Me: Hello, my faithful readers!

Fang: Yo.

Percy: Hey.

Sokka (From The Last Airbender): Hi!

Me: I decided to kidnap Sokka today, since I'm overly-obsessed with The Last Airbender T.V show!

Sokka: You promised that I would get some of that bacon stuff!

Me: You'll get it when I feel like it! Until that time, you are hereby tied to the chair you sit in! *ropes magically appear, tying Sokka down*

Sokka: *struggles* Hey!

Me: Too bad! I kidnapped you today, so you're going to stay here.

Fang: *facedesk* You need to see a professional.

Me: Hey…! That's what my mom said! (And Iggy!)

Percy: Hello! We have a story to tell!

Me: Oh! Right! Disclaimer: I do not own MR. But I do own Fang's flock. They are officially mine. But you can PM me if you want to use them!

Onward with the next chappie! That way

Chapter 7: A Flock of my Own

FPOV

It had been three months since I'd destroyed the Itex plant in Dublin. Now I was trying to do some research on the flock, to find out if they still lived in the house in Colorado.

"Faaaang!" whined seven-year-old Tiger. "Tatiana's making fun of me!"

I sighed and rubbed my forehead. How did She handle stuff like this?

"I am not!" ten-year-old Tatiana, Tiger's older sister, countered with her thick Russian accent. "You're just a wuss!"

I glanced between the two. They couldn't go ten minutes without bugging each other. "Tatiana, don't tease your brother. He's the only one you have."

Tatiana pouted and crossed her arms over her skinny chest. "Fine," she muttered. She turned back to Tiger. I expected she was about to apologize. "But you're still a wuss."

This set off a new round of arguing. I groaned. Now they were wrestling.

I stood and walked over to the two siblings. I grabbed them by the back of their shirts and held them away from each other. "If you two can't get along, I'm going to feed you to those SuperErasers that have been following us around for the last three months."

That shut them up.

I breathed a sigh of relief and put them both back on the ground.

"Fang?" thirteen-year-old Panther asked in his heavy Indian-accented English. "Where are we going? Are we going to destroy another Itex?"

I actually gave him a small smile. "No. We're going to visit some old friends of mine."

His pure yellow eyes widened and his slit-like pupils grew smaller. "Really? We're gonna meet other mutants?"

I nodded. "Yep. They're pure avian, like me, Anne, and Allan."

Anne was the beta. She was an Avian-American, like me and the flock. She was actually the avian that we had discovered in the Institute in New York so long ago. Allan was the other avian we had rescued. He and Anne were twins, age fourteen.

I had gathered this flock during and after destroying the Itex in Dublin. Panther had been the first to join and Anne was the last.

They had really great powers too.

Anne could create a force-field around herself and anyone. She also could turn her skin into diamonds, so she was impervious to anything except diamonds.

Allan had mad skills when it came to any sort of weapon. He could be lightning fast with swords, and had amazing aim when it came to anything you could shoot.

Panther had super-speed. He could jump as high as a five-story building. Probably higher. He also had mad tracking skills. He could sniff you out within a ten-mile radius.

Tatiana was a Gen. 77. She had an IQ somewhere in the 200's last time I'd checked. She could also build a computer out of scrap metal and aluminum foil. She had pretty good fighting skills.

Tiger was a shape-shifter. He could turn into any animal he wanted.

All of them had a little avian DNA in them, so they all had wings. This made getting around a lot easier.

Right now we were hanging out in a forest somewhere near the flock's house in the Colorado Mountains. It was late, and the stars were peering down on us.

Today it had been the three month mark since I'd left them. I was surprised that the Voice was actually telling me to do this.

You need to be with your family, the Voice intoned. Both old and new. Especially the new. In fact, a new family member in on its way.

What do you mean? I thought at the Voice.

You will find out soon enough. But also remember not to let your loved one go on any suicide missions.

Now I was morbidly confused. What does that mean?

The Voice was silent.

"Fang?" came a gentle voice with a Scottish burr. "Are you all right? Is it the Voice?"

I turned and saw Anne, her big greenish-grey eyes looking at me with concern. "Yeah. The Voice just telling me to watch my back.

She smiled a little bit. "You've been very stressed lately."

I nodded. "It's just… trying to find my friends is harder than it looks. And I'm not sure… if She's gonna let me come back."

Anne nodded slowly. She was the only person I could somewhat trust. She had been the last to join us, so I was still unsure about her. And besides, the only person on the face of the planet I could ever fully trust was Her.

"All right everybody," I said loud enough for them to hear me, "get some rest. We've got a big day tomorrow. I'll take the whole watch."

They all nodded and lay down in various spots.

Panther found a wide oak branch to sleep in high above the ground. He yawned, flashing his impressive canines that were an inch and a half long.

Tiger and Tatiana curled up next to each other. Sure, they didn't get along all the time, but they had a strong bond. I smiled.

Allan found a bed of dead leaves and nettles in the safe comfort of oak tree roots and fell asleep, snoring within seconds.

Anne lay down next to the fire and closed her eyes. Minutes later, she was asleep.

I leaned against a huge Douglas fir, putting my hands behind my head, and frowned.

My flock was my family. But it wasn't the same as being with the original flock. With them, we had the strongest family bond you could find. With this flock, we still were a family, but not as close as the other flock.

Don't get me wrong, we were still close.

I couldn't help but smile when I thought of seeing Her tomorrow.

If She beat me to a pulp, it would be okay. I deserved it.

If She forgave me and took me back, it would be amazing. I would get to hold Her and kiss Her soft, full lips once again.

But the worst thing that could happen would be if She didn't talk to me. Ignored me.

The absolute worst thing that could happen would be that She committed suicide because She was so miserable.

Chances were more for the beating me to a pulp and then ignoring me for a while. Then, when She was done with that, She would take me back.

Why, I have no idea. But that was just how She worked. She never gave you what you expected. She was unpredictable. But that made me love Her more.

An hour later, I heard the soft sound of a twig crack and leaves skimming across stones.

I sat straighter, my eyes carefully scanning the area around us.

My flock still slept soundly in their various spots.

The sounds of rocks skittering underfoot.

I crouched in a defensive position and growled.

The noise of soft breathing, like a deer trying hard not to attract a wolf.

I stood, puffing my chest out, making myself look even bigger. "Who's there?" I called out.

The thing was right behind me.

In the next second, I launched at it, grabbing it, and tackled it to the ground. There was the sound of crying.

I shot to my feet.

In the bright moonlight, I could see the small figure of a girl.

I lowered my defenses. She had to be about four years old.

She sat up, cowering in the knarled roots of a willow. She had big eyes that were the colors of the earth. The edges were a deep blue, like the sea. The middle of the irises were emerald green, like the forests. And right next to the pupil, they were dark brown, like the rich earth of a field.

She had curly blondish-brown hair that was matted with leaves and twigs. Her skin was pale from exhaustion and lack of sunlight. She was wearing a white nightgown that was torn in many places. Blood dripped from cuts on her cheeks and arms and forehead.

My heart felt heavy. She looked almost exactly like Max did when we were four-years-old, living at the God awful School.

Her big eyes were filled with fear and tears. I had scared her.

"Hey," I said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm not going to hurt you."

Her fear seemed to lessen. She still whimpered.

I pulled a protein bar from my pocket and unwrapped it. "Here," I said soothingly, "eat this. It'll help."

The girl slowly, cautiously, crawled towards me.

"That's it," I whispered. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

When she was close enough, she reached out a small, meaty hand and took the chocolate-flavored bar from me.

She took a bite, chewed slowly, as if deciding whether or not it was edible. When she had determined it to be good or not, she ate the rest of it quickly.

When she finished it, she looked up at me, as if asking for more food.

I gave her a small smile, fished a couple of PopTarts from Tatiana's pack (she stashes candy in her bag. I have no idea where she gets it from), and gave them to her.

She wolfed them down.

I handed her a bottle of water, and she drained it in about thirty seconds.

"What's your name?" I asked when she had finished.

"Haley," she said in a soft, little girl voice.

I smiled. "That's a good name. Did your parents name you that?"

Haley frowned. "I don' have parents."

I frowned as well. "Really? I don't either. None of us do," I said, gesturing to my sleeping flock.

Her big eyes only got bigger. "Oh."

That was when I saw her wings. They were goofy little things, like Angel's had been. They were white, with a mother-of-pearl-like sheen. They were beautiful. "You're an Avian-American too," I observed.

She cocked her head and frowned. "A wha'?"

I smiled knowingly. "You're half-bird. Like the rest of us. Except for Panther. He's one-third panther."

Haley nodded. "Oh. Can I see your wings?"

I nodded. "Sure you can."

I rolled my shoulders and let my wings unfold. Ahhhh. That felt better.

I have to admit, my wings kick butt. They're fourteen feet across and pure black. The flock always said that I looked like the Angel of Death.

Haley smiled. "Your wings big! Do mine got to be like that, too?"

I had to smile. "When you're older, your wings will get bigger."

She frowned. "I wish I had wings like that! I wish I could fly!"

"You'll be able to fly too. I can teach you, if you would like that."

She smiled a big smile. "You will?"

I nodded. "Sure. I helped teach these guys how to fly and a few others too. I can teach you."

Haley jumped up and down in excitement. "Yesyesyes! I would love that!"

I actually smiled. "Okay then. We'll start tomorrow."

Haley smiled and lay down next to the fire. She closed her eyes and was asleep in moments.

Love it? Hate it? Think it's a too OOC for Fang? Reviewreviewreview! Free cookies if you do! If you don't, Fidget the Zombie Chinchilla will get serious.

Fidget: Grrrrrrrrrr…!

Me: And you don't want that. Nor do I want that. So review!

-A$h