A.N. Disclaimer- I do not own Maximum Ride.
I twisted my neck around and flashed a pointy toothed grin in Stephanie's direction. I could tell from her slight scowl that she had caught the expression, but otherwise she was completely impassive. Well, maybe not completely. Her silvery gold-green eyes were starting to take on a dangerous sheen that I had seen all too often in the gaze of an Eraser, and her face was hard and still, but her lips twitched slightly, as if she was fighting back the urge to snarl. Her body leaned forward ever so slightly, like a swimmer preparing to leap into the pool. She was locked on her target, utterly intent.
The target. Right. I let my eyes wander away from Stephanie, wander towards the bird-girl that the scientists at the School had requested that we bring back- alive. She was sitting alone on the park bench, her shoulders hunched forward, revealing the bulge of folded wings under her heavy jacket. Her thin neck was bent forward, as if she couldn't even support the weight of her head and hair. Her palms rested on her knees, her fingers kneading the fabric of her jeans. She was fourteen years of age, and apparently she had escaped out of sheer luck, a lapse of security on the part of the Erasers. This was why the scientists had sent us, not them.
Stephanie made a motion with her left hand, and for a second I stared at it, briefly confused, before she rolled her eyes, breaking out of killer mode for a split second, a propelled me forward with a shove to my back. I stumbled forward, hint taken, and began to walk towards the bird-girl as we had planned. I reached her within a minute or so, and tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up, startled, and I gave what I assumed to be a reassuring smile, running my hands through my blond hair to reveal cream colored cat ears. Her eyes widened with understanding, and I could easily see her arriving at the wrong conclusion. Which was good.
"Can I sit down?" I asked, moving around to the front of the bench.
She nodded as a way of answer, her eyes fixated unnervingly on mine.
I gave another smile, and sat down beside her, drinking in the heat from her body as it radiated off from her in waves.
A few meters behind me I heard Stephanie beginning to move in, and hastily began to make conversation with the bird-girl to distract her. "You're from the school, right?"
A nod.
Conversation- bad. "Same. What's your name?"
A frown. "I don't know."
Answer- good. Conversation- atrocious. But seriously, how was I supposed to know she didn't know her name. While I was searching for something else to say, she surprised me by asking a question of her own.
"Do you have a name?"
"Kitty." I had given it to myself.
That seemed to be a good answer; the bird-girl gave a wry, but genuine smile. "That's interesting. And your part cat, right?"
I felt Stephanie a few feet behind me. "Yeah."
Stephanie was only a foot away now, and her body was trembling, preparing to spring. I turned to the bird-girl, holding her gaze for a second, before grabbing her by the throat and twisting around so that I was sitting on top of her. I could see the emotions flitting across her face with such ease, it was almost comical. Shock, confusion, betrayal, hurt, panic, predominantly. Although I really wasn't choking her very hard, her survival mechanism seemed to kick into gear and she lashed out with punches, that, although badly aimed, still hurt. Hissing, I dropped her and she bolted upright, tearing off her jacket and spreading open her tan feathered wings.
I swore, and let my claws slide out and bunched up my legs, my tail, which had come out during the struggle, lashing wildly. But Stephanie was already one step ahead of me. She had been ready for something like this; apparently she hadn't put much stock in my ability to subdue bird-girl. Stupid birds. She sprang into the air, and tackled bird-girl. Both of them fell to the ground. Stephanie gave a rabid snarl, pinning bird-girls hands to the ground. Bird-girl thrashed desperately like a mad woman and Stephanie released her hand for a second to free her own fist. Stephanie knocked bird-girl out in one swift motion, and a flood of relief-induced endorphins flowed into my bloodstream at Stephanie's victory.
Stephanie stood up, and pulled the cell phone out of her back pocket, speed dialing the Erasers that had been posted nearby.
"Yes." A pause. "Mission complete." A short pause. "Thank you." A longer pause, and Stephanie bent down to check bird-girl' pulse. "Yes." A rather forced smile on the part of Stephanie and she answered "Of course." She lowered the phone, turning it off, before turning to me.
I smiled nervously and Stephanie sighed. "You're useless, you know," she said almost fondly.
I frowned.
"The scientists say 'good work', though," Stephanie added, and my frown instantly vanished.