heya!! sorry it took so long to update but i was kinda stuck for inspiration and i kinda changhed the stroyline from what i was plannign but i hope it'll be better this way. Also, i wont be able to update at least until monday coz im away for the weekend to a place with no computers. Ill write the next chappie there though, so no worries.

Disclaimer: You all know the drill, summat about JP owning it all apart from the storyline.

The Director had been right about one thing, the Flock was my life, and right now I was dying with worry. I had no way of telling if they were ok, traumatised, hurt or, God forbid, even dead. There was nothing I could do about it either. I was stuck. Trapped in a cage in the centre of an empty white room, with no windows, one door, a seemingly unused speaker, and a single camera, pointing down at me, watching my every movement.

I ached all over. I could still feel the pain from the fight which now seemed so long ago. I was overcome with fear and panic, what had happened to the others, did they escape? Had Fang survived? I choked to think about that. In my heart I doubted it very much. He was already near death when we got to the "'hospital"', and I had the feeling that Itex wouldn't really care whether he survived or not. For all I know, they probably just gave him a lethal injection there an then……I hastily blinked the tears away. I wasn't going to let those creeps with a camera have the satisfaction of seeing me upset. I was Maximum Ride, unfaltering in the face of danger, leader of the Flock, unbreakable. At least, that's how it would seem. I was infinitely more breakable than anyone knew, even Fang had no idea.…….

Stuck in my little cage, I sat defiantly with my arms hugging my knees, staring ferociously into the camera lens. The truth was that I was only barely managing to hold myself together really. I'd lost my family, failed my friends, this was not a good day for me. I could hear the camera zoom in and out occasionally, but I was long gone. My mind sunk into oblivion, bare consciousness, in which I could hear vaguely things in my surroundings, but not focus on anything. Numbness was better than pain, I figured.

For hours I sat, I don't know how many, in this semi-conscious state. The real world slipped away from me, and I began to dream. Nightmarish images filled my head, images of Iggy covered in Fang's blood, of Angel, her darling little face contorted with fear, of Nudge, teary-eyed, unable to hold her strong attitude any longer. I felt awful. Where was my Flock now? Had I lead them all to their doom? Were they being tortured somewhere, punished for being alive? Was I next? I hoped so. I hoped I died and they all lived, after all, I'd failed as a leader, as a mother, as a girlfriend, as a friend, it was the least I could do.

I was roused by the clicking of a lock. I looked up to see the door of the room swing open. In stepped a whitecoat, followed by someone all too vivid in my memories. Omega smiled as he entered the room. I sneered back. The whitecoat smirked.

"Max," she began, "I understand you've met Omega before. He's our most successful experiment ever."

"Aww, and here I thought I was the best ever," I jeered. She ignored me.

"We wanted to see how you two matched up again, after all, he's been through rigorous training, and his combat skills have improved greatly. Also, inside you will not be able to fly. It will be a fair fight this time."

"It was a fair fight last time! There wasn't exactly a 'Maximum Ride is not able to use her wings' rule was there?! Its not my fault 'wonderboy' can't fly!" The whitecoat scoffed.

"Omega will crush you," was all she said.

"Like I haven't heard that before," I snarled. The whitecoat turned to the silver eyed freak and issued the command,

"Kill her," before stalking out of the room. Omega nodded and turned to look at me.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," I hissed. His brows furrowed in confusion. "You really are a bit of a dumbass aren't you?" I jabbed. He shook his head.

"No," he replied slowly. I began to wonder if he was going to actually move or something. After all I was a sitting duck inside this cage, he could probably crush it with me inside and have done with it.

My question was answered when an electronic buzz sounded and the door of my cage swung open of its own accord. I sighed, they had to do this the annoying way didn't they? Stiffly, I crawled unceremoniously out of the metal prison. Wonderboy watched me as I swung my bruised and beaten body into an upright position. My broken leg shuddered under the weight, but the pain was becoming more bearable, or I was getting used to it. Suddenly Omega took a step back.

"NO!" he shouted into the air, obviously he knew that the whitecoats could hear us somewhere. He seemed not to want to fight me when I was already injured. The speaker crackled into life.

"The order was to kill her," a stern voice reminded him over the tannoy. I smirked. Wonderboy was growing a conscience. This was an interesting development. I wonder how long he'd been doing that?

"NO!" he said again. There was no answer this time. Not a verbal one at least. As if someone had struck him over the head, he collapsed onto the floor in anguish. His screams pierced my ears and reverberated around the room. Twisting and writhing, his body contorted in agony, I caught sight of something. A black box, attached to the side of his neck. I knew boxes like that. I'd been fitted with one myself, whilst I was being experimented on at the School. They were transmitters which were supposed to 'encourage' you to do what you were told. They inflicted increasing amount of pain every time you did something wrong, and by the looks of things, Omega had had his setting upped several times. Suddenly, the screaming stopped. Wonderboy up shakily, his breathing ragged. He gave me a sad glance.

"I'm sorry Max," he whispered.

"No personal offence taken," I answered. I knew what a situation he was in. It was each man (woman, or human-avian hybrid) for themselves in the bloodthirsty world of Itexicon. He nodded slowly, and then launched himself at me with all the force of a wrecking ball.

I didn't move. I'd already made my decision. My Flock was gone, what else was there to live for? Besides, its not like I was in a fit state it fight, and I hoped that by staying still and letting Wonderboy have it easy, perhaps the whitecoats wouldn't have a reason to hurt him again, because now I saw him, I felt sorry for the guy. His once cold, empty eyes had given way to fear and disgust. Fear, of what he was about to do, and disgust that he was doing it. Something had changed within him, though God knows what, because I hadn't known that he was capable of feelings.

As he hit me I involuntarily cried out in pain. It was like being hit by a truck. We went flying backwards, him knocking the 7 bells of hell out of me as we went. I could feel each punch twice as hard as it should've been, after all, my body was already battered. But I let him continue. We hit the floor with a thud. Again, a gasp of pain escaped my lips as we landed. He paused, confused that I wasn't fighting back. I shook my head. Suddenly he looked frightened.

"I can't," he whispered, strained.

"Omega, just get on with it. I don't really want this to last very long." He shook his head slowly. His eyes were wide.

"I can't," he repeated. I sighed. This was not going the way I wanted it to. Angrily, I realised that I'd have to give him something to fight about. I growled, and swung my fist into his jaw. He sprang back, readying himself for a proper battle. Wincing, I struggled to my feet. He still looked uncertain. I gritted my teeth, and made my painful way towards him. I threw a few punches and he got back into the fight, his instincts taking over. I let him hit me a few more times than was probably safe, but I hope this way he'd look superior and I'd die eventually. I had a few good hits too, but he was pummelling me. We spun about the room, dodging and ducking and diving, snarling all the way, punching, kicking and finding any way to cause pain to any parts of each others bodies we could reach. At least, he was, I pretended to be.

With one hard kick in the stomach, he sent me staggering backwards. I couldn't breathe; he'd knocked all the wind out of me. Before I knew it, he'd thrown his whole weight behind a body slam, and we both shot backwards. As we hit the door with a loud thud and a cry of pain (from me) the lock splintered, the door flew open, and we rocketed into the corridor outside. The smell of disinfectant burnt my nose as it hit my nostrils with a vengeance. I winced as I tried to get back up. But I couldn't manage it. I was down, and out for the count. Omega was breathing so hard his body heaved with the effort. He looked like a bull facing a red flag. But his eyes gave him away. Their silvery pupils were not harsh and blank as they had once been, they showed the pain and sadness which he was really feeling. Once again he launched himself forward, but he did not hit me as I was expecting. He landed and balanced himself over me.

"They're not dead," he whispered into my ear.

"What?" I exclaimed.

"They're alive," he whispered again. It took me a moment to realise he was talking about the Flock.

"How, where…?" I began. He shook his head.

"Let me help you," he said. And with that he wrapped his strong arms about my waist and hoisted me across his shoulder. Then he turned, and began to sprint down the corridor. At first I was too shocked to move, and then in fear I began to pound his back with my fists. I couldn't open my wings inside, which cut off that escape. Where was he taking me? He'd asked me to let him help, did this mean he was getting m out of here. But what about the Flock? He'd also said that they were alive. Had they already gotten out? Had Fang? My arms were weak, and soon I gave up trying to beat the hell out of him.

He ran through the building, as if he knew its every corner and turn (which in hindsight he probably did.) Soon, we exploded out into the hall which the Flock had originally arrived in, when we thought this had been a hospital. The whitecoats milling around gasped and shouted in shock as we sprinted past. Omega burst through the doors into the open air and immediately threw me into the air. I snapped my wings out and began to beat them hard. A shot sounded from and heard Omega scream out. I looked out to see him fall face first into the dirt, a hole through his back, blood seeping from the wound. I swear with all this blood I was going to go hemophobic. I had been about to turn back for him, but Wonderboy was a goner now.

Forcing rash tears away from my eyes, I took to the skies without a backwards look. No use in making myself more upset. As I flew I became more and more out of it. My vision was blurring. My flight pattern grew erratic. Slowly I was gaining altitude. As my last dregs of strength were draining away, I saw a handful of black specks soar into the clouds ahead of me. They came closer and closer. With relief I saw they weren't Flyboys. Slowly, their images became clearer.

"Max! Max!" the panicked voices were seemed to far away for the bodies they belonged to.

"Max! Max!" they cried again. I smiled. It was my Flock. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was four frightened but relieved faces staring at me, my family. But there was something missing, what was it? Or as I realised, who was it?

R & R pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaase! Love you forver if you do! LOL