A/N: Okay, so I wrote this sometime after TFW came out and my friend and I weren't impressed. So basically, I wrote this for her just for fun and it kind of evolved from there. Anyway, this is a definite Fax story, but it'll just take a while to get there, sorry 'bout that. Also just so you know, Blitz is my own character, but I promise that he won't be the center of the story. He's a source of drama for Max, but this is ultimately about Max and Fang, promise! Constructive criticism is awesome by the way! Dedicated to my awesome friend and inspiration, Annaka!

By the way, I made a little promo video for this, so go check it out if you so desire! The link is in my profile!

Disclaimer: Ugh...well, I'd better get this outta the way. I'd like to say that I own the entire Flock and their souls…but I don't. I'd like to say that I own Maximum Ride entirely…but I don't. They belong to James Patterson, who is awesome and unfortunately not me. However, I do own Blitz and his squad as well as Director Markus Hightower. Their souls are mine. Steal them and I will find you…

She promised to protect them, no matter what the cost, no matter what the sacrifice. For two years, she has kept her promise by staying far away from them and leaving her memories behind. Now her nightmare has come full circle. Can she return to them and the life she knew before? Or will her sacrifice refuse to leave her so quickly?

The Angel Assassin

Chapter 1: Conference

"Hey nice job on that last mission," one of my squad mates, Kyle, said with a toothy grin. "You kicked butt."

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly. I wasn't overly proud of what I did nor did I make any effort to make friends at the Compound. Besides Kyle, only idiot without a stupid nickname around here wasn't the one with nightmares plaguing his subconscious now was he?

Anyway, the Compound isn't exactly the most cheerful place every invented so you can see why making friends wouldn't come easy. The pale, mint green tile is about as colorful as it gets. Cheery isn't it? Considering why it was built, however, it's not too surprising.

See the Compound was built by Itex for training recombinants to be elite assassins. These unfortunate few would become the ultimate weapon in the hands of Itex and other organizations worldwide. Let the implications of that thought process chase themselves around in your head for a while. Not a pretty picture is it? Anyway not to sound braggy, because I'm not, but I, Maximum Ride, happen to be one of the best. Like I said, that's not necessarily a good thing, but oh well.

"You going to the conference room?" Kyle said with a slight smirk that reminded me of someone I think I used to know. I wonder if I ever wanted to knock that person's teeth out too…

"Yes," I answered curtly. One thing I've learned about Eraser Kyle is that he's not exactly the hottest pepper in the entire enchilada if you catch my drift. Plus he's taken to becoming my sidekick.

Now let's get something straight here. If I even wanted a sidekick, which I don't, it wouldn't be Kyle. Hell, it wouldn't look, talk, or even think like Kyle seeing as how I can't stand the kid. He's one of those who would throw himself in front of a bus if you asked which is tempting.

"Sweet," Kyle said, again with the same easily punched smirk. "Blitz is supposed to go too."

"Don't you have something you need to do?" I asked mentally wincing at the mention of Blitz.

Blitz, short for Blitzkrieg or lightning war in German (don't ask where he got that name or you'll regret it), was one of the only other Avian hybrid assassins around. This naturally meant he thought he was God's gift to the world, me in particular. He was more or less an arrogant jerk off, but he was my second in command on the squad. Apparently killing your squad mates is frowned upon. I found that out when I put the last one in the infirmary for several days. Let's just say he won't be fathering children anytime soon.

"Actually Switch and I were going to mess around in the gym," Kyle replied with a shrug. He glanced up at the huge metal doors that signaled our arrival at the conference room with disdain. "Well good luck, Max, and try not to kill Blitz. He doesn't mean half of what he says."

"Yeah I bet he does," I muttered watching Kyle dart away down the hall. I'd say he wasn't all there, but the Compound runs mental health screenings every three weeks. Gotta keep your mutant murderers from suffering any brain damage of course.

I swung open the doors into the conference room with a sigh. Director Markus Hightower, fitting name I know, stood up from the head of the table with a warm grin. He gave off the appearance of the fatherly type at first glance, his deep brown hair streaked with gray, but I'd also seen his cold, calculating side at work.

"Ah Max," he said with a slight lilt to his voice. I still hadn't decided what his accent was for sure. "We were just about to start."

I glanced around grimacing as I noticed the only available seat was next to Blitz. Joy. I recognized several others around the room. Anne Walker sat, smugly watching me as though she knew something I didn't. I'd decided a while ago that I needed her opinion about as much as I needed Blitz's twisted attempts at romance or say a hole in the head.

"Hey Anne," I whispered my voice low and icy, in other words my ultimate evil voice. I've been practicing it just for her. "Want to get rid of the look or is your face just naturally deformed like that?"

Anne jumped slightly but said nothing. She didn't dare, you could never tell when one of us assassin's might snap and then bam! You're dead. I leaned back in my chair now the one boasting a smirk. I don't know why I hate Anne. She hadn't technically done anything to me…yet. Maybe we were just predestined to hate each other, not likely, but still a thought. Or maybe there was something else. There were people around me, Anne included, watching me strapped to a metal table. All of them wanting to see if I had the killer's instinct, only they wanted to do it from the inside out. I wasn't giving them what they wanted, not by a long shot and…

"You're in a good mood today," Blitz said interrupting my painful memories.

"Not for you I'm not," I retorted as a shiver traced my spine.

"You'll see eventually, we were made for each other," Blitz chuckled sweeping his black hair with gaudy red streaks out of his face.

"Doubtful," I said gritting my teeth.

"You just don't know how to handle the fire, I can teach you," Blitz muttered his face painfully close to mine.

"Now that we're all here," Director Hightower said throwing a glare at Blitz, who as usual ignored it with a scowl and took to sulking in his chair. "Now as you all know, thanks to their efforts of one of our top of the line, ultimately the best assassin here, young Maximum, our funding has now been doubled."

Yeah, I thought, and all I'd had to do was kill a guy…At the memory a shiver traced my spine involuntarily.

"However, Senator Dempsey is not the only one trying to get in the way of our developing industries worldwide," Hightower went on oblivious to my internal struggle. "There are several others who would love to see our magnificent plans for this world overthrown. If we can take out a key few who are getting recognized we will become unstoppable."

"Monsieur Hightower," a representative of Itex: France spoke up. "Who exactly would we eliminate? There's no real telling who the defined leaders of this little coup are."

"I have sources of information and I can tell you with utmost confidence that though your fears are well grounded, they hold little consequence," he replied pulling up a map on the projector. "We have names and locations. All we need to do is give this information to our elite squad led by Max and seconded by Blitz and we've got them.

"It's quite simple really. Here in the U.S. we have Mitchell Artesia-" he hit a button and an arrow pointed to Seattle along with a picture, he continued as he recited names- "finally we have the highest priority, Dr. Jeb Batchelder, an ex-employee of the School, which as you all know is a subsidiary of Itex, and Dr. Valencia Martinez, a specialized veterinarian in Arizona."

"Dr. Batchelder?" Anne yelped incredulously. "Markus I don't-" she paused throwing me a pointed look- "May I speak with you?"

Director Hightower nodded and Anne followed him into a side room leaving Blitz, myself, and all the foreign dignitaries who immediately began babbling in their native tongues. Luckily for me, when they'd upgraded my sight for night vision, they'd also enhanced my hearing rendering the closed door useless.

"Anne, I don't see the problem here," Hightower said coolly.

"You know very well who is staying with Batchelder and Martinez, letting the squad go there with Max at the helm could result in disaster," Anne shot back. "What if the block is broken?"

"That's extremely unlikely," Hightower argued annoyance flooding his normally calm voice. "Besides it will take a lot more than sight and touch to break those blocks. I made sure of that myself so unless you're calling me incompetent, I suggest you let it go."

The door opened again and an extremely pissed off Anne stormed back to her seat. Hightower merely straightened his tie and strolled back to the head of the table. The foreign dignitaries cut off their chatter in their own languages and turned their focus to the director.

"Now, it will take a day or two to make everything is exactly right, but we will put this behind us and move forward with plans for a new world order," he announced triumphantly. The dignitaries clapped excitedly before standing up to leave.

As they filtered out once again babbling excitedly, Hightower meandered over to Blitz and I. A victorious smile was pasted across his features and I thought for a moment he might start jumping up and down screaming. As if I actually cared enough.

"Stunning performance Doc," Blitz said flashing his cocky smirk. "I'd give you a 9.75 for it."

"Yes, well nonetheless I don't want this screwed up Blitz," Hightower said slowly making sure Blitz was listening. "We'll have a more in depth briefing right before you leave and we can go over certain protocols then."

"Anne didn't seem too happy," I commented with a shrug noting the way Hightower jumped slightly.

"She never is," he said quickly smoothing over their previous argument. "Now just rest up and get ready for the next day or so."

"Hallelujah," Blitz muttered as Hightower walked away. "So Max, what say you and I get in some private training?"

"In your dreams," I retorted making sure my voice was like cold steel. If I gave into Blitz, soon his kind of private training would result with me mostly on my back. Just think about that for a while.

I turned on my heel aware that Blitz was trailing not far behind. If there's one thing about Blitz that I absolutely hate, it's his complete misunderstanding of the word no. To him no is just another, more challenging form of yes.

"How're we supposed to be a team if you just avoid the subject?" Blitz asked from behind me. "We don't even have to stay here. We could run away and start a new life without all this."

"Look Blitz, if I had my choice of second in command, it wouldn't be you. It wouldn't even be anything like you," I replied my voice a low warning growl. Not that I expected Blitz to get the message. "My answer to your thick head is and always will be no."

"You don't really believe that," Blitz countered as I walked into the weapons room.

"You don't know what I believe," I said inhaling the smell of gunpowder and cold steel.

Now don't get me wrong, I hate the Compound more than anyone should be allowed to hate a place, but the weapons room is the only room that doesn't have that smell. The smell of death and pain barely covered by a thick, cloying antiseptic was the dominating scent that filled the Compound.

I picked up a long bladed knife that was virtually weightless in my hand. Guns weren't and probably never would that appealing to me. I couldn't stand the way that one squeeze of the trigger would completely erase someone from existence. A weird complex for an assassin I realize, but hey maybe it was that exact part of me that wanted the challenge and guns went against it.

"Maybe you should show me what you believe," Blitz whispered his hand sliding around my waist.

I whirled around holding the knife to his throat, "Maybe one of these days I will show you exactly how deep my hate for you goes."

"I always loved a good challenge," he said as the knife bit slightly into his neck leaving a faint red line. "It's not me you hate; it's all this, but now that someone can take this away you're scared of letting go. You're scared of change."

I tried to dig the knife deeper into him, but my hand felt numb and it hung limply as his words dug into my mind. I did hate him, but some part of me screamed a truth to his words. Blitz coolly pushed the knife away from him and it hit the floor at my feet clanking against the tiles.

"Let me love you a little before you decide to hate me," he whispered his face inches from mine.

"What're you doing?" I asked desperate to shove him off, which I would've enjoyed except that my arms either couldn't or wouldn't respond to my brain's constant pleas. And just because karma loves me so much, I now had a headache from trying to deal with Blitz 24/7.

Suddenly Blitz's lips were on mine and my day went from bad to worse. I was fuming and yet unable to stop him. All the fight seemed to drain from my limbs as everything went black and Blitz was replaced by another dark haired boy.

The new guy's hair was streaked with tan colors making his hair look like a hawk's plumage; somehow this was ironic although I couldn't place why. There was now a fire somewhere as the Compound seemed to melt away, the white walls replaced by a dim cave. There was a fire nearby and it seemed to dance along the strange guy's cheekbones highlighting his onyx eyes.

"What the heck are you doing?" I hear myself ask as his hands massage my back lulling me into security.

"Helping you change your mind," he whispers back and then his lips are on mine, warm and his touch gentle.

With all the finesse of a drunk, I snapped back into reality to see Blitz trying to pin me to the wall. My shorted and aching brain came back to buzzing and painful life for several second. Plenty long enough to knee Blitz in the groin and take exactly two steps away from him. My head was processing everything in slow motion and yet my senses were running rampant. I heard a strange noise and realizing it was my own pained cry, I gave into the blackness, the much less confusing blackness where everything made sense. It gladly took me with welcoming arms.

A/N: So there you have it! The first chapter! Remember the wonderful button at the bottom! Push it for the love of Fax and chocolate! I plan to update at least once a week, but reviews make me go faster! Yay!