Title: Can I Help You?

Rating: T

Warnings: Language, Violence

Summary: The flock settles down in NY, but when Kick-Ass and he gang show up, things start getting complicated: identities, relationships, secrets, and yeah... trying to save the world doesn't help much, either.

Feedback: It's always loved and appreciated, guys.

Disclaimer: I own neither characters; I just use them as barbies for my own liking.

Author's Note: Buhbuhbuhbuh...

Max! Angel screamed in my head. I tensed, looking at Dave before yelling, "Run!"

He stumbled slightly, unsure of what to do. "Run!" I yelled louder, shoving him the opposite direction before sprinting towards the hotel. "Max, wait!" I heard him yell from behind. This isn't the time to look back, keep running—

"Max!" I turned despite my efforts to leave. He was trying to keep up, but wasn't doing so well. I couldn't wait for him. "Get out of here, please!" I shouted back, sprinting again. I couldn't worry about Dave right now; as much as I thought he was nice, I couldn't leave the flock like that. I jumped forward, letting my wings carry me up to our room. The scene wasn't pretty.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the infamous Maximum Ride," one Eraser said from across the room. "Guess this hide-and-seek game is over now, huh? We should probably all go back home. What do you say, kids?" he asked, taking a step towards the flock, whom were held down.

"Get away from them!" I yelled, leaping through the window – only to be yanked back by an Eraser standing by it. I struggled, kicking his shin with full force. He recoiled, letting go for a second.

Luckily a second was all I needed. Instantly I dropped to the ground and threw a high kick to his gut. He stumbled back against the wall, and another one came at me, grabbing my leg and pulling me off balance quickly. My good arm scrambled for the chair by us, but a boot came down on it with a stomp. Instantly pain seared through the length of it, and I winced slightly. I was completely vulnerable – only one arm and one leg free – and completely stretched out. One more wolf-man kneeled down and threw a punch at my face, and another at my stomach, knocking the breath out of me. I coughed, trying to suck in air, only to wince at a newly-cracked rib. This wasn't going well. When did they get strong?

…When did I get so weak…?

"Sir, one's missing according to the file," one declared. The leader turned to him before counting heads. It had only occurred to me that Fang was gone. Lucky bastard.

"Leave it for now. Let's take these ones back to base."

One by one we were pulled out. I looked around discreetly; no signs of Dave, luckily. In fact, there were no signs of anyone at all; it had only occurred to me the floor was empty.

Was it always empty? I frantically looked around at our captors; they were changing back to human look-alikes. My eyes widened as the one holding me turned into the receptionist of the hotel. We were fooled… We were caught again…

And to think… we were doing so well.

"Katie, you need to let me speak to Nick—"

"Dave, please…"

"This isn't about you! Just bring him to the door!" he hissed, trying to keep his cool. First he ditches Max like a little bitch, sees her and the others taken away without trying to help, then he catches his own girlfriend making out with Max's brother. Talk about a terrible night.

She sighed, makeup ruined from crying. He wanted to cry so badly, but this wasn't the time for it. He needed to convince Nick, not make him give him a Kleenex. After a moment of waiting alone by the doorstep, Max's brother made an entrance.

"Look—"

"Fuck you," he said, looking down to hold back tears. The guy only stood in front of him, not saying anything. He took a few deep breaths, calming down and looking back up at him. "They're gone."

Now, out of the entire week of seeing Nick at school, this was the first time he saw his expression change for just a moment. "What do you mean?" he asked monotonously, flitting his gaze away from him. Dave gulped. "What I mean is, they're gone. They're gone, and you weren't there."

Nick's eyes widened slightly before he darted back inside the house. Dave sighed, hearing Katie ask what he was doing before he came back out with a jacket. "We need to go now," Nick murmured, grabbing his arm. "You need to tell me everything that happened so I can try to—"

"No, you need to tell me what I can do," Dave snapped. Fang stopped fast-walking and turned to him. "Sorry?" he asked.

"I can help you guys," Dave said after a moment, trying to have a convincing face on. "Max trusted in me to tell me your guys' secret… I'm sure she trusts in me to help her too—Augh!" he shouted, falling to the ground in a fetal position. Fang stretched out his fingers from the punch, dropping his hand to his side. He kneeled down, looking at Dave calmly.

"You need to understand that you can't get into just anyone's business," he said, watching Dave wince in pain. "You don't even know what you're dealing with here. Did you feel that punch? That's nothing compared to the strength our enemies have. Hell, that wasn't even my strongest. Once you get that in your head, that maybe you're not the toughest kid out there, I'll consider letting you help out." He stood back up and started walking away. Dave took a deep breath before getting up, calling out to Nick. "Hey!"

Nick turned around, seeing Dave stumble slightly as he walked towards him. He stood straighter when he got to him. "Look asshole, I know I'm not the strongest. You should know that too; remember seeing me for the first time?" His eyebrows were pulled close, sweat forming on his forehead. He ignored it. "But you know what? I don't care. I don't give a crap if I'm armless, senseless, or clumsy. I want to help Max – all of them. I was having a nice time with them while you were out with my fucking girlfriend, and I felt like a bastard leaving them to get you. You probably wouldn't even know they were gone till tomorrow morning if it weren't for me telling your sorry ass to help me. So yeah, I'll break a few bones, maybe even die trying, but at least I'm not going to let them down by erasing them from my mind. I care about them too, believe it or not. And you're not going to stop me. Because I lo—" he stopped himself, eyes widened. "…Because… I care for Max, and I care for the rest of them too."

Nick's face became impassive. They stared at each other, standing in the middle of the street. No cars coming down the street, no cars going out of it. The wind blew slightly against Dave's face, and he sighed.

"My name…" Nick started, and Dave looked up at him in question. "My name's not… Nick. It's Fang." He looked at Dave, his expression softening. "Come on. We gotta figure out how to get to the flock. I'll explain everything about us, anything you want to know."

"Wait." Fang looked at him, confused. Dave sighed. "I just… I need to call Mindy. She might be of use."

"How so?"

"Cause she wants to take down Itex."

A smirk formed on Fang's face. "Bring her in."

A/N: Okay, finally updated. I had writer's block, hence the cliffhanger. But anyway. I'm not uploading till I reach 20 reviews. That's only 6 more, guys! So come on, I want to know what you guys think! Laters! -B