Disclaimer: So yeah, as always, I do not own Maximum Ride. Why? Well, there are plenty reasons why I don't own it. Like A) I'm like twelve (turning thirteen this Saturday!) and B) Well, I'm a girl.

A/N: So…for those people who have been reading my fic, I would appreciate it if you review. It would make my day brighter!

Anyways, as always, first five reviewers will get a sneak peek of the next chappie! *wink*

*p.s. I'm REALLY sorry for those who I promised to give sneak peeks to. I didn't have the time with camping and going to Canada. But, I'll try to make it up to you! And for those who love Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I am working on a PJO fic. Check it out on my profile. I update that thing about every two weeks.*

After the Tour

[Nick's p.o.v.]

Alright, after I found out that this new group of students not only have wings but also know about Itex, I almost had a heart attack. Keyword: almost. After all, stoic fifteen year olds do not have heart attacks. It's just not manly.

After I had finished giving them a tour of the school, we found ourselves lounging around in the, well, lounge of Sabertooth Hall. So this school is split up into three different "teams" or "halls." The first is Sabertooth Hall, the group I was sorted into, the second is Ravensdale Hall, and the last is Hammerhead Hall. And yes, the names are corny. So you get sorted randomly and each "hall" has their own lounge, sets of bedrooms, bathrooms, dining hall and recreation center underground. Pretty cool if you ask me although it's like the modern version of Harry Potter if you think about it…

"This is so cool!" Squealed that Nudge girl and continued rambling on about how much she loves this school.

I winced. I feel awfully bad for the people who have to endure her endless chatter 24/7. Come to think of it, I wonder how long she would last talking without anyone stopping her…

I let out a mischievous smirk before rearranging my face back again so I could look emotionless before "Max" could ask me what's up. I have no patience whatsoever to deal with her. But anyways, I secretly wonder if Iggy and the Gasman gamble because betting on how long Nudge could last talking without anyone interrupting her could get me a lot of money. And, I am in need of money. It would be awfully embarrassing to ask your foster father for some bucks just so you could buy some food from the Dunkin' Donuts across the street. You know you're broke when you have to use a credit card just to buy a donut there. Awkward.

I was broken out of my thoughts when I heard a bunch of crashing and explosions coming through the entrance to the kitchen on the west wall of the lounge. Max, Nudge and Angel (and I did, too) jumped up from the couch and got into a fighting stance. Looking around the room suspiciously, I did a double take when I didn't see the two pyros anywhere near us. That got me wary.

"Iggy, Gasman…," I said slowly, "where are you guys?"

Max narrowed her eyes in the direction of the smoking kitchen and shouted at the top of her lungs, "BOYS! LOUNGE, NOW!"

Angel and Nudge covered their ears to protect their eardrums as Max shouted once more, this time, with much more fury.

I got up slowly from my fighting stance and watched as the two laughing guys stumbled out from the smoke that covered the whole kitchen. The guys were practically rolling on the floor while Max told them repeatedly to get up before she kick their butts into the next century. By the time they got up staggering, I could have sworn I saw Max pop a vein. I cracked a tiny amused smile at that.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed Angel had trailed behind Max and continued to imitate her while Max started giving a lecture that they are not allowed to bomb any place unless it was necessary.

"But, Max, it was necessary to set off a bomb," Gazzy said defensively – Max quirked an eyebrow at this -, "we were about to die of boredom." He finished with a deep exaggerated breath.

Max let out a breath, rubbing her temples as she decided what to do. "Alright, you know what? From now on, for the next week, you boys are not allowed to step foot into the paintball arena, alright?" Max decided finally.

The guys gaped at her.

"Max! It's a paintball arena! It's like, like, like taking away our bombs!" Iggy spluttered, eyes widening to plead Max.

Max crossed her arms and huffed. "Well, maybe you should've thought of that before you set the kitchen on fire. Speaking of which," Max turned to me, tapping her chin with her index finger thoughtfully, "how the hell are you supposed to get rid of the flames?"

My eyes widened and I cursed silently underneath my breath. She was right (no matter how bad I didn't want to admit it), how the hell was I supposed to take out the flames? I looked around the room, searching for a fire extinguisher but couldn't find one. I muttered under my breath about stupid classmates and fire safety before lifting up my head, saying happily,

"Well! We have no fire extinguisher. Got any ideas?"

Nudge and Angel froze and turned around to face me with wide eyes.

"What do you mean you got no fire extinguisher?" Nudge shrieked. "I can't believe we're going to die! ZOMG! I didn't even kiss a guy yet! Come on! Justice in the world, people! I knew I should have kissed that insanely cute guy back in Arizona, but no, I just had to –"

"You idiot! What kind of private boarding school is this? God, I knew I should have never step foot in this school!" Max interrupted. "And I can't believe Mom told me to trust you!" She jabbed an index finger at my direction.

I was filled with anger as she uttered those words to me. I mean, come on, how was I supposed to know some crazy pyros were going to set my kitchen on fire? Who prepares themselves for that kind of stuff? And this girl thinks that it's all my fault?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. How the hell was I supposed to know that a bunch of pyros were planning to blow up my kitchen? And I thought you were the leader of your 'flock' so why didn't you stop them? Don't blame me for your lack of –"

"Hey. Don't blame me. They're not little robots that can be controlled, you know. I let them do whatever they want because I trust them." Max said defensively.

"Trust them? You trusting them were the cause of this fire!" I shouted.

"You, of all people, don't know what it's like to be part of this flock." Max said dangerously. She stepped closer to me with a menacing glare. I shot her a death glare to show her that I wasn't backing down. "You don't know what we've been through at all. We bonded over traumatic experiences and because of that, we became a flock. We've been through everything together."

"Here you are, acting all high and mighty, thinking that you're the only one who experienced traumatic events." I snapped. "You have such an insanely huge ego that I'm surprised that you managed to fit through this building. I'm tired of you being so damn bossy all the time. Why the hell are you so uptight? Let loose. Have fun! But here you are, blaming me for a fire I didn't make!" At this point, all I could concentrate is making Max understand that the world doesn't revolve around her.

"Why are you pointing out my flaws? You act like you don't have any. And stop it. I'm not blaming you for causing that fire because I know you didn't do it! I'm just asking you why the hell you don't have a freakin' fire extinguisher!" She shouted back.

"STOP IT!"

Max and I froze and met Iggy's impatient eyes. "You guys have to stop shouting because that's not helping with our situation with the fire."

"And you act like you had no part in starting that fire," I said, rolling my eyes.

Iggy narrowed his eyes in my direction. "Since when did you start talking so much? The first time I met you, you were so damn quiet, I was wondering if you were even there in the first place."

"Hey. I was talking; you were just too busy listening to hear some hot chicks walk by." I countered back.

Iggy was about to reply when we heard a shriek coming from a few feet where we were standing.

"FUDGE!"

I whipped around to see Nudge disappearing from the lounge and into the kitchen. What. The. Hell.

"Yo, drama queen! What's happening?" I shouted over the shouting and cursing (man, these kids got potty mouths).

Max coughed (more like hacked) from the smoke and shot me a glare under her mess of hair. "When Nudge panics, she turns on one of her powers. More specifically, her magnetic power!"

I groaned. Aw, fudge. I spent the whole school day practically babysitting them and my reward? Saving some magnetic girl who's stuck to a refrigerator. Did I mention the kitchen is on fire? I may be the mutant version of Superman but I'm not fireproof.

I cursed under my breath. Rubbing my hands together, I briefly remembered a time back at the Institute.

"Get Subject 67724." A whitecoat shouted.

Riley, another whitecoat asked, "The one that keeps biting people?"

The whitecoat rolled her eyes. "Yes, him. Go get him."

I inched away from the door of the dog crate and bared my teeth at Riley. No way am I going to let them experiment on me again.

I let out a curse as Riley pulled me out and pushed me onto the concrete ground. Pain shot up my right leg and I bit back a long string of profanities. Before blacking out, I saw Riley leaned closer to me with a needle.

When I woke up, I was in the testing room, tied up to a chair by shackles. Behind the unbreakable glass window, I could see a bunch of whitecoats walking around with clipboards and tablets. I narrowed my eyes at them.

"Alright. Subject 67724, it seems like you adapted to a new power."

Half of me pricked my ears at this, the other groaned. It was good having a new power since you have a slightly bigger chance of escaping but it was also a bad thing since that meant more testing.

"I bet you can manipulate shadows."

I rolled my eyes at this and scoffed. This sounds too corny. How the heck am I supposed to use this power?

A few minutes however, I was busy stopping animals and whitecoats in their tracks by stepping on their shadows. Turns out, by stepping on their shadows, I could freeze them in their place. I was starting to warm up to this.

"Subject 67724 could perhaps evolve and after a few years of training, might be able to manipulate people's bodies as if they are puppets."

I hid a smirk as the whitecoat whispered to her colleagues this. She thought that I couldn't hear her from this distance.

Manipulating shadows, huh?

I snapped my eyes open. Now how the hell was I supposed to get to Nudge, using that power? In the corner of my eye, I could see Max fighting the urge to snap open her wings and fly in there to get Nudge.

Letting out a breath, I began to formulate a plan. Hopefully this will work.

Okay, it's been weeks since I last updated. I hope you guys aren't mad at me. Oh! I've been working on this original story called Esoteric, and I was hoping that some of my Fanfiction readers might be interested. I posted up two chapters on this website called, wattpad and my username is "AznWemo" so, yeah. Please check that out. Oh! And if you like Percy Jackson and the Olympians, check out my PJO fic on my profile!

And please review if you intend to add this to your favorites list or story alert it, it will make my day brighter! . . . did I mention it's my birthweek? It would be a great present if all of you guys review!