A/N: This story takes place after the majority of TFW. Because the hurricane never swept in and caught the Uber Director, the Flock was auctioned off to buyers representing multiple corporations around the world.

Nudge's POV

The first day I spent at the Needle was comparable to a day spent at the School.

When I arrived at the Needle, it was snowing. I remember watching the fluffy white flakes fall as a guard took me by my arm and led me off the helicopter. The landscape was bare and white, and for a moment I thought I was back in Antarctica. The only thing interrupting the horizon was a building one story short from being a skyscraper. Its windowless, metal exterior gleamed. A guard dropped a heavy blanket over my shoulders, but I wasn't sure that my shivering was from the cold.

The gun-toting guards escorted me through four security walls and left me in a white room that reminded me too much of the labs at the School. Alone for a second, I began to plan my escape. WWMD? What would Max do?

I whipped into action. The heavy blanket was off my shoulders and shredded in record time. After a second of rummaging through the cabinets, I found chloroform and doused a strip of fabric in it. I positioned myself behind the door and waited for someone to walk through it. They'll walk through, I'll knock them out easily. I'm stronger than they are. I caught sight of a syringe and a vial full of a nasty looking chemical. And if there are guns involved...I chewed my bottom lip. Whatever this stuff is, it could kill whoever I inject with it. I didn't want to kill anybody, but I wasn't left with many options. Besides, I reasoned that a doctor would know how to fix themselves. I lunged for the needle.

"Stop." I froze. What? I did a three-sixty. In my haste to escape, I had missed the cameras. A speaker was tucked into a niche in the wall. "Asset, do you understand me?" I glared at one of the cameras. Of course I understood, I wasn't stupid. "Our files tell us that you speak English. Are you intelligent?" I began fuming.

"I'm intelligent to know how this syringe works, and I will use it on anyone who steps through that door." There was a pause. I assumed that whoever was speaking over the intercom was consulting somebody else. I took the cue to return to the door. I held the syringe at the ready.

The intercom buzzed again. "If you do that, we will clip your wings." Shocked, I began to lower the syringe. The door slid open, revealing a woman wearing a white coat, backed up by two guards.

Then I thought better of it. "You'll have to catch me first."

I thrust the syringe forward, jabbing it into the woman's arm and thrusting the chemicals into her system. She ignored me completely and ran to the cabinets, presumable to find herself an antidote. I rushed the guards, easily ducking between the two and into the hallway. I met little resistance until I rounded a corner at the end. A wall of guards halted my progress. I backpedaled and started to go the opposite way. Same thing. At least a dozen guns were trained on me. I took a step back, planning my next move. If I could jump one, I could-

I felt a pinch.

I was out before I hit the floor.

A/N: This is the first time I've written something besides an essay for a while. The rest of my chapters will probably be longer. Please review! I value criticism! (Though I accept constructive criticism better.)