on his hips and rotating his head in a circle. Angel froze, and then burst out into more laughter, Nudge following, and Dylan, to my annoyance, was just as bad as the kids. I sighed. I was used to Iggy acting like a four year old, but Dylan was a whole new story. He was a lot…less child-like. Whatever. Let him laugh. Total was flying with us, giggling in Nudge's arms. Dog giggles sound weird. Like someone was snoring while eating a meatball or something. I rolled my eyes at all of them and kept flying. There was something in the distance. Something vague, and small, and shaped….i don't even have a name for that shape. It was black and white. It was-

"SEAGULLS!" I screeched. Only sometimes did we have this problem. I saw Angel grab Iggy and dive downwards, followed by Gazzy, and then Dylan. I came last, dropping down to land beside them, until I saw something strange. As the birds got closer, I realized they didn't look like birds. They weren't birds. They just had black and white wings. They were….flyboys? No…too real. They looked like humans, but they had these red, beady eyes, and they had sharp pointy teeth to match. Gross. There were about thirty of them versus six of us. I scowled. I knew something would ruin my day. Oh well, what happens, happens. As soon as we got into range I got a good look at the monsters. They all had greyish white hair with simple white dress like things that Nudge would be absolutely appalled to wear. They had no shoes on their extremely pale feet, which matched the rest of their bodies. They looked almost albino. Instead of kicking or fighting, I made my flock wait. We flew, unmoving, a couple feet away from the enemy.

"You," One of them said, its voice not matching its youthful appearance. All of them looked about 12 to 15, but their voices were old. It was scratchy, throaty, and it sounded scary. Behind me, I heard Angel hiss.

Their….thoughts are so…..Oh My Gosh Max what they've been through…..it's….familiar…..She thought to me. I looked at her, and horror shone clearly in her eyes. She was scared. Yep. They ruined my day. The one that had spoken coughed raggedly.

"We take you to Master. Master feed us. Master gives us water. Master let us live." The thing said.

"Someone's a little…oppressed…." I scoffed under my breath. The thing looked at its fellow things and made a little hoot noise. I had no idea what that meant. Didn't matter, because they didn't attack they just flew as stealthily as we did.

"Master say we take you, we live," The Leader of the things said. "We want to live, so we take you, and them," The Leader looked at my flock, "we sorry, self-perspiration." The Leader shrugged. I blinked. Angel flew forward a little, locking eyes with the thing.

"You mean…..preservation?" She said quietly. The thing looked at her, and in the same exact soft tone, it responded.
"The little one is true…." I guess that meant Angel was right. The thing had meant preservation. I pulled Angel closer to me. No need for her to get attacked by the things.

"Angel, what're they thinking?" I whispered super quietly to her. I didn't know if they had super-hearing. Better to be safe than sorry

Some of them are thinking about how hungry, thirty, and tired they are. Some aren't thinking, Max, some are more human than others. The one speaking, it's really really human Max. She remembers everything. She's thinking about how much she doesn't want to take us in, but she has no choice because the less-human will attack us. Oh my gosh Max she can read minds! After Angel's monologue in my head she stopped talking to me because I think she started talk to the Thing.

"Must we fight Maximum Ride?" The Thing said, sighing, but still looking at Angel with piqued interest.

"Not if you just let us go. Why can't you all just stay out here in the sun?" Dylan said.

"Yeah, you can be free, we can be free. We can go home, you can eat bacon. It's a done deal," Iggy said, eyebrows wiggling. Later I was going to get that boy counseling for his obsession with bacon.

"I have no choice. Master feed us well where we come from. Master take…good care of us, he does enough." The thing answered stubbornly, though I saw a look of understanding pass between her and Angel.

What're you doing Angel? I thought to her as loud as I could.

Ow! We're just talking; she is agreeing to help us escape, if we bring her with us.

How do you know it's a she anyway?

Because she used to be human, Max, she still is underneath all of this. I think we can fix her, and so we need to bring her with us. Besides, she's nice. Angel answered. I tried not to roll my eyes. I agreed anyway. The th- She, made another strange sound and the things behind her started bouncing in the air, panting, looking like animals. All but her. She just flew, completely still, eyes locked on us. She opened her mouth and rasped;

"Attack," She said it without a care in the world.

Don't worry Max we know what we're doing! And with that, Angel flew forward and fought. I was brought out of my stupor by a powerful kick to my stomach. I grumbled, and fought back. A roundhouse kick there, one there, and there. Perfect, next opponent? Ow, you've got my arm? Alright…knee them, turn, kick them, propel backwards. I flapped my wings harder to get away from them. I think I'd gotten about five just then. The rest were falling, hitting the ground. That's when I saw Gazzy see the one that spoke like she was the leader. The 'she' that Angel had proclaimed human. Gazzy attacked, and without a second thought, the Monster like thing put her hands up and wham, Gazzy ran into an invisible field thing.

"Cool!" Angel flew up to her. Nudge screamed.

"Angel it'll eat you!" She flew forward to pull Angel back away from the Thing. The thing watched everyone in complete silence.

"Angel," The thing said to the smallest member of the flock. Angel looked up at her, and nodded. "I am going to stop my hear t now. One of them will have to catch me…they must think me dead…or caught…" The thing explained. I just blinked in confusion. Oh the life of me and the flock.

"Alright," Angel said. "How much do you weigh?"

"As much as you, I am Avian, and I am starving, I do not weigh much," She smiled. Oh my gosh I gagged. Her teeth were so sharp and they had left over….something on them. I have a tough stomach but….gross much? Angel shrugged, and nodded again, completely unfazed. Something is wrong with that girl, something other than the wings and the powers. I was just thinking about how badly my flock needed counseling when the Thing dropped, and Angel started yelling at us to catch her.

Flashback:

MAX POV

"MAX CATCH HER!" I stood, stunned for a moment, as I watched the little pale body fall. "MAX!" Angel yelled again. I shook my head, flew down at super-sonic-Max speed, and caught it. It- I mean she reeked. I flew back up to the flock.

"Why did I just catch her?" I asked, dazed.

"Because, we're bringing her too Fang's, come on, I'm sure she'll want to meet everyone! She hasn't spoken to people in forever. Then you know, I thought since we're going to your Mom's house afterward, she can get rid of the after effects of the virus she's got," Angel said, matter-of-factly. I almost dropped her.

"WHAT? She's got a virus? Angel!" I yelled, and Angel put her hands up in defense. Nudge coughed, flying a little away from me, while Iggy and Gazzy covered their noses. Dylan just sighed.

"I don't want to look like it!" Nudge screamed.

"Why are we taking it home?" Iggy sounded nasally as he asked.

"Because Angel made a deal," I glared at her. Angel gave me Bambi eyes.

"She said she wasn't contagious," Angel said with a slight whine in her voice. I just watched her for a moment. I could say no. I could drop it and our problems would be solved….dang it no I couldn't those dumb puppy eyes killed me. I couldn't say no.

"Fine. Fine but you're the one explaining this to Fang!"

That's how I ended up carrying a dead/asleep bird-monster-kid-child in the air. Angel told me that it-she was about thirteen. She said she didn't have a name, and had been at the school all her life. I listened numbly. Thinking about how smelly she was. Nudge kept mumbling to herself just like Iggy was, while Gazzy kept giving the Thing sideways glances. Dylan was completely quiet. As soon as Angel stopped talking, Dylan flew closer to me so we could talk.

"What do you think about….it?" He asked, eyes questioning.

"It's gross Dylan. It's so gross." I held it towards him and he wrinkled his nose. I had finally figured out what she smelled like….blood and roses (Who can guess what book series that came from?). Dylan wrinkled his nose again, and despite myself, I laughed. He shook his head to get rid of the smell before looking at me.

"Well, it didn't kill us, so I trust it," He said with fake enthusiasm. I glared at him, and he smiled, which somehow made the air around him glow and- ick where am I going with this again?

"Angel what did she do to herself?" I asked her, nodding my head at the limp body in my arms.

"Well, she told me she slowed her heartbeat down. I don't how she did it, but she did. She said that she could slow it down, and in a couple of hours she'll wake up. It's a survival technique," Angel grinned, speeding ahead of me a bit with one strong stroke of her wings. I sighed. I didn't think I was going to enjoy this.

IGGY POV

I could smell it all the way from where I was flying. Gazzy was talking to me about bombs and bacon or something like that, and usually, that kept me busy, but that smell was killing me. I thought I was going to throw up or something. Throwing up in the air is not fun. Nudge did it once and we were nose-diving and…she barfed like five times because it kept flying into her face until Max and Dylan pulled her to the side. It was gross. She wouldn't even eat my food. I shifted a bit in the air. I tried to think about how Fang would react to this. He'll probably throw himself of a cliff simply because of the smell. I chuckled, and Nudge flew next to me.
"What's so funny, Iggy?" She asked. I shrugged.

"I saw this movie about a girl next door who lived in a house of bacon, wore bacon clothes, had bacon cologne on, and then she had the nerve to wear pork shoes it was horrible! They so clashed!" I said, grinning wider, speaking in a California girl's accent. Oh no, I think I've offended her. Whoops, I would never mean to do that. Nudge scoffed, and I heard her fly off, probably so she could talk to Angel about how weird I was. As soon as she flapped her wings, the smell hit me full force. I gagged, but nothing came up. I tried breathing out of my mouth, and then I tried not breathing at all. Neither was really comfortable, so I just sucked it up.

"So, did I hear you mention bacon?" Gazzy had shown up beside me, clapping and rubbing his hands together by the sound of it. He was probably drooling at the thought of girls and bacon. My little grasshopper was learning well.

"Yeah, it was to annoy Nudge and get her not to ask me about what I was really laughing at," I answered. Gazzy made a little thoughtful hmmm.

"What were you really laughing at?"

"Bacon?"

ANGEL POV

While everyone else were either flying, or talking, or if you're Nudge, both, I spoke to her in her mind. I still hadn't figured out what to call her just yet. Even in her hibernation state she was still conscious. Nudge came over and talked to me, but I kind of just nodded and said 'yes' or 'totally' at all the right moments.

Your friends, they are weird. They call you Angel, why? She asked. I tried not to giggle.

I'm supposed to be totally Angelic. Didn't the white coats call you anything? I countered. She thought for a moment.

Experiment E55262784639M. I blinked.

How'd you remember that?

Memory never fails me. Always have that. Do not know why. Power? She suggested. I shrugged inwardly, because if I had actually shrugged, Nudge would've had a fit. She'd be all; "You're not listening to me are you? You always have an opinion Angel so I know you aren't listening," and she'd go on and on until Gazzy smacked her mouth shut. Ha, Gazzy. He liked Nudge, and she was too busy being herself to notice. I almost chuckled again. I needed to control my laughter.

What do you mean by 'Gazzy likes Nudge'? Had I really been projecting that thought to her? Oops.

You know, he has a crush on her? Have you ever had a crush?

I-I think….I-I do not know. Angel, tell me, why do they all call me the Thing? And why do they think I smell like blood and roses? What is a rose? I almost fell from the air. They were so rude in their thoughts! Then again, they were just confused, they didn't understand. If they could read her mind they would realize how human she was.

They call you the Thing because you don't have a name, and they smell you probably because you're supposed to have that smell, or maybe because you don't get showers. Do you take showers at the s-school? I thought to her. Darn, I was stuttering in my thoughts. Now that I think about it, how is that possible? Ah well. She ignored my latter question about showers. Either that was a no, or maybe she had no idea what a shower was.

Oh…Angel….can you give me a…name? She asked. I could feel the caution, and even a tamed sadness, rolling off of her in waves. I thought a bit. Name her? I could do that.

Oh! I got it! I will name you…Em, because those are the letters at the end and beginning of your numbers!

Em….I think I will be able to deal with that.

EM POV

When I woke up, it was too bright and I had to close my eyes again. Actually, that was not the only thing that hurt. My skin was buzzing. That was my pain now. The scientists did something to our nerves so that instead of pain, I register buzzing. I was buzzing all over. I did not know why, because I was not bleeding. I opened my eyes again, seeing the dazzling blue ones of someone I did not know. They could not be Angel's, because they were too foggy. Red hair. The boy? I think I started shivering. I still do not understand why. Maybe I was having a reaction to the boy, but why would that be?

"It's-She's awake!" He called. I flinched. Was that…what was that? It had felt…bad to hear him call me 'it'. Not the bad like the others, only when he said it. I ignored it and studied him. "Are you staring at me?" He asked, eyes narrowing.

"Can you see me?" I ignored his question.

"No, I'm blind," He said slowly, cautiously. I wonder if I scared him, I probably did. "You know, you're quite the interesting….whatever you are…." He started again. I studied what I could see of myself, comparing it to him.

"Let me see your hand," I said, "Puh-leeze…?" That is what I had heard Angel say after requesting something. I did want to be similar to normal, maybe as normal as the tall bird kid in front of me. Oh, and I did not want to smell like blood and roses, and I wanted to not be called 'it'.

"Why?" He asked. I realized I did not know his name.

"I want to check something. What is your name?" I watched him as he raised his hand slowly. I raised my own, placing it to see the differences. My hands were smaller, not by much, but they were smaller. My skin was so….white….compared to his. I had seen that he was already pale compared to Angel, and the others, but I was a whole new….everything. Suddenly the boy pushed his hand to mind. I shivered again, definitely a reaction to the boy.

"My name's Iggy," He said, studying our hands, and speaking quietly. "What's yours?" I looked up at him sharply. Was I no longer an 'it'?

"Angel has named me Em," I answered. "Iggy, will you help me sit up?" I asked. He nodded, and grabbing my hand, pulled me into a sitting position. I kicked my feet over the edge of the bed I was sitting on. I looked at my toes.

"You need shoes," Iggy said, almost reading my mind, "and new clothes." He added in what seemed an afterthought.

"Yes, I guess I do," I suddenly gained an interest in my kicking feet. Unlike Angel, I had to consciously reach into someone's mind to read them, like I had to hear what the others had been thinking of me. Angel wanted me whole heartedly, but this was not Angel's decision and I knew that. Maximum didn't understand me, she thought something was 'off about' me, and she wanted to know what. The one they call Nudge was disgusted and told herself to avoid contact because she did not want to be what she dubbed a 'zombie'. The Gasman was confused, thought I was gross, but then would immediately start thinking about something called bacon. The other oldest boy, Dylan, was simply curious about me. Wondering what generation I came from. I had been confused when he wondered if I was just one more test for Max. Dylan was very protective of Maximum. Another thing I did not understand. I decided to read Iggy's mind. It was fractured, but it made some sense.

Ella…why does she make me think of Ella? Ella's gone…..Breakfast today what am I making…..Bacon…Ella…Dang it….Awkward silence…..she's staring at me again…..vulture eyes…..

I immediately snapped back. Shaking my head and feeling my eyes buzz faintly. I think….I was about to cry. Reaction from this boy saying I had 'vulture eyes'? I did not know what a vulture was! Why do I care so much about this boy and his thoughts? Before I could control myself, I spoke;

"Who is Ella? What is a Vulture? What is Bacon? What is awkward silence? What is break….fast? Iggy, I am confused. What is all this stuff you all know without an explanation? None of….I cannot understand….I-"Iggy's hand slapped over my mouth, laughing. Something else that got a reaction out of me, but this time it was a good one.

"You're pulling a Nudge on me; I think you should stop before your mouth falls off. Only Nudge can give a monologue without losing any oxygen," Iggy said, chortling more. I think I grinned when his hand fell off my face. "Which question do you want answered first?"

…vulture eyes….

"What is a vulture, what do their eyes look like?" I questioned quietly. Iggy scratched his head.

"Err, sorry about that…didn't mean to think it, It's just your eyes are red," He said.

"I thought you were blind," I took a whole new interest in my shoeless feet.

"I am, but I can see colors, when I touched your face you're….you're an albino truly." I was about to ask him what an 'albino' was, but he just shrugged and said; "You."

"Oh. Alright," Maybe it had not been as offensive as I had thought, "What is awkward silence?"

"When it gets really quiet and neither person talks in a conversation and no one knows what to do or say," He answered, suddenly taking an interest in his shoes, even though we both knew he could not see them. Awkward silence? I wondered, as we both grew quiet.

"What is bacon?" I asked, and it looked like his smile was going to fall off of his face.

"I'll show you," He grabbed my hand, and pulled me with him. I followed absentmindedly, ignoring the buzzing that was making it hard to focus or really walk without shaking; maybe all this shivering was from that. "I'm MAKING BACON FOR BREAKFAST! STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN OR YOU'RE SHARE OF THE BACON WILL BE SEVERLY PUNISHED!" I heard groans and moans of annoyance come from all over the…house? (When did we get here again? Oh yes, I slept) Iggy laughed evilly, and his smile grew. I found myself chuckling, but to cover it up, I coughed a bit. Iggy took me into a room full of tables attached to the walls. I pointed at one.

"What is that?"

"Countertop, counter, the big black thing with the four circles is the stove, the big giant square is the fridge, the table in the middle is an island, and the square/rectangle thingies attached to the ceiling are cabinets, there are some below the countertops too," Iggy said smiling. I looked at everything with real interest. I wondered how had known exactly what I was pointing at, so I asked him.

"How did you know-"

"I didn't, I just guessed. I went off by the things I thought might be most familiar to you. So, bacon now?" He asked. I just looked at me until I remembered he couldn't see it.

"Yes. Bacon," I answered. He took me to the fridge, pulling out meat, and at the site of it, my mouth watered. It was raw, like they always fed it to us. While he was talking, I carefully reached out to take a piece. Suddenly my hand was smacked down, encased in Iggy's. He was grinning.

"Em, what are you doing?" He asked.

"I eat meat. It is right there. I am hungry," I looked at the meat so close to my hand.

"You eat it...raw?"

"That's how they fed it to us, back at the…building…." I shivered again. This time it could the boy, or the memories of the building I'd come from. Iggy grimaced.

"Well you can have a piece I guess," He slowly released my hand. As soon as I could move it I grabbed a piece, stuffing it into my mouth whole and swallowing it. Iggy watched me, blind eyes wide, and suddenly started laughing. "You're going to need more. You can have extra bacon when I'm done making it, you know, because all you've had for years is raw meat," Iggy started smiling again. I grinned. I slid myself up on the countertop as he started talking. Explaining….well anything….I listened to him talk as I leaned against the wall behind the countertop, laughing when he did, smiling; taking bits of bacon when he offered them. Occasionally, I asked him questions that made him laugh, or made him think, or made him smile. Though sometimes, I caught him smiling at me out of nowhere, all of the sudden almost burning some of the bacon he was cooking for the break-fast. I would remind him he was making bacon, and he would jump, laugh awkwardly, and continue on. I think Iggy liked talking to me because he didn't stop. I just sat on the counter, kicking my feet, watching Iggy like I'd seen him do this one million times.