Max's POV

We sat huddled together around the bleeding body that lay before us. Some of us were crying, others just stood, faces covered in sorrow. I stood myself and walked away for a moment. I couldn't look anymore. Watching myself bleed out wasn't something that I was comfortable with.

Mia had been shot. 6 times. She was ok at first with her super healing, but she still needed help so she called us. When we got there she was lying in a pool of her own blood. What she hadn't known when she was shot was they were a new and very effective bullet. Ones with small bombs inside them just in case the person they hit happened to get away. And so she laid there, half her waist missing and a good few of her organs lay on the floor, still connected to her body. A hideous sight.

A tear escaped my eye. Maybe if she hadn't left us weeks ago she would still be alive. They weren't hunting us; they were just making sure no loose ends from the experiments were left. That meant that the flock and I were safe as we were known by the world and if we disappeared then people would have noticed. But no one knew Mia. Except, we did.

I felt a hand wrap around my own as another tear fell. I didn't want to look up at him because I knew he was feeling the same thing I was. Watching yourself die is different from watching the person you love die in front of you. Of course Fang wasn't watching me die, but it was still my body. Her body. Our body.

"She wants to talk to you," He said in a barely audible whisper.

I said nothing in response, but I did turn my head to look at him, my eyes still down. He saw the tears that had fallen from my eyes. He brushed them off with his thumb and kissed me on the forehead. Normally I would have loved this, but in this situation, I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes.

I walked back over to the huddle of children that sat and stood around the body. I knelt down as I placed my hand on top of hers.

"I like the hair," I said to her, as I used my other hand to brush the black strands out of her face.

"Yeah well I had a little inspiration. All I need now is to become tall, lanky, and never speak to anyone and then I'll be female Fang," she said, her voice hoarse. She gave out a small laugh but started coughing up blood again.

"Shh shhh," I said as Nudge used a towel to wipe away the blood from her mouth. Nudge has tears streaming down her face.

"Max, I'm sorry," she said with strain.

"For what? You shouldn't be sorry; I shouldn't have let you leave. It's my fault you're like this," I said, another tear falling from my eye.

"Max, shut the fuck up ok? This is not your * cough cough * fault ok? I left. That was my choice."

She put her other hand on top of mine and her own. She looked around at all of us.

"Do me a favour, don't do dumb shit ok? No point in me dying just to have you guys die some dumbass death ok?" she said. She smiled. We all smiled back.

"I'm so glad I didn't kill all of you," She said and we all let out a little laugh, including her.

And then her hands fell limp.

It had been 4 days since Mia's when we burned her body. It was a, I guess you could call it a tradition, in the mutant world to burn the body. It was just in case anyone found the body and tried to start something up again. It was known in the mutant community that you had to burn your dead, for your own protection.

I walked into the kitchen of our house to find Iggy cooking with Nudge standing behind him with her arms around his waist. None of us had spoken much since the burning. I'm ashamed to say that we have all gotten used to the sent of burning flesh.

"We need a change," Angel said, walking into the kitchen with her brother following behind. Angel was 9 now. Gazzy was 12, Nudge 15, and Fang, Iggy, and I were all 17.

"What do you mean?" Nudge said, releasing Iggy's waist and walking over to the table where she sat down and continued to drink a cup of coffee left there.

"Angel and I have been thinking," Gazzy said, looking at all of us. Fang entered and stood beside me, as always.

"We have been through a lot in the past few weeks. First Total, then Mom moving, and now Mia. Not to mention that none of us have heard from Dylan in months. We need a change. Something that will clear all of our heads. And when we feel ready, we can come back."

We all stared at Gazzy and Angel for a minute

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Angel said.

"Angel, this is our home. We have never had one of those before. Ever since we came here, we have been happier than ever, and safer I might add. It's been 2 years and now you want us to leave? Yeah you're right we need a break, but its not that easy to just get up and leave," Nudge said standing up and taking a step towards her.

"Angel and Gazzy are right." Fang said, speaking for the first time.

"Thank you Fang," Angel said.

"Ok let's think about this logically. If we were to go somewhere, where would we go?" I said, addressing everyone in the room.

"Well… what if we split up?" Iggy said quietly.

"That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard," Fang replied.

"No no listen to me. What if we did split up? Fang and Max could go off somewhere together, Nudge and I could go away, and Gazzy and Angel could go stay with Mom. We would all be getting away, and we could all just go our separate ways for a bit. All of us have never been apart before. Some of us have left for a little while sure, but this would be a good experience," Iggy said with confidence in his voice. He really thought this was a good idea.

"I think we should all sleep on it," I said. "It's been a long day, and we had to say goodbye to someone we all cared about. Lets all go to bed after dinner and just talk about it tomorrow. But maybe Iggy has a point…" I said sheepishly. I gave a quick glance to Fang who was deep in thought.

The idea of us being alone together, just the two of us, somewhere were we could be isolated from the rest of the world really did sound appealing. Not to mention that we wouldn't have to keep sneaking out to remote places just to have sex. But the thought of being away from the flock and not knowing what they were doing or even where they were terrified me. But maybe like Iggy said, it would be a good learning experience.

We ate in silence. Only the sound of scraping cutlery could be heard at that dining table. After we finished, the kids washed up, and we all went up to our rooms.

Fang and I shared one of course, as did Nudge and Iggy. Angel and Gazzy got their own rooms but occasionally they slept together because it made them feel better. I was always a little jealous of them. They had the connection of blood that none of us had. Although we were family, they had their own connection, and I would have liked to have that as well. Sure I had Ella, but it just wasn't the same. She hadn't been through what those two poor children had. But yet here they are.

"Do you really think it's a good idea?" Fang asked me as we both got changed for bed.

"Honestly, I wouldn't mind it. You and me alone together for a while, doesn't that sound nice to you? Sure the flock would be apart for a little while but like Iggy said, we could learn from it. Plus they can protect themselves if something happened. You know that," I said in response.

I was looking out the balcony window in our room, just staring at the stars. We were far away from any cities so the night sky was clearer than water.

I felt arms wrap around my waist and lips on my neck. I had discovered that Fang and I were like puzzle pieces. We just fit together. Always.

"I do like the sound of that," He whispered in my ear as he brushed the hair out of my face. His lips reconnected with my neck and I felt my head tilt back and my eyes close. He was very good at that.

I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck and began to kiss him passionately. He walked forward pushing me backwards until my back hit a wall. He lifted my thighs so they were around his waist as his mouth moved back down to my neck.

My head tilted back again, and an unintentional moan left my mouth. He chuckled.

"You're adorable," he said, giving me a rare smile.

"Shut up," I said smiling, before I kissed him again. He let me down and we broke the kiss but we still just stood there holding each other.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, my head resting on his chest.

"We'll work it out," he said. "I promise."

And with that, he kissed my forehead, lifted me up, and carried me to bed. I pressed my body close to his, resting my head on his chest again, thinking about what was to come for my family as I drifted into sleep.