Okay, I finished Maximum Ride: The Final Warning not even an hour ago, so it should still be fresh in my brain, maybe. I liked it, but it wasn't what I expected. I LOVED, loved, loved the fact that it focused on 1 of my major concerns, global warning. Yes, I'm one of THEM, not Them. It was amazing, but I saw it as more of a very important transition book for number 5. Yay, Fang has a power, Angel has plenty to spare, I love Nudge's gift, Ig can see at times, and Gazzy is gassy. Max was the only one who didn't get anything new. She did get good public speaking skills suddenly if that counts. Anyway, I'm not sure about this whole one-shot, but I'll give it a shot, enjoy!

Chapter 9: New Voice

Back Round Info: You need to have read MR4.

Yea, so apparently, my little speech back there had a huge impact on Congress. They gave us a school and we basically ditched them. Ha, what can I say, we're critics.

My Voice wasn't Jeb, thankfully, and he or she or it wanted us to go to the mid-west.

Voice? I thought in my head. I didn't expect a reply, but the Voice was always surprising me.

Yes, Max?

Where are we going?

The mid-west. That Voice was always SO helpful.

Well, duh, but why?

All in good time, Max, all in good time. I felt the Voice retreat form my head and I was left with only my thoughts for company. And my flock. Which now consisted of Total, a flying dog; Angel, a 6 year old mind reader who could shape shift sometimes; Fang, a silent kid who could magically turn 'invisible;' Iggy, a blind guy who could tell what color things were by the way they felt; Gazzy, he had the new found ability to really live up to that name; Nudge, she was Magnet Girl; and me, the only one who hadn't developed a new power. Oh, and Akila, our new dog. She, thank God, couldn't talk, unlike Total. She, unfortunately, weighed about 80 pounds. We were growing practically by the day.

"Okay, guys, 5 degrees east for about 30 minutes." I called to my flock over the rushing wind from about 30,000 feet in the air. They nodded and we changed direction, angling our wings the way the hawks back in the cave had shown us. I flew up next to Fang, my best friend, second in command, and the guy who had recently kissed me. Yea, our relationship was complicated; I'd rather not talk about it.

"Hey." He said slightly strained. Carrying an 80 pound dog for over an hour can really do that to you.

"Give me Akila. You look like your ready to collapse. I don't know if I could save you and the dog." I said, holding out my arms. We made a totally amazing in air transition and I was soon holding Total's love. Yup, the dog had fallen in love. Hopefully, we wouldn't have to take care of little malamute/Scottie puppies any time soon.

"Awe, that'd be so cute!" Angel squealed from behind me. She had obviously read my mind about that puppy comment and couldn't keep it to herself. I rolled my eyes and continued flying.

We landed about 15 minutes later behind an abandoned farm house.

Okay, we're here. Now what? I asked, you know, to that little Voice in my head. Unlike your voices, mine gives me directions and stuff, like GPS.

Walk inside and go up the stairs. I'll tell you your mission once you get up there. Okay… Let's follow the insane woman who talks to voices in her head up the creepy stairs of the probably haunted farm house. The flock followed me anyway, Iggy quietly saying the names of colors as we went. I crept up the last step and slowly turned around the corner at the top of the stairs.

"Hello, Max." The cretin formerly known as Marian Janssen or the Director said. Huh? Marian Janssen, the Director, was the voice? Anybody else confused? Okay, just making sure I wasn't the only one.

"What are you going here? I thought you were, like, out of the way? Are you the Uber-Director now or something? I'm confused. Aren't you evil? Didn't you try to make that Omega creep kill Max?" Nudge asked. Everybody in the flock was wearing basically the same expression of shock, except Fang, Iggy, and Gazzy because they weren't at the Germany fiasco.

"I'm the Voice. Jeb told you he was the Voice so I didn't have to blow my cover. Yes, I am evil, and apparently so is your leader. She led you all here. Maximum Ride the Invincible is no longer incorruptible!" The Director (?) cackled maniacally. I was still confused. Out of no where, those creepy Transformer-Bots flanked us and we were out numbered, 6 super strong bird kids versus about 20 super robotic robots. We stood no chance.

"What do you want from us!" I half screamed and half cried as we were being attacked, not much of a fight on our side though.

"I want you to finish my mission. The By-Half Plan, remember? You have the whole world's cameras on you. People will do whatever you say. You say that people should… I don't know, drink more water and they will. I want you to tell them that you trust me, they'll listen and trust me too. Then we can carry out the plans as before, except this time, you'll all survive all help do the exterminations. If you agree then you don't die right here. What do you all say?" Marian asked, knowing I hated both options. Should I let the most important people I know die, me along with them, or let half the world die? Neither option sounded too hot to me so I did the only thing I knew how to do.

"Neither. I choose a fight." I said doing this neat little flip Jeb had taught me years ago. I used it now to escape from a Transformer-Bot and the flock followed suit. We landed quietly on the ground, Total doing his best to protect Akila. I slammed my fist into a bot's face, only to have it bounce back and reverberate through my entire body. A thing like that can really give you a fabulous idea though.

"Okay, nobody try a punch, it hurts. Nudge try putting that amazing new power of your to work." I told Miss Magnet. She concentrated, hands out stretched, and slowly a Tranformer-Bot moved closer. Then it happened more quickly, faster and faster they were drawn to her hand and they were powerless to stop it. She flew steadily out the window and they somehow managed to follow her. Over a near-by lake, she disengaged her power and BOOM! Far below, Transformer-Bots fizzled out in the water, which doesn't like electricity.

Okay, sorry it ended like that. Tell me if you like it and want it to become a story. R&R please.