Quick -summary: max wakes up one morning with a date on her neck- an expiration tattoo. What will the flock do to her? Where will she go? There are many surprises in store for max, especially when it comes to her heritage…

Max POV- Chapter 1

I yawned loudly, stretching my arms above my head. Ready for another gorgeous, sunny day at the E house…I sprang out of bed and pulled the curtains back. Sunlight flooded my room, making me squint slightly to see outside. A smile spread across my face as I took in the view- vast, rolling hills, sharp, jagged mountains covered in snow…and ourmeadow, filled with flowers. I scratched at my neck absentmindedly as I walked to the bathroom to take a shower. Already the sounds of the flock were floating through the air- gettin' poetic, ain't I?

After my heavenly shower, I toweled off my hair and face and turned my back to the mirror. Wrapped only in my towel, I dashed out and grabbed my customary tank-top and shorts, then slipped back into the washroom. Already I heard the noise of Iggy cooking. Sigh. Bacon for breakfast….I'd have to put in a request. Max says: Every morning for the next month bacon.

I was pulling on my shorts (jean cutoffs) and tank (turquoise) when I saw it. Black print on the back of my neck, with a bar code underneath. CRAP! I cursed. In the mirror, my face had gone pale. NOOOOOO! I twisted this way and that, desperately trying to get a closer look at my- gulp, scream, KICK, SWEAR!- Expiration date. I breathed in a shaky breath and told myself it was going to be okay.

Then I screamed. Into a towel, of course. What kind of an idiot do you think I am? Then I checked the date. And screamed again (into the towel, moron!). The date said July 14th 2012. Right now it was July 1st, 2012. Two more weeks to live. JUST TWO! I plunked onto the floor and stared at the opposite wall, gasping for breath. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Max?"

"Yes?" I whispered, and then cleared my throat. Fang would know what was going on as soon as I showed any sign of a complete breakdown.

No answer.
"YES?"

"No need to shout. Come on, the bacon's ready."

I gulped. Again.

"In a minute" I called, then stood, not caring that Fang's voice sounded somewhat off. I gazed at my face in the mirror, then quickly let my hair fall around my face, framing my dark- and pretty hysterical looking- eyes. Anyway, it covered my neck, which was good enough. I swung the door open and marched downstairs. (I still don'tget that-why the heck to people say 'marched'? I mean, are we in the flippin' military?) Doing my best to look upbeat and...shudder...perky.

I followed the smell of bacon, allowing a small, depressed/and/or sad smile to appear on my face. On my way down I stopped by Nudge's room and pounded on the door. "GET UP! UP AND AT EM'! IT'S ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL, BRIGHT DAY!" I could hear her moaning for me to shut up, not bothering to care about why she sounded furious, not the normal 'just annoyed'. But I totally ignored that (as usual) and clomped past her room, smirking as I heard her tumble out of bed in her urgency to please me.

I guess I just have that aura around me…I snorted as I entered the kitchen. Ruffling Angel's floofy curls as I waltzed by (still, I wonder how I never noticed that she flinched as I touched her head)- well, strutted is more appropriate. I sauntered into the kitchen, snagged a plate and heaped it with bacon and sausages. (Iggy makes the best sausages ever!) I turned to face the flock, and sat in a chair.

I had just finished about half of my bacon whenI realized that everyone was staring at me. "What?" I said with my mouth full. Five pairs of eyes stared at me. Six, if you count Total's gooey brown ones. "What!" I yelled angrily after I had swallowed. Fang glared at me, his eyes harsh.

"Don't lie. Don't. Even. Think about it. We know that you are secretly working for the school Max. It all makes sense now. Why all the monsters are attacking us. Why our location is getting more and more obvious. Don't deny it. I know it's true." I gaped at him. Fang, who usually never showed emotion, was glaring at me, deep pain and hatred displayed on his face. "Excuse me?" I spluttered.

Then Nudge spoke up. "W-we know that you're evil!" she yelled."And that it's your fault we keep getting attacked! You've been telling them were we are!" After she'd said this little speech she gasped and took a breath, tears welling up in hereyes. But they weren't tears of sadness, but of anger and total disappointment. In me. Then Angel glared at me. "Get. OUT." She said with such venom and poison in her voice I swear it almost killed me. Was this really happening? I wondered. I turned to Gazzy and Iggy.

"Iggy…please tell me the truth. Have they been infected with something? If not, do you and Gazzy want me to go too? Even though all of this is ABSOLUTELY BULL?" I was angry now. No warning, no sign, and they just decide to kick me out of my own flock? I mean, WTH? I was starting to lose it. "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?" I screamed. Correction- I just lost it.

"I HAVE DONE EVERYTHING FOR YOU! EVERYTHING! AND THIS IS HOW YOU THANK ME? MY OWN FAMILY KICKING ME OUT?"

I paused to take a deep breath and then released the air trapped inside my lungs. It made a sinister hissing noise as I released it. I opened my eyesto find the flock staring at me with varying degrees of anger. Then Fang said those fatal words. "Leave! This just proves it. You're unstable." But he wouldn't meet my eyes."You. Liar! You don't believe that at all."

I snarled, though I felt like whimpering. "Without me, you'd have nothing!"

"You haven't been acting like yourself, Max." Gazzy said softly.

"You were all quiet and scared this morning." I froze. Angel observed me coldly.

"Don't hide it. Now you're just dragging it out, Max." my hand slowly went to my neck and pulled my hair back. But I didn't turn to let them see…not yet. "You…idiots." I snapped. They focused on me. They weren't expecting this from me when I had just been told that I was to be kicked out of the flock. My so called family.

"You didn't even stop to think that I would have a reason for being quiet and scared? You didn't even stop to consider all of the possibilities?" I looked at their faces. They were confused. "You*Bleeeeep* this section shall be deleted. It could be considered offensive.*

After I finished cursing, their mouths were wide open. "Fine." I hissed."I'm not sorry, but you should know why I was all 'scared' and 'nervous' and 'quiet'." I pulled my hair up and spun around, holding my position for a few moments before letting it fall again. As I looked back at them, their faces stunned, I completely lost it. "You do realize that I'm the only reason why Dr. Martinez takes care of us? That I'm the only reason why the CSM even bothers with us? But here's what. Next time you cross me, I'll kill you. Have fun dying, losers."

I didn't care that Angel and Nudge had tears streaming down their faces, or that Fang looked like he was hit by a truck- Oh. My. Gosh. They had the nerve to cry. All of them, even Fang. All I cared about was leaving before I broke down. Tears in my eyes, I raced to one of the large windows- and flung myself out of it. Ha, I thought, Let 'em find a way to fix that! And with that, I broke the sound barrier.

2 weeks later

I wandered through the streets of New York, hungry and exhausted. I hadn't eaten in five days. I'd only managed to drink some water. I was dirty; my clothes were torn up from fighting. Monsters still followed me, and I had to fight them off to make it away in one piece. Every so often, a fresh wave of betrayal and pain would wash over me, and I'd curl up into a ball in and alley, crying- and in one particularly painful memory- screaming.

Finally, I reached the Empire State Building. I'd always wanted to see it again…and then I remembered my expiration date. Suddenly, a flash of anger shot through me. Why should I die at the mercy of an expiration date? I refuse to die in the gutter coz some idiot of a white-coat says so. I was gonna die on my own terms. I only had one day to live, anyway.

So I sprinted to Central Park. I found a secluded area…well it looked secluded. I found two guys and a girl arguing. The girl was really pretty, with long brown hair and ever-changing eyes. They all looked to be older than me, say by a year or two. The taller boy had jet black hair, olive-skin, and gorgeous dark brown eyes. I froze. He looked like a slightly older, cuter version of Fa- No. I wouldn't think of that name. Ever. The second boy was slightly shorter, with close-cropped golden hair, electric blue eyes, and a small scar on his upper lip. He looked a little bit like Iggy.

I stood petrified. My weeks of living in fear of dying had made me rather timid around people. I more resembled a wild animal rather than a person. The gorgeous guy noticed me first. He whirled and drew a sword. It was entirely black, but the hilt rested a silver skull with a ruby in its mouth. I stared at the sword then looked up at him, frightened. I gave a muffled squeak.

The other two had noticed me. The boy with the scar was now holding a gold-tipped spear, and the girl had pulled a vicious-looking dagger out of her sleeve. The dark haired boy advanced on me. What has instinct taught you? I thought. Right, small and scared. I pressed myself against a tree, doing my best to look seriously afraid, though all I felt like doing was kicking the freakin' sword out of his hands.

"What are you?" Oh my gosh, he sounded like an angel. I flinched, and his face softened. But then it hardened. "Are you a monster?" he asked. When I said nothing, he came closer. "Answer me." He snapped. The pretty girl put her hand on the boys arm. "Nico, she could be one of us. And she looks like she has no idea what we're about to do-kill her or leave her alone. Let's keep it simple- just ask her."

"Sorry." The dark boy muttered. He sure didn't look sorry. The girl kneeled in front of me. "Okay. We're not going to hurt you if you won't try to hurt us." Nico snorted. That irritated me. Have I ever told you how I have a helluva temper? It just kicked in. And I found that I could talk again. "Hurt me? Like you could." I snarled.

The girl took a step back, and Nico pulled his sword out again. "What" he said coldly. "You heard me," I hissed. "I am about to freakin' DIE and I get some schmuck in my face with a sword!" I yelled. "Wait, what?" The blond boy said confused. "How are you about to die?" I decided I might as well trust them, since they could see the monsters.

Other people didn't seem to notice. So I told them everything. The school, my life, escape, my flock, and…them kicking me out. I also told them I was a mutant, but I didn't tell them about the wings. I told them my name, what I thought could be my age, but when I got to the part where the flock kicked me out, tears welled up in my eyes.

The girl- Piper, as the others called her- gave me a sympathetic look. Nico (would he ever shut UP?) rolled his eyes. "C'mon, guys, this is bull. She's not a mutant." I lost it. Something about this boy made me go absolutely insane. And not in a good way; He drove me up the wall. "Yes. I am. I am not a liar, you ARE an idiot, and I can prove it!" I yelled.

Strangely, as I was yelling, the wind picked up. The clouds darkened, and lightning flashed. Jason and Piper stared open mouthed at the storm, while Nico pointed his sword at me. I dodged his sword, kicked him in the chest and hammered the nerve that controlled the arms. His sword made a 'clunk' noise as it fell.

Then, as he was lying on the ground, mouth open in shock, I spread my wings and jumped out into the sky. Suddenly, I collided with something. A flying horse? WTF? It hit me with its wings. On it was a teenager, a boy who looked like he was three years older than me. And naturally, that's when I get clobbering in the head with the flying thing's hoof. The last thing I remember was the horrible sensation of falling and screaming, and my world wend black.

Nico POV

I hadn't meant to be rude (okay, maybe a little bit. So sue me. I was rude by nature.); I just found it totally unbelievable. But when the girl decked me and took to the air, my only thought was 'Oh my gods she's beautiful,' and 'she was telling the truth'. Maximum's (strange name…) brown hair streamed out down her back, and her chocolate- brown eyes determined. Suddenly, she was falling.

Jason jumped into the air, flying towards the girl who had stopped screaming a moment ago. I struggled off the ground, only just noticing the Pegasus that swooped through the sky, a young man with black hair and green eyes seated on its back. Percy, my kelp-headed cousin. I grinned and waved to him, and he smiled and waved back. The Pegasus- Blackjack- went into a steep dive.

I watched as Blackjack hovered to talk to Jason, who now held the unconscious girl in his arms. After several minutes they both descended, Jason in long bounces and Percy in a graceful dive. They reached the ground two minutes later, Percy leaping off Blackjack- and looking really, really guilty- and Jason finally stepping down onto solid ground. Maximum was still cradled in his arms.

He looked at me. "Can you take her?" I sighed, but nodded. She was not gonna be happy when she woke up. Maximum might actually punch me. I sighed again, and took her out of his arms and into mine. She shifted slightly and curled up against me. I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks, which was weird. I'm no stranger to girls. The female members of the Aphrodite cabin (with the exception of Piper) have given me the title of 'camp player'.

Nobody but Piper noticed, and she threw me a smug look. Rolling my eyes, I turned to Jason. "Dude, we still need to get to Olympus. I'm betting the gods don't want us to forget about that mystery item they made us steal." Piper groaned. "I can still feel where that *Greek cursing not typically used in polite company* kicked me. Next time I see him, I'll knock out his brains." She muttered.

"This had better have been worth it." Piper rubbed her side. Percy walked over to me and clapped me on the back. "Long time no see, cuz. I see you took Persephone's smart words to heart and got a girlfriend…" I rolled my eyes.

"No, Seaweed Brain. I just made friends with a mutant." I smirked as a dumb-struck expression crossed his face. "You've lost it. After all these years, you've finally gone round the bend." He half-whispered.

I smirked at his face, and then gently twisted Maximum around in my arms. I chuckled. Percy looked like he'd been hit by a bus filled with monsters, followed up by several trucks loaded with multiple minotaurs. "How?" he whispered, softly touching the wings.

"I don't really know for sure." I said, frowning. "But we have to take her to Olympus." Jason turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Really?" I rolled my eyes. "Yes, lightning head. Did you see what happened when she got mad? A whole storm came out of nowhere. Not even you do that when you spazz. She must be really, really powerful, or that was just a really, really freaky coincidence."

Piper nodded. "Come on. Let's roll." She dashed off, heading for the park exit. I sighed and simply shadow traveled myself to the doors of the Empire State building, and waited for my friends to arrive.

Nico POV

Just as Piper, Percy and Jason showed up Maximum started to move, moaning. By the time my friends were standing beside me she was shaking slightly, and her head was bleeding.

When we got into the elevator leading to the 600th floor, her face was covered with cracked and dried blood, and Percy was starting to look worried and seriously guilty, because a purple and black bruise the size of Black-jack's hoof was starting to form on her head. And once we had suffered through Stayin' Alive and arrived on Mount Olympus,

I had her blood on my black shirt. I shifted slightly and pulled her closer. She was really, really pretty… I shook my head and tried to think about anything but the feel of her hair against my skin, or her slight body curled up against my chest. They were nice feelings- Wait, stop Nico. You. Are. A. Player, and you have a reputation to uphold. You can also be really picky, and you have seen prettier girls. Stop it and focus!

The others walked ahead of me, talking animatedly even though Piper kept shooting me smug looks. I didn't get it. I walked behind them, going a bit slower since I was towing a winged- girl. Suddenly I stopped. Moron I was, I totally forgot that I can shadow travel. I did a mental face-palm and stepped into the nearest shadow. Ironically, it was the shadow cast by my father's statue.

I snickered as I emerged out of the blackness, right beside the majestic doors of the throne room of the gods. Percy, Jason and Piper were taking it slow. Real slow. I rolled my eyes (it's my signature move) as they started moving in slow motion, cracking up the entire time. Once they had finally reached my side, we turned as one and the huge doors swung open.