I hope everyone had a happy holiday. My computer was being a pain in the you know what today so I have been spending the past hour trying to figure out a way to type this up. Why does Google Drive have to be so painful to make work?
On a side note please don't kill me for taking so long to update.
Disclaimer: I own hardly any creative material relating to what I'm writing, and I am in no way shape or form profiting from this. Although, I may be profiting from gaining useful experience with writing, that's it.
Some Action at Last
"Come on Max," Iggy said, a trace of begging in his tone.
"No," Max replied firmly.
Iggy's girlfriend, the German model he was quite fond of, had gone back home around the same time Loki disappeared. Which was a few months ago, sometime in April. Iggy was currently begging Max to take him to Germany. It had something to do with an odd formal event the woman was attending, Iggy was her plus one. That and the fact Iggy probably missed sucking on her face.
"This isn't fair. You won't let me go alone, and you won't come with me."
Max rolled her eyes. "First, you can't go alone because, not to be rude, you're blind."
"Ha, thanks for pointing it out Max, never would've noticed. I thought our house was just black."
"Bottom line, it's not safe. Second, I never said you had to take me," Max said with irritation covering each syllable.
"Well, I'm not taking Nudge because she'll want to butt in and give me pointers on everything. Hell, she'll probably even try dressing me. I don't want to take Gazzy because he'll distract me from my girlfriend, and I don't want to take Dylan because he's Dylan," Iggy said matter of factly.
"Isn't there a reason you wouldn't want to take me though?" Max asked.
"Sure," Iggy said while adding in a shrug, "but I figured you would leave me alone more than the others."
Max sighed.
"I'll make a deal with you," Iggy said. "You come with me or I go by myself."
"What kind of deal was that!"
"The kind that works for my benefit," Iggy said.
"Fine, I'll go, but I won't be happy about it," Max said with a frown. Iggy started to smile.
"Never said you had to be," he said before walking off.
Max got off the plane while feeling slightly dizzy. She reached out to rest her hand on Iggy's shoulder, to stabilize herself. Before realizing he was already gone. She had accidently grabbed the shoulder of an old lady.
"Sorry," Max said while wincing. "I thought you were a friend of mine."
The old lady looked nothing like Iggy.
"That's fine dear," she said, a look of bewilderment on her face before her expression broke into a small smile and she walked away.
"I'm going to kill you Iggy," Max growled under her breath. She looked around frantically before seeing a head of strawberry blonde hair stuck on an outrageously tall boy not too far ahead.
She made her way over, her walk not precisely straight, more of a stumbling. Iggy had his arms wrapped around a tall girl with honey blonde hair.
"What did you think you were doing! I could have lost you!" Max said in a frantic voice.
Iggy spun around, one arm still wrapped around the blonde, before replying. "Relax, I heard Carie call for me and now here you are." Iggy's relaxed smile didn't calm Max down.
"Do something like that again and I swear you w-" Max stopped mid-threat, as if just realizing the two weren't alone. "I'm sorry Carie," Max stuck out her hand towards the woman. "It's nice to see you again."
Carie ignored the gesture and proceeded to wrap her arms around Max in a tight hug.
"No, the pleasures all mine. I am so excited you came. I've missed all of you so much." Max smiled, after allowing herself to stop being tense. When Carie wasn't making out with Iggy, she was an enjoyable person to be around.
After greetings were done they picked up their luggage and Carie led them out of the airport. Max felt slightly nauseous again after seeing the car they would all have to ride in, but she passed it as being better than the tin can of death she was stuck in previously, known as to normal people as an airplane. Max sat in the backseat with her back resting on the door of the car and her knees brought up so she could put her head between them. She tried to ignore the sound of the couple in front of her whispering to each other and Carie's high pitched giggles that would occasionally break the almost silence.
As she sat by herself her mind drifted to Loki, as it often did when she wasn't preoccupied. Sometimes she thought out multiple scenarios of what could have happened the day he left, if she did things differently. In some of them she had convinced him to stay. In others she said hurtful words to make him feel the same sadness she had felt. A few of them she had punched him to show him real pain, slapping him just showed she was mad, if she actually wanted to hurt him things would have ended with a punch. On rare occasions her mind would travel off to thinking about what would have happened if she had kissed him, out of nowhere, would that have changed anything? The idea usually made Max slightly embarrassed as her frantic mind would search for other things to think about.
"Are you coming Max?" Carie was waiting with a smile and looking back at her from the front seat. Iggy obviously wasn't as patient, considering he had snuck his way to the side of the car with Max's door, which then he proceeded to open.
"Ow! Iggy! You idiot!" Max hissed as she rubbed her head. She had been resting up against the door, and when it was pulled open she fell towards it and onto the hard driveway. Iggy was currently laughing hysterically. His girlfriend was frowning at him.
"You keep acting immature and you won't be sleeping in my room." Max's chocolate brown-colored eyes widened at what Carie said, she didn't need to hear that. Iggy stopped laughing immediately.
The group walked towards the large country house in awkward silence. When the door was opened Max looked every which way to take in the sight.
"Wow," she said, "your home is beautiful." Max thought she probably looked out of place in the wonderful, old-fashioned home, decorated with all it's antiques. It seemed the place where ladies would sit around in dresses drinking tea and gossiping while men roamed around in suits talking of business.
"Oh, it isn't mine, it belongs to my parents. They allow me to come and go as I please. They currently are off in Spain on vacation."
"They won't mind us being here?" Iggy questioned.
"How can they mind if they will never know?" Carie questioned back. "They normally do not mind when I bring guests. Just no touching the paintings, my mother collects those, she seems to pay notice to every smudge. And stay away from the alcohol cabinet, my father does not share his liquor. Now let me lead you to the room you will be staying in Max."
Carie reached out and linked her arm under Max's before taking her up the grand wooden staircase in front of the entrance hall.
"What about my luggage," Max said, referring to her two suitcases she had left in the car.
"I will have Iggy grab those for you," Carie said, adding a quick wink.
"This will be your room," she went on, reaching for the wooden handle on a door that had elaborate carvings marking it. Max was slightly shocked to see the inside of the room. She would prefer just about any color rather than lavender, but it did work with the room. The furniture all seemed to be the same shade of a dark wood. Everything was elaborately carved, including the posts on the bed. The carpet was creamy colored and soft and Max thought that if there was any better place to be trapped, it might as well be in heaven.
A few days later and Max was questioning why she didn't want to come in the first place. The house was so big there was always a place to go for quiet. Max's personal favorite was the library, hidden by a secret set of winding stairs in the corner of the second floor. It was large and very comfortable with the fireplace blazing in the center of the wall at the end of the room.
"Max!" Carie yelled down from the first floor. The urgency in her voice scared Max into dropping the laptop she was currently using, which led to running down the dangerously steep spiral staircase, away from the library.
She ran down the main hall of the second floor of the house. Her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
"Max, come quick!"
She started to become more anxious as she stumbled down the final set of stairs, forgetting the last step and almost falling. She rounded the corner, to find Carie in the living room in an anxious, but safe, state.
"I forgot to tell you to bring a dress!" Carie said with an added groan for affect. "Now you have nothing acceptable to wear to the gala."
Max didn't know what to say.
"Never mind that, do you remember me telling you about how I'm bringing you with Iggy and I? I hope I told you to begin with. We should go fetch a dress from my closet and start getting ready early. Iggy went upstairs to put on one of my brother's old suits."
Max trailed after the woman in a state of disbelief, how does a person just forget telling another that? 'Just stealing you for a party you want nothing to do with tonight, no biggie.' Carie pulled open the door to her room and Max was not the slightest bit surprised by the fact it was even more grand than the one she was currently staying in. Carie opened her closet, which was larger than Max's room back at her home. 'Nudge would die just for the chance to see this,' Max thought.
"Try this on," Carie said throwing out a white dress. "You might want this too." Carrie threw back a white faux-leather jacket. "I know about the, yeah, you know?" Carrie finished off awkwardly. She straightened up her expression and her light green eyes made eye contact with Max's before finishing. "The wings."
"Thank-you," Max said before heading towards the bathroom to put the dress on. It was rather pretty, and if Max ever wanted to pass off as an angel she could take off the jacket and snap out her wings, and no one would doubt her. The dress was only tight at the top, but it fell freely once it hit her waist. The low neckline bothered her slightly, but she found that compared to what Nudge had on occasion forced her into, this dress was rather modest.
"Well you look lovely," Carie said with a smile on her face. "It covers them right?"
"I think, would you mind checking real quick, for poking feathers and what not."
Carie nodded her head before motioning for Max to turn around. "All looks good to me."
"Thanks."
"Your welcome. Would you mind helping me pick a dress for myself?"
"Uh," Max started, "That may not be a good idea. In case Nudge hasn't told you already, my fashion sense on a scale of one to ten isn't even worthy of being scored."
"Oh," Carie said before giggling, "I can manage on my own then. Stay here though, I still have to work on you."
Max was discouraged by this, clean was about as good as it came with her.
Twenty minutes and six dresses later and Carie had finally settled for a gold dress with practically no back.
"I'll finish up with you first so you are not stuck here the rest of the day."
Max didn't know whether to be upset at the prospect of being done up or happy that it sounded like the process would be swift. She settled with the former option. Her eyebrows were plucked at until they burned and her face was rubbed down with products Max had never seen before. She felt like her whole face was on fire when Carie was done rubbing some lotion into her skin.
"That hurts," Max complained.
"It should not hurt, it's only a toner."
Max rose one eyebrow, "but it burns," she stated.
"Oh no!" Carie exclaimed. "Are you allergic to anything?"
"Maybe," Max said, not knowing herself.
"Your face seems to be breaking out in a rash. Here," Carie handed her another product. "Rub this into your face and wait until the burning stops before you take it off. You can lie down in my bed."
Max waited and waited until the burning faded to an itch. When she washed off the product her entire face still had a slightly pink tint to it and her skin was dry. The bright side was that because of the surprise allergic reaction Carie had not bothered to do her makeup.
"Let me do your hair real quick. Iggy is almost ready to leave, he's looking for something in his bags, but we're running a bit behind schedule. I have a pair of shoes waiting for you by the door."
Max waited with all the patience she had inside her while Carie curled her hair. When she was done Carie looked so high strung Max didn't want to talk in fear that it would cause the woman to snap.
"Let's go to the car, now."
Max ran down the stairs and put on her shoes, happy to find out they had no heels. When she saw Iggy she had to bite her tongue to hold in a laugh. Iggy and suits didn't seem to go together.
"Nice bow tie," she said with a slightly teasing tone to her voice.
"What? Bow ties are cool," Iggy said while adjusting the mentioned bowtie with a big grin on his face.
Max rolled her eyes, realizing that the effort was wasted on Iggy.
The car trip to the gala was uneventful. This time through Max paid attention to the passing scenery, paying notice to the fact the country was slowly turning into city.
Eventually they pulled up to a tall white building with spirally pillars and gigantic windows. Max was almost shocked to see an actual red carpet, but she wasn't entirely surprised, it seemed to fit in with the setting. While Carie talked to the valet attendant Max started to walk forward, not noticing that her dress was getting wet from dragging on the moist sidewalk. The reflections from the rainwater seemed to belong where they were.
The couple caught up to Max before walking to the entrance. Iggy had his arm wrapped around Carie's waist and he brought the other one up to wrest behind Max's shoulder.
"Thanks for coming, both of you. Max, you can do what you want while we are here. Stay with us or roam around. Just try not to create any scenes like you tend to do," Carie said.
"You're talking to the wrong person. Tell that to Iggy," Max said.
"Hey!" Iggy took his arm off of Max's shoulder. "I can be normal, I just chose not to be."
His girlfriend giggled.
"Ugh, don't laugh, haven't you heard that encourages them."
"Isn't that with children?" Iggy questioned.
Max nodded with a cheeky grin on her face. Not that Iggy could see it, she didn't want to get any reactions from him at the moment anyways.
"And here we are," Carie said as they walked through the doors. Everyone inside was dressed in fine suits and extravagant dresses. Max's jacket looked quite out of place. The ceiling made Max feel less crowded, it seemed to stretch upwards enough to make up for the fact people were taking up most of the room on the ground. A few violins were playing somewhere, their music drifting over the murmur of the crowd. Although the place was much too uptight for the tastes of Max, it wasn't completely horrid. Some people were talking in English while a few seemed to chat in German.
Max spent some time with the couple before wanting to roam free. An hour into the event and she was bored out of her mind. Max wanted excitement. Or at least she did until she got it. She heard a large crack and people gasping before all hell broke loose. There was Loki, and Max couldn't have been more shocked if she had tried to be. She was absolutely frozen while everyone else was running in panic. He had some device held above a man's face, and the man was twitching violently. Loki's expression was so calm, it was bone chilling. This guy may look like Loki, Max determined, but he's not the same person. When he was done with the device he walked towards the door. Max followed quietly, not daring to make a noise. Loki's stride was smooth and slow. He seemed to glow for a second before his black suit turned into the ridiculous costume she saw him wear when they first met. She almost cringed at the sight of the terrible gold helmet. If Nudge thought Max had a bad sense of fashion, what would she say at the image of this Loki?
Loki continued his stride with a more vicious expression crossing his face, a cop car was coming towards him and he paid little notice to it besides a blast that came from his scepter weapon. The blue energy that came from it caused the police car to flip forward and skid a bit. Max had a near death experience when the car almost crushed her beneath it. She had to jump back towards the curb of the road. As Loki kept moving forward Max stayed where she was, using her raptor vision to search for Iggy and Carie.
She started hyperventilating when she saw multiple Lokis appear, this definitely wasn't him. It's only someone who looks like him, Max reasoned with herself.
"Kneel before me," but that definitely sounded like him. The people were panicking as the multiple Loki's herded them into a circle. The Lokis hit their scepters to the ground and the weapons glowed a bright blue.
"I said KNEEL," the Loki wannabe screamed to the people before him. Max was having a silent panic attack as she stood stationary by the upside down cop car. As everyone kneeled she saw a tall man hesitate before a woman with blonde hair pulled him down. Iggy and Carie were there.
"Is not this," the fake Loki started, "simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity. That you crave subjugation." Max's eyes lit up with a fire at these words. These words... The School sent this fake Loki, somehow they knew, Max thought desperately. "The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity, you were made to be ruled." No, Max thought, I'm a person, it was their fault for making me in the first place. Their fault for thinking they had more control, more power than they actually did. The fake Loki spoke it in such a way Max almost believed it to be true, that was why she was created, to be used as an object, she would spend the rest of her life fighting that truth. "In the end you will always kneel." He was wrong. Max started to walk forward, ready to take him by surprise.
"Not to men like you," an old man stood up and Max couldn't help but to feel glad that someone had rebelled against the crazy Loki's musings.
"Let him be an example," Max panicked as Loki raised his horrid scepter while saying this. She started to run forward, but Loki had already made the shot. A man decked in red, white, and blue did the hero work for her. The blue energy rebounded and hit Loki, knocking him to the ground.
"You know," the man who looked like a human version of the American flag said, "the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else we ended up disagreeing."
Loki started to rise. Max took this as her chance to attack, realizing now was a terrible time to be wearing a dress.
"Last time for me, around two decades ago, it was a woman," Max said at the new comer before sending a kick to Loki's back, hoping at the same time that she wasn't showing everyone her undergarments. The crazy Loki fell to the ground from the pure force of the kick. Max and the flock were stronger than a grown man as half-starved children, now their strength was (as of what they had experienced) unmatched. Sometimes having altered DNA was a blessing.
American flag guy looked up at Max in surprise, before she flashed him her rather cheeky grin.
As Loki starts to rise again a voice comes from an aircraft above them. "Loki drop the weapon and stand down." This is when everything was truly shot to hell.
Loki immediately jabbed his scepter forward in an attempt to hit the red, white, and blue man. The man dodged and Max shot forward to come face to face with Loki. When they made eye contact Max finally was settled. He may be absolutely mad, but this is him. She shot her fist forward and it nicely collided with his jaw as she imagined it would multiple times since the day he left, what she had not been expecting was for her knuckles to crack in a loud breaking sound on impact. Or for him to swing a giant scepter over the top of her head afterwards. When the thing hit her Max swore before dodging the scepter again as it aimed at her side, her way of dodging being falling to the ground since she couldn't do much with the pain in her head that caused her vision to go fuzzy. Loki aimed his scepter down at Max and she knew she was doomed.
"Didn't someone teach you not to hit ladies?" the American flag man said before grabbing the scepter, pulling it towards him, and using the extra momentum to collide his fists soundly into Loki's side.
Loki paid the rest of his attention to the man and Max stayed on the ground, holding her head in an attempt to keep it from falling off, or at least that's why she told herself she was holding her head. Surely with all the pain it would just roll off if she let go.
She was barely conscious when she heard something hit the ground with a loud crunching sound. She peeked from beneath her arms and saw what looked like a robot standing on broken bricks that made up the street.
"I hope you plan on fixing that," she said before letting the fuzziness in her vision and ears take over.
I'm sorry for taking so long to update, but no worries, I don't plan on abandoning this story. I've just been easily distracted.