I got Total in there, now didn't I? I couldn't stand it without my Total! Anyways, now you'll be seeing a lot more of the Flock. I hope you're happy! ;) Read on and discover the evil good of W.I.C.K.E.D.

Fang's POV

'Dr. Janson' entered our room, glasses perched precariously on his rat-like nose. Now, if only gravity would kick in... He promptly pushed them up, as if he were reading my mind. I wouldn't have been surprised. Dr. Janson (or Dr. Rat, as we liked to call him) always had a knowing look in his beady eyes. I seriously doubted that, though. If he could read my mind then he'd have one of those big taser-things on him right now.

"How are you today, Nicholas?" he asked me. I gazed at him coolly, concealing my rage and irritation. I didn't understand why, but all the Whitecoats had been calling us by our 'birth names' since we'd been captured.

We'd corrected them multiple times, (with a lot of threats and explicit words in the corrections, mind you) but all the Whitecoats (especially Dr. Rat) insisted on calling us by those darn names. It wouldn't have agitated me and the guys so much if the names were our actual birth names. But, they weren't. The Whitecoats had probably plucked the names from thin air. It seemed to me that they were trying to claim the right to bestow an identity on us… and that was so not happening. Heck, it was almost more infuriating than them calling us 'it' and denying our humanity.

"Great, considering that we're being held against our will!" Iggy responded, causing Dr. Rat to break eye contact with me. My long monologues in my head are what keep me so quiet… just kidding… maybe… "And you, Dr. Rat?"

Dr. Rat didn't bat an eye as he gazed at Iggy. "As good as things can be, Ryan. Nicholas, come with me," the Rat said dismissively, as if I would come at his beck and call.

We'd been trapped here for nearly two months. You'd think they would've realized that we weren't going to come willingly, no matter how much they begged and pleaded. If they wanted me they were going to have to use a crap load of physical force.

Of course, Dr. Rat probably hoped that his little act would have made us submissive by this point. I know, I was just as shocked as you! The Whitecoats had lowered themselves far enough to pull another act stunt! They were all insisting that we weren't in an Itex facility. We were in a place run by an organization called WICKED.

Naturally, I smiled and jumped on their bull #$%$ wagon without a second thought. Okay, that is a lie. As they were telling Iggy, Gazzy, and I this I was thinking, 'Okay, you tell me I'm in a place run by something called WICKED. If that's true then I think I need to re-examine the definition of wicked. I'm sorry, but I kinda thought that wicked meant, oh, I don't know, EVIL.'

Then they explained to us that WICKED stood for World In Catastrophe Killzone Department, not the immoral, sinful word wicked. 'Oh okay. That makes me feel soooo much better! I thought you were those evil Whitecoats. I can see I'm wrong. Instead of the Experiment department, you placed us in the Kill department. I'm giving you all brownie points for trading your Whitecoats for guns!'

Except, they hadn't killed us, or even experimented on us. We'd all gotten our share of shocks from the giant tasers, but that was probably because we tried to beat the heck out of the wielders of said tasers. As you can see, totally their fault. They should've led us to the rest of the Flock then snuck us out a side door. I wish. If my life were that easy then I don't think it'd be my life.

"It's Fang, you idiot, and no," I muttered darkly, a snarl in my tone. They were not taking me away easy. I would not go on my own free will.

"We can do this the painless way or the hard way," Dr. Rat said calmly.

"Hmm, Hard is my middle name… And if by hard you mean 'kick your butt to next Tuesday'? Well, count me in," I whispered with a hint of a smile. I know, I know. Fang has said more than two words and almost smiled! Gasp! Well, I tell off who needs to be told off, and I can't help it if I enjoy it!

"Nicholas, Nicholas, Nicholas. I'd choose wisely if I were you," Dr. Rat said darkly. I wasn't sure what he meant. He would have to shock me with those tasers until I passed out; that was the only way I was going. "We could always take Jordan or Ryan instead." Wait, what? I ground my teeth, forcing myself not to react.

How had he known? I wouldn't let Gazzy and Iggy be taken in my place. No way, no how! Grr…Oh, I bet he was bluffing! That good-for-nothing-jerk… "It's Fang! And I don't care," I said. "Take them!"

The Rat responded by having two heavily-armed Whitecoats flow into the room. Well, crap, he wasn't bluffing after all. I sucked in a deep breath, battling my inner conscience. In the end, I knew what I'd have to do if I didn't want to turn purple, blue, and yellow from Max's fists. The men were a couple inches from Iggy and the Gasman when I let two sinister words slip from my mouth. They burned my throat, even as I said them.

"I'll go."

"Good choice, Nicholas, good choice."

Angel's POV

I looked at the girl and dog carefully. I knew them from somewhere… I peeped into the girl's mind, searching for clues.

Ignore the talking dog, and try to act normal Max. Normal, normal, normal. What is normal anyways? Can they see my wings through this shirt? Wish I could stretch them.. No, stupid… Don't even think about it Max…

Okay, that girl had some issues… major issues. I thought I heard her say she had wings, but what if I was wrong? That would completely blow my cover. I just needed to watch and wait.

"Max!" Teresa said, shock making her eyes go wide. Max looked at her Teresa, uncertainty plainly painting her face.

"Teresa, how'd you get out of the Maze?" she asked, suspicion crowding her thoughts. They'd locked Teresa in something called the Slammer while they'd been in the Maze. Well, Max didn't, but a bunch of boys did…

"Well, it's a long story. Needless to say, we went through the Griever hole and deactivated the Grievers," Teresa said. "I woke up in here instead of the safe house thing…" Teresa was interrupted by Amelia. Fear sparkled in her eyes as she hurriedly told Teresa what I dreaded. Rat Man was back. He was like Jeb… I couldn't read him.

I darted into the main room, Teresa and the others close at my heels. Max's eyes narrowed as she walked through the doorway… Hmm…

Max's POV

I followed the little blonde girl into another room. Who on earth was the Rat Man? My question was answered as soon as I stepped through the doorway. A man in white clothes sat in a chair, gazing steadily at us as we entered. A good thirty girls sat near him, looking at our group quizzically.

"Hello, Max," the man said coolly. Spiders crawled across my skin as I realized he was wearing a white coat. I immediately drew towards the door I'd just exited. My body collided with an invisible wall. What the…

"Shuck!" I muttered, glad for a curse word that wouldn't ruin a child's ears.

"Teresa, Angel," he said, nodding at them both. Angel cowered near the door, with me. Memories flashed through my mind; dog crates, needles, pain, so much pain. I shuddered, pushing away the images. I steeled myself to attack…

"What do you want?" I snarled, slowly advancing toward him. I ran right into another invisible wall. I growled. Stupid Creator.

"Calm Max," the evil, Creator man smiled. It was a cold, heartless smile. "It's almost over. You have contracted the Flare. Get to the safe point in three days time and you'll get the cure."

"You know, I'd probably care a lot more if I knew what the Flare was," I retorted. "Currently, your little memory wiper has kinda put my mind out of business."

The man chuckled in response. The sound was hollow, without humor.

"The Flare is a disease that arose after the Solar Flare that descended upon the Earth," Creator Man said patiently.

"That'd kill everyone," I snapped. How stupid did he think I was?

"Well, obviously it didn't," he responded. "Now, all of you go back into the room you slept in last night. When you return there will be a flat trans where the door is. Go through that and you'll be on your way to your destination. Good luck. Your lives depend on it," he tilted his head as a gesture of goodbye.

The girls shuffled through a door on the other side of the room. The dog and I were the only ones who remained. "No," I said defiantly. "I only have a case of 'Ratengitious', and when you leave that will be gone. I don't have your mysterious 'Flare!' Heck, I bet you made it up!"

"Max, Max, Max. They said you were a problem child," he said condescendingly. I glared at him. The dog growled a warning at the Creator/Rat Man. It was a smart talking dog.

"Get out of your little bubble and I'll show you problem child!" I yelled. A mad bird kid is not something you want to reckon with. A pissed Max is like a mad bird kid on steroids. Pissed Max won't leave any remains behind when she get's ahold of you.

He smiled his callous smile then went poof. There was nothing, nada, zilch in the space he'd occupied. That little… I'd wring his neck when I got my hands on him. I waved my hand towards the barrier. It didn't exist anymore... of course.

The dog began barking madly, obviously as ticked as I was. It felt good to know someone else shared my feelings. The girls exited the room they'd went into, staring at the dog as if they'd never seen one before.

"Okay, let's look for the flat trans," Teresa said, automatically taking charge. What in the world was a stupid flat trans anyways? All the girls seemed to know exactly what we were looking for, so I didn't ask.

I pretended to search for it with the rest of the girls. I had no idea what it would look like. If it took us into the outside world, I'd try it. For everything I told that man, I'd have to go along with at least this part of his order. The escape.

Watcha think? Interesting, boring, need a little spice. Well, review and give me some ideas! Happy fourth of July!