Maximum Ride doesn't belong to me.
Max awoke in a dark room with the worst headache of her life. The last thing that she remembered was a dull yellow gas being released into the back of the car with an ominous hiss and her world fading to black. She lay still for a second longer, steadying herself and trying to get a feel for her surroundings. The room she was in was dark and cool, but lacked the mustiness of the cell she'd expected. She was in a large, comfortable bed, also unexpected, and completely naked. A shiver ran up her spine as she tried not to imagine who might've undressed her. Max realized with a jolt that someone was shifting beside her, and a large hand came to rest on her shoulder. Mad Jackson's smug voice filled her ear and she tried to jerk away, but his grip only tightened.
"Good morning sleeping beauty. I hope you're ready to get up; we've got a lot to do today." Bile rose to her throat as he pressed a kiss to her collarbone. "Bathroom's on your side, you can take a shower while I have someone prepare your clothes. And don't worry, darling, I won't peek." He stood with a chuckle, and Max adverted her eyes, choosing instead to remain covered until he had left. Once he had done so, she stumbled out of bed and attempted to soothe her nerves and headache under the steady stream of hot water. The shower only served to further unsteady her, however, when she reached for the shampoo and found that it was an old favorite of hers, and a scent that she remembered Mad Jackson say that he liked back when he'd been known as Dylan and a part of the "family". She quickly finished and stepped out, realizing with a jolt that a pretty girl about her age dressed in a simple linen dress was standing there waiting for her. The girl gestured towards a stack of clothes that she had brought, and didn't hesitate to swiftly help Max into them. Max was then ushered into a luxurious chair in front of the vanity as the girl began to do her hair.
"Oh, don't worry, I can do it." But the girl shook her head and swatted her hands away. It was then that Max noticed the black band clasped around the girl's neck, above a tattoo of a red octopus on her collarbone. "Oh my God, is that a collar?" The girl set her lips in a thin line in response and Max took a closer look, this time noticing a metallic box attached to the back of the band. "A shock collar?"
"Well you must understand that I need to keep my workers under control, Max." She swiveled to find Mad Jackson leaning against the door frame and scowled, thoroughly disgusted.
"They aren't workers, they're slaves! Are you going to put one on me, too?" He shrugged easily.
"Only if you can't behave. Now let's get you in front of this big mirror over here." She complied, if only because the slave girl gave her a look of warning that chilled her to the bone. Max had been too busy reflecting on her predicament to pay attention to her attire but as she gazed in the mirror her curiosity was piqued. She'd been given a deep blue and black sports bra, matching spandex shorts, and nothing to cover her feet. Her hair was done into two long boxer braids/cornrows, and her makeup was minimal. She couldn't help but wonder what the point of the outfit was, as it was revealing but not necessarily sexy, and therefore wasn't likely meant to be humiliating.
"Now, time to get to the grand tour. Follow me. You, stay here and tidy up, then report to the kitchen." The slave immediately began doing as told, and Max allowed herself to be led out, hoping to find possible escape routes. She decided to distract Mad Jackson from her obvious search by pretending interest in the living arrangements.
"What should I call her?"
"Who, the girl back there? You shouldn't call her anything. You simply give her an order, and she'll follow it."
"That's horrible! How many of them are there? How did you get them? Can she even speak?"
"There are as many as I need, and I have a few friends who supply me. As for speaking, well, it doesn't help her do her job. Now, enough about her. You stop trying to find a way out, and I'll start the tour, okay?" Max frowned and turned her attention towards figuring out where she was and memorizing the building. She discovered that they were in a small skyscraper on the edge of the city (though exactly where she couldn't tell) and the two of them shared the penthouse; there were kitchens, gyms, lounges, and offices for both them and Mad Jackson's non-slave employees; and almost all of the non-paperwork work was done in the many basement floors. As she was led into one wing of the basement marked "Experiments", Max couldn't help but wonder how Mad Jackson could have raised enough funds and created such a conspicuous headquarters (at least in criminal terms) without her knowing about it. After all, she ran the biggest crime ring in the region.
Max was torn from her thoughts by the opening of a door as one of the slaves that she recognized from the kitchen tour was dragged into the laboratory by a guard.
"This one was just caught attempting to poison some soup, sir." Mad Jackson's handsome face twisted with cruelty.
"Excellent, excellent, strap him down here. Maxie, darling, you're about to see why my special friends that I told you about earlier are funding me. You see, they're not interested in the drugs or weapons. No, they're interested in a more noble pursuit: the evolution of humanity. Not everyone can be evolved, unfortunately, but I like to think of it as natural selection. Now, thanks to this handy little mineral called terrigen, this little guy is going to have the honor that many may only dream of." With that, he gripped a small crystal with a pair of tongs and held it against the slave's skin. For one heart-stopping moment, there was no effect. Then the man's screams filled the air as his skin began to change.
Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed! I have a few more chapters stored up so this should be updated again soon. As always, please review!
Much love, Miss Luxe