Nick the Eraser 2 chapter 7

"Gol, Virginia is shore purty," I said to the Gasman, and he grinned. It was, though. Beautiful scenery, all of that. Nick's team had opted to let us take Anne's huge suburban, and they were flying high over our heads. In all honesty, I would've loved to let them take the car instead, but Nick was using his winds to carry the wolves so that he wouldn't attract attention. Somehow the two Japanese twins had morphed themselves into sort of camouflaged sheets, surrounding Nick, Sara, Kiki, Kimmy and the pack while blending with the sky and clouds. Those guys could transform themselves into anything as long as they could envision it perfectly, apparently.

But I've been skipping around for a little bit, now. A little while ago, when I'd found Nick's room, I didn't really mention Anne, the FBI agent that gave the hospital money for Fang's injury in exchange for us letting her observe our… unique qualities in her humble abode. So we were going to be staying with Anne for a little while.

All in all, it wasn't a bad plan. Sure, we were getting a little sidetracked, but now we had time to look at the papers we'd gotten from the underground lab in New York. We might've even been able to find our parents. In the meantime, we'd had a nice place to crash every day.

At first, we'd given Anne and the FBI pseudonyms to mask ourselves in case they were from the school. Iggy was Jeff, Angel was Ariel, Gazzy was Captain Terror, (don't ask, please, just don't.) Nudge was Krystal, and Fang was Nick. That one came as a bit of a surprise from Nick- I mean, Matthew. But he got over it quickly, actually teasing Fang a little about it. Camo and Espio had chosen the names Yin and Yang, and they managed to scare Anne a little bit with their lack of emotion. It was kind of funny to watch. Sara was Alexandria, because it was her second favorite name. Kiki and Kimmy, however, kept their names, just as I did.

Angel's dog Total was in my lap, though he deliberately moved over to Fang's once he realized how hot I was. I didn't mind. The dog wasn't really all that fun to have around. Besides, all I was doing was staring out the window, seeing different animals, watching the slightly shimmering patch of sky flying above us. Every so often I'd link minds with Nick, and I could hear him laughing as he talked with his friends- the ones I hadn't gotten to know very well.

The two Japanese twins I wasn't sure about, as they were very... unpredictable. I mean, being able to transform into just about everything, entirely emotionless, and the fact that they switched loyalties without a second thought made them almost like robots. Nick would kill them if he had to, just as he said. The two little African-American twins seemed okay, being very loving towards Nick and slowly bonding with Sara and Angel. Nick now had his own little trio of little sisters.

I didn't count Angel because she seemed to be growing further and further away from Nick the closer he got to his newer friends. I felt kind of bad for her, but I felt like that needed to be discussed in private.

Wait,I thought to myself. Angel can read minds, duh. I can just talk to her right now.

Angel,I thought towards her, not turning, hoping she'd hear me. It took a couple of seconds, but she responded pretty soon.

Yeah, Max?

How do you feel about Nick right now, sweetie?

... I feel like he's been forgetting me ever since he met Sara.

Does that hurt your feelings?

She sniffled in the seat next to Gazzy, and he turned his head to look at her. Everybody else, including me, did the same. I didn't want to look like I didn't care.

"Hey, An-Ariel," he said, alarmed. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Captain," Angel told him, smiling convincingly up at him.

"Are you sure?" Fang asked her, his eyes going from their usual emotionlessness stare to a caring, worried look that he only got when he was worried about us. Angel mumbled an "Mmhm" before turning to look out the window again.

"Ariel," Anne broke in, looking at her from the rearview mirror. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

"I'm fine, really," Ariel said, shaking her head with a short laugh. I looked at her and raised my eyebrows, meaning "Do you want to tell them? It's up to you."

"No," she told me with a lowering of her glance. Everybody shrugged and sat back in their seats, going about their own businesses.

It does,Angel broke in. Hurt my feelings, I mean. I miss that one time when he held me at the hawk's cave, after you guys got me out of the school. I felt closer than ever to him then.

Do you want me to talk to him about it?

No, but maybe... Maybe set up a time for us to be alone together, just him and me. Could you do that, Max? Please?

Of course, sweetie, I thought to her, trying to project a smile into her head somehow. She apparently got it, because she sent one right back.

Thank you, Max, she told me in my thoughts gratefully. I love you.

I love you too, sweetheart, I told her, a real smile coming to my face then.

3-3-3-3-3

"So… he's still alive?" Dak asked Cato after receiving a report from him.

"Yeah," Cato growled, refusing to look up from his black boots. "I thought for certain I shot his heart. I watched him fall out of the sky." Cato had never failed an assignment before. He knew what happened to mutants that failed though- they were eliminated due to obsoleteness. Dak was going to kill him, he was sure of it.\

"Whatever," Dak said with a shrug.

"What?" Cato said, his head snapping upward and his bewildered eyes meeting Dak's nonchalant ones.

"It's not like we could've expected him to have three hearts, right?" Dak asked him with a chuckle. I would have been fooled, too. What am I gonna do, kill you?" Dak snorted with a short burst of laughter, unnerving Cato and making him shiver.

"No," Dak said, his laughter subsiding. "We're partners, you and I. We are of equal ranks amongst each other. Punishment is out of the question." Cato stared at him, amazed. Dak's power was like that he'd only seen once before- from Nick Tundra himself. And yet he was treating Cato fairly.

"This is a joint operation," Cato continued. "We will conquer the world together, sharing our bountiful rewards equally. Neither of us is above the other."

"Besides, it's not like you failed. If he's still alive, then we just have to kill him again. I'm leaving that up to you since you seem so eager. But I can help if you like." Cato stared at him with disbelief. No way was he serious.

"No, wait-I think what this needs is a new plan," Dak decided, lifting his hand to his chin. "I can give you a handheld machine that would negate his elemental control if only I had a sample of each kind of attack. So what I'll do is give you a machine that adapts and learns how to negate attacks from experience. Shouldn't be too hard… You just have to let yourself be hit with each one at least once. I'll give you a special armor that'll be able to withstand his attacks while channeling them into the machine. In the end, he'll be down to only his physical capabilities, and you'll have whatever weapons I give you."

"But I'm going to need you to shoot him with this," Dak said, brandishing a rather large firearm, its size making it colossal enough that most men would've needed two hands and would've been having trouble- but then, Dak wasn't most men. It was black with red rings coating it everywhere. "It'll make it even easier to kill him. I know it seems crazy, but I actually don't want you to kill him- just weaken him. We have to bide our time. We've seen that he can survive even mortal injuries. Where do you think his strength comes from?" Cato stared at the eraser, stumped.

"Love," Dak said, morphing his hand into a white wolf claw and slashing it into a wall. "Blasted love is what makes him strong. He fights for his friends. The only reason your gang was able to kidnap him back in New York was that he felt no love at the time. He overwhelmed you as soon as he felt that love return. Take away his love, take away his strength. If we can destroy his love, he'll be just as vulnerable as a baby."

"So I need you to tell me which one he loves the most, which one the death of would crush him the most," Dak finished, placing the weapon he'd been holding back on its shelf. "I know you spied on him for a significant amount of time. Did you ever find out which one he loves the most?" Cato mulled it over before a sinister grin crept across his face.

"Maximum Ride," Cato said with a grin. "Should I kill her?"

"No," Dak said, his smile growing as his devious mind set a horrible plan in place. "I think that what we should do is find a way to separate him from her and the others, and then make them think that he's betrayed them. They'll think I'm him, and in turn betray him."

"Oh, I like this plan," Cato grinned as he pictured the poor, defeated face of a betrayed Nick Tundra.

"It's perfect," Dak said before pausing. "We just have to wait for the right time to do it."

"I hate waiting," Cato snarled, imagining Nick's head in his hand and clenching his fingers so tight he brought blood to his palm. "When do you think that time will come?"

"Soon enough," Dak said smoothly. "In the meantime, why don't you get that data for me? Attack Nick after I give you your armor and defensive machine. I mean, if you want to. I'm not forcing you to at all."

"I'd love to," Cato said with a smile. "Don't kill him, but weaken him, right?"

"Right," Dak confirmed for the striker. "Just don't reveal anything yet. Attack him when he stops moving, no sooner."

"Got it, boss," Cato said, sitting down in a luxurious leather recliner behind him.

"Not boss," Dak reprimanded. "Partner. You do the field work, I work behind the scenes. We're equal in ranks, remember?"

"Right," Cato nodded, still surprised by Dak's leniency. "Thanks, bo- partner."