Thanks for reviewing! you get to find out a little more about Max in this chapter! It'll be kind of funny:)

Disclaimer: I don't own Max. I don't own a red converitble either. I wish I did, but I don't, end of story.

Chapter 25: Pink Soup

"Do you know where Lila's house is?" I asked Nudge later. I refused to call Lila Mom in front of the flock.

I had expected her just to say yes, but that shows just how dumb I was at the moment. She started going on and on about how they'd gotten there and all the different things they'd seen. My ears actually started hurting after a while.

"Hey, Nudge, why don't you go out ahead and start looking through the trees for her house," Gazzy suggested. He was evidently tired of the Nudge Channel as well. He pretended to pull out a remote as Nudge flew ahead and copied Iggy's favorite joke.

"Max, you'll really like your Mom. She's really nice!" said Angel, flying up next to me. I bit my lip. It was great to have a mom and all, but when you found out that she'd been working alongside your worst enemies for years, it kid of dampened the relationship.

"I'm sure I will, Angel," I said, brushing the tips of my wings against hers.

"Don't feel bad Max. She didn't want to do it." Perfect. Mind reading abilities. They were really starting to get on my nerves.

I swerved higher and next to Fang. "Why me?" I asked, slightly exasperated.

"Hey, it's not your fault your parents are lunatic scientists," he said, shrugging.

"I kind of preferred the parents in the dream who were perfectly normal," I stated.

"Says you," said Fang, his face hardening.

I bit my lip. "Fang, I'm sorry. I forgot." His mom had to be some sort of slob who was never home.

"Whatever. I'm over it."

Now, I don't have mind reading abilities, but I could tell he was lying. I decided to try to change the subject.

"Man! That was confusing back there!" I said.

"Yeah."

"Sorry for punching you."

"I could tell you were confused. I would be."

"But seriously, you had to kiss her?"

"C'mon Max. I knew I had to do something fast. Can you blame me?"

"No. I did kiss your clone anyway."

"You what?!"

"Fang! You said it yourself, I was confused. then I was attacked by an alligator and he saved me. Well, I didn't kiss him; he kissed me, probably because he thought it was the only way to convince me. I guess it worked." Whoa. Major brain-pain.

"There it is! We heard Nudge announce from ahead. We banked in the sky and circled in to a landing. We landed in front of a pretty log cabin with smoke coming out of the chimney. Something swelled in my heart. Home? Nah. Couldn't be.

Angel and Nudge ran up to the house and knocked on the door. "Lila! Lila, we're here!" called Nudge. The door opened, and Lila stepped out. She wasn't wearing a white coat, which I was thankful for. She was garbed in overalls and a plaid shirt. Very farmer-y.

"Hello!" she waved. Iggy, Gazzy, Fang and I were a little farther back, and we started walking to the door. Once we were inside, Lila started fussing into getting us all settled.

"Now, I only have three bedrooms. One has two beds, because it's the guest room, so Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy can share that one. Another room is mine, but I can sleep on the couch. So Max can have my room. I have a cot that I can pull out for whoever wants to use it."

"Thanks, Lila, but I'll take the cot, and I'll sleep down here. Fang and Iggy can each have their own room," I said. I wasn't about to get comfortable in this place.

"Oh okay, whatever you want Max."

"I'd be happy to take he cot," Fang offered. I glared at him and he backed off. It was nice for a change.

"So, make yourselves at home. I'm right here if there's anything you need from me."

Every one but Fang and I ran up the stairs and onto the balcony that housed all the bedrooms and one of the two bathrooms.

"Okay, there is something I need from you Lila," I said.

"Okay," she said. She sat down in a cushioned rocking chair, and Fang and I both took seats on the couch.

"I have some questions. It's been bugging me for a while now."

Lila blew some hair out of her face. "I knew this was coming."

"Yeah. Well, we'll start with the personal stuff. Who am I and when was I born?"

"Right. Your real name is Desiree Amelia Batchelder. You were born on January 11th."

I wrinkled my nose and stuck out my tongue. "Desiree Amelia? I prefer Max."

"Yeah, I pretty much figured that. Jeb and I were working for Itex, and when they heard we'd had a daughter, they insisted that you were the perfect one for the experiment. Jeb was gung-ho for it, but I was very reluctant. I didn't think it was right."

"Join the club," I muttered.

"But Jeb insisted, and I was pulled along for the ride. They took Ari, too, when he was born. You were seven, and although I hated the way you were treating you, I didn't want to leave Jeb. But when they turned Ari into an Eraser, I left. I never stopped checking in, so I knew that they had taken you to Colorado. I was happy that you were no longer at the School. Then I learned that they had let you go just as a test, and when you escaped, Jeb begged me to come back. I agreed because he had said that you would die without my help. So I became the Voice. Otherwise I was mostly kept in the dark. And I've already told you the rest."

I nodded. I guess she was innocent after all. I decided not to bring up the fact that she had abandoned me to them. Now wasn't the time. But I had one other question.

"Now, in all the stories they have, there is usually one big bad guy behind everything. Do you know who that is?"

"Yes. But he's not so much a concern anymore. When you were born, Roald ter Borcht was the head honcho of Itex he was the one who authorized genetic experiments on you and on others before you. He was discovered and locked up in the Dangerous/Incurable ward somewhere in the Netherlands. That's all I know."

"Great. We are the way we are because of some guy named after Pink Soup," muttered Fang.

"Well, that's what I need to know for now. We are going to rest up here for a while, and then we're outta here. Got it?" I didn't wait for a reply. I just unfolded the cot next to the couch and lay down, exhausted from everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours.