Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride- James Patterson does. However, I do own plot (-I think… lol) and Max's friends and band members. I also don't own any songs in this story but I made it so Max writes the songs after her feelings- Please no one get mad! I'm disclaiming- disclaiming, I tell you!
Chapter 1:
Okay, Maximum Ride, here. I'm sure you know my story. If you don't, well then you won't understand any of this because I'm not going to explain the entire story. But if you do know me, then good.
Everyone's abilities in the Flock grew and expanded. Angel can still read minds, speak to fish, breathe underwater, and shape shift. But when she does shape shift, it cancels out all her other abilities. Gazzy can still, well, rip ass worse than the most disgusting people in the world combined and he can still copy voices. Nudge, well, Nudge is Nudge. She still talks like crazy but her metal attraction and ability to read people's leftover emotions is stronger. She can control the intensity of the emotions and where the metal can move and how. Fang can still turn invisible but he can stay invisible for as long as he likes. For some reason, when he's invisible I can still see him. Like, I know he's there and can see his silhouette. No one else can, therefore, he can never sneak up on me or scare me. He can also speak to birds- it seems like an ability that we all would have but, sadly, only he can. I, Maximum Ride, have had awesome abilities come to me. My supersonic speed has increased- that's right. I can fly up to 500 miles per hour. It's sweet and I don't even break a sweat. I can also hide my wings. When I don't want them shown, they disappear into my back and when I want them out, they come out. Harmless and painlessly, I might add. I also had telepathy- meaning that I can move things with my mind. Iggy is still blind but when he really needs to see, he can- perfectly. He has all the same abilities and they've grown to an amazing extent. When he needs to catalog an injury, he just needs to poke one part of a person- like a wrist- and he'll know right away what's wrong and what hurts and such. He and Gazzy still make bombs and their variety is amazing. They're starting to make harmless ones and they've stashed all the harmful ones around the house and have a controller to set them off- in case of an attack. Total is Total. He can fly like the rest of us and can talk- oh in case you forgot, he's a dog. He's gotten really good at flying.
We've all changed throughout our lives. Well, kind of. We still act the same sometimes, but our intelligence has grown thanks to school. No, not School as in the School- we destroyed it and Itex. I mean, school with other kids and such. To catch you up some more, Fang, Iggy, and I are 15 now and freshmen, Nudge is 12 and a sixth grader, Gazzy is 9 and a third grader and Angel is 7 and a first grader. We all live with Dr. Martinez- my mom- and Ella- my half sister. Jeb, my father and the Flock's backstabbing ex-guardian, is in jail since he helped at many points with the school and Itex. We're all happy. Ella is the same age as Nudge.
I have many friends as do the rest of us. I don't know them all by heart but when I see them, I know who they are. My flock doesn't know this but I'm in a nationwide known band called Saviors of the World. I know, you think I'm lying but I'm not. We started off as a local band then people told people who told more people who turned out to be talent agents. I said that we couldn't do concerts out of state and my friends agreed- we still had school and friends and family here. Our concerts are so 'special' as the agent said, because people would fly in from around the country just to here us play. We have CDs and DVDs of concerts and my family never knows it's me. Maybe it's because I have a stage name and I sound completely different singing than I do talking. My friends know about my wings and they don't care. They said they wouldn't tell a soul- they're cool that way. The same goes for the Flocks' friends, too. Not one of them cares about wings- my ability really helps at school and in concert and at photo shoots as well.
Now, I'll start with preparations…
"Toby! Where'd I put Scarlett?" I yelled. Scarlett is my electric guitar. Toby is the lead male singer and guitar player. I'm the lead female singer, guitar player, pianist, songwriter, and manager. Oh, and dancer- yeah, that's right. Dancer.
"Um, I think you left her at Stain's house." he responded not looking up from his book. Stain was the drummer and his stage name is self-explanatory. He's very messy.
"Great…" Meaning, I lost her. "I'll just use Saber." I said. Saber was my acoustic guitar. Toby laughed at me. "T-bone, this isn't funny. I need Scarlett."
He stopped laughing and looked at me. "Don't worry, Lazuli. Everything's okay. He'll bring her back in great condition." Yeah, he called me Lazuli- that's my stage name. His is T-bone. Our other pianist is Jane and she's Black Hole. Bass guitar is Nina and she's Frenchy. Don't ask about our stage names, that's a really long story. "Hey, why doesn't your family know about the band?"
I looked at him. "Of course they know about the band- how could they not? We're mega popular."
"You know what I mean…"
I sighed. "I don't know. I thought they would know at first but they didn't so I didn't bring it up. Why?" I sat down next to him on the couch. We were at an old room at school. No one used this room any more and it's far away from the other buildings so the school let us keep it. Now it's our hangout and band room.
"Maybe it'd be best for them to know why you leave home a lot the night of the concerts. Wait- how could Angel not know? She can read minds." He set his book on the side table.
"Whenever she invades my mind, I can feel it. I block her out by blasting out guitar solos in my head. She thinks it's too loud and leaves. Peace o' cake." I smiled.
"I think they should go to a concert." he stated.
"Sure, if they can get tickets." Our concerts are extremely hard to attend since many people out of sate want to see us and buy all the tickets. All our concerts stay in Arizona.
"C'mon. Cheekie's waiting for us." Cheekie is our choreographer. We got up, left the room, and locked the door. "Will ya?" Great, he loves the flying thing.
I pulled my wings out and grabbed a good hold on him. Then, I shot up in the air. Just, jumped and flapped- simple as that. We made it to the ballet studio in less than 15 minutes.
We ended dance rehearsal an hour later and went home. My mom and sister are the only ones who know where I go with my fellow band members and they do an excellent job not thinking about it. When I got home, it was dinnertime, but I didn't eat. I was too excited. I wrote 4 new songs earlier that day. I was going over the rhythm in my head over and over again.
Max? Are you okay? It was Angel.
I laughed internally. Yeah, Angel. Why?
Well, you never really let me read your mind anymore. And you never hang out with us anymore. I mean you do- just not as much. What do you do with Toby, Stan (Stain), Karen (Cheekie), Jane, and Nina?
"Nothing, Angel." I said out loud.
Everyone looked at me.
"What?" I asked.
"You actually talked to her through her mind, Angel. First time in months. How'd you do it?" That was Nudge.
"I've always talked to her telepathically. I just didn't tell you guys. After all, these conversations are private." She looked so innocent.
"Yeah, don't ask what I think about." I retorted.
"Max, you just don't talk to us anymore. You're always off into La-la land or something. Sometimes, I catch you staring at the wall." Gazzy explained.
"Sorry," I shook my head and poked my fork at my food, playfully, "I just… have a lot on my mind right now."
"Like what?" asked Ella, smiling. She wanted me to tell everyone just like T-bone.
"¡Ciérrelo! ¡Yo no los deseo que sabiendo ahora! Además, ellos no me creerían de todos modos." That's right. I know Spanish. (Translation: zip it! I don't want them to know now. Plus, they wouldn't believe me anyways.)
My flock looked at me. They knew I spoke other languages and when I do, it's kind of important. The kind of important stuff that I won't tell them. Now I had to tell them- great. Make something up.
I kinda made this up on the spot- even though it's true. "I found out I have a birthmark."
Everyone just looked at me. Not like 'okay, that's not it' but like 'whaaaaaa-?'
"Yeah, I was changing and something caught my eye in the mirror so I looked and… there it was." Okay, great. Now they'll ask where.
"Where?" Nudge asked. See? I was right.
I stood up and pointed to the spot above the hem of my jeans at the top.
"Can we see it?" Angel asked smiling up at me.
"Ew… I don't want to see a nasty birthmark. Count me out." That was Gazzy.
"I agree."
"Me, too." Iggy and Fang.
I slightly lifted up my shirt in the back to reveal a detailed mark of a heart with wings. It-
"It looks like a tattoo! It's so cool!" yelled my mom coming over and looking herself.
At that, Fang and Gazzy got curious. "Would you mind? I don't want to get slapped." said Gazzy.
I shook my head. They came over and looked. I heard murmurs of 'cool' and 'awesome.'
"Angel, would you send a picture of it to me? I want to see it." Iggy felt so out of place. He can't see unless he needs to see but he doesn't need to so he can't. "Oh, that is cool. Did you get a tattoo without telling us?" He smiled.
I glared and when I thought the glaring was useless, he cringed. Confused? Me too.
"I sent him a picture of your glare." Angel. We all laughed.
"And no, I didn't get a tattoo." I put my shirt down and sat in my chair once more. Everyone went back to their seats and started talking about Saviors of the World.
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you guys!" Ella yelled to everyone. She turned to me. "Conseguí billetes para ver su banda. Yo los gané de la radio. ¿Está bien si ellos averiguan así? ¡Entonces, ellos podrían estar como 'ah mi, cielos! ¡Max?'! ¿Será tan gracioso, por favor? Conseguí aún detrás del telón pasos e invito al después de partido." (Translation: I got tickets to see your band. I won them off the radio. Is it okay if they find out that way? Then, they could be like 'oh my, gosh! Max?!' It'll be so funny, please? I even got backstage passes and invites to the after party.)
"Eso es una idea buena, Max. ¿Qué dice usted?" That was my mom. (Translation: That is a good idea, Max. What do you say?)
I nodded. "Go ahead."
"Okay." Ella squealed. "I got seven tickets, backstage passes, and after party tickets to see Saviors of the World!"
Everyone exploded with excitement.
"Wait, why did you ask Max about it first? And why isn't she excited, too? She loves S.O.T.W. (Saviors of the World)." Nudge asked Ella. They all think that I love S.O.T.W. because I have the vocal version of the songs on when I'm in the shower. They think I play a CD but I'm singing.
"Because she knew and we couldn't decide when to tell you all!" responded my mom.
"Wait, seven? What about Max and Total?" asked Gazzy.
"Total is going to act as Iggy's seeing-eye dog." I said. Oh, crap. I forgot that the ticket number wouldn't slip their minds.
"You?" Fang. Ugh. He really needs to talk more.
"I already got my ticket," I smiled. "I'm helping out backstage so I get to see the concert from backstage." And onstage.
"Everyone, it's time for bed. Come on." My mom herded them all out to their rooms.
"I'm going to sleep over at Boom's house, okay?" I said while yawning. Boom was part of stage crew and she helped set up the instruments and introduce the band.
"Sure. Do I get to see pictures?" Mom was referring to the photo shoot pictures.
I shook my head smiling. "No, only when everyone else gets to." My mom can be such a kid when she wants to be. I winked at her and then left for Boom's house.
Tomorrow should be… interesting.