Max

There were so many questions. In all her seventeen years Max had never met another person like her. Now, crouched before her with wings stretched out awkwardly for balance, Iggy had made what had seemed impossible a reality. Questions cluttered her mind, but where to begin? It was Iggy who began the conversation.

"Have you ever met another person with wings?" There was a wistfulness in his tone that made it clear he never had. Max shook her head mutely, before catching herself. Right; blind. Now isn't the time for being stupid, Maximum, she chided. Focus.

"No." A question stuck in her mind, one she didn't particularly want to ask. She probably shouldn't ask; people tended to get angriy when you crossed into those 'personal boundaries'. Disregarding the little voice in her head – the one that told her she should learn to mind her own business – Max asked anyway. "Did running away have anything to do with your wings?" He grimaced. Yup, this was probably a sour subject.

Max new she was lucky. Having a mother and sister like hers was a gigantic stroke of luck. She might not have gotten a father thrown into the mix, but she had two people that cared deeply for her. That was enough for her. But what did he have? What was his family like?

"Yeah," He answered slowly, warily, "They used me to make money. Y'know 'come one, come all; see the astonishing bird kid!'" He quoted with mock enthusiasm; eyes downcast he seemed to be half lost in thought. She frowned.

"How long did it go on?" The brunette inquired, thinking she had no hope if she'd missed a bird kid being aired on national television, or something. How on earth had she never heard about that?

"Pretty much since I was born." He admitted, running a hand through his strawberry blonde hair. "I grew up in England, and up until this past year it had stayed fairly small. Primarily scientists trying to figure out how I ticked." Max winced, thinking about what all that might entail. She had a nasty feeling it involved a lot of needles. The thought was enough to make her shudder – yes, the great Maximum Ride was, in fact, terrified of needles.

"About three months ago we moved to New York. My parents were raving on about all the opportunities I'd have in the 'Big Apple'." Disgust crawled onto his features, followed by a disbelieving scoff. "Of course, it wasn't for me. All they cared about by then was who would offer the most to meet the freak with wings. I tried telling them I wanted nothing to do with it, but they flipped. Said I was being selfish. Said I was squandering my talents. I got sick of it, so I left."

Max didn't really know what to say. When she was young, her mother had always reminded her that while she could play with other kids, be friends, and have fun; she shouldn't tell any of them about her wings. At first Max hadn't understood, she hadn't yet realized not everyone had wings. Hadn't realized she was the only one. What if her mother hadn't been so caring, so thoughtful? Max's eyes widened at a sudden revelation, before a grin split across her face.

"I have an idea," She announced, grabbing him by the arm and tugging him over the edge of the thick tree branch; resulting in only a minor mishap and a few snarky remarks. Iggy seemed at a loss, wondering if she hadn't totally zoned out during their little 'heart-to-heart' chitchat. Way to spill your guts, he thought morbidly. She didn't even hear a bloody word of it.

Meanwhile Max thought hard, thinking over the foggy plan slowly taking form in her head. Yeah, this will totally work. Besides, Max was determined – and when that happened, there wasn't a thing in the world that would stop her. But first things first. Pulling out her phone she absentmindedly dialed a number she knew by heart, hardly sparing her phone a second glance as she did so.

"What on earth are you doing?" Iggy asked once he had distinguished the unmistakeable sound of a cell phone ringing. "Who are you calling, and where exactly are we going?" Max shushed him impatiently as the person finally answered.

"Hello, Max?"

"Hey, Mom. I need you home, now. Like, right now. There's someone you need to meet."

Finally posted! After like three months, I'm terrible, I know. It's a little short, but I decided I'd held off long enough, and this seemed like a nice little cliffy for you guys.

Pst: little tip: reviews are awe-inspiring motivation. ie: with them I'd be about 100x more likely to not disappear for three months, no joke. (Seriously, eleven chapters and no reviews? I know I reposted the story, but that seems a bit...low. Please, hate it, love it – tell me!)