Of Women and Superheroes

"Daddy?"

"Hmmm?"

"Who's your favorite superhero?"

"Mommy."

The little boy giggled, rolling away from his father. "No, really."

"Really," the man insisted.

"Mommy's a girl though."

"There's girl superheroes."

"Yeah, but not one like Mommy!"

"Why not?"

"Because she's Mommy," the four year old insisted. Was Daddy dense?

"I know that." The man opened his eyes again. "Why do you think she can't be a superhero? Just because she isn't a boy? Because she's a woman?"

"No," the boy said, glancing up at his father's dark eyes. They were in their hut, the man trying to get his son down for the night. The older the boy got though, the harder that became. "Because she's a mommy. She's not tough."

"She's tougher than me."

"No!" The boy reached over, poking his father's chest. "You're the strongest man in the world."

"Man? Sure. Person? That's Mommy."

"You're lying."

"You shouldn't call your father a liar."

The little boy humphed, rolling onto his stomach as he thought. Then, finally, he asked, "All Mommy's done is get fat."

"She is not fat," Fang said, frowning. Pushing himself up, he glared down at the spitting imagine that was his son. "And don't you ever let me hear you say that again. She's pregnant. Not fat. She's having my baby. She's my wife. That means a lot more to me than you do at the moment."

The boy whined. "I just don't see how Mommy's a superhero is all."

Fang sighed, moving to lay back down on the ground. "That's because you only know her as Mommy. You don't know the rest of her."

"Whaddya mean?" the boy asked in a soft voice, afraid his father would get upset with him again.

"Mommy's a leader. Not just a regular mom. She's our leader."

"I don't think we're talkin' 'bout the same person. Mommy just tells me when to go to bed and when to wake up. She don't even make my food."

"Trust me, you don't want her to," Fang assured the boy, sighing slightly. "Besides, you've never gone without food. Uncle Iggy makes you something or I do. Or even Angel."

"Not Aunt Nudge."

"No," Fang sighed. "She's better at just eating."

"I like Angel and Aunt Nudge better. Mommy's mean. I wish they were my mommies."

"You're just mad that she made you go to bed early. It's your own fault," Fang told his son. "You were very rude at dinner."

"I don't like her anymore."

"That doesn't make her any less of a superhero."

"What has she saved? Superman and Batman save things. Cyclopes saves things. Even the stupid girl superheroes save things. Like Wonder Woman and Jean Grey. Not Mommy though."

"Mommy's done a lot, I'm telling you," Fang insisted. "She's saved the whole world."

"Na-ah."

"Yeah huh."

"No."

"Yes."

"I'm not going to argue with you, Danny."

He just shook his head. "Mommy's the leader of the island, fine, but what has she done?"

"You want a list?"

"Yes!"

"She's fought more Erasers, Flyboys, monsters, and experiments than you'll ever know. She's escaped numerous Schools, saved tons of people from those Schools, destroy Itex, Mr. Chu, killed her ever returning brother, found Angel all the times she went missing, all while dealing with Aunt Nudge's incessant talking." Fang took a deep breath. He was a man of few words typically, but when someone insulted his wife's honor, he would always be the first one to defend it. Even if the offender was just his four year old son. "When everyone was brainwashed, she took care of it. She's dealt with more internal mutiny than anyone one leader should ever have to deal with. And have I even told you about all the M-Geeks? Or the time we fought Gozen? No? So why don't you learn some respect some time? Huh?"

That was all it took for the little boy to start wailing. Fang immediately sat up, pulling the boy into his arms. For all Max had done, for all the harrowing moments she had encountered, her most fearsome fight was with anyone who made her son cry. Fang knew that well.

"I was just askin'!" Danny pushed away from his father. "You didn't have to yell at me!"

"What's going on in here?"

Fang winced as Max poked her head into the dark hut. "Nothing. He just-"

"Daddy's mean!" Danny reached out for his mother who was quick to come take the boy. "I don't want him to sleep with me. I don't like him. Mommy, can you make him leave?"

"What did you do, Fang?" Max asked, frowning at him.

"I just… He started it! He called you fat."

"No." Danny cuddled into his mother's arms. "Mommy's not fat, Daddy. She's havin' a baby."

"That's what I said!" Fang frowned at their son before looking at his wife. "Max-"

"Out."

"No. He asked me who my favorite superhero is and I told him. This is not all on me. Not at all."

"Fang, not tonight, alright?"

Jumping up, Fang moved to take their son from her arms. "You are too pregnant to be carrying him anyways, Max. And he's not a baby. He's just acting like one."

"You're acting like a baby," Danny said, kissing his mother's cheek. "You're my superhero, Mommy."

"He's lying!" Fang's glare intensified as he stared at his son. "I'm the one who chose you, Max."

"Oh, whatever, Fang."

"I did!"

"Daddy said girls aren't superheroes," Danny told his mom.

"Did he?"

"No!" Fang could have throttled the boy. "I told him that you were my superhero. I said that Maximum Ride is my favorite superhero."

Danny made a face. "I don't even know who that is."

Max giggled, kissing her son's head. "You're so cute. That's me, sweetie."

"Oh. I didn't know, 'cause Daddy never said-"

"Why are you lying?"

"Fang, stop yelling at him. Gosh. Are you drunk or something?"

He just let out a huff before moving to walk passed his wife and out of the hut. He immediately ran into Iggy, who was heading to his own hut.

"Hey, Fang. Off diaper duty finally?"

Fang just let out a grunt, continuing passed the blind man. How did this turn so nasty on him? Huh? That little brat. How was Fang's son such a little butt? Fang didn't remember being such a brat when he was that age. Then again, he was locked in a cage, only taken out to be horrible tortured.

That's it. That's what was wrong with his son. He was just unbelievably spoiled. Fang would have to go out and buy a cage. Put him in there for a few hours. See how he liked it.

"Here you are."

Fang opened his eyes to find his wife in front of him. "Here I am."

She giggled, staring down at him, hands on her hips. "Were you going somewhere, mister? Maybe got tired out and laid down to rest, hmmm? Huh, old man?"

Fang couldn't figure out what she was talking about until he realized his wings were open. He shook his head. "Just figured I better sleep out here. Since apparently I can't even put my own son to bed anymore."

Still, she just laughed slightly, staring down at him in the moonlight. "So would you like an autograph?"

"What?"

"What should I put on it, I wonder?" She put her finger to her lips, as if in deep thought. "'To my biggest admirer. Love Maximum Ride.'"

"You better not be putting love on your autographs."

"Only for my most loyal fan." Max made an moaning noise as she sat in the sand next to her husband, leaning up against the same coconut tree as him. "Why do you fight with him so much?"

"I dunno. We go from being best friends to him turning on me. It's only when you're around though."

"Are you jealous of your own son, Fang? Hmmm? Think I don't have enough time for the both of you."

"Yeah, sure," he said with an eye roll. Max just reached over, grabbing his hand before laying it on her enlarged stomach.

"Then how are you going to feel when this one shows up?"

"Completely out of place."

"Maybe we'll have a girl, huh? Then I can be jealous, huh?"

Fang shook his head. "I don't want a daughter."

She hit him in the chest gently. "Fang."

"We're on an island full of guys. Guys with sons. Sons who will want to get it in with the daughter of the leader." He shook his head. "A girl would be too much of a headache. Unless I could lock her up somewhere."

"Lock her up, huh? Sounds too familiar."

Fang smiled, moving to kiss his wife's cheek. "Wouldn't that put the little brats on this island in shock? Caging them?"

"You're demented."

"I'm joking." He stroked her stomach now. "Son or daughter, no one will ever put my kids in danger. I'll kill myself before I let that happen."

Max just looked out at the water before them. "So am I your favorite then? More than X-Man?"

"Max," Fang groaned. "It's the X-Men. There's a lot of them. You know that."

"Do I know that?"

"You know that."

"Hmmm."

"And yes. I love you more than Spiderman, the Hulk, and Captain America."

"…Are they X-Men or-"

"Oh, I love you so much." Fang kissed her on the lips now. "Maximum Ride, the only superhero I will ever need."

"I better be," she said as he just laughed. "Ever."

I feel like I've been neglecting Maximum Ride or something. You guys have no idea how many things I've tried to write for it. This is the only one that stuck. Maybe I'm just burnt out on Max and Fang...