Alien vs. the Flock
Over a month since the last update…well, I've been busy. New chapters of Backup Plan and a new story called Leviathan are up. Go read them.
Disclaimer: I do not own AVP, PJO, or MR
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All the while, during the rundown, the Flock's horror grew and grew, reaching a pinnacle with the echoing laughter of the lupus-hybrids. "Subject 3…she isn't going to kill us…is she?" Gazzy asked. Jeb was silent for a moment, choosing his next words carefully. He came to decision, "The purpose of this test isn't to see if you can defeat Subject 3, it's to see if you can survive her. So far, all of her opponents have been ground-based and one-on-one. The higher ups want to see what she'll do against a team," he looked at the group of avian hybrids, "that can fly." He smiled at them reassuringly, "The room in front of you has been specially modified to compliment your air-superiority. And, after ten minutes, they'll flood the room with gas that will put all of you asleep." The Flock looked a great deal more confident now.
They didn't have to fight, they just had to last long enough to live.
The avian hybrids swarmed Jeb in a group in a hug, nearly breaking his bones with their enhanced strength. They separated after a few minutes. "Jeb," Max said. The white coat looked at her, "You look really funny in that hat." Jeb's gob smacked expression made the ever-stoic Fang smirk just a bit, the Flock giggle, and Iggy wonder what everyone was laughing about.
The hydraulic door opened up behind them, revealing a room bathed in darkness. The Flock shared one last hug with their father…before entering the abyss.
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The Flock entered the pitch-black room, and the door closed behind them. It felt like they were just sealed inside of their tomb. Max gulped when she looked around.
You know that feeling you get after watching a horror movie? The one where you constantly look around a dark room, making sure there isn't something in there with you? Yeah, that's how the bird kids felt.
Except, instead of them being fearful that there might be something in there with them, they knew there was something in there with them.
Subject 3. The ruthless experiment that made even the Erasers tremble in fear. And she was currently somewhere in this hell of a room with them.
It was a terrifying thought.
The Flock had superior vision. They could all read the bottom line of the exam chart from over a mile away. Their vision was only slightly worse in the dark. But this room…it was created using the furthest depths of space.
From they could make out, the ceiling was domed and at least 200 feet off the ground. From the ceiling, hanging by chains were several acrobatic bars big enough for them to light on. It front of them, on the ground, were over a hundred six-foot-tall pylons that were arranged like the stars on the American flag.
Max looked at her flock. Angel and Gazzy were clinging to each other, Nudge was biting her finger, her eyes darting around. Iggy was staring off into space, his blank eyes looking at nothing, but Max knew he was straining his ears to the maximum, trying to hear any movement. Fang was gritting his teeth, his eyes sliding back and forth. That was the most emotion she had ever seen out of him.
"Iggy," Max whispered as quietly as she could, "Can you hear anything?"
The blind avian was silent for a moment, his eyes narrowing in concentration…then they snapped open panic, "Up!"
Without waiting for an explanation, the Flock snapped their wings out and were airborne in fluid moment. Just in time too, because something impaled the ground where they once stood. The avian hybrids landed on the bars above, the sudden increase in weight making them sway. Max looked around wildly, trying to locate whatever the hell just did that.
But she couldn't see anything down there!
"Iggy! What just happened!?"
The hybrid in question looked just as panicked as his leader, "I don't know! I just heard something moving through the air at high speeds towards us!"
Max grit her teeth and took a calming breath. Just nine more minutes to go, just nine more minutes! It might as well have been nine hours. Then she heard it. The sound of a whip moving through the air. Iggy heard it too, but Max was faster, "Down!"
The Flock dive bombed just in time, for the same thing that made them go up in the first place sliced through the chains holding up the bars like a knife through butter. The Flock heard their 'safe zone' plummet to the ground, along with any chance of making it out of here alive. To be honest, Max would have been perfectly fine with waiting on the acrobat bars until the gas kicked in. It was clear that Subject 3 had other ideas.
Lethal ones.
The avian hybrids hovered as high as they could above the pylons below, desperately avoiding the ground and the being lurking down there. The only sound in the giant room was the sound of their wingbeats.
"We can't keep doing this. We need a plan," Fang said quietly.
Max looked at her brother-figure, "And what do you suppose we do? We can barely see anything in here, and the girl that we're stuck with can blend into her environment. And it's really dark in here."
Fang grit his teeth, "Well we can't just keep dodging her tail whenever she swings it as us for the next seven minutes. Hovering like this just makes us targets, and it's clear that Subject 3 can find us in the dark. Jeb said that she hasn't fought a team of airborne opponents before. We can use that to our advantage.
Max was about to retort, when Angel, sweet little Angel, grabbed her head and shrieked in pain. The pain was too much for the youngest member of the Flock, and her wings stopped beating…causing her to plummet to the abyss below.
Gazzy was the first to dive after his little sister, followed by the rest of the bird kids. It was all for naught, however, when a blur of motion slammed into Angel's small body, taking her into the maze of pylons below.
Subject 3 had struck…and she had struck hard.
Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy landed on top of the pylons, panic written on their faces. The Gasman looked to be on the verge of tears. Fang growled, his wings furling.
"Fang…" Max said slowly, "what are you doing?"
The Flock's eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but Fang's pitch-black orbs blended into the background. He looked like he was possessed by a demon.
"I'm going to get Angel back. Feel free to help me, or stay here and wait for the gas to knock us all out."
Five minutes.
Max's own eyes hardened, as did the rest of the Flock's. Gazzy wiped away his tears, his face setting itself into a determined expression, "Let's get my sister back."
They were ready to fight…when Angel's scream tore through the silence. The avian hybrids' eyes shot open and they began to leap from pylon to pylon, heading in the direction of the scream. Max's eyes narrowed when she realized they were heading back to the door.
"Gah!"
Max face palmed when Iggy missed a step and fell to the ground. She was surprised that he had gotten as far as he did, considering he was blind. She hopped down to the floor, fully aware of the danger zone she had just entered. Fang, Nudge, and Gazzy hopped down next to her. The six-foot drop was nothing to their enhanced bodies.
Iggy jumped to his feet almost immediately. He looked in the direction that he heard Angel's labored breathing. He knew there were a shit-ton of obstacles between him and her, but he would be damned before he left his little sister to the mercy of that bitch Subject 3!
He heard his siblings land next to him, "Guide me forward. I can hear her." He felt the hands of Max and Fang wrap around his arms, and then they were off once more.
3 minutes.
They exited the pylon-maze…and for the first time, they laid eyes upon the horror that is Subject 3.
She was exactly as the Eraser had described her. Her skin was almost indistinguishable from the neutron stars that made up this room; her tail, barely noticeable in the gloom, lazily drifted behind her. Her claws seemed to shine. From her back sprouted four tube-like appendages that served an unknown purpose. Thick strands that weren't normal hair fell down to the girl's shoulders.
Angel writhed on the ground at Subject 3's feet, her hands still tightly clenched against her head. Against all reason and overcome with rage, Gazzy roared and launched himself at the School's top dog. Subject 3 calmly stood where she was.
Gazzy got within three feet of the dangerous girl…then her tail twitched. Angel's big brother was sent flying-no pun intended-into the far off wall, his body slamming into the unforgiving surface. He fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.
2 minutes.
Max gave a very unlady-like snarl. Subject 3 didn't even acknowledge her, the experiment's attention glued to Angel. Max looked at her remaining family, "Attack Pattern Alpha."
Iggy's wings snapped out and he soared at Subject 3, Nudge and Fang flew at her from the sides. Max flapped her own wings and took off into the air, aiming to prevent the girl from jumping up. If they weren't so caught up in the moment, they would've remembered that Subject 3 could read minds.
Attack Pattern Alpha was a move made by Fang early on in the Flock's 'career.' It involved flying at the target from three different directions, causing the target to become confused about which one to fight. In the confusion, they would swarm the target and hold them still. The fourth avian would fly up into the air and deliver a knockout blow to the target when they were restrained. It had worked on many occasions against some strong opponents.
Subject 3 wasn't strong. She was powerful.
Her tail snapped down, slamming into Iggy's back, sending him into the world of dreams. Fang and Nudge, flying too fast to stop, continued on their course. Subject 3's arms shot straight out, grabbing the two by their heads. She promptly slammed them together, a gut wrenching crack disturbing the air. The experiment let them crumble to the ground like the walls of Jericho.
Max gaped in shock at how easily Subject 3 took down her family, and broke up one of their most well-rehearsed techniques like she walking through the halls.
90 seconds.
Subject 3 paused, her attention leaving the still-writhing form of Angel. Her twisted ever so slightly, then it went back to facing the front. Max landed on the ground, her mind desperately racing to come up with a plan. Her thinking came to an abrupt halt, however, when Subject 3 raised her bladed tail…the tip pointing at the baby of the Flock.
Four-year-old Angel.
In a manner similar to Gazzy, all rational thought left her mind as she took off at the monster that had whipped her family's asses. She would not let Angel die!
If she had been thinking, she would've realized that she flew over 20 feet in less than a second. And she would've also realized that flying at an entity with spiked, whip-like tail was not a good idea.
Despite her incredible boost in speed, Subject 3's reactions were much faster. Her black body whirled around like a top, backhanding the alpha female and sent her careening into the wall where Gazzy had impacted…and had left a dent. Max only deepened that dent.
70 seconds.
Max groaned from her spot on the floor. Without a doubt, she had some broken bones. That had hurt. She had been hit by gun butts, Erasers, and strong-men hyped up on steroids. None of those guys had come close to the amount of punishment Subject 3 just dished out…with a single blow.
Max had never been hit by wrecking ball before, but she imagined it would feel something like that.
Tmp. Tmp. Tmp.
The soft sound of feet hitting the floor reached Max's enhanced hearing. The twelve-year-old looked up, dreading what she would see. Subject 3 was slowly stalking her way forward. Even in the darkness, Max could clearly see the approaching figure of Death. It was the first time Max noticed that the girl was naked.
Twin bumps on Subject 3's chest signified the beginning of puberty. Max hated puberty. At twelve years old, the School had been 'kind' enough to supply her with training bras, and a brief rundown on the wonders of the female body. God that had been hell of an awkward conversation.
Max blushed when she saw Subject 3's privates, and averted her attention elsewhere. Unfortunately, her gaze locked onto Gazzy's unconscious body, and her anger returned. She looked back at Subject 3…right into her eyes.
Her sea-green eyes.
Max gasped. There was only one person she knew in her short life that had that shade of green for eyes. A little boy that had Inspired her to become as strong as she is now.
"Don't lose hope. If you ever find yourself giving up, find something to fight for. It's what keeps me going."
"Oh my God…what did they do to you?"
Subject 3 paused, her eyes boring into Max's, like they were searching for something. Then Max remembered that she could read minds. 'She's searching my memory…I feel kind of violated.'
20 seconds.
Whatever Subject 3 was looking for, she must have found it.
Her eyes shot wide open…and the room began to rumble. Her knees knocked together, her hands reaching up to grab her head. Foam appeared at her mouth. The room shook even harder as Subject 3's eyes rolled into the back of her head. Her back bent backwards, her knees unknocking themselves. It was like she was having a seizure!
Max shakily stood to her feet, grabbed Gazzy, and drunkenly stumbled over to her Flock. Angel had finally gone still.
The walls began to crack, pieces of the ceiling fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding the avian hybrids. All throughout the School, the vibrations tore through the facility, knocking things over, cracking the foundations, sending scientists clambering to the floor.
Sirens and alarms blared to life.
Max looked over to Subject 3, her back was bending even further, her mouth was practically salivating with foam, and her solid-black eyes stared straight through Max's very soul.
Then the poor girl screamed.
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A bit shorter than other chapters, I will admit. I hope I wrote the fight to most everyone's liking. Next chapter will cover Percy's POV.
Figuring out what the hell is going on right now shouldn't be too hard for you guys, but if you do know, please don't spoil it for others.
Fav, Follow, and leave lots of reviews for me to read!
