. . . another Fang popped into existence not a foot away from the real one . . .

Both Fangs looked at each other intensely for a few long moments while the rest of us held our breaths, except Iggy.

"Did somebody just magically appear? I hear someone else breathing, but no approach. Somebody talk to me! I still want some water . . ." Nudge looked at him.

""Max just made another Fang and now both Fang's are staring at each other funny. That's about all you missed." Iggy's jaw slowly dropped until he shook his head in awe/surprise, then pulled himself out of it as he said,

"So how 'bout that water?"

"Um, hold on a sec, Ig. Let's wait until we're sure he's . . . they're okay." Fang1 and Fang2 slowly raised their hands to each other, and did the strangest thing—they started playing patty cake! They were a mirror image of one another, moving slowly at first, then picking up speed. Suddenly they punched each other, and managed to frown and grimace at the same time. Very slowly, Fang1 brought up his leg to kick "himself", but Fang2 blocked it. They both smiled triumphantly. Weird. No, beyond weird. More like possessed. I waited for an explanation.

"So, I guess there're two of me." They said simultaneously. The rest of the flock stared wide-eyed at them until I spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess so . . . Hey, what's up with the whole patty cake thing? I find it hard to believe that you spontaneously wanted to play, and then just as sporadically wanted to fight, so . . . what's up?" I tried not to sound freaked out.

"Well," They began together, "I was testing myself. It's like there's only one of me, but I have two bodies, ya know? It's hard to get both of me to move independently though—like rubbing your stomach and patting your head at the same time."

"Uh huh . . ." I said oh-so-smartly as I processed the new info. "So, um . . . do you want me to try to undo it?" Angel took the opportunity to cut in.

"I don't think you should try on Fang first, Max. What if you make more of him? Or make both of them disappear? Why don't you start with his jacket? Although, he might need two of them now." She giggled.

"Good idea, Ange. Let's do this!" I grabbed Fang's second jacket and stepped into a patch of sunlight—maybe if I didn't need or want the jacket my gift would work in reverse. Good thought, to no avail. I sighed and threw the jacket to Fang1, who caught it gracefully. He beamed at Fang2.

"Looks like we're stuck with the two of you for good, or at least until my power grows or something." I tried to sound cheerful.

"Hey, Max!" Started Gazzy, " weren't you trying to make water? Maybe your power is unpredictable, like it randomly duplicates stuff near you, like Fang! But I thought you made the jacket on purpose, because you wanted it? So you can make stuff you want?" Suddenly Iggy guffawed and started slapping his knee. Angel looked confused, then her eyes widened. Oh dear, I was hoping to avoid this conversation. Gazzy was the only one confused about the fact that Iggy was implying that I wanted Fang, thank God. The rest of the flock thought it was funny. Fang raised an eyebrow at me. Dear god.

I stood up abruptly and began picking up the trash strewn about our campsite—mostly just containers that used to hold food. We had been living large lately—the Erasers seemed to have stopped attacking us for the time being. Something told me it was the calm before the storm. That's why I insisted on staying outside rather than checking into hotels we had more than enough money to stay in due to my MaxRide card. Hotels gave me the creeps.

Trust your instincts, Max.

Does that mean I'm doing the right thing? I mean, I'm kinda concerned about the younger kids—they look exhausted all the time, and I know they love hotels"—

Kids need time to relax—so do you.

Wait—that's contradictory, isn't it? How can we relax without staying at a hotel?! "Oh."

Very good, Max.

I realized what the Voice meant—we needed to find a comfortable spot that we all felt safe in . . . like my mom's house! I smiled, then turned to face the flock.

"Hey, guys! Let's get this show on the road! Ig and Gazz on fire patrol, Nudge and Ange on cleanup, and Fang, you just try not to hurt yourself. We're going to Dr. M's!" My news was received with whoops of joy, and even Fang seemed to get over the slight I had thrown at him. Hmmm. I oversaw chores being done, then directed my flock into the sky. We had been flying without incident, until . . .